Update and Stuff

An odd after-effect of giving my daughter Spring Break was that I ended up taking a break myself.  So, I only got seven chapters polished - and that was only a couple days worth of actual work.  Not what I had envisioned, but there it is.  I guess if I want this round of sand-blasting done by tax day, I'd better get my gumption-hump in gear.  We'll see what I can get accomplished this weekend.

Stuff One: I finally got a chance to watch the finale of Shear Genius.  I'm never watching that show again.  How anyone who just put all her models' hair in buns and then decorated their heads with what looked a kindergarten art project could win is beyond me.  Add that to the fact that the winner was the most negative person on the damn show, and well, I'm done with watching it.  In my opinion, Matthew won.  Go Matthew.  I had more to say, but it was all ranty and negative - just like the winner - so I deleted it.  One thing I will say is that I was thoroughly impressed with both Matthew and Janine's professionalism.  Not a negative comment between them - at least not that was televised.  Good for you two.  Congratulations for rising above.  You're both winners in my book.

Stuff Two: Despite the snow we woke up to a few days ago, Spring seems to have officially begun.  Baseball season is here.  The majority of the birds have returned from their winter hiatus.  Even the grass is starting to get greener.  Hell, my landlady took the lawn mower for service a few weeks ago and said she'd have it back to me soon.  (Not that my lawn needs it yet, but the guy on the corner has already mowed his.)  Across the street I can see grape hyacinths coming up and down the street, their daffodils are blooming.  Yesterday I even noticed buds on some of the trees around town.  Winter is over!  Yay!

Stuff Three:  I'm currently out of new books to read, so I'm diving into my store to see what looks interesting.  Right now, I'm midway through a copy of Romancing the Stone.  I've seen the movie a million times, so I thought I'd check out the book.  So far, it's good.  The movie was better.  Maybe because the movie didn't have a ton of backstory.  While it's interesting to know why Joan is a mousy little person who'd never think of having a real adventure, it's just not working for me.  For me, the lure of RTS is the romance and the action, and I'm not feeling it yet.

Which brings up an important point to remember: Make sure the backstory fits in with the rest of the story and that it flows into one cohesive stream.  This WIP has a good amount of backstory, and I need to make sure it all works without weighing down the story or boring the reader to death.

So, what stuff is going on in your world lately?