Time: Where does it go and what do I do with it?

Well it has been over a month since my last confession blog post. I always find it difficult to set aside time for the blog, there is just so much else going on, and most of those other things take a higher priority than scribbling down random thoughts for a few nameless strangers to read online. However, if you are one of those strangers who stumbles across my blog and finds it even a tiny bit interesting, I would love to hear from you. A comment on this blog, or a tweet to me, or a "like" of my Facebook page, makes it all worthwhile and gives me a warm feeling inside. So don't be shy - get in touch and make me a happy man.
So, what have I been busy with? Besides work, which has been quite hectic of late, school has started, with the inevitable barrage of children's activities. I have been fulfilling that duty of many a parent: taxi driver. On top of that are all the usual jobs that a husband and father needs to do (and frequently doesn't do fast enough, or well enough), such as cleaning, cooking, securing the trampoline in the garden before the recent huge storm. You know the kind of thing.
I also sing in a band, and rehearsing and playing gigs takes up a lot of my time. It's a hard life, but someone has to do it!
So, as you can imagine, there is precious little time left for writing, and what time there is, I spend working on my novel, and not on this blog. Therefore, I hope you feel special that I am writing this just for you right now.

And now for the announcement: 
I have completed the rewrites of my novel, "The Serpent Sword"!
This means I have added all the changes that came up from the first batch of test readers, the comments from the editor who read the first few chapters, and my own review of the first draft. I have made a lot of changes. I've added new scenes, reordered scenes, created new chapter breaks, edited lots of POV (for those who are not reading about writing all the time, that means Point Of View), added a lot of dialogue (show, don't tell), brought in new characters, renamed characters and, the most difficult and painful change of all (especially for one character!), I've rewritten the ending.
Now the book is out once again with a few more people to read and feed back on. One of my test readers sent me this lovely picture with the quote: "you are amongst good company my friend". Rubbing shoulders on a Kindle with two of my favourite writers does look good. Maybe one day I'll have my book published and on bookshelves next to theirs.

Forget Cornwell and Child, that Harffy bloke knows how to write!

Hopefully this time the comments I get back from the test readers will be even more positive than the first time (and they weren't bad then). It is now that I sit in that awkward silence, wondering what people will say...
But I have no time to brood. I must prepare my pitch. I am going to the Curtis Brown Creative Discovery Day in a couple of weeks and I don't have anything ready. I can't just get there and wing it, can I? Well, if I don't start working on my pitch soon, that is exactly what I'll be doing, so this weekend I hope to make some progress on it.
The pitch should also feed into my agent query letters that I will be sending out before too long. I've started reading a lot about query letters on Query Shark and I have to admit to feeling a bit daunted. How do I make my 107,800 word historical fiction novel tantalising and attractive enough in a few lines of a letter to entice agents to request the manuscript and read it?
Here is my first attempt at an elevator pitch of sorts. It still needs work, but let me know what you think:

Far from his homeland, with all his family dead, Beobrand sets out to avenge his brother’s murder. In his quest he falls in with a group of warriors, but when his new friends rape and mutilate a young girl, Beobrand questions the path he has taken and endeavors to retrieve his honour, whatever the cost.

I'm not sure if it is perfect yet, but I would be interested in hearing whether you think it sounds interesting or if you can see any major flaws with it.
I know in my last blog, I promised I would continue to describe my trip to Northumbria and I will, but for now, once again time is a precious commodity that I do not have enough of, so I will leave you with a couple of pictures to give you a taste of things to come.

The ramparts of Bamburgh have changed since the 7th century, but they will always be impressive

Flowers after the rain at Gefrin

I hope to see you here again soon, and don't be a stranger!