By Michael Seese
Friends, as we speak, The Secret World Of Gustave Eiffel is sitting in the queue of my local printer. His initial estimate was one week. So by this time next week, I might be able to report that it's boxed and on its way to Paris for the American Library In Paris Book Award contest.
Let's recap:
1/8: I learned of the contest.
1/12: I wrote the first words.
3/12: I finished the first draft (with acknowledged gaping holes) at 57,323.
5/10: I finished the final draft, sent it to the proofreader, and began designing the cover.
5/17: REALLY complete at 79,600 words.
By the way, here is the cover.
I don't think I want to try doing this -- writing and publishing a novel in 5 months -- EVER again.
Wish me luck!
Aimez-vous Paris? Click to tweet.
By Michael Seese
I received the following (allegedly) targeted ad today.
I'm not sure what INSIDEHOOK is, and don't really care to bother looking it up. But it must be important, since it's the "ULTIMATE EMAIL FOR DRIVEN MEN."
A few things came to mind:
1. That's not a man.
2. She's not driving.
Are you driven to fly a jet pack? Click to tweet.
By Michael Seese
"Still" pretty much was what I expected. "I'm going to die, so let's talk about the good times." Of course since Richard Castle was involved, "the good times" would have to wait...
Beckett: "Castle, I'm going to be fine. I feel fine."
Castle: "That would be great if you were a reliable judge of your own feelings, which clearly you're not."
Beckett: "What does that mean?"
Castle: "I'm sorry. Exhibit A. According to you, you felt nothing for me when we first met, which we both--"
Beckett: "Are you out... Oh, I get it. I know what you're doing."
Castle: "What?"
Beckett: "You know, Castle? Forget it? I'm not going down that path. You can just leave now."
Castle: "Fine. I'll leave. If you admit to me that you had feelings for me when we first met."
Beckett: "Fine. I did have feelings for you when we first met. I couldn't stand you."
(Yes, it took quite a while to get all of that written down.)
Since I didn't start watching Castle until the third season, or thereabouts, it was nice to see scenes from some of the older episodes. (Not to mention Beckett's "array of hair styles over the years.")
Still, there were a lot of nice touches wholly or partially in "the present."
I think my favorite bit came after they had recounted their near-death adventures (though they somehow forgot the nuclear bomb episode) and Castle said, "You're forgetting the scariest of them all." Then they showed the scene where Martha nearly caught them in flagrante delicto after their first night together.
My second favorite was blaring Billy Squier's The Stroke to lead into the "hot outfit" flashbacks.
I thought Castle's motivational speech to Beckett was excellent, if not short.
And in the past, the number of times that Castle and Beckett said the same thing, together, was mind-boggling.
Back to the lines:
Beckett: "You said you had a chapter due."
Castle: "Yes, which is writer-speak for all procrastination welcome."
Castle: "What about the old Indiana Jones bag of sand golden idol trick?"
Castle: "I'll admit I found you...not unattractive."
Beckett: "I can't help it if you get off by putting things in my mouth."
The best look was Castle's slight pout when Beckett ran off without drinking his coffee. "Did you see the hearts? Took me like, six minutes."
Though I'll give extra points for an oldie: Castle's raised eyebrows when Beckett said, "Look, please put this thing in and get it over with."
Picky comment: I am not a policeman. But if I had cornered a bombing suspect -- a bombing suspect who the previous night set off an explosion which leveled a building -- and he reached into his pocket, pulled out an electronic box and started punching numbers...as they they say, "Shoot first and ask questions later."
And did I miss something, or did Beckett never tell Castle "the thing," that is, the thing she needed for him to do, rather than sit with her and get blown up?
Please share your thoughts.
Could you sit STILL while watching Castle this week? Click to tweet.
By Michael Seese
It's crunch time, my friends. I am nearing the finish line on "The Secret World Of Gustave Eiffel." As I write this, I am through 183 of 264 pages with regard to revisions. And I have spoken with the printer. He is on board.
So...
What I need are proofreaders. Someone to go over it and look for the usual (typos, continuity flaws, etc.) but also to offer a high-level opinion, specifically, "It sucks. Don't waste your money" or "It has a chance."
So if you are interested in helping out, please drop me a line by at
mail AT MichaelSeese DOT com
You also could post a comment with your email, though if you do, please format it as I have done above: name AT MyServiceProvider DOT com, to avoid the SPAM bots.
I can't pay. But I will thank you in the book's acknowledgements.
Let the games begin.
By Michael Seese
This will be a slightly discombobulated review, because my viewing "experience" was a bit off. At the conclusion of "The Fast And The Furriest," the previews for the coming week indicated a tense episode in which Beckett has stepped on a bomb trigger. "The Squab And The Quail" begins with an unseen hand spraying some liquid onto a plate of food, and moves quickly to some rich guy keeling over in his haute cuisine. The team starts interviewing the victim's associates, to see if he had any enemies. Then Castle hears that the poison had been sprayed on the mushrooms (poisoned mushrooms...nice touch), and realizes that the tainted food was meant for the OTHER rich guy at the table, the wealthy (and handsome) Eric Vaughn. So the gang has to begin again, probing to see if he had any enemies. They find the killer, and then find him killed. (I thought it was pretty cool when Esposito looked down, saw feathers blowing out from underneath the killer's apartment door, and knew something was up.) So now the team has to race to find the real killer. Of course, they were racing primarily because Castle led the charge, since Beckett had been ordered to serve as Vaughn's personal bodyguard, and they were holed up in a posh hotel. (I mentioned that Vaughn was wealthy and handsome...right?)
The point to all that (other than offering you, dear readers, a summary) is that I kept wondering, "OK, when is Beckett going to step on the trigger?" I later learned, through the Internet, that the show's producers opted to delay that episode in deference to the victims of the Boston Marathon attack. Perfectly understandable. But as I said, I felt somewhat confused throughout the whole episode.
Overall, there were a lot of funny lines.
When Castle, thoroughly engrossed in an online combat game, ignored Beckett's proposition, she lamented, "Oh my god! You actually have to think about this!"
And then he had to tell his gaming partner (via phone), "No, it's not my mom."
Also:
Castle: "I was in the zone, like Gretzky."
Beckett: "At least Gretzky knew how to score."
Castle: "Ouch."
Castle: "It's poetic, diabolically speaking."
Castle: "The guy won a MacArthur Genius Award. Do you know who they give those to? Geniuses!"
Castle: "I can't believe that the department is forcing her to hang out with some womanizing rich guy against her will."
Ryan: "Unbelievable."
Esposito: "Yeah, she's never done that."
After that exchange, Ryan and Espo shared "the look."
So Monday brings us "Still." (Of course, for me, it will be on Tuesday, or Wednesday.) Also, I found it telling that the previews downplayed the bomb, and played up that "Still" will be one of those "I'm going to die, so let's look back and recall the good times" episodes.
Feel free to share your thoughts on "The Squab And The Quail."
Does anyone know what a squab actually is? Castle does. Click to tweet.
By Michael Seese
While surfing the Web, I came across this ad:
On April 16!
Some people take partying way too seriously.
Better late than never! Click to tweet.
By Michael Seese
This won't be a gushing review. (And no, Hell did NOT freeze over.) "The Fast And The Furriest" didn't do a whole lot for me. Perhaps they went to the "Scooby well" once too often. And too recently. Although, what other show could work the Smurfs and Avatar into the same cultural reference?
So back to the "well" analogy. Like "Scared To Death" and "Undead Again," you knew that:
1. Castle would be absolutely convinced that a supernatural force was at work.
2. Beckett would be absolutely convinced that a supernatural force was not at work.
3. There would be a moment where she sees something which makes her think, "Could Castle be right?"
4. Then the balloon would pop.
In my review of one of those episodes, I probably recited the same basic "you knew..." litany. But it didn't bother me then. Perhaps this time, it was just old. Or perhaps, I assumed that, if nothing else, it was a guy in a Bigfoot suit; in contrast, "Scared To Death" offered no immediately apparent alternate explanations. Also, I thought the ending fell flat. In many episodes, the killer turns out to be a non-suspect. But at least, they offered a credible and clever explanation for the motive. In this case, they took the easy way out: "It turns out, you're a known stalker." Deus ex machina.
Oh well.
On the positive side, I did enjoy the scene where Castle and Beckett were sitting in bed, and he was trying to explain his love of the unknown: "There are no new continents to explore. There's no more deepest, darkest Africa."
I did think it was funny that, in this episode, Ryan was totally on board with Castle's hypothesis. I give extra credit for the exchange:
Beckett & Esposito: "Who's Darrel Meeks?"
Castle & Ryan "Who's Darrel Meeks?"
Which segues nicely to lines.
Castle: "I've never sleep aten... Sleep ate... Sleep eaten."
Castle: "You're saying someone framed Bigfoot?"
Esposito: "Gentlemen, I hate to rain on your parade."
Castle: "Do you?"
Esposito: "No."
Castle: "Are you scared of my work?"
Beckett: "No, I'm scared that I might murder you, and then I'll have two crime scenes."
And looks:
The entire scene with Castle and "Moonshine."
Castle's smirk when the Aussie Bigfoot hunter told Beckett, "You're squatting in the wrong bush."
Castle's look of subtle realization when Alexis said she was afraid he would have given her "the speech," and he replies, "Oh..that speech, yeah."
Next week's episode, "The Squab And The Quail," looks to be (if I may re-use a favorite word) intense. I'm going to make a bold prediction, though, and say they won't kill Beckett.
Feel free to share your thoughts. And something new...
Get someone else's fur flying. Click to tweet.
