In so many ways, I have been out of touch for the last few weeks.

The school year has finally given way to summer. While the time between last Friday and today may not feel different to most, the control of learning has shifted in my household. Don’t get me wrong, the kids did a great job with distance learning, but it was a struggle. Finally, as of today, I have a handle on what is going on.

While we usually have a typical summer of trying to find the most fun for the least amount of money, this year is different. With the “safer at home” quarantine still in effect, we cannot visit the dozens of recreation centers around town as we planned. Since all the rec centers are closed, swimming and exercise is not an option. I have already found that with absolutely no routine, the kids become mopey and rootless. The thought of despondent tween/teens for the next few months (or longer) seems like torture.

To give the kids a plan, I have decided to home school them in the mornings. It is an easy schedule of various subjects and interests until lunchtime. With their brains full of knowledge they are sent to play, read, code, Lego, or whatever else they wish to do with their time. Today is only the first day of this, but it is already working out well.

Since the kids move to their own activities in the afternoon, I can use that time to get back to work on my book. What am I doing now? Researching, of course.

So far, I have gathered information and written a blurb, author bio, and a few additional sentences needed for a query. I also have a good understanding of the proper way to put a query together. I’m almost ready to start researching individual agents from my rather large list of people looking for YA/science fiction books.

I feel like I am slowly scooting along, making progress and writing seemingly random things as I go.