http://www.ejruek.com/EJRuek-author-blog The Grimace and the Giggle Wed, 28 May 2008 17:28:40 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Moving, I've discovered, is tough on writers and their novels -- at least on this writer, anyway. Finding the rhythm, getting back into the routine, and finding "the zone," is difficult in a fresh, new environment, especially since we've still not got a solid household routine. I'm finding it terribly ... http://www.ejruek.com/EJRuek-author-blog/2008/05/28/moving-is-tough-on-writing-novels/ We are moved.  Including animals, plants (the whole garden), furniture, et cetera.  We're still having DSL problems.  Sometimes it's there; sometimes it's not there, at all.  It's no fun.  And Verizon has even sent in the "big guns" to try to troubleshoot it.  It's a gremlin, I'm sure, because it ... http://www.ejruek.com/EJRuek-author-blog/2008/05/21/move-complete-back-onlinewhen-the-dsl-doesnt-falter/ I'll be offline for a week, starting May 12. We're -- family and I -- are moving to a new home. http://www.ejruek.com/EJRuek-author-blog/2008/05/09/offline-for-a-week/ I have written...or, more accurately, am writing one book in first person. The only reason that book is being written in first person is that, when I try to change it to my favored third person point-of-view, it loses its snap. Somehow, "The fumes he exuded made my ... http://www.ejruek.com/EJRuek-author-blog/2008/05/05/the-i-proposition/ Absence, they say, makes the heart grow fonder...or is that "absence makes the heart a'wander?" Either way, just a note to let all my friends know that, no, I didn't get eaten by my novel. So what's happening? First, the sad news. I still haven't snagged an agent, though one ... http://www.ejruek.com/EJRuek-author-blog/2008/05/03/no-i-didnt-get-eaten-by-my-novel/ Scott Heim reads from We Disappear at last reading at Chelsea Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 (Conclusion) http://www.ejruek.com/EJRuek-author-blog/2008/04/19/scott-heim-reads-we-disappear-at-last-reading-at-chelsea/ Today in the New York Times: In the sprawling slum of Haiti’s Cité Soleil, Placide Simone, 29, offered one of her five offspring to a stranger. “Take one,” she said, cradling a listless baby and motioning toward four rail-thin toddlers, none of whom had eaten that day. “You pick. Just feed ... http://www.ejruek.com/EJRuek-author-blog/2008/04/18/hunger-in-the-world/ A critter and a beta reader's job is to honestly tell the author the problems they find in a manuscript, including: what they like and do not like in a story or its writing, where they lost interest, if they lost interest at all, what they think does and doesn't work. Their job is ... http://www.ejruek.com/EJRuek-author-blog/2008/04/16/what-a-beta-reader-can-cannot-do/ I'm pleased to announce that my short story, A Gift for Eternity, was accepted by editor Barbara Quinn for publication in The Rose and Thorn literary ezine's winter issue. This is a great honor for me, because, not only is The Rose and Thorn one of the oldest and ... http://www.ejruek.com/EJRuek-author-blog/2008/04/14/gift-for-eternity-finds-a-home/ I was doing a Google search and came across this in the results...which, of course, had nothing at all to do with the subject of my search, but, hey, you know search engines! [A self-employed person has] "no guarantee of either a steady income or work, no company-provided life insurance and ... http://www.ejruek.com/EJRuek-author-blog/2008/04/10/todays-giggle-se-vs-employee-the-benefits-not/