Lazy Sunday afternoon

...got no mind for worries. Pepper has been dozing under the bench in the front garden most of the afternoon, after a hard morning of climbing up and down the three steps to the drive. Hard work being a puppy.

Sugar and Spike still aren't sure what to make of her. They've both sneaked up on her while she's sleeping, taken a close sniff, then recoiled in horror. But they haven't been aggressive, just mostly curious. Poor Pepper just wants to play with them! This has, however, helped me develop a theory on the dogs-chasing-cats idea. The dog doesn't want to chase she cat away, she just wants to play. The cat, however, is disgusted by this leggy, smelly creature, and so hightails it (literally) out of there. Dog thinks this is part of the game, and so pursues.

Yesterday, both Sugar and Spike ended up perched halfway up the oak tree while Pepper sniffed around the roots. Wussy cats.

Here she is after a hard day of being adorable:

This cushion is now part of her bed. Cushion, towel/blanket, Knotty. Poor neglected puppy.

In other news, I finished final line edits on A is for Apple, the third Sophie book, which is getting ready to go to Book Expo America. I should hopefully be getting a cover soon (I typed 'toon' there, hah!).

Now, it's absolutely glorious weather here, more like June than April, so I have some hardcore sunbathing to do. Yes, I know I said I was going to stay pale and interesting this year, but I say that every year, and it gets really tiring having people ask if I'm anaemic all summer...

Random bollocks

Sleep pods in airports. Isn't that a brilliant idea? BAA can pay me royalties later. No; think about it. You've just got off a seven hour flight from New York, during which it was physically impossible to sleep, you're making a connection to Edinburgh in four hours' time, you're completely knackered and would prefer not to arrive at your destination looking like a zombie, so you go and hire a little capsule sleep pod thing, like they have in those hotels in Tokyo, and catch a few hours of sleep. Wake up, take a shower, get on your plane and arrive looking like a human being.

I know. I'm a genius.

This is the result of random thought-hopping after I asked my brother when he was flying back from LA, and he said, "Er, Tuesday." Is that when you take off, or when you land? "Er. Land." Because I know they're usually night flights going transtlantic west-east, and it is eleven hours in the air. Are you taking off Monday evening? "Probably."

You see? When I fly somewhere I always write down, in big easy letters, the flight number and times, and put it somewhere prominent in the kitchen. Plus I put it on the calendar. And then I keep a copy with me in case I forget when I get to the check-in desk. Last year Rich went to Doha and didn't even know which airline he was on. Which was interesting, since when you fly into Qatar you need to be on Qatar Airways or you need a visa.

Anyway. Today I shall be mostly working on edits for A is for Apple, book three of the Sophie Green books. This is being done ahead of time, since it's going to BEA in May. So, if you're there, go and find the Samhain stand and say hola.

Ooh, I just opened my author page at Samhain to do that link and Ugley Business is listed there. Ska-wee! That's book two--and yes, Ugley is meant to be spelled like that. Makes sense when you read it. Or if you live near Stansted Airport.