Still Scattered

In spite of my best intentions, I keep managing to get nothing done. Well, not quite nothing, just no book-type writing. Yesterday, there were errands, and then some interview things I needed to do. Plus, I made all the arrangements for a trip to New York in late October, which meant checking with my editors about their availability (because it would suck to go to New York and have them be out of town that week). I also blame Megan Crane for getting me thoroughly and completely sidetracked with a book I'm sure you'll all be hearing a lot more about next year.

Then this morning, I hit the office with all sorts of good intentions, and my DSL connection went down! You'd think that would force me to do something else, like maybe write, but wouldn't you know, there was something that absolutely had to be posted online this morning, and there were also e-mails I was expecting and that I had to send. That meant lots of tinkering, shutting down the computer and DSL modem and restarting, then finally resorting to dial-up to get things posted. Even after that was done, I was so worried about the lack of DSL service, that I couldn't concentrate on anything else until it was fixed, so I was using dial-up to access the customer support site and get a phone number to call for help. Finally, a very cool customer service rep talked me through some things. We updated my DNS settings, and that didn't seem to work, and then we ran a speed test, and then suddenly, all was well. We joked that running the test cleared the clog out of the line -- sort of a telecom Drano -- but she did say that they'd had some outages that may have affected me, and they may have just happened to end while I was on the line.

But now my Internet is back (though doing all that reconfiguration cleared all my cookies, which means I'll have to remember my user IDs and passwords to a bunch of sites). Never leave me again, sweet Internet.

You know how I said I was taking this fall off after I got book 4 turned in? Well, looking at my calendar while planning the New York trip made me realize that I'm not really going to be "off." Next weekend, I'll be going to the parents' house to stay while I attend my 20-year high school class reunion. I can't believe it's been twenty years already. The following weekend is FenCon. Then I do have a few weeks free while I hope to finish this book and maybe get another proposal started.

And that's when the fun begins. I'll be back in East Texas to speak at a conference, then back to Dallas to sing in a cantata the next morning, with a library fundraiser tea that afternoon. The following Tuesday, I leave for New York, home again that Friday night. The following Thursday I head to Austin for the World Fantasy Convention, home probably Monday. Then back to East Texas the next weekend for a booksigning at the Junior League holiday carnival. Whew!!! If I manage to get my house in order during all of that (which was part of the plan), I may make my parents come here for Thanksgiving so I don't have to travel again.

I'm not sure where I got the idea that this fall would offer unlimited time for lounging around with books and totally organizing and redecorating my house, while also writing a couple of book proposals. I've been holding on to that fantasy for so long, imagining what it would be like not to be busy, that it's kind of sad to realize it never was true. Still, I don't think I'll be in the middle of writing a book during the holiday season. I probably won't even have an answer yet on any proposals I get written during the fall. I may have revisions, copy edits and stuff like that, but no actual book writing.

And now, I have to run to the post office. Then, really, honestly, I plan to work. I've also blocked out Saturday for work.