So I think I'm back among the living. Three solid meals today and no queaziness. Yay! I've been staying up pretty late the last couple of nights working on my book though. I write a lot slower when I'm ill. My goal is four chapters per week. It's not easy to do with a busy full-time job, but I need to get this book done. That's a great feeling. I've had that urgency about getting a story done before, but mostly those were short. In the past I've had a hard time with the details of getting a novel done. But now I'm to a point where I can see it all laid out in front of me, chapter by chapter, and I have to get it out on paper. It refuses to stay cooped up in my head. I have to be able to show it to other people. The story wants to be told.

So I got one new chapter written last night, and a previous chapter rewritten. I have to work extra hard on fight scenes. I'm going to have to do some research for the next two. So let me warn my friends -- I may be asking some weird questions over the next few days. One thing I've discovered is essential for a writer -- having a lot of friends with varied backgrounds. It makes research much easier and more fun. The next two chapters require camping and hacking.

No matter how many times Sarah calls me a geek goddess, I'm not going to rely on first-hand knowledge of hacking. Not where this book is going. The camping, though, I think I have covered. And if not, I'll just ask my parents. They went camping last weekend. Senior Citizens both, and they slept out on the ground in a tent in two Montana campgrounds. (That's a lie. I think one of them was a Wyoming camp ground. Anyone want to double-check where 'Dead Indian Creek' is?). My parents rock.

Sarah mentioned on her site that I watched "Mists of Avalon" with her, and she slammed my knowledge of the Arthurian legend. I feel I have to defend myself. It's not that I don't know the legend. I know who Arthur is, and who Gawain is, and Lancelot etc. I don't know all of their soap opera relationships. That's not what I read fantasy for (and oh yes, I read a lot of fantasy when I have time.) The problem is, I know that it's a legend, and that every writer makes up new stuff about it as they go along. So why bother keeping track of things that are subject to change by the next author? I readily admit that I'm not a fan of the legend. Everyone in the story ends up either miserable or dead, and if I wanted that kind of ending I'd read Shakespear, because at least he's guaranteed to be good at it. Absolutely nobody wins in this story. They can't. They're set up to fail. Kind of like Titanic. The ship is going to sink. Camelot won't last forever, magic is going to die, you can't trust anyone, blah blah blah.

I've never read the book "Mists of Avalon." I think it's interesting that some people tell me I really ought to, I'd love it. And others tell me, "don't bother, you'll hate it." And they're not talking about how good the book is. These are just their opinions based on their knowledge of the book and of me. I'm fascinated that people can have such different opinions about me. If the TV special is any indication of what the book is like, I think I'd hate it and I'm glad I haven't bothered. (Once again, don't get me wrong, they did a great job of producing the story -- good lighting, music, costumes, actors, script (mostly) I just don't like the legend so I'm going to mock it.)

I'm sure Sarah enjoyed the second half more without my running commentary.