Laura Anne Gilman's Blog, page 19
January 26, 2016
A brief State of the Meerkat
The State of the Meerkat continues being "trying to figure out how to get everything done without going without sleep or downtime." As problems go, this is a good one, yeah. But I probably shouldn't have taken time out for two hours of TV last night....
(X Files, natch, and checking out Lucifer)
*burrows back down into Deadline Mode*
How's everyone else?
(X Files, natch, and checking out Lucifer)
*burrows back down into Deadline Mode*
How's everyone else?
January 24, 2016
Ramping up to go Live....
Trying to find the right place to end the first installment of "Duchess, PI" for this month's Patreon post. Do I choose the introduction of the dubious sidekick, or the run-in with the bark AND bite cops?
(oh, the delicious silliness of it all)
Also, starting to collect pet names from relevant supporters. Look for an email, if you're one of them!
And if you're not... there's still time to get in on it!
(oh, the delicious silliness of it all)
Also, starting to collect pet names from relevant supporters. Look for an email, if you're one of them!
And if you're not... there's still time to get in on it!
January 23, 2016
randomly, a WiP snippet...
"Their bedrolls untouched, they sat by the fire and listened to the horses grumble and snore, the mule's occasional flatulence loud in the too-quiet night air, as the moon rose overhead and passed through the sky, the stars faded, and the first hint of pale red appeared in the east, heralding the return of day."
Because you can be as pretty as you like with the language, but the mule is still going to fart.
Because you can be as pretty as you like with the language, but the mule is still going to fart.
January 22, 2016
For Your Amusement...
Looking through some older files, and I found the first Actual Reference to what would become SILVER ON THE ROAD....
"And I know you said there’s no market for fantasy novels set in the Old West, but one of the Devil’s West stories features a young girl who has to choose her life, on her birthday, to stay with the devil or go out on her own, and I could totally see telling her story as a woman, after she’s made that decision and what comes…. Very little actual magic, just a lot of strange, supernatural and slightly cowpunk."
Hrm. Whadda ya think? Does it sound like it's got legs?
"And I know you said there’s no market for fantasy novels set in the Old West, but one of the Devil’s West stories features a young girl who has to choose her life, on her birthday, to stay with the devil or go out on her own, and I could totally see telling her story as a woman, after she’s made that decision and what comes…. Very little actual magic, just a lot of strange, supernatural and slightly cowpunk."
Hrm. Whadda ya think? Does it sound like it's got legs?
January 21, 2016
Two Things on My Way to the Revisions...
I have been flu-shotted (late, but done), and thereby earned my Herd Immunity 2016 badge. You’re welcome. :-)
There are few things more surreal than looking at a page of literary quotes, trying to track down a reference, and seeing yourself quoted there.....
January 20, 2016
As Promised....
As promised, the first "official" post of my Patreon, although I couldn't figure out how to relevant post the photo directly. So I will post it here, and then you can go read the post itself.
Going forward, most of the posts will be patron-restricted. Minimum support of $1/month to be a patron of the (cracktastic) arts!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/welcome-to-my-s-4175978
Going forward, most of the posts will be patron-restricted. Minimum support of $1/month to be a patron of the (cracktastic) arts!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/welcome-to-my-s-4175978
January 19, 2016
OK, I'm about to do something utterly ridiculous. Possibly even redonkulous.
There will be an Official First Post at some point later today or first thing tomorrow, but, um. I may have not only committed Patreon, but Committed To Writing CrackFic.
If it please (and amuse) the court...
Several months ago, the opening line of a story came to me, and it made me crack up so hard the people at the Sunday Writing Cafe demanded to know what had gone through my mind.
The first time I met the tom, I knew he was going to be trouble. He walked in like he owned the place, not an orange tuft out of place, sleek and slick and pretending like he didn’t have a problem. I knew he had one; you could see it in their eyes, and anyway, the Human wouldn’t send me one who didn’t.
That’s what I do. I fix problems. They call me the Duchess, and I know every back alley milk-dealer and fishmonger in the city.
“Oh, you have to write that!” was the general reaction.
“There is no way anyone would buy this,” I protested. “It’d be total crackfic!” Unlike my ‘real’ mysteries, written under the name L.A. Kornetsky, where I try to keep things realistic, this would have cats and dogs and humans (and rats, because what’s pseudo-noir without a dirty rat or two?) interacting in an equal and implausible level…
“That’s why it would be so much fun!” my friends went on, because they’re Like That.
“And I don’t have time to write original fiction just to amuse myself, not with bills to pay and a diabetic cat to keep in medication…” And at that point my objections tripped over their own feet.
“Do it as a Patreon,” someone suggested, sensing my weakness. “Write the cat noir crackfic to cover the cost of CatofSize’s insulin!”
Because everyone knows that CatofSize has more fans online that I do.
But then life got busy with other things, and I pushed the story to the side….but the story kept pushing back, and I realized that writing it was going to happen, one way or the other. And CatofSize’s insulin isn’t getting any cheaper.
So here it is, your chance to encourage my more gonzo side, and see what happens in the dark corners of my mind when I haven’t had quite enough sleep and things get weird silly utterly ridiculous….
If it please (and amuse) the court...
Several months ago, the opening line of a story came to me, and it made me crack up so hard the people at the Sunday Writing Cafe demanded to know what had gone through my mind.
The first time I met the tom, I knew he was going to be trouble. He walked in like he owned the place, not an orange tuft out of place, sleek and slick and pretending like he didn’t have a problem. I knew he had one; you could see it in their eyes, and anyway, the Human wouldn’t send me one who didn’t.
That’s what I do. I fix problems. They call me the Duchess, and I know every back alley milk-dealer and fishmonger in the city.
“Oh, you have to write that!” was the general reaction.
“There is no way anyone would buy this,” I protested. “It’d be total crackfic!” Unlike my ‘real’ mysteries, written under the name L.A. Kornetsky, where I try to keep things realistic, this would have cats and dogs and humans (and rats, because what’s pseudo-noir without a dirty rat or two?) interacting in an equal and implausible level…
“That’s why it would be so much fun!” my friends went on, because they’re Like That.
“And I don’t have time to write original fiction just to amuse myself, not with bills to pay and a diabetic cat to keep in medication…” And at that point my objections tripped over their own feet.
“Do it as a Patreon,” someone suggested, sensing my weakness. “Write the cat noir crackfic to cover the cost of CatofSize’s insulin!”
Because everyone knows that CatofSize has more fans online that I do.
But then life got busy with other things, and I pushed the story to the side….but the story kept pushing back, and I realized that writing it was going to happen, one way or the other. And CatofSize’s insulin isn’t getting any cheaper.
So here it is, your chance to encourage my more gonzo side, and see what happens in the dark corners of my mind when I haven’t had quite enough sleep and things get weird silly utterly ridiculous….
January 18, 2016
TBR and TBW, 2016
I always start with good intentions and then by November totally forget to update my lists. Maybe 2016 will have more follow-through...
Movies Watched (new to me)
The Hundred Foot Journey (Young Indian boy becomes a master chef and finds love, In France. A veritable fairy tale in its events, but quite entertaining for those of us who like such things).
Books Read/Currently Reading
THE VODOO KILLINGS - Kristi Charish (ARC)
UNTITLED - Client Manuscript
MAGIC & MANNERS - C.E. Murphy (ARC)
Movies Watched (new to me)
The Hundred Foot Journey (Young Indian boy becomes a master chef and finds love, In France. A veritable fairy tale in its events, but quite entertaining for those of us who like such things).
Books Read/Currently Reading
THE VODOO KILLINGS - Kristi Charish (ARC)
UNTITLED - Client Manuscript
MAGIC & MANNERS - C.E. Murphy (ARC)
January 14, 2016
Alan Rickman, 1956-2016
As legacies go, this week gave us strong ones. We need to remember that.
That said, this week can just fuck off now.
Alan Rickman, 1946-2016
January 13, 2016
In Which I Am Awful...
Off an article about finding cannabis residue in Shakespeare's (house) pipes, there was a call for relevant/related puns. I ...did not pun. I did something possibly worse.
Sonnet 139, the first draft
O, call not me to justify the bong
That thy unkindness offers me to smoke;
Pack me not dimebag trash but a gift more strong;
Use power with power and slay me not by toke.
Tell me thou buyest elsewhere, else in my sight,
Dear heart, forbear to claim thou art too broke:
What need'st thou wound with cunning when thy might
Is more than my o'er-press’d habit can bide?
Let me excuse thee: ah! my need well knows
Those tasty snacks have been mine enemies…
*loses all forward motion, orders a pizza instead.*
Sonnet 139, the first draft
O, call not me to justify the bong
That thy unkindness offers me to smoke;
Pack me not dimebag trash but a gift more strong;
Use power with power and slay me not by toke.
Tell me thou buyest elsewhere, else in my sight,
Dear heart, forbear to claim thou art too broke:
What need'st thou wound with cunning when thy might
Is more than my o'er-press’d habit can bide?
Let me excuse thee: ah! my need well knows
Those tasty snacks have been mine enemies…
*loses all forward motion, orders a pizza instead.*
