The November blog post is coming a little early because I actually have something to share for once, and also because I feel a little guilty.

In October, I mentioned that I would do a rundown of sorts on the spooky Halloween movies I’ve watched this year. I haven’t. In part that was because of the usual busy-ness. In part it was because I just didn’t see as much new stuff that I genuinely loved.

The best horror movie I saw last month was Possession (1981) about a marriage that’s falling apart and the creepy supernatural stuff mixed up in the dissolution. We also watched Don’t Look Now (1974) about a couple who goes to Venice after the death of their child, and a “psychic” who gloms onto them.

They’re both well-made, but the former feels more like an endurance test than a movie and the latter was full of stylish, interesting choices only to drop the ball at the end. I got more joy out of rewatches like Exhuma. Oh well.

In better news, you guys know I’m currently in my “final polish” on the last Twenty Palaces novel, and I wanted to let you know it has taken me almost three weeks to reach the halfway point, which I just did yesterday.

The reason I put sarcasm quotes around the words final polish is that I keep finding things that need more than just a quick polish. That’s how it is with me, sometimes. I’m going over a piece of text that I have worked on quite a bit and already feel good about it. Many of the changes are minor stuff, like fixing punctuation, filling out a scene that feels rushed, or deleting a lightning bug word for a lightning one.

Then I stumble on a section that looks like someone has put a ritual curse on a whole sequence, and I need three days to unfuck the whole thing.

Frustrating but necessary.

Anyway, I wanted to write a bunch about the new Carrie TV show and why we are quitting Lupin with only two episodes left in season four, but I’m going to spend that time on the new book instead.

Happy Turkey Day to everyone who celebrates.