One of the things that kept me cloistered in my office is my new novel. Having missed two years of deadlines I thought I’d better pony up. So I chained myself to my desk for the last six months and ground out a readable draft.

The truth is, it wasn’t the missed deadlines that set me to purpose. It’s the fact that my editor at Random House is soon to depart on maternity leave. The idea of waiting six to twelve months for the book to be read was unthinkable.

As my mother used to say, “an imminent hanging focuses the mind.” So I harnessed my best horses to this book-draft wagon and set to driving. I am proud to say the draft is in my editor’s hands as I write this.

But that’s not all that occupied me. There were taxes and weddings and birthdays and designing an album cover for a new band, and all the things that crop up in spring. And did I mention my new-new writing project…?

We have a large pond system on our land but we leave that to the frogs and ducks in the summer and the lemon-sized tadpoles in the winter. It’s silty and deliciously dark, but not suitable for bathing. Instead, we go to the lake down the road and rustle water in big blue jugs. It takes about four trips to secure enough water to fill the hot tub. Brian braves the ice and freezing water temperature while I ferry jugs back and forth in the car. It’s not an easy task but so worth the effort. Especially at night when the stars and moon grace us with a show. Sometimes it’s hard to see through the steam off the water in the tub, or find your glass of wine in the dark, but we do our best. 

What? Yes. Many things. Like building a website for my new writing project which I can’t tell you about right now. (How’s that for suspense?) And musing over my work in progress. And thinking about the comic strip I want to write. And building a shed (two walls currently stand). And planning some wonderful confection for my friend Cathy’s wedding in September. And gardening. Oh, the gardening.

Needless to say, none of this is moving me closer to meeting my current deadline. I just have to put all these things aside and keep my nose to the proverbial grind until that first draft is done. Because I’m running out of time, dear reader. That much is evident.

The truth is, this WIP of mine is tricksy and petulant. It’s mad at me, and as a result, refuses to talk. Really, it’s just responding to my own ability for distraction. It is summer, after all.

But again, no excuses. I WILL, I MUST tend to my WIP. Because saying it makes it so, no?

But here I am: starting another official page. So far, 31 likes. I have a big hill to climb to get back to where I was.