"It was imprudent of us, in the first place, to become authors. We could have become something regular, but we managed not to.
We were lucky, but we were also determined." Roy Blount Jr

"I don’t change the facts to enhance the drama. I think of it the other way round, the drama has got to fit the facts,
and it’s your job as a writer to find the shape in real life."
Hilary Mantel

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Dispatches from Ice World

I've been messing about with my sidebar links again. Added some new stuff from my secret stash of fave blogs, mostly in the food and garden category.

BBC Radio is my soundtrack today, so I'm fully informed on severe and catastrophic weather, the rise in the television licence fee, the Big Brother brouhaha (with Tony Blair trying to have the last word), and the anniversary of the whale turning up in the River Thames.

On this side of the Puddle...we freeze. Last night I braved single-digit conditions for a reception hosted by the Business & Industry Association. Big crowd. A very chilly walk to and from my car.

Today, the mercury has soared to a balmy twenty-five degrees. We're still living in Ice World. This morning I watched little Ruth slide down the glacier (our yard slopes slightly in places). To her credit, she remained upright and kept her balance. Lola hasn't fallen down, either. Nor I.

I'm staring down a massive edit of an important 70-page clump of the novel, and there's at least one new scene to incorporate. I ought to set myself a deadline, but why bother when I won't make it anyway?

I'm mourning Art Buchwald. What a way to go out--he was an inspiration.


No comments: