Safe and Dry

When I wrote my blog last week, the roofers had been working above my head for two days and I was told they would finish on Friday. I looked forward to a peaceful weekend with no more banging, hammering and other assorted loud noises. Of course, it didn’t happen. When does work ever finish when they say it will. They were back on Saturday and they finished just before it was time for the Trick or Treaters to show up.

It seems like every year I end up handing out candy solo. And every year the number of kids seems to grow-- partly because one of our neighbors turns his front yard into something you’d expect at Universal Studios. I just saw it from the outside. There was the shopping cart meant for a giant (really that big) full of baby dolls, an ambulance, people running around in scary costumes and other scary things too numerous to mention.

This year because had a manuscript due on Thursday, I didn’t have three hours to hand out candy. The task fell to my husband. At eight o’clock, he’d had enough and turned off the porch light. Even so, over 300 kids came for candy.

I spent all of Saturday evening at my computer. Sunday there were no roofers. The funny part was I had a hard time adjusting to the quiet. The weather in Southern California has been hot and sunny all of October. So warm I completely forgot what month it was. But then out of nowhere, the weather abruptly changed. The temperature dropped and there was a forecast of rain. Instead of air conditioning, we needed heat.

It spritzed a little on Monday, but on Tuesday, a black cloud settled right over us and it poured. How amazing is that? Literally a couple of days after getting a new roof, we get the first winterish like storm. I was so used to all the leaks, I kept walking around the house waiting to hear that drip, drip, drip sound. I’m glad to say there were none.

Through all of this I kept working on my manuscript. I lost track of the days this week, and lost track of the hours in the day. I think I might have spent 12 hours at my computer on Wednesday, but at ten minutes to midnight, I hit send and GONE WITH THE WOOL went hurling through space to my editor’s desk.

I hadn’t even known that it was already up on Amazon until my friend Linda told me. My editor sent me an email saying she got my manuscript, and she sent me the book’s cover. No, they aren’t mind readers. I had turned in a synopsis so they knew the story line. I love this one, but then I love them all - they come up with the best covers.

I spent today trying to catch up on everything I couldn’t deal with while I was finishing the manuscript. There weren’t enough hours to do everything. But tomorrow it is right back to work on the copy edit of SEAMS LIKE MURDER, the tenth crochet mystery. I will have to overlap that with working on the synopsis for the eleventh crochet mystery. I already have worked out what’s going on with the main characters in it, but I hadn’t thought of the mystery yet. And then out of nowhere, the murder plot appeared.

We have seminars next week, so all my work connected with them starts. I pretty much work all the time. I surprised a client when I answered the business phone at 9:20 p.m. I’ve also surprised clients by answering the business line at 7:45 a.m. It helps that the business line is next to my computer.

I am also hoping to do something to let everyone know that KNOT GUILTY came out in paperback last Tuesday. At least I am never bored.