Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Waning Moon
Pluto Retrograde
Neptune Retrograde
Sunny and warm

Late getting online today. I went to yoga this morning — it was wonderful. My attitude had already adjusted a little bit on the way there, and it was just the gentle shove I needed in the right direction. Barely any traffic coming back on 6, and then I mowed the side lawn and back terraced area. It’s supposed to get really hot over the next few days. I can let the meadow grow for awhile, but I really needed to get the terraced area done. The front will probably be okay until the weekend. The mower was a pain in the butt the whole time — the spark plug had to be adjusted, then something else had to be adjusted, and something else and so on. Urgh. A new mower shouldn’t be having so many issues.

A huge gray and white tabby streaked across the lawn when I mowed, leapt halfway up a tree, glared at me, then leapt down into a run and took off across the neighbors’ yards. Gorgeous cat. And what an athlete!

Yesterday was a pretty decent writing day. The New Mexico chapters are coming along well on POWER OF WORDS. The Prague chapters still need work, but at least I have their basic structure. I switched into third person omniscient POV in the Prague chapters, and that is jarring — doesn’t fit with the rest of the piece. So, when I revise, I have to go back and figure out from whose point of view I want each section. At least I’m moving the plot forward, growing the characters, and exploring arcs. The rest is all fixable, and the layering will happen.

Got stuff done for the ball, and prepped for tonight’s concert. Watched some TV — EUREKA and WAREHOUSE 13. I really like what they’re doing, character-wise, with WAREHOUSE 13 this season.

Started the “Revise in Company” workshop yesterday, and got them started on their first exercises. Checked in with the “Reviewing for Craft” workshop — we’ve talked and read now, for a couple of weeks; it’s time to start writing reviews.

Going back to the page for as much as I can this afternoon, and tonight is the jazz concert.

I hope it won’t get as hot as they predict — I really don’t want to use the air conditioner this summer!

The garden is growing nicely, although most of my stuff is much later than the neighbors’. That’s okay — as long as I have happy, healthy plants and Bessie the squirrel doesn’t keep snatching all the blossoms from the pumpkins and the zucchini for her little brood.

Back to the page.

Devon

ASSUMPTION OF RIGHT available from Champagne Books and Amazon Kindle.
Annabel Aidan webpage here.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Waxing Moon
Neptune Retrograde
Sunny and COLD!

Busy morning yesterday. First load to the dump was the single bag of household garbage, and the rest of the car was filled with recycling. We just don’t generate that much garbage. That one 30-gallon trash bag was from nearly a month’s living. The rest of the car was filled to bursting with cardboard boxes, tins, glass, plastic, etc. for recycling.

The guys who work at the dump are so nice. They explained how everything was set up, the protocols, etc. It’s extremely well-organized. I walked the whole space to get a sense of it (‘We’re really not as fun as the amusement park,” one of them said drily, as he watched me take in the sights), but I wanted to figure out where everything was BEFORE I started carting stuff out of the car.

Trips 2-4 were leaves. I got 21 of the leaf bags emptied out, and have 10 more left in the garage. I can get 7 bags (30 gallons each) per carload, and, since the dump is only about a mile away, I just kept making round trips. The leaf piles are huge — I should take my camera next time, they’re really, really cool-looking.

Yeah, I’m new, and I even find the dump fascinating! 😉

Ran some errands, had lunch, decided it was too cold for yard work (procrastinator). We spent the afternoon unpacking the most of the rest of the kitchen boxes. We’ve got two left. But everything’s unpacked, and most of it is put away — the island has too much stacked on it, but I have to figure out a few things.

Of course, I still have 60 boxes of kitchen stuff stacked the garage, but I’ll go through that a little at a time — or a lot, as we get closer to the party.

Finished the assignment for Confidential Job #1, got it off, did the invoice (forgot I had the holiday paper still in the printer, oh well). It’s a FESTIVE invoice.

Violet is OVER all the unpacking, and Iris simply hides. I think we have mischievious pixies around, because things are vanishing and turning up in different spots in the house. Violet is very non-chalent about it all, but there are times when Iris enters a room, her eyes get huge staring at something I can’t see, and the she shoots out of the room like her tail’s on fire. Don’t get me wrong, the house has a great vibe — there’s just a sense of mischief around lately, and sometimes it’s okay, but when I’m tired and hunting for something — not so much.

Found the candles I put aside for the holiday, so I could put them into the candelabras (candelabrae?) on the mantel.

Wrote domestic cards A-D last night (about 20 cards) and packed 5 more of the gifts to ship. So, it’s off to the post office this morning again — I also have to buy some more packing supplies. I have about 8 more gifts to pack and ship this week.

Taking another carload of leaves this morning, helping my mom with some stuff for her prescriptions. I’ve already had to rip her former doctor’s office a new one and the insurance company a new one. They think because my mother is 86 and a nice person, they can take advantage of her and make things rough on her. Then, they get to deal with ME, who is not 86 and not a nice person. Sort of an immediate karmic return for them. Sometimes I think I do better as I am without insurance, although as a MA resident, I’m now required to get health insurance. Won’t the companies love it when I interview them — because guess what? It’s my money, I’m doing the interviewing. The health care industry in this country needs to be completely gutted and dismantled, and rebuilt from the ground up without profit to the corporate executives. It needs to go back to being what it was originally — non-profit.

Car gets fixed at 2 PM, so there goes the afternoon.

The Hounds of the Baskervilles went above and beyond in their arias yesterday afternoon. I think it’s hilarious — hey, it beats leaf blowers, right?

I’d like to work on the yard a bit today, in spite of the cold, but it’s also really windy, so I don’t know if it’s counterproductive.

Hitting the page for a few hours this morning first, though. I’m behind on everything, and I overslept again this morning. I didn’t want to get out of my cozy bed!

Watched the special Christmas episodes of both EUREKA and WAREHOUSE 13, and laughed my head off, especially during the former. Both were very clever and absolutely hilarious.

Devon

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Saturday, July 31, 2010
Waning Moon
Pluto Retrograde
Neptune Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Sunny and lovely

Yesterday turned out to be a great day, after a very rocky start.

By rocky start, I mean we were all suffering from, shall we say “gastric distress” in the morning — I believe our water’s contaminated, and even boiling it isn’t helping. I used the pH strips I got for Elsa’s testing — extremely high on the acidic side. Fortunately, most of the time, the cats get bottled water, not boiled tap water. I’d put boiled tap water down for them this morning and they refused to drink it. Then, we got sick, so I switched it all to bottled, and they drank the good stuff and were fine.

So, yeah, basically, although I doubt it would stand up in court, the landlords are poisoning us. Plus, my downstairs neighbor moved out yesterday, which means they will start the renovation torture and it will be impossible to think or breathe or survive as of Monday.

If I COULD move out this week, I would. But people in this neck of the woods won’t rent to an unmarried female freelancer, no matter how reliable or what the law says. Besides, I don’t want to live HERE — I want to relocate. Which I’m trying to do, in spite of obstacles. I need everyone to hook into Diane’s heavy-duty moving vibes, and we’ll get it done. The move itself will cost at least $10K, which isn’t chump change, and it’s a case of having someplace to GO.

Immodium AD is a beautiful thing, and we were able to get on the road only about an hour late. We drove up to Old Saybrook, to my favorite “recycled furniture store”. I bought a set of Japanware cups and saucers for the shoot, a beautiful blue outside with a lovely gold glaze inside. It’s a little more modern than I originally envisioned, but it gives us options. I also found an almost-complete set of silver plate flatware that is monogrammed with my initial AND the pattern complements the William Rogers pattern I use daily. This flatware is by Old Company, but it’s beautiful. I may use some of it in the shoot, too. Everything came to $25, well within my projected budget.

We walked across the street to a warren of antique dealers, and I found a pair of Bond Ware cups and saucers with the rose pattern on the outside I wanted, and even inside, which are perfect for the shoot. $10 for the pair, still within budget.

From Old Saybrook, we hopped back on I-95 and headed up to Mystic, CT, where we wandered around the shopping village (rather than the historical village). I found Mystical Elements, the shop I wanted to visit. Their oil suppller is not one I particularly like, so I skipped the oil, picked up some of the herbs on my list, and stocked up on some much-needed crystals — the price and quality of the crystals are great. Also got some candles.

Headed southward again, to Niantic, to all three locations of the Book Barn. Found some books for my mom by her favorite author (Mary Balogh), but nothing for me. Youo know I’m sick when I walk around thousands of books and don’t buy ANY. I had three black cats accompanying me on my travels around the book sheds. It was hilarious. One led the way, telling me where to go, and the two younger ones trailed behind. I miss having black cats.

The drive back was a bit of a chore, because the traffic was bad. Not as bad as coming north, though — both I-95 and the Merritt Parkway seemed to be backed up all the way from Manhattan to New Haven. I felt sorry for those stuck, and grateful that, although traffic was heavy and moved slowly on our side, at least it moved.

Carefully washed the cups and saucers and pulled some other choices out of the cupboard. Couldn’t find what I wanted — those should NOT be in storage, but I’ll look.

Picked up Chinese food on the way home, had a quiet evening of EUREKA and HAVEN. I’m getting a little ahead of HAVEN, perhaps — each case is caused by something similar — strong emotion. Make the connection already and work on it! EUREKA’s fun, though. The invisible cat just made me howl. I could watch James Callis in every scene — I still think he’s being somewhat under-utilized. They brought him in beautifully, but aren’t using him enough. However, next week are the cross-over episodes with WAREHOUSE 13, and that should be fun.

Today, I’ve got to dig out some more dishes and props from storage, then head to Target for bins and other supplies, and find a pair of matching (or complimentary) blank books for a project. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do the photo shoot today, and then, if I don’t like how it came out, I can do another round of photos tomorrow.

Must also read my friend’s piece and re-read the book just accepted so that I can do the marketing and cover art questionnaires and get them back out — along with the photos — early next week.

Had an excellent first writing session this morning.

Busy, but all good.

Devon

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Saturday, July 24, 2010
Neptune Retrograde
Pluto Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Sunny, hot, humid

Yesterday was all about lunch with two writer pals. We went to Monk’s Cafe, which is only two blocks from where I’m staying. Excellent on every level — service, food, drink, price. Great place. It will become one of my regular haunts here in Philly.

Our server is a painter who needs the services of a writer. We all exchanged cards!

We had good conversations on a wide variety of topics, which always makes for an entertaining time. Great, great women. I learn a lot from them. One I hadn’t met before in person — just know her from Twitter. The other is a friend of quite a few years now, Lori from Words on the Page. Good times.

Spent the afternoon working on the material for Confidential Job #1. Plan to finish it and get it out today.

Honored the goddesses of the healing wells last night, on their festival day, with a good long soak!

Watched EUREKA. Love that show. It’s so much fun. James Callis is a brilliant addition to the cast. I realize his character arc can’t be unlimited, but I love the work he’s doing. He got a good bit of attention as Gaius on the re-envisioned BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, but since I’m one of the three people on the planet who didn’t watch it, I don’t know his work from it. I recognized him from his work in FLASH FORWARD — I thought he was one of the more interesting supporting characters brought in. I love watching really good actors like Callis get their teeth into very diverse roles, instead of getting trapped in a “type.”

I had a good laugh on HAVEN — an actor with whom I worked on a show in NY several years ago is on it, and he’s getting away with some wardrobe eccentricities we never allowed. They’re more fitting to this character than the previous one, but still — definitely an actor quirk.

Didn’t sleep well, for some reason. Weird dreams. And I have to stand firm in the contract negotiations. Oh, well, if it means walking away, that’s what I need to do. The piece will sell elsewhere.

The lunch made me realize that I’ve been rather unmotivated these past few months. I’ve used Elsa’s illness and the scumbag landlords as excuses, but I’ve really got to get off my duff and do some more aggressive marketing.

It’s supposed to be 110 with heat index today. I don’t plan on going out. I’m going to stay in the air conditioned apartment (praying the power holds), finish the assignment for Confidential Job #1, and write. I’ve certainly got plenty of projects that need attention.

I wrote a few pages of the first book in the new series last week, to get a feel for it, and will write a little more, and then go back to finishing the outline. I’m outlining the major character arcs for the overall series first, and then breaking things down into individual books, a new way of working for me. But this series wants to be done that way, so I’m going to trust the characters, and then figure out the structure.

I head back to NY tomorrow night. I can’t believe how fast this week flew past!

Stay cool, stay hydrated.

Devon

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Sunday, August 3, 2008
Waxing Moon
Pluto Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Neptune Retrograde
Sunny and pleasant

I gave myself the day off yesterday. Can you imagine? There were plenty of things I “should” have been doing – but I didn’t feel like it, so I gave myself a day off.

It was also the final performance for two more actors on the show, one of whom I’ve worked with closely in the past months. I wasn’t there in person, but I made sure he knew I was there in spirit, and, from what I’ve heard, it was an even more amazing performance than usual.

I read another one of the books by Barb & JC Hendee, the dark fantasy dhampir novels featuring Magiere and the half-elf Leesil. I enjoy the series overall and I’m curious as to where it will lead, because it’s going in an entirely different direction than I anticipated.

Not being at the theatre every night, I actually got to watch some TV last week – EUREKA, MY BOYS, BURN NOTICE, and part of an episode of STARGATE ATLANTIS. I like all those shows, and rarely get to watch any of them. EUREKA made me chuckle, as usual, although I’ve lost respect for the character of Ally. MY BOYS – well, I didn’t realize their new season started and next week is the finale and I’ll be traveling. Oops. I really like that cast, though. BURN NOTICE just gets better and better – Jeffrey Donovan and Gabrielle Anwar are two of my favorite actors to watch (haven’t worked with them – yet), and they just get better and better together, and the scripts are clever and fun. S.A.’s new season looks intriguing, but I’ve missed the first few episodes of the season and felt a little lost in the overall storyline, although what I saw of the individual episode was interesting. Again, great cast and witty writing.

I got some writing of my own done, on a script, a new idea, which was kind of fun. It’s unfolding in an interesting way. It’s a contemporary thriller – new territory for me.

Of course, I should have been working on the ghost story tied in to HEX BREAKER, but hey, today’s another day.

I’m going to take it easy again today; for some reason, I’ve got a massive headache. But I plan to get some writing done, get back on the marketing train, etc.

I have to leave early for the city tomorrow – I’m in early to do the day work early and then watch the run-through of the tour – and then race back here, because I’m doing The Dragons’s Den radio show at 8 PM EST. Come listen!

Oh, and I was wrong yesterday — the Haskell is TODAY at Monmouth, and Big Brown runs. I’m not going down there, but I’ll be watching. Indian Blessing won a wonderful sprint up in Saratoga yesterday by a nice margin — so proud of her!

Devon

Devon’s Bookstore:

Hex Breaker by Devon Ellington. A Jain Lazarus Adventure. Hex Breaker Jain Lazarus joins the crew of a cursed film, hoping to put to rest what was stirred up before more people die and the film is lost. Tough, practical Detective Wyatt East becomes her unlikely ally and lover on an adventure fighting zombies, ceremonial magicians, the town wife-beater, the messenger of the gods, and their own pasts.
$4.00 ebook/ $6.00 on CD from Firedrakes Weyr Publishing.
Visit the site for the Jain Lazarus adventures.

5 in 10: Create 5 Short Stories in Ten Weeks by Devon Ellington. This ebooklet takes you from inspiration to writing to revision to marketing. By the end of ten weeks, you will have either 5 short stories or a good chunk of a novella complete. And it’s only 50 cents, USD. Here.

Writing Rituals: Ideas to Support Creativity by Cerridwen Iris Shea. This ebooklet contains several rituals to help you start writing, get you through writer’s block, and help send your work on its way. It’s only 39 cents USD. (Note: Cerridwen Iris Shea is one of the six names under which I publish). Here.

Full Circle: An Ars Concordia Anthology. Edited by Colin Galbraith. This is a collection of short stories, poems, and other pieces by a writers’ group of which I am a member. My story is “Pauvre Bob”, set at Arlington Race Track in Illinois. You can download it free here: