Dirty Laundry

Writer, Baker

Writing is fun (and sometimes exasperating) and, strangely enough, so is making bread.  I made my very first loaf of bread from scratch today.  Well, it wasn’t exactly a loaf.  More of a hearty, tear-apart bun bread.  I’d avoided trying to make bread for many years because it seemed a daunting task. And I’m here to tell you, it is.  But not as daunting as you might imagine.  Sure it takes time and yeast measuring and a bit of kneading and pounding and waiting while the dough rises and then kneading in salt because you forgot to add it to the flour (the exasperating part) and then some more waiting while the dough rises again, but when all’s said and done and you’re tucking into the steaming hot fresh bread, all the work seems worth it. 

Looks good, huh?

I take none of the credit for my cooking skills.  My wife is very thankful that I have “become such a great chef” since we met.  And while it’s true, I have learned how to cook a lot better than I used to, it’s mostly because of two things:

First off, my wife is a very appreciative audience.  But also, an honest one.  She will tell you if something does not taste good (or, she might not tell YOU, but she would definitely tell ME - because if she doesn’t, I might make it again).  And so, in her being so forthright, I know that when she says she likes something, she really likes it (this works the same with my writing, which is really nice to have in a first reader, but can sometimes feel like a kick to the nuts).

The second reason I have bettered my cheffing (this doesn’t seem to be a real word, hmm) is because my cooking guru is Jamie Oliver.  If you don’t know who he is, get to know him.  He has six or seven cookbooks out and I have them all.  He has several cooking shows on the Cooking Network and I’ve seen most of them.  His recipes are basic, simple and delicious.  I recommend them without hesitation.  In fact, ninety-five percent of all my recipes come from his books and shows.  I know this starting to sound like a commercial, but I have to give credit where credit is due. 

In other news, the writing seems to be chugging along.  I feel like I’ve finally broken the back of this rewrite.  Now it’s a race to the deadline to see if I can finish in time.  I seem to be stacking up pages, but it never seems fast enough.  I’ve been getting up super early so that I can pack in a few more hours, so we will see.

Good news on the Swim the Fly front.  I’ve just been informed that the publisher is going into a second printing.  Which is really cool.  So hold onto those first editions, people.  You never know how much they could be worth in a couple hundred years.  Of course, we’ll all be dead by then, but pass it on to your children’s children and watch them (from heaven, I’m assuming, or, you know, the other place) cackle with laughter as they rake in the dough.  Or maybe they’ll just be cackling at your insanity for actually saving this book for two hundred years.  Anyway, what’s even more cool is the new cover - which is just the old cover now peppered with review blurbs.  If you already have a copy, you’re going to want to buy a new copy with all the great blurbs so that you can be assured that you were right in liking the book in the first place.

Anyway, “au revoir, amis” (because now, not only am I an obnoxious baker of breads, I am also going to start speaking in French while I do my baking!)
 

 

Posted by Don Calame on 8.26.09 at 06:37 pm in Prattlings. (0) Comments

Book Hiccups, Palmistry & The New York Times Book Review

Had a major hiccup on the new book which has knocked me off the proverbial writing horse.  I’m not going to go into what it was exactly that knocked me off said horse, but suffice it to say I have to rip major pages from the text.  I nearly cried.  At least, I cried inside.

I am now busy struggling to pick up the pieces and assemble those pieces into some kind of order.  My brain is tired. 

Writing is often like a puzzle.  I used to do jigsaw puzzles with my dad when I was a kid and he would buy some real doozies (“hay in a needle stack” was one I can remember very clearly, another was called “jelly beans”)  They would take us weeks and weeks to complete.  But there was something oddly satisfying in finishing one and I hold onto that hope with the current puzzle my novel is in.  If I wasn’t on a deadline, it would all be so much to laugh at.  But I’m not laughing.  Just crying.  Inside.  Though not so much anymore.  I’m hoping this is less a “hay in a needle stack” and more of a “jelly beans” - difficult to figure out but a bit more to cling to.

I went to a palm reader today at the behest of my wife.  She thought it would be fun.  I was terrified.  My life line is broken and I was afraid she would tell me I was going to die soon.  I am always thinking that I will die soon.  Or at least, in the next ten years or so.  Chalk it up to some wonky genes in my family gene pool.  There’s longevity on one side, and a lot of disease and heart attacks on the other.  But the palm reader didn’t say that I was going to die.  She said that it just means a change in life paths.  She also said I would be a good military leader, so I’m not sure how much stock to place in her abilities.  I would not make a good military leader, I will tell you that right now.  Though, to be fair, there were a good number of hits in her reading as well.  But my wife was right (as usual) and it was fun.

Finally, some super cool news.  Swim the Fly was reviewed in The New York Times (or will be, tomorrow - though it’s available online right now).  Take a look here: New York Times Book Review

I was pretty stoked when I saw it. 

And now, it’s back to the puzzle… um… I mean… book.

Posted by Don Calame on 8.15.09 at 04:43 pm in Prattlings. (3) Comments

People Magazine

Very excited to have Swim the Fly featured in People Magazine this week (August 17th issue).  If you get a chance, pick up a copy.  It’s the one with Farrah Fawcett on the cover.  There’s something about a new Pat Conroy novel in the book section but the real story is in the section below. 

I know I should be blogging about all the fabulous things I’ve been doing, but really, all I’ve been doing is writing.  Which I guess is fabulous in its own way.  Screenplay and new book, new book and screenplay. 

Was incredibly saddened to hear about the death of Blake Snyder last week - a fellow screenwriter and writing guru.  I did not know him personally but I often recommend his writing books to budding screenwriters.  I will miss reading his blog - he has some wonderful advice to writers.  He will certainly be missed by his legion of followers.  My heart goes out to his family and friends. 

Posted by Don Calame on 8.11.09 at 06:57 pm in Prattlings. (1) Comments