Just received a rejection letter from the Canada Council for my grant proposal to work on The Code Breakers Club. I used the same proposal for 3 different grant agencies with varying results. Canada Council said no. ACDI (Canada Council/Alberta Foundation for the Arts) said it conflicted with my AFA grant application, which turned out to be a yes! Proof again that the same project can trigger varying opinions. Now I just have to figure out how to get to the Aran Islands and the Great Wall of China for cheap. Air Miles?

Waiting is the hardest part. I'm still waiting for feedback from my editor on The Mystery of the Cyber Bully revisions. I'm sure they're coming in this week, but I check my inbox every day hoping for something from him. It's like watching a kettle that never boils. Worse, I've added to my waiting woes by sending the Tradewind pitches last week. Another waiting game.

I could start on The Code Breakers Club this week, but it's a pretty big undertaking and I don't want to kill any momentum for the first draft. So, until I get notes from my editor, I'm doing little projects like prepping speaking gigs and researching codes. It's days like this that make me miss writing for the Edmonton Journal. It was nice to be able to knock off a Life article and feel productive.

I decided today that I was sick of my dank and chilly dungeon office, so I moved operations to the local library branch. The change of scenery did some good. I was able to pick up a few books to help me with Code Breakers Club. Plus, I also had the energy to brainstorm 10 story ideas for Tradewind. I have to spend tomorrow shaping the ideas into one-sentence loglines that I'll pitch to the publisher. From the ten, he'll pick one idea for me to flesh out... or he'll reject them all and send me on my way. Either way, I'm excited; more for the former result than the latter.

Research and brainstorming make for weird days. Because I've been hacking away at the keyboard for so long with the revisions, I feel like I'm on vacation when I read material about spies and codes, and jot notes about potential new novels. Naturally, all this relax time has made me drowsy. Writers work best when they're horizontal. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Now that I'm waiting for my editor to get back from Mexico and read my manuscript, I have a couple of weeks to get started on my Code Breakers novel. Yay! I'm starting this one off with some research. I have to develop some background for the spy agency along with some cool codes. Also, down the line, I'll have to drag out my old photos from Ireland, China and Drumheller to flesh out the settings for the novel.

Thanks to the Edmonton Public Library's summer reading program of 2009, I have lined up the names of my two main characters, but I need a name for the third character. I'll be setting up a similar contest to the one that ran at EPL, but this one will be at the St. Albert Children's Festival in June.

To get the novel off on the right foot, I've bought a new idea book to fill up with ideas gleaned from my research. I can't wait to get started. Glad to feel movitated for a change.

For better or for worse, the manuscript is out of my hair. I emailed it to my editor an hour ago. I knew it was time to get some distance from the manuscript when I started changing things and discovering that it wrecked something I was setting up for later. When I get to the point where I'm changing for the sake of changing, it's time to walk away and get some fresh air. Now, all I have to do is wait and fret and worry and agonize and wonder why the editor is taking so long to get back to me.

On the bright side, I can use the time to get cracking on the first draft of Code Breakers Club.

I keep looking at the file, thinking just send it to the editor, but I can't. Not just yet. I want to tinker with sections and punch up the humour and clean up the writing. One more day to go over the manuscript and then I'll send it on Thursday... maybe. Every play a video game and hit a section you just can't complete, and you won't quit the game until you do? That's how I feel right about now.