After a week of writing for 14 hours a day, I’ve finally finished the draft of Book 14, woohoo! (I don’t intend to escalate to 15-hour days for Book 15, though.)
I’d love to say that Book 14 is “done”, but I still have a round of edits to do before I pass it over to my beta readers / editors / proofreaders, and I have yet to choose a title or create a cover or pick a release date. Maybe in a month… ish…?
But still, the draft is out of my head, and that’s a good feeling! (Some might argue that I have a permanent draft between my ears, but I prefer to ignore them.)
In fact, just about everything is out of my head at the moment — my brain is completely drained. And we have houseguests this week, so instead of a post with actual words that make sense (or as much sense as I ever make), here are some photos of our garden. Even though it’s only January, the plants seem to think spring is near.
So Book 14 is done-ish and it’s spring-ish outside. Hooray for “almost-there”!
‘Zeta’ heather has been putting on a show since November, and the pansies and grape hyacinths will soon be blooming again.
This is ‘Eva Gold’ heather.
‘Tanya’ heather, plus one red anemone that’s FAR ahead of all the rest.
The flower garden is slowly starting to fill in. Maybe I should have bought bigger plants to start with…? 😉
The rhododendron buds are getting bigger by the day! This is ‘Kabarett’ – I’m looking forward to seeing its purple blooms for the first time this year.
The perennial alyssum has wee yellow buds starting, but it might be a while before it looks like the optimistic photo on the plant marker behind it.
Even the hydrangea thinks it’s spring – look at all the little green leaves-to-be!
Author Diane Henders 
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You accomplished a milestone by completing book 14!! I understand there is still a ways to go before the total finish line, but you can now see it!!!!
Great pics…the plants do look like spring has sprung. In Southern California, I always have said spring starts in February in this climate. February marks when all of the ice plants go into bloom and the sides of the freeways are awash in color….I say this as family and friends in the midwest are in major sub zero temps.
Have a great week, Diane!!
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Thanks, Kirt! I can imagine that things will be getting colourful around there – what a treat! My ice plants haven’t started yet, but I only planted them last fall. I hope they made it through.
I hope you have a great week, too! 🙂
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Lovely pics. And congratulations! Well done. 😀
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Thanks! 😀
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Congratulations on completing #14.
Spring on the Island already? Colder than a mother-in-law’s kiss here, especially when the wind is up. But the sun is shining longer every day and spring is coming someday.
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It’s great when the increase in day length actually becomes noticeable! Hang in there… 🙂
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Congratulations, Diane! It must feel good to have that weight lifted from your shoulders. And, it will probably be replaced soon by the next book idea or “head draft”. When you write that your draft is done, I assume you mean the final, basically finished draft? Otherwise you are extremely fast going from a first draft to ready for the editor. 🙂 But, based on the other 13 books you wrote, you’re a pro, so maybe you are that fast about finalizing a draft?
Color in winter is wonderful. Enjoy your garden and your company.
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Thank you! And yes, you’re right — lots of authors do a very rough initial draft, but I just can’t write that way. My “first” draft is always very close to my “final” draft – only minor revisions and polishing required before I send it off to its next step. I’d be too overwhelmed if I had to tackle an entire book full of major revisions!
Book 15 is already percolating in my brain, too!
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Your flower beds are lovely! It’s amazing what those little islands of color can do for a persons’ mood. Especially in January. Ive always thought it was better to start with the smaller plants. Most bigger ones seem to be root bound and have a harder time establishing. At least for me, but I’m not exactly a green thumb here. My plants seem to thrive on the “less is more” theory; less interference from me means more happiness for them, lol. And can I just say that It just seems so strange to be here in the US Midwest freezing my petunias off while Canada is starting spring. I’m happy for you but what’s up with that? 😂. (Rhetorical question, there😉)
YAH 14!!! Congratulations! Can’t wait to read about Chow’s “Chow-down” !! I love that character. Have fun with your “real people”.
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Thanks! It does seem a little strange to be putting the word “spring” in the same sentence as “January”; but if it makes you feel any better, the rest of Canada is in the deep freeze right along with you. I’m trying not to gloat too much, but apparently I’m not as noble as I’d hoped. 😉
And I think you’re right about smaller plants doing better. I got a larger potted rudbeckia, and the poor thing was so root-girdled that the tiny segment I pried off the side of it is doing better than the original plant.
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‘Today our weather is supposed to be in the 60’s (mid to upper) and dropping during mid day. All of the snow & ice they’ve had up north has slammed up with rain. Last year was the most on record for our part of NC and this month is a continuation so far. I noticed that my daffodils are up about 6-8″ and the Iris have started their growth. The days are getting longer. Yes, I believe spring is coming. Love your flower beds. Wish I was able to do some planting.
Just think, by planting smaller plants it will take them longer to “outgrow” where you’ve planted them,.
I’ll just add my “hip hip hurrays” to reaching this point with the book Ouch, just had to remove one of those pins and needles I’m sitting on waiting.
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Ouch! Sorry about the pins and needles! 😉
It sounds like your spring is a bit farther along than ours – I have one ambitious daffodil that’s about 6″ high but the rest are barely poking their noses above ground. Even the crocuses are just getting started, although I did see a few little green spikes poking out of the irises, too. I love patrolling the flowerbeds to see what’s new every day!
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YAY for almost done!!! Before you know it you’ll be at, “I thought I did that,” before arriving at “DONE”!!!
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Ah, yes, “I thought I did that”. It’s definitely part of my process!
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It’s hard to comprehend that some people in Canada are seeing fresh growth and colour in their gardens. What isn’t covered in snow here is dead, dead, dead . . . thanks for the reminder of what we will see in, oh, another four or five months’ time 😀 Your flower beds look wonderful.
Kudos for being Done-ish — every stage completed is something to celebrate! It sort of sounds like having a baby – the delivery is over, now there’s just the 19 years of child-rearing to get past! lol
Hope you have a great time with your guests.
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Ha! Your childbirth analogy made me laugh – it sounds pretty accurate. I’ve never given birth so I won’t compare the process of writing, but I sure do feel drained by the time I write “The End” on a draft!
Today’s a busy day – I’ll have 11 people around the dinner table tonight, but tomorrow should be a more laid-back day for visiting. 🙂
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Holey cows! Congratulations! BOOK FOURTEEN!! Wow. And all that hard labor you invested in your land is certainly paying off as well. Beautiful, Sista, just beautiful. Who could possibly blame you for taking some time off? And maybe your house guests won’t be jerks, too! You know, for that whole three-outta-three thing! 🙂
Take all the time you need to get it really right. After going through the anxiety of waiting for the next book thirteen times already, we’ll probably live through this one, too. Well, most likely. Some of us, at least. Probably. So you just go right ahead and kill some time. Chill. Don’t give your loyal readers another thought. We’ll be fine. Really. Well, except for the withdrawal pains. And the tremors. And the night sweats. But really, just go have fun with your jerk house guests. Your selfish, thoughtless house guests. Really…
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LOL! But you’re not bitter. At all. Much. Ish…
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Not at all. Ish…🤪
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we are having nights in the 30’s here in Alabama and my peach tree thinks it is spring. So, most likely will have no peaches this year. Bummer. Your flowers are pretty. I like to buy them small and watch them grow up. Sorta like babies
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I feel the same way about my little plants – even though the beds would look more “finished” if I’d started with larger plants, I love watching the little ones grow and imagining how it will look in a few years! (Besides, I’m too cheap to buy the big ones.) 😉
My little peach twig is against a south-facing wall, and I’m hoping it doesn’t get any ideas – even if we don’t get any more really cold weather, we’ll have frosts at night for quite a while yet.
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OMG! Spring colors! We are looking at -30C tomorrow and not getting much better than that for a week, at least! The 3 feet of snow we have on the ground isn’t going anywhere for at least a couple of months, yet.
Congrats on being almost done with 14!
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Thanks! I heard you’d gotten hammered with snow and cold out there – those super-cold temperatures aren’t normal for your neck of the woods, are they? This winter is the first one since we’ve been here that seems “normal” for Vancouver Island, but I guess time will tell…
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They used to be normal temperatures for several weeks thirty years ago. Now we get them for a week and go into a panic.
I know it can be damp out there, but a little warmer would feel good to me.
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The humidity does make it feel colder, but there have only been a handful of days this winter when I haven’t taken my cup of tea outside to drink on the front porch in the morning. Mind you, it’s not exactly “warm” out – it’s usually around +3C and I wear a warm jacket; but it sure beats -30 with a howling wind!
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