I have a muse. Her name is Ethel.

I’ve never met her (she prefers to stay out of sight and just fiddle with the synapses in my brain) but I’m pretty sure she’s a very cool goth from the 80s.

As if to prove my point about stories changing as I write them, Ethel has stepped in and made a suggestion for a new title for Rainshine, added a new scene and embellished the final scene of the story with what, according to her, will be some very effective imagery. The problem with Ethel is that she has such grand plans and I rarely manage to do justice to the pictures she puts in my head. This time I’ll try to do better. But, I’m sticking with Rainshine as the title for the time being, we’ll see how insistent Ethel gets.

Anyway, 517 words on Rainshine yesterday. Finished off the second and third scenes and an opening line for the fourth. All signs point to me being able to wrap up the first draft at the weekend. I always let my stories sit for a week or two before I do the second draft to gain some perspective so this one should be ready to go out by the end of the month.

After Rainshine, I’ve got a couple of almost finished stories I want to revise. One is a Lovecraftian tale that I don’t really like, the second is an odd piece about a dead body. Coincidentally, like Rainshine, this one is inspired by Amanda Palmer – this time her first solo album Who Killed Amanda Palmer?.