Kim Junsu belongs to a group called JYJ which is an offshoot of DBSK. Long story. I’ll just leave it at that. He’s always been the bubbly kind of naive little boy. But damn, playing Tod (Death) in the musical Elisabeth did him good. Here’s his newest MV. Which I think’s already been banned in South Korea. Not bad since it’s only been out a few hours.
The black leather pants and long red coat do it for me. :::Grins:::
Tonight’s dinner is Swai fillet, Thai garlic rice, Brussels sprouts. Swai is a type of shark catfish. It’s like basa but a bit coarser. Still, it’s a good fish.
The fish was grilled with seasoning, garlic and salt. Sprouts are just steamed. LOVE sprouts wiht some butter. Well faux butter. And ah, the Thai garlic fried rice is pretty easy to make but you need fried garlic bits for it. Something easily grabbed at an Asian market. Fried garlic is GOD to cook with. I highly recommend it.
I’ve been pushing to finish Sinner’s Gin, mostly because I need to plot out the next Cole and Jae book (tentatively titled Dirty Laundry). There’s a point in writing where you honestly no longer see the book. It’s kind of like a marathon where you reach the last third and you’re more concentrating on putting one foot in front of another to push forward. You don’t see the scenery or the other people around you. It’s just one thing… the road underneath you.
When I write, I actually lay the days out and the events because at some point in my reading / writing slog, I came across a book where a lot of incredible things happened. All on the same day.
There is only so much disbelief a reader can summon up. It’s good to know what day things are happening.
There’s actually no point to this post other than an update of how things are going. I’m alive. I’ve got coffee and there’s about 20 lbs of rice in the house so I’m good for a while.
We go through a lot of calrose rice. Asian. Rice cooker. More important than a washing machine.
I’ve got to blurb out Sinner’s Gin… one of the most LOATHED things a writer has to do. Blurbs are like the bitter melon of writing. And bitter melon is the fruit which grows from the spent seed of the devil’s dick.
As you can tell, I hate bitter melon. With a passion borne of the heat of a thousand suns. And not our measly ass Sol. I’m talking like epic Betelgeuse sized suns.
Picture of the devi’s spawn ass monkey seed.
Okay, I’m back now. *takes deep breath*
I’ll see what I can share about Sinner’s Gin in a bit. I’m loathed to toss it up here without at least some kind of description as to the book and the series. *grins* But if you’re interested, I’ll put a sneak peek up.
Back to the slog. Pray for me. No flinging poo. Behave all.
Did I mention I love action flicks?
I started a post about writing but then realized that it was really meandering and went nowhere of any consequence. The dog’s sitting on the couch and we’re watching a vocal reality show I’m partially invested in. Of course I just watched Supernatural and well, the boys… nom.
There was originally an intent to discuss writing and process. Everyone has a different way they write. I personally hate writing. I loathe it. It never fucking matches the emotions in my head and the styles are different from series to series which is nice to play with but then I get all…. Hey, is this going to fuck up a reader who is looking for that hard-boiled-ish voice of Cole? They’re not going to find that in Sinner’s Gin. It’s a different flavour. Is that wise?
Then of course it all boils down to… fuck it.
I have an urban fantasy written called Black Dog Blues. It was sent out and well, received good notes about the writing but the one thing that everyone came back to was… the main character was bisexual and this was going to be a problem. Okay, some people probably just hated it but there was a general consensus that it wasn’t… mainstream.
One agent told me that it would sell if Kai, the main character, was changed to female.
I thought about it. I did. Long and hard.
But, in the end… I felt like Kai’s penis should stay where it is. Between his legs.
Will I pitch Kai out again? Yes, maybe when the publishing houses are feeling more risky. Or perhaps it just sucks. But I love the character. I do. He sticks with me. And I don’t want to let him go. I don’t want to inject a vagina into him just to sell him.
I didn’t think that because I’m an artiste…or that I’m such a good writer that I’ll refuse to compromise the character and writing.
When you’re a writer, you’re a whore. That’s pretty much what it comes down to. We are whores and pimps. We dress up these characters and send them out to walk the streets to earn their keep. Sometimes you’ve got to change what they are wearing and where they go. It’s what the business end of writing is.
But what it all comes down to is when to say “Is this a good choice?”
I’ve sliced apart chapters and erased tens of thousands of words because they weren’t good enough. Bottom line: It has to be good enough.
Is Kai good enough? Dunno but he FEELS good. *cues James Brown* I didn’t want him to be dressed differently, or wear different clothes or speak differently. He just feels good where he is. Do I want to sell him? Yeah, I do. But it’s okay if I don’t. Because I LIKE his world and his character.
Sometimes, that’s enough. You know?
So, here’s a different project. The opening few pages of Black Dog Blues as written by Reece Notley. *bows out* Continue reading “And Now For Something Completely Different…”
I spent this weekend up in Los Angeles with a bunch of friends in Koreatown.
Oh, and Friday night, I got an email from Dreamspinners Press. They are optioning Dirty Secret and it has entered the editing queue. Scheduled release will be September/October. So…. great fricking weekend!
On Saturday night, we headed up to the Hollywood Bowl for the Korean Music Festival. Lots of bands and singers and fun.
And God, SO MUCH FOOD. And soju.
Life is good. And fun.
Now to finish Sinner’s Gin :::winks::::
Apparently they do this every morning…
It has become a morning habit to sing Bohemian Rhapsody on the way to school in the morning. Depending on traffic, we can usually start the song as we pull out of the driveway, and pull into the school just as the song ends.
I was going to write this long post about writing and what nots. Sadly, I started thinking about other things and then, fell into the giggles when I thought of these.
Admittedly, I have the sense of humour of a five year old. These are hilarious to me. I don’t know why. But they are. So I share.
And I GIGGLE! God, I am so ashamed.
Well, no not really but we’ll pretend I do.
And when I was done giggling, I giggled some more.
Dead Man’s Hand by Lee Jay Stura
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
For Denver Sinclair, long-time conman, gambler, and recently-made vampire, there were worse things than sleeping late next to the woman you love, except when it’s close to dawn and the world is crashing down around you. Denver and his partner in crime, Lily Fong, are caught between hellfire and destruction as the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 turns his carefully built life upside down.
He and Lily were so close to freedom from Denver’s Mistress, the cunning and cruel Lady Xue Ying. He’d gambled, stole and smuggled for Xue Ying, holding back a little with each con until he had enough to run far from Xue Ying’s influence, taking Lily with him. Just one more dirty deal on the Barbary Coast, and he could leave San Francisco…and Xue Ying… behind.
It was a dangerous con. The greatest con he would have ever pulled. Despite controlling most of San Francisco’s opium and shanghai trade, Xue Ying longed for more. Her capricious appetites and furious temper meant one thing for Denver; that she would never let him go. As far as Xue Ying is concerned, she’s owned Denver body and soul since long before the night she forced her blood on him and turned him into a vampire.
He had hopes Lady Xue Ying didn’t survive the Earthquake but Denver wasn’t taking any chances. He would take Lily and make a run for it, praying to the God he’d forsaken that they’d make it. With the US Army imploding the city around them and ravenous flesh-hungry ghouls plaguing their every step, Denver and Lily race through the ruined city for the promise of their new life together.
Still, Denver wonders if he’s finally run out of luck and drawn the dead man’s hand.
