I blink somehow and another week slips through. We've had a spate of warmer weather..really warm..at least away from the water. Temperatures more suited for late summer than late spring, but here by the lake, it's still rather mild and cool. The water that remains after a cold spring will till have a cooling effect for a few more weeks, after which I will no doubt be pulling out my fans. Today, I had initially planned to head down to campus to take in the year-end Manifest celebration, but this morning was still a little worried about those rising numbers and potentially being in crowds. I had some work to do on the neighborhood writing project anyway that I hope to finish early next week. I have a big batch of books to make, and some other e-mails to answer and layouts to finalize, so I may be working through the weekend, especially since I plan to head out to Rockford next Friday and so this coming week will have to be a little more condensed.
I am still paused in my next writing exploit and plan to give myself until June 1 to figure out what I am doing, what exactly I'll be working on over the summer. Wil it be more of half completed unnamed mss #14 (I kind of have a name, but am still trying it out in my head). Or will it be the epic project, which as it's name suggests, feels like a hug undertaking I am not sure I am ready to embark on just yet. Toward the end of the summer, I'll start working on edits and finalizing automagic, which I would love to release around Halloween given its spooky, Victorian feel. However, I am still recovering from the final sprint that was animal, vegetable, monster. Over the last couple days, I excitedly sent off signed copy orders that are still filtering in. If you haven't ordered, keep an eye out this week, since I'll be doing a 3-in-1 sale with other recent books.
I've spent this week knee deep in furniture styles (Jacobean, French Provincial, Victorian, Eastlake) and architecture details, as well as another assignment on vintage vending machine cards (this time devoted to TV westerns.) On Monday, I was downtown and thought I smelled lilacs, but realized they were the hyacinths in the planters around the perimeter of the Cultural Center. I was able to sit in the park a little more comfortably than last week under a rein of white petals from the trees, that are now filling in everywhere you look. I swear to god a week ago it seemed like spring would never come, but then it always does in a just a couple of warm days and spreads like wildfire.
