if we ever get out of here

Today was somewhat a repeat of yesterday, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I took my time getting up and getting ready, but I finally went to Panera for lunch, leaving my brother behind because he doesn't like Panera and is trying to pack, etc. While at Panera, I wrote out a page or two of notes on a new series that I'm brainstorming; I'm several books away from being able to start it, since I want to write Ellie's book, rewrite Amelia's book, and possibly write Prudence's book if my agent can sell it, but I had the idea for an unrelated Georgian-era series (so, set 20-30 years before the Regency period, when things were even more lavish and decadent and scandalous) while I was driving through Kansas, and I wanted to capture my thoughts before I forgot about it. Amusingly, I had the idea after reading one of those ubiquitous billboards saying that we're all damned except for the members of whatever church put up the billboard -- I have a feeling that they didn't intend for their marketing to spark an idea for a series of racy historical romances. Ha.

After Panera, I went back to the cafe where I spent most of yesterday, and I wrote a couple of pages of Nick and Ellie's story. It's slow going, mostly because I haven't written since I left on this trip, and it always takes a few days to really get back into the story. But, at least I made some progress, and I have some stuff to ponder as I drive across the desert southwest this week. Then, I talked to my mother while sitting in a Starbucks parking lot, and then I came back to my brother's apartment. We had earlier agreed to order pizza rather than going out, so he ordered the food and I went back out into the wilds of Stillwater to pick it up. This is the second time in two weeks that I've had Pizza Hut, and Alyssa will be v. disappointed -- but it tastes so good, and I fully intend to have the leftovers packed away in the cooler for tomorrow's adventure. I spent the rest of the evening booking hotels in Sedona and Las Vegas, planning some things we might see along the way, creating an itinerary to share with our parents, printing off maps, attempting to write another page or two of zee romance novel, and generally wrapping things up.

And so, barring complete disaster, we're leaving tomorrow morning en route to Santa Fe. Thank goodness; while Stillwater is actually a pretty nice town, and while I didn't totally mind have some time to do some writing and editing, etc., I'm eager to sleep somewhere other than the couch that my brother inherited from our grandparents (which is almost as old as I am, and not long enough for me, which is a sign that it's quite small). So, if I am still in Stillwater tomorrow night, check my pupils for killing rage and hide the knives. Goodnight!