Truth. Fiction. Weird Intersections.

For Gin&Tonic #3, I needed to name a puppy in the outline. The name I chose was Parsifal. No, I have no idea why I chose that name, except it seemed 'right.'

Fast forward months later, when I'm writing the actual scene wherein the puppy is found. I have the main character checking out what the owner of the house is reading. A Ludlum title, I think. The missing person seems like a Ludlum reader. So... not a Bourne title, something else, less obvious.

I go to Ludlum's bibliography, and halfway down the list, I see this:

The Parsifal Mosaic (1982)

Okay, you can't make this shit up and get away with it. But so help me, it's true. I named a dog for the book his owner was reading, before I even knew the owner had been reading it. :-)

crowd-sourcing the top ten signs of deadlineitis

Picking up a discussion started elsewhere on Facebook, the top ten (or twenty) signs of deadlineitis, as compiled by the group mind (from experience and/or observation).

(in no particular order)

1. heavier-than-usual reliance on takeaway or pre-made meals.


next?

2. lack of cleaning impulse (household)
3. lack of cleaning impulse (personal)
4. interpersonal communication failures (terminal user distraction)

Another friend gone

Word came today that horror writer Rick Hautala died of a heart attack.

I knew Rick via NECON, a convention that I haven't been able to get to in recent years, due to finances and scheduling, so likewise I haven't seen him in a while. But the idea that he's gone is just.... I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the idea. He can't be gone, because ...

because, damn it.

Rick Hautala. 1949-2013

c. 2006 Jill Bauman (via Nick Kaufmann)