Tuesday's Stuff and Things

LOVE this picture!

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I spent a large part of yesterday priming and painting our loft. It looks so great, and I'm pretty sure our carpet will be laid come Saturday... which means I could move in to and decorate both my bedroom AND my writing/reading nook by this time next week. I've been waiting for this for a long time and I can't wait!

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Last week I decided I wasn't happy with my start on Novel 2. A (big) aspect of the plot was leaving me unenthused, and I couldn't stop drawing parallels between the main character and someone I know in real life - which wasn't a good thing. I spent the weekend debating whether I needed to toss it out completely or set it aside for awhile, but ultimately decided the root story is one that needs telling (in short, a man's faith is tested when his world is turned upside-down). So I made a fat tweak, got some great input from misterwrites, and am prepared to get some work done this week. Wahoo.

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Last Tuesday the newspaper in which my humor column appears came in the mail. But yet my column was nowhere to be found. I'm near certain it was an oversight, but I can't be sure because my editor has yet to respond to my inquiry. Normally I'd be quick to let assumptions carry me away, but she frequently travels for her job and can't check in, so I'm trying to be patient. I'd sure like to know where my column is, though...

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I've started my Christmas list, which includes a flash drive and several books, including Kimmi's debut, The Unbreakable Child. You can preorder it if you like... just follow one of the links on her blog. Best of luck with everything Kimmi!

What's goin' on your Christmas list this year?

Anything happening for you this fine Tuesday?

Tuesday's Stuff and Things

To continue with the prompts I’ve been working on… Marian (welcome to Something She Wrote!) gave me this one:

A plain wooden box, with hinges. Across the lid are carved the words DO NOT OPEN.



She found it among her great-aunt’s old things in the attic. She’d been digging for that elusive file of important estate paperwork, but when her hand grazed the small mahogany box, the document search was forgotten.

“Interesting,” she said aloud, her otherwise-meek voice filling the large space. “And quite mysterious, to boot.”

She traced the hand-carved words DO NOT OPEN with her forefinger.

So should she, or shouldn’t she?

“Of course I should. Who finds an amazing old box and doesn’t open it?”

Following a firm nod of her head, she used her thumbs to crack the lid. Realizing she’d closed her eyes against the anticipation, as if worried over what she would find, she laughed at herself.

A look at the now-open box revealed a ring – a diamond solitaire, dainty and held atop a tarnished setting – and a small creased and yellowed strip of paper. Her hands trembled as she smoothed the handwritten note.



My dearest Arabelle,
By now you’ve learned of my demise, and I only wish it could have been some other way. It’s with sorrow for our future lost, our love forgotten, that I leave this token of my love. Wear it always, and know of my deepest devotion to you.
Love always,
Earnest

She gasped as her heart wrenched over the words written to her aunt so long ago. Her mind spun. Who was Earnest? Did great-uncle Bernard know about him? And to what demise was the note referring?

How she wished there was someone to ask, someone to answer her questions…

Progress Is As Progress Does

Or something like that, anyway...

I'm pleased to report I made good on my efforts yesterday. I did more agency research and sent my query off to five agents. This means I have 17 queries out - more than I really thought I wanted at one time. But my search needed a little boost. Or maybe I did. Either way, I'll leave that corner of my writing world alone again for awhile.

I (finally) got the beginning of Novel 2 transferred from AlphaSmart files to Word document. Having it on the monitor in front of me, able to look at it again, roused excitement in me. And reading the premise I'd written up reminded me of a few plot points I'd lost sight of. Because of that, I really feel encouraged to pursue the story. Soon it will be naptime for my preschooler, and I plan to pull it up, maybe get a little work done.

I also want to come up with a working title; I'm tiring of referring to it as Novel 2 all the time. Will you help me? Of course, I know in the long run it doesn't matter, since (were it ever to get to that point) a publisher would likely change it anyway, but I like giving my WIPs names. Makes them real, attainable. As a reminder, here's my premise:

A man's world is turned upside-down when his wife reveals well-hidden secrets. But while she exhibits behavior that would end most relationships, he tries to uphold his marriage vows and Christian values, hoping for the day she'll see the error of her ways and return to the life they once had. But how far will his wife's behaviors lead her, and how much will he put up with? What will happen when a new woman, one who's everything his wife is not, enters the picture? How will he choose the path his life should take?

Right now I'm thinkin' about something like For Love or Faith. Or, because of the way he meets the "new woman," Love For Sale. What do you suggest?

12 rejections, 17 out

Oh! And the English Toffee cappuccino isn't too bad. I added some milk to the water it called for and drank it over ice. I'm gonna give it another taste today. ;)