Last evening I was expecting company for supper, and I had spent some of Saturday preparing--a fresh green pea soup I thought would be light and airy for spring (medium recipe--I probably won't repeat; okay but bland), a vinaigrette for salad nicoise and some asparagus for the same salad, a cheese spread that I mentioned in my last post. I took my nap earlier than usual yesterday, and when I woke there was a message on the machine saying they had to cancel--both were sick, though with different ailments. So I called Jeannie and Jim and they joined me for supper. We ate on the porch--glorious weather--and had a good visit. We decided we were really sorry our friends were sick, but it all worked out well. My salad nicoise was really good--I ate the leftovers for lunch today. We also splurged--all three of us try to be careful about what we eat, but we had strawberry ice cream with chocolate mint sauce (yummm--just writing about it makes me want some).
Today was another pretty day, not quite as sunny, and very windy, and tomorrow we're to have storms. I always dread the battle to get Scooby outside when it rains or storms, but I can't leave him in when I'm not here. And then possible rain and cooler temps all week. I hope Melinda and I don't have to drive to Austin in the rain Wed. Jordan called this morning from the balcony of her bedrom on the cruise ship--she was staring at the Golden Gate Bridge and had watched the sun come up for her bedroom. Not a bad place to be!
I had a funny dream last night--I was somewhere in the middle of the night watching a play, and the only car I had was a rental VW but it was much smaller than mine. I was so aware that I was missing sleep (I must have a fixation about getting plenty of sleep) that I left the play early, got in this tiny car, and headed home, but I kept running into construction sites and other obstacles and finally ended up where I had started, long after the play was over. But then I was back in my own VW and grateful to be. Moral of this story: a Smart Car is probaby not for me. When I woke from that dream about 4 a.m. I was exhausted and so glad I could go back to sleep. I do sometimes think I wake tired because I've been so busy in my dreams.
I finished the Mary Higgins Clark novel, which was a real cliff-hanger and, as is her style, the villains weren't at all who you expected them to be. But I had an "aha!" moment, one I've had before and keep forgetting: authors like Clark can have all those threads because they write in third person; I unfailingly write in first. My few attempts at third have not been successful, and I end up making the great pronoun/point of view switch, which can be disastrous if you miss a pronoun. So I'm limied to what the main character knows. Some authors, of course, insert a prologue or even a chapter sometimes in another voice, often setting it apart in italics, but I haven't seen the need to do that yet. Conventional wisdom says authors write their first novel in first person and then move on, but lots of cozies are first person, and I'm really more comfortable getting inside the head of my charater. Now that I'm finished with that novel, I really must get back to my own. First, however, I have to post information on the Guppies Small Publishers list--it's taken me forever and the dedicated help of two others on the list to figure out how to do it, but I think I posted information on two publishers this evening--have to check--and have three to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment