May 2023 - Update #4

 I finally finished chapter 29 ("Closing the Circle") last Saturday. Chapter 30 ("An Unexpected Gift") will be the next to last one, and has been going slowly. I knew part of what needs to be there - the part which gives the chapter its name - but had to think about what else I needed, and in what order. 824 words so far, but I should have it done before this time next week, and possibly chapter 31 as well. It's a strange feeling to be so near the end of the first draft, although there will still be a lot more work to do on the book. The planned publication date is Samhain - November 1st. And I want to have Storyteller book #6 - The Well of Wisdom - at this stage by this time next year. That one, as has been hinted more than once in this one, will take Gwernin et al back to Ireland again. After that there is a longer time break in the series, and 3 more planned books set in the Old North. Not sure what I'll do after that, but I'm sure I'll think of something!

Gardening is coming along well - one of the things which has made writing slow this week. It finally stopped raining every day and I was able to deal with the knee-high dandelions in the front yard. I've planted the lemon cucumbers and some of the tomatoes, and direct-seeded peas and  some of the beans. The rate-determining step is the need to clear out the stuff which has come up in the pots, since I mostly do container gardening nowadays. No great hurry though, beyond planting the rest of the beans, as the tomatoes are all still small.

References in the last week:

Dictionary of the Place-names of Wales by Hywel Wyn Owen and Richard Morgan (again)

The Tain by Thomas Kinsella

Stories from the Táin by John Strachan

 

May 2023 - Update #3

 I am still plowing my way through chapter 29. There have been some interruptions - another regular vet appointment (between my 4 cats and Rowen's 3, it adds up to a lot of trips), the desperate need to mow at least some of the taller grass between thunderstorms, and the fact that the two weekend farmers' markets we like to attend have now started, removing some of my early morning writing time on Saturdays and Sundays. Chapter 29, like the preceding chapter, is a bridge between the excitement of the bardic competitions and Gwernin's return home. The title is "Closing the Circle", reflecting this sense of completion, both in Gwernin's bardic achievements and in many of his other experiences during the summer. It's also involved a fair amount of map work, which slows me down. Only two more chapters after this one, which should be easier.

In other news, the little tomato seedlings are growing happily in the cold frame, and I will probably be planting the lemon cucumbers in a day or so. Unusually, we haven't had a May frost this year, but I'm told that if the weather had been 10 degrees colder during the 36 hours and 3 to 6 inches of rain last week, it would have translated into 4 to 5 feet of snow! Every morning I praise the Steerers of Storms for their mercy, thank them for the moisture, and ask that the incipient thunderstorms don't contain "hard white bits". There's a reason that during summer rituals here in Denver we use the word "praise" rather that "h**l".😀

Not a lot of new references this last week, other than maps:

Dictionary of the Place-names of Wales by Hywel Wyn Owen and Richard Morgan.

May 2023 - Update #2

 I finally finished chapter 28 ("The Bluestones") yesterday, in which Taliesin tells us more about Emrys and his own early life. This is something which has been building in scraps throughout this book and indeed the previous one, and I spent most of a day sorting out the timeline, trying to avoid contradictions and make sure "A", so to speak, doesn't come after "B". I finally started chapter 29 yesterday, provisionally titled "The Road Home". Only two more chapters after that, so I could have a first draft finished by the end of this month. Then comes the tedious editing reread, which will probably last a couple more months. Somewhere around August 1st I will be looking for proofreading volunteers <grin>. The total manuscript length should be about 350 pages, plus appendices, TOC, etc. My target publishing date is Samhain (November 1st). Then I can start on the next book...

In other news, my little tomato seedlings are outside now in my cold frame and doing well. I meant to include a picture of them, but it started raining yesterday and hasn't stopped. As I noted on my Facebook page, a flood watch warning is at least a change from a fire weather warning.

Selected references: 

Dictionary of the Place-names of Wales by Hywel Wyn Owen

 https://davidsuttonpoetry.com/2021/10/01/week-466-cofio-by-waldo-williams/ [something I shared with my Welsh language class last week, which fits the atmosphere of a number of parts of this book]

A Welsh Classical Dictionary by Peter C. Bartrum

Wales and the Britons, 350-1064 (History of Wales) by T. M. Charles-Edwards

and a number of maps, paper and on-line, of course

 

May 2023 - Update #1

 In the last week I wrote chapter 27 very quickly, most of it in two days, because there was a dramatic situation I needed to resolve. The final chapter title is "The End of the Matter". After that I took a day off, only polishing it a little. I've started chapter 28 ("The Bluestones") but haven't got very far yet - after the dramatic end of chapter 27 I needed to pause for a day or so and decide what comes next (aka "let my head fill up again"). Then there were other interruptions - annual vet appointment for Blackberry yesterday followed by shopping, etc. I have a dentist appointment this morning (in about an hour), but maybe I can make some progress this afternoon. The bluestones of the title, btw, are the sites in the Preseli Mountains where the Stonehenge bluestones originated. After that, Gwernin and friends will be on their way home, with a surprise ending for Gwernin.

In other news, about half of my tiny tomato seedlings plus the lemon cucumbers seedlings are outside now in 3" pots. We have been frost-free for about a week now, and the 10 day forecast shows lows in the 40s, but it's never safe to bet on that for the rest of May. By the end of the month my little plants can go directly into their big pots in the garden.

Not much in the way of new references in the last week - it's mostly been map work and thinking, plus a little on-line research.