MSS BLUES

Dear readers:

I regret to inform you that the manuscript is not complete. I know back in the spring I promised that I would be delivering a full sometime this fall. Oh, the follies of youth! My relentless pace throughout those early 2010 months led me to believe that I would steamroller this story that’s been in my head, knock it out with a one-two-buckle-my-shoe. Alas, I believe it has turned the tables on me. I stand before you nearly defeated.

Of course, I never scheduled in major life changes, the weather (it’s HOT in LA, like, way too hot to be writing with a computer in your lap!), hang nails, HULU PLUS and NETFLIX streaming, Angry Birds, Bejeweled, Words with Friends, Twitter, RSS feeds directly to my iPhone, SONS OF ANARCHY, MAD MEN Season 4 (I mean, really, Don. Draper. People.), new girlfriends, old girlfriends, trips domestic and almost international, diets, binges, that new bar in DTLA with the mescal that I can only find while driving around, the places my new GPS found for me, the time lost after said GPS was stolen, police reports, car window repair, shampooing carpets, hair, and waxing legs—and let’s not forget that allergic reaction to the Persian post-waxing oil that caused a regrettable hive response in….places—family, family, family, holiday dinner planning, running into ex-boyfriends, running into current wives of ex-boyfriends, babies (not mine but the kind that need their Aunty Alyss, damn it), nephew visits, facebook status updates to read and compose and one-up; the mid-term elections, Sarah Palin, Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina, Bush II in print, and don’t get me started on The Wedding Matters videos or Glee, I mean, seriously, who can write under these circumstances?

In light of the world’s continuing shameless use of its powers of distraction, and my insistence on being a compassionate citizen and artist, I can do only this: pledge to write five pages a day. Not stop until done. Keep my fingers crossed.

best,

Alyss