Tag: William Kent Krueger

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random, Uncategorized

Friday Fare: 9/23/16

Michelle Kubitz

Friday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week. Sometimes they make me smarter, sometimes they make me hungry … sometimes they have to do with writing and sometimes they are just plain random.

William Kent Krueger and Jessica Lourey … Minnesota authors that I admire greatly.  And in one article!

This was a death that was overshadowed by other celebrity news this week.  (And I admit … I’ve been reading the article about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.  I am a lot of things, impervious to celebrity gossip is not one of them …)  L.A. Confidential is one of my all-time favorite movies and Curtis Hanson was the driving force behind bringing James Ellroy’s vision to life.  He will be sorely missed.

Ina Garten has a new cookbook coming out in October!  (And yes, I have it on order.  Because … Ina!)  She also answered the Proust Questionnaire in Vanity Fair.

Chocolate. Bourbon. Spiked. Banana. Bread.  You’re welcome.

***

Listening to: Work’s been a little brutal these past few weeks.  I’ve vacillated from listening to Guns ‘N Roses (angst) and Simon & Garfunkel (in desperate need of an audio hug, apparently).

Reading:  Nothing, nada, zip.

Fiction Update: Last week, I shared my ridiculous ambitious goal to write 3,000 words a day to get a draft of Dragonfly done by October 1st.  *Crickets.* Weeeeelll … yeah.  I’m making progress, but not to the extent that I dreamed back at the end of August.  My rose-colored glasses obscured both family and work obligations.  HOWEVER … I’m really excited with the progress that I’m making.  (And I’m having random plot revelations in the Costco parking lot, the boys in the basement are doing their work even when I’m away from desk.)

I’m doing some travel this weekend (memorial service out of town / sans family), so I’m hoping that some hotel time will help me inch closer to a completed first draft.

Enjoy the weekend!

Random

Prepared …

Michelle Kubitz

I’m heading to Chicago tomorrow to meet some coworkers and assist on a presentation.  While I will miss my children, while I do not like to fly, and while I’d rather be at home in my yoga pants instead of at a rent-an-office in my new flashy duds, I’m going to do what I did when I went to Denver last summer … bring AL with me.  Flights tend to inspire me.

Last Saturday, I joined some of the members of my writer’s guild in attending a book signing by William Kent Krueger.  A couple of thoughts:  1) The man is a dynamic speaker.  This is the second time I’ve seen him speak and he’s just warm and engaging.  A great lesson for anyone who wants to make a living at this writing business. 2) He’s warm and engaging.  (Yeah – I just said that, but hear me out.)  He signed a book for my mother-in-law after his signing and I took the opportunity to ask him about some various writers conferences in the Midwest.  His response was gracious and informed.  I really enjoyed the opportunity to ask him a “craft” question.

After Krueger’s talk, the Guild retreated to The Staghead – a new “gastropub” in Red Wing.  And while I enjoyed some Lake Superior Oatmeal Stout, I ended my afternoon with a cup of coffee.  And was presented with this:

20150221_160409I drink my coffee black, but if I’m confronted with a situation where I think the coffee is going to be shit (or basically, if I haven’t made it) I request cream and sugar.  This was pretty damn cute and even though the coffee was excellent, I couldn’t help but doctor my coffee accordingly.