the phone autocorrected to sore thoughts and it may have been prescient, because my feet are tired. We’ve spent the past few days walking the streets of Barcelona to the tune of 8 miles a day. It’s a dramatic shift from the average AZ miles of 1.5. I’ve grown accustomed to these shifts over the seasons. Between weather and activity, I tend to do better either in the AZ winter or when I’ve been granted the blessing of leaving the country. I’m in the latter zone now and loving it. I’m surrounded by beauty in every possible meaning of the word. Even the old dog and young cat who wander up to our door daily are beautiful and wonderful creatures.
No doubt the joy and wonder is inspired by being in a space alone with the Lady Talis and also not being anywhere near the USA at present. I can turn the flood of darkness off at will. I can also drink in the beauty of the land and the sand and the water. I can wake up when I want and go to sleep when the urge strikes. All of these point to a solid attitude. The only issue dragging me down is a failure to move at a reasonable speed with these novel revisions. It needs to happen faster. I need to do this not only for the publisher and editor but for myself. I’m not writing the kind of literary fiction an audience will wait for. I need to turn over novels every six months. I need to prove that I can reliably do so, and I have yet to this far. This book is beyond being that proof, but it is going to need to both get done soon and be killer good. My reputation is at stake here.
I’m convinced it’s going to be a good one. The rest I’m going to need to work out sooner than later. Tomorrow, actually. No beach for me until I manifest another chapter.