No more sunshine

It's hard to be cheerful this time of year. If it's not snowing, it's raining. If it's not raining, it's cloudy, and if it's not cloudy, it's nighttime. One bright spot, and a small one at that, was that I managed to see the Comet Holmes. But it's hardly bright and only seen through binos and green to boot.
I think I have SAD. Seasonal affective disorder. I am exhausted, headachey and want to do nothing but sleep. So today, after a bout of headaches and nausea, I came home, found the plant grow light and hooked it up on top of the fluorescent bulb David Suzuki is raving about and sat down to my lunch. Then I took the whole gizmo downstairs and forced myself to walk on the treadmill for twenty minutes, with this bright light killing my retinas.
I think I'm sprouting leaves.
Still, I'm trying to be positive. Only another month of lessening sunlight and the days get longer. Colder mind you, but longer. And I did get my copy edits done for my next book, Keeping Her Safe, (due out June 2008), and I did finish reading a hilarious book called Murder By Mushroom, by Ginny Aiken. If you go to church and know quirky characters, then they're probably described in this book.
And in the meantime, I'm still struggling to write a book set in the summer. My editor should authorize a trip for me to the Carribean.

The snow has started

Winter is insidiously creeping into our lives. Slowly, until it can strike with full, unmerciful force.
I hate winter. We plan to go south for a vacation early next year, but in the meantime, I have to contend with it now. I had to scrape car windows yesterday until my arms ached and were permenantly stuck in that ghoulish way you see in cheap horror movies.
I put an extra blanket on my bed, too. I'm the kind of sleeper who lives in flannel pygamas, sleeps in her socks with an eye mask, and ear plugs. The ear plugs are because I snore and wake myself up.
In my latest novel, it's summer. And since I'm too cheap to put up the heat to give the impression of warmth, just to help with my writing, it's getting hard to capture the feeling.
And daylight is getting weaker. I want to hibernate. I want to suffer from SAD so much so I only want to sleep.
In jammies, socks and under that extra blanket.

A royalty watch

When I first heard this, I naively thought that it was someone who'd spotted the Queen herself. And this was after being in the writing business for years.
Actually, this is watching the mailbox for royalty statements/cheques. I don't expect any money this time around, as I haven't had a book out in a few years. But with one out this past Sept. next statement may be encouraging.
Regardless, when I saw the red flag up on my neighbour's mailbox, (ours got busted off years ago during a snow storm) I was hopeful.
Well, it was good news, sort of. I got an offer from Tena personal products for a nice carry all and restaurant card. Hey, you got to take your victories when they come.
So in the meantime, I write. I have to polish up three chapters and a synopsis. And the story is determined not to follow what I wrote down.
One Love Inspired writer wanted to shoot all her characters and be done with it.
Some days, that's my sentiment.
Back to writing. Back to life. Back to watching the flag on my neighbour's mailbox.