Pet Torture

I saw these pet costumes in Walmart before Halloween, and would have loved to see an animal wearing one of them (particularly the headless horseman).  A dog would have been cuter, but a cat, waaay more hilarious…but sadly, I didn’t see any pets in costume on the big day.

So I was delighted to see this picture blogged. It looks just as kooky as I imagined.
I promise to be back with a post about something slightly meatier than this soon.
Posted in Halloween, pets on 11/14/2010 03:59 am | 3 Comments

Final Round?

I got my first revision letter.  Well, really it was a short email with my manuscript attached in Word and comments added with the track changes feature.  (The dreaded red pen has been replaced by intrusive red font)  I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this.  Basically I was told in six or seven comments to up the tension a bit, increase the pacing, etc.  And there were no comments at all after page 76. 
I don’t know why, but I suppose I was under the impression that I was submitting a diamond in the rough.  Of course, I personally though it was totally polished before I submitted to my agent, but the two of us certainly went some rounds in the editing process, and I have no doubts that the book is infinitely better for her nudging, recommending, and suggesting.  Still, I imagined that my editor would then take my submission and finesse it into something magical, something that was still mine but transcendently better.  And it will be better, I’m sure, once I follow her succinct little instructions.  But it’s almost as if she left it untouched.  And while I’m thrilled, I’m also a little nervous.

Having read the eloquently written dedications and acknowledgements of some authors to their editors, I suppose I imagined the editing would be more of an obvious collaboration.  Maybe Book 2 will be like that, seeing as I only have one year to submit it and not years to polish it up to perfection.  But maybe not, seeing as my agent will get the first look at it.  Maybe she’ll finesse it in all the right ways so my next revision letter will be just as short.  One can hope.

Posted in edits on 11/10/2010 05:26 pm | 7 Comments

Fabric, thread, and batting

 Yesterday I made a day of it, bustling into the city for the annual Houston International Quilt Festival. Half quilters’ market, half showcase, there were some amazing things to see. And, of course, I have pictures to share…but I forgot my camera, so these are pictures snapped with my phone.

And a little bit of fabric art…
Posted in quilt show on 11/05/2010 02:24 pm | 8 Comments