Well, dear readers, Muse Margaret read the last batch of forty-four pages. I always worry, especially if she’s loved the pages thus far, that I’ll have ruined everything and that she’ll hate it. I sent the pages at noon yesterday, after futzing and finessing. By four I hadn’t heard anything and began to worry. I checked the phone just to make sure I hadn’t missed the call, and I had the damn thing on silent. And there was a message from Muse Margaret. I heard enough of it to know she liked the pages. I called her back immediately and she didn’t like the pages – she loved them and said the words every writer loves to hear – do not change a single word. She was very emotional about it, rather like I was last night when I finished it. You’ll understand when I announce what it is. I’ll proof as much as I can but I’m not going to be much good this time around because my eyes are just still too wonky. So, the two proofers will get the book on Wednesday, I think. Haven’t heard back from the two people I’ve asked to blurb – hopefully, I will soon. I’d got eight hours of sleep and had a Tom’s bacon cheeseburger for food. It was fine. Then I picked up a package, then came home. The rest of the afternoon was finishing the commentary and I’m happy to say it’s now done. Then I dozed off for an hour, had a telephonic conversation, then had a Jersey Mike’s Philly cheesesteak – pretty good. Then I sat on my couch like so much fish and watched a “thriller” entitled Love, Cheat & Steal, starring John Lithgow, Madchen Amick, the ubiquitous Eric Roberts, Donald Moffat, and Dan O’Herlihy. Good cast, how bad could it be? Well, whatever is beyond bad this movie is. It looked like the budget was $50,000, barely, and was perfunctorily directed by its writer whose one and only writing and directing credit this is. Add to that, one of the cheesiest and worst scores ever by something called Pray for Rain. Right. It’s one of those supposedly “twisty” thrillers that’s not twisty and has every cliché in the book. It was, in fact, a Showtime original. How anyone in this cast agreed to do this based on reading the script is anyone’s guess. The actors, being good actors, do their best but it’s hopeless. I could not find a single review. Okay, I found two. Variety thought it was okay to good but the reviewer was a fifth-stringer. Empire Magazine gave it what it deserved – one star. Blechhh.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll get the home environment ready for our stumble-through, then I’ll relax and maybe even proof a bit until people arrive. Three are coming early at five to run the stuff they missed on Saturday, then we do the stumble-through at five-thirty and after we’ll run anything we need to. Then I’ll eat something fun, and maybe do some more proofing, which is mostly just looking for typos and things that I haven’t caught when futzing and finessing. Then I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, I’ll relax until it’s time to shave and shower and then I’ll mosey on over to the Catalina Jazz Club for sound check. I’ll probably have the small Caesar to tide me over till after the show, then we do the show. I’m hoping we have at least 100 people. Some of us may go out afterwards. Wednesday, if I haven’t finished my go-through of the book, I will, and then I’ll get it right to the proofers who are, of course, sworn to secrecy. I’m hoping that on Wednesday or Thursday night I’ll have the celebratory finishing the book meal. Then I have to plan the July show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, get things ready, relax, maybe proof, shave and shower, do the stumble-through and run anything we need to after, eat, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite juices and non-carbonated drinks – not alcohol. Did you have Kool-Aid when you were a kid? Juices, baby. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have heard the lovely words, do not change a single word.