The End Is Nigh! #amAWOL

It's the final week before my monsters finish school for the next seven weeks. Well, technically eldest is already done as she's spending this week doing work experience with me, 12yo has gone on a four day adventure holiday with the school, and youngest actually finishes tomorrow. Eep! Where did this year go?!
So I'm going to finish with a few updates. I'll try to post the chicks' progress here at Spacefreighters, but I'll also have posts going live every Wednesday at my cosplay blog HERE and some reviews at Critique de Book. The easiest way to catch them all is to follow my Twitter feed @pippajaygreen
Talking of cosplay, I was reminded at the weekend of an event which gave me my major boost to do most costumes - Star Wars Celebration Europe. It's been a whole year since I went, having made my 12yo his Hux outfit and meeting up with fellow fangirl and Brigader Patty Hammond, without whom I probably wouldn't have gone.

I can't believe it's been a year. You can revisit some of my posts HERE, Rogue One focus HERE, and more random photos HERE. In the meantime, we'll be attending Nor-Con in October, although it's looking  like I won't have a new cosplay for it as time is running out and I've yet to complete 12yo's.

Status Update
I'll get the bad news out the way first - Keir's Shadow will definitely not be releasing this year. Instead I will focus on releasing Reunion and Unexpected, and possibly Revived, so at least something will come out this year.

Chook Update
On Thursday last week, just as Mot and Splash turned one week old, I discovered a lump on Lavender and had to take her/him to the vets (or as hubs put it, take it for a 'chick up'). >.< Fortunately it just turned out to be a cyst and no further treatment is necessary other than keeping an eye on it. Meanwhile the chicks continue to grow and their feathers are coming out more and more each day. As of last week, I can tell that Mot, Lemon and Cuckoo will definitely be frizzles - their feathers curve outwards to make them look adorably scruffy.

From front to back: Lemon, Mille, Splash, Cuckoo, Lavender and
Mot with Mama Effie.

What's over there?! Left to right: Lemon, Mille and Mot investigate.

Worshipping at the drinker. Left to right:
Cuckoo, Lavender, Mille, Lemon and Splash

See ya!

Updates and Upcoming #amediting #scifirom

Almost two weeks into July, and the summer break for my monsters is fast approaching, with the usual increase in and around school events. My eldest began her first week of work experience yesterday, which means me playing taxi to her place of work, as well as attending various school meetings, arranging a couple of sleepovers for youngest, and packing for 12yo's adventure holiday next week. 

Somehow around that I have to work and get things set up to run for the seven weeks I'm 'away' from social media. Generally I set up some snippets to cover my absence, but I don't think I'm going to do that this year. For one, I don't think yet more reruns of my current books are going to be particularly interesting to those who already know them. The second is I just don't think I'm going to get time! Thanks to Hootsuite now demanding payment for more than ten scheduled posts (apparently it varies from user to user, but I got just ten) I'm already having to use both Facebook page scheduling and Tweetdeck to automatically run posts. I need to rename my Tumblr cosplay blog and finish scheduling posts for it and set up an RSS feed from that to its own specific Twitter account (@TheIGSeamstress). I've already got three new book reviews scheduled to go from Critique de Book, and all the current ones will rerun over the holiday to keep my FB page active. That's going to be quite enough work! And of course there's the chicks...

So today's post is really going to be a bunch of updates, and lots of chick pics. Admit it, you're only here for the last. :P

Status Updates
I'm still working through the first round of edits for Unexpected but am completely confident of having those completed by the July 14th deadline. It's been a bit of light relief working on something that doesn't need quite such intensive work after essentially having to rewrite Keir's Shadow over the last few weeks.
Talking of which, Keir's Shadow came back from analysis (very) late last night. There's good news and bad news. The good is it doesn't suck as bad as I feared. The bad is my editor wants the book that needs to come before Keir's Shadow but after Keir's Fall. I guess I kind of knew that was coming, having felt there was something deeply unfinished about Shadow and having started to write that 'missing' story last year. My subconscious clearly knew. The problem is that story has barely begun and at my current rate I can't see it being written this year, let alone ready for publication. Y'all weren't holding your breath on getting Keir's Shadow this year...were you? >.< I suppose at least now I have a viable project for NaNoWriMo...
The other bit of good news is I'll probably now be able to reuse a discarded book title - the original name for Keir's Fall no less - which makes me a little bit happy. I hate giving up on a good title.
In the meantime, I guess I have even more incentive to finish edits on Reunion and possibly Revived so that I put something out this year. However, there are things going on behind the scenes that could have major effects on further publications, so I'm just going to keep going and see what happens. I'm sorry I can't be more specific.

Chook Update
My girls have been enjoying the sun and the garden, although they're fascinated by what's going on in the other coop with Effie, much to Effie's irritation. Both Kyru and Pitch keep going to investigate, which makes Effie growl a lot. Yes, chooks can growl (and purr). I just haven't been able to video it.

Scoop sunbathing

Pitch playing at being a lap chicken.
She refused to believe I didn't have food.

Chook invasion!

And now the pictures you really want - the chicks! They're four and five days old, and already growing in their wing feathers. They all ventured out of the nest box for the first time yesterday - the day before only three of them were feeling that brave - and are foraging for themselves, though Effie is being a perfect mum by calling them to her when she finds food and breaking up anything too big for them. They've also mastered their feet and balance a bit better, and can certainly move at a pace now!

Front: Cuckoo, with Lemon behind, then left to right at the back
are Lavender, Mot, and Splash.

The gang's all here! Left to right: Mille, Lemon, Splash, Lavender, Cuckoo and Mot.

Left to right: Lavender, Mot, Splash, and Mille

                                       

Lemon was the first chick out, but Effie's intense dust bathing set her running!

Peekaboo!

And I found an unexpected visitor in our hallway this morning!

We encountered this chap on the way to one of the numerous school meetings.
Meet a British hedgehog, if you aren't familiar with it.

It's weird to think that by this time next week, the chicks should have lost most of their fluff in favour of their adult feathers, though they won't be fully grown for another six weeks on top of that. I will try to keep you posted on their progress over the holidays because they will change that fast.
There are more chick pics posted on Twitter @pippajaygreen if you would like instant updates.

More From Dinosaur Isle

As Sharon admired the picture of Shanklin's cliffs last week (and because my brain is too fried for a post topic just now), I thought I'd share some more photos from our holiday. The first few are a bit moody as we had rain the first two days on and off, but it did make for some great atmospheric shots.

Bembridge Pier

Shanklin Beach

Chair lift down to Alum Bay. An unnerving experience.

We took the 15 minute speed boat tour out into the bay,
to the Isle of Wight's most famous feature - The Needles

Alum Bay, famous for its coloured sands. You are NOT allowed to take any from the beach.

My boys amused themselves with trying to build as many and as big rock towers as they could.

Distance shot of the Needles

St Catherine's Oratory, a medieval lighthouse and one hell of a climb!

A 360 degree view from the Oratory. It was worth the climb!

We also made another visit to Walton - not for shark teeth this time, but some sand to make my chooks a luxury sand dust bath! We found a disappointing two teeth, both broken, but we did find this:

This is how I always imagined fossils looked if you said the word. Might be bone fragments, might just be wood, but it was an unusual find for us. Just waiting on identification. We also took the monsters strawberry picking, turning some into jam and others into chocolate coated treats we later ate with icecream.

Status Update

I'm still trying to catch up after a week's holiday. Reunion is back with me for edits, Unexpected is with the editor, Revived is still unfinished, and Keir's Shadow is still at 33% on revisions and I've already fallen four days behind on the target I set myself. Eeeeeeep!

Cosplay has also been on hold due to other things, but I completed the White Rabbit waistcoat to finish off eldest's costume for Alice in Wonderland (happening just a week from now!).

Chook Update

The blustery weather has made my chooks rather skittish so they haven't been out in the garden very much recently. Here are Kyru and Pitch looking rather fed up about it (you might just be able to see the others skulking in the background and doing their best to stay out of the wind).

Here's hoping for something less breezy!