contracts

I received the contract for "The Wood and the Brass" Saturday. I'll send it off today.

The contract I received for "I Dream of Strawberries" was very, well, I suppose "user-friendly" is a good term. There were two sections of this contract that Rice and I couldn't decipher. We sent a scan to my FIL (who used to be a booking agent for bands). He explained it to us and I had one of those lovely "oh duh!" moments. My FIL also offered to talk to a man he knows who self-published a book to get advice for me. Thankfully, we were on the phone so I could smile when I said, "That would be nice. Thank you." It's nice of him to try to help.

I also received my first crit for my new writing group. It was a really good critique. I think this group has a lot of potential. I hope to learn a great deal from the other members.

As for today, I have a crit to write for Critters and my own writing to get to. I've also been reading Cannery Row. Steinbeck is one of those writers who makes me cry. (China Mieville being another.) I can hope that someday, when I'm old and gray, that I may approximate their brilliance.

laptop

Rice, being the computer scientist he is, hates laptops. Primarily because they become outdated so quickly and one can't update them. I understand that. However...

I can't say I wouldn't mind having a laptop. The ability to write in places other than my basement really appeals to me. I mean, I can write anywhere, technically, but to be able to write anywhere (as long as there's an outlet since the battery is dead) and then have the file on my computer to print out or submit to an e-market etc. without having to retype it is really desirable.

And actually this anywhere particularly implies upstairs. (Not that writing at the park or in the backyard, etc. wouldn't be nice.) My office used to be what is now the baby's room. Over a year ago, we moved half of my office space downstairs to the basement and half of it into the bedroom (a couple of bookshelves, a writing desk) to make a room for Winter. When Winter moved out (the Winter chronicles are a long story and my other journal -- www.journalscape.com/maggie -- has it available) I made the room that had been my office and then his room the baby's room as well as half an office for me (the writing desk and shelves moved again). If any of this makes any sense.

We have some friends who have an ancient laptop that's only really useful for word processing. Maybe e-mail. They asked Rice to clean it up and install some stuff so their oldest daughter could use it. And then she got married. They just told Rice that I could borrow it for a bit. When they need it back they'll say something.

What this wordy confusing entry comes down to is I can now write upstairs again where there's lots of lovely natural light.

I can't wait.