Good morning!  Welcome to this writer’s workspace.  Here’s what’s happening liiiiiiiiiiiiiive at Miranda’s desk:

What I’m working on: my little fingers are tap-tap-tapping as I labor to increase my word count on the first draft of ABSENT, my time-travel novel (currently at about 38,000 words).  In today’s installment, our intrepid heroine visits the 1920’s excavations at Ur, Iraq for the first time.

Snippet from the screen: “Emily stood at the edge of the great excavation trench and shielded her eyes from the sun.  The ziggurat towered to the east, casting a long shadow behind them.  Beyond, mid-afternoon light lanced across the desert, bleaching color and washing everything to a faded, dusty taupe.  Iraqis draped in robes and headscarves labored in the trench, shoveling, lugging dirt, and calling out to one another.  The edges of an ancient mortar wall were beginning to emerge from the chaos of sand, picks, and men.”

In my mug: this morning I’m guzzling down multiple mugfuls of an organic Indian Darjeeling handpicked by virgins, flown to the States on the wings of cherubim, and sold in bulk by the faux-hippies at the Park Slope Food Co-op (okay, only the last part of that is true).  As my 2 1/2 year old niece Lyla would say: “it’s nummy, Aunty Mimi!”

Keeping me company:  everyone’s favorite fuzz-monster is is trying to seduce me away from my work with his most winsome and plaintive expression.  Devious, he is, but I will not weaken.

On the iTunes:  Tiny Dancer by Elton John.

Out the window:  we are finally, finally, finally getting some gorgeous spring weather here in Brooklyn.  It’s sunny and 65.  Marvel, dear Reader, at my willpower as I resist the urge to wander away from my computer and eat ice cream in the park.

A little procrastination never hurt anyone: first off, go check out fellow VP alum Nicky Drayden’s new short story collections.  Aptly titled “Delightfully Twisted Tales,” the collections showcase her sharp, witty prose.  Over at TalktoYoUniverse there’s an interesting post on re-envisioning a scene without totally rewriting it, mostly by focusing how your characters respond to each other and feel about the unfolding action.  Finally, in conjunction with the announcement of her first published story, “Luck be a Lady”, Amy Sundberg blogs about the role of luck in our lives.

In closing today, I ask not only what YOU are doing this fine morning, but also request you share any wonderful procrastinatory links you might have up your sleeves (favorite blogs, cool videos, new publications you want to pimp…) – come on, what corners of the internet do you like to hide in?  Tell all.