Monday 22 November 2010

Catching Up With Time...

Yikes, it's the middle of November already...or near the end.  I'm thinking I went through a time jump somewhere around the 15th of the month.  I'm still trying to figure out what happened to that last week.  Granted, they do say that time flies when you're having fun, right?  And I have to admit, I did have fun.

Friends and family are in and it's been busy with socializing and just catching up.  Admittedly, I've had to push the writing aside for the time being, but I plan on resuming today.  My good intentions of writing The Grosjean Chronicles were also shelved due to the emergence of another story.  Again, another sci-fi with a bit of suspenseful mystery and action...and a possible romantic side.  Still not sure what I'm going to call it, but it's looking more and more like To Catch A Marlin.  Sounds catchy, right?

I seem to be in a catchy mode...bear with me.

In other news, I've placed The Eternal Knot, the final in the Lancaster series, in the capable hands of a beta reader and I patiently await their response.  Patiently...

So while I wait, I've many random thought bubbles forming in my head, mostly story ideas or improvements to Eternal Knot.  I'm thinking too that I can't seem to progress further into the new stories because I'm still trying to complete Eternal Knot.  But anyway, that doesn't mean I've stopped writing, cause as soon as I post this, I'm going to continue with my Marlin story.  Grosjean will have to wait...

Catch you later!

Tuesday 9 November 2010

After Tomas

November blew in surreptitiously amid angst and listlessness.  After Tropical Storm/Hurricane Tomas gusted through 13ÂșN, knocking down grown trees all over the place and therefore obliterating power lines and sending us all into darkness, I found myself utterly dejected and morose.  No electricity does that to a person...especially one used to the modern conveniences being 'electrified' offers.

But, I had to be grateful that we were spared the full and uncensored wrath of what a hurricane can do...no lives were lost, the majority of houses were intact, give or take a few shingles and Permaclad roofing sheets.  Our house stood up to the test of 70mph winds - even our DirecTV dish held up, if not a little wobbly on the hinges.  Though, I fear that if the dish blew, then it would've taken most of the roof with it.

However, gratefulness aside, the five days of no electricity was a bitch!

We lost the majority of our frozen foods, fresh produce, and my favourite orange juice.  But, there's always a bright side.  It gave me a chance to clear out and clean out my fridge.  It needed it in the worst way.  For a new fridge, it had somehow managed to accumulate a horrendous amount of absolute junk!  Pressed up in the corners, flattened out under other food items, were odds and ends of bits and pieces of leftovers foods, meats, and mysterious greenish-black objects that I dared not guess what they could've been.

Two garbage bags later, my fridge had returned to it's original self.  But it somehow couldn't shake that sour, rotting meat smell no matter how hard I tried to find the source.  Four Arm and Hammer bicarbonate of soda containers later, a generous dousing of spray disinfectant under the fridge...it's back to it's normal self and stocked with all our favourite contents.

Then the power came back on and the air-conditioner died.  I nearly had an apoplectic fit.

Now, we have a brand, spanking new AC unit and life is good again.

And I've even got the urge to write again.  Funny how you get motivation after a crisis.  Not only did I come up with a new story, I feel the need to complete the Grosjean Chronicles that sort of fizzled and stalled at the beginning of chapter 2.  So, I've got a notebook in hand, scratching away at ideas and plot lines, ruminating and organizing thoughts, etc.

On another note, I hosted my first ever book giveaway over at Tami's blog.  Congrats to Linda who won via the eenie meenie miney moe routine.  I hope she enjoys the book!  And funny how she just happened to be another Champagne Books author.  To quote her words exactly, "Champagne authors rock!!"

I'd like to think so.

Back to my scribbles now....