Two weeks in

I took this picture of Tyson two days ago (he's the black thing on the right).  We were on our morning walk.  To see him dashing madly hither and thither, his goofy ears flapping in the Alpine air, makes me overwhelmingly happy.  He walks like Pluto, the cartoon dog.  He has a boyish excitement despite his grey-whiskered maturity.  He's happy.
It's Monday evening and I'm two weeks in.  Now was going to be the moment when reality felled me but it happened two days ago.  Or something happened two days ago.  I missed Sarah more than I have so far and it was because I wanted to show her Tyson's happy Pluto walk, the mountains, the rivers.  I wanted her to hear the bells from the church because I think I'm the only person who hears them and she would tell me it's all true.  I knew I couldn't show her and I moved past it and I moved on.  I left it behind.

I sold two books today.  I'm still a long way from getting my first pay cheque, but every sale is a step toward success.  I'm getting eager to write the next novel and I'm thinking about starting on January 1st.  I have small ideas, which is all you need for the shitty first draft.  The novel doesn't emerge until you're half way down the road.  I'm excited to start but I have drawings to do and after 18 months away from illustration, I'm slow.  I'm taking a long time to get the work done.  By January I'll be up to speed and I have to draw.  Writing isn't going to pay the bills until I'm doing a whole lot better.

Sally says that England is so cheap and easy to get to from here that it's not silly to think that I do book readings and signings in English bookshops come the spring.  If I get drawing work, I shall do that.  I shall wage a campaign on home soil.  Sally's getting quite excited about helping.  She knows a lot of people, and that's what I need.

And so I shall take my body off to the warmth of the living room and watch some TV.  I went on my first cycle ride on Sunday -- 11 miles.  That's the farthest I've ridden since before Prince William was born.  Me and Tyson, running about like kids in this children's story of a country.  If this post had audio you could hear him snoring in his bed next to me.  Pretty soon I'll be doing the same, becuase tomorrow we have new things to see.

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