How do I know? They have a giant cake and buckets of ice cream in the break room.
It’s like a slow motion hate crime against fat people. :P
Good (but embarrassing) news
StandardI just received a two-month deadline extension for Man Bites World. Frankly, I’m embarrassed that I need it and more than a little frustrated with my method of working. For the last few weeks, I’ve had a powerful case of Other writers can do this, why can’t I? That’s still going on, but without the worry of missing a deadline.
Well, I did spend over two months of this year on revisions to the soon-to-be-retitled Everyone Loves Blue Dog. My agent warned me to factor that in when calculating deadlines, but I had no idea I’d be stuck on it again for over two months!
At any rate, I head to SoCal in two weeks to Comic-Con and see friends–while there, I plan to steal extra time for book three. Hopefully it will not only be finished, but good, too. Hopefully part 2, I will never have to ask for this again.
Rather than
StandardRather than struggle with Man Bites World for a moment, I’m going to post some links.
1) The 15 Creepiest Vintage Ads of all Time. Some of these have been circulating for a while, but there’s some all new, all disturbing images there. Via eeknight.
2) Bamboo Bikes from Zambia. Too cool.
3) Ten Ways to Take a Bad Author Photo. Pretty funny. I used my author photo on the front of my Facebook page.
4) The only part of the NY Times Book Review section I read religiously is the Crime Section, but there’s something about Marilyn Stasio’s style that annoys me to no end.
No Fireworks…
StandardIn previous years, we would all be at a park a few blocks from here to watch fireworks. It was far from the action, but we could see it all and who needs to fight the crowds?
This year? Well, as we just discovered barely more than an hour ago, those fireworks have been cancelled this year. There’s still another display, but it’s across town, and being carless, we could never get there in time–not even the buses can run quickly enough.
Fireworks on TV this year (which is fine by me, since I’m not that enthusiastic about them). My wife and son are terrible disappointed.
A question of vital importance
StandardCan a healthy spider survive being flushed down a toilet?
Items of (dubious) interest
StandardFrom a former book publicist: What should air on C-SPAN’s “Book TV” this weekend. Well, I thought it was funny.
Twenty Best Cthulhu Tales–I’ve only read a fraction of the stories on this list, but I’m copying it here so I can reference it later. Mythos! I love it.
Man writes book that will take a thousand years to read. Embarrassingly, after 750 years, readers will discover that he used “it’s” when he should have written “its.”
This next one is off the (accidental) book theme of this post, but I do hope you’ll all read it: Urban Farmer finds success. So cool.
As for items of a non-linking variety: Tomorrow I get one of my birthday gifts–reading time. Just like Father’s Day, I’m going to spend a significant amount of time sacked out in bed with a book. I still have Spirit Gate by Kate Elliott on deck, and I hope to make a sizable dent in it.
Also, I’m told that Child of Fire will have the opening chapter of book 2 at the very back. Now, this is cool news, but I should come right out and say that I never read preview excerpts in books. Invariably, I buy the excerpted book, put it on my shelf for a couple months (or years) and when I finally start it, I get a disturbing reader’s deja vu. “Have I read this already?” Since I’m terrible with titles, I can never be sure.
Eventually, I just swore off the practice.
And book 2, Everyone Loves Blue Dog, will soon have a new title. There’s a current front runner, but I don’t want to talk about it until things are settled. The happiest part for me is that I like this title and it doesn’t turn up in a Google search.
With that, I’ll sign off to enjoy the holiday.
In which I link to things
StandardBecause I am boring and can not spare the attention it takes to express a coherent opinion, here are some links:
1) [Deleted]
3) The NY Times on my favorite food. I’m almost afraid to read it.
4) This makes me want to hide under my desk, and it’s just a couple of pictures on a website. NB: that link is not for people who have issues with high places.
5) Gay sex decriminalized in New Delhi. Change may be slow, but it’s coming (so to speak).
HNBD
StandardToday was my not-birthday. As I mentioned earlier, my wife and I have the same birthday, and that sucks–somebody ends up doing the dishes on their special day. So I moved my day back a month.
I don’t much like cake, so I had my traditional (melon-free) fruit salad. My son bought me a new baster and my wife gave me the same gift I got for Christmas–permission to buy a rilly rilly nice computer when the G4 Mac Mini on my desk gives up the ghost.
At this point, I’m starting to hate my old computer. I glare at it when iPhoto lags or I can’t upload video from my camera–someday it will be dead, and with Apple Care expired I will get new very very soon.
I hope.
I also had market fresh nectarines for my snack breaks at work, and a beautiful steak with sauteed mushrooms for dinner. Nice. All I need to do to make this a perfect day would be to get to bed early.
Phew!
StandardLaptop seems fine. The book is ruined, though.
No writing today
StandardShit. I went to the Starbucks across the street from day job, sat down with my laptop and coffee, and promptly spilled the whole thing over the table. Spirit Gate by Kate Elliott is soaked through and my computer kept flashing to a white screen.
I say again: Shit.
Now I’m sitting at my desk at the day job, with computer and book resting on the air conditioning vent beside me, drying out. ::fingers crossed:: Instead, I guess I’ll work on some of the publicity stuff I’m supposed to whip up by the end of the month, and thinkerate on the characters and plot.