Eight weeks old!

Peaches is now eight weeks old and had just had her first bath when I took this picture on Monday. She did very well with her bath, but it's probably the first and only time I'll be able to do it in the kitchen sink! I used a peach mango dog shampoo, so now she smells more like her name.

Don't let this pose fool you. In the three weeks since she came to live with us, she's grown from a very timid puppy to a little wild woman. Everyone talks about how quickly children grow up, but Peaches has almost doubled in size in less than a month!

Like puppies, books grow very quickly. What started as an idea a few short weeks ago is now taking shape. At the time I wrote this entry, Renegade had already grown to 17,000 words. That doesn't sound like much when you have to write at least 90,000, but I'm starting to get a feel for the characters and the story, just as I'm getting a feel for Peaches and her personality. When I first start writing a book, I don't have a clear cut personality for my characters. I have a few traits and a physical appearance, but that's about it. As I write, they develop in my mind and their motivations become clearer.

With a new story in the works, I find my imagination centers on it while I'm doing other things. I might be washing the dog or washing the dishes, and my trusty ol' brain will pop in with another idea. This usually works better than if I sit in front of my computer and try to force it. But sometimes, the story and the dialogue just flows.

Here's hoping that everything flows for you!