under another sun

Spoke to Mum twice today, and Mason has been released back into the wild, which is very good news. Another very productive day. It felt like some kind of turning point. After several hours, I finished my draft of Sin Cycle and have sent it to Sarah, Robin and Charlotte, who have all said they don't mind having it inflicted on them. After this I sent my children's novel out to two more agents, having had no response from the last one I sent it to. My targets this year to improve my resilience in the face of inertia and my networking. I need continuous but sustainable effort. This made me feel in a good mood. I went for a long walk down to the sea to celebrate, and felt cheered in the sunlight and fresh air. I bought Jacqueline Saphra's book All My Mad Mothers  (she was one of the T.S. Eliot prize readers on Sunday. I have also sent off for the collections from Ocean Vuong and James Sheard). And simply walked home again to do some more work, and then read some of Saphra...

Up on with Monday. Talk of Blue Monday again, not that I buy into these things, but with dark grey skies and the rain pouring out of it, I counted my lucky stars that I wasn't pressed in a train somewhere in South London. Hus came around with a friend and pulled up the floorboards in the hallway. Turns out it wasn't as bad as I feared. After a few hours work, they had fixed it. He is coming around tomorrow just to finish off. It did mean the day was full of banging and crashing which didn't help my concentration any. At one point they left to buy wood, and Calliope of course dived into the hole and disappeared for quite a while, leaving me to picture her being boarded in. But she emerged covered in dust some time later. I continued the Great Sort Out , and going through various files and throwing stuff out, and tidying cupboards. It feels quite good. Also working on poems and having a long cold look at all my current activities. I spoke to Mum too, and Mas is still in h...