K.C. Shaw's Blog, page 10
June 24, 2012
In which I bore everyone talking about the bird
The bird is ALIVE. Yeah, seriously. He's like Indestructo-Bird. I was going to name him Robin but I think his name should actually be Hysterical, because he is. Even finches bred for hundreds of years as cage birds don't really get tame. This finch is a true wild bird. He does not like having me around him.
It looks like I'm going to have him around for a while. In fact, I hate to say this--since for one thing, it's illegal to keep wild birds as pets, not that I want to--but even if he lives I may not be able to release him. His tail is definitely broken so he can't fly although his wings are okay. It's hard to tell about his legs, but I'm not sure he can actually use both of them. They don't look broken, so I suspect he may have the bird equivalent of paralyzation from the waist down. If he can't fly and he can't perch, he can't survive in the wild.
I went to the pet store today to look at bigger cages. I liked one of them, which was roomy and wider than it is tall, with a mesh floor instead of the solid plastic floor my current cage has. But it was $60. I'm not quite ready to spend that much on a bird that might still die. So I didn't get him a cage, just some freeze-dried, shredded vegetables meant for finches; when I opened the bag, it smelled so good I wanted to stick my face in and graze.
AND I GOT JEKYLL A COLLAR. With a bell. When he goes outside, he has to wear the collar. I wasn't sure how he would react, but I think he must have worn a collar at some point in his pre-stray life. He didn't fuss even while I was adjusting the fit. It's a black collar with glow-in-the-dark moons on it, and he's very handsome wearing it. When he comes back in, I take the collar off. I'd hate to have him catch it on something and strangle himself while I'm at work.
Another thing I did today as a direct result of having a hysterical bird in my room was change my mattress out for the one in the other bedroom. I can't sleep on that other mattress because it's too soft; I prefer to sleep on a rock with a mattress pad on it. So I swapped the mattresses out and I'm going to use the other bedroom as my bedroom. The bird gets my old bedroom. That way Hysterical Robin gets more alone time, Jekyll can sleep on my bed with me again, and hopefully I'll get more sleep.
The things I do.
It looks like I'm going to have him around for a while. In fact, I hate to say this--since for one thing, it's illegal to keep wild birds as pets, not that I want to--but even if he lives I may not be able to release him. His tail is definitely broken so he can't fly although his wings are okay. It's hard to tell about his legs, but I'm not sure he can actually use both of them. They don't look broken, so I suspect he may have the bird equivalent of paralyzation from the waist down. If he can't fly and he can't perch, he can't survive in the wild.
I went to the pet store today to look at bigger cages. I liked one of them, which was roomy and wider than it is tall, with a mesh floor instead of the solid plastic floor my current cage has. But it was $60. I'm not quite ready to spend that much on a bird that might still die. So I didn't get him a cage, just some freeze-dried, shredded vegetables meant for finches; when I opened the bag, it smelled so good I wanted to stick my face in and graze.
AND I GOT JEKYLL A COLLAR. With a bell. When he goes outside, he has to wear the collar. I wasn't sure how he would react, but I think he must have worn a collar at some point in his pre-stray life. He didn't fuss even while I was adjusting the fit. It's a black collar with glow-in-the-dark moons on it, and he's very handsome wearing it. When he comes back in, I take the collar off. I'd hate to have him catch it on something and strangle himself while I'm at work.
Another thing I did today as a direct result of having a hysterical bird in my room was change my mattress out for the one in the other bedroom. I can't sleep on that other mattress because it's too soft; I prefer to sleep on a rock with a mattress pad on it. So I swapped the mattresses out and I'm going to use the other bedroom as my bedroom. The bird gets my old bedroom. That way Hysterical Robin gets more alone time, Jekyll can sleep on my bed with me again, and hopefully I'll get more sleep.
The things I do.
June 21, 2012
Bird Update
The finch is still breathing, although I don't think it'll be for much longer. Poor little bird! Today was the first time I got a decent look at his injury, and...let's just say I won't be posting any pictures. I am astounded that he's lived this long.
I thought about taking him outside tonight to let some critter kill him swiftly, because he's got to be in serious pain. But then I thought, 'well, it's too late for that, let him stay where he's safe and has food and water.' So I am.
I was going to be hysterical about it and sleep on the couch tonight so I wouldn't have to move his cage. Every morning I put his cage on my bed so he can see out the window and get some (indirect, not too hot) sunshine. But I went ahead and moved him back to the dresser so I can sleep in my bed tonight. There's no need to be silly.
I'm probably coming across as awfully callous, but I've been through this too often with hurt birds to get emotionally invested. If it was Jekyll, I'd be miserable. Then again, if it was Jekyll, I'd have taken him to the vet. Wild birds don't get a vet trip, they just get a chance to heal in a safe place.
Now I have to go back to writing Shadow Trail, which is 35,000 words long and nearing Act 3 and the big finale. I'm not going to have enough plot to make it to 60,000 words as I'd planned. But if I can make it to 50,000 I think it'll be okay for a younger YA.
I thought about taking him outside tonight to let some critter kill him swiftly, because he's got to be in serious pain. But then I thought, 'well, it's too late for that, let him stay where he's safe and has food and water.' So I am.
I was going to be hysterical about it and sleep on the couch tonight so I wouldn't have to move his cage. Every morning I put his cage on my bed so he can see out the window and get some (indirect, not too hot) sunshine. But I went ahead and moved him back to the dresser so I can sleep in my bed tonight. There's no need to be silly.
I'm probably coming across as awfully callous, but I've been through this too often with hurt birds to get emotionally invested. If it was Jekyll, I'd be miserable. Then again, if it was Jekyll, I'd have taken him to the vet. Wild birds don't get a vet trip, they just get a chance to heal in a safe place.
Now I have to go back to writing Shadow Trail, which is 35,000 words long and nearing Act 3 and the big finale. I'm not going to have enough plot to make it to 60,000 words as I'd planned. But if I can make it to 50,000 I think it'll be okay for a younger YA.
June 17, 2012
It's a bird! It's a...okay, yeah, it's a bird.
Yesterday afternoon I was sitting right here at my computer, as usual, when Jekyll the cat came in to tell me something. He was very insistent, so I got up and followed him to the bathroom across the hall.
There he had left me a little gift, a house finch (maybe a purple finch? I can't tell the difference) he had caught. It wasn't dead, which put me in a terrible position. I mean, yes, cats kill little animals and birds; it's just one of those things they do, although Jekyll hasn't shown any skill at it until now. And yes, it was sweet that he had brought it inside to give to me. But it wasn't dead. And it was fluttering around pathetically in the bathroom, trying to fly away, and Jekyll was showing every sign of wanting to play with it some more.
I scooped the bird up and took it outside, and sat next to it for a few minutes to see if it would recover or die. It sat there, refusing to stop breathing. I thought about leaving it there, but I knew another critter would just come along and kill it if I did. So I went inside, got one of the cat's little bowls (irony!) and half-filled it with some oat seeds that I bought to grow so the cat has greens to nibble on. Then I went back out, caught the terrified bird, and plopped him in the bowl to use as a nest.
I left him shut in my room for about an hour. I fully expected him to be dead when I returned. But when I checked on him...he was gone. Vanished in a small bedroom. It took me a good twenty minutes to find him hiding behind the curtain. I returned him to the bowl/nest and went out to buy a cage.
Thirty bucks later, the bird was in a nice little temporary cage with finch seed and water and deep bedding made of ground-up corncobs (although I probably should have just used newspaper; the corncob stuff is already everywhere). I draped a very sheer scarf over the cage to make him feel more secure without smothering him, and went to bed (cat shut out of the room, of course; he was not happy).
The bird was still alive this morning and ate some of the seed. So maybe he'll survive. I've never had any luck nursing injured birds back to health, though. They always die. I think this one has a broken tailbone and one of his legs may be injured too. He can only hitch around awkwardly, can't stand properly, and can't fly properly. His wings appear uninjured, though. If he makes it through a week, I think I can keep him alive until his tail mends. I'll keep everyone posted.
Oh, and Jekyll...geez, I dunno what to do with him. Catching mice, yes, I want him to do that. Birds, no. Hopefully this was a fluke.
There he had left me a little gift, a house finch (maybe a purple finch? I can't tell the difference) he had caught. It wasn't dead, which put me in a terrible position. I mean, yes, cats kill little animals and birds; it's just one of those things they do, although Jekyll hasn't shown any skill at it until now. And yes, it was sweet that he had brought it inside to give to me. But it wasn't dead. And it was fluttering around pathetically in the bathroom, trying to fly away, and Jekyll was showing every sign of wanting to play with it some more.
I scooped the bird up and took it outside, and sat next to it for a few minutes to see if it would recover or die. It sat there, refusing to stop breathing. I thought about leaving it there, but I knew another critter would just come along and kill it if I did. So I went inside, got one of the cat's little bowls (irony!) and half-filled it with some oat seeds that I bought to grow so the cat has greens to nibble on. Then I went back out, caught the terrified bird, and plopped him in the bowl to use as a nest.
I left him shut in my room for about an hour. I fully expected him to be dead when I returned. But when I checked on him...he was gone. Vanished in a small bedroom. It took me a good twenty minutes to find him hiding behind the curtain. I returned him to the bowl/nest and went out to buy a cage.
Thirty bucks later, the bird was in a nice little temporary cage with finch seed and water and deep bedding made of ground-up corncobs (although I probably should have just used newspaper; the corncob stuff is already everywhere). I draped a very sheer scarf over the cage to make him feel more secure without smothering him, and went to bed (cat shut out of the room, of course; he was not happy).
The bird was still alive this morning and ate some of the seed. So maybe he'll survive. I've never had any luck nursing injured birds back to health, though. They always die. I think this one has a broken tailbone and one of his legs may be injured too. He can only hitch around awkwardly, can't stand properly, and can't fly properly. His wings appear uninjured, though. If he makes it through a week, I think I can keep him alive until his tail mends. I'll keep everyone posted.
Oh, and Jekyll...geez, I dunno what to do with him. Catching mice, yes, I want him to do that. Birds, no. Hopefully this was a fluke.
June 14, 2012
The Ugliest Kitten in the World
Well, she's not. Not the ugliest kitten in the world, that is. She's not my kitten, either; she belongs to the granddaughter of a friend of my mom's, the same woman who gave me Jekyll, who comes over to visit Jekyll (and me) occasionally. Tonight she brought the kitten.
<--I would like to reassure everyone that she is playing with a toy fish. Not a toy anything else. Just FYI.
I think the kitten's gorgeous. If I didn't already have Jekyll, and if it didn't require stealing a kitten from a little girl, I'd have kept her. She's a dark calico with a light gray undercoat, which makes her look like she's been rolling in soot, and her eyes are a remarkable dark amber--almost as brown as a dog's eyes.
So there it is: beauty is as subjective as anything else. Here is a picture of Jekyll too so he won't get jealous.
June 12, 2012
Today I kill a man
Work on Shadow Trail is moving along briskly, I am happy to report. Camp NaNoWriMo has really helped me stay on task, so even though I'm behind in word count, I'm way ahead where I would have been otherwise. I'm up to 21,000 words total, although almost 6,000 of those words were written pre-June.
I have an outline, but I've added so much to the plot that I need to rewrite it. And I hadn't planned on this book being so fast-paced, so some of the chapters I had planned are going to be jettisoned starting today. For instance, according to the outline, the chapter I'm about to write should have had my main characters Marian and Jacob* hiking a few miles with a group of other refugees, with Marian getting increasingly worried about the noise they're making. Instead, in the New, Improved Outline, the chapter starts with the camp getting raided overnight and Marian and Jacob--who wisely camped well away from the others--discovering that everyone is gone. And I will probably have at least one person die.
And of course there will be a couple of people who escaped the capture, although I'm not sure what to do with them yet. But I'll figure it out.
This is a YA with light SF elements and a sweet romance between the two main characters, so with its pace being so fast I think I can wrap it all up in no more than 65,000 words. It would be wonderful if I could finish the whole thing by the end of June, because I've got another project, working title Wharf Rat, that I want to work on next. I started Wharf Rat a few weeks ago to see if I could write grimdark fantasy that's so popular these days. Well, I can't, but instead it's turning out funny as hell.
*Remember guy-who-looks-just-like-Alex? Who I said one day I would use his real name for a character? That's him.
I have an outline, but I've added so much to the plot that I need to rewrite it. And I hadn't planned on this book being so fast-paced, so some of the chapters I had planned are going to be jettisoned starting today. For instance, according to the outline, the chapter I'm about to write should have had my main characters Marian and Jacob* hiking a few miles with a group of other refugees, with Marian getting increasingly worried about the noise they're making. Instead, in the New, Improved Outline, the chapter starts with the camp getting raided overnight and Marian and Jacob--who wisely camped well away from the others--discovering that everyone is gone. And I will probably have at least one person die.
And of course there will be a couple of people who escaped the capture, although I'm not sure what to do with them yet. But I'll figure it out.
This is a YA with light SF elements and a sweet romance between the two main characters, so with its pace being so fast I think I can wrap it all up in no more than 65,000 words. It would be wonderful if I could finish the whole thing by the end of June, because I've got another project, working title Wharf Rat, that I want to work on next. I started Wharf Rat a few weeks ago to see if I could write grimdark fantasy that's so popular these days. Well, I can't, but instead it's turning out funny as hell.
*Remember guy-who-looks-just-like-Alex? Who I said one day I would use his real name for a character? That's him.
May 30, 2012
Evil Outfitters, Ltd is now available!
Look at that! I have a new book out! Double Dragon Books had originally scheduled
Evil Outfitters, Ltd
for release at the end of the year. Then it got moved up to July. Then a slot opened up in the publishing schedule, and it's out now!It's set in the same world as Jack of All Trades, if you liked that one. It'll probably take a few days to appear on Amazon, but you can order the book from the publisher at the link above. There's also an excerpt of the first chapter on that page.
May 23, 2012
Nothing much
I don't have anything much to say except I'm sick of looking at that photo of my catfish dinner from the other week. I've discovered that the picture is only interesting if I'm hungry. Otherwise it's disgusting. So I'm going to scroll it down a little by posting.
I brought my writing files up to date this evening. I have a plastic box with hanging file folders inside where I keep copies of contracts and so forth. It's useful to have it all in one place in case I need to check something. And as it happens, I discovered I have my rights back to a few older pieces. Now I need to find time to dig up reprint markets.
Tomorrow I have to go in to work at 8am and I probably won't get home until after 10pm. This is really, really unusual, fortunately, and with luck it's the last day like this I'll have to endure. I'm actually filling in tomorrow evening for someone who's on family leave. It's a secondary contract to my main job, so I get a separate little paycheck and everything. It won't be much money, but every little bit helps. But oh, do I dread tomorrow night.
Oh, and I've signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo for June! It's like regular NaNo but you pick a month in the summer to do it! I wasn't going to bother, but I want to work on my new YA project (working title: Shadow Trail) and this will be a good way to get a lot of words down quickly. I have an outline already, so it should go pretty smoothly. (Famous last words, of course. I just jinxed myself.)
I brought my writing files up to date this evening. I have a plastic box with hanging file folders inside where I keep copies of contracts and so forth. It's useful to have it all in one place in case I need to check something. And as it happens, I discovered I have my rights back to a few older pieces. Now I need to find time to dig up reprint markets.
Tomorrow I have to go in to work at 8am and I probably won't get home until after 10pm. This is really, really unusual, fortunately, and with luck it's the last day like this I'll have to endure. I'm actually filling in tomorrow evening for someone who's on family leave. It's a secondary contract to my main job, so I get a separate little paycheck and everything. It won't be much money, but every little bit helps. But oh, do I dread tomorrow night.
Oh, and I've signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo for June! It's like regular NaNo but you pick a month in the summer to do it! I wasn't going to bother, but I want to work on my new YA project (working title: Shadow Trail) and this will be a good way to get a lot of words down quickly. I have an outline already, so it should go pretty smoothly. (Famous last words, of course. I just jinxed myself.)
May 14, 2012
I want to finish all the things
My success so far this year finishing up both Bloodhound and The Cabin on Wildwood Hill has made me eager to finish more projects. I certainly have enough active files in my WIP folder. I've been working on Adventures in Zoology, which is more than half done already, but my recent work editing and finally proofing The Weredeer (for release in early summer!) has made me interested in one of its unfinished sequels, Stag in Ruin.
I have started a new, untitled YA and I think it's going to be pretty good. I'm not hurrying with it, though. This time of year I rarely plunge into a new project. It's more time to peck around and finish up old ones. And that's fine with me.
I have started a new, untitled YA and I think it's going to be pretty good. I'm not hurrying with it, though. This time of year I rarely plunge into a new project. It's more time to peck around and finish up old ones. And that's fine with me.
May 8, 2012
Three Pictures Make a Post
I had some pictures on my camera that I just processed. They have nothing to do with anything. The first is my supper last night, which was catfish. Very good catfish! I picked it up at our little local store because I suspected it was probably locally caught, and I think I was right. It was certainly very fresh fish. I couldn't eat it all, but I sure tried.
My recipe for pan-fried catfish: Mix about 1/2 cup cornmeal with 1 tsp cayenne pepper and 1 tsp paprika, some fresh-ground pepper, and a little bit of salt in a big, fairly shallow bowl or pan. Pour maybe 1/4 c olive oil into a frying pan and heat. Mince two cloves of garlic and put into the oil. Rinse catfish fillets, shake off most of the water, and press into the cornmeal mixture until each fillet is covered on both sides. Place fillets into frying pan on top of garlic. Cook six or seven minutes on each side until flaky and cooked through, and salt a little bit whenever you flip the fillets. Squirt lots of fresh lemon over the fillets just before eating. Yum.
The next picture is Jekyll sitting on the pergola, taunting me. I did finally figure out he can get down by himself. He drives me crazy sometimes.
And finally, I found these little copper thingies on etsy and bought them--they were only a few bucks in all, including shipping. I don't know what to do with them but I love looking at them. They are so little and perfect.
My recipe for pan-fried catfish: Mix about 1/2 cup cornmeal with 1 tsp cayenne pepper and 1 tsp paprika, some fresh-ground pepper, and a little bit of salt in a big, fairly shallow bowl or pan. Pour maybe 1/4 c olive oil into a frying pan and heat. Mince two cloves of garlic and put into the oil. Rinse catfish fillets, shake off most of the water, and press into the cornmeal mixture until each fillet is covered on both sides. Place fillets into frying pan on top of garlic. Cook six or seven minutes on each side until flaky and cooked through, and salt a little bit whenever you flip the fillets. Squirt lots of fresh lemon over the fillets just before eating. Yum.
The next picture is Jekyll sitting on the pergola, taunting me. I did finally figure out he can get down by himself. He drives me crazy sometimes.
And finally, I found these little copper thingies on etsy and bought them--they were only a few bucks in all, including shipping. I don't know what to do with them but I love looking at them. They are so little and perfect.
May 4, 2012
I have reached grandmaster status in boring
The spring semester is over at last. Finals week has been punishing as usual. Back when I was in college, I never dreamed that one day I'd be on the other side of the tests (for those of you playing along at home, I am a test proctor/invigilator in my day job) and that it would be worse than taking the tests myself.
I've worked here four years now, so I know not to ask too much of myself during finals week. I can be productive next week, not now. Fortunately, the only thing I have due at the moment are the proofs for The Weredeer (yes, we're close!). Unfortunately, I have enmeshed myself in an online game.
It's called Ultima Online. I quit playing maybe five years ago and honestly thought the game had closed down. Through really byzantine means--by which I mean that I didn't actually seek it out--I found out a few days ago that the game is still going. So I opened up my old account for the heck of it, and lo and behold all my characters are still there and so are their skills and all their stuff.
This game was a pure time sink for me for years. I can see that it won't be that way for me soon; I figure after a few weeks max, I'll be getting bored with it again, and I'm already finding myself shutting down after a while and doing something else. But I have also spent many hours over the last two days just wasting time in the game. You know what's a time-waster and boring? Fishing in an online game. And yet I spent two-plus hours last night doing just that.
That's fine for finals week. But not next week, when I don't have an excuse to waste time.
I've worked here four years now, so I know not to ask too much of myself during finals week. I can be productive next week, not now. Fortunately, the only thing I have due at the moment are the proofs for The Weredeer (yes, we're close!). Unfortunately, I have enmeshed myself in an online game.
It's called Ultima Online. I quit playing maybe five years ago and honestly thought the game had closed down. Through really byzantine means--by which I mean that I didn't actually seek it out--I found out a few days ago that the game is still going. So I opened up my old account for the heck of it, and lo and behold all my characters are still there and so are their skills and all their stuff.
This game was a pure time sink for me for years. I can see that it won't be that way for me soon; I figure after a few weeks max, I'll be getting bored with it again, and I'm already finding myself shutting down after a while and doing something else. But I have also spent many hours over the last two days just wasting time in the game. You know what's a time-waster and boring? Fishing in an online game. And yet I spent two-plus hours last night doing just that.
That's fine for finals week. But not next week, when I don't have an excuse to waste time.
