Allan Guthrie Ate My Homework

28 Feb.

Busy weekend editing, erranding. KISS HER GOODBYE arrived and I am already firmly entrenched in it to the point of nothing else matters. I love Two-Way Split. I do. But man... straight up, this is why I love the genre.

So those of you waiting for me to deliver? Here's the song and dance.

Allan Guthrie, you my dog. And you ate my homework...

Check out my review TOMORROW 1 March 2005.

Later.

Kiss Her Goodbye

24 Feb

HOOHOO... just got word that my copy of KISS HER GOODBYE has shipped as of today.
Check back here March 1 when I return from a work-related editorial jaunt. Hopefully, I will already have it and will have read it and will be ready to review it.

Project Runway and Other Murderous Hijinks

23 Feb

God, I admit it. I have been watching this show for a month now and now it's the finale and I find it hilariously and murderously maddening.

Miss Jeanne has a lot to answer for, getting me hooked on this. Work is up and down this week so I suppose that is her punishment. Physical therapy for the elbow didn't happen today. Elle had to go pick up an ill child from school so I changed my appt to tomorrow. EARLY. Yikes. And a Near-Live just afterwards. I like living on the edge.

Looking forward to my copy of "KISS HER GOODBYE". Should be in REAL soon. Have ordered a copy of SINISTERIA (sp?). January '05. Has a story by Peter Ebsworth in it. He can't get it in England so I'm sending it to him. Good story, have already read it. Besides mystery, he writes little chillers like I do.

Also finally FINALLY reading Block's last Bernie Rhodenbarr novel, "THE BURGLER ON THE PROWL". Some folks say it's Block Lite -- like that is a bad thing. Block Lite is better than No Block. Am hoping my review of his latest, "ALL THE FLOWERS ARE DYING" will be accepted on an ezine I'm asking about.

Also getting deeper into the editing of the anthology. Ms. Brown is solidly in on the letter writing and we are putting heads together on that. Will be up and running like hell as of March 1st, again. Hopefully!

So a few days away from this blog. Check back March 1st.

Birthday Treats

18 Feb

Yeah, the big day is tomorrow. I don't know how it sneaks up on me every year, but it does. I also don't know how Lawrence Block's new book, "ALL THE FLOWERS ARE DYING", sneaked up on me -- but it did. I will be getting a copy of that tomorrow before I am wined and dined by The Girls at the four star Imperial Fez. YUMMY... to both.

Looking forward to the Writers Week in Ireland in June. Will be writing about that not only here but on Web Mystery Magazine shortly thereafter. Probably some fotos will go up as well. Trying to get into Block's workshop. Oh yeah. You know I am...

Thrilling Detective is just superb this time out. A tribute to Hammett. The 75th anniversary of The Maltese Falcon is what instigated this treat for us. Thanks, Gerald and Kevin. Check it out at http://www.thrillingdetective.com/

Audible Inc.

15 Feb 2005

On a call at work today, a company named Audible Inc. was touting the virtues of the self publishing and blogging community, discussing how this was a very viable market that they plan to go after for business as these people (i.e., us) are the movers and shakers, with talent and vision.

This makes me think of the movers and shakers named Bob Tinsley and his blog http://theshortofit.blogspot.com/
where he has mentioned the very much doable audio presentations of short stories, et al. I read The Short of It on a fairly regular basis (along w/ a couple others) in order to keep up esp during 'busy' season when it's all I can do to stay afloat of what's happening let alone read the books, stories, etc. that are out there.

Dave Zeltserman ("FAST LANE", Hardluck Stories) has one of Bob's short stories in the current issue of Hardluck Stories as audio, which is where many writers are either moving or believe they are moving. Go there now -- www.hardluckstories.com -- and look for "Grasshopper" by Robert Tinsley.

Preditors & Editors Poll

14 Feb
Okay, so even if I didn't win, I am quite chuffed that I was nominated by whomever for the 2004 Preditors and Editors Poll. Thank you. And thank you. And thank you, too.

Work is slowing down somewhat -- earnings season being more or less over -- and I am happy to say I am caught up with most of my critiques of others' short stories or novel installments in my writing groups. I have finished two short mysteries that will be going out soon. Also, sent a non-fiction piece Saturday to Apollo's Lyre -- http://www.apolloslyre.com
-- titled "COLD HARD FACTS" (watch for word of that here). This piece is primarily driven by a remark Karin Slaughter made during a book tour here last summer/autumn. It's the 200 writers statistic and it got me to thinking, why DO we continue to write? I'd simply go off my nut if I didn't write. Getting published is sweet, no doubt about that. But I still write, even after compiling a stockpile of rejections. ("That which does not kill us makes us stronger" -- or some such bullshit.)

Will be starting up a writers' conference column on Web Mystery Magazine. http://lifeloom.com/webmysterymagazine.html. (mmm. That 'l' is just not cooperating for some reason) Will link readers up here when it gets going. Told the Editor I could commit for four columns -- essentially all of 2005, as it's a quarterly. I'm trying to get fotos of all the conferences and whatnots attended plus the thumbnail reviews here and there.

As of now, I will more than likely be in Ireland this June at a writers' conference. The Big One. I will also be attending the Harriette Austin Conference at UGA in July; so those two will be my focus for July/August. HAC is always a good conference for mystery writers, fans, etc.

Have as good a day as you can, all things considered.
Candace

Valloween at Claud's

13 Feb
T and I are spending the night at Claud's after having spent the day w/ the Entire Committee.
I read where companies can FIRE people (i.e., employees) over blogs. There has been no policy set re: blogs. I thought you could say what you wanted, free country and all, but evidently some take exception to this free speech amendment.

Blogs are akin to shouting "Fire" in a crowded theatre, I suppose. Of course, only a numbnuts would badmouth their company or co-workers or manager in such a public forum but still...

We went over our Motorcycle Lessons and the Baby Bike ALMOST took us up up and away. But alas, she sputtered and except for a couple of walkabouts wouldn't cooperate w/ us. We're charging up the battery tonight -- the cold weather has wreaked a bit of havoc on her.

No heat, no problem. There are space heaters -- careful, kids. There are blankets, and fireplaces w/ fires, there is sushi w/ wasabi and there are dogs. Lots of big warm dogs.
Finishing up GONE FOR GOOD by H. Coben this week.

I missed not having Valloween. I miss Regan. She intro'd me to V'ween so the two are linked together forever.

Sent Lea S. an article on writers/writing called Cold Hard Facts for Apollo's Lyre. More on that later.

Later.

Ig a Jig Jig

7 Feb
Well, Groundhog Day has come and gone. I am back in Atlanta safe and sound. Am in the middle of a couple of books and am doing the good deed of introducing friends and loved ones to other adventures in good reading.

Handed off my copy of "LIKE A CHARM: A Novel In Voices" to Miss Jeanne. Reading Harlan Coben's "Gone for Good" . Looking forward to seeing how he's going to resolve all the loose ends, etc. Then again, I am only up to the fourth third chapter. I enjoy the way Coben slices real life references in his writing... shows like 20/20, Court TV, things like that. Also the very subtle anger people expose each other to, not the big explosions that basically chew up the scenery and give no real complexity of purpose in the written scene. My experience is people gnawing their guts out when they're really upset. They internalize, growing tumors instead of brandishing firearms at Joe MacPunk ...

My writing/editing is slowly but surely catching up to the IMPOSSIBLE schedule I have -- along with others -- set for myself. Visited my relatives this weekend, getting our dad settled into an ALC. He just wants to go home, not able to grasp that the "home" he wants to go to is gone, baby, gone -- even if the structure were still available to him.

What was it Tennessee Williams said? "Time is the greatest distance between two places."

MEDIUM is on tonight. Looking forward to it, it's the fifth outing, it seems to have its legs under it pretty well now. And this one is a serial killer... ah, my favorite monster. Second only to Dracula, a different kind of serial killer.

Reading AHMM for March. Reading EQ for February. Trying desperately to keep all the plates in the air, juggling wildly, not dropping a one...
See you later.