So that's what they mean by all consuming...

I am currently in the land of Query. I know everyone who's read my blog knows that I'm in the process of querying for The Accidental Godmother right now. And while hunting around for more agents, I found an agent's blog that totally rocks. (That's BookEnds, LLC for those of you who don't hit the link) I've been reading through it, gleaning what I can from the pages, and I have to say it's definitely on par with the Query Shark. So I read through quite a bit of the blog then sent my query off. And then I started to worry. It seemed like she (Ms. Faust) really has her act together, and for a while I could just feel the form rejection letter would be sitting in my inbox when I got up in the morning (I query at night because I'm usually working on my dissertation or teaching or watching the wee one during the day).
After querying (an e query, with no sample pages mind you. It really doesn't get easier than that) I had a dream where I was painstakingly making pottery vases. I'd collect the clay, put it on the wheel, mold vases into existence. I sent my wet clay vases to a kiln, and while they were being fired, I went out and collected seeds and bugs that I then crushed into inks. When my vases were returned to me, I then painted the inside (the inside?!) of the vases with my query letter, carefully using all the calligraphy I've ever learned in an attempt to make them as beautiful (again, this is the inside of the vase) as possible. Then I cut out corks to fit the tops of the vases and stoppered them. Then, I drove with my car full of vases (it was an old style VW wagon from the seventies like my grandmother used to have) to the ocean (I currently live in New Mexico, but I recognized the bit of sea as being from the Mendocino coast line south of Albion), and I threw my beautiful, painstakingly rendered vases into the sea.
So, today, I'm not looking at querying anything or anybody. Clearly, I need a touch of a break from that. I'll work on EXILES, because I need to get that rough draft off my plate and move on to the next one: THE BETTER HALF.
Oh, and did I mention, I've never worked with clay before? and I can totally feel how my hands would be sore after throwing vases now. Well, I guess I can fly in my dreams to, so why not a little pottery.