Averil Dean's Blog, page 27

Bash

This weekend I’ve been working on Alice interviews, trying to come up with ways of making myself and my writing appear at least marginally interesting. Not as easy as other people make it look. What makes a person read an interview and say, Aha! I must click yonder and get myself a copy of that book. Send the drone, Mr. Bezos, send the ‘chute or the pony! (Or, you know, just send the file.) I sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher to my own ear, so I’m throwing around exclamation points and crack...

Posture

Every time I go back to an office setting, it seems I have to relearn the way things work in that environment. People get stressed, in offices. And angry. Being angry, they look for someone to blame. I dislike myself in defensive posture, but find it difficult to respond to in-your-face criticism. I’m a perfectionist at work, and I’m so fucking eager to get things right that when I get called out for a mistake—whether or not it’s mine—I can feel my face growing hot with embarrassment. I stamm...

The Moment Before

Blog peeps, in case you find yourself short of things to celebrate this year, may I present the fabulous Suzy Vitello. Her new YA novel The Moment Before is coming out January 14 and I couldn’t be more tickled about it. I had the chance to read the book before it got its beautiful new cover and title, so I feel the sort of proprietary zeal of the insider groupie, crowing to everyone I know about Suzy and her remarkable talent.

Here’s the back cover blurb:

Brady and Sabine Wilson are sisters bo...

Winter Lunch

Between this pot of spiced lentils and the arrival of the Christmas tree, the house smells scrumptious right now.

Lentils in Onion Gravy

* From Vegan Fire & Spice by Robin Robertson

1 T. olive oil

1 large yellow onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. Garam Masala

1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne

2 1/2 cups water

1 cup red or brown lentils

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup coconut milk or vegan yogurt

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion...

Mosh Pit

My head space is crammed full this week. At the office where I’ll be working from now on—forever after known as The Mosh Pit—everything happens in a flurry on the half-hours, then subsides for a short time while you brace yourself for the next big scene. I prefer being busy so I think it will be fine, but at the moment I am stressed and overwhelmed after so much time working quietly on my own.

Some juicy bits of news about ALICE. She is here, getting Nooked:

MIRA has scored us three hot on-devi...

Horns and Roofies

One thing they don’t tell you about publishing: you will be so sick of yourself by the time the book comes out that the latest sighting of your own beloved cover makes you want to apologize far and wide for having written the damn thing in the first place. I’m embarrassed by the amount of time I spend in the sandwich board and pasties, trotting down Main Street with a sequined megaphone in one hand and a plate of roofied chocolates in the other. Of course I understand that this is how it work...

Midlife

While I’ve been over here whingeing and whining about the price of tea in China, other people have been using their time more productively. Our friend Mr iPants, for instance, has oh-by-the-way published a book. I had the chance to see MIDLIFE early on, and have the coffee-splattered keyboard to prove it. I remember reading and rereading some lines, thinking, Wait, did he just say what I think he said? He did, he did, and no human being should ever say that! I mean, there’s a chapter called “...

Skyrocket

So, the job. I think I’m going to like it, though the 8-ball is still uncertain. Definitely the gig has its perks. The offices are clean and efficient, and while there may be a personality or two in the mix, most of the people I’ve met seem pretty easy to get along with. Also, there’s a lot to be said for a warm workplace–sure as hell beats an outdoor job at this time of year.

I’ve spent the morning in a slow burn on the topic of minimum wage, after following an online debate which started wit...

Mangler

Fuckity fuck. The wall.

I don’t know what to do with this book, how to make it better. I see what the problems are but don’t have a single fresh idea for how to solve them. The characters are grumbling and stubborn and won’t make the shifts I’m asking for. In fact they won’t budge at all. In desperation I printed out some scenes and ran them through the mangler, stuck a bunch of post-it notes around my desk, hung a fresh index card from my lamp with the words Character = Story written across i...

Black Thursday

Wednesday evening and I am still employed. At work I’m being flooded with the first days’ info-dump, in which I stand like a rock in a fast-moving stream, getting in everybody’s way. The sweet young thing who’s training me is pretty wonderful and clearly adored by one and all, so I’m keeping a beady eye on her to see how it’s done.

I imagine my American peeps are drinking hard in preparation for the Thanksgiving extravaganza. We’ve already had our big dinner and I’m not into competitive consum...