I went to the beach at Salemera with my friend and her grandchildren. We went swimming in a big rock pool – well, sort-of swimming because even the deepest bits were only about half a metre, but it was great fun.
Then I noticed something moving on the rocks at the edge of the pool. I pointed at it and told the six-year-old, “Oh look, there’s a red crab over there.”
“Yes,” she said, nodding. “And there’s a purple mermaid over there.”
We found lots of the red crabs later. After my friends had left I fetched the DSLR from my car and set about trying to get some good photos without getting soaked by the spray. Then I wanted one that showed the moving water while leaving the crab clear, which took quite a bit longer. I’m happy with the final result though. A little Googling told me that they’re sally lightfoot crabs, which I think is a great name.
And killing people is going well too. That is, I’m up to chapter 26 (of 102) of the edit and I haven’t found any major issues yet (I really hope there won’t be any at this stage!) One of my goals for this round of edits is to bring it down from 108,700 words, ideally to 100,000. Well it’s 106,700 now, so it’s going in the right direction.
When this draft is done, I’ll be working on a synopsis and covering letter and starting the long hunt for a publisher. If I can’t find one I’ll be self-publishing, but I’d really like a publishing house’s distribution network and some help with the marketing. Fingers crossed.
Grapsus adscensionis in the spray at Salemera
