1:42 AM

[cornerofmadness]

THe time I woke up (an hour after I fell asleep) to the howls of wind, lashing rain and thunder. Fun. Mom woke up 5 minutes later and apparently both of us kept waking up every hour all night. Yay. Nothing like sleep deprivation on my longest day.

WHICH didn't suck. We managed to deal with most of the crises without killing each other. Imagine that? I couldn't.

I felt pretty good so I cooked. Lamb ragu with mint.



It's official. I don't care what meat is ground up I can't deal with the texture. That said, the sauce was pretty amazing.

STILL cramming my head into the wall about how to end the steampunk novella. Only ELD and wildrider have read it (I'm not sure i put the end up on the original fiction filter). Right now I have her breaking into the house to kill the little girl and Victor happening to be there. The editor didn't like it and said Victor's whole investigation was worthless as a result. But if I have him trailing her, then him being in that house in bed with his boyfriend makes NO sense. Sigh. NO CLUE what to do with this. And how to make it more 'steampunky' in capturing the villain. I suppose they could have something like the tesla on Warehouse 13. Seriously this is the most stressed out I've been from the editorial pov. I considered putting the end up on the locked Orig fic filter but not sure that would be helpful.

A few people have attempted to transcribe the music on the buttocks of a sinner in a Bosch painting and the results are very interesting. I think i like the choral arrangement best. Butt song from Hell

Wednesday's Reading Meme

What I've just finished reading: - The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley (I have yet to review it). This is the latest in the Flavia de Luce series, an 11 year old chemist. This hared off in a weird way that really seems to set up the next leg of her journey but it's not a leg that really sounds interesting to me so I'm very torn.

What I'm reading now : Ladies of Madrigyn by Barbara Hambly. This meets the 'bottom of the TBR pile' bingo square. It's been on my shelf since 1984. I paid 2.95$ for this. I love Hambly. I follow her blog. This is not that good so far (I think the modern reader would find it misogynistic in many ways even though most of the characters ARE women).

What I'm reading next: I THINK I'll read Home is where the Heart is or something like that by someone from my publishing house but so far I'm not impressed. I just sort of what it done with. Unless something comes in from inter-library loan.


declutter day 209 item tossed -A box of junk Why kept -Probably shoved everything off the living room table into it when Mom was coming Why tossed -It’s been in this box, judging by the dates since 2011. That is just shameful. Things are recycled, tossed or properly stored including a missing bracelet that was in there.

Comments

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

I HAD an end. The editor doesn't like it. Now I have to scrap it and rewrite it. What he wants makes little sense without me completely rewriting this from the middle on in under a week.

thanks

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

thanks. I need to print this ending i have out and see what I can do in the little time I'm given. Right now everything I have in mind is well sort of dumb

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Your spaghetti looks yummy and reminds me I haven't had any in a few weeks. The red sauce quotient in my blood is below optimal level.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

It was yummy in spite of me not liking the texture of the ground lamb

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean about the texture.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

I still can't get into ground meat

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

There are some things I can eat, and some things I cannot, due to texture. Or looks. Ewww, raisins.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

raisins are good.

But I'd probably eat a bug

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Raisins are nasty.

Well, golden ones are okay.

Depends on the bug. And whether Andrew Zimmern was offering it to me.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

that too

[0-mother-0.livejournal.com]

glad your mom is visiting, and I love the butt song from hell (you always have the best links)

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

Oh mom's not visiting. this is happening in 2 states

isn't the butt song great?

[0-mother-0.livejournal.com]

oh.. hee! sorry. it sounded like she was there

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

clarity is not my forte

[0-mother-0.livejournal.com]

*snort*

[silvrethorn.livejournal.com]

Hooray for a day that didn't suck, and dinner that turned out as advertised, not runny or burnt.

I see your editor's point here--a steampunk story's climactic scene should revolve around steampunk technology. Otherwise the steampunk element becomes disposable, and it could just as well be a historical mystery. Is there any technology you already have embedded in the story that you could convert to track the killer to the house? Or alert Victor she's going/coming there? If you have to add in a tracker thingy, yeah, you'll be rewriting half the novel in a week. Shoehorning a device into the story without rewriting probably won't work. It should be intrinsic to the plot, and revealing it to be the thing that catches the killer should be a clever, surprising use of it, not something the reader sees coming from the start. Hmm.

I think I have a box like your company's-coming box lurking around. I've made several of them, and I don't think I've found and unpacked them all. If not, they contain stuff that's been missing since long before 2011. Many mysteries could be solved if I could only remember where I put them.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

There are plenty of steampunk elements that are involved in the story just none directly related to the crime fighting. Though that does give me an idea how to work in a distraction at that moment. However, i have another more involved problem. Much like TBBT pointing out a fatal flaw in Indiana Jones (which I can not unsee) I have a similar issue.

Hahahaha at least I'm not alone

[wildrider.livejournal.com]

Oh, boy, I can't see how to fix that off the top of my head... I'd have to really think about it (although silvrethorn appears to have some good ideas).

I absolutely LOVE ground meat... but I do understand the texture thing -- I can't drink any juice that has pulp in it (those crushed fruit drinks? UGH), and I know people adore that.

I made a ground lamb and turkey stew last week we had leftovers of for days and never got tired of it - I counted that a major success.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

Yeah I know. It's like OMG WHY? How do you buy something you hate the ending of?

I don't like pulp touching my lips when I drink either. Ground meat is a huge gross out for me. It takes exceptional hamburgers to get me to eat them.


That does sound good. I'll put up this recipe. You would probably like it and it's fairly easy to boot.

[wildrider.livejournal.com]

That's one of my greatest fears in selling something. "We love this, but change everything." OMG.

Yes, I'd love the recipe! I'll stop at Sprout's tomorrow and buy more ground lamb....

(They also have ground bison and veal, for not too expensive. It's great for making bolognese...)

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

Yep, this is the first time I've had to do THIS much but I've also drawn a male editor (prehaps for the first time) and like almost every male critquer he's "hemmingway"

I'll post it up and yes it's basically bolognese. I have buffalo in the freezer too along with venison

[wildrider.livejournal.com]

Yum. I may have to get some bison -- I got some veal and lamb (and they do have venison, as well as boar -- although I wonder if "boar" isn't just a fancy work for pork).

I sometimes wonder if my fear of editors "messing with my stuff!!!" is what's REALLY kept me from sending out more.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

Well I didn't quite buy the venison and I've had boar which does taste different than pork (Thankfully I don't like pork. I can do small amounts of ham and huge mountains of bacon. It's strange how different pig tastes). I can't speak for what gets sold though (since yeah didn't buy that either)

Ah yes, well that's the thing. We know it's going to happen. Someone WILL mess with our baby.

[wildrider.livejournal.com]

I'll have to try the boar, then.

I've had venison -- it's good.

Yes, pig is weird. Thus Homer's comment, "magical animal!" after Lisa informed him that bacon, sausage, and ham all come from the same critter.

Bad editors! Bad!

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

You'd probably like it. Yes, I remember that Simpson's episode. it IS a magical animal.

I do very much like venison

very bad. At least most of the edits don't make me wonder if he's on crack and are in fact very good. Some of it is wincingly bad going HOW did i miss that