This week, I am busy with assembling the two latest titles and getting the next round ready. Since my experiment with working on them in batches had me pulling my hair out, in the future, it's going to be more like working on one at a time, week by week up through the end of the year. We have titles set up through January 2010 but I will be taking a couple month break afterward to recharge (and probably catch up) before launching into the 2010 series. I'm a little freaked by about 300 submissions still in the inbox and a month still left to go until the reading period ends, but I'm totally taking the denial route. I can stave off the melt-down til September. This week, it's finishing off the new wicked alice, working on Jen Blair's Outgrowth and cutting the broadsides for Printers Ball.
I plan to have most of this week's work wrapped up in time for next weekend, when I will be heading out of town for some time off work on Saturday, an entire week, in which there will be bridal showers, sitting out under the stars, maybe writing a few poems, reading trashy books, thriftstore prowling, and perhaps, if I'm lucky some Wisconsin State Fair going. I've actually been having a pretty enjoyable low-key summer (outside of lame poetry-related stalker issues and all). Things are humming along nicely compared to previous summers, both personally (no boy drama, no anxiety, no stress, no crying on the bus) and writing-wise (I am half way into the new bookish thing and it's not falling apart yet, nor have I surrendered to heat related legarthy). The weather has been mild and beautiful, and I'm dreaming up new crafty projects for the fall, some of which may finally involve me learning how to use that virgin, untouched sewing machine I bought two summers ago. Usually by the end of July, I'm ready to climb the walls, but I'm much more zen these days. Summer seems to go so ridiculously fast if you don't stop and pay attention.
