Yahoo troubles and Tim's first look at the sea

Failed to communicate yesterday - apologies all round. Several things cropped up -- I spent most of the day either walking the dog or  preparing a three course dinner for guests that evening. DH spent the day hoovering and dusting to ensure all was shipshape. Writing didn't get a look in, but we did have a splendid evening with a first course of salmon mousse in crisp pastry cups, duck breast with a redcurrant sauce followed by apple and blackberry crumble with a dollop of clotted cream on top. The blackberries have been amazingly good this year - in fact all the fruit has - the apples came courtesy of our neighbour whose trees bore so many they gave some away, and the blackberries I've foraged when I've been out with Tim. I rarely see anyone else gathering them, and I think it's almost an insult to nature to allow such beautiful fruit to rot away unused.

It seems Yahoo Groups are causing major frustration worldwide. Without any warning I saw they changed the way their groups function and in doing so have made them virtually useless. It isn't a simple front page change, but the whole system. Things don't work. I wonder why they have done it? Critique group members in particular are tearing their hair out in handfuls, and unless Yahoo gets its act together quickly, people will stop using them.

if you look at the last entry, you'll see Tim running happily towards the waves coming in. (The sea was like a mill pond that day, so we had no fears for him.) When he realised the sea was coming to him, he wasn't so keen, and when it almost reached his toes, he turned tail and ran.

He had to be coaxed back towards the water, and still wasn't sure. You want me to go near THAT?
So we walked along the beach towards  the port of Blyth, just visible as a dirty smudge on the picture., and he loved running on the sand. He loved meeting all the other dogs out for walk on the beach, too and there was ample space for them all to tear around like lunatics.
A couple of miles along the beach beside the sea  and his confidence improved. He dared to go near the water again. This time he got his front paws wet, but I'm not sure his back paws ever felt the chill of the North Sea. We'll save that for another day!

On some of the pics, if you click and expand them, you'll see a ghost foot, or a ghost tail - Tim was never still, and the camera in my phone has picked up the movement!

Stuck my nose out of bed this morning and hastily stuck it back in again. Cold! The air was cold, and so was my nose. Autumn, it seems, has arrived. Yet by midday, I was hot while walking the dog. Now, as I write this an hour later, it threatens to rain and it might be a good afternoon for working. We had a wonderful morning walk at the beach this week. Tim's first exposure to the sea....he trotted toward it, full of curiosity, and then......(see later this week!)

I have plucked up my courage and sent off two partials submissions on Capture a Queen, aka Matho's story, in the last month. Now comes the nail biting time of sitting and waiting for a response. Meanwhile, I have gone back to work on my next Viking story Blood Feud. Suitably exciting title, don't you think? It will pick up the character Oli from Far After Gold, when he has reached sixteen, and tell his story.  So far it is exciting, but I have to keep stopping and think how characters are going to get out of the difficulties I have given them. Usually I'm stuck for a day or two, and then the idea pops into my head while I'm asleep, or nearly asleep. Sometimes I forget it by the time I've woken up next morning, and Yes, I know I should keep a notepad and write the idea down, but really, that's just too much fuss when dh would be grumbling about the light being switched on, and the dog would wake up and come nosing around - and his nose is even colder than mine was this morning! If the idea is good, it will come again, or I'll remember it half way though the day.

So far I have seven books published, which surprises me sometimes. They all sell, some better than others, and the one with the most sex sells better than the rest, so I know what I have to do. They are all listed on the My Titles page on this blog. All historical, but for Shadows, which is set in contemporary France.

As I anticipated, it is now sheeting down. Good thing I didn't do any washing today!