"Je nage, mais les sons me suivent."

A bright, sunny, cold day here in Providence. The snow that came yesterday morning has mostly melted away.

Sonya (sovay) and Geoffrey (readingthedark) both arrived on Tuesday evening. Geoffrey quite a bit later than Sonya. And we were up until almost dawn talking, and mostly we talked about The Wolf Who Cried Girl. That is, they helped me find my way into the novel, which I "should" have begun writing six months ago, but am only just now beginning to understand. Truly, what happened Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning had never before happened. That is, talking my way through the story of a novel (when we began, I had little but theme, mood, character, and subtext), and allowing the thoughts of others to help me uncover a plot (as well as deeper levels of theme, mood, character, and subtext). I now have pages and pages of notes, recording what was said, and as soon as I write an sf story I need to write for a Subterranean Press anthology, I will sit down and begin the novel's prologue. Unless it has no prologue, and begins with Chapter One, which is certainly possible. One of the many delights of the evening was discovering a way to work into the novel a couple of substantial elements of "Werewolf Smile." Anyway, my great thanks to both Geoffrey and Sonya. It was a grand evening of conversation.

Early Tuesday evening, after Spooky and I picked Sonya up at the train depot, the three of us stopped off at Myopic Books in Wayland Square. Just to window shop, as I already have too many unread books waiting to be read. Though Sonya found a biography of Charles Addams that sorely tempted me. After Myopic, we went to the coffee house around the corner, The Edge. Back home, Geoffrey arrived about 8 p.m. (CaST), and the four of us went downtown for dinner at the Trinity Brew House. I guess I'm putting in all these links because I didn't take the camera along. Anyway, it was a peculiar night for me, so much socializing, so much being Outside, and allowing two other people to help me work my way over a writing barricade. Geoffrey headed back to Framingham yesterday afternoon, and, later, Spooky took Sonya back to to depot. I think it was almost twilight by then.

So now, it's back to work. A furious storm of writing that has to get done before the end of the month.

A reminder that subpress is now taking pre-orders for The Ammonite Violin and Others, and that the numbered edition comes with a chapbook, "Sanderlings."

Last night, Kathryn and I watched Nora Ephron's Julie and Julia. It's an odd sort of film for me to comment on. It was an odd sort of film for me to even watch. But I did enjoy it, though I found Meryl Streeps performance as Julia Childs' far and away more entertaining than the other half of the film, the Amy Adams half about the bored wife/beleaguered office worker from Queens and her foodie blog that wants to be a novel. Indeed, I think I would have much preferred a film devoted entirely to the life of Julia Childs, especially given Streep's amazing performance, which I think is worthy of an Oscar nomination.

Anyway...must get to work or the platypus will have hisherit's way with me, and it's really too early in the day for those sorts of shenanigans.