Visual Evidence

I've been having so much fun writing The Shade Of The Moon that I've been forgetting to do things, like proving to you that Todd Strasser and I really did go to the Yankee game, even though Derek Jeter was on the disabled list so we didn't get to see him get his 3000th hit.

Of course I'd brought my camera with me, so here's proof we were there. Although it's hard to tell us apart, because we both wore pink baseball caps, Todd is the good looking one.





Sadly, that is the best of the three pictures Todd took of me, but I do like its two dimensional cutout of an fat old flushed freelance children's book writer stationed at Yankee Stadium look. I like the illusion of being merely two dimensional (although I'm sure on occasion my writing's been described as one dimensional).

The game was great, by the way, and Todd and I stayed through all 12 innings and the ritual pie ceremony. And people in the row ahead of us were very impressed when I said the Yankees would sacrifice the runner to second and then have Rodriguez pinch hit, which was exactly what the Yankees did.

Joe Girardi had better watch out. This fat old flushed freelance children's book writer can manage ballgames just as well as he can.

One thing I can do that Joe Girardi may not be able to is end the world in not one, not two, not three, but four (count 'em four) books. How I love ending the world. I'm having a ridiculously good time writing The Shade Of The Moon. I've learned a little bit from the writing of The Offering. I'm writing the scenes that are most on my mind, but I'm indicating in the document where the other planned scenes will go. In fact today, I think I'm going to fill in the very big blank I have, which is a set of scenes where Jon comes to visit. He's all grown up now, and a very fine person.

When I did the various outlines for the book, I was worried that I didn't have enough beginning (I knew the plot would zip along once I got to the middle, and while the ending is a little underdeveloped, it's not for lack of possibilities). But the beginning is starting to look not unlike its creator, at least in the (ahem) plump department (not in the old and flushed and two dimensional, I hope). Fabulous scenes I never thought of have seized control (by the way, and totally off subject, if you ever need to know the exceptions to the I Before E rule, just remember this sentence: Neither the foreigner nor the weird financier can seize leisure at its height. I have no idea who figured that sentence out, but it's been a useful part of my life forever).

Now I know any number of you (at least one, maybe more) don't care for spoilers or those who spoil, but I love my first page so much I'm going to share it with you. Also it will prove there is a first page. Since I still haven't mastered scanning, I scanned it twice. Those who don't like spoilers might prefer the first version.





According to my clock (and why would it lie) it's time to make lunch. Oh well. The return of Jon will just have to wait a few minutes longer. But even with a Sept. 1 deadline, there should be time enough for the world to end at least once more!