Man, it's good to revise the snot out of a chapter that's been kicking your ass for the past week! I finally, finally finished off the elusive chapter six of the Blackbeard novel this afternoon. Whew. I had to change the point of view and make sure all the various action sequences made sense, but now that sucker's done.

Okay, so I cheated a bit and cut off the chapter in mid-scene for "dramatic purposes." But hey, the chapter now ends with one of my lead characters wrapping his hands around the windpipe of the protagonist! And this is a romance... Go figure...

I'm not used to doing this writing stuff in the afternoon -- I'm totally a morning writer. But Elizabeth is hanging out with her girlfriends this afternoon (she and I have been totally anti-social in the past few years, really, and we're trying to remedy that), and I'm taking advantage of the empty house to get some revisin' done. I'm heading over to our friend's house in a few minutes to join "the girls" along with the rest of "the guys" to watch the Duke-UNC basketball game. Go Heels!

If UNC wins (heh, it's at Dook, so the odds are against us, but...), we're thinking of heading to Franklin Street to (that's right) "raise some HELLL!" (sorry, World Fantasy 2003 inside joke there -- ask me 'bout it sometime).

It's been a long time since Lizzie and I cut loose and had some good ol'-fashioned fun. So watch for us on the local Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill news... Later!

Now Playing:
"Busted Stuff," Dave Matthews Band

Now Reading:
Carter Beats the Devil, Glen David Gold

Today's Quote:
Then the dream shifted, and Ella was hanging on for dear life on the back of the runaway black pony. The pony's eyes glowed a fiery red as it leaped over a narrow two-lane highway, narrowly avoiding a car packed full of diving equipment and suitcase. It was all Ella could do to hold on and brace for the impact. She was out of control.

But the impact never arrived. The dream shifted again, and Ella found herself alone in the middle of a cold blackness, waiting for someone to come rescue her, even as laughter and the thunder of cannons filled the air. She was unable to move, helpless.

As she waited in the darkness, an invisible hand grabbed her by the hair and began pushing her down. With the water turning a sickly bluish-white color, cold liquid filled Ella's nostrils and mouth.

Back on Mitch' boat, Ella opened her eyes and pinched herself, hard.

Enough of that garbage, she thought, anger and frustration filling her, heating up her blood. No one's coming to rescue me -- nobody can save me but me.