cherry blossoms in the rain

This morning we had a wicked rainstorm in Vancouver, but, by the time I was walking home from my errands, the sun was burning off the clouds and the air was so, so sweet. The cherry and magnolia trees all along the boulevards are (almost) in full bloom; their heavenly scent triggered even further by the rain.

In the garden my dwarf stella cherry tree is just starting to bloom … I snapped this with my iPhone right before I came inside to – once again – chain myself to the computer.

Now the sun is out and I’m inputing numbers into spreadsheets. Death and taxes, right?
————-
WIP: taxes – yuck!
On the headphones: “Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia
Pen of the day: blue ink bic
Chocolate of the day: fresco 214 (74% single origin Madagascar). I’m attempting to savour the last piece as I write this, damn!

It’s the little pleasures that buoy up this large canvas of life

This week I am transcribing my handwritten 1st draft of my new novel, Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic, into the computer. Once this process is completed, I’ll have a 2nd draft ready for story editing (etc). I’ve done this for all my novels, excepting After The Virus, and I’m rather attached to the process … it forces me to write the 1st draft with little – or minor – editing … I fix everything – or expand or subtract – in my second pass.

Bear sketch business card by Jessica Gowling — The Bear holds my place patiently and without judgement of pace or quality.

Last December I purchased some ‘let it snow’ notecards from Jessica Gowling‘s Etsy shop, and, when I received the package in the mail, she had included this mini bear sketch business card. I adored the mini card so much I immediately put in on the magnet board next to my desk. Now I am using it as a notebook marker to hold my place after I finish a day of transcribing. I love bears in general, and this one specifically.

So, thank you, Jessica for sharing your art with me (and the world, of course).

It’s the little pleasures that buoy up this large canvas of life.

Tegan and Sara’s new single “Closer”

I wrote a pivotal scene of my new work-in-progress, an urban fantasy novel, Cupcakes, Trinkets and Other Deadly Magic, this afternoon while listening to Tegan and Sara’s new single, Closer. I went looking for new music and found this song on iTunes Top 100 (or so) chart. It was just so perfect for my main character, Jade, a witch who likes to play with magic and a little bit of danger without committing herself to either. Not necessarily literal, but in the emotion the song evokes. The iTunes player informs me that it took 27 noncontinuous plays via headphones to brainstorm and write the first draft of this scene. I’m not surprised, it’s a long, important scene. You know, the scene where the main character makes an error in judgement that’s going to screw her life up really badly, but she doesn’t know it yet. That scene.

Thank you Tegan and Sara, for the creative support this afternoon. Thank you to all the artists who enrich me with their music, words, and energy.

Tegan and Sara. – this is the video of the song on Tegan and Sara’s website – I was hoping it would embed here, but it didn’t – click through to view!