Me over the last several days:
All of the papers are finally dry. But several of the books are still damp. It's a slow process...
My nicest book I got it thoroughly trashed. And I can't find a replacement online.
Another book was even signed by the author.
In query letters, one of the things you include is a comparison to similar, recent books. I found an article about why book comps are important. For one, it lets you get a feel for what kind of books are selling now. And of course, it gives your agent some kind of ground on which to picture your book.
I needed to fix my book comps on my query letter. The only books I knew that were at all similar to mine were much older than the recommended ten years. So it was on to the book store. There, I spent about five hours reading the backs of all of the Young Adult fantasy. I bought one for good measure.
Nothing seemed similar to my book. Though I listed out that might have some similar elements. I've been reading them, and luckily I've found two that I can compare to parts of my story.
What were the main themes I noticed in today's YA fantasy? War, revenge, and dark or forbidden powers. Lots of assassins and thieves.
And for some reason, a lot of characters named "Wren."
A couple months ago, I put all of my travel information in a box in the basement. These were books I'd gotten about places like Machu Picchu, Hearst Castle, Dublin, and Stonehenge. There were maps and pamphlets I'd picked up, postcards of notable sights, and itinerary information. And special little things like calligraphy practice I did in China, and my ticket to the Ghibli Museum. It was nice to have it all on one location.
Then I had to shift some stuff around in the basement, and I put the box on the floor. And after a heavy rain, the basement flooded. I wasn't worried. They were in a sturdy plastic box. It was only when I picked it up that I noticed that the inside looked funny. And with horror, I saw the crack in the bottom of the box. Cursing, I hauled the heavy box out and tried to pull out one of the books. Everything was bloated and soaked, and it was difficult to get the first book out. Everything was sodden. I spent the whole morning desperately peeling pages apart. And then I had to restack most of them because there wasn't enough room to spread everything out. I had to leave for most of the day, and finish when I got home. Pages and books are spread out through four rooms in the house, including the laundry line.
My itinerary from China completely bled through. My prettiest book from my Europe trip ended up with all of the beautiful images peeling off onto the adjacent page. Despite being as careful as I could, many of the damp books and maps tore.
I spread things out as much as possible, but many are still at the bottom of soggy stacks. But those papers wills till dry faster than my stack of crinkled books.
It's been a stressful day.
A little while ago, I stumbled upon a movie sitting on a shelf in a store. It was called Belle. It caught my attention, because at that time I was getting my flood of ideas about my own Beauty and the Beast story. So I rented it at the library.
The timeline was hard to follow, and some parts were confusing. But the music was so great. And some of the scenes were done with really powerful emotion. Belle's design is beautiful too.
I think the songs were the main selling point for me. Especially "A Million Miles Away." That last part is sung so amazingly. My Dad heard it, and having no idea what was going on in the movie, said that her voice was like honey. And amazingly the English singer matches the Japanese singer's tone really well. Apparently they chose both voice actors while the movie was being made, instead of making the English dub much later.
Nicole wondered if the American version of the movie is censored. And it seems like she has to be right, though I wasn't able to find anything about it. It really seems like Kei is getting kicked during that one scene. Unless maybe he's anticipating getting hit? Poor kids.
The little brother was the first person to like Belle!
Earlier this year, I bought the most expensive concert ticket I've ever bought. But it was necessary. After all, the composer for all of Miyazaki's movies was doing a concert. Joe Hisaishi would be conducting a Ghibli concert with the San Francisco Symphony.
I had to go.
It ended up being similar in arrangement to the Bodukan Anniversary Concert. Though that one was even more fabulous. The concert I went to did have The Wind Rises though. Even if it was missing The Boy and the Heron.
Man, even up in the nosebleeds it was amazing being in the audience. I was most looking forward to The Demon God, from Princess Mononoke. That song is so powerful. I think as a whole, Princess Mononoke probably has my favorite music.
The choir sang with many of the songs. Some were in Japanese, and some were in English. I kinda wished they'd sung the Ponyo theme in Japanese though. The English version is very limited - only one verse, which they repeated a few times. It would have been more fun with the full Japanese version (Man,they really butchered that song in the English film).
There were a couple solo singers too. In fact, the only time Hisaishi-san spoke during the whole concert was to gesture to one of the singers and say, "she is my daughter." Everyone cheered.
Not only did Hisaishi-san conduct, but he also played piano. He'd conduct his way between the platform and the piano bench to switch between the two. And when he played, the orchestra kept time to his playing instead of his conducting
There was a big screen where they would either play videos of the musicians and conductor, or they'd play scenes from the movies.
After the concert was the encore. They were the same encore songs from the Bodukan concert, so I knew what to expect. During the Madness-Flight, from Porco Rosso, the spotlights flashed on and started dancing back and forth. The audience all gasped.
For the second encore, he came back out to the stage, pointed across at all of us, and jabbed his fingers downward, ordering us all to sit again. That made everyone laugh. The second encore song is one of my favorite Ghibli pieces. Ashitaka and San, from Princess Mononoke. I'd heard the Japanese choir part. And to my amazement, it had been translated into English this time! I looked up the lyrics when I got home. The lines don't always make grammatical sense, but it captures the heart of the song.
No one wanted Hisaishi-san to leave. Every time he walked off-stage, the audience kept cheering. He came out and bowed three times before finally leaving for good.
It's been a good Ghibli year. I got to see the composer, and earlier this year I met someone from the studio!
Whoooo! I just finished the first draft of Arith's story!
A lot of it's a mess, but I'm amazed at how well the ending came out. Considering I only recently had an inkling as to how the ending would come about.
I haven't finished a first draft in a while. This is great!
For a few lovely years, we had a zero-waste grocery store. (Technically it was a low-waste grocery store, but still).
They had some produce, kitchen and bathroom items, packages of food, and tons of bulk bins. It was great. Kinda of expensive, to compensate for the insanity of rent around here. But I shopped there when I could, because our society is obsessed with waste and we need to stop that. I got to know the great staff, and it's the first time I really felt like a regular somewhere.
I know of a couple other stores within an hour's drive that are similar. You can get sunscreen and conditioner and other similar supplies in bulk, but neither of them have food.
Earlier this year, the store closed. I was (and am) so upset. We can't have a single zero-waste grocery store in the whole area.
The owner said that one day she hopes to open a bigger and better store in a less restricted location. I hope she does. And I hope it's close enough for me to shop at!
