On the last plane home. It was sad to say goodbye to Karen and Fran and Karin this morning and to Helen in Phoenix, and to start thinking about the busy week ahead. A bit of post-concert depression, too, coupled with maybe all of 5 hours’ sleep last night.

The concerts were fabulous. I’m not even sure I can adequately put it into words. I’ve been a fan of Lawrence’s since 1985, when I saw the “A Criminal Mind” video and my heart and hormones went all fluttery. So to hear him do the solo songs—not Styx songs, but the ones I listened to back then, on my cheap boombox—just blew me away. Just something I never, ever thought I’d hear. Ever. For the first set, he did a variety of songs (including a Procol Harem song that Styx did on their recent covers album, but haven’t performed live), but the second set was the entire Strange Animal album, which is what “A Criminal Mind” is from. (I’d like to note here that Strange Animal was number one in Canada that year, beating out Phil Collins’ Face Value and Springsteen’s Born in the USA. I’m beaming with retroactive pride.)

Of course, hearing the songs backed by orchestral arrangement was just fascinating. I love musical blending like that—proving that musical genres, like fiction genres, don’t have hard-and-fast lines. Good music is good music, just like good writing is good writing.

We had front-but-to-the-side mezzanine seats the first night, which provided us a perfect view of the stage, but was just a little too far away for my crappy eyesight. (Lawrence was just a wee bit blurry for me.) The second night, however, Helen was a big goober and made me cry by giving me a front-table ticket she’d won.

He came out for signing and pictures after the second show, and I got my Strange Animal poster signed, plus a picture with him (during which he put his arm around me and hauled me against him—I can still feel the memory of his hand on my ribs). (Hold on, I’m all a-flutter again. Give me a minute.)

Ooookay, I’m back.

It was also a silly wonderful girls’ weekend like no other. From a hyper-from-exhaustion fueled drive from Toronto to London, Ontario, in the middle of the night (I waited in the arrivals lounge from 11 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. for Fran and Karin while Helen circled outside, and then we drove for two hours), to ordering in pizza and soda and refusing to leave the hotel room until it was time to go to the venue, it was a joy to bond even more with women whom I normally don’t get to hang out with longer than a long line before a show.

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Home now. Ken picked me up and the drive up Hwy 1 was just effing gorgeous. He’d planned to stop at a particular beach spot so we could watch the sun set over the ocean, but it set really fast! (Which was cause for amusement because we girls watched the sun rise really fast this morning.) We grilled burgers and watched Lost, and I’m unpacked for the most part, and I think I can prop my eyelids open a little longer so we can watch something else before an early bedtime.

Because it’s going to be a busy damn week. I have to work on Chapter 3 and a synopsis for Chloe and get those back to Teresa. Then, I have to call Sarah and work on the proposal for A Little Night Music, as our editor has asked for a few more changes before he’ll commit to a contract. I should be getting the rough draft of Phaedra’s novel to read with a tight three-day turnaround. I’ve got ABC-CLIO work to do, and a several short stories to finish up.

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Happy Things:

Ken was supposed to leave for Portland tomorrow, but he’s changed his flight to Wednesday, so we’ll have a little more time for reunion-ing.

And this coming Saturday is a Styx show in Indio! My sign will say “Loved the London Shows (Dayle)” to remind him that I was there. ;-)

And my comp copies of Cat Scratch Fever arrived. I held my very first published book in my hands. I cried. Picture soon. (Of the book, not of me crying. Please.)

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What Have I Done Today to Make My Writing Dream Come True? writing
Currently Reading: Days of the Dead, Barbara Hambly
Lately Listened To: WRDH – All Gowan, All the Time
Recently Watched: Lost