still here (ish)

So, I went offline ages ago and have been regulating my internet usage pretty strictly, but I never expected it to go on this long.  I had a really long period of thrashing through different story options for H and not being able to decide which path to take.  Which was mentally and physically exhausting--I pumped up on a lot of caffeine, stopped training, and have lived on chocolate for too long (even by my standards).  There has been far too much weeping and thrashing lately.

Pushing and pushing and pushing like that did result in progress, but (surprise!) I'm still not finished and the rest of life continues to rush in and demand attention.  Sooooo....I'm a little grumpy about being neither here nor there, and I'm short on endorphins--which is my own fault.  But I'm making the effort to find balance, even if it means lowering the bar (even more).

I have one sick child at home who is really miserable--Steve and I were up half the night with him--and the others due to drop like flies if the Laws of Kids are anything to go by.  This is...oddly focusing.  I know how to deal with this! Time to get in the trenches.

In other news, I have started an OU maths course for people who haven't done maths since they were 15 and were never very good at it even then.  (None of that's in the actual course description, but that's what I'm doing with it.)  It's not easy...but I'm loving it.  I think it has something to do with being able to know for sure, right then and there, if what you're doing is working or not.  That makes for a refreshing escape from Real Life.

Another happy tidbit: I have review quotes to put on the Lightborn page of my site!  At this rate I'll probably get around to that next year sometime :-)

'Compelling, imaginative, and often discomfiting' -- SFX - 4 stars (Nic Clarke)

and

'This is gripping, thought-provoking speculation, populated with gritty, believable charactes and a storyline that moves in surprising directions' -- The Times (Lisa Tuttle)

Don't think I've had a review from the Times in over ten years!  Now all I need is a US publisher...well, you never know.  A miracle may occur.