sunny, mild, temps 18
Anotehr lovely day - though mixed. When the sun went in briefly and the wind picked up it was quite cool. But this evening is stunning. Michael and I just came back from a walk. Needed to call Wayne Clarkson who cuts our grass. He also said he'd cut the guest cottage grass too. Tony normally does it, but announced that this year he'd rather do other things, of which we have no end. Happily Wayne is picking up the slack, and the cuttings.
Busy day - a little stressful. I find it's the accumulation of small things that gets me, not one or two huge things. Today it felt like a pack of details nipping away at us. The drinking water needed to be tested for the guest cottage. We're renting it out, and the water is a well, so we need to make sure we aren't poisoning anyone. Though if that was the case Susan would have perished months ago. Though, we haven't seen her recently...
Lots of birthdays coming up, so we needed to do cards.
Our laptop and Michael's desktop at work aren't working, so needed to meet with the wonderful Nancy Page, who performs exorcisms on our computers.
Had keys to be cut, groceries bought, Michael's meds to pick up, a chapter to read and critique, emails to respond to, and to top it all off, the US proofs arrived for the fourth book... A RULE AGAINST MURDER is what it will be called in the US - coming out in January. But I need to read the entire book, paying attention to the edited proofs and okaying all the small changes. It needs to be done by the end of the week and mailed back! Read 130 pages late this afternoon.
And, oh yes, book 5 to write. Happily that seems to be going well, though the characters (especially Gamache) keep following me into the bath and tell me where I've forgotten an important clue, or didn't pick up on an inconsistancy.
No boundaries, these characters. That's their problem.
And speaking of characters I said I'd discuss briefly why most of the young people in my books don't fare so well...Philippe in Still Life, Crie in A Fatal Grace/Dead Cold - Sophie in The Cruelest Month.
I don't really know why that is. the easy answer is that I was in quite a bit of emotional turmoil as a young person so I'm probably projecting. I think young people are heroic...and while not all the characters are heroic (especially Sophie), there is a very brave quality about them. Struggling mostly with themselves and their own insecurities. Not always successfully.
I think it's a difficult time - for the kids, and God knows, for the parents. All my friends who have kids entering that age are terrified of seeing their loving, kind child turn into a stranger.
However, I actually recognized this habit myself and decided to explore other sorts of young people in my next couple of books - including the one I'm writing. I'll see what you think.
I'm off. have a bit of a headache and need to get up early to take Trudy to the vet to be fixed. Take care, and thanks for reading, and for being so supportive. I really appreciate it.
Oh, we noticed that the 'forget-me-nots' are up, all through the grass around the pool, so in the sun the grass looks light blue.
Showing posts with label book 4. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book 4. Show all posts
Monday, 12 May 2008
Thursday, 24 January 2008
Wow, who's the cool chick in the deer stalker?
Sunny, highs minus 8
Michael and I are in Toronto now. All showered up and ready for the event tonight at the Toronto Reference Library with fellow crime writer (and McArthur club member) John Brady. Spent all of today doing what I think are the final revisions on book 4. Hope Dellon, my editor at St. Martin's Minotaur in New York got back with her notes. Very few changes, thank God! Still, it took me 6 hours. Granted, a lot of that was re-reading passages and doing my own fine-tuning. Taking out a word here and there. Trying to make it as lean as possible, the meaning as clear as possible. No unnecessary words. My prose will never be skeletal, don't want it to be. But still, each word should have a purpose, if only in setting scene and tone.
It's an exciting process - and I know Hope's and Sherise's notes (Sherise Hobbs, my editor at Headline in London) make the books so much stronger. It's quite unusual to have two main editors. Normally one country buys the book first and subsequent countries simply take the already edited manuscript. But NY and London bought the series on exactly the same day. (Thrilling day for me!) So, voila, two editors. I think we were all a little nervous about how it would work, but it's been fabulous. It angers and saddens me when people say women can't work together. That hasn't been my experience at all. Hope and Sherise really try to accommodate each other, and respect each other, and respect me (which is, after all the MOST important thing).
I remember listening to the wonderful Jacqueline Winspear on a panel and being asked about her editors and she had the best answer. She said that while she was writing the book belonged to her, and her alone. But once she'd finished and sent it off, it then belonged to the team. Of which she was a member - but only one member. Each member (agent, editor, publisher, publicist) had a right to a say.
I loved that. I love collaberation. Perhaps because I can blame others, always handy. But I find it makes for a much stronger book. Not a committee - but thoughtful people working to make sure the story is clear and clearly told. Thrilling.
Heard from Teresa (my agent) today that Estonia has bought the series. Very exciting.
And the event Tuesday night in Montreal was simply (and unexpectedly) fantastic! Snowing like all get-out - tons of the stuff. All day. And blowing. Very difficult driving. Michael and I wondered the best way to even get to the event, which was downtown at the McGill University Bookstore. Parking is terrible at the best of times and this was pretty close to the worst of times. In fact, a lot of people thought the event would be cancelled. But they don't know me and a potential audience! We took the bus. Budgeted an hour and a half to get there, and got there in 20 minutes. always the way.
Lots of people too. Really great atmosphere. Kim Stephenson, who helped organize the event, was fantastic. But you know what really blew me away? The organization of the McGill Alumni. they sent announcements to 65-thousand grads, around the world. Now, the furtherest anyone came was from the West Island (about 10 miles) - and, of course, Estonia. (kidding).
I was so grateful to the 60 or so people who did come. It really was a dreadful night. And people did come from a distance. But I think that added to the atmosphere. We felt like the courageous, or insane, few.
If you were one of the ones there on Tuesday at McGill - thank you!
Still no title for book 4. The trouble is we have a couple of great titles and we're just trying them out. We're close. Will tell you when one rises to the top.
Must run. Am sitting in a bathrobe in front of a picture window almost flashing downtown Toronto. Sauve qui peut.
Taryn, from McArthur, is picking Michael and me up at ten to six. The good librarians at the Toronto Reference Library have arranged a private tour of their quite extensive Arthur Conan Doyle collection tonight before the event! I was such a Holmes buff growing up. Spent first year university in a deer stalker. Can't tell me that's not cool. So this should be fun.
Back to Montreal on the train tomorrow. Nice to know book 4 is finished. (Though I've thought that before).
Be safe, keep warm.
Michael and I are in Toronto now. All showered up and ready for the event tonight at the Toronto Reference Library with fellow crime writer (and McArthur club member) John Brady. Spent all of today doing what I think are the final revisions on book 4. Hope Dellon, my editor at St. Martin's Minotaur in New York got back with her notes. Very few changes, thank God! Still, it took me 6 hours. Granted, a lot of that was re-reading passages and doing my own fine-tuning. Taking out a word here and there. Trying to make it as lean as possible, the meaning as clear as possible. No unnecessary words. My prose will never be skeletal, don't want it to be. But still, each word should have a purpose, if only in setting scene and tone.
It's an exciting process - and I know Hope's and Sherise's notes (Sherise Hobbs, my editor at Headline in London) make the books so much stronger. It's quite unusual to have two main editors. Normally one country buys the book first and subsequent countries simply take the already edited manuscript. But NY and London bought the series on exactly the same day. (Thrilling day for me!) So, voila, two editors. I think we were all a little nervous about how it would work, but it's been fabulous. It angers and saddens me when people say women can't work together. That hasn't been my experience at all. Hope and Sherise really try to accommodate each other, and respect each other, and respect me (which is, after all the MOST important thing).
I remember listening to the wonderful Jacqueline Winspear on a panel and being asked about her editors and she had the best answer. She said that while she was writing the book belonged to her, and her alone. But once she'd finished and sent it off, it then belonged to the team. Of which she was a member - but only one member. Each member (agent, editor, publisher, publicist) had a right to a say.
I loved that. I love collaberation. Perhaps because I can blame others, always handy. But I find it makes for a much stronger book. Not a committee - but thoughtful people working to make sure the story is clear and clearly told. Thrilling.
Heard from Teresa (my agent) today that Estonia has bought the series. Very exciting.
And the event Tuesday night in Montreal was simply (and unexpectedly) fantastic! Snowing like all get-out - tons of the stuff. All day. And blowing. Very difficult driving. Michael and I wondered the best way to even get to the event, which was downtown at the McGill University Bookstore. Parking is terrible at the best of times and this was pretty close to the worst of times. In fact, a lot of people thought the event would be cancelled. But they don't know me and a potential audience! We took the bus. Budgeted an hour and a half to get there, and got there in 20 minutes. always the way.
Lots of people too. Really great atmosphere. Kim Stephenson, who helped organize the event, was fantastic. But you know what really blew me away? The organization of the McGill Alumni. they sent announcements to 65-thousand grads, around the world. Now, the furtherest anyone came was from the West Island (about 10 miles) - and, of course, Estonia. (kidding).
I was so grateful to the 60 or so people who did come. It really was a dreadful night. And people did come from a distance. But I think that added to the atmosphere. We felt like the courageous, or insane, few.
If you were one of the ones there on Tuesday at McGill - thank you!
Still no title for book 4. The trouble is we have a couple of great titles and we're just trying them out. We're close. Will tell you when one rises to the top.
Must run. Am sitting in a bathrobe in front of a picture window almost flashing downtown Toronto. Sauve qui peut.
Taryn, from McArthur, is picking Michael and me up at ten to six. The good librarians at the Toronto Reference Library have arranged a private tour of their quite extensive Arthur Conan Doyle collection tonight before the event! I was such a Holmes buff growing up. Spent first year university in a deer stalker. Can't tell me that's not cool. So this should be fun.
Back to Montreal on the train tomorrow. Nice to know book 4 is finished. (Though I've thought that before).
Be safe, keep warm.
Thursday, 13 December 2007
Deer and Dogs and Doug, oh my.
Sunny, brilliant, crisp day, minus 20
When I let Maggie and Trudy out this morning I noticed two things simultaneously. The car was frozen and a huge, magnificent deer was in mid-air, leaping over the stone fence from our gardens to the driveway. In what looked like slow-motion it then leapt into the field then into the forest. It seemed to float. Maggie and Trudy noticed this at about the same instant and immediately took off after the poor thing, with me, slippered and sliding, in pajama's through the brittle snow, screaming after them. Ah, the peace and tranquility of the country.
Happily for all of us our Golden Retrievers are scaredy cats. Twenty feet into the forest and they were running back to Mommy who was looking like Dorothy Hamill gone bad. We all slinked back to the house, except the deer.
We love deer. Many gardeners don't, since deer eat many of the flowers and are considered pests by some. But we could watch them all day, and figure they were here first. If they want to eat the roses, that's OK. For the most part they stay in the field by the pond, but sometimes they come closer to the house. My brother Doug once rescued a baby deer who'd somehow fallen into our pool and couldn't seem to get out. Doug instinctively scooped it up and placed it kicking on the grass. They both stood stunned, then it took off. I wonder if this was the same deer. Looking for Doug. Close - it found dogs instead.
We have mice in the house, and deer in the field, carpenters in the bedroom, and black-capped chickadees, blue jays and woodpeckers at the feeders. The place is a riot.
Off to mail more Christmas cards. Each year I swear I'll stop, and each year I seem to send more.
Great news yesterday - the UK editor read the fourth book and called to say she thinks it's the best Gamache mystery so far! Can't tell you what a relief that is. My mind plays so many tricks on me as soon as the manuscript's out of my hands. I become convinced it's something the deer leaves behind. So that was thrilling news. Still waiting to hear from the NY editor, whose opinion is equally important - but I feel I can at least begin to exhale. No title decided on for the fourth book, but I'll let you know as soon as we have one. It's set, of course, in the summer. Fun reading it at minus 20.
Off to the village (real, not fictional). Speak to you later. Stay warm.
When I let Maggie and Trudy out this morning I noticed two things simultaneously. The car was frozen and a huge, magnificent deer was in mid-air, leaping over the stone fence from our gardens to the driveway. In what looked like slow-motion it then leapt into the field then into the forest. It seemed to float. Maggie and Trudy noticed this at about the same instant and immediately took off after the poor thing, with me, slippered and sliding, in pajama's through the brittle snow, screaming after them. Ah, the peace and tranquility of the country.
Happily for all of us our Golden Retrievers are scaredy cats. Twenty feet into the forest and they were running back to Mommy who was looking like Dorothy Hamill gone bad. We all slinked back to the house, except the deer.
We love deer. Many gardeners don't, since deer eat many of the flowers and are considered pests by some. But we could watch them all day, and figure they were here first. If they want to eat the roses, that's OK. For the most part they stay in the field by the pond, but sometimes they come closer to the house. My brother Doug once rescued a baby deer who'd somehow fallen into our pool and couldn't seem to get out. Doug instinctively scooped it up and placed it kicking on the grass. They both stood stunned, then it took off. I wonder if this was the same deer. Looking for Doug. Close - it found dogs instead.
We have mice in the house, and deer in the field, carpenters in the bedroom, and black-capped chickadees, blue jays and woodpeckers at the feeders. The place is a riot.
Off to mail more Christmas cards. Each year I swear I'll stop, and each year I seem to send more.
Great news yesterday - the UK editor read the fourth book and called to say she thinks it's the best Gamache mystery so far! Can't tell you what a relief that is. My mind plays so many tricks on me as soon as the manuscript's out of my hands. I become convinced it's something the deer leaves behind. So that was thrilling news. Still waiting to hear from the NY editor, whose opinion is equally important - but I feel I can at least begin to exhale. No title decided on for the fourth book, but I'll let you know as soon as we have one. It's set, of course, in the summer. Fun reading it at minus 20.
Off to the village (real, not fictional). Speak to you later. Stay warm.
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