House Arrest

As much as I'm thrilled about getting a book contract, sometimes it feels like I'm on house arrest. With a deadline of 12/31/08 looming and just under 34,000 words done, I've still got a long way to go. I've been assigned to an editor and cover designer so the excitement allows me to battle the fatigue. Still, it feels like I'm spending most of my waking time chained to the laptop.

It's not so bad when I remind myself that this is the time of year I would not want to be at Disney World. I briefly envied my husband a few days ago when he declared his intention to visit the Magic Kingdom. For a brief moment visions of riding Space Mountain or the Haunted Mansion danced through my head, but they were pushed out by the realization that it's Thanksgiving week.

"Are you crazy?" I said, barely looking up from the keyboard. "You know the lines are going to be long." Unlike me, he has a much higher tolerance for the peak season crowds. Of he traipsed to Disney World while I returned my focus to my manuscript.

When he returned, he confirmed that the crowds had arrived. No more walk-on rides...now the waits were up in the one hour-plus range. He'd used Fastpasses to ride his favorites, but the idea of slogging through the crowds and being a slave to Fastpass return times didn't sound too appealing to me.

There will be a bit of a slow time right after Thanksgiving, but then the Christmas and New Years crowds will descend on Orlando like locusts on a field of fresh crops. I'll be chained to my laptop but it won't be all bad. I'd rather be working on my book than standing in a multi-hour line, surrounded by sugared-up children and praying that the ride doesn't break down the moment I make it to the loading station. By the time things quiet down again in January, my manuscript will be all done and I'll be ready for some quality theme park time.