suricattus

Completely self-serving notice: B&N has FLESH AND FIRE up for pre-order. http://tinyurl.com/kwyc8l

And now, having gotten the morning's writing in, I embark on a fascinating day of laundry, cleaning [I go away but the felines continue to shed], and client e-mails. Also: finish reading difrancis's THE BLACK SHIP.

And I should probably order some groceries, too....

Ah, the excitement.

Once upon a time July 4th meant Too Many People overload that left me an exhausted heap by the time the fireworks rolled around. The plan for today is for a much more stress-free, enjoyment-filled ID4, and I wish the same for all, celebrating or not. Booms in the Night optional -- I'll be on the West Side, watching the NYC Booms, myself. Should be pretty spectacular.

And smile at a a serviceman/woman today! This, even more than Memorial Day, is the time to acknowledge their service, past present and future....

Home again, home again. Many thanks to the intrepid team of Assistant Feline Keepers, who did such wonderful work I was only greeted with an hour of OMG YOU LEFT US! wailing. Usually it goes on for several hours/all evening.

So. Vacation. In a quick roundup:

22 acres of GREENERY! (plus a spring-fed, frog-filled pond). Huge house filled with books. No t.v. No cell phone coverage. Limited internet connectivity. Frogs and a gaziillion fireflies makin' whoopie in the dusk (not together). 8 hours of sleep every night. Food -- OMG the FOOD! (Although I passed on the chance to eat antelope last night in favor of a slab of Angus.) The Juilliard String Quartet performing Hayden. Antiquing. A brand new dance troupe from Taiwan with a world premiere piece @ Jacob's Pillow (and a display of Jules Feiffer's 'dance' cartoons, which was delightful). Thunderstorms! A flock of wild turkeys! Power outages! Delightful public gardens! Frogs! Shopping! Chocolate tastings! Rabbits underfoot! Wine! More fabulous food! And, of course, the usual "people in a house together tension-blowup-apology" cycle, of which there were at least two and possibly three.

And did I mention frogs?

And now I am home, and deadlines and client e-mails stare me balefully in the eye. Dare I ignore them for one more day? I dare!

( a few more photos )

new thing scratched off to-eat list: sweetbreads. Surprisingly good, although I'd be hesitant to order them somewhere I wasn't damn sure of the chef.

Also: flocks of wild turkeys! thunderstorm-related blackouts! chocolate tastings! 8 hours of sleep a night (!!!!)

How YOU doin?

Some work done today, but not enough, and most of the things scratched off my to-do list, but not all.

It will have to do.

I'm on vacation, people.* You should be able to reach me via e-mail... but don't**.













*all right, a vacation that involves two freelance projects and polishing a manuscript draft, but it's still vacation!
** unless you're offering me money, or someone's died

Grrr. Staring at what I wrote this morning, damn full aware that, while all the individual words and sentences are solid, and the overall scene is quite enjoyable, it just. doesn't. work. It's the scene itself; it starts in the wrong place, ends in the wrong place, gives the information in the wrong order. I know damn-well I have to rework it, come at it from Another Angle. I even -- almost -- know what that angle is.

But I don't want to give up the 2,000 words already written.

I could leave it alone. I could wave a hand over it and wait until I'm done, hope that my beta readers and my editor don't catch that it doesn't work (hah. fat chance). But I'll know. And nothing will flow right with it hanging there, not-quite-right.

Grrr. Hate this part of the job.

(for the knitters out there, yes, this is exactly like knowing you have to unravel an entire row...or three.)

EtA: went into the Word War room after posting this and, taking a hundred or so words from this morning's work, started again from a different beginning. Two hours later I had 2,200 new words, replacing about 400 words in the original, and a much better flow.

When your gut says "wrong direction, dumbass," listen. Total wordage for the day: 3,900 new words, a few hundred revised.

Retweeting myself:

@LAGilman Day 39. More rain. No sign of dove. Going to kill Noah tomorrow. #raingripe



Midtown: storm coming in

Phrase that came up during Word War yesterday: "The more you learn, the more interesting your lessons become."

Discuss.





Also: has anyone else had the experience of a kitten's black whiskers falling out and being replaced by white ones? Is Pandora joining me in finally going silver?

2008 Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon rosé

This was rec'd to me by one of the guys at Best Cellars, during a discussion of my yearly search for The Perfect Summer Rosé. He was right -- unlike too many of the rosé I've tried so far this year, the Mulderbosch has the ideal combination of off-dry fruit and clean finish, with a hint of what I'd swear was cinnamon but Wine Spectator says was pepper. If so, it's white pepper. Mid-weight, so there's more here than just a patio quaffer, but light enough despite the 13.5% to be refreshing.

As a pre-dinner appertif served chilled, it did the job, especially for people with tired feet and a smidge too much sun. I'm pleased to say that it also held up to dinner (Australian lamb loin, with garlic-sauteed sugar-snap peas), where the cherry flavor came forward more noticeably.

The color is a salmon hue that makes me think this would go well with crab cakes or breaded flounder, too. I intend to find out. $11.

(oh, and dinner was nomlicious. Bones were gnawed)

EtA: speaking of wine, anyone who drinks wine, likes wine, is afraid of wine, should read this. You Are Always Right. Yes. What he says. Or, as I used to tell people when I was working the floor -- "the best wine is the wine you like the best."

Happy Science Fiction Writers Day!
(yes, and us fantasy writers, too. We're all one big cranky genre together...)

Go, celebrate in your own special way. Buying books would be a lovely way to start (and if anyone wants to take me out for drinks, I won't object...)

It is not raining. Yet. It will be. I know this.

However, I have fresh-baked cibatta with raspberry spread, and so I am content (http://phillipsfarms.com is my new Internet BFF. Mmmm their fruit spreads are GOOD! And sugar-free.)


2100 new words + 600 new words + PR Stuff Accomplished = a decent day's work yesterday. I find that 2-3k a day I can maintain more-or-less consistently. If I push it and try to go for 4k? Word hangover, and I'm not going to be good for much the next day. And it only took me a decade to figure this out.

(An ideal day would be: wake up at a reasonable hour. gym. coffee. write 2,000 words. have lunch. write another 2,000 words. make a lovely dinner. go to bed at a reasonable hour. Alas, there is more to making a living than just the writing part.)

Today the word count will be less, as I have to go see a vampire, and then go see a man about a computer problem (his, not mine). But I have printouts to scribble on, so the subway time will not be wasted...

oh, and B&N is having a clearance sale. Up to 50% off books, dvds, etc. Just thought I'd let y'all know that. :-)

1. We have had a Popcorn Incident here at Ch. Felidae. The felines are moderately traumatized. I knew I should have gotten chocolate instead.
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2. Meanwhile, cleaning up files and found an interview I'd done for a site but the person doing the interviews had to step down and it kinda got lost in the cracks. So y'all can see it here -- a little late, but hopefully still interesting/amusing/enlightening.

( Wren and Sergei talk about BLOOD FROM STONE )
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3. and, on a much less silly note, been on a Bruce kick the past few days, for some reason. But in light of events in Iran, "Worlds Apart" really kicked me in the gut.

( lyrics behind the cut )

The Guardian was incapable of sounding smug. It was purely Malech’s own imagination that put that tone of self-satisfaction into its mental voice. That made it no less annoying.


EtA: realized halfway through chapter 5 that something I had in chapter 2 was contraindicated by events in Book 1. Thankfully at this point it's going to be easy enough to fix, if frustrating. Am glad I caught it now, though, instead of in chapter seventeen... Trilogies. We hates them, we does, this silly Continuity stuff.

Still, 2100 new words for the morning. Not shabby. And still not raining!