Thursday, October 05, 2006

The Gourmet's Still Galloping

Today's t-shirt (yes, finally a non-repeat -- I really need to do laundry): Shindig, Wildwood, New Jersey, September 2003. Ah, the trip that helped start it all. I was already working on the idea for my series, but I got serious when I decided to add a few days in New York onto my Shindig trip to New Jersey. That was when the characters really started coming to life in my head. You may also recognize the setting.

The infant dose of Benadryl seems to be helping with the ragweed issues (plus, a front came through, which may have also helped). It still makes me groggy, but there seems to be a pattern. There's a window of about two hours in which my symptoms are better and I'm reasonably alert. Then I spend a couple of hours really groggy. I just have to time my day so that I work as much as I can during the clear periods. I can actually write while loopy from Benadryl, but revision is harder when I can look at words and just see individual words without being able to form them into sentences or even a story. You can't fix a plot from a big-picture perspective when all you see are individual words.

It may not really feel like fall (other than the ragweed), but the Galloping Gourmet is still hard at work, mostly because I got so bored with what I was eating. After trying a few of the Rachael Ray recipes, I have to ask what army that woman is feeding. I can eat for a week on one of her recipes. Last week, I made this macaroni and cheese dish with broccoli and chicken, and I reduced it by a third, and I still got something like six meals out of it. I knew the soup I made earlier this week would make a ton, but I put up four 1-2 serving packets in the freezer plus had about two servings in a refrigerator dish after eating the soup for dinner that night. Supposedly, it would serve four. I guess that's four sumo wrestlers. I made my first risotto last week, and it was really good. Though it probably wasn't the most appropriate meal to eat while watching My Name is Earl. I felt like I should have been eating something made with Velveeta.

I have about six more chapters to revise, and they're the ones that require the most work. I've got about an hour of grogginess left, so I think I'l fit my "but this is haaaaaaarrrdddd!" whining in now. I'd love to finish tomorrow afternoon so I can enjoy the weekend guilt-free.

And now, I've got another Out of the Blogosphere book. As a reminder, this is a group of authors who write fantasy or paranormal books with romantic elements, and we team up to tell our readers about the other books and spread the love around. The book this time is Seduced by Magic, a sensual fantasy romance by Cheyenne McCray. When a spell backfires, Copper Ashcroft finds herself in a mysterious Otherworld, where she meets Tiernan, a warrior also pulled into that realm. To save their city from the demons of the underworld, they have to join forces and fight a passion that has bewitched them both. More more info on this book and an excerpt, you can visit Cheyenne's web site.

No comments: