A Rainy Monday

Shawn, Mason and I had a nice weekend.  We spent a good part of Saturday morning estate sale/rummage shopping, which was a blast.  There were a couple of church basement rummage sales, including a really awesome book sale at St. Olivet's, which is this beautiful Congregational church close to the Merrim Park Library.  In fact, Mason and I were done early and we just sat an admired their gorgeous 'gymnasium.'  Shawn and I joked that we were tempted to join the church just for the building.

St. Olivet's was a stark contrast to the house we stopped at that was just down the road from Stepping Stone Theatre (behind the law school).  It was... straight out of a Stephen King novel, not only had it suffered HARDCORE neglect (on a squalor level), but, you know how most of the time you can feel the good strong bones of a house underneath all the grime and disrepair?  Yeah, no.  This house had been born with a mutated, malformed skeleton.  Because, even though people had 'remuddled' it over the years, there were pieces that were clearly original that were just... odd.  Like the second story... prayer alcove?  It looked like people had been using it last as a closet, but it had been built with a stained glass window and a little buildt-in kneeler.  The rooms were also all off at odd angles, which were perhaps originally meant to be 'charming' or even 'eccentric' but came off as cramped and wrong after time had worn the beauty away.

Mason, who has a very low threshold for bad vibes, walked in and instantly said, "Oh, no. Let's just go." Shawn and I pushed through with sheer curiosity and, much to Mason's chagrin, we both brought something home from that house.  (Shawn got a roll of rope and I found a leather wallet.)

That house was one of the ones that all the sale-rs had to stop and chat with strangers about (which, if you aren't from around here, you might not realize what a BIG DEAL that is in Minnesota.)  I would say something to Mason like, "My god, look at this, the original builders didn't even finish off these floor boards..." and the person passing by on the way up the stairs would feel compelled to stop, look, and then comment about some other odd feature they'd seen in the garage or elsewhere.  The estate sale workers kept trying to sort of reassure people by saying, "This house is old.  It was built in 1913."  To which, I replied, "Our house was built in 1911. It doesn't look like this.  Something more than time happened to this house."  To which, they had no other response than, "The workers are coming back on Monday."

The other thing that pissed off all the estate sale-rs that came through was that, possibly to fund the remodeling, the prices were jacked up.  There were things there that should have been marked ten bucks (generous) that were set at SEVENTY.

Mason shadowed me through the whole house saying, "This place is like a HOG (Hidden Object Game)."  Because on top of all the weird angles and decrepit-ness the estate sale workers had just piled all the goods in boxes and in tables in a way that just made it all seem that much more chaotic.  Even the back yard garden was a mess.

It was kind of amazing, really.  It was the sort of place that sticks in your head, and it may have to work its way into a novel, because it's too good to waste, you know?

Sunday we spent doing some housework, baking cookies (for real!  I made chocolate chip!) and playing some board games.  It was that kind of day because we woke up to a rain that beat down steadily all day long.

During some of my housework, I started a new anime series.  I'm now watching Witch Craft Works.  I'm not entirely sure I can recommend it.  It's weirdly compelling, though.  The story is about "an average high school boy" who, it turns out, has a witch guardian who considers him her "princess."  A lot of the humor in the story has to do with a shounen reversal. She gets all the power-ups, is popular and aloof, and he's just kind of a pretty/handsome load she constantly has to rescue.  Weirdly, that kind of works for me.  All the villains and side-characters are female, too, so it's very much a conscious 'see, this is what you look like!' in terms of reversing all the gender stuff.

I'm watching it on Crunchyroll, so it's a new anime, only just having aired this year in January in Japan.  There are 12 episodes, and I'm just about to start #4 with today's load of dishes.  I suspect that if this anime follows the flow of most 'new-ish' anime, the real action will start now that they've set up the characters and the situation.  I feel like it was right about episode 3 or 4 that Rei was introduced in Free! Iwatobi Swim Club and that's when things really started rolling.

At any rate, I'm enjoying that.

Today my plans are to get a good start on my new UnJust Cause installment.  I have to say that given time, the serial thing on WattPad is starting to work better for me.  I've decided that I'm not allowed to look at my statistics, which helps, and only concentrate on the comments.  I have one really faithful reader (who is not actually someone I know outside of this context), so I'm kind of writing this for her.  She leaves comments at the end of each chapter and is even starting to try to guess at the plot, WHICH I TOTALLY ADORE AND HAD BEEN HOPING FOR.  So, that's working.

More importantly, having the publishing deadline of once a week on a Tuesday afternoon, means I'm writing forward every week.  This is a very, very good thing.

Plus, even though I hate it, it seems like my social media blast about the updates are getting re-blogged (at least a friend saw it happen once), so that's kind of all I can hope for.

I really do think this is the sort of thing that might become a THING given enough time.  For now, I'm along for the ride... and it's keeping me writing on a project.

New MangaKast

Mason and I just don't know when to quit.  We've posted our SEVENTH MangaKast.  In this delightfully short podcast, we discuss how Kenpachi can defy the vacuum of space with his irritated impatience and whether or not heads floating on plates might be delicious....

Yeah, admit it, you're curious:

http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/seventh-heaven/

Werewolves and Autopsies

The newest chapter in my WIP/sequel to Precinct 13 is posted!  http://www.wattpad.com/46894855-unjust-cause-part-5-werewolves-and-autopsies

In this installment, more and more evidence seems to point to Valentine's involvement in the death of the homeless woman found at the base of the clock tower.  

Pumped from Using the Prompt

I came back from my "First Pages" Loft gig at Chanhassen Library today feeling really hyped.  I had a blast playing with some of the story idea generators with the participants.  We found a couple of really entertaining sites that I'm going to share with you...

The first is really best if used completely randomly (press 'fill in) and see what happens.  We got a completely zany storyline that included robots poking each other at a funeral. (Exactly, right?  I mean, that image is going to stick in my head... possibly until I figure out how to write it.)  http://www.plot-generator.org.uk

The other one was slightly more useful.  This site offers a number of tailored options, including the one I ended up using with was 'how I got my superpowers.'  http://www.springhole.net/writing_roleplaying_randomators/plotgens.htm

The prompt I got in response to 'how I got my super powers' was: FROM THE FAIRY.  I couldn't resist that one and ended up writing this little snippet...

They told me if I wanted to get superpowers, I had to buy them from the fairy.  The problem was you never knew what it’d cost you.  Fairies are fickle, you know.  Sometimes they just want something mundane.  I heard of a guy who got the power of invulnerability and all it cost him was a slice of Munster cheese.  Other times, they wanted too much, stuff no sane person would part with.  Sure, you’re immortal, but your body is gone, and you’re just stuffed teddy bear without even the ability to move or speak.

I don't know if I'll do anything more with it, but it's a fun start, don't you think?

Anyway, I have no idea if the participants (I hesitate to use the term students in this situation) got as much enjoyment out of the program as I did, but I hope so.  One of the challenges of the 'First Pages' program is that it's meant to be flexible.  That's a good thing, because it can mean that the "class" is tailored to individual needs, but it can also mean the instructor (me) does a lot of flailing around from subject to subject hoping to hit on something that works.  I felt very flail-ly, but I sincerely hope that since I had fun it means they did too.

We nominally have a subject to discuss, but this one was "Read to Write" and so the 'discussion' was meant to be structured around what books can teach us about writing.  Since, as far as I can tell, the answer is: everything, we talked about that for a while, but... well, that wasn't much of a sustaining sort of subject, you know?  Maybe if I'd had a blackboard we could have listed books that influenced our writing.  Perhaps, since I'll be doing this again in Roseville next month, I can start with that next time.

But, so after we'd exhausted that subject, I opened the floor up to questions.  What do you struggle with with your writing?  And, somehow from there, we got to plot generators, and silliness ensued.

Ultimately, as I said, I had a good time, if nothing else.  And, well, I guess, worst case scenario, they got what they paid for (it's free.)

MangaKast, the Sixth

For those of you curious about my fannish side, you can feel free to listen in to the podcast that my son Mason and I record every Wednesday.  Wednesday is the day that the scantilations (fan scan translations) for a lot of our manga appear, so we get up at stupid o'clock and turn on the mic.  I can't say we're terribly articulate, given the time, but I still think we have a lot of fun.

We're up at:  http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/podcast-the-sixth/ (remember the little "go" arrow is kind of hard to spot, but it's right there at the very top of the page.)

New Installment of UnJust Cause Up!

I might have been writing up to the very last minute, but that just means this newest installment of UnJust Cause is HOT off the press!

You can read it here: UnJust Cause Part 4: Mochas and Motorcycles

In this installment, Alex discovers that demons have a weakness for mochas.  Also, it seems that the sexy redhead werewolf biker, Mac, is stalking her!

Writing Process Blog Tour

Is today!

So, here goes.

Step one: Acknowledge the person & site that involved you in the blog: conradzero.com/2014-writing-process-blog-tour

Step two: Answer the 4 questions below about your writing process:

----

What am I working on?

Just before I remembered I was supposed to do this today, I was working on the next installment for Precinct 13's sequel, UnJust Cause.  

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My agent used to say that I was "weird, but compelling."  I suspect that's a fairly accurate description of my writing.  I tend towards quirky characters.  For instance, in the scene I was just working on, my Muse suddenly decided that the demon Internal Affairs agent, Furfur, really, REALLY likes coffee and he's currently slobbering all over a mocha in a disturbingly semi-sexual way.

Why do I write what I do?

I tend to find Real Life (tm) kind of boring. I'd much prefer it if the world was populated by magic-sword wielding shinigami and/or dragon shifters.  I can't actually imagine how tedious it would be to write an entire novel about a dysfunctional family.  But, add a touch of magic, and I'm totally there.

How does your writing process work?

In the case of UnJust Cause I have a narrative outline that I developed as a proposal for this novel, which I refer to when I get stuck or can't remember what plot point I'm supposed to be hitting.  Otherwise, I just start and see where things take me.  I'm an odd combination of a pants-er and an outliner.

This novel is also different in that I've set myself a very simple goal of having at least 2,000 words ready to publish once a week.  So, I'm trying to structure these so that each little individual section has a bit of a story arc... or at least ends on a kind of cliffhanger that will make readers want to tune into the next week's installment.  That's a little different than my usual writing process, which shoots to do that kind of arc in an entire chapter.

Otherwise, I spend a lot of time writing a bit and then wishing the Internet would either be more or less entertaining than it is.

----

Step Three: Pick who is on next week (your own chosen three) – give a little bio and link to their website.

Whelp, the people I asked never got back to me, so I'm afraid I'm a dead-end in the blog roll.

Five is Live

Mason and I recorded our fifth MangaKast, which, if you a) have interest in Bleach, Attack on Titan/SnK, or Toriko, or b) just want to hear what we sound like at 5:45 am (before my first real cup of coffee, too!) you should totally check it out.

MangaKast can be found here: http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/five-is-live/

This is another project I could consider a failed experiment, but, in this case, I really don't.  Mason and I have limited expectations for it, for one.  We probably have three faithful listeners (which is probably actually one, since I play the edited version for Mason when he gets home from school.)  But, this is a totally different thing we're doing.  It's entirely for ourselves and we know it.  I get to bond with my son about something we both enjoy, and he gets to be a host of a podcast... how cool is that?  (When you're ten?  Pretty darn cool.)

Plus, at least one day a week, we're up and ready for school ON TIME.  (Even mom appreciates that!)

Newest Installment is Up on WattPad

As I discussed yesterday, I'm keeping on with this project, and, thus, I bring you the third installment of UnJust Cause:  http://www.wattpad.com/44898135-unjust-cause-part-3-the-body-and-the-suspects

A body is discovered at the base of the clock tower.  But did they jump or were they... dropped?  It's up to Alex to determine if there's something more sinister going on, and her  investigation is hampered by the presence of the two Internal Affairs agents....

I don't know if WattPad has a space for these kinds of summaries, but, if they did, that's what I'd write to describe this bit.

Thanks again to everyone who commented yesterday.  It's surprisingly difficult, as I'm sure you all know, to pick your feet up and start again.  Knowing there are people out there rooting for me makes all the difference.  So, thank YOU.

Coming Soon...

In the "Things Coming Soon" department, this a head's up that I've agreed to take part in a blog tour about the writing process.  Next Monday I'll be posting my blog, but if you're curious about what's gone before, you can check out the guy who tagged me, Conrad Zero, here: http://www.conradzero.com/2014-writing-process-blog-tour/

Also, I'm spending today writing and polishing my next installment of the Precinct 13 sequel for WattPad.  If you're confused about what I'm doing over there, the short of it is that I've really struggled with motivation to write ever since I was dropped by my publisher.  The idea of posting this is a work-in-progress on WattPad is to keep the momentum going.  I am really hoping to develop a following and a community there, so I can be encouraged to keep on keeping on.

I can't really say it's working so far.  It's possible that I've been silent too long.  My readers may have given up on me, which is totally fair.  I really dropped out of the scene pretty hard.

I probably should have considered doing this sort of self-publishing thing immediately, but, the truth is I held out hope that one of my other projects would sell quickly.  Obviously, that didn't happen, and when it didn't, I was very thrown for a loop.  I still have projects that I'm hoping my agent will be able to sell, but I probably wasted a lot of valuable time scrambling around trying to fight a system that changed on me, seemingly overnight.

For instance, she and I were still trying to sell books on proposal, which, apparently, despite how many books you've had published, you really can't do any more.  You need to have a finished project, ideally, but, if not that, then a lot of finished product to show off.  I didn't have that, and so when there was interest, I had to scramble and write... which I'm not as good at. I did my very best, but I'm much better at having a chance to have a lot of revision and time to feel my way into a character and the plot.  So, no surprise, those 'samples' fell flat for a lot of publishers....

...which, of course, only continued to depress me.

So, the whole idea behind publicly posting my work on WattPad was to up my confidence.  But, alas, I've lost half my readers between my first post and my second.  So... that kind of sucks.  I'm not sure what to make of it.  It wasn't like I had an overwhelming response for my first post, either.

However, I'm still trying to use the publication schedule I've set for myself as a motivator.  At least if I write a 2,000+ word installment a week, that's forward progress. Considering that previously I was writing zero words a week, that's a very good thing.  So, I'm not ready to write off this experience just yet.  Not by a long shot.

For those who are wondering, yes, the end result should be a self-published e-book.  Provided, of course, I stick with this.

Go Forth Fourth

Mason and I recorded our fourth MangaKast for your enjoyment.  If you have any interest in the latest Bleach or Toriko chapters, tune in!  We also discuss Blue Exorcist (aka Ao no Exorcist) and One Piece.

http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/04/02/go-forth-fourth/

Newest Installment is Live!

Though I'd been planning on publishing a new installment of the Precinct 13 sequel every TUESDAY, tomorrow I have plans that are going to take me away from the computer, so I thought I should post today.

Here's the link: http://www.wattpad.com/43901166-unjust-cause-part-2-a-demon-named-furfur

Remember, it's free to read and I'd love comments and kudos to keep me going!  Hope you enjoy it.

Video... Evidence

The reading from the other night is live and on-line.




It's long. I read the entire story of "God Box," as well as part of the WIP that I'm posting on WattPad. But, if you make it to very end, you'll be rewarded with my squee about Attack on Titan and Free! anime and my secret name on AO3.

Well.. THAT was a Surprising Success....

'll tell you no lies.

I was scared to death that last nights' reading at Dreamhaven was going to be a bust.  Even, so I was determined to make the best of it.  I brought along several copies of King David & the Spiders of Mars and planned to read "God Box," my science fictional Biblical horror retelling of the"golden hemorrhoids" story from Judges. I even took my laptop along in case there was more than me and Eric (the coordinator) and I had extra time to read from my WIPs.  I got all dressed up.  I wore tie.  I left early (early enough to stop for coffee, even.) 

Pre-show jitters (with cat):




And I kind of held my breath, expecting... crickets.

But... lo and behold, people came. 

Lots of people came.

There was hardly an empty seat in the house and someone brought a very professional video camera (on a tripod and everything), so there may be a YouTube video of the reading at some point.  I gave the guy my card, so when/if it goes up, I asked him to let me know.  I'll be sure to link to it here (and anywhere else you're likely to go looking for me.)  But, of course, he was one of the first people to arrive, when all the seats were still empty, and we joked that he should splice in the ComicCon crowd where everyone is shouting, "Loki, Loki" and try to make it sound like "Lyda, Lyda" and I even raised my hands and said, "SAY MY NAME!" 

I doubt he'll really do that, but it was fun to imagine, especially since I was still terrified I'd be filmed reading to an empty room.

But, so the reading went REALLY well.  As you know Bob, I'm a bit of an extrovert, so the more people, the higher my energy level. 

Did I mention that I'd also stopped for coffee?

Yeah, it could be... "interesting," this film, but, honestly?  I had a BLAST.  I even read from Tate's WIP, the sequel to Precinct 13 (and mostly didn't blush or mumble over the especially dirty bits), and and let people know that they could read a bit more (and the updates as I post them) on WattPad. 

So... yeah... a surprising success.

Plus afterwards there's a tradition at the Speculations readings of going out for pizza after, and I can't even remember the last time I has as much fun as I did last night.  A bunch of us were still there as they were turning off lights around us and we even stood around in the cold wind continuing to talk until almost 11:00 pm.  ON A SCHOOL NIGHT! 

I have to thank everyone who showed, because I... I *really* thought this was going to suck so much.  So if you were there last night and reading this: THANK YOU.  Big time.  And, if you missed, well, fingers crossed the video will go up soon, and you can see what I'm liked hopped up on crowd and caffeine.

Your Wednesday MangaKast

If you want to hear what my son and I sound like first thing in the morning, here we are again bringing you the latest, breaking news in Bleach and Toriko:  http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/03/26/a-cookie-for-kenpachi-or-our-third-podcast/

An Experiment

I've decided to just jump into this kind of crazy, new world of self-publishing/social media, and so I'm writing the sequel to PRECINCT 13 in serial fashion on a site called WattPad, which allows for quite a bit of interaction between the reader and the writer--kind of like an original fiction version of archive of our own.

So, if you'd like to read the sequel AS I WRITE IT, check out the first installment here: http://www.wattpad.com/43223189-unjust-cause-part-1?d=ud

PLEASE let me know what you think of it!  I'll let you know here when new stuff goes up there, but the plan is to try to post once a week.

More Nerdiness from Mason and Me...

If you want to listen in, Mason and I recorded our second MangaKast.  Just like last time, the podcast is actually playable on the WordPress site--you just have to press the little, almost invisible forward arrow icon there at the top of the page.

The podcast is a bit... well, I ultimately left a lot of it unedited, because we just sort of ramble around subjects and I found it kind of adorkable.  Of course, if you're not following Bleach or Toriko, it will probably make a whole lot of NO SENSE.  I'd suggest catching up on Bleach, but there's, well, 573 chapters and counting...

Meanwhile, if you want to read something by me that's just kind of fluffy fun, I wrote some fan fic for  an Anime called Free! (aka "the gay swimming anime") which I'm considering turning into a regular story.  The original fic is called "The Merman Who Hated the Sea" and it's here:  https://archiveofourown.org/works/1328380

New (Goofy, Fannish) Podcast...

My son and I are huge manga nerds.  Every Wednesday is like a holiday at our house.  We get up early and rush to the iPads and read the latest iterations of Bleach [for both of us] and Toriko [for him.]  I also just read a lot of manga.  I'm pretty sure I've talked here about my love of Bakuman and others.

At any rate, we've started a very on-the-fly, first-thing-in-the-morning, first reactions kind of podcast, where we get up, read the manga, and... well, basically freak out for a while and then talk about it.

If you want to listen to my unbridled enthusiasm (and my adorable 10 year old son), you can check it out here:

http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/first-ever-mangakast/

Wyrdsmith and a Con Report...

First, go check out the wonderful interview with my fellow Wyrdsmiths, Adam Stemple, over at our blog:  http://wyrdsmiths.blogspot.com/2014/03/q-adam-stemple.html

Also, I wrote up my Saturday and Sunday con report for MarsCON over on my LJ--

Saturday: http://lyda222.livejournal.com/330315.html

Sunday:  http://lyda222.livejournal.com/330924.html

In a nutshell, good times were had by all otaku, I asked Dr. Demento for directions to registration, and postalized for Moon-Moon and the Free! anime.

Awesome Review of My Short Story "God Box"

The Little Red Reviewer blog reviewed King David the Spiders from Mars and picked out my short story "God Box" to say nice things about.  Among other things, she says:

There is some intense characterization and worldbuiling happening in this short story, it’s as if Kayla walked out of a novel or a space opera series to let us in on one small event that would shape the rest of her life. Biblical Terror? shit just got real.

The full review is here: http://littleredreviewer.wordpress.com/2014/03/05/king-david-and-the-spiders-from-mars/

Yay!

MarsCON Schedule

The preliminary schedule is up on the MarsCON page, and from what I can tell I'll be on two panels.  One on Saturday at 11 am and the other on Sunday at 3 pm.

GETTING INTO THE MIND OF A RELIGIOUS FANATIC

Exec Lounge (Krushenko’s)—Saturday, 11:00 am

Uber villain or bit player, what are they like? Are there any useful generalizations? Are they likely to be suicidal and does that depend on the religion or the person? ow can they make for interesting novels and stories without being stereotyped and one dimensional?

With: Naomi Kritzer, mod.; P M F Johnson, Lyda Morehouse, G. David Nordley, David E. Romm, Ozgur K. Sahin

DULL, REALISTIC CHARACTERS

Atrium 2 (Re(a)d Mars) — Sunday 03:00 pm

The people who really explore space and fight modern wars have a lot of self control. They don’t slam fists into spacecraft controls like Hulk Hogan. Do you have to forget about them in fiction, or can you make them interesting? And if your protagonist is like that do you just have to accept that critics will complain and press on in hopes of finding an audience that appreciates a little verisimilitude?

With: Bridget Landry, G. David Nordley, mod.; Patrick W. Marsh, Lyda Morehouse, Kathryn Sullivan

General MarsCON information is as follows:

MarsCon 2014

Time Is The Key
March 7-9, 2014

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bloomington-Minneapolis South
7800 Normandale Boulevard
Bloomington, MN 55439

Send questions about MarsCon to info14e@marscon.org, we’ll do our best to send answers!

There’s more about MarsCon on Facebook and Twitter.

Zombies and Unicorns, Oh My!

The Loft has asked me back to teach as part of their Summer Youth Program, so I'm reprising my successful (17 17-year-olds!) "More than the Zombie Apocalypse" SF/F class.

If you know someone who might be eligible, more details can be found here: https://www.loft.org/classes/detail/?loft_product_id=62116

A quickie interview with me (and my alter ego)

Over on the Wyrdsmith's page, you can catch up with what I've been doing with myself: http://wyrdsmiths.blogspot.com/2014/02/q-lyda-morehouse-and-tate-too.html

Garnet Lacey Fan Fic

If you're a fan of the Garnet Lacey series, let me point you over to AO3, where there is a new bit of fan fic available that features Sebastian and Matyas.  It's short, it's sweet (and a bit sexy): http://archiveofourown.org/works/1159841

A New E-book

My alter-ego is proud to announce that her novel Messiah Node is now available for the first time as an e-book via Wizard Tower Press: http://www.wizardstowerbooks.com/products/messiah-node-lyda-morehouse

Here's a little bit about it:

The sign.

When a meteorite falls from the sky, the destruction left in its wake lights a political fuse that could bring on Armageddon.

The prophet.

Just when the world could use a savior, the prophet Elijah appears. His search for a messiah leads him to the daughter of the archangel Michael.

The savior.

Meanwhile other messiah hopefuls spring up around the world -- including Page, an AI already tangled in webs of religion and deception. Yet as false shepherds lead the lambs to their doom, it may be up to Page's creator, the criminal mastermind known as Mouse, to save them all....

Reviews

"Messiah Node's cool, ethereal fusion of cyberpunk and mythology fits perfectly with with action-adventure storytelling and a piercing examination of religious extremism."
-- Alyx Dellamonica, Locus

"I'll give Lyda Morehouse a big thumbs-up for this book; Messiah Node is full of great characters, a great plot, and lots of action. The book has all the ingredients that exemplifies good modern science fiction; a blend of genres that will appeal to the wider public, and Morehouse is a writer that stands out in the crowd. This is a terrific blend of fresh ideas and an intriguing futuristic vision."
-- Vegar Holmen, The Alien Online

"Morehouse knows how to pace her story, weaving strands of plot and drawing the reader ever deeper into its fascinating but unnerving world. Although the third book in a tetralogy, this one includes enough backstory to stand solidly on its own. The final volume ought to be riveting, for apocalypse is on the horizon"
-- Regina Schroeder, Booklist

"... an excellent read. I was up half the night finishing it."
-- Cheryl Morgan, Emerald City

Anthology News

I have a short story called "The God Box" that will be out a Biblical Horror Anthology called KING DAVID AND THE SPIDERS OF MARS, which is available for pre-order on Amazon at:  http://www.amazon.com/King-David-Spiders-Sonya-Taaffe/dp/0976654687

"The God Box" is the story of the golden hemorrhoids from... Judges, I think, except recast as a science fiction story set on Jupiter's moon Ganymede.  I'm actually kind of proud of this story, so you know, if the rest of the book sounds at all cool to you, please consider pre-ordering a copy

Bonus Halloween Podcast

Rachel and I decided to do a bonus Halloween podcast (very short, only about 10 minutes) in which we listen to some more poetry in ancient Sumerian and talk to Professor Dalglesh about the first author (do you know who that was?  Hint: it was a woman!) and general language things...

The podcast is embedded in the blog post, and you can follow the links inside to get a more in-depth picture of the things we discussed.  http://entertheunseen.com/notes-halloween-travels/

Also, as Dylan, I wrote a short story for the Unseen World:  http://entertheunseen.com/portfolio-item/read-frayed-edges/

Fans of my urban fantasy work should enjoy "Frayed Edges," it's very much like a Garnet novel or maybe even Precinct 13. 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  My family and I always love carving pumpkins, and this was my scary guy.  I based him partly on my Anime crush, Renji Abarai (the funky eyebrow things are his.)

Mason, my son, came up with this design, which I think looks like an homage to Grumpy Cat/Tard:

Podcast

I'm doing a podcast (under the stage name "Dylan Calish), which I hope will become a monthly thing.  It's called "Travels in the UnSeen World" and you can take a listen to the first episode here:  http://entertheunseen.com/travels1/

Here's how it's described:

Who wouldn’t want to learn to say “devour the corpses like a dog; so say well all” in the phonetic interpretation of Cuneiform?

In our very first podcast of “Travels in the UnSeen World” you can learn that phrase as well as several other evocations to the god Inanna as read to us by Professor Cass Dalglish. We will also learn about the five types of demons that inhabit the UnSeen World from author Rachel Calish… in an interview that was crashed (almost literally) by several unseen guests….

So, grab your passports, fellow travelers, and get ready to enter the UnSeen….

Sounds cool, right?  Well, feel free to check it out.  It's a project that I've had in mind for a long time.  Like any good otaku, I've been trying to teach myself Japanese.  As part of this, I've listened to some VERY boring language tapes.  "John Learner would like a cup of coffee."  And phrases like this where nothing untoward every happens to Mr. Learner. He always gets through customs without a hassle.  Makes a phone call without dialing the wrong number.  And any number of completely unlikely scenarios when you're traveling abroad, right??  And, anyway, I have always thought it'd be so much more fun to learn a language if you were actually following an interesting story.  This isn't quite that, because it's also in support of my friend Rachel's new book and the world she developed around it, but there is a strong language component that's part of this.

Anyway, it's a creative project that's keeping me off the streets.

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

You want these don't you?

They're all five of the AngeLINK books (Archangel Protocol, Fallen Host, Messiah Node, Apocalypse Array, and Resurrection Code), and I've donated them to my publisher, Dybukk Press, as a new incentive for their kickstarter that they're running to recoop the production costs of the newest anthology King David & The Spiders of Mars, in which my short story "God Box" will appear.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/king-david-the-spiders-from-mars-tales-of-biblical-terror-bible-fiction

How can I entice you? Should I let you know that some of these books are bordering on rare--in particular Fallen Host, which has been out of print the longest. I ran out of my private supplies about a year ago, and have taken to picking them up wherever I see them. This one is in mint-condition (not even previously incribed!) All the others are straight out of the box I bought them in, new!

I'd also be willing to personally inscribe them to you and/or just sign them.

SOLD!  I'm happy to report these were gone before the hour was up!

So, what do you say?

Starting with a Kick

I should let people know that an anthology my short story "God Box" is going to appear in is doing one of those kick-starter things. If you're so inclined, please help them out at: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/king-david-the-spiders-from-mars-tales-of-biblical-terror.

The anthology is a follow up to SHE NAILED A STAKE THROUGH HIS HEAD, which featured Biblical horror stories. This one will be called KING DAVID AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS. My story, alas, takes place on Ganymede, and while it doesn't feature any spiders, does retell the golden hemorrhoids story. Because when God smites you with hemorrhoids and then demands you make a golden representation of them as tribute, you know horror, man.

New E-book

Alas, probably not what you, the fans of Tate, are looking for, but my alter ego, Lyda Morehouse is proud to announce that the second book in her AngeLINK tetrology (four book series) is now available as an e-book! 

http://wizardstowerpress.com/books-2/fallen-host/

 

 

One Question/One Answer

I was asked a one-question interview, here is my answer: http://kennethwcain.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/single-question-interview-lyda-morehouse/

SF Signal

There's an interview with me over at SF Signal this morning, if you'd like to catch up on the latest of my personal and publishing news:  http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2013/01/interview-with-lyda-morehouse/

Though I do talk a bit about my life as my alter ego, there's a goodly amount of news about the latest things going on with me as Tate.  So, check it out, if you're so inclined. 

Blurbs and Furry Fandom

Yesterday, I was supposed to work on my sample chapters. I just could NOT get motivated. I don't know why. I have lots of other things I could blame besides myself, of course, including the fact that Shawn ended up not going to work (she had to attend the funeral of her co-worker/friend's mom) and Mason had the day off from school. Mason, however, was quite content to spend the day watching too much streaming MythBusters while putting together the LEGO DeathStar. So... actually, I had plenty of free time.

Which I spent meandering around the Internet and generally moaning about having ennui.

I did manage to write a blurb for a friend's small press science fiction novel. That had been on my to-do pile for MONTHS. I thought, in fact, I'd missed my opportunity to say something about it, but he emailed me a week ago to say that the book was in its final stages and they could still use a quote from me, if I had something to say. I'd read a lot of it when I thought I still had time, but then life had gotten in the way like it always does and I'd set it aside. So I picked it back up and read it.

Writing blurbs is such a funny, fun experience. It's one of the perks of being a pro that I never really gave much thought to when I imagined my life as a writer. Of course, I never imagined that I would still be struggling to make ends-meet when my "dream came true," but, on a happier note, there are these strange sort of perks to being a writer that are a bit like benefits. Like, occasionally, I get free books. My only 'price' is that I have to find something snappy and witty to say about them (if I like them.)

If you ever wondered, there is no blurb out there that wasn't solicited in one way or the other. By solicited, I do NOT mean paid for, but I mean the person asking (usually the author her/himself) knows or is connected to in some way the person s/he requested the blurb from. Only very rarely, I get requests from people's publishers. I suspect if I were a bigger NAME, I'd get many more of those. (I'm sure Neil Gaiman and Lois McMaster Bujold are overrun, for instance.) But for someone at my level, it's usually someone I consider a colleague, or even a friend, who's asked me to read and blurb their book.

I've actually long dreamed of asking my friend Eleanor Arnason to blurb my book in her signature Icelandic way, which I imagine going something like this, "XXX by Lyda Morehouse is okay. I've read worse."

Anyone who knew Eleanor would realize what AMAZING praise that was and rush out and buy a million copies. Of course, most people outside of the Mid-West (who weren't Scandinavian) would be like, "What?!"

:-)

Anyway, I'm happy to report that, having turned in my blurb to my friend, I did, officially, accomplish SOMETHING yesterday.

I also posted the first part of my Komamura fic. (http://archiveofourown.org/works/650152) which has gotten very little response. To be fair, not a lot happens in it. There's a conversation at a party and a little flirting. I didn't jump in with both feet by any means. I also realized that while there's some overlap with furries and Bleach, it's still kind of... taboo to write what is essentially a romantic story about an anthropomorphic wolf/fox and a shape-shifting fox demon. Perhaps 'taboo' isn't the right word, but it's clearly not a lot of people's cup of tea.

So be it. I had a great time writing it, and I might just be stubborn and do it again. (I am very curious about this reaction in one way, though, considering how animalistic I allow my Renji to be. Apparently-animal-on-the inside/barely contained nature ala Wolverine is much, MUCH more acceptable than animal-on-the-outside. [My furry friends? Any comments on this phenomenon?])

At any rate, it is what it is. I don't expect people to read outside of their comfort zone. This is one of the reasons I get cranky when people mock fan fic writers for choosing unusual pairing or for taking on a fetish that is way, way out of the norm. (I recently got a new comment on my rant about i09's former FFF column that brought all this back to me.) The thing is, I don't really happen to *get* diaper fetishes or water sports or any number of things that healthy, normal human beings are into. There are things, in fact, I actually find somewhat objectionable, like rape fantasies and certain underage sex stories. But, I deal with that by checking the warning tags AND JUST NOT READING THEM. That's why warnings were invented, people.

I also tend to stop reading any fic that has extremely bad grammar or spelling... unless, by some miracle, the story and characterizations are able to rise above that (which, strangely, CAN happen.) Sure, it's funny when someone (like me -- this is a real example from an erotica piece I handed out to my writers' group) uses the word lions when they mean loins, or talks about quacking Aspens or bear feet. I've kind of done them all, and to which I say, Dyslexics Untie! (A joke Shawn had to explain to me, because I read it several times and still parced 'Unite.')

But, seriously, people, if it bugs you JUST STOP READING. It's not that hard. No one is forcing you to read their terrible grammar. They're not even getting paid to post it. So, it's not like you bought a book for 7.99 and discovered that that author has a soul-bonding rape fantasy and no copy-editor (which happened to me.)

I think in the case of the latter, when it's something that's been professionally published and which people are then expected to pay for, I think mocking should rain down from the heavens. Because, that's the dues of a published author. Even when you don't have a fetish that leaks into your fiction, you are putting it out there, and that means someone, somewhere thinks it's COMPLETE CRAP. Other people, take it home, love it and beg you for more. That's just the way the publishing game is played.

The same rules shouldn't apply to fic, IMHO. Because it's just for fun. If it's not fun for you, DON'T F*CKING READ IT; go play in the sandbox that fits YOUR fantasies. That's the POINT OF IT.

/rant

Man, I get wound up. :-)

Review and News

This time there's a lovely review of Archangel Protocol (e-book) by Joanne Hall on her blog "Making Things Up For a Living," http://hierath.wordpress.com/2013/01/09/book-review-archangel-protocol-by-lyda-morehouse/

In other news, it does appear that 2013 is going to be "The Year Lyda Does ALL THE THINGS." I've got a lot of things in the hopper all of a sudden, none of them sure-things, but all of them ridiculously exciting.

I'm also for sure signed up to be in the Loft's catalogue for the Teen Summer Program for two potential classes. The first will be a somewhat straight-forward science-fiction/fantasy class called, "Beyond the Zombie Apocalypse: Writing SF/F For Teens," and second (which I'm super-excited about becaus it may be the only one of its kind) called, "ALL THE FEELS: Fan Fic 101" a how-to class for fan fiction writers. I've also gotten a proposal accepted for an on-line class for SF/F writers in the intermediate stage of their career called "Over the Transom," which will be a six week class.

Plus, I started work on the sequel to Precinct 13 which I'm hoping to self e-publish... though it's going to be interesting to try to find the time (I'm happy to say.)

Ater Ego being Alter...

Sorry that all the news about me lately has actually been about her, my other self, my alter ego.... I'm really hoping that I'll have more to give Tate fans soon, but in the meantime, why don't you read this lovely interview that's up on Sense of Wonder.  Sense of Wonder is a Spanish site that said absolutely wonderful things about Archangel Protocol (e-book) last week.

http://sentidodelamaravilla.blogspot.com/2013/01/interview-with-lyda-morehouse.html

If you have the time and inclination, feel free to check it out. 

In the meantime, be secure in the knowledge that I'm making forward progress on the sequel to Precinct 13, which I'm currently planning on (possibly serializing, but definitely) self-publishing as an e-book.

In fact, I just introduced a biker-werewolf character that I'm utterly in love with, and, if I'm not careful might end up giving Valentine a run for his money.  Enough with the teases!  I hope you're all doing well and will be patient for news from me, Tate Hallaway.  There will be good news soon.  I WILL it to be so!!

More Reviews for my Alter Ego!

And now, a Spanish review site, Sense of Wonder, has reviewed Archangel Protocol (e-book). All I can say? Wow.

Thank goodness, Requires Only That You Hate blasted Archangel Protocol (e-version, but pirated Torrent) several months ago or I could seriously get a big head reading these recent reviews.

Also, in the next few days Sense of Wonder will be posting an interview they did with me. When that goes live, I'll be sure to link it here and other places. This is the one I talked about below that made me nostalgic for cyberpunk.

2013, The Year of Innovation?

I have a weird supersition. For some reason I've decided that however I start the day on New Year's Day will be an indication of how the year will be. Like any supersition, this has its downsides. Last year, I broke a plate, and... well, 2012 had a lot of disappointments.

This upcoming year, if my supersition holds, will be very, very IN-TER-ESTING.

I got up early on New Year's Eve day with the intention of getting started on the sequel to Precinct 13 (which I did, and which I'm eventually hoping to start publishing here and then collecting into an e-book). At any rate, I was feeling pretty prepared because the-day-before I remembered that I was low on coffee and I went out and bought two HUGE bags of the good stuff. I pulled out the old coffee maker, ripped open the first of the bags, and... discovered I had no coffee filters. My brain started spinning. What could I use instead? A paper towel? No, that would melt into goo. Cloth? Too thick, could also plug the works. Then I remembered that I had tea bags--the kind you can use when you make your own tea. They were connected in a row so you could tear each one off individually. I thought, "Ah ha! If I'm careful, I can line the inside of the coffeemaker and this could work." Of course, it could also have been a disaster with grounds gumming everything up.

But... it worked.

It was some of the best coffee I'd made in a long time too. And I had enough of the little tea bag sheets to do it again for a second pot.

So, I'm thinking 2013 = Innovation and Success. Let's hope that's true. I feel like it's off to a good start in the success department, because Cheryl Morgan, my publisher at Wizard's Tower Press, forwarded me this review from SF Signal about the e-book version of Archangel Protocol: http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2013/01/book-review-archangel-protocol-by-lyda-morehouse/

Sweet, huh? Okay, if you didn't zip off to read it, the gist of the thing is this: the book stands the test of time, at least from their p.o.v. That was nice to hear because that's probably one of my biggest concerns. Technology has changed a lot since I wrote it in 1999 (as has the world.) It's nice to know that, even if it's become a bit of a museum piece/alternate history, the characters and the world-building still come through strong enough to carry the book.

And, I'm enjoying the world of Precinct 13 again. It's fun to go back and revisit characters. And, in a weird way, without an editor looking over my shoulder, I'm looking foward to exploring some of the darker parts of that world that I never really touched on. Like, what's up with Devon (the vampire/werewolf) and his "enthrallment" to Spencer Jones (the police captain/fairy prince)? How creepy is that relationship anyway? Well, we may find out!

Big Bummer

So, I was having a pretty good day today because, in my other persona as Lyda Morehouse, I had a really fun interview request from a reviewer in Spain about my Archangel Protocol book, which has recently been re-released in e-book format! 

Then my good feelings came crashing down when I decided that I should probably check my email box as Tate, and I had to tell two fans of PRECINCT 13 that they needed to give up hope for a sequel.  It occurs to me that I should probably take some time to update my website and let people know the sad, sad truth.  Despite being advertised as "the first in a new series" everywhere, PRECINCT 13 is officially a stand-alone, as Penguin USA has decided to pass on the opportunity to publish a sequel. 

I know, right? BUMMER.

I'm especially sad because I loved PRECINCT 13 in a way that I haven't truly loved a series of mine since the first Garnet Lacey book.  I am still seriously considering the possibility of serializing the sequel online with the idea that eventually I would turn the finished project into an e-book.  But, I haven't gotten started on that... perhaps with the New Year? 

Yes.

I think I'll make that my goal.  Starting in the New Year, it will be my resolution to write the sequel to Precinct 13.  I think this is a good plan, because it's sincerely disheartening to have to tell people that no, they can't hope for a new book by me any time soon.....

And I'm determined to make 2013 a good year for Tate!

Interview with Me

If you're looking to find out what's happening next with me, you can check out http://amberkatze.blogspot.co.at/2012/12/author-interivew-with-tate-hallaway.html.  In which I give Amber the sad, sad news that there will be no more books in the PRECINCT 13 universe unless I decide to self-publish.

Several days ago, I came home to discover a request for an interview in my in-box. So I took a few minutes to answer the dozen or so questions and send it back. I got asked that ubiquitous question, "If they ever made a movie of your books, who would you cast...?" Normally, I hate that question because I don't watch enough TV or movies to even have a clue who's the new hottie superstar (and clearly, that's what the answer is supposed to be).

But, I now have a defaut answer! J. Michael Tatum. He is, in fact, the only actor I know. True, he's currently best known as the voice of Sebastian in "Black Butler" and for his work in "Ouran Host Club," but, having met him at Gaylaxicon, I can tell you, he'd make a fine Valentine or Sebastian in live-action. So, ta dah! I finally have a decent answer to that question. Granted, it makes me look perhaps a bit like a super-geek to name an Anime voice actor, but to which I say, "And your point...?"

The fun part of this story was that I was feeling brave so I texted J. Michael himself and told him this (through reasons that still somewhat baffle me, we exchanged phone numbers at the end of Gaylaxicon--apparently I didn't give him the impression I thought I did, which was, "Idiot Squeeing Fan Grrl"), and, anyway, instead of getting back, "And you are...?" He wrote back something very sweet which implied that he remembered me, but also made him seem like possibly the NICEST GUY ON EARTH. It's possible that he stared at his phone and thought, "Who the fuck is this?" but then shrugged and decided, "Well, you know, it never hurts to be nice," and then later went to the Googles to try to remember what possessed him to give his real phone number to someone in Minnesota who wasn't Anton... but, hey, it kind of made my day, regardless.

The NaNoWriMo Problem

Since I'm still an unemployed writer, I've decided to sign up for NaNoWriMo. I've decided to do this under my real name "lydamorehouse," so if you're also doing it and looking for a writing buddy, feel free to connect to me.

I've been told the best way to survive National Novel Writing Month (which, btw, starts in a matter of weeks, beginning in November,) is to do a lot of pre-plotting and outlining before the big event. The idea is that will keep you focused when you're trying to push words out. But, I have a much bigger problem: I'm not sure which project I want to focus on.

At Gaylaxicon, thanks in large part to Kyell's enthusiasm for it, I actually got an offer to publish my gay superhero story, which I read as a work in progress at WorldCON. Being the sort of person I am (*cough*writingwhore*cough*), the idea that there's a built in market for this novel/novella really appeals to me. Plus, the story is a great deal of fun. It would not be the sort of thing that I would find difficult to sit down and plow through for an entire month.

However, the editor who offered kept apologizing for the fact that almost no money would be available, and he encouraged me to try to sell that story elsewhere, should I finish it. At this point in my career, any offer works for me. However, it does put this project on a more even ground with something like writing the next Garnet Lacey and/or Precinct 13 story as an e-book.

I could potentially make some $$ if I self-published a sequel/continuation of one of my existing series as an e-book. Presumably there are fans out there who would want to buy an e-book release. My biggest worry/concern about doing a Tate Hallway e-book is that I'm not quite sure what my rights are in regards to those books. All of the Tate books are still in print, which means they belong to Penguin USA. Technically, my contracts stipulate that the publisher has right of first refusal on all sequels/next works of paranormal romance, but I have no idea if that extends to a project like this. I suppose I should ask my agent. She would know.

The other drawback is one I probably shouldn't admit to in public, but part of me still resists this business model: self-e-publishing. It still feels really labor intensive to me, and I remain unconvinced all that work upfront is worth the supposed eventual paycheck. One of the things I like about having a big, New York publisher is (the advance, but also) that I don't have to mess around with all the formatting details. Plus, I'd suddenly be responsible for the single most critical part of a book's success--the cover art. That, quite frankly, freaks me out. And, I'd need to be super-rigorous about typos. Anyone reading here or my frist-drafty fanfic KNOWS I have a problem with spelling and I have NEVER ACTUALLY mastered the use of the comma in the English language.

On top of those super-appealing options is a third one--all those other stories I said to myself, "damn, if I ever get time I'd like to work on those." The problem, of course, is that I've had time, and nothing has quite grabbed me, alas. But, this feels like the perfect time to take on something that's been a dream project. So, I don't know.

I need to decide soon. With NaNoWriMo approaching, I'm going to need to focus on those outlines. (Another plus in the Hallaway projects column is that all the potential novels is that they come with book proposals/outlines already written.)

Where to Find Me!

I'm going to be one of the guests at this year's Gaylaxicon, which, like, starts tomorrow. Should you be going, you can find me talking about/doing these things:

Friday 4:30 PM Terrace 2 Writing Straight (when you're not)

Friday 9:30 PM Terrace 4 Outer Alliance Podcast

Saturday 2:00 PM Terrace 2 GoH Spotlight: Lyda Morehouse

Saturday 5:00 PM Terrace 2 Remembering the Penis: Queer Women Writing M/M Slash

Saturday 11:00 PM Terrace 3 British TV Invasion

Saturday Midnight Terrace 4 Midnight Slash Reading / Open Mic

Sunday 9:30 AM Terrace 2 Women at Gaylaxicon: Where r u?

Sunday 11:00 AM Terrace 3 Writing Across Fandoms

Sunday 12:30 PM Terrace 2 Superheroes on the Big Screen

Sunday 2:00 PM Terrace 4 Romance Writing

Yes, I talked them into giving a midnight Slash Slam. I have been fretting over which of my 101 peices of fanfic/slash to read. I know, however, that Kyell Gold will be reading his Road Runner/Wiley E. Coyote. Tell me that doesn't sound awesome!