Sunday, August 31, 2008

Sunday Brunch


Rolls & Photo by Farfetched

26 comments:

Nancy P said...

Two days left before I'm finished and I killed a character yesterday! While talking to Sally I realized I could have one stronger medium-important character instead of two weak minor ones, so I morphed them, poor babies. RIP, Nellie. It's funny because in an earlier draft she was the main character. Now she's dead, poor thing. Hey, if you can't hold up your end of the book, babe, you're gone.

KATIEBIRD, GET AWAY FROM THOSE ROLLS! ONE PER CUSTOMER, DAMMIT!

AndiF said...

Yeah, Katiebird ... don't have any rolls until I bring the jam! I've got black cherry and apricot. Which would you like?

Umm, guess I won't ask Nancy to be in any of her novels -- my end has never held up a book.

Anonymous said...

Yum! Those rolls look delicious! I'll have some black cherry jam, please, Andif.

Yikes, poor Nellie. Ah well, all in the name of good literature. What can you do.

Have a good day, all!

Anonymous said...

Okay, I'm trying to ramp up to change my eating and lose the blah,blah excess pounds. Maybe this virtual food is the ticket.
I eat what I NEED to and then come here for all types of virtual goodies.
Andif, pass the apricot. I have blackberry if anyone would like that.
If you love food and haven't watched Tortilla Soup it is soooo funny and they cook this fabulous Mexican food all through the film. Absolutely breath taking food scenes.

So sad hearing about Nellie's demise. I'd be quite upset if I had to be axed because I wasn't strong enough, especially having already being downsized.
Way to go Nancy--Strengthen that story!

Morning Anon--

Have a good day all!!
Back to editing this morning.

katiebird said...

(Snatching my hand back but, cleverly grabbing ONE roll first)

Wow, Nancy -- that actually sounds like a complicated change. How hard is it to make sure you've blended them every time?

Also? Do main characters get demoted like that very often?

Anonymous said...

Those aren't half as "bad" as the Juanita's Chile Rellenoes I made this week LOL. Those things were so heavy and rich they laid us all out for the rest of the evening. :)

Get back to work Nancy!

Anonymous said...

Two days left. Hooray!

I hope this means you'll be coming to Powell's in Portland OR here in Beaverton.

One is 4 miles away and the other is about 10 miles away. I'd walk on my knees either way to get to finally meet ya in person.

katiebird said...

Can we celebrate by going out for a celebration lunch with the "Ah, Sweet Mystery" fans in the area?

Nancy P said...

Quick response before off to Sally's porch to work. . .

andif, lol!

kb, a celebration lunch sounds great! I see that other roll in your other hand.

Yes, Anon, alas poor Nellie, we knew her, but not well enough.

Lisa, I need to join that diet. I EAT when I'm writing fast. You may not be aware that potato chips are brain food?

Janet, I hope so! The book will come out sometime in 09. We'll look pretty funny approaching each other on our knees in front of Powell's. :)

katiebird said...

(spitting crumbs)

Well, Andi did say I could help myself now that she's brought the jam....

Anonymous said...

Nancy--LOL--Cheetos are really good too when you need more color in the writing or maybe stains on the page.

Kelly McCullough said...

Mmm.

KB, I can't speak for Nancy, but I find that merging characters isn't too difficult. The biggest trick is making sure you get all the referring lines fixed as well, and all the variations on the name that went away. If it's two characters with different genders the nitpicky stuff is worse, but overall, it's really not that bad.

I don't think I've ever done a demotion from main character to minor or gone, but that's got a lot to do with my writing process where most of the major decisions get made before I really start rolling on the book. I know a number of more organic writers who've had big shifts of that sort.

Kimberly Frost said...

Brunch looks delicious. Thanks for having us over.

maryb said...

You mystery writers. "I killed off a character today!" And in this case it was a real death - as in she disappeared and isn't even in the book.

This reminds me of when I was in law school. My professor for estates and trusts was also a mystery writer (Francis R. Nevins). He would draw these complicated family trees on the board at the beginning of class, turn around, look at the class, rub his hands together gleefully and say "Now. Let's start killing them off!".

Thanks for brunch.

Conda Douglas said...

Oh boy, I know how it goes with characters! Sometimes it seems they have their own ideas...have you ever had a character appear in a book, unbidden--and you had to keep them?! And of course, rewrite to write that character in!

Yum for the rolls--we had "Harcourt" rolls for Labor Day Sunday brunch--delicious!

AndiF said...

Mary, I love that story.

Lisa, if you liked Tortilla Soup, you should check out the movie it's based on "Eat Drink Man Woman."

Afternoon, everybody.

Oh and anon, yes I have three dogs.

Nancy P said...

Lisa, oh, I LOVE Cheetos! "color in the writing" lol

Kelly, merging my two characters was almost embarrassingly easy. It took maybe an hour. If that. Of course, "Find and Search" helps. In the process I also gave a male character a new wife who isn't nearly as cute or nice as Nellie. Sorry, Charlie, but you didn't really deserve her, anyway.

Kimberly, anytime. :) Or, rather, anytime that Far cooks, I should say. I wonder where that boy is? Wouldn't you know, I'd pick the one day when he's not around to see how well his rolls are going over?

Maryb, that story is hilarious. I just read it to Sally and we both loll-ed. I know who he is (was?), and I think I may have met him.

Conda, in my last book, there's a character named Catie--the girl with cancer--who appeared like that. (God, I just had to look up Catie's name in my own book. How quickly authors forget, heh.)

Ev'nin' Ms. Andie.

maryb said...

N. I'm ashamed to say that I've never read any of Professor Nevins' books (he's still around, I just looked and he's a professor emeritus - apparently only teaching copyright law now). I didn't have time during law school and then I forgot to do it after.
I will remedy that. But not until after I finish reading all of your books.

Anonymous said...

Nancy, ha! I'm experinced street "kneeler". I've been on my knees... or in a fetal position on a few of the Portland streets. LOL

Hey... those Potter mysteries... really really make you hungry while reading them. Damnit!

2009??? why is it that I always am having to wait for 2009? :)

Anonymous said...

Regarding Caitie, I just read VOSP and it was Caitie who "stitched" some of the other events together for me. I guess because all the other characters were from the same small town and Caitie was there as an out of towner and with her own agenda/needs.

Plus I LOVED how she had this "blog"/net community she reached out to.

I've really fallen in love with Nancy's novels. It's weird... LOL because I think of her first as a friend. "Nancy my friend who I met on the internet also writes these incredible mysteries..." :) I was reading another of her books at work and a co-worker noticed and said, "wow you must really be a FAN"... I thought "fan" was a strange word, but I guess I am.

...but not "crazy, stalker fan with an axe" mind you. ... or any other tools of terror.

Oh and I'm also a "FAN" of Andi and Olivia's photography. Hot damn can those two women shoot such beautiful pictures. Friends you meet on the net.

Oh and I'm uber happy today. Just had a Peer Review at work and I got a TEN PERCENT raise!!! Totally unexpected, the review as well as the raise. Whoo hoo!

Nancy P said...

Maryb, I looked up his Google Image and now I'm not sure I've met him. But he is definitely alive, apparently.

Nancy P said...

Janet, awww!! Well, I'm your fan, so we're even.
Great news about the raise!! Those people have good sense, though I, personally, would have approved a 100% raise for you.

Anonymous said...

Don't need a 100% raise :) I work at a fairly progressive place that deals in organics and sustainable agriculture and helping to support the local economy and what nots. We get health care, benefits, 401K and all sorts of goodies. Even for part-timers. I've got a really good gig going on where I'm at. Plus... I get tons of huggage and "outrageous job" hi-5s.

But this was special cause it was a review done by my peers/co-workers... speaking of work... HEY!!! GET BACK TO WORK!!! :)

Grande Nacho making time tonight. Of course, they're organic AND most of the ingredients are made in my own time zone LOL. Some by people I know or have met.

My kids love driving by a dairy, farm or berry patch and shouting "that's where we get... fill in the food item". Yup, we know the name of the family we get sour cream from. It's wicked cool!

Oh... and I'll email you a bit later this week. I've got some PRIMO alternative to Cheetohs. Asiago Cheese with a hint of jalapeno (or not if you prefer) "cheetohs". They aren't "organic" but they are natural. Meaning there isn't any icky, can't pronounce ingredients. And although you can lick your fingers afterwards, it doesn't discolor them with that cheetoh "schmarm". :) They are ten times better than any cheetoh/cheese puff ever. Ever. Consider it a "Murder Done Well Care Package" from Portland ;)

Nancy P said...

Yum!

Larry Kollar said...

Dang. I finally make it in and… hey, there's one roll left! *GLOM*

Those are Parker House rolls, by the by, just in case anyone was curious.

For the first time in over a week, I'm starting to work some more on FAR Future. No pressure; I have three completed episodes beyond the one ready to roll out tomorrow morning. But I decided to insert a new episode between the 2nd & 3rd in line.

Vacation is next week, following the upcoming four-day week. I hope to plow through a sort of climatic sub-series while I have no responsibility other than to feed my face and turn the lights out when I go to sleep. ;-)

Nancy, Nellie became an "unperson," in a way that Orwell's "Party" could only dream of doing. But is a character ever truly dead? She might find her niche in a future novel.

Nancy P said...

Far! So glad you got here before your rolls were gone. :)

"unperson," yes, perfect.