Category Archives: Blog

Oh yeah, and my Unitarian Jihad name is:
Sister Dagger of Desirable Mindfulness.

Get yours

So I wake up to my alarm after an insomniac night so that I can make my doctor’s appointment. I drive into town to my rheumatologist’s office, only to discover that my COBRA coverage, despite my having sent in the HUGE initial premium payment, is not registered in the computer systems yet. So I had to reschedule.

Typical.

Ice cream, caffeine, and skunk therapy continues. Also got the first two Wonderfalls DVDs from Netflix. The Fox network execs need to be flayed with butter knives for pulling the plug on that show. But then, the sins of the Fox exes are so numerous, I’m sure they’ll be reincarnated as tapeworms. I’ll take what comfort I can from that.

Watched many episodes of Wonderfalls. That’s damn fine escapist passive entertainment. I am, however, going to have a helluva caffeine withdrawal period when this is over. Or I shall fund the Columbian coffee barons unto perpetuity.

I am also rather pissed with our ISP. Service kept popping in and out yesterday, making it awkward to get anything Internet-related accomplished. If we’re paying premium rates for a cable modem, then by God, we should have connectivity 24/7. *thumps desk for emphasis*

Writing Stuff

233-day form “no” from Peachtree Publishers on a picture book proposal. It helps that I’d all but forgotten about this one, but still, this string of rejections is particularly craptacular. Yes, I need a sale.

Words: 900 on the novel WIP. Went back into the first few chapters and fleshed out some in between sections. There’s still fragmentation, but it’s less like a jigsaw puzzle and more like a . . . less-fragmenty thing. Um, yeah. (Also had some major insomnia last night, and had to wake up so I can get ready for my doctor’s appointment. Ergo, my brain is squishy.)

7,491 / 45,000 (16.0%)

500/day
30

Thanks to everyone for their well wishes and words of sympathy. Y’all are great.

Did some self-medication: lotso green tea, large doses of ice cream, and prolonged hugging sessions with Hobkin. I think Hobkin can sense that I need comforting. He’s been making it a point of attaching himself to me, moreso than usual even.

Still feeling depressed, but not spiraling any deeper into my mood funk. Holding steady is good. Also got an appointment with my rheumatologist on Friday. He’s not exactly a psychiatrist, but he can write prescriptions as good as the best of them.

Writing Stuff

1-day “It is an imaginative tale, and I do like your writing; unfortunately . . .” from Surreal. Sigh. Not helping!

Got a very nice reply from the Simon & Schuster contact that Ann met on the train confirming that she’s alerted the editors to be on the lookout for my manuscript. Now it’s all about the waiting. There is much to writing that involves waiting.

Words: 650 on the novel WIP. I still don’t even have a working title for this, dammit.

Did a slew of research on the Chinese Han dynasty. It seems like hours of research should have resulted in more than 650 words. I guess copious notes don’t really count. I do have a better working understanding of the Chinese dynastic timeline, though. My God, there’s a LOT of Chinese history.

6,573 / 45,000 (14.0%)

500/day
29

Well, crap. My emotions spiraled out of control last night. I didn’t have a melt down, or lash out at innocent husbands or skunks or anything like that, but I felt decidedly blue, the sort of blue that’s free floating and overwhelming. Felt like crying, but not ever to the point of actually doing so, which would have probably been a nice release.

The psychologist in me was like “Well, duh. You’ve had a major life change with the job thing, and your sleeping habits are across the board, what the hell did you expect?”

The bitch.

So yeah, I’m depressed. Not surprised. But well, there it is. I sought comfort from Matthew. He made appropriately sympathetic noises, gave lots of huggins, and made French fries and faux chicken nuggets for dinner. And we bought a half gallon of Breyer’s ice cream because I felt the need to be pampered and indulgent. My hubby is the sweetest. He’s at a loss when I’m like this, but he does try.

Then I tried to get all introspective and figure out what the trigger was. Knowing what pushed me off equilibrium is often the first step I need to take in order to get a handle.

Determined it was a combination of the first, incredibly high COBRA premium payment I sent out in the mail, the rejection from Book of Dark Magic, and the profoundly non-fruitful search I did on craigslist which did not come up with any positions I both want, and that would keep food on the table. I think everything together just strained my psychological stabilizers to the breaking point. Brilliant deduction, I’m stressed about money and the future, and not feeling particularly thick skinned about rejections. Yeah, good use of my graduate degree in psychology. [\sarcasm]

Stupid brain.

Writing Stuff

236-day “enjoyed the story very much, as I have many of your other tales that I have read, but . . . ” from Book of Dark Wisdom.

Today would be a good day to get a phone call from my agent about an offer on my middle-grade novel. *crickets chirping* Well, it would.

Got a note from Nathan of Scrybe Press. Synchronicity. He’s buying advertising in Apex for the same issue that my interview is slated for. He’s going to gear his ad space toward my publications now, which is fantastic. Marketing, rah. Royalty payments = groceries.

Words: 570 on the WIP. Going backward on my productivity numbers, dammit, but hey, here’s a neat little progress bar:

5,922 / 45,000 (13.0%)

500/day
28

My sleep cycle is fubared to hell. I’ve been staying up ’till the wee hours of the morning, and taking a long nap in the middle of the day, waking up early (often assisted by a skunk), and then having a nap after lunch. It’s not like I need to conform to a rigorous schedule these days, but it’s leaving me feeling rather surreal and outside-of-time. I can’t believe how quickly I’ve managed to lose track of the days. I’m trying to figure out if I’m feeling more tired of late, but I honestly can’t tell. I sleep when I’m tired, and wake up and do stuff when I’m not. Been having a slew of incredibly vivid and moderately disturbing dreams which is exacerbating this surreal sensation.

Syndicated the Sea Shepherd Moblog to LJ (seashepherdblog) for anyone on LJ-land who’s so inclined to follow the anti-seal hunting activists. The barbaric carnage is depressing to the extreme, but it’s also inspiring that there are people out there willing to put themselves on the line to protect the innocent.

Writing Stuff

Chugging along on my YA novel WIP. Pleased to have the outline to work from. It actually seems to be working the way an outline should. Now, when I run out of steam on a scene, I just look over it, and skip to the next scene that calls my muse. I still haven’t managed one of my uber productive word count days, but I’m gradually building up my daily progress. It’s pretty dismal considering how much time I’ve got free to write, and how much time I’m not spending writing, but at least the words are coming.

Words: 1000

Club 100 For Writers
6

500/day
26