Wed. Oct. 26, 2016: Nattie Filmore Upcoming Free Release, HobNob, and More!

Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Waning Moon
Sunny and cold

Yesterday was busy, and, a little frustrating. The RMV renewal office at AAA told me I needed a “sticker” from my insurance company, but couldn’t explain how it worked — electronically or otherwise. I contacted my insurance company, and they sent me something they assured me would work, so I have to hike back out to Dennis this morning and try again.

I critiqued my friend’s short script for NMLC’s participation in Mass Audubon’s “Enchanted Forest” on Friday night — it’s hilarious and adorable. It’s about the dangers of plastic debris to marine life (specifically, in this case, sea turtles). It’s terrific!

I worked on revisions for DEATH OF A CHOLERIC. I’m about five chapters from the end. Then I will let it sit for two weeks and marinate, while I work on the plays, the tweaks on what is now PLAYING THE ANGLES, and the submission materials I need for CHOLERIC. I’d like to get it out the door in November, before the holiday insanity.

Last night was another HobNob night. It was such fun! Someone I had recommended join us showed up and had a good time, and it was nice to reconnect with familiar faces. David Kuehn, from Cotuit Center for the Arts, was our speaker, and it was nice to see him again.

I’d made business-card sized promotions for “The Possession of Nattie Filmore” and gave them out at the event. Most of my fellow HobNobbers haven’t read any of my work yet.

Off to RMV again, and then it’s back to DEATH OF A CHOLERIC. I’d like to get this draft finished either today or tomorrow.

My mother’s 92nd birthday is coming up this weekend! She gets her favorite: cheesecake.

Don’t forget: “The Possession of Nattie Filmore”, a short Jain Lazarus adventure, will be available for free download starting on Friday, October 28, through Monday, October 31. It will contain excerpts from several other pieces. It will also contain a coupon for one of the Ava Dunne shorts, will be good until Nov. 2.

Come back on Friday and get the link!

Devon

Wed. June 1, 2016: Diagramming a Series for Structure

Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Waning Moon
Mars Retrograde
Sunny and pleasant

Busy weekend, but not with a lot to show for it.

Saturday was my Saturday “off” from the library. I ran around doing errands, and got the terraced back area mowed. It desperately needed it! Sunday, I worked on the meadow, but only got about ¼ of it done.

Sunday afternoon, I was lucky enough to see the amazing Neil McGarry in MY NAME IS ASHER LEV at Cape Rep in Brewster. It was a beautiful space, and a wonderfully done show. The entire cast was terrific, and the direction was superb. It was easily the best thing I’ve seen since I lived on Cape.

Monday and Tuesday rained, so I couldn’t work outside. I wasn’t feeling well, so I didn’t get as much done inside as I would have liked, either. My lunch date was cancelled yesterday, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise, since I felt so bad, and I missed both the Mermaid Ball meeting and the Artist HobNob.

I did a lot of mental work on the rewrite of what’s been THE CHARISMA KILLINGS, but will shortly have a new title. I figured out the new opening, and how that affects the rest of the plot and red herrings and incorporates the other suggestions. I didn’t get a lot of words on paper, but I’ve got a good sense of direction for this revision. It didn’t LOOK like a lot of work got done, but it’s the part of the process that, unless you are an artist or writer, you don’t really understand, and it’s difficult to explain. I ran the response ideas past my agent and she liked them, and we’re working on both a new series title and new book titles.

I also worked on ideas for CHOLERIC’s revision. The contrast between the two series is interesting. Although they are both mysteries, the tone is very different for each. I broke down some of Philip Craig’s Martha’s Vineyard mysteries, because they are closer in tone to what I’m going for that something in CHARISMA’S subgenre. I was surprised by several things: the conservative tone of the books, which I hadn’t really noticed when I originally read them in the 90s and which I do not like now; and the number of characters, which I like A LOT.

I dislike books with too few characters. Even in a small community, you run into a lot of people, and keep crossing paths with people. If a writer doesn’t differentiate characters well enough, that’s one thing, or substitutes character quirks for actual character. Neither of those work for me. But if a reader’s too stupid to keep track of more than six characters, well, that’s not the reader for whom I’m writing, period. And I’m a little tired of all these content producers, across different mediums, claiming they want “diverse” characters, when in reality, they want the mention of different skin tones, but they want the characters to act like white people.

The exercise is very illuminating. I’m also doing it with Jane Langton’s Homer Kelly books.

I also took the opportunity of not feeling well and having little left over energy to re-read Sharon Shinn’s entire TWELVE HOUSES series. I’m nearly done with all five books. I love them more each time I re-read them. MYSTIC AND RIDER is still one of the books in my Top Ten list, and I still think it’s one of the best opening chapters I’ve ever read. I still sob at portions of THE THIRTEENTH HOUSE. I liked DARK MOON DEFENDER better this time around, and still love READER AND RAELYNX. I’m about half way through FORTUNE AND FATE.

I have to respect her decision to end the series when she feels she should, but I would love more in this world. I love all these characters a lot.

Back to work today; will be a long day, and then I have to tackle actually getting words on the page. I have a feeling, over the next few months, I’ll be writing both first thing in the morning, and adding another session at night.

Hope you had a great weekend.

Devon

Wed. March 30, 2016: Refilling the Well & Moving Forward

Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Waning Moon
Jupiter Retrograde
Sunny and cool

Busy few days. That seems to be the mantra, doesn’t it?

Saturday was my Saturday “on”, and I was exhausted by the time I came home. I read, worked on contest entries, worked on the outline of the gothic, and percolated on the two short stories I have to write in the next month.

Sunday was Easter — even though we don’t technically celebrate it, the way I do with the Equinox, we ate an egg for breakfast and enjoyed the fact it’s a holiday. The weather wasn’t good enough to work in the yard. I did some planning, though, for what I’d like to do in the yard in the upcoming weeks. I baked a ham, and we had a good holiday dinner.

I worked my way through another stack of contest entries. The entries in the genre I’m currently reading, are, unfortunately, both derivative and weakly-written.

I took a break to read something well-written, which was Dawn Tripp’s novel GEORGIA, about Georgia O’Keefe. It was wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Monday, I did some work in the morning, ran errands, and took my mom to the doctor. The weather was vile, but we got there. Good news — she’s in good shape, n spite of the X-rays and the pulmonary test for which she was sent. But she has to exercise more. On nice days, we’ll walk on the beach. On nasty days, she walks around the house trailing a cat toy, so the cats get exercise, too.

Went to Country Gardens to drop off a sample of the invasive, pick up a present for a colleague, and do some pricing on things I want/need in the next few weeks for the garden.

Came home and percolated on various projects — reading background material, sitting in the office in the reading chair, and just being quiet and contemplative. People don’t realize how important that kind of time is to the creative process. I have ideas for several more paintings and one or two mixed media pieces I’d like to play with, so I’m also going to build more studio time into the schedule. It can’t interfere with the writing, but I also want to make sure that I follow this thread of creativity, simply because I enjoy it.

Went out to dinner at the Black Cat in Hyannis with a writer friend — it was her thank you for me reading a draft of her novel (and giving her nineteen pages of notes on it). We had fun. It was a pleasant evening out, and we both miss the nineties! 😉

Yesterday turned out to be a pretty day. I tried doing a scene for SONGBOUND from a different POV — didn’t work at all for the story. Although I’m working in close third, it needs to remain in Enid’s POV throughout. Good to know.

The play is coming along slowly. Its innate natural rhythm is much slower than a lot of other things I write, although the actual playing pace of it will be brisk enough to keep it from sagging. I have a title — “Just a Drop” — and that’s helping its shape. It won’t be done by tomorrow, which was my original deadline — but I’m pretty sure I can finish it by the end of April, which still gives me May for revisions. Scripts don’t need as much “resting time” in between revisions as novels for me.

Went to a birthday lunch for a work colleague yesterday. She’s a lovely woman, and it was nice to let her know she’s appreciated.

Took my mom to get her medication, and then we walked on the beach. A little windy, but nice. Too windy and raw to work in the yard, though. Tried sitting on the deck for awhile, working, but it was too cold for that, too. In fact, it went down to 33 degrees overnight!

But the seedlings inside are thriving.

I’ve been re-reading some of the books on my shelves — books that meant a lot to me, for one reason or another at different parts of development — and jotting notes down about them, thinking there might be material in there for an essay “someday.” I realized, yesterday, that I have the basis for two non-fiction books. Nonfiction #1 will take about a year to eighteen months to re-read everything and then sort out the material, get in additional statistics and anecdotes; Nonfiction #2 will take between three and five years. Some of this is because they have to fit in and around other projects. Some if because it will just take that darn long. But the process will be a pleasure, and I think I’ll get something good out of it.

Last night was the Artist HobNob, back in Hyannis (I’ve been to Hyannis a lot this week) at Kelly’s on Main. Fun evening, good speaker. Good talk with two other artists, who’ve been very supportive of my foray into mixed media. We’re talking about doing a ‘play date” and just messing around, to see what we come up with. That sounds like fun.

This will be a long week at work — today, tomorrow, and then Friday night we have a big fundraiser, so it will be a 13 hour day for me. Fortunately, I don’t have to work on Saturday — although I’ll be doing plenty of work –errands, dump run, cat food, garden center, yarn shop, etc., etc. Saturday night is the opening of the “Unsafe” exhibit, so I’ll be over there for a couple of hours. Sunday, there’s Julian Cyr’s campaign kickoff in Truro, so I’ll be out there.

I’m hoping the weather will be nice enough to get some yard work done, too!

Plus, of course, work on SONGBOUND SISTERS and “Just a Drop”, starting the short stories, and continuing on with the non-fiction pieces.

I hope it will be a productive spring. A POSITIVE spring.

Devon

Mon. March 2, 2016: Art, Politics, and Flexibility

Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Waning Moon
Jupiter Retrograde
Rainy and cold

Busy few days. I was absolutely exhausted by the time I left the library on Saturday afternoon. But it was a beautiful day. I managed some studio time in the good light.

Friday night, I attended my HobNob colleague Leonore Lyons opening reception of her exhibit THE KEY IDEA at Centerville Historical Museum. It was wonderful – her project, a community art piece, is expanding exponentially, and the staff and volunteers at the Historical Museum were terrific. I’m glad I went.

I did a lot of work on notes for SONGBOUND SISTERS, which is pulling strongly at me. I may have to flip work on TIE-CUTTER with work on SONGBOUND, so I don’t lose momentum. I also got another submission out, and did some reformatting a radio play –halfway through, I realized I was doing the wrong formatting for that particular venue. So I’ve got to go back and fix it sometime this week.

Worked on two proposals — one is almost ready to go out, a co-teaching proposal with a friend that would happen locally. The other still needs some more work, and would be regional, not just local, and needs some more work on budgeting.

Sunday was about studio time, and also searching for one more object I needed for the piece. Couldn’t find it. Store after store after store.

Sunday afternoon, I went to a house party to meet a candidate for State Senate named Julian Cyr. One of the board members at the library had invited me, and he’s also an NYU alum, so I was interested. We hit it off immediately, talking like we’d known each other for years. The fact that he listens and responds to what is actually said to him will take him far, I think. He’s got great ideas, lots of energy, he’s smart in knowing how to get things done, and has integrity, the latter of which is very important to me. I’m glad he’s running for the seat that’s about to be vacant — I didn’t hate the current holder of said seat, but didn’t feel he was responsive enough to individuals, and he wouldn’t do things like take on Comcast when they broke the law (since Comcast believes they are above the law).

Cyr is about solutions for the lives people actually live here, not buzzwords and putting band-aids on amputations. The bulk of his work has been in public health, and he sees how what are often split into different issues are all connected. That’s important, especially on Cape Cod, where the fragile ecological balance affects absolutely everything else.

I also met some very interesting people at the house, who are involved in film production. One woman, a casting director, feels very much the way I felt when I left Broadway to come here. I’ve been through it — I offered to be a sounding board whenever she needs one.

Came home a little tired, but also energized by the prospects that, even if politics is going to the insane and incompetent on a national level, we might be able to do something positive here.

More studio time.

Monday morning, up early. Studio time. Finally found the final object for the project – in the 27th store I visited in three days. Times like this, I miss New York, where they actually HAVE what you need in the logical places. More studio time.

I’d rearranged my day for an afternoon appointment with a potential client. Never happened, never heard. Considering how much I needed both the studio time and the writing time, it told me all I needed to know. In the evening, I emailed, wishing them well. Heard back Tuesday morning for a re-schedule, but none of the times work for me, and I’m done. I realize things happen, but it was a “I don’t think you’re the right person but want to talk to you” kind of thing, so I’m not losing anything by not engaging.

Yesterday, sent off the information about the project. Either it will be accepted, or it won’t. If not, I’m still glad I did it — I learned a lot. People kept telling me it would be “cathartic”. It wasn’t. It was painful. But I’m still glad I did it.

Sending it off, and getting it out the door left me exhausted, though.

I got my hair cut — short, cute, a bit vintage. My mom and I went and voted — always a satisfying feeling, although I miss the big machines with the levers. Then, you REALLY feel like you accomplished something!

Our treat for getting out and voting was lunch at Crisp, in Osterville. I had a gift card from the holidays, and their food is excellent. So that was a good choice.

Roasted a chicken for dinner, read a bit, and watched election results until I was too tired.

Today, work turns back to DEATH OF A CHOLERIC. I’m behind where I want to be on it, but I think I can catch up during the coming week. I want to get this draft done so it can marinate while I work on SONGBOUND SISTERS, and then, when SONGBOUND is done, I’ll go back to TIE-CUTTER. The creative balance, I think, will work, since there’s more of a difference lining up CHOLERIC, SONGBOUND, TIE-CUTTER, and then the 1947 aviation novel, rather than having CHOLERIC and TIE-CUTTER back to back.

I also want to get the first draft of the play about the 17th Century poisoner in Italy done this month. I want it out the door by June.

Long day at work, with lots of PR writing to get done. Onward.

Jan. 27, 2016: Creative Flow

Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Waning Moon
Mercury Direct (as of the 25th)
Rainy and mild

We had a nice big snowstorm on Saturday into Sunday — 15 inches. So much for the idiots who said it would be 3-5. We dug out with the help of our neighbor, but stayed tucked inside for most of the day.

I mostly read, working my way through contest entries, reading my friend’s manuscript, doing research. I outlined a new book, and wrote 11 pages on it, so the characters would stop bugging me.

I re-read the work I’ve done on RED WIDOW, and really like it. I need to find a way to work that piece back into the queue.

I worked on the short radio play. Tried a bunch of things that didn’t work, and finally found what did. The play is finished, polished, proofed, and will go out today. The deadline is Monday, so I’m happy to get it in a bit early. It’s a lot of fun. I’ll have to convert it to BBC format, and get back to converting “Confidence Confidant” into both BBC and US format for radio.

I came across GLAMOROUS HEARTS — that’s a lot of fun, and I think I’ll do something with that in the coming months. I’m finding all kinds of interesting stuff as I go through my boxes.

I did some work on DEATH OF A CHOLERIC, but not as much as I’d like. I feel like I’m behind where I should be, to meet the mid-February deadline for a first draft.

Last night, just moments after I finished the play, I attended the monthly HobNob. It was lots of fun, nice crowd at the Cotuit Center for the Arts. Carl Lopes was our speaker — his work is wonderful. We had a lovely conversation. I also met actor Neil McGarry — I like his one man CHRISTMAS CAROL, and we talked about all kinds of theatre stuff, and the possibility that he’ll do some Shakespeare for the library in April. All in all, a creative evening.

Picked up my mother at knitting. Only got about two rows done, but that’s life.

The radio play goes out today. I turn my main focus back to DEATH OF A CHOLERIC then, and I think, this weekend, I’ll also have the chance to start working on the next play, set in 17th Century Italy.

I will have a long day at work, but I want to get a couple of panels finalized, and get us into ArtsWeek Boston before the deadline.

I can’t believe January is almost done!

I have an article on answering when opportunity knocks over on the GDR site. I hope you check it out.

Devon

Wed. July 29, 2015: 39 Pages, NFL Morons, and Thank Goodness No Olympics In Boston

Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Waxing Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Neptune Retrograde
Venus Retrograde
Sunny and hot

Challenging few days. On the upside, yesterday, I wrote 39 pages (three chapters) of a fantasy novel — approximately 9,750 words. We’ll get to that in a minute.

Thank goodness the Olympics in Boston is OFF. That was a damn stupid idea in the first place — the city simply does not have the space, and spreading out all over the state — one of the ideas floated — was ridiculous. People need to be able to get to the venues, and even a few miles in Boston traffic is impossible. It would have hurt Boston, not helped us, and cost us (not just financially) far more than it would have earned us.

So, I appreciate Mayor Walsh and Governor Baker’s standing up for the taxpayers. However, I’m still annoyed with Baker for vetoing a $2.3 million dollar funding increase for the arts in MA. Close the tax loopholes for the corporate fucks and fund the arts. We already have a population who’s losing the ability for independent thought. Fortunately, the Senate and House overturned the veto.

The weekend was rather chaotic. This was supposed to be my Saturday “off” rotation. However, I wanted to deal with an issue in a particular way that I believed would be best for all concerned and save face for us; my boss said no. She’s the boss, so be it. Then, at 5:18 that night — when I’m already home on the deck with my feet up and a martini, trying to sort out the writing for the weekend — I get a text saying she shouldn’t have butted in and if I wanted to handle it that way, go ahead. In other words, the answer I needed at 10 that morning.

Part of me just wanted to ignore it — technically, this is supposed to be a part-time gig and when I’m off, I’m supposed to be OFF so I can write. But being petty would only hurt all of us. Believe me, I seriously considered being petty. I’m not trying to present myself as “good” in this situation by any means, because I was angry.

But, I went in on Saturday, and started the ball rolling. I knew it would take several hours to get the definitive answer that would allow me to do all the rest connected to it — what I SHOULD have had all day Friday to do. I didn’t want to spend all those extra hours at work, and I certainly wasn’t going to deal with the public, not on my day “off”. So I left and ran errands, planning to go back near the end of the open hours to find the answers, take care of the rest of the domino effect, and take down last week’s specific event display.

Only there was a major truck accident on Rt. 28, the road was closed, and the cops sent us into a maze of side streets I’d never seen before, and I couldn’t “get there from here”. An hour and a half later, I figured out how to get home.

Which meant I had to go in on Sunday, too. I baked first thing, and then headed in to work, dodging people who are incapable of understanding that “closed” means they can’t come in and do whatever they want, and they have to come in when the place is actually open. I had the answer I needed, I then spent the necessary time taking the next steps, so everything is taken care of. Because it all had to be done by Monday, and certainly before I officially got back to work today.

So it all worked out, but I was still irritated (putting it mildly), because all that extra chaos could have been avoided if I’d simply been allowed to do my damn job, which includes making the decisions that are part of it.

Watched LINE OF DUTY over the weekend, which is well done, and JACK IRISH, which I liked a lot. I think Iain Glenn is great in JACK TAYLOR, but it was a little too consistently dark, whereas JACK IRISH has a better balance, and Guy Pearce is also excellent. Watched MY OLD LADY, which is packaged as a comedy, but is definitely NOT, and needed about 20 minutes of whining cut out of the middle of it. The actors were terrific, the camerawork was good, but the script needed some tweaking. I’m watching POWERS, with Sharlto Copley and Susan Heyward. I like the actors a LOT, and the scene work is terrific. I like the concept. I’m not convinced on some of the arcs yet. But I’ve watched 6 episodes out of the 10, and I’m still watching, which says something positive!

Throughout all of this, I read and I tried to write. I read Lisa Chaplin’s THE TIDE WATCHERS, which I thought was good, but I’m wondering if she’s setting up for a sequel, or just leaving us somewhat dangling at the end. I read Barbara Delinky’s BLUEPRINTS. I read THE WATCHMAKER OF FILIGREE STREET. I read some research books for various projects.

I worked on a couple of ideas for projects. Got about six solid pages done on one. Did seven pages of another, and then, as I was driving around yesterday, picking up things for the Mermaid Ball, I realized that I’d started it in the wrong place. General advice is to start later than you think you should (cutting unnecessary exposition). In this case, I started in the wrong place with the wrong characters. So I let that percolate for awhile.

Met with my editing student and we had a good session. She’s taking her time to learn the craft, which is necessary, and her premise is good. As long as she really LEARNS before she sends this out, she can then apply it moving forward.

Worked on Mermaid Ball stuff, running around picking things up and putting together packages. Amazon delivered three days later than guaranteed — this is the third time in the last two months, and I’m getting sick of it. Guess they’ve gotten so big, they no longer care about customer service. Which meant all the stuff I wanted to deliver on Sunday couldn’t be — not that I could have made it over the bridge anyway in good time, but that was my day to deliver packages.

You’d think Mercury was in retrograde! 😉

Yesterday, I wrote. From about 6 in the morning until 2:30 in the afternoon. 39 pages of the re-envisioned piece. Obviously, it’s working now.

I ran over to pick up something at Cotuit Center for the Arts, then changed and went to Harvest Wine Bar and Gallery in Dennis for an artist HobNob event. We were a small group, but it was enormous fun — spent a lot of time talking to a choreographer, a musician, and a cabinet maker.

Home, dinner, POWERS, percolating some more writing. I have a play I have to work on, and work through the next section of BALTHAZARR. I don’t know why I’m struggling so much with this book. It should have been done ages ago.

The whole Tom Brady/NFL suspension is ridiculous. Tom Brady is one of the few players who is consistently a class act, and people want to take him down. When I was on sports journalism gigs, football players and baseball players were my least favorite interviews. Hockey players were consistently interesting, not to mention nicer and more respectful. What’s the most disturbing, to me, is the anti-woman message the NFL is sending. Players can beat up on women and only get 2 suspensions, but because there’s less air in a piece of pigskin, that deserves 4? Totally out of balance. It says that the air in a football is more important that the treatment of women. For an organization that makes that much money and has that many people looking at them as role models (heaven forbid), it is appalling. I could understand 1 suspension, but 4? Aside from the fact I don’t think he had anything to do with it, and the whole “destroyed cellphone” thing — hell, I throw my phone across the room several times a week, not because I’m trying to hide something, but because the phone and TMobile are both garbage. It’s all crap. People — especially women — should boycott the NFL this season, make a point with their wallets. But they won’t, because until someone beats down on them personally, they don’t care enough to stand up for something that matters.

It’s also the anniversary of my father’s death in 1972, never an easy day for me.

On that happy note (yeah, that’s sarcasm), yet another long week begins.

Hope yours is terrific!

Devon

July 1, 2015: Writing, Good Conversation, and Tornado Warnings

Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Full Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Pluto Retrograde
Neptune Retrograde
Cloudy and tornado warnings

I cut myself a break over the past few days and gave myself a chance to refill the creative well.

Saturday, I worked my four-hour stint. It was busy, and we were happy to lock the door and get out of there. There was an event at the building next door, and even though there were clear signs where to park, the attendees took our patrons’ half dozen spots, even when asked not to.

Relaxed on the deck Saturday afternoon. Sunday, I was wiped out. Read, relaxed, let the stories percolate. I tried to write a bit, but it was ready to be on the page yet; it was still forming.

Sunday night, headed back to Liberty Hall to pick up the Chicken BBQ dinners (they’re good to us, I’ll buy their chicken dinners a few times a year — give-and-take). It was great, but I overate! It was weird to walk into the Hall and know every person sitting down to the meal, and everyone in the kitchen. I’m used to far more anonymity. But it will be useful to use in a story one day.

The weather was vile on Sunday, so I couldn’t work outside.

Read two mediocre mysteries and started one so poorly written that I stopped reading it. Read another novel, THE FORGOTTEN SEAMSTRESS, by Liz Trenow, which was quite lovely.

Did a good bit of research on several projects. It’s going to feed in nicely to them, enrich the environment in which these stories and characters take place.

I was disappointed at the viciousness people displayed toward EL James in her Twitter chat. Her books don’t work for me, for a variety of reasons (as a writer, as a woman, as a feminist). However, plenty of people enjoy them, she’s successful, good for her. It’s hard to make a living in this business. While in the abstract, some of the snarky questions had elements of humor, the overall nastiness of the whole endeavor was disheartening. I was especially disappointed that other writers — most of whom have nowhere near her sales numbers — were positively gleeful that she’d been attacked. If you don’t like someone’s writing, don’t read it, don’t spend your money n it. If you’re a reviewer and it’s your job to comment on it, and you dislike it, that’s one thing (although there are so few qualified reviewers at this point, even that’s in question). But this envy, the jealousy of her success is truly unfortunate. I’m sure she will recover and continue laughing all the way to the bank, and I realize it says more about those who attacked her than about her, but it was disappointing. For people to defend it by saying, “Well, that’s what you get for going on Twitter”, um, no. I’ve found plenty of classy, supportive, intelligent people on Twitter, and landed some of my best freelance assignments on Twitter. I choose not to deal with the stupid, the ignorant, and the nasty on Twitter, much as I cut as many as possible out from my life in general.

The episode was definitely food for thought as I consider how I want to reshape the way I position my work and myself in the world. Not because I’m worried about the same kind of attack (although I’d sure love those dollars), but because I’ve always believed, especially for writers, that the work is public, but the individual is private. In fact, I believe a certain amount of privacy is necessary in order to incubate the work properly.

Speaking of writing, the past few days’ work on BALTHAZAAR is sub-par, and I’m very disappointed in myself. I have to get past this obstacle and move forward on the piece as a whole. Knowing that my editor (whom I adore) is retiring is part of what interfered with the work –suffering from separation anxiety. Now, I need to get over it, and get back to work.

I got some work done for the Marine Life Center and for the Writers Center, too, over the past few days, so things are firing on several cylinders. And I got the grocery shopping done, which was of vital importance! 😉

Tuesday was a lovely, sunny, warm day. The kind of summer day that reminds you why you put up with the summer people on Cape Cod.

I got the last part of the meadow mowed in the morning. It was looking more like an African savannah rather than a Cape Cod backyard, but now it’s under control. The yarrow’s coming in nicely. The chamomile I planted in the front several years ago is now coming up by the back stairs, waving at me. I’ll be moving that to the border in the terrace. The clematis and morning glories are in bloom, as are the geraniums and the gloxinia and the Stella D’oro llilies, with the shasta daisies getting ready to pop. Herbs, tomatoes, lettuce, et al, all doing well. The cherry bush I though was dead and stuck in a bucket has recovered. I’ve given away its pot, so I have to figure how to plant the poor thing. Its twin, who is in the ground, has also recovered.

Lunch with a colleague who is also a friend, over in Sandwich. We got some chatting done, sorting out life stuff, and also some business done.

Home, hung out on the deck in the sun with books and cats, enjoying the reason I live on Cape Cod and not somewhere else.

Out to the Artist HobNob. This month, it was at Pain D’Avignon, out by the airport. We were at tables outside, in the lovely weather, and, if you’re from New York or lived near Westchester Airport (as I am/did), the planes going over weren’t much of a distraction. We had a great, lively table of people. What I love about these monthly nights is that it’s all about working artists inspiring each other (instead of some other events, where wanna-be artists whine and make excuses about why they’re not creating). I knew one person at the table, and everyone at the table is someone I hope to spend more time with, and continue sharing information and inspiration with. The food was great, the wine was good, the company wonderful. A truly lovely evening.

It was nice to have actual conversations with people.

It also seems to have moved me past the obstacles in BALTHAZAAR. This morning’s writing session was better.

I’d promised dinner for a friend, trying a new-to-me recipe for chicken and zucchini, in a sauce out of onion, garlic, celery, white wine, sage, bay leaf, clove, and cinnamon. It was excellent.

It’s summer, which means I’m making batches of lime-and-cilantro mayonnaise (which also contains sour cream). I quadruple the recipe whenever I make it, because it’s so good and I use it for oh, so many things.

It will be a long day at work (and the weather’s supposed to be awful today). Full moon, so ritual tonight. We’ll have another full moon on July 31, just before one of the most important days in my personal calendar. Tomorrow will also be a long day, but no tango tomorrow night. I will come home and sit on the deck with my feet up!

Update: In the time between writing this and being able to post it, we got an emergency alert to get into the basement, because there was rotation in Falmouth (although nothing touched down). We grabbed the cats, cat food, important papers, some water, the radio, and went into the basement. It was awful. We could feel the house shaking from the thunderstorms and the rain was torrential. Once we got the all clear, we came up, but were asked to stay off the roads for another fifteen/twenty minutes. I’d texted work, but no one got it and, even though work is only four miles from home, the storm hadn’t been anywhere near as bad there. So I’m trying t recover from that. Hoping I don’t have to do that anytime soon again. Not fun.

After tomorrow, due to a combination of the holiday, my work schedule, and painting being done at work, I’m away from the library for six days. It’ll be a good, well-needed break for me. I have yard work to do on nice days, and Canal Fest in Buzzards Bay on the Fourth. I know, oh horrors, I have to go over the bridge on a WEEKEND!

But I’m hoping to spend the bulk of the time writing — the historical play, the contemporary play, BALTHAZAAR being the main focus, but I may jot down the short stories just to make space in my head. The vintage theatre piece is taking shape nicely, too. Getting that first chapter down helped enormously. Researching 1938 makes me realize that was a good choice as a starting point for the book and the series. I also realized that, in the theatre piece set in Maine, where my characters have to go to Mobile to retrieve some other characters, I’m going to take them to New Orleans to catch their collective breaths. That’s still several chapters down the road in that piece, but it solves some of the logistical problems (both physical and emotional) that keeping them in Mobile over that adjustment period caused.

So, after tomorrow, I will be offline until July 9th, which will be good for everyone involved! I’ll have plenty to say when I get back, I’m sure!

Hop over to the Goals, Dreams, and Resolutions site — I’ve got my mid-year assessment up.

If we don’t get our “morning coffee” chat tomorrow, I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend (my American friends) and just a darn wonderful weekend (for everyone else).

Devon