BACK FROM AUSTIN

UPDATE: Shaken and Stirred and SFcrowsnest both review Shriek. It's very pleasing to me that they both got it. I mean, they both got what the book is about and my intent with the book. I dislike positive reviews that misinterpret a lot worse than a negative review that understood what I was doing and just didn't like it. It's really satisfying as a writer when you hit the mark with the reader. Feeling really good about that today. Also, an audio interview with Rick Kleffel at the Agony Column

Back from Austin and the Turkey City Workshop. Lawrence Person was a thoughtful host and I appreciated his attempts, and the other workshoppers, to make me feel at home. It was also a bit of a thrill to sit next to Howard Waldrop during the workshop. I must confess, there was a bit of pandering: Jayme Blaschke workshopped a pirate story with, er, an element in it dear to my heart. The story's great and I've asked he submit it to the antho for consideration. But I did think I was gonna die laughing over that.

I workshopped part of "The Appogiatura of John Finch" and got some very useful comments. I wanted, in particular, to get a sense of reader expectations of the future narrative and a sense from those who had not read my Ambergris stories before as to whether I had put enough info in for it to make contextual sense.

Right now, the story is at about 20,000 words and since I'm less than half-way through, I have this feeling that what I'm actually working on is a short novel. In any event, if I keep truckin' along I'll have a rough draft of the whole thing by November.

Thanks also to the BookPeople peeps (thanks Peggy!) for hosting my reading and to Rick and Brandy for great breakfast conversation Sunday morning.

BTW--totally agree with Jeff Ford about the situation in this country right now.

“When they give you things, ask yourself why. When you’re grateful to them for providing the things you should have anyway, ask yourself why.” – Lady in Blue, rebel broadcast