IWSG: Whew!

Time for a huge sigh of relief: I survived the insanity of NaNo! Time for a sigh of another sort: I'm not done with the book, and I had to take several days off from writing as soon as the month ended, to attend a conference. Now that's done and I'm digging out from under the home chores I neglected. Renewed respect for those who have full-time jobs and families and still manage to write even 100 words a day. You rock.

As for how NaNo went: I hit and passed the 50K mark (ended the month at 52,196), and have at least a partial image in my mind of how the rest of the book goes. I'm still hopeful that I can keep up the pace and finish before Xmas. Of course, I'm also at that point in the book where I am suffering serious doubts about what I'm doing and if I've really muffed it this time. It always seems to hit me about this point in a book (somewhere around 2/3). Last year, I made it to about 7/8, and then, lost and confused, let it slip away from me. That's not happening this time (and last year's book is next up, for a fresh take with me ready to do the work it needs to get finished).

Now on to this month's IWSG question of the month, which is a good one. As in, one I haven't really given any thought, even though when I see it it's obvious I *should* be thinking about it!

DECEMBER'S QUESTION: In terms of your writing career, where do you see yourself five years from now, and what’s your plan to get there?

I suppose if pushed, I'd just say that I expect to be doing about what I am now: writing books and publishing them at whatever pace I manage. But that's not exactly a career plan. It's probably realistic enough: it means just continuing to do what I'm doing, which is taking myself as a writer about 75% seriously. That might be okay. But a part of me would like to finally start taking the risks I need to step it up a notch: writing and submitting short stories, maybe even shopping Gorg around to the publishers instead of doing it myself. So for a happy vision of five years from now, I see myself with a bunch of refereed publishing credits under my belt.

(Note: I also see myself spending a lot of time traveling, and the two may not be 100% compatible. So what I may need to do to get to that point is to learn to both write AND edit in less optimal conditions. We'll see.)

Okay, your turn. What's your plan? Or if you don't want to go there, how did your NaNo go?

Oh, and just for kicks, check out my new book:

Mystery Monday: Death Comes to Pemberly

Title: Death Comes to Pemberley
Author: P.D. James; read by Rosalyn Landor
Publisher: Books on Tape (original: Alfred Knopf, 2011, 291 pages).
Source: Library digital services

Publisher's Summary:
It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate. Their peaceful, orderly world seems almost unassailable. Elizabeth has found her footing as the chatelaine of the great house. They have two fine sons, Fitzwilliam and Charles. Elizabeth’s sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; her father visits often; there is optimistic talk about the prospects of marriage for Darcy’s sister Georgiana. And preparations are under way for their much-anticipated annual autumn ball.

Then, on the eve of the ball, the patrician idyll is shattered. A coach careens up the drive carrying Lydia, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister, who with her husband, the very dubious Wickham, has been banned from Pemberley. She stumbles out of the carriage, hysterical, shrieking that Wickham has been murdered. With shocking suddenness, Pemberley is plunged into a frightening mystery.

Inspired by a lifelong passion for Austen, P.D. James masterfully re-creates the world of Pride and Prejudice, electrifying it with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly crafted crime story, as only she can write it.

My Review:
I suppose this is fan fiction, only that sounds absurd when the writer is one of as much stature as P. D. James! Still, the book seems to stand in an in-between space between James' own work and an effort to sound like Jane Austen. And the book sits somewhere between a mystery and an Austen novel. There is a murder, but Darcy and Elizabeth are not sleuths, even amateur ones. The mystery unfolds on its own, in fact, without any sleuth at all, and in the end I felt...cheated.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy the book, because I did. I love Jane Austen, and it was fun to dive back into her world. It was also a pleasure, if a somewhat guilty one, to see how that match between Darcy and Elizabeth works out. The prose is a good match though at some points it feels like it's working too hard to match, and the narrator is excellent. It's just that in the end, it isn't Jane Austen. And it didn't feel like it was PD James, either, because the book doesn't really do what James did best, either: it didn't present a complex and satisfying mystery.

Recommendation: 
It's a bit of a tricky call. It's a pretty good story, so if you are a fan of either Austen or James, and open to having them both a bit shifted from their usual natures, it might be a go. But if you are like me, you might want to go on imagining your own future for Darcy & Elizabeth.


FTC Disclosure: I checked Death Comes to Pemberley out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

Photo Friday and other fun stuff

Okay, the first order of business is congratulations to Jacky and Shelli, winners of the giveaway for e-copies of The Problem With Peggy. Happy reading!

Next, we have one more week without a new story, because I'm attending the California School Board Assoc. annual conference this week, and haven't had time to write a story (I made a start, but have only about 1/3 of a story, about 30 minutes to bedtime Thursday night. Not happening. I'll finish it and use it next week!). Meanwhile, I'm learning lots to help me lead our school district, which is a pretty amazing thing to be able to do.

So, as so often when I've no stories for you, I've gone into the archives for some photos to serve as a Friday distraction. And since a lot of us have been feeling like things are kind of tough the last few weeks, I picked out photos of things growing where you wouldn't think they could.

Pioneers among the lava (Hawaii Volcanoes NP)

Never underestimate the power of a plant! (Hawaii Volcanoes NP)

Datura grows lavishly in desert corners (Canyon de Chelly Nat. Monument, AZ)

I am always amazed at what grows in the desert, though of course the canyons are where the water is. Cottonwoods in the Narrows, Zion National Park.

Even where the sun hardly shines, plant grow on every ledge in the canyons (Zion NP)

What grows after the fire? Flowers! Beautiful, delicate flowers. (Sequoia NP)

Of course, the alpine flowers are a bit mind-boggling. How do they find every tiny pocket of dirt at 10 or 12,000 feet? (Sequoia NP)

Columbine are among the most amazing (to me), as they look so delicate, and grow in nearly dirtless cracks in the rocks at high elevation (Sequoia NP)

Okay, this one's a cheat. It's actually growing in a pretty decent spot, in a moderate-elevation forest. I just think they look so unlikely--some kind of saprophyte, which live on decaying matter rather than photosynthesizing (thus the lack of green bits).

I hope the photos gave you something to smile at, and a bit of hope!

©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2016
As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated!