A random shopping trip earlier in the week resulted in an abridged copy of The Jungle Book – and even more unusually, Raeli has been happy to listen to it three nights in a row. I’m enjoying it, because it’s so oddly relevant to what I’m writing right now. Also, I’ve never actually read the thing. There’s beautiful language going on even in this abridged copy – I may have to get hold of the real thing for inspirational purposes. I mean, it’s a book about a panther, wolves, a bear, a lion, a snake, a boy… animal politics, oh yeah. Very appropriate.

Speaking of inspiration, I’ve been getting the urge to podcast again (it’s weird, it’s like baking, the desire comes over me in November every year and washes away again by February).  girliejones has given me permission to do a full podcast version of Siren Beat, and I’ve been plotting it out in my head, ready to start playing once NaNo releases me from its maw. I’d also love to do one next year of early chapters of P&M, but that depends on lots of factors like time, energy, and whether the publisher is supportive of the concept.

So far my work on the project has entirely composed of me searching for Creative Commons music tracks. Possibly my brain melted a while back and I failed to notice. Music good.

Oooh speaking of music being good, did everyone else get that a film like Whip It would also have a great soundtrack that would be available on itunes? This obvious fact did not sink in for me until today when I started reading Derby Girl, the book that Whip It was based on and found myself listening to the soundtrack from Juno at the same time… anyway, long story short, I have new writing music, hooray!

It also occurs to me that by the time we reach book 3, my love triangle has turned into a love polygon. So glad I don’t have to think about the third act until, you know, April or so. Maybe I’ll have figured out how to resolve it by then.

I had a lovely ego boost today, when my editor at Voyager sent me the text for their 2010 catalogue, so I could check it over for errors. This wasn’t the blurb text that I’ve actually been part of creating, but the text to sell the book to booksellers and – wow, it’s kind of amazing to see your own book all blurbed up and fancy. Also to hear other people describe it, when it’s only existed in your own head for so long.

Mentioned to my honey that they were emphasising the romance elements of the story and he said ‘Duh,’ which made me laugh.

In other news, I started practicing for my annual ‘let’s cook experimental things at Christmas and ooh, catering for a vegetarian this year’ phase by teaching myself to make stuffed eggplant and hurling said eggplants at the Thursday night Horde (6 adults, 5 kids, always need vegetarian, gluten & dairy free options). The breadcrumb, herb and cheese stuffing was awesome. The gluten & dairy free mushroom-and-goat-feta one was less so, but I think it was because they didn’t cook as long – I extra-cooked what didn’t get eaten and reheated it for my lunch today and it was so yum. I forsee many eggplants in my future. I’ve never cooked one before because I was all scared, but they are beautiful and now I can be brave.

Now I’m craving eggplant. Mmmm.

Tags: cooking, creature court, listening, podcasts, raeli, reading, writing