C.E. Murphy's Blog, page 66

in search of a glue stick, see…

A piece of wallpaper is coming up, and so I went in search of a glue stick, see, and that’s where it all went wrong.

The glue stick would be with Young Indiana’s not-entirely-unpacked stuff of that nature, so I went out to the sun room where most of that is. Where most of it is, uselessly, I might add, because you have to leave the house to get into the sun room, so it’s not a casual step in to get to all of that stuff, which includes paper and drawing utensils and paints and coloring books a...

nibbled to death by ducks

I’m being nibbled to death by ducks. Or perhaps I am a duck, nibbling things to death. Either way I have accomplished many many small important things that probably add up to a lot but somehow don’t *seem* to.

…no, actually, having gotten the Old Races short story project kinda off the ground I suddenly feel like I *have* accomplished things. Yay!

I gotta finish up with MAGIC AND MANNERS next. The heavy lifting is done on the revisions for it, but I need to add a couple of small scenes and m...

Recent Reads: The Old Races Collections

I’m starting a new Old Races short story project, so during our Great Internet Hiatus, I re-read the two story collections I’ve done.

I almost never re-read an entire book I’ve written. I read URBAN SHAMAN when it was published, and I’ve read THE CARDINAL RULE twice just for fun, but generally I just flip through a book looking for a detail if I need to look something up, so it was kind of fascinating to actually sit down and read two books in a row written by me.

I still think BABA YAGA’S DA...

work that isn’t writing

I cannot believe it’s the end of August. This summer has been a loss to a much greater degree than expected, and I’m just sort of…I’m getting my feet back under me, at this point. And I *am* getting my feet back under me: I’ve actually accomplished a great deal of detail work over the past week, all of which was very necessary and is something of a weight off my shoulders.

Today is the first day of school:

which means I have about 8 weeks of 15-20 hours of time back to myself before the firs...

Picoreview: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Picoreview: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: Harry Cavill spent a fair bit of the movie wet and dirty. There’s nothing more really needs be said.

Seriously, the whole film could have been unmitigated drek and I may well not have noticed, because Harry Cavill was so incredibly beautiful that I stared at him dumbfounded every moment he was on the screen. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie where my jaw just dropped every time somebody came on screen. Usually I get inured to it, y’know, like, “Yes, wow...

a feast of strawberries

I was in town yesterday and saw a fruit vendor with 1-kilo flats of strawberries for 5 each, which I thought was an excellent deal. I bought two, came home with them, and went back out not much later to get (other things also, but) four more.

The young lady at the booth looked at me a bit askance when I came up and asked for four flats. I explained I was making jam, and she said, “Oh! Okay. I was wondering if you maybe had a bit of an addiction.” I said, “I don’t like to talk about it,” and s...

so the visualization thing is called aphantasia

I’ve been talking about this topic for years (whether you see pictures in your head when you, say, read), ever since a conversation with a friend and Ted and the friend said something about the radio drama in her head, and Ted said “You only get a radio drama?” and she said “Oh no! I get the whole movie!” and I said “wait what?”

After some incredulous back-and-forthing, we found that they saw pictures in their heads when they read (or called up memories, or DAYDREAMED, WHAT THE HELL!!!), and...

The Great Manor House Picture Post

This is long, but I’m Showing Stuff Off, so I’m not putting it behind a cut. :)

The house & front garden:

The sun room (with slightly distorted child), visible to the right of the house:

The living room end of the Long Room:

The dining room end of the Long Room:

The library:

To the left is the TBR shelf before 6 weeks of no net.

The TBR shelf after 6 weeks of no net:

The kitchen:

My (the, but mostly my :)) office:

My beloved Captain’s Chair:

Guest room:

The back garden, in all...

Recent Reads: The Abigail Adams Mysteries

I’ve had Barbara Hamilton (Hambly)’s Abigail Adams books on my TBR shelf for quite a while, based on my love for her Benjamin January books.

I didn’t like the Adams books as much as the January books, which kind of surprised me. It was partly, I recognize, the Puritanism in the books, which made me…impatient. I don’t have a lot of use for religious fundamentalists in real life, much less in my fiction, and the fact that Abigail Adams herself apparently struggled with her (literally) Puritani...

back online with thinks to do

Now that I’m back online I have a list longer than my arm of thinks to do.

– put in a grocery order
– check to see how to renew indy’s passport print appointment page
– update fitbit to use new one
– email redeemer patrons
– email patreon patrons
– prep short story for patreon
– update reading list
– email ian
– email steve
– clear out inbox, augh
– email harlequin
– pay credit card bills
– update fb page
– email mailing list
– email m&m mailing list
– email orssp mailing list

– hook up print...