Stupid mail

Still haven't got my FabFive packet back - which I need before I can do any final edits on the requested ms. Apparently the ed. made several comments on it, and I just know that if I send it off without reading them, she'll have mentioned something vital that I have/haven't done all over the story. Also, I think the packet includes instructions on what/where to send.

The plaque came last Monday (ie, a week after the placements were announced, about right for airmail from the US). I know yesterday was a bank holiday, but really it ought to have come by now. Unless it hasn't been sent yet.

Sigh. I need to email the coordinator, but I can't currently think of a way to say, "Where's my goddamned packet?" without sounding rude. I have the feeling that even a polite, "Could you tell me if you've mailed it yet?" might sound rude, given that she really ought to have bloody sent it by now.

Mostly this is annoying me because I don't really have anything to do. Or rather, I do - but I don't want to get myself heavily involved in another story until I've put this one to bed. Bad analogy, seeing as how it's erotica, but you know. I need to get cracking on my Temptwip, wo I can get at least a first draft of it done and sent to the RNA critique thing, which needs to be done before September. That sounds like a long way away, but when you consider that I'm away for about half of the summer, and have rather a lot of things to organise in the meantime, it's a very short few months. If I'm going to try and get myself into the frame of mind to write 60k in a few weeks (which, right now, I'm not), I don't need to get interrupted again by stopping to make edits on this other story.

Editing is hard enough when you're in the right frame of mind. As is writing. Trying to swap between two very different genres (paranormal erotica and flirty short contemporary) when I'm on a deadline is not going to make for anything anyone will want to read. Which is sort of the point of it.