I've been going 'round on not enough sleep, so I've been getting a bit surly. Maybe it's all the low pressure from the approaching hurricane (or is it high pressure? I can't tell, even though we've been watching more weather on TV than ever).

Or maybe I just drink too much caffeine -- 2-3 mugs in the morning while I write, a travel mug to get me through the rest of the morning at work (equal to 2 mugs of java, I'm estimating) and a Diet Coke over lunch. Yesterday, feeling especially wild and crazy, I had a Diet Pepsi in the afternoon. That's probably why I was up 'til 11:30 or so. Still got up at 4:30 a.m. this morning, too. Wide awake.

Finished Gaiman's Stardust, and liked it a lot. He does something Stephen King does well -- he's not afraid to kill off a character. There's a scene where one character (who I was guessing might get offed) dies a fairly gruesome death at the hands of a witch, and in just one sentence Gaiman really surprised and creeped me out. That's the power of good writing. And he made me start liking the character before offing him, too...

All in all, I liked the book quite a bit, though at times I wished it would've been longer. I read the hardcover text-only edition, and I think reading the graphic novel version, which was the original version, I believe, would've made for a more enjoyable read. At times, the pacing felt off for a novel, while if I had pretty pictures to look at, it would've helped.

When I get the time I want to go back and read American Gods to see what Gaiman can do with a book he truly meant as a novel and not as a tie-in to his work from another media (unlike Neverwhere, which was based on a BBC mini-series). But first, I may try a little Gene Wolfe, as some wise folk have been encouraging me to do.

As for writing, I finished up the Scrags short-short to open my YA SF novel, and this morning I added a bunch of details to the outline for the new ending to the Wannoshay novel, and it's coming together nicely. And I've also gotta deal with this flaming bit o' collab Jay Lake tossed my way. Always something new to work on...

Now where's that cup a' joe? Later!