draft cover all doneEditing Corsair.  Yes, I’ve complained about it before, and I’ll complain about it again, but I’m back to the editing board with Curved Space to Corsair.  My wonderful new editor has turned the first slash of the red pen around in record time, and is expecting a second final draft from me for proof-reading.

I haven’t actually looked at the returned manuscript file yet. I need to gird my loins, drink a pot of strong coffee, and have plenty of time to breathe and concentrate before I start editing.  But with a few free days in a row coming up, I should bite the bullet and get stuck in.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Meanwhile, since you enjoyed Dolores’ adventures (independent of any book so far) last Wednesday, here’s an excerpt from Curved Space to Corsair.  The four heroes, Dolores, Maggie, Lars and Pete, have gone visiting on Brahe. We first met Agneta Persson  in The Perihelix when she was first officer on the freighter Doris Jury which appears to turn up regularly in the books.

Dinner with Agneta

Dolores was delighted to find that dinner with Agneta and her daughters, Evie and Seren, turned out to last half the day. They arrived mid-afternoon, laden with fresh fruit and gifts for the girls, and were promptly taken in hand by the six- and four year-olds, who grabbed Pete and Lars by the hands and dragged them down to the lakeside. Agneta just laughed and waved them off.

“It will be good for them to play with the men for a bit. They have got over having me home and keep asking when Daddy will be back!”

“Is it hard doing shifts like this?” Maggie asked.

Agneta shrugged. “It is how we do things. I miss them when I am away, but work is good, and I think it makes me better company when I am home. I take over the science class at the local school as well, so it is a complete job share at both ends.”

“Don’t you miss Goran?”

“Of course, we always miss each other. But we had a long time with each other before the girls were born. I stayed on Brahe until Seren was two, and they did not see Goran much before that. Mind you, it is a good thing the Doris Jury works it so that we rarely have a journey longer than eighteen months.”

“Will they take the girls on the spacecraft?”

“I know some ships that do, but I am not sure it is good for them. The Doris Jury is a working ship. I think having land and space and fresh air is better, for sure.”

Maggie and Dolores agreed. “It gives you a sense of home, I suppose,” Maggie added, watching the girls as they splashed the men and chased them up a nearby tree, squealing and giggling. Dolores watched the men more, noting their enjoyment of the game.

Agneta looked at both women. “Motherhood is both a blessing and a curse.”

Dolores shifted her seat. “Well, I’m never going to know it.”

“Me neither.”

“Do Lars and Pete know that?”

“I don’t know,” Maggie said.

Dolores looked into Agneta’s eyes. “Do you think it matters to them?”

“There are some things you never know until the subject comes up. They may just want to be uncles.”

Dolores nodded. “They’d hardly have taken up asteroid mining if they really wanted a family.”

“Very true. It might not be possible for them now anyway,” Agneta said. “Would you like to see the rest of the homestead?”

 

© J M Pett 2018 Curved Space to Corsair, Ch 2 in prep.

Back to editing Corsair, plus an excerpt
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