music and revisions

Current work: revisions to Norway book
Listening to: lots of stuff on YouTube – primarily Brad Priestley, Gary Allen and Mr Urban
Reading: next on TBR pile

Today was damp and cold, so we spent it pottering about at home. Revisions hit my inbox this afternoon; my ed loved the characters (and I get to keep my reindeer) but this time I dropped the bombshell too early... so it’s a matter of moving bits around and reshaping so the joins don’t show. She also has issues with the ending (too many secondaries), but her suggestions for the ending don’t work for me, so we’re compromising.

This is what I love about my ed. She sees what I’m too close to the book to see, and she gives me suggestions that she knows will make me think and come up with something different that works for both of us. And she lets me sleep on it, then fix it myself, rather than telling me what to do/editing by numbers – so she gets the best out of me.

Am also very grateful to Biddy for being my music guru. DH and I watched a programme about Alison Krauss, last week, and I rather liked ‘Whiskey Lullaby’. Biddy knows more about country music than anyone else I know, so I asked her what I’d like by Brad Priestley (it helps that she knows my tastes). One happy half-hour armed with the track list of several albums, and I decided to go for ‘Fifth Gear’ – there are some definite lightbulb moments there, both for the revisions and for the new book.

This is the nice thing about having an eclectic music taste: I’m old enough not to feel constrained by genre. I like songs that tell stories, songs with catchy tunes I can sing along with, and songs with gorgeous harmonies. Songs that fit my mood: anything from angsty Radiohead through to exuberant Led Zeppelin to thoughtful Kathryn Williams to heartbreaking Sheryl Crow (who happens to share my birthday - she's three years older and substantially more glamorous). And I'm happy to mix classical and rock/folk/country on a playlist. A good song is a good song...

Plan for tomorrow: London. No idea what we’re doing (except probably the British Museum). But it’ll be fun. And as my mate India Grey keeps telling me how wonderful Krispy Kremes are, I may have a Homer Simpson moment.