Summer Plans

It sure feels like spring just came and went, doesn't it? And summer is right around the corner. Already, fun summer events are in the works and people are making plans for vacation time and whatnot. Yesterday, my summer got mapped out pretty quickly and in a delicious way.

First off, I plan to spend July doing Camp NaNoWriMo and using it's wonderfully flexible word count goal to help me finish my revision of The Lost Rubies. I've been, in theory, working on that for a couple years now and am determined to have it finished by the end of this year. That should give me plenty of time, right? My secret hope is that I'll have it finished by the end of the summer and can move onto self-publishing it and editing the sequel in the autumn. Not much of the sequel will hopefully have to be re-written so that should make it easier. A lotta stuff has to get re-written in the first one. The third will be a snap since it's already half done. And then I can move onto discovering the new continuing adventures of my characters! Yay! There is a lot more work going into this series than I'd originally anticipated: I've made a family tree, intend on making a giant timeline, am mapping out scenes and chapters, and I invented two new aunts and changed people's relations around a bit. I'm excited about it.

When I'm not doing work on Rubies, I intend to do my library's annual Summer Reading Program. The theme this year is paws - mostly puppies and kittens, but bears, chipmunks, squirrels and foxes all have paws too ya know. *winks* This year they're allowing DVDs and audio books/CDs so my husband {for the first time!} is doing it with me. He figures it'll be a snap since we watch so many movies. You have to read, watch or listen to twenty-five items between June second and August second. For every five items completed, you get a raffle ticket to win the basket. With both of us teaming up, we have a pretty good shot at winning it this year. That'll be so fun!

And I stumbled across this summer cool Fairy Tale Collections contest where five winners will have their creative retellings of Beauty and The Beast published in a gorgeous book, with space for advertising about their other works. Beauty and The Beast is my favorite fairy tale - for that reason {and it sounds like soooo much fun!}, I'm gonna enter and hope I win. I have a very original {in my opinion} retelling but I haven't decided yet if it's too original - plus I have plans to use it as a full novel later on. So the actual story I submit might take a little thinking, but the deadline is December sixteenth so I have plenty of time. This is gonna be so much fun! And to top it off, one of my best friends is doing it too! *huge grin*

Oh and we'll also be going to the pool more often this summer for our little baby's benefit. Quite a summer planned, huh? It'll be supplemented by my husband working, the baby demanding my attention and getting mobile, and playing Frisbee in the yard {which I'm not very good at}. What are you all up to this summer?