Final Word Count

Well, I did it. I sent it off. Final word count: 11,283. "Garnets Are a Goddess' Best Friend" is done.

I am mad as Hell at myself though. I meant to hit spellcheck one more time and I forgot. So I sent my manuscript off with a misspelled word. I'm such a dumb-ass. If it gets rejected for that then I don't want to be with them anyway!

I hope the story is well-received. If not, it was yet another opportunity to flex my writing muscle. And even if they can't tell it, I'm getting better all the time.

8K

It's after 5 in the morning and I just passed 8 thousand words.

I have a week and a half to get it done.

I don't want to curse myself, but I feel really good about this one.

Off to bed.

Second Draft

As of 3 AM I am at just over 7400 words on my entry to Ellora's Cave. The short story is starting to take shape and I generally like it. I need to keep at it if I want it to be the best it can be by the end of this month. Ideally I'd like to have it ready in plenty of time so that I might be afforded a night or two to sleep on it. That way if something comes to me in the last hours, I will have time to make any final corrections. Also, with my life being so emotionally tumultuous I am wanting some spare time in case some day-to-day shit hits the fan.

Well, Jason will be up in a couple of hours, so I think I'll just chill 'til then, make him breakfast, and then hit the sack around 5.

Japanese Food, Chocolate and Animated Exhibits

Friday night Jason, his mom and I went to a little place called Edohana Hibachi and Sushi. It was no bigger than my mom's closet and we sat at the only table they had left which was by the door. The place was packed and clearly a Texas Christian University favorite. Nearly everyone in there was a yuppie or a goodie-goodie college girl. But I didn't care because God, I love sushi! I sipped green tea, scarfed some yummy sushi and sashimi and loved every second of it. It was SO good.

We had our usual favorites which were good and I tried some new stuff that was excellent(Volcano and Panic roll). See a volcano and then panic right? Actually, the panic roll was spicy and the volcano was mild and creamy, but it was all so delish!

Jason's mom made the mistake of mentioning a Marble Slab Creamery in the vicinity so I indulged myself.

Afterwards we relaxed and watched Night at the Museum. I loved Rexy the T-Rex and the monkey. Robin Williams was awesome as usual.

Day at the VA

When Jason and I lived in San Antonio, he was stationed at Fort Sam Houston. I would usually accompany him on his trips to BAMC (Brooke Army Medical Center) whenever he had a doctor's appointment. The first time I went with him it was a very unique experience. There's a lot of sad things to see but there's also a really cool prevailing spirit in the faces of the veterans.

I always have a good time when I'm with Jason but this trip to the VA was cool for a somewhat selfish reason. I've been looking for Butter Rum LifeSavers for almost a year now. I don't know what happened but it's like they went off the radar and disappeared. Like Bermuda Triangle disappeared. Everywhere I looked it was "We have Winter Green" or "We have these new sweet and sour pucker your face like your butt ones" but no Butter Rum.

Then in the PX while we were just browsing and killing time until his appointment, Jason grabs a fistful of candy and I'm thinking "Damn, my husband's suddenly craving a copious amount of candy for someone who proclaims to be "not that into sweets" when I see what beautiful bounty he holds in his clutches.

BUTTER RUM LIFE SAVERS!!!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

It was the beginning of a fine, fine day.

A Quiet House

Well, it's early Monday morning and I sit in a quiet house. Another weekend passed. I was away for a few and see everyone's been posting like mad. It's always cool to sit and chill out, reading the inner workings of strangers' minds. Sort of like group therapy.

As of Saturday evening, over a plate of Frito pie and fried potatoes, I officially became a moron by the way. I was mistaken about the visitors. They weren't coming this weekend but next. I cling to the edge of euphoria with breathy gasp and heaving girded busom...

Okay, not really.

Jason was here this weekend which is always good in this blog author's mind. It's nice to have him here. I'll get to go on a mini-vacation of sorts to the DFW area for three or four days (the first vacation I've had in four years) while the visitors are here, so that'll be cool. I hope I don't have too good a time, I might run away and not come back!

I'm making notes on my second novel while I fill in the blanks on the first, the one I've mentioned in recent posts. Some much-needed backstory is coming into view and I rather like where things are going.

My God, was that a glimmer of optimism shining faintly in the dark?...nah. :)

Dreaming While Waking

Ever had one of those dreams where you’re not exactly awake but not exactly asleep either? It’s called lucid dreaming and I’ve had some of my best ideas while in that mode. I hadn’t had one in a long time and this morning I had a good one. For a long time now I’ve been working on one of my stories, a 50k word science fiction erotic romance novel. Well, the ending always had me feeling ‘blah’ and like it didn’t deliver, anti-climactic in other words. It doesn’t matter how good the story is if the ending sucks. It’s the ending that a reader finishes with so it needs to be as good or better than the beginning and the middle. This morning it all came to me. An extra scene or two and a stronger sense of resolution. Finally. Now I regroup and plan my attack. It looks like I’ve got a good chance of getting it published considering that when I entered the manuscript in a contest a couple Summers ago, I got really good marks. I’ve been reworking it on and off since and at long last I might be seeing the end of this project.As we say in Texas I really really really want to finish this ‘summbitch.’