Done and Dusted...(and bacon butties!)

[cj2017]

I think that's it.

Over the weekend I sent my approval of Snowbound's front and back cover PDF (bar code included - check all those numbers!) and I reckon the whole thing is probably on its way to the printers by now. 

Despite an editing deadline that gave me a good few sleepless nights, I actually got the rewrites finished in good time. Apparently I'm quite disciplined at writing under the cosh. Strangely - having been warned about the trauma of receiving your beloved manuscript from your editor covered in red pen - I really enjoyed the process. It might have been something to do with the fact that everything I'd been worried about (the characters, the dialogue, the plot, the English setting, the number of times my characters say 'bollocks'**) escaped completely unscathed and the majority of the changes were instead related to point of view and my tendency to use a lot of words that ended in 'ing'. I also got to write a few new scenes which was easier than I would ever have thought (this is a novel that's been about four years in the writing) and quite lovely to do. I'd forgotten how much I loved these characters until I started to write them again. The novel went back slightly longer and a lot better than the version I'd originally submitted. So happy days :-) Now all I need to do is fidget nervously until December 12th...

I was going to write an English to American translation guide for the carihunter lj, but I think most Americans are aware that we talk funny over here and have mobile phones as opposed to cell phones. Going through the novel looking for words that might make you go "huh?" I was instead struck by just how much food there is in the bloody thing (I spent the editing process permanently hungry!). So I decided to write a bit of a Snowbound menu. At some point I will probably stop writing daft stuff for the blog and maybe get permission to put up an excerpt or something but for now you have a guide to bacon butties and rice pudding...


**I think that would be twice *g*

Comments

[badforthefish.livejournal.com]

YAY YOU! Congrats and everyfink! Can't wait to read it.

Hmmm...bacon butties.

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

I know, yum. I actually made a rice pud straight after writing the blog post. And then ate some Haribo. I have no willpower at all when it comes to those little buggers ;-)

[marygriggs.livejournal.com]

Very cool! I can't wait to get a copy.

And thanks for the head's up about bacon butty's--yum!

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

Hee! Congrats on your debut as well. Sounds like it's all going swimmingly.

As for bacon butties, they are always worth a head's up. Although, in relation to Ms laurel_hardy's comment below, that might now sound a little perverse *g* Damn this lost in translation business!

[laurel-hardy.livejournal.com]

Hey! What are you trying to say about my ass? Bacon butty, indeed. How dare you?

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

*laughs* You know it just took me about ten minutes to work out what you were talking about! Maybe I should do that Anglo-American guide after all ;-) I still can't believe you guys have something called a "fanny pack" because you know, that's just so very wrong.

I love that you can buy Haribo on amazon.com though. I have sent them to a couple of friends over the pond who have been very impressed (and it has to be said, slightly grossed out) by the tiny little fried eggs.

Here, have an icon of an arse that's definitely not a bacon butty!

[laurel-hardy.livejournal.com]

Uh yeah, like you Brits don't enjoy getting your fanny packed every now and again. And if anything is wrong, it's those fried egg candies. Creepy little fuckers.

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

L
O
L
To that image. Thank you very much. I never said there was anything wrong with getting your fanny packed, just that it sure as hell doesn't mean the same over here as it would over your side! ;-P
I love those fried eggs. And the hearts. And the cola bottles. But mostly the eggs. They're fabulous.

[laurel-hardy.livejournal.com]

It's probably not kosher to call bacon 'manna', but to my heatheny way of thinking it is very much like a little slice of heaven. Maybe you should ask Haribo to make a candy version. Maybe I should ask you to make me a butty. (BTW, any idea of the origin of 'butty'?)

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

*laughs* no that's probably not terribly Kosher but I know exactly what you mean. According to WikiP (and Urban Dictionary) the origins of butty seem to be a "contraction of bread and butter". It's a northern english term, I think I chucked it into Snowbound twice just for a laugh ;-)

Divided by a common language

[tackdriver56.livejournal.com]

For the longest time I thought a "fanny" was the same as a "butt".
Silly me ;-). Now I call it a "butt-pack", 'cause, y'know, it's more MANly.

Re: Divided by a common language

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

I don't think anything can make a bum bag (term for them over here!) manly. There's just something inherently naff about them which explains why they're rarely seen anymore. And heh, yeah, a fanny is the direct opposite of a butt! (Although fanny is now pretty rarely used as a term over here.) Once upon a time it was a girl's name. Poor sods.

Making a bum bag manly...

[tackdriver56.livejournal.com]

Before I used one as a wallet while bicycling across North America (where no one knew me), I would have been self-conscious about wearing one. It was so comfortable and useful, that I bought a few nicer ones to use when I got home, and wore one for years. Often, it had a small, rust resistant .38 caliber revolver concealed in the main compartment. That always made it feel manly.

I assume "naff" means "gay"? It's kind of funny that I grew up thinking "fanny" was a euphemism for buttocks; had it backwards ;-)

[sunsetwriter.livejournal.com]

How exciting this must be for you! I still can't wait to read it. The fact that the book is filled with food - even better! So, now I'm off to peruse your menu and learn what exactly bacon butties are. In my opinion, anything with bacon in the name, can't be bad... :-)

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

It is exciting but I'm also getting a little nervous now as December creeps around! This year seems to have flown by.

Bacon is an essential foodstuff (proper rashers though that you fry from raw, none of those warm-them-up sandwich quickies that you guys seem to like!) And it's got to be thick white bread otherwise you're just doing it wrong *g* I was permanently hungry editing that book. But then, I always end up putting a load of food into fics. For some reason the Sarah Connor ones became something of an unofficial Mac & Cheese series, hence the birthday cake that's floating around on this lj somewhere! It's a good job I run, otherwise I'd be the size of a house...

[sunsetwriter.livejournal.com]

Maybe I need to starting reading Sarah Connor, because I'm a serious mac & cheese lover! And you're right - bacon must be fried properly, not reheated. (Is that stuff even real bacon??)

Although I do admit to liking wheat bread over white. The way I see it, it cancels out any bad, un-heart-healthy aspects of the bacon! I can rationalize many things...

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

Aww, you should read Sarah Connor because she is fabulous :-) I had a care-package complete with Mac 'n' Cheese sent over by Ms Bisquaint (see downthread) but prefer my own version which includes fried bacon (what else?!) and mushrooms and occasionally cauliflower all smothered in home made cheese sauce and oven baked.

Yeah, good effort on the wheat bread rationalisation there! We eat a variety of different bread-types depending on what mood we're in that week but bacon butties have to be on white and if you can get Toastie Warburtons then all the better.

Congratulations

[tackdriver56.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear from you that things are progressing smoothly. I always enjoy your #TSCC work.

Re: Congratulations

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

Strangely things have gone smoothly. I expected tantrums and tears before bedtime at editing stage (I'm a real shit when I'm being beta-ed) but mainly I just went "huh, yeah, I see that now" and made the necessary changes. Surprisingly pain-free. The waiting is the nerve-wracking bit now. I just hope someone out there likes the bloody thing!

[roxybisquaint.livejournal.com]

You lost sleep worrying about characters saying bollocks twice? Oh girlie, you're worse than me ;)

Less than two months until it'll be out? This is exciting! —Almost as exciting as thoughts of a bacon butty. Actually, I'm more excited about egg custard. We have that here, but it's not loaded with... 955.1kj of ENERGY. What does that even mean? I don't know, but I'm quite jealous that brit food has it.

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

You lost sleep worrying about characters saying bollocks twice? Oh girlie, you're worse than me ;)

Well, more a combination of a few bollocks, butties, paracetamols, mobile phones, pavements, you know all those words you looked out for when I was writing for Ms Connor? But from the outset my editor told me the book would be in English-English, spelling and all so that sorted all that stress out straight away. We had a few amusing WTF? moments around some phrases that really did get lost in translation but I don't think we did too badly in the end.

Yep, less than two months. I'm scared to death! Sort of. Part of me is, the other part is giddy as hell. But yes, egg custards are also very exciting *g* I think most of those kj will be in the pastry and I have no real clue what it means! Your food will also have those, I'm guessing many of your foods - like ours - will boast quite a few!

[badforthefish.livejournal.com]

Wait a fucking minute! WHERE ARE THE PORK SCRATCHINGS?

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

*vbg* I think pork scratchings might have been over-egging an already very, very calorific pudding m'dear! They look like over-long toe nails and pretty much guarantee that the eater will have a heart attack, trying to make them at all attractive as a foodstuff is sadly beyond me as an author, no matter how delicious they may taste.

[badforthefish.livejournal.com]

I had my brother try one and he made a scrunched up face of disgust. My SIL wouldn't even try it. Too foreign for their taste buds I reckon. Pah. I love the little buggers.

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

I love 'em in moderation. In fact, the last time my mum did roast pork for Sunday tea, she went out and bought a piece of fat just to make crackling out of as per Ms Ferox's request! It was lovely though. Yum.

You're in my AMZ shopping cart. Can't wait!

[tackdriver56.livejournal.com]

Sorry it took me so long to react. We've had some very interesting weather and "country failing" events here in Southern New England. Things are on the mend, though we still have to dodge around branches and brush-piles that intrude on the travel lanes of our roads. Interesting period with no grid power, no cell-phone service, no Internet, no Land-lines. Times like these, being an electrical engineer is a good thing.
I hope the positive feedback and occasional constructive criticism here has helped your attainment of professional maturity; you've deserved to be published for a LONG time. So glad it's happening!

Re: You're in my AMZ shopping cart. Can't wait!

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

LOL. Sorry it took me so long to react back! I was just going through my inbox and realised this message was tagged onto this post.

I think writing fic and receiving feedback has absolutely helped me along (although the TSCC series of accidental epicness did slow Snowbound down an awful lot!) The editing process was a big learning curve all over again, so hopefully I'll keep getting better at this writing business :-)

Hope the snow has gone now, although by this time of year, it's probably going to be on its way back soon...