5:30 this morning, house is quiet, woodstove warm.

I was trying to pick a date for the Arden House Book Two launch party, then got distracted and curious about what we'd planned for later today.

Clicked "Today" on Google Calendar for the first time in, I don't know, months. Surprise! Neil Diamond rocks across my screen, loud as the Downton Abbey episode we watched last night.

Scared the cat into next week.

It's early, but the smart money is on this being the highlight of my day.

I've been writing since 3:45 AM. (I did also get my teeth cleaned, opened a checking account for Arden House Press and drove to Pendle Hill.)

All of the writing has been with Ulysses, and wow.

I don't know enough to recommend things to others, as a general rule.

I can say this, though, I've spent 100% of my writing time actually writing. No mouse, no navigating B.S., no style tinkering, no switching between documents, no saving, nothing.

I can't tell you how awesome that is. One thankful guy.

I have a few PNG (thank you, Tom Boutell) files that I want to put on top of a simple PDF template and save as a new PDF. Positioning and size are important to get right. Word won't open the PDF template, I tried GIMP for an hour, read the tutorials, manual, couldn't get layers to move around without smooshing into each other, couldn't get images in any way besides layers.

I tried Preview on the Mac, because I read that could work, but I could not get it to work.

What am I looking for?

A. Image editing software

B. Graphic design software

C. Desktop publishing software

D. Something else

Thank you in advance, Rob

I'm deep into Book 3, planning where the load-bearing beams will go and pouring footers.

Character profiles, setting details, plot points and major themes are all mapped out in rough form and I'm going through, putting finer details in here and there, calling out connections and setting up resonating imagery.

http://radiofreetacony.com/2014/10/18/as-tom-petty-said/?blogsub=confirming#blog_subscription-2

Lindsay Harris !

That is quality!

I love this part, here at the beginning, where it's all sketches, wisps and half-thoughts, character fragments and everything is possible.

And so it comes to pass, in this time of dusty yellow autumn, that I begin to let Autumn House, Book Two, slip away, out from beneath my fingers and out into the world.

I am open to a few volunteer Beta-readers, folks who would be willing to read the book over the next two weeks and lend a hand by finding any remaining spelling or grammar errors, unbelievable events, dull parts, plot holes, continuity mistakes or other reflections.

The manuscript is ready to go, so reply here or email me if you're interested.

If you are not, which I completely understand, and thank you for reading this far anyway, you may accept this as an update that Arden House, Book Two is moving closer to you all the time, and is quite near.