Kim Harrison's Blog, page 33

Cacti sprouts

After long last, I’ve got cacti sprouts! Tim brought me home some seeds from the airport when he was at a cycling camp, and after about two weeks, I’ve got sprouts! I’m afraid to take them out of the dish of geminating water just yet because the “soil” is really vermiculite, and it’s going to dry out too fast. I might repot all three clay pots into a larger pot, just as they are, to help keep the moisture levels even. (And yes, that’s duckweed behind them. I’ve tried three years to overwinter duckweed, and this year, I finally managed it.)

Here’s hoping they make it. Cacti are something new for me. I’ve only been growing them for a few years, but they seem to like my office. I’ve got two that have flowered unexpectedly. That’s a big “wow” for me.

If you missed the cover reveal Tuesday, I’ll have it up probably before the week’s end for you. I’m revamping the website a smidge, not a lot, and the cover of THE DRAFTER will start to show up here and there. Today, though, I’m spending on freebies! I’m going to have two this year, one of which (the most cool) you’ll only be able to get at a signing. The other should be available for a SASE like we’ve done in years past. No hints yet! :-)

 

 

Off-site cover reveal!

The Hollywood Reporter is doing the cover reveal for THE DRAFTER. I’ll have it here tomorrow, but you can see it now, and a longer, new cover blurb, over at their site. Check it out! Let me know what you think. It’s not my usual cover, but there are elements there that I love, like the broken clock, and the break-away title.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kim-harrison-drafter-cover-revealed-781830

 

What is this “green” you speak of?

Four days of slow thaw, and the snow, apart from the shadowed places, is gone. Just in time for a spring snow, perhaps? But it is gone, and there are a few springs of green starting to show. Trilliums are about a quarter of an inch up, and the bravest of daffs, but what I was out slogging through my snow to look for were the crocus. They might not be as obvious as the chunky leaf of a daffodil, but they will bloom first, and I found one. :-)

More will follow now that the snow is off them.

 

Made it to another one

Mmmm, Friday. My favorite day of the week–Friday! Where have you been? It feels like weeks and weeks since I’ve seen you and your sisters, Saturday and Sunday. Why don’t you stay for the weekend? I’ll make a cake.

Seriously, I’ve not had a weekend in a while, (cue the violins) breaking my rule and working on the weekends to meet an ah, quick turn around on a rewrite. Whaa, wah, whaa, you might say, but there’s a reason I don’t work weekends besides wanting to spend time with my family. If you sit unmoving for eight plus hours a day for eleven days in a row, you can set yourself up for some hurt, not to mention a few extra pounds if you don’t compensate with some vigorous exercise and light meals.

But THE DRAFTER is back to the publisher, and I’m having fun working up the freebies. Talk about losing an entire day! Tim is moving on the shirts, and I’ll think I’ll have something for you in about a month. They’re shaping up nicely this year.

That spring is making inroads is just the icing on the cake.

Fish under ice

In one day we went from two feet of snow on my pond to an inch of ice between us, and this morning it is gone. Looks like I’ll be pulling dead leaves out today when/if the sun hits the pond strong enough. Right now it appears as if it will be sunny today, with clear skies as the sun comes up. I almost hate to disturb them, but if I only clean out the top part, there should be minimal disruption, and I’ll be that much further ahead when we really get to the nice weather.

So I’m working on freebies the rest of this week, and I think I’ve come up with a great logo for the series. Just waiting now to see if I can put it on a pin and keep it holographic. Dude. I’m so excited about this. More to share later. It’s just too soon right now, but I can tell you that the editorial edit is done, and copy edit is going to roar down on me like a train all too soon, and after that, ARCs!!

Long Sleep

The sun came up red twice in a row now, and whereas that usually means stormy weather, it’s been ah . . . ��quite nice the last three days. There are bare spots starting to show in my yard. I’m not really sure what to think about it, having gone through another unusually cold Michigan winter. Should I trust it and begin to relax into spring? Or stoically enjoy the few warm days, bracing for the next chill? I do believe this is our new normal, and I’m laughing at whoever changed the planting zones because our summer is “warmer.” Sure, it’s warmer. But it’s colder, too. You can’t shift your CO2 level to that of the dinosaurs and expect to keep your even, bland weather.

But back to the bare spots. It’s nice seeing them, even if the ground underneath is frozen. Roofs are clear and the icicles are gone. Gutters are again showing up through a foot of brown ice, and the city has been by to make sure the drains in front of the house are open. In short, we’re getting ready for the thaw. And so far, we’ve lucked out that it’s been slow and even.

I’m seeing ground in the warm spots in my yard. My tiny pond outside my office is just a memory of the ponds in my past, but the same joy is there when I see the ice breaking up and the rich black soil beginning to wake, showing from under what was two feet of snow.

I have plans again, and it feels good. The long sleep is over.

coffee shop rule

My editor reminded me this week about the coffee shop rule. You can have a conversation in a coffee shop, but only one per book unless it’s a reoccurring, fully realized setting that is so developed it’s almost a character in itself. Yep, I got lazy.

So-o-o-o-o I took my licks with the wet noodle and then spent the night mulling where I might shift the scene to. I even made the mistake of asking my loved ones for their advice–which is a bad idea because they all think their first idea is the best and stop looking after they come up with it. Even worse, they feel hurt when you shoot it down for a reason that makes no sense to them even when you explain why a museum or bowling alley or bookshop won’t work. (sorry, guys)

Mulling in the back of the mind isn’t always a fast prospect, but I’ve gotten better at it, and dude, there’s nothing like the feeling of sitting at your desk at 7:30 am, gritting your teeth in the knowledge that a big chunk of the fun stuff you’ve spent the last month adding is a lot of tell, not show (because of page constraints) and the almost magical realization that maybe you can bring one of those tells into the show with the right new chapter setting, and THEN realizing there’s the potential here to use that show to flesh out the relationship between the two characters in exactly the right way–one scene shift solving an issue of show don’t tell, character development, world building, and yes, not breaking the one-coffee shop rule and making my editor and me happy.

Yeah, that thing.

 

So there, old man winter

Ice on top of snow makes for very unhappy dogs. But inside, it’s spring. I’ve had this sad looking citrus plant for about four years now, and it’s just now starting to do well. Either that, or I’m just now starting to know what it needs. Regardless, I’ve got new leaves!

Zombie thing going for me

So I’m looking at the weather this morning before I head out to my office–Thor bringing down the hammer in one last bid for winter–and Tim starts in with the possibility that we bow out of our usually Tuesday night plans. I’m thinking it’s because of the potential ice, but he lovingly takes me in his arms and says, “Honey, it’s not the weather. You’ve got this zombie thing down pat.”

“Zombie thing?” I say, and then realize that yep, I’m shuffling, left leg with a slight drag, and I’m slurring. Damn. Didn’t realize I’d been working that hard. But honestly, don’t freak out or give me advice or be worried for me. I’ve done this since I was five. Best we can figure, it’s a remnant from spinal meningitis and this is just standard “Kim” practice. I’ve had the zombie thing down before zombies were a thing. We laugh. It goes away. I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in my life. (Except the two summers I worked trap lines.)

And I’m laughing my butt off since all I can think of is calling my mom and saying, “Yo! Ma! Kim’s doing the zombie thing. We might not be over tonight.”

I should know better than to work over the weekend, but when you want something, you want it, and I’m so freaking excited about sharing this new book and making it the best damn thing I’ve ever written that I forgot.

But if it doesn’t, I’ve got that zombie thing going for me. (laugh)

 

P.S. Truly I’m okay. Slept well last night and work is moving. I’m looking forward to some exercise this afternoon, and I’m happy. It’s snowing, and my office is warm.

Blue or white?

I say it’s a white dress with gold trim. My husband sees a blue dress with black trim. He thinks I’m crazy, but that dress is no more blue than the snow under my tree.

http://www.wired.com/2015/02/science-one-agrees-color-dress/