Somehow, the rumor has gotten started that I'm quitting my job to go write a novel. I certainly didn't start this rumor, so I was pretty confused by all of the people who were not only congratulating me for leaving, but also asking me what my book's going to be about. I've been giving out a lot of blank, confused stares this morning, and going "huh?" a lot. I finally pieced together that my HR rep must have taken my "Getting laid off, eh? Well, on the bright side maybe now I'll have time to finish that novel I've been working on for the last three years" comment and ran with it.

So between trying to figure out if I should just smile and nod or say "Oh, for pity's sake, people, don't congratulate me for getting downsized!" I let slip that I already wrote a book and I just need to finish up the final draft. Which is old news around here, really, but we have a lot of new people who didn't know that already. And they all keep asking me what it's about. Actually, what they keep asking is, what kind of book is it?

I hate that question. I hate that it has to be pigeonholed into a genre. And I hate the looks I get from mainstream folks when I tell them it's sci-fi, which doesn't really cover it, but it's the easiest answer, and one that keeps people who don't get sci-fi from asking any more questions. But there are a few people who go on to ask what it's about, and I hate that question, too. Without giving away the finer plot points, probably the simplest answer is that it's a cross between Beauty and the Beast and The Island of Dr. Moreau, filtered through a paranoiac X-Phile imagination, but that makes it sound pretty trite and unoriginal, and I like to think that it's neither of those.

At any rate, I'm starting to get pretty frustrated, and I'm ready to start telling people, "Look. I got downsized, and I don't know what I'm going to do next, besides going to school and trying to sell my mss. I'm going to try to get by on temping and freelance writing, and I'm hoping for a big bundle of financial aid, but if I don't get it, then I'm pretty much screwed. So thanks for the congrats. See you Thursday for cake and ice cream."