Paksworld

The nasty virus got me Christmas afternoon and has been creating a ruckus in my throat, head, and lungs since.   My throat feels parboiled, my voice is gone, my head’s been aching savagely, there’s been moderate fever and very little actual sleep because something hurts or I wake up coughing ten minutes after I doze off.

The ability to complain suggests I’m getting better.   But I’m not ending the contest until I’m well enough to enjoy all the entries (haven’t looked, last few days.)

Joy to all who celebrate Christmas, and also to those who don’t…hug the ones you love (or send loving thoughts if you’re not with them.)   It’s been just a wee bit hectic  around here the past week, and I’ll be leaving shortly for the city (again) to sing (again), this time the late service on Christmas Eve.   One family member isn’t feeling well and is staying home; the other is coming with me.

We have Weather in the offing (60% chance of thunderstorms after midnight, and “…some may be severe.”)   My sinuses insist it’s all taking aim right at us, but it’s a broad front, and whatever we get will be less than is supposed to land (is already landing?) on the lower Mississippi Valley.    I got the pies made today; we have other things I’ll cook tomorrow.

Be as happy as you can be, and I’ll be back around the Paksworld site in a few days.     Peace and joy to you all.

Should have done this at once…this is the topic under which to post your poetic genius as a comment.    We already have one entry,  under the Good News header, but please repost as a comment here, for the benefit of your lazy hostess, so she can find them all in one place.

…is I should be getting an ARC later this week, so the contest is just about ready.

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When I wrote the original books in this universe, I had reasons for everything, but…in hindsight…not all those reasons were good ones.   You remember I told you about the naming conventions…using root-names for characters and then suffixes which suggested (were supposed to suggest) different origins for them, like Seli, Selis, Selits, and Tam, Tamis…??  And you probably remember that, in hindsight, this was sheer h-e-double-hockey-sticks for the copy-editor and probably did not enrich the reading experience nearly as much as I’d hoped.

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I am now spending my days peering carefully, line by line, at the copy of the copy-edited manuscript (on the left) and the page proofs (on the right.)  These two stacks of paper, and the “completed” pages of each (to the right of the right stack and the left of the left stack) take up a significant portion of the kitchen table.  So far I’ve found only two  errors.  One where my correction of the CE’s change wasn’t picked up (same change was picked up elsewhere) and one where both the CE and I missed an original error.   This is good, and I may skim a little faster later on, even though I know there’s a late change to watch out for.

Kitchen table set up for page proofs: from top to bottom, checked copy edit, copy edit, page proofs, checked page proofs.  Pages sticking out toward camera have errors.   Instruction letters from publisher to the right, with pencil sharpener, also 3×5 yellow card w/notes.

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