Updates, book shopping, and random randomocity

Here's what I got in my much-heralded (by me, at any rate) trip to the bookstore yesterday:

• Thud! by Terry Pratchett
• The Big Bad City (A novel of the 87th precinct) by Ed McBain
• Fiddlers (Another novel of the 87th precinct) by Ed McBain
• Beowulf, translation by Seamus Heaney

The more observant among you have probably noticed there are two 87th Precinct novels on my list. That's because I'm a sucker for those things. Ed McBain (a pseudonym for Evan Hunter, who also writes under his real name and, just to confuse things a little more, sometimes writes under his real name and his pseudonym--see Candyland, for example) is one helluva writer. If you like police procedurals (and I hate the way that sounds--it sounds like a really boring class or something) then you'll love these books. Just find one and read it. If you can find one where The Deaf Man appears, it's an added bonus. I'm just sayin'.

Speaking of novels, I'm probably over a third of the way through the first draft of The Harvester of Faces and so far things are fitting together nicely. It's a good sign. I've spent several hours concentrating on it this week--I worked on it for two hours straight yesterday and didn't even realize it until I got up to go to the bathroom and looked at the clock. That's another good sign. I don't have a specific date I'm shooting for to be done with it but I feel like I'll be done with the first draft around Thanxgiving. I'm hoping to be shipping it off for a publisher to take a look at by January.

Another project this week was making chilli with a secret recipe supplied by my cousin, Mia. I've made chilli a couple of times, with disappointing results. It wasn't awful or anything, it just wasn't anything special. Mia's recipe, though, produced some awesome chilli. I had it again for lunch yesterday and have the rest in the freezer for down the road.

Oh, and I got all my hair shaved off again, too. I tried to upload a pic I took yesterday but this computer and Blogger apparently aren't ready for that level of intimacy yet--I keep getting an error.

I just deleted a paragraph I wrote with a political diatribe. It really doesn't fit here--I really do think arguing politics is a waste of time. People aren't open to rational arguments in that area. Arguing religion is about as pointless, or maybe even moreso. I'll let The Harvester of Faces make my political statements for me--at its heart it's an extremely political novel, disguised as a science fiction/mystery. Hopefully if you disagree with my politics you'll still be able to read and enjoy it. Though I strongly suspect the people I really intend the political message for won't even notice it.

*sigh* . . .

On vacation randomocity and a brief political message

I'm taking this week off to get some serious work done on The Harvester of Faces.

I'm maybe a quarter of the way through the first draft and have come to the first major plot reveal and I have to say I'm about as exhausted and horrified as my characters are. They've basically figured out that the serial killer they've been looking for is a little more than they thought, and they've also discovered what he does with his trophies.

Anyway, that's only the first reveal. There will be more to come.

I need to re-read what I've done so far just to make sure it reads like I want it to--the pacing in this is particularly important. I'll start on that shortly.

I also had some other things to take care of, too--mainly, tomorrow, I'm going to take advantage of early voting to cast my ballot in the Presidential election.

I'm not here to start a debate or an argument--I hate debating and arguing and I'm no good at all at it. I will, though, say here that I'm voting to re-elect President Obama. It's the only choice that makes any sense at all. I can't understand anyone who wants to vote for the other guys who isn't a millionaire.

As I said, I'm not a debater. I usually just go straight to name-calling. Just so you know.

I'm also getting my biannual haircut after I vote--getting it all shaved off again. So, by this time tomorrow I'll be rejoining the ranks of the Hot Bald Guys. We're an exclusive club.

I'm also attempting to make chilli again tomorrow, using a secret family recipe given to me by my cousin. I've tried making chilli before and it usually turns out . . . okay. Nothing to get excited about. Hopefully this time it'll be really good. The recipe is certainly promising.

Oh, and one of the errands I ran today was to get a deep fryer, so it'll be easier for me to make fried chicken. Dammit. Tried it the other day in a regular frying pan and it turned out . .  . okay. If I had a deep fryer it would have been awesome. That'll be a project for later this week.

I found this lovely used book store, too, really close by, and I'm going to be spending a couple of hours there later this week--I'm reserving an entire day of my vacation just for that, so I won't be rushed. I stepped in there the other day out of curiosity--it's right next to the drug store I use--and was impressed with it. I didn't even look at the non-fiction section, either--I only had a few minutes. So, I go in there later this week with a lot more time and a few bucks to spend.

You know, this vacation thing ain't bad at all!

A note to an old love

I ran across an old, unrequited love the other day.

I haven't seen or spoken to her in years. We didn't have a big falling out or anything--I just gave up pursuing her. She never reached out to me since.

And I was suprised at how much it hurt to encounter her, but, after I had time to get used to it, I realized that I was just feeling the pain because I was expecting to feel pain. It was sort of like phantom limb sensation, I think. In reality I figured out a long time ago that we would make a very bad couple. Beyond the simple fact that I found myself profoundly physically attracted to her we had almost nothing in common.

This was when I started to figure out the difference between lust and love. Lust was what I felt for her--intense, burning, but simply physical attraction. Which at the time I mistook for love. Figuring this out--knowing how to tell the difference in myself--has helped me avoid so many painful situations in my life since that I am deeply grateful to this woman, as much turmoil as I went through during this period of my life.

So, I'm glad we never got together, in retrospect. It would have been fun, briefly, then it would have been hell.

So, my old love, I wish you health, and happiness, and if you decide you want to be friends again I am here for that. If not, I understand that, too, and feel no bitterness towards you, one way or another, and hope you feel none towards me. If you do, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. Have a good life, old friend.

Are you ready for some randomcity?

Finally, my beautiful and perfect little goddaughter's first ever movie role is available on DVD. The Lifetime movie Five comes out on October 2 (tomorrow as of this writing). Be sure to get your order in now. She plays Jeanne Tripplehorn's daughter in the last segment, "Pearl." Alan Rusk plays her on-screen dad. It is quite lovely and touching and worth your time.

And Talyan will also reprise her role as Ava on this Thursday's Two and a Half Men episode, "Doggy Disaster." Don't miss it.

The first draft to my current project, The Harvester of Faces, is coming along pretty well. We'll see where it winds up--I'm still enthusiastic about it, and the ideas keep coming. I hope to be done with the first draft by just before Thanksgiving.

I'm telling this story in the first person--I've done that before (my story "Cabin Fever" was told in the first person POV) but in this case the narrator is female. Which is a little weird for me--I've never done this before.

But I love first person POV, for a number of reasons. Chief among them, the sublties you can work in--a character can reveal innate prejuidicies, biases, and blind spots that the reader will pick up on immediately but the narrator is totally oblivious to.

For an excellent example of what I'm talking about read any of P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster stories. Bertie Wooster--the narrator---comes across as an amiable nitwit (Isaac Asimov's wonderful term for him). You can tell that he's a really decent guy and, if you knew him personally, you'd be really fond of him, But he's also not particularly bright, easy to take advantage of, and, to his manservant Jeeves's everlasting horror, has an abysmal fashion sense. You will also howl with laughter. Wodehouse was a rare and wondrous writer--he was consistently and deeply funny. Or check out the BBC Series based on the stories. As an added bonus you'll get to see pre-House Hugh Laurie as Bertie, and his comedy partner, the wonderful Stephen Fry, as Jeeves.

Anyway, that's why I like first person POV. Check out Roger Zelazny's The Great Book of Amber for more examples and  a rip-roaring good read.

Hopefully you'll be able to recommend my current project as another example, one of these days.