Steeplechase by John Dalby, 1853
One down and one to go in my parade of novellas. “Well Done, Harry” went to the editor Friday. To get it there I had to consolidate comments from my beta readers***, edit it, add an author’s note and my bio, and proof it word by word. For that last step, I’m now using the voice output native to Microsoft Word. Hearing and seeing at the same time brings up all sorts of things I would otherwise miss. This time notably there were several places where I had left in extra words, an artifact of earlier edits.
Speaking of Harry, the beta readers loved it. I may be tempted to write more stories about my little mouse who grants wishes, often with unfortunate unforeseen consequences!
While that was going on, painters arrived. That work is still in progress. Everything that wasn’t tied down or major furniture in my bedroom and bath are now scattered around my living room and dining room along with painters’ equipment. What I’ve seen so far is lovely and I’m going to love it when it is done. Meanwhile it is an excuse to hide in my office.
This week: I plan to make good progress on my holiday murder story. One of the folks on Caroline Warfield’s Fellow Travelers on Facebook suggested I call it Mayhem and Mistletoe. I like it. What do you think? Any other suggestions? I also have a guest for Facts Behind the Fiction and one taking over Fellow Travelers on Wednesday. My other objective is to plan Belles’ Brunch for all of August, since it is my turn to lead. We meet every Saturday at 1 pm eastern time to discuss various topics about reading and writing. I’m on it—but first, coffee.
**A note about beta readers. I need some. I’m looking for people who love to read and read A LOT. Members will receive early drafts of my work and be ask to provide feedback on things like plot holes, pacing, character confusion etc. I will communicate with them via Facebook messenger or a private Facebook group so they must be comfortable with that. If you are interested, please email info@carolinewarfield.com