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Getting back to current
Oct. 15th, 2004 07:37 amI want to have my book finished, at least in a draft form, in three weeks. Polish it up and have it ready for printing in late November / early December. A lot riding on this - if it goes well then I'll be able to go ahead with the London thing next year and attend the Fort Worth convention.
This could be problematic, as November is also NaNoWriMo, and I'll be flat out on writing a novel as well as polishing up my travel book.
Looking forward to the Sydney convention, where I'll have a few copies printed up for bookrings and one for attendees to autograph and me to keep - much like the St Louis thing.
Got a reasonable photo for the cover. Not brilliant like the New Zealand one where a cave troll is hanging off an office building, but it's not too bad.
Dog went missing yesterday - there was thunder in the air which always gets her antsy and when we drove off to Queanbeyan to do the weekly grocery shop she thought she'd been abandoned and set off to find us. Naturally she didn't and when we came back an hour or so later the house was empty. Looked around nearby streets, but she was finally spotted racing towards home up near the school a block or so away by Kerri and daughter in the car. They collected her before she could cross the street and all was well.
Little dog has no road sense at all. Or social sense for that matter. She's only a tiny thing, but likes to hurl abuse at dogs ten times her size. When she and another terrier get together, it's anyone's guess what will happen - sometimes they form an instant friendship, sometimes they try to eat each other.
I'm joining the Amazon used book program, which should increase my very ordinary sales. Mind you, I had the same hope when I joined Alibris, but I sell on Alibris at maybe 10 or 15% the rate of ABE. We'll see.
Anthony Marshall of Alices Bookshop has published a second book, a sequel to Trafficking in Old Books called Fossicking For Old Books. More of the same - that is, marvellous. Kerri and I have been taking turns to read a chapter and we seize it off each other when the chuckling and chortling gets too irrritating. It's too good to read all at once, so this works out OK. such a lovely man with a gentle sense of humour and a wondrous touch for the used book trade. So many times I find myself gasping as he describes facets of my own life perfectly. Attending a book fair, browsing through opshops, dealing with customers and search requests - he and I are running on parallel tracks.
He's not advertising it on his site yet, but he let me know ahead of time and sent me a personally inscribed copy. He's used a few anecdotes from Leo Marks Between Silk and Cyanide which is one of my favorite books ever. In particular, Leo's poem caught his heart as well as mine:
He wrote that poem for a girlfriend who died in Canada and later gave it as a codepoem to Violette Szabo.
Anthony also used that marvellous anecdote about Frank Doel - the other half of the 84 Charing Cross Road duo - where he takes an unexpected phone call in front of his fire.
Weather is getting steadily warmer and I take my morning walks in shorts and T-shirt nowadays. Such a great time of year in Canberra.
This could be problematic, as November is also NaNoWriMo, and I'll be flat out on writing a novel as well as polishing up my travel book.
Looking forward to the Sydney convention, where I'll have a few copies printed up for bookrings and one for attendees to autograph and me to keep - much like the St Louis thing.
Got a reasonable photo for the cover. Not brilliant like the New Zealand one where a cave troll is hanging off an office building, but it's not too bad.
Dog went missing yesterday - there was thunder in the air which always gets her antsy and when we drove off to Queanbeyan to do the weekly grocery shop she thought she'd been abandoned and set off to find us. Naturally she didn't and when we came back an hour or so later the house was empty. Looked around nearby streets, but she was finally spotted racing towards home up near the school a block or so away by Kerri and daughter in the car. They collected her before she could cross the street and all was well.
Little dog has no road sense at all. Or social sense for that matter. She's only a tiny thing, but likes to hurl abuse at dogs ten times her size. When she and another terrier get together, it's anyone's guess what will happen - sometimes they form an instant friendship, sometimes they try to eat each other.
I'm joining the Amazon used book program, which should increase my very ordinary sales. Mind you, I had the same hope when I joined Alibris, but I sell on Alibris at maybe 10 or 15% the rate of ABE. We'll see.
Anthony Marshall of Alices Bookshop has published a second book, a sequel to Trafficking in Old Books called Fossicking For Old Books. More of the same - that is, marvellous. Kerri and I have been taking turns to read a chapter and we seize it off each other when the chuckling and chortling gets too irrritating. It's too good to read all at once, so this works out OK. such a lovely man with a gentle sense of humour and a wondrous touch for the used book trade. So many times I find myself gasping as he describes facets of my own life perfectly. Attending a book fair, browsing through opshops, dealing with customers and search requests - he and I are running on parallel tracks.
He's not advertising it on his site yet, but he let me know ahead of time and sent me a personally inscribed copy. He's used a few anecdotes from Leo Marks Between Silk and Cyanide which is one of my favorite books ever. In particular, Leo's poem caught his heart as well as mine:
The life that I have is all that I have
And the life that I have is yours
The love that I have of the life that I have
Is yours and yours and yours.
A sleep I shall have, a rest I shall have
And death will be but a pause
For the years I shall have in the long green grass
Are yours and yours and yours.
And the life that I have is yours
The love that I have of the life that I have
Is yours and yours and yours.
A sleep I shall have, a rest I shall have
And death will be but a pause
For the years I shall have in the long green grass
Are yours and yours and yours.
He wrote that poem for a girlfriend who died in Canada and later gave it as a codepoem to Violette Szabo.
Anthony also used that marvellous anecdote about Frank Doel - the other half of the 84 Charing Cross Road duo - where he takes an unexpected phone call in front of his fire.
Weather is getting steadily warmer and I take my morning walks in shorts and T-shirt nowadays. Such a great time of year in Canberra.
