Take a look ahead!

I've been really stuck in my head. I've written a couple of posts to put up here and then decided they were stupid. Not that I'm saying this one isn't stupid. I just decided it was high time I put SOMETHING up here.

I've been writing, gardening, writing, writing, running and writing. And eating and sleeping (when J isn't keeping me awake by driving imaginary trucks in his sleep) a little too. This lifestyle doesn't really make for the most exciting of blog posts, but I have to tell you, I freaking love my life.

My editor is incredible. She gets my main character and what I want this book to be. She's brilliant, and I am learning so much from working with her suggestions. I'm in awe. It is such a gift to be working with her. And to be working with my agent, who really goes above and beyond in terms of providing me with support and structure in this process. Being able to work with them, and being able to work with these characters and this story on this level is such a gift.

It doesn't always hit me that it's real. I'll trudge along, doing the work I need to do, but then I'll have a moment where I'll actually think, "Holy crap! My book is coming out next year!" And then I usually start crying, because I'm a big old baby.

Okay, since you're probably busy getting sick over all my sappiness, this is the part of the post where I'll make an abrupt shift and start complaining.

The marathon training schedule is not so much good on the fat burning. In fact, I found I was getting bigger. I wasn't losing or gaining weight, but my legs were getting huge. Yeah, I know. I should have known this. And I told myself (and maybe you) that I wasn't doing this to lose weight, but it's discouraging to be running 14 or 15 miles a week and have your jeans fit exactly the same way they did before. It's not that that I feel like I look particularly bad. It's just that I feel like I'm making a big change, and I want to see it.

I was going to stick it out to the ten mile point and then start working on speed and fat burning, but you know what? I never had any plans to actually run a marathon. I do, however, have plans to get my book jacket photo taken at some point in the not-so-distant future, and it would be really cool if I felt like I looked my best. So, I'm going to work on fat burning and muscle toning. I'm going to knock out the ten pounds I've been a little too comfortable with for the past couple of years, and then I'll go back to trying to run distances (which may actually be easier when I'm not carrying an extra ten pounds with me).

I'm not quitting. Just adjusting.

Oh, and in news that is only somewhat related. Yesterday, the awesomest sweatshirt in the history of sweatshirts arrived.

Behold!