A lovely carpet of creeping phlox
Seems like it was a bit of a slow week around the desk, but of course the intrusion of the warming weather and demands of the outdoors have something to do with that. (Not that I am complaining!) Still, I managed to keep up with most things, started a new novel revision, and spent hours refining the magic system used in that novel draft. It now makes more sense and is on its way to becoming a rational magic system. Still a few things to work out, but it definitely has a good foundation now. It was a pain in the butt interesting to try to reconcile the magic use/character abilities that I’d written into the story into a more coherent framework. I’ll have to make changes and adjustments as I work my way through this revision, but I feel much more confident about a good result now.
In my research into building good magic systems, I also refreshed my memory on Brandon Sanderson’s Three Laws of magic systems, which are very helpful to keep in mind when building one. The first one is at the link, and the others are linked from the bottom of that page.
A gorgeous tall tulip from a “Pretty in Pink” bulb mix from Vesey’s Seeds
I started the week bouncing between projects and finally landed on that revision, but I foresee that pattern continuing over the next little while. There are short stories I want to submit by upcoming deadlines, so although I’m a bit stuck on them right now, I have to keep going back and pecking at them until they agree to cooperate. I love it when I can sit down and write a new story straight through, but alas, that doesn’t happen all that often. It’s more likely to take a lot of digging and mucking about before I reach those two sweet, sweet words: The End.
Family, fire, and cake
Last week was my birthday (which I share with my sister, but no, we’re not twins–she was born five years after me, but on the same date) so we had our traditional outdoor party on the weekend. I made a first attempt at icing flowers made with a Russian ball decorating tip; they turned out all right, but I learned some tricks for making them better the next time. Still delicious!
Still working with my assistant, so despite the yard and garden needs, I think I’ll be able to stay productive in the coming weeks.
The desk report for this past week is, well, sort of boring. I’ve been mainly focused on marketing and promotion this week; spiffing up my website, trying to wrangle all my social media, figuring out how best to spend the time I allot to this sort of thing. It’s an unfortunate reality of being an author these days–unfortunate, I say, because it takes time away from what we’d really rather be doing: writing. There’s a balance out there, but the trick is to find it. I’m working on that.
I’ve also been busy Saving The World Through Knitting. Well, okay, not *quite* saving the world. But making a small difference. So far I’ve knit ten hats from my yarn stash, which will be sent to an organization that distributes such items to refugees in need. I’m finding it a very useful strategy in coping with stress, distress, and the darkness demons of the winter months. (In the course of this project I’ve also become 
This has been a lovely week of getting things done but NOT chasing a deadline for any of them. I’ve been busy but not frantic, both at my desk and away from it, and it feels almost as good as relaxing with my feet up every day. Okay, not quite that good, but yes, almost. And spring is finally arriving, and all the bulbs I planted in the fall are poking their heads up to have a look around. This gorgeous tulip is one of them; I have several clusters of them around the yard and I’m just loving them. Along with them I have new daffodils, other tulips in various shapes and sizes, and hyacinths for the first time ever. I even managed to spend a couple of hours outside pulling out old dead stems and leaves from last year, so the new blooms are actually noticeable.
Bundle news! My Nearspace novella, “Waiting to Fly,” is in another bundle over at BundleRabbit. So if you missed it last time or were not drawn in by the other stories in that bundle, here’s another chance. This time it’s a bundle brimming with stories featuring teen characters, from superheroes to space station buskers, apocalypse survivors to magic-users. There’s over $60 worth of stories in the bundle, and 
The other day I wrote here about not being really keen on marketing and promotion, and for the most part, that’s true. However, I was thinking afterward about a side benefit that sometimes goes along with promotion, and that’s connecting. Connecting with readers, connecting with other authors, connecting with others in the industry. And that part, I do like.
while back, I began using 
