Warning: Some Violence and Much Strong Language.SHE WROTE: Okay, Okay
I'll blog, but Bob's going to have to do the next two because I'm swamped here.
So what are we doing? He's working ahead on Act Two, but he's having fits because I haven't given him my outline stuff on Act Two and he needs details. I'm restructuring Act One because his conflict wasn't deep enough and because I realized that Agnes wasn't vulnerable enough and that I'd set up the antagonist as a straw man. If the antagonist is too easy to defeat, no tension in the reader, so go back and make the anatagonist somebody you're worried about. Which coincidentally we are also doing in the other collab book I'm working on. Along with the reissue I'm working on which doesn't exactly have antagonist problems, more focus problems, but it's too late for that, I'm just tightening that sucker. And then there are the two essays I have due on Aug. 15th that I forgot about totally. Where was I?
Agnes. Bob needs to know what Agnes's plan is in the second act and I'm still cogitating on that; I know what she's going to do but her exact step-by-step plan is a little fuzzy yet. But I do know what the romance arc is, which he couldn't care less about because the romance plot is my plot, and I have arced and written the sex scenes except for the one he has to write, and again, he doesn't care, he just wants to know how Agnes's revenge plot is going to screw up his nice hitman plot. While I'm restructuring his stuff so that Shane and his boss aren't just sitting on the dock chatting about how the Office of Super Secret Stuff is going to hell in a handbasket since their intel sucks so bad that Shane is killing the wrong people which is really screwing up his day, let me tell you.
While up at the house, Agnes is shoving a meat fork through her ex-fiance's neck. Agnes has anger issues.
Meanwhile somewhere on a barrier island off the coast of South Carolina, a romantic adventure author is screaming, "YOU'RE GIVING AWAY THE PLOT!!!!!!!!!"
Then get in here and blog yourself, Robert. It was your turn.
94 Comments:
Umm, Jenny - we love you! And you really didn't give away anything, really you didn't. Now, go rest, relax and have an apple martini, on me.
Jenny,
Thanks for the update, dear. It is greatly appreciated. By the way, since Agnes isn't done yet I picked up Tell Me Lies and started reading that. I like it. It's actually the first Crusie I've read (don't worry, I'm getting others as well; see how well this blog is doing for your backlist?)
I know you and him are wroking hard. The kids just get lonely sometimes. Keep up the good work.
Shoot, more push-ups.
Let's see wroking=working and Tell Me Lies=Tell Me Lies
Well....almost virgin blog...
Just finished reading "The Cinderella Deal".
The Deal is quite the deal....enjoyed thoroughly.
By the way....WELCOME Jenny...loved your confusingly plot give-away.
BOB...you need to be heard from...
Now!!!
tivnhr green
thought in video never heard Robert
Nah, just hinting at the plot. Thank you for blogging Jenny.
Does it seem like Jenny is doing most of the work, while Bob is sitting on his dock (not going there people) looking for sharks to keep people like me safe, and plotting ahead while Jenny goes back and fixes things.
poor bob, we do pick on him don't we.
Okay, I re-read Jenny's post, and now where in that post did I get the plot. I understand Agnes has used a frying pan and now a fork. I get Shane and his increasing body count, but nothing on the actual plot, so no, Jenny, your good. Bob can yell all he wants, you didn't give away anything. Of course what the hell do I know, I'm avoiding my own issues and I'm not dealing with real live people, just the moron who has taken over my head. And he's a real pain in the ass, hot, adorable and very sexy, but a royal pain in the butt.
JenT I am really looking forward to your books. Good luck with the moron.
Uh-oh ..... she said, Robert. Guess who is in trouble (insert annoying sing song voice at your leisure). When mom uses your full name, you're toast.
"Agnes has anger issues." LOL! Reminds me of a fork story my mom tells. Seems back when she and my dad were dating he kept sneaking food off her plate. She told him if he did it again, she'd stab him with the fork. He did. She did. He never did again.
Jenny, which of your heroines does NOT have anger issues? Not that I'm complaining. It would be a pretty lame book that went along the lines of "Things were going along swimmingly. And continued to do so. Everything was just hunky-dory." Short book, too.
Isn't she just adorable? And we can't even see her blacks.
So, the bad guys aren't bad enough? Too easily defeated? MCB and I, we could help with that. We're so good at being bad and if you need someone you're really worried about... Oh. Not like that? Well, ok. But JenT is apparently really good at killing off the innocents, if Bob has forgotten how to write.
Yep, we CB's are so very useful. Almost indispensible, really. Don't know what you'd do without us to crack that whip and-- um, provide comic relief?
Bob, get on over here and explain your cute fluffy self. Why do you have your hit man sitting naked on Agnes' dock, swilling beer, watching for cruise ships and chatting about bad intel? Where's the action? The danger? The plot twists that will make us all gasp in horrified delight? Is there at least a bit of redemptive banter?
And really, you could offer to let your "ghost" write one of Jenny's essays.
bw
BCB - you crack me up! I miss you! A week in Atlanta just wasn't enough - you need to go to NJ!
RSS- Thanks, you are sweet.
Jenny wrote "Agnes's revenge plot is going to screw up his nice hitman plot." For odd reason I think this is like a big deal.
Okay, need to put a muzzle on my guy. Why did I give him a brain. maybe my killer should just off him because the killer can. Maybe I could borrow agnus and she could stab him wiht a pitch fork or something. I need a kayak - no wait, it's dark, never mind, not going near the water.
I'm tired - good-night.
BCB - did you get my e-mail?
i love you Jenny. (Bob, you'd get love too if you posted).
"While up at the house, Agnes is shoving a meat fork through her ex-fiance's neck. Agnes has anger issues."
oh good. i love when Crusie heroines have anger issues. i love Crusie snark.
i cannot wait for this book. or the other ones.
JJ: i agree with rss. your books sound great.
lynn: that scene is in Manhunting. well, not exactly, but almost.
*starts to bop in seat from excitement* this is great. thanks Jenny.
Jenny- any time you feel like giving away the plot, just feel free to do so. As if we all wouldn't buy the book anyhow even if you posted the whole thing here.
By the way- when Agnes and Shane are done killing everyone and having YEX with whomever.....are you and BOB, you and him, going to "LIVE THE DREAM" with Agnes??
(*ducks for flying frying pan*)
JenT: Yeah, did you get mine? I just sent it. Looong day.
Jenny wrote: Then get in here and blog yourself, Robert.
Any bets on whether that is a euphemism?
bw
go back and make the anatagonist somebody you're worried about
Howard the Duck, maybe?
duck : any of various swimming birds (family Anatidae, the duck family)
ibhvx -- If Bob has vision, Xult!
BCB Snort, snicker, snort. I hadn't even thought of it as a euphemism. Only one more day until the weekend.
BCB - yep, I should've checked my inbox first - thanks. Sorry your day was so long - mine was great - kids and husband gone all day, that was until my two boys decided to fight over the stupid couch and now one has a black eye and other a bloody lip. Talk about anger issues, I wanted to throw a few punches myself, but I refrained. Geez, do boys ever get along? Although, I did laugh when I pulled younger child off of older child thanking god that I had two boys and one girl, atleast I'll always be able to stop thier fights, I hope. See Jenny, always thinking about what you talk about.
Now that Bob can see us again, how long do you think before he blogs? Not taking that euphemism bet, BCB.
Okay, taking the laptop to bed with me. DH is gone, so it's safe. He hates it when I do that. One, my nails clicking away drives him nuts, two he hates having other "people" in bed with us. I try and tell him that the other "people" are always there, in my brain, so what difference does it make. I think this must be why he travels. I wonder if my people have entered his personal space? Hmmm, interesting.
Boy, I'm really out there today, aren't I?
Oh, and i agree, even if you did give away the plot - or even posted the book, I'd still buy it and read it, and read it again and recommend it to all my friends.
So, it's not good-night - lets see if I can finish this chapter tonight.
Jenny Thank you. You make me LOL. We were aware that you had four books and now you say two essays you are, or should be, working on. We did call Bob to get him to blog, since he is just sitting on his dock swilling beer, but he refuses to come in and get his comments. So you see, we knew YOU were busy but Robert...not so much.
You go do what you have to do. We will mind the fort. /,D
Lori, Orangehands and mcb you are all great readers and critiquers. Thanks so much. I have been working this evening on revising two of my children's stories based on your comments. Lots to do. I will be sending more if you still want to do it. Thank you.
red cgkflgxc
Crusie gives killers females like (A)gnes Xcept 4 coleslaw.
SDCB - Hey! I want to read those stories too! :) You are amazing!
bon cheri bomb said...
"Jenny wrote: Then get in here and blog yourself, Robert.
Any bets on whether that is a euphemism?"
LOL
I finally got my own copy of Welcome to Temptation *happy dance*
I think it was the third Crusie I read (preceeded by Getting Rid of Bradly and Crazy For You)
Now I have seven Crusie books, including Don't Look Down.... unless I count the two-in-one books seprately, which would mean I have nine :D
heh heh.
So now I'm wondering: Is Agnes' thirst for revenge going to result in her killing Shane's hits before he can get to them? Or is she going to make them so miserable that they will plead with Shane to kill them and just get it over with already?
Either way, she takes the wind out of his sails, doesn't she? Hmmm.
Bob, darlin', are you and Shane sitting on that dock waiting for the wind to shift? If memory serves, once it starts to come in off the land you need to watch out for the mosquitoes and no-see-ums. Especially in your current state of dishabille.
bw
Okay jen-t you asked for it. And remember that they always say you should be careful what you ask for. Check your email. /,D
mcb, lori and orangehands check your email.
Been busy enough for one night. Worked on both projects. Going to bed. 'Night.
blue miznjh
Manuscripts indeed, Zaza needled Jenny happily.
Jenny -- love you; love the blog. I didn't see where there was a major plot give away. It just honed my need to read the whole fork-in-neck senario when the book comes out. And I too would buy the book, in hard back, even if the whole thing had been blogged because Crusie Snark must be treasured. And I really like the edge the Bobster has given already great writing. Whenever you guys have a new blog I go through the house singing 'I feeeeeel happpyy' ala Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail. It scares the dog.
You know, I think I'm finally getting how this collab thing works. Exciting. That's really all you gave away. We know you'll be changing everything a time or two more before you're finished.
bcb said...
Either way, she takes the wind out of his sails, doesn't she? Hmmm.
We're just rife with euphemisms today, aren't we. /;+)
ozdqf (blue)
Oh, Zoe, don't quit filming. (we need that for blackmail purposes)
KyratheRed: uh, welcome? or are you a once-in-a-blue-moon non-lurker CB. or a cherry? well, welcome. BTW, love that you turned Crusie Snark into a Word. you know, a cap Word. yeah, i'm really tired...
JJ: that people in bed thing makes perfect sense to me (of course, look at above; not sure if my sense is really a good indicator of sanity). but he's just feeling crowded, dealing with so many voices. maybe kill off a few more?
iiliwv: ill wives
SDCB - Got them - thank you!
Crusie Snark- oh yeah, love it!
I did finish my chapter last night - now off to go over my spreadsheet, which I'm starting to resent, yet love, in a weird kind of way.
DD comes home tonight! Yeah! Can't wait to see her!
Thank you Jenny for whetting our appetites. You're such a tease : )
Blog! Blog! Blog! we chant
Do think this is why Bob doesn't have comments enabled on his website?
Bob's grocery list would primarily consist of silencers
Leave them alone,they're writing
That was no more 'giving away the plot' than one little sample spoon in an ice cream parlor is giving away the dessert.
Besides, since I've read every Crusie in my collection at least three times, even if you printed Agnes chapter by chapter on the blog, I'd still buy the book and read it multiple times.
Bob, so you don't feel left out of reader adoration, I read Bodyguard of Lies twice and would have read it a third time, but a friend borrowed it and he hasn't given it back yet. I'm sure he needs to read it twice, too.
xbflswgs: Xciting Bob fights loons swimming warily, gets slingshot.
Thank you, Jenny! Mention to Bob that we are messing with Pepper again. That seems to bring out his protective instincts.
Not giving anything away ... drat! All you guys ever do is drop tidbits for us to salivate over. Its like waving chocolate under our noses - we can smell it and we can see it and we just know its going to be soooooo yummy when we finally get our hands on it!
Scope Dope - got your email and responded to same. Glad to be of help.
Resisted donuts this a.m. and took advantage of the really lovely fruit platters instead. Aren't you proud?
kephpfe ... the sound Bob makes when he forgets to add hot water to the cocoa mix.
Thanks Jenny!
Sooo glad that you are past that "15 books that's it - I"m done" phase.
ikaotcsb
Idle killing - Agnes out til Crusie Snarks back.
No worries about giving away the plot. I have a feeling that either of them could tell us the entire plot as it stands now and the finished book would look totally different.
Not that there's anything wrong with that. Creation is a gloriously messy process. Or so I'm learning from this blog.
Hello. I've been lurking here for a while (hope you don't mind), since I read DLD and the Writer's Digest story. Lots of great info that helps with my own writing, the banter b/w Jenny and Bob is hilarious, Bob is adorable (can i say that?), and I love the Agnes updates. Can't wait for that one to come out. I hope they'll live the dream somewhere in the Detroit area for that one.
I must admit I've not read Jenny or Bob before DLD but i'm trying to make up for that aggregious sin (I've since read her collaboration I'd Kill for That). Thanks, everyone!
Mary shakes her head
Alas, regardless of their doom, the little CBers play...
Guys, guys. Do not nag Jenny and Bob for blogs! Do not meddle in the affairs of writers, for they are subtle and quick to anger. Especially when the writing team consists of a woman with anger issues and a man with a lethal pinkie :)
Edmund Crispin, the mystery writer, wrote a short story titled We Know You're Busy Writing, But We Thought You Wouldn't Mind If We Just Dropped in for a Minute... After All, It's Only Us. Do I really have to tell you what happened to the the people in the story, the ones who dropped in on the writer?
welcome me (not me me, the other me). oh, not "i'd Kill for That". that was probably Jenny's only bad book. (stop throwing things at me, CBs. her chapter, of course, was awesome, as were a few others, but as a whole bad book).
you think you guys are going through Jenny withdrawal? my two friends have ALL of my Jenny books. ok, yes, i have too many other books i have to read, but just having them gives you a sense of peace.
scope dope: when i get back i'll look at my e-mails.
Kyra - welcome.
Dear Me. I mean to say, Welcome Me. No that's not really any better. Listen, you're going to have to come up with another name so we don't sound like we're talking to ourselves. Its bad syntax and we're demons for good grammar around here.
ssquhsh: do you really need a definition for this one?
ME - Welcome to the insanity. Um, Jenny is the adorable one, Bob is well, Bob. Alright, he's adorable too, but let him know that, geez.
Off to buy a new chair, my butt hurts. No, I'm not still avoiding my hero. The chapter is written and he know realizes what a mistake he's made and now he must fix it. Ha! And my spreadsheet makes sense again. But, sigh, must go work on other project - that one actually as a deadline.
Yikes - that was supposed to read "Don't let him know that!"
Thanks everyone. Orangehands: it was in the bargain bin and I saw her name on it and had to have it. Jen-t: adorable in a deadly sort of way. Better?
Jenny is NOT giving the plot away. These brief plot notes are like movie trailers. It's marketing, Bob. Just tantalizing your readers.
To ME...
Glad you are not lurking anymore...
This is a delightful bunch, even if they bring out the latin once in a while.
Jenny and Bob, She and He, Mom and Dad, have great blogs with plot hints.
Just look out for Jenny's keyboard...it comes flying once in a while.
cazroz green
catalogues and zebras ring our zocks
CBs you all rock.
Just came back from the Oral Surgeon. He is going to pull the tooth in the hospital because of my medical history and because then it is covered by the province's medical health plan. Thank you very much. I still had to fork out $75 for him to tell me that. He, now, is really LTD because, for two minutes work--an extraction--he gets paid $257. That is the life. The anesthetist will spend more time with me and because of the Hospital Plan I don't have to pay him.
Taking a nap...old you know. Then I am going to work on my writing some more.
green gwidkiz
Girls write interesting dialogue, keeping (it)interesting, Zaza.
SDCB - When will the doc be pulling that tooth? Glad some of it will be covered. Thinking of you - did you get my card yet?
ME - "Adorable in a deadly sort of way." That depends on who is on the deadly end. Not sure Bob would like to be called adorable, though.
Sigh, didn't get a new chair - got caught in freaking construction, then had to turn around to go get child from hockey. Geez, the store is two miles from my house, but since the construction season is almost over, well, I guess they have lots of work to do. I just hope they are done before it snows. That happens pretty early up here.
Scope Dope - its always a good day when you can get insurance to pay for something. Here's hoping you are feeling ever so much better soon. Or at least get good drugs out of the deal.
ME: Bob, adorable. Ummmm. Well Bob probably wouldn't appreciate the description much, but it does describe the dazed look he gets when he comes face to face with Cherrybombs. Or forgets what happened the last time he peeked at the comments and does it again. At those times I do believe he starts remembering his rappelling-out-of-helicopters days with something that might almost be described as fondness. It was probably less scary anyway.
Where did the phrase "Hell in a handbasket" come from? I've never used it, but have heard it before. Just curious because I think that is where I am headed.
Um. Not sure where it originated but it means that you aren't just meandering in that general direction, you're being carried there directly.
Why are you sure you're headed there?
Mary said: Edmund Crispin, the mystery writer, wrote a short story titled We Know You're Busy Writing, But We Thought You Wouldn't Mind If We Just Dropped in for a Minute... After All, It's Only Us
When Crispin was good, he was very, very good, wasn't he? That one is really quite creepy.
;-)
OK, i take it back. He's not adorable. But i still giggle when I see the wink picture posted earlier. I don't know why, but I do.
mcb - you don't want to know!
O I have MISSED you people!!
I've been working waaaay too much lately, and there have actually been days when I have not even logged on my computer. I get to work by 6am, home around 4pm, try to ease my aching muscles, fix dinner, run errands, then fall into a dreamless sleep to do it all over again. I haven't even touched my story in WEEKS, but please don't throw things at me for that. And I still have a SDCB critique to do (no, I didn't forget, I just can't keep my eyes open long enough to read ANYTHING lately!)
I'm exhausted. My body is aching. My feet HATE my job, because it means at least 10 hours on them at least 4 days a week. Last week, I did a 17 hour day, got home at 11pm, then was back there at 6am to do a 9 hour day.
I know, I know - wah, wah, wah! Sorry to whine atcha, but I gotta do it somewhere, and nobody in this house is listening.
The UP side, if there can be an up side, is that I will have so freakin much cash saved for NJ that I plan on going nuckingfuts at the signing. PLUS... I need to know exactly WHO from this blog will be there, because I have ordered us schtuff! SO if you're going to be in NJ, drop by and leave me a comment. I already know that SDCB, CMS, Jen-T, and MCB will be there. Anyone else? If you don't tell me, you get NADA, NOTHING, ZILCH from me, and trust me - YOU WANT THIS!! It is perfect for our group, and will be a unique CB identifier.
I WANT SCHTUFF!!!!
Dee - we've missed you, too, and do feel free to whi - er, muse gently about any uncomfortable aspects of your life!
Speaking of identifiers, I'm not going to NJ (not a writer), but I went to a wedding on Sunday, and the favors included not just the traditional Jordan almonds, but 3 glass cherries. I didn't get a chance to ask the bride the significance (the music started soon after she arrived and was REALLY loud), but they're charming.
Plot? Who cares about plot? We read for characters and dialog! Well, many of us do, anyway. And we'll definitely be buying in HC, no matter what!
zhxfgdan: sorry. Not going to happen.
dee: I've wondered where you've been. Why are you working so hard? Is this a new thing or have you always been masochistic?
ME: Bob adorable? Well, yeah. Maybe. You missed seeing the picture of Bob The Sniper Kitten. Or maybe not, depending on how long you've been lurking (hope you're over that now). He is sort of cute and fluffy though. Notice on his new post how he goes from all calm and matter of fact to downright surly and violent in the part written today? Maybe he does read the comments? Or maybe it was Jenny telling him to blog himself?
JenT: What's the problem dear? You were so happy this morning about various things, and now you've taken up basket weaving? I will be glad of the company, though. Been suffering in there all by myself this week. I'd be excited about it being Friday, except I've got so much to do tomorrow (non-work) and will probably have to go into work for several hours on Sunday just so I can maintain what little sanity I have left during the next work week. Argh!
diane: LMAO. You may think you don't care about plot, but you'd sure miss it if it weren't there.
bw
ldqir: blogger having a 5:00 Friday moment?
Hell in a handbasket- according to Michael Quinon at World Wide Words http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-goi1.htm the origin is murky
Mary- I misplaced a cable during the move process and am trying to figure out how to get photos onto the blog- hopefully I can get it figured out this weekend.
qqoebji- the sound made by the old flooring as I scrape it up tomorrow
nanaimo g: Aren't you originally (or at some point) from Scotland? I'm asking because Theresa in Pgh has just accepted a research position in Edinburgh (see comments on: HE WROTE: Everything Serves A Purpose) and could probably use some insider info if you have any that would be helpful.
She was asking whether there were any CB's in that area. Tigress and Christina might be the closest. Never fear, the rest of us are only an internet connection away.
I am so proud of her! Ok, and envious.
bw
Theresa in Pgh--congratulations! Find some books on moving overseas and culture shock. I found them helpful when we went to Germany.
Theresa: have a fabulous time in Scotland! I'm excited for you. I didn't quite have the nerve to look internationally for work and now I have stuff, which makes it seem less likely.
Best of luck finishing up THAT THING.
BCB: I'm sure I'd miss the plot if there weren't one (or if it were too painfully contrived), but, really, it's just the skeleton from which to hang the good stuff. To me, anyway.
jvexma: what all sisters and brothers of j's out there hope the j's do to take the heat off themselves
louis sez: This is a delightful bunch, even if they bring out the latin once in a while.
*snort!* LMAO! Thanks for that one, Louis.
Dee: have missed you greatly. Sorry about the sore feet, but glad you'll have spending cash when you're among friends (he, her, CBs, et. al.). I'm so jealous of all of you meeting up with each other. SOMEONE TAKE PHOTOS. Dee can post them on her blog.
For those amused by such things, saw two signs in San Francisco today that made me giggle. First, I was killing time in Nieman-Marcus before an appointment and there was a shoe display of all red shoes with a big sign that said "RED". Um. In case we hadn't noticed what all those shoes on that table had in common? How come the next one over wasn't labelled "GOLD"?
Then, on a billboard where I missed the brand because I just saw the caption and laughed, "Cycling takes a will of iron. Also shaved legs and a thing for spandex." Cracked me up.
Ok, that's enough out of me for the nonce.
Jen-T--sent you an e-mail re: chairs
BCB--The sniper is Bubbles the Fluffy Kitten, not Bob:
http://xsetera.com/MY_SPACE/Picturz/Kitten%20Gun.bmp
I believe you are thinking of the photo of Bubbles during training when the poor little thing made the mistake of peeing in Bob's shoe:
http://www.eagleville.com/kitten-gun.jpg
whlxpjh -- Wot the Hell? Xavier painted Jenny's house?
GG...
You are welcome!
dcnmc green
does Crusie name men characters?
Something's wrong with the first link in my post above. Try this one:
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f191/ilikepeanuts/cats/kitty_gun.jpg
hpcyva -- High-powered cats, YEC--voyons, amies!
Geez, Tal, let me have my delusions. Those pics still make me LOL!
Thank you.
bw
bdrpcf: Bob's Dr. predicts cat fantasies
scope dope said "for two minutes work--an extraction--he gets paid $257."
oh, that must be why my friend wanted to be a dentist. of course they have the highest suicide rates. well, them and air traffic control.
dee: what's with the job?
Theresa in Pgh: CONGRATULATIONS!!!! (uh, we didn't pressure you into this, right?)
i also still LMAO over those pictures. actually, i laugh, and then say something along the effects of "oh, how adorable".
Thanks everyone! I'm not really nervous yet about moving to Scotland, but I figure that will come.
The real worry is what will I go by. Theresa in Egh (Edinburgh)just doesn't work quite as well as
Theresa in Pgh (Pittsburgh).
Interestingly, although they are spelled the same, Pittsburgh and Edinburgh are pronounced differently. Edinburgh is pronounced Edinburrow.
talpiana, love the pics!
Theresa (for now) in Pgh
AgTigress sagely opined:
When Crispin was good, he was very, very good, wasn't he?
A fellow Crispinite! Only on this blog could one make such a find :)
It's always a find when you come across an author who has the knack of blending mystery with an evil atmosphere and a sly humor. Crispin and John Bellairs are the only writers who spring to mind.
Hey, I saw you over in the corner shaking your head. I'm not dissing our esteemed authors when I say that! Bob and Jenny excel in blending adventure and snark and sneaky humor. Nobody does it better. It's just a different kettle of fish, to my mind.
Why do fish come in kettles, anyway? I thought they hung out in schools. These must be dropouts.
bon cheri bomb: missed the sniper kitten, but I did track down the skirt pic. And I LIKE it when he gets surly.
But Jenny's adorable too. Especially when she's whacking people with keyboards.
I've just got a warped sense of humor, I suppose.
bcb Yes I am originally from Scotland. I didn't read Theresa in Pgh's post because my dumb computer prints over the first posts sometime after 200 posts. Anyone else have that problem? Any ideas how to fix it? remembering I am semi-literate on omputers.
Theresa in Pgh I am not sure what exactly tou would like to know, would you mind telling again what you will be doing. I am not sure if there are any CBs there, the thing is ... I must digress for a minute
When my DH and I took early retirement we moved back to Scotland and bought a cottage [built 1745]and renovated it. We were there from 1990 to 1997.
..it has been a while however I don't remember Jenny's [or Bob's] books being sold there, at that time.
Okay any Scottish lurkers come out and say HI. to Theresa.
But if you want some info on living there .. they have great bus services; and you can take trains for longer trips, just be sure to ask if they have any special deals coming up. Sometimes if you can wait a few days you get a better rate. We had friends in Edinburgh, sadly gone now.
Just ask and I'll do my best to help
Theresa: you can be Dr.T of P&E (lori, ignore this). and you are gonna be great in Scotland. i see it now. men in kilts, dancing the dance of forbidden CB love. with accents. what's not to like?
Crispin and John Bellairs. got it, mary. if i have time (which i seem to be rapidly running out of) i'll try them.
meant to ask, mary, any suggestions on the best book to start with for each of them?
Dr. T ... just keep a tight rein on the Scottish burr so we can still understand you.
Crispin - oooh, haven't read Crispin for a while. Hmmmm, it is library day.
BCB tried to explain to Scope Dope that "The Trip" was basically one long run on sentence, but she still thinks it was funny. Bless her heart.
Oh Scope Dope - Meant to say, will the dr. give you a nice gold tooth for a replacement? That would be SO COOL! An eye patch AND a gold tooth!
Hmmm. Dr. T kinda reminds me of Mr. T, and I don't think I have enough jewelry or muscle shirts to pull that off.
nanaimo g, I'll be doing research.
Actually, back in July I was in Edinburgh for about 5 days for my interview, and that's what really sold me on the job. Beautiful! And a very walkable city with great public transportation. I spent most of one day just walking around. And I'll have the opportunity to travel to Europe.
Of course the job is also a terrific opportunity and the people I'll be working with are great too. :-)
My other job option was in the D.C. area. Although this was also a great opportunity with great people to work with, living there just screamed rat race to me.
orangehands There's a Scottish dance of forbidden CB love? Don't think that's one the Scottish dancers at my college ever danced.
margarita CB Well, I've already got a headstart on the vernacular. They hoover (pronounced who-vah) there instead of vaccuming.
Theresa in Pgh
Hi all, and thank you for your warm welcome. I've been a nonposting cherry/cherry bomb for a while. I am a stay-at-home mom with a toddler, so most days I don't have the wit to match wits with the Snark God/desses who skulk about on this blog. I'm just greatful to have something I can read in small bites. Plus, Tweety Bird will let me use the computer as long as I am in her sight at all times. She's spoiled. I don't give a shit. Life will beat her down enough via unrealistic expectations on women later. So for now, it is All About Her. But it does limit my blog time. So I'm really here ... just enjoying the show.
SDCB: Hope your extraction goes well. Jeez, that sounds stupid. How about glad you're getting the tooth out and that they are doing it in the hospital where they can moniter you better.
Dee: Missed you. What's the job? I thought y'all were working on the house. Did you get it finished?
Me: Welcome. Enjoying your posts
JenT: Hell in a handbasket might be fun as long as you booked a return trip back to us. Good luck with the chair.
BCB: Have you penciled in time to breathe in this crazy schedule of yours?
Theresa: Congratulations. I'm envious.
Mary: I'm going to look for that Crispin story. DH keeps calling to chat when I'm writing and can't figure out why I'm short with him. Though I've explained it many times.
Spent the whole afternoon yesterday planning the new kitchen for the house. It needs to be tweaked but it's the first plan I've actually liked. Thank goodness the store had display kitchens because DH can't visualize with a 2D drawing or a plan. He walked over to one and said this is the layout. Fridge here, sink, here and stove in island. Doable. Though after 3 hours when the designer and I said so what about counters, he started twitching and we decided to leave that until next Friday.
Almost freaked out this am. Turned on my computer and it wouldn't do anything. Thanks to Bob's advice in Toolkit, I had everything backed up except what I did the other day but it really scared me. When DH woke up, he looked at it, unplugged it, pulled the battery out and put it back and voila, it worked. I have no idea why it did that but am going to be backing stuff up again today.
Oh, this is me RSSASRB
Kyrared: I'm sorry. I knew there was someone else I meant to say Hi to. Welcome. Your Tweetybird sounds adorable. You are doing better than I did. When mine were toddlers, I couldn't do much more than babble incoherently.
blue rqpgvgli Give me a break blogger it's been a rough morning
Robert quietly pursued goal voraciously googling licentious informants
This is the only blog I know where you have to keep a dictionary, thesarus and latin book at your side in order to keep up
Oh, and for anyone who wants an update on the little old lady kitty I picked up off the street this past week, she is doing much, much better. Still very, very sweet. Not liking to take that antibiotic medicine, though.
orangehands Sure. You want pictures of the LANDSCAPE in Scotland. Uh huh.
Welcome kyrathered! I'm not very snarky either, but I enjoy it immensely when others are.
Ok, time to give kitty medicine and get productive.
Theresa in Pgh
thanks for the good wishes people but I have a long wait before they take that tooth out. Sept.14 at a hospital 30 miles away. If they did it in the local hospital it would not be until December. The Oral Surgeons have trouble getting hospital time. So just eat antibiotics until then. /.)
red tldwmb
Too late Doherty's writing. Mayer's begun.
sdc: Try rinsing hyrodgen peroxide around in your mouth. It helps with the pain and disinfects too.
Mary: knew I liked you! Another Bellairs fan. Now will have to look up Crispin.
OH: if I recall, the Bellairs aren't a series, though there are recurring characters. It's been a long time. I usually look at what's available (for any author) and begin with earliest copyright date and move forward. I read some of the Bellairs as a child (maybe 8-14 years old?) and it was very cool at that age that my father and I read the same things.
Of course, my father reads extensively. He had a recent eye exam and the doctor asked how much time he spent reading each day. Doctor had a fit when the answer was "10 to 14 hours". Which was ACCURATE.
Me (I?) sez: I've just got a warped sense of humor, I suppose.
Ah, proof that you belong here. We like warped.
John Bellairs also wrote an "adult" fantasy book (I put adult in quotation marks because I read it as a child and didn't think it necessarily age-specific) called The Face in the Frost. The children's story that I remember best of his was The House with a Clock Within Its Walls
Crispin, I think his best book was The Moving Toyshop but it was more a silly mystery than a scary one. (AgTigress? Margarita CB? Jump in here if you think I'm wrong.) His short story about being busy writing was included in the book called Fen Country.
Welcome Me! (That does sound narcissistic.) Warped is good, at least around this gang. Just watch out during those virtual party/barbecues. CBers get on like a house afire. (Just don't ask Talpianna to hold your lighter.)
Theresa: A traditional nickname for Edinburgh is Auld Reekie (because it used to be so smoky); so you could be Reekie Tessie...
And of course there's the Edinburgh Festival! I think there's a Murder Walk, too, at night, where you revisit the sites associated with the likes of Madeleine Smith, Deacon Brodie, Major Weir, and the old reliable firm of Burke and Hare.
http://www.stuckonscotland.co.uk/edinburgh/witchery-tours.html
Mary, I'm rather fond of Edmund Crispin's books myself. Here's what one website said:
Though clear kin to Lord Peter Wimsey, Fen is a spectacular original - brilliant, eccentric and rude, much taken with himself and his splendid yellow raincoat, and given to quoting Lewis Carroll at inappropriate occasions. Gilded Fly, originally published in 1944, was both Fen's first outing and the debut of the pseudonymous Crispin (in reality, composer Bruce Montgomery), whom the New York Times once called the heir to "John Dickson Carr . . . and Groucho Marx."
Have you read any Sarah Caudwell? You'd love her, I'll bet.
Scope Dope with an eye patch and a gold tooth--can a peg leg, a parrot on the shoulder, and Johnny Depp be far behind?
KyraTheRed: Don't think I ever welcomed you properly. [Smites KyraTheRed about the head and shoulders with a flitch of bacon while singing "The Agincourt Song."] There you are!
So, any relation to Eric the Red?
Hey, ladies! Look what I found! Cherry earrings!
http://www.catalogfavorites.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=J154322
oguum -- Ancient Celtic alphabet based on chewing gum
Talpianna, we're on the same wavelength. We'll have to do The Wave at this rate. I'd posted a comment on the later blog about Scope Dope doing a Johnny Depp impression with a parrot. Forgot about the peg leg though. (But if a peg leg is a fake leg, can't we let SDCB have a fake fake leg?)
Oh damn. And I made a comment about Eric the Red as well. We really are in sync. Kindly stop stealing all my lines like that you shameless hussy! (Oops. Did I type that out loud?)
I love Sarah Caudwell; she's one of my favorite authors. It's odd though -- most of my acquaintance don't seem to appreciate her. Too mannered, they say.
Yep. I also see that as a sign that I need to get new acquaintance.
Cool cherry earrings!
blue jegckod - jeckyl thought it odd that his word was so blue
Talpianna, I forgot to ask. Which book is your favorite Crispin?
bjfyww - An Edinburgh native trying to give directions to a Glaswegian
Actually, I stayed in a B&B called Auld Reekie when I was in Edinburgh for my interview. It was very nice.
As to the handle Reekie Tessie. Well. For one it seems to imply that I don't shower, which is just not true. Please don't start any rumors that might drive away those nice kilt-clad Scotish lads. And for another, a particularly bad experience reading Thomas Hardy in high school English left me with a strong dislike of the name Tess.
I have never read anything in my life so depressing as Tess of the d'Ubervilles.
I think for now I'll stick with
Theresa (in Pgh).
Right, Talpianna has smote me such that I shall stay smitten. It was very smitey. Apparently Mary was in on it.
I've never been to Scotland (bitter weeping) but I did spend 8 weeks in Ireland studying Irish masculinities ... not that way perverts. I was already married. It was for PhD research. Ireland was fecking gorgeous and I really want to go back again. My husband is a raging Celticphile (it's a word now damn it) but wants to see Scotland more than Ireland.
Speaking of Eric the Red (no relation) has anyone esle seen/loved Eric the Viking with Tim Robbins and many Pythons?
I'm going to the library today, and will look for Crispin. I am smitten with a need to read him now. It hit me with the rasher of bacon. Like I have time for reading. Fie on you all for tempting me.
Careful, girl, or we'll have to start calling you Kyra the Well-Red.
bw
mkgqywxg: geez. I think blogger is angry that I've been skipping these lately
BCB: Ohhh Gawd, the pain ... the pain!!
Talpainna I don't know where the gold tooth idea came in but instead of that I will have a gaping hole in my mouth, an eye patch and I have an artifical knee, does that count? If someone wants to buy me a parrot I'm game. Yoou can keep JoHnny Depp. He needs a bath. /,D
blue ugrnf
Unusually geared 4 rare nude films.
Ah, you may be game, but I think Depp owning a parrot has made him gamey. Might want to re-think that acquisition.
bw
yssncg: yess, NC is good
BCB said " Careful, girl, or we'll have to start calling you Kyra the Well-Red."
oh geez. and kyra, you seem to have the ability of snark (probably the only place where that's a compliment).
try Terry Pratchett. because of this site i have a new author that is fecking brilliant and i love.
scope dope: i love you but Johnny Depp is not dirty. he is wonderful.
Orangehands: Thank you. I hone my snark on the wheel of cosmic truth. Not.
I've read Good Omens. I'd love to read more Pratchett.
And Johnny Depp looks like he swims in Legolas' gene pool. I don't do elves. Too fragile. Gimme Boromir any day. Don't make me rant in his defense about the attempted ring snatch. Right.
It's been decades since I last read Crispin. I don't know if you'll even be able to find his books except for places like alibris.com, because so many libraries now discard anything over about ten years old--even if they are part of series! I think Crispin's last came out in 1977.
I was trying to think of my favorite, but I couldn't remember which title it was--it's the one that involves the discovery of a copy of Shakespeare's lost play LOVE'S LABOUR FOUND--or am I thinking of someone else?
Speaking of mystery writers more famous for other careers, has anyone here read Nicholas Blake? I tried a couple, but couldn't get interested. In his other life he was C. Day-Lewis, translator of Vergil, Poet Laureate of England, and (surely the most important) father of Daniel.
arybikkr -- a pirate asking if there are any biscuits left
Hmm, throughout this discussion of Crispin, I've been trying to recall what of his I've read - the "Love's Labour Found" rings a definite bell. One of the things I love about ILL is that it both frees libraries from the necessity of clearing out their shelves to the same extent they otherwise would AND it makes more books available to readers. My local branch has quite a small collection, but other libraries in the county definitely help make up for it. In the late '90s, I used to live across from a small branch library that had quite a trove of books from the '40s and '50s. Which antedate me, opening up new (?) vistas.
Nicholas Blake does not sound familiar - and I gather that's a less-than-enthusiastic recommendation.
lgqpuai: the Hawaiian word for the scrapes on your feet from walking unadvisedly over lava rock.
I posted something about Crispin, but its not here so maybe I dropped it into the wrong blog? Anyway, I found that there are some Crispin's circulating around the county and I requested some ILL's. Its been ages so it will be like reading them for the first time all over again. Yay! *sigh* I love libraries.
Post a Comment
<< Home