Saturday, 14 June 2008

State of Rage

Crikey, I wasn't half in a mood yesterday! And I don't know where it came from, really. Naturally I've got the usual worries and minor crap going on in my life, but who hasn't? But I don't think any of it is enough to explain the state of psychotic rage that descended on me late yesterday morning and seemed to grip me until early evening.

It's funny, I was fine in the morning, and even managed to accomplish a task that usually turns me into a snarling beast - parcelling up books to send out - in a calm and reasonably contented manner. Then everything changed and I seemed to turn into Jack Torrance or Victor Meldrew on benzedrine or summink. Just total rage. With everything. I'd say it was like PMT, but I should be past all that crap... Maybe it's like some unexpected sunset upwelling of the hormones before I settle down to being a mildly grumpy old woman on a fairly even keel? Who knows... But it's a miracle I didn't break a lot of stuff yesterday, and some of it expensive. Thankfully, I confined my destructive tantrums to a bit of paper crumpling and mild throwing about...

Needless to say, me being me, I selected the most stupid job to do yesterday afternoon, given the above mentioned foul mood. Catching up with my accounts! Sigh... Thankfully last years are all sorted and submitted to the mendacious gouging bastards who like the bleed the average working woman in the street dry aka. the Inland Revenue. But this year's are in a bit of a muddle and need bringing up to date. Just the job to get stuck into when you're feeling like a cross between an axe murderer and a chain saw killer... But then I never did have much good sense...

The good news is that I feel quite chipper today... not ecstatic, but not enraged either... Let's hope this mildish mood survives the rest of the day, eh? :)

Friday, 13 June 2008

Daily Tweetage

  • 00:51 Daily Tweetage: 07:49 Should have been a good day yesterday, but some news on a non writing front r.. tinyurl.com/3jgedj
  • 11:28 Busy wrapping parcels of books this morning, to send to readers and reviewers. Managed to do four without becoming psychotic... miracle!!!
  • 11:50 Some progress: Well, I'm making some progress at least. I pushed on ahead with my 'Liaisons' story,.. tinyurl.com/63mbtd
  • 21:02 Ack, have been grappling with my accounts, and now I feel like throwing the whole lot out of the window! Drives me nuts!!!!
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Some progress

Well, I'm making some progress at least. I pushed on ahead with my 'Liaisons' story, and I've finished the first draft of it. Have to admit it's a bit of a bodge up towards the end, but at least I've got something to work with, and that's a relief. I'm particularly eager to get this one done in good time, because the closing date for submissions is just after I return from San Francisco, and I want to have the story polished and subbed well before I set off on my jaunt with Saskia and Madelynne.

I've also been jotting down notes for a project that will probably never come to pass, but which I chat about often with the above writing chums. More of a paranormal romance than an erotic romance, and I doubt if I'll ever get further than just thinking about it, because my plotting skills are so slight, but it amuses me to toy with the idea now and again, and it's a cause of never ending mirth when my mates tease me about this ongoing idea that has no plot, no characters, no setting etc. LOL

In other news, I'm hoping I might have something a bit more concrete to announce here sooner or later, but you know how it is with chickens and hatching... I never like to count on anything until I have definite facts. In this business, the brightest hopes can crumble to dust, and what sounded like enthusiasm and positive signage can just disappear like Scotch Mist, completely forgotten by those who inadvertently elevated one's expectations and dreams... It's just the fickle nature of the game really, nobody's fault.

Daily Tweetage

  • 07:49 Should have been a good day yesterday, but some news on a non writing front really took the shine off it, causing many worries. :(
  • 11:35 Don't worry, guys, my worry isn't life or death. Nobody is ill or anything. It's just an issue affecting many folks at the moment.
  • 16:36 Have just finished the first draft of a story, and the sense of achievement has made me feel *a lot* better, generally. Good therapy there!
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Thursday, 12 June 2008

Daily Tweetage

  • 08:29 Why have a given one of the characters in my sexy, fun, entertainment story a bunch of angst and 'issues'?
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Tuesday, 10 June 2008

Daily Tweetage

  • 00:25 Daily Tweetage: 00:24 Daily Tweetage: 01:24 Daily Tweetage: 08:25 Twitter still acting weird... # 0.. tinyurl.com/3sf7cj
  • 10:07 Erk, feeling achy this morning, and my face itches. Not a great start to the day, but maybe things will improve...
  • 10:08 2 books arrived in the post. Lover Enshrined and the Starman novelisation. Which to read? To be honest, I'm veering towards Starman.
  • 16:30 Off the roll...: Erk, I'm not feeling particularly productive today.I've had two or three pretty go.. tinyurl.com/5pfcvs
  • 17:15 I just discovered this and it made me laugh out loud! failblog.org/
  • 17:57 Wahey, I finally managed to write 400 words, with a vibe that I really like. Don't like just shagging stories... gotta be tenderness too.
  • 20:45 Back to vets with Alice. Her leg is still sore. She had to have antibiotics as well as steroids. Poor baby. She seems okay in herself tho.
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Off the roll...

Erk, I'm not feeling particularly productive today.

I've had two or three pretty good days, and written quite a bit on my Liaisons story, but today I feel tired and achy and a bit brain fuzzed and I don't feel like doing very much of anything, but lazing around. I've done my static cycling, but that was a struggle, I can tell you.

After waking up from strange dreams, I must admit the haul delivered by postie was good though, even if not much else about the day is.

I received:

1. A LOCI goodie from the wonderful Eliza. Pretty much out of the blue, and a wonderful treat.

2. A lightweight cabin bag, fluorescent pink suitcase strap, and a TSA approved luggage lock for my RWA trip. All great.

3. A DVD of AFTER THE SUNSET, comedy heist movie starring Pierce Brosnan, bit of background for Thief, if I ever get to write it.

4. Novelisation of STARMAN, by Alan Dean Foster. Have started this and it's pretty good. ADF is a very talented writer in his own right, not just some hack drafted in the reproduce the script. His writing has depth and even a certain poetry. He did the Alien novelisations too, and they're great.

5. LOVER UNSHRINED. I should already be devouring this, but have put myself off by reading too many bad reviews. I'm sure I'll read it and enjoy it, but I'll not be able to read it uncritically, as a fan, somehow. I read DARK LOVER that way, but since then, the internal editor has switched on with BDB, alas...

6. Reimagined BattleStar Galactica, eps. 1 - 4 on DVD, from Amazon DVD Rental, which will be next for my viewing pleasure. Have already watched a little bit, and think I'm going to like it very much.

Monday, 9 June 2008

Daily Tweetage

  • 00:24 Daily Tweetage: 01:24 Daily Tweetage: 08:25 Twitter still acting weird... # 08:26 Hope to continue .. tinyurl.com/5jgp5u
  • 12:39 A beautiful day in West Yorks today. No writing yet. Have been pottering about and watching a bit of Starman, whilst static cycling.
  • 12:55 Writing again...: I'm pleased to be writing again. I did 1.6K of my 'Liaisons' story yesterday, and.. tinyurl.com/4xeqcs
  • 13:52 Oh hell, I've getting stuck into watching Starman instead of doing some writing. Fail!
  • 13:54 Gawd, I should learn to speak too... 'I've getting'... what the blue blazes does that mean?????
  • 17:04 Not doing so great today. Just 500 words. Watched Starman and now I feel weepy, a mismatched vibe when I'm writing a silly erotic story. :(
  • 17:46 Have redeemed myself and done another 500, bringing wordcount up to 1K. Can officially hold my head up again... :)
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Writing again...

I'm pleased to be writing again. I did 1.6K of my 'Liaisons' story yesterday, and started to really get into it, as opposed to struggling with it and worrying about it feeling forced. Once I can get over the hurdles of actually starting something, and feeling afraid of it, I'm usually okay. But sometimes I have trouble with the concept that I'm actually in charge of the goddamned thing, and I can do what I want with it, and find myself too worried about guidelines and expectations and what I think I should be writing as opposed to what I want to write....

In other news... I was hoping that Battlestar Galactica [reimagined version] Series One would arrive from Amazon DVD rental today, but it didn't. So instead, I've started watching a DVD I bought a while back but hadn't looked at yet... STARMAN, which Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen. I love this movie, it's fun and touching and a simple but rattling good story. It always makes me cry at the end... but in a good way.

Sunday, 8 June 2008

Daily Tweetage

  • 01:24 Daily Tweetage: 08:25 Twitter still acting weird... # 08:26 Hope to continue working on my Liaisons.. tinyurl.com/5cjzug
  • 09:53 Don't think today will be a productive as yesterday. There's MotoGP *and* football on the telly... and it's fish and chips night tonight too
  • 11:11 Well, not such a bad start. Have done 250 words while watching the 125cc race! Need to get dressed now though. LOL
  • 11:31 Ack, still not dressed. Have changed my avatar and now it's not showing up properly... bad Twitter.
  • 12:45 Aw, my favourite Alvaro Bautista got pipped in the 250s... But there's still hope that Rossi will win the MotoGP... Forza Valentino!!!!
  • 12:53 Behaving like a Twit: Well, in spite of spending way to much time Twitting and reading tweets yeste.. tinyurl.com/5xn3hk
  • 14:50 Done my daily exercise. 30 mins on static cycle to Sum 41, Madonna, Oakenfold, Fatboy Slim, Groove Armada and a few others.
  • 15:57 Wahey, have done 1000 words! That's my per day target, so can happily goof off now if I want to... May do some more, or may not. :)
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Behaving like a Twit

Well, in spite of spending way to much time Twitting and reading tweets yesterday, I did manage to rack up a very respectable 1K words of my latest WIP, a short story on the theme of Liaisons for the next Black Lace short story collection. It's been a tough one to come up with something for, but I've finally managed to develop an idea and I'm actually starting to have fun with it. Am up to about 1.8K with it so far, so nearly a third done.

I'm pleased with this progress, because I wasted a helluva lot of time yesterday, not only with Twitter, but also following various blog dramas and reading reviews of books I haven't even read yet. I thought the whole day might end up being a washout, but curiously, in the evening, I thought 'sod all this!' and just opened the file and got stuck in. :)

More good news is that Alice is doing well today. Her sore leg is much less inflamed and clearly responding well the the jumbo steroid shot. She's cheerful and relaxed, and as always the case with steroid intervention, she's eating like a horse, bless her!


It's a gorgeous day today, here in West Yorkshire, but I'm indoors watching the MotoGP, and later probably the football. I don't foresee a huge amount of writing being done today, but have done a little 25o word chunk already, and have been thinking of a few plotty bits, so it's not going to be a total washout.

Daily Tweetage

  • 08:25 Twitter still acting weird... #
  • 08:26 Hope to continue working on my Liaisons story today. Have some ideas and notes, and am getting a sense of my characters. At last! #
  • 08:48 Will I get sucked into the football today? Loved the World Cup, and always did prefer watching the matches England *weren't* in! LOL #
  • 09:49 Never mind the footie, I just got sucked into following up an ongoing blog drama/war type thing and that's really hoovered up a lot of time! #
  • 11:44 Ack, I need to stop reading reviews and spoilers of Lover Enshrined or I'm going to hate the damn thing before it even arrives! #
  • 12:37 Oh dear, my kitteh Alice has a sore leg. Off to the vets with her at 2.40pm. Hope it's nothing serious. She seems pretty cheerful though... #
  • 15:23 Kitteh Alice has dermatitis.The vet has given her a steroid shot to make her more comfortable. Back to the surgery Tues to follow up. #
  • 19:41 PortiaDaCosta Blog The Patient: I had such good intentions today, vis a vis writi.. tinyurl.com/6lakcv #
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