Today the light and dark are in balance, and then it tips toward the light for the coming months. Days get longer.
The past few years, I feel like I lost a lot of myself, and that parts got fragmented and/or shattered.
My intent this week is to choose the shards I want, and to leave behind those I do not. I want to reclaim my self-esteem, sense of adventure, sense of being grounded in my work, optimism, and determination (among other things).
I want to leave behind much of the negatives of not just the years at the previous location, but negative patterns that I acquired beforehand, which may have served me early in my career, but no longer serve. Among those are demands for constant and unrealistic productivity, especially when it benefits only others; the projections others tried to force on me for their own convenience; the bewilderment at the hostility with which I was met at the previous location for my commitment to my work; the pain of constant self-defense to those who daily tried to tear me down to make themselves feel better; and the demand that I am the one who always has to comply/accommodate/defer to those who have not earned mutual physical and emotional space.
I’m aware these changes will take longer than a week, and are an ongoing process. But I want to use this day of balance as the moment where I step back into the parts of myself I like best, and choose to leave behind other parts.
It was sunny, off and on, yesterday, so at least that made the errand-running pleasanter. But good golly, did people want to TALK! You’d think we’d been trapped inside for months instead of a couple of days. It was pretty funny. And I’m not in that big a rush that I can’t stop and chat here and there. Even though yesterday, it wasn’t just here and there, it was everywhere.
Did some of the social media rounds before errands, and then did the rounds to promote Legerdemain after I came back. People like to start the day reading the blogs, article links do better late morning, and the fiction links do best in the afternoon or evening.
One of these days, there will be a scheduling tool that actually lets us schedule posts across more than FB/Twitter/Insta and then it will save me hours. Some of that time I can spend on sites you know, actually interacting more.
Polished and uploaded next week’s Process Muse post.
The library weeded out reference books about children’s art illustrators. I gathered up the three volumes they let go, covering 1744-1966. I have a feeling they will come in handy for various projects. Even though I don’t yet know which ones.
Bought more at the grocery store than I planned (gosh, I bet you’re shocked, SHOCKED), along with buying coffee AND restocking the “emergency coffee.”
What, pray tell, is emergency coffee?
Since I often buy small-batch, locally-roasted whole bean coffee and grind it for the Magic Coffeemaker, that’s become “regular coffee.” But if the power is out, or, for some reason, I can’t get to the store, I keep “emergency coffee” on hand. That is ground rather than whole bean, and usually one of the brand name espresso strength coffees. I use it when I make Vietnamese coffee. And, when the power is out, I can heat up water on the gas stove and use it in either the French press or the Melitta pot.
I am not a big fan of St. Patrick’s Day for oh, so many reasons. Back in my NYC days, I’d started taking it as a personal day and staying in, because people come in from all over to celebrate and are drunk and sexually harassing anyone in their path and puking in the streets by 8 AM. Cape Cod has some pretty intense celebrations, so I always made sure, if I was doing site work, that I was home by mid-afternoon, and then stayed put.
Last year was the first time we were here in the mountains for it, and it seemed pretty low key. Even the bar down the street (which has since closed), wasn’t too rowdy. I expected the college students to be out of control, but, for the most part, they weren’t too bad, even at the frat house down the block.
We’ll see how it goes this year, since so many people think the pandemic is over.
Charlotte is trying to learn how to play. She came to us not really understanding toys, except for the catnip banana and a few catnip sticks. Which is weird, because she came with a whole box of toys. Most of the time, she just watches Willa and Tessa play from a safe distance. If one tries to engage her, she backs away slowly.
But Wednesday night, she picked out a couple of toys and tried to play with them. It was a bit awkward, but I kept encouraging her, and she kept trying, until she realized that Willa and Tessa stopped what they were doing to watch her. But it’s progress. Let her get comfortable in her own time.
Willa loves mice and stick toys, and sometimes the balls with the bells in them. Tessa loves mice, pom poms, and stick toys. Considering Tessa is the Grande Dame of the household at age 12, it’s amazing how much she likes to play. And whenever she wants play time, she gets it.
I have three scripts in Monday’s queue, so that’s a good thing.
I did the social media rounds for yesterday’s episode of Legerdemain. I edited, polished, and uploaded two more episodes, wrote their loglines and made their episode graphics. Today I will schedule the promos, along with next week’s episodes of Angel Hunt.
Updated the tracking sheets. Tried to set up character cards for Legerdemain in Scrivener, since there’s a lot to track. While I have the character sketch thing down, the only way I can work plot arcs is via “Untitled Document” or some such shit. Even creating a template, there’s no place to put the damn thing. Unless I completely work from a blank binder, but then I can’t mix and match the character, location, and plot arc cards.
Just fucking let me choose/create my categories and create new index cards. I hate it when software micromanages me. I looked up a few sets of instructions to “create new index card” and the way it’s shown and what’s coming up on my screen are, of course, different. I’ll play with that. It’s not that big a deal.
Or, I’ll go back to my old-school tracking sheets, which, you know, actually work the way I need them to because that’s how I created them.
A book on AMERICAN WOMEN STAGE DIRECTORS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY arrived (fast, I only ordered it a few days ago). I bought it for the chapter on Jessie Bonstelle, but flipping through it, there’s information on a lot of the women with whom I’ve worked in theatre throughout the years. I’m very excited to sit down and enjoy the book.
I heard from a theatre to which I’d submitted a play about a month ago, acknowledging receipt. I heard from another company, to whom I’d submitted formatting questions for the one-minute radio plays and never heard back. They answered, I thanked them and said I’d watch for the next open call (since I missed this submission call because I hadn’t heard back). They responded and said they felt bad that they hadn’t responded in time for me to make the deadline, and I could go ahead and submit this week; even though they got a lot of submissions, they’re interested in looking at mine.
Which means my focus changes this morning to getting those micro-plays polished and out the door today.
Their call for 10 minute plays opens in two weeks, and I have something to submit to that, too.
I need to look at the science fiction horror western that used to be called “Severance” and find a new title, get a new cover, and re-upload it as a Delectable Digital Delight in the coming weeks/months. It was ahead of the fashion when it first came out, Of course, researching the titles that make the most sense, there are pieces out there with those titles. Even though one can’t copyright a title, I’m trying to come up with something different (and why I’m changing the title it released under before, because of the TV show of the same name).
Put in an order for office supplies, and ordered a double tarot deck I absolutely do not need but wanted (and will make use of, in writing and articles).
By accident, I found an article I wrote a few years back, and I need to add it to my portfolio. Clip file, and up on the site.
Soup class (which had been postponed from Monday) was a lot of fun. Someone’s cat was being very vocal, and then my three had a few choice opinions, and then someone’s dog added to the mix, so it was a very pet-friendly class.
Finished reading the material for the coverage and will write it up today. I did not sleep well last night; the time change is still messing me up, big time. I have to put in an order at a nearby store for curbside pickup today, and hopefully, I can finally schedule my haircut for next week. I want to get it cut before the grant reception, and there’s about 14 inches of hair to hack off.
I will polish and send off the short radio plays, and then get back to Legerdemain. This weekend will be a lot of work on Legerdemain, and also the polish/re-upload of “Plot Bunnies.” I want that to release the first week of April, which isn’t all that far away. And by re-releasing “Plot Bunnies” it means I’m committing to writing “Labor Intensive” and having that ready by the end of summer. So I need to get back into that world, set up the series bible, tracking sheets, etc. (not in Scrivener, but in my own system).
And, you know, get going on spring cleaning that I didn’t do because of the storm, and maybe, just maybe, starting to work on taxes, although I’ll probably push that off to next weekend.
Last year’s taxes shouldn’t be too complicated (famous last words). This year’s will be more so, with the grant and the residency and some other stuff, so I will utilize the help that’s offered in this region for working artists. I’m diligently tracking everything used for the grant down to the smallest detail as it happens, instead of just dropping it into a file and compiling it next winter, so that will help, too.
There’s an artist meetup next Tuesday, but it’s indoors, and I’m not comfortable with the (lack of) COVID protocols in place, so I’ll skip it. Thursday is a tossup between a theatre open house and MASSMoCA’s open studios. A lot will depend, again, on the weather.
Monday is the Equinox. It will BE spring, even if it doesn’t yet feel like it. Hopefully, I can do some planting this weekend, too. Sunday’s the next planting day.
Power was on, and internet worked. I blogged. I did the social media rounds to promote Legerdemain, Angel Hunt, Process Muse, and the Topic Workbooks. With Twitter in its death throes, the Topic Workbook sales have gone down, and since they pay a decent amount of bills, I better come up with a good marketing plan for them.
I tried to figure out Scrivener’s Corkboard, so that I could do Character and Plot notes. I have a system of Tracking Sheets, but I wanted to see if anything in Scrivener could do it more efficiently. It’s most vital for GAMBIT COLONY, but if it works, I can do it with other projects, too.
But of course, it’s Fucking Scrivener, so the way the tutorial says it works and the way it actually works are two different things. I looked at four different tutorials raving about how “easy” it is. None of the screenshots and directions were relevant to what was on my screen, and this was AFTER I downloaded the update.
I could only use the “Character Sketch” template once, which annoyed me. The ways it claimed to create a new one did not work the way shown. I tried a workaround in the Character file because I can corkboard there, and create blanks for the other characters and do them how I would in a series bible instead of using the Scrivener template which has too much that isn’t relevant. But having to do a workaround annoys me, because I should be able to use the function in the software.
For the plot arcs, I will use the “Places” file and name the plot arcs and do it that way.
I looked at DramaQueen, but it only has list features, not index card/corkboard features, even at the Pro level. Final Draft has pretty good story boarding and index card features, so it’s more and more likely I will use some of my grant money for that. I can export from DramaQueen to Final Draft, so I won’t lose anything I’ve done so far in DramaQueen.
By the time one figures out how to workaround Scrivener’s regimented crap, there’s no creative energy left to actually DO anything.
I might just buy a few more corkboards and do it old-school, with pushpins and index cards.
And then Windows11 decided it “had” to update, so there was that. And DramaQueen “had” to update (which was painless, as pretty much everything is with DramaQueen. Which is why I love DramaQueen so much).
But man, there went my creative time. I got a little bit of work done on Legerdemain, but nowhere near what I hoped.
I went outside to dig out the car from 3 feet of snow. Only it was more than three feet, because the cars on either side of me had left, and the plow plowed the snow up against my car on both sides, all the way up to the windows.
Fortunately, a kind neighbor walked by, saw I struggled, grabbed a shovel, and helped. I am so grateful. I will have to discuss this with the landlord. There’s got to be a better way. I am the oldest person with a car in the parking lot. I shouldn’t be the one shoveling the most snow.
I came back in, and my friend Diane, over in the UK, who is a Scrivener whiz, helped me figure out how to do what I need to do to create the character board for GAMBIT. I trashed the first hot mess project file, ahem “binder”, because it was beyond salvation, and created a new one, but now I have a rhythm. It has nothing to do with the way any of the tutorials I found explained it. I need write up notes to myself, so I don’t forget the steps. To get it in my physicality, instead of just thinking it, I set up the sketch names for everyone in the first chapter (a whole lot more people than should be in any first chapter, but necessary for a chapter auditioning actors in London). Anyway, those sketch templates are set up, so when I go back for the next revision, I can fill in details and start the plot arc board, so I can track where I’m ending arcs, and which arcs are series-long.
I mean, I oughtta be able to use Scrivener for SOMETHING, since I bought it and all, and if it works for this, great. Once I started working with the board, I enjoyed it. Whew! A tool that actually works, imagine that.
A fellow freelancer shared an article by a whiny bitch of an NYU student who hated her semester studying in Florence. FLORENCE! She whined that her SEVEN roommates travelled on weekends and she was “left alone” in the apartment to cook and walk around and go to museums (which sounds like heaven to me). She found people “hostile” toward her. Considering I wanted to bitch slap her just from reading the article, I’m not surprised. What a whiny, entitled waste of space who squandered a semester in FLORENCE. One is never alone when one is among art.
And that whole damn city is art.
She decided to be miserable, for a whole semester, and instead of making an attempt to turn the things that she found difficult into positives, she dug down deeper to be as much of an awful American as she could. She even boasted about how she embodied the Ugly American. The entitlement and cultural ignorance and lack of self-awareness in the piece, so she could justify being miserable, was appalling.
But then, most of us, especially in the arts, have a rich inner life which is further enriched by new experiences, and this individual does not.
I’ve traveled all over the world on my own, and been met almost always with kindness. Where there times when I was sad and lonely? Of course. I’m human. But then I made a choice to DO SOMETHING to make it better. In many cases, it was as simple as going to a bookstore or a museum or an historic site or a theatre production, and that cheered me right up. It allowed me to see and experience the place in new ways. And doing those things, I met with terrific people from all over the place that I might never have crossed paths with otherwise. I’ve made friends decades ago that are still my friends. I learned wonderful things and had amazing experiences. The whole point was that it was different from my life at home. Jeez, if you want it to be just like home, then STAY HOME. Don’t take a slot that someone who could have benefitted from it should have had, because you’re spoiled and entitled. What a shame this individual is an NYU alum.
Unclogged the bathroom sink because, you know, life as a writer is SO glamorous! 😉
Polished the next Process Muse post, so I can upload it today, and started the one after that.
Turned around a script, my first coverage since the end of last week. Started the novel they want me to cover.
Attended a virtual session with a chef Surbhi Sahni via NYU Alumni last night. It was a lot of fun, and the chef has a Michelin star for her restaurant down at South Street Seaport, Tagmo. It was a really interesting class, and she’s a lot of fun. Her former roommate, who’s now based in Paris, attended the virtual session to surprise her. What fun! I want to order some of their mithai.
My back hurt a bit from the shoveling, but it wasn’t too bad. I overslept, because I’m still on Standard time, not DST. Tessa Was Not Amused.
Meditation was good, as always.
I’m going to do some admin, and then head off to the library and grocery store. I’m out of coffee again, and that has to be remedied. Wild Oats was open during much of the storm, and offered themselves as a rest stop for the plow drivers. As an owner/member, I’m so glad we’re doing that.
Then, it’s back to the page. The only coverage I have for the rest of this week is finishing and writing up the analysis for the novel. Even if I finish that today, I will let that be my all for the week, and concentrate on getting ahead on Legerdemain and Angel Hunt, finishing the revisions on “Plot Bunnies”, and working on contest entries.
There’s sun, so maybe I can do some of my reading on the porch!
Episode 68 of Legerdemain drops today. I hope you enjoy it.
It still snowing. Sorry I didn’t post yesterday, but the power fluctuated, and the internet was out most of the day.
I hope you had a great weekend. We get a Wednesday catchup. Curl up with a beverage. This is a long one, because it’s been six days since we were last in contact.
Friday was a lovely, sunny day. I went out early in the morning to pick up my cake.
Then, we headed over to The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown. They have free admission for the month of March, so it seemed like a good time to check them out.
What an amazing space. It’s huge, and a little overwhelming. In addition to the multiple museum buildings and the research library, they have 140 acres of trails with sculptures.
Definitely something that needs more than a day.
We spent most of the time at the Promenades on Paper exhibit, sketches on loan from the Bibliotèque Nationale de France. Wow. The curation was exquisite, including the color choices for the walls. I was especially fascinated by the Opera sketches and the sketch of a “private theatre” that looked like it was a railroad car. I need to learn more about it. I wish I’d taken notes.
We wandered over to the permanent collection, but there was just too much to take in, all at once.
Definitely going back. Often.
The reception for regional grant awardees is there at the end of the month, so now I know where to go.
I bet the gardens and trails are gorgeous in spring, summer, and fall. Probably a good place to go and write.
We came home and I ordered A Whole Lot of Chinese food, just in case the weather was so bad on Saturday that I couldn’t get my birthday dinner.
I read in the afternoon, re-reading a book about the antiquarian book trade (my copy’s in storage). It was so nice that we could sit and read out on the front porch. All three cats joined us.
I did some research on the two antique books I picked up at Thursday’s book sale for a dollar each and it looks like they might have some value. Not the kind of value pristine first editions would have, but value, nonetheless. One is by James M. Barrie, who is most famous for PETER PAN, but wrote a bunch of other stuff, too. They are also earlier editions, probably closer to the turn of the twentieth century or late Victorian printings, rather than the twenties I’d figured. And one of the publishers had apprenticed with the other, so the two books are connected.
I will get some archival white cotton gloves to handle them when I read them, and then put them in a safe place while I do more research. Neither book fits the first edition descriptions, but they are nicely made pieces I will enjoy.
I had a leisurely reading evening, too. I want to know more about Anne Baldwin, who ran a print shop in the 17th century.
Slept fairly well. Had weird dreams about clay figures that had been slathered with a particular type of red paint. A former toxic boss was in the dream, asking for forgiveness. That’s how I knew it was a dream; she’d never do that in real life!
I somehow hurt both wrists in the dream, and woke up with sore wrists.
Saturday was my birthday, and it was snowing when I woke up.
I made smoked salmon eggs Benedict, which we had with Prosecco.
I did a library run, dropping off and picking up books ahead of the storm.
I started working on the revision for the upcoming “Plot Bunnies” re-release, and then I thought, why am I working on my birthday?
So I stopped.
I read. I’m reading a biography of actress Katharine Cornell that’s very fawning, but it has necessary information on Marian de Forest and Jessie Bonstelle. I can’t believe how few people remember Jessie Bonstelle, when she was such a force in touring companies and creating regional theatre as we know it.
I made notes for a couple of upcoming projects.
I re-read THE MOVING FINGER by Agatha Christie, which is the March “Read Christie” choice. It’s been years since I read it (it’s the one about poison pen letters). Christie is remembered for Poirot and Marple, and, although this is, technically, a Marple story, it’s told through the first person POV of another character, Jerry, and the structure is interesting.
I ordered and picked up dinner from a local restaurant I wanted to try, that touts itself as an upscale farm-to-table place. Um? When I went to pick up the food, the restaurant itself is small, dark, and dingy with cheap furniture, and the staff was more interested in talking about their dating lives than in their customers. The food was okay, but I wanted better than okay. I had a supposed “Bolognese” sauce that was more of a Roman-style meat sauce without the tomato sauce, but definitely not “Bolognese.” There wasn’t even a smidge of cream in it, and none of the seasoning that sets apart a Bolognese sauce. I mean, it was an okay meat sauce over a glop of overcooked spaghetti (not even fettucine). Not great (mine are better). But it wasn’t a layered Bolognese, and for that price, I expected layered taste.
My mom had what was supposed to be cordon bleu chicken in puff pastry, with sides of mashed potatoes and green beans, with a cheese sauce over it. There was chicken wrapped in pastry, with maybe a thin slice of ham and cheese around it, like deli-sliced. It was in some sort of dough sheet, but not the puff pastry stated in the description. The mashed potatoes were heaped over the pastry, and a basic alfredo sauce poured over it, with four undercooked green beans sticking out of the bottom. Huh?
The ”garlic bread” that came with my pasta was a few tiny (I’m taking 1/8” wide, and maybe 2” long), limp slices of leftover narrow baguette which had been dumped in warmed garlic-infused olive oil and wrapped in aluminum foil. It was dissolving and nearly inedible when I unwrapped it. That is not how one makes garlic bread.
And there was zero presentation. I mean, yeah, it’s a pickup, it’s going to be in containers (I’d brought an insulated bag). But don’t just glop it in the dish. At least try to make it look nice? A spring of parsley isn’t going to break the bank.
It’s not like they were overrun with customers.
It’s not that the food was bad. It was serviceable diner food. If I’d ordered it from a diner, I would have been satisfied. But it wasn’t a diner, and I didn’t want diner food. I wanted something special. This wasn’t it.
I won’t be eating there again any time soon.
But the cake made up for it. I’d bought a chocolate truffle bomb cake from a different place, and we’ve been eating the cake all weekend. It’s very rich, so we only have a small slice at a time.
Overall, it was a lovely birthday, filled with good wishes from friends online and off (and a package, from one friend, with a cat toy the cats love). I have such a tumultuous relationship with my birthday, it was nice to genuinely enjoy it and not work to enjoy it for anyone else’s benefit.
We “sprung ahead” for Daylight Savings Time on Sunday, which always screws me up for weeks.
Sunday was bright and sunny. I did a run to the post office to mail some stuff that needed to get out. We sat on the porch and read. I did some re-reading of GAMBIT COLONY material. When I do the next (and hopefully final) editing pass on these first sections, I need to set up better tracking sheets and do a more detailed Series Bible. I’m losing important elements, especially as I layer in other important elements.
I always wind up blocking a lot of oafs on social media on Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Award nights because they start pontificating about the business when none of them could last an hour on an actual set or backstage. It’s WORK, that requires enormous physical and mental capacity, so others can play. If the result isn’t your bag, that’s one thing. You like what you like, you don’t like what you don’t like, and that’s part of the risk creatives take when putting work out there. Not everyone will like it. But when they act like creatives don’t work for a living, and it’s not “real work” and they can pass judgement on what it’s like to DO the work when they’ve never spent a day on set, or done anything creative with high stakes to it, I’m done. They know nothing, NOTHING, about what it takes to get it done, so shut the fuck up you lazy, untalented, snarky coward.
Of course, when they show their asses like that and get blocked, my overall life is better without them, so better knowing sooner than later.
As a wardrobe person, I was a little unsettled with some of the red carpet choices. I’m all for wearable art, especially for something like the Met Gala. But award shows are about the creative artists who did the work, and too many of the choices on the “champagne carpet” (how pretentious was that?) were about the stylist’s ego and not about making the creative artist look good. There were some wonderful gowns and radiant individuals, but there were also choices that were not about making the wearer look their best, and often the hair and makeup didn’t work with the gown. And one could tell who used the same stylists, because the looks were too similar and about the stylist, not about the individual being styled, which I disagree with. On the positive side, I liked that there were many bold color choices. Too often, the palette is too similar, and people wear colors that don’t suit them because that’s the color trend for that year.
I read the book for review, and sent off the review on Monday morning, before the storm got too intense. Emails came in steadily, with cancellations and closures in the area for most of the week.
The storm started just after 8 AM. It started as snow, got heavier, then switched over to rain for most of the rest of the day.
Tuesday’s yoga class was cancelled, and Monday night’s soup class was moved to Thursday, because Jeremy had to travel and decided to get out while the storm wasn’t so bad.
I could not get my act together on Monday. I got through a lot of email. I updated my Creative Ground profile. I did some social media networking. I wrote up some project notes. I managed to get the first 20 episodes’ worth of Legerdemain graphics up on Pinterest. It’s such a pain, because when I try to arrange them in the correct order, after about 5 minutes, I have to log out and log back in. Getting all 60+ episode graphics up will be a PITA.
A director who’s worked on a bunch of my radio plays emailed me to say they miss me and would like more, so I sent off two they haven’t yet done. I still owe them a dirigible play. I guess I should get back to that. I haven’t heard from the other producer in absolute ages, so I’m not sure what’s going on with the play he has, and the other ones he wants. I’m assuming there’s a delay.
I finally gave up on getting anything on the “should” list done. I’m fine on my deadlines, so I didn’t have to worry.
I buried myself in another re-read of the GAMBIT COLONY material. Which of course, means taking the red pen and cutting or adding or making adjustments. There’s a vital position in the production team that I’ve ignored in all these drafts, and I have a feeling I have to suck it up and layer in another character. I also worked a big chunk before I realized that I was working on THE WRONG DRAFT. I’d picked up the wrong binder. When I got back to the correct draft, I’d already put in most of those changes! At least I know I’m on the right track.
It hadn’t started snowing by the time I went to bed on Monday. I woke up around 3:30 (feline shift change), and it had just stared; there was about an inch on the ground, but it came down hard.
When I woke up again just before 6, the power was out. I figured, because there was no scent of coffee.
The cats, however, Weren’t Having it, so I hauled myself out of bed and fed them, then went back to bed for a bit, watching the snow. The lights were on at the college, because they have emergency power generators, so I use the sound of the heaters (or lack thereof) to know if the power is on or off. That, and the fact that I don’t hear the hum of the downstairs neighbor’s television, which is on 24/7.
I finally dressed in layers – fleece-lined leggings under velvet leggings, oversized handknit sweater over turtleneck, thick socks. The snow was intense!
The gas stove still worked, when I lit the individual burners, so I made coffee in the French press and made tea for my mom. We could have a cooked breakfast and all, so it wasn’t too bad.
I’d unplugged the laptop the night before, and I powered it down. There was no internet, but occasionally the phone signal was strong enough to post a picture. The power went off and on all day.
We bundled ourselves under layers of blankets and cats in the living room, so we could watch the snow come down. I had the binders with GAMBIT COLONY and just kept reading. I layered in the missing character (this is a cast of Many, dealing with life behind the scenes shooting a large television series), and, by the time I got to re-reading the latest draft of book 3 in the series, realized I had to change her name because it’s too similar to that of two other characters. While one often works productions where multiple people have the same name, I only do that in this series when there’s a plot-or-character related reason for it, and I try to keep the names of people who are often in the same scenes together different enough not to be confusing.
The original GAMBIT COLONY Series Bible is a hot mess with all the drafts over the years. I know I need to start a fresh one. I’m also considering doing a corkboard type of document to track characters and make sure I’m following through on arcs, much as I would if it was a scripted series. I did a little digging, and it looks like there’s a way to do that in Scrivener. Since I own Scrivener software, and it doesn’t work for me to draft (since it won’t let me draft in standard manuscript format, and that’s a deal breaker for me), maybe I can at least use the corkboard function. I found a tutorial on creating a binder and ditching the document file so it allows one to just use the corkboard, so when I get to that point, I will try.
I’d hoped Office had an index card format, but it only has one for Windows10. I’d have to buy the NoteDex app, and it doesn’t have the flexibility I need. No, thank you. I’ll figure out how to use the board in Scrivener. I’ll also look at DramaQueen, the script software I use, and see if my version has one. I’m still dithering whether I should just suck it up and use some of the grant money (when it arrives) for Final Draft. That would be the professional thing to do. I know Final Draft has the board option. Plus I’d use it for, you know, scripts.
It was great to submerge myself in that GAMBIT COLONY world for a couple of days, but now I need to finish books 5 & 6, and do a big overall revision/organization, because they are all of a piece, and all have to be done before any of them can release, much less get submitted. I have stacks of notes on what happens next; I just have to work it into the schedule.
I heard from a market I’d forgotten I’d contacted that yes, I could submit to them in radio format. Now, I have to go back through my notes and figure out what it was I meant to send them.
The snow is still coming down hard, and will be all day. I expect the power and internet will continue to fluctuate. If it does, I’m still on top of deadlines. If I can get some work done – on Legerdemain, and making the rounds for yesterday’s episode of Legerdemain, and today’s episode of Angel Hunt and the latest Process Muse (which is about research), I will do so. I have one script in the queue due Friday, and a novel they asked me to read and comment on for adaptation due Saturday, which I hope to finish by Friday. So we’ll see.
I feel guilty that I was in GAMBIT COLONY world during time I could have been working on the Heist Romance, but since the power was out and the internet was out, I couldn’t have accessed the software anyway.
I HATE cloud-based everything. I want it in my damn computer, so I can work offline.
Anyway, breakfast, then back to the page. I need to get back to work drafting new episodes of Legerdemain. I have episodes for the next couple of weeks, which I’ll upload later this week, but I want to get farther ahead.
I am NOT looking forward to digging the car out from nearly three feet of snow. If it lets up mid-day, I’ll start. Otherwise, I’ll wait until tomorrow and take as much time as I need to do it, in sections. The car looks like a baby igloo, with al the snow piled over it.
Another snowstorm is set to come in tonight, and yet another one early next week, which could well derail plans. But that’s okay.
Did the social media rounds early, and got some other stuff done, including getting my email box down to something manageable on at least one account.
Had trouble settling into meditation. The leader was late, and I got caught up in something while waiting, and was distracted.
Someone I’ve known for a long time showed (again) what a misogynist he is. I shouldn’t be surprised. Not my problem. I don’t have to engage. Disappointing, but hey. When someone shows you who they are, pay attention.
I have to say, I’m optimistic about Saturn in Pisces (and I hope I don’t get my ass kicked for that optimism). The last time that happened was 1993-1996, which were years of huge positive growth for me. I look forward to taking what I learned then and since, and applying it to this period.
In the afternoon, I pulled myself together and headed to Pittsfield. It was a lovely day to be out and about. The sun had come out, and warmed things up.
Even though I was early, the place was packed, and parking was a nightmare. I played a hunch and went down a street in a different direction and made it work. I parked under the parking sign, so there was no mistake I was in a legal spot, and hiked a couple of blocks to the library. I paid my membership, got my number, and in I went.
It was packed. Just as packed as if I’d come in with the regular population. I found a few things, some CDs, some books for my mom. The cookbooks were ones I either had or didn’t want. I found two old books (from the 20s, I believe) that I have to do some research on provenance, that I picked up because I thought they were nicely made.
I couldn’t get near the art books or the history books because dealers had set up boxes blocking regular people from getting to the shelves and were just shoveling books in.
Dealers shouldn’t be allowed in the member preview, at least not if they’re preventing people from getting to the shelves. I get that they need to make a living and it’s hard, but if they can’t behave with grace, they should have to wait until the end of the sale.
I realized I didn’t want to be in a crowded room full of pushy people (even though I was masked). So I took what I had and checked out and came home.
It took me longer to find a parking spot than I spent at the sale.
But it was a nice drive there and back, and nice to be out.
The seeds came from Eden Brothers, so I will do some planting this weekend. I ordered mostly medicinal herbs, but also zinnias.
I went to bed very early last night and slept for nine hours.
Today is bright and cold, in spite of snow predictions. I will run out this morning to pick up my cake and a few other things. Later this morning, we’re headed to the Clark Institute. I’ll do the social media rounds probably in the afternoon, promoting Episode 14 of Angel Hunt.
According to a notification, today is my Twitter Anniversary. I joined in 2009, so it’s been 14 years. That’s centuries in tech time. What a shame it’s such a dumpster fire lately. But I’m grateful for the fun I’ve had there in the past.
Tomorrow is my birthday. It will probably be a fairly quiet day, especially if it’s snowing. I’d hoped to bring in dinner from a local farm-to-table restaurant, but if the weather’s awful, I’ll wait a few days.
Have a good weekend, and I’ll catch you on the other side!
Yesterday, the skies were grey and there was a sense of waiting. For what, I don’t know. Just waiting.
I slogged through way too much email and dealt with a bunch of stuff. I still have some unpleasant admin to get through today. One of those companies where they know they’re in the wrong, so they try to bombard me with meaningless paper, and yet, I have chapter and verse and law number of the laws they broke, so they can bite me. But it takes time and attention to put together the documentation, both of which would be better served elsewhere. I have a feeling I’ll have to get the AG and the regulators involved, but these asshats need a good smack.
They get away with it because too many people WON’T take the time to put together the documentation and tell them to fuck off.
Someone with whom I’ve lost patience online talked the other day about the importance of boxing oneself in a niche, writing-wise. As an example, they said if they were asked for a reference, they’d refer the person with the niche. Which made me laugh, because there’s nothing this individual could recommend me for that I’d accept. What’s the point of freelancing if you’re going to remain in a corporate mindset? But hey, it works for thee, not for me, and more power to them.
Did the social media rounds to promote Angel Hunt and The Process Muse. Played with some ideas. I’m looking for notes on a project that I put in a Very Safe Place and can’t find right now. I had some ideas to make it more viable, and want to write them down before I forget.
Did the library run – lots of books, yay. Swung by the liquor store to pick up Prosecco for the weekend.
Afternoon was all about script coverage. I finished the coverage I started and turned around the two coverages for which I’d been requested.
And then, technically, my weekend started!
These first few days of the week definitely felt out of balance, because I focused so much on client work and not enough on my own. But it got done, and now I have the next four days to do the fun stuff I have planned (and do some of my own work, too, but I’m not On A Schedule).
I was invited to participate in the gigantic collaborative poem experience again this year with Word X Word. I sent in my interest, and hopefully will get a confirmation back that I can participate. This year, it will be done in multiple languages, so once I get my starting word (which is the last word of the previous poem), I will see if I can create a piece that incorporates French and German as well as English, because those are the languages to which I’m most closely connected. Of course, I will only have 24 hours to write my section, so I might not be able to pull it off. It depends on my catalyst word. But, should I be a participant, it will be fun. And I have the date down, in ink, in my calendar.
I started reading the next book for review, and also worked on contest entries.
Tessa and Charlotte started bothering me at 2:30. By the time I got up at 5:30, I was a wreck.
Meditation this morning, then writing and some admin work. Social media rounds to promote Episode 66 of Legerdemain, which drops today. This afternoon, I’m headed to the Berkshire Atheneum in Pittsfield, for their big book sale. I’m joining as a member of the Friends of the Library, and going to the Member preview. They have 55,000 books at this sale, specializing in detective fiction, cookbooks, art books, and Berkshire history. My kind of sale.
Dug down yesterday morning. Uploaded and scheduled the promos for this week’s and next week’s episodes of both Legerdemain and Angel Hunt. Polished, uploaded and scheduled the next 8 episodes of Angel Hunt, through episode 32, which means I’m scheduled through mid-May. Adapted another chapter into episodes, which gets me through Episode 58. Caught the start of an arc and made a note that I have to make sure to fulfill it further down in the serial.
Added my notes to the FALL FOREVER synopsis.
Did the social media rounds to promote the Legerdemain episode.
Made soup for lunch, from scratch.
In the afternoon, I finished the coverage I started yesterday, turned around two more, and nearly finished another. That means I have that one coverage to finish, and the two scripts for which I was requested to do today.
I went to yoga in the evening. It was my first full-on in-studio class since before the pandemic began. I’ve been to restorative/new moon/Nidra classes a few times since we moved here, but this was my first full-on class. It was a gentle yoga class and still kicked my ass. In a good way, but boy have I lost a lot of flexibility. And it showed how I’ve cut corners in my home practice. I have some work to do to get back on track.
But I love the way this instructor teaches, and everyone else in the class is really nice. I’m hoping to make this class a regular part of my week, as often as possible. I booked for next Tuesday, and I’ll go week-to-week.
Worked on contest entries after dinner. Slept well. Up early and headed out to the laundromat, because it’s been a minute. I mean, more than a minute, but the weather was decent enough to load the car, etc.
I was the only one there, which is always my preference. My favorite machines were available, I pushed everything through. I drafted two poems (which need a lot of work. I mean, A LOT of work, but at least they’re scribbled down).
Now I’m home, and I will write for a bit this morning, then do a library run when it opens, then turn my attention to the scripts this afternoon. I want this to be my last day of client work for this week. I have some fun plans for the rest of the week, so I’m going to work as long as it takes to clear off my desk today.
Time for our Tuesday catch up. Pull up a beverage and let’s get to it.
The bright sun on Friday meant everyone was cheerful as they ran around getting things done before the storm. I dashed down to Big Y to get coffee. Really, that was in the interest of public service, because being around me if I’m without coffee causes unnecessary pain to all. I grabbed a few other things, just in case they were right about 14 inches of snow and I couldn’t dig out by Sunday to do the early month Big Grocery Shop.
Did the social media rounds to promote the day’s episode of Angel Hunt, and to visit the blogs that are, once again, part of my regular rounds. Those of us who’ve never believed the blog is dead and steadily kept at it have built steady readership. I was amazed when a stat report came in, at how many people follow the various blogs, even if they don’t often comment. Thank you! I am grateful for the support, and I hope my mistakes save you pain, and that sharing my experiences make you feel less alone.
I struggled to settle into the page in the morning. The piece I was noodling with yesterday will work; I just have to figure out some of the points so that the structure fits its chosen genre. The piece (meaning my subconscious) chose the genre; I did not intentionally aim for it. But the structure is tight and unforgiving, and I want to make sure I hit the necessary points so I don’t just dive in and flail.
The Heist Romance script was calling me and demanding attention. I knew I had to re-read what I’ve done so far to get back into the voice, and I didn’t want to start that until I’d finished the deadlined work for the week.
I didn’t want to do script coverage in the morning, because then it would be too hard to switch my headspace back into the creative landscape, rather than the critical one. I managed to do a polish, upload, and schedule on the next couple of weeks’ worth of Process Muse posts.
I checked the plants out on the front porch, and it was so nice I sat out there reading the latest issue of THE NEW YORKER, joined by Tessa and Charlotte. There’s a great satiric piece on the pay-for-checkmarks at Twitter in the issue.
I did the necessary coverages and was done for the week, which was nice, I could relax in the evening.
Busy dreams, Friday into Saturday. Not bad, just busy.
It had started snowing late on Friday night. By Saturday morning, we had about a foot of snow, and it kept coming down until about noon. It was very pretty, and the power held, so I enjoyed watching the snow from the living room couch and reading.
I noodled with some ideas for poems. I have themes, ideas, image that I want to explore, although I’m not sure yet how. I have a notebook just for this type of noodling. Part of the notebook is similar to a commonplace book in that I write down quotes which resonate.
I finished reading POEM CRAZY, and started reading Mary Oliver’s book about the craft of poetry.
I was thrilled, on Saturday, to be offered a slot in this autumn’s Boiler House Poets Collective’s residency program at MASSMoCA. A weeklong intensive in the museum’s studios, with the other poets in the collective. It’s such an unexpected honor. I accepted, of course, and I am thrilled and slightly terrified. I will learn a lot and grow in new directions. It also gives me time to figure out what I want to work on. I think I want to write about shattered dreams around the Cape Cod experience (and Chiron will be in retrograde, so it makes sense); at the same time, it has to be more than catharsis, and stand on its own wordy feet. But I can play with themes and ideas and forms, and have something to actually bring in and work on with the Collective, while also creating new work while I’m there.
I started reading Tara Laskhowski’s ONE NIGHT GONE. Author Greg Herren had recommended it over on his blog, and it sounded interesting. It is. It’s very well done.
The Goddess Provisions box arrived, and it was lovely, as usual.
In the early afternoon, I went out to dig out the car. I was highly irritated because the guys who have the spots on either side of me – who are half my age – shoveled the snow behind their cars and dumped it behind my car instead of walking the five steps across the lot to put it where it was supposed to go. So instead of having a foot to shovel, I had three feet. Not a happy camper. They can bite me.
I don’t expect them to shovel my car clear. But it’s unacceptable to add more work to my slot because they’re lazy.
I used to always conscientiously shovel the space between the cars on both sides, but I don’t do it anymore, because I was the only one who ever did it and neither of these guys – young, strong, strapping guys – can ever be bothered.
I grabbed scripts for the week, and then was requested for a coverage, so now I have too many scripts for the beginning of the week (I’m only reading the first three days). But I’ll get it done.
Heard from the extended family up in Maine. They are all down with COVID (because they stopped being careful). They’re annoyed that we haven’t had it yet. Annoyed because we keep following protocols to remain as healthy as possible for as long as possible. No time for that. Makes me glad I started keeping a distance after the whole issue around the move, before we found this place, when they told us I’d have to put my mother in a nursing home, get rid of the cats, get rid of my books, and rent a room and work a minimum wage job. Nope. That’s not my life.
More busy dreams Saturday into Sunday. The good thing about having Tessa sleep on the bed is that she lets me sleep through the night, while Charlotte wakes me up every two hours.
I did a lot of ironing on Sunday, on various fabric that I’ve handwashed over the past few weeks and that has stacked up. It stores better when it’s ironed. I set out the board and plugged in the Rowenta and got to work. I enjoy ironing. It was part of the prep as a wardrobe person I found soothing.
Did some tidying up, broke down some boxes. Got some paperwork done. The chop wood, carry water part of artistic life is just as important as the rest of it. It keeps one grounded.
Worked on contest entries. I’ll have to do that every day for the next two months, to make sure I give the entries their due.
I re-read what I have of the Heist Romance Script. It holds up, in spite of knowing it needs work. Back to the research on Corsica and Sardinia, so I can sneak work on the next sections in around other work.
Sunday night into Monday, I dreamed about creating art pieces out of layered tissue paper that resembled stained glass (my uncle used to work in actual stained glass). It made sense in the dream, and looked pretty darn good, but I have no idea how to pull it off on this side of the Dreamscape.
Monday was sunny. Yeah!
Did the social media rounds early, took care of administrative stuff, then it was off to the library and the grocery store. Of course, as soon as I got home, another slew of books showed up at the library; I’ll pick them up tomorrow or so.
Did the big early-in-the-month grocery shop, hauled everything home and put it away.
Turned around three coverages and started on a fourth before I ran out of steam. Got requested for another that has to be done this week, so now I’m really overscheduled. However, I’m also grateful that writers find the feedback helpful and get excited to create more, and that they want my take on it. So I will get it all done.
Soup class was fun.
Worked on contest entries after.
Cancelled my subscription to Tamed Wild. I’ve gotten some beautiful things from them the past few years. But last year, they upped the shipping cost, so it’s an extra 40% on top of the cost of the box. They claimed it was “temporary” but we all knew that was a crock. However, since then, the shipping has gotten completely erratic. They can blame the post office all they want, but the post office can’t forward what hasn’t been given to them. The box that arrived yesterday was paid for on 13 Feb and supposed to ship by the 18. It shipped last Friday, 3 March. So much for a ritual meant to be specific to February. On top of that, the quality of the box contents has gone down and become repetitive. And, for instance, with the jewelry, now the pendants and chains aren’t put together, and when one tries to put the pendant on the chain – it doesn’t fit. Which means I have to go out and buy findings to adjust it and spend time trying to make it work. I’m not a jewelry artist. I don’t know how to do it and I shouldn’t have to for something I’ve purchased. Now they’re talking about going quarterly with a bigger box at more than double the cost with the shipping being an additional 25% on top of the cost of the box. No. Just no. So I cancelled. I’m grateful for the good months, but the direction they’re taking isn’t working for me.
Goddess Provisions has much more consistent quality, pricing, and on-time delivery.
But a new moonstone was part of yesterday’s box. Tessa loves moonstones, and she’s kept it close.
Slept decently, although the feline shift change at 4 AM woke me. I had trouble getting back to sleep after, going down negative spirals. I kept reminding myself, that’s not reality. I can choose that not to be reality. On a couple of points I realized the irritant was either none of my business or a situation I could choose to remove myself from, so why fret?
Today I have at least three coverages to turn around, and I will try to at least get started on a fourth. I have yoga this evening, so that will help me reset.
I have some pain-in-the-ass-but-necessary admin work (again, cleaning up the mess of the inept), but I’ll get that done, and hopefully write a bit, too. I took the writing pressure off myself early in the week because I knew I was only doing client work M-T-W, so I’ll gear back up on writing Thursday and Friday, along with the other stuff planned, and get back to a more stable writing-in-the-morning-client-work-in-the-afternoon schedule next week. I’m still writing in longhand first thing in the morning, so I’m still writing every day, and that keeps me on an even keel.
I had an epiphany about another layer for the play FALL FOREVER that will be written in April, so I’ll jot those notes down in my outline. It gives deeper motivations to several of the characters, and makes it more nuanced.
I also realized I haven’t scheduled the promos for this week’s episodes of LEGERDEMAIN and ANGEL HUNT, so I’ll have to do that first thing. Hint: Episode 65 of Legerdemain drops today!
Somewhere in my various readings this weekend, I came across the phrase “meet the day with ease” instead of stressing about everything that has to get done.
That’s my intent for this week — meet the WEEK with east. I have A LOT to get done in the first three days of the week, because I’m taking the last two off from client work.
Instead of worrying that it won’t get done, I will try to meet it with the confidence that it WILL get done, just maybe not at the time or in the order I predict.
Time to remove another layer from the stress onion.
We’re supposed to get another foot to fourteen inches of snow, starting tonight through tomorrow. I hope they are wrong again.
Wrote about a thousand words after meditation, which was a nice start to the day.
I paid bills and made the official request, in writing, to extend our lease another year. Picked up books from the library and got wine from the liquor store. Of course, as soon as I got home, I got the notification that more books arrived.
They have to wait until Monday.
Started working on the grant application. It took several hours, and there’s some intense writing in it, but it’s off. Either it’s what they’re looking for or it’s not, but if I don’t try, I don’t have any chance at landing it.
Last week, I got a notice stating my health insurance was all sorted out (except for, you know, having an actual doctor). Today I got three different missives all contradicting each other. Whatever. I’ll look at them and deal with them when I’m less exhausted. Plus, my mother’s supplementary insurance, which was supposedly all sorted out? They now claim they’ve lost the paperwork. Twice. Because, of course, they want her to enroll in a more expensive plan. They can fuck right off.
I got confirmation that the paperwork I had to re-send earlier in the week arrived and was accepted. Phew.
I did the social media rounds to promote the new episode of Legerdemain that went live yesterday. Dropping three platforms shaves off 30 minutes of those rounds, and makes a huge difference. Time there wasn’t paying off in terms of driving traffic to my site, sales, or having fun hanging out. So they’re dropped.
NYU’s Alumni Book Club hosted a virtual talk with Sara Nisha Adams, who wrote THE READING LIST, which we read over these past few months. What a delightful hour that was! I’m so glad I made the time to attend. I’m excited to read her new book when it releases.
The script coverage was rough going; I only got one and a half completed, which means I have two and a half to do today. Plus, I kept thinking it was Friday yesterday (even though I was at meditation, and that happens on Thursdays).
I’m re-reading Susan G. Wooldridge’s POEM CRAZY and enjoying it. I want to read her books of poems now, too. She mentions that poet Michael McClure suggests making a “personal universe deck” and I really like that idea. I think I may do it a little differently than they mean, but the idea appeals to me, even though I don’t know how I will do it yet. I know his work as a playwright, but now I want to read his poems, too.
I started reading THE QUARTER STORM by Veronica G. Henry. It’s really good. It was recommended by a colleague over on Mastodon, and I’m really enjoying it.
The second shipment of contest entries arrived, and has to be processed. So now I have to dig down deep, every day, to do them justice. I’m looking forward to it, especially with all that snow coming in.
I’m invited to an art opening this evening and another tomorrow. I’m not sure I can make either one of them with a Nor’easter coming in. The storm is supposed to start at 7 PM tonight and continue until 9 PM tomorrow.
I miss working on the Heist Romance script, and I hope I can do at least a few pages on the Corsica section this weekend, in and around working on contest entries, Legerdemain, and Angel Hunt.
Episode 12 of Angel Hunt drops today. I hope you enjoy it.
After breakfast, I’m going to run out to the grocery store to get more coffee (how could I be out of coffee already?), and then, it’s back to the page.
I had a realization about process today. Bear with me.
I sat down yesterday morning to work on a project I’ve been noodling with and have had resistance to work on. I sat there, staring at the screen, and thought, “I don’t want to work on this.”
Then I had to ask myself WHY I didn’t want to work on it? The project has merit; it’s fun and plays with ideas and form.
I didn’t want to work on it because the only reason I was doing it was to create content for a particular site, not because it was an idea that took fire for me. I had gone in search of the idea because I needed to create content, instead of getting zapped by an idea and trying to figure out where it fit best.
Now, I make my living writing. There’s nothing wrong with creating a piece with a specific target in mind. But this project is kind of my last Hail Mary for this particular site, so I’m feeling pressure to, well, not do genuine work but mimic the voice of similar content.
Which is not the right reason to do something. Not for me, anyway.
Working for money is part of the deal. All those “I wouldn’t do art for MONEY. I don’t care if I get PAID” people — I have all kinds of issues with them and how they intentionally sabotage those of us who make a living at it, often because they can’t do it as a living, and resent that anyone else can. It’s fine to create for oneself and not monetize it. That’s a choice. But don’t get in the way of those of us who do.
I need to step away from this particular project for a few weeks or months and try to figure out if it’s something that I think will be fun to work on while having an eye on the market, or if it’s a clinical market experiment. Both of those are valid choices. But I have to be honest with myself about the reason I’m doing it, and take responsibility for those choices. Originally, I figured I’d start it today, and have a first draft done by March 15 (it’s only 15K in length, and has to hit that pretty exactly on the word count (maybe about 20-30 words of wiggle room). It needs to be created on the computer, not in longhand, because the word count on each section must be precise. That would give me two weeks to revise, and then it would start running in 500-word segments for the month of April (while I’m busy involved with the DG End of Play project), let it sit for 3 months, disappear it, and possibly reappear in novella form (revised) in fall or winter.
I don’t like to squash the revisions in that fast, or have that short a time before the first revision. Then I figured, well, I’ll write it this month and have it run in June.
But I still met with resistance when I sat down to work on it.
It hasn’t had enough percolation time, and I’m trying to push it into being before it’s ready. Now, some projects drop into my head nearly fully formed and take off immediately (such as the Heist Romance script). This one, I was searching for ideas to work in the format/market/experiment. If I had landed an advance for it, well, then I’d have to suck it up and get it done. But this is an experiment, to see if this type of piece will work in this particular market. There are no guarantees at all it will hit, even if it’s good. And it doesn’t have the chance to be good if I force it before it germinates. Because it’s not under contract and advance, I have the luxury to push it back and to germinate/percolate/grow organically a little more. Even though, by the time I’m ready for it, the market may well have shifted, and then I’ll have to deal with that reality.
The central character is there. The basics of the premise are there (but not the hook). But the muse hasn’t smacked me upside the head with the Frying Pan of Creativity, and in this instance, I need it. It’s not already contracted, so I can let it grow organically. It’s a hard decision, but it’s a case where I need to put the work first, and because it doesn’t affect anyone else’s schedule or income, I have that flexibility.
Back to our regular daily musings.
I felt better after the decision, but still couldn’t settle and focus. I was agitated and unsettled. I found another grant to which to apply, and will do so when I can focus. I tried researching novels set in artist or writers’ colonies, and the search engines were useless. They are getting worse and worse every day with all this faux SEO and AI crap. I’ve read TC Boyle’s EAST IS EAST multiple times. I have THE ARTIST COLONY and THE ECLIPTIC on my list. But there must be more. I found THE WRITING RETREAT by Julia Bartz, which also sounds good, and some other novels, which aren’t set in that location, which sound interesting. A fellow reader on Mastodon suggested A THEATRE FOR DREAMERS by Polly Samson, so that’s on the list.
I navigated through the day with a growing sense of doom, as though I waited for something awful to happen. Then I worried that I would draw it to me by worrying about it. One of THOSE spirals.
I did the social media rounds for Ink-Dipped Advice, The Process Muse, and yesterday’s episode of Angel Hunt. I turned around two script coverages, both of which were more complicated than expected.
I read for pleasure in the evening, until about midnight.
Had an intense time in the Dreamscape. Positive, but intense, and woke up with an idea that’s formed as far as beginning and end and needs some figuring out in the middle. I made notes and added it to the percolation pile.
A piece that’s been percolating waved at me and said, “think about taking another look at me. I might be what you want for that market you stepped away from yesterday. But you can’t rush it.” We’ll see.
I have meditation this morning, then it’s off to the post office, the library, and the liquor store. This afternoon, I’m attending a virtual author talk, and I also have to turn around two scripts. I hope to get some work done on Legerdemain and on a grant application where the application portal opened yesterday. One of those where they won’t let you read the whole thing ahead of time, which is Very Annoying.
Tessa and Charlotte negotiated sharing my bed all day yesterday. Each made her own blanket fort on a different part of the bed and pretended the other wasn’t there. Tessa slept with me on the bed all night until the coffee started this morning, and then Tessa went to check on the coffee while Charlotte concentrated on waking me up.
Episode 64 of Legerdemain drops today. I hope you enjoy it.
Yesterday morning was quite productive, with the snow falling outside. I wrote an episode of Legerdemain. I created loglines and graphics for the 4-Batch of Legerdemain episodes going live in the next couple of weeks. I uploaded the promotions for this week’s Angel Hunt episodes. I read over the edits on the article that the editor sent; I didn’t have to do anything. It was just a courtesy on her part, so I wouldn’t be surprised when the piece went live, which is much appreciated. I polished, uploaded and scheduled today’s Ink-Dipped Advice post, which is live here.
I did the social media rounds for yesterday’s episode of Legerdemain and for the final #28Prompts post. I turned around coverage on two pitches, a scoresheet, and two full scripts. I made less than half of what I wanted to this pay period. But the coverages for the next three days will get me back on track, provided enough scripts come in next week.
I pre-ordered The Midnight City Oracle deck, because I like the tarot deck so much. That should ship in June.
In the evening, I read Amor Towles’s A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW. Anthony Lemke recommended it. I’d heard of the book, but hadn’t read it yet. His recommendation moved it farther up my reading list (because I trust him). I really enjoyed it. It was a nice change to read something not genre-focused and see how genre elements are used in something with a larger scope. The character and setting work are as enchanting as the plot is riveting.
I was delighted to see that one of my favorite scripts of the last couple of years made The Grey List. I love to see scripts that enchanted me during the analysis process succeed.
The Dramatists Guild sent me log-in information; I assume it’s because I’m part of End of Play, and a lot of that will be done via their site? I mean, I’d love to be a DG member, and I could be – if all my programs weren’t in storage. (I have to provide proof of a paid production via a program from it). Maybe a photo of a poster would do it. It’s not something I have to worry about right now. I’ll make a decision after the End of Play project.
Tessa slept on the bed all night. Charlotte didn’t even come in this morning. The minute the coffee started, Tessa went to the kitchen to check, then came back to roust me out of bed, because the smell of coffee now means it’s time for breakfast. While Tessa was off doing her morning rounds, Charlotte grabbed the bed back, and now Tessa sits on the floor in my office, glaring into my room. Charlotte has turned her back and gone to sleep. Willa is staying out of it.
It will be an interesting day on the feline front.
I have to dig out the car later on. We didn’t get as much snow as predicted, only 4 or 5 inches instead of 10. But most of the day is about drafting another episode of Legerdemain, promoting Angel Hunt, uploading a few more Process Muse pieces, working on another idea, and possibly uploading and scheduling the next 8 Angel Hunt episodes. It’s definitely a challenge to keep clear between the two serials, but hopefully one that I’m meeting.
I’m edgy and full of doubts today, so I need to get over myself and focus on the work. I can always find solace in the work, even on the more difficult days.
Episode 11 of Angel Hunt drops today. I hope you enjoy it.
GWEN FINNEGAN MYSTERIES
Archaeologist Dr. Gwen Finnegan is on the hunt for her lover’s killer. Shy historical researcher Justin Yates jumps at the chance to join her on a real adventure through Europe as they try to unspool fact from fiction in a multi-generational obsession with a statue of the goddess Medusa.
Buy links here.
When plans for their next expedition fall through, Gwen and Justin accept teaching jobs at different local universities. Adjusting to their day-to-day relationship, they are embroiled in two different, disturbing, paranormal situations that have more than one unusual crossing point. Can they work together to find the answers? Or are new temptations too much to resist? For whom are they willing to put their lives on the line? Available on multiple digital channels here.NAUTICAL NAMASTE MYSTERIESSAVASANA AT SEA
Yoga instructor Sophie Batchelder jumps at the chance to teach on a cruise ship when she loses her job and her boyfriend dumps her. But when her boss is murdered, Sophie must figure out who the real killer is -- before he turns her into a corpse, too. A Not-Quite-Cozy Mystery.
Buy Links here.COVENTINA CIRCLE ROMANTIC SUSPENSEPLAYING THE ANGLES
Witchcraft, politics, and theatre collide as Morag D’Anneville and Secret Service agent Simon Keane fight to protect the Vice President of the United States -- or is it Morag who needs Simon’s protection more than the VP?
Buy links here.THE SPIRIT REPOSITORY
Bonnie Chencko knows books change lives. She’s attracted to Rufus Van Dijk, the mysterious man who owns the bookshop in his ancestors’ building. A building filled with family ghosts, who are mysteriously disappearing. It’s up to Bonnie and her burgeoning Craft powers to rescue the spirits before their souls are lost forever. Buy Links here. RELICS & REQUIEM
Amanda Breck’s complicated life gets more convoluted when she finds the body of Lena Morgan in Central Park, identical to Amanda’s dream. Detective Phineas Regan is one case away from retirement; the last thing he needs is a murder case tinged by the occult. The seeds of their attraction were planted months ago. But can they work together to stop a wily, vicious killer, or will the murderer destroy them both?
Buy link here.
Full Circle: An Ars Concordia Anthology. Edited by Colin Galbraith. My story is “Pauvre Bob”, set at Arlington Race Track in Illinois is included in this wonderful collection of short stories and poetry. You can download it free here.
Archaeologist Dr. Gwen Finnegan is on the hunt for her lover’s killer. Shy historical researcher Justin Yates jumps at the chance to join her on a real adventure through Europe as they try to unspool fact from fiction in a multi-generational obsession with a statue of the goddess Medusa.
Buy links 
When plans for their next expedition fall through, Gwen and Justin accept teaching jobs at different local universities. Adjusting to their day-to-day relationship, they are embroiled in two different, disturbing, paranormal situations that have more than one unusual crossing point. Can they work together to find the answers? Or are new temptations too much to resist? For whom are they willing to put their lives on the line? Available on multiple digital channels 
SAVASANA AT SEA
Yoga instructor Sophie Batchelder jumps at the chance to teach on a cruise ship when she loses her job and her boyfriend dumps her. But when her boss is murdered, Sophie must figure out who the real killer is -- before he turns her into a corpse, too. A Not-Quite-Cozy Mystery.
Buy Links 
PLAYING THE ANGLES
Witchcraft, politics, and theatre collide as Morag D’Anneville and Secret Service agent Simon Keane fight to protect the Vice President of the United States -- or is it Morag who needs Simon’s protection more than the VP?
Buy links 
THE SPIRIT REPOSITORY
Bonnie Chencko knows books change lives. She’s attracted to Rufus Van Dijk, the mysterious man who owns the bookshop in his ancestors’ building. A building filled with family ghosts, who are mysteriously disappearing. It’s up to Bonnie and her burgeoning Craft powers to rescue the spirits before their souls are lost forever. Buy Links 
RELICS & REQUIEM
Amanda Breck’s complicated life gets more convoluted when she finds the body of Lena Morgan in Central Park, identical to Amanda’s dream. Detective Phineas Regan is one case away from retirement; the last thing he needs is a murder case tinged by the occult. The seeds of their attraction were planted months ago. But can they work together to stop a wily, vicious killer, or will the murderer destroy them both?
Buy link 
Ink In My Coffee 