This week’s revelation is that I now feel that way about puppies. Puppies, I tell you! No one could be more shocked than me. When I was a kid I remember people being excited when someone had a baby. They’d be talking about going to see the new baby and I thought “Once you’ve seen one baby, you’ve seen them all.” In my defense, most newborn babies look alike—pale and scrunch-faced. But if someone had a new puppy, I was so there. I have fond memories of the last puppies I had years ago. They have since passed on and I haven’t had a dog in years.
I mentioned before that I really wanted a Newfoundland. Maybe I should have gotten an adult dog. I do know that I never want another puppy. While I realize that my puppy could be worse, what I currently have is what I consider one of the most annoying dogs I have ever met. She’s doing well with housebreaking. She has on average about one accident a day. This is after only about a week of training so she’s intelligent. There have been a couple of days when she had no accident at all. But she’s a biter. In the week that she’s been here, we’ve stopped her from biting most of the furniture. She knows when she’s caught that you don’t want her to do it. But she still bites hands and feet. You can’t pet her without her trying to catch your hand. Now, I already have a cat for such crazy behavior. I wasn’t expecting it from my little fur ball as well. She has the most beautiful soft fur that just lures you in only to have her nip at you. I’ve seen puppies with her behavior before and I generally avoid them. I know that she will grow out of it and soon I will love, love, love her. However, at the moment, I am thinking the unthinkable. I will be glad when this cute puppy is all grown up.
So snow is inconvenient. Puppies are annoying. What’s next? Rainbows and candy?! (Actually, I’ve had some dental work done and some candy gives me a toothache.)
For those of you who sat through my puppy rant, you deserve to at least know that I am working really hard on finishing Chaldor’s story. I hate to put out timelines because that’s the moment when life chooses to interfere. But if I keep working at my current pace, I should be done in a week or two. After I finish, I like to go back and read through the story to make sure I don’t contradict myself along the way. Since Whimsy was published through Evernight, more than likely Chaldor’s story will be as well. This is a relief for me in the sense that I don’t have to pick out a cover, decide on a release date, convert the document into different formats, etc. I can just move on to writing my next book. But it also means I won’t know the release date for some time and I don’t get to decide on the pricing. The longer the book, the more it costs. I’m aiming for a medium length—long enough to get the story told without it becoming a tome.
I’m behind schedule on where I wanted to be at this point in the year. After Chaldor’s story, I’m really looking forward to working on something contemporary. I’m not sure what it will be. I might try to get The Deal back out again or turn to something new.
So that’s what I’ve been up to lately. I hope all of you are having a wonderful summer.
