Tag Archives: Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries Acorn TV

It’s Monday — Already??!!

August 31, 2020 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Honestly, gang. I cannot believe it is already Monday again. Time to drive back into town and go get the groceries. It feels like I just did that!!

However, the fact that I have only a pint of blueberries and 2 cartons of yogurt in the fridge assures me that it is indeed Monday. So off I will go to town (the next county), as soon as I’m done posting this.

(And the good news continues, as the number of active cases in the next county continue to plummet!) (However, what continues to rise, is the number of college students coming to Ohio with active COVID 19 cases… Ohio has tons and tons of colleges including the massively huge Ohio State University, which just announced 922 new cases!! ) ( I am exaggerating, gang!!!! But it’s just a ridiculous amount of college kids here, heading in to college infected.) (Hope their summer was nothing but FUN.)

I also cannot believe it is now the last day of August. Sometimes I feel like I am just going to sail off into oblivion, and that the fears & politics sustaining this current virus are never going to leave our culture (and where were the “politics” when 60 MILLION Americans had swine flu in 2009 and the country did not shut down??), and that this is just it and that my life, happy as it actually is, is just sort of over. And that each day, I’m simply sailing deeper into the sweet hereafter. Because nothing makes sense anymore — even while I’m gaining clarity on more and more things in my private world (and my private world is the only thing I take with me into the sweet hereafter, right? So….).

Well. I guess only time will tell if I’m actually still alive here or not.

The petunias are still looking great, but there are fewer and fewer blooms as they begin to bloom themselves out — a sure sign that September is on its way. It’s bittersweet. But we still have several more weeks of blossoms ahead of us. And my toad is still doing great! Whenever it gets super hot, he still comes to sleep in the soil in that one specific planter on the front porch. I think he’s had a terrific summer. He looks really hardy!!

Yes, the erotic short story (“Half-Moon Bride”) continues… Each day, when I sit down at my desk to begin working on it, I think to myself: this is probably it; it’s probably going to come to the end today. And yet, I am always completely and thoroughly wrong.

And not only has the story not yet come to an end — even though I now know how it will end, I just have no clue how we’re getting there — I spent quite a good chunk of time yesterday, writing several pages of ridiculously filthy stuff, only to realize it was meant for another story altogether.

Yes, that’s correct. Over the weekend, while I was feverishly scribbling away on “Half-Moon Bride,” several other additional erotic short stories began coming to me, and so I was scribbling notes on those, at the same time

Too weird, right?? This sudden outburst of erotic short stories, while I have been focusing on erotic novels and memoirs for such a long stretch now? It feels like a proverbial dam has burst, or something, and now I am scrambling to keep up with the flow.

But anyway. Yes, so I worked on that whole section yesterday afternoon, and then realized, when I stole down to the kitchen to grab something quick to eat , and was on my way back upstairs to my desk: Wait! That whole thing is for a different story!!

So, I sat down at my desk, looked at the manuscript, and thought: Jesus. I need a break here. And so then I went back downstairs and watched the final episode of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries from way back in Season 1 (2012), and tried to air out my brain. Then I began watching that brand new special full-length movie, Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears (2020). I only watched about 15 minutes of it, though, before I made myself go back upstairs and write some more.

I don’t know how many of you loyal readers of this lofty blog can remember all the way back to the spring of 2018, right after I first moved here? I happened to glance out an upstairs window one Saturday afternoon, as it had suddenly started to rain, and I saw this amazing teenage boy — long blonde hair, tall, lean, beautiful, wearing a plaid shirt, blue jeans — standing in the yard across the street from my house, right by the railroad tracks. And he was sort of rapturously taking in the sudden downpour. And I immediately fell (maternally) in love with him and wished he were my kid! The joy, the freedom, coming out of him, and also the fact that he was just standing there, totally alone and so happy.

Well, I don’t know how old he actually is, but I think he’s still in high school — perhaps a senior now? (Meaning, his final year.) But he is clearly old enough to drive and now owns a motorcycle! And this is a very recent development. All weekend long, (no helmet, of course), he was riding a blue motorcycle all over the streets of Crazeysburg, always coming to a stop at the STOP sign just outside my house, so that’s how come I knew for sure it was always him.

I was up here working away on the intensely filthy erotic tome, I’d hear the motorcycle come to a stop outside, I’d glance out the open window, and there he’d be — so fucking free and beautiful. And then off he’d go.

Boy, was he happy on that thing. And he is still so fucking CUTE. Long hair still, but in a ponytail now. Just so young and so free.Alas, I really wish he was my kid…

Although, when I was in Junior High and High School, I had no less than 4 male friends die from motorcycle wrecks in the space of 3 years. So, if I actually were his mom, I’d probably be freaking the fuck out over that fucking motorcycle and the “helmet optional” laws here in the State of Ohio… (And yes, I realize, I’m actually old enough to be his grandmother…)

Well, all righty.

I suppose I will close this and head into town now. I hope you’re having a great Monday, wherever you are in the world. Thanks for visiting, gang. This morning, we were back to the Nocturama CD by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (2003), specifically the song “Right Out of Your Hand”. So I leave you with that today! Enjoy, gang. I love you guys. See ya.

Right Out of Your Hand

Please forgive me
If I appear unkind
But any fool can tell you
It’s all in your mind

Down in the meadow
The old lion stirs
Puts his hand across his mouth
He has no use for words

Poor little girl
With your handful of snow
Poor little girl
Had no way to know

And you’ve got me eating
you’ve got me eating
You’ve got me eating
Right out of your hand

I mean you no harm
When I tell you you’re blind
Give a sucker an even break
He’ll lose it all, every time

The airborne starlings circle
One the frozen fields
The hollyhocks hang harmlessly
And the old lion yields

And you’ve got me eating
You’ve got me eating
You’ve got me eating
Right out of your hand

Yesterday Was Wonder-Filled!

August 17, 2020 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Okay, well, sorry I didn’t post here yesterday. But I did, indeed, have just a splendid little day.

I started out thinking I was going to post here, as I usually do, but then I got on the treadmill and made the mistake of streaming another episode from Season 3 of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries while on the treadmill, and had so much fun that from that moment forward, my entire day went off onto its own little primrose path.

I split the day between streaming even more episodes from Season 3 of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, and streaming many happy hours of hentai 3D monster porn (do not watch those videos if you have an issue with questionable consent — and if you do, consider yourself forewarned). (In a big way.)

And then I spent some time with my many flowers — it was just a stunningly perfect day yesterday. Sunny, warm, but not too hot. And I also cleaned the house a little bit.

And here’s a great thing: I had to order a new vacuum cleaner!! I knew my other one was getting ready to bite the dust, as it were. Not just too many years of cat hair but also cat litter, which I think takes a really heavy toll on a vacuum cleaner.

Anyway, I used mine yesterday until the very last second, when the motor got really loud and I could start smelling smoke… But I was still able to vacuum the whole house except for the stairs. So any available, perhaps somewhat “disposable” income that could have been used for buying something really cool at Nick Cave’s cavethings.com went instead toward buying an exciting new vacuum cleaner…

Oh well. But be sure to check that cavethings.com link there because new items are coming soon!! (I, personally, am still holding out for the collection of tiles and I am hoping they won’t cost £300, but I’m not really holding my breath…)

Well, gang, the plans for the online staged reading of my play Tell My Bones get more and more exciting. I believe we have a firm date for the pre-recorded “live” stream: Sunday evening (Eastern Time, but I don’t know the exact time yet) November 8th. With rehearsals beginning in October.

I have a phone call with the director here in a few minutes that will update me on all the latest plans and I just can’t tell you how excited I am that so many talented people are getting onboard.

Okay, well it is Monday, which means that, once the phone call is over, I drive into town to get the groceries, and then once I get back home, I plan to finish reading Whatever Comes My Way: Travels in the Netherlands by my friend, Roger Gaess. And once that is done, I start reading a new (as yet unpublished) novel by another good friend, Mark Pritchard, who lives out in San Francisco. So, even while I didn’t actually do any work whatsoever yesterday, my daily calendar of things to focus on is really continuing to help me stay on top of all this stuff I need/want to do.

All righty, gang. I’m going to close this and get ready for my phone call. Yesterday, was the 43rd anniversary of the death of the King. Yes — Elvis Preseley. I found out on Instagram yesterday that the last song Elvis ever sang (at home on his piano) was “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” (a Country & Western standard, written by Fred Rose). So I’m leaving you with that today. Thanks for visiting, gang!! I hope you have a great Monday, wherever you are in this beautiful world. I love you guys. See ya.

“Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain”

In the twilight glow I see her
Blue eyes cryin’ in the rain
When we kissed goodbye and parted
I knew we’d never meet again

Love is like a dyin’ ember
Only memories remain
Through the ages I’ll remember
Blue eyes cryin’ in the rain

Some day when we meet up yonder
We’ll stroll hand in hand again
In a land that knows no partin’
Blue eyes cryin’ in the rain

Well, Sorry I’m So Late!!

August 14, 2020 marilyn jaye lewis 3 Comments

I started off the morning going right into working on getting the manuscript ready for publication (The Guitar Hero Goes Home).

Getting very, very close, gang!! Finally! Spent quite a bit of time on the phone yesterday with Valerie, so the cover design is also almost done.

Late yesterday afternoon, when I was closing up shop for the day, two official reviews for the novel came in and I was just so happy, gang. Since the novel is experimental fiction, I know it is not going to appeal to everyone. And since it’s not erotic fiction, I’m guessing it will be a tricky sell to most of my regular readers.

So far, though, the feedback I’m getting from the advance readers who are male has been really, really good. I have gotten no feedback from any female readers yet. So I guess we’ll just see.

But here is M. Christian’s review and it really made my whole night:

“As arousing as it is heartfelt, as lyrical as it is penetrating, as meaningful as it is wild and untamed … I can give no greater praise for Marilyn Jaye Lewis’s The Guitar Hero Goes Home than to say this is a book written by a wonderful writer at the height of her powers. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!”

And he swore that he actually meant that; he wasn’t just being nice…

It’s tricky when you know the people who are giving you the feedback — are they just being nice, etc. But I’ve decided to just go ahead and allow myself to feel good about it. Because it puts me in a really great headspace about the whole project.

Okay. Well, I don’t really have anything much to say today because my focus has basically been on getting this book ready to go to print. However, I’m into Season 3 of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries in the evenings and I have not seen any of these episodes before so that’s really exciting!! The show is just so fun.

So I will close this brief — and very late — post. I hope Friday has been great to you, wherever you are in the world!! I leave you with a Broken Record podcast on YouTube fromTuesday — Malcolm Gladwell talking to Rick Rubin about Tom Petty. So enjoy, gang. And thanks for visiting!! I love you guys. See ya.

The Delights of Pre-Publication Continue!!

August 12, 2020 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

I spent all day yesterday working on the pre-publication stuff for The Guitar Hero Goes Home and here’s something really interesting that you might want to make note of:

If, two years ago, you thought you were going to write your novel really quickly and then just toss it up on Amazon’s Kindle & Create Space and so you used a manuscript writing template from Amazon that was in Beta-testing mode and then life went on and on and men you loved died and it was horrible and it took a year to finish writing the very short novel and by then you thought you’d send it around to small presses because the responses you were getting to separate chapters of the novel were extremely positive and so, a year later, when not a single small press replied to you, you decided to publish it yourself, as a small press and not necessarily as a Create Space press, and so you went through the process of attempting to format your manuscript as a non-Amazon POD…

And you then discover that the Amazon Beta-testing template never made it to Alpha and it no longer exists and your manuscript is now locked into that template and you cannot remove it!!!!! Try as you might!!!

And even though it doesn’t look like it’s stuck in that template it actually IS…

And even though you try every way you can think of to try to trick the manuscript into thinking it is in fact no longer stuck in that Beta-testing template, and you run it through the manuscript processing machine, you realize that it has in fact tricked you, AGAIN, and it is still stuck in the template.

And so you stare hard at your computer screen for just a really long time and say things like, “Fuck, this can’t be possible” and “I am not retyping this whole fucking manuscript!” and “Shit, fuck” — stuff like that.

And then Valerie doesn’t return your texts or your calls and you have not only a lot of stuff to relay to her about the cover design, but you also wish to tell someone/anyone how insane this fucking non-removable template is and that you want to shoot yourself and you want someone/anyone to say how bad they feel for you!

(She did eventually text me back, but it was long after I was done fucking with that manuscript for the day.)

Anyway. Round 2. Guess who’s publishing The Guitar Hero Goes Home as a Create Space press? Because the template at least meets the measurements they need for the pages to print correctly. Funny, right? The best laid plans of mice and men just lead you right the fuck back to where you were when you started writing the novel 2 years ago.

Just amazing.

Okay!! That said — I’m planning on having a really great day today, even though I will be once again spending the entire day trying to get this novel one step closer to publication. We shall see how that goes!! And if it goes poorly, at least Valerie has promised to call mid-afternoon today, so I will have someone to loudly complain to if need be!!

Well, that’s kind of it around here, gang. My day was rather narrow in scope yesterday. I did watch one more episode of Endeavour, and another episode of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, so I was at least in heaven last evening!! (But (heavy sigh) only one episode of Endeavor left. Then a whole year must pass before the next one…)

I hope you have a great Wednesday unfolding for you, wherever you are in the world!! Tropical Fuck Storm dropped a new single last night, “Legal Ghost.” (This is a slightly different version of a song that Gareth Liddiard and Rui Pereira released in the 90s.) I leave you with that today!! Enjoy! And thanks for visiting. I love you guys. See ya.

“Legal Ghost”

She said come in, wipe your feet
I walked in off the street
Into her room yeah it looked pretty bad
She made me read the report
And after all her contortions
I met her legal ghost, her legal ghost, her legal ghost

They went and burned his body
And then they burned his clothes
Yeah but it doesn’t really matter who you sleep with now, you’ll always sleep alone
So it may as well be me, I got nowhere to be
I’ll probably hang around
Yeah just you, me, us two, and your legal ghost
Your legal ghost

For once the cops ain’t calling for ya
But ya know that kid she can’t stay with ya
And see only thing you’ve got coming is just the spaces that are left by all the things that go
Like your legal ghost, your legal ghost, your legal ghost

Ah but don’t the walls seem harder now?
Ain’t the corners just a little darker now?
Now your faith has failed you
Even a paper trail
Leads to your legal ghost
Your legal ghost
Your legal ghost
Your legal ghost

It doesn’t really matter who you sleep with now you’re just a legal ghost
It doesn’t really matter who you speak with now you’re just a legal ghost
It doesn’t really matter who you talk with now you’re just a legal ghost
It doesn’t really matter where you walk to now you’re just a legal ghost
It doesn’t really matter if you hang around you’re just a legal ghost
It doesn’t really matter if you stay in town you’re just a legal ghost
You know I know that you know you are a legal ghost
You are a legal ghost, a legal ghost, a legal ghost

Here Comes Sunday!!

August 2, 2020 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Okay, well, if you’re here wondering what happened to the new flash-memoir piece I posted here last night — I only wanted it up for about 12 hours. Since it’s brand new & unpublished, I didn’t want it to get too many views yet.

But thank you for all the “likes.” I appreciate it.

Today has been one of those days where I had to try to just get myself on automatic and make myself do stuff. It was one of those mornings where I didn’t really even want to get out of bed.

Well, I mean, I got up at my usual 5am, fed everyone, did all my millions of Inner Being Journal-type thingies down at the kitchen table, then went back upstairs and meditated, then went BACK to bed, and then didn’t feel like getting out of bed.

(I know, I am, like, just fucking neurotic. If you think I’d be hard to live with, imagine how I feel when I wake up each morning, 60 years running now, and realize: oh my god, she’s still here.…)

Okay, anyway.

I somehow managed to get on the treadmill, even though I absolutely did not want to work out today. And then, after my shower, I even forced myself to finally cut my hair. I cut off three inches and my hair still hits just below my shoulders. It had gotten so long. I really, really didn’t want to cut it because I love long hair, but it wasn’t really looking very attractive. So it had to go.

While I’m waiting on PBS Passport to air the new season of Endeavor (in 7 days), I’ve been splitting up my time in the evenings watching both the old Season 2 of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries (which I watched 6 years ago, when it was new, but I don’t remember much of it so that’s fun), and then a newer show (also on Acorn TV), Dead Still.

That one is only a 6-part show, but I like it a lot. It’s quirky. The only drawback is that most of the characters have such heavy Irish accents that a lot of the dialogue I don’t actually understand. But I can still follow the plot. It’s not that tricky. And it’s really fun.

But as I had feared, having the Acorn TV subscription again is giving me way too many options for TV shows that really, really appeal to me. And I really don’t like watching (streaming) TV. It makes me feel like I’m wasting time.

Sometimes I try to convince myself that it’s “research” and it’s giving me an opportunity to see all the great new television writing that’s out there — and that’s partly true. But I have so much reading I could get caught up on in the evenings. Just during the pandemic, I’ve bought 20 new books. And so far, I’ve only finished reading about 3 or 4 of them.

Even though I need structure, otherwise I sit around, staring, and that almost always leads to terrible, terrible places; I still have just so much structure to my days, that it can start to make me go completely insane.

At some point before I die, I would really like to figure out how to just enjoy myself, without having a single darn thing to do from morning until night. I think I would really love that, as long as I had some sort of keeper, you know, who would keep my mind distracted.

Well, I did not make much headway with Thug Luckless yesterday, because I had to take another webinar mid-afternoon, and I wanted to take it in “real time” and not stream it later on. And then, on the heels of that, I had a great phone conversation with Kevin (director of Tell My Bones) about potential stuff for the staged reading of the play, which was really exciting. However. That all sort of skewed my energy for the rest of the day.

Today, however, I have nothing left on my schedule that I need to do but work on Thug Luckless, so that’s pretty cool. I am hoping that it’s going to be a productive day. (Yes, I know — I’ve just spent the last 5 hours doing what most people spread out over an entire day, so hoping that the day “is productive” is just fucking insane.)

Oh well. You know, if I didn’t have these cats counting on me — I realize that Kafka had TB, and that he eventually died from it, but I used to think that it was so cool that he would just go off and disappear in a sanitarium in the mountains for huge chunks of time and try to “get well.” (Kafka was almost as neurotic as I am.) (I’m just kidding, gang — he was one of the most neurotic writers that ever lived.) But sometimes, I just wish I could go off somewhere and “get well.” I really do!!

Franz Kafka - Wikipedia — One of my favorite writers (and men) of all time.

Okay. On that note. Let me get going here. I hope you’re having a great Sunday, wherever you are in the world. Thanks for visiting, gang. I leave you with absolutely nothing today because what have I been listening to? Yes, that’s right — IZ singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” over and over and over. I think that makes about 3 or 4 days running, doesn’t it? I have probably listened to it about 800 times now. And I don’t seem to be getting tired of it yet. (Methinks I would like to get to that place over the rainbow, but I’m not entirely certain about that yet!!)

All righty. Enjoy your day. I love you guys. See ya.