Dogged Deadlines!

I've been Missing in Action for much of the last month. My family wonders where Mom has gone. My neighbors may be asking if I've moved away. Social media connections almost certainly believe I've unfriended them. I've been on deadline.

This particular deadline crunch began with a challenge. I attended a writers' conference in mid-September. A woman I've known for years and have worked with frequently, managing editor at a publishing house that has produced some of my books, attended the same conference. She issued a broad challenge to anyone willing to accept it: The publishing house had a contest going involving three different genres. They sought novellas in each of the three categories, with the best entry in each to be published next year. One of those categories is historical romance and my friend, the editor, challenged me to send her a manuscript.

The problem? She showed me the flyer for the contest and issued her personal challenge on September 14. The deadline for all entries was October 15. Could I write a novella start to finish in a month?

Now you understand why I've been MIA. I've been pushing that deadline. The good news is, the novella is complete at 36,000 words. Three lovely readers and an editor gave it a once-over for me, even when I gave them a two-day deadline to get it done, and I submitted my complete manuscript two days ago, on October 14, actually one day early. It's a good story, too. I did it! But that's about all I've done lately.

What has this experience taught me? For one thing, I can be stubborn about taking on a challenge, even if it doesn't seem realistic. Also, I can write a book in a month if I'm highly motivated. Those are good things to know. Not so good are some of the other lessons, like realizing I can disappear so completely into the black hole of my fictional world that I can practically vanish from the physical world we inhabit. Not good. Not good at all.

I'm back now, remembering where I live and reconnecting with the actual people around me. I'm even working again on my other deadlines, which got pushed back or snubbed altogether during my month of publishing panic. Today, I appear to be just like other people with other jobs, people who work given hours and live the rest of the time with family and friends.

I'm not cured, however. Deadline Fever will surely strike again. One day soon, I'll realize I've spent so much time playing with my imaginary friends that my actual, physical friends wonder what has happened to me. Or maybe not. My friends know I'm a writer, after all.

Susan loves to hear from readers. Write her at susan.aylworth.author@gmail.com, or visit www.susanaylworth.com or her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/Susan.Aylworth.Author. Watch for Amber in Autumn, Book 3 in the "Seasons of Destiny" series, coming early next year. Books 1 and 2, Paris in the Springtime and  Sunny's Summer are available in e-book and paperback formats. Winter Skye will follow soon. Who knows? There may even be an historical romance novella to add to the mix. Stay in touch for updates. 

Of Pixels and Pistols and Aching Feet

by Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson

I have walked through Paradise… and my feet hurt.

The Husband and I have just returned from the huge NRA convention in Atlanta, and it was fabulous! But my feet still hurt. There was over 15 acres of exhibits over three floors of the immense Atlanta convention center. We were there three days and still didn’t get to see everything. We even got lost a couple of times in the neatly gridded maze of exhibits.

In case you didn’t know, I like competitive shooting. Don’t do it much anymore, but I do like shooting, which pretty much means I like guns. The Husband prefers long guns while I lean more toward pistols, but we looked at everything and tried everything we could, including the virtual shooting booths. In a pistol booth I hit 12 targets with 13 shots, missing (embarrassingly) only on the next-to-last shot. I don’t like hunting or the idea of hunting but couldn’t resist trying a virtual reality experience where you use a ‘rifle’ to ‘shoot’ marauding bands of feral hogs. Shooting pixels with lasers doesn’t bother me. The only bad thing was the VR helmet would not fit over my glasses, so I had to shoot literally blind – and so missed every single one of those pixilated beasties! For someone with my shooting record it was a humiliating experience. (And we won’t talk about what the tight-fitting VR helmet did to my hair!) I did better at the air-powered range, where you shot pellets at a variety of targets, and made most of my shots, which made me feel better.

I asked a lot of questions about guns and ballistics and took pages of notes, so my fictional villains (and heroes) can be up to date on the tools of their choice. I also loved seeing the historic guns – whether real or exact replicas. I think everyone who writes historicals and has a character who uses a gun should actually hold one in their hands – it’s an eye-opening experience. All of them are unwieldy and unbelievably heavy, including the little two-shot derringers. (I was startled to learn that there is a company not too far from me that still makes beautiful, hand-crafted two shot derringers!)

One thing that sticks in my mind is an incredibly beautiful .45 1911 automatic (which is a big handgun) that was not only a fantastic firearm, but had the entire surface covered with the most exquisite engraving. I have never seen engraving so beautiful, not even on historic museum-quality silver pieces. The owner allowed the manufacturer to display it at NRA – after paying over $50,000 for the pistol. I am so grateful he did, for the gun was not only a prime example of wonderful technology, but of pure beauty.

I could – and probably will – write lots more about the convention, but must say one more thing. The pre-convention estimates put expected attendance at 80,000. I disagree, thinking that by a conservative estimate it must have been closer to 90,000. The crowds were enormous, but it was an incredibly pleasant experience. Attendees were clad in everything from very expensive-looking suits and ties to full camo hunting gear and just about everything else in between, and got around on everything from feet to canes to walkers to scooters to infant strollers.

What struck me most was the behavior of the crowd. It was one of the most pleasant experiences I’ve ever had in large venues. Everyone was polite. There was no pushing or shoving, no shouting, no fights, no arguments. The only raised voice I heard was a mother shouting for her child who had wandered off. Yes, the noise level was high, but it was the natural volume of lots and lots of people talking in ordinary voices in an enclosed (albeit huge) space. One time I tripped (over my own feet) and almost fell, but three strangers caught me before I smashed on the floor, set me upright and would not leave until I assured them I was all right. They offered to get me a drink or a chair or take me to the First Aid station or go look for my husband if I wanted. Their clothes were rough and their accents definitely not posh, but they were true gentlemen, and I found that true of everyone I saw there. Even the children (and there were lots of them) were well behaved.

Would be that the entire world were so civil.