Sloppy and Slothful

I have been looking for a word that describes my state of being today.The best word to describe me is slothful.The dictionary says...disinclined to work...lazy. Yes, that describes me to a tee.
If it was not so late in the day I would have a nap but then I would never sleep tonight.

Gazing out the window onto a perfectly lovely Spring day just being slothful, watching fat squirrels chase each other up and down trees and loads of birds making a racket and fighting, (I think those squirrels got fat on the walnuts I had left over from baking,) My husband fed them over the winter. Cute little rodents but rodents they are. They had better leave my one and only tulip bulb that has just shown up. They have enjoyed the last bulb as I don't intend to plant any more.

I love gardens and flowers but .....it's so much work. My lilac and forsythia are in bud and my perennial beds are sprouting green shoots. Sounds like I know what I am talking about but that is about the extent of my repertoire. I do recognize roses and pansies and such but I am keen to keep planting perennials as they keep coming back for more sunshine every year.

To go along with the slothfulness, I am wearing....what can I say. I have been praying no one comes to the door or have any unexpected visitors as I am not fit for human edification. Hair needs washed and is pinned back, no makeup and the outfit baggy and ill fitting. I had to go out to the post office so I donned my sunglasses to hide behind, well they are huge, and ended up at the bookstore to read a bunch of magazines. Never met a soul I knew and when I checked my fellow shoppers they looked just like me.

Tonight I will get back to reading Body Perfect. I am now on chapter 10 and really enjoying the story. Seeing it with fresh eyes and don't find much I want to change. We will see what Liz thinks when she gets a hold of it.

Tomorrow is another day and I don't suppose the bank would like my sloppy and slothful ways so I had better pull myself together for another week at the mines.

Talk soon.

Slainte,

Pam

An evaluation

"Bloody Words" received the manuscript today for evaluation. Only three chapters but that is the norm. Roll on June when we will hear if our efforts have been worth it. I have two more to send in the mail tomorrow and then the waiting begins. We may hear in six weeks or six months or not at all. That is the nature of the beast.

This w/e I am starting back at reading Body Perfect to familiarize myself with the characters and the storyline as we have not looked at it for some time. This book is our real baby and we have a lot of fun with the characters. The conference we are attending in June should help us pull some of the finer points of police procedures together and learn some more about forensics and pathology.

The weather appears to be warming up but not quite bikini weather yet. Liz is still extremely busy at work. I am busy at work but... compared to Liz I feel as if I am on a holiday.

Talk soon,
Pam

Easter bunnies and babies

Happy Easter to all. Sunny and bright but still kind off raw. Had a busy w/e with family for dinner Saturday and four of my grandsons. Lots of fun and its always made special with a new baby. Baby Ryan who was born in November and weighed in at 3lb 4ozs is now a whopping 10lb 2ozs and is a delight, although I have heard that he has now found his lung capacity. Maybe I will wait until he goes to high school before I offer to babysit.
The picture on the left was taken quite a few years ago, in fact 41 years ago and just wanted to let you know the hair was not always grey/white.
I think I have the hang of the picture downloading, if that's the word. I won't bore you with anymore.

Today I was busy writing letters and getting the manuscript ready for the mail on Tuesday. Most agents only want two or three chapters. I hope the printers can do them in one day. My printer is on the blitz. We have a deadline of April the 15th for our submission to" Bloody Words" for evaluation.

I heard from Liz this morning and she was off to dinner tonight. She has another new cat and it is best if she describes him for you. LOL He is called NITRO. Oh maybe its a she. How sexist!!!

Lots have tomorrow off as a holiday but we are back at the mines tomorrow. Hope you all had lots of chocolate as no one would let me have any. Hmmp!

Talk soon,
Pam

Spring cravings

When it gets to this time of year I long for plants and flowers, so yesterday I treated myself to some tulips. It is also a time to crave asparagus and strawberries. Not that we can't get them all year round at inflated prices no less, but that they seem to taste different as well.
Yesterday Liz was supposed to spend the whole day with me but the paying job... was calling and she had to work overtime. However when she did get here we had quite a profitable afternoon before we tucked into a slow cooked pot roast and fruit crumble. Nothing like comfort food to...well comfort you.

We decided to go to the conference in June and hopefully the taxman will help us pay for this investment in Jamie Tremain.
Reading the first two chapters we still fiddled around with little words but we are definitely finished and it is being sent out to three agents this week. One American, one British and one Canadian. That will leave us free to go back to Body Perfect as it may be months before we ever hear from them. That is just the nature of the business. An editor will evaluate the manuscript at Bloody Perfect. Will tell you more about the conference when we get an agenda.

Easter next w/e and hope to spend time with a couple of grandsons. Not sure about the weather but as long as the sun is shining.

Talk later,
Pam

The Final(?) Draft.....

.....is completed and printing as I blog.

Can this really be the last edit? Well until an agent, editor or publisher requests more, then I intend for this to be the final draft. I'm going to try and print off two copies (oh! a laser printer would be wonderful right now!) so that Pam and I will each have our own working copy for our get together next Saturday.

The word count never went much beyond 77,000 words all the way through this last draft. I would take a re-count at the end of each completed chapter and was amazed to see so little variation, even with small additions and revisions along the way. I may still need to do some general fomatting, but that will be just before we decide to send to a printer for the bound copies which Pam mentioned in her comments earlier today.

Now that this draft is done, I must turn my attention to that much-dreaded rite of the spring season - filing income tax papers....grrrr...ugh....drat... I'm sure you get the picture!

The day started quite drearily, cold, grey and rainy. However the sun has returned and even though it is cool, it certainly feels like spring. I saw a red-winged blackbird today, another harbinger that winter's grip is fast fading.

Monday looms once again, with work's deadlines and volumes.

I'm quite pleased with the new business cards and for the next order will remember to include this blog address! After all its an important part of who Jamie Tremain is.

Have a good week.

Cheers!

Morphing

It's a dark,dreich morning and the forecast is for rain all day. After this endless winter we need the rain to clean up the last of the dirty snow and get the bulbs popping. The trees are starting to bud and that's a sure sign of Spring.

The plan today is to answer all those emails in my in-box with red flags and get organized. I have been trying to get my printer and camera working and if I would only take the time to read the instructions...

Liz is planning to spent next w/e with me as we wrap up our baby Madelaine. We will bind two copies for ourselves and have copies made for the agents that are beating down our doors!. I am all for promoting but once we have an agent we will be in a better position to push for publication. We have new business cards that look like bookmarks that are very neat. Our other expenditure is our plan to go to our first conference in June. We will see what the income-tax man says.

My reading on the subject of self promoting is to get out there and let agents and publishers know who you are. We have picked "Bloody Words" , a conference for Mystery readers and writers. This is a genre we both love and one of our favourite authors, Louise Penny is the guest speaker. Networking is the name of the game and to listen and learn. Agents will be on hand to read manuscripts.
Now "Madelaine" is not what you would call a Mystery as we have pegged the genre Mainstream/ fiction or Commercial/fiction. We are still evolving as writers and as our query letter says we are emerging writers . I feel like a butterfly morphing.

I am in discussions with my daughter-in-law Leanne to help with the marketing.
She is on maternity leave from her job and has had a very successful career in Sales and Marketing. Leanne has been busy making contact with people she knows who have published, albeit self publish, and I know she is always full of great ideas.

The conference we plan on attending is in Ottawa at the beginning of June. It will take a chunk of money but I think it is an investment in Jamie Tremain and hopefully we can claim it back on income tax next year. My other justification is that we deserve a treat after two years of writing our Masterpiece!

Work, the one we get paid for, is extremely busy. We moan about it and complain as there are a million other things we would like to be doing. On the other hand so many people are losing their jobs and my heart goes out to them. I have been there and it is demoralizing to be laid off or downsized.

The rain is still hammering on the windows and I am glad I did not wash the windows as I planned yesterday. You don't believe me?The thought crossed my mind for about two seconds as I was scouring out the toilet bowl. Once I sat down for a cup of java and a well deserved rest the thought was gone.

Write later,
Pam

**** The word DREICH is the Scottish vernacular for a dreary wet and miserable day.

A quacking we will go!

It has taken me about an hour or more to finally get this picture on the blog. Technology is grand when it works but I am exhausted just doing this. Are they not a good looking bunch of grandsons.?
Riley is 13 ,Westyn is 10 and Aidan is six. They all have siblings. Riley's brother Damian is three, Westyn has a sister Penelope who is 5 months and Aidan has the new guy Ryan who is 3 months.
The boys have been with me since Friday evening and when they were not eating they were playing video games until I sent them out for some fresh air. A hectic game of sword fighting and a hike around the ravine tired them out for a bit. They all enjoy drawing and reading. I asked them to critique Madelaine but I did not get any offers .
Sunday afternoon and the boys have gone so I have some much needed down time before going back to the fray tomorrow. Liz and I gave ourselves some homework this w/e so I must get it done. Will give you the results of that later. It's all about the "Genres".

My plan is to go for a walk in the very welcome sunshine, have a nap,dinner and then spend the evening writing.
It's mating time with the ducks at the pond at the back of our house. Peter was wakened with lots of quacking and fighting amongst the ducks. A conquest was made. Later in the morning he pointed out Mr Duck walking behind Mrs Duck going for a walk. Just as it should be! No idea where they were going. Perhaps looking for a bit of privacy.

Talk soon. I will let you know if we get any baby ducklings.

Slainte,
Pam

March Moanings

The entire month of February flew by and I didn't post once! Not that I didn't have anything to say mind you - but this is a public site after all! I come home absolutely drained mentally most days, but now that the days are getting longer and (hopefully!) spring is in the air, perhaps it will serve as a good tonic for this weary soul.

It's good to have Pam back at work, and even better to know that her vision is much improved...our eyesight is worth so much and to have it impaired doesn't bear thinking about...one of my greatest fears, so let's not go there right now!

Although I haven't been blogging, I have been chipping away at the fourth draft and am into the home stretch. We have decided on no more submissions until we have that polished draft printed and ready to send at a moment's notice! That way we can also more fully concentrate on Body Perfect, which I am missing very much and long to get back to. Ideally the time we have spent on revising Madelaine will serve as good experience when we finally get back to Paul and Dorothy, and may save us at least one draft revision.

Numerous lottery groups at work, and individual ticket purchases, have so far netted us $0 - the result being that we continue our daily trek to our desks and bide our time until we have publishing success.

My oldest grandson turned 6 last week! Seems like only yesterday I was anxiously pacing the hospital corridor with other family members waiting for Michael's arrival. And now Michael has a younger brother and two cousins. A joint birthday party is planned this Saturday for Michael & Noah as their birthdays are only days apart. It's always fun to see them altogether and hope the four of them will continue to grow up as close friends.

Well today is my one day a week late shift...that means working from 11 to 7 pm...which for me is unbelievably hard to adjust to. I have been an early riser for 30 years and so continue to wake at my usual time. By 4 pm I have no more mental energy left and wonder at the value I can really contribute during those last three L O N G hours. I'm not home till almost 8 pm, and in bed less than an hour later, only to be back at work within 12 hours. Wednesdays likewise are almost totally spent in a fog trying to recover from Tuesday's late hour!

This morning, just to add to the fun of the day, I have scheduled a regular dentist appointment. So after being picked, flossed, and polished I'll make my way down the highway to begin my day's work - and more than ready for a good cup of coffee!

So let the day begin - may you have a good one.

Cheers!

Liz

It's looking very shiny!

It has been a long time between posts but we are still here slogging away with the manuscript. Every time Liz and I read a chapter we find something else to correct or change. I read a great deal about submitting. Revise, revise, revise,they tell you until it is polished within an inch of it's life. Well it's looking very shiny now so....... upward and onward.

I have been home from my paid job all week as I had a cataract operation Tuesday. The last six months have been a trial with my hearing and then my eyesight. Now I have the new aids that I am enjoying and being able to see is a great feeling. Treated myself to a new hairdo so I am good to go!!

The weather here has turned positively balmy at 16 degrees. The sun has been shining all day and the large lumps of grey snow are gradually melting. It suits my mood and maybe, I said maybe, I will start walking again tomorrow. Start slow and see how I get on.

Liz has been having car problems but its all fixed now. We will have to sell lots of books if our cars keep costing us the money that they do. They are a necessary evil in Canada and taking public transit, if you don't live downtown is next to impossible. Liz lives nearly an hours drive from work and I have about 30 mins on a good day.

Many years ago when my mother was on a visit from Scotlandand we picked her up at the Airport. We were driving on a sixteen lane highway on the way to our home. Out of the blue my mother asked us where the bike lanes were!! Now, this is one of the busiest highways with a speed limit of 100km an hour. We were speechless as it had never occured to us that most places in the world used bikes. It took many years for bike lanes to be added to the roadways here, but not to that 16 laner.

Hope the w/e weather holds and of course we loose and hours sleep with "Spring Back". I intend to start reading Body Perfect to get into the skin of Delicious Dorothy and the handsome Paul Barrone. I have some ideas for their next adventure but have to finish this one first.

Talk soon.
Slainte,
Pam

Lazy Day

It's almost noon on a Sunday and I am still in my jammies. Just a lazy day and pottering around. The weather is sunny but freezing and I don't do freezing especially with a wind. I have another week to go before my cararact operation and I cannot wait until I can see again. I was thinking of ordering a white cane but think I will wait.

Liz has been through the wringer and is up to her neck in work so when she gets home she is not fit for anything. Lets hope it dies down sometime soon. But saying that she is still managing to format the last chapters. We have found a publisher closer to home that we are submitting to this week. We will continue to let you know when we submit. Different agents and publishers may never get back or take about 6months to answer you so you can be assured we will inform our loyal friends who read this when we do hear.

This afternoon if I can finally get dressed I am visiting my old friend Bertha. Bertha is 92 and a wonder of wonders. Still lives in her own apartment and cleans up after the cleaning lady. Drives her car and takes other oldsters for shopping and appointments. My husband & I love to listen to her stories and when you were born in 1916 there are many. I will take my tape recorder today.
Talk soon.

Slainte, Good health

Pam

The Big Thaw

The big thaw has started and when I was busy slaving away with Liz doing line edits on the book, my house was flooding. Jammed ice from the eaves were melting around the windows and maybe in the ceiling. Plaster had fallen on MY side of the bed and carpets sodden. The downstairs fireplace pilot light was out and water was splashed onto the glass doors. UGH!!. Was I glad not to be at home. I must in all reality leave this to my husband. At the moment I have enough to contend with trying to see and hear, but......
Tonight I was fitted with the latest in hearing aids and they are brilliant. I hardly know I am wearing them. Next thing is the sight and I will be good as new.

The w/e went fast as Liz and I did a line edit of many chapters and are halfway through the fourth draft. It was fun reconnecting with the story and acting it out as we added and subtracted to polish some sentences. This, we have assured ourselves is the final draft!!

I had been working on a list of agents to approach with the manuscript. Lesson learned. What we found was that some were too good to be true. Glad we checked as we could waste a lot of time and get very frustrated. So we have narrowed it down and will work with a few to get us started.

The w/e was not all work as we had dinner out Saturday night and breakfast on Sunday morning after Liz and her friend Rebecca fed a bunch of wild cats they look after.
I will have Liz over here for a w/e as soon as we get the water situation cleaned up.

Talk soon,

Slainte,
Pam