Well, dear readers, I spent a good deal of yesterday going over the more important of my little fixes with Muse Margaret. She liked them all and all her concerns about a certain aspect of this book are now gone and she wants me to get it out as soon as possible. There is a certain timeliness to something in the book, so we’ll be on the fast track now for a late April/early May release. Grant Geissman, who will, as always, design the book and cover is on a deadline with his own book, which he’ll be finished with in the next four to six weeks. I’m sure it will take me at least two or three weeks to get my proofers’ comments in, and then they have to be discussed with Muse Margaret, and then entered into the manuscript. Once that’s done, then Grant does his thing, the first part of which is very easy. Then from that point on it will take another two weeks to get everything in order and to the publisher, but once they have it, I should have books about three weeks later.
After the conversation with Muse Margaret, I entered all the fixes. There were a lot of typos to fix, two global things that had to be conformed, and then the little changes I’d made. When I got to the final chapter I felt as I have felt since finishing the book – that it didn’t feel right to me. So, I went back to the chapter before it and saw a much better place to end that chapter and then get into the final chapter. I called Muse Margaret to run it by her and she agreed wholeheartedly, so I made that change, too. It took hours to get everything entered, but that’s done now, and one of my two proofers already has it via e-mail. Then I went to Staples to get two hard copies of it, one of which will go to my other proofer. After that, I picked up no packages, then did some banking, then came home. I watched part of a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled My Name Is Nobody, starring Mr. Henry Fonda and produced by (and some say mostly directed by – uncredited) Sergio Leone. I watched the first hour and will finish tonight.
Then I moseyed on over to the Eclectic Café where I met our very own Adryan Russ for dinner. I hadn’t eaten all day, so I had a small Caesar and the Cajun chicken angel hair pasta, which is filling, but very light. I even left some of the pasta, which is very unusual for me. I only had one small piece of bread, so I think it was a pretty calorie friendly meal. Then we went to the NoHo Arts Center. I knew a few people there, so I chatted until we were ushered not into the large ninety-nine seat theater, but the teeny-tiny forty-something seat theater in the back – I’d never even seen it before.
The show was the Kander and Ebb revue And The World Goes ‘Round. I saw it in New York with its original cast and didn’t love it then, even though I thought parts of it were clever. I still don’t love it – the show itself. For me, it’s very haphazardly assembled. I don’t remember the New York production well enough to know how many liberties were taken with this one, although I know the opening was different. This production was done with one piano and there was a drummer who was more of a stagehand than a drummer – he really only played drums about three times, I think. The production was fine, but the show is just not my cuppa, really. The cast works hard. Of course, the audience was filled with family whooping and hollering for every little thing, which I do find a little off-putting, but I certainly understand it. They had a nice spread after the show – Mexican food – but I had nothing and came directly home.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get a good night’s beauty sleep.
Today, I must be up by nine-thirty. Then I’ll go to Staples to pick up the two hard copies of the book. Then at noon we have Adrian Zmed and Jenna Rosen running their numbers and at one we begin our stumble-through. After that, I’m sure some of us will go eat. I’m thinking the cedar plank salmon at CPK would be the most calorie friendly thing to do.
Tomorrow we have video and sound check and then the show. Tuesday I have to figure out my travel dates to go to Washington DC to work with the singer for three days, sometime in mid-February. But the rest of the week will be spent in choosing Billy Barnes songs and getting the material to the singers by the end of the week so they have a full three weeks to learn it. I also have a few meetings and meals. The weekend is full – there’s a small book fair in Santa Monica that I’ll go to on Saturday, then I judge the finals for the singing contest on Sunday morning, and then I have to attend a little cabaret show in which Guy Haines is singing Corner of the Sky.
I suppose we can put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, I suppose we can break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, I suppose we can dance the Hora and the Bunny Hop, for today is the birthday of someone who hasn’t been with us for some time – she used to be here all the time but has forsaken us for Facebook, I’m afraid. We miss her, but apparently Facebook is more fun for her. So, let’s give a big haineshisway birthday cheer to our very own used to be edisaurus. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR VERY OWN USED TO BE EDISAURUS!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, pick up two hard copies of the manuscript, I must rehearse, I must eat, and I must relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to know that the book is now on the fast track.