Coffee… need..more…coffee!!!

Well, the past week has been pretty darn full (to put it incredibly mildly.) I spent last week in Florida with the husband, the Kid, the manuscript for Blood of the Demon, and the revision letter from my editor. Woo! Do I know how to vacation, or what? :P

Unfortunately, there really wasn’t a choice about working while down there. I have a bit of a tight deadline for the revisions, and I couldn’t afford to waste a week. But fortunately, the resort had some terrific kids programs, and the Kid had an absolute blast doing games/crafts/beach stuff while I parked myself at an empty table in the bar and worked.

We headed back on Friday, with the plan that we would stop at a number of bookstores on the way back so that I could sign stock copies of Mark of the Demon. It was a great plan, and we hit two of the bookstores on our list…

And then the car broke down just past Pensacola. There must have been a god or two smiling down upon us, because the temps were in the high nineties, we had a fully loaded car and a five-year-old, and we broke down after we’d exited to get gas. We were right by a muffler place, so Jack pulled in and the guy took a look at the car. But when he said, “Well, I think it’s your catalytic converter, and I got a buddy down the road who’ll fix it for just $4000,” we smiled, thanked him, and limped down the road to a Waffle House where Jack borrowed a phone book and starting making calls. Two hours (and several hundred dollars) later, the car was on a tow truck to return to Louisiana, and we were in the backseat of the tow truck driver’s wife’s pickup. (Okay, “pickup” is an incredibly paltry description for this vehicle. It was a gleaming white extended cab four door dual wheel truck with every possible bell and whistle.) Jack had managed to negotiate a price that included our own transportation along with the car, and since the driver and his wife had family near where we live, it worked out well for everyone. (Well, except for the fact that the car was still dead.)

So, I’ve been carless since we got back (which actually hasn’t been that big a deal since I’ve been hunkered down with revisions) but we’re crossing fingers that we’ll get it back today. (Oh, and for the record, it was NOT the catalytic converter. $4000 my ass.)

In book news, there’s not much new to report. Mark of the Demon has officially been on sale just over two weeks now. I don’t know how sales are going, but I’ve been getting some really wonderful emails and comments from people telling me how much they liked the book. I’m trying to respond to everyone, but I’ve fallen a bit behind because of the revisions, so please bear with me! I really appreciate all of the kind words, and it’s an absolute thrill every time I read that someone else has enjoyed the book.

About the only other news I have is that I’ll be in San Diego in two weeks for Comic Con. I already have a couple of events scheduled, and I’ll try to post the details tomorrow. I’ve never been to a ComicCon before, so I expect to be completely out of my depth. Fun stuff! :P

Okay, back to revisions!