I'll be a big noise with all the big boys

As I've complained many a time before, starting a new project is hard. Working on a new project is great! But actually getting one underway ... UGH. Such a shift in gears. Such a tactical decision that can go wrong in so many ways, and will probably have to be thrown out eventually, so it's probably a total waste of time. Or not, but there's no telling. Not yet.

Yeah, that.

But today I sat down with all my notes and all my Force Of Will and I managed to get a new thing underway! [:: throws confetti ::] [:: waves pompoms ::] It's another book for Tor, slated for next year - so I actually have plenty of time on this one, but I wanted to get a jump on it. I have half a dozen other Things What Might Pan Out floating around out there, and if any given ONE manages to happen ... this will be a busier year than I'd expected.

Which is fine, really. I'd rather be busy. These days I've even learned how to be strategically busy, and part of that strategy is KEEP SWIMMING LITTLE FISHIE and also GET STARTED NOW - because if I get interrupted by something else, at least I have some content/progress to return to. Like I said, I hate beginnings. Diving into something that's already in process is much, much easier. For me, personally. Your mileage may vary.

SO I SAY ALL THAT TO SAY THIS:

Here's today's progress on my rural gothic monster story about small-town secrets, old family lies, accidental legend-tripping, and a missing newlywed in the Okefenokee swamp - where you can drive SR 177 from west to east and cross six bridges...or take it from east to west, and you might hit seven. (But you’d better hope not.)
Project: The Seventh Bridge
Deadline: January 15, 2016
New words written: 1112
Present total word count: 1112



Things Accomplished in Fiction: Started chapter one with a pair of ill-suited newlyweds who maybe should've broken up instead of getting married, but they had their reasons.

Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; went to Petsmart and stocked up on pet things; went to lunch with husband; called the cat's vet to get her (dwindling) supply of kitty Valium renewed; got my inbox down to zero.

Other: This project was originally called Hell and Half of Georgia - which I still think is a great title, but not everybody agrees with me. Apparently. [:: sulks a bit ::]

Number of fiction words so far this year: 25,300

* * *

BY THE WAY, FOLKS. I know I've been nattering on quite a bit about Jacaranda and its Big Fat Release and the awesome Humble Bundle of which it is a part ...but yeah, no. I'm not going to shut up just quite yet. I can't! Because look what landed on my doorstep today, courtesy of one moaning and groaning UPS guy who totally did NOT wipe out on the old brick steps leading to the porch, thank God.



So go and get yourself a shiny hardcover copy of your very own while that's still an option. (Hint: It won't be, for very much longer.) Or, check out the Humble Bundle and pick it up digitally (along with a bunch of other really amazing books).

* * *

BONUS DOG. Today we had a hawk flying around the neighborhood, which is something that Greyson takes SUPER personally - ever since one nabbed a mockingbird out of our yard and ate it RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. (From a tree limb, at a safe distance. But RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. The INSULT of it all, I tell you.)

Come spring, the back yard will be well and truly hopping with fledgling mockingbirds, robins, cardinals, finches, et. al., but for now it's mostly just the mockingbirds and robins. NO MATTER TO THIS DOG. Anything in his yard is UNDER HIS PROTECTION.

By which I mean, he will pace around the yard and bark at the sky like an old man yelling at clouds - and then camp out on the patio and keep watch. It's both charming and hilarious. And probably reassuring, if you're one of the birds who more or less lives in our yard.