Tuesday, April 26, 2011

"He that would live in peace and at ease must not speak all he knows or sees." - Benjamin Franklin

With the title quote in mind, here are two things, no, three:

I finished Daryl Alexander's Pandemonium, which was a delightful read. Thoroughly engrossing from the first page, intriguing, accessible, without an extra word anywhere, yet not sacrificing in lyricism. His first novel, too. I wasn't very fond of the way things wrapped up - it felt completely different than the direction the first 3/4ths of the novel took - but I still recommend the book, very much so. It encouraged me, too, because it made Harvester the book so much more possible. I also realized that I try too hard in writing this book. I make too much effort, when really, I should let the action carry itself. It took a large weight off my shoulders when I realized that (for probably the umpteenth time, so hopefully I can remember it...), and I'm actually excited to get back to the book today.

Oh! And my interview with Elizabeth Bear is up on Lightspeed today! Go read. She's a very interesting woman, and an excellent author. (I'm quite looking forward to her week at Clarion this summer.) Also, her tweets are most enjoyable.

And then to end on a downer, Kitty has been in the hospital for 4 days, although I'll hopefully be able to pick him up later today. It's kind of devastated me, not having him at home; even with the demanding and affectionate dogs, there's a big gap without him. Buddy couldn't care less that he's gone, but I think Nellie know's something's up; she keeps roaming around, looking for him, and whining when she can't find him.

But oh, there was a very adorable moment with the dogs. Actually, it lasted nearly thirty minutes, while we watched Game of Thrones on Sunday night:


Buddy was too comfortable to care that Nellie was sleeping on top of him; usually he grunts or growls and then gets up. And look how big Nellie is! She's so unbelievably cute, and floppy.