sunny and minus a bazillion (approx)
So cold there was ice fog on the way in to Cowansville this morning. It was actually minus 25. Not quite as cold as last monday when it got down below minus 30.
We're having one of those days where nothing is easy. No big problem, but things that should be easy just aren't. And it becomes cumulative. A headlight is out in the beetle. Small thing. So off we went to Cowansville to have it fixed and the mechanic (who was doing us a huge favour fitting us in) could get one headlight out, but not the one that actually needed replacing.
So we have to head an hour away to the dealership in Sherbrooke Thursday at 7:15am to get it fixed before we leave.
Really, the things are so miniscule they're hardly worth mentioning, but they become simply tiny irritants. Like being out of milk. Or using the last piece of paper towel. Picking up a pen and its out of ink. The blackberry suddenly won't receive messages. One of the speakers in the stereo keeps blanking out. The woodbox needs refilling.
Funny, I was just talking to Teresa, my agent in London and she's having exactly the same day. Things that could take one step suddenly take three. Everything's empty at once. Everything breaks at once.
We agreed when that happens the important thing is to take a step back, take a deep breath and get a grip. I find in my life I can generally handle the big things well - but give me a mountain of tiny irritants and I'm liable to go over the deep end. And take as many people with me as I can!
Oddly, writing it down helps. Gives me perspective.
Now you know my dirty little secret. The blog is my therapy. My personal diary. My comfort on cold days.
Thanks for listening - please don't bill me. Besides, the pen's out of ink and I can't find the cheque book. And don't even get me started on stamps.
Hope your day's going smoothly!
Showing posts with label details. Show all posts
Showing posts with label details. Show all posts
Monday, 31 January 2011
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
details
bright sunny day, temps minus 2
Beautiful, cold, day. Windy. Awoke to some snow on the cars, but the skies cleared. Good thing too. We suddenly had to go back in to Montreal. To see our accountant. And go to the car dealership because the key battery needed replacing. since when do keys have batteries? Well, ours seems to.
Busy couple of days. Bit of a blur. My Assistant Lise came by yesterday with all sorts of business to discuss. she's a marvel, holding together our empire (the military industrial complex that rivals Kraft Foods) in our absence. Should we be worried that everything is now in her name? My Assistant Lise Inc. Nah.
Got our passports renewed and just as we handed our old ones over I remembered I needed to cross the border to the States for business. But later yesterday the border guards let me through with photocopies of my old passport and proof that the renewal was underway. A relief.
Banking, mailing, laundry, unpacking, more mailing. All sorts of details. If I'm found dead it will be at the hands of details. Crushed by them. I realize - and have known it for a long time - that I'm not much of a detail person. I don't care. Give me the broad strokes and I'm happy. I'll tell you, this is a challenging career for someone not naturally given to caring about minutiae.
Gary came by last night to take a few photos for a Globe and Mail article for this Saturday. Luckily the article is on what book I'm reading and where I most love to read. Which is on the sofa in front of the fire. So while Gary and Michael worked on the the lighting, I lay on the sofa. This is exactly the sort of work I'm best suited for.
Then up early today and in to Montreal. Then back home, and more mailing.
Tomorrow - dear Lord - Michael and I are going back to Pina's exercise class. It's in the Sutton church hall. And it's torment. I'm deeply worried about how much it will prove I'm out of shape. Still, apparently this is the best way to get back in to shape, or at least a different shape.
Must be off. Clay pot chicken is cooked. I'd forgotten the pleasure of cooking meals.
Beautiful, cold, day. Windy. Awoke to some snow on the cars, but the skies cleared. Good thing too. We suddenly had to go back in to Montreal. To see our accountant. And go to the car dealership because the key battery needed replacing. since when do keys have batteries? Well, ours seems to.
Busy couple of days. Bit of a blur. My Assistant Lise came by yesterday with all sorts of business to discuss. she's a marvel, holding together our empire (the military industrial complex that rivals Kraft Foods) in our absence. Should we be worried that everything is now in her name? My Assistant Lise Inc. Nah.
Got our passports renewed and just as we handed our old ones over I remembered I needed to cross the border to the States for business. But later yesterday the border guards let me through with photocopies of my old passport and proof that the renewal was underway. A relief.
Banking, mailing, laundry, unpacking, more mailing. All sorts of details. If I'm found dead it will be at the hands of details. Crushed by them. I realize - and have known it for a long time - that I'm not much of a detail person. I don't care. Give me the broad strokes and I'm happy. I'll tell you, this is a challenging career for someone not naturally given to caring about minutiae.
Gary came by last night to take a few photos for a Globe and Mail article for this Saturday. Luckily the article is on what book I'm reading and where I most love to read. Which is on the sofa in front of the fire. So while Gary and Michael worked on the the lighting, I lay on the sofa. This is exactly the sort of work I'm best suited for.
Then up early today and in to Montreal. Then back home, and more mailing.
Tomorrow - dear Lord - Michael and I are going back to Pina's exercise class. It's in the Sutton church hall. And it's torment. I'm deeply worried about how much it will prove I'm out of shape. Still, apparently this is the best way to get back in to shape, or at least a different shape.
Must be off. Clay pot chicken is cooked. I'd forgotten the pleasure of cooking meals.
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Gamache 'one-on-one'
overcast, mild, temps zero
Lovely day...feels and smells like spring. I noticed the spring bulbs are coming up in the cutting garden, right next to the house. I'm sure the shoots will be snowed under, but they always seem to survive.
Lise dropped by...we got some work done. There are so many details that go with being a writer. I think that's one of the big surprised...all the 'other' things. Mailing, emailing, events - questions, interviews, discussions with publishers and editors. With my agent.
The writing often seems the easiest.
I suddenly wrote 2,000 words today. My plan is to finish the second chapter quickly - just dump the words on the page - then go back and smooth...shape. Quite fun this way. Then I exercised and listened to the music...hearing conversations - again. I do think there is almost no noticable difference between being a writer and being insane.
A few of you wrote to ask about the process. I always know who did it, who gets killed. Why. and some of the main themes. But I don't know how Gamache will solve it. And while each scene has a purpose, I don't necessarily know how the points, clues, development will happen. Always a surprise.
Gamache has just arrived on the scene.
But, I also know, there's a pretty good chance this opening will not be the same as the one you read. The beginning often needs changing since by the end of the book I'm clearer about the themes and the beginning needs to be sharpened. We'll see. The big thing is to just get something down and worry about the editing later.
On another topic, I had a very fun email from Jennifer Forbus. She writes the great blog, www.jensbookthoughts.com
Here's an excerpt from her message -
This email is to inform you that you have at least one detective who received enough nominations to make the "World's Favorite Detective" tournament that I will be hosting for the "Detectives Around the World" theme week. I'm going to run the tournament like the NCAA basketball tournaments that will be occurring simultaneously, so there are 64 detectives that will go head-to-head culminating in the final two having their showdown during the theme week April 11th to the 17th.
I am announcing the 64 detectives that made the tournament tomorrow on my blog. Beginning Friday I'm going to take entries for a contest connected to the tournament. And the first week of voting will kick off on Monday, March 8th.
Seems Armand is going one-on-one with Jesse Stone by Robert Parker. Hmmm.
doesn't that sound like fun?
Anyway, back to messages etc.
Speak tomorrow.
Lovely day...feels and smells like spring. I noticed the spring bulbs are coming up in the cutting garden, right next to the house. I'm sure the shoots will be snowed under, but they always seem to survive.
Lise dropped by...we got some work done. There are so many details that go with being a writer. I think that's one of the big surprised...all the 'other' things. Mailing, emailing, events - questions, interviews, discussions with publishers and editors. With my agent.
The writing often seems the easiest.
I suddenly wrote 2,000 words today. My plan is to finish the second chapter quickly - just dump the words on the page - then go back and smooth...shape. Quite fun this way. Then I exercised and listened to the music...hearing conversations - again. I do think there is almost no noticable difference between being a writer and being insane.
A few of you wrote to ask about the process. I always know who did it, who gets killed. Why. and some of the main themes. But I don't know how Gamache will solve it. And while each scene has a purpose, I don't necessarily know how the points, clues, development will happen. Always a surprise.
Gamache has just arrived on the scene.
But, I also know, there's a pretty good chance this opening will not be the same as the one you read. The beginning often needs changing since by the end of the book I'm clearer about the themes and the beginning needs to be sharpened. We'll see. The big thing is to just get something down and worry about the editing later.
On another topic, I had a very fun email from Jennifer Forbus. She writes the great blog, www.jensbookthoughts.com
Here's an excerpt from her message -
This email is to inform you that you have at least one detective who received enough nominations to make the "World's Favorite Detective" tournament that I will be hosting for the "Detectives Around the World" theme week. I'm going to run the tournament like the NCAA basketball tournaments that will be occurring simultaneously, so there are 64 detectives that will go head-to-head culminating in the final two having their showdown during the theme week April 11th to the 17th.
I am announcing the 64 detectives that made the tournament tomorrow on my blog. Beginning Friday I'm going to take entries for a contest connected to the tournament. And the first week of voting will kick off on Monday, March 8th.
Seems Armand is going one-on-one with Jesse Stone by Robert Parker. Hmmm.
doesn't that sound like fun?
Anyway, back to messages etc.
Speak tomorrow.
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
bit and pieces
overcast, rain, blech temps 18
Another fire in the grate. Cafe au lait. Writing synopsis and replying to email. And now need to hop in the car and do some mailing. bit and pieces. Just got off the phone with the redoubtable Teresa, my agent. Fun, long call. Just catching up and discussing the launch of THE BRUTAL TELLING.
A woman named Clara wrote a few days ago asking if I'd do an interview on her blog. I agreed and she just wrote this morning to say it's up. If you're interested you can go to:
www.richtexts.blogspot.com
Did the torture machine (elliptical) this morning...ten minutes...much a full blast. Then collapse. Not sure it's the best way to exercise, but oddly I feel better for is..though not during it.
Must run...mailing, then back home for lunch, and packing for Montreal and Lakefield.
Be well.
Another fire in the grate. Cafe au lait. Writing synopsis and replying to email. And now need to hop in the car and do some mailing. bit and pieces. Just got off the phone with the redoubtable Teresa, my agent. Fun, long call. Just catching up and discussing the launch of THE BRUTAL TELLING.
A woman named Clara wrote a few days ago asking if I'd do an interview on her blog. I agreed and she just wrote this morning to say it's up. If you're interested you can go to:
www.richtexts.blogspot.com
Did the torture machine (elliptical) this morning...ten minutes...much a full blast. Then collapse. Not sure it's the best way to exercise, but oddly I feel better for is..though not during it.
Must run...mailing, then back home for lunch, and packing for Montreal and Lakefield.
Be well.
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
Happy Details
snow, rain, sleet, yech.
Another typical April day. We just got back from Montreal - toting a pizza for Tony and a thank you for looking after Trudy.
Signed a lease for a new apartment in Montreal. In Quebec (and nowhere else as far as I can tell) they call apartment sizes as 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 etc. Took me forever to figure it out - and still not totally sure. But we knew we wanted at 3 1/2 - which in the rest of the known world is called a one bedroom.
This place is great - we're very happy. And basically it will be a pied a terre in the city.
things shaping up beautifully for Michael's party. small. 30 people. Including my brother Doug, his ex-wife and still good friend (as she is to us) Mary, and their kids, Brian, Roslyn and Charlie. They're coming from Toronto.
Still loads of details and I'm sure I've forgotten something. Like food. But a relief to know if I have, well, everyone is such a great friend it's not the end of the world. Though I do want it to be nice for Michael. He says he only plans to turnn 75 two or three times, so I'd better get it right!
writing tomorrow morning then coffee with Cotton in Knowlton and a few errands. Blog pretty boring these days. Oh, the proofs arrived for THE BRUTAL TELLING so we're starting on the proof edit...one of the last stages. And saw the US cataloge for it. It will come out in the US in October...so that's 2 books in one year.
I have to tell you that I really love this book. We're back in Three Pines for THE BRUTAL TELLING. Anyway, you'll decide for yourselves.
And A RULE AGAINST MURDER is now available in Kindle, for those Kindlers out there.
Another typical April day. We just got back from Montreal - toting a pizza for Tony and a thank you for looking after Trudy.
Signed a lease for a new apartment in Montreal. In Quebec (and nowhere else as far as I can tell) they call apartment sizes as 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 etc. Took me forever to figure it out - and still not totally sure. But we knew we wanted at 3 1/2 - which in the rest of the known world is called a one bedroom.
This place is great - we're very happy. And basically it will be a pied a terre in the city.
things shaping up beautifully for Michael's party. small. 30 people. Including my brother Doug, his ex-wife and still good friend (as she is to us) Mary, and their kids, Brian, Roslyn and Charlie. They're coming from Toronto.
Still loads of details and I'm sure I've forgotten something. Like food. But a relief to know if I have, well, everyone is such a great friend it's not the end of the world. Though I do want it to be nice for Michael. He says he only plans to turnn 75 two or three times, so I'd better get it right!
writing tomorrow morning then coffee with Cotton in Knowlton and a few errands. Blog pretty boring these days. Oh, the proofs arrived for THE BRUTAL TELLING so we're starting on the proof edit...one of the last stages. And saw the US cataloge for it. It will come out in the US in October...so that's 2 books in one year.
I have to tell you that I really love this book. We're back in Three Pines for THE BRUTAL TELLING. Anyway, you'll decide for yourselves.
And A RULE AGAINST MURDER is now available in Kindle, for those Kindlers out there.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Perception
sunny, mild, temps plus 6
Stunning day. Took Trudy around the pond. Ice still on it, but last of snow melting, just hanging on in the shade. Ice at the slightly dangerous stage where you might fall through if you walk on it. Trying not to let the tennis ball bounce onto the ice and have Trudy go after it! She did a few days ago, and made it, but not so sure now. so we don't throw it in that area anymore.
Lots of writing today.
Had a nightmare last night. A Mummy was chasing me. Let me guess what that might mean...
The permissions have all been figured out - just one more cheque to write and need to get wording to the editors. Will do that this afternoon. Sending off Jpeg etc for an event at a Barnes and Noble in Annapolis in early May. If you live in the area love to see you there.
Feeling a little overwhelmed. Have realized if I don't keep on top of everything, everyday I can get so far behind. And just when I think I have done it all, another five requests come in. I bet that sounds familiar. The human condition these days. I need, sometimes, to stop and realize this is all good. Lots of details, but it means I'm involved in life, filling my days with things I'm passionate about. How great is that? And yet, some days, I can just see it as chores.
Life is perception - at least, mine is.
Hope your perception is sunny and warm and cheery. And optomistic.
Stunning day. Took Trudy around the pond. Ice still on it, but last of snow melting, just hanging on in the shade. Ice at the slightly dangerous stage where you might fall through if you walk on it. Trying not to let the tennis ball bounce onto the ice and have Trudy go after it! She did a few days ago, and made it, but not so sure now. so we don't throw it in that area anymore.
Lots of writing today.
Had a nightmare last night. A Mummy was chasing me. Let me guess what that might mean...
The permissions have all been figured out - just one more cheque to write and need to get wording to the editors. Will do that this afternoon. Sending off Jpeg etc for an event at a Barnes and Noble in Annapolis in early May. If you live in the area love to see you there.
Feeling a little overwhelmed. Have realized if I don't keep on top of everything, everyday I can get so far behind. And just when I think I have done it all, another five requests come in. I bet that sounds familiar. The human condition these days. I need, sometimes, to stop and realize this is all good. Lots of details, but it means I'm involved in life, filling my days with things I'm passionate about. How great is that? And yet, some days, I can just see it as chores.
Life is perception - at least, mine is.
Hope your perception is sunny and warm and cheery. And optomistic.
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