The mind boggles

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

In yesterday's blog http://blog.laurellkhamilton.org/2008/03/sunspots-enchanted-and-edward.html Laurell K Hamilton tells us that she's writing an Anita book while still working on the Merry book Swallowing Darkness. Specifically she says, "I've been giving myself permission, if I finish the deadline pages early enough, to write on anything I want later in the day. What's been wanting to be written is Anita. I've never actually written two different books in two different series at the same time before." 

Just check me on this one: LKH can't keep track of her full cast of characters (such as they are) when she's writing Anita. She has no idea what's happened with many of Merry's Men. So how on earth is she supposed to keep track of her "imaginary friends" when she's writing both of them at one time? 

Am I the only one who thinks that both books are going to be epic messes that exceed even the worst dreck that Laurell K. Hamilton has managed to write before?

Comments

[tenaya-owlcat.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, it could get exceedingly amusing. Imagine Micah having it out with Sholto! Wonder Wang v. Tentacle Porn! XD

[tehuti.livejournal.com]

Next time, warn someone! My laptop doesn't need Coke spewed all over it!! ;-)

[tenaya-owlcat.livejournal.com]

Woo hoo, I got a spit take! XD

[xenia-27.livejournal.com]

I want to see that one!!!!! :)

[tenaya-owlcat.livejournal.com]

It needs to be done anime-style. With lots of yelling and posturing. :P

[quizzicalsphinx.livejournal.com]

What a coincidence. I can't tell the characters apart when I'm reading the books, either!

[mranon-y-mous.livejournal.com]

Wait, there are characters in her books?

[xenia-27.livejournal.com]

Wait, are those BOOKS? :)

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

My computers gone nuts, I wasn't able to preview and now I can't get in to edit, so I apologize for errors. The computer posted without me telling it to. (Darn work computer)

[daphne-gateau.livejournal.com]

Another thing I read into her comment is that she's writing Merry because she has to. She'd prefer to be writing Anita. Anyone else get that feeling?

And yeah. I think that first chapter of Blood Noir is an indication her prose and the messes these books have become really can get worse than what we've seen already. Until reading that chapter I thought she'd hit the bottom already. Sadly, I was wrong. If she tries to write the two at once... Ai ai ai. She has enough trouble keeping the characters out of her 'real' life as it is.

I find it hard to believe she wants to keep writing after finishing her quota with the way she talks about her job. I wish she would give herself permission to say... get out of the house. Like go to a travel agent and plan a nice long vacation. Or take her kid shopping. Something that would hopefully give her a fresh perspective.

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

The thing that I really don't understand is how can a professional writer lose the ability to pace a chapter?

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

She's a professional, in that she gets paid, but she's extraordinarily un-professional in every other way.

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

True but once upon a long time ago she was able to write pretty good pulp fiction. Now her pacing is so off that content aside the books are painful to read.

[duchym.livejournal.com]

Yes, I agree that I had thought she had hit rock bottom with Danse Macabre (where I stopped reading Anita books, so if she got even worse with The Harlequin I do not know)...then I read that first chapter of BN and it was even worse. What a pile of craptitude!!!

[ladymina.livejournal.com]

for right now I cannot get over the title for the merry book
Swallowing Darkness
uhm poor Doyle ... poor poor boy ...

[pith]

Modly: Please edit in the direct link.

http://blog.laurellkhamilton.org/2008/03/sunspots-enchanted-and-edward.html

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

Done

[moonsinger.livejournal.com]

Please tell me that Anita is not going to a) have phone sex with Edward, and b) have sex with Bernardo.

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

Anita is totally going to have sex with Bernardo. For starters she found him attractive in OB. IIRC he had long hair and a big shlong and he hit on Anita constantly.


Here's my theory. I think he's going to get infected with a form of cat lychanthropy (my guess is lynx)while helping Edward clean out a nest of vampires who are killing tourists. Anita has been brought in to raise the newly discovered mummy at a new exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He then fulfills Anita's sexual requirements: not human, huge dick, long hair and a cardboard cutout angst filled background.

[moonsinger.livejournal.com]

I am not allowed to be broken before noon. Ack! No fair. Maybe you should write Anita porn. *laughs*

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

It wouldn't be that hard. The difficulty in writing Anita porn is to get enough things spilling.

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

I just spewed Diet Coke all over my computer.

[easol.livejournal.com]

Nooooo! You must add a bad simile comparing the amber sweetness to somebody's eyes/hair/sex powerz/foodstuff.

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

I want to know if Peter gets to be Anita's sexually abused prey this book.

[moonsinger.livejournal.com]

I'm behind a book as it is. I just need to head over to a used bookstore and pick the last two books up of hers. Cheaper that way at least.

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

Just skip Danse. It'll save you a lot brain bleach.

[roguetailkinker.livejournal.com]

Nooooo, don't skip Danse! She'll miss Sampson and London!

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

But she'll be saved the horror of Auggie and Bunny-that jealous hater slut!

[roguetailkinker.livejournal.com]

Pshaw. What is Bunny in, like half a scene?

As for Augustine... consider it a test of endurance. Besides, he's not nearly so bad as the endless Anita/Richard wangsting. :-P

Plus there's the amusement of reading about Samuel patiently trying to talk to Anita like she's a rational human being, while you can just imagine him struggling not to roll his eyes.

[easol.livejournal.com]

It was a losing battle. Sadly, Samuel was about the only person in the book I didn't feel like smacking at any point. He also appeared to have a functioning brain, and thoughts that did not entirely revolve around Anita's temper tantrums.

Compared to the bitchslut and the entourage tiptoeing around her mood swings, a stressed-out family vampire with a siren wife seemed so... normal.

[roguetailkinker.livejournal.com]

Surely you didn't want to smack poor Sampson?

Compared to the bitchslut and the entourage tiptoeing around her mood swings, a stressed-out family vampire with a siren wife seemed so... normal.

*rofl* That is so true. Poor Samuel. I would have loved to read his POV of that scene when he and Sampson come back and have the 'conference' with Jean-Claude and co.

"How have you managed with her and the Ulfric? They are both most unwieldy."

Which is polite vampire-ese for: "How did you get saddled with these two pains in the ass?"

[easol.livejournal.com]

Oh, true. Sampson was a cool character, with lots of potential. But I think that since his family background ruled out the possibility of Teh Traumatic Sex-Torture Past, LKH simply didn't know what to do with him. That, and she got all squeamish about him having sex with Anita for a legit reason.

"How have you managed with her and the Ulfric? They are both most unwieldy."

Which is polite vampire-ese for: "How did you get saddled with these two pains in the ass?"

Hee hee, that was a great moment, and I wished JC would roll his eyes and say, "I plead the fifth." And it just adds to his normalcy -- any normal person suddenly confronted by these people would probably perceive them the same way.

[moonsinger.livejournal.com]

Too late, I read that one. I haven't read Harlequin and Lick of Frost.

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

Me neither. But any book (TH) where the lions are killed for refusing to sleep with Anita isn't worth my time.

[ravenclaw-devi.livejournal.com]

Wait, the new Merry book will seriously be called Swallowing Darkness? Is she trying to win some sort of contest for titles that mock themselves?

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

Yup-the honest to god title is Swallowing Darkness. I think she thinks it's edgy. I think the next book should be called Riding Rhys.

[roguetailkinker.livejournal.com]

I think that would actually be less tacky.

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

Humping Holly? Blowing Mistral?

[easol.livejournal.com]

Bouncy-Bouncy with Barinthus, Mouthing Mistral, Kink with Kitto (hey, how come it's not "Citto" if they're all so Celticky?), Gobbling Galen, Coitus with Cel... as for poor Sholto, the list is so long and obscene I won't bother posting it. Especially since he initially seemed kinda cool...

Seriously, if the book comes out with this title, I would suspect that LKH will be unstoppable as far as the horrendous porn titles go.

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

Seriously I need to knw the most obscene Sholto title.