What I'm ... May 2, 2013

Reading:

Every Last Drop by Charlie Huston. — This is the fourth book in Huston’s hard-boiled vampire series, featuring undead tough guy Joe Pitt. Half-life ain’t getting any easier for Joe, and, early in the book, a cranky old bat chews his eye out.

The Promise of Water by Andrea Crossley Spencer — This is a work-in-progress by a schoolmate about a man with a dark secret and a missing sister. Feels like you’re going to see this one in the bookstore someday.

Fiction Vortex  — A brand new sci-fi e-zine that picked up my short story, A Feeble Gleam of Stars, for mid-June publication.

Writing:

I’m about 150 pages into the latest revision of Leaving Home. Having a good time ripping, shredding, and rebuilding … but I’m kind of a masochist.

Listening to: 

I don’t even know. Music, possibly static. My brain hurts. But I’m intrigued by the new Snoop Lion disk.

Watching:

Doctor Who, the back half of Series Seven — I’ve been a fan of the Doctor since high school, and was part of a startup fan club in 1988. The last few episodes … how can I say this gently … kind of bite. The new companion is fine but Matt Smith seems to be thinking about something else. Plus, the scripts suck eggs.

Defiance — Siffy went back to science-fiction, and I kind of like it. There’s a lot of potential here, if they can stop lifting ideas from everything else. Confession: When I first heard the title, I secretly hoped it was a Deep Space Nine spin-off.

Drinking:

A lot of water — My classroom gets north of 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the afternoons. Gotta hydrate.

What I'm ... (April 4, 2013)

Reading:

The Disaster Diaries: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Apocalypse by Sam Sheridan — The closest thing to a real Doc Savage talks about how he got apoca-paranoid when he son was born and what he did to prepare for the worst. Each chapter starts with a doomsday scenario, which is followed by a how-to for surviving it. Powerlift your way out of an earthquake!

Publish This Book: The Unbelievable True Story of How I Wrote, Sold, and Published This Very Book by Stephen Markley — A tongue-in-cheek but true(?) tale of one man’s journey to write and publish the very book he’s writing about writing and publishing the very book he’s writing.

Writing:

Finishing up a short story about a boy, an old man, and a snowplow.

Poised to rip the top off my novel Leaving Home and plunge my hands into its steaming guts.

Listening to: 

Lincoln: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack by John Williams — Nicely orchestrated, mostly classical. I haven’t seen the movie, but I kind of like the music.

Dusty in Memphis by Dusty Springfield — Makes me want to be THE son of a preacher man.

Watching:

House Hunters International — Because I live in New Hampshire, and it’s fricking cold.

Community, Season 1 — It took me a couple of episodes to get into it, but now it’s like potato chips. I can’t keep the bag closed.

Drinking:

Labatt Blue – Way good when its cold.

Coffee -- A friend brought me a can of the good stuff back from Puerto Rico in return for not letting his cats die.