Blow up your TV

by | Oct 18, 2008 | Uncategorized

Yesterday I hunted down Spanish Pipedream by John Prine, because my poor deprived family had never heard it. Also I didn’t want them to think I made it up. I couldn’t help singing about eating peaches and finding Jesus after our trip to the farmer’s market. (Mmm. Peaches. Mmm.)

And now today I have the Dead Milkmen’s Thing That Only Eats Hippies in my head. I don’t know what to blame that on. Possibly my tragic music choices in the 80s. Except I don’t regret listening to all sorts of crazy stuff that encouraged me to experiment creatively and make wild combinations that might work together. Also, it’s impossible to be all grim about the creative process when it involves things like big lizards in your backyard or bitchen Cameros. If writing seems too heavy to you today, I recommend a John Prine and/or Dead Milkmen antidote.

Or you could just find a farmer’s market and eat some peaches.

the novel tuning fork

by | Oct 18, 2008 | Uncategorized

Ever use a tuning fork? It gives you the true pitch and you tune your instrument to it, playing the same note. And a funny thing happens; when it’s really off, it doesn’t sound too bad. But the closer you get as you keep tuning while remaining just off-pitch, it starts to make the most awful, nerve-grinding discordant NOISE. It’s worst right before you come on pitch and then the note sings and the tension of WRONG is dissolved.

A novel is like that. You know things are wrong, so you start fine-tuning. You get a little closer, a little closer, closer but still off, and it grates on your senses like a just-off-pitch note. The closer you get to right, the worse it sounds and feels.

I’m at that stage. Ow, my ears. Sing, book, sing.

And how was your week?

by | Oct 17, 2008 | Uncategorized

My week:
I tried to clean the house because everybody is dying here and I figured germs were to blame. No. Turns out pollen is to blame. But house is cleaner now, which is always nice.

I watched Christian Slater play himselves as a sort of schizophrenic psychotic James Bond in My Own Worst Enemy. Moar pleez. I did not see the truth about Henry coming; I thought Edward was the construct. Of course I would gladly watch Christian Slater brush his teeth, but this show is the coolest thing since Season 1 of Heroes. Tune in fast before they crush my spirit and cancel it. The only thing that could make it better would be having Elvis show up to give him advice. (You will get this reference if you’ve seen True Romance, and if you haven’t, OMG rent it now.)

Animal Attraction went back to NY. I’m still having separation anxiety. But it will return as ARCs so there’s an up side.

Made soup. Made more soup. Made muffins, which vanished. Made whole wheat oatmeal bread with sunflower seeds and craisins which everybody loves. Must remember how I made that.

Have read much more of The Success Principles, although still not done. Am realizing that despite the piles of fiction going unread around here, I am doing a lot of nonfiction reading. And maybe nonfic is what my brain needs more. I’ve always gone in cycles; I went through I think a year-long stage where I couldn’t read fiction at all, so I went through the library’s numeral aisles and read everything. This led to discovering some pretty interesting books and also to writing The Gripping Beast, so free-range reading can be good for a writer.

Otherwise, I’m writing. Revising. And trying to survive the weed pollen.

And how was your week?

So, like, when will this site be updated?

by | Oct 14, 2008 | Uncategorized

Yeah, I know things are a twee bit out of date. I have new book covers not on book pages or on the blog sidebar. I have pre-order titles not listed on the front page. I haven’t added a book page for Claimed. There’s no link to Twitter for those who want to follow me there. And so on.

The short answer: I’ve outgrown WordPress and also my webhost and I need to migrate and so this stuff is getting pushed off. Not sure when New Improved site will happen, because it kind of depends on when there’s a free window of time to get this accomplished. I’d like to get it done by Nov. 1 but we’ll see. Anyway, improvements Coming Soon.