I'm using up yet another Sick Day today, and while I am still suffering the last remnants of the cold I picked up last week, I'm not too sick to do what I really need to do today -- finish revising The Wannoshay Cycle.

I'm on chapter five now, having gone over for the umpteenth time the first sixty pages, which needed the most work. The rest of the day should be fun, just re-reading the novel and adding some world-building details as needed (and as requested by the editor). I feel really good about this version. All of the suggestions were excellent and made the story much stronger. And once we hit the first explosion that leads to to the imprisonment of the aliens in the internment camps, the story just blasts right along (no pun intended).

To keep me motivated, I've been working my way through all my Pearl Jam CDs. I've gone through "Ten" and "Vs." and am now on "Vitalogy." Interesting that they've put out an album every other year for the past 13-14 years. Good consistency there, and they continue to improve. Looking forward to their next one. I could use it with the NEXT novel... Later!

UPDATE: Ready to start on the Interlude before chapter ten, which starts off the middle section of the novel, my favorite part of the book (it includes the stories "Mud and Salt" and "Crossing the Camp," for those keeping score at home). Ready to move on to "No Code" by Pearl Jam. Having fun.

UPDATE 2: I'm up to page 281, chapter 17, and getting a bit tired. But still, I keep thinking, "Damn, this is a good book!" Lots of cool twists and turns in this middle section. Listening to Pearl Jam's "Binaural" album -- "Nothing's As It Seems." Indeed.

UPDATE 3: Listening to Pearl Jam's "Bushleaguer" (a great political song -- "born on third, thinks he got a triple"), made it to part 3 and chapter 20, one of my favorite chapters, written almost a year ago (at World Fantasy, actually!) -- page 328. Only 135 pages to go...

UPDATE 4: Down to 65 pages left to go, at 9:45. Got through all the Pearl Jam CDs and am now about to listen to the last disc of "Lost Dogs," their B-sides compilation. May have to get some of those live bootlegs. Been at this for a good twelve hours or so, and it's been pretty effective. Got to go walk the pooch now...

UPDATE THE LAST: Done! 460 pages in one day. Not bad! Only took me from about 10 a.m. to midnight. I feel good about this one. I'm overnighting it to the editor tomorrow. Wish me luck! G'night.