Author’s Log: Dog Days Of Summer (& #ROW80)
For those of you who don’t know what “dogs days of summer” means, you probably haven’t lived in the South. Hoo-da-LALLY, y’all. I know this is Florida and all, but we’re generally a bit more temperate on the central gulf side–I don’t even want to know what Miami’s like right now.
Back when the Tech Monkey and I used to spend Halloween in New Orleans, the weather was comparable to the Midwest at the high point of summer, but with more humidity. One of the lovely gentlemen who ran the B&B we stayed at (the bottom level of their Garden District house, essentially (if it’s still over on Thalia Avenue after Katrina, I highly recommend staying there if you get the chance, as you’ll get the B&B portion of the house to yourself), once likened New Orleans in August to being like inside of a dog’s mouth: hot, humid, and downright stinking.
I’ve never forgotten that. In fact I regret not having the opportunity to use it when I wrote BRIGHID’S MARK. Naturally, I’ll have to write another story in New Orleans, or a character from there, just so I can use it.
So I took an entire week off of anything writing-related. Not having any new drafting scheduled this month, I’m enjoying the much-needed break. I’ve been bingeing on books and Netflix, mainly–i.e., refilling the well. I got the Tech Monkey to start watching White Collar with me during our TV nites on Tuesdays and Thursdays, in preparation for drafting Waking Muse #3 in September.
Also, lots of violin and piano practice, and getting my office in order so I can move back into it at some point with my brand new desk of Massive, Epic, Authorness ™. Somehow, the Tech Monkey and I have managed build domestic life in the past fourteen years that resembles that of a couple of college roommates. So my epic quest this month is to Purge, Baby, Purge!
1. Pre-Production: FALLEN ANGEL (Waking Muse #3)–This is pretty much plotted at this point, and my characters are pretty well set. I’ve got my artist, Cassidy, my con man Nick, and my antagonist as Cassidy’s uncle Sol, her mother’s brother who wants to pull her back into the family of travellers Cassidy’s mom escaped with the help of her dad, who was Nick’s mentor. I’m taking an ambitious plot involving more than one con, so I’ll need to pace myself carefully.
2. In Revision: THE MINSTREL’S DAUGHTER–I generally work in chapter groups of three, because of how my pacing–the building and execution of my plot points–works, and because three chapters is about all I can manage in a single session. I may have to graph my plot threads–I have three–just to make sure everything’s woven properly. And also because, well, geek.
3. Post-Production: HEARTH & HOME (Waking Muse #2)–My manuscript is still in the hot, pink-wielding hands of The Hammer. I’ve finished the cover copy, and I’m working on proofs for my cover art. I still need to work on front and back matter, and to add the Heart recipes. I’m still on point to release at the end of September. Word has it Amazon has announced pre-order capabilities for indie authors, so YAY. Depending on how final polishing goes, I may have to utilize this.
How about you guys? How are you surviving the Dog Days of Summer?
