The Halloween cosy mystery novella course consists of a lot of prep and background work. Up to yesterday, that’s what I was working on. Watching videos, reading notes, and printing off pdfs. There are lots and lots of pdfs, but I was able to print them in duplex to save paper. Then I started a folder, a real-life, tangible folder, with the worksheets in.
With all of that done and out of the way (it took all week in between everything else), I finally started Week 1, Section 1. The first 6 videos were all prep and background work too, but much of it was a reminder of the specific sections we’d already gone through previously.
I hung out another 2 washloads and put one load in the dryer, so emptying the laundry basket in the bedroom. I would have started the other laundry basket, the one with all the household washing in, but I’d run out of washing powder. For dinner I sucked down a couple of dippy eggs and tried to nibble the bread and butter in the middle of my mouth. The dentist came back with an appointment for Monday, as it isn’t that urgent.
I had a chat with the editing client. With everything that’s been going on, I couldn’t see me finishing the book before the end of today, and at the end of today she breaks up for more than a week. So we agreed that I’d finish it as soon as I could and send it straight to the author, copying her in. At least that keeps it moving. She thanked me for carrying on working on it under the circumstances, which was very nice of her.
This is why she’s likely to be my only client going forward. I think she has another book in the wings waiting for me, but other than that I won’t be pushing it and I’ll help her out when I can.
I gave up reading J IS FOR JUDGEMENT. This book has stalled so many times since I started to re-read it again. I know what’s wrong with it. There’s far too much description that has nothing to do with the story, such as the history of the earth and the oil rigs out in the ocean. It all smacks of padding and I’m already struggling to concentrate.
So I gave up on it. For now. If my concentration starts to improve, I’ll come back to it. But knowing that so many of her later books shift away from Kinsey’s viewpoint, I’m already going off the idea of finishing the series. Better for me to look at something new, for a few weeks at least. I have plenty I can be getting on with too.
Today I’m working on the diary and the schedule going forward. We have a Monkey Dust gig at the weekend. And we have shopping to do for the camper van.
Have a great weekend!
I’ve got X and Y waiting for me.
If you want to dip into good ones, I suggest M and O. Loved both of them. I liked the storyline of V, although I didn’t like opening out into other POVs. I HATED L a lot. N, P, Q, R, S, T, U, and W are meh. I feel like I learned a lot by reading them back-to-back, even if some of it was what didn’t work for me.
Re-reading Paretsky is more of a revelation. I appreciate those books now more than I did when they first came out.
Have a good weekend. I hope you get some rest.
Thanks for the tips. I have them all, and the KINSEY AND ME short story collection, so I can dip in when I feel like it. I should go and grab the Paretskys too. I have most of the Stephanie Plums, but those are more whimsical, not as serious.