Meet Clive

A few of you pointed out yesterday that my Busman's holiday seemed to be a direct contradiction to my previous post about taking it slowly and relaxing my workaholic grip on things, which is an excellent point. In a funny way, working on two projects is part of trying to let go a little more - usually, when embroiled in a project that needs finishing, I would feel far too guilty taking time out to do anything else, and that critical voice would be sitting on my shoulder lecturing me every step of the way. I have already felt him creeping in with the for-fun project. I can't get away from the little bugger. Luckily, with this one, he finds it a lot harder to get my attention (yes, he's a He) because it is ... well, for fun.

Meet Clive, my critical voice.

Clive is tall and thin, with grey hair and rimless glasses that he perches on the end of his nose. He is always smartly dressed in a bow-tie and waistcoat, and he is fanatical about keeping correct time (he has a fob-watch in his waistcoat pocket for that purpose). He has very clear ideas about Good Taste (his taste) and Bad (other people's). He is a picky eater and has allergies. He only ever wears colours that match. He loves accuracy in all things and demands high typing speed and no errors, even stopping you mid-sentence to correct your grammar or point out a mistake. He does not like to take risks. He carries band-aids, aspirin and smelling salts in his pockets. He keeps his hair combed and parted perfectly down the middle. He wears sock-garters and puts sunscreen on his legs, even though they are covered by trousers all day long. He flosses after every meal. He disapproves of bright colours and loud music and spicy food. In fact, he disapproves of most things.

Clive can be very helpful in the editing process - particularly during line-editing. While I'm in the first throes of creation, however, and producing something of erratic quality at best, Clive is anything but helpful. For that reason, I am trying to learn to jar-train Clive, much as you would crate-train a puppy. When he tells me that this plot point will trip me up later or that sentence is clumsy, I simply pick him up by his ankle and drop him into the Jar of Silence, where he beats his tiny fists against the glass and continues to mouth insults at me.

It has been a good exercise, working on a fun project - it makes me much more aware of what Clive is saying. And that guy really never shuts up. I'm hoping to learn to deal with these thoughts more consciously and productively, rather than just letting them sink in and making me feel discouraged.

Do you have a Clive? What's his/her name?

P.S. I have listed some more gorgeous vintage dresses on Etsy!

Things of various sorts

Thing One

I am working on something new.

Erk. I feel guilty just saying that.

I know that I am not meant to be working on something new. (Although, where does this 'I'm not meant to' idea come from? There are no rules saying that I can't take a Busman's holiday. And yet there's this guilt.) I am generally a supporter of the theory that you need to ignore the Shiny New Idea until the Painful Current Slog is completed, holding it out in front as a treat for when you have finished. Usually, for me, working on two projects causes nothing but conflicted loyalties and lack of progress on each. At the moment, though, I am working on Current Book in the mornings, getting a fair whack of the rewrites out of the way, and then working on my Young Adult book in the afternoons. The YA book is the same one I started last year during Nanowrimo (and yes, I will be setting up another Nanowrimo group this year - mark your metaphorical calendars if you want to take part).

Here's why I'm finding it helpful to work on another book as well as the main one right now:

1. It silences the voices in my head.

The critical voices, not the ones that tell me to burn things. Those ones are still alive and well (kidding. Maybe). Since I am not necessarily picturing this book as being published, I can tell my inner critic to shut up when it starts helpfully pointing out problems with the language or potential plot holes. And I can ignore it with impunity - this is a side project. I can screw it up completely if I want to, and it doesn't matter. At least, that's what I tell myself.

2. It's a 'just for fun' project.

I can let my imagination do whatever it wants to do, like a happy toddler let loose on the finger paints. Which is nice as a relief from the pressure I've been feeling lately.

3. It doesn't require any research or fact-checking.

The setting and events in this book exist only in my head, which is a nice change from Current Book. No one is going to come and whack me on the hand with a ruler if I get a date wrong or describe something inaccurately, because it is my world and I make the rules.

4. I am still getting my 'real' work done.

Important point! And it's so much fun to be doing something so wholly different from the last two books.

Thing Two

The Austin Teen Book Festival is this Saturday! I love Young Adult literature - in fact, The Cry of the Go-Away Bird crosses over into that category, somewhat, as it is narrated by a teenager. I am particularly excited about seeing Kiersten White, whose wonderful blog and Twitter feed I have been following for a long time now, and whose debut YA novel, Paranormalcy, is on the New York Times bestseller list. Catherine Jinks is also going to be there - have you read Evil Genius? Such a great book, and I am hugely excited about reading the sequels, Genius Squad and Genius Wars. Also, so relieved that the story didn't end with the first book, because it left Cadel in such a depressing place. If anyone here in Austin would like to meet me there, drop me a line in the comments. Be aware, though, that I am going to be hugely embarrassing and get very starstruck by all the authors. Just warning you.

Thing Three

I have listed more items on my Etsy, and more will be coming over the next couple of days (including some great vintage dresses). I am fund-raising for my trip over to London for the book's release in February - I'm going to be traipsing around on public transport and staying in hotels for some of the time, and in an unexpectedly adult and uncharacteristic move, I'm preparing for it now.

Thing Four

This is unrelated to anything important, but our shipment from New Zealand that was meant to arrive next week is now only arriving towards the end of October. Which means that we will be sleeping on a sofa bed and cooking with only one pot for a further three weeks. This is a little frustrating, but comes smack bang under the heading of "Can't Do Anything About It."

Thing Five

Yellow! Yesterday and today. The great thing about vintage is that it really does put you in a storytelling mood - the clothes themselves have stories, and it's really the closest you can get to wearing a narrative without being in full costume.


Cardigan - H & M, thrifted
Blouse - Jay Jays, thrifted
Skirt - vintage, thrifted
Shoes - vintage Selby, thrifted
Brooch - vintage, gift from SilviCi


Dress - vintage ('50s), thrifted
Belt - vintage, came with another dress
Shoes - Zara

I haven't actually glued Mink to that spot, but it's where he likes to spend most of his time. He can see the outside world and yet remain (so he thinks) completely undetected. He imagines he is a ninja.

P.S. Our home Internet connection is down, so I may be late in responding to comments and emails for the next couple of days.

On slowing down

This is where I worked yesterday. Not IN the open fire, obviously (although perhaps there is some fantastically zen-like author who has mastered working in the flames, like walking over hot coals) but beside it. It was lovely, particularly because yesterday was the first 'cold' day we have experienced in Austin so far. LOML walks to work every day, and he sent me a message when he was about halfway there - "It's cold!"
"Really?" I didn't believe him. "Properly cold?"
"12 degrees!" (Celcius).
Good grief. I actually had to wear wool trousers and a sweater. It was quite gorgeous, though - crisp and sunny, with a cold wind - and made my Pumpkin Spice Latte all the more delicious. I have no idea whether there is actual pumpkin in that drink, but I don't want to know because I hate pumpkins in their natural form (I know. I'm sorry). A proper fall drink for a proper fall. And then, of course, there was the open fire. The perfect spot in which to settle for a day of rewrites.

I have always tried to work as quickly as possible, and be as productive as I can. This furious work has a superstitious intensity; as Anne Lamott suggests in Bird by Bird, part of me is worried I might die mid-first-draft, before I have the chance to finish it or make it any good. I have said before that I sabotaged myself early on with this book by not completing the first draft all at once, with no time off, thus making it a lot harder to let the story unfold organically. I still think that. But I also think that my usual crazed, 2,000-words-a-day strategy doesn't work all that well for me either. It is a fight-or-flight mechanism, something I do when I am scared - of failure, of drying up, of losing momentum. Quick, quick! Finish it as fast as possible or you might die with it unfinished and then your ghost will haunt the Macbook forever. Or something. Hyper-productivity can be a bad habit too. It is easier to work, work, work with no pause than it is to stop and think; to inhabit the story; to give yourself time.

I am starting to learn the difference between working obsessively and working consistently. Writing every day is good. Writing every day until I'm exhausted and hate the sight of Times New Roman and want to become a plumber is bad (for me). My agent tells me to take my time. Wiser and further-down-the-path writer friends tell me to take my time. They know a lot more than I do, and yet there is this part of me that is wildly impatient and insists that I need to push, push, push and speed through everything. I find it easier to set unlikely goals (I am going to finish editing this book by midnight!) and meet them than I do to allow my story the time and space it needs in which to develop properly. For me, that is scarier. Because anything could happen. I race towards being FINISHED because that feels safer than trusting the story and my characters to develop in their own time. I am forcing them to grow unnaturally fast. No wonder they are a little unripe. Letting go and relaxing a little would produce better, more thoughtful results.

The control freak in me rebels against this idea. What do you mean I can be relaxed and take things more slowly and still achieve just as much? Rubbish. It doesn't work that way. There's a part of me that believes that being stressed out and exhausted all the time means that I am working hard enough; a part of me that finds it satisfying to be stretched too thin. Again, I think this is partly superstition (if I'm happy and relaxed, I'm kidding myself - I'm being lazy and the work will be bad).

So, my new resolution is an unusual one for me. I am going to deliberately slow down. I am going to take my time with these rewrites - because, luckily, I have time. I am going to consciously bite off smaller pieces to achieve each day. The control freakish workaholic inside me is already spinning into a panic as I type this. It doesn't sound as impressive as "I am going to finish it by the end of the week," which was the original plan, but I know this is the right thing to do.

What you do away from the page matters too. Of course it does! That's where you find your characters and your stories. It might take years for them to trickle through the complicated filtration system of your brain (it's a scary place in there. Mine has sewers and mutant alligators), but they will surface eventually, if you keep your eyes open and engage with the world in as many different ways as you can. Yesterday, I did my afternoon's work in the sunshine, in the company of Sandhya and Trigger.

Who could possibly be stressed around these two?

I had a Big Scary Article to write yesterday to meet a Big Scary Deadline. I was pretty anxious about it - it just wasn't taking shape. I had tried powering through and writing a complete draft, but it felt clunky and clumsy and just plain awful. After some time spent talking in the sun and playing with Trigger, however, it all fell into place. I finished it in half an hour. I felt a little miffed, to be honest, because all my hours of agonising and intensive rewrites had produced nothing, while a little sunshine and a friendly puppy got the bloody thing written in no time. My inner control freak is having a good old sulk right now.

Book-bombing

Today I sneaked into Borders with an uncorrected proof of my book under my arm, and used my best ninja skills to slip it onto the shelves for a few photos. I wanted to get a sense of how it would feel to see the spine waving and grinning at me in a bookstore (and I got a few strange looks from some other customers), next to the other 'E's.

I have a horrible premonition that I am going to be one of those authors who used to irritate me hugely when I worked as a book buyer. We had one lady in particular, a local author, who would come in every week and move her books from the shelf (where the spines faced outwards) to the end-caps of the aisles, so that they were more prominent. She would also re-position her books so that the covers were front-on, and then sneak fake 'Staff Pick' reviews underneath them. At the time I thought she was deeply annoying (as I had to rearrange everything after she had gone), but now I sympathise. I felt a bit too self-conscious to be hugely accurate about alphabetising (an employee started following me around in a suspicious manner), but it was totally worth it.

P.S. Thrilled to be only a few letters away from Dave Eggers and What is the What.

Celebratory dinner

Dress - '80s, thrifted for $3.50!
Belt - thrifted
Shoes - Zara
Bag - vintage, thrifted at Goodwill

LOML took me out to dinner last night to celebrate receiving the bound proof copies. The book came with, of course, and got its own seat.

Thank you so much for all your kind words on yesterday's post - I so appreciate them. Many of you have been reading my blog since well before I started querying agents, and your support and encouragement along this two-year journey has been absolutely amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you, and I'm going to keep saying it for as long as you'll listen.


Whee! The book enjoys a glass of wine.

BOOK!

Book! Book! In book form! Two uncorrected proof copies of my book arrived in the post last night. It is so exciting to see it. And this also means that copies will be winging their way to various media representatives, reviewers and the like very soon. It is so lovely, and also slightly terrifying, to read it. In some ways it feels like someone else wrote it - and I find it hard to imagine that it will be out in the world soon for strangers to read.

P.S. On another note, yesterday was another Ladies Who Lunch blogger get-together - this time at The Clay Pit, a great Indian restaurant. Except that now it is Ladies (and Aaron) who Lunch. Hi, Aaron!



From left to right: Paridhi, me, Aaron, Anslee and Elia.

P.P.S. This has nothing to do with anything, but I accidentally co-ordinated my skirt to my book cover today, colour-wise. And now that it's officially fall, I think pumpkins are the new polka dot.

Public (Ice-cream) Service Announcement!

Next spring, my lovely friend Amelia and her lovely friend Valerie are opening a vegan ice cream parlour together - Sweet Ritual. Amelia has been making delicious soft-serve for Toy Joy, and now she and Valerie are starting out on their own to create an old-fashioned 1930s-style parlour full of goodies. As you know, starting your own business is bloody difficult (and gutsy) - not to mention expensive! Sweet Ritual is running a fundraiser on Kickstarter to help with the costs.

"Your donation directly helps Sweet Ritual establish our product in the Austin mainstream market. We are on the search for a brick-and-mortar restaurant to establish our business. We would use contributions from kickstarter to outfit the store, bring it to code, and bring vegan treats to the Austin, Texas community. We pledge to use salvaged and second hand materials in our construction, and to contract local artists to create our decor and signage.

We will eventually require more than our modest goal of $3,000 in order to open our doors (closer to $40,000). More monetary support now helps us to invest more money in better soft serve machines, equipment, and scouting out an ideal location in Austin.

Keep giving, even after the goal is met. We promise to put it to good use!"

Click here to pledge!

I know a lot of us are kind of broke most of the time, but even small amounts ($5, $10) will help. I wanted to post it here because I love all things local, I love Amelia, and I love ice cream, vegan or non-vegan. Thanks for reading, and congratulations Amelia and Valerie!

I walk in the valley of the shadow of deadlines

Here follows a rather introspective post - feel free to skim if this is not your bag!

I had a rather unpleasant exchange with someone on Twitter yesterday, in which an offhand tweet of mine ("Looks like this chapter is going to take all day. Oh well") prompted this person (a blogger whose posts I greatly enjoy) to say that (I'm paraphrasing, not quoting directly, and I also seem to be using a rather large number of brackets) a) I should stop complaining because thousands of more deserving people would love to be in my position ('sitting around' writing); b) mediocre writers get published while good ones don't, and I fall into the former category; c) I had not earned my aforesaid 'position' as a full-time writer because I hadn't worked for it and didn't deserve it; and d) publication is due mostly to luck and talent only plays a tiny part, as evidenced in my case. There were a few other points as well, but you get the idea.

Now, people are entirely within their rights to dislike me and my writing. I have no problem with that. I would rather you didn't write me crazy messages saying so, as happens sometimes - but if you do, that's all right too. Most of the time these sorts of attacks actually have nothing to do with me, and reflect the writer's own frustrations or baggage that he or she is projecting on to me. This often happens with writers who desperately want to be published and take that out on someone who they see as being less worthy. Hey, I'm still new to this game. I can remember what it feels like to send out dozens and dozens of queries and receive just as many rejections, because not long ago I was doing just that, and I may well be doing it again at some point. Blogging can foster a sort of false intimacy, as well, where people see one aspect of your life and read a handful of posts and assume that they know you well enough to form a judgement of your whole character. I can understand that impulse. Also, sometimes people take against me (for some reason I always want to say 'take agin' me' with an Irish accent. I don't know why, it just seems to suit that phrase. Thanks, Marian Keyes) because of the vintage clothing aspect of the blog - they assume that I'm shallow or not intellectual enough to be a writer because I'm interested in clothes and other such 'frivolous' (because I don't necessarily think they're frivolous) things. I can understand that, too. I do not expect nor want everyone to like me or approve of me - it would be very weird if everyone did. In fact, it might open up a parallel universe where hot dogs eat people and Glee is a post-apocalyptic social commentary, or something.

The interesting thing, though, is that I usually shrug these things off, aware that they have very little to do with the real me. Yesterday, though, I was really bothered by this. It took me a while to work out exactly why that was, because logically I should have been able to dismiss it. After thinking about it for a while, though, I realised that this commenter was saying exactly what my own evil little demon (I picture him on my left shoulder) is saying whenever I'm feeling down or discouraged. You're crap! You don't deserve this! You need to do better! You need to work harder! You're just fooling everyone into thinking you're a 'real' writer! They're going to find you out! Once I had recognised that this touched a chord in me because it reflected my own negative voice, I could (metaphorically) bat the little demon off my shoulder and watch him fall to the floor with a strangely attractive SPLAT. He'll be back, I know, but just recognising that he is there and that he is a manifestation of my own uncertainty and fear is a really valuable lesson.

I do believe that any criticism or insult that really hits home does so because it reflects something inside you that you need to address. And, in a funny way, I want to say thank you to my Twitter argument-buddy from yesterday, because he unconsciously helped me to face some of my own self-sabotaging, guilty demons and reaffirm to myself that yes, I do work bloody hard, I am good at my job and I do deserve this, hard as that is to acknowledge sometimes. Again, I am not at all saying that he shouldn't hold that opinion - just that it served an interesting purpose as a solidifying of an internal conflict of my own, and that I am genuinely grateful for that.

And to anyone who thinks they are more deserving - it may well be true. Write an awesome book, rewrite and revise the awesome book, edit the bollocks off it, work really hard on it, get it out into the world, be very persistent and as thick-skinned as possible and get that sucker published. I sincerely wish you good luck (although I personally think luck has very little to do with it!).

(((Sorry about all the brackets))).

Manic Monday

Mink is surveying his kingdom from the safety of his cat condo. We can open the French doors onto the balconies and leave the insect screens closed, letting fresh air and smells in (Mink likes the new smells) without allowing him outside. I'm nervous about letting him out onto the balcony in case he jumps up onto the rail and falls. He is not the most graceful of cats. So he is an indoor kitty for now.

Today the rewrites begin! Hooray. The villagers rejoice. I edited the first two chapters and rewrote the third at The Coffee Bean this morning - for the rest of the day I will be writing an entirely new Chapter Four. If I can get that done to my satisfaction today, I will be happy with the day's work. There are twenty-five chapters in total, according to my new plan, and I aim to finish the whole thing by the end of the month ready for a final edit. We have a couple of overseas visitors coming in October, so it would be good to have the bulk of my work completed by then (and it would also be helpful to have furniture and more than two plates! Our container from New Zealand is meant to be arriving in the first week of October. Fingers crossed). I also have an important article to write this week, which has to do with Exciting Thing I can't announce yet - I am going to make a start on it this evening. All in all, I have a very busy week ahead. Like the rest of humanity, I'm sure.

Thank you for all your comments on my Friday post - I will have a think about it and come up with some ideas.

Yesterday I met with some lovely Austin ladies for another Ladies Who Lunch/Brunch/Happy Hour get-together. It was so much fun - and I had my first ever mimosa! It feels ridiculously decadent to drink sparkling wine at breakfast (and rather Bernard Black-like, as well - "a modest selection of breakfast wines").


From left to right: Sydney; Cassiday; Cathy; Elia; Joanna; me; the lovely Corrin, whom I was so thrilled to meet for the first time; Grechen; Kathryn; Sharon. Photo taken by Joanna and shamelessly stolen from Grechen's blog!

Field trip: San Antonio

We spent the day in San Antonio yesterday! I had no idea what to expect, although I knew that of course we would visit the Alamo, and what I found was a city that actually reminded me a great deal of Christchurch: wide streets, gracious old buildings with gorgeous architectural detail, a sleepy river winding through the centre, and an almost European atmosphere, particularly along the River Walk. I would love to stay in one of the hotels overlooking the river one day - we looked up and saw people sitting on the wrought-iron balconies with their coffee, and it could have been a scene in Italy or Spain. It was lovely. I also really enjoyed the Alamo - it has been preserved with a lot of dignity and sensitivity, I think, and I was relieved not to find it transformed into a sort of Alamo theme park complete with tacky gift shops and rides. I mean, there were gift shops and (unrelated to the Alamo) rides nearby, but not actually IN the Alamo or very close to it, which was great. Thank you for your recommendations on Twitter, everyone - we visited El Mercado because of you, and loved it! Impression greatly enhanced by the lone couple dancing the Texas Two-step right in the middle of the square. There was only one damper on proceedings (har har) when the heavens opened and a torrential tropical rain started to fall. We thought it would ease off. It didn't. Oh well. It was still a fantastic day, even if cut a little short.

The Alamo!

This cactus fascinated me.

Part of one of the most beautifully twisted trees I have ever seen, over the well inside the Alamo's walls.

The San Antonio River Walk.

Some people choose not to walk it.

I just liked this.

Lunch! At one point there was actual food there, but not for long.


Gorgeous bunting along the eaves of the buildings in El Mercado.

The Main Plaza.

We got thoroughly rained on by a sudden and torrential downpour, and then made a friend while sheltering.

Over to you

Hi everyone!

Thank you for all your get-well wishes - I'm fine today, so I think it was just a case of being a bit run-down and needing some rest.

So, I have followed Mink's excellent example and have been thinking Deep Thoughts about this blog. I am planning to host a Nanowrimo group again this year, since it was so much fun last year, but I would also like to be more involved with all the writers (and dabblers, you don't have to be a professional!) who read my blog in other ways. I had a few ideas - like a weekly discussion of some aspect of writing, question-and-answer sessions, critiques, hosted Twitter writing sessions and so on - but I want to know what would be most fun and helpful for you. Please leave any suggestions in the comments, and we'll start on some of them next week!

Semi-conscious

You know that feeling when you're hovering right on the edge of having a bad cold, but haven't quite made the jump? So you're all achy and tired and blah but not actually sick? Annoying, isn't it? That's what I have today. Mink is greatly unsympathetic. Pull it together, he says. You're not actually unwell. Get off the couch. And I respond by pointing out that he spends most of the day asleep and he really can't criticise me for taking it easy. To which he replies that he is thinking Deep Philosophical Thoughts while dozing and will one day write a book about all these thoughts that will quite possibly change the world and so his long hours of lying down are actually very productive. Bollocks, I say to that. Anyway, we are both on the couch today. I am working and Mink is thinking Deep Thoughts. I did actually get quite a lot done this morning - headed out to the Coffee Bean and worked there with the grackles looking on (did you know that a group of grackles is called a plague? That's not very nice). I am currently splicing the new shape of the book together so that I can see its outlines before I start rewriting and adding pages. I'm going to get this finished today, and then start the rewrites tomorrow morning. With a lot of coffee.

Last night I was fortunate enough to meet two lovely Austin writers - Sarah Bird and Mary Helen Specht, both awe-inspiringly talented ladies. It's so good to meet with some other writers here - talking shop with non-writers eventually bores them comatose, whereas we can happily ramble on about writing for hours and hours aided by nothing but ridiculously delicious and intimidatingly expensive wine. Well, the wine isn't really necessary, but it does help. I'm looking forward to getting to know these two better, and to reading their work - and they told me about the Texas Book Festival coming up in a couple of months, which is very exciting! I am particularly thrilled that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is going to be here, as I love her books. We also share the same Dutch editor, which is a great honour.

Right, back to Mink and the couch.

Yellow rose of Texas

Dress - '50s, from Luncheonette Vintage
on Etsy
Belt - thrifted
Shoes - Zara

This dress makes me feel very Texan. Not only does it have a prairie, square-dancing feel, but it also has a subtle yellow rose print on the cotton. I love it.

We have Ants! With a capital A. I had forgotten what it was like to have ants - we had a dizzying array in Zimbabwe, and you couldn't spill a drop of orange juice without attracting hordes of them within seconds, but I can count on one hand the number of times I saw an ant in New Zealand. I don't feel nostalgic, though, so much as annoyed - the ants infested our favourite oatmeal that it took us ages to find, and we had to throw the whole packet away. Stupid ants. And now I feel like they're crawling all over me, even though they aren't (I hope). Someone is here now blocking up the ants' magic portal (and he keeps asking me if I am going square-dancing today), so hopefully we won't see them again for a little while. Although ants always find a way back in.

Anyway. In more import-ANT (ha) news, I have been working on the revisions today. Here's the plan, which should result in a finished product in a month's time:

Week 1

To read through the hard copy of the manuscript, marking it up and adding pages as I go. I am also writing a new chapter by chapter summary of the plot, as I have made some further changes that should make the book feel more cohesive as well as upping the character development and dampening down the melodrama that I'm afraid crept in towards the end.

Weeks 2 and 3

Make the changes (which will include writing a couple of new chapters) and check them. Checking the changes is an important step, as I am hell on wheels for introducing new typos and inconsistencies when I make corrections.

Week 4

Read the whole thing aloud, in its entirety, to LOML every night. Reading it aloud shows you immediately where the writing is clumsy or laboured, and where things don't make sense. Reading it aloud to someone else doubles the benefits, I think.

So that's me, for the next wee while. What are you up to?

P.S. I have uploaded some more vintage dresses to my Etsy!

P.P.S. Check out BestFriendAlly's new blog on the TV3 website - just as hilarious as her other blog but with fewer swear words.

P.P.P.S. The lovely Grechen has posted a picture of the Ladies Who Lunch blogger get-together at Mandola's last week - so much fun!

From left: Anslee, me, Cathy, Esosa and Elia.

Hey! Look! I finally started an Etsy!

So I'm still learning it all and the photographs are not awesome (I'll get there), but I am excited to finally share my vintage finds on Etsy. I am constitutionally incapable of leaving something behind at the thrift store, even if it is not my size, and now I have somewhere to put those things! I only uploaded a handful of items today, but I have a lot more to add over the next few days. Watch my stumbling progress as I pretend to be Internet-savvy.

Here it is!

Yay, Etsy! Etsy, hooray!

Lake Travis!

Sunglasses - vintage, thrifted
Top - '80s Laura Ashley, thrifted
Shorts - '80s, thrifted
Belt - vintage
Bag - vintage, thrifted
Shoes - thrifted

A Cat of Impossible Colour field trip! Today LOML and I spent the day by Lake Travis, drinking beers inconspicuously (you're allowed to drink alcohol there as long as no one can see you do it, which seems a little odd, but there you go). It is so pretty out there. And I drove all the way there by myself - my longest drive in Texas so far. Now Mink, LOML and I have collapsed on the couch, and will probably stay there for the foreseeable future. I hope you're all having lovely weekends, too.

Stripy Fridays are the best ones

I. Love. Austin. That is all.

Well, no, that's not really all. I've been sitting out in the sunshine today making notes on the next (and, I pray, final) revision of The Difficult Second Novel. I wish I had got it right the first time but, really, that never seems to happen. And I completely rewrote The Cry of the Go-Away Bird twice before I signed with my agent and accepted the offer of publication. I have a much clearer sense now of how to fix TDSN, and a much clearer map of the plot in my head. Now it's just a matter of diving back in to the manuscript - a printed hard-copy - and actually doing it. I think a lot of the problems with the book stem from it being quite an unsettled year for me - because I have been all over the place while we made a lot of big life changes, the book became choppy and uneven too. I'm hoping to smooth that all out now. And I'm going to try a couple of new revision techniques: reading the whole thing aloud (which I know I should have been doing before now, but avoided); mapping out the imagery and leitmotifs visually, so that I can get a better sense of the rhythm of the thing; and physically rewriting some sections, even ones that I think are 'finished', so that I can re-evaluate them. Even if this means just copying out whole sections again, I think this will be really helpful - in small doses!

If I have learned one thing from writing TDSN, it is that I get my best results when I write the first draft in one continuous, unbroken period, without reading over or editing anything I have written until the thing is finished. I didn't do that with this book, and that mistake has continued to bite me in the bum over the past year like a rabid chihuahua with superior jumping abilities. Never again!

Social butterfly (or some kind of fly - perhaps a fruit-fly)

Waistcoat - vintage little boy's, thrifted
Dress - vintage '70s (I think?), thrifted
Belt - thrifted
Shoes - Zara
Bag - vintage, thrifted


Bag!

Today I spent time with some lovely Austin ladies! I met the beautiful Joyce for a coffee (can't wait to go thrifting with you, Joyce!), then went to this week's Ladies Who Lunch get-together at Mandola's Italian Market at The Triangle with Grechen, the gorgeous Cathy, Esosa, Anslee (who is one of the most stunning women I have ever met) and Elia (whose name I kept pronouncing wrongly - I'm so sorry!). Today's lunch was so much fun, even though I didn't indulge in a gelato afterwards. Might regret that for a while. Oh well, next time. I have so enjoyed spending time with all the beautiful women I have met, and can't get over how warm, welcoming and creative everyone here seems to be. In other and less important news, the cut edges of my dress's sleeves are raw, which really bugs my little control-freakish, detail-obsessed soul. I can't stand unhemmed fabric! I didn't realise how many everyday repairs and little sewing jobs I did each day, but I really miss having a sewing kit. I can't wait till it arrives and I can get stuck in to my alterations and fix-em-up pile.

The craziness in Christchurch continues - it is just absolutely exhausting for everyone there. I am so sorry that we can't be there for all our family and friends in person, but we are thinking of you all constantly.

In good news, my grandfather is back home and feeling a lot better! Thank you so much for all the prayers and kind words, everyone.

The past three weeks have been all about settling in, exploring and getting to know the people and places of Austin. Next week, however, the holiday is over, and I am starting work in earnest.

P.S. People who are expecting emails from me - I'm so sorry, I'm very behind! I'll catch up and reply to you all tomorrow.

Catching our breath

Panama hat - Marc Jacobs, thrifted
Dress - '70s vintage, thrifted
Belt - thrifted
Bag - vintage, thrifted
Shoes - Zara

Phew. That was one really bizarre weekend. We are all completely shattered. Christchurch looks like a war zone - I can't believe how much damage there was, and how lucky we were that no one was killed. A lot of precious old buildings, small businesses and beautiful places have been destroyed, though, and the face of the city is going to change drastically - sadly, probably not for the better. It is so strange to be so far away, too - a lot of our weekend was spent trying to get hold of friends and family, many of whom were cut off without phone lines or power. For a while my mum was stranded out in the country because the bridges were down, and gale force winds the day after the big earthquake cut her power off. The aftershocks are big quakes in their own right, and they are still continuing (but diminishing, thankfully).

As soon as my US bank account is sorted out, I'm going to list some vintage on Etsy - I've been stockpiling some great pieces for the last few weeks. I am going to donate a portion of the money from this first batch of listings to restoration funds in Christchurch, to help preserve and repair the historic buildings that have been affected. I wish I were there to do something more concrete - citizens have banded together to clear rubble and dig out the vast amounts of silt that rose out of the earth - but every little helps, I guess.

Thank you so much for all your kind message and good wishes on my last post. My grandfather is still stable (awake and having cups of tea, which is always a healthy sign in a Briton) and undergoing a lot of tests to determine what caused his seizure. We won't know anything more for a couple of days. Mum and I have been calling my grandmother and each other every few hours to check in, and she will be flying over to the UK this week to help out. I think he is going to be all right, but it's still very scary for everybody, and we're all anxious to know more so that we can start acting rather than watching and waiting.

So, all in all, it was kind of an awful weekend for everybody. We're trying to carry on as (relatively) normal now, while keeping in close contact with everybody. I can't tell you how strange it all feels. My body is carrying on with everything I need to do, but my mind seems to be floating in a jar of formaldehyde on a high shelf somewhere.

Anyway. In the interests of carrying on as normal. I thrifted this bag yesterday, and am tempted to change my last name by deed poll to something beginning with H.



And Mink has discovered two new favourite spots in the apartment.