I have not written anything for the last few days but I have been writing in my head. I consider this to be valid, because any writer has to do a lot of thinking about writing in addition to the actual act of writing, or putting words to the page, virtual or otherwise. I stopped working on the screenplay, because I basically got stuck. Couldn't think of what part needed to be amended, or left out altogether, or focused on, so I just set the screenplay aside for the time being. I picked up one of my old, oft-rejected short stories. I have never put all those stories onto this computer, and frankly, the idea of putting them out there for Kindle has been sort of seductive, so I thought I would at least get them onto this computer, and in the process give them a freshening. That is exactly what I thought I was doing with this short story, except.... I got stuck with it, too.
This is a story that has had many very "nice" rejections. In other words, editors have made lots of comments along with their rejections. This story has also been workshopped, critiqued, whatever else a thing like this can go through. I have always sort of liked this story. It has elements in it that I have wished to see in print. Oh well.....
It has also been set aside for the time being.
And so... I am back to thinking about the "endless novel." We have watched a few war movies lately. That has me thinking about it. And I started reading 33 MONTHS AS A POW IN STALAG LUFT III by Albert P. Clark, which has me thinking again about it, as well. I have not gone so far as to actually get it out and dust it off, re-read it or whatever, but I am definitely headed in that direction. The thing is, I have put so much work into this novel. It is 90% done. I re-read it about a year ago, made some minor changes, and found it to have a lot of merit, surprisingly so. A really good writer friend of mine has read it and also found it to have merit -- she gave me some excellent feedback. I really would like to finish it. In fact, it's one of my biggest desires, to finish this novel.
Thing is, I don't know if it will find a publisher. I think fear is inching it's way into this project, insidiously. I am not certain about that at all. But I have been in contact with my "old" editor recently, and so I'm thinking maybe I should just go ahead, on faith, and finish this damned novel. It probably wouldn't take but a couple of months, if I really put my nose to the proverbial grindstone and got after it. I have the backing of my sweetheart -- he says he supports me 100 percent. I have the research material right here, a few feet from my desk. I have new insights into the plot, or character motivations anyway. Why not? It's one of the things I have set my sights on actually doing, completing it. Before I die. My bucket list. Whatever.... I've been talking about it for ten years now at least. Why not go for it? Finish the goddammed thing!!!
I truly think this is the REAL deal. The thing I SHOULD be working on. It's the place all this other superficial writing has been leading me. I truly think that I am a novelist above and beyond anything else. I truly think it's time to put myself on the line with this. Why not? What is the holdup? What new and profound excuse can I come up with now for not going ahead with this almost-finished novel? What better place to work than where I am now, in the peace and quiet of these lovely mountains? What else can I say or do to keep me FROM doing this, completing this? What?
I even think it might be the best thing I've ever written. It has certainly been the most challenging. And the interruptions. The set-backs. Losing a marriage, losing a life, losing a son, changing my whole entire lifestyle, my path. God, what hasn't happened to keep me from doing THIS? But it is time now. Excuses are becoming tired and oh so lame. Not even I believe them anymore.
(In a whisper...) Onward ..... (Yes, I CAN do this, by God!)
Onward (with conviction) ......
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Furthering the Story
Finished reading -- finally -- THE COLD DISH by Craig Johnson. It seemed to take me forever to read that book, and I was really enjoying it all along. But we are so busy all the time, and I just don't take the opportunity anymore to go off by myself and simply read. It was because we were in Denver and I had some alone-time for it that I got really along with the book, then finished it yesterday.
The reason I wanted to read this book in the first place -- because it's a mystery and that's not my usual choice of things to read -- is because they were filming it last year right down the road from us. It's to be an A&E series, so I wanted to read at least one of Craig Johnson's books before the series, which will be called "Longmire," airs on television. I really liked his characters, his use of humor, and the details about the Wyoming landscape. I also didn't guess who the killer was until right before it was revealed, and that's unusual for me, too. I think the reason I don't like to read mysteries as a general rule is because I do usually know who the killer is long before it's revealed. Not because I'm so smart, but because, being a writer, I understand a bit about structure, foreshadowing, and introduction of character. So often a mystery writer will either make me like a character too intentionally, and then that person turns out to be the killer, or there is a character introduced who has no other reason for existing except to be the killer. It's this kind of obviousness that I dislike when reading mysteries. Johnson, however, was so smooth with his character introduction that the one who turned out to be the killer was a natural part of the storyline and of his main character's development, that I never saw it coming.
We also watched a good movie last night. Saturday nights have become our Netflix night, and this one was called "The Debt," starred Helen Mirren and Sam Worthington, that agreeable actor from "Avatar." He was excellent. She always is. I liked the subject-matter, and was never bored for one minute. The writing was excellent, even clever with lots of twists and turns. It made me think more about the art of the screenplay, especially since this was an adaptation of a book.
I seem to be kind of stuck on mine. Didn't work on it yesterday. I think I'm going to have to work through the story, then go back and cut cut cut. I don't work this way when I'm writing a novel, but I'm finding that there are so many things that are told in narrative that cannot be done that way in a screenplay. And of course, as I go along, I also see the need to combine characters, cut others out, give certain characters new dialogue just to get certain information out there. And yet, it has to be done in a natural way. I just absolutely hate it when the only reason for a scene or an exchange of dialogue is so obviously just to get certain plot elements into the story. Not that I don't see the need for it, but there has to be a secondary reason as well. Oh, this is always so difficult, no matter what kind of writing you are doing. That delicate balance between spooning out bits that further the story, develop character, or provide plot elements without it all seeming contrived and obvious. There are just times when you have to soldier on with the idea in mind that you can come back later and trim it all up. I think this first time through is going to have a lot of flab.
But my my, how the time does fly when I'm working. Forgot about that. It feels good.
Onward ....
The reason I wanted to read this book in the first place -- because it's a mystery and that's not my usual choice of things to read -- is because they were filming it last year right down the road from us. It's to be an A&E series, so I wanted to read at least one of Craig Johnson's books before the series, which will be called "Longmire," airs on television. I really liked his characters, his use of humor, and the details about the Wyoming landscape. I also didn't guess who the killer was until right before it was revealed, and that's unusual for me, too. I think the reason I don't like to read mysteries as a general rule is because I do usually know who the killer is long before it's revealed. Not because I'm so smart, but because, being a writer, I understand a bit about structure, foreshadowing, and introduction of character. So often a mystery writer will either make me like a character too intentionally, and then that person turns out to be the killer, or there is a character introduced who has no other reason for existing except to be the killer. It's this kind of obviousness that I dislike when reading mysteries. Johnson, however, was so smooth with his character introduction that the one who turned out to be the killer was a natural part of the storyline and of his main character's development, that I never saw it coming.
We also watched a good movie last night. Saturday nights have become our Netflix night, and this one was called "The Debt," starred Helen Mirren and Sam Worthington, that agreeable actor from "Avatar." He was excellent. She always is. I liked the subject-matter, and was never bored for one minute. The writing was excellent, even clever with lots of twists and turns. It made me think more about the art of the screenplay, especially since this was an adaptation of a book.
I seem to be kind of stuck on mine. Didn't work on it yesterday. I think I'm going to have to work through the story, then go back and cut cut cut. I don't work this way when I'm writing a novel, but I'm finding that there are so many things that are told in narrative that cannot be done that way in a screenplay. And of course, as I go along, I also see the need to combine characters, cut others out, give certain characters new dialogue just to get certain information out there. And yet, it has to be done in a natural way. I just absolutely hate it when the only reason for a scene or an exchange of dialogue is so obviously just to get certain plot elements into the story. Not that I don't see the need for it, but there has to be a secondary reason as well. Oh, this is always so difficult, no matter what kind of writing you are doing. That delicate balance between spooning out bits that further the story, develop character, or provide plot elements without it all seeming contrived and obvious. There are just times when you have to soldier on with the idea in mind that you can come back later and trim it all up. I think this first time through is going to have a lot of flab.
But my my, how the time does fly when I'm working. Forgot about that. It feels good.
Onward ....
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Home Again & Back To Work
So we have been in Denver for a week, at my SO's semi-annual market/convention. This was my eighth time to go with him and what happens is you get into the merchandising mindset, sort of caught up in the hoopla that goes on at these things. And having been an outside salesman myself years ago, I'm familiar with all that goes into these markets, how you have to psyche yourself up for them, and how gung-ho you get while you're there. So, in the spirit of the moment, I signed myself up to sell a line of ladies embellished tops for a company, thinking it would or could be some "gravy money," as my son said when I told him. I might be needing a little of that, who doesn't, in the upcoming years. So, samples are supposed to arrive in the next few days, and then I guess I will be seeing which stores I can sell these things to -- who knows. It might be fun. Might help pay for the new office I would like to build outside the back door someday.
In the meantime, though, I am committed to getting myself back in the writing frame of mind, setting aside a certain time each day to sit at my desk, as I am right now, and putting some words on the screen. I used to say "words on paper" but those days are waning fast. Re-reading THE PASSION OF DELLIE O'BARR for Kindle conversion has given me the itch to get back to working on that screenplay I started last summer, before all the tragedy and interruptions came along to waylay the whole household.
While we were in Denver, I visited one of the Apple Store there, looking into getting a new laptop, finding out what is compatible with this old one and what is not. I have decided to wait until this one just absolutely conks out before spending all that money. This one still serves most of my purposes and the biggest trouble with it seems to be the slow internet connection I have in the mountains, not the computer itself. Inside the Denver hotel, with their "for-real" high-speed internet, this old laptop worked like a youngster instead of it's true 6-year old self. I like the Appleworks word processing program and don't want to have to learn WORD or PAGES or any of the other newer stuff. So me and Bessie will soldier on together. (Hey, I just gave my laptop her name!)
And speaking of writing time -- don't want to spend it all writing this blog.
Onward ....
In the meantime, though, I am committed to getting myself back in the writing frame of mind, setting aside a certain time each day to sit at my desk, as I am right now, and putting some words on the screen. I used to say "words on paper" but those days are waning fast. Re-reading THE PASSION OF DELLIE O'BARR for Kindle conversion has given me the itch to get back to working on that screenplay I started last summer, before all the tragedy and interruptions came along to waylay the whole household.
While we were in Denver, I visited one of the Apple Store there, looking into getting a new laptop, finding out what is compatible with this old one and what is not. I have decided to wait until this one just absolutely conks out before spending all that money. This one still serves most of my purposes and the biggest trouble with it seems to be the slow internet connection I have in the mountains, not the computer itself. Inside the Denver hotel, with their "for-real" high-speed internet, this old laptop worked like a youngster instead of it's true 6-year old self. I like the Appleworks word processing program and don't want to have to learn WORD or PAGES or any of the other newer stuff. So me and Bessie will soldier on together. (Hey, I just gave my laptop her name!)
And speaking of writing time -- don't want to spend it all writing this blog.
Onward ....
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Presidential Campaigns, or Isn't There Any Other NEWS!
So, we have just endured the Iowa caucus. It's ALL that's on the news, and I'm as sick of it as I KNOW almost every other American is. Now, let me say that I am keenly interested in politics. I even served as an election judge for several years in South Texas, and for one year, as precinct chair. Aside from the tediousness of the job of election judge, the main thing that sticks in my memory about those endless election days, is the log of registered voters, a thick, heavy book filled with track-style computer paper with name after name of voters in alphabetical order. As a voter came in and we verified them, a rubber stamp that said "VOTED" was put beside their name in that mammoth log book. But the disappointing part of all of that was the overwhelming majority of names in that book that did NOT have the "VOTED" stamp beside their name. I think the highest turnout we ever had while I was working the polls was about 27% -- pitiful.
Voter apathy. You hear about it all the time, occasionally even on the news. My theory is voter apathy is caused by our over-hyped, highly dysfunctional campaign process. By the time election day comes around, people are simply shell-shocked by all the news coverage, the endless debates, and all the mostly negative television ads. What I believe is that we need a massive over-all, TRUE campaign reform, which will never happen unless there's a big push from the public. Sadly, though, the public is disinterested, detached, and uninvolved, as witness the abysmal percentage mentioned in the first paragraph.
Here is what I believe needs to happen:
1) No candidate can begin to publicly campaign any sooner than 90 days BEFORE any election. A fine should be assessed if this rule is broken. Ninety days is plenty of time for campaigning, especially since 90 days is just about how long the public pays attention. This rule alone would cut the cost of campaigning at least in half. It's criminal that it takes millions that could be put to so much better use to conduct a campaign. One local judge, when I was politically involved, spent $235,000 to be reelected, and this was in a little bitty city of less than 65,000 people.
2) Election campaigns should ONLY be financed by the public, a mandatory $1 contribution to this fund to be added at the bottom of a taxpayer's income tax return. Taxation? Not exactly, but even if you want to look at it that way, then also look at it like this: Elected officials are supposed to work for us, the tax payer, the American citizen. If we are financing their campaigns equally, instead of the rich, the abundant, the corporations, and special interests, maybe just maybe, we would TRULY be represented in Congress instead of appeased and lied to just to get us to the polls, and then ignored when legislation time comes, when all the paybacks to the big money contributors come due. Money is the corrupter in Washington.
3) The media MUST provide FREE airtime to the candidates. A specified amount of airtime, to be determined later. Television commercials cost millions for just a 30 second ad. Thus the need for the huge amounts of money to conduct a campaign. Take away the huge costs and along with it, the corruption, the obligations to big donors, is diminished.
4) Campaigns must be limited to two 2-hour debates moderated by a nonpartisan spokesperson with questions taken from the audience, conducted in a Town Hall style. Questions should be screened ONLY for repetition or profanity. These candidates are, in fact, applying for a job. They should be interviewed by those of us who are doing the hiring. Rarely are the questions asked that I want to know, and I bet there are millions who feel the same way I do. Make these candidates submit their resume.
5) Finally, do away with the Electoral College. Make it a one person, one vote kind of election. Make voting available online. If I can vote for who gets the Oscar online, I should be able to vote for my elected officials online. I have done these Oscar votes, then tried to go in and vote again, only to have the second vote rejected by the Oscar.com site because it detected that I had already voted once. The software to make this kind of voting safe surely exists. It has to be at least as safe as the electronic voting machines that are used in millions of voting precincts throughout the country right now. The idea behind #5 is to hopefully increase voter turnout. Democracy, after all, is determined by who shows up at the polls. Nothing is more frustrating than to go vote for your candidate, only to have that vote negated by the lumping of numbers done in the name of the Electoral College. The feeling of disenfranchisement comes from this kind of lumping of votes.
So, that's my two-cents. Something has GOT to give. The way things are now, our elected officials are bought and paid for by big money interests before they ever get into office. If someone does decide to run for idealistic reasons, to better the country, to serve the people, they are corrupted before they ever get to Washington, corrupted by the system, the expense involved in getting elected. Change is needed, big change. I'm not even that smart, and I know that much. Millionaires run this country only because it takes that kind of money to get into office. If we take the money equation down to reasonable numbers, maybe we really could get a man (or woman) of people into the slots given to us to fill.
Onward ....
Voter apathy. You hear about it all the time, occasionally even on the news. My theory is voter apathy is caused by our over-hyped, highly dysfunctional campaign process. By the time election day comes around, people are simply shell-shocked by all the news coverage, the endless debates, and all the mostly negative television ads. What I believe is that we need a massive over-all, TRUE campaign reform, which will never happen unless there's a big push from the public. Sadly, though, the public is disinterested, detached, and uninvolved, as witness the abysmal percentage mentioned in the first paragraph.
Here is what I believe needs to happen:
1) No candidate can begin to publicly campaign any sooner than 90 days BEFORE any election. A fine should be assessed if this rule is broken. Ninety days is plenty of time for campaigning, especially since 90 days is just about how long the public pays attention. This rule alone would cut the cost of campaigning at least in half. It's criminal that it takes millions that could be put to so much better use to conduct a campaign. One local judge, when I was politically involved, spent $235,000 to be reelected, and this was in a little bitty city of less than 65,000 people.
2) Election campaigns should ONLY be financed by the public, a mandatory $1 contribution to this fund to be added at the bottom of a taxpayer's income tax return. Taxation? Not exactly, but even if you want to look at it that way, then also look at it like this: Elected officials are supposed to work for us, the tax payer, the American citizen. If we are financing their campaigns equally, instead of the rich, the abundant, the corporations, and special interests, maybe just maybe, we would TRULY be represented in Congress instead of appeased and lied to just to get us to the polls, and then ignored when legislation time comes, when all the paybacks to the big money contributors come due. Money is the corrupter in Washington.
3) The media MUST provide FREE airtime to the candidates. A specified amount of airtime, to be determined later. Television commercials cost millions for just a 30 second ad. Thus the need for the huge amounts of money to conduct a campaign. Take away the huge costs and along with it, the corruption, the obligations to big donors, is diminished.
4) Campaigns must be limited to two 2-hour debates moderated by a nonpartisan spokesperson with questions taken from the audience, conducted in a Town Hall style. Questions should be screened ONLY for repetition or profanity. These candidates are, in fact, applying for a job. They should be interviewed by those of us who are doing the hiring. Rarely are the questions asked that I want to know, and I bet there are millions who feel the same way I do. Make these candidates submit their resume.
5) Finally, do away with the Electoral College. Make it a one person, one vote kind of election. Make voting available online. If I can vote for who gets the Oscar online, I should be able to vote for my elected officials online. I have done these Oscar votes, then tried to go in and vote again, only to have the second vote rejected by the Oscar.com site because it detected that I had already voted once. The software to make this kind of voting safe surely exists. It has to be at least as safe as the electronic voting machines that are used in millions of voting precincts throughout the country right now. The idea behind #5 is to hopefully increase voter turnout. Democracy, after all, is determined by who shows up at the polls. Nothing is more frustrating than to go vote for your candidate, only to have that vote negated by the lumping of numbers done in the name of the Electoral College. The feeling of disenfranchisement comes from this kind of lumping of votes.
So, that's my two-cents. Something has GOT to give. The way things are now, our elected officials are bought and paid for by big money interests before they ever get into office. If someone does decide to run for idealistic reasons, to better the country, to serve the people, they are corrupted before they ever get to Washington, corrupted by the system, the expense involved in getting elected. Change is needed, big change. I'm not even that smart, and I know that much. Millionaires run this country only because it takes that kind of money to get into office. If we take the money equation down to reasonable numbers, maybe we really could get a man (or woman) of people into the slots given to us to fill.
Onward ....
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Yet Another Tragedy in the Family
Heard yesterday of another suicide. My family this time. A distant cousin, but that makes four we know of in the last four months. It seems to me that this is an epidemic that goes under the radar. All four of the suicides that have touched us have had to do with a divorce or impending divorce. After my SO's son's suicide, we read a lot and found a startling statistic: 68% of all suicides in the USA are related to divorce. It brings it home again how traumatic relationship breakups are to people, how deeply we connect ourselves, our very identities to those we chose to love. So the rise in the divorce rate can be directly connected to the rise in suicide rates. It is a hard thing to face, to have to work through, a fact I can attest to just by watching the effect it has had on my SO and his immediate family.
I believe the person who commits the act of suicide is suffering a kind of insanity. They definitely are not themselves at the time, but are under the influence of such a severe and debilitating depression that they cannot see past their own misery to the terrible legacy they leave, the devastation that their deaths cause those who love and depend on them. It is such a quick, but agonizing, severing, like an amputation. Questions left unanswered, guilt and helplessness, anger, confusion -- all those things are the leavings. And a sadness, of course, that defies description.
But this is not a subject I am ready to discuss much here, primarily because I haven't reached a complete understanding of it, although I think it's something that has been in my mind for a long time. I had a cousin, a much closer one, who killed himself about 15 years ago, and I think his suicide was on my mind when I wrote THE PASSION OF DELLIE O'BARR, the book that I am now editing for Kindle conversion. There is a suicide in this book, and while it isn't the direct focus, it is certainly a catalyst for all that happens to the main character in the book. The suicide of her father is the thing that causes her to question all aspects of her life, and leads her down the path she chooses, a tragic path certainly.
It's been odd to me to re-read this book at this particular time. It isn't that I had forgotten the thrust of the story, but it has been a sort of black irony that I wrote a book like this so long before the subject matter touched me in reality. I have no explanation for it, other than that life presents some amazing ironies. We can examine them and find some kind of meaning, but an irony is often just that, a paradox, an anomaly, and sometimes simply cannot be explained.
Acceptance, or more correctly acquiescence, I believe is the ultimate goal in dealing with painful issues. Submission to it, acknowledging that some things are beyond a person's control, the old roll with the punches adage. If only we could take the suicidal person by their shoulders and shake that understanding into their brains. Same goes for those left behind. Unfortunately, life doesn't always work that neatly.
Onward ....
I believe the person who commits the act of suicide is suffering a kind of insanity. They definitely are not themselves at the time, but are under the influence of such a severe and debilitating depression that they cannot see past their own misery to the terrible legacy they leave, the devastation that their deaths cause those who love and depend on them. It is such a quick, but agonizing, severing, like an amputation. Questions left unanswered, guilt and helplessness, anger, confusion -- all those things are the leavings. And a sadness, of course, that defies description.
But this is not a subject I am ready to discuss much here, primarily because I haven't reached a complete understanding of it, although I think it's something that has been in my mind for a long time. I had a cousin, a much closer one, who killed himself about 15 years ago, and I think his suicide was on my mind when I wrote THE PASSION OF DELLIE O'BARR, the book that I am now editing for Kindle conversion. There is a suicide in this book, and while it isn't the direct focus, it is certainly a catalyst for all that happens to the main character in the book. The suicide of her father is the thing that causes her to question all aspects of her life, and leads her down the path she chooses, a tragic path certainly.
It's been odd to me to re-read this book at this particular time. It isn't that I had forgotten the thrust of the story, but it has been a sort of black irony that I wrote a book like this so long before the subject matter touched me in reality. I have no explanation for it, other than that life presents some amazing ironies. We can examine them and find some kind of meaning, but an irony is often just that, a paradox, an anomaly, and sometimes simply cannot be explained.
Acceptance, or more correctly acquiescence, I believe is the ultimate goal in dealing with painful issues. Submission to it, acknowledging that some things are beyond a person's control, the old roll with the punches adage. If only we could take the suicidal person by their shoulders and shake that understanding into their brains. Same goes for those left behind. Unfortunately, life doesn't always work that neatly.
Onward ....
Monday, January 2, 2012
2012, Changes
Is that Two Thousand Twelve, or Twenty-Twelve? The second sounds more hip, but the first is most correct.
I've decided to re-start this blog. It's been a peculiar time since I quit. The main thing I'm ready to discuss is the fact that we have moved, lock, stock, and a partial barrel, to the mountains. I have mixed feelings about it, but a big move like this always takes some getting used to. I miss the Buffalo Wallow -- its space, the storage, the huge kitchen, all its conveniences, and the little things like a gazillion exterior electric outlets. I don't miss Cuero, the gas & oil boom, trucks roaring around at all hours, the humidity, the work involved in keeping up that place, the snakes, the bugs, or the stickery plants. I miss my cat, miss him immensely. I think I would be sad there now without him, would constantly be on the lookout for him in his usual spots. I miss the hot tub, sipping wine there and looking at the stars with my darling. I miss my dad. I don't miss the narrow-minded people, or that godforsaken WalMart. I miss having a town the size and convenience of Victoria within 30 minutes. But I never was able to sustain any writing at all during the time we lived there, and I have a new feeling about that here.
We have just come through some hard winter weather, and we're on a steep learning curve when it comes to living where it can snow 15-inches in a single day. The SO has lived with snow before. Yours truly not so much. I'm finding out about layering, snow boots, icy driveways, dripping roofs, slushy roads, and hungry wildlife. We've been putting out alfalfa cubes for the deer, and the bird feeders are constantly being re-filled. I now keep an ice pick on the deck to crack a hole in the birdbath so our feathered friends can have something to drink.
We slogged across the street to a Christmas Party a few weeks ago, dressed up fancy, with snow boots and my party shoes in a bag. Changed shoes on the host's doorstep and stuck my boots with some others behind a porch statuary. Some of the guests were in their stocking feet. One lady had brought her mules from home to change into. Looked kind of funny, everybody dressy with alternate footwear. Then on Christmas Day we slogged the other directions, to a different friend's house for dinner. That time I did the stocking feet thing and was the only one who did. We had a snowman contest. Our Trevor won. We named him Trevor because of the Aussie hat the SO put on his head. He is melting as I write this, has already lost his eyes, nose, mouth, and his buttons. We took off the hat and scarf on New Year's Eve. He is kind of pin-headed now. The four-foot long icicles hanging from the roof melted in the Chinook wind that passed through here over the weekend. We've nothing but sunshine in our forecast. But there is still plenty of icy snow on the ground. The predominate color outside is white.
On a writerly note (and I do intend to blog more about writing from here on), THE PASSION OF DELLIE O'BARR is being converted to Kindle and eBook at the present moment. This process requires that I re-read and edit any mistakes made in the conversion. I'm finding a plethora. But I'm also finding that I really like this book. It's been a long time since I've read it, and it's always been the one I had the most trepidations about, possibly because it was written during the time my mother was dying of cancer. There is a darkness to the book, it's true, but overall it is as good or better than other books I've written. I always wanted to write a screenplay of this story, and even have something like 20 scenes already done. I think once I get this back to the people doing the conversion, I will have a go at continuing with that project. Not so much because I'm hot to try to get something produced, but because it will be fun to revisit this story and to try my hand at a new way of writing. More to come on this, I'm sure.
Meanwhile, I have high hopes that 2012 will be a better year for those people around me whom I love, particularly my SO. I am quite certain that the new year will present its own challenges. We never know the path that life will present to us. Sometimes the turns can be sharp and treacherous. We just have to take extra, special care.
Onward ....
I've decided to re-start this blog. It's been a peculiar time since I quit. The main thing I'm ready to discuss is the fact that we have moved, lock, stock, and a partial barrel, to the mountains. I have mixed feelings about it, but a big move like this always takes some getting used to. I miss the Buffalo Wallow -- its space, the storage, the huge kitchen, all its conveniences, and the little things like a gazillion exterior electric outlets. I don't miss Cuero, the gas & oil boom, trucks roaring around at all hours, the humidity, the work involved in keeping up that place, the snakes, the bugs, or the stickery plants. I miss my cat, miss him immensely. I think I would be sad there now without him, would constantly be on the lookout for him in his usual spots. I miss the hot tub, sipping wine there and looking at the stars with my darling. I miss my dad. I don't miss the narrow-minded people, or that godforsaken WalMart. I miss having a town the size and convenience of Victoria within 30 minutes. But I never was able to sustain any writing at all during the time we lived there, and I have a new feeling about that here.
We have just come through some hard winter weather, and we're on a steep learning curve when it comes to living where it can snow 15-inches in a single day. The SO has lived with snow before. Yours truly not so much. I'm finding out about layering, snow boots, icy driveways, dripping roofs, slushy roads, and hungry wildlife. We've been putting out alfalfa cubes for the deer, and the bird feeders are constantly being re-filled. I now keep an ice pick on the deck to crack a hole in the birdbath so our feathered friends can have something to drink.
We slogged across the street to a Christmas Party a few weeks ago, dressed up fancy, with snow boots and my party shoes in a bag. Changed shoes on the host's doorstep and stuck my boots with some others behind a porch statuary. Some of the guests were in their stocking feet. One lady had brought her mules from home to change into. Looked kind of funny, everybody dressy with alternate footwear. Then on Christmas Day we slogged the other directions, to a different friend's house for dinner. That time I did the stocking feet thing and was the only one who did. We had a snowman contest. Our Trevor won. We named him Trevor because of the Aussie hat the SO put on his head. He is melting as I write this, has already lost his eyes, nose, mouth, and his buttons. We took off the hat and scarf on New Year's Eve. He is kind of pin-headed now. The four-foot long icicles hanging from the roof melted in the Chinook wind that passed through here over the weekend. We've nothing but sunshine in our forecast. But there is still plenty of icy snow on the ground. The predominate color outside is white.
On a writerly note (and I do intend to blog more about writing from here on), THE PASSION OF DELLIE O'BARR is being converted to Kindle and eBook at the present moment. This process requires that I re-read and edit any mistakes made in the conversion. I'm finding a plethora. But I'm also finding that I really like this book. It's been a long time since I've read it, and it's always been the one I had the most trepidations about, possibly because it was written during the time my mother was dying of cancer. There is a darkness to the book, it's true, but overall it is as good or better than other books I've written. I always wanted to write a screenplay of this story, and even have something like 20 scenes already done. I think once I get this back to the people doing the conversion, I will have a go at continuing with that project. Not so much because I'm hot to try to get something produced, but because it will be fun to revisit this story and to try my hand at a new way of writing. More to come on this, I'm sure.
Meanwhile, I have high hopes that 2012 will be a better year for those people around me whom I love, particularly my SO. I am quite certain that the new year will present its own challenges. We never know the path that life will present to us. Sometimes the turns can be sharp and treacherous. We just have to take extra, special care.
Onward ....
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