Hello there!
Welcome to the new folks who have joined in the past month!
It has gotten cold here in Ohio. This is not abnormal, but this year the temperature drop seemed to happen at Halloween (we got flurries) and not back down, with temps even staying around 20/30 degrees Fahrenheit some days as the high.
That, combined with 5pm darkness thanks to the time change, and NaNoWriMo, means I actually got a few thousand words written this month on JANET. Unlike THE BLACK SKY/THE RED SKY, which wrote out very detailed notes and such in order to keep track of the various storylines/character arcs, I’m taking a loose approach to JANET. I have an ending in mind, but that’s it. As I write each section, I’m taking embracing the “But” and “Therefore” rule rather than the “And Then” style. I’m also trying not to rewrite as I go, which I would do with TBS/TRS to keep refining and making sure everything stayed aligned with regard to timing and locations. Since this doesn’t have the same complications, I can be more, shall we say, creative and/or unpredictable.
As I may have mentioned, my touchstones for this are books like THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY by Douglas Adams, various books by Kurt Vonnegut like SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE, Terry Gilliam movies like Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen - basically weird fantasy and light on the sci-fi.
Now time for a Honey update.
It was a day after Thanksgiving a year ago we got Honey. She was terrified of people, stayed in her crate until we went to bed and then would eat/use a pee pad. A year later, she runs with pack, jumps on beds and couches, is still skittish about baths/hair trims and only lets my wife pet her, but her progress has been fun to watch. Still unsure about the outside (we have a fenced backyard) and uses the pee pad, so next year’s goal is to get her going outside regularly.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, we hosted this year and of course made lots of food. The big adventures was making our own pizzelles for the first time. We took it up a notch by filling them with chocolate chip ricotta filling like you would put in a cannoli. They were good, as the lack of leftovers attested.
RECENT DIG ME OUT
Here are the November episodes of the Dig Me Out Podcast:
RIYL - noisey indie rock and shoegaze such as Superchunk, The Jesus And Mary Chain, that dog.
RIYL - New music released in 2023, like The Hives, Depeche Mode, Brad, Mutoid Man, The Church, Blur, Ash, and many many more.
RIYL - Catchy, buzzy indie rock like Lush, Sleater-Kinney, The Breeders
RIYL - Instrumental post-rock like Explosions In The Sky, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Godspeed You! Black Emperor
RECENT TV/MOVIES
THE KILLER (Netflix) - A David Fincher joint is always suspenseful and interesting. This one feels…thin.
THE BOOZE, BETS AND SEX THAT BUILT AMERICA (Hulu) - Three part series about the history of alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and other vices that have fallen in and out of favor over the last two centuries.
HOW TO BECOME A MOB BOSS (Netflix) - Satirical but interesting look at several global mob and gang leaders, everyone from Al Capone to Toto Riina to Pablo Escobar to Whitey Bulger.
RECENT MUSIC
Duran Duran - Danse Macabre (2023)
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Bauhaus Staircase (2023)
Drop Nineteens - Hard Light (2023)
DJ Shadow - Action Adventure (2023)
Ohio Players - Honey (1975)
Ohio Players - Skin Tight (1974)
Bohren & der Club of Gore is a recent discovery. Classified as dark or noir jazz, it’s minimalist, slow, ambient and perfect for writing, relaxing, or drinking a brown liquor in a smokey club. Here’s a sample from the 2002 album Black Earth.
A few reminders before you go:
Help spread the word - leave a book review at Amazon or GoodReads!
All previous newsletters are archived. Lots of stuff to check out including a link to the original 2011 screenplay of THE BLACK SKY, hints and helps to get started on the real work easter egg hunt teased at the back of the book, and more
Spotify Playlists! I made them for when I was writing THE BLACK SKY, THE RED SKY, and there is also a special one for “The Dank” bar that is in THE BLACK SKY.
If you like instrumental electronic music, I have soundtracks for THE BLACK SKY and THE RED SKY available at most streaming services, along with several other releases.
Stay Safe!
Tim
Find me on the socials: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Bluesky
Listen to my 90s music podcast: Dig Me Out
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