First things first, the talented and lovely Wendy Fries, whom most of you will know as Atlin Merrick, has written a wonderful book of fifty ways Sherlock Holmes and John Watson could have found one another. It is called The Day They Met and it is glorious. My review, which I’ve posted on both Amazon and Goodreads, is short but sweet, and runs thusly:
Fifty well written and beautifully crafted short stories that are entirely in the spirit of all incarnations of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Wendy’s love of the canon, and all that the canon has generated, shines from the pages, as does her love for the partnership between Holmes and Watson that drives all Holmes stories. Whether they meet in a hospital in 2015, or in a pub in Ireland in 1880, the core of these two men who have captivated our hearts for over a hundred years remains true. This is a book I will read, and re-read, until the pages are worn out.
If you don’t already have a copy, I heartily recommend that you rectify this egregious error at once. You could do this by visiting an online retailer to purchase either paper back or e-book version (book depository and amazonspring to mind) but, if you happen to be able to get to London this Saturday (21st February) and will be in the vicinity of the The Boot Pub between 2pm and 5pm, you could purchase a copy from the author in person as she’s hosting a party to celebrate becoming a published author. I wish I could go and hug Wendy and get my copy signed but since I can’t I’m just hoping as many of you can go as possible. All the details for the event are here.
And now, to somewhat less exciting things.
My mother used to tell me, when I was small, that if you can’t say anything nice about something, don’t say anything at all. I don’t apply the principle in my personal life any more, but I do find that it makes sense in a work environment (at least until you’ve sussed out how best to express the problem) and I shall therefore be saying absolutely nothing about the office move. However this does mean that this is probably going to be the shortest Words from the Week to date because I don’t feel as if I’ve done much else.
I did, after several days of getting deeply upset at the dismissals of the depictions of abuse in Fifty Shades of Grey from people I both know and like, end up penning and posting my own feelings on the subject. The most polished version of this (it originated on Tumblr and then I posted across the various blogging platforms in a rather ad hoc manner, editing as I went) can be found here, if you’re interested.
That was pretty much all the useful writing I’ve got done though, and both the story I was hoping to post and the RAMC meta are still very much unfinished (although both longer than they were). I have managed to produce a little more ANI back story, but that came to me at 3am, demanded to be typed up there and then and doesn’t count as they’re not words in the story itself. Consequently my Get Your Words Out total has not really increased much, currently standing at 11,265 for the month. This means I’m off my target again, and by a couple of thousand. Given that I’m at the theatre tomorrow night (seeing Curious Incident at the Wolverhampton Grand) and the weekend is also mostly given over to work (with a break to take Dad to see Kingsman on Saturday evening, which I’m very excited about) I can’t see myself catching up in the near future.
But I shall not let this get me down. Instead I will simply keep plodding because even if I can’t hit the target, at least I’ll have some words on the page. And that is the most important thing because, as I keep repeating in my head when I practically fall asleep over my keyboard, you can’t edit a blank page!
However, I have done something positive re pushing up my word count: I’ve signed up for the ACD Holmes Fanworks Exchange. Given that I’ve only produced two ACD canon fics to date, this does seem more than a little daft, but I so enjoyed writing them, and am spending so much more time on canon than BBC at the moment (don’t panic, I’m not talking about writing fic, I’m talking about reading and viewing) that it seemed even dafter to ignore the opportunity. Sign-ups close Sunday February 22nd, assignments will be given by Wednesday 25th, the submission date for whatever type of fanwork you create is April 15th and posting begins on 29th April. If you love ACD canon, please consider joining in too – it’s definitely the more the merrier.
In other news, Dog is improving steadily. Her limp is almost gone and she’s her usual happy self which pleases me greatly. I’m pretty sure it pleases her, too. I am also not quite right, health wise. No migraines, thank goodness, nor another cold, but a bone deep exhaustion, aching muscles and a headache that hasn’t shifted for five days. It’s not bad, per se, but add in the fact that I’m picking up bruises left right and centre and it’s enough to send me back to the doctor’s to get a blood test (which will be Tuesday morning – oh the joy) to see if my intermittent anaemia has returned or whether it is just the lingering effects of the chest infection and flu.
And that’s it. Nothing more to tell (and I’ve clearly been doing more than I thought I had, given I’m managed to reach a thousand words). I must now go and make an attempt to add a few more words to my actual word count before I give in to the ever present exhaustion and collapse in bed. Such is life.
Kizzia Mildmay 