Gillian Polack's Blog, page 180
June 4, 2012
gillpolack @ 2012-06-04T21:23:00
I have done something very cautious for Continuum. It wasn't intentionally cautious!
I mentioned to a friend that I was giving a presentation at Continuum. She knows about fifty times more than I do about the subject of the presentation that I do. It may be 62 times, maybe 105 times - we've never measured the differential. At any rate, she is totally awesome and knowledgeable and full of wisdom on all matters of Medieval craft. We talked the presentation through and she added some things I'd forgotten and she says I'll be fine. I have notes, though, just to be certain. I've been checked by a subject expert!
I'm hopefully getting more subject expert checks (science, this time) for the novel. I don't usually go to such lengths, but the time travel novel is a very special case. I'm playing with notions of fiction being a part of the historical discourse, and I'm also trying to demonstrate that time travel novels can have solid science *and* be successfully character driven and don't have to cut some of the corners of both history and people that many have done. The first six months of my doctorate I read all the time travel novels I could get hold of, and none of them are like mine. This ought to be a good thing, but instead it's prompted me to caution on the expert areas.
The other cautious thing I've done today is to print out my plans from now until late October. They're on the back of my door. If I meet every week's goal, then I shall be through this doctorate in next to no time. Alongside this there is the Beast, and after this I need a job. (I had intended to start applying for jobs now, but I won't be finished quite in time - I'll have to start applying when the next half-season of advertisements comes round.)
The back of my front door looks so very educated! The rest of it, well, I have show and tell for the Continuum talk, and I also have notes. This is more than I usually have. And if it all goes hopelessly wrong, I have promised Sean Wright jokes about a certain saint. I didn't actually promise him them in my talk, but I did promise. Also, I have distinctly unmedieval chocolate for all my panels and presentations from Saturday morning*.
*Friday night is not as well supplied unless I can manage Canberra-Glenhuntly-Continuum in the appropriate time.
I mentioned to a friend that I was giving a presentation at Continuum. She knows about fifty times more than I do about the subject of the presentation that I do. It may be 62 times, maybe 105 times - we've never measured the differential. At any rate, she is totally awesome and knowledgeable and full of wisdom on all matters of Medieval craft. We talked the presentation through and she added some things I'd forgotten and she says I'll be fine. I have notes, though, just to be certain. I've been checked by a subject expert!
I'm hopefully getting more subject expert checks (science, this time) for the novel. I don't usually go to such lengths, but the time travel novel is a very special case. I'm playing with notions of fiction being a part of the historical discourse, and I'm also trying to demonstrate that time travel novels can have solid science *and* be successfully character driven and don't have to cut some of the corners of both history and people that many have done. The first six months of my doctorate I read all the time travel novels I could get hold of, and none of them are like mine. This ought to be a good thing, but instead it's prompted me to caution on the expert areas.
The other cautious thing I've done today is to print out my plans from now until late October. They're on the back of my door. If I meet every week's goal, then I shall be through this doctorate in next to no time. Alongside this there is the Beast, and after this I need a job. (I had intended to start applying for jobs now, but I won't be finished quite in time - I'll have to start applying when the next half-season of advertisements comes round.)
The back of my front door looks so very educated! The rest of it, well, I have show and tell for the Continuum talk, and I also have notes. This is more than I usually have. And if it all goes hopelessly wrong, I have promised Sean Wright jokes about a certain saint. I didn't actually promise him them in my talk, but I did promise. Also, I have distinctly unmedieval chocolate for all my panels and presentations from Saturday morning*.
*Friday night is not as well supplied unless I can manage Canberra-Glenhuntly-Continuum in the appropriate time.
June 3, 2012
Cellophanes
After Continuum I'll have to think more seriously about what I do to celebrate Cellophane (the book, not the crackly substance). Right now I'm calling it the undead novel, for it's in between lives, but rebirth is approaching apace. I have a couple of blog visits planned, and possibly a giveaway. Maybe a meeting over dinner in Sydney or Canberra to toast it? If anyone has any ideas or would like me to drop in on their blog or answer questions or feed them cake, just say.
For those who are new to the Cellophane saga, Eneit Press published Life Through Cellophane not too long ago. The reviews were good and it was a Ditmar finalist, and it sold out very quickly. It sold out despite bookshops never quite getting around to stocking it. It still strikes me as weird to have a print run go so quickly with only five copies ever reaching shops.
Before reprints could be contemplated, Borders collapsed, dragging Eneit Press with it. Eneit Press gave me back my rights. It was uncomfortable to have my rights back eighteen months after publication, with the book being liked and people asking me how Elizabeth (my main character) was doing. Eneit Press deserved better, but they were generous in letting my rights go before they actually closed shop. "We can't do a reprint," Sharyn said, "It's not fair on you to hold it." Or words to that effect.
At that point (the middle of last year) I was in the UK, talking about the book to a group of very interested BSFA members, not having any idea whether there would be a book again. I knew that I have the wrong personality for self-publishing, which made that an option I didn't want to pursue. As recently as last June, there were very few venues that considered reprints. It felt as if everything were just impossibly wrong at that point - it was the mid-point in my unluckiness on so many fronts and I had depression (is this the first time I've actually admitted that in public?).
On the back of everyone else's enthusiasm, I sent a proposal to Momentum (the Pan Macmillan e-imprint), not expecting anything. They took it. Instantly. Publication will happen in a few weeks. DRM-free. All major online bookshops and many minor ones. Even iTunes!
Given you've all dealt with the negatives this last couple of years, it would be rather nice to share this happiness with you. I feel fairly safe in saying that this is the first fantasy novel about a sacked Canberran middle-aged public servant to be sold in this way. So, how do we celebrate?
For those who are new to the Cellophane saga, Eneit Press published Life Through Cellophane not too long ago. The reviews were good and it was a Ditmar finalist, and it sold out very quickly. It sold out despite bookshops never quite getting around to stocking it. It still strikes me as weird to have a print run go so quickly with only five copies ever reaching shops.
Before reprints could be contemplated, Borders collapsed, dragging Eneit Press with it. Eneit Press gave me back my rights. It was uncomfortable to have my rights back eighteen months after publication, with the book being liked and people asking me how Elizabeth (my main character) was doing. Eneit Press deserved better, but they were generous in letting my rights go before they actually closed shop. "We can't do a reprint," Sharyn said, "It's not fair on you to hold it." Or words to that effect.
At that point (the middle of last year) I was in the UK, talking about the book to a group of very interested BSFA members, not having any idea whether there would be a book again. I knew that I have the wrong personality for self-publishing, which made that an option I didn't want to pursue. As recently as last June, there were very few venues that considered reprints. It felt as if everything were just impossibly wrong at that point - it was the mid-point in my unluckiness on so many fronts and I had depression (is this the first time I've actually admitted that in public?).
On the back of everyone else's enthusiasm, I sent a proposal to Momentum (the Pan Macmillan e-imprint), not expecting anything. They took it. Instantly. Publication will happen in a few weeks. DRM-free. All major online bookshops and many minor ones. Even iTunes!
Given you've all dealt with the negatives this last couple of years, it would be rather nice to share this happiness with you. I feel fairly safe in saying that this is the first fantasy novel about a sacked Canberran middle-aged public servant to be sold in this way. So, how do we celebrate?
gillpolack @ 2012-06-03T17:07:00
I have a day when I have this vast half-formed desire to be wise and witty. The trouble is that wise wit doesn't come from vast half-formed desires. It should. My life would be so much more fun if it did.
Today the weather and I are carefully articulating our battle positions. I won all the earlier bouts and finished 2/3 of my tasks. Alas, I am losing right now and possibly need to marshal my troops (review them, take pain relievers, make a pot of coffee, eat chocolate) if I want to finish the list. I might have to do this anyway, for I have a grand ambition of watching a film tonight on TV. Patrick White as performed by some of my favourite actors. For this, a migraine will be an undesirable companion.
No other news today, for today is a day of much work. Unless buffalo sausage pilaf made using rice steamed in duck broth counts as news? I'm thinking it needs artichokes and marinated mushrooms interlaced, and a bed of mixed greens. It might demand a snap of tabasco. I also think I need to wait until the migraine is in abeyance before I actually eat it...
Today the weather and I are carefully articulating our battle positions. I won all the earlier bouts and finished 2/3 of my tasks. Alas, I am losing right now and possibly need to marshal my troops (review them, take pain relievers, make a pot of coffee, eat chocolate) if I want to finish the list. I might have to do this anyway, for I have a grand ambition of watching a film tonight on TV. Patrick White as performed by some of my favourite actors. For this, a migraine will be an undesirable companion.
No other news today, for today is a day of much work. Unless buffalo sausage pilaf made using rice steamed in duck broth counts as news? I'm thinking it needs artichokes and marinated mushrooms interlaced, and a bed of mixed greens. It might demand a snap of tabasco. I also think I need to wait until the migraine is in abeyance before I actually eat it...
June 2, 2012
gillpolack @ 2012-06-03T10:09:00
A large chunk of yesterday's misery was leftover pain from the weeks before and all the rest was Weather. If I had looked at the weather radar, I would have gone to bed with a good book earlier, but I didn't, and I didn't trust myself (it being one of those days) and so I pottered and whinged. When I finally discovered that more incoming weather was going to cause more grumbles, I found the best of the books I was currently reading and I snuggled up under the doona and I wore out a battery in my booklamp. The end of the day, therefore, was as lovely as the rest of the day wasn't. I still hurt today, but I'm less intimidated by it. Also, more willing to go to bed on and off, as the body requires.
I'm nearly through my impossible time. It's been extended by a week or so, simply because I couldn't get everything done in the time I had hoped with that number of appointments for medical and insurance stuff, but life will be more manageable soon. The harder I work, the sooner it will be more manageable. This means I'm creating lists again... Of course I'm creating lists. Lists are wonderful things and solve much. Not weather for weather is contrary, but much.
I'm nearly through my impossible time. It's been extended by a week or so, simply because I couldn't get everything done in the time I had hoped with that number of appointments for medical and insurance stuff, but life will be more manageable soon. The harder I work, the sooner it will be more manageable. This means I'm creating lists again... Of course I'm creating lists. Lists are wonderful things and solve much. Not weather for weather is contrary, but much.
gillpolack @ 2012-06-02T18:46:00
The two duckframes made into stock with onions, carrots (the last of the heritage carrots, so not much carrot) and a bunch of herbs and spices made just the best broth. That broth (now that I know how much and what it tastes like) will be 4-6 meals of soup, 3-4 main meals (a side dish - rice steamed in the broth instead of in water) and 2 meals of rice porridge with the meat and the remnants of the carrot and other various things. Sharyn was right, for the record, and native basil is even better with duck than thyme is. And I was right (also for the record) and fat is not a problem when one slowcooks frames.
gillpolack @ 2012-06-02T17:54:00
For
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la_marquise_de_
- this is the approach used for international students at the ANU. In the next room, I believe we have the periodic table...
gillpolack @ 2012-06-02T17:27:00
How do I stop being so very grumpy? The smallest things set me off today. Also the biggest things.
I want idiots to stop picking on my friends. I want my technology to work the way it's supposed to, first time. I want to not forget the drink the hot drinks I make myself. All of this makes me grumpy.
I want the order of invasions (cultural, physical, religious) into Britain over a 1500 year period to be clear to everyone I talk to, and for them to understand what this actually means for culture. I want public service to do what it promises. I want there to be more chocolate and less fat in my life. All of this makes me grumpy.
I want a magic wand of wellness for myself and for several of my friends. I want reviews that tell me what I need to hear, not how much the writer of the review thinks this is the best thing since sliced bread (just like the last three books s/he wrote about). I want people to stop thinking they can get understanding by osmosis and to put the work in that the subject requires. All of this makes me grumpy.
I want to stop discovering things that need doing around my flat before I have the capacity to do any of them. I want to be able to dance, now, preferably something Romanian. I want my dishes to wash themselves. All of this makes me grumpy.
I want answers to a lot of questions and those answers are slow to arrive. I want my siblings to ring me and find out what the specialists think. I want to stop dropping things! All of this makes me grumpy.
I want to stop grumping about unfinished writing. I want... mostly I want to stop hurting. Physical pain is so often the real cause of me being grumpy.
I want idiots to stop picking on my friends. I want my technology to work the way it's supposed to, first time. I want to not forget the drink the hot drinks I make myself. All of this makes me grumpy.
I want the order of invasions (cultural, physical, religious) into Britain over a 1500 year period to be clear to everyone I talk to, and for them to understand what this actually means for culture. I want public service to do what it promises. I want there to be more chocolate and less fat in my life. All of this makes me grumpy.
I want a magic wand of wellness for myself and for several of my friends. I want reviews that tell me what I need to hear, not how much the writer of the review thinks this is the best thing since sliced bread (just like the last three books s/he wrote about). I want people to stop thinking they can get understanding by osmosis and to put the work in that the subject requires. All of this makes me grumpy.
I want to stop discovering things that need doing around my flat before I have the capacity to do any of them. I want to be able to dance, now, preferably something Romanian. I want my dishes to wash themselves. All of this makes me grumpy.
I want answers to a lot of questions and those answers are slow to arrive. I want my siblings to ring me and find out what the specialists think. I want to stop dropping things! All of this makes me grumpy.
I want to stop grumping about unfinished writing. I want... mostly I want to stop hurting. Physical pain is so often the real cause of me being grumpy.
June 1, 2012
gillpolack @ 2012-06-02T16:44:00
I had planned to do a lot today, but my body is reminding me that four out of the last eight days were spent getting medical and dental stuff done. This means I built up lots of tense muscle and today that muscle is depositing a lot of garbage into my system. I'm doing all I can to hasten its departure, but in the meantime, my body is rather uncomfortable and focussing on anything (work or fun) is hard.
That's the bad news, and it isn't bad, just annoying. I should have a great deal more energy shortly, possibly as soon as tonight.
At least I found a pile of notes I had carefully put aside for myself and then forgot where I put. This may well be all the work I get done before dinner, finding these notes and entering them into the right text so that I can lose them again, this time intentionally.
Anyhow, if you want some grouching done or anything forgotten, then I'm your person.
That's the bad news, and it isn't bad, just annoying. I should have a great deal more energy shortly, possibly as soon as tonight.
At least I found a pile of notes I had carefully put aside for myself and then forgot where I put. This may well be all the work I get done before dinner, finding these notes and entering them into the right text so that I can lose them again, this time intentionally.
Anyhow, if you want some grouching done or anything forgotten, then I'm your person.
gillpolack @ 2012-06-02T12:38:00
Today I'm thinking about the Yorta Yorta instead of working. They have not been successful in their native title claims, which is ironic (in a really bad way, especially this weekend, which is the Mabo anniversary) because they have given so many wonderful people and been a force for good in this country.
My favourite Yorta Yorta man of all time is always William Cooper. He led a delegation to the German Embassy and protested Kristallnacht at a time when nearly the whole world just wanted Jews to disappear.
At a time when his people had very little in the way of human rights, he had an enormous compassion that still resonates deeply with me. It's so much easier to hate. It's so much easier to echo unhappiness. Whenever I get angry with racist idiots I try to stop and remember Cooper, and what he did. I imagine the long, long walk to the German Consulate and the protest that Cooper and his friends and family made against the persecution of innocents. There is a bigger picture, and it starts with compassion and understanding.
My favourite Yorta Yorta man of all time is always William Cooper. He led a delegation to the German Embassy and protested Kristallnacht at a time when nearly the whole world just wanted Jews to disappear.
At a time when his people had very little in the way of human rights, he had an enormous compassion that still resonates deeply with me. It's so much easier to hate. It's so much easier to echo unhappiness. Whenever I get angry with racist idiots I try to stop and remember Cooper, and what he did. I imagine the long, long walk to the German Consulate and the protest that Cooper and his friends and family made against the persecution of innocents. There is a bigger picture, and it starts with compassion and understanding.
May 31, 2012
gillpolack @ 2012-06-01T16:11:00
The dental work is done (one filling less than I thought!) and so are some messages, thanks to the kindness of Rachel. I shall be making duck-based soup over the weekend, possibly with onions and garlic and lentils and quinoa. I shall be eating emu mettwurst. I shall be eating buffalo sausage. I shall also have a warm bedroom as I gave in and bought a larger heater. I have now mislaid my double adaptor, so until I find it again I can have heat or my bedroom light, but not both. Given the double adaptor is 30 years old, I may just put it on my shopping list and get a new one when I next do messages.
And that's my day. It's the end of a week that should make significant difference s to my health over the next while. Rachel and I celebrated with hot chocolate. I also gave Seung (my dentist) a hamper. The practice lost most of their staff to the backroom as they discovered how much nicer fresh macadamia nuts are than the we-shelled-this-for-you ones and the joys of shelling them. it was a very good kind of celebration, since everyone in the dental practice is a s foodie as I am and I included some of the things we've talked about over the three months this treatment has been going on.
And so that's it. All I need are checkups for the eye and the heart and the teeth. I'm am - as far as we know - entirely out of the danger zone. I'm on the way to good health again. It's a big moment.
And that's my day. It's the end of a week that should make significant difference s to my health over the next while. Rachel and I celebrated with hot chocolate. I also gave Seung (my dentist) a hamper. The practice lost most of their staff to the backroom as they discovered how much nicer fresh macadamia nuts are than the we-shelled-this-for-you ones and the joys of shelling them. it was a very good kind of celebration, since everyone in the dental practice is a s foodie as I am and I included some of the things we've talked about over the three months this treatment has been going on.
And so that's it. All I need are checkups for the eye and the heart and the teeth. I'm am - as far as we know - entirely out of the danger zone. I'm on the way to good health again. It's a big moment.
