WHISPERINGS
Not much to report here. In October, my agent Robert sent Along Came a Demon to one of the editors who showed interest when Robert presented it at the Frankfurt Book Fair. They passed, which is a nicer way of saying it was rejected. Robert is going to wait till January to send the manuscript out again, as according to him editors don’t look at new submissions over December.
If you’ve read my earlier posts, you know I decided to hold back on Demon on a Distant Shore in favor of making Dead Demon Walking book three in the Whisperings series. I have now finished the first draft. This is just the beginning. There will be a lot of revision on more drafts before I get to the final version. If I don’t have a publishing contract when Dead Demon Walking is ready for publication, I shall self-publish as I did the first two books in the series. Then on to the fourth in the series: Demon Demon Burning Bright. I don’t know whether to be excited or intimidated by the prospect of writing this book. This is the one in which all questions will be answered: why Tiff sees demons (Gelpha) and dead people, where she came from, who she really is. Can I pull it off? God, I hope so!
After that, I will write Whisperings adventures. I’m sure Tiff can get into enough trouble to carry her through a few more books.
FAREWELL McKLUTZY
I modeled Tiff’s Scottish terrier McKlutzy on my two boys Angus and Duncan. My Facebook friends know I recently lost my dear little friend Angus. He was only nine and taken too early. On Friday October 29th he was his usual self, bouncing around the house with his toys and his best friend Duncan. Sunday afternoon, he was gone. I think about him all the time. I still cry.
Thank you, friends, for your understanding, kind words and condolences.
The picture above is one of my favorites, of Angus and the dog who did as much to rear him as I did, my Bearded Collie Sweep, who passed away six years ago.
I hope they are together again.
SERENDIPITY
Four days after Angus went into the long, last sleep, a kitten walked into our garage and refused to leave. I am not a cat person, but I can’t see an animal suffer, and this kitten was obviously lost. I advertised, but nobody claimed it, so apparently I am stuck with it. Duncan likes the company, so I shall care for it the best way I can.
With apologies to my cat-loving friends who admire the felines for what they call a cat’s independent spirit and I call “I don’t give a rat’s ass” – cats are stupid! My dog doesn’t yowl for food at the pantry and refrigerator every time they are open. My dog doesn’t climb into the pantry and refrigerator, and the dishwasher. One morning I came upstairs to hear yowling and found the kitten shut in the pantry. My husband did not notice it got in there when he was getting his breakfast cereal. It was in there for two hours. Did the adventure cure it of the habit? No!
My dog does not persist on trying to get on my lap every time I read a book or open the laptop on my knees. Apparently, a cat lacks the intelligence to know when “no” means NO! My dog doesn’t rake its claw over the furniture, either. Feed a cat and it’s your friend, do something it doesn’t like and it gets seriously pissed off. Cat’s do not forgive and forget. After it came back from the vet and its first series of shots, it ran outside and didn’t come back for four hours, until time to be fed. It’s going to hate me next week when I take it back to the vet for a little surgery.
My vet said the cat turning up when it did was serendipity; the aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident. In other words, she thinks that the kitten arriving when it did was a happy event. I don’t agree.
Okay, so it’s not a bad little thing. It’s actually kind of cute.
DRAMA IN EDEN
Two weeks ago we had the strongest winds I’ve known since moving into the mountains and something happened to the power lines across from our house. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but the top of the post was wonky and wires sagging. I looked out to see smoke drifting from the pole. When the wind blew stronger, I saw flame. How does a bit of smoke and tiny flame classify as drama? Our little valley is densely wooded and at that time of year covered in long, dead grass and dead leaves. A spark could take out the entire mountainside, and all the homes on it. I called the dispatcher at 3:10 PM and a fire truck and sheriff turned up 15 minutes later. They blocked the road until 4:30, when a Utah Power truck arrived. The fire department sprayed the pole. Everyone drove away.
At 6:10 PM a fleet of vehicles arrived. In the darkness, I could not tell exactly what they were. I think there were seven of them. Those utility guys are marvelous. Working with only the lights on their hardhats, they put up a new pole and transferred the wires.
We were without power for six hours.
If it happened today, no bother. The dry grass and leaves are now under twenty-two inches of snow. Several storms rolled in last week with strong wind, sleet, and snow. The roads were very slick; even with four-wheel-drive, I slalomed all over the place and was close to going off the edge of the road on one particularly nasty bend. Then, last night, we had an almighty blizzard. I think the entire state of Utah went into panic mode when TV and radio stations announced a “blizzard alert.” Schools closed. Workplaces took the day off. But up here in the Wasatch Mountains it was business as usual. Blizzards are nothing new where I live.
I haven’t named the kitten yet, although it has been upgraded from “kitty” to “the cat.” It’s ash gray with white feet, a white bib and white under its chin. Any suggestions?
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