So That's All For Now

As of today,the Mystery is 'hystory.'. After struggling for years with the story, the solution to the problem came to me during the night...too many characters. Simple as that, but it will require a complete re-write so it went back into the drawer this morning and Crystal Magic came out. This was not an easy decision to make and it came after I don't know how many critique group reviews and discussions with a dozen others. It's hard to believe none of us saw the problem but it just goes to prove that no mattter how many times you critique a book or story, the answer can be right in front of your nose. I'm actually glad to get back to Neufie and Elizabeth's story anyway. It won't be a 201o release but perhaps 2011 and there are still those that think it should be a made-for TV movie. I don't see any of them coming forward with the cash it takes to get the process started though so we'll see what happens. I still have hopes of getting to at least one more conference this year but the likelihood of that happening gets smaller every day. It is just so expensive that a person on a fixed income doesn't have much of an opportunity. Even if I were to drive every day the cost for gas would be prohibitive. Stay tuned. I haven't given up hope yet.

Conference Time Approaches

Yes, it's true, it's almost conference time. Four days from now I'll be heading for Lansing. I made the decision to spend Friday night there since the activities start so early in the morning and I don't want to miss a thing. One if my favorite authors will be there, Jay Asher, who's debut novel, Thirteen Reasons Why, left such an indelible memory. If you haven't read it, be sure you do but be prepared for a totally new style. I'm also hoping to get a better idea of what's capturing the interest of the YA editors, Beth Fleisher, Ruta Rimas, and Lisa Yoskowitz. It's going to be a busy day and I can only hope that my wrinkled up old brain, (and my notebook and recorder) are able to retain half of what I learn. I'd like to go to our conference on the 14th too but I'm not sure I can work that into my budget so soon after this one. Right now the weather forecast sucks for the whole weekend but there's not much I can do about that. I'm going to be posting bits and pieces of "Mystery at High Point" in a day or two. I'm excited about it but at the same time, I am aware that there is a ton of work to be done if I'm going to submt it by the end of August and hoepfully sooner. It will wind up to be around 62,000 words by the looks of it, although I may lose some of those during the editing process.