After outlining the first twelve chapters in my second book, I have decided to set it to the side for a bit. I need to polish up book one and get it out to some agents the first week of the New Year. I’m still waiting for my friend Tim’s comments on my dialog in the rest of the book. I feel like I now have the gist of what he’s getting at in his first round of changes. I was being way too formal, polite so to speak. It’s just not the way people talk to each other in everyday life. I only have six chapters left to work on and a couple of places where Tim and a couple of other readers think I should give more insight to my two main characters, Lourdes and Rodriguez. I am both excited and nervous about this stage. I’ve braced myself for rejection. I know many famous writers went through a lot of rejection letters before someone finally accepted them. I also know that these days, some writers have had considerable success self publishing after they were rejected multiple times. I haven’t decided where that cut off point is for me yet.
This past week I got to see mysterious magical creatures parading in a mall, an unexpected rainbow in 
the sky over San Borja and have a plethora of beautifully feathered birds sing to me outside my window. The holiday season is in full swing here in Lima. The malls are decorated. Christmas Carols play over loud speakers. Kids drag their parents through multiple stores pointing to everything they want to find under the tree Christmas morning. One of my friends, Katrina, is having a gingerbread house baking party this Sunday. I hope she bakes some extra cookies and brings them to the writers’ group. The national ballet is putting on the Nutcracker and the museums will have free pass day for everyone. I put up my tree this past week. It is a small affair but enough to remind me of the holidays and put me in an even cheerier mood.
The writers’ group met on Thursday. Only Katrina, Kathy and I were in attendance. We went over
a travel article that Kathy had drafted a couple of days before. It shows a lot of promise and with a few additions and small changes will be a great read. We also spent time socializing and plan to meet next Thursday even though it’s very close to Christmas Day. Hopefully Jack, our new member, and Victoria will be able to come to this one. I met Tim last Sunday for breakfast. Lourdes had to work on some papers for her University class. We had a nice chat and he seems to have a good goal set for the New Year. Larry and I met yesterday (Friday) for coffee. We talked about my plans for getting the book published and my ideas for the second book. Larry also told me about an idea he has for a book he wants to write, a spy story taking place in Peru during World War II. It sounds like it will be very interesting.
My dental work is progressing. I’ve been spending a lot of time in the chair getting my teeth drilled down to points to support the crowns. Yesterday I finally had the first fitting of the uppers. They look great but the bite was off so they have to go back to the lab. Monday I will have the second fitting and hopefully, they will be put in place permanently on Tuesday, then on to the lowers. It’s a long process but the smile will be worth it when it’s all over. Pictures to follow.