Saturday, October 16, 2004
You say something enough times, people start to listen. Which is to say, even though I haven't yet actually seen a copy of the Entertainment Weekly which includes a review of Murder of Angels, I have already been provided with the text of said review. I'm not sitting about unable to write for the anxiety and anticipation which uncertainty inspires in me. My grateful thanks to Robyn_ma (who first told me about it), Listeningowl (who took the time to type it out), and Ginger Clark of Writer's House (who e-mailed the text of the review to me about 1:30 a.m. this morning). Because of you three, I'm not a nervous wreck right now. As for the review itself, I got an A-, which is plenty good enough for me. In the same issue, John Updike got a B and Peter Straub only got a C. I couldn't care less about Updike, but Peter's a genius, and over the years he's practically become the- loveable- uncle- no- one- ever- talks- about for me. It seems somehow very, very wrong that my new book should get an A- and In the Night Room should only get a C. Someone's smoking crack. Anyway, the MoA review is short, mostly synopsis, though I'm rather fond of the last bit: ...her punk-rock prose, and the brutally realistic portrayal of addiction and mental illness, make Angels fly.. I never would have described the prose as "punk rock," but it has a nice ring to it, regardless. In terms of sales and market exposure, this is probably the most important review I have ever received. If you'd like to see it, you'll find it on page 103 of the issue with Mel Gibson on the cover, which should be on newstands next week.
The writing went quite well yesterday, despite various sorts of kerfuffle and distraction (not the least of which was the Entertainment Weekly review). I did 848 words on the prologue and finished Section II. In the last couple of days, I've made enormous strides with Daughter of Hounds, figuring out major plot points which had previously eluded me. Which is good, considering the first check just arrived and all.
Oh, and my thanks to whoever wrote the most recent review of Murder of Angels for Amazon.com ("It Cuts Me Inside, and Often I've Bled", October 15, 2004). You may read it here (click the word "here," silly, and scroll down). I hardly agree that I "just might be America's best writer," but it's a good review with a much better than average, spoiler-free synopsis, and it makes me smile whenever people get my more round about allusions (in this case, the Suzanne Vega song, "The Queen and the Soldier").
Kid Night was superb, with slices from Fellini's and an absolutely stunning animated film (all CGI) from France, Kaena: La prophétie. It is no understatement to say that my eyeballs drooled. It's the same sort of jaw-dropping, drop-dead beauty I experienced with, say, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Alien, Dark City, and the films of the Bros. Quay. But Kaena is not all style and no substance (as some annoying people are wont to say of pretty things). Yes, it's breathtakingly gorgeous, but it also just might be one of the finest sf films I've ever seen. Directed by Chris Delaporte and Pascal Pinon, Kaena began as plans for videogame and then grew into a feature film. It's out on DVD, and I strongly recommend you hunt it down and prepare to be amazed. It should be easy to find. Even Blockbuster is carrying it. Oh, and the DVD includes a preview of MirrorMask, which was my first real look at the project. What can I say? Dave McKean paintings that move. Unbelievable. After the movie, I played Sudeki until almost two, when Elco met up with some anit-virus bot deep in the bowels of the massive computer that's taken control of Transentia, and i was just too bleary to go on.
I need to spend the weekend writing, finishing the Bookslut interview, signing signature sheets, and studying chaos magic, but today there are two Dresden Dolls shows and tomorrow...wait for it...the first half of Farscape: The Peackeeper Wars. So, there might be some slacking off until Monday morning. No one's perfect, not even those of us who get A-'s from Entertainment Weekly.
Oh, and my hair is black again. I'm pleased, though it'll be a few days before I recognize the face in the mirror.
1:43 PM
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