Poor Barb. She’s been carrying the load over at SBR lately, providing quality book reviews, as well as being patient about our WIP that’s been sitting in my “To Do” pile for almost six months now while I’ve… uh, been working? Picking my nose?

I need an excuse, quick.

…okay, so it boils down to the fact that I’m exhausted and ready to drop. This time of year takes a lot out of me, though it was far worse last year. Then again, I don’t really remember last year (16 hour days, 6 days a week will do that to anyone), so who am I to say? I hate whining on here about how hard I work and how little time I have and blah blah blah. Nobody wants to hear a pity party, primarily because there are millions out there grumbling at me, saying “At least you have a job.”

A job which I am very grateful to have, even when it just about works me past exhaustion.

So anyways, there’s this file in a certain folder on my desktop. It’s a folder titled “Steampunk WIP”, and inside are three stories. My untitled first book of the Anne’s Revenge series, the second book of the series “Upon the Smoky Skies of Ruin”, and the file that Barb and I are working on, which I have as “This Evil MFing Story” because I’m bad at coming up with names. I have looked at it quite a bit since we came up with the random occurrences of events which lead to the climactic finish of the book, and quite frankly I think I’m ready to put a bullet into the brain of my protagonist (I’m writing one protagonist, Barb is writing the other, and their paths cross numerous times throughout the book.). He annoys me to no end. He’s brave, a Civil War vet, and is more or less the investigative sheriff Memphis, TN, circa 1875 or so. But other than his service records, which I have a few plot points jotted down, I feel like I don’t know him at all.

Which has me putting off writing him some more.

Which makes me the worst collaborator ever.

*sigh*

So does anybody have anything interesting going on? Gerbil in the butt problem (I know a guy who can help fix that for a small fee)? Girlfriend left you for your dad (true story, though not to me)? Ready for Christmas and discovered that your new gf is Jewish (something you probably should have covered awhile back)?