Biker Queens and Pipe Dreams...

So it's been a while but I've been away due to good things... well, mostly. I did manage to 'possibly fracture' one of the knuckle joints on my right hand that was already being supported by a ring splint. With ten fingers, you'd think I could manage to hit one that didn't already have one foot in the grave, but not so. The docs don't think it's fractured, but because my rheumatism was already active and engaged in an episode, the x-rays were a blur of inflammation, so now I'm on orders not to use the finger... I'll let you know how that goes... considering it's on my right hand and I can't even get a fork into my mouth with my left hand, not without getting some new piercings in the process...

But I digress... Before I went all dramarama with my knuckle, I finished writing, and subsequently transcribing Amarok and the Gone Missing Girl!!! At 81,500 words it was right on my projected target, which pleases me greatly. I worry sometimes, that should I ever get 'The Call' something an agent would want to discuss is my obsession with writing longhand because it simply isn't as easy to try and estimate word count and such when you're not working on a computer. But I made several estimations on my own writing and now that I've finished the transcription process, I can see that I was correct. Woot for me. I'm more confident in my own processes now. I can't wait to get AGMG out to my beta readers and see what they think. Since the mc, Ansel, is a guy and it's written in first person, I'm eager to find out if I've done a good job at capturing a guy's point of view and convincingly portrayed him... I'm already working on queries in hopes that I'll have a decent one roughed out by the time my betas finish their slicing and dicing. Am I strange for being so excited over feedback and editing? I can't wait to get started!

Another thing that's kept me off the computer is visiting friends and right in the middle of that I decided to enter a Ms. Shenendoah Harley-Davidson pageant... Alright, close your mouths, I know it's a strange announcement, but it wasn't as dramatic as it sounds. Really, it was a LOAD OF FUN! Why, might you ask, did a forward-thinking woman, who is stoutly against the objectification of women, enter something like a Ms. Harley pageant? Um, because it was fun! I am not one for beauty pageants, and that sort of thing. But if the women involved in them are involved knowingly and enjoy themselves, well, that's their right. It's all a very grey area for me. I don't think girls should be forced to think that they need to meet certain standards to be considered beautiful. But at the same time, I don't think that there's anything wrong with 'acting like a girl' if you're comfortable doing so. It all depends on the girl.

In the case of this Harley-Davidson pageant, it's a local event, run by great people, with an emphasis on HAVING FUN. The audience has always been greatly supportive, the girls participating much appreciated and cheered on for their participation. I've attended several times to cheer on friends, and this year I thought, what the heck, I'm going for it! Did I win? Nope. Didn't even make the top five. Did I love it? YOU BET. The thing is, the people involved with this event are all about strong, able-bodied women who are beautiful because of who they are. We had bigger girls, smaller girls, young girls just out of high school and one who just turned forty. There were secretaries and Reservists who were on leave with their units. Moms, and single ladies, a few ladies who were into ladies, and had no interest in men at all. It was a glorious gamut of gorgeous women and the focus of it all was to love yourself, no matter what. A lesson that all girls need to take to heart.

So now I'm off to finish another read through of AGMG before putting in an order at Lulu for my betas. And since I'm off today, I'll probably be obsessively checking my email because I've still got two fulls of EVERNOW out with prospective agents. Funny how you can want something in your inbox (offer to rep, offer to rep!) and want an empty inbox (hey, no rejections yet, they could still be considering!) at the same time. Keeps the pipe dream alive. Of course, you just never know when that smoke might turn into something tangible...

I'll leave you with a picture from the Harley pageant, so you can see a sampling of the ladies I had so much fun hanging with. And let me say we all had fun TOGETHER. We're talking, shoe-borrowing, doing each other's hair, tucking straps in, troubleshooting, not concerned in the slightest with who actually 'won' sort of fun.No cat fighting it this group! Just ladies supporting ladies in having a good time! This picture doesn't show everyone. It proved impossible to get everybody in one shot, at least for my peeps in the audience. They are all great women!