Almost Gone

A year, that is. The 2007 Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference is almost here, which means it has been nearly a year since I felt so close to having The Voice in My Head done and off to New York. That plan didn't include my daughter's eventual hospitalization after a long series of mystified doctors, or a back yard renovation that simply will not end, or etc etc etc . I still have a fence along my neighbor's property to finish before I start editing the current draft, which I hope will put me back at work with the red pen rather than the hammer and saw within a week or so.

I was reminded of the conference this morning when my daughter and I ran into a writer I'd met at last year's conference. I didn't know he lived in my neighborhood, and in fact it wasn't untiI I got home that I realized who he was. But I started thinking about the conference and how excited I was that my book's intro had been so well received by Jamie Raab--she probably doesn't even remember me now. How many flakes with half-done books do people in her position meet at these conferences? Loads. Loads and loads of posers who get sidetracked with other interests, like photography, patios, swimming lessons, and worst of all, video games.

I keep reminding myself of what Elizabeth George told me: "The people who get published are the people who don't give up." The date on that email from her is 4/6/02. I haven't given up yet. But at some point I'm going to have to finish the book.

Now, where's my good hammer?