Here’s my present progress on my book about a kidnapped baby with webbed hands and feet; her 17-year-old half brother who’s determined to rescue her; a creepy island in Puget Sound that’s been quarantined since 1918, and the Mother Hydra cult that has established itself thereupon; now with Bonus! fish people, religious zealots, and a teenage cryptozoology fanatic who really should’ve picked another hobby:

Project: (Tentative title) Far-Fetched
New Words: 2398 (but some of that was written last night)
Present Total Word Count: 10,014 words
Goal: 65,000 words

Observations: I’m trying to cram a lot of set-up into a fairly short space; I want to hurry up and get to the island — since that’s where all the best stuff goes down. But it’s a little bit of a trick, getting lots of “here’s what’s going on” laid down without creating an infodump swamp. Still, you know what they say about (when in doubt) bringing in a man with a gun. Come to find out, it works just as well if you bring in an 18-year-old girl with a gun.

Things Accomplished in Real Life: Spent a bunch of work time trying to get my work laptop to interface correctly with my printer/scanner; printed out hard copies of revisions for previous project and marked them up accordingly; did some proofreading; walked down to the post only to learn/remember that it’s President’s Day and there could be no Mailing of Important Things; moved Eldest Bamboo* to a larger urn filled with rocks and water, and set it outside — for it was not getting any love on the upmost kitchen shelf.

Reason for Stopping: Team Seattle — at least, those of us who are in town right now — are going to nab supper and then roll out to see Christopher Moore at the U-district bookstore. I’ve never read any of his books, though I hear they’re quite good, and maybe I’ll come away converted. Mostly, I’m along for the ride for camaraderie’s sake, and out of curiosity. But anyway, we’ll be leaving soon (must get there early!) and I need to change clothes, freshen up, etc.