In which Julie burns a teapot and goes a little metaphor-crazy

Want to know the definition of "useless?" A teapot that doesn't whistle. Now, a few days ago I accidentally burned to a crisp one that I'd had for many years (something to do with lighting the stove and then getting into the shower and forgetting all about it). I was bummed, and I mourned for a moment or two, but being the tea junkie I am I quickly bought a shiny maroon replacement. This new maroon teapot is apparently mute. I mean, the burning smell was useful, and all, in terms of alerting me to the fact that the water had been boiled to oblivion, but I would have appreciated an earlier warning. That, after all, is the job of a te apot. And since the inside of the new maroon pot now seems to be coated with a sort of of toxic charcoal, and I can't figure out why it won't whistle, anyway—seriously, I did a few tests ensuring the spout and lid were down snugly, and there's no reason on earth it shouldn't whistle, but it won't—it's back to the store for another one. Sigh.

Many cups of tea are necessary today, because last night I fully intended to be asleep by one a.m., but the hero and heroine of my next book chose that hour to launch into a spritely conversation in my head.  It was good stuff, too—sexy, sparkling, tense. So I fumbled for my glasses and my pen and started scribbling. And as a result of that conversation, the whole book started to sort of unfurl around them: that snippet of conversation between the H&H, that moment in the timeline of the book, became a bit like the hub of a wheel, and the events leading the two of them to that moment and the events following that moment suddenly rayed logically out from it.

Or something like that. LOL.

In the past, I've used lots of different metaphors to describe my writing process. Metaphors are hard to resist, really, when you're a writer, and all. One of my most apt is the one that compares my process to an archaeological dig: you're down there on your knees, gently unearthing and brushing the dirt off of various shards of pottery, reveling in each discovery and knowing it's a crucial piece of the whole but not necessarily finding every piece in a sort of linear fashion. In fact, my books seldom proceed in any sort of linear fashion, until I'm closer to the end of the story. It's rather like...OK, it's like "Wheel of Fortune!" You choose different letters, and there they are up on the board, all out of order, suggesting a coherent phrase, but the whole process of guessing the entire phrase happens much more quickly once you have a lot of letters. LOL. (Another metaphor! My goodness!)

But so far, my process has been a little bit different with every book. Some books seem to resist extraction, and I really have to labor over them; some books all but write themselves. And in the end, I doubt any of my readers can tell one kind from the other. Kind of funny.

I can tell this new book is going to be an easier birth (ha! Another metaphor! And that's one we authors seem to like  in particular—the whole birth comparison) than some of my others.  I feel a bit giddy and hopeful, the way you do when you're presented with a clear, wide-open road to a brand new destination. (<--OK, how many metaphors is that, now??)

So as I get the book really underway, I'll probably only blog twice a week or so, maybe three times. I'll have to see how that goes.  I have to get out of the house every now and then, too, so young boys can hit on me. :) 

Man, the weather is crazy gorgeous this week. A sky so blue and brilliant it hurts the eyes, day after day of soft warm sun that's already out in full force when I wake up, an extreme rarity. Usually the sun has to fight through the fog, and the fog usually wins. If it wasn't for the guy with the jackhammer tearing up a nearby street I'd be out on the patio writing. I tried spending some time out there, but I think the vibrations started to loosen my teeth. LOL.  I'll stay inside and work in the warm office instead,with the cat sprawling upside down on the rug nearby. 

(And just for fun a little while ago, I leaned out my bedroom window and took a photo which includes part of the wall of the building, the balcony of the house next door, and the blue sky. It looks a little darker in that photo, but it really is quite an incredible blue. There's your blue sky, Kathy K.  LOL.)

Comments

[Kathy K]

LoL... Julie, the metaphor metaphorist! [is there such a thing??].

Glad that you're having such great weather... think maybe when you're tired of it you could send a smidgen my way?? In the last two weeks or so we've had a few hours of sunshine ~ which is actually VERY unusual for Alberta; especially the part I'm in that's not close to the mountains ~ and it's draining. So much gray sky, snowy rain ~ or maybe it's rainy snow; hard to say ~ and just the awful feel of winter impending. One day the snow we get will stay for the next 6 months, but if we have blue sky [I can just see blue sky so bright it hurts the eyes *sigh* but it's all in my imagination or is it memory that's fading fast?] I can take anything.

Hope your characters continue to be so helpful...or maybe their timing could be a little better?
And, not that I'm trying to make time go any faster as it's flying by now as it is, I'm looking forward to the next, and final, Makepeace sister's story.

Have a great one!

Kathy

[Julie Anne Long]

Oy, Kathy, I have to tell you, your weather sounds like the pits. LOL. I hope you get some *other* beautiful seasons to make up for your winter. I took a photo of our San Franisco sky today and added it to the blog so you can enjoy it vicariously. :)

Ah, you're sweet to be impatient for the end of the series!! That baby's been put to bed (so to speak) for several months now, and will be out in May of next year. (THE SECRET TO SEDUCTION.) The characters who kept me awake last night are the stars of my next book, as yet untitled. The *characters* have names, thankfully, but the book doesn't yet. I'm hoping for a pre-dawn flash of inspiration on that, too. :) And it's entirely possible I'll be soliciting title opinions here on the blog. We'll call it a Think Tank, perhaps. :)

I hope you have a huge stash of books to help you weather the winter!! :)

[Diana]

I am in love with this gorgeous San Francisco weather. It's so foreign that I'm not used to it. I don't want to talk about it too much because it seems everytime I rave about the beautiful weather here, it soon disappears. I was at the beach at Chrissy Field with some students today, and it was so warm and nice. I don't usually go to the beach (don't like sand much), but I didn't mind today. It was fun just to bask in the sun. Too bad I have this irritating cold. Ugh. :(

[Kathy K]

That'll do in a pinch! LoL... Thank you Julie!! Much better than what we've got going here; *shiver* I've taken to wearing sweaters in the house...and I'm never cold. But I'll sit here and enjoy your blue sky ~ and dream. ^.^

Kathy

[Ranurgis]

Yep, lots of metaphors. I think the child being born is sort of universal. You go through all sorts of labors to bring it forth into the world, and especially if you don't have a live child, I'd be inclined to think of any work I bring forth as "my baby". Some of the others are very apt as well. I especially like the archaeology one or convert that to palaeontology where you're trying to find a whole dinosaur and you can find only bits and pieces at a time.

For some it may be similar to architecture, especially if you have the large picture first and then fill in the nitty-gritty stuff. I'm glad you're having great revelations.

I'm happy to report that I saw WTBW at Wal-Mart's today and got it. I'd been to Chapters first but they didn't have it and I'm not certain they ever did. So I was even more pleased when I got it with 25% off instead of just 10%.

Your first two books are totally independent of each other, am I right? And the next three are connected? So I guess it doesn't matter if I read the others without reading "The Runaway Duke".

Do really all tea-pots have whistles? I know we've had several in our family that don't. Electrical or not? Our electrical ones would just shut themselves off after a while.

[Kathy K]

Jeepers! What is it with bookstores in Canada? Like Ranurgis, I just got my copy of WTBW, although I found mine yesterday...and I didn't find it at Chapters either [it was listed, just not available], but at Zellers [Canada's WalMart, kinda]. And OMG! it was absolutely brilliant!
I'm not sure what it was, but for some reason the relationship between Tom and Sylvie wasn't as "easy" as that between Kit and Susannah, but oh, was it hot! I love it!

And the oyster shell scene...I could NOT stop laughing; I had tears in my eyes I laughed so hard and I couldn't read. My husband wanted to know what was so funny, but he'd have to read it first and there was no way that book was gonna leave my hands. And now that I'm finished it ~ *sigh* ~ I can hardly wait for Sabrina's story...the preview in the back of WTBW sure whetted my appetite for the final book in the Holt sister's trilogy.

{BTW, notice that I finally got it right? NOT the 'Makepeace' sisters, but the 'Holt' sisters ~ I just need to be beat over the head a time or two before I figure stuff out}.

Kathy ^.^

[Ranurgis]

Just a little question, Julie. Did you get my Sept. e-mail? I think you'll know which one I mean. There are a bunch of e-mails that I'm awaiting answers for--some as far back as mid-August. I'm not sure if they're not getting through to my recipients or not getting through to me. That's why I thought I'd mention it here.

It could be that my computer is totally crazy. If so, I'd like to be able to convince my brother of that. Thanks.

[Julie Anne Long]

Hey Diana -- and the weather continues!! Isn't it remarkable?? Here's our weather forecast for the week so you all can see what we're talking about: http://www.sfgate.com/weather/. Although I must admit the sunny days are doing "interesting" things to my allergies. I can recall years in which these sunny days have stretched into November, and I wouldn't mind a bit.

Thanks for the report on the books in Canada, girls!! I don't know what's up with Chapters—I can see WTBW being sold *online* at Chapters, but it seems odd that you guys can't find it in stores. I'll let my publisher know, in case that helps. Thanks for buying it, you guys!!! And yes, my first two books are independent, Ranurgis, and BEAUTY AND THE SPY is the beginning of a trilogy that includes WAYS TO BE WICKED, out now, and THE SECRET TO SEDUCTION, out in May of next year.

And I'm just so THRILLED you enjoyed WTBW Kathy!! :) People really do seem to be enjoying it—I've had so many lovely emails from readers. That oyster scene in particular has been mentioned a *lot.* LOL. And yeah, it's the Holt sisters—you were probably thinking of the Makepeace Brothers I mentioned in an earlier blog!! LOL.

Ranurgis—I'm afraid I don't know what email you're talking about. I get an average of about 150-200 emails a day, I think, give or take a few Viagra spams that sneak through. LOL. This is probably true of many authors, so if you're waiting from replies from other authors, you might keep that in mind, have mercy, and try to be patient. :) LOL. I'm usually pretty good at reading and sorting them, but depending upon my schedule and the urgency, I might get back to a reader mail on the same day, or it might take weeks or even months to reply to it. I wouldn't be surprised if some got snagged in my spam filter or accidentally deleted. LOL. Anyway, it's possible one got lost, so feel free to send it again today, and I'll keep my eyes out for it.

[Diana]

I seriously do not know what to do with myself when the weather is this nice. :P

Julie, your buddy Megan Crane had nice things to say about BATS and WTBW. Check it out:

http://megancrane.livejournal.com/122608.html

Diana

[Julie Anne Long]

Isn't that sweet of Megan?? She rocks. :) You should check out her books, if you haven't had a chance to yet!! She's outrageously talented, too.

[Diana]

I have both Megan's books, but have only read Everyone Else's Girl, which I really enjoyed.