1. I don’t know what’s going on with the e-mails, but I know that Wednesday is Working Wednesday, Thursday is Good Book Thursday, and Sunday is Happiness posts, and I do get them up early most of the time, so if you show up then, you’re good.
2. I am tired, Bob is tired, but the book is at 35,000 words, so we should be done next month. We’re just peering at each other blearily over the internet at this point.
3. There will be a real post tomorrow, an Argh Author post, but today is not the day.
4. I keep whining about the title because I really did love Yellow Brick Roadkill, but Bob had an objection to it that I can’t remember now although I remember thinking he was right. He likes One in Vermillion which also fits this book, and I do, too, except we have a hit and run in this so . . . Bob thought some of you might have opinions. No idea where he got that impression.
5. I just got an e-mail that says Petsmart has 25% off on lizards. I’m still kind of foggy–it’s almost ten AM so that’s the crack of dawn for me–but that seemed bizarre.
6. I’ve been cleaning up the living room and found a box in there that had a very nice white mug in it that said, “In dog years, I’m dead.” That pretty much summed up where I am right now, so I’m going to go drink Diet Coke in it for breakfast while Liz has Eggs Benedict in the book. Which probably means that if I ever wake up, I’m going to go into town and have Eggs Benedict. Or maybe not. I’m really tired.
7. This is another non-topic post. I don’t know why I keep saying that, all posts here are non-topic. I start ’em, you guys finish ’em any way you want. Have at it. And have a nice day!
No topic is excellent because I am in need of off topic recs. I saw King Richard last night with my mum and wouldn’t mind seeing something similar. It doesn’t have to be a real story either. Maybe something with ice skating in it since I am in the middle of a heatwave right now in Paris.
Any recs?
Hmmmm, Ice Castles?
Did you watch I, Tanya?
If you like drumming Whiplash has a similar theme (I haven’t watched it, the trailer is brutal) I remember enjoying The Cutting Edge, couple training for Olympic ice dancing, Or the comedy Cool Runnings the Jamaican Bobsled Team to participate in the Olympics
Thanks everybody for the recs. I have seen cool runnings which was good fun but not the others.
Re titles:
I just idly mused that Corpse on a Hot Tin Roof would be a good mystery title. Googling it, I could not find that as been used, nor on Amazon books. Odd. I freely offer it to all and sundry.
Also no Come Up and Kill Me Sometime. Maybe Bob would like these titles for more murdery books.
Strangled Up in Blue? 😁
A Whiter Shade of Dead
Has to be a play on a color word.
Might be time to give yourself some grace and have a week off. Maybe go to Vermont? It could be cooler there.
As for titles, both Yellow Brick Roadkill and One in Vermillion are great. The Roadkill especially fits a hit and run. Meanwhile, Vermillion does have a color but not knowing the plot, I don’t know if there is a special “one” in the story and it doesn’t necessarily point to death/murder/mayhem as your other titles. Other suggestions include (all of which are junk, but which might make you like your own titles again)
Hit and run in vermillion
Pushing up Daisy’s ex
a study in greyscale
Scarlet rivers of zombie death
The mug saying made me laugh. That’s fantastic!
Both titles are creative but since Bob asked, I’m leaning toward Yellow Brick Roadkill.
Yellow Brick Roadkill would have excellent cover art possibilities, and the name recognition would add thousands in sales.
I miss my brother’s Eggs Benedict, they were the one of two fancy dishes my brother cooked well, he bought the hollandaise sauce, I only ever ate it when he made it for family, now’s he’s married and his wife makes it for him. I could cook it myself, it was always just his signature dish. Also stay away from online shopping when you’re in this mood, it’s the same reason they pump that oxygen into Las Vegas hotels, so you’re awake, tired and susceptible, night gambling and in your case discounted Lizards start to appeal
1. I don’t know what’s going on with the e-mails. I don’t care. I know that Wednesday is Working Wednesday, Thursday is Good Book Thursday, and Sunday is Happiness posts. Good enough!
2. You am tired, Bob is tired, but the book is at 35,000 words. At your previous rate of output, you should hit 120,000 words next week. That just means tons of slash and burn editing, so you should be done next month. Peering at peers over the internet is kinda the point.
3. I look forward to the Argh Author post.
4. Stop whining about the title. I grew up watching Rocky and Bullwinkle, and to the best of my recollection, every episode had two titles! I see nothing wrong with naming the book Yellow Brick Roadkill (or) One in Vermillion.
5. 25% off on lizards? Well their tails do grow back….
6. Eggs Benedict. I don’t recall ever having them. Everything I know about them comes from webcomics, specifically the arc starting at 2015-02-12, and continuing in 2015-02-13, 2015-02-14, skipping to 2015-03-21, 2015-03-22, and so on.
7. Thank you for another non-topic post. The dotter drove me to the shop to pick up my car. $654 USD for four new tires, balancing, alignment, adjustment of cambers and such, and a couple hundred for labor. And old tire disposal fees. On my way home, I stopped at my FNFL and got New York Strips (two), a bag of broccoli and carrots, and some 96% lean ground beef. The steak and veggies became brunch, just finished. The hamburger will become More Chili. Or possibly Stroganoff, if I have a can of no-salt-added cream-o-something soup and the sour cream hasn’t gone… sourer. Or green, or something bad.
Long post. Rest. Recreate. Create. Be Well.
Rocky and Bullwinkle! Yay!
I’ve just started the day job again, though hopefully very part-time. First set of proofs is a translated novella, where I think all the characters are dead. Made me realize how much Literature I’ve read, even though virtually never by choice. (Also economics, politics, etc. I’m accidentally well-read.)
I’m not getting much done – it’s too hot. Due to cool down again next week. Meanwhile I’m brainstorming replanting one side of the garden this autumn, to make it much livelier.
https://www.somethingsmustbeendured.com/post/bob-mayer-and-jennifer-crusie-are-writing-a-book
My version of a possible cover for your book.
The Washington Post this morning had a really touching story about a little dog found 500 feet below ground on the floor of a cave. She was alive, but so weak she couldn’t stand and would have died if two cavers hadn’t gotten a canvas bag and some padding from the surface, then climbed back down and brought her up. She is now gradually recovering — the most heartening small story I’ve read in ages. If you run across the story, read it and feel happy.
That story is also on the NPR website. It was a make your heart happy story.
I read that on NPR. It was very touching. How that little dog got down there is a mystery!!!
I looked it up…such a wonderful story…I’m so glad the dog made it and they could help her!
Having beautiful weather at the moment, which I can only enjoy at my desk because I didn’t get stuff done in the previous days to allow me to get out. I can only hope for better days with more good weather. Which leads me to say that you *have* been getting so much done, Jenny, and you’d probably be much better for a break. You know this, of course. Just like I know that I should take breaks and eat healthier and take better care of myself, but I’ve gotten into some really bad habits and am finding it hard to break them. Small changes, I know. I just have to do them.
I’ll weigh in on the side of Yellow Brick Roadkill. How many people know what vermillion is? I really doubt I’d ever look at that color and think of it as such. And although One in Vermillion is catchy, I doubt it has the depth of meaning that YBR does. And if I’m thinking too much about it, which of course I am, I’m not as fond of One as the last title of the series.
I like One in Vermillion. My theory of titles is that they don’t really have to match the story so much as just catch a reader’s attention. Especially in the mystery genre. I mean, it can’t be way off, but I don’t think (generally) readers care that the story isn’t a perfect match to the title. I mean, look at Donna Andrews’ titles, which I love, but generally don’t have much to do with the story, other than the referenced bird showing up at some point. And those titles (along with the books) are wildly successful.
Of course, my favorite titles for my Danger Cove books all ended up being changed, some before, some after the first publication, as apparently they weren’t broadly appealing enough. So maybe my own inclinations about titles are completely wrong. And I really, REALLY wanted the Helen Binney book that came out as Dawn of Death to be Dozer of Death (because it features a bulldozer prominently and the pattern of the titles was A D—- of Death). But my editor is so much better at marketing than I am, so I’m sure she was right.
And now I’m fretting over whether I can use “A Day (or Twelve) of Death” for a Christmas mystery novella featuring the 12 days of Christmas song, when no one actually dies, just someone is old and kind of fading and potentially dying of sadness/despair if the non-murder mystery isn’t solved. It has to have Death in the title to match the other titles, but there’s no actual death in the story. Thoughts, anyone?
does the song come into play because there’s a twelve-day countdown to solve the mystery? if so, what about ‘a day (or twelve) TO death’?
There is a countdown to go with the song, but I need to keep the “of” unfortunately because there are six (I think six, too lazy to go look it up or try to remember all the titles) previous books, all using the “of.” Although I do like the suggestion, so maybe …
A Dozen Days of Death?
Jokes for tired Jenny and Bob:
I know a man who gave up smoking drinking sex and rich food. He was healthy right up to the day he killed himself. Johnny Carson
My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them.
Mitch Hedberg
Gardening tip:
Remember when you bury a body cover it with endangered plants so it’s illegal to dig it up.
Unknown
I swear I did not deliberately omit the commas, Jenny – sorry.
There is a video game named “Color Hit”. You only need to add the run 🙂
“Yellow Brick Roadkill” evokes a lot of corpses in my head. I have a radar to pinpoint flatten pigeons, squirrels, hedgehogs, racoons, … when walking, biking or driving (and I am shortsighted)
*flattened
I have no jokes. It’s been a particularly shitty workday.
I like ‘Yellow Brick Roadkill’ better than ‘One in Vermillion’ – it sounds more mystery-y and also way funnier.
Hope everybody has a relaxing weekend. 🙂
That answers my last question. Day job definitely not getting better.
I don’t particularly care if I get a new post email. Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday new post. Extra posts anytime. Bonus! I type arghink everyday to read posts and comments. Sometimes comment or not. Sometimes Jenny is tired, slept in, no power….
No need to get knickers in a twist.
I completely agree Carol. Of course, I always get way too many emails so I never sign up for notifications.
LIZARD…Lizard…lizard… lizard…
Is there a gecko in here?
(Sorry sorry sorry).
Also I like One in Vermillion if the main plot is romance, and Yellow Brick Roadkill if the main plot is mystery-caper.
lol gecko / echo – took me a minute
It’s definitely a pun that works better aloud
Oh, the puns! They hurt so much. When I lived in Arizona I had lizards on the ground and Mediterranean Geckos on the patio ceiling. They were very cute. I got this email on time. Thank you. This is one of the many emails I get that I really look forward to. Didn’t we have a whole email devoted to possible titles for this book? I wondered how that turned out. I guess it didn’t. You are still trying to decide, evidently. Good luck with that. I, too, need that mug. Only, I think, at my age, I may be immortal in dog years. I like it! That is my mantra for today.
Since there’s already a newer post than this, meaning that no one will read this, I can whine about recovering from surgery for a groin hernia while having a cold and cough. Yuck. Poor me.
Gosh, I was worrying about that surgery. Tell your friends to bring you cough drops! (and whiskey).
Good luck recuperating from both causes.
Get well soon! I’m having sympathy pains just thinking about it.
Oh, no! That sounds terrible.
Last year, I managed to catch a cold with a really intense, hacking cough (despite hardly going anywhere, and always wearing a mask, but I forgot to wash my hands immediately on coming home from a trip that involved both a grocery store and the doctor’s office, so, bam, sick, but at least it really was just a cold, not covid) right before I was supposed to get an angiogram (sending a little wire from the wrist to the heart to see where there were clogs in the coronary arteries), and I REALLY wanted to get it done sooner than later, but I kept thinking how terrible it would be if I coughed in the middle of the procedure, and they agreed, so we rescheduled.
Oh, poor baby!
Eat something marvelous and have a cup of tea while you read a good book. Cures almost everything.
Thank you, Jinx and Gary! As soon I stop the Tylenol, I’m heading for the booze cupboard.
Thank you, Gin and Jenny! Your support helps me enormously.
The cold is now offically covid.
The worse of the abdominal pain is over as of this morning. That means I can wean myself off the Tylenol — and that means — Wine!
Personally, I’d pick up One in Vermillion to check it out but would skip Yellow Brick Roadkill. I think it’s because I like new words and Vermillion sounds cool.
That’s the one we decided on. It just fits the book better.
Yay! A decision.
Don’t think I’m on subject here; well, according to the above conversations anyway. However, I was elated to read on your blog there is a sequel to Faking It in the works: Stealing Nadine. I’m hoping an encouraging word will prioritize that title and hasten it on its way to a publisher.
I am a fan of what I call your classic books like Welcome To Temptation, Bet Me, Fast Women and of course Faking It. I have not only read each one several times, I have listened to them many times as I work at my drawing board creating botanical art and designing paper dolls. I could sure use some new reading and audio material.
Sorry, just can’t get excited about ghouls, zombies and ghosts and hope Ethan hasn’t gone off the deep end in that regard. I would be sorely disappointed expecting much more of his character.
Regards,
Darlene Jones . . . .
Welcome to Argh, Darlene!