8 July 2004

I found a genuine Googlewhack yesterday, not an artificially constructed one but a naturally occurring one: "Ambassador Sir Oswarld Arthur Scott." Who was British Ambassador to Finland 1947-1951, so it's important to me, at least. (I tried Oswald instead of Oswarld, in case the British Embassy page had a typo, but there were zero matches for that.)

I've been reading Communism in Finland, and it's interesting, and it's sparking ideas, things I should fill in, things I should know. By which I mean things I should make up: the Finnish Civil War was only a generation before my books, and my grasp of how the older characters handled it is shaky at best. Doesn't bear directly on any of the stuff in Thermionic Night or Sampo, but it's something I should know, in the back of my head, something I should make small adjustments for. So I'll try to get that worked out when I have the chance.

I should probably be ashamed to say it right out like this, but Dwarf's Blood Mead is pretty good stuff. I was looking over it to write the stupid stupid synopsis (which I should have written a year ago or more, maybe a year and a half, and have I mentioned I hate synopses? but at least it's done), and it's a very sad thing: it makes me want to write The Mark of the Sea Serpent. It makes me practically itch to write The Mark of the Sea Serpent. I see where it goes, is the thing. I see things that I put in for one reason at the time and can use for another reason entirely in the next book.

But despite Mom's and Karina's professed joy at the prospect, I don't think I should write The Mark of the Sea Serpent next. I think that unless I have a contract in hand or soon to be in hand, I should not write a sequel next, but something else entirely. So I'll likely do Zodiac House next, and it'll be over quickly, being a children's book and all.

But first, more Finnish stuff. Chapter 2' on Thermionic Night, and the end of Sampo, and the edits to both.

Timprov made dinner last night, seared ahi wraps as Mark requested, so I didn't have to cook, and that was a good thing. And the seared ahi wraps were good, too. We ate all the ahi (probably a good thing: it was sashimi-grade ahi from Byerly's, but I don't think it stays sashimi-grade for too long), but we've got leftovers on the rest of the filling. I may cook up some chicken to go with it, or I suppose we could just eat the filling without further protein. The filling has plum-sesame sauce on rice noodles, cucumber, mushroom, yellow pepper, and cashews. It's very tasty.

Dave will be here at 12:30. Between now and then, I need to get to my chiropractor's appointment and – I hope – to the bank and the office supply store. I also need to finish straightening up the house (removing the delicates that were drying in the library would be a good start – we're close family, but I don't think that means Dave should have to move my bras or pareos aside to have a seat), and there are a few yard chores that could get finished if I really got efficient and ambitious.

Hmmm. I'm not even sure efficient and ambitious would do it. And I'm trying to avoid panicked and unrealistic.