Thank god, a new month

[dancinghorse]

Thank you all for your lovely comments, and welcome new readers and friends from earlier posts. The meme was a message--points to Oz for getting it in one. I am finally back to some sort of routine, and am in the Book Bunker(tm), which both complicates social matters and makes professional life easier. Ms. is due actually tomorrow, but will be a month late. Still, beats a few years late. It is much to fun to write, and I hope will be fun to read as well.

News on that front: I've sold a middle-grade horse fantasy to Tor, ms. due late this year, and we hope to make it a series. Not sure which nom de plume will go on it yet. The editor is very excited, and I'm pretty happy about it myself. My inner kid is 10 anyway, I've always known that, so when editor and publisher asked if I could "young down" the proposal from YA to MG, it felt totally right. It's going to be a blast to play with.

I still don't have a lot to say, am still in processing mode; I was there before the really bad stuff happened, then it got Really bad, and it's taking a while to climb out.

Still loving Le Truck, and with a little help from my friends, have got the gas mileage up to an acceptable level. After decades of 4 cylinders, one forgets that the 8's effectively drive themselves. I have yet to even look for a trailer, have to recover from the down payment first, but that will come. Meanwhile, it's very nice indeed to need a couple of bales of hay, and be able to pop over and get them.

Horses are doing well. Pooka's lady, Gold, has been here for a month; she's due to foal July 21st and already looks as if she swallowed the Goodyear Blimp. Sideways. She's glossy, happy, and full of herself. Oreo, her last year's kid, is as tall as she is; he turned a year old on Friday. He's all legs and drive train at the moment. Has dad's movement, as they all do: Boingity!

Breeding Pandora hasn't been working--I will have her checked; she had a late return to heat, but has been in Yes-Yes-NOOO!!! mode when Pooka makes his moves, and kicked the living crap out of him on the day we all thought she was in standing heat. No serious injuries but a lot of minor ones. That did it, I pulled him out of there and out he stays. Either she's reached the point that she's just plain not breedable, or there's a baby in there and she's having false cycles. The way this year has been going, I'm not betting on the latter.

Ephiny is now on the roster but so far no heat signs; I just started with her last week however, so there's time yet. She does love to talk to her Pooka, even if she's not like totally into him, you know? Even if she doesn't know what's happening, if and when she does come into heat, he'll tell us. Boy knows his job.

Riding has not been happening, but I've been getting back to it, still have my seat, for a wonder, and Teacher came back for lessons yesterday and worked my (and Capria's) buns off. Pook's foot is all better; he's back on the longe and will be back under saddle this week. He had the most incredibly beautiful canter on the longe this morning, truly to die for; can't wait to ride it again. Camilla will get her turn, too. The lesson from the TL clinic in April--Thou Shalt Not Be A Victim--took with both of us; now when she drives that ferocious energy at me, I bump it off, and damn if she doesn't snap to. That last clinic ride was harrowing for all of us, TL included, but it did the job.

And so it goes. Crap continues to rain down, but I'm hoping (as always) that the storm will let up. It has to someday. Right? Meanwhile there are books to write and horses to ride. Could be worse.

Comments

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Great news on the book front. And trucks are fun!

The last two months at Chez Smith have contained a little too much reality--wants it to stop and stop NOW, please. A little boredom would go well right now.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Reality has been biting large numbers of people lately. I'm sorry you're included. I second the nomination for a spate of boredom.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

My horse nut fifth and sixth grader girls will go totally bonkers when they see that fantasy. Hoo! I think I will have to buy more than one copy for my classroom, or I'll have fights on my hands. They are ALL horse nuts and fantasy nuts.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

When we were developing this (I had submitted a YA ms. but got the best kind of rejection: "This doesn't work for us but could she please please please write us a horse book?"), even my agent got excited. I hope it lives up to the hype. It's going to be an absolute gas to write.

I have realized that I'm not a YA author--I just can't hit that note well enough to sustain it. I'm better off writing for adults and catching the YA audience in the process. But middle grade--bring it on! Same thing happens with test passages: I can write for high school if I stretch and tweak, get good responses, but when I'm just doing it, I consistently hit grades 5 and 6, slopping over into 7.

Guess I know where my inner kid is.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Totally makes sense. When one is channeling the inner kid, that 'voice' just naturally seems to go for a certain age group, whatever that might be.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Plus, you know, my favorite books from my own kidhood tend to fall into what is now the MG category--A Wrinkle in Time, the Marguerite Henry books, and so on. Right now there's a real shortage of new horse books for that age level, and few or no horse fantasies. This wasn't the only editor who begged for such a book. She just happens to have been the one who kept pushing and asking till I gave her a proposal.

Whatever comes of it, I'll have a great time doing it. Can't ask for much more than that.

[aswego.livejournal.com]

Fantastic. When the MG book is out, I know just who'll be ready for it.

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

>I've sold a middle-grade horse fantasy to Tor

Whoa! That'll be fun. Congrats!

(Oreo is a year old? Already?)

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Danke.

Yes, the Cookie Monster is a yearling. Amazing, innit? And Tia is Two! As she will tell you! With emphasis!

[raithen.livejournal.com]

JJ says she is THREE!!! But she isn't sure why Momma Raithen keeps talking about "Adult Horse Responsibilities" because she likes things Her Way, thxverymuch ;).

[monder.livejournal.com]

Yes, to much reality is definately going around...glad to see you coming up for air. :-)8 cylinders are happy things :-)

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

My Sixties-countercultural self is suffering existential guilt, but my practical horse-farmer self is pointing out, reasonably, that I need a vehicle that can handle farm work, I have needed a safe vehicle for those long daily drives I've had to make lately (2000 miles since I bought it), and I'll be maintaining it so it lasts for a long, long time.

Eventually I'm sure I'll get an alternative-fuel runabout and keep the truck for hauling. For now, this will do just fine.

[monder.livejournal.com]

:-) I can understand the guilt, and the gas price shock, thankfully we're not doing a daily commute with my truck so the gas stretches. We've actually found for long drives that we do better on gas mileage then the "economical" cars. I don't know if it's because we have the topper or because we really try and build trips into loops so we're doing as little stop and go as possible in both the daily driving and our long distance treks. Either that or it's because the little car is just waiting to go kablooey.

We found when we were down there if we kept on top of tires and fluids it seemed to help with the gas consumption. That and my figuring out I didn't need to put the accelerator through the firewall like I did on the little car not to get munched when trying to get on I-10! :-)

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

I was getting 32 mpg with the Prizm. No way this will touch that. I'm getting 21, which is awfully good. It comes with free maintenance for life, so tires and fluids will be stayed on top of. Plus it's got the bumper-to-bumper warranty until 2011. It's a good deal--and it really does drive itself.

One thing I have to watch is not to hit warpspeed without thinking--all too easy with that big engine. I can cruise at 45mph, no foot on the gas at all. Niiiice for highway driving, lemmetellya.

Also nice: No more jerks cutting me off, and very few pulling out in front of me. I get a Lot more respect on the road.

[windrose.livejournal.com]

Also nice: No more jerks cutting me off, and very few pulling out in front of me. I get a Lot more respect on the road

Ah, yes. Driving by intimidation: the biggest car on the road wins. I learned that when I was in art school in Atlanta in the 80s. This was before SUVs were commonplace, and I drove one of the early Jeep Wagonneers. NOBODY messed with that car. *g*

[smoemeth.livejournal.com]

I had this explained to me as "The Law Of Gross Tonnage", a seafaring term as applied to highway driving. ;) Works for me.

[monder.livejournal.com]

:-) I had it explained to me as if it's bigger and headed at you YEILD :-)

[coalboy.livejournal.com]

"Never try conclusions with a bus." I said this to a driver right after he had hit a small car broadside who was running a red light. He smiled grimly.

[monder.livejournal.com]

:-) I love that about driving in heavy traffic, though I miss my first truck which was a beat-up old brown blazer... it looked like I'd rather hit you then let you cut me off. :-)

The weird thing about my current truck is that it seems to have an odd sort of cloaking device or people in this state just like to play chicken with larger vehicles... though since the husband claims to have seen a Yugo try and face down a garbage truck????

[equesgal.livejournal.com]

Horse fantasy! Whee!!! Please keep up posted on when/where/who. LOL So cool. Congrats.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Thenkyew. Will definitely do.

[equesgal.livejournal.com]

er...I meant please keep "us" posted. LOL It sounded like I was chiding you about posting. ;-)

[miintikwa.livejournal.com]

*SQUEE horse fantasy*

And I am sending you lots of good juju. I did this sort of "alright already, enough!" ritual thingy today, courtesy of having gotten some nifty new Twilight Alchemy Lab oils, and hopefully it will work. :)

[birdhousefrog.livejournal.com]

When the book comes out, E will be a middle grade reader! I can't wait. She's already started on Breyer Stablemates Scholastic Books at her first/second grade level.

And that lesson of TL is for more than a horse ride, ya know. Thou Shalt Not Be A Victim Indeed.

Love to you and all at the farm.
Oz
PS There be blueberries on the bushes! Only a matter of weeks now!

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

May there be joy.

[kateelliott.livejournal.com]

Glad to see you back. Hang in there with the processing (we went through similar last year with Jay's dad).

Meanwhile, congrats on the MG horse book. Whodathunkit? heh

[rethought.livejournal.com]

Hurrah for new contracts. I'm glad things are going well. :)

[forinstance2007.livejournal.com]

Another horse fantasy! Hooray! I just finished reading the entire Caitlin Brennan series...oooh my heart's still racing. And my co-worker is reading through Song of Unmaking right now. She LOVES the series. :-)

[sfmarty.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, sounds so good. I was going to ask about Tia, but you answered it. Two. Time is whipping by.

So Pandora is being cranky, hmmm. Seems a shame to consider AI with Pooks so near...

As for the book, yippie!!!!

[lynnesite.livejournal.com]

Pooka's Lady?! As if he has only one...I'm pleased to blurt out that my friend who is leasing Ember for a foal mysteriously could find no suitable QH husbands--has decided after the only one she found and liked was GRAY and in ARIZONA--asks pleeze, can she have a Pooklet? Boy preferred, short and stocky. Hehe. Those mares just have a way of getting things done. I couldn't even bother myself to get a Coggins and health cert. Till now. Let me know about space and interest at Camp Lipizzan. Ember is dying to come.

So Kewl on the MG book, can't wait to read it too.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Oh ho. And I just was saying yesterday that Miss Em wasn't coming this year. I should have known.

We can squeeze her in. Let's do the email thang and work out details.

Pook has had Lots Of Practice breeding tall mares this year.

[hoolieb.livejournal.com]

Woohoo! I cannot wait to read that with my niece. I introduced her to the world of Marguerite Henry when she was younger, and now there is something new to share with her.

Glad you're back and posting. My Thoroughbred sends his galumphing, goofy warm vibes your way.

[sfmarty.livejournal.com]

By the way, the first hard bound book I ever bought with my own money was a Margurite Henry. King of the Wind, I think.

Looking forward to a new Ember lite. (Emlet?)

[hoolieb.livejournal.com]

What a coincidence! King of the Wind was my first Marguerite Henry too, that I got through the RIF program waaaaaay back in 1972 or '73. I still get all misty-eyed over the Wesley Dennis cover art...

[electricland.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you're back -- and hurray for good news and books and horses amid the crap.

*hugs*

More reading!!!

[ms-cluegun2007.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to reading more of your work. You are a goddess and a brilliant writer. Keep it up! Oh, and give Pooka a HUGE hug for me. (That stud-muffin, woof!)

-Ms. Clue-Gun