Friday, December 6, 2024

Time Off


 

 Now that I have turned in MURDER BY THE HOOK and heard from my editor that he won't be dealing with it until January, I have some time off.  Sort of anyway, DEATH AMONG THE STITCHES comes out at the beginning of January and I just got my author copies.  I have to update my website and write a guest blog.

I'll probably give MURDER BY THE HOOK one more read through.  I'm sure I"ll make some corrections and will be able to send it to my editor replacing the copy I already sent in.

But there is a difference from the daily pressure I felt as I was finishing MURDER BY THE HOOK.  I have time to take my coffee outside in the morning and find a little spot of sun.  Just to be out in the yard, looking at the moisture clinging to the grass is great.  The orange trees are growing their new crop and it is surprisingly abundant.  I can only find a sunny spot in morning because the sun is so low in the sky now that it gets lost behind the towering trees at the back of our yard.  It feels totally different than the summer sun.  It's enough to warm the spot I'm sitting in on the cool morning, but it  never feels hot.

The time away from writing also gives me a time for reading.  I bought a copy of ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL a while ago and now am finally reading it.  I have been reading mostly e-books on my phone, but this one is paper.  It is such a different experience. I can see where I am at a glance.  The cover is firmly in my mind unlike with the e-books when I lose touch with the cover and sometimes even the title of the book.  My eyes don't seem to tire the way they do with the e-books.

I have been watching the series on PBS, so have a nice visual of the locale.

There is time for all the less interesting stuff too, like housekeeping.  I viewed it all with a blind eye while I was spending all the time at my computer.  I can't avoid it anymore.

And of course there are the holidays.  It's the countdown to Jakey's birthday and now he is all in on the plans.  My family has always been big on birthdays with multiple parties, and it is being passed on to Jakey.

He's going to be eight and I'm guessing it won't be too long until he just wants to be called Jake.

14 comments:

Patty Jenkins said...

Good morning -- Yes, the sun now is great -- keeps the patio very pleasant for sitting outside.

I'm looking forward to your new books -- I miss Molly and the hookers, and there will be a new bunch of folks to enjoy. I just finished "hooking" a big project -- made an afghan for my 6', 4" grandson.

We've always just done a one-day birthday celebration but my daughter-in-law is into the birthday week thing -- of course, the kids love that!! I put out Christmas decor on the Sunday closest to my daughter's birthday, which is the 12th, so the 15th is the day to decorate this year. Just enough to be festive, inside and out.

News showing the earthquake yesterday in Humboldt county -- that was scary. Thank goodness the tsunami didn't develop.

Enjoy your day, your rewrites -- and the sunshine.

Sally Morrison said...

We are enjoying some chilly weather here in Central Florida. I'm soaking it up. Chilly air and sun are a lovely combination.
Grandkids seem to grow up faster than our own kids. At least that's been my experience. I have seven and they are now 22 to 12. The oldest just got married. So weird being a grandma at the wedding! I have enjoyed them at every age.
I was able to read Death Among the Stitches. Loved it. I ordered one as well since I tend to read them multiple times. Sure enjoy your work.
Have a great weekend!

Betty Hechtman said...

Patty, I bet your grandson will be happy to have an afghan that is big enough for him.

The days are so short now that holiday lights really add some cheer. It's hard when birthdays are so close to the holidays.

The tsunami warning must have been scary. I'm glad it didn't happen.

Enjoy your weekend!

Betty Hechtman said...

Sally, you're the first reader I've heard from. I'm so glad you liked the book!
Seven grandchildren, wow. It has to be amazing to watch one get married.

My son and I went to Disney World in January a few years ago. I was expecting it to be hot and humid. It was cold and I was so glad that I had packed a jacket.

Enjoy your weekend!

Linda Osborn said...

Moving right along, I can't believe where time has gone. The comment about grandchildren growing up faster than our own really struck a cord with me. 5 of my 13 are married, and the youngest is 15, I laughed about the long afghan, i had a 100 year old aunt who made afghans for our tamily. They were all beautiful, but my youngest daughter's only came to her ankles, she kept ii anyway, and didn't tell auntie, If you ever need another proof reader, I'll volunteer, I did a lot of that in school, and sfill find little errors in many of the books I read !!

Patty said...

Linda's volunteering to proofread reminded me of something from years ago. I was an associate editor at a large newspaper -- there was a huge auto sale section coming out and I was helping to proof the pages. One page with a headline in huge type had been proofed by at least two guys before I got to me. I took one look and laid it on the editor's desk -- he said "What's wrong?" I said "Read the headline." It was supposed to be Public Sale -- the 'l' in public had been left out!! I learned to read things backwards -- you see what's expected if you read forward -- backwards catches more errors.

Patty said...

Ha, Linda -- There are several typos in your comment!!

Patty said...

I just preordered "Death Among the Stitches."

Betty Hechtman said...

Linda Osborn, how nice to have so many grandchildren. That afghan would have really been a problem for Patty's grandson. I think Sally read DEATH AMONG THE STITCHES on a review site. I appreciate the offer to proof read and will keep it in mind.

Betty Hechtman said...

Patty, you are absolutely right. You see what you expect to see. That would have been some sale if you can't caught the missing l. Interesting about reading backwards. Thanks for ordering the book.

Linda O. Johnston said...

It's great that you have some time to relax now, Betty. And how fun that you're spending some of your time with All Creatures Great and Small. Enjoy the introduction of DEATH AMONG THE STITCHES!

Miriam Lubet said...

I hope you enjoy your down time. I am looking forward to reading your new book too.

Betty Hechtman said...

Linda O. Johnston, it doesn't take long before I miss working on something.

Betty Hechtman said...

Miriam, It feels like a chance to air out my mind.