Reading Stats Since Last Post:
Nonfiction: 1 (Suggested for further review: 0 (0%))
Fiction: 46 (Suggested for further review: 4 (8.7%))
Young Readers: 27 (Suggested for further review: 2 (7.4%))
Poetry: 0
Total: 74 (Suggested for further review: 6 (8.1%))
Yes, there has been a long quiet on my part, but I swear that I haven’t been swallowed up by the kraken. Life has been crazy in St Paul, as I’ve been switching apartments and so transferring my life from one location to another, and also working twenty to twenty-five hours a week, plus three full work days at the internship. Oh, and there’s been a heatwave/humidity combination so horrible it caused my smoke detector to go off (not kidding), and, understandably, just made me want to curl up and dream of large ice floats. We had a 112 heat index and I had no air conditioning. But I’m sure it’s made me a stronger person. Or something.
I’ve also been working on edits for my book! I was given a pretty snappy turn around time, but I managed to do it–and I only had to stay up till 4am once! I’m really, really happy with the way that it’s going; of course I still have crisis moments every now and then, but I also know that it is so, so much better than it was in November 2007, when I first wrapped up the story of Jeremiah, Erika, and the Stripling kids. I’ve learned a ton about these characters, and about the worlds in which they live, and about miscellaneous thinks like 18th Century British architecture. I’ve also learned that you had better love anything that’s being published, because if you think you’ve read it a lot in the writing process, you’ll practically be packing up and moving in with it once it gets picked up. In this last round of edits, I’ve ironed out inconsistencies (or tried to), have trimmed phrases and replaced words, have slimmed down sections of dialog. My editors have been wonderful and brilliant, as they always are, and when I returned this draft I felt a buoyancy–I finally feel like it’s ready for the world. Now I’m waiting for the proofreader and, (GET EXCITED) cover art! It’ll be a few more months, but I have never been so bubbly and optimistic.