Gosh… how did it get to be the end of July?

So Abby comes back from camp this Saturday, and apparently things have been going less than swimmingly (har, har, har) the last few weeks. We got a note from her counselor two days ago that was — well, let’s call it tepid. Evidently (according to the camp coordinator, anyway) Abby is not overly fond of the swimming activities. Which is a bit of a problem, since they comprise approximately 80 percent of each day.

Since we have received exactly one written missive since her departure (written on the bus to camp, I suspect — “Glad to be here, you can send packages!!!”), I have no idea how she’s doing, and am rather anxious to have her back in the familial fold.

We’ll know soon enough, I suppose — and we’ll celebrate her belated birthday (it happened at camp — grrr) Saturday night. And some of our relatives may or may not attend, because approximately twenty of them will be in town, and the whole informal invitation process seems to have evolved into something like the Middle East peace talks.

*sigh*

Anyway, in other news, I am creeping along on the werewolf book — if I’m feeling particularly motivated after signing off tonight, I will crack through the 80K mark. But if I decide to bag it and eat chocolate pudding instead, there’s always tomorrow. Speaking of pudding, I made a great batch the other day — a bit lumpy, since I poured the milk into the egg yolks a bit fast (it boiled over on the stove while I was cleaning up the bottle of Worcestershire I dropped on the tile floor while looking for the cornstarch, so it was all a bit hurried). Nevertheless, the whole thing was very chocolatey and yummy. Mmm. I think the pudding is going to win.

And I CAN eat pudding now, come to think of it, because I finally got my head shot done (it’s the new profile pic — I’ll have a couple of others on the web site soon, too). I’ve been procrastinating for months, but finally had to bite the bullet, since I had to turn one in July 30. I don’t know if you’ve ever had one done, but it was an all-day process, and when I’ve recovered from the trauma, maybe I’ll blog about it. Right now, I’m just glad it’s done, and I plan to use the thing until I’m 80. Maybe longer.

Oh, and according to Signe (isn’t that a great name?), one of my editors at Ballantine, the new pub date for HOWLING is Feb. 2008, which I think is a month later than originally planned. All three books are coming out next year, and since I’m not quite done with the second, I’d better get cracking.

How are you? Oh, I posted on Cozy Chicks today, too — am off to Alaska next week, which means lots of relatives, no Internet, and hopefully a few moose. I’ll take pictures and forget to post them. I promise. 😉

Toodles… I’ve missed you all!

15 Responses

  1. John K. says:

    I just happened to check on your blog and saw that you had just posted! I went to Cozy Chicks and read your post there, too. I’m glad your summer is going well. I sympathize with Abby, though… swimming was MY least favorite activity at summer camp. And of course it was also one of the longest. Horseback riding was the other, but I liked that. I hope she had fun the other 20% of the time! Either way I hope she has a happy belated birthday.

    My Austin plans are still a go for September, despite the fact I’m still looking for a day job to support my music habit. But first I’ve got to get past the first three weeks in August, until the kids go back to school that is, during which time I’ll have them nearly every day. Sound familiar? 😮

    Have fun in Alaska! Let me rephrase that… I hope you have a very memorable time in Alaska. Would that be 12 family members on one little boat? Ah, yes… wine!!

    Gorgeous head shot, btw. Seems to have been worth the trauma. 🙂

    John

  2. Nice picture!

    Oh, oh, oh! I got the project done! I had to use my copy of Dead and Berried for the picture because I couldn’t find my copy of Murder on the Rocks. I still need some brown silks to finish out the set to go with the bead, but that will happen eventually. Check it out!

    The book, the bead, the box
    The bead up close, complete with platinum whale

    –Laura

  3. MMM Nuthin’ beats chocolate.. cep’n maybe chocolate liqueur. Hmm I should prob’ly stop by the store on the way home and grab myself some, now that I think about it.. Chocolate martinis. Perfect drink to edit by.
    Speaking of which, I finished the novel that I was working on rewriting while I was taking your class. Comes to 95,000 words. Yikes 😛 I wanna make one more edit pass over it and correct all the changed names and whatnot, and then it’s off for critiques! I’m hoping to take a copy to Dragon con..

  4. Dear Karen- Just saw your new photo and you are ONE HOT MAMA! Are you going to look like that the next time I see you? If so, please give me ample time for hair and makeup prior to our meeting so I don’t feel like the “homely friend who sews her own clothes”. You remind me of an actress, and if I didn’t have Alzheimer’s, I’d tell you which one. Miss you! Melissa

  5. John,

    Gosh… you’ll be here in a month! Well, let me know when you get here. And I’m sure I’ll have a memorable time in Alaska. And yes, that’s 12 family members on one little boat.

    Thanks for the kind words on the head shot, btw; I can’t tell you how glad I am to have it behind me.

    And hope your “music habit” is going gangbusters, btw. Although it probably won’t be doing much the last two weeks of August. 🙂

  6. Laura,

    The bead is GORGEOUS. Love the water/sky/sea thing… beautiful.

    What an honor. Gives me goosebumps!

    Thanks so much for sharing — and let me know when you’re ready for me to add a link to my site!

    K

  7. Nicholas,

    Congrats on the ms… 95K is nothing to sneeze at.

    Keeping my fingers crossed that the submission process goes great. Have a few chocolate martinis… I’ll toast you from here!

    CHEERS!

  8. Melissa,

    Aw, shucks. Unfortunately, I will never look like that (my hair in particular) ever again, so you need not worry.

    And please tell me the actress isn’t Carol Burnett.

    Definitely yes on the getting together, btw; let’s set something up when I return from the frozen north!

    How’s the garage business?

  9. Great picture! Be pleased, be very, very pleased! LOL. ~ Dani

  10. Kayla says:

    Hey, Karen…I concur with the others. Great photo. Glad you’ll have your little girl back soon. I have 2 myself and really miss them when they’re gone – even though both are now in their teens.
    I took both your workshops at the Agents and Editors Conference and you were awesome! I had never heard of a “cozy mystery” before. I have been writing children’s stories and Christian fiction, but you inspired me, so I read both your books (thank you for autographing them for me!), Bead on Trouble, and Keepsake Crimes. I now have my own cozy outlined and ready for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) contest in November. You are such a talented writer, and wonderful speaker. I look forward to your next class because you have so much to share!!!

  11. My closest experience with summer camp were the day ones held by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Or these little basketball day camps where I worked at least as hard as the boys did. (My favorite prank was when we squatted against the wall for defense practice. I refused to admit to being tired, even if my legs were shaking. This one female teacher smirked when the boys wimped out first.) Maybe there was something in the atmosphere of the camp that she didn’t like.

    Anyway, I’m close to being finished (finally!) with my little article on you. I’m hoping to see it up soon on That Other Paper. I’ll announce it on my blog. Enjoy Alaska as much as you can, and have one or two interesting stiff drinks. (Let me know the name of the craziest one you see.)

    Love the new photo! Hope when I have mine they turn out as well.

    =Kendra=

  12. Kayla,

    Gosh… I could feel my head inflating as I read your sweet comment! 🙂

    So glad something I said was helpful; sounds like you’ve got lots of great ideas lined up.

    Keep me posted; I can’t wait to hear how NaNoWriMo goes!

  13. Dani — thanks a million — and good to hear from you!

    K

  14. Kendra,

    Your camp experience sounds more frightful than delightful; thank goodness Abby’s was better. And I can’t wait to see the article; let me know when it’s up!

    (And I’m sure your pics will be gorgeous.)

    Cheers, and again, I really enjoyed the interview — looking forward to reading it!

  15. Dear Karen- Just saw your new photo and you are ONE HOT MAMA! Are you going to look like that the next time I see you? If so, please give me ample time for hair and makeup prior to our meeting so I don't feel like the "homely friend who sews her own clothes". You remind me of an actress, and if I didn't have Alzheimer's, I'd tell you which one. Miss you! Tara

Leave a Reply

Join Karen's Readers' Circle and download your free copy of The Gray Whale Inn Kitchen!

Join Karen's Readers' Circle to receive a FREE copy of the Gray Whale Inn Kitchen e-book (priced at $2.99 on Amazon)... as well as new book alerts, recipes, bonus stories, behind-the-scenes tidbits and deleted scenes! 

Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.