You get a rejection letter where you were thisclose to cracking the table of contents. You have to withdraw another story from a longstanding project because it was starting to circle the drain. These things are part of a writer’s life.
And then there’s the spontaneous email from a first reader who tells you he was tempted to call in sick to work that day because he wanted to stay home to finish reading your work. Or the random post that you stumble upon from a total stranger who says very nice things about a short story you published many moons ago. These things, too, are part of a writer’s life. A couple of the latter is worth far more than a barrel of the former.
Odd coincidences: Several days ago, I finished a work in which mysterious tunnels play a major role. Then I look at my favorite news site (CBC news, if you’re curious) and see a blazing headline about a mysterious tunnel of unknown origin and purpose. Cool, you think. But my tunnel is more mysterious.
I’m getting close to the end of Bosch, the 10-episode Amazon Prime series based on the novels of Michael Connelly. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Los Angeles look so good on film. It almost looks like a nice place to live. Titus Welliver is good, although I have to keep reminding myself he’s Harry Bosch. I can’t articulate how I pictured Bosch over the years, but it wasn’t like him. The season is based mostly on the novels Echo Park and City of Bones, though some liberties are taken. Bosch’s ex-wife and FBI profiler Rachel Walling are blended together into a single character, for example. I’m enjoying it, but I wish there was an easy way to cast it to my TV. Watching on the iPad is okay, but just okay.
The second season of Broadchurch has wrapped up. Apparently it’s been renewed for a third. Nothing is neat and tidy in life, as the season demonstrates. I wish I hadn’t watched Gracepoint, because that canceled series polluted my memory of Broadchurch’s first season a bit and it took me a while to sort out who was who and what was what again. The season comingles two cases and involves the characters from season 1 along with some new additions. I enjoyed it.
Very close to the mid-point of Justified’s final season. The addition of Jeff Fahey to the cast is welcome. His Zachariah is a crusty old miner and Fahey throws everything into portraying him. He’s the only actor I’m aware of who can laugh “heh heh heh” and make it sound like a real thing. A couple of good lines. Ava saying, “Anyone but me just plain tired of the bullshit burdens of southern hospitality?” The prostitute saying, “You’d be amazed how many guys think that if they talk fast enough no one will realize they’ve got nothin to say,” which could be applied to a couple of the show’s characters. And Raylan telling Tim, “Wonderful things can happen when you sow seeds of distrust in a garden of assholes.”
