Happy (albeit Damp) Monday, everyone!
Since REAL fall weather has finally come down on my part of the world in all its rainy, dismal glory, it's safe to say a good many, if not most, of the coming days will be spent indoors, chained to my desk: mostly for PhD work, though there will be bursts of writing here and there. In such conditions, the possibilities for exhilarating inspiration (or cabin fever and descent into not-so-near insanity :P ) are almost endless, something I've seen and gone through with many a writing project. As a tongue-in-cheek warning about these states of mind, I present for this week's song White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane, for their famed album Surrealistic Pillow (Usual copyrights apply; I own nothing!)
Though I can't recall the first time this trippy tune reached my ears, it's been a familiar one for most of my life (perhaps thanks to having folk and '60s rock fans for parents, as I've mentioned before :) ), and currently has a favored spot on my Random Mix playlist. It wasn't until recently, however, that I came to appreciate the deeper meanings and references in the lyrics: the amusing hypocrisies Grace Slick noted while writing them, and the possiblity of achieving "altered" states (without LSD, in my case :D ) through books, be they Alice in Wonderland or any other kind of reading you can lose yourself in. Taking on the joys and demands of writing has opened many more ways of reaching such states, and while I'll always keep plenty of time open for staying in and dealing with the Outside World, the escapes offered by these ways will never lose their appeal.
I'll be taking fewer escapes in the next few weeks; just enough to let me stay sharp, while also staying grounded. Minor edits and new spot work on Dixie Curtain are still at the forefront for this period, though I may also tinker with other drafts or finished projects, and set down some new ideas that've been nagging at me for a time. Bloody Relations has gone out to my carefully chosen team of beta-readers; best estimate for the final draft version is still Halloween, at the earliest. I've found a niche What-If publisher that might be a good fit for this project, so I'm leaning toward that option; final decisions should be made around the same time. Keep watching this site and my FB and Twitter feeds for more updates, and keep up the shares, reviews and comments in the meantime!