::Urraca:: A blog on writing and books

If only I had a 15 foot suitcase, and if only bastard American Airlines didn’t charge me $15 for bringing it on board.

I want this thing.

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I love traveling.

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Crusty bread, smoked trout, golden beets, pickled onion. That’s the one second from the right. Gut, why won’t you let me eat all four? Hate you.

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You know you’re a grown up when you obsess about stuff like this when you travel.

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There are times when I know I can do better than Alison Goldfrapp. When I found this I knew it. For sure. I am starting my world tour, and here’s a sneak peek.

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Short entry today, thank you WP portable app. I’m on the road, lovers! Despite the obnoxious loudness of American travelers (because jerk, I really am not impressed by your Bluetooth-enabled portable office), I am enjoying the travel today.

With “Hybridae” out of my way, I’ve started a new short story set in the world of Carapace as a little support piece to the manuscript. This time around, I’ve gone classic. I’m writing on a notebook with a pen. Hot, huh? This story will help inform questions I have about the larger Carapace story, and it let’s me go to a place much darker than the novel. That’s the intention, anyway. Writing on planes and at airports also makes the time just flicker by, provided I can block out ambient noise with some Santogold, the Ting Tings and the occasional Jarvis Cocker.

This may sound a bit cuckoo, but I love O’Hare. I’m not a fan of crowds, certainly, but in these glass encased walkways and gates you feel like the world, and many of it’s people, are moving with you. Like a transient, portable city.

However, if your flight gets delayed or canceled, the romance is over. Then you just want to tear into a wretch.

Also, I’ll be chronicling some of this trip on Twitter. Link on the links sidebar on this friendly site.

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Well, this post isn’t really about cutting people, though it’s always a thrill to threaten someone with “I’ll Cutchoo.” No, today we have the dissection of a query letter, for those of you trying to sell that book to an agent.

We’ve mentioned Kelly Gay in this little pamphlet before, and this week she’s got some great press happening. Her agent Colleen Lindsay over at Swivet dissected Kelly’s Query, and Kelly gave her writer’s point of view over at her own blog.

Kelly’s first novel “The Better Part of Darkness,” will be released in summer 2009. So congrats on her obtaining an agent, and subsequently, a book sale. Talk about success.

Also, novelist Michael Jasper has a nifty new site. I particularly like his blog entry “August Plans.” I can relate to his entry, though I know for sure that nighttime writing is definitely not my bag.

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Market Days came and went, and I survived! My findings are that a.) Gay, lez and trans people were in full form at the event. I haven’t seen that many tank tops, speedos, asymmetrical hair cuts, combat boots and and hair products since Melissa Ehteridge, Cher or the circus were in town. b.) No one can turn down the seduction of a corn dog and beer at a street festival. Seriously, you try it. Get your butt out there in the sun, and you’ll be succumb. c.) Gay people, like their straight counterparts, also sadly fall prey to terrifying cheeseball trends, such as couples wearing matching outfits. Gross. d.) I chose well by getting the hell out of my house for the weekend, because I had a lot of fun.

Expose were terrific, even if my own coverage of the show on Twitter wasn’t. Failed uploads, lame app (Twiterrific), it couldn’t take away from the fact that the ladies from Expose could actually sing live. Who knew?

All in all, a memorable weekend. That is, until, I felt myself coming down with something on Sunday afternoon. Congestion, stuffy head and nose, I could feel the evil spread through me. Even the glossy veil of Stoli Raz couldn’t keep the head cold away. By Monday, I was a mess. Feverish, sinuses swollen , sniffling and coughing, hoping the Advil would do the trick. It didn’t. I feel like crap, even today.

That brings us to today. I am happy to report that “Hybridae” is going out to the market, so we’ll see what happens from this point out. I’ve spent more time on the short story than I expected, but that may not be a bad thing. Short stories are forms where you have to make every word count, and I’d like to think I achieved that. That sucker’s still a bit too long, but I stopped after the 7th draft. So, pat on the back for me this week. Story’s in the out box.

However, I have an admission to make. I have been letting Carapace fall by the wayside, and my word counts have not been as prolific as in they are in the fall/winter/spring months. This pamphlet serves me as an informal tool make myself accountable for my writing, and I know I am not going to make my August 17 deadline for a complete manuscript. Are you mad at me? Before you raise your hands in disgust, hear me out! I can say with certainty I have had more fun this summer than I have in the past two or three summers put together. And being out there with people, away from the computer monitor helps feed the creative engine. You cannot write unless you get a chance to observe people, and the world they live in. I think that’s certainly worth a delay in Carapace.

There’s a heavy, busy fall up ahead in the day job, and I know that if I don’t enjoy what’s left of summer, I’ll be regretting it when the leaves turn. And if there’s one thing I detest, it’s wallowing in could haves and should haves. For the time being, I am going to suspend my 5,000 word weekly word count, and plan on resuming it toward the end of the month, when my adventures are set to dwindle.

This week looks tough for Carapace again. I have travel coming up, as well as other small house projects coming up. I’ll do some thinking this week and think about how I’m going to re-draw the course for Carapace’s completion. There’s still plenty of time, but I need to make it count. These manuscripts don’t write themselves.

By the way, I still want to find out who these guys were. I think we can say they’re living.

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I blame Lacy and Rachel for this, though I won’t get a chance to see their reactions since I’ll be dusting them in my fancy kayak. Take that, ladies.

You Are Kayaking

You have a competitive spirit, but you don’t like to compete alone. You do well in a partnership, where you can feed off the other person’s energy. If you have the right partner, nothing can stop you. Your energy is infinite!

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