Denise Harlow Timpko

I finished the revisions on The Firma Sisters and the Stake-a-tine of Death last night. Now it's being proofread by someone other than myself, thank Zeus, and read by three juveniles as well as others. I may need to make further revisions due to the feedback I receive. Hopefully, there won't be a lot of revisions. I plan to start reading the book again in a couple of days to look for errors.

Stupid illnesses have plagued me off and on (mostly on) since April. Antibiotics are me. When illness is as painful as this last one was, I get very irked.

Illness and very serious illness has struck family and several people I know. I am upset, stunned, and sad.

A very close friend, who I rarely get a chance to see in person due to my driving limitations, is getting married in October. I am more than quite pleased.

My third greatniece Allison just turned 3 months. I am very happy.

I bought the Mousefertiti sculpture from Alan F. Beck (www.alanfbeck.com). I am excited and amused.

Emotions fuel writing, and I'm writing. Changes to The Firma Sisters and the Stake-a-tine of Death go well.
   

I am making some needed changes to The Firma Sisters and the Stake-a-tine of Death. When I'm finished, work resumes on the Flute of Enchantment. Currently, however, life is presenting lots of fodder, which, hopefully, will inspire more new writing ideas.

At long last, I finished the fourth chapter. The end of that chapter needed to introduce a particularly important character. It took me a while to think of how exactly to do so, and I'm very happy with it.

I think I should change the titles of the books to The Firma Twins and the Stake-a-tine of Death and The Firma Twins and the Flute of Enchantment to attract the boy audience as well as the girl audience. Since my first reader (and my first fan, a very cool thing) is a boy, once boys read the books, I have no doubt the books will speak for themselves. The origin of the stake-a-tine, although it's changed considerably in description and somewhat in use in the books, was in the stories I told my younger cousins, most of whom are male, when I was a kid. They still talk about those stories.  

I should also publish the books under "D. Harlow Timpko," not my full name for the same reason as the title change.