Now that I've put the Tide Lords to bed for the time being (I refuse to answer any sequel questions, so don't even go there), I decided I'd better pull my finger out and get cracking on the next big thing. Gotta pay for the new car and the house extentions I want, somehow:)

So, I've done the synopsis, plotted out the books, patched up the plots holes and sent the outline off to my agent. I will now sit back and wait for her to tell me to do it all again (as she usually does... hehehe).

Seriously, though, I imagine what with the wheels of publishing grinding along at the pace they do, it will be a few months before I can make any official announcements about the who, where or when of it's publication, but I can tell you the series is called The Rift Runners Trilogy. It's about twins, which made me think I should do a duology (you know... twin books..hehe) or maybe call it a Twilogy.

Actually I like that... The Rift Runners Twilogy.

The books should be called, The Undivided, The Dark Divide and Reunion. I say should because I like the titles, but that doesn't mean some bright little thing in marketing won't come up with something they like better. There is a reason, you know, that The Immortal Prince wasn't published under it's original title of Suicide of the Immortals, and it wasn't because I didn't know how to spell suicide:)

Look to see book 1 of the Rift Runners Twilogy in the bookshops sometime in 2010. I know you'd probably like  it sooner, but I have to, you know, write the blessed thing first... *wanders of mumbling something about whether or not the evil twin is required by law to have a moustache*

So, I had a little celebrity moment this morning. Went shopping at the Westfield Marion Mall, where I stopped by a very nice dress shop.

Lovely shop assistant named Jess served me, and when it came to pay, she asked if I had their store card. I said yes, of course, because I have store loyalty cards for every shop in this solar system, but I couldn't find it so she offered to look me up on the computer.

So I told her my name... Jennifer Fallon. The reason it was in that name is I realised some time ago, that getting store loyalty card in the name of Fallon (which is not my real name) was the easiest way to acquire ID with Fallon on it . Now, when publishers send me books (and worse cheques) that have to be signed for and require ID and they send it to my non de plume, rather than my legal name, I have to prove who I am.

Anyway, she typed in the name and then smiled at me and said, "you know, know there's a author called Jennifer Fallon."

To which, naturally enough, I replied, "I am the author, Jennifer Fallon."

"Oh my god!" she squeals. "I worship you! I was reading your book this morning! Ahhhhh!!!!! You're the best author in the universe..." and so on. (I can't remember the rest but it was very flattering and I was feeling very Paris Hilton, by then...hehehe)

What's even scarier is she comes from Alice Springs and her parents still live there and, in the weirdest of coincidences, her father works for the same company that Firstborn just started at in her new job, which is the reason she couldn't come with us.

There's a million people in Adelaide and at least half of them were at Westfield Marion this morning to escape the heat. What are the odds?

I was playing with the back end of my website today and discovered the little doovey that counts the pageviews on the blog pages (as opposed to the rest of the site).

Now, as I've probably mentioned once or twice before, since starting the blog in May 07 a dispropotionate number of people have been visiting this site. Or to put it another way, if every single person who reads this blog also bought all 14 of my books, I would be seriously wealthy...

Anyway... I was wondering if the blog had hit the million mark yet, and guess what... we actually surpassed the figure mid-November last year.

Damn... but I should be selling advertising!

Oh well... I'll have to settle for a shout-out to all you nice people out there who waste a few minutes of their employers' time each day to catch up with the adventures of me, and Dace, Mount Bruce and the rest of the lunatics who make my life so interesting.

I love you all.

Now please... go out and buy some books. 14 is a nice round number:)

We took Dace to the beach.

He built a sandcastle.

He got a bucket of seawater to use during construction.

When the sandcastle was done, he took the rest of the bucket of water and tipped it back into the ocean. He didn't want to waste it.

There is a child born and raised in the desert:)

We took Dace to the museum today, to see the Hatchlings display the Museum of SA currently has on show. This did not take long because Dace runs everywhere, even through museums. He did slow down in the gift shop (funny about that...) and of course, I bought him a 3' long soltosaurus made of this really freaky pliable rubber stuff that looks disturbingly real.

So, after lunch at the museum (where he informed us that if he stops talking for more then 20 seconds he'll lose his voice, so of course, he has to keep talking) we headed into Rundle Mall and Allens Music so I could get some sheet music for the piano I bought the other day and still haven't figured out how I'm getting home.

All of this was accompanied by Secondborn in her rent-a-wheelchair, because her back is so bad she can't walk more than 10 feet without pain and the specialist appointment isn't for another week and a half.

Needless to say, the dinosaur came with us. I have to say, though, nothing seems to spark a smile in people than a small boy walking through the city with his dinosaur.

Dace named the soltosaurus Ben. I voted for Kevin, but he didn't go for that. Oh, and we bought him new shoes at The Athlete's Foot where he insisted on brake testing every pair of sneakers he tried on, to make sure he didn't have a blowout.

There aren't words to describe the look on the poor salesman's face when he started doing laps of the store.:)

BTW... Secondborn claims the scariest words she's ever heard is me pushing her in a wheelchair, crying happily... "wheeeeee...."

Oh... and the music I bought? The Complete Idiots Guide to Playing Piano.

They saw me coming:)