I got a call at the office around 11:00 that our burglar alarm was going off, but Mom was about half an hour away, Dad was golfing, and that left me. So I dropped what I was doing and drove home to meet with a nice police officer and our good friend-neighbor who is our “backup” for the alarm. By then, the alarm was silent, the officer had walked around the property to check for problems . . . and questioned the landscapers who were here to mow the lawn, because, I suppose, they theoretically could have been thieves, right?

I said thank you to both, they left, and I came inside to see how Chappy was doing. (“The bells! The bells!”) He was very glad to see me and was panting a bit . . . obviously, he’d been busy. Although, doing what, we’re not sure–the policeman said he hadn’t heard any barking which is totally unlike Chappy. I wonder if he was hiding under a pillow somewhere, praying for the scary noise to stop? Anyway, I petted him and then called Mom’s cell to tell her everything was fine, and she told me she was on her way home, and to wait for her . . . Um, okay. She was a little upset . . . in fact, I’m not sure who was more unhappy about the whole thing, her or Chappy. But, really, everything was fine–it was an internal sensor that set everything off and the only one in the house was Chappy, as it should be, but it made for an interesting morning.

So, what ELSE has been going on here today? Well, I’m glad you asked! I got a rejection back to one of the queries I sent out last week. That . . . because I checked my files . . . makes 23 rejections. I started sending this book out in January 1999 (yes, eight years ago). I sent it out many times up until late summer that year, when I obviously got very discouraged, because I didn’t send it out again until 2003. A brief flurry, then . . . that’s it until last week.

Because, of course, rejection isn’t exactly fun. You can tell yourself that everybody, every writer, goes through it, and that it’s only the ones who persevere who ever succeed. But it doesn’t make it any easier, not really. I do still have faith in my book, mind you. In fact, I reread it (or, most of it) recently and thought it was just as enjoyable as ever. It’s a book that I personally would buy in a minute if I saw it in the store. Which, actually, is what made me sit down to write it in the first place. I liked the story idea so much and nobody else had written it, so . . . clearly I needed to take matters into my own hands, right? Oh well. *I* like it,  anyway. (Silly agents . . . their loss, right?)

Let’s see, what else? Well, my niece is no longer enrolled at Wilkes. (I know, that was fast.) She hated her classes, didn’t like the town or the campus, hadn’t made any friends, was incredibly lonely, showing signs of depression, and basically miserable. So, she’s now back at home, looking for a job, and will go back to school–most likely at county college, or East Stroudsburg University, which is close enough to commute to. Mom saw her and my sister today and said my niece looks happy–this was a really hard decision for her, but she is so relieved and feels so good about it, it was obviously the right one for her.

I just hope she still likes the sweater I made her….

Speaking of sweaters, though, at least Autumn Rose is coming along. I’ve got one color band done, am on the plain rows separating that from the next section. Slowly, but it is coming along. Lucky I’m not in a rush, huh?

Oh, and my new cd? Enjoying it quite a lot. Especially the title track, “Life With You.” The lyrics are great. In fact, I keep thinking about Chappy when I hear them. We have a “tradition” of having songs that “click” with our different dogs. Jilly’s was heard just after we’d lost her: N-Sync’s “God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You.” (Yes, I know, N-Sync equals gag, but that song was good–and appropriately emotionally sappy for someone who’d just lost her dog and is emotionally-vulnerable.) Then, Katy’s was Savage Garden’s “I Knew I Loved You Before I Met You.” (Yes, I know, another boy-band, but I heard the song the day before I picked her up at the airport and the lyric was absolutely perfect. So sue me. Besides, I think their music was actually pretty good. Say what you want about boy-bands–and you can say a lot–but at least they had harmony. I do love a good tune with tight harmony….)

Anyway, Chappy, though, has been “song-less” these last six years, but I don’t know . . . these lyrics on such a catchy tune? Maybe it’s time, huh? “Every time I think about you, I think I can’t live without you. I’ll tell you something, I am nothing without you. I want to spend my life with you. Don’t want to live all alone. I can’t conceive of the years left to me without you in our home….”

And, well, the video’s pretty entertaining, too. The song’s a real toe-tapper. See? I found the video for you. And the album is available at iTunes.

Tags: Chappy, Family, General // 15 Comments »