Part of the Servian Wall … right outside Termini station!

What can I say about this Roman vacation that would do it justice? I saw the Alps and the Mediterranean from my airplane window. I fell in love with stone pine trees, which are great to sit under for shade. I geeked out about Latin and the wonders of ancient Rome for a whole week straight. Everything was so charming, and there were so many surprises around every corner, that coming home to the utilitarian boxiness of New World architecture was quite a letdown. Six months of planning and anticipation were well worth it. Still, I don’t feel like I’ve had my fill of Rome just yet. The cappuccino, cannoli, and cacio e pepe are more than enough reason to go back.

While there, we celebrated my husband’s birthday, which I made sure was filled with fun activities (like the Colosseum—which we did tour in English after all, but didn’t get to see the underground … long story). Also occurring during the whirlwind known as late April/early May:

* My MIL’s birthday
* Our nephew’s birthday (same day as MIL’s birthday)
* My SIL’s wedding anniversary
* Our wedding anniversary
* My mom’s birthday
* Mother’s Day

The rest of the year is pretty quiet by comparison!

Writing Updates

After some focus and soul-searching on what the climax should be and what needs to come after, I’ve decided Book 3 is going to be shorter than originally intended. Don’t worry, barring some unforeseen dramatic changes, I’ll still be writing the stuff that’s getting cut—but it’s almost certainly going into Book 4 instead. Having less to draft right now is quite honestly a weight off my shoulders, and will let me finish Book 3 that much faster. About 78K words are actually drafted at this point. My notes on the as-yet-undrafted scenes are about 13K words, which will increase when I go in and flesh things out. And how many words of stuff that’s gotten scrapped as my ideas have changed, you might wonder? 30K so far!! LOL all that outlining and careful planning for NOTHING. (I kid. It’s actually quite common for half or more of your creative output to end up in the trashcan.)

After I’m done drafting, there will be a ton of cutting and rewriting in my future, as my first drafts are always super-wordy and I’ve changed my mind many times about what should happen when. All part of the process!

Also, Blood’s Force and Harbingers have a new home: Google Play! I managed to resolve the centering issues that were affecting the images embedded in the ebooks, so now they are available for sale. Blood’s Force is here, Harbingers is here.

Current Goals

Well-rounded Latin practice. In addition to flashcards and textbook exercises, I’m slowly working in audio practice. That’s right, Latin podcasts exist! I don’t understand everything just yet, but I have enough grammar and words in place to get the gist of each episode. When I’m done listening, I write out a reply to whatever they were discussing—for instance, what I like to do for exercise. Maybe Latin isn’t so dead after all, huh? I still intend to apply for that immersion seminar in a couple of months, provided I keep up my courage that long.

Listening to German. Hilariously, I got quite a lot of experience with this in Rome. We happened to be in town during a string of holidays, and Germany’s so close to Italy that Germans readily hop down there for vacations. Wherever we went, I heard German being spoken. Unfortunately, most Germans do not share our hyper-friendly American habits. When I called out “Schönes Kleid!” to a little girl with a pretty dress, she said nothing. Her accompanying adults smiled, but also passed by without comment. So yeah, I can speak German, but damned if any German-speakers will let me use it on them! LOL Still, I will keep up my listening practice.

Civic engagement. For over a year, I’ve been helping new citizens register to vote via the League of Women Voters. I plan to keep that up, and also participate in some of the programs my city offers. For instance, residents will have a chance to comment on next year’s capital budget in the next few weeks.

I’m not sure what else yet! I plan to give it some thought. Hope all is going well for you, and see you next month! :)