There are new pictures of River over at Heather's Flickr set. Three weeks old already! It's crazy. It feels simultaneously like we just got him, and like he's been with us forever.

I'm back at work this week. It's not so bad. I miss my kid, and worry about Heather being left alone, but she's had friends coming over intermittently to help out, and I was there yesterday, so it's okay.

I started work on Grift Sense this week, got about 1500 words done, along with a lot of notes. Only 83,500 words to go! Heather says the first scene is good. I have many weird ideas for the book. I think it'll be bizarre and funny and, I hope, heartbreaking, eventually.

I'm already thinking about what I want to work on after Grift Sense... revising The Light of a Better World and trying to sell it, obviously, but beyond that... I'm really not sure what novel to start next spring. If I sell another Marla novel I'll write that -- and I have a kickass idea for book 5 -- but that's not something I can count on. I was thinking maybe a middle grade or young adult novel, though all my YA-related ideas are so damn vague and disorganized, I'd have to do some serious thinking about it. The idea of writing a short novel for kids or teens is more appealing now that I have a kid of my own, though. I'd love to have books he'd like reading sooner rather than later. (I'm guessing an eight- or ten-year-old wouldn't have much patience for Rangergirl or Blood Engines, though a teenager might dig them. Hell, when I was 8 years old I was reading splatterpunk and Stephen King novels, so I have a hard time gauging these things.)

Otherwise, life continues, and life is good. I made fajitas last night, and forgot to buy refried beans, so I dug up a couple cans of black beans and fried them myself. I'd never done that before, and now I think I want to refry my own beans every time, so I can control the spices. Last night's weren't as good as I'd like, but I can see the possibilities. I still haven't made my first chili of the season. Soon, though. Maybe even this weekend. I'd also like to do a crab bisque. Autumn always makes me want to cook soups and stews and such. It's my favorite time of year, always has been, even here in California, where the only sign of autumn is a certain briskness in the air and higher chances of rain...