What did I do all day?

I honestly have no idea. I paid some bills, balanced my checkbook, bought a few groceries, had a chili-dog at Ted's because they make onion rings that are like crack, worked on the synopsis for BA...and that's it. How does that take up a full day?

I mean, aside from the political junk I do on Twitter?

Oh...and I had an idea for the beginning of BA's 2nd book and wrote that out. Then I read a fascinating piece about William Caxton and his printing of Le Morte d'Arthur, by Sir Thomas Malory. Which also gave me some ideas for the lead-up to the story. Malory was a real criminal...whoa. But I'm holding off doing anything more. Let the story percolate for a while.

Oh...wait...I did spend an hour making popcorn in an air-popper that doesn't really work. You put the kernels into this container, they swirl and get hot...and then half the damn things spit out before they begin to pop. I used a 1/4 cup of kernels to start with, which was half what they suggested, then tried it with two tablespoons; the second one I got 7 kernels popped while the rest went everywhere. It was easier to deal with a pot on the stove, using olive oil, and nowhere near as messy, overall.

Tomorrow, I'm diving back into my Irish books for A Place of Safety. My focus, as mentioned many, many times, is to make the characters as real to locals as I can. I know I'll never achieve perfection but if I can get them close...

I'm also back to having discussions with Brendan about his character. I was thinking of making him lightly autistic and he's not having it. "I don't need an excuse to be solitary or do as I want," is his response. "I am who I am, and that's what drives too many mad." I think the only characters I really need to work hard on are his mother, Bernadette, and his older brother, Eamonn, named after his father. The neighbors already have a bit of an attitude and love their gossip. I just need to keep it from sounding too twee...

Oh, right...that'll be easy...