miss? 12 September 2008
I got asked today if I am a Mrs, a Miss or a Ms and the answer is that I just don’t know most of the time. The big one for me is the Miss or Ms question – I have forgotten which is the ‘good’ and which the ‘bad’ one there. I quite like Miss from time to time when I’m feeling pluckish and ‘young’. I kind of feel that Ms is a bit prissy? although I am sure some one of you will put me straight on that toot sweet. When it comes to the married name, well, that’s a whole other can of wurrums. My mother likes to send me letters addressed to Mrs Richard Cook, which I find faintly horrifying, and I am convinced that she does it to test me too. I was mid thirties when I married and a bit too long in the tooth to be changing my name, I felt. Also my stage/acting name is McLynn, and had been for 15 or so years by then – my writing name now too, of course – and I didn’t see how I could change all that at ‘late’ stage of my life, personal or professional. The Husband has no opinion on that at all, he says (there’s a man can spot a honey trap at some miles distant). Strictly speaking, if one were following the modus operandi my Mum and her generation would have gone by, I suppose she correct in how she addresses me in correspondence – but as she is also slightly wicked I don’t suppose I’m entirely wrong about her motives either…
My friend Connor Byrne (of the 2 n’s and who plays my husband in the film Hell’s Pavement, which is in completion at the moment) was at a rugby match last week in Lahndan’s Tahn. London Irish were playing and had their mascot with them. She’s an Irish Wolfhound called…MRS DOYLE. Huzzah. He said she’s lovely…and doesn’t look a bit like me…
cut n paste 11 September 2008
There’s a lot of cutting and pasting going on on this laptop at the moment. I am totally rejigging the sequence of the first four chapters and it’s confusing stuff. On the one hand it’s brilliant to be able to do such things at the touch of a button but I am always wracked with doubt as to whether I have properly copied everything and worried that I’ll delete something important and not miss it till the book is printed, and then also it’s hard to tell if the new sequence is right when it’s all put together. I have trouble using the actual laptop for that last bit. I need to print out ye olde paper version and hold it in my hands and go through it. There was a moment yesterday when I almost reached for the scissors and glue to do the whole job physically, but I am also amending within sections as I go, so laptop it is…though there’s always that big red pen for deletions and a pencil to write in new bits…hmmm
Still waiting for the world to end courtesy of the physicists at CERN. I think all they’re doing at the moment is whooshing protons, and so on, around the loop – I don’t think they have actually ‘blown anything up’ yet? I read that rather than make a deadly* black hole they’ll get a cure for cancer and suchlike, and if that’s true it means I have misunderstood what they’re up to, I think. Good if they can do all that, though, and I’ll not complain. *By the way, ‘deadly’ means brilliant too in Ireland.
cromwell 10 September 2008
I watched a programme on Irish tv last night which was a docu-drama about Oliver Cromwell and his time in Ireland. A friend of mine, Owen Roe, played Cromwell but one of the really weird things is that one of the other real historical characters was called Owen Roe too. So there were sentences which began ‘Owen Roe died in…’ that made me jolt a bit. Also the end credits were MAD with Cromwell played by Owen Roe, Owen Roe played by – ‘ and so on.
Had the drop of cholera this morning and it tastes of raspberry – who knew?
Lashing rain still but the house is cosy because the G cat is still covering it in hair for the added insulation – she just gives and she gives.
If the physicists in CERN make a black hole today, and we all fall into it, I’ll be raging to go on the dry and in the middle of this rewrite.
PJs 9 September 2008
Day two of the rewrite and I really have to get myself properly into gear about it. I am inclined to take a leisurely start to the day, which is all very well but tends to, erm, WASTE quite a lot of the morning. It’s a simple ‘putting it all off’ strategy that will come back to haunt and torture me when I run out of hours closer to my deadline. I am also learning that it might be best to get out of the pajamas sooner. Even as I write this, I am still in a fluffy pair that don’t look too literary – in fact, they’re pink and have kittens on them. It’s not a good look any which way you angle you try it and it certainly ain’t conducive to the subject matter of the book. As of now the PJs are banned from early in the day. Comfy, though, and there again is a problem, I have no place for comfort this week – I should be suffering – oh, and I will be, I will be, fear not.
The cat is taking the rewrite in her stride and has no problem with sleeping through 14 or so hours of it, daily. God, she’s good…
I’d best crack on now as I’m off to get more cholera and begin the malaria tomorrow and who knows how that will go…
eejits 8 September 2008
Sorry, there was a break in transmission for a day there – I am having some class of trouble with the interweb superhighway thing. It’s probably pretty basic connection problem but too much for me to fathom. Anyhow, back now for however long so I’ll lash along quickly while technology is smiling upon me.
Richard and me are officially total eejits. We were knocking about yesterday like it was an ornery Sunday until we got a text from a pal wishing us a happy anniversary – WE HAD TOTALLY FORGOTTEN. We are 11 years married – that too, took some figuring out. Hopeless, we are. Still, we fetched up to a doo way out southside later in the afternoon and promptly declared it fairly much ours – nice of our friends to throw it in our honour, sort of thing.
We had a huge and chaotic wedding at which there were 500 guests but the truth is if we were marrying again now there would probably as many and more at it. My father made the shortest speech in wedding history – he was terrified of speaking, I think, and was well into double figures on the pints by the time his turn came. He stood up and said ‘now, yeer all very welcome…now, hah?’ and that was it. Simple and elegant, really, and it covered all that needed to be said.
By the way, the irony of me having a cold, while full of every tropical disease you can buy, is not lost on me…
sniffle 7 September 2008
Oh. My. God – I am dying with the sniffles – I would blame the cat except that I have had antihistamines and no change – could this be the final proof of the truly shit summer we have had? – ie I HAVE A COLD.
Perfect timing in that I need my brain to NOT be bunged up with anything other than brilliant ideas for my rewrite. Now all I can look forward to is runny or solid SNOT – not good.
This will be an interesting ‘ride’.
The cat, by the by, is purring loudly on the mohaired duvet cover at the moment and may be the reason why my head is trying to void itself through the medium of liquid out my nose…she seems happy with the arrangement…
sudoku 5 September 2008
Oh dear, you know when someone knows you too well, has the MEASURE of you? Tis painful. Last week I made a chance remark of some nonsensical nature to Richard declaring he couldn’t know what decision I’d make about something-or-other and he said ‘oh I know you alright, I’ve been married to you for 11 years’- EEK. And then, today, I sat with my editor of 9 years and she pointed out the bits of my latest novel that are too much about me and not the characters. There was one bit about sudoku that stuck out horribly and which now has a big red ‘cut it out’ line through it. I’ll admit I did try to shoehorn something in about how it’s not worth trying anything other than fiendish or super fiendish sudoku once you get the hang of it and even that’s not enough mot of the time: you want the one where you have to add them all up too – sudoku with sums. All gone now, in spite of my various justifications for it.
I had a great notes session, though, and am VERY excited about this next novel. I am already SO proud of it. I hope you’ll like it too. It’s now scheduled for January 2009, so not long now…
Oh, it’s called MISSING YOU ALREADY
shit 4 September 2008
I felt quite shit today – think it’s the flu-like symptoms I was told to expect from the diseases I asked for yesterday. As it happens, I am still replete re yellow fever and a few other nasties which I haven’t mentioned till now. I avoided rabies yesterday, though, as I didn’t like it at all the last time I ‘had it’. As it happens, after I got back from the last African trip I had a letter to say there was a tiny problem with a batch of a rabies vaccine made in the same laboratory close to the time of the one I’d had and they needed to either re-innoculate me (why? i was back in no rabies land?) or get my signature to say I was happy not to sue (or somesuch) – I gave the signature.
However, it was a good day because I got to grips more fully with the last of the novels I have to read as judge of the Costa awards this year. I had worried for a while. I have enjoyed reading some great books and am delighted to be introduced to such good authors that I will certainly read again, but today was a kind of breakthrough and I started to see the wood for the trees. Now I am in love with too much…
And reading, because it is one of the great things in life, made me happy and helped with the tropicals. Huzzah for bukes!
vaccinations! 3 September 2008
Hilariously, some of you just read the bit where I said I had a bit of several bad tropical diseases – er, NO, they’re innoculations for my visit in a few weeks time to Kenya (of which more closer to the time).
Another funny moment is that while I was away in Moscow, apparently, the Irish version of the Sunday Times covered the mile high delight story I told you all about from the Sicily to London flight. And you wondered where the news came from?…Well, in fairness, it was in a vaguely gossipy section, but still and all…
I’m off to London’s town tomorrow to get my notes and then lash into the rewrite of the novel. I haven’t looked at it in a few days so am really itching now to get it sorted – good feeling. (Less good is the notion that I may hear some uncomfortable criticism over the next 24 – 36 hours but tis all grist to some mill or other and, hopefully, I shall coast it in some class of style and with a springy stride)
wot i got 3 September 2008
I’ve had a bit of meningitis, typhoid, cholera and hep B – mmmm, tasty…mmm, bit ODD…
more anon