Normally, I would have already written this post by now. I’ve been out of school for a week! But don’t worry. I haven’t been laying about, sunning myself by the pool and feeding the goldfish, totally un-goal-oriented. Oh no. (For one thing, there’s been very little sun.)
I’ve been so caught up in revisions for THE EIGHTH DAY, I haven’t had the chance to write it down as #1 on my To Do List! But by the time you read this post, I expect I will have sent the manuscript back to my editor, so I can go ahead, make the list, and check the first one off:
1. Complete revisions for THE EIGHTH DAY and send the manuscript off to my editor. (DONE, I hope!)
2. Plan and then complete revisions on the draft of THE EIGHTH DAY #2. This is due to my editor by August 1. It will be her first look at the manuscript – and the very first manuscript I’ve ever turned in that was contracted before it was written. (Gulp.)
3. Visit my sister’s family in Kansas and try not to think about book stuff all the time.
4. Contact book stores and libraries about appearances to promote THE CAGED GRAVES. (This is difficult for me because I am shy. I love it when I am invited to appear somewhere. Soliciting engagements is harder for me.)
5. Plan and plot THE EIGHTH DAY #3 – at least as much as I can before the main characters wrench the outline out of my hands and force me to start writing the draft under their direction.
6. Get off my behind to swim and walk and bike as much as possible.
7. Visit London, Wales, and possibly Paris with the family. Part of this trip will be book research. Part of it will be Doctor Who Fan-Girling. All of it will be fun.

8. Make a quick pass of revisions on another manuscript and do a little brainstorming/research for a Shiny New Idea.

I know this is far more than I can ever get done in a couple months, and yet I feel like I have to put it all on the List. What are your goals for the summer?