Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

I'm back at work this morning. It was a great vacation--there's something about northern Vermont that just puts me at ease. It's really easy to forget about life for a while and just be. Ahhh. I've really needed that lately.

(That's a pic from near the top of Mt. Washington in NH--husband and son # 2 took a day trip over there. Daughter and I shopped, painted nails, and hung by the pool, reading--which we enjoyed, but I would have loved to have seen these views firsthand.)

Anyway (sniffle, sniffle), back to work today. One of the earliest lessons a new writer learns is to always be working on new material. To have another book ready to go, or a proposal (3 chapters + synopsis), or at the very least be ready with several new ideas. I'm usually the first to say this is a crazy business (because it is), and you just never know what the market will bring. Publishers can cut whole lines without warning, sales can tank, and what's hot right now might be cool as a cucumber next month.  

With that in mind, today I'm working a new book. Yes, another one. The diamond proposal is with my agent for edits, and I'm kind of in writing limbo these days as I wait for revisions on Lucy 3, so why not try something new? It's a cozy with a magical twist, and I'm having fun playing the characters. I started it just before I left on vacation so it's *really* new. So new, that no one's been murdered yet. I need a dead body soon, and it's one of those cases where I knew who died but I hadn't quite figured out why or whodunit.

Being in the car for 15 hours (one way) really helps with that kind of brainstorming. Lots of time to think, think, think while eating Peanut M&Ms (anyone try the pretzel ones yet? Good, bad?). So now I have all the pieces and it should be fairly quick putting them together. The only thing that will hold me back is that this is the beginning of a book, of (hopefully) a series, and I'm a bit (completely) Type A about getting every little detail right. My goal is to have this to my agent by the time I leave for RWA at the end of the month. We'll see how that goes...