"Shot by security cameras..."

[greygirlbeast]

Two nights (well, mornings) in a row now, I've slept more than eight hours. Amazing.

Yesterday was, in large part, given over to email and other bits of business related to the "Best of" volume. I think that tomorrow I will most likely be posting a table of contents. There are only a couple of details left to be ironed out. Regarding the art section in the lettered and/or numbered state, I'm very pleased to report that both Richard Kirk and Vince Locke are on board. I still have several other artists to speak with, but Rick and Vince are the heart of that part of the book.

I did get some writing done yesterday. I wrote a new poem, "Atlantis," which will go out to those people who so kindly donated to help me get Spooky's birthday present this year. Each will get the poem, on a good paper stock, numbered and signed. I sent the poem to sovay and nineweaving, and their reactions were heartening. It's good to write something that I can see is good. That might sound odd, but it doesn't happen as often as you might think.

Plans have been finalized for my appearance at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and CthulhuCon this year (October 1-3) in Portland, Oregon. I may also arrange an offsite book signing. So, if you're one of the many Portland people who've been asking me to make an appearance in that area, you got your wish, and I hope to see you.

---

Last night, wolven posted this about "Sanderlings," and I want to repost it:

Thank you for this story; it keeps unfolding, in my mind. Particularly The Boy on the beach. Watching the transition, watching The End, Clara's only interaction with the "Outside World;" and, throughout their interaction, after the light in the room, I kept hearing the line "whatever it is that Sanderlings eat." The colour, the Life leeching simultaneously into and out of Mary.

But always the boy. Always his civil, pitying response. The Recording "Angel" holding vigil over all that Clara has lost the ability to appreciate, in her choosing to not see the terrible things. This vigil feels like... an inventory, or a survey, or an engaging and deep meaningful rumination on that which will soon be passed on to him. There's no malice, there. Just an inevitability and a weight.

As the only perspective external to the house, it is... arresting.

Oh, and I came across this thoughtful, articulate, respectful, and utterly wrongheaded review of The Red Tree.

---

Last night, we watched the last two episodes of Season Three of Nip/Tuck. It was a good finalé, but not nearly as powerful as the end of Season Two, which was one of the best hours of television I've ever seen.

I also got in some very excellent rp in Insilico. After failing an empathy test, Xiang 1.5 has managed to elude capture by IPS officers by signing on with a salvage ship called Beowulf. IPS jurisdiction doesn't extend to ships in orbit. The captain obtained, through highly questionable means, a new shell for Xiang, a chassis that's mostly organic, all blood and bone and muscle, and her positronic matrix was transplanted. The process was successful. Her ident chip was replaced and her AI completely shielded. She can finally pass for human. She's signed on as security with the Beowulf, assuming the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer and a new name, Grendel Ishmene (her choice, not mine). Her new body was designed for military use, primarily offworld black-ops wetwork, so...wow...I am going on about this. Sorry. On those rare occasions when rp in SL works, it's wonderful.

The platypus is glaring at me with his beady black monotreme eyes. I dare not disobey.

Comments

[wolven.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you... found my comment worthy of being reposted, in the body of your post. Though with no other comment, than being paired with the "Wrongheaded review" of The Red Tree, I don't know how flattered I should be. Heh.

Either way, I'm looking forward to tonight's Weird SF Music Video.

[birgitriddle.livejournal.com]

You know, it was those "tantalizing pieces" and how they weren't resolved in The Red Tree that made me love the book. It makes you wonder and it's more realistic than having all the pieces put into place as if it's one of those neat mysteries where they always find the murderer in the end, how he did it and why. I just found the ambiguity satisfying in it's own way. I like some mysteries to stay mysteries.

[marymayblood.livejournal.com]

Hurray that you're coming to the HPL Film Festival. I'm sure I'm one of many Oregonians who is very much looking forward to your appearance.

Red Tree

[moto-chagatai.livejournal.com]

"she suffers some sort of self-indulgent mental breakdown as a way of avoiding dealing with the reality she’s primarily responsible for generating for herself"

Really? I took her mental breakdown as being part of the Tree's "evil" and power. The twisting of reality that itself was capable of. But then again, I'm just a normal reader, although I think the different views and ideas that Kiernan can evoke are part of her allure.

[martianmooncrab.livejournal.com]

Wonderful news!

The Red Tree

[mira-ceti.livejournal.com]

When he says the book must be read in "bits and pieces", well...i couldn't put it down, even called work to tell i was sick, because i just had to keep reading..
Also, the reviewer seems like the kind of reader with no imagination, as he seems to need to be told everything. Liked also the part where he says there's nothing wrong with an author "examining themselves via their writing"...well, nice he lets authors write what they want, how generous of him... And isn't all work of fiction, at least in part, autobiographical?

[blackestdarkness]

I suppose that review of The Red Tree was well written but I agree it was wrongheaded. He felt like the book was several books mashed together to try and make one. Were we reading the same thing? I felt like the book flowed well from start to finish and nothing seemed out of place. I'm a fan of blogs and journals and enjoy seeing how others think so the journal aspect from Sarah Crowe really appealed to me. Personally I suck at writing reviews and I know the whole "different strokes for different folks" cliche applies but wow, he really got something different out of it.

[docbrite.livejournal.com]

"it’s worth an attempt at reading through" isn't a line you ever want to see in a review, and I think you can assume any review that uses it is worthless. I mean, The Red Tree ain't fucking Ulysses. (Remember when I asked you if it would be possible to read Ulysses while in Dublin and you told me, "Not if you want to do anything else"?)