Of the sea and a ROW80 update . . .

Sea Pen (Camp 2013)

Today, we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium  to find the most fantastic creatures, from water dragons to jellyfish to this curious sea pen, called in Spanish, pluma del mar.  I can imagine writing with such a pen.

Were any mermaids there? Yes, indirectly. I spotted a tiny, tough little egg case, also called a mermaid's purse, which a skate will attach to seaweed or sand. Sometimes we writers protect ourselves with such a tough skin.

I was fascinated by the jelly fish for they are so very different, each one independent, yet they float and bump along in a colony of like creatures, their pale, sometimes transparent colors ephemeral. We don't know if or how they communicate (they have no brains), yet they swarm together and have a kind of nerve net in their 'skin'. They were simply beautiful, yet I know their sting can be dangerous.

ROW80 UPDATE/WRITING: Access to internet has been at random at best, but I am writing every day. I'm less confident I'll meet the goals I set at the beginning of this round, chastened by the reality of close revision but making progress. I'm nearly finished with Section 2 of Years of Stone. Ten weeks have passed (the editorial review window) without the indie press saying yes, so I shall go ahead with self-pubbing by the end of the year for Standing Stones and Years of Stone, not a bad goal.