Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Appropo of nothing, really, except that I'm frustrated...

Why am I aways so busy?  I'm tired of being so busy and tired all the
time.  I mean, it's not as if I'm out there *accomplishing* things with
my life, like the writers, actors, songwriters and career-minded among
us.  I work hard at my job, but it's not that important to me.  It's
just a paycheck.  I'm having a lot of fun.  But I hate that I forgot my
sister's birthday, and that I can't manage to get the dishes done, and
that I don't have time to keep up with all my friends.

I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.  I really can't.

*sigh*

Carry on with your regularly scheduled program.
  

    
I hear ya, Pam.  Do you know that I've been trying for over three
years to get my apartment ALL CLEAN AT THE SAME TIME?  This so I can
enjoy it before I someday move.  (Hmm, I feel Holley's pain, too.)

I'll write more when I've caught up on reading posts.  For now, just
this:

Neil -- Congrats on those Locus awards!  :D
  

    
Neil--so, I just caught up with your blog, and ...The Susan Story...is
it, could it be that it's about the Susan that doesn't get to go back
to Narnia?  If it is, you are the rockingest, coolest human ever for
doing that.  I cannot wait to hear/read it.  I've always felt very
upset about that whole thing and would love to hear your telling of it.

Um, if that's not what it's about...you're still pretty cool. eep.

Pam, Christy:  man, do I understand.  It's very hard to keep a life
going, be productive, and still have creativity left in you, not to
mention energy to wash socks. 
  

    
Pam - *hug*
  

    
Hello, all.  Let me just say, first, it's cool to be back.

So, here I am, a Friday night after a long week of work, tired.  I've
just started a new job, as an assistant editor of two nursing journals
(the Journal of Nursing Education and the Journal of Psychosocial
Nursing), and it's great fun.  It's been really interesting to see
writing from . . . well, I don't want to say the other side of the pen,
really, but editing has really been a new and exciting experience;
using a red pen is different from using a fountain pen (and not just in
color [well, unless, of course, you put red ink in the fountain pen,
in which case even the color's the same.  But the metaphor still
stands, and such]).

The best thing about this new job, however, is that it's a real job. 
The first one I've had, really (I worked at Young & Rubicam for over a
year after college, yes, but it was still freelance; this one has
benefits.  And days off.  And a *salary*.  Whoa).  And a real job means
consistent money, which wasn't the case when I was a substitute
teacher or a personal trainer.  I'm quite happy (more personal news at
the end of the post, because it's just end-of-post cool).

All of which is a roundabout way of saying, well, now I've got some
pocket money available, some spare fundage, and rather than buy a
Playstation2, I figured I'd rejoin the Well.

Because I've missed you guys.  Man, how I've missed you guys.  The
last I really spoke to many of you was around Neil's Barnes and Noble
Union Square signing (which, I've read, turned out to be a debacle, and
has made me feel terribly guilty, because I was having dinner with
fascinating people I'd only just met while quite a few others were
getting turned away without meeting a man who's fun to meet [I loved
when Neil looked at my name on the little sticky note, looked at me,
then back at the note and said, "Oh, I know you, how are you, Will?"
even though I'd only met him once, over a year before]).

So here I am.  I've been trying to go over some of the more recent
comments (Glad to see everyone loved *Matrix: Reloaded*, and am curious
what everyone will think of *The League of Extraordinary Gentleman*
[and has anyone seen the previews for *Underworld*, with Kate
Beckinsale?  It looks like *The Matrix*, only with Vampires and
Werewolves.  And I mean real vampires and werewolves that aren't system
anomalies who look just like regular people {I hope that didn't spoil
anything for anyone, but, well, I figure it's two months later, and
anyone who wanted to see it has /I'm going to see *Matrix* in IMAX
soon, wahoo!}]).
Glad to hear Pamela and Maure had a terrific time in Vegas, and
Walker, man, you crack me up.
And you too, Mike (you know, I think I might just *be* a microluge*). 
And for the record, I don't remember the word "roughage" used all that
much, not in a mainstream sense, which I inferred as what you meant,
but *I* use the word all the time, as in "I'm gonna roughage for
somethin' to eat" (or, alternately, "I'ma get mah grub on").
Speaking of tofu (okay, yeah, it was a while ago), I read, I believe
in *Men's Health*, that it can affect male fertility.  For the worse. 
I'll have to look it up.
Oh, and, yes, tinymonster, I'm the Will with the copyright question in
Neil's journal (imagine my surprise, reading over past posts and
seeing myself mentioned!  I have to admit, it made me grin.  I dunno
why, but it did).
Martha, congratulations on your play.
Dan, sorry to hear about your health problems, and hope everything's
okay now.

Okay, the other personal news... I'm getting published.  I'm going to
be a real-live (as opposed to fake-dead?) author by year's end.  "Sage
of Angels," a novella I wrote last year, won honorable mention in last
year's "Once Upon a World" fantasy/romance contest (the judges told me
it would've gotten first place if it had been more
other-world-oriented, like Middle Earth-ian, or, well, Xanth-ian, I
suppose.  Because that's what Once Upon a World [they're a small press,
apparently] specializes in.  Which was something I didn't know, even
though I'd done quite a bit of research before I submitted.  They
didn't mention that they wanted something in a distant realm, just
romance-oriented fantasy.  Which "Sage of Angels" was.  Anyway).  So
it'll be published electronically and on CD-ROM later this year, and
might even get a print publication.  I'll let you guys know more when I
do, if you're interested.

So, anyway, that's all my news, I think.  <looks around> Man, that was
a pretty long post, wasn't it?  Sorry.  Just got excited to be back, I
suppose.

And before I go, I'm seconding Dan's motion for a Scott Evil movie,
and giving Pam a hug.
  

    
Will, congrats on the job and the publishing and the Return to the
Well (of souls)
  

    
I saw LXG. I thought it was an absolute disaster. I need to see a
prancing Johnny Depp in eyeliner to scrub LXG out of my head.

Will, welcome back.

Pam, I do know what you're talking about. I hate it too -- you're busy
with stupid things, and you're so busy that it leaves you in a stupor.
But then sometimes, you get to run away and have bits of fun or
loveliness. Have fun at SDCC. I am envious.
  

    
Safe travels, Neil and all who are going to SDCC (including my
brother)!

I'm jealous about the John Bolton and MirrorMask presentations at the
con, but I am glad to see the mentions of all the New York dates coming
up!  (And Steve Martin's going to be at that book fair, too!  Hey, I'd
go just to listen to his speaking voice.)
  

    
Which?? Which? Which book fair will have Steve Martin?? I must know!
  

    
http://www.nyisbookcountry.com/
  

    

Some time ago, now, I made the mistake of mentioning that I'd written a
short that was somewhat Zelazny inspired. Having done so I obviously had to
clean it up somewhat, and so several months have passed with me on and off
redrafting this tiny story.
I had originally written it as a one day throwaway, to get past writer's
block on another story, but I did end up fleshing it out a little bit.
Unfortunately in my later drafts I ended up evaluating sections by saying,
"Is this _too_ Zelaznyesque?" The first draft I wrote and then noticed the
ways in which it reminded me of Zelazny; the later drafts I was overly
conscious of it and ended up with one draft with a bunch of stuff that was
deliberately evocative and then I stripped out most of that and then some.
I'm not sure where I ended up, but I'm back to working on other things and,
well, I said I'd post the story here when I was done.

Additionally, I figure I'll mention an even shorter piece. This was a little
writing game- one of the people in my writing group was having trouble with
a story that started with the line "I open my eyes," and so we all wrote a
few paragraphs that started with that. Mine is also Zelazny inspired- not in
general, but rather by Corwin's reflections on his family at the end of The
Courts of Chaos.

That untitled short is at http://www.tumbolia.org/writings/untitled.html .
The longer, more recent story's most recent (and possibly last, if the
writing group continues to not give me feedback) draft is at
http://www.tumbolia.org/writings/undying.txt .
  

    
Thanks, Adam!  I've "placemarked" your post.
  

    
<Psst.  Everybody is at Comicon.>
  

    
Not everyone.  Some of us are hard at work.
  

    


Jouni Koponen writes:



Hi all.

Once again I just dropped by to inform you all, that I'm well and
functioning, and desperately try to keep up with this topic (and usually
fail miserably...).

I'm sure it has been mentioned here more than once, but could someone tell
me when the Wolves in the Walls should be out?

Maure -- What's happened to your website? I tried to visit it, but couldn't
access.

Jouni (Who heard that Neil's coming to Finland sometime around
September/October! Yay!)
  

    
I'm with Glen.  Well, not with Glen, I don't mean, but I'm hard at
work, too, and decidedly not (and very envious of everyone) at
comiccon.  Hope all of you are having enough fun to make up for those
of us who didn't make it.
  

    
Jouni - Amazon lists Wolves as being released August 5, 2003
  

    
Jouni!! I'll email to gush properly, but the newest illustration is
absolutely wonderful. Such expressions they have! I love it to pieces.

My website is no longer -- I kept the domain name registered, and will
continue to do, but I thought having it was silly -- I never update
it, and it was just a personal site anyway. I still have my journal
(http://www.xanga.com/maure), and that seems to accomplish everything
for which I had intended on using my website. I figure that if I ever
do start my little comic cafe, I'll start the site up again, only this
time, it'll have a real purpose.

Christy, thanks for the book fair information. It may come in very
handy.
  

    
Christy and everyone: Thanks for the empathy.  I think I'm surrounded
by too many perfect people, who manage to have their house continually
clean, even with 2-year olds running around, balance their checkbooks,
throw terrific parties and have their toenails polished all the time. 
I need more artistic friends, because they're less likely to accomplish
all those things at once.

I'm feeling a little better, though.  I've decided to quit my job in
the next couple of months and find a job close to where we live, which
will get rid of my 3-hour daily commute, and give me more time for
things that feel rewarding.

Will!  Welcome back!  Yay!  Maybe the diminishment trend will reverse,
now.  And CONGRATS on being published!

Re: SDCC.   Well, I think only Neil, Walker (and Christy's brother)
are there yet.  I'm coming down tomorrow night, and Adriana and Mimi
will be there on Friday.  But I'm soooo excited to be able to see some
of MirrorMask and Wolves.  Reports to come!

The good thing about being a Neil fan in SoCal: We get the chance to
see Neil alot.
The not-so-good thing about being a Neil fan in SoCal: So do several
thousand other people.

Madman:  Thanks for sharing your work with us.  Keep writing!

Jouni!  I'm very glad to hear that all's well.  Hope you're having a
lovely Nordic summer.

-P
who's having a hard time concentrating on work when she's running off
to SDCC tomorrow
  

    


From Jouni Koponen:



Glen -- Ta'... have to inform my comics dealer.

Maure -- Glad you liked the pic. I've already started the next one too...
after that there's only five more (plus covers) to be done... we'll get
there eventually. Trust me, we'll get there. ;-)

Pam -- Well, hello birdie-gal! It's nice, but quite hot around here (30°C...
which should be about 86°F)... been like that over a week now (and the
forecast says it will continue at least over the weekend...)

Jouni (sweating...)
  

    
Early live reports from our Roving Reporter (Walker) say: 

Himself is well, SDCC is crowded, and there are lots of little hobbits
running around, making Walker very grumpy.
  

    
Well, well. 
It sounds looks like everyone is having a blast. I won't even pretend
to be caught up, although a quick "congratulations!" and "welcome
back!" are in order for Mr. Will. Isn't it great when things fall into
place?

How to sum up... Hmmm.. 
Jess and I got a big house with two of our friends. It comes with a
piano AND a lawnmower. We are very excited. We don't get to move in
until toward the end of August though. Our lease here ends at the end
of this month, so we have to put all of our crap in storage and stay
with our friends in their small duplex for a little bit. That will be
interesting I'm sure. 

I left my Chinese friends for a less time consuming and FAR less
stressful job at the Antique Mall. I start Monday. It's huge and has
lots of fun things to play with. 

I took this job in part because I need my nights free due to being
asked to join The Bloomington Playwrights Project! People like my
things and the people are weird and great so I will take part--mainly
doing things with the Dark Alley Series, I suspect. They are poor, but
do pay and consider themselves a professional group, so this is very
good for me, not to mention loads of fun. 

On a sad note, our beloved rabbit of four and a half years, Augie,
passed away the other day. He went quietly not to long after Jess
called and made the appointment to have him put to sleep. He was old
and in a lot of pain, so I'm glad that's all over for him now, but he
was our first pet together, so it hit us both pretty hard. We put him
in the ground late last night next to a big oak tree. And life goes
on...

That's about it, really. Been writing lots which makes me happy.
Despite the occasional spelling error, I really do think I'm getting
better. And a month short of being 25 years old, things finally seem to
be falling into place. 

I missed you strange and wonderful people and an glad to read that,
for the most part, things are well with everyone. 

Yay! My Pizza is here. Mike may recall, and I strongly maintain that
Mother Bear's Pizza is the best pizza I've ever tasted. Mmmmm...
Portabella and Spinocolli. On that note, I bid you all good day.

--e
  

    
Erynn:  Thank you, and congratulations right back at you. 
Everything's falling into place for you, too, it sounds like, and it
sounds like it's happening in the best possible way.  Except for your
rabbit.  I'm very sorry to hear about your rabbit.

"Despite the occasional spelling error, I really do think I'm getting
better.": I just have to say that line really caught me, and I laughed
aloud.  It reminded me of "I love to write.  I just can't stand all the
paperwork."  And I'm sure you're getting better, as I've discovered
that I think writers always get better, one word at a time.

Good luck with the playwrighting group.

Oh, and I was so jealous that everyone was at SDCC that I decided to
treat myself.  I'm going to see Tori at the Tweeter in late August, and
Eddie Izzard in Philly in November.  I feel better now, and perhaps
like I can wait until *2004* <wince> to see some *MirrorMask*.
I think I'm going to the Borders event in NYC.  Anyone else
considering?
  

    
Definitely considering.

(BTW, Will, I think it was rather fitting that you chose to make your
reappearance one year to the day after the *last* Neil NYC appearance!)

-Christy Smith
  

    
Wow, Will... looks like Christy is stalking you. *grin*

Erynn, congrats on the playwriting group! That's very cool. It's
always nice to find a supportive community. Even better when that
community is full of weird and great people who are really into your
work. Whoo hoo!

Very sorry about the rabbit. It sounds like it was time, but also like
he was more than a pet, but also a landmark in your relationship. It's
nice that you put him by a big oak tree... that's a wonderful symbol
of endurance and life and strength.