Friday, May 23, 2008

Working In "The Outside Office"


Today was a good day for writing.

In my part of the world, the window of opportunity for being outside and actually getting some work done is very small. You have to fit it in a) before it gets too hot and b) before the mosquitoes hatch. I did get bitten a few times during this session, but not persistently enough to drive me indoors. You can't see it, but there's an emergency tube of cortisone cream on the table for just such occasions.

For ambiance, I've got red begonias in the pots this year instead of the usual pink ones -- and one leftover impatiens I didn't have room for anywhere else. And there's the ubiquitous AlphaSmart.




And here is the "ceiling" -- there was a tufted titmouse on the big wild cherry tree limb, but it flew off when I reached for the camera. (What? You don't write with a camera?)

























And here is one of the "office help" -- a male bluebird in the birdbath just to my left. Bluebirds were very common here when I was a child, but they had all but disappeared until just recently. Thanks to a tremendous conservation effort in the state, they're back. I don't get to see them this close very often. Usually, they're just flashes of blue across the yard.

Isn't he beautiful?



This concludes our tour for today...

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Yay! (Almost)


I think I have an August 2009 release date for THE FIRST BOY I LOVED -- or FIRST BOY I LOVED -- I'm not sure about the "THE" being a part of the title. I'm also not sure whether BLACKBERRY WINTER will be released with it. There's a possibility it will be my other orphan, THE MARINE, instead.

More later...

There, There, Cheryl

I've had some really, really good covers in my time. Like BLACKBERRY WINTER and THE PRISONER. And I've had some that were...oh, I don't know...not quite what I had in mind?

Mills & Boon has just released my Navajo/Paratrooper book, MEDICINE MAN, in the U.K. (For which I and my varying non-deductible dependents are very, very grateful.) But the cover is...well, it's...

You take a look:


(sigh)