I wrote THIS much!

22052 / 50000 words. 44% done!

And if I get my quota in tonight, I can watch an hour of Brass goodness on CSI!

10104 words so far, two chapters, and two main characters who are about to find out that they have a lot more in common than either of them wished. Mwahahahaha...

Yup, I'm indulging in this month's insanity, and so far I'm keeping up with the daily quota pretty well, especially since I'm skipping around the outline hither and yon while I write scenes that appeal to me (I'm not a linear writer, simple as that -- I tried it, it bored me and I never finished anything, so I have to go with what works for me).

So what are y'all up to this fine November?

A friend of mine, knowing that I like webcomics, did me the great kindness of introducing me to "Hark! A Vagrant", which specializes in historical piss takes. As I chuckled my way through the archive, I found this:



It's the look on Poe's face at the end that cracks my shit up.

Quick, using only a posted photo or two, show everyone where you would live if work and money were no object. It should be something that people should be able to recognize if possible.



Home...

That's where I'd like to be right now.

Okay, my first major release weekend at the Death Star is over, and apart from an upset stomach and a few loose tufts of hair I came through it pretty well (I still have four mojitos in the sixpack I bought on Friday -- go me!). Granted, it's not finished until 8:00 PM tomorrow night, but the really bad parts are over. I think.

More importantly, grandboss is happy, boss is happy, I didn't yell at anyone (although Lord knows I was tempted), and all documentation went out pretty much on time, to the correct recipients (remember that scene in APOLLO 13 when Kevin Bacon, terrified that he'll accidentally hit the wrong switch and separate the capsule and lunar module prematurely, tapes a label onto the separation switch reading "NOT THIS ONE"? Yeah, I did something like that with a sticky on my monitor), and with the pertinent information. The boss has been making noises about us going out after work tomorrow night and hitting a bar and grill, and I have to say that sounds pretty damned attractive right now.

But first, I must hie myself to Starbucks for a nonfat grande mocha frap, and then upstairs to the Sekrit Project. Ah, the glamorous life of a professional writer...

I know I haven't been here for awhile and that's because work has exploded in 26 dimensions in the last month or so and I've been run off my feet between doing that and getting the house ready for my sister's visit and keeping it clean afterwards and practicing the viola and my visit to LA and writing stories and working on this Sekrit Project--

*GASP*

--and I have to thank cincoflex for actually giving me a heads-up that "A Friendly Wager" co-won the CSI Fanfic Awards PWP Smut - Het - Vegas category along with her absolutely smokin' piece "He/She," and that "Workman's Comp" won the Romance - Het - Vegas (Brass/Catherine) category, and thanks to ALL you wonderful people who read, nominated and voted for stories--

*GASP*

--and chapter three of "It Catches Up To You" will be posted this afternoon, plus the story after that will officially be a Brillows Girls Mystery costarring the Doc! Yay!

Phoo!

The Engineer and I are on our way out to LA, and after scoring an upgrade at the airport are comfortably ensconced in First Class. Which is a double bonus because I brought a universal charger for the netbook, so it's currently plugged into DC current, charging the frankly sad and pitiful battery (granted, the Engineer pointed out that it's running a much more power-intensive OS since we hacked it to run MacOS) and allowing me to write all the way to Cali.

Oh, did I mention we're actually on the plane at the moment? Thanks for Gogo Inflight Internet, I am currently coming at you from 35K feet somewhere over the Panhandle. This is so freaking cool.

They make such a lovely swooshing noise as they fly by. Due to Real Life Stuff(TM) (nothing traumatic, mind you, just very time-consuming -- incoming relatives and the resulting cleaning frenzy, a con to attend, work exploding in all 26 dimensions, and my pathetic attempts to carve out SOME writing time), the Sekrit Project has been delayed. However, since the deadline for this was pushed back to 10/30, I don't feel too terribly guilty. Plus, the delay gives me a chance to do more research, which is going to be hella handy as two of the furniture pieces promise to be a stone bitch to replicate accurately in foot to the inch scale.

Oh. I didn't mention the Sekrit Project, did I? Basically, I'm donning my Miniaturist Goddess hat and putting together...something...for someone. Yeah. Pictures will be forthcoming once the SP is in photographable shape.

WOW. Thanks to EVERYONE who nominated my stories for this year's CSI fanfic awards. As a newbie to the field, I am truly stunned and honored.

Now get out there and vote!

Just found out about the 2009 WIP Nominations list for the csifanficawards and sent in my noms. There's some damn good stuff on this list already -- I'm really looking forward to the final nominees!

Title: It Catches Up To You
Rating: T
Pairing: Brass/Willows
Summary: Entry #5 in the "A Year in the Life" series. An open murder investigation pits Brass against a vengeful husband, and Wendy Simms is caught in the crossfire.
Disclaimer: You know the drill -- CSI is not my sandbox. If it were, Wendy would've thrown Hodges to the lab floor and had him by now.

CHAPTER ONE

( CHAPTER TWO )

Ingredients for homemade zuppa toscana and garlic loaf -- $21.
Realizing we don't have any soup spoons and picking up some plastic ones -- $3.
Zipping back to the store for a nice Merlot -- $13.50.
Having the Engineer slurp down a spoonful of soup, moan in ecstasy and say, "This is absolutely gorgeous!" -- priceless.

Happy birthday to me.
Happy birthday to me.
Happy 43rd birthday.
Happy birthday to me.

Yay!

Because it's only 180 calories! Huzzah!

Hey, sometimes a girl needs a cold, chocolately, caffeinated treat after a long, hot day. And at 180 calories, it's more than worth it!

Well, it began around 6 hours ago, but I digress. Now that I have a new shoulder rest and Volume 2 of my viola book (and I actually used the bow while knowing what I was doing for the first time -- yay!), it's time to clean, then write, then clean some more, then watch the recap of the final stage of the Tour, then go lift weights with Stretch, then do some more writing.

Yeah, all of that today. Have I mentioned recently how freaking happy I am that I switched my Synthroid scrip to the name brand? Don't tell me that the generics are bioequivalent.

Many moons ago, when the earth was young and Ann Coulter roamed the plains, I developed an unshakeable squeeing fangirldom for a young actor named Jeffrey Combs, who rose to fame in horror classics such as RE-ANIMATOR and THE FRIGHTENERS. Trek fans will know him from his numerous characters in three of the ST incarnations, and he's appeared in a variety of non-genre TV shows (if anyone wonders why Dr. Sterling was such a large part of "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall," well, now you know why).

And tonight, after waiting for 22 years, I've finally gotten a chance to see him strut and fret his hour upon the stage in NEVERMORE, a one-man play that recreates one of Edgar Allen Poe's touring lectures and follows his descent into sorrow, loss and madness. To say that Jeff was magnificent is to do him a disservice. I literally stopped breathing a couple of times, I was so caught up in the virtuoso performance on stage.

Performing in a one-man play is never easy. Performing in a one-man play without an intermission, where you breathe life into an increasingly drunk and erratic Poe, where you cover the emotional range between out-and-out belly laughs and the blackest of sorrow, when you leap about like a crazed man while reciting "The Bells," where you fall off stage while begging your disgusted fiancee not to leave, and when you leave every member of the audience stunned with your agonizingly powerful recital of "The Raven," is a masterful achievement of stagecraft.

If there was any way I could stay over and see it again tomorrow night, I would. Jesus God, but the man can act.

So I land at Burbank Airport for my Awfully Big Adventure, get to the Alamo counter, and request my car.

"Oh, you're eligible for an upgrade," the clerk says. "Would you like a Dodge Charger?"

I channel my inner Homicide captain, grin and say, "Hell yes."

And lo, I am now driving a cherry red Charger for the next 24 hours. Can't wait to get that puppy on the highway, yes indeedy!

Apparently I'm on double secret probation! Oh, this return to grammar school is so much FUN!

That being said, this has been an incredibly shitty week so far, and I find that I may have to write a very bloody evisceration scene simply to stop myself from doing it in real life. It's bad enough that I'm getting heart hiccups again from sheer stress -- I don't handle micromanagement under normal circumstances, but when they don't have the ovaries to face me and go tattling behind my back...

*pinches bridge of nose, takes deep breath, imagines a bubbling brook and holding someone's head under until they stop struggling*

That's better. In more upbeat news, I'm still working on "It Catches Up To You," and I want to have Chapter Two up sometime this week if I'm not in lockup by then. I need a very large frosty adult beverage, dammit.