A good, productive week, even if I feel quite wiped out.
Last weekend was our annual writer’s group Christmas Party. Smaller than usual, still fun, and we’re still pigging out on leftovers. However it’s an exhausting day setting up for it, from cleaning to cooking (chili, cornbread, beer bread, fruit compote). Next year we’re going to plan better and do some of the cleaning earlier in the month (stuff can be moved out of the way).
Of course, I had to move my computer up to my office and out of the way. Turns out someone knew the password.
One of my goals for next year is cleaning up my room. Quite aside from my guest (a doll from my mother’s play therapy practice) it’s disorganized enough even I can’t stand it.
Anyway, that left TYG and me wiped out Sunday, though we managed to put the house back into shape. Fortunately I’ve been sleeping well lately — every so often I’ll go through a no-insomnia stretch and this is apparently one of them. As I mentioned last week, waking up “late” throws me off my game but this time I seem to be coping.
I got two stories in for The Local Reporter, one on local first responders winning an award and one on local GoFundMe projects. And I’m feeling more confident I can finish the book. I rewrote about 40 percent of the text, wrote more on the Hulk chapter and put some more thought into the title. The rewriting showed me it’s in better shape than I realized. Yay me.
Very little else got done. I have several tasks I want to complete but I’m confining myself to the absolute necessities right now. I may be writing this weekend — I’ll probably put in at least one day — but it won’t be as exhausting as the party. Not that I mind — we don’t entertain much so it’s nice to have one big event every year.
Plushie had his recheck Monday. The review is mixed: he’s improving, though not as fast as they’d like. Surgery might still be necessary but maybe not. So we continue what we’re doing (exercise, walks, PT) and have another checkup in January. Fingers crossed. He also got his eye exam and despite his glaucoma, his peepers are still holding up. The vet was quite astonished he’s almost sixteen. That pleases us.
And I sold one copy of Sex for Dinner, Death for Breakfast last month. Thank you, unknown buyer, for giving my book a shot.
Bonus photo, here’s Snowdrop under the Christmas tree. So far neither cat has attempted to climb it.
—and 
I also sold at least one copy of every one of Behold the Book’s books, with
— and three copies of 
I also did several panels, got to catch up with multiple authors I know (though sitting and selling books reduced my hanging-out time) and generally had a fantastic time (not having to deal with 
Bond winds up returning to MI6 where M remains tight-lipped about Heracles, enough that Bond, Q (Ben Whishaw) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) have to work around their boss to find out what they’re dealing with. Meanwhile the sinister Safin (Rami Malek) approaches Madeleine, who’s been working as Blofeld’s shrink. He’s got a job for her, and if she refuses — well, she has a little girl now …
I freely admit I’m not a fan of Craig’s run, even setting aside the dreadful Quantum of Solace. There’s the mindless, frenetic action, the clunky plotting, the bland villains and going back to the misogyny of the books. In Skyfall, for example, Moneypenny’s demoted from field agent to office drone for doing far less than Craig’s Bond has done without suffering comparable consequences. There’s the contemptuous treatment of Silva’s mistress and replacing Judi Dench’s M with a man (I go into this more in my book). No Time to Die makes up for that: Nomi and rookie agent Paloma (Ana de Armas) are both professional, competent and formidable. So is Madeleine, even if she does get the damsel in distress role a lot of the time.
— but it doesn’t work here (of course Moonraker didn’t work on any level). Safin might as well be twirling his mustache for all the depth his goals give him.
She’s definitely been a house pet, probably more recently than Wisp was when we met her. White Cat also seems a lot less comfortable surviving on her own. Did someone just decide to dump her? We’ll never know.
for whatever reason the flow stopped. The timing is convenient as that meant more work on Alien Visitors; that said, it probably means lower than usual income for the month. I did sell another copy of 
I did get a lot of Leafs done and I made some progress on Alien Visitors. But not enough progress to feel confident. It’s still doable but I’m really going to have to push for the remaining 2.5 months. I’d feel better if I could sit and think and map out what has to be done, but having the pups invade my personal space for so much time makes it hard to think clearly.
The dread is that now I’m going to release them into the world. Self-published stuff, and not previously published like the stories in 
#SFWApro. All rights to image remain with current holder.
