Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Monday, August 21, 2006
Another August, another minor health crisis. That, in a nutshell, explains my absence last week. Everything is okay, but there were some momemts of panic. Said panic was mostly an overreaction on my part, but this is also the one-year anniversary of the lung cancer scare. That turned out okay as well. But dang, I'm tired of this crap. Got my annual tomorrow, and it'll all be over.
Other than that, it's been quiet for a change. Quiet and hot. The forecast now calls for highs of merely 98F. Break out the blankets. I know it's going to get warmer than that today: It's not yet 10:00 as I write this, and the temperature is already 88F.
As is my wont when I'm stressed, I've spent much time reading. I re-read Margery Allingham's Pearls Before Swine and The Estate of the Becokining Lady and then wen ton to The Lighthouse by PD James. That woman never ceases to amaze me. Then I started in on A Presumtion of Death, the second book Jill Paton Walsh has written based on notes by Dorothy L. Sayers. It's a Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane story. Not bad, but I'll reserve judgment until I get to the very end. I may start back in on The Gun Seller next.
Now that this round of stress is moving on, I've found myself going back to revisit a mystery novel I started and abandoned many years ago. I've set up a wonderful murder but some of the characters left me flat. To be honest, I don't think I had the skill to set up a complex whodunnit at the time. I'm going to give it a shot again. This may end up being an "under the bed" project, but at least it won't be nagging away at me. I'm thinking of plotting it out over the next couple of months and seeing where it goes. Often, I just sit down and write, but this one requires a certain amount of advance planning. We'll see what happens.
First I've got a short audio play to finish. I need to get that one out of the way soon. It's a ten-minute parody, so I don't expect I'll have too tough a time with it. Famous last words! I have a framework and some jokes, so I just need to put it all together into something lighthearted and fun.
A couple of links before I wrap up: POD-DY Mouth on "If Literary Agents were like Real Estate Agents, and Teresa Nielsen Hayden on How to throw a large room party at a science fiction convention.
On tap for today (yeah, blame the party article): Laundry, work for a client, banking, cleaning the desk. That's the little stuff. I'm also going to look for a new handbag today. I kind of figure that when they start to fall apart then it's time for a replacement. One more thing on the docket, but I think I'll make a separate post of out it.
Hopefully a picture this afternoon as well. We'll see if I can get the subject properly lit. I mean, lighted. There goes that room party stuff again!
Tags: Life, Writing