Casey's Just Sayin'

This guy seemed perfectly happy within his talent. He'd never be famous, never make a lot of money. But he could carve those little totems like nobody's business. I think I can write well. People tell me that I write well. Although it's pretty much all people who care about me on one level or another, so who knows? What I do know is that I've got most of the crunchy grammar stuff down and that I can construct a reasonable sentence. But what about style? I can't really read my own writing and define my own style. That's like trying to feel the texture of the road from inside your car. You can only get an impression, not the reality of it. Here's the thing. Most of those people who audition for American Idol believe they have talent. Their mom or dad or sister tells them how wonderful they are, how much POTENTIAL they have and that they should never let anyone tell them not to pursue their dreams. But many, MANY of them have no more ability to sing than I do.

When a writer begins a new project, it's a new relationship. It's intense, sexual, fresh and exciting. And new project can do no wrong. The writer is completely infatuated with the story line, the characters, the setting, the dialect, the best friend of the second cousin of the main character's neighbor. It's so good. The trick, of course, is to turn that infatuation into a long-term love affair. The magic is when you can continue the adoration when those mental pheromones wear off. Well, I have met my new novel and it's lust at first site. One of the secrets to keeping it fresh is to keep it secret. So I'm going to bore you with progress and possibly stories of when and where I write. But the book is mine until the first draft is done... about 90 days from now. Wish me luck! Casey

I don't do many book reviews, but I find myself with a desire to make a couple if observations about Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. #1 - Time to start watching True Blood. Some know this, but the Sookie Stackhouse series of books by Harris is the basis for the successful HBO series True Blood. I checked and Netflix does not offer them on instant watch, but season 1 and 2 are available to rent, which we can and will do. #2 - I don't want to get to far into this because, well, bigger brains than what I got knocking around in my head have certainly already gone as far as possible. But really, Sookie was first written about in 2001 while Twilight appeared in print several years later. And the commonalities are really hard to ignore. I have to assume that vamp lit follows a certain formula and that is where I'm making the connection. #3 - This is not your daughter's vamp lit. There are some similarities, but this is not meant for young adults. This is wonderfully ra

My direct blog link is now cgfreeland.blogspot.com. I considered just calling it nakedtoes but I'm afraid I would have collected the wrong folks.

I knew one of these days I'd be half of an old couple counting the years they had acquired. I just didn't think it'd happen so soon. Well we're not exactly old in body or spirit. But we're quite suddenly much further along than we were the day my love first came to my door to pick up my daughter for a movie date. I was so smitten, so immediately in lust with this woman. How smitten, you ask? While they were at the movies I cleaned my apartment ruthlessly, set out the guitar I had not yet learned how to play, and put on my Kid's Kingdom shirt. Suddenly I was the clean, rock-star, community-involvement guy. It worked, or something did. That day we began to build our little traditions, to create the inside jokes, to form our family dynamic, our values, our hopes. Mostly though, that's when the love began. How is it that we are "two of the lucky few" who find the love of our lifes? We can only shake our heads in wonder and close our eyes in appreci

Pictures without a story and then a story with no pictures. First where I went and then how I got there. The ocean was this close all week. The folks were dog paddling. The trees were odd and beautiful. When the waves really hit these rocks they would rattle like fireworks or distant thunder. I purchased a totem from Nonu. He said his name meant tree of life and it was his grandfather's name. This was the last sunset of the trip. It was breathtaking. Sissy, Autumn, Carey, me and Audie Leg #1 - First thing's first.  Get to the Sacramento International Airport. Left the house about 6:20.  Plenty of time for my 10:30 flight.  The first thing I realized on the road was that I should have not taken the jumper from Sac to San Francisco.  I could have driven to SF easily enough, just another hour and fifteen minutes.  I might have even slept in a bit. Then I get here and I'm in terminal B, not the big terminal A that I'm used to.  Parking at terminal B as it turns out is no

That title doesn't really apply but I've got the song in my head.  Gilbert O'Sullivan is one kooky, passive-aggressive Irishman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_P-v1BVQn8&sns=em That hair is fantastic! But alas, I am alone tonight.  2 1/2 hours from home in Sack-uh-tomatoes, California... our great state's capital. I'm staying in a room at the Residence Inn Marriott.  It's one of those rooms that is obviously set up for a long-term stay.  Big bathroom, bed, couch, kitchen and (drum roll) fireplace.  I guess I could burn up some furniture, although it's really not that cold.  It feels more like a small apartment... like a NYC kind of place, save the sliding glass door and fireplace.  Did I mention there was a sliding glass door? I'll be in a class tomorrow, all day.  Grueling.  Then it's one frantic day back at work and off to catch a flight to Maui, without my love, which is very difficult for me.  Not for her.  I mean, I'm sure she wishes