Wednesday, 16 January 2013

Row80, Slow Recovery, and Charlie Sheen's Bottomless Coffee Mug (I think there's a connection there)

Oh, hello.

*looks around blearily*

I think I've forgotten how to blog.

Between the nearly full week of illness, coming as it did following the holidays, during which I had a lot of wonderfully scheduled-in-advance posts, and the trying to keep to my editing schedule despite the illness, I've lost the knack of blabbing on the blog.

Though I am pleased to report that the editing is progressing on Druid's Moon. Haltingly in some cases - I might have hit the dreaded middle - but soon the Beast shall be revealed to Beauty, and then there will be lots of dialogue and interaction and "what do we do now" conversations to play with. Then the finale, and then the denouement (which I don't think I've written yet!). Hoping to be ready to write the synopsis by end-February.

About the only thing I could hold up while ill (didn't even read until the third day, I was that weak) was my iPod, so I was on Twitter quite a bit. Yes, there were cat photos. Thank you for all your comments on my last post! So nice to have your good wishes. I'm looking forward to visiting everyone and catching up!

One lovely thing that happened while I was ill is that I was accepted for something I'd applied for a few weeks ago: the CANSCAIP Creator-in-Residence Manuscript Blue Pencil. It's a little different that the usual mentorship programme, since there were only twelve spots offered, and at no charge! The only thing is, CANSCAIP is the children's authors' association, and I submitted my MG/YA. Now I have to take off my romance (and paranormal) editing hat and put on my children's author hat - and return to a story I haven't quite looked at in a few years. I just know it's not as good as it could be!

But then, what do I know, really? I haven't had coffee in six days... I miss it so much I'm bringing back this image from an old blog post on mugs:


Yup, that's Charlie on the old Two and a Half Men. Judging by the blog post I got the image from, I'm not the only one interested in those bottomless mugs. At least, they seem bottomless when you're watching the show: He always uses the same one, there's always fresh coffee in the pot, and when he's not drinking alcohol, he's sipping coffee. Yum yum!

15 comments:

J.L. Murphey said...

Welcome back Deniz! You haven't forgotten how to blog...you did excellent.

Imagine me coming back after a month in the hospital! Start slow and work your way back up.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I haven't had coffee in over thirty years! (One sip was all it took.)
Congratulations and hope you can switch mentally between the genres.

DL Hammons said...

I'm glad you're feeling better! When you find that coffee cup...buy two and save me one! :)

Michael Offutt, Speculative Fiction Author said...

I love coffee. I drink it on a daily basis. io9 recently did an article titled "why drinking coffee makes you go poop."

Romance Book Haven said...

The holidays have messed up a lot of schedules. Don't worry, you'll get back. Happy New Year.

Maria

Carole Anne Carr said...

Not so bad for someone who now finds it hard to chat on blogger... :0)

S.P. Bowers said...

I'm glad your starting to feel better!

I hope this means good things for Austen and Kedi. Good luck.

Denise Covey said...

Deniz, I'm so sorry you've been ill. And no coffee! Gadzerks! I hope you've got yourself a bottomless mug by now.
Congrats on your CANSCAIP editing thingso. Will be a great experience.

Denise

Tia Bach said...

I'm tackling the Beast right now, and I can't wait for the Beauty to start shining through!

Congrats on the Blue Pencil (all of the title my brain could remember!) gig!

And, yes, I'd love a bottomless mug (of inspiration).

Hope 2013 is starting off well. I've been sick, too, so let's hope we are done with sickness for this year!

Zan Marie said...

I'm so glad you're feeling better! Good luck with the blue pencil and all the editing, Deniz

Carrie-Anne said...

Congratulations on making it into the mentorship program! I'd love an opportunity like that.

Jack said...

Glad you are getting better!! And able to keep up on editing. That is always nice!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Deniz .. well I didn't want to do anything .. not read, not watch tv, not look at a computer screen .. or the phone ... I just collosped! in bed and occasionally listened to the radio ...

So glad you're feeling better though and good luck with the editing - keep on at it .. congratulations on the mentorship programme - sounds very interesting .. cheers Hilary

Theresa Milstein said...

I'm so sorry you were sick. I'm so sorry you were so sick you couldn't drink coffee.

It's funny when you notice quirks on a show like the bottomless coffee.

Deniz Bevan said...

Thanks so much everyone!

I think your blogging is great, Jo, I always look forward to your posts!

NO COFFEE? How do you live, Alex? Wow, you really are a ninja. Coffee tastes soooo good. I keep trying to like tea, but it just doesn't taste the same.

I hope none of us get sick again for a good long while :-)

Books I'm Reading and Finished Books

  • Sandman: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman
  • The Return of the Shadow - Book 6 in the History of Middle Earth series by Christopher Tolkien and J R R Tolkien (reread)
  • ***Reading At Intervals***
  • Stories in Words by C S Lewis
  • Poison by Bridget Zinn
  • Medieval Comic Tales (Folio Society edition)
  • Moby Dick by Herman Melville
  • Lessons for a Sunday Father by Claire Calman
  • Shadow Show (Anthology in Honour of Ray Bradbury, including Neil Gaiman!)
  • Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy
  • The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
  • Warriors (anthology) edited by George R. R. Martin and G. Dozois (featuring a new Lord John story by Diana Gabaldon)
  • The Jerusalem Bible
  • ***Finished Books***
  • Acquainted With the Night by Rober Frost (read by Amanda Palmer) (here: http://amandapalmer.net/blog/20120510/)
  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (reread)
  • Star Trek Book of Opposites (board book)
  • Alligator Baby by Robert Munsch
  • Causeries: l'Etat Civil du Comte de Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (essay)
  • Le Comte de Monte-Cristo par Alexandre Dumas
  • About the B'nai Bagels by E. L. Konigsburg
  • Parragon's Encyclopedia of Animals a Family Reference Guide (skimmed)
  • Throwing Shadows by E. L. Konigsburg
  • The Devil on the Staircase by Joe Hill (short story)
  • Horns by Joe Hill
  • Altogether One at a Time by E. L. Konigsburg
  • Orders From Berlin by Simon Tolkien
  • The King of Diamonds by Simon Tolkien
  • Quick Fix by Linda Grimes (arc!)
  • Jack Absolute by C. C. Humphreys
  • The Lost Road - Book 5 in the History of Middle Earth series by Christopher Tolkien and J R R Tolkien (reread)
  • The Roots of Betrayal by James Forrester
  • Leaf by Niggle by J. R. R. Tolkien (short story) (reread)
  • The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (reread)
  • Sandman: Doll's House by Neil Gaiman
  • secret beta read!
  • An Easter Walk by Zan Marie Steadham (reread)
  • Celtic Myths and Legends by Mike Dixon-Kennedy (reread) (skimmed)
  • Rainy Days with Bear by Maureen Hull
  • Down to a Sunless Sea by Neil Gaiman (short story) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/22/down-sunless-sea-neil-gaiman-short-story)
  • Sandman: Prologues and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
  • Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, the Music edition
  • The Circus by Emma Trevayne (short story) (http://the-cabinet-of-curiosities.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-circus-by-emma-trevayne.html)
  • Ghost Stories of Canada (compilation) (read a few)
  • Red Shoes and Doll Parts by Claire Legrand (short story (available at: http://the-cabinet-of-curiosities.blogspot.ca/2013/02/red-shoes-and-doll-parts-by-claire.html)
  • In A Fix by Linda Grimes
  • A Calendar of Tales by Neil Gaiman
  • It Came from the Far Side by Gary Larson
  • Boy O'Boy by Brian Doyle
  • Mary Ann Alice by Brian Doyle (so sweet! I wish there was a sequel)
  • The Man Who Loved Flowers by Stephen King (short story) (reread)
  • Celtic Myths and Legends by (forgot) (skimmed)
  • Night Surf by Stephen King (short story) (reread)
  • On This Day I Complete My Thirty-sixth Year by Lord Byron (poem)
  • 11/22/63 by Stephen King (brilliant)
  • When Summer Comes by Brenda Novak
  • All My Life Before Me - the diary of C. S. Lewis (finally! after 15 years!)
  • The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey
  • The Cake Made Out of Teeth by Claire Legrand (short story) (READ IT! Here: http://the-cabinet-of-curiosities.blogspot.ca/2013/01/the-cake-made-out-of-teeth-by-claire.html)
  • Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey (wonderful!)
  • Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels by Helene Boudreau (ARC)
  • The Great Explorers (Folio Society edition) (skimmed)
  • The Shaping of Middle-Earth - Book 4 in the History of Middle Earth series by Christopher Tolkien and J R R Tolkien (reread)
  • Medieval Civilisation by Jacques le Goff (skimmed)
  • A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (sooo many questions!)
  • Highland Moonlight by Teresa J. Reasor (skimmed very fast)
  • Not So Funny When It Happened (a travel humour anthology; I read a few of the essays, specifically by Douglas Adams, Dave Barry, Bill Bryson, Anne Lamott, etc.)
  • Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper (reread)
  • Greenwitch by Susan Cooper (reread)
  • The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis (reread)
  • Emerson (bits and pieces of his essays on his travels through England and Scotland; read aloud to me)
  • The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams
  • Old Man's War by John Scalzi
  • The Cove by Ron Rash
  • see the 2012 list and statistics here http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.ca/2012/12/the-hobbit-review-and-year-end-books.html
  • see the 2011 statistics on http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.ca/2012/01/books-read-in-2011-statistics-fourth.html
  • see the 2011 list at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.ca/2012/01/books-read-in-2011.html
  • see the 2010 list at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2010/12/books-read-in-2010-listed-here.html
  • see the 2009 list at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-read-in-2009-part-ii.html
  • also in 2009 at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-read-in-2009-part-iv.html
  • see the 2008 list at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2008/12/books-read-in-2008-part-ii.html
  • also in 2008 at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2008/12/books-read-in-2008-part-vi.html
  • also in 2008 at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2008/12/books-read-in-2008-part-iv.html