A cool, drizzly day. I know Texas well enough to not believe that summer is over yet, even though another cool front is predicted for a few days from now. Without warning it can end up over 90° again. I hope it stays like this, though. September/October can be the best months around here.
I completed the first pass through the first chapter of the novel. The original version was over 5000 words and I’m now at 3300. In other words, I removed about 1/3 of the text. Now it’s time to build it back up again a little more. Add nuance and texture. I plan to send the chapter to my agent next week. On the previous novel, we tended to work with the whole manuscript at once. This time I want to try to do it in smaller chunks, and he agrees with this approach.
Wednesday night’s a slow night for TV (unlike tonight, when I have all the recording devices working overtime) so I watched the first hour of Misery on one of the movie networks. I can’t remember when I last saw the film. Maybe not since it came out. Kathy Bates is so good in this one. Her transformations from good Annie to bad Annie and back again are seamless and frightening. I also love the banter between Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagan. I’ve been seeing James Caan pretty much daily on TV since they run Las Vegas on the TV screens at the gym over the lunch hour, so it’s hard to see him as Paul Sheldon and not Ed Deline, but he does a decent if not outstanding job in this movie.
Criminal Minds is back, traumatizing the members of the BAU in new and exciting ways. Spencer takes a bullet to the leg, which will help cover the fact that the actor severely injured his knee during hiatus. I also got caught up on the Monday night comedies. I think I’m going to pass on the new Jenna Elfman series. I watched the first five minute of it and wasn’t sold. She’s cute and delightfully ditzy, but I wasn’t into it. I really liked The Big Bang Theory. Leonard and his “I can’t catch a break” and Sheldon’s fall from grace, all the way back to Texas and wacko mother Laurie Metcalf. His choice–accept his friends’ apology or stay in Texas and teach evolution to creationists! Charlie’s therapist is always good for some dry laughs on Two and a Half Men, too. “I’m not sitting here sketching ponies,” she responds after Charlie is surprised that she rememberd a detail from his past. I wonder if Emmanuelle Vaugier (Mia) really sings that badly or if she had to work at it.
The Barnes & Noble web page for The Stephen King Illustrated Companion is now live and taking orders. That means the book is in their warehouse and will ship within 24 hours. My contributor copes are en route. My editor says I should see them by early next week, though I’m hoping they make it here by the weekend.
A helpful soul on a message board dug up the following info: “You can save a few bucks if you’ll be using a Visa card. Go to BN.com and add the book to your cart. Go through the checkout and enter your Visa info and make sure you save it. Then don’t finish the transaction. Use this link, click “Redeem Offer”, go to your cart, and finish the transaction. You’ll get free shipping and 5% off the book. Also, to get 15% off, use coupon code T9R8A8D. This one’s only valid this weekend, 9/25-9/28.” I haven’t tried this all myself, but it’s worth a try.
