Sandy Words

Postcard

Sun, glasses, sand, shells, crabs, kids, coconut, breeze, umbrellas, surf, dolphins, tan, sunburn, ball, hard, soft, bounce, bikini, tanks, tankini, skirts, coverup, Pink, Speedo, ugghhh, airplane, tour boat, cigarette boat, fishing boat, sport boat, jet ski, parasail, advertising boat, helicopter, camera, sculpture, mermaid, crab, dog, shovels, rakes, hoes, sandals, slippers, bottles, bare, back, bareback, breasts, thighs, chests, hair, knees, butts, bacon, sausage, waffles, pancakes, sticky, buns, eggs, omelettes, muffin, pannini, French, Spanish, Russian, English, Long Island, Jersey, tomatoes, Virginia, ham, Greek, feta, Italian, provolone, Swiss, swiss, American, garden, spinach, chefs, pasta, Caesar, cobb, corn, Chianti, Cabernet, Sauvignon, Blanc, Franc, Zinfandel, baked, potato, asparagus. beans, mixed, pork, tenderloin, steak, chicken, free-range, ribs, sushi, lobster, scallops, shrimp, oysters, bouillabaisse, clams, calamari, crab, cake, gelato, ice, cream, DREAM.

The Editor

The manuscript for "Great Heats" is with the editor. Although I am confident that this is a good story, sending it to her causes some apprehension in me because she is the first person outside a small number of family to read it, or parts of it.

I am prepared to receive her grammatical changes because I know that that is not my strong suit. I am better with a broad brush, rather than cutting a fine line of paint/punctuation/periods. The Chicago Style Manual is her expertise but is a black hole to me.

The important first chapter was a struggle for me to re-write. My first pass was too wordy, too expository without reason. Going back and dropping this scene or shortening a section was painful and laborious. Maybe the result is still not good enough. What if the editor hates it? Wants me to re-arrange sections? Throw sections out?

I have to stop thinking this way.

The artist I am working with has finished her work and the illustrations are ready to be inserted in the best possible place to maximize the impact of the story; I am still waffling on where that "best possible place" is.

There continue to be many loose ends to tie up on this book, but I can't find the drive to tackle them. Maybe the interruptions of the June windstorm or planning for the Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia trip or the preparations for a new roof and new windows, or the vacation at the Shore -- maybe these distractions are causing me to lose my concentration, my continuity.

But surely, I can still multi-task!

Or... perhaps my attention, my focus, is taken because, possibly... I am falling in love with my next book involving the Deccan Traps of India. Hmmm. Let's see. "The sky grew suddenly darker over the ancient steppes as a storm blew out of the Himalayas with revenge in mind."

"Life is a flower of which love is the honey."
~~ Victor Hugo, 1802-1885, Author Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame