The desk is on vacation today! I am writing from the dining room table, and earlier I sat outside in a sunbeam on the lanai, which meant the dog slept on his cushion in a sunbeam nearby–his favorite place. While it was warm in the sun, I was still wearing a sweater. But, um, yeah. It feels pretty decadent for this Ohio-born girl to be sitting outside mid-January without a hat, coat, mittens, scarf, Thinsulate boots, woolen socks, etc.
Out the window: Full sunshine and blue skies of that intense shade that hurts your eyes if you look too long. After last night’s hard freeze (26°F–brrrr!) and this morning’s etchings of frost on the palms and covered garden plants, it’s really nice to feel the warmth the sun brings back in the afternoon hours.
On the desktop: Or, um, the table, as it were. A teapot of Jasmine Green Tea, and a large cup (not a mug) with stylized Asian dragon in blues and gold on white to drink it from. An empty glasses case (glasses on my face). A purple tablecloth. A change of scene.
Today’s Work-in-Progess: I’m editing the first draft of my Jessamin Stow urban fantasy series’ first book. Nearly halfway through–hurray! The really messy parts were the opening scenes and the upcoming ending scenes. I’m not sure if this says something about my writing or just about this story in particular, but I’m pretty pleased with how the opening has changed after my beta readers gave me the long and the short of the mess I’d made of it first time around. Sheesh! This is exactly why you should never compare your first drafts against another author’s published novel–all those in-between drafts are really necessary!
I also finished up reading the Codex Weekend Warrior contest submissions for my division–26 flash stories of 750 words or less this week. Once I posted my comments, I got to see how my own dear story was faring. Not bad! Not first place by a long shot, but also not the bottom. And I’m getting great comments on how to gussy it up (with additional words, of course!) and get it sold, so you can read it! That’s the real “win” of the contest: more words written, more stories to send out. Wheeee!
And Another Three Things: 1) I will have good news to share with you later, and I’m very excited to do so, but right now I have to sit on my hands and be patient.
2) Soon I’ll have my very first guest post here, which I’m really excited about! You should be, too–it’s cool, and very fun!
3) And finally, I will probably go oddly quiet here now and again. Another family health crisis–2016 isn’t starting off very good that way, and it’s been hard to juggle all the parts of life with another heavy wrench thrown into the game. So thanks for bearing with me.
Keep thinking warm.
Everyday Magic | M. E. Garber 