Derry, Northern Ireland

Derry, Northern Ireland
A book I'm working on is set in this town.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Buy cheap, get cheap

At least, that's how it usually goes with clothing and cars...and now hotel rooms. I'm at a La Quinta in downtown New Haven and the people above me are having a basketball party. I can hear just about everything they're saying, and it 's quite distracting.

The drive down was nice, though. Lots of hills and hints of snow still on the ground. The cascading ice along the carved stone sides where the freeway cut into the ground. Snacks between the seats and lots of pull-ins along the way. Took just over 7 hours, and I wasn't rushing. Ford vans feel a bit less stable than Chevy vans do, but it was comfortable and has a 33 gallon tank. I ran all the way from Buffalo without filling up (430 miles) and it took more than $100 to replenish. Ouch. I'd hate to have to do that on a weekly basis.

On the way, I worked out a plotline for a new Jake and Tone novel. Those who've been following my writing know those guys are the heroes of my two-volume work, "Rape In Holding Cell 6". It's told from Tone's...uh, Antony's POV but Jake plays so major a part in it, he's going to narrate this one. So we have it planned for him to fly to California from Denmark (where he and Tone...Antony, now live; damn, the little shit won't even let me call him by "Tone") at the behest of his uncle, who's now disappeared. Currently, it's set in Palm Springs but we'll see if that remains so. No more...my lips are sealed.

Except...Matt's making an appearance, too. He's the "geek" who turned out to be chic and will play a pivotal part in the story, again. I don't know how much sex is going to be in this one; I can't repeat what happened to Jake and Antony in the first two books...that'd be downright vicious on my part, and I like these guys too much. Yes, I know they're fictional, but wait till you read "The Lyons' Den"; then you'll understand.

I'm back to work on "Inherent Flaws". I want to get this draft done by the end of the month.

And that, as they say, is that.

3 comments:

Michael said...

Yes yes yes one thousand times yes!
Good to hear you're still working on that new Jake/Tone novel and Matt's playing a pivotal part. I'm also glad to hear you're not going to put Jake/Tone through the kind of hell they suffered in volumes 1 and 2. I remember how anxious I was reading volume 2 because I had a feeling you might kill Jake off.

I hope the rest of your trip is more pleasant. I absolutely cannot stand hotels. I can't help but think of all the filthy things that have no doubt been committed in them countless times though I suppose I've done some not entirely wholesome things in them myself. First thing I do when I enter the room is take the giant comforter (which you know they rarely if ever wash) and toss it to some dark corner where it can't hurt me.

JamTheCat said...

I know what you mean about the comforter; I throw it off the bed.

Wow...you thought I might kill Jake? I didn't realize I was being so wicked and conniving. ;) But yes, this story's working itself out as I drive. I'm making notes so not able to speed as much as I usually do...which has been good because every 10 miles I see someone pulled over by a trooper (none of which would be anyone's midnight dream). Now comes the question of being able to read the notes I made.

And just between you and me, Jake is the only one of my characters I'd take to bed, if he was real. With everyone else, it'd be like incest doing that; with Jake, it'd be fulfillment.

Michael said...

Killing off a leading character can be an effective plot device and you've certainly done it before but in this case I'm relieved you didn't go that route. Though I suppose no one is guaranteed safety if the series continues. I would take Jake to bed in a heart-beat. I fell in love with the character practically since the first page he was introduced on.

Be careful scribbling notes on the road. I use the voice recorder on my iPhone for that. I listen to my notes sometimes and think I must really be out of my mind for thinking these things.