Lilith Saintcrow

The Essay of DOOOM is now finished. My brain can uncramp and return to normal functioning. Well, normal-for-me functioning, I guess. Part of being under a tight, tight deadline is that once one has managed the impossible, it takes a while for the twitching and frothing to die down. So I should really get on the wordcount I need to be cranking out, and take another look at that edit letter, and there’s the hoovering to be done, and more dishes, and…

…you know what? I’m going to set the timer for twenty minutes and take a nap. Because thinking of everything I have to do is just making me run barking in circles. And that’s not good for anyone.

Regular blogging will return tomorrow. Peace out.

I’ve been hard at work on a project that’s under tight deadline–you know, when you get invited in because you’re someone’s Only Hope, things can get crazy. As Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi both found out. Heh.

So, first of all, I’m announcing the winners of the two signed copies of Jealousy! With the help of Random.org, I picked two commenters. The books go to:

#33, KLD, who said: So, so, so, so, so excited for Jealousy to come out! Huzzah!

And #67, A. Rick, who said: I am so excited for Jealousy!!!

Me too, guys! Me too. Now, listen carefully: use this link to drop me an email with your snail-mail addresses and I will get the books posted for you. You must, as I said, be in the US.

I’m chasing my own tail trying to get this thing finished and turned in on short notice, so that’s it for today. Go forth and be awesome, dear Readers. Today is your day.

Over and out.

ETA: This just landed in my inbox–a chance to win the upcoming Dark And Stormy Knights anthology! Come on, you know you want it…

I do have errands to run. I’m not going to run them. As a matter of fact, I am in full-fledged revolt against the idea of leaving the house today, not least because I suspect I will hurt someone if I go out. I am incredibly cranky today. I suspect I may be coming down with a cold, which only adds. So, today is short but sweet.

There’s an interview with me and giveaway for Strange Angels over at Tynga’s Reviews. Also, Issendai posted a followup to the sick systems post, in which s/he points out that it’s our virtues, not our vices, that keep us trapped in sick systems. Which is a good point.

There’s also a cranky agent cherrypicking the worst sentences out of his/her slushpile and putting them anonymously on Tumblr. I won’t lie. This amuses me mightily because I worked slush for a while. There will no doubt be another queryfail tempest in a teapot over this. We already know how I feel. In addition to being comedy gold, this is valuable advice, offered for free, about what NOT to do on a query. Nuff said.

I’ve got wordcount and proof pages to kick ass on today. One thing about being incredibly cranky: it makes me awful productive. Off I go, then. If you hear screaming, it’s just the Muse as I throw her in the traces and get out the whip. We’re taking no prisoners today.

Over and out.

Hey, you. Yes, you, the novel I’m writing. Don’t you dare stand there and look innocent. Listen up.

Resistance is futile. You will be written. We can do this the hard way–I’ll keep going through blood and thunder, and we’ll continue fighting all the way through zero draft and initial revision–or the easy way, where you just open up and let me see the whole thing. Either way, you will be written. I know vaguely what happens, and I have no compunction about throwing a wrench or two until the Muse sits up and takes notice. (Oh, yes, my Muse, I’ve noticed that you’re just laying there instead of working. What, you think I’m blind? No more bonbons until you get cracking.)

Because as much as you want to jerk me around, dear novel-I’m-writing, mine are still the fingers you’re going to have to go through in order to be fully born instead of remaining half-dreamed what-ifs. I’ve been patient, and I’ve been kind. Today I am intent and focused.

You’ve been warned.

In other news, last week just flew by, including our trip to the Oregon coast. Cannon Beach was lovely this weekend; the weather was great and the driving shook loose a lot of plot points inside my head. We also visited Seaside and Astoria, and in the end it was a very sleepy and sandy crew who arrived home, exhausted but happy, yesterday. It was nice to go and have fun, but even nicer to come back. I travel well, but there’s nothing like home.

This weekend also taught me that I’m a lot better at navigation than I ever thought possible, especially with a compass stuck to my dashboard. Who’d'vethunkit? For a long time I’ve been the sort of person who could get lost going down to the corner store. No longer. Of course, most of the credit goes to the GPS on my phone and the relief of having a reliable car. But I’ll still take a definite slice of credit for being willing to get lost in the first place.

Now I’ve got a vampire attack to revise and some teenage-male territorial snorting and grunting to write. It should be fun; and it will keep my mind off the slow-burning irritation I’ve been feeling most of the day.

At least, it will give me something to channel that irritation toward. Hey, whatever works. No matter what I’m feeling, it all goes to serve the work. Everything goes into that maw, one way or another. It gets chewed up and transmogrified, and at the end of the day I’ve remade the world.

You hear that, novel-I’m-writing? One way or another. That’s a promise. *cracks knuckles*

Over and out.

The Friday writing posts will return next week, on April 30th. Until then, you can find all my previous Friday posts here. Take heart–this will only be a brief hiatus.

Sometimes life just sits up and starts acting crazy, just when you thought you had everything strapped down and gagged…