Monday, March 1, 2010

All Distractions Should Be So Good

I was going to write a blog entry about being distracted, and then (because irony is my middle name) I got distracted.

The plan was to write about how I need to start concentrating on Blood Wounds if I actually intend to get it written. Originally I'd planned on getting back to work today (ha!) but I realized I have a date for tomorrow to go with my friend Pam to the Philadelphia Flower Show, so there was no point starting on Monday and then taking Tuesday off.

In fact, I decided if I couldn't work on Tuesday, there wasn't much point in working this week at all, especially since I have bunches of other things (like preparing my tax information for my accountant, Mr. Imagination) that need to get done.

Then there's the perpetually distracting Scooter. Today he knocked over his water bowl, and I said to him, "You made the mess. You clean it up."

He didn't even hand me the paper towels.

Scooter's insistence on waking me up each morning with a rousing game of Purr On The Neck is proving helpful. Ever the optimist, he hops off the bed in search of fresh food, while I stay there for a few minutes longer and think about the book. A few more days of that, and I should be ready to return to writing.

A good thing too. I moved my calendar from February to March this morning and found the first of my mother's springtime doctor appointments is a mere three weeks away. And I've yet to figure out how I'm going to write and watch the World Figure Skating Championship online, given that it's being held in Torino, Italy, which means it'll be on all day every day for a few days, right when I'll be in the middle of my heroine's greatest pain and suffering.

I'd been hoping the championship would be in Japan or Korea. Then I could get out of bed in the morning and find out what the results were without having to spend actual time watching.

Oh well. The book will get written. They always do.

Meantime, the distraction du jour came in the form of an email from my editor. This World We Live In got a starred review from Publishers Weekly. I'd quote the review, except Blogspot has gotten very cranky about cutting and pasting of late. So if you want to see it, go to the link and scroll down aways, and there it is, with its lovely star.

If you prefer your reviews shorter and more poetic, emilyreads has written a lovely haiku.

All right. The time has come to focus on supper and a Skype rehearsal.

I have no desire to be distracted from either!

10 comments:

Wendy said...

What a fabulous line from the review: "Pfeffer masterfully evokes the cold, colorless world in which her characters reside."

Anonymous said...

It sounds like you have some stuff to do. Curse you procrastination!

I cannot wait for This World We Live In. I'm counting down on my calendar. I know it will be a great book along with the other two. I read the reviews and they were great. They make me even more excited.

Sydney Lakewood said...

Yay you on the starred review!!! (Sorry about the rhyme.) What a nice, nice treat.

I cannot wait until the book comes out, Susan. I wait with breath that is bated...

-Another Susan

Fear Death By Water said...

Procrastinator's Creed

I believe that if anything is worth doing, it would have been done already.

I shall never move quickly, except to avoid more work or find excuses.

I will never rush into a job without a lifetime of consideration.

I shall meet all of my deadlines directly in proportion to the amount of bodily injury I could expect from missing them.

I firmly believe that tomorrow holds the possibility for new technologies, astounding discoveries, and a reprieve from my obligations.

I truly believe that all deadlines are unreasonable regardless of the amount of time given.

I shall never forget that the probability of a miracle, though infinitesimally small, is not exactly zero.

If at first I don't succeed, there is always next year.

I shall always decide not to decide, unless of course I decide to change my mind.

I shall always begin, start, initiate, take the first step, and/or write the first word, when

I get around to it.

I obey the law of inverse excuses which demands that the greater the task to be done, the more insignificant the work that must be done prior to beginning the greater task.

I know that the work cycle is not plan/start/finish, but is wait/plan/plan.

I will never put off tomorrow, what I can forget about forever.

I will become a member of the ancient Order of Two-Headed Turtles (The Procrastinator's Society) if they ever get it organized.


*** longish reply yes and sorry. I know how you feel, I am currently supposed to be working on my thesis for my master's program***

tim

bandsom?!?! is that a hot looking band like The Donnas?

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hi to Wendy and DeviouslyCartoonified and Susan and Tim-

Ordinarily I'd procrastinate and answer your comments tomorrow morning, but not only am I getting on the bus for Philadelphia tomorrow at 8 AM, but I'm picking Pam up beforehand.

Scooter had better play Purr On The Neck nice and early tomorrow.

I love the PW review. Actually I love practically every review of This World. I've fallen behind on posting the most recent ones, but that's one of the jobs I have for this week.

I obsessively check Amazon to see if their copies have come in yet, and I emailed my agent today to ask about the German version, since it's officially coming out tomorrow (I think the German audiobook is coming out then as well).

Okay. I can't procrastinate going to bed. I must be fully rested for my exciting trip tomorrow!

Karen Strong said...

What a great PW review. I'm so looking forward to reading the book. Can't wait...

Elaine Marie Alphin said...

If I weren't allergic to cats, I'd wish I had Scooter's cousin to wake me up in the mornings - as it is, I'm back to lying in bed (whenever I wake up, lacking a Scooter alarm), thinking about the books. And lacking a Flower expedition, I managed 4700 words today on Permanent Record! I should have a complete draft soon (knock on wood).

Congrats on the wonderful reviews - and get to work on BW soon. I'm eager to see it come to completion! But first, have fun in Philadelphia.

Anonymous said...

CNN (I think) said something very interesting yesterday that made me want to pass it on; the Chilean earthquake was so strong that it shifted the earth's mass, causing its axis to shift a teeny, tiny bit -- enough for us to lose a fraction of a second a day. Thought you'd like to know.

Anonymous Santa Fe

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hello to Karen Strong and Elaine Marie Alphin and to Anonymous Santa Fe-

I look forward to people reading the book, assuming the change in the earth's axis doesn't affect life and book sales for the worse.

I did see a headline about that, and, no fool I, chose to turn away.
I waste enough time without losing a fraction of a second daily.

And congratulations Elaine on getting work done. I'll use you as a role model.

If you can do it, just maybe I can also!

Elaine Marie Alphin said...

LOL! And here I was using you as a role model!