I’ve been fighting with a 60 gig hard drive upgrade for my iPod. (It’s won.) The first one was defective, the second one refuses to go into drive mode. Don’t fix what ain’t broke. It would have been nice to have the extra twenty gigs on my 40 gig 5th generation, but apparently it ain’t gonna happen.

Heard from my tech editor. She should be getting in touch with me for On Azrael’s Wings soon. That’ll be the last of the edits, unless my publisher springs something on me at the last minute. Last I heard, it’ll be out in November.

The wife started school last Monday. It was a blissful day off for me – six hours of silence and solitude. Cats weren’t too happy, because I cleaned the hel out of the apartment, vacuuming included.

Lifestyle changes are still going well. New weight total is 14 down and counting. Yay! I’m thinking I deserve a banana split when I make it to 20…

Got to see most the season premieres I wanted: Heroes, Bionic Woman, Journeyman, Stargate Atlantis, and Chuck. Hadn’t planned on seeing Chuck, but a fellah at work said it was pretty good so I gave it a shot. I don’t normally watch Stargate Atlantis, either, but Amanda Tapping (Sam Carter) is transferring to that show after Stargate SG-1 finished last season. (What can I say? I don’t crush on blondes often, but I really like Carter!)

I’ve worked my way through the last two chapters of Orphan Maker. POV remains the same but I’ve corrected my original error. Loomis has spent years bein adviser, silently bringing about what she thinks needs doing for her people. My mistake was portraying her with sudden confidence and capability at the town meeting. Hence, I stalled out on what came next.

This time I’ve brought in other townies that she’s manipulated into putting her ideas forth at the big monthly meeting. She still steps up to the plate where necessary to clarify or direct, but she’s not the center of attention the entire time. The mayor is perfectly aware that these ideas are hers and not the people speaking them or carrying the motions. But for a woman who was brutally attacked and raped five years ago, I can’t imagine she’d enjoy the limelight.

The next chapter of Iditarod is going well enough. Like I mentioned in my last post, writing at work is non-existent unless I can get that first hour of scribbling in… and that’s when the boss is floating in and out of the office. Oh, well. Saturdays and Sundays are pretty good.

Next week I’ve an appointment with my doctor. She told me to come in ‘in a month or two to discuss treatment’ about my cholesterol levels. Since then I’ve lost eleven pounds (hopefully twelve by tonight!) and changed my diet considerably. Here’s hoping there won’t be another pill added to my already growing list of daily medications.

1) If my supervisor is working day shift, I can guarantee I won’t get any writing done during the afternoon. Not because she’d stop me, but the office is a disaster with her ongoing projects. I have to clear my work space, then get out of it so she can finish her security log, and then she’s in and out of the office for another hour or so.

2) I can’t focus on a handwritten story if I use purple ink. Dunno why. I think writing in all red ink would have the same affect. I can’t get into the scene that way. Weird, huh?

Orphan Maker – I’ve uploaded all of it to Basecamp. Rereading it has given me some ideas to work on. I’ve removed a chapter from the line up to be placed elsewhere, just not certain where, yet. Since the novel is beginning to go someplace I hadn’t planned, it’s going to run a bit longer, and that particular chapter is all flashback. It can be put anywhere, so long as it remains in sequence with the other flashback scenes.

Iditarod – Still working on the next scene. I’m going to try to get it typed in the next hour before I head off to work. (No supervisor today, so perhaps I’ll get the scene finished today.)