"This is why, why we fight, why we lie awake." 2
My camera has had enough of snow. I meant to go Outside yesterday, but the sky and ground were the same moldy grey color, and it just didn't happen. Currently, its sunny and 23˚F in Providence. Last night was my second night off Seroquel, and, for whatever reason, it was harder than the first. I might have slept five hours, maybe. I look as if I only slept three.
But there was a significant breakthrough yesterday as regards the writing of Cherry Bomb. Talking with Kathryn, Chapter Five fell into place. And the remainder of the novel became somewhat less murky. The word count stands at 41,211. As I edit, I've been deleting more than I add, and, given that the book's length has expanded from ~70k words to ~100k words, I'm definitely going backwards. Yesterday was the first time in two months I've felt as if there was any progress forward, and, even then, most of that was the aforementioned conversation. I only wrote 331 words of actual new text, adding a bit more to the end of Chapter Four. Today, with luck and diligence, I begin Chapter Five.
Way back on the twenty-third of December, Publishers Weekly printed this review of Pink Delicious:
Gritty urban fantasy meets old-fashioned noir in this high-octane sequel to Blood Oranges. The ever-bellicose Siobhan Quinn-a witty, worldly, pop-culture-savvy, and profane antihero-is both vampire and werewolf, which hasn't derailed her career hunting supernatural "nasties." She's increasingly frustrated with the status quo of feeding on outcasts while remaining at her employer's beck and call. Quinn (never call her Siobhan) is sent to track down the missing daughter of a renowned local necromancer, only to become embroiled in a situation that is far more complicated and dangerous than she realizes. The plot, which centers on a search for a missing magical artifact, borrows explicitly from old noir stories, and Kiernan manages to also make it relevant to her frequently reprinted "The Maltese Unicorn,"* though the story's inclusion here feels forced. Nonetheless, Quinn, her compatriots, and the setting remain entirely original. While this lacks some of the freshness of the first book, fans are sure to enjoy it all the same. (Feb.)
I'm seeing disagreement over whether for not "The Maltese Unicorn" works as part of the novel, but given the whole novel is constructed around it, I'm not sure I can see how the novel would function, otherwise. Still, good review.
Night before last, we watched Pulp Fiction (1994) for the first time in years. The summer of the film's release, I saw it more than ten times in the theater. It was a revelation, and almost twenty years later it remains a revelation. But that "twenty years later" part is freaking me out. That summer, my first in Athens, Georgia, doesn't seem that far away - even if it does encompass two-fifths of my life and almost my entire writing career. I was writing Silk then (begun October 11, 1993, and finished in January 1996) and the short stories that eventually became Tales of Pain and Wonder. I have often credited Pulp Fiction with teaching me to write dialogue. Yeah, that's an overstatement, but it has a healthy chunk of truth in it.
Also, the latest episode of Archer ("Archer Vice: House Call") is so fucking, unrelentingly hilarious that we had to watch it twice because we were laughing so hard we missed half the jokes the first time through.
Oh, and there's more snow on the way. No, really.
Wake Up, Puppy,
Aunt Beast
* "The Maltese Unicorn" has been reprinted three times since 2011, four if you count its inclusion in Pink Delicious.
But there was a significant breakthrough yesterday as regards the writing of Cherry Bomb. Talking with Kathryn, Chapter Five fell into place. And the remainder of the novel became somewhat less murky. The word count stands at 41,211. As I edit, I've been deleting more than I add, and, given that the book's length has expanded from ~70k words to ~100k words, I'm definitely going backwards. Yesterday was the first time in two months I've felt as if there was any progress forward, and, even then, most of that was the aforementioned conversation. I only wrote 331 words of actual new text, adding a bit more to the end of Chapter Four. Today, with luck and diligence, I begin Chapter Five.
Way back on the twenty-third of December, Publishers Weekly printed this review of Pink Delicious:
Gritty urban fantasy meets old-fashioned noir in this high-octane sequel to Blood Oranges. The ever-bellicose Siobhan Quinn-a witty, worldly, pop-culture-savvy, and profane antihero-is both vampire and werewolf, which hasn't derailed her career hunting supernatural "nasties." She's increasingly frustrated with the status quo of feeding on outcasts while remaining at her employer's beck and call. Quinn (never call her Siobhan) is sent to track down the missing daughter of a renowned local necromancer, only to become embroiled in a situation that is far more complicated and dangerous than she realizes. The plot, which centers on a search for a missing magical artifact, borrows explicitly from old noir stories, and Kiernan manages to also make it relevant to her frequently reprinted "The Maltese Unicorn,"* though the story's inclusion here feels forced. Nonetheless, Quinn, her compatriots, and the setting remain entirely original. While this lacks some of the freshness of the first book, fans are sure to enjoy it all the same. (Feb.)
I'm seeing disagreement over whether for not "The Maltese Unicorn" works as part of the novel, but given the whole novel is constructed around it, I'm not sure I can see how the novel would function, otherwise. Still, good review.
Night before last, we watched Pulp Fiction (1994) for the first time in years. The summer of the film's release, I saw it more than ten times in the theater. It was a revelation, and almost twenty years later it remains a revelation. But that "twenty years later" part is freaking me out. That summer, my first in Athens, Georgia, doesn't seem that far away - even if it does encompass two-fifths of my life and almost my entire writing career. I was writing Silk then (begun October 11, 1993, and finished in January 1996) and the short stories that eventually became Tales of Pain and Wonder. I have often credited Pulp Fiction with teaching me to write dialogue. Yeah, that's an overstatement, but it has a healthy chunk of truth in it.
Also, the latest episode of Archer ("Archer Vice: House Call") is so fucking, unrelentingly hilarious that we had to watch it twice because we were laughing so hard we missed half the jokes the first time through.
Oh, and there's more snow on the way. No, really.
Wake Up, Puppy,
Aunt Beast
* "The Maltese Unicorn" has been reprinted three times since 2011, four if you count its inclusion in Pink Delicious.