Jennifer Crusie's Blog, page 170
December 5, 2018
Working Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Yesterday I spent the day at the hospital waiting on doctors to tell me what they’re going to put in my chest to keep me from dying. Fortunately, my kid was with me, so it wasn’t a completely annoying hurry up and wait experience. Today, I’m finishing up Act Two and Three which I would have been finished with earlier this week if other traumas and the hospital day hadn’t sucked up my brain bandwidth. The problem with making things isn’t making things, it’s getting all the stuff out of the way that’s keeping you from making things.
What did you get to make/do/whatever this week?
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December 4, 2018
December 3, 2018
Demonic Amusement Park Attractions: Names, Anyone?
I loved the names you came up with for the bowling alley, but I couldn’t stop laughing at “Pins and Sins” (thank you, Lynn) so I made it a bowling alley/massage parlor. The mayor bowls there. I think whoever said the realtor would probably be something like “Demon Island Realty” was probably right. You’d want something that didn’t sound like a joke if you were spending thousands of dollars. So thank you all very much for playing.
And now I have Button and Max going through the closed-for-the-season amusement park and I realized I didn’t have many names for rides and concessions. I had the names below, but I’m always open to new ideas. Anybody want to play again?
Food:
Hell Fries
Fish Styx with Tartarus Sauce
Persephone’s Pomegranate Pops (juice bars, thank you, Kim)
Park Shops
Hell’s Handbaskets (souvenir store, thank you, Nicole)
Hell Freezes Over Ice Cream (thank you, Nicole)
Park Entertainment:
Matt Demon, comedian
Rides
Highway to Hell (Roller Coaster that goes underground, thank you, Philby)
The Leviathon (huge roller coaster, thank you, thank you,Michael)
Seven Deadlies; Park Rides (thank you,Nicole Massey)
Night Mares (park ride) (thank you,Fi Mac)
Pair O’ Dice Gambling in the Park (thank you,Nicole)
The Hell-icopter (thank you, Katrina Snow)
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December 2, 2018
Happiness is Sleeping with an Animal.
Maybe I’m still on Santa Paws time, but after a day fraught with conflict and repressed anger, I am happy that I have three small dogs snoring in my bed. There’s something so completely serene about all three of them snoozing away, Milton under the covers, Mona with her legs in the air, and Veronica languishing like a diva in the quilt. I figure it’s like yawning. You know how when somebody yawns, you yawn, too? I think the complete lack of tension is catching. It’s very hard to be tense while you’re watching a puppy chases rabbits in his sleep or an old dog sigh and smile while she snoozes.
Of course, it doesn’t have to be a dog. Could be a cat. Or another animal. Maybe Chris Hemsworth. You choose.
What made you happy this week?
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December 1, 2018
Cherry Saturday, December 1, 2018
It’s the first of December and it’s getting cold, especially for the pets in shelters. No matter how much cherishing shelter workers give them (and let’s give thanks for shelter workers, that job must break hearts daily), these abandoned animals need forever homes. Until that day arrives, they also need food and blankets and toys, which is why December is Operation Santa Paws month. Give what you can to your local shelter, and while you’re giving, check out the clientele. The best gift you ever gave yourself may be right there, waiting for you.
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November 30, 2018
Argh Author: Nancy Yeager’s Clever By Half
Nancy Yeager’s new Victorian romance novella is available now on Amazon!
Too Clever by Half is the kickoff novella of the Harrow’s Finest Five series, Victorian romances about smart women, sexy men, steamy passions, and the occasional scandal. The first full-length novel in the series will be available in January 2019!
Mr. James Alcott has carved out his place in the world with an esteemed position at Harrow School. But when the school changes direction, he’s set adrift. He can redeem himself by founding a scholarship program if he wins the annual Duke’s Trust competition for seed money. A seemingly simple task. Until a mysterious competitor enters the race.
Lady Tessa Harmsworth has fabricated the reclusive Mr. Pettibone as the champion of her women’s education fund. It’s the only way a woman can enter the Duke’s Trust competition, let alone win it. And Tessa intends to win. Until her annoyingly clever opponent sets out to uncover her ruse.
As Tessa and James match wits, their spirited rivalry turns into a passionate affair. With the coveted prize hanging in the balance, they must choose between their lifelong dreams and their reckless hearts.
Stop by Nancy’s website to learn more about the book and the series; buy the book on Amazon.
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November 29, 2018
This is a Good Book Thursday, November 29, 2018
I downloaded a romance by a writer I’d never heard of (not surprising, I am completely out of the loop on romance at this point), and while the leads were charming and the setting excellent, everything kept happening as expected. It was fun to read–who doesn’t want to read about people falling in love with a happy ending–I felt no interest in buying more of the books in the series or even rereading that one again, even though I’d enjoyed it. It was the first time I’d read something and realized I didn’t want to read it again, ever, even though it had been fun to read. I think it might be the predictability of it–knowing there’s a happy ending is a romance staple does not mean knowing everything that’s going to happen is okay, too–or possibly that so much of the conflict was of the if-they’d-just-talked variety. It is also possible that I’m just a jaded bitch.
So what did you read this week?
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November 28, 2018
Working Wednesday, November 28, 2018
I’m still working on the book, which is due Dec. 3, and which will be a mess but with any luck, finished and ready for editing. As always happens at the end of a project–any project–it’s not turning out the way I expected, but I like it. This phenomenon happens whether I’m booting up a laptop, picking up a paintbrush, hooking yarn, or planning a garden. I’ve decided to embrace the surprise ending. It’s pretty much the only one I’m going to get anyway.
What did you make that surprised you (or possibly came out exactly as planned, :P) this week?
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November 26, 2018
Of Dog and Cat
So I wrote a dog (Stripe) and cat (Joyce) into the first act of the Nita book and then lost them. They never appear again. Well, Stripe dies, but then there was supposed to be a puppy. So I’m torn. Do I write the animals into the later acts or cut them in Act One?
On the one hand, I think animals humanize characters; the way book people respond to animals tells you a lot about who they are. Also animals are great characters on their own. Also, readers tend to want animals in my books, although that is not a reason to put them in there. Also, if I start looking for places to write them in, it’s entirely possible that it will become evident that the Girls in the Basement sent them up for a reason, and they’re essential.
On the other hand, I have no idea what to do with them, and the book is too long as it is.
It’s a dilemma.
The good news is, the truck draft is almost finished, as in has very few missing scenes. It still requires mega-editing and some beta reads and then a paper edit and . . . but not before Dec. 3 when I have to show it to people. I just have to write a couple more scenes and deal with the dog and cat.
So much progress. ARGH.
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November 25, 2018
Recipe for Happiness
I was thinking today that my recipe for happiness at the moment is one working heat source, one almost finished book, one bowl of tomato soup with crackers, and three dogs. Or this of course:
How did you cook up some happiness this week?
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