Well, dear readers, the best part of yesterday happened at eight o’clock in the evening when Muse Margaret called after finishing my new book’s final eighty pages. I’m always worried until she calls, but I’m happy to report that the verdict was that she was happy with everything. She liked all the explanations, she liked the way it all played out and she was very specific about things she especially liked. She had three teeny-tiny little thing – one was an exchange of dialogue that involved Adriana – we both loved her response to a line but the line she was responding to just came at the wrong time from the wrong character – still, we tried to figure out a way to adjust it, but it wasn’t worth it and out it went. I simply had to slightly adjust the line before and it edited out easily. The other two things had to do with Adriana’s wardrobe. Muse Margaret felt that one more line of description about one of her outfits would be good, so I actually went online and searched for the kind of dress I’d written about. Margaret was suggesting a certain kind of collar, and I found it and funnily the dress that I found was exactly like the one I’d made up – I just added a more detailed description including the collar and I slightly adjusted the color of the dress. And she felt that there should be one other Adriana fashion moment and she mentioned those funny 1950s lounging slippers that were all the rage back then. I found a good place for that, searched it online, found it and added it and it really perks up one little moment without adding but two sentences. And that was it. I’ll now print out the book for my read-through of it and my proofing, and then when I’ve done those fixes (by the end of the week) I’ll send the book to the usual proofers for the usual proofing. I still have three or four things to add – we’re having a really fun appendix to the book and that’s all I’m saying about that. The cover is in the works now.
After the call, I was so elated that I wanted to celebrate. Unfortunately, I have no spontaneous friends so instead I went to Gelson’s and got a Parisian cake and had a nice big slice of it when I got home.
Prior to all that, I’d gotten up after about five hours of sleep. At two in the morning I decided I’d written one little sequence wrong and I really wanted to rewrite it and fix it, so I got up and did it and didn’t get to bed till after three. It was MUCH better the new way. We had our second music rehearsal for Inside Out. It should be going smoother than it is, but we’ll get through it and these ladies are all complete pros and will get it all down. In a week or so, we may add a four-hour session to go over everything musically. I left early, around noon so that I could come home and futz and finesse the twenty-six pages I’d written. I did a lot of futzing and finessing – it took two hours, but in the end I smoothed out a lot of stuff and got it to where I was happy. Then I printed out those eighty pages.
I got the Xeroxed and delivered to Muse Margaret, after which I went and had a chicken salad sandwich and fries. Then I came home. By that time I was emotionally exhausted and it hit me that I was finished writing, something that elicits all kinds of emotions in me. Then I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a screener that SAG sent – a movie called Cake, starring Jennifer Aniston. I didn’t really care for it much. She did a very good job, but I hated the direction (lots of shakycam crap) and didn’t like the “quirky” music score. It wasn’t bad or anything, I just didn’t really get involved in it.
Then I had the call, got the Parisian cake, and just relaxed and did some work at the piano, in addition to prepping our new release, which we’ll announce tomorrow morning.
Today, I’m up early again, and we have our third music rehearsal. I’ll be there for all four hours because I’m also meeting with our costume designer (the same gal who did Li’l Abner) and our lighting designer. Then I may go out and have a nice meal somewhere to really celebrate finishing the book and hopefully I’ll pick up some packages.
Tomorrow we announce the new CD, then we have our first staging rehearsal and then I have a few other things to do. Friday is the same story, then the weekend should be fairly open. I’ll have a work session with John Boswell for the Kritzerland show at some point before we have our first rehearsal next Tuesday. And I will write the commentary on Friday or Saturday and get that out of the way.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, rehearse, have meetings, eat, hopefully pick up packages and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had the Muse Margaret Seal of Approval.