[Insert clever Hump Day Title here.]

In case you didn't notice, I forgot to post last week. Well, not so much forgot as just didn't do it. Um, sorry.

And this week I'm only popping in to say toodles, because this coming weekend we're heading for the sunny beaches down Florida way to visit our kiddos. (Yay!)

Think I'll find something like this waiting for me there?

Alas, probably not. But a girl can dream. 

If I've been scarce, it's because I'm woefully behind where I'd hoped to be by now with The Big Fix, and I'm nose to the proverbial grindstone trying to bank enough wordage that I'll be able to kick back and relax while I'm on vacay. Nothing spoils a good umbrella drink like visions of deadlines performing the Danse Macabre in your head.

But don't worry about me leaving town--you'll never even know I'm gone. I finally succumbed the lure of the smartphone, and am actually learning how to navigate cyberspace via this extraordinary time waster device. 

You realize what this means, don't you?  

Linda + Umbrella Drink + Smartphone = Internet Disaster Waiting to Happen

So, what's been going on in your world while I've hanging out in Ciel's?

Over One Hump! (More on the horizon.)

Whew! What a week. Busy, busy, busy. 

Saturday was fun. The reading/signing at B & N went really well. Sold some books (and not just to family!). The manager was nice enough to set me up at the front of the store, so as to catch the attention of the passers-by in the mall as well as those who were in the store to browse for books. 

Had a few of my buddies from QUICK FIX along with me, providing moral support:

That's Molly-O (the "O" for "orangutan," obviously), Ciel's little honorary cousin, whose aura-adapting talent emerges at an awkward time in the book. And on top of the candy basket is Herbert, Ciel's bother James's pet chameleon. (You might have to squint to see him.) 

All right, they're not real. They're props. As an ex-(or maybe not-so-ex-)-actress, I know the importance of a good prop to help you through a performance. 

Oh, and "JENFACE" (the paper doll version of @JentheAmazing) was there, too. She came to my very first signing of IN A FIX last year, so I brought her along for good luck this time, too. 

(Aside to Jen: Good news! There was no tornado this time!)


Anyway, now that the hooplah has died down a bit, I'm plowing ahead with the next book...

By Lucien Mahin (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3

Because, damn. Deadline. Can't relax until I'm over the next hump.

Hope all your upcoming humps are happy ones! :)