DUNE BLOG

Friday, October 12, 2007

Recovery

After almost two months of solid traveling, one might think that the last thing I would want to do is leave home again...but after being around people every day for so long, I really needed some recharge time. So, I packed up the suitcase and the laptop and headed off to my favorite little lodge outside of Rocky Mountain National Park. I'm at the tail end of my nasty cold, still coughing and still feeling below par, but the very idea of being out in the mountains was invigorating and restorative.

Since I leave in two weeks to start the KRYPTON tour, I very much wanted to recharge my batteries, as well as make a lot of progress on the editing of THE ASHES OF WORLDS. And, naturally, in the middle of this, Rebecca and I received the typeset galleys for CRYSTAL DOORS: SKY REALM with a tight deadline for proofreading them by Oct 15. Sitting alone in a beautiful cabin in the middle of the mountains was the perfect place. I delivered a signed copy of SANDWORMS OF DUNE to the manager, since I had done so much of the work there at the lodge. (I think they view me as the writer from MISERY, who likes to hole up out in the wilderness...)

Over the course of three days I did some very productive editing, up to page 600 of ASHES (out of 750), and I proofread 190 of the 260 pages of CRYSTAL DOORS. Normally, I would have liked to spend the days hiking, but my health wasn't quite up for that, although I did go out for one six-mile "easy"-rated hike. It was very nice, though I can't remember the last time I picked a trail rated "easy". Even so, I was pretty tired by the time I got back to the cabin.

Now back home again. Rebecca is also still recovering. After her second trip to the doctor, she was officially diagnosed with bronchitis -- and I've probably got it, too, since we have the same symptoms. Book tours really take a lot out of you.

-- KJA