Putting On My Historian Hat

For the past four months or so, I've been fully invested in writing my fiction. I've loved (almost) every minute of it. While I let the first draft of this novel sit for a bit, I haven't been idle on the writing front. Oh no!

I will have a paper published in an edited volume on "Fascism: Then and Now," to be published by the University of Nebraska-Press sometime next year. While I wrote the paper and turned it awhile ago, I received some editorial suggestions from my professor that I've been working on. It has necessitated I turn the switch in my brain from "novelist" to "historian." 

At first, the transition nearly did me in. I've been out of graduate school for six months now, and was no longer in that mode. It was excruciating, and the cognitive dysfunction issues I have with ME/CFS didn't help. But once I started digging deeper into my research and thinking like a historian again, I began to enjoy the process. 

I'm nearly finished with the edits, and it has truly made the paper stronger. I know the same will be true once I finish editing my novel. Isn't it great that we don't have to get writing right the first time? Whew!

In Other News...

It has been gloriously cooler these past few days with temps in the high 70s and low 80s. I sat outside tonight and took some pictures of my beloved birds, and then managed a short walk. I really enjoyed it all.

My daughter started watching Vikings and though I am not hooked, I admit to watching some of it and getting pulled into the story. Plus, there are some HOT men on there. Heh.

I've managed to order some clothes for my Scotland trip and oh they are so cute! I want to be comfortable so will probably wear leggings and long tunics the entire time along with my new pair of boots. 

And speaking of Scotland...I've decided to rent a mobility scooter. I really, really don't want to, but after the terrible flare I experienced the other day (all I did was go on a nature walk!), I realized that if I don't want to end up bedridden for most of my vacation, I need to take measures to help myself. So. For the days we'll be exploring Edinburgh, I'm going to be motoring around on my scooter. I think it's the right decision. I won't necessarily use it all the time, but for those days when we do a lot of exploring? It will save my body from crashing.

I'll leave you with some bird photos from tonight!