Welcome Back to My World

The Read ...

Read a lot over Christmass, but Simon R. Green's new book, The Good, The Bad, and The Uncanny has managed to stick in my mind the longest.  Yeah, John Taylor is up to his usual shenanigans trying to keep the Nightside semi-human.  In one sense, the book is filled with the same old, same old, a problem for ongoing series.  But, oh what fun!

Wish I could come up with gems like these example sentences.  "One guy had even taken advantage of the crowd [ gathered to watch a fight ] to set up a fast-food stall, selling wriggling things on sticks."  Or.  "At another table, two vaguely humanoid robots from some future time-line were sucking on batteries and farting static."

Green even references another of his series.  "I'd say that about the only people I don't talk to are the Droods.  They're banned from the Nightside by long agreement.  They don't play nice."

Don't think Uncanny is simplistic even though it travels through familiar territory.  Green sets up the quest for the next volume in the series while dealing with the temptation to replace Walker while seeking a missing friend who disappeared in a previous book.  The book moves at a fast clip while delivering a satisfying number of chuckles.

Not bloging didn't mean I wasn't writing ...
or at least, thinking about writing.
Other bloggers were blogging, and I thought these were worth mentioning,
since I thought them important/interesting.

Web and Other Stuff ...

While amusing myself ... drenching myself in last year's Castle episodes ... reality slapped me in the face.  Agent Suzie Townsend blogged about her last year's acceptance statistics in "The Truth about My Time..."  If you've been wondering why it's so hard to get an agent, consider that she accepted 10 news clients out of over 5,000 queries.

Then there's the whole question of blogging -- which I debate in my head about frequently --  Justine Musk writes about how blogs fit into the evolving publishing world in Tribal Writer.  Seems like change is the name of the game.

Writing Progress ...

Got beaten about the head and shoulders by crit partners and an editor [a rejection for Cavern Between Worlds, one of my short story attempts] all saying the same thing --  "Not So Many Details.  They get confusing."  [ Though some critters did want more back story in the non-Half-Elven short story I submitted to them last month. ]  So, I'll slink back to the drawing board and try to simplify the introductions to my worlds.  Somehow, I think that's easier said than done.

I think the Half-Elven website is done, except for one more picture and a continuous supply of Renna tales.  Gluskin, the artist, is excused because he's busy with his new baby girl born over the holidays.  Hopefully, he'll get back to work in a couple months.  Still, I have enough pictures on the site to make it respectable.  Now, I only have to market it.  [You can read about my problems of web promotion at the Half-Elven blog. ]  Me?  Reread the last paragraph.

Have I decided on what to write?  Well, sort of.  I drafted a bunch of new ideas for Maren and organized previously written stuff.  Even have a decent pitch sentence to chew on.  But, Caverns Between Worlds  is now nagging at me.  Maybe, I can do both?  And blog? And read?  And read blogs?  Study my craft?  36 hour days, anyone?

Granted no one ever said writing is easy, but ... you can always wish for an instant best-sellers, can't you?  What have you decided to write during the first of 2011?

Trivia ...

Word of caution.  When adding dried milk to the cooking ... mix it with water first.  Made curry for the first time in ages since I'm experimenting with cooking in smaller batches.  When it came time to thicken the broth, I just spooned in the dried milk.  Result:  a gooey, cheesey mess which eventually melted, thank the cooking goddess.