Thursday, August 09, 2007

7/8/07 Posting from the website

7/8/07 - July's here and my novel-time is quickly fading. Been very productive the last few weeks, including a few wonderful days last week (a couple thousand words written last Tuesday). Will be a true race against the clock during this last week. If I do not finish it, and I hate to even start projecting in that direction, it will not take much more time. After that it'll be due for some editing & rewrites, the wife will finally get to read it, & then it will be the business of procuring an agent!

The Last Kingdom - by Bernard Cornwell. Finished it yesterday and will move on to the second book in the series, The Pale Horsemen, as soon as the library opens tomorrow. If you have any interest in the age of Vikings (Danes), Alfred the Great of Wessex, the Dark Ages, Dragon ships, warfare, etc., you will love this book (and probably this series). A magnificent storyteller, and this is the first book of his I've read, Cornwell puts you in the place of Uhtred, the protagonist whose British, but raised into manhood by the Danes (a.k.a. Vikings). You'll love the fighting, drinking, blood feud, deception, and clash of religion (Christianity vs. the Norse Mythology) found in these pages. Best of all, the 4th novel will be published early next year. One more note, on his website Cornwell offers advice to new writers. The best quote of all, "Writing, as many of us have discovered, is much better than working."

Dodgers: 49 - 40 record. 1.5 games back. Their young players are really starting to step up for them. It's why Garciaparra moved to 3rd base. It's going to be a dog-fight the rest of the year between LA, San Diego, and Arizona. My money's still on the Dodgers.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer: I thought it was very entertaining. Just right at a little over 90 minutes. Any longer and it would have felt dragged out. Yes, lots of special effects, but it's what I expected to see in a Marvel comic book movie. Best part of it, it's set up for a Silver Surfer return (had to wait a couple minutes into the credits to see it).

Beer Notes: Have to start with an awesome brewery right here in Holly Springs, NC. The Carolina Brewing Company. Have tried their Pale Ale, India Pale Ale, and Nut Brown Ale. All three are good, but the Nut Brown Ale is tremendous. Exceptional flavor with a hint of chocolate aftertaste. Personally I think it's better than Newcastle Brown Ale. Yes, it's that good!Another brew that I just tried is from the Breckenridge Brewery in Breckenridge, CO. It's their Vanilla Porter. I was a little skeptical about adding something like vanilla (don't put fruit or spices in my beer, boy!) to a porter, but thought it just might work, and certainly could be worth trying. And the answer is, yes, it was. It's a nice, strong, flavorful porter, with just a hint of vanilla in the aftertaste. I wouldn't want to drink a lot of them in one night, but I had two in a row before switching to a Red Hook Sunrye, and it was a great pair. I have four left in the six pack and might have to save them up to take to a card game this Friday night. That's right, rube, it's dealin' time!