It was a bad day yesterday for my allergies. The trees seemed to decide, en masse, "it's spring? It's SPRING! Let's POLLENATE!"
Ironically, there's snow in Guelph today. So winter's not dead yet.
Believe it or not, I wasn't as bad as I would have been three years ago, when I started taking allergy injections. But it seems as though I'm not through with the sniffing and the sneezing. Today is starting out better.
I'm now back to writing Fathom Five. Erin and I talked about the problems of the story a couple of days ago, and we both agree that the tale fizzles out after chapter four. The main problem is the Siren World. It doesn't sparkle, and it feels fake. I think part of the problem is that as it stood it had little connection with Clarksbury. The presence of the lost sailors was also complicating matters. Drop the sailors, and try to make the Siren World a reflection of Clarksbury. Also, borrow a page from Eileen Kushner's book about making faerieland (or the Siren World version of it) truly magical.
I'm a few pages into rewriting chapter five, now, and the words are beginning to spark again. We shall see what happens. In the meantime, The Young City simmers on the backburner. It's had a good run, but I think I need to set it aside until I can do some research.
Taking a page from Imogen's book, I've set up a small Yahoogroup where invited guests can read over Rosemary and Time and give me their feedback. Thus far the reviews have been most encouraging and very interesting. I'd like to thank the participants for their help. No word yet from Annick Press, but be patient. I must be patient...