Man, this is a weird little thing I've got going here.
Famous Flower is scheduled (at the moment) to be released in October 2004. It's been on Ruth's desk since April. A year ahead of schedule.
Matty Groves is (at the moment) scheduled to be released in October 2005.
I just passed 58,000 words. This sucker is likely to be done by Christmas.
So, figuring beta reads and edits and back and forths before my publisher ever sees it, it should still be totally ready for submission by, say, 1 March 2004. Nearly 18 months ahead of schedule.
Which may make my editor completely nuts. I wonder if the move isn't going to be "Hi! Matty Groves is done! Just letting you there's a completed manuscript awaiting you whenever you want it...."
Any minute, I expect them to start making up deadlines, just to see if they can throw me a curve.
your productivity is inspiring, Deb.(and I don't mean that in that hokey way.)
erika, thing is, publishers seriously don't like it when you produce this fast. They get cranky, because they're supposed to be reading, editing, and generally focussing on things that are next upm on the publication slate. A year and a half ahead of schedule makes them snarl.
Gah. Somebody somewhere had a Web page on writing travel with horses -- it was to keep you from making stupid mistakes. It did things like warn against riding stallions (they're a pain in the ass on long journeys), mares coming into heat, about how far a horse could travel in a day, and like that.
Does that ring a bell for anybody?
Plei: Judith Tarr's Lippizzaner stallion. Pretty boy. [link]
Oh, GOD i'm such a raging sucker for Lippis. And I don't think that's just the Viennese side of me talking. Perfect little short compact powerful studly horses.
t sigh
Anyway, I don't remember the website you're talking about, but I'll second the stallion advice -- they're a fucking PITA.
Did you have particular horsey questions?
How far could a party on five horses reasonably expect to ride in a day? (Walking or trotting, not galloping.) How often would teh horses have to be rested? Do you have to stop riding at twilight, or if there's a full moon could you continue?
Oh, loook. [link]
That's not the one I was thinking of, but it's very handy. Thanks!
How far could a party on five horses reasonably expect to ride in a day? (Walking or trotting, not galloping.) How often would teh horses have to be rested? Do you have to stop riding at twilight, or if there's a full moon could you continue?
(meep! My doG, he's gorgeous!)
As far as your questions go
t tears self away from Lippis
the longest modern endurance races are 100 miles. At that kind distance, they'll be going at a fairly fast trot for most of the way -- let's say 10 mph for 10 hours. But that kind of distance is for desert warfare and the horse equivalent of marathon racing -- are your characters out for a pleasure ride and they get caught out after dark, or are they running from highway robbers or angry relations?
I ask because that kind of trotting speed is bloody hard to endure unless the rider is equally fit. IIRC from my old pony club manual, a more typical trot is about 6-8 mph, and a walk about the speed of a brisk human walk, ~3 mph.
Horses are naturally diurnal, and they'll definitely want rest and a stunning amount of roughage after a long day. Be careful of your road surfaces if you're riding after dark. And more than a full day or so of that kind of stuff will cause the average horse to break down -- even the fittest sport horses generally get days off after a big exertion.
Gah. Somebody somewhere had a Web page on writing travel with horses -- it was to keep you from making stupid mistakes. It did things like warn against riding stallions (they're a pain in the ass on long journeys), mares coming into heat, about how far a horse could travel in a day, and like that.
Jane Ross Ewing has one on her page somewhere.
