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With coffee and writing implements at hand, I can determine the shape of today. |
| I tend to write in the morning. After morning coffee and writing comes whatever the day holds...work, more writing, family time, reading, maybe even some gaming. It just depends...but writing first, always. And once I start writing, I get an idea not only of what I'm writing about, but how the rest of my day will go. Hence, the shape of today. |
| After a rather serious read from Mr. Christopher Eccleston (I Love the Bones Of You, his tribute to his father, is a must-read), I felt the need for something light and fun. So I turned to John Scalzi. I had been seeing When the Moon Hits Your Eye on the shelves at work for some time, but didn't realize it had dropped in March. The cover tells a reader all they need to know...an astronaut is standing on the moon, except the surface of the moon looks like cheese. Because it is. That's literally the premise of the novel. The moon, inexplicably, has turned to cheese. The narrative deals with how the world is coping with this rather odd cosmic event. Washington, Hollywood, and Main Street America are all coming to terms with a moon that is now much brighter and is having "cheese eruptions" on its surface. I can recognize some thinly disguised versions of, ah, notable people in our current news cycle. Scalzi must have finished the novel very recently. But it's a great and engaging tale so far, and I"m here for it. |
| After this past winter, which saw me going to work in the teens some mornings, I promised myself I wouldn't complain about the summer heat. It was hard to keep that promise this week, though, I admit. When I left work on Tuesday the car's temperature showed as 110, and that's with the sunshades up. I don't normally run the AC on my fairly short commute to and from work, but I did that afternoon! Relief began working its way in yesterday, however, and this morning it's in the sixties with a nice breeze. No errands today, no work. Just me, my library book, my recliner, and a spoiled but loving cat. Occasionally interrupted by bouts of eating, gaming, and napping. I'll take it! Winter, after all, is coming. |
| I came home yesterday (by far the hottest day of the year so far, the car registered 110 degrees even with the sun shades) to find an email from WDC announcing I'm now a "preferred author". My brain had stopped braining sometime after lunch, so all I could do was mutter "wuzzat?" and head for the kitchen. This morning I'm much more lucid and deeply touched. I've never stopped visiting WDC, but I have been quite sporadic in my visiting and participation here. Sometimes the reason is financial (I can't always afford to upgrade), and sometimes the reason is creative, such as when Dad passed. I know it happens to us all, but it always made me feel guilty. It appears WDC never lost faith in me, though, so now I've got a reputation to uphold. If nothing else I need to get on the stick and get some more reviews under my belt. And enter a few more of these fun competitions...so often I'll make a note of a contest's criteria then never get around to writing an entry. And most importantly...I've got to let others know about this site. I even have a co-worker or two who might enjoy it. Maybe even some patrons. And for now...the workday calls. |
| "On the Nightstand" used to be the name of one of those little sidebar features from the Sunday newspaper my dad took when we lived Hagerstown, MD. I don't remember which paper, but I remember learning of The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley from it and checking it out from my local library as a result. I don't recall whether I liked the book or even finished it (hey, I was a teenager, cut me some slack), but it was about that time I realized that reading is both fun and fundamental. Anyway, "On the Nightstand" is the name I will give to entries like these, where I chat a bit about whatever I'm reading. Writing about the work of other writers should give me the impetus to kick-start my own writing, I'm hoping. So what am I reading now? A cute little paperback called To Helvetica and Back by Paige Shelton. She is a new author to me, but one I've been checking out to library patrons for nearly a decade now. She has several themed mystery series out involving farmer's markets, cooking schools, Scottish bookshops, and in the case of this book--a typewriter repair shop in Utah. "Cozies" are their own genre nowadays and you can find one with just about any theme woven into it. It's something I should keep in mind, certainly. The book is a pleasant change of pace after an engaging but intense fantasy novel recommended by a co-worker, but so far it's holding my attention. |
| I see it's been about a month since I updated here; I'd best correct that. With a few days off I can finally devote some time to reading and writing. On my nightstand at the moment is Winner Takes All, a "Doctor Who" novelization by Jacqueline Rayner. I really like her treatment of the characters, it's clear she's an observant fan of the show. On deck is the first of the "Fablehaven" books. That may seem a curious choice but someone donated the entire series at work yesterday and they ended up on the free cart. I've got my eyes peeled for the new Stephen King but it hasn't made it out of cataloging yet and I wanted something for the weekend...I'm nearly done with the Who book. Anyway, this is one of the perks of library work. Everything is perfectly legitimate for us to read, including kids' fiction. How else can we advise patrons? That's my story and I'm sticking to it! |
| It's rather late in the day for a blog entry for me, but I've felt kind of "writey" all day and thought I should update here before WDC starts prompting me to. I'd popped by the site to check the requirements for the "Journey Through Genres" contest. After a few false starts, I think I have a good idea not only for an entry, but possibly an entire series of novels. I need to do some research, and some "exploratory reading", as I call it. That will inevitably result in me adding yet more titles to my "to be read" list. The list I'll never live long enough to finish, in other words. But that's all right. I'm excited about reading, I'm excited about writing, in a way I haven't been for a very long time. It's a good thing! |
| Here is a treasured rarity: a day off work when I don't have to go anywhere. It's still warm enough that I was able to leave the windows open all night, allowing fresh air in. Yes, that means enduring more pollen setting me sneezing and coughing, but that's the price you pay. I'm also enjoying the songs of birds as the sun rises. Yes, that means also enduring the endless racket of the highway with its traffic, but that's the price you pay. There's a lesson to be learned in these musings, I suppose. To attain life's pleasures, we must endure life's unpleasantness. One could argue that there's only so much unpleasantness one could endure, but I don't want to waste my precious time on that. The sun is up, the birds are singing, and for the moment at least the highway is quiet. I've got chores to tackle, and hopefully my mind will tackle its chore and help me form a story to write. As Gandalf told Frodo, all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. |
| Many people are anxious to see 2024 out. For me, it's been a mixed year. The good...well, I'm still on my feet and doing as well for myself as I can expect. Could I do better? Sure! But that sort of segues into resolutions for the next year, doesn't it? The bad...losing more friends and family to diseases. Excitedly voting early, only to see my choice lose the election, thanks to willful ignorance. But my resolve is only strengthened by this. Hard times are coming for us all, I fear, and we soon will be under siege. My best weapon is already at my fingertips, and it will not stop until I do. Now, today is a workday, so off I pop. |
| Well, here we are, on the cusp of Halloween. We're on the cusp of many things, in fact, but I won't go into that. I'll just say that I personally am on the cusp of a longer-than-usual break from work. I took next Tuesday off because the library is literally next door to the polling station in an area where the traffic is horrendous on an ordinary day; I don't want to have to cope with it on a pivotal election day. I did my early voting. I did what I could. I also don't want to be out and about for any reason next Tuesday. I rather suspect the crazypants factor will be much higher than normal. Hopefully things will settle once the big day passes...and gawwwd, I'm ready for it to. Too much time has been spent on the orange bellowing moron and his minions. Time for us to leave them behind. Also, we have the time change next weekend. I'm not looking forward to the advent of cold weather or driving home in the dark on closing days, but I'll be happy for the extra hour of sleep. And now it's time to get ready for work. Time for me to make the world better, in my very small way. |
| Okay, WDC, here I am, updating my blog! My "off" weekend has me considering a couple of the contests here at WDC for the month of August. I definitely want to enter one, and I just found another with an intriguing prompt. If all goes well, I might enter both. It'll be good for me in a number of ways. On another writing front, the tet has begun making noises about the annual Halloween story. I threw my hat into the ring (not going to get back into NaNoWriMo until I figure out what's going on over there), but I really hope we don't go all over the place like we have in the past. Witches, fairies, demons, elves, serial killers...you don't need all that in any one story. But I don't want to say anything, because they're also looking for someone to oversee the thing and I don't want that responsibility. Mayhap I can drop a gentle hint that narrowing the focus is the key to a great story. We shall see. Who knows, maybe I can draw some inspiration from my perusings here at WDC. Well, I need a mundane chore or three to tackle while my brain goes to work on my tale. And it just so happens that the house is in desperate need of cleaning. Time to get serious. As my muse is fond of saying...ALLONS-Y!!! |
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