Greg Van Eekhout's Blog: Writing and Snacks - Greg van Eekhout's blog, page 21

Flame and serve

Hi. Did those among you who celebrated American Thanksgiving yesterday have a nice holiday? I sure did. I sat on the couch under a blanket, I read, I napped, Lisa and I took an evening walk by the beach, I wore a hat, I set a brown and serve roll aflame, and I ate. It was awesome.

From Snacks of 2010

A couple of new flash pieces I'd like to point out to you:

Dry Heat was released by PodCastle editor Dave Thompson ( krylyr ) as an exclusive to PodCastle forum members, but now it's been released to the wider world and you can listen to it read by Marshal Latham ( marshaldillon ). The story reflects on my long years living in Phoenix, AZ.

And over at Daily Science Fiction, you can read What Lies Between the Bread, which is about sandwiches.

Thanksgiving

Hey. Thanks. Seriously.

General updatery

Heya. How's about an update? Okay!

On Sunday I roasted a turkey. I'd only roasted a turkey once before and I don't even remember doing it, so this one might as well have been my first turkey. Turned out very nicely. If you're curious, I used Dave Lieberman's Do Nothing Turkey recipe. Since my turkey came brined, I didn't salt it, and I also stuffed the cavity with celery and carrots, since I had them handy. sarah_prineas says it looks like a roast octopus.

From
On Monday we had early Thanksgiving up at my parents' place in Culver City. My mom had a kidney transplant a little shy of a month ago, and her recovery's had some rough spots, so it was particularly nice to sit down to a family dinner around the table. Lots of stuff to be thankful there.


Had a very nice stroll around the neighborhood while my parents napped, some highlights of which I will place at the bottom of this entry.

Other stuff going on: Just took on a little freelance gig, writing a short science fiction-y skit to teach language arts skills to small sub-adults.

And I'm addressing a personal failure of this year by signing up for professional intervention. Okay, we're all friends here, so I'm going to admit to you that I haven't been able to figure out knitting on my own, so Sunday will find me at The Needlecraft Cottage, where I will get down a knit stitch or die trying.

And now, some Culver City pictures:

This is Culver Studios, formerly Ince Studios and Selznick Studios and RKO and DesiLu and maybe some others that I forget. They filmed King Kong and classic series Star Trek here.
From Hometown

A happy lion in downtown Culver City. This is about a block from my old elementary school. I used to have to maneuver around unconscious people to walk to school. Now, happy lions. The building in the background is the hotel where MGM put up the Munchkins during filming of the Wizard of Oz.
From Hometown

The Egg House. Completely, utterly, awesome house, unfortunately located across the street from a large, busy, ugly hospital.
From Hometown

Some people in Culver City live in geodesic domes.
From Hometown

And Keanu.
From Hometown

Best job in the world

Today I got to visit with the fourth and fifth graders of Christa McAuliffe Elementary in Oceanside, CA and talk to them about how I wrote Kid vs. Squid and how books get published and what a writer's life is like. I read them the chapter of the book that considers pee as a remedy for stingray stings, and then I answered a whole bunch of smart and funny questions.

Afterward I headed over to the nearby Barnes and Noble and met more readers and signed books and chatted with fellow author Gretchen Ward (Becka and the Big Bubble) and felt relief as the big stack of Kid vs. Squid copies gradually shrunk to just a handful.

I helped a man pick out a book for his grandson who doesn't like to read (he ended up with Captain Underpants), talked to a pair of brothers about why drawing in pencil is way better than drawing in crayon, and talked to a budding writer about what a nice guy Eoin Colfer is and about our favorite Harry Potter characters (she went with Luna Lovegood, I went with Snape).

Kid readers are the awesomest, and today I had the best job in the world.

From Kid vs. Squid in the Wild

Signing: Barnes and Noble, Oceanside, CA - Nov. 19, 4PM

On Friday I'll be signing books along with Gretchen Wendel (Becka and the Big Bubble) at the Barnes and Noble in Oceanside. Proceeds of all sales during the three-hour event go to support the McAuliffe Elementary School library (if you're there and buying stuff, make sure you tell the cashier you're there for McAuliffe).

Before the signing I'll be visiting students at McAuliffe. Should be fun!


Author Event, Children's Event, Bookfair

Come meet Greg Van Eekhout (Kid vs. Squid) and Gretchen Wendel (Becka and the Big Bubble). There will be fun for all ages and it's all to support McAuliffe Elementary School Library.
Friday November 19, 2010 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Oceanside
El Camino North Shopping Center, 2615 Vista Way, Oceanside, CA 92054, 760-529-0106

"..........................."

I know I tweeted this, but I don't think I elljayed it, so now I will:

There's an interview with me in the November Locus.

It is illustrated with a giant hand grenade. In the interior photo you can see that I am wearing dark blue socks with my sneakers.

Today I am trying to remember what the book I am supposed to be writing is about.

I have some short fiction projects to work on but whenever I command my brain to think about them it goes, "......................."

When your brain goes "....................." it's time to drink some orange juice. This is a fact. I learned it on PBS or maybe in school. I know it wasn't Time for Timer because he's all about eating a cold pork chop for breakfast.

I have a cold and this is the greatest tragedy ever visited upon a member of our species. I am suffering for your sins.

I just finished reading Bernard Cornwell's The Winter King, which is a very nicely done Arthur story. It's the Dark Ages, and even Arthur's noble companions get lice. Arthur so far has remained louse free, but there're two more books in the series, so I haven't lost hope.

A note on communication with me

Okay, after a stint away I'm back at my desk and slowly starting to remember what my job is. I'm hoping that soon enough I'll actually be doing my job, because while you may think my daily life is all complaining about the consistency of the whipped cream in my fru-fru pumpkin spice lattes, the truth is I don't even have whipped cream in my fru-fru pumpkin spice lattes. Why? Because I'm a man, that's why.

Where was I?

Oh. Yes. If you sent me some kind of communication, perhaps in the form of an email, and you were expecting a response and you didn't get a response, it's not necessarily because I hate you and as well hate the very idea of you. It's possible it just got lost in the crush of life. If you would still like a response to such a communication, might I trouble you to send it again or at least nudge me? Even if I hate the very idea of you, I will likely dig back through my unanswered email and send you some kind of response.

I'm not saying you'll like the response. But you'll get one.

Kisses and huggzies,
Greg

Some hometown shots

Having spent a hair shy of the last two weeks in LA and Culver City, I was hoping to have a bunch of hometown pics to post. The one I really wanted to get was the boat and the green-screen set erected in a parking lot a block from my parents' house, because that kind of thing is fairly emblematic of my old neighborhood.

But I did manage to snap off a few random shots.

Here's Flynn's Arcade in downtown Culver City, or at least the building used for the exterior shots in Tron. Actually, it's a restaurant. It's been a string of restaurants for a long time, and before that it was a bank. For most of the time I lived in Culver City, downtown was kind of sad and seedy, with a couple of rundown theaters, some bars, some nasty hotels, a liquor store, that kind of thing. Now it's bustling and trendy and I don't even mind all the hipsters so much.

From Hometown


Helm's Bakery, now home to cutting-edge furniture and interior design shops and a few good casual restaurants. There also used to be a fencing school there. Before that, of course, it was a bakery.

From Hometown

UCLA's Royce Hall. I took my first Shakespeare class in there, and also saw Ian McKellen perform in Richard III. Notice the asymmetry of the tower windows. That's because only God is perfect. Sir Ian's performance, however, was perfect. My Shakespeare prof was pretty good too.

From Hometown

Also at UCLA, Kerckhoff Coffee House. This is where I cultivated my addiction to caffeine.

From Hometown

From Hometown

And back to Culver City, this was taken on Pointsettia Court, two blocks from my parents' house, where my aunt and uncle used to live. This crazy house used to be a wall, I think, where I sometimes bounced a tennis ball. I don't think the house is quite nailing the effect it's going for, but I can't blame a person for aspiring to whimsy.

From Hometown

It's never too early to hype

Listings are starting to pop up for my next thing, The Boy at the End of the World, due out June 21, 2011.

Availability notice

I'm heading up to LA tonight and will be there for a week to two weeks while my mom undergoes and recovers from surgery. For large chunks of time, I may be away from computer and network access, so if I'm slow to respond to anything, please don't take it all personal and stuff.

While I certainly would love to see my LA friends during my stay, I don't know how much unencumbered time I'll have, so if I don't get to see you, please don't take it all personal and stuff.

'Kay.