Now I know I'm broken

[desperance]

My agent phoned an hour ago, to say how much he liked the new book. This is a good thing, and ought to make me happy.

And yet, since then I have spilled cooked rice all over the kitchen floor, shouted at Barry, bitten my tongue (not a metaphor: metaphors don't bleed) and generally find myself absolutely at the ragged edge of functionality.

I am going to give up on the day altogether and retreat to the sofa with a bottle or two of wine, and no ambition beyond making a better fist of tomorrow.

Comments

[davidbarnett.livejournal.com]

Nah, not heard yet. But I have been away for a week and a bit, and there are his internet probs, which doesn't help. I'm in a bit of a writing funk at the moment, probably post-novel come-down.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Almost certainly. I'd have it too, except that I have an absolute need to keep going, four urgent projects that cannot be postponed or evaded; so I write through gritted teeth, and every word is an effort and I dislike it before my fingers have moved on to the next. I hate my babies, and would quite cheerfully kill them all.

And, y'know, there are people who aspire to this life. Gah...

[davidbarnett.livejournal.com]

Spoke to John; he loves it. Memo to self: stop being a miserable sod.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Excellent news; excellent advice.

So what's next, what are you working on now? Oh, wait, I know: book of short stuff, yes? But what's the next novel...?

[davidbarnett.livejournal.com]

We-ee-ell... Another book in the Don't Let Them Take You Alive milieu, concentrating more on Dorothy Culpepper's backstory, seems to be fighting for control of my cerebral cortex right about now, featuring terrorists, an angry djinn, hippies, the Summer of Love and Carnaby Street. But I;m not sure of the wisdom of starting that until I get at least some feedback from Grub Street about DLTTYA...

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Okay, that makes sense. And good to have the short stuff to work on in the meantime. So long as you don't wait too long, of course. Of course we hope that the big boys will be fighting to bid for DL..., but in case not, no hanging on till the last possible small press has gently declined, before you start something new...

[davidbarnett.livejournal.com]

I've also been kicking around a semi-autobiographical work with the working title "10 Glastonburys" about the relationship between two friends as played out over a decade's worth of Glastonbury festivals, with some weird stuff in there about Dionysus partying every year and one of them eventually joining his endless Bacchanal (to mix myths)... but reading that back to myself just now it sounds like unselleable guff!