October noodlings and doodlings

Well, so. Yesterday I finished the lovingkindness story for Yellowcake; it's very loving and kind, but a little sad, too. I took off its broken wing completely in the end, and fattened up its middle. Now it just needs to sit and prove in a corner for a day or two before I read-through-and-fix it and send it off. And then I'll have finished, not just a story, but a whole BOOK!

The design of which (oops! must answer that email) A&U sent to me the other day. I've seen the cover, which is wonderfully yellow and weird and continues the begging-to-be-a-boxed set design that Zoe Sadokierski has done for my collections. The interior theme is moths and locks of hair. It looks a treat.

Re the set of 4 stories, I think the second one will be a story that I've been trying for years to get right. I've left it alone for long enough now that I think I can come back and have another go at it with a reasonable expectation of completing it properly—more than that I'm not prepared to hope! It involves olms and has a steampunkish aura. (Except steampunk wasn't around when I started it, so clearly the problem was just that it was before its time.)

I've received the full set of editors' comments on The Brides of Rollrock Island (or whatever it will be called) now, and I'll be dividing my time between revisions and the 4 stories between now and Christmas. Can I do it all? Well, I aim to. And it might even be publishable; you never know your luck.