So, I'm back, and I'm feeling a bit better about life, the universe, and everything. Vacations are good for what ails ya. If you want details, I've got a whole report in my LJ. Be prepared for much fangirlishness before you click on that link.

The trip really inspired me to make a hard and fast decision about where I want to go from here and what I'm going to do about getting there. So while walking the dog today, I came up with a short-term plan, and that is this: finish the novel.

I never said it was a complex plan.

Seriously, though, I'm just going to temp as much as I can and stop worrying about the job hunt or getting freelance gigs or selling shorter pieces, and just finish the damn book. This is priority one. It'll take a few months and it's going to mean leading a very boring and low-income lifestyle in the meantime (which in turn will, alas, mean a boring blog... but y'all are used to that by now ;-) but hopefully it will all be worth it. I'm probably pinning too much on this novel, but it's pretty much sink or swim here. Major decisions that I need to hurry up and make, such as should I continue on to grad school, will depend on what happens with the book. So I'm just going to stop worrying about other writing avenues for the time being and simply write the book (no worries, those of you waiting for fic updates, somehow I'll still get those done). And hopefully rack up enough temp hours to cover the bills while I'm at it.

Meanwhile, I've still got a couple of lines in the water, and I'm still waiting to see how those pan out. So there's still time to cross your fingers for me!