You're going to want to get a copy of this book. It contains short stories by many of Pasadena's best authors, plus excerpts from upcoming works, and more. I'm honored to be a part of it.
Funny thing about my novel, Camelot & Vine. I've been working on it for so long I'm embarrassed to say. It's a good book, I think. I won't know 'til you read it, but it's mine, I love it, and it's a fun story. If it were War & Peace I might be willing to tell you how long it took me to write it. I have slaved over the proofreading, tweaking where I dare, and sometimes wishing I could rewrite the whole damn thing.
Not so with my little short story in Literary Pasadena. I wrote it. I like it. Done.
Why is that? What's the difference?
The picture: parrots. They invaded our neighborhood last week. Enlarge the photo and see, they are all along the phone wires, all the way down the street. When I took this they were in every treetop, on every wire, flying everywhere. The noise they make is deafening.
I chose this picture because to me, the parrots are uniquely Pasadena. Literary Pasadena: The Fiction Edition, will be uniquely Pasadena, too.
What's the difference, you ask? I think it is in your one-word sentence: "Done."
ReplyDeleteTo proofreading there is no end.
Don't you envy those free birds, the feral parrots darting about and screeching their head off?
I clicked on the link and the titles of some of the short stories mentioned have piqued my interest.. can't wait to view an excerpt...
ReplyDeleteAre the parrots similar to the one (photo) I emailed u?
Yay! I just pre-ordered my copy of Literary Pasadena, Petrea. It'll be nice to know that when I've finished reading Camelot there'll be some more Petrea to look forward to.
ReplyDeleteGreat shot of the parrots. The noise must drive folk crazy.
All that color, just flying around - do they look like leaves on the trees? Here, the crows glean the cornfields just outside town, then share their experiences, perched by the hundreds in the trees. Their profiles resemble big, black leaves.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to the books, Petrea, both of them. I'm sure that every thing will read correctly and the spelling will be just fein. Er, fine.
I've never seen so many parrots before, the noise must be ear-splitting!
ReplyDeleteBoz and I strolled outside this morning and it's quite. I mean quiet. The parrots are off to some other neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteThey're lime green, bright, big fat things with a bit of yellow and red on top. I don't have a zoom lens and have never gotten close enough to get a good picture:
http://scottsla.com/articles-parrots-wild-in-pasadena.htm
Here's another link for Literary Pasadena. I'm impressed by this list of authors, and feeling all sassy about my bad self. Our Margaret Finnegan is here, too, plus writers I've featured on PDP like John Vorhaus, Victoria Patterson, Lian Dolan and Dianne Emley.
Speedway, the parrots may look like leaves. They bed down in Washington Park sometimes and you can't see them, but you can hear the park shrieking at night.
Yes, the noise is deafening. But it makes me smile. They are wacky and I love them.
Oh, those wacky parrots! I love them too.
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited to read your short story, as well as Margaret's and those of the other talented Pasadena Literarians. I'd say "I can't wait!" but wait I will.
It's the same with the parrots in my part of Pasadena at the moment. They've been doing circles over my house and sitting on the wires, and in the camphor trees. One tree has had a lot of new leaf growth plucked off and thrown into the street - it may be what they're feasting on. I absolutely love them, and I'm sure they really are chattering to one another. We know now they all have individual names given to them by their mother in the nest, maybe even while in the egg.!
ReplyDeleteif I had to reread my book many times, or give public readings of it, I would want to rewrite most of it. How do authors stay confident about their work? when is it done?b
Beautiful. I miss this. I started a new blog to remind myself that there is beauty everywher(especially beyond Pasadena), but it is slow going getting over that idea :)
ReplyDeleteAdele, you can pre-order like Dive did (this is where the winking smiley-face goes, but I don't do those).
ReplyDeleteBellis, I figured they'd gone to your place. And I'm glad you reminded me about the individual names thing. I'd forgotten. It's a fascinating fact, amazing.
On good days, I think my book is great. I can't proofread when I'm in a bad mood, though.
Ben! You must give us your blog's url. Of course there is beauty everywhere. Beauty has so many definitions.
That was easy. Here's Ben's blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://113andbeyond.blogspot.com/
the birds in the foreground remind me of drops of black ink left on a on dampened piece of water color paper
ReplyDeleteThe Birds!!!! The Birds!!!
ReplyDeleteWait...weren't the birds Ravens???
I love that, PA.
ReplyDeleteChieftess, I think so, but it's hard not to make the reference when you're standing there and the sky is screeching.
Thanks for the shout out. I think the collection will be terrific. I'm excited! Love the parrots.
ReplyDeleteThose parrots are an interesting breed, aren't they? Sometimes I get two or three in my tall trees and other times there are huge flocks. The level of squawking is always the dead giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI loved your photo about the parrot feather few weeks back. A rarity for sure!
I'm leaving your site to preorder Literary Pasadena, too. (And I'm salivating for Camelot & Vine.)
I'm excited too, Margaret!
ReplyDeleteAs for salivation, Ann, I'll have an announcement very soon.
Wonderful photo! It's so cool you have flocks of parrots that fly through for a visit.
ReplyDeletePetrea, I didn't hear them last night or this morning at their usual times - could this mean they've moved on in the knick of time just as some neighbors were about to get a little postal about it? I, however, love them, except for the green poop.
ReplyDeleteYesterday morning, and today, too, Boz and I found complete silence when we stepped outside. Those parrots get around. But they'll be back.
ReplyDelete