 |
| Currently reading -- and wow, is it intense and moving! |
Sunday, August 2, 2020 (Day 146):
I'm back from my one-month break. You may not have even noticed I was gone. But the world (and the Covid-19 crisis, among other crises) went on. I'm not going to bore you with details from every day of the last month (I've been journaling the old-fashioned way -- in a spiral-bound notebook). Good grief, no! I'm also not going to discuss mask controversies (just wear a mask when you go out -- please!), continuing protests over racial injustice, or politics. Especially politics. You get enough of that in your news feed.
Looking back, two things stand out for me from July.
1) I received and finished going through my copy edits for EVERYWHERE BLUE. This was a new experience for me. Being a debut author has surprises every stage of the journey. Apparently, I have no idea how to type an ellipsis. Always thought it was dot dot dot. But it's not!
It's dot SPACE dot SPACE dot!
And I've never known the difference between en dashes and em dashes -- and when to use each. Thankfully, my copy editor knows.
The only thing we disagreed on was the spelling of rainforest. One word or two? Rainforest or rain forest? What do you think?
After emailing back the copyedited manuscript to my editor, I breathed a sigh of relief, because of the second thing that happened in July.
2) Toward the end of the month, my mother moved into Assisted Living. This is a huge step, a narrowing of her world, down from a three-room apartment to a single bed/sitting room, about the size of the average dorm room, but with private bath. And now that she's in Assisted Living, I won't be able to visit her, because of Covid. We weren't able to visit from March to early July, when she was in Independent Living. Then when our section of Pennsylvania finally entered the green phase in early July, we could visit again, with masks and distancing, of course. But last week, they moved her and of course that wing of the lifecare facility is off-limits.
What hurts the most: her phone still isn't hooked up so I can't even call her. My sister is working on that. It's frustrating, to say the least. I sent Mom a card, but I have no way of knowing if she received it.
I'm trying to keep busy and work on my next novel in verse while I wait for proofs and cover sketches from my publisher. And the second half of my advance, which should be here this week. I hope.
How have you been keeping busy this past month?
COVID-19 World Stats as of August 1 (From WHO):
Confirmed cases: 17,660,623
Confirmed deaths: 680,894
US Stats as of August 2 (From the CDC):
Confirmed cases: 4,601,526
Confirmed deaths: 154,002
As a comparison, here are the stats from a month ago:
COVID-19 World Stats as of July 2 (from WHO):
Confirmed cases: 10,710,005
Confirmed deaths: 517,877
US Stats as of July 3 (from the CDC):
Confirmed cases: 2,732,531
Confirmed deaths: 128,648
Confirmed cases: 10,710,005
Confirmed deaths: 517,877
US Stats as of July 3 (from the CDC):
Confirmed cases: 2,732,531
Confirmed deaths: 128,648
Yes, it just keeps going up. This won't be over anytime soon, I'm afraid.
That must be really hard not being able to at least talk to your mom. I hope it gets set up soon and that you can do Zoom calls.
ReplyDeleteI still can't see my mom who is in independent living but we are starting regular Zoom calls with family and they are creating a glassed-in place when my mom can be on one side of the glass and I am be on the other and we can talk on the phone. It's better than not seeing each other at all and keeps her safer.
Awesome you are getting through another phase of getting your book ready for publication.
Thanks, Natalie. I didn't realize your mom is in independent living. Glad they're creating a glassed-in area where you can see her and talk on the phone at the same time. That should help.
DeleteWelcome back from your blogging break! Congrats on finishing your copy edits! I personally spell rainforest as one word, but I have no idea what is actually considered correct. I'm so sorry that your mother had to move into assisted living—and that you can't call her yet! I hope her phone gets hooked up soon. I had not realized how much the number of COVID-19 cases has gone up in a month—yikes! Thank you for the excellent post!
ReplyDeleteI spell rainforest as one word too, Completely! I find it fascinating that the copy editor considers it two words. It'll be up to my editor, I guess. Thanks for your concern about my mother.
DeleteWe all need a break sometimes. Sorry about your mom. It sucks not being in contact. Hopefully the phone issue gets worked out quickly and easily.
ReplyDeleteIs rainforest/rain forest like gray/grey? Pick your fave as both are correct? Although, my spell check is flagging the one word.
My July included subbing (online) and a birthday (mine). Not a terribly exciting month.
Oh, belated Happy Birthday, Liz! Any month with your birthday in it should be exciting! Except a pandemic birthday is really strange, I know. I had one too, in April.
DeleteInteresting that your spell check flags the one word version of rainforest.