Post-holiday, post-finishing blues

Christmas was lovely, truly lovely. My husband and I kept it super simple--he got the new Zatoichi collection, I got the Community DVDs. Why Community? Because the story arcs, character arcs, and rat-a-tat dialog are things of beauty, things that will make me a better writer.

Then we took the M Line in San Francisco, which runs right in front of our redwood-box of a house, down to the Embarcadero. We walked the length of it in the sunshine, smiling at all the tourists and enjoying the mellow feel of early Christmas day.

We had to stop at the Musee Mechanique, of course, and visit the seals at Pier 39, and debate whether to get curbside crab or not (not, this year).

Mysti playing Rosie at the USS Pampanito, a submarine of WWII vintage

The finale of our simple day was a ride on the cable car back to Powell Street, where we picked up the M Line to head back home. No matter how many times I ride it, I always see a new vision of the City from the cable car. And we always meet interesting people from all over the world as we wait in line. This year the sun beat down as if we were in Los Angeles. I miss the fog, but it made for a lovely day.

We keep it low key and drama free, plus, we can't bear to leave the city during the holidays--she empties out and cheers up and is generally a fabulous place to be, whether you live here or are only visiting. I've been in love with San Francisco since I was sixteen. Some crushes you just never get over.

Christmas is well and truly done.  With a twinge of regret, I have dived back into the business and art of writing today. My first batch of dream agents passed on my first crime novel By The Numbers, so it's back to identifying other brilliant agents who might be interested in a fraud investigator with a troubled past and a very dark future.  I know such people exist, I just have to find them. 

If I can't find them, then it's likely that something about my story is putting them off. I'll have to decide whether to keep writing #2, fix #1 (again!), or choose any of the many other options available to people who want to share their writing in this lovely age of instant gratification. 

Some friends had an easy time finding their first agent, but no writing friend has ever had a trouble-free journey to publication. So it's back to work, mateys. I can do it. And some days, I even like it!