All right, I’m going to start earlier today for those of you who live in other parts of the world. If you want one of 14,000 things to be happy about:
please give me a page number from 1 to 612 and another number between 1 and 30, and I’ll tell you what the book says.
Want to know why I’m happy?
In past years, I’ve mentioned that I love Tax Day because I like checking out the post office near midnight. Our closest post offices no longer have anyone standing outside during those countdown hours to take people’s tax returns. I don’t know if the Internet has eliminated the need for that, or if the USPS just forces everyone to go downtown. I intended to go out late anyway, so I decided to cruise the downtown post office.
It was crazy busy! Traffic was backed up on the street in front of the building. One parking lot was completely full. The other parking lot had cops and postal employees waving people through and taking their returns.
Inside the post office was hopping.
I just love the surreal nature of it all.
I’m crazy about my new camera, but I have lots to learn still, especially about using it at night. But here’s a little portion of the downtown skyline as seen from the post office.
One thing I was not doing at the post office was mailing my manuscript. However, maybe I can safely say now that the writing is finished. This was the scene around The Compound over the weekend.
Editor No. 1, she who wields the red pen. That would be me.
Editor No. 2, Timothy, who gets by with a little help from his friend.
The proofreader, Tom.
The shredder awaits the mark-up.
Around 330 pages and 94,000 words. The final draft. Or… is it?
One last read-through at 59 Diner after my post office gazing.
(Note to Mark G. Harris: Perfect place for middle-of-the-night grits run.)
Some things had been nagging at me, so even though I thought I was going to send it out Monday morning, I decided to stay away from it for a full day then skim it one last time. It was the right decision. I found a few problems that would never have happened if I’d written this novel the way I usually write them. But that didn’t happen, and it doesn’t matter. Because later this morning (after I’ve slept), I’ll correct those things and by afternoon this baby will be on its way to New York–thirteen months after it was originally due. That’s some gestation period, huh?
Amazingly, I don’t hate it.
Not amazingly, I can’t wait. 🙂
Ah tax day – we e-file ours, and it still sucks.
I’ll take 75-5, please.
“cultured gray and white pearls”
OMG omg omg I am so excited to read it.
I am thrilled you are done. I hope some weight is lifted off your soul from finishing it.
And taxes, well what can I say about taxes? They suck.
Congrats again.
4, 16 please.
Thank you and yes, a huge weight is lifted.
“aging a stew or soup”
Did you have to use an extra flash attachment for that night shot? (I can’t wait to see your new camera in person! I’ll probably buy my new one after S&S.)
Congrats on almost finishing the novel. I’ll take page 311, # 4, please.
No extra attachments. You can bet you’ll be seeing A LOT of my new camera. And me saying, “How does this work?!?”
Thanks.
“a parenthesis in time”
A “parenthesis in time”…hmmm…do you think they’re referring to a “pause” in time? If so then I’ll take it!
I keep thinking it sounds like a title because of “A Wrinkle in Time.”
Wouldn’t it be great if we could pause time like Samantha on “Bewitched” while we argue with Endora?
Sign me up for that. It would also be fun to stop time with the rude customer and fill their pockets with mushy peas.
For example.
I’ve always liked the way you think.
woohoo! congrats on finishing!
lessee… pg 55, #22, please. 🙂
Thank you. (I hope you’ll enjoy your namesake.)
“gentle head and shoulder rolls”
😉 i look forward to it!
head & shoulder rolls, eh? alright. interesting.
Great pics. I can’t wait for CW. I’ll take p4 #16
Thank you. =) Look up; you and Shannon asked for the same thing.
“aging a stew or soup”
Well, I am hoping that in two weeks I[‘ll be in the same place.
Page 20, number 8 please.
You WILL be. And FARB, too. There will be dancing in the streets.
“laying in a supply of paper plates and taking a week’s vacation from dishwashing”
How great that you’re done!
I love especially the pic of the city from the Post Office.
Page 47, number 12, please.
Thank you. =)
“remembering when all soda came in bottles and had sugar in it”
(You’re too young for that.)
I had someone else do my taxes. All I did was sign and mail. I’m just awaiting the $$ to be deposited on 4/29. For the last few years, the only post office open ’til 11:59 is downtown. They just zip ’em through, and send ’em out.
An elephant gestates for, like, two years. So your “baby” is fine. And Coventry will rock!
I’ll take page 4 item 2.
Thanks! We’ve been having someone do our taxes since we bought the house. And no way would I get near them now that I’m self-employed.
“regional offerings on the menu”
I almost thought that said “virginal offerings on the menu.” So…the cannibals are up to that old practice again?
::giggle::
Oh, how cool! Congratulations!
And page 550, number 2, please.
Thank you!
“mahogany bowls from Haiti”
A few days ago I finished A Coventry Christmas again. I am always in awe of your ability to tell a story in such a believable manner. Mail that baby off and release that stress you’ve been carrying around for so long. It will be MARVELOUS!!!
page 3 number 29 (for Lila)
And you never have to hear me whine about it again, woohoo!
“paintboxes”
(We must be sure Lila has plenty of those, and teach her about the “distance effect.”)
And be her “praise police”
Yes!
How exciting! I can’t wait to read it!
Page 200 number 7 for Dashly
page 1 27 for me
Dashly’s happiness comes from:
“a slatted wood staircase”
Yours:
“Staffordshire calico dinnerware”
(You can google it; it comes in brown and blue. Maybe Emily would like that pattern in her next book.)
She’s more of a talavara girl … sadly I don’t think her budget would allow that either.
Ohhhh, I would love to have a fountain with talavera tiles. Poor Emily. Someone needs to die and leave her some money. (Book III?)
So Becks, I think that you might have just given me book three … seriously. When I read that I thought “who would leave Emily money… ” and I think I have an interesting answer.
I can’t wait to read it!
Thank you. =)
Yeah. Me too!
Thank you. =)
We had a very exciting tax day yesterday. I wrote about it on Raven’s Rides (www.ravensrides.com). 😉
I had great fun riding back from the post office afterwards. I don’t know if the place was open, or if they were just taking returns. It was the only place in the county that was open until midnight and a 45 mile round trip for me.
I read your account of your tax woes, beginning the other day when you realized your post office didn’t have forms. Ours didn’t have forms this year, either. It’s probably for the best, because most of them end up on the floor. I don’t know what gremlins get in the post office and do that.
I do know that our library here carries tax forms, because we got them there before to do my mother’s taxes (very simple, hers are).
I don’t know how you do your own taxes when you’re self-employed. It’s just all too complicated for me. We spend a boatload of money every year to have someone do them, and honestly, I’d go without food AND fuel to pay her just to avoid the headache of them. I admire anyone who can do their own taxes.
I didn’t want to fork out $600 for tax preparation this year. We’re earning very little (not enough to get by, really) and it was an expense we could do without. I was surprised at how straightforwards most of it was and the rest was do-able if you view them in a linear and very rigid-minded fashion.
Some while ago I did a lot of reading about tax and got myself a sort of layman’s education. If I didn’t hate accounting so much I could probably be an H&R block preparer. 😉 I used previous tax returns as a guide/template, and then just used what I knew to figure out what I didn’t know, and am now hoping for the best. I’m sure we will be informed sooner rather than later if we screwed up, but I don’t think so. 😉
What part of it is the most daunting to you?
I don’t like math! I don’t want to read about financial stuff. It makes my brain go numb and my mind starts singing big band songs to escape it all.
Mostly, since we’ve used the same preparer for so many years, they know how to depreciate my business equipment and take advantages of tax stuff I’d never know about.
Your ability to research that and put it to good use is just one more thing to admire about you. =)
I kind of had a baptism by fire when I moved to the USA. 😉
I feel the way you do about motorcycle mechanic work. 😉
Thank you 🙂