Where I am and What I'm Doing...

[Dianne Day]

I think I just lost a blog post due to a slip of the little finger, right hand. Dang, I hate when that happens!

OK, the thing is, Nikki sent me an email asking the questions I put in this subject line, and when I came to Crimespace to look for her post so that I could reply to it in the most direct place, I couldn't find it.

I admit to having problems with what I guess you'd call technical aspects of managing my Crimespace page. I did manage to get my photo posted OK, but there are some other things that are hard enough for me to understand that I'm not really trying. Yet. I think part of my problem is that my computer's RAM isn't big enough to handle a lot of the current websites -- won't do videos at all, for example -- and the result of that is that often my computer just flat freezes up when I'm doing something on Crimespace. Once that happens, the only way out is to shut off the power completely, and then the next time I want to use the computer it takes a while for things to find their right places during the boot. It's a pain in the patoot, is what it is. I know I need a new computer, but it will come with Windows Vista, and I expect getting used to that will also be a pain in the patoot. So I'm procrastinating but I know I can't keep it up much longer, for various reasons.

As to what I'm writing, I think I should go ahead and tell people who might blunder on here a little more than I've been willing to say so far. Mainly, I think people might want to know that this definitely is not a mystery, and it won't be published under my own name. My agent will want to market it under a pseudonym, though I haven't definitely chosen one yet. This book will most likely be pitched to a publisher as a sort of psychological/religious thriller. It's set in the year 2012, though I'm putting 2013 in the title because the whole book is leading up to 2013. If you aren't familiar with the whole mythos surrounding the date December 21, 2012 you can google it and a whole lot of stuff will come up. You can probably see, if you do that, how there's plenty of material there to provide framework for a thriller. It's complex, and the writing is slow going because I'm basing one of the main characters rather straightforwardly on myself. This is not something I'd recommend, and I knew it would be tough, but I think in this particular case it's worthwhile.

Dianne

[Nikki]

Hi Dianne,

Just wanted to check in to see how the WIP is coming along? I hope this night finds you healthy, happy, and with words flowing like a raging river.

[Nikki]

**Yes, I'm fine -- and so is my computer.**

Glad to hear it.

[Dianne Day]

Yes, I'm fine -- and so is my computer. It's just not as powerful as Crimespace would like.

[Nikki]

Okay, Dianne, it's been right at a month since you posted here. Respond or blog to let us know you're alive and writing. Hope your computer problems are better, or you have a new 'puter.

[Dianne Day]

Thanks Maryann, and welcome to mystery writing. I will be happy to add you to the friends as soon as I come next to Crimespace.

[Maryann Mercer]

Glad I found you on crimespace. I loved Fremont Jones and was sad to see the stories end, although the last one did seem to nicely wrap things up. I am tackling mysteries myself as a writer so it's nice to know the difficulties remain in some form or another. Looking forward to the new book...no matter what pen name you use. Sent a friend request...and hope you say yes

[Nikki]

Glad to know you're alive _and_ writing. What could be better? Yeah, okay, a finished MS, but aside from that....

>>December 21, 2012 you can google it and a whole lot of stuff will come up.

Interesting. I only recently heard anything about this; saw something on History's Mysteries or somesuch. Good news: you're going to have to write this one quickly. Bad news: you're going to have to write this one quickly. ;-) The advantage of writing historicals is you're not racing against Real Time, only reliving someone's past. Imagine if 1984 had been published in 1985. Maybe not quite so relevant (maybe so, though, depending on how one choses to look at it).


The reason you couldn't find my post to you might have something to do with the fact I sent is as an email through Crimespace. There's a space at the top of the page that allows you to look at email messages and reply to them. It looks like a little envelope. Just click there and BAM! messages. Hope that helps in the future.

Nikki