In the name of updatery

Did you know that if you don’t write a blog post, nothing happens? I mean, no words magically appear? It’s exactly like book writing. If you don’t write the words, they don’t just show up on the screen. Darnit.

I’ve been scrambling recently. I’m working on the copy edits for Blood Winter. This is the stage where the manuscript comes back to me after having been checked over by a copy editor who looks for grammar, consistency, and a few other things. I have to check and make sure any changes that were made are good. Now one of the things that happens is the like/as if change. Basically a lot of people don’t use as if in appropriate places. They say like. So even though a lot of those likes have been changed to as ifs in the manuscript and I have to change some of them back. Why? For voice.

Included in the Copy edits are some notes from my editor for cleaning up some stuff, so I’ve got to do that at the same time. I’m hoping that in making those revisions I’m not introducing a lot of errors.

I has a post up on SF Signal this week on Monarchies in secondary fantasy and why they are so common. I’m part of a group of writers talking about it and it’s really fascinating. If you haven’t read it, go, because it really makes you think.

I’ve also been trying to get read to go on a trip to Oregon. Basically, if you don’t know, my husband got laid off here and his asshole boss told unemployment that he quit voluntarily (despite witnesses that said otherwise.) There’s absolutely no work around here, so he applied in Oregon, and got 4 interviews and 3 offers. One of which he took. That was almost 3 months ago. So we’ve been living apart and it’s fucking hard. I don’t like it at all. This is all until the house sells. So send good house selling vibes.

Anyhow, we’ll be going to visit him for a month. Can’t wait. But that means doing some preparation here. So I’ve been doing that.

Then I’ve been having a weird problem with one of the dogs. He’s really attached to me. In the past week he’s been acting really funny in a way he hasn’t before. For instance: I went to put them out the other day and he didn’t want to go at all, even though I knew he had to pee. He’d been in the house awhile. I went outside with them, and he stayed on the top of the back steps like he was terrified. Then I tried to coax him down and he peed down the steps. Finally he came about a foot onto the lawn and peed and then wanted immediately back in. he’s only done that once, but it was very strange. Like he was afraid to come outside.

Then at night, the boys usually sleep in crates. Always have. They usually like their beds. Except lately both have been reluctant to go on and Voodoo (peedog from above) has been going to my side of the bed and cringing down to the floor when I come to ask him if he wants to go to bed. So last night I let him sleep with me. I couldn’t bring myself to force him into his house. I don’t know if all this change is because my husband isn’t here and they are starting to feel that, or if it’s something else. Don’t suppose any of you have ideas?

Right now, btw, he’s sprawled out on the arm of the couch as I type this because he’s feeling needy. And he’s part cat. It makes it very difficult to type. You might think that if I moved my laptop he would take my lap, but no, he likes the arm. The other dog, however, would come running and jump up.

Did I mention to you the limb that fell down during a storm last week? It fell nearly on a friend and on the fence. The damage to the fence wasn’t horrible, but it did need repair. Last night the fence guy came and I swear you can’t tell that anything happened to the fence. It’s amazing.

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