JB's Querying Blues

Here’s a poem, posted over at The Bilge, by Peter Radclyffe
It really made my day…

There must be some kind of way to publish this, said JB in The Bilge
It’s finished & I must find some way to pay these winter bills
Donn* has already been thru this & this might be his fate
So let us all wish her the best
The hour is getting late
All around the WBF** lookouts kept a view
While sailors, painters came & went
& a few well you know who
Outside in the distance, a Detroit diesel growled,
2 agents were approaching, the wind began to howl

(a little take-off of Bob Dylan's All Along The Watchtower)

Thanks Peter!
*Retired publisher in The Bilge
**Wooden Boat Forum

That’s Right, I’m Stalling…

I know I should be brushing up on my query and synopsis (and I have been), but as anyone who’s ever written one knows, they kill brain cells.

Consequently, I have given myself a short reprieve, just to remind myself that life does not—does not—revolve around writing, (and more to the point, getting published). I’ve been—yes, it’s true—painting.

I resurrected this unfinished portrait, and if I’m playing my shame card right, I should make pretty good progress on it, seeing as I’m posting my process incrementally.

Actually, one could draw some nice analogies between developing a character and painting a portrait…it’s all in the layering.

A Lovely Award

A while back—okay, it was all the way back in December—Liza, over at one of my favorite blogs, Middle Passages, gave me this Lovely Blog Award.

She did, in fact, give me permission to break the rules (which anyone who's ever awarded me with anything already knew I would).

I am posting it now, because it’s January and I was waiting for this particular time (when I’m feeling particularly glumpy) and knew I’d need a boost and a post that doesn’t require any creative output, (all of which is a testimony to my glumpiness and somewhat hard to reconcile with the lovliness of this award).

To be honest, if I had to pass the award on to 15, yes, 15 other bloggers, this would be completely overwhelming given the fact that it is January and I am in a slump. Therefore, I’m going to pass it on to 10 other bloggers whom I have awarded in my Unsupervised and at Large Blog (which actually feels like a better title for this blog lately—perhaps I ought to merge the two…)*

Thank you Liza for the award, and for sharing not only your comments here, but for all your delightful words over at Middle Passages.

* even if you're brave enough to go over there, I absolve you of any obligations incurred from either award, unless you want to dress up your blog...(remember there are no bloggy blah blah blah)

Has Anyone Seen My W.S.K.?

Okay, I’ll admit it—I’m in a slump. Have I mentioned that I hate winter? I know I had a Winter Survival Kit around here somewhere, but I can’t seem to lay my hands on it…sure wish I could remember what was in it… (note to self: compile WSK next October, before slump has a chance to set in)