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Bloody weather.
Pissing it down again. ::sigh:: Not like yesterday; yesterday's rain had drama. Yesterday's deluge was an event. This is just grey, rainy rain in the Lancashire tradition and I'm sick of it already.
Especially since I have to walk across three boggy fields* to post my letter, since the Government in its wisdom has seen fit to close our village Post Office, throwing poor Mr and Mrs Savage and their dog Rocky out of their tied cottage and into the wet, cobbled streets.**
Especially since I have to walk across three boggy fields* to post my letter, since the Government in its wisdom has seen fit to close our village Post Office, throwing poor Mr and Mrs Savage and their dog Rocky out of their tied cottage and into the wet, cobbled streets.**
Peter Buckman at The Ampersand Agency sounds a very nice chap - though his wanting to see more of my novel could have predisposed me to like him, I suppose. Anyway, a fresh, new, bright n shiny submission with a 'brief outline' attached (never been asked for one of those before. A bastard and a half to write, it was, I can tell you) has been printed...
And here I have to mention the new laser printer. Oh joys, it is so good! No more standing over the Epsom, praying to all the Gods to please print for me, please! Waiting aeons to print a few sad sheets; constant vigilance for twisted pages, blurry script, banding! (argh! Dread banding! Run away!), or for one of the colours to run out, without which nothing will print (even though you're only doing b&w); then you find you don't have any more of that particular colour (though you - unaccountably - have three of every other bloody cartridge) and have to make a run to Phoenix, only to find it's lunchtime and have to wait outside in the car till they re-open at two and... One gorgeous new Samsung (see the shiny! See how he shines!) later - and all 55 pages have printed in thirty seconds! Thirty! Seconds! That's the best 39 quid I think I've ever spent.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Peter Buckman at the Ampersand Agency who only wants to see the first 2 chapters!
This is wonderful, because I have a real problem with the usual three chapter submission in that chapter three doesn't really go anywhere. It's a bit of exposition, totally necessary to the plot, but not the place you want a potential agent to end their reading because it just... ends, and is all a bit... You know?
I tried cheating once, cutting ch.3 and skipping to 4 (because you really don't miss ch.3 till you hit the last third of the book, which makes no sense at all without that pesky third chapter but in a submission - who's going to know?) BUT - ch 4, though full of action and amusing incident is terribly long and takes the submission way over length.
Now, Chapter One begins in the midst of a riot, then cuts to a bar full of teenage prostitutes, a disillusioned, alcoholic American Communist and a man who looks like Sidney Greenstreet. That's a good opening chapter. ::nods confidently:: Chapter Two has a bitch-fight between a thirteen year old hooker and Stalin Gonzalez, a camp boy prostitute, over my poor, sad, balding hero's attentions. Stalin and his roomie Lazaro then also fight over my hero and some mangoes. That's not a bad chapter either. But then we go to that rather pointless (till later) third chapter. So to be able to end my pitch with Stalin and Lazaro's slap-fest makes my heart sing and my soul soar.
Anyway, it's 40 minutes till the PO re-opens so I think I'll go and make a pot of Lapsang and butter some crumpets before I head out across the rain-washed fields, my little submission held tight in my hands...
It's Thursday, people! I hope you're all grooving to life's rainbow vibe out there in LJ land. have fun. Stay cool and hip to the jive. One day to the weekend, two days to Doctor Who. My wine's already chillin'. I hope you are too.***
*I could walk there along perfectly good, paved paths but it's about a quarter of a mile longer and I'm so pathetically idle I'd rather walk through mud and puddles. I'm really not right in the head, am I?
**Actually, they're re-inventing themselves as purveyors of local, organic delicacies which sounds rather lovely.
***I'm so sorry, there's really no excuse for it, none at all.
And here I have to mention the new laser printer. Oh joys, it is so good! No more standing over the Epsom, praying to all the Gods to please print for me, please! Waiting aeons to print a few sad sheets; constant vigilance for twisted pages, blurry script, banding! (argh! Dread banding! Run away!), or for one of the colours to run out, without which nothing will print (even though you're only doing b&w); then you find you don't have any more of that particular colour (though you - unaccountably - have three of every other bloody cartridge) and have to make a run to Phoenix, only to find it's lunchtime and have to wait outside in the car till they re-open at two and... One gorgeous new Samsung (see the shiny! See how he shines!) later - and all 55 pages have printed in thirty seconds! Thirty! Seconds! That's the best 39 quid I think I've ever spent.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Peter Buckman at the Ampersand Agency who only wants to see the first 2 chapters!
This is wonderful, because I have a real problem with the usual three chapter submission in that chapter three doesn't really go anywhere. It's a bit of exposition, totally necessary to the plot, but not the place you want a potential agent to end their reading because it just... ends, and is all a bit... You know?
I tried cheating once, cutting ch.3 and skipping to 4 (because you really don't miss ch.3 till you hit the last third of the book, which makes no sense at all without that pesky third chapter but in a submission - who's going to know?) BUT - ch 4, though full of action and amusing incident is terribly long and takes the submission way over length.
Now, Chapter One begins in the midst of a riot, then cuts to a bar full of teenage prostitutes, a disillusioned, alcoholic American Communist and a man who looks like Sidney Greenstreet. That's a good opening chapter. ::nods confidently:: Chapter Two has a bitch-fight between a thirteen year old hooker and Stalin Gonzalez, a camp boy prostitute, over my poor, sad, balding hero's attentions. Stalin and his roomie Lazaro then also fight over my hero and some mangoes. That's not a bad chapter either. But then we go to that rather pointless (till later) third chapter. So to be able to end my pitch with Stalin and Lazaro's slap-fest makes my heart sing and my soul soar.
Anyway, it's 40 minutes till the PO re-opens so I think I'll go and make a pot of Lapsang and butter some crumpets before I head out across the rain-washed fields, my little submission held tight in my hands...
It's Thursday, people! I hope you're all grooving to life's rainbow vibe out there in LJ land. have fun. Stay cool and hip to the jive. One day to the weekend, two days to Doctor Who. My wine's already chillin'. I hope you are too.***
*I could walk there along perfectly good, paved paths but it's about a quarter of a mile longer and I'm so pathetically idle I'd rather walk through mud and puddles. I'm really not right in the head, am I?
**Actually, they're re-inventing themselves as purveyors of local, organic delicacies which sounds rather lovely.
***I'm so sorry, there's really no excuse for it, none at all.
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"I hope you're all grooving to life's rainbow vibe out there in LJ land. have fun. Stay cool and hip to the jive."
Well THAT was a blast from my long ago youthful past. LOL!
Rock on, Dude! *bg*
It's cool and damp here, but for me this is a REAL birthday treat. Usually, June here is extremely humid and often in the high 20's to the low 30's and we HATESS that my Precioussss, we does. =>}
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'I'm just not diggin this scene maaan.' - I heard that on Ironside last week and I'm still enjoying it. I love hippie talk. There should be more of it. I shall be using it more in future posts - just warning you.
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Our garden and yard are very lush this year. Sometimes we have dry Junes, but not this time. It's lovely. =>}
Benjamin is here! I'm feeling groovy, babe. *g*