It’s been all books, all the time lately. It’s mid-July and Fairy Tale Lust is out in the world and submissions for Dream Lover are about to close. (Guidelines here!) I guess that means it’s time to start thinking about the next book, hmm? 
Fairy Tale Lust seems to be doing well, sliding up and down the top 100 short story collections on Amazon. The highest I’ve seen it is at #6. Very cool. It’s fascinating to see both the print and Kindle versions on the list, the Kindle version usually higher in the rankings. Have e-books finally come into their own? I guess I’ll have to wait for my royalty statement to find out.
Between the book promo, Jay’s crazy work schedule, Patrick’s ever-evolving skill set, an extreme sleep deficit and a cookout or party almost every weekend, the days have been a blur lately and I feel like I have no time for anything. Obsessive list-maker that I am, I haven’t made a list since the beginning of June. That in itself is startling. The fact that I’m keeping up with trying to keep up with things through sheer brain power is terrifying. Being a chronic insomniac has never really impacted my memory until the last few months and I find myself repeating things or getting dates wrong or forgetting things on a quick trip to the grocery store. (Though Jay is far worse than I am about that last one.) I need to get back to list-making. Not only do I forget fewer things and overall accomplish more, I feel like I have a little more control over my day-to-day routine when I’m marking things off on a list. Sometimes.
Things I’ve forgotten or had no energy to do lately:
--Write Patrick’s 7 month letter. He’s now 7 months, 1 week and 2 days. I hope to write that letter by the weekend. Certainly before he turns 8 months old…
--Find a suitable bookshelf and toy box for Patrick’s rather small room. (I think I’m going to go with something like this bookshelf/bin combo from Land of Nod.)
--Schedule a doctor’s appointment and/or massage to get my shoulder looked at/worked on.
--Figure out travel dates for a family vacation to Chicago to see Aunt Sheri.
--Mail in the rebate for my new cell phone. I really must do that soon, if it isn’t too late already. (Checked expiration date on the offer: July 26. Whew.)
--Read. Seriously. I can’t remember the last time I actually read a novel. I’ve read a lot of anthologies (or at least select stories in anthologies), a lot of blogs, a lot of magazine articles. But I haven’t read a book in… months.
--Catch up on the episodes of at least six shows. When I was in the last trimester of pregnancy, I went a little crazy and started recording a bunch of series. Now they’re all sitting there, clogging up the DVR because I have no time/energy to watch. Might have to delete some stuff unwatched.
--Clean out the spare freezer. (Again, I went a little crazy in my last trimester and froze enough food for a village of pregnant women. Said food is now growing icicles and needs to be disposed of stat.)
--Blog about stuff other than Fairy Tale Lust.
--Write. Write. Write. Write.
Complaining aside, life is pretty good right now. Sure, I’m busy. Sure, I’m too tired to think some days. But Jay is home (when he’s not doing field exercises), baby is happy and healthy, my babysitter is awesome and makes my life easier, my friends close and far are rocking my world with love and support, my pretty book is doing well, I’m getting excited to read submissions for my next book and summer 2010 is this beautiful, golden haze of busy days, happy moments and lots of laughter.
What more could I ask for?
How is it possible that Jay has been home from deployment for two weeks already? The time, it flies!! It seems life has gotten busier since he got home, when I expected it to actually slow down a bit. Hmm.
When I’m not checking the advance reviews of Fairy Tale Lust on Amazon, I’m busy doing any of a number of other things. Such as:
--Checking my Dream Lover e-mail account for submissions to Dream Lover: Paranormal Erotic Romance. The deadline is less than two months away! Writers, I need your paranormal erotic romance stories!
--Moderating the Naked Reader Book Club Discussion at Eden Fantasys. Last night was the first book club chat and Alison Tyler’s delicious Afternoon Delight was the book being discussed. Please do join us next Tuesday, June 1, for a new discussion!
--Writing! Slowly, sporadically, but… writing! I’ve had a couple of disappointing rejections lately (boo!) and one very nice sale, pending publisher approval (yay!).
--Co-hosting backyard cookouts. A small one on May 16; a bigger, wetter one on May 23 (and I don’t mean “wetter” in the good sense, stupid rain); and one to come on Memorial Day. Feel free to drop by, have a burger and play a wicked game of no-rules backyard badminton!
--Trying to decide if I really want to go to Orlando in July for the RWA national conference. The change in location has me seriously waffling. I’m thinking the conference money would be better spent on a couple of shorter vacation/book promo trips. And the sad truth is, I don’t have a novel to pitch and that was my main reason for going this year. (Along with the literacy book signing.) Not to mention, many of the people I want to see won’t be in attendance this year. What to do??
--And trying to decide where to go if I don’t go to Orlando. Chicago, to visit Sheri. Portland (Oregon), just because-- and if I can get my friend Shannon to go with me. Where else? I’d like to get in a little family vacation, too. I’m looking forward to traveling with Patrick. I think.
--Adjusting to sharing parenting duties with Jay. This is, for the most part, a very good thing. But it is certainly an adjustment for all three of us!
What have you been up to?
Greetings from sunny Virginia! Wish you were here! I know it seems as if I’ve dropped off the face of the earth the past few weeks, but there has been much going on in this corner of the world…
--As far as I know, Jay will be home in less than 24 hours! I won’t quite believe it until he is actually on the ground in Norfolk, but it looks as if this crazy long deployment is finally over!
--Patrick is five months old! He is rolling over! He is babbling and squealing! He is starting college in the fall! (Okay, it only feels like that...)
--The release date for Fairy Tale Lust is less than two months away! There will be a flurry of activity soon! (And there is a Fairy Tale Lust blog, too!)
--The deadline for Dream Lover is two months away! Have you started writing your story yet??
--Because of the devastating flooding in Nashville, the RWA conference has been relocated to Orlando. I’m still trying to decide whether I’ll be making the trek to my home state (in July) for the conference. Let me know if you’ll be in attendance!
--My sweet Wilbur kitty died on Mother’s Day. He was 20 years old and had been sick for a long time, but it’s still hard to believe he’s gone. His brother from the same litter Orville died 7 years ago and I still miss him. Annabelle has only been gone since last January and I swear I still see her.
--I turned 43 last week. How did that happen? I had a terrific birthday weekend of yummy cocktails, much laughter and a John Hiatt concert. (I still have his autograph on my body!)
--I celebrated my first Mother’s Day over the weekend, too. Pizza with friends and lots of baby smiles. It was almost perfect.
--The coming year is going to be fabulous. I can just feel it.
What’s it all about?
Life. Love. Writing. Editing. Sex. Books. Romance. Movies. Friendship. Photography. Teaching. Coffee. (Lots of coffee.) Travel. Feminism. Academia. Insomnia. Memories. Experiences. Rants. Raves. Reviews. Babies. Pregnancy. Motherhood. Insanity. Musings of an insomniac writer. Want to know more?
