Here used to be a picture of me after licking a thorny plot problem in the chapter tentatively titled “Chapter 29” in The Reefs of Time. This would be the chapter that, in the first draft, caused me to type, “I HAVE NO FRICKIN’ IDEA WHERE THIS IS GOING! FIX IT IN REWRITE!” and then move on. When the rewrite came around, the situation was not much improved. But this time, I didn’t think I could do the same thing, so I just kept pounding my head on it until it relented and gave up its secrets. So, this time I’ve solved it and moved on. Having solved it. I think. You never know about these things until you circle back on the next pass and see it all in the context of the whole story arc.
Have I mentioned that this is a long and complex book, with many threads, and it’s taking me a long time to (re)write it? Think Game of Thrones… but without the thrones, the kingdoms, the backstabbing murders, the dragons, the dark magic, etc. Actually, it’s nothing like The Game of Thrones, except for the length, complexity, and the time it’s taking me to finish it. But that’s not nothing.
I’ve been listening to a book on creativity and writing by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. The book is called Big Magic.
One line so delighted me that I had to stop the playback and transcribe it. Here it is:
“Possessing a creative mind… is something like having a border collie for a pet. It needs to work, or else it will cause you an outrageous amount of trouble. Give your mind a job to do or else it will find a job to do—and you might not like the job it invents: eating the couch, digging a hole through the living room floor, biting the mailman, etc….
I firmly believe that we all need to find something to do in our lives that stops us from eating the couch.”
The book is a good listen, in the author’s own voice.
Here, you can listen to Ms. Gilbert talk about some of the same aspects of creativity in her TED Talk:
Great news on the audiobook front! While many of my older books have been available in audiobook for some time, my most recent work has never been recorded in commercially available audio.
Well, we’re about to start changing that! Neptune Crossing is coming to audiobook, and with a vengeance. I’ve signed with Skyboat Media and Grammy Award-winner Stefan Rudnicki to both produce and narrate the book. In short, I’ve just signed with one of the premier audiobook producers in the business! I could not be happier.
I have long noted Stefan as one of the narrators I most enjoyed listening to as a consumer of audiobooks. (Audiobooks are how I get most of my reading done nowadays. Some people use them to while away long commutes. I use them to while away long dog walks. In fact, my most recent listen was to Zeroboxer, a wonderful young adult science fiction novel by Fonda Lee, narrated by Stefan.) I have long felt that if Audible or any other audiobook producer were to ask me who I would like to narrate any of my books—and no, they’ve never asked—Stefan’s name would have been right at the top.
My road to getting Neptune Crossing into audio has been a rocky one. Tor Books, the original print publisher, controlled the audio rights, but didn’t exercise them. A few years ago, I started trying to get just the audio rights back, but it was a slow slog; and when I finally got a complete rights reversion, it came just too late for a particular window of opportunity. That was pretty discouraging, and for a time, I didn’t do anything further. But when one door closes, another opens. When a colleague of mine at Book View Café mentioned that Stefan’s Skyboat Media was open to new material, I thought, “What have I got to lose?” I queried, and sent them an ebook to peruse. About a week later, Stefan made an offer for a production deal, with Blackstone Audio as partners—and because he liked the book so much, he wanted to narrate it himself!
I didn’t have to think long about that. I brought my agent in to handle the contracts, and a few weeks later, we were signed. Stefan tells me we’re aiming for a release date of September 6, in both CD and MP3 download from all the major audiobook vendors.
This will be an important trial. If sales go well, the hope is to continue with the other Chaos titles, and maybe Eternity’s End. So everybody, Please pull with me on this one! Spread the word! Neptune Crossing hits the airwaves on September 6! If you don’t listen to audiobooks yourself, you probably know someone who does. What a great gift! Or get your local library to order it! That’s the ticket!
A couple of months ago, I wrote of our two-week trip to Puerto Rico, where we labored like lunatic worker bees to complete extensive repairs and renovations to the home in Ponce that was built by Allysen’s parents back around the era that I was completing my undergraduate education. That was a productive but exhausting trip, and we got a huge amount done, but were left with a lot still to do before we could rent the place. Well, we’ve just finished trip two, which was exhausting on a scale that made our January efforts look like a milk run.
This time Allysen went for a full month, taking a leave of absence from her job. Her brother Andrew came for a while, our daughter Jayce came for a while, and I came for the final two weeks. I will say, as far as the physical surroundings go, it was a lot more pleasant (even in mosquito season) than it had been before. The pool was sparkling, Allysen and Andrew had already scored some nice secondhand furniture, and the work crews were starting to feel like old family friends. But the pace, especially in the last week, was punishing. On trip one, my main job was chronicling the work and making endless runs to Home Depot. This time, I was a lot more hands-on with smaller repairs, plus I kept on making endless runs to Home Depot.
On the flight home, we scribbled down a list of all of our deeds so that we wouldn’t forget. Here’s a small sampler of what we and our contractors accomplished:
Built a new concrete retaining wall to hold up the parking area
Widened the brick-lined parking pad, for easier parking
Repaired the main entry gate
Installed new keyless entry locks and deadbolts
Bought and transported nice, second-hand furniture for living and dining rooms
Had new table tops made by our wood guy for dining and coffee tables
Bought a modest smart-TV and tested streaming Netflix on it with our cellphone mobile wifi (it worked!)
Met with the family lawyer and learned how wills work in P.R. (differently from in the states)
Upgraded the alarm system (with many visits from the alarm company) and trouble-shot false alarms
Cleaned out gross cupboards in paneled bedroom
Built new cabinets and cabinet walls in area behind kitchen and closed up the ceiling in that area, to keep out leaves, bugs, rain, and wandering animals
Bought a modest selection of hand and power tools and used every one of them
Sanded and painted stairway rails leading down from parking pad to deck, to pool
Spent many hours repairing the dishwasher, only to determine that it really was dead, Jim; also, learned that dishwashers aren’t that common in PR, and you can’t go to Home Depot or Sears and just buy one to take home with you—so, no dishwasher
Began the job of replacing all the windows
Made a serious dent in the island’s supply of rum, lime, and assorted other drinkables
Semi-befriended two lovely, pregnant stray kitties
Checked out a few recommended restaurants
Got up every frickin’ morning at 6 or 7 to open the gate for workers
Swam in the pool (twice, anyway)!
That’s maybe a quarter of the list. Really. For the most part, we were so busy that we forgot to take pictures! Which is a bummer. But here, in a lighter moment, I did catch Allysen and Andrew:
And here are Estevan and Carlos getting started on the new wall:
The revenge? I arrived home exhausted—and instead of having a nice rest, promptly got sick. I’ve been sick for most of the last week, and am only slowly returning to normal. That just doesn’t seem fair. But I am now recovered enough that I can say this with greater confidence: Please pass me some frozen margarita.
I thought I was done with the snow blower. I was this close to taking all the snow shovels off the porch and putting them away for the year. And now this…
Landshark looking for sun
About eight inches of wet, stick-to-the-shovel snow.
(I hope Allysen is enjoying the Puerto Rico sun!)
Whose woods these are I think I know.
We’re s’posed to be in Springtime, though.
But not for long! My accountant (pesky alter-ego) says I haven’t been running enough promotions lately. So here’s one for the glorious beginning of Spring. One of my favorite children is on the sales block for less than the price of a dollar bill! Don’t miss out on this, because it’s only on sale for a few days.
This is a book that Roger Zelazny called “a fast-paced puzzler, rich in invention, and Jeffrey A. Carver’s most ambitious book to date.” (No, I didn’t pay him for that.) And Spider Robinson said that it has “one of the most powerful endings in science fiction.”
If that’s not enough to entice you, I don’t know what will. How about this gorgeous cover by Shusei?
Or this: It’s only $.99 for a shiny new ebook! Booyah!
Astronaut Scott Kelly is coming home from the International Space Station after 340 days in orbit. Click here at the Boston Globe for a gallery of some amazing images he shared during his time at the edge of the great Up-and-Out.*
Aurora seen from the ISS
The Moon, Venus, and Jupiter peering back at Astronaut Kelly
The Milky Way, our home galaxy
*If the “Up-and-Out” is unfamiliar to you, you may not have had the pleasure of reading any of the stories of the late Cordwainer Smith. Here’s one of my favorites, The Game of Rat and Dragon. It starts this way:
“Pinlighting is a hell of a way to earn a living….” [more]
After much pondering, I voted for the Hillary. Interesting voting factoid about Massachusetts (or at least my town): the Democratic ballots are shaded red, and the Republican blue. Messing with us? Of course they are!
Speaking of messing with us, when I got home, I decided it was a nice day and it was time to take the suddenly failing Christmas lights off the tree in front of our house. (Happy First Day of Meteorological Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, everyone!) I like to keep the lights up after the holidays, to brighten those bleak February nights.
Here’s how the squirrels thanked me (and the reason the lights were failing).
