The Journal of Michael Merriam

Line edits on Last Car to Annwn Station are finished and returned to Editor Melissa at Carina Press. It should be a couple of weeks before the CEM arrives. I have a week to finish that, then the manuscript will be complete and delivered. There will be a final proof galley, then at last a book. I can’t wait.

My reading at DreamHaven Books was a success. I started off reading too fast, but got my footing and by the time I read from Last Car to Annwn Station I had settled in. Everyone seemed to enjoy the reading, and several folks said they are looking forward to the novel coming out this summer. We had a great crowd, 41 people by our count.

Super Bowl party was fun, with about 20 people at my house, some of whom cared about the game, many of whom did not, and everyone having fun. There was lots a good food and great company.

Had a nice night out with some other local writer folks. Good conversation, goods people, and a smashing beer and scotch selection at The Muddy Pig in St. Paul.

Speaking of food, we have a new Japanese restaurant in Hopkins, Aji. There is nice review here: http://www.weeklynews.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=8267&SectionID=49&SubSectionID=110&S=1

We went with some friends and found everything cooked to perfection and the sushi bar well presented, with a good selection of excellent and flavorful sushi.

We went to see Bill W. and Dr. Bob (http://www.illusiontheater.org/events/bill-w-dr-bob) at the Illusion Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. This show is well worth seeing, and the discussion after the show with the director and actors was great fun.

The MinnSpec meeting today was a presentation about giving presentations and being on panels. There was some really good stuff, though I feel like we focused a little too much on PowerPoint stuff. I know some people really dig the PowerPoint, but I don’t use it. There was also good discussion about what to do in difficult situations (a cellphone goes off, crying children, that one person in the audience who tries to hijack the panel, that one expert in the audience who asks you the one question you don’t know the answer to, that sort of thing). We talked about different things you can do the make your public speaking better, including joining Toastmaster and taking some basic acting and voice classes. Over all a very positive meeting, plus we figured out the topics for the next couple of meetings.

Getting gear up for Con of the North this weekend. I will be spending my birthday at the Con.

I sent in my panel picks for CONvergence. We shall see what happens.

Speaking of panels, I have my schedule for MarsCon:

Friday, March 4:
6:00-6:45 PM--Krushenko's/Concierge (Room 1332)
Fiction Reading: Michael Merriam

Saturday, March 5:
6:00-6:45 PM--Re(a)d Mars/Taylor (2nd Floor)
Panel: The Woods Are Lovely
How do we create modern fairytales and myths? How do we tap into the primal emotions of fairytales in a modern era?
Michael Merriam, mod.; PMF Johnson, Naomi Kritzer

Sunday, March 6:
11:00-11:45 AM--Re(a)d Mars
Panel: Ask a Writer
Always wanted to know how a novel is born? How does a writer structure their day? Is it all glittering parties and intelligent company? Come ask a panel of working writers anything!
Michael Merriam, mod.; Roy C. Booth, Catherine Lundoff, Anna Waltz

1:00-1:45 PM--Krushenko's
Panel: The Western as Fantasy
Myths about the Old West began before the West was old, making it one of the first shared worlds in American culture. We'll discuss the rise and fall of the Old West mythology, and how it has influenced and lent its energy to current genres including fantasy and science fiction.
David Christenson, mod.; Eric M. Heideman, Michael Merriam

2:00-2:45 PM--Krushenko's
Panel: Writing in a Series: Harmonies and Discords
Writers who have done multiple novels or stories about continuing characters and/or a linked world share their experiences, positive or negative, and their advice to aspiring series writers.
Michael Merriam, mod.; Lois McMaster Bujold, Naomi Kritzer

I’ve acquired shooting scripts from several televisions shows and one from a motion picture. I plan to read and study these, watch several episodes of Being Human, Eureka and Warehouse 13, and then create spec scripts. I am also outlining a feature movie script.

My counselor at State Services for the Blind has, in support of my quest for a part-time job, hooked me up with Lifetracks in St. Paul. My worker there has already sent out my resume to a potential employer that looks to be a good fit for me, except it might be too much travel by bus. Still, if they can find me a possible position before I’ve ever had a meeting with them, I’m impressed.

Tomorrow night I will cook Valentine dinner for my Bunnee. We stay in and avoid the crowds on Valentine's Day. There will be good food and small gifts.

Also, still sick. This is the start of week three. I suppose I should go see a doctor.

It's because getting around on public transportation is such a production and hassle. Now that the migraine has settled down to a dull roar, I can explain why my birthday has sucked mightily.

( Hear Now My Tale of Woe! )

Sadly, so far the day has sucked mightily. Now to try and salvage the wreckage.

I pulled my other WiP novel out yesterday and looked at it again. Though it makes me nervous to say it, I feel like Dark Water Blues is some of my best work. I'm looking forward to working on it again once I've finished Rija's Tale.

I received my contributor's copies and a check from Fictitious Force yesterday. A quick glance showed that I am sharing a ToC with truepenny, and for the second time aliettedb.

Yesterday careswen took me out to the Mill City Museum for my belated birthday gift, where we, among other things, took a walking tour of the Washburn "A" Mill , including going down in the bowels of the ruined mill to places most visitors never get to see. It was damned interesting, and yes, I do plan on using some of this in fiction, eventually.

Gaming was afterward, and while it wasn't a total disaster, I'm starting to wonder if I'm losing my touch as a DM. I have to wonder if it is because my storytelling focus had shift away from gaming to writing. Or maybe I'm just getting old and can't react as quickly to my character's decisions.

One the way home careswen and I got behind a driver who was obviously impaired, weaving and swerving between lanes, speeding up and slowing down erratically, that sort of thing. We called the State Patrol and followed the guy. Over the next thirty minutes we tailed this driver or sat watching him as he sat park on city streets, all the while talking to police on the phone. Every time he got off the highway, the State Patrol switched me to the local city police, but then the guy would get back on the highway.

We followed him around for Thirty Freakin' Minutes as he swerved into other lanes and did other stupid shite, endangering people's lives, with me on the phone giving the police dispatcher a play-by-play of where we were. We followed him until he short down a dark residential street and then got behind us, at which point we decided it wasn't safe and broke off. Did I mention we did this for Thirty Freakin' Minutes? Guess how many cops we saw. Go on, guess.

Right, not a one, even though we were feeding dispatch exact information.

I was supposed to go to the monthly Twin Cities Speculative Fiction Writers Network meeting today, but I woke up sick to my stomach and dizzy, like I'd gone on a terrible bender last night and was reaping the rewards, except I didn't have anything alcoholic to drink yesterday.

I'm feeling a little better this afternoon, so I'm going to get some lunch now, fold some laundry, and work a bit on Rija's Tale.

I'm 43 years-old today.

Usually on my birthday I like to spend a little time considering where I have been, where I'm going, and what I want to get out of both the next year and the rest of my life.

If something important happens, or you need to reach me, my email is in my profile.

For Christmas this year careswen gave me a session in Nancy Donoval's Storytelling Workshop. Yesterday was the day it happened.

Best Present Ever.

It was one of the fastest eight hours I've ever experienced, and I think learned more about the function of story and how to construct it in that eight hours than I ever learned from reading a book or being in a writing group. Seriously, I walked out of there with a much stronger grasp of plot and theme and tone and images and how they all connect to make a story, no matter what medium you use to tell it. Recommended.

It was bedside_trauma's birthday party Saturday night. Much Rock Band. was played, as was a round of Zombie Flux. A good time was had by all.

careswen and I worked more on Shimmers & Shadows today. I'm going to try and get a little work done on Last Car to Annwn Station before I fall on my nose and pass out.

Peace

careswen offered to take me out to dinner tonight, and I wasn't going to go. Too tight to spend money on myself and all that, but...

So far today I've:
Washed and dried 5 loads of laundry.
Washed 2 loads of dishes.
Received a rejection on a story.
Been told, "no" by 5 different places where I've applied for a job.
Cleaned up a pile of cat-urp from the carpet.
Slip and fell on my way to the mailbox, only to remember it's President's day and there's no mail.

I'm feeling a little battered.

It's my birthday, damnit.

So if she still wants to take me out, we're going.

I guess that makes me The Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything. Cool. What was the question?

Thank you, everyone, for all the kind birthday wishes.

I'm not one of those people who gets hung up on birthdays and getting older. The way I see it, having another birthday and getting a year older is much more preferable than the alternative.

It is still early, but so far my birthday has consisted of laundry and dishes. Soon, I shall take a shower. Later I will put away all the stuff from last night and drag the desk chairs back into the study. Exciting stuff, isn’t it?

Don't worry, there's been a whole lot of fun had by everyone this weekend, which is when all the birthday stuff happened (though it was pretty low-keyed), because you know, with my actual birthday falling on a Monday, everyone else is at work.

I'm making good but slow progress on revisions of the Phantom Streetcars novel. I'm hoping to be ready to send it out to my beta-readers by the end of March. I'm also most of the way through a beta-read on someone else's novel and a crit of a couple of friend's short stories. In between, I'm reading a novel and catching up on all the short story magazines I've failed to read in the last couple of months.

As I was telling porphyrin, one of the problems with this is, I've begun to realize just how bad at this I truly am. No, really. I'm not sitting her crying "I am teh sux and I should never write again, oh woe is me!" and I know I don't suck as a person (I think). Not at all. It's just reading all this fine work makes me understand that I'm not very good at what I'm doing. But all I can do is shrug, put my head down, and go back to work, because what else is there to do (besides quit, curl up into a little ball of misery, and wait around to die, which is not a viable option)?

In other news, careswen and I are going to move the web site this week. I've been hosting for free at mn.rr.com, but since Comcast bought out Time Warner Cable in Minneapolis, I need to move the site. The web site at the mn.rr.com address will go down on the 23rd. Hopefully we will have made the switch over to sff.net before them. If you get to this blog by way of my website, go the blog's direct link and bookmark it: http://mmerriam.livejournal.com/

The url for the new web site will be posted here, and I'll send out an email to everyone on the mailing list as well.

Well, I need to start more laundry, unload the dishwasher, shower, and get to work on my promised crits.

In Peace

Happy Birthday, careswen! We are so going to make number 30 a good one!