Gearing Down

I keep saying this, but these months are simply flying by too quickly!

Ever drive a standard stick-shift car?  Well, that's all I like to drive.  Makes you feel like as if you're really driving, being interactive with your car.  Instead of just sitting there, parked into the seat holding a steering wheel.  And gearing down, don't you just love that sound?  I love it!

You can literally hear the engine shifting down.  Isn't that a lovely sound?  That cool, metallic whine - and how the car just reins back as you take your foot off the clutch, balance the engine...

Anyway...just the thought of gearing down made me think of cars.

July caught me unawares, more or less, with two very good reviews coming out before I could blink properly - one in the early part, the other in the latter part - and an opportunity to do a guest blog that was very well received.  My eternal thanks to Reading, Reading and Life and Senora G who played a very gracious hostess.  I even hosted a giveaway for the occasion!  Why not, right?  After all, the review and guest post appeared on the weekend of my birthday, so in the spirit of giving, I thought I should spread a little joy.

Speaking of birthdays, July is riddled with them.  From close friends, family members, colleagues and friends on Facebook (you know who you are), July appears intent on covering every single day of its 31 days with birthdays.  And let's not forget Harry Potter's birthday, too.  Oh, did I just say that out loud?

And now, July is nearly over.  I've crammed everything I can possibly cram into this month, and still, I've things left to do.  I completed self-edits for The Master Key (Book 2), now I'm in the process of doing a final read-through before I send it off for submission.  I still haven't written a satisfactory synopsis, nor a book blurb.  So that's next on my list of things to do before the end of the month comes pouncing on me.

I think I'll get there.  Thank the stars for laptops and wireless internet.  I'd be lost without them.  I'll be taking the trusty MacTop with me on my holidays so I won't be out of touch, out of commission, or out of the range of my internet access addiction.  Whilst on holidays, I still need to coordinate an exchange interview with another fellow Champagne Books author, Eve Langlais.  Not to mention keep track of the many places I've joined up to and became a member of.  Promoting a book really does take chunks out of you.

Hey, did I mention I even got bookmarks printed as well?  Want one?  Do ya?  Really?  I'll sign it too.

So, that's all for now.  Thought I should squeeze out a little something before I hit the edits again and try to cram another half-months work into four more days!

Maybe I need to stay in fifth gear for the time being...