Celebrating - Half-days and works in progress

I am posting this early because I will be traveling tomorrow and won't have time to do things properly.

Today I am celebrating taking a  half day's vacation and driving down to visit my mother. My father died this past summer and Monday would have been their 63rd anniversary.  I thought she would like company (we try to be with her as much as we can).  But aside from that, she's a lot of fun and has been a wonderful mother who, though I love and respect her as my mother, has turned into a friend I enjoy 'hanging with', as the American slang goes. 

So I have taken a half day and will be driving down through the New York and New Jersey countryside (stopping at stands that sell beautiful 'Beefsteak' tomatoes and fresh corn), and then on to Mom's house.  I'll be setting up her computer (she actually got one!) and showing her some good things on it - like Facebook, where her grandchildren are posting.

She's very bright (I'd say brilliant) and is a quick learner with a devastating, subtle wit.  It should be fun.



Kadesh - wretched cover!

I'm also celebrating my WIP, called 'Kadesh'.  That is the name of a famous battle that led to the first international treaty in recorded history.  The story is about four brothers who go to war with their father - but while there is the battle itself, it isn't a war story.  Rather, it is about the family itself.  There are several (historical) female characters who are engaging.  It's the sequel to my recent one,  Mourningtide, taking up fifteen years after.

My new cover for Kadesh!  A Wrap!

The reason I'm celebrating is that I haven't touched the thing since November.  I've been going through, reading the chapters, adjusting the timeline, and thinking, "Actually, this is pretty good!"

I wrote it during the 2012 NaNoWriMo and made the requisite words, then got busy.  It's good, but it needs a lot of work, both in composing and in editing.  I'm having fun.  Now if I could just come up with a better cover...  Perhaps this one?  It does capture the personality and attitude of one of the major characters, the Crown Prince.




This blog hop is the brainchild of VikLit, who thought it a good and enjoyable (and beneficial!) thing to pause regularly and not only count our blessings, but celebrate them.  Why not join?