Category Archives: Words Words Words

Telephony

So.

I had a business meeting by phone scheduled for this morning. A meeting that I’ve been waiting for for some time now.

The phone rings. I pick it up. “Hi, it’s –”

And the phones cuts out.

I am not ashamed to say I threw the phone, I was so mad at it. (I threw it at something soft, and took the time to turn so that I aimed properly, but I threw it.)

I’m on my way out to buy (a) a replacement battery for the damn thing, and (b) a real phone with a cord that actually works to serve as backup.

It’s six years old. It’s done its time, both on the cradle and off. And it’s been sending us feeble “I don’t feel well” signals lately. But dying as soon as it’s taken off the cradle? Swan song.

UPDATE, 12:40 PM: New battery now charging. The salesman was surprised our battery lasted six years; he said they have a life of approximately three years. But the cord phone I bought? Only has a USB plug. Has to be exchanged for a Real Phone so I can actually use the damn thing as a backup phone on the main phone line, because of course there aren’t USB to phone jack adaptors that don’t cost more than the ruddy phone did. So it’s back out to the shops after Liam’s nap, so that we actually have a phone we can use before tomorrow.

::headdesk::

The Book Geek In Me Is Incoherent With Coolness

My Wicca book had an initial print run of, oh, let’s say, X in September 2005.

This May, they had to do a second print run of 1/2 X.

What does this mean? My books sells muchly. So much so that a second print run was called for nine months later.

The spellcraft book had a slightly larger initial run, so I don’t think it has reprinted yet. As for the green witch book, it’s a more specialised topic, so the print run for it is the smallest so far. I know you’re curious (or you ought to be in order to have the proper context to appreciate all this), so here’s a little fact: the average print run for a book in the New Age market is around 5,000. All three of mine were higher than that. The first was almost double it, in fact.

I was rather astonished, myself.

And I am such an industry geek.

Swan Sister Update

How long has it been since I’ve posted a book update? Long enough that I’m practically turning somersaults as I write this.

Total word count, Swan Sister: 7,911
Total words today: 3,071

I love Mousme with much love, for having her here while I wrote meant that I dragged my clunky little laptop out of the closet instead of working with the desktop, recopied my files to a second floppy that worked in the laptop, and wrote all day instead of fiddling around on the internet or with photo files or music or other shiny things that distract me.

It was Liam’s day at his grandma’s, and I deliberately planned a writing jam so that I couldn’t do anything else but write — no errands, no naps, no kicking about. I wrote/thought about/planned/discussed the novel all day. Between elevenish and fiveish I was a writer again, even during the breaks for food and discussion and phone calls and visitors. And ye gods, it worked. I almost doubled my existing word count. I wrote the proposal scene that I couldn’t write until I had at least two straight hours to handle it, and now things are moving in the story. I now have writing momentum, too. I want to keep going.

All I needed was an uninterrupted day doing it and the discipline of someone with me to get that scene written in its entirety. Now I think I can count on the hourish nap Liam has in the early morning to keep writing this book scene by scene. Instead of doing the correspondence/newsreading thing when I turn the computer on, I’ll write as much as I can for as long as his nap lasts, and I’ll handle e-mail and such during his second shorter nap. I will unplug the modem so that I can’t just hop online and lose half an hour. I may go back to writing on the laptop in another room, if that’s what gets the job done. It doesn’t matter how slow the laptop is if it’s not used for anything except word processing. The smaller regular keyboard is a bit hard to use after using the ergonomic board exclusively for a few years, but it’s a challenge I can handle.

Today has been such a blessing, and such a gift.

Although, I’d forgotten how much tea I go through during a writing jam. I haven’t had this much caffeine running through my body in almost two years.

Yay

The car is well again, hurrah! It was more than we’d expected, mainly because the part that needed replacing was not the part we thought needed to be replaced, but it was not as bad as it could have been. Or ought to have been, either, because HRH gets along famously with the mechanic, and so was not charged for labour. Let’s hear it for gregariousness. (Gregariousity?)

Wednesday Morning

Slept acceptably well. Woke up in a slightly better mood. We shall see what the day brings.

HRH and the car are off at the garage, theoretically making everything better.

The humidity is already stifling, and the humidex is supposed to hit 42 Celsius today. There had better not be any obstacles to the car being fixed, because there’s a trip out to get ice cream in my future this afternoon, yes indeed, or else.

Luanna called last night and made me envy her all the more for studying groovy book stuff. I’ve never been so grateful to hear anyone say “Scholastic” and “Anansi Press” in such an excited voice. I miss that part of being in the book trade. My position is completely different now.

The only thing that comes close to receiving cool mail is sending cool mail out and hearing back that people are receiving it.

Oh: Liam has finally learned to wave. Now he waves at everything.

Note To Self

Putting on Invisible’s Zombie Chickens Live! at a highish volume goes a long, long way towards counteracting a bad mood. A half-glass of Dad’s Pinot Grigio helps too. (It’s a half glass because I only have one bottle left and I’m making it last as long as I can…)

I shouldn’t be surfing in a mood like this because I want to order lots and lots of books. Online ordering is so seductively simple, curse it.