Kismet

No one can tell me that Tony and I don't have some weird kind of connection. We're always doing things like finishing a sentence or thought or bringing up something from years ago when both of us - for some unknown reason - think of it on the same day. Today I emailed him asking what he wanted to go with his buffalo chicken and he emailed back tater-tots (which we haven't had in ages), but I didn't get his email until after I got back from the store...with tater-tots. Kinda funny.

Things are going well here. I really ought to update the Chicago blog. Lots going on.

Blechiness

I've been having a cold coming on for the last few days. It's pretty much taken up residence now. The funny thing is, it always seems to start with Tony. First he complained of a sore throat and then I had one. Then, after a day of feeling a little icky, he seems to be back to feeling fine and I'm on to buying extra boxes of kleenex. How exactly does this always work out this way??

Knitting news...

In further knitted cephalopod news, Sherry Weller wrote in to share the lovely knitted nautiloids from her online Nautie Knit-Along.

That's from one of today's spam in my inbox. It makes me laugh. How in the world do they come up with this stuff?

Actually...I randomly did a search and I think I found where it might have originated. Sorta.

That actually makes me laugh even more, in a way. What a crazy world--a world where people knit nautiloids and other people lift that idea to add to spam messages.

Digging

For some reason as I was lying in bed trying to go to sleep and rubbing Gracie's belly (it's very relaxing, rubbing her big soft furry tummy), I had an idea about my old old old manuscript. The kind of traditional fantasy one that I haven't worked on in ages and keep thinking I ought to pick up again. So I got up to write down some notes. That done, now I'm just sitting here, stewing.

I've really got to decide what to work on next. My next major project. I'm not touching the vampire novel for now, even though I did think of a way to make it into a non-vampire novel, because I just heard back from the publisher again that they are still looking at it.

So, do I work on...

...the traditional fantasy with the kind of classic "unlikely hero takes on evil" coming-of-age/epic journey thing and the kick-butt heroine sidekick/romantic interest?
...the used to be middle grade fantasy where the girl finds out she's next in line to be queen of the fairies that I have to turn into something else because the whole fairy queen thing is completely overdone (not to mention the fairy thing in general)?
...the new(er) idea involving the son of Death (i.e. death-in-training) who falls in love with a dying girl who doesn't believe in death (funnier than it sounds, honest)?
...the super freaks with the stupid powers who discover they aren't useless after all (though this does have the issue of the recent influx of super-power kids)?
...the adult chick lit featuring Earlene, a bra factory in Georgia, an unwilling bra model, and a possibly stolen pick up truck?
...the probably middle grade, slightly tongue-in-cheek Serious McElvoy story about a boy genius who dies an untimely and rather messy death to become an angel fifth class?

Those are just the most viable bits. I've got other WIPs but I'm trying not to even think of those now. There's one that does sound viable...but every time I try to write on it I just don't like the character and I drop it. So it isn't going anywhere.

The traditional fantasy is probably the most along, even though the Abigail fairy-queen one is probably longer...but I definitely need to go back to the drawing board on it. I've thought about just making it a more straightforward "girl's grandmother dies and she refuses to accept it and goes into Death to get her back" but that doesn't much sound like a middle grade kind of story, now does it? What about just making it a fairies kidnap grandmother one? Except that makes no sense...they only do changelings for babies...grrrrr.

And the short bit I have of Sylvie...but I have no idea where that is going. It's just an interesting bit. Maybe I'll try shipping it out as a short story. Ack.

Which reminds me that I need to finish the re-write on the short story about Hildie-with-the-bloody-hand-in-her-purse and get it back out to the magazine that asked for it a while back. After all, we actually do have a stable address again. I have no excuse not to get it out the door again.

But I really need to pick a full length thing to work on. Which will it be?? Anyone want to read too many first chapters? Ha.

[slightly later]

And I just found a couple of chapters of a story I'd completely forgotten about. Rather promising, though it is another adult chick lit type of thing and I keep thinking I ought to just stick with what I know...YA. But it is kind of a fun piece. "Starting Tomorrow"