My son headed to Houston for a few days, then back to Huntsville where he lives and attends college.  Normally, I'd be really sad, fearing I might not see him for weeks or months.  BUT, he'll be back in two weeks...with several of his friends in tow.  Eric and his buddies come every year for the Schulenburg Festival.  So, I'll do my best to feed and house them for two or three days.  I woke up at 4:00 this morning...Sadie was still screaming in my head to be heard.  As the character in my next book, she is making me crazy.  But, as I understand it...all writers are a tad nuts anyway.  I was reading an interview yesterday about an author who described how many times she went through her manuscript prior to publication.  That got me to thinking.  She said she went through hers four times.  I began to count...First I write the rough draft.  And since I have a tendency to overwrite, round two usually involves deleting full scenes that don't push the book forward, and I tighten things up.  My best friend reads behind me and lets me now if I'm getting too far out there or if things aren't flowing.  Her edits are usually round three, along with critique partners and my mother's edits.  Then I go through it one more time...that would be four times.  The substansive edits/revisions come from my editor.  These are usually major, and I have about three weeks to complete them.  That would be the fifth time to go through the manuscript.  Then it goes back to the editor.  One more round of fine tuning...that would be six times.  Then galleys will come for me to proof or make any final adjustments.  That's seven.  No wonder I'm a little tired of my characters by the time it goes to print!

I'm sticking to my guns about getting some things done around my house before I dive into book three in the series.  Sadie will just have to wait.  Today, I put a cherry wood dining set in my front yard with a 'Free' sign on it, along with a recliner and four bar stools.  They were all being stored in an extra bedroom, and I need that extra bedroom to function as an extra bedroom...especially with 5 or 6 college kids coming in two weeks.  Patrick laughed and said we looked like hillbillies with all this furniture in the front yard.  I told him 'FREE' speaks volumes.  It was all gone in 45 minutes.  Phase One is complete!  There are boxes all over the house that came out of that storage room, so I have no choice but to tackle my non-writing projects now.  Oh, I say that...but, I doubt I'll make the week without starting book #3. 

Tomorrow, I'll write about what a normal writing day is like for me...'Normal' is such a loose term...ha ha....Take care all!