May 27, 2025
There is a moment in Safe House where Taylor regrets their shopping choices. I am hopeful the kid and I will not do the same thing.
Yeah, with the kid’s big move happening at the end of the week, it’s time to do some shopping! Clothes and furniture are on the docket for today, but so are some other things. I’d be stressed if I didn’t know the kid works best this way and if experience hadn’t taught me that I can one hundred percent trust this kid, and then some.
The shopping day and the imminent move means I’ve got to get this edit done! I have 40 pages left in this first readthrough; I should be able to do it. It’s been absolutely fantastic this far, and I have ideas to strengthen it without changing its essence.
I had told a potential client that I’d save space for them when I get home from the big move, but I haven’t heard back confirming that, and I have an established client who’ll be sending their new manuscript my way before I get home. We’ll see how that shakes out; I am not one to ask a client to wait if I don’t have to. We all have deadlines and goals, friends, and communication is KEY.
I wrote about 2000 words in Absolutely Alyssa yesterday; I was on fire as Xavier spilled his darkest secret to Alyssa. So after dinner, out on the back deck with the kid, I pulled up a short piece I started… oof. Maybe a year and a half ago now? (in case you ever wondered how long it takes to produce a work of fiction!) I’m going to use it for my 2026 newsletter freebie, and I was blown away by it. It had started out as a different story, with a different purpose, and I’d begun reframing it a couple months ago but had let it sit as I fought with Absolutely Alyssa instead.
Let me tell you, letting it sit was a very very good thing.
And best of all? It still illustrates what I’d hoped it would!
Swordcrossed, by Freya Marske
(affiliate link; as always, money goes to operational expenses here at West of Mars)
If you’re having as much fun with this series as I am, feel free to pick up my books, book me for an edit (where I’ll talk about you here in vague but flattering terms!), or stuff my ko-fi. I’ve got my annual business insurance renewal coming up and this year, for the first time ever in 14 years, I’m a little short. Hopefully that’ll be resolved by the time payment’s actually due. Your support helps and means a lot!
Wish me happy shopping today. With only a few days left in town, things are getting real, and that includes nerves and emotions.
Can I just escape into a good edit? Please?
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