A good Monday evening to all!
Since the (repeated) snowfall of late around here has no doubt trapped many people indoors--including myself--to the point of cabin fever and other breakdowns, I figured a jaunty, free-spirited tune was especially fitting for this week's choice. Thus, I share with you the song Don't Fence Me In, as sung by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters (Usual copyrights apply; I own nothing!).
Though I don't fully remember where I first heard this song, or how it wound up on my Random Mix, it's been a fixture in my writing life for so long that I can't picture working on any draft without having it as the final tune on the playlist. There've been many times in life when I've felt trapped or otherwise restricted to just a few tasks or pursuits--work, classes, errands, bills--and writing has managed to tear down the wall or fence created by these, or at least open a big enough hole to reassure me there's more out there. This song captures the relief and pleasure from such reassurance very well, and has often perked me up enough at the end of a writing session to finish a last, difficult section or sentence, or power through a final stretch of edits.
There'll be more of the latter work pretty soon: The beta-reads for All The Troubles of Home are beginning to trickle in, somewhat ahead of schedule. Once all have come back, I'll be tearing down and building up wherever teither's needed in the draft, and expect to start the publication process around the end of this month, as originally planned. Also got my first (very polite) rejection letter from one of the agents I pitched Discarded to; given the extra resources and contacts this agent included in the response, I'm actually feeling upbeat about the work's prospects. It may take longer than I expected, even allowing for the usal delays and issues--what doesn't, in the end? :) --but this draft WILL see the printed and ebook light of day! More updates to come, like always; until then, keep on sharing, commenting and reviewing!