A balmy wind blew here today, making the black walnuts rain down like artillery. You won’t hear any nuts landing in this clip, but the wind shows up.
But mostly, I am grateful for my vision.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have seen this dead snake out and about with Finn this afternoon, would I? Or the morning sun shining through the bromeliad.
Or been able to stitch and type and make soup.
Today — TA DA — I finished font conversions and created a single document holding the entire novel. Word count: 315,000 plus a little. That’s about 650 pages. Not ideal, but I’m starting on my query letter.
I can’t tell you the relief at moving on!
Love the snake, shame it died! What sort?
Probably a garter snake. It’s the only kind I’ve ever seen around here.
We get them, carpet pythons we call them, pretty harmless unless you’re a chicken.
Yes. My brother when he was little used to catch them. So did my husband. I learned not to be afraid of them (the snakes, I mean).
Ugh, sties are so painfully distracting. I’m glad you are recovering all the gifts that your sight offers. You certainly have beautiful trees in your yard…
I had never had one before. It was truly awful. Two house owners ago, we’re told (or maybe three) was a professional landscaper. We have benefited from his efforts for more than twenty years.
Oh I’m glad your eye is better .. crazy how easy it is to take stuff like seeing for granted. I’ll be looking at things with a more grateful eye in the days to come.
It was a real lesson in exactly that — taking things for granted.
Congrats, Dee! You’ve reached your goal and you’re writing your query letter!! Tremendous milestone.
and so Glad your eye is all good again
Thanks, Maggie! No guarantees of course, but so happy to be onto next things. A neighbor writer has offered to read the whole thing, too.
(((Dee))) congratulations on getting your book finished! Do you have an agent yet? There’s a terrific interview with Andrew Davidson who wrote ‘The Gargoyle’ when he was out here for the Sydney Writers Festival in 2009.
Here’s the link to part 2 of the interview where he talks about first contacting his agent
https://youtu.be/KaCFk2AVQFE
Thanks Mo. I’ve been reading about the process of getting an agent off and on since the spring. I’ll check out the link. I appreciate your sending it.
Congratulations. Not only the wind out in the trees, but a new breath of air from you, full of clarity and beautiful ‘seeing’.
So much thanks in your direction!
cool winds here in Texas (finally) and tiny live oak acorns are falling, nothing like the black walnuts that used to bombard us in Virginia … it’s been ten years, but I remember the sound like it was yesterday!
and 315,000 words … plus all the others that appeared and disappeared through all your revisions … epic … congratulations!
We have epic acorns this year too. You almost need a helmet out there. Flour forming along the curbs where cars have crushed them!
The words came,nudged by history, from an idea, a thought, a need to tell, from research and wondering and connecting to so many emotions, from wanting to bring this front and center…the story fleshed as the words multiplied, probably moving from fits and starts, to a flow.
Dee, through it all, with all that life presented in the last few years, you continued. The words have become chapters, the story becomes a novel. The chapters will be bound with covers, an image will be brought forth on the front cover, an author bio, perhaps an author photo. This is such a monumental achievement, I cannot even begin to imagine how it must have been, how it must have felt when you knew that you could symbolically say, “the end.” 315,000 words pulled from your knowledge, your heart, your sweat, your intuitive sense that this story needed to be told…
and you have…
and we await…
Your words hearten me more than I can say.
I can’t find a comment box on your image transfer post, so I’ll comment here … thank you, thank you, thank you … I have a crazy new idea in my head and this was just what I needed to know!!
and a question: will any “essential oil” work? lavender, for instance?
I’m not sure about any oil, but someone who follows me on Instagram tried lavender and said it worked. To start, I would use eucalyptus, citrus, or lavender until you determine whether your black and white copies have the right kind of toner. Then you could experiment some more. I have lavender oil in the house. I’ll give it a try today, too.