Tuesday, October 21, 2008

varieties of good news

First is that Monday saw the polished ms of The Willow Knot out of the house and into the postal system. 105,000 words, 510 pp in standard manuscript format. Sent via 'expedited mail', which is really just parcel post, but with a tracking number, which by previous experience will work until it hits the US border, or else until it reaches NY, where it will enter some sort of void. Probably a null void.
Anyway, gone baby gone. Now I need to up the wordcount in The Astrologer's Death to something respectable before I hit NaNoWriMo.

Second is that I've heard back about my x-rays and blood tests. No erosion in my joints. I am not a river delta (obligatory de Nile joke here). My blood is also normal, with no RA signs so far.
My ferratin level is crappy again, but I'm almost used to hearing that.
So it seems I'm pretty much a poster girl for methotrexate. The swelling in my left hand knuckles has gone down, though not disappeared, and there hasn't been anything I could definitely call side effects. I have had a mild nausea during the days, but that could just as easily be the cold I'm enduring, which has put my humours sadly out of balance--far more phlegm than blood or choler or black bile.

The pears and plums are all done, with very little waste, so I'm not too guiltstruck. Two apple trees to go, and I'm somewhere into the second dozen of pies I've ever made in my life.

A long drive into the interior last weekend, with gorgeous weather for most of it, that probably deserves a longer post.

And I'm reading manuscripts for a couple of my VPX classmates that are awful damned good.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yay!!! again for you on getting Willow Knot out there. I loved reading it.

Heh. We did double-up on you didn't we? I didn't even think about that 'til now. (At least I think it's double. Not triple or Quadruple but what the hell do I know?) On the bright side, at least the stories are a bit different in flavor.

batgirl said...

Hey Dave! Well, I often read two or three books at the same time, because I don't like hauling hardcovers in my backpack, so I'll have a book by the bed and a book 'on me' sort of thing. So splitting my attention isn't a problem.
But oh yes, quite different reads, and both fast-moving and engaging.
-Barbara

Philippe de St-Denis said...

I'm applying for a writing job with BioWare (again).

Wish me luck!

batgirl said...

Fingers crossed!
-Barbara

Terri-Lynne said...

Is that me? Did I double up on you? Glrggl! Sorry! I have to remember to check your blog more often. You post comments in LJ often enough that it feels like you're there! I never remember that you're NOT until I go on AW and see, 'ok, I have a blog.' I'm going to have to put a tag up at the top of my aol page to remind me! XX

batgirl said...

It's you and Dave, but seriously, don't worry about it. I'm not moving as fast as I'd like, but that's not because of having 2 books to beta, it's because of general disorganisation and those damn apples. And I'm enjoying both mss too much to want to give up either of them.
Come to think of it, I've been commenting on LJ more than I've been posting here, lately, so it's not surprising you forget ;)
-Barbara

Terri-Lynne said...

I have you as a tag up on my toolbar now so I won't forget! I put up Dave's SuperSpiff site too so I can click on it easier when I'm making dinner of something and no one else is around to interupt my listening pleasure. :-D