Jump to content
  • entries
    127
  • comments
    666
  • views
    52,699

About this blog

Notes from an Emu's quill

Entries in this blog

Bleak and rainy and just bloody well blech.

The tile says it all, but I suppose I should add more... Wales is presently wet. I don't like it, the cat doesn't like it, and the rain seems never ending. I wouldn't mind if it was hot, but oh no - winter beckons: no naked frolicking rain dances under warm skies for me. If I had any thermal underwear I'd be in them. ...and now the beast wants to go out again. It seems, like Pooh bear, I have a cat with very little brain... soon to be a wet cat with very little brain. I'll leave t

Camy

Camy in Blog

NiaD XI - away with the fairies

...and so, in less than an hour, I'm off for another insane bout of writing a novel in 24 hours. The cat's prepared - I've told her to help herself to food. I have beer and wine in the fridge and a tub of hummus for those urgent snack breaks. Now all I'm waiting for is the midnight delivery of my chapter brief! W00T!

Camy

Camy in NiaD

Miserable me.

Be warned: this is going to be angsty. The back story: There are three of us who have revolved around one another for a lot of years. M (male) - who is my partner in music, life and all; and B (female) who is my partner in life and living. I love them both unreservedly. They are my soulmates. Because of circumstances beyond our control - and hideously high house prices - B and I moved to Wales, whilst M stayed in Sussex. Late last month B went into hospital for a 'routine' e

Camy

Camy

Cat problems + Red House

The vet said (not verbatim) 'As the nights are now drawing in she won't go on heat again until spring.' Stupid vet. I woke in the middle of the night as Sassy (said cat) yowled in my ear. Luckily, I avoided a heart attack. Sassy talks a lot. Siamese always do. But when she's on heat it's excruciatingly loud. Luckily, we live in a cottage with a very thick wall between us and the neighbour, and a stream on the other side. So no complaints... yet. She's not big enough for kittens

Camy

Camy

NaNoWriMo Day 14 - Red House.

Fuck, fuck, fuckety fuck! I should be at 23k words and I'm only at 15k. This does not bode well. Not well at all. Still, one has to try and be positive... it's almost dark, it's cold, I need coffee but can't be arsed to go downstairs and make it. Dear lord, send an angel, fastest. I suppose I should resort to a picture of the cat:  

Camy

Camy

NaNoWriMo Day 4 - Red House.

Today, I've spent a lot of time berating the cat. She seems to get great pleasure out of waltzing over the keyboard. She also sits on it when I'm making coffee - which means removing rows and rows of odd letters. H seems to be popular, as is K. Other than that it's going well. I'm almost at 8,000 words. I'm hoping they might make sense, too. Who knows? Later.

Camy

Camy

Pre-Brexit Flu jab. 2019

I haven't had a flu jab in aeons, and don't know why the cat forced me to go. She's not normally that catty. Maybe she is; she is, after all, a cat. But I have to agree with her: We are all mad. Thankfully, I didn't vote for it... not that that is going to make the slightest difference, as the UK sinks slowly beneath the waves. 'Bye bye,' we'll say, and wave, with our stiff upper lips quivering, whilst the xenophobic fucks that caused it will moan that the result 'wasn't quite what we e

Camy

Camy

My ménage

East to west, my ménage has moved. More news to follow shortly. All remaining tickets to the bunker have been sold.

Camy

Camy

Aids for storytelling

I've been thinking a lot about writing. Today I came across two bits of 'advice' that I found yonks ago and put in a box. Where I originally found them I have no idea. However, as they are worth pondering I thought I'd post them. Here's the first: Eight basic necessities to create a story - probably, methinks, sword and sorcery. Though they do adapt. 1) one Hero 2) one Villain 3) one object they both desire 4) one journey 5) a couple of sidekicks (generally not more than 3) 6) one wisened

Camy

Camy

Dudeism. It's the perfect fit!

Like most people - or some people, anyway - I have been searching, nay, questing most of my life for the perfect religion. I've been hunting a religion that was a fit for me. I grew up in the Church of England (Henry VIII's personal (and consequently England's - it's nice to be a King) religion. Henry was miffed because the Pope refused to let him get divorced when he didn't want to off yet another wife). But as religions go C of E wasn't right.... Yes, there were nice hymns. Yes, I was in the

Camy

Camy

NaNo No No.

I didn't make it to the 50,000 this year, sadly. I know I shouldn't be peeved with myself, or miffed, or standing in disgrace in the corner: but I am - a little (not the standing in the corner bit). I don't like failing. It irks. It also irks that 50,000 words isn't actually an awful lot. If I were serious about becoming a writer I should be churning that in a month - with or without NaNoWriMo. Bum. I've been 'hoist by my own petard,' stupid git I am. ;) Ah well [snort], there's always nex

Camy

Camy

Ho hum.

I'm sad. Occasionally I think of stuff I've read that I'd like to read again. Yesterday I decided I'd like to re-read 'Carrots & Celery' by Karla Schultz. It was one of the first stories I ever read on-line. It's a sweet story that got better and better as she progressed as a writer (she started it at 16). She posted it to Nifty originally and then Gayauthors hosted her - or rather that story. I couldn't find it. After a fruitless search I eventually discovered she's left the net and had th

Camy

Camy

Albums

I cannot, CANNOT believe that Coldplay's new album, Mylo Zyloto, has been knocked off the number one spot after only a week ... and by (god help us all) Susan Boyle. FUCK! what is it coming to?

Camy

Camy

It's begun.

Oddly, and even though I've been desperately racking my brain (shows what a weeny one I have) for ideas, AND I have ideas written down, I have not the vaguest inkling what I'm going to write. Except, of course, an occasional blog entry cursing my stupidity for even mentioning it in the first place. Oh GAWD! What on earth shall I do (he says, tears streaming down his feathered chops).

Camy

Camy

Musing about November

I'm trying to figure out what to write in November. It's hard, because generally I get an idea and off I gallop - which is NOT the way to set about writing anything of great length, e.g.: a novel. It didn't work with Seraph, and it hasn't worked for the last few NaNoWriMo's I've taken part in. I've ended up knackered and with a part finished piece I never seem to get round to finishing. Don't get me wrong; I think some of what I've written has been okay, but short stories seem to suit me better.

Camy

Camy

RIP Jamie

http://www.thestar.c...article/1072227 So very, very sad. Looking back on my adolescence I find it hard to believe that every little thing was so important and so vital to my happiness. Whether it was waiting for a parcel that arrived a few days late, or a look from a friend that I misinterpreted. From walking into a room and thinking the reason they all stopped talking was because they were talking about me, to reading the cricket scorer's book and seeing that a really hard catch I made had b

Camy

Camy

NaNoWriMo 2011

I've been pondering this year's NaNoWriMo and trying to decide what I'm going to write. What I want is to end up on December 1st with a finished 50,000 word novella, rather than 50,000 words of a novel I'll never get around to completing. I write short stories and I like to think I'm not bad at them; but novels are a different beast altogether. Novels require more than my skittish self seems to want to give. They require serious thought and planning - especially if they're good. Whereas, for m

Camy

Camy

This Thursday!

This Thursday, after a month and a week of waiting, we finally get Broadband switched on. And, supposedly, it's between 5 and 7Mb - which, considering it was 0.5MB at our last place, is like giving a kid a Porche.

Camy

Camy

The flip side

Living in the country is very nice: I know this now I don't. The grass elsewhere is always greener, but move again I won't. Ah, hindsight. Suh-weet hindsight. The move went well - in as much as we moved. Hard work? I should bleedin' well coco! There aren't enough web-bots or admins to remove the expetives I'd like to write - or masseurs to ease my aching muscles. Obviously I'm not fit enough to live in a house with three floors, 'cause, duh, floors mean stairs. Of course, being avian, I'

Camy

Camy

Today

Today I am packing my life into boxes. Today I am packing up. Today all I want to do is veg out but for that I am all out of luck. Fuck. I'm sitting here - when I should be packing boxes - writing this blog and wishing it was Wednesday. If this was a movie: the camera would be on me and the background would melt away, morphing into my new room. Sadly, I don't have a 'make Sunday Wednesday' machine, nor am I in a movie. Hohum. Can't loiter here, nattering. Gotta get on (looks around at th

Camy

Camy

A book for all seasons.

Along with a bunch of other worthies I've had an awful lot of fun over the last couple of months. The result is a book - initially an eBook - available in .ePub and .mobi (for kindle) from www.midnightdude.com Why? There are a shed load of reasons, but primarily it's to raise money to keep AwesomeDude.com healthy. Times are hard for all of us, and though there's a 'donate' button on the front page, we thought that as an alternative to a donation selling a book would be good. And it's nice to gi

Camy

Camy

Carma

It's odd how we become attached to our cars. For the last two years I've been driving a Citroen Berlingo. I was given it, so I can't complain that it was big and slow and had a bit of a slippy clutch. Over time I came to love her (tear rolls down cheek). No, I couldn't take a Porche from a standing start - but I could fit all the bands gigging equipement in the back. Then, she failed her MOT (mandatory yearly government safety check). Not badly, but add to that a new clutch and it was going to

Camy

Camy

Time crawls

We released our album nearly a year ago. Eleven months ago I sent a track off to BBC radio. Last week I got a reply. It looks like they're going to play it, and if they do they'll let me know.... I won't be holding my breath. ;) You live and learn. In this world of instant communication we seem to expect an instant response. Fat chance: it's really like dancing through amber.

Camy

Camy

What?

It's been yonks and yonks since I've put finger to keypad and blogged. My bad, but then I have been somewhat, nay, frightfully busy. Yep, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. We made a second video, which was erm ... yes. It was. Lo-res is one reason I'm not trumpeting it to the hills. Never again will we make lo-res videos. It's not worth the time spent. We've also been rehearsing 'till our fingers and tonsils bled and the studio had to be emptied by paramedics (name the film that includes

Camy

Camy

Emus love preening.

He might not have a feathered wing But he loves to howl and pretends to sing He tippy tap typed all through the night For thirty days and it came out right. Phew. Done, but not close to dusted. Congratulations to fellow winner Bruin Fisher, my comrade throughout the 30 days. May your jockstrap never waver!

Camy

Camy

×
×
  • Create New...