“Crimson Courtesies, Velvet Lies” has been sent off to people who expressed an interest. (If you are interested and didn't get a copy, feel free to ask for one.) It has also been read by my husband and oldest son. Ben often reads favorite lines aloud, and although I had already deluged him with a selection of my own favorites from this one, which probably took some of the fun out of it, he did find one I had missed telling him about: “Politeness is the art of insulting someone in such a way that they are not allowed to act offended?” He also read the ending out aloud.

I continue, slowly, to work on the Cantata cover for Boyd. I'm still doing the 3D model of the Coral Palace, but with Lies essentially finished (I hope!) I already have another use for it, so maybe it wasn't crazy to embark on that project after all. I also have been messing around in Second Life, as of last week, although my sister has been visiting this week, and between that and trying to get Lies finished I don't seem to have had much time/energy to spend on that particular form of relaxation. We spent, instead, about 8 hours yesterday playing a six player game of Age of Renaissance. It was the first time we've ever actually managed to finish a six player game of that. Alloria, my 9 year old, won.

I'm not certain, really, about what I should be concentrating on now. I feel badly about how my Dad's work is going. He isn't making money. It's not my fault, because I didn't get him into this, but I said I would help and clearly I'm not managing to be helpful enough. My dad may be more important to me than writing, but his project really isn't and I would rather be writing than working for him. But I still feel guilty whenever I think about even trying to get started on the next writing project. I also feel like going back to bed and sleeping for a couple days, so maybe worrying about what to focus on next is a trifle premature. Very little schoolwork happened last week, either, and I am once again behind in logging the kids hours.