So I have been fiddling with things all day, from cleaning  the apartment, to doing the dishes, to fiddling with the webpage.  It might be because I am procrastinating on the writing.  Or maybe I am just restless. 

I do like the theme I selected ( even if I am probably going to replace the header soonish), and the apartment is cleaner  and the story is going well. Slowly, but well.   I am definitely in the last scene, though. So yay.

 Here is a tiny snippet:

”That is a relief to hear. The thought of leaving ground is… unsettling.”
<It is unsettling for anyone that is born without wings,>The gryphon assured her.

Anyway, I hope you have a lovely weekend! I am going to spend it… not writing. Since I am off to the cottage tomorrow. 

I am still working on The Bone Dragon’s Curse, which is now 14 000 (!) words longer than the first draft. I am working on the end, maybe even the final scene, and I’m still not sure I have the right story. It is almost there, but I feel that there are some things that need to click in my brain, if that makes sense. The only way to fix it is a distance from the book, and probably some hard poking at the worldbuilding. 

I like the characters, and the plot. I do like the story, but it is probably that I can’t see the story clearly right now.  And it is good that I like the characters, since there will be sequel, featuring the same characters.   And gryphons. Lots of gryphons.

Before I write the sequel, I’m going to revise this one again.  And then again, since my editor will probably hand me a shredded manuscript back.. .erm… I mean an editor letter telling me what needs to be fixed.  (I love you, Laura Anne. You are fabulous and experienced and awesome. I am glad I have you.)

First I have to finish, though. I had an ambitious plan to finish by tomorrow, which… will not happen. I *might* be done on Friday, but probably not. I should be done next week, though. Which will be a relief. 🙂

Then I celebrate by going to Gothenburg and seeing a show. *hopes everything goes smoothly since the train arrives 90 minutes before the show starts.*

Enough rambling. I am going to make dinner now.  Tasty Cajun salmon pasta. (I hope it is tasty. The recipe calls for chicken, but I want fish, so.)

I am busy with life and moving and day job. So my attempt to blog more regularly, isn’t exactly working. Hopefully February will be better, since then I will have moved fully into my new apartment. Anyway! Have a tiny snippet. It is a bit rough, since I just finished writing the scene. But it is non-spoilery! 🙂 (And the book is over 42 000 words, which means I have added 12 000 words to the book. o-o. It is a good reminder that the second draft is a rewrite. Not from scratch, but it is extensive.)

Aldis stopped and stared at the ancient oak that dominated the meadow. She slowly turned and looked around, searching for the cluster of trees that should surround it. Tension coiled within her when she couldn’t see it.
Maybe that explains why the tree feels… dormant, she thought. If an Elder lost their grove, the shock would send them into their tree. Unless it killed it immediately. Aldis looked at the tree, wincing when she saw the door cut into it.

This week has been a bit frustrating, since I realised that it would be better if the next part of the scene was told by another character. The problem was that I am 2/3rds into the draft and he hasn’t bad any POV scenes before. Yeah. But I figured out a way that will strengthen the opening, and add some tension to it, so yay!

Anyway.  Here is a snippet.

Dread coiled around him. There was only one reason for someone to come this early. The thought galvanized him. He pushed aside the blanket and hurried toward the door. He pulled on his cloak, slipped the bag he had packed over his shoulder, grabbed his staff.
He took a deep breath, and opened the door. He stared at the wolf standing in the dawn light. For a moment, his brain blanked on the wolf’s name. They had been introduced last night.. .Steady Paws, he remembered.

I have a quiet New Year’s Eve, this year.  With dad, my oldest nephew, and my youngest brother and his girlfriend*pauses* Maybe not quiet, since me and dad is babysitting my nephew. Who is a bit sick, and clingy. But he enjoyed the vegetarian tex mex we fed him. <3

It was nice, though, even if we aren’t going to watch any firelights. It is nice, though.  Even if it makes me wonder if I should do something different next year.

It is a long time until then, though. So Happy New Year, and I hope you have nice evening. 

So my mum had a hazelnut cake that she used to make when we were kids, though she stopped making it when we became older.  I really want to bake it, but dad is wincing and giving me desperate looks when I mention it. So I wont bake it. Today.  Tomorrow when he is off to work is another question…

Anyway. It is delicious, and glutenfree and dairy free. It is *not* vegan or sugarfree, though I am pretty sure that anyone willing to experiment with replacing the eggs and sugar, can make it vegan or sugarfree.  I am posting the version with hazelnuts, but any nuts should work just fine!

2 1/4 dl hazelnuts OR 150 g. (FYI 1 dl of ground hazelnuts is roughly 45 g) 

3 eggs

2 dl sugar

1 tsk baking powder

Preheat the oven to 175 C.

Grind the nuts finely in a blender (if you are using whole nuts).  With a spoon ot spatula, gently mix the eggs, sugar and baking powder. Add the ground nuts and mix it some more.

Pour the batter into a breaded pan with some parchment paper in the bottom and immediately put it into the oven for 40 minutes. 

Anyway. This is the hazelnut cake mum used to make.

Somehow, it is late December and a hot summer was followed by a mild Fall/Winter., until a couple of weeks ago.   Which is great writing weather. Or in my case, revising.  Which I have been doing, in between packing and working and commuting. I think I am going to be done in January, hopefully, since I figured out that if I revise chapters backwards, and out of order I revise faster.  This only works when the scenes aren’t covered in yellow notes, and will need to be merged. *looks at the messy chapter 9* 

Well. At least I will just have 3 chapters left when I am done?! *clings to that*

Right now, the plan is to be done with this draft in January. Normally, I would have said *early* January, but… I am moving in  early January, probably.  The move will be a good thing, since it is closer to town, with a shorter commute and better services.

Yes, you heard it right. No more spending 3 hours per day on the bus, to and from work, or being 20-30 minutes late because I  missed the bus. Whee!  

I am packing up my apartment, since I am moving soon. And today I decided to pack my cookbooks.  I am the first to admit that I am lousy at using cookbooks.

Primarly because I don’t really have space for them in my kitchen, so they are in the bookshelf in the main room, and… I forget to look in them when I cook and bake things. 

The kitchen in my new apartment has bookshelves in the kitchen, so the cookbooks is going there. Hopefully I’ll be better at using them. 🙂

Anyway. I decided to leaf through one of the cookbooks that mum gave me years ago, since I like the author’s recipes.

And… I happened to stumble on a recipe where I had all the ingredients in the fridge.

So I had tasty mushroom pasta for lunch. (I did replace the cream with creme fraiche, since I had an opened beaker in the fridge and added some soy and white wine.)

Standing there, cooking and deciding to add a splash of this and splash of that and sprinkle of herbs and some salt, filled me with joy.  Which.. was a good reminder for me to have this week.  

Anyway. Now I am going to write, and then I am going to do laundry and then I am going to figure out what to make for dinner.