No way to salvage that one. So I walked. I might have continued to fight it out, but they don't pay me. And there's no way I was losing precious sleep for something that wasn't going to work at that point.
Anyway, I won't belabor. It was a mess. I probably contributed to it, but what's done is done. I'm not one to hold onto grudges or savor the anger. The only one who suffers when that's done is me, so I've learned to cut my losses and let go.
Let's see... other stuff. I have about 40-60 rows left in my shawl. I need to knit another 3 patterns (each "pattern" is 20 rows) and then see if it's big enough. I meant this baby to be big and comfy and something I can truly wrap up in. And I'm not going to shortchange it so I can be done with it. I'm tempted, but I will resist that temptation.
Other news... Only 5 weeks left of work. I can't wait for it to end, but I'm also seriously tempted to work some extra shifts. Last year, I was able to bank about $4K to carry us through the drought of summer without the job. This year, I haven't been able to bank anything. And I still have deposits to make for college next year and prom dresses to buy and all that kind of senior stuff. Extra shifts would surely help the budget and it's not like I have to do it for three months or so. With only 5 weeks left, I can see that tiny, itty bitty light at the end of the tunnel and I could probably manage a few extra shifts just to get over that hump. We'll see on that one.
A friend of mine who's sold about a dozen books to Harlequin said they have a new e-line they're introducing--Spice Briefs. 5K to 15K words specifically to be sold on their site. My problem in writing was always the fact that I write short and concise. I write brief and to-the-point. No (scuse my English
I even have a short that I'd begun a number of years ago, but I never seriously worked on it because I knew it was short. This wasn't a story that I could expand into a full book. Heck, the one full book that I wrote that was sharp and concise was only about 55K words. Darn thing was tight and compact. Lots of action with the clock ticking in the background. But there was no way that I could expand it beyond what it was and there wasn't a market for the book. I tried expanding it into a erotic story, but it really doesn't work for that book. The small elements that were erotic had to stay small. Really only three scenes. To expand it lost the momentum...
Anyway, so I'm going to try to finish up the story I'd once started. And I have a couple new ideas that I could write up and see if Harlequin is interested. Another way to use my limited imagination and see if I could finally make the switch from editor to author.
Hmm.. I'll have to write to Pete (Parke Godwin who is one of the most lovely people I've ever met through the computer and I have Carole Howey to thank for that friendship!) and tell him. He does write short stories and some of the best I've ever read in my life. Right up there and memorialized in my mind with The Lottery and The Rocking Horse Winner. He's never above making a few bucks and I bet he could become a regular writer for them if he put his mind to it. He's a real wordsmith and Harlequin would be lucky to get him.
I have a bathroom to clean. A spinning wheel that's crying for attention. A shawl that's begging to be worn. And stories to write... or at least attempt to write.
Yet another day in the trenches.....
