I was in Los Angeles -- Anaheim Hills and Torrance, really, for a couple days -- but had a chance to wander around to my usual spots -- Book Soup to buy some books, The Grove to get new ear buds for my iphone, Taschen Bookstore for a couple books, India Grill to meet friends for dinner...
I spent way too much money and got caught in LA's typical traffic a couple of times, but damn I miss it. Working out of Buffalo has its advantages -- no distractions to keep me from writing, being one -- but LA is home to me. It's my city. Always will be.
One big issue is, when I'm there I start thinking about writing scripts and making movies, again, which shifts my focus away from other writing I want to do. I worked around it by reading Adrian McKinty's last book, Police At The Station and They Don't Look Friendly, and bought a copy of James M. Cain's Double Indemnity to read on the flight back.
The flight to Buffalo turned out to be half full so I got a row to myself...read a little...and actually slept on a plane. One of the rare times. And after leaving LA, where it was upper 60s and clear, I landed in a snowstorm, had trouble unlocking my car's driver's door because it had frozen shut, and drove home on icy roads. I don't mind that, really. In fact, I like having 4 seasons. But Buffalo is not nor will it ever be home.
Nothing's been done on APoS except for the reading. I like McKinty's book; I'm getting some good ideas about the society of NI and he's got bleakness and cynicism down to an art. Plus the mystery worked out in a rather surprising way. He actually had a red herring I fell for, at the end, though the scenes setting it up did remind me too much of Three Days of the Condor (1975) and Diva (1981).
But as a sometime fellow thief of a writer I have to say -- if you're going to steal, steal from the best.
I spent way too much money and got caught in LA's typical traffic a couple of times, but damn I miss it. Working out of Buffalo has its advantages -- no distractions to keep me from writing, being one -- but LA is home to me. It's my city. Always will be.
One big issue is, when I'm there I start thinking about writing scripts and making movies, again, which shifts my focus away from other writing I want to do. I worked around it by reading Adrian McKinty's last book, Police At The Station and They Don't Look Friendly, and bought a copy of James M. Cain's Double Indemnity to read on the flight back.
The flight to Buffalo turned out to be half full so I got a row to myself...read a little...and actually slept on a plane. One of the rare times. And after leaving LA, where it was upper 60s and clear, I landed in a snowstorm, had trouble unlocking my car's driver's door because it had frozen shut, and drove home on icy roads. I don't mind that, really. In fact, I like having 4 seasons. But Buffalo is not nor will it ever be home.
Nothing's been done on APoS except for the reading. I like McKinty's book; I'm getting some good ideas about the society of NI and he's got bleakness and cynicism down to an art. Plus the mystery worked out in a rather surprising way. He actually had a red herring I fell for, at the end, though the scenes setting it up did remind me too much of Three Days of the Condor (1975) and Diva (1981).
But as a sometime fellow thief of a writer I have to say -- if you're going to steal, steal from the best.
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