When you fill out the “Do you have a blog?” box on an agent’s submission form and realize your last post was slightly before the War of the Roses.

Thanks to @ghweldon for the kind words and shoutout about @UmActuallyShow on @pchh! https://t.co/xObzW3SWOy pic.twitter.com/GWFV1xuOBh

— Dropout (@dropout) March 25, 2022

Revising a novel I put away for a few years, I realized that some scenes/subplots have to change. Does anyone under 50 ever have an actual phone conversation anymore or do they just text?

But there are much more serious issues. The metoo movement has brought into sharp focus a lot of formerly acceptable/ignored behavior. A gesture that once passed for charming or romantic comes off as creepy or hostile.

I’ve sent a few of my favorite characters for a bit of sensitivity training so they can be genuinely charming and romantic. So far, so good.

I’ve finished revising my WIP!!! Hurrah!!! HOW GREAT IS THAT? OMG, now I have to query the damn thing.

Mine began with my computer refusing to locate yesterday’s extremely excellent revision of my WIP. And it also pretended it had never heard of THE CLOUD. Fortunately, my phone had and emailed me a copy of my revision. And all was well until…

American Airlines emailed me that there had been some changes to my upcoming trip. By “Some” they meant “All,” my favorite being the 1:30 pm flight that had been switched to 7 am. This would mean leaving our house at 4 am and would have given us 38 minutes to change planes. I will not bore you with the efforts I had to make to fix that. Let’s just say, the matter wasn’t settled for 6 hours.

And then, my internet (and when I say “my” I mean possibly everyone in a ten-mile radius) went out and the ever helpful Verizon phone bot suggested I go to the website for more info. Right.

I’m not even going to mention the fact that in rare moment of courage I got a haircut, only the third since 2019 for obvious reasons. Of course it poured. But that’s normal.

Thus endeth the complaint.

Please tell me you noticed I was gone or pretend you did, also that your life will be richer now that I’m back.

I’ve been writing and querying and reading. Mostly reading. I’ve devoured quite a few books and stopped reading almost as many by the end of the first chapter. My TBR list is too long and life is too short…also I have the patience of a four-year-old. However, I’m supporting my local Indie bookstore (Amazon doesn’t need my money) whether I finish them or not, so it’s cool.

As to the writing—* I’m in the process of querying a couple of works and trying to make my very first novel less awful. Some of the scenes now approach mediocrity, which is a big improvement.

*I love em dashes…also ellipses, (and parentheses). Get over it.

It’s a weird and yet very happy feeling that I’m looking at my 50% and 25% DNA matches in this picture.

On my cabin walls

I didn’t buy much in the way of new clothes for a year. But masks? Boy, did I buy a lot of masks.

This is one of my favorites.

I enjoyed wearing it on our daily walks.

I’m enjoying not wearing it on our daily walks even more.

The Highlights Foundation campus is open again! I’m doing a 4-day personal retreat. I’ll have my own cabin! I’ll walk through the meadow! I’ll eat great food! I’ll read!

Oh, yeah. I will probably write too, because that’s supposed to be the point.

In all seriousness*, the timing is perfect. I’m at that point in revising that I’m not only searching for missing puzzle pieces, I’m smashing some of the ones I already have.

*Possibly a first for me. Savor it while you can.