One Hot Mess

I skived off last night because my arm was hurting, so I feel I need to be extra productive this evening and make up for wasted time. (Not that watching Red Dwarf and spying on my fish is wasted time, exactly, but it's not editing or writing either).

So:

1. Write up October's horoscopes for the Cambridge Explorer. That's something I don't really pimp round here that often. Are people interested in my adventures with Tarot cards and astrology, or is it best left unpimped?

2. Edit two more chapters of SILVER KISS. I've set myself a goal this week of two chapters a night, and so far have been doing three (apart from last night when the lure of the catfish proved too strong to resist).

3. Go over the first chapter of Night and Chaos for submission to my writers' group. I haven't touched it for almost a year, so I'm sure it's a horrendous mess, and I'd like it to be just a little bit less so before it gets ripped to pieces critiqued.

4. Spy on the fish.

Moving along from the serious issue of editing, it turns out I have an upside down catfish. I know! I mean, I knew I had at least one, because I bought a pair last summer. But they'd vanished from sight about nine months ago and I assumed the gouramis killed them and ate them, because my gouramis would kill and eat me if I gave them half a chance.

So with the help of a local expert (thanks, Jones!) I finally got my new and improved fish tank up and running this weekend. I left the fish babies in the original, smaller tank so they can grow up without being pestered for sex by the bigger fish, and moved my mollies and platys into the new tank. Here they can mate unhindered (although hopefully they won't). I also put mt corydoras in there so they'd have more room to sit in the corner and never do anything.

I bought a pair of moonlight gouramis, ostensibly because they look pretty, but secretly because they'll probably eat any baby fish that come their way, thus helping to control the population levels. But all this news pales in comparison to my favourite acquisition:



Upside-down catfish! How freaking cool are they? As long as they refrain from breeding, they are officially my favourite fish.

So last Friday I set off for the RNA conference in Chichester. My carefully formulated plan was to take a coach, which half-worked. I had a connecting coach at Gatwick airport that I was an hour late for, due to heavy traffic between Stansted and Heathrow. Seriously, why did the only coach from Cambridge to Chichester have stop at every airport in London? Why, I ask you, why? Luckily for me, I was able to catch a train from Gatwick to Chichester and arrived in good time to check in, find the bar, and start mingling.

I can't stress enough what a fantastic experience the conference was. Not only did I get to hang out with my friend Leanne (expect to see a historical romance from her gracing the shelves one fine day!) but I also got to meet a lot of fun, clever, talented writers. It was really motivating to be around people doing the same things I want to do. Kate Johnson, Imogen Howson, Lynne Connolly, Kate Walker, Anna Jacobs and Kate Harrison were all fabulous, with plenty of advice and opinions they were happy to share. I could have talked to Kate Walker and her husband all night - they were awesome. And there were free books! There were also books you had to pay for, so I suspect I may fall short on the council tax again this month...

There were so many great talks too, really useful stuff no matter how far along in your career you are. The weekend was over far too quickly, and before I knew it I was back at Gatwick waiting for my coach. Sigh. At least I was on time for this one. Next year I might have to put aside my fears of the London Undergroud and go by train. My only regret is that I didn't take nearly enough photos. In fact, I took one, which is pathetic (but it is a nice photo of Leanne, Kate Johnson and Imogen).

Back home, I was shocked and disgusted to discover my platys are still reproducing at an alarming rate. By my count there are now six additional fish babies in the tank. Chad has disappeared (eaten, I suspect) but Tad is now big enough to take proper pictures of, although he generally moves too fast to get good pictures. But I shall persevere. I'm not quite sure what I'll do if any more fish babies do appear. My tank isn't really big enough for an entire school, so I'm hoping they might got bored of having sex soon...

Anyway, now I'm back at work, which is chaotic and stressful. I broached the subject of quitting and moving home with my parents to write full-time, but they're a little less keen on the idea than I am. They (quite rightly) pointed out that living in the middle of the fens would soon drive me insane. I suppose I should probably wait until I've sold a book before I start making such plans in any case. A girl can dream though.