Purgatory's Pit of Doom

Ugh! I think I'll just have to cave and read the damn things for myself to see what everyone's talking about. I did see the first movie tho and liked it, but I'm a sap for romantic movies.

Hugs to everyone today.

Love that, Snappy!

somebody hold me.

I've got a serious case of the sighs today.

ink wench said:

Roly, good post. That sums it up pretty well for me. Kellion, too. My taste is also pretty out there, or so it seems. The more popular a book is, usually the less I like it. So odds are against me ever writing anything a) publishable, b) blockbuster popular, because I wouldn't enjoy it.

(I admit, I never read Tw1l1ght. Tried the first chapter, went meh, and put it back. Whatever book crack qualities it has, they failed to addict me.)

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Maybe I should just have Ink write all my thoughts. This and this. Every time I read a popular book I'm disappointed. As for T, same. Never made it past the first chapter. However, I do get it. I get why it became, as they said in the movie Network, "A big fat, big titted hit."

alias octavia said:

Hive mind prevails, I suppose, in all things.

I wish I could work some voodoo.

Gah! Today is so full of wasted time for me. I am nearing the date of anticipated response on some material and it is making me crazy. You know, where you start wondering if the length of time correlates in some way to the nature of the news you will hear...

(((Ink)))

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{{{AO}}} I know that feeling all too well.

lkp said:

(((Cricket))) That may the most Pittish news I have heard this month.

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Confirmed. We are not leaving Thursday for Hawaii. Hubs' temp just spiked to 101.3.

*hugs Cricket and Roly*

Well, I have to go to bed because my car is going in to the shop tom'w. The axle this time. And Saturday is calibration for the tires or somthing...It won't be long now before I have to start taking the bus until I can make a deal on a new(ish) car. Needless to say, my own vacation booking has to wait until this is done.
It takes two hours to figure out how to open a PDF and notepad on the stupid new Android. Getting shit done while waiting for car surgery to be done will be painful, I know it.
Yeah, life sucks.

Catwoman said:

But didn't anyone -- agents, editors -- say, "A vampire story is too risky for teens," or "I don't think teens will be into the whole vampire thing," or "I don't think I can sell this"??????

I remember reading all of the Ann3 R1c3 books back in the day, and appreciating the ingenuity of them, but surely these two authors can't be the only ones who wrote books about vampires.

I wonder if there were other YA authors who tried to sell that concept and were turned down. Maybe it was simply a timing thing...luck thing...voodoo thing with SM.

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This are some pansy-a@@ed vamps though. And there is no blood or sexuality or anything that makes a vampire book "dangerous" Ed is basically like "I want to eat you" and Bella's like "Take me, I'm yours" to which edward replies "no thanks, I'm a mormon."

(((Roly)))

(((Cricket))) That plain sucks. You deserve some good vacation karma.

(((Mario)))

So I went and whined about this "paranormal is dead" crap in the last email I sent to my agent about revisions. I expect I'll be smacked around in her response, but if it's a good smacking, I'll share.

Leigh.Lyons said:

Ed is basically like "I want to eat you" and Bella's like "Take me, I'm yours" to which edward replies "no thanks, I'm a mormon."

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Leigh owes me a keyboard. There went my coffee.

(((Cricket))) (((Roly))) (((Mario)))

Funny, Leigh. And vampires were a pretty well-established theme before Twilight came along. And there were successful paranormal teen romances before that -- T wasn't risky but brought all together in an irresistible package.

Good luck, Octavia and Ink.

Our freezer ain't freezin', anymore.

Evan appliances feel the full wrath of the Hellhounds...

in The Pit

K. Taylor said:

Book 4 is crack!fic. That one bugged me the most because each new idea was a "really???" moment.

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I KNOW!! Book 4 was a plane wreck. Just awful

Wowzers! ((Mario)) ((Cricket + Mr.)) ((Roly)) ((Vandal))

Leigh!!

Yep, Mormon vampires. In their short-sleeved dress shirts, ties, and bicycle helmets. So polite.

Aw, Cricket. Poor hubs. And poor you. As the Vacation Passover Scriptures read: Next year in Hawaii.

Crap. I've managed to offend 2 religions, but I just can't pull out the trifecta.

Leigh.Lyons said:

This are some pansy-a@@ed vamps though. And there is no blood or sexuality or anything that makes a vampire book "dangerous" Ed is basically like "I want to eat you" and Bella's like "Take me, I'm yours" to which edward replies "no thanks, I'm a mormon."

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Haha I love this summary of the book!

Leigh.Lyons said:

This are some pansy-a@@ed vamps though. And there is no blood or sexuality or anything that makes a vampire book "dangerous" Ed is basically like "I want to eat you" and Bella's like "Take me, I'm yours" to which edward replies "no thanks, I'm a mormon."

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LOL! And then he sparkles like a fairy!

A sparkly mormon fairy vegetarian vampire. That's just da#$ed sexy!

Mornin', Pit

{{{Cricket}}}

(((hugs))) to anyone and everyone who is in need...

Me, I'll be parked under the couch for a while. It's been one of those weeks (and it isn't over! Isn't that special??)

Hi, all. Cricket, not being able to go to Hawaii because the husband has the flu is too pittish. Flu can be serious. Sometimes it isn't the flu. Nasty other things (like an infection of the intenstine) can look like flu. Unless he's getting better by now, he needs to talk to a doctor.

Re Twlight: She had some brilliant marketing and covers. The book doesn't have the universal appeal of HP (I can imagine people complaining about certain aspects of HP, but it's hard to feel hostile about the story adn characters) but it seems to me that T. is a case of a big publishing house putting all its resources (fabulous covers, media blitz) and targeting a relatively small audience (as stepson would say, emo girls) and selling to a big enough percentage of that target audience to make a huge bestseller.

Another lottery winner. Meanwhile, the rest of us trudge to work every day . . .

*punches clock*
*punches self in face*

Teriann said:

Re Twlight: She had some brilliant marketing and covers. The book doesn't have the universal appeal of HP (I can imagine people complaining about certain aspects of HP, but it's hard to feel hostile about the story adn characters) but it seems to me that T. is a case of a big publishing house putting all its resources (fabulous covers, media blitz) and targeting a relatively small audience (as stepson would say, emo girls) and selling to a big enough percentage of that target audience to make a huge bestseller.

Another lottery winner. Meanwhile, the rest of us trudge to work every day . . .

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So if I replaced vampires with Just1n B13b3ers and targeted emo girls, perhaps I too, may have a huge hit!

Catwoman said:

So if I replaced vampires with Just1n B13b3ers and targeted emo girls, perhaps I too, may have a huge hit!

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Maybe he could be a sparkly zombie!

First, a lead off -- (((Pit))))

(((hester))) sorry the week is treating you so badly.

(((cricket))) sorry your vacation isn't going to happen.

(((ink))) May the force be with you on your email.

(((Red))) Easy with the fists.

(((Roly))) Sigh away. It is just that kind of week.

(((Mario))) Ugh for car repairs. I hate waiting around for those. It always take four times as long as scheduled and costs more to boot. Last time I had to endure that particular joy my son left a lake sized puddle of pee in the middle of the waiting room floor. It was sort of embarrassing but also a nice payback for the hell of waiting.

Catwoman said:

So if I replaced vampires with Just1n B13b3ers and targeted emo girls, perhaps I too, may have a huge hit!

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Lightening doesn't strike in the same place twice (flash image of Wile E. Coyote getting struck by lightening twice!)

I think that's big publishing think: It worked once, so let's try it again, and again, and again, and again, and again. Meanwhile nobody knows where the lightening will next strike. All the sheep and me toos are standing in the same place hoping for that second bolt of lightening.

But so few books get lucky and make it big, you gotta count on being one of those pathetic writers hobbling along.

I remember assessing my writing career in the 1990s ("career" being used loosely) and I realized I never ever got as much as I wanted, but I usually got just a little bit, enough to keep moving forward. Like once when I was trying to sell 3 different novels, but sold a short story to a decent market. Trunked the novels. In a 2 year period, I had one short story sale to a decent market. Sort of pathetic considering how much work I did, but it was something.

(((Hester)))

RedScylla said:

*punches clock*
*punches self in face*

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Damn it, this is the second time I choked on a beverage today.

Having trouble getting motivated to do anything. I just found out another court ruled against one of my clients, so I gotta tell her. Not fun.

I mentioned in purgatory that I had another complication - a sudden burning sensation in my tongue that was painful. Turns out nerve regeneration can be painful. Doc prescribed meds which helped. (The bottle says, 'take one tablet by mouth twice daily' I guess to keep me from getting confused and trying to take it somewhere else)

tongue isn't back to normal, but back to the way it was before the pain got worse.

I guess this is why they call it major surgery and warn that it won't be a picnic.

I wrote something I really really like. I guess I'll self publish it under my secret pen name. Selling enough for lunch money once each month v. the query route. It's a toss up. Pick your pain.

Thanks so much AO and ink .

Teri, oy-that nerve regeneration thing doesn't sound fun . Hope you feel better soon...

Feeling pittish because I started querying a new book a month or so ago, and it's garnering zero interest. Could be the query, could be the subject matter, could be the writing, could be all of the above. Ah, well. In my pursuit of more masochistic self-torture (yep, that's redundant), I sent a few more queries out today. I really want to make my querytracker pie chart completely uniform .

adding one more complaint: I was just assigned another case and I am trying to read the record but let's just say it's painful. This is why I don't read horror. Reading horror for me would be redundant.

Sheesh. You think being a writer is hard, try figuring out how to represent some of my clients. With the really awful cases, I've seen trial attorneys try some very creative arguments. (Um, your honor, The crime was NOT premeditated. The defendant said, "I'm gonna get that bastard," but the victim was a woman and he always referred to women as bitches.)

In my moments of sanity and lucidity (rare) I understand why appeals rarely succeed. Court clerks are actually nice. "Honey, it's not you, it's the cases." Appellate justices are not so nice.

ETA: Once in a while I can put my law degree to constructive use. A person in purgatory was trying to figure out what it's called when property is entailed. (She needed the word "entailed.") Then I helped her with her plot, not easy in the united states which doesn't usually recognize entailed property. 3 years of law school good for something.

hester said:

Feeling pittish because I started querying a new book a month or so ago, and it's garnering zero interest. Could be the query, could be the subject matter, could be the writing, could be all of the above. Ah, well. In my pursuit of more masochistic self-torture (yep, that's redundant), I sent a few more queries out today. I really want to make my querytracker pie chart completely uniform .

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hester, have you done the whole SYW route? I know it's painful, but sometimes someone will point out some very useful ways to make a query work better.