I forgot to say yesterday that I am also giving a reading at Denvention. I shall probably read something from the new trilogy (Time of Random Rain) and I am going to keep my fingers crossed that SOMEONE turns up to listen.

And I have been writing like mad – all of a sudden back in the groove. I am now half way through the first draft of the second book, Stormshifter (working title). The final book will probably be around 180,000, but I aim to get the first draft to 170,000 because I always like – and invariably need – about 5,000 words more before I complete the second draft, and then another 5,000 between second draft and publication. So here it stands at the moment on picometer halfway to the end of the first draft:

And Hrugaar has pointed out that Interaction Glasgow was 2005, of course (see last post). Plus the fact that the book I was thinking of was Anne McCaffrey’s two Dinosaur Planet books. (And he says he has a bad memory. Huh.)

Today was a spend-the-time-at-hospital-clinic day, all re my 2 numb fingers. The good news is that they are SO much better. Not normal, but at least they don’t have the feeling of two bananas struck on the end of my hand any more. It has taken 10 months to get to this point.

And the other good news was an email out of the blue from someone I had not heard from in 25 years. I love search engines.

So here’s progress with Stormshifter: Yay! Over 40% done!

And some pix from the Tahan River, in Taman Negara (NP) in Pahang.

Thirty-eight percent of the way into Stormshifter.

Yeah, I know, pretty slow going. Life keeps on getting in the way…besides I am having too much fun with having another writer to stay. Serious long reading/writing/books/fantasy conversations going on here.

After some nagging from Hrugaar, I wrote a book proposal for an in-the-Havenstar-world standalone, which I am now dying to write. If I don’t sell the Random Rain trilogy, I shall at least have something else ready for consideration.

Tell me, would you buy this book? Here’s the beginning of the proposal:

THE PRINCE, THE INVENTOR AND THE GARGOYLE CAT (working title)… is set in the same world as Havenstar, but in another country, at a time when Lord Carasma is at the height of his power. This time, Carasma has his sights set on the destruction of Mallow, the commercial and ruling capital of the land called Yedron.

Haze Oakhart is a Mallovian inventor of such useful items as an umbrella that opens and closes, but who never makes much money. At home he is much put upon by his scattily forgetful mother who nags him to settle down with a nice steady girl, and the two argumentative house imps – Dortliss Corkbarrow and his estranged wife Toffli – who live inside the roof beams and vie with one another to give him unasked advice.

Then, late one afternoon, Toffli tells Haze there is a gargoyle cat loose on the roof…

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Husband and Hrugaar and I went to see the latest Indiana Jones today – loved the first half (up until the monkeys). Laughed until I had tears several times – wonderful fun. After that, though, I felt it was trying too hard, and the ending lacked a good-guy/bad-girl confrontation that had any meaning. Deus ex machina anyone?