Name a character & Russell’s adventures
It’s been a week since we announced this, and we’re a quarter of the way up our goal for the Heifer International fundraiser. So I’ll say again: If you want to name a character (you, your mother, your cat) in the next Russell & Holmes, The Green Man, here’s your chance: just donate two or more beehives to Heifer International through the Team LRK page. Even if your name is Gustav Bigglesworth or Albion Moonlight Butters, I’ll try my best.
And, for those of you keeping score, I’ve finished the first draft of The Green Man. [huzzah! razzberry blowers! take a few hours off!] Of course, this doesn’t mean it’s finished. It only means that I’ve reached the point where I can start to rewrite.
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Yesterday, over at Myspace, Mary Russell gave episode ten of her explanation of how she came to give her memoirs to Ms King. The story thus far:
In 1992 Mary Russell, having searched for someone to edit her memoirs, located the granddaughter of a childhood friend from San Francisco. However, before she could contact Laurie, the rural Sussex home that she shared with the aged Sherlock Holmes was invaded by “a ravening pack of Sherlockians.” These importunate Americans surrounded the house, forcing Russell to summon their neighbor Patrick, (grandson of Patrick the farm manager) and a member of the local dramatic society, who had once played a rather flamboyant stage Holmes. Russell and Holmes packed up their memorabilia, installed the actor in their house to mislead the Americans, and drove to Russell’s house in north Oxford.
Week 10.
My Oxford house has a self-contained apartment at the front, in which I habitually install a series of graduate students, mostly women, whose only rent is an agreement to keep the rooms aired and the car’s battery charged, that they be available to pick me up at the train station if I ring, and that they tell the neighbours nothing about me. The resident that year was a small, wide girl with adenoids and a brilliant medical mind, who greeted our 6:00 am arrival in a startling pink dressing gown, a cup of tea in one hand and the current copy of Lancet in the other.
I greeted her, and asked if she was aware of any stray Americans asking about me, or if she had received any odd telephone calls. “No calls, no questions,” she said. “Shall I bring some milk through to your kitchen?”
I thanked her for her thoughtfulness, blessed her for her preoccupation, and left luggage and husband in the house while I drove the Mercedes over to the train station for retrieval.
We were safe. I thought.
Whoo-hoo! Congratulations on reaching the milestone, and I hope you have a few moments, at least, to breathe and enjoy whatever passes for spring weather where you are these days!
Shouldn’t that be Doctor Albion Moonlight Butters????
Congratulations, Laurie, on making it rhrough the first draft of GREE…or should that be GMAN?
–Marjorie (who, by the way is finally devouring the Martinelli’s and enjoying them greatly. Makes me wish I had a reason to visit San Francisco as I have neve been there. Oh,wait, maybe I do have a reason to go…in about 18 months or so.
**Throwing confetti** Pop the cork, this is cause for celebration. I just want to say I greatly admire your work ethic. You wrote through some tough times, through a vacation in Hawaii (who does that?), through a bad cold and finally, through these hectic, but oh so delightful for your readers, Fifteen Weeks of Bees (well we are only at week 10, but you know what I mean).
I hope you can take a few deep breaths, enjoy the moment of reaching your goal of the first draft before LANG is published, and maybe even take some time for yourself.
Congratulations again.
–Alice
I have cats named Mulder and Peanut, but I won’t inflict either of those names upon you should I have the good fortune to win the character naming contest. 😉
Congratulations on finishing the first draft of The Green Man! That’s exciting news indeed.
Wooohooo! The GMAN cometh! *Happy dance*
Marjorie, I’m glad you’re enjoying the Martinellis–they’re fabulous too, yet so different from the Russells, it’s really mind-boggling to think they came from the same writer. Lucky us! 😀 😀 😀
O, congrats and what Alice said. Take a break for a little bit. Before long you will be on a tour with a schedule which would tax twenty-somethings in a rock band (and no bus). Although we will try to buy you many beverages to compensate. Could I use the name of my Spanish granny, which is about 6 names long? (*runs away to buy beehives*). best//Meredith
Ahem.
And proceed.