Baby

Congratulations from the blogosphere to friend (and blog follower) Mark and his wife Denise on the birth of a baby boy last week. We went by for the second look last night now that they are home from the hospital. From all appearances, the baby looks to be a healthy, handsome young fellow (and so quiet, at least for company - chuckle).

One of the original scenes in “PHAIAKIA” that I ended up rewriting had to do with a baby. Yes, action books can include babies but only slightly. No birthing scenes, please. So, somehow, my proofreaders just didn’t think it was realistic for my hero to have a sword in one hand and a baby in the other. Looking back on it, they are clearly right, but it certainly seemed to flow fine as I rambled out the draft. I won’t mention the other unrealistic baby chapter I had to rewrite for fear of spoiling the book. However, I will hint that babies and water don’t mix. And, to think, it added such tension to the scene …

Okay, all snickering aside, I did readily make the changes. I valued my reader feedback, but also, I wanted a realistic book. Well, realistic as far as a book can be when dealing with immortals and mythical beasts and impossible quests. Besides, after a few sleepless nights, those obstacles might even sound appealing to the father of a new baby. Just kidding (slightly) – LW and I have certainly been enjoying our first year of being parents, and I’m certain our friends will, too.