overcast, blustery, cool, sunny periods...temps 16
A sort of turbulent day weather-wise. Woke in the middle of the night overwhelmed by things that need to be done (not including writing and editing). Tossed and turned...finally fell asleep and awoke to the wonderful aroma of coffee...God bless Michael. But it was late. 8:15 - and he had a 9:30 barber appointment. And I was meeting Rhianna (a young neighbour writing a book). So up I sprang.
Back now from meeting her. She's 20, and getting well into her novel. Very exciting. i so enjoyed meeting her. A thoughtful, kind, respectful, funny and very smart young woman. So we're going to get together once a month or so and compare notes.
It now looks as though we're going to head to London in September - which is always fun...but one more thing to add to the mix.
We've cleaned up after the visit of the kids. A funny sort of visit when the best behaved turns out to be Buttercup, the hound from Hell. Though we did find a considerable dropping in our bedroom when we returned Monday afternoon. We think it might have been BC, but, honestly, it could have been anyone and doesn't bear close examination.
We're now home...and I've decided I just need to do one or two things each day to get everything done...not bad. At 3am it seems a howling monster, at 2pm it's quite manageable.
Michael's back is almost all better!!! He's so smart...he admits he has an ache, then does his exercises...and voila. Gone.
I am SO enjoying the discussion (on the comments section) on who might play Gamache. I am noting all the suggestions...and having such fun reading them.
Hope you're enjoying the day!
Showing posts with label Gamache. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gamache. Show all posts
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Friday, 23 January 2009
Quebec City - alors
light snow, windy, temps minus 15
We're in Quebec City! Arrived by train at 4pm...waited with a very long line of fellow travellers (so to speak) outside in the snow and blow for taxi's. None. Not a one. And then, when one did arrive and stopped to let someone out, someone at the back of the line tried to take it.
There was almost a riot.
Happened almost everytime a taxi didn't stop exactly where it should, someone at the back, or someone who couldn't be bothered to even join the line, tried to steal it. I cut in once and made someone take their luggage out of the cab and waved to the man at the front of the line to grab the taxi instead. When I finished and walked back to my place in line the others in the line applauded.
I'll tell you, it felt better than a good reivew (and those feel pretty good).
But eventually our time came, and within minutes we were at the home we've rented for a month.
It's better then I dreamed! We haven't been outside yet to explore the immediate neighborhood, but we have unpacked. That always feels good. That and going to the washroom for the first time in a new place. I think maybe I have more in common with Maggie than Michael.
You'll never guess...I howled with laughter. Up above our bed there are these stunning B&W photos of New York City...and the one right over my side of the bed is of the Flatiron building. Certainly iconic. But it also happens to be where my publishers offices are. St Martins Press has the Flatiron. Can you believe it? Not sure if it's a good omen or not. I choose to think it's a great omen for A Rule Against Murder...and for the book I'm researching here in Quebec City.
let me tell you about the home.
You walk in directly to the large living room with a fireplace, wood floors and three huge windows with shutters. The walls are 2 feet thick. Off the living room is the kitchen (small but totally modern with stainless steel appliances) and dining room combo. This is the real 'wow'. The entire wall is exposed old stone, with two more huge windows and a cathedral ceiling going up to the top of the house - 3 floors.
Up a narrow, uneven wooden stairway, worn down by centuries of feet - grasping the stunning, simple wood railing - up a floor to a loft office, a bathroom and a large guest bedroom.
Then to the top floor - up more narrow wooden stairs - to the open concept master bedroom, with cathedral ceiling, beams, dormers. It's immense. And a wooden railing looking down onto the dining room below.
In the basement there's another bedroom - with windows...and a kind of makeshift powder room - but there're wonderful LG washer and dryer. Heaven.
The only drawback is only one real bathroom, and it's on the floor below the master...and one of us often gets up in the night...hmmm. But Michael has test-driven the stairs and says they're perfectly safe. I suggested a bedpan, but he's strangely resistant.
We're off in a few minutes to find dinner and a general store (depanneur) for soft drinks, milk, chocolate bars. The essentials. Ate Lesa's gummi bears already. Yum.
I suspect this is the home Gamache will be staying in when he visits Quebec City. My plan is to have him come here on his annual visit to his mentor in the Surete - now retired. I mention him in Still Life. And I think this is that mentor's home. Though I think I'll add another bathroom.
This magic I do.
We're in Quebec City! Arrived by train at 4pm...waited with a very long line of fellow travellers (so to speak) outside in the snow and blow for taxi's. None. Not a one. And then, when one did arrive and stopped to let someone out, someone at the back of the line tried to take it.
There was almost a riot.
Happened almost everytime a taxi didn't stop exactly where it should, someone at the back, or someone who couldn't be bothered to even join the line, tried to steal it. I cut in once and made someone take their luggage out of the cab and waved to the man at the front of the line to grab the taxi instead. When I finished and walked back to my place in line the others in the line applauded.
I'll tell you, it felt better than a good reivew (and those feel pretty good).
But eventually our time came, and within minutes we were at the home we've rented for a month.
It's better then I dreamed! We haven't been outside yet to explore the immediate neighborhood, but we have unpacked. That always feels good. That and going to the washroom for the first time in a new place. I think maybe I have more in common with Maggie than Michael.
You'll never guess...I howled with laughter. Up above our bed there are these stunning B&W photos of New York City...and the one right over my side of the bed is of the Flatiron building. Certainly iconic. But it also happens to be where my publishers offices are. St Martins Press has the Flatiron. Can you believe it? Not sure if it's a good omen or not. I choose to think it's a great omen for A Rule Against Murder...and for the book I'm researching here in Quebec City.
let me tell you about the home.
You walk in directly to the large living room with a fireplace, wood floors and three huge windows with shutters. The walls are 2 feet thick. Off the living room is the kitchen (small but totally modern with stainless steel appliances) and dining room combo. This is the real 'wow'. The entire wall is exposed old stone, with two more huge windows and a cathedral ceiling going up to the top of the house - 3 floors.
Up a narrow, uneven wooden stairway, worn down by centuries of feet - grasping the stunning, simple wood railing - up a floor to a loft office, a bathroom and a large guest bedroom.
Then to the top floor - up more narrow wooden stairs - to the open concept master bedroom, with cathedral ceiling, beams, dormers. It's immense. And a wooden railing looking down onto the dining room below.
In the basement there's another bedroom - with windows...and a kind of makeshift powder room - but there're wonderful LG washer and dryer. Heaven.
The only drawback is only one real bathroom, and it's on the floor below the master...and one of us often gets up in the night...hmmm. But Michael has test-driven the stairs and says they're perfectly safe. I suggested a bedpan, but he's strangely resistant.
We're off in a few minutes to find dinner and a general store (depanneur) for soft drinks, milk, chocolate bars. The essentials. Ate Lesa's gummi bears already. Yum.
I suspect this is the home Gamache will be staying in when he visits Quebec City. My plan is to have him come here on his annual visit to his mentor in the Surete - now retired. I mention him in Still Life. And I think this is that mentor's home. Though I think I'll add another bathroom.
This magic I do.
Monday, 6 October 2008
Gamache
partly cloudy, cool, temps 14
Heavy dew this morning. Am tempted everytime I take the dogs out to check on the mouse, but afraid it'll still be where I left it. Then what? So I keep myself and the dogs away and trust it found little mouse friends and is making a little mouse home for the winter.
Rented and watched my new favorite movie. Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day. Wonderful. Frances McDormand is brilliant, as is Amy Grant...very fun and funny. And warm. Loved, loved, loved it! Am planning to buy it now.
But the real revelation was the man who plays Joe. As soon as I saw him I thought - there's Gamache. His name is Ciaran Hinds. And my friend Sharon (who also has a crush on him) says that he was in the mini-series Rome.
In Miss Pettigrew he plays a character much like Gamache - it was quite eerie. But lovely too.
Am doing odds and ends today...email still not fixed - Nancy coming about 3:30 this afternoon. Sshe's an avid golfer and I suspect she might be taking advantage of these last days before the snow.
More tomorrow - be well.
Heavy dew this morning. Am tempted everytime I take the dogs out to check on the mouse, but afraid it'll still be where I left it. Then what? So I keep myself and the dogs away and trust it found little mouse friends and is making a little mouse home for the winter.
Rented and watched my new favorite movie. Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day. Wonderful. Frances McDormand is brilliant, as is Amy Grant...very fun and funny. And warm. Loved, loved, loved it! Am planning to buy it now.
But the real revelation was the man who plays Joe. As soon as I saw him I thought - there's Gamache. His name is Ciaran Hinds. And my friend Sharon (who also has a crush on him) says that he was in the mini-series Rome.
In Miss Pettigrew he plays a character much like Gamache - it was quite eerie. But lovely too.
Am doing odds and ends today...email still not fixed - Nancy coming about 3:30 this afternoon. Sshe's an avid golfer and I suspect she might be taking advantage of these last days before the snow.
More tomorrow - be well.
Sunday, 3 February 2008
Let's hope I'm not writing the 'long bomb'.
Overcast, light snow expected, mild, highs minus 2
We're off to Montreal today - plan to spend almost a week away from the country home, though it's actually quite fun. Feels like a vacation. We have lots of doctors and dentists appointments - happily just check-ups. Amazing how many pieces need to be checked-up as we age. Taking the car in to be serviced. It's a Volvo. We love it. Not completely co-incidently, Gamache drives a Volvo.
Speaking of him, I continued writing the book yesterday - the scene that introduces Gamache, Beauvoir etc. Each scene I write, particularly at the beginning, needs to have at least two purposes, so the story is driven along. Often, especially at the beginning, the purposes are scene and tone setting (crucial at the opening of any novel), pace setting, introducing characters and often a clue or red herring. The clues are sometimes physical, sometimes psychological or emotional...common threads.
But, most of the time, the exact method of doing all this - the contents of the scene, are a mystery to me until I actually sit down and write. Now, sometimes at the end I think - well, that's crap. That just doesn't work. But often I sit back and wonder where it came from. So many unexpected things happen. That's the beauty of planning, but not over doing it. It's a learning process, and I do it imperfectly, but I really need to leave space for inspiration. Perhaps even the divine. Those moments when ideas appear on the page out of the blue, or themes are sharpened without my even planning it. How wonderful that feeling is. Way makes up for all the agonizing and insecurities and fears.
I remember reading about Hitchcock, who was a famous planner. He story-boarded everything...every scene, so that it looked like a graphic novel before he shot a frame of film. He said that was the creative bits....as a result, the actual filming bored him to tears. I'd rather not get to that stage - so scrutinize and organize and plan a book that there was no room to breath, to see where a scene went. And not enjoy the writing.
Must run - pack up for Montreal - then on to Quebec City on Thursday for CBC radio's Sounds Like Canada. (If you live in Quebec City, we'll be doing the national radio show live at the Chateau Frontenac on Friday morning, starting at 9am. - come along and say hi to Shelagh Rogers, my friend Susan McKenzie ((she's a CBC network producer)) and Michael and me)
I'll be writing this morning, then driving to Montreal in the afternoon, ordering pizza and watching the Super Bowl. Not sure who to root for. Who doesn't love an underdog? So I'm drawn to the Giants. But also really hate to see the Patriots remarkable streak come to an end. And as much as I try not to like Tom Brady I do. I think he's just an amazing athlete, and I admire that. Great poise. Great courage. So really, whoever wins, I'm happy. I suspect that might be a female thing.
Speak soon, be well.
We're off to Montreal today - plan to spend almost a week away from the country home, though it's actually quite fun. Feels like a vacation. We have lots of doctors and dentists appointments - happily just check-ups. Amazing how many pieces need to be checked-up as we age. Taking the car in to be serviced. It's a Volvo. We love it. Not completely co-incidently, Gamache drives a Volvo.
Speaking of him, I continued writing the book yesterday - the scene that introduces Gamache, Beauvoir etc. Each scene I write, particularly at the beginning, needs to have at least two purposes, so the story is driven along. Often, especially at the beginning, the purposes are scene and tone setting (crucial at the opening of any novel), pace setting, introducing characters and often a clue or red herring. The clues are sometimes physical, sometimes psychological or emotional...common threads.
But, most of the time, the exact method of doing all this - the contents of the scene, are a mystery to me until I actually sit down and write. Now, sometimes at the end I think - well, that's crap. That just doesn't work. But often I sit back and wonder where it came from. So many unexpected things happen. That's the beauty of planning, but not over doing it. It's a learning process, and I do it imperfectly, but I really need to leave space for inspiration. Perhaps even the divine. Those moments when ideas appear on the page out of the blue, or themes are sharpened without my even planning it. How wonderful that feeling is. Way makes up for all the agonizing and insecurities and fears.
I remember reading about Hitchcock, who was a famous planner. He story-boarded everything...every scene, so that it looked like a graphic novel before he shot a frame of film. He said that was the creative bits....as a result, the actual filming bored him to tears. I'd rather not get to that stage - so scrutinize and organize and plan a book that there was no room to breath, to see where a scene went. And not enjoy the writing.
Must run - pack up for Montreal - then on to Quebec City on Thursday for CBC radio's Sounds Like Canada. (If you live in Quebec City, we'll be doing the national radio show live at the Chateau Frontenac on Friday morning, starting at 9am. - come along and say hi to Shelagh Rogers, my friend Susan McKenzie ((she's a CBC network producer)) and Michael and me)
I'll be writing this morning, then driving to Montreal in the afternoon, ordering pizza and watching the Super Bowl. Not sure who to root for. Who doesn't love an underdog? So I'm drawn to the Giants. But also really hate to see the Patriots remarkable streak come to an end. And as much as I try not to like Tom Brady I do. I think he's just an amazing athlete, and I admire that. Great poise. Great courage. So really, whoever wins, I'm happy. I suspect that might be a female thing.
Speak soon, be well.
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