An update...

Well, it's official. I'll update my website to show that Hell's Own's status has changed, and not to 'sold'. I got a rejection, after 14 weeks of partial-hopes. You'll recall I went to a writer's conference and chatted up a publisher, and he suggested I send it.

So, I'm free to query/shop the story around, and I'll do that.

On the motorcycle racing front, last weekend was a good weekend - not utterly fantastic, but pretty good. Fourth, second, third, and third place finishes. Adam Rogers is still a second faster than I am, but I was half a second faster on this configuration of the track this month than I was in April. The last three races were kind of boring - the order we went into turn three on the first lap is the order all three races ended in.

The first race was kind of cool - I watched Adam Rogers run off the track in front of me, and then chased down a couple of Expert-class riders in front of me and Jim Wolkens. Last turn, last lap, I've got Jim set up dead to rights, and I push the front (it slid a little off the line I intended for it). This is an incipient crash - right on the hairy edge - and I saved it with my toe and knee sliders (I love my new boots). But when I picked up the bike (straightened out of the turn) I lost my drive, and lost the chance at second place - and then Adam, who'd caught back up, snuck his front wheel past mine, and claimed third place. That's racing...

A big part of the reason why I'm improving my laptimes each month is the weight I've been losing. Today, I'm halfway to my goal (which I'll express as 'Size 34 waist by Christmas'). Yeah, it's impressive - I've lost 43.4 lbs since my first race this season at Fontana, where I could not breathe well enough to race for more than three laps. That was pretty alarming, and so I undertook some drastic measures.

Losing the weight is keeping me from writing a lot (there's no alcohol involved, which, it's true, helps one be a writer. I can give countless examples...). I'll start working on a new novel this weekend, a Fantasy about a girl who commits suicide, then comes to regret it ;)


dave