I have been staying home, finishing my writing projects, so there is nothing to report from Robin. Last night, I got a call from John Morrison, my sailing friend whose boat, Chautauqua, is moored on the far side of the Cambridge, Md., marina from Robin. He offered to let some air out of the dinghy on Robin's foredeck in anticipation of a couple of days with blistering heat. I accepted.
Yesterday, I finished an expansion of my book An Irresponsible Adult that I hope makes it even stronger. I've sent it on to a friend, Joel Plastridge, who is good friends with a literary agent to whom he plans to introduce the book. I'm crossing my fingers.
At the same time, my children's book, Leaving Harwich, is in the hands of another agent and I'm holding my breath. If either of these projects bears fruit, I will not have to get serious in my job search and for a time I'll be saved from settling for work that is less ideal than my last job at Soundings.
I had a wonderful four years at Soundings, working with some great people. I set my own hours -- usually cramming nearly 40 hours into three days while holed up in Robin's cabin. I really enjoyed the freedom to write when I wanted, whether that was first thing in the morning or midnight, and to gather stories wherever I was. It would be difficult to return to the sort of work that most of us normally have, sitting at an assigned desk in some office. I'm afraid it would make me very claustrophobic.
I've never heard back from Lyons Press in Connecticut where the editor had begun looking at my third book, Swimming in the Shadow of Death, last winter. I understand it has been a particularly brutal time in the publishing business, so I haven't pushed the issue. Still, when you've produced a product, you want to see it sold.
Until the contacts I'm making now with the two agents are completed, I won't be sending Swimming on any other voyages. But thanks to the Cavanaughs (who are members of this blog) I have a couple of new prospective publishers to approach when and if the time arrives.
Later this week, after the heat wave, I'm planning to head to Cambridge in the hopes of fixing some issues aboard Robin. I'm not sure when she will sail next, but I hope it will be soon.
Thanks for checking in.