Tuesday with Tate

Yep, so here it is, Tuesday...  and yes, a new installment is ready for you at WattPad, which I cleverly named, "Part 15: A Damn Dam" (wait for it, it makes sense.  I promise), in which the two demons continue to interrogate Alex:

http://www.wattpad.com/58616453-unjust-cause-part-15-a-damn-dam

Sorry I didn't continue my convention report.  I got caught up in some post-con drama (all of which has been not only resolved, but well exceeded my expectations.)  I may write about all of it at some point, but suffice to say that there was some panel confusion and Programming is awesome.  My take away being, however, that there are some regional conventions that could learn a lot about conflict resolution from the folks at CONvergence.

I will, however, post more about it (including more cool costumes) this week.  I do, however, considering that today is more UnJust Cause, show you something AWESOME.  A friend of mine cosplayed Alex!

Amazing, right?  She even has (thought you can't see it because my camera decided to act up), blue extensions in her hair--because Alex's blue dye-job is growing out, if you remember that detail from the book.  The snake tattoo and the coroner shirt, of course, make it.

There's an App for That: #CVG2014

Seriously, these CONvergence people are good. I really rather adore waking up to have my schedule magically in my in-box. Here's today's:

3:30pm-4:30pm
Plaza 2
Anime Series: Year in Review
A yearly showcase of the past year's best anime series, presented by a group of anime fans who've watched and enjoyed them. Those looking to enter the anime fandom as well as those who've been otaku for years are welcome to attend. Panelists: Lyda Morehouse, Jessi Silver, Boris Smelov, Jo Thrace, Heather Deakman

5:00pm-6:00pm
Atrium 2
SF Writing Groups: The 2014 Scene
This annual (since 1986) get together of the Minnesota Imaginative Fiction Writers' Alliance helps science fiction/fantasy writing groups link with writers who are looking for a critique group. Panelists: Eric M. Heideman (mod), Lyda Morehouse, Tyler Tork

10:00pm-11:00pm
Atrium 6
Loki Can Rule Me Any Day
Loki is very popular, even though he wasn't the main character (or even necessarily a "good guy"). An exploration of side characters who have become fan favorites. Wolverine, Agent Coulson, Jayne, Connie Mk II - What makes us like them so much? Panelists: Lyda Morehouse, Kamuran Paradis, Damarra Atkins, Todd Murray, Anne Lyle

11:30pm-12:30am
Plaza 2
Which Supers Should Hook Up?
If Thor and Storm got together, they would have cute little thunderbabies. Panelists: Lyda Morehouse, Kenneth Konkol, Lathan Murrell, Samma Johnson (mod), Christopher Jones


So, a busy day, but all starting afternoon, which will be a nice thing. 

Yesterday, I brought Mason along. He last minute decided to cosplay kid-Luffy, from One Piece. We spent much of the morning in search of the Straw Hat crew. Instead, we found a lot of really great cross/cosplay Marvel characters:

These ladies were really good (also traveling with a Thor and Tony Stark, though I only saw them later at the Marvel panel.) I was particularly enamored of Nicole Fury, as she had the perfect Wolverine claw mark scars visible under her eyepatch.


Lady Deadpool! Every con needs a Deadpool, why not a Lady Deadpool?


Fourth of July is Steve Rogers's birthday, so I wished this Stephanie Rogers a happy one and complimented her amazing 1940s style hair. (She defied my picture skills, though. Blurry here a little, but much worse when I tried to get her to pose with the two Peggys that were also at the Marvel panel.)


Another Cap (though, tbf, she might have been dressing as one of the traveling dance troupe.) Probably my favorite thing about a lot of the Captain American cosplayers is that they can embrace the 1940s aesthetic and be beautifully buxom and curvy.


There might have been a secret organization that was placing people in key positions at con, but I won't say who they were (*whispers*Hail, Hydra!*whispers*)


And, Old School Gambit, who isn't cross playing*, but come on! Look at this! It's perfect:


*today, according to naomikritzer this guy often cross plays "Slave Girl Leia." Rumor has it he's coming as "Slave Boy Leo" today, so I'll be sure to try to catch a shot of him, if I can, because that sounds phenomenal.

Mason and I spent much of con wandering around looking at all the cool costumers and wandering around the dealer's room. He bought a new Munchkin pack (zombies this time) and I found a cell phone charm of Renji/Hihio Zabimaru chibi, and I can never, ever resist chibi Zabimaru. Sadly, my cell phone does not have the technology to accommodate a charm. Seriously. It's not a smart phone, so I have no case to which I can hook such things. But, it was cheap and will fit my keyring just the same.

The Marvel Roundup panel was phenomenal. I had great fellow panelists and despite my voice, I managed to squee and maybe even make a few points of interest here and there. With any luck, you'll be able to judge for yourself. One of the panelists, Shaun Duke, is (among other things) a podcaster and he recorded us for his Hugo Award-nominated Skiffy and Fanty Show. If our panel gets posted there, I'll send along a direct link. It was probably the most high energy panel I've had so far, so I would think it would make a fantastic podcast.

Then there was more wandering, and Mason finally caught up with some of his crew:

Here's Mason with Zoro (green-hair) and Nami (orange-hair):


And in a time paradox, an older Luffy!


My final panel was "Cyberpunk 101," which went fairly well. Admittedly, my energy was starting to flag. Probably the most interesting part of the panel for me was the fact that one of my fellow panelists was a light side hacker. He was an honest-to-goodness Mouse, a phone freak from the 1980s. (And yes, he let us touch his hem.) I could have listened to his stories for the full hour. 

Instead, we talked about a lot of different aspects of cyberpunk and, once again, the audience had some really amazing, mind-blowing questions and thoughts about the future of cyberpunk. Because the question kept coming up, "If we're living in a world already predicted, where we're saturated with technology, how do you write beyond that point? Or, maybe more importantly, is it necessary to?" 

And I don't know. People often ask me if I'll ever return to the AngeLINK universe and I'm hesitant. I love the characters, but the world is getting harder and harder to reach back for because it's become a kind of AU where Facebook and Tumblr and Google glasses never happened. 

The point was also made that one of the things cyberpunk spoke to was the fears of the day, "What if we become so dependent on our technology that we're no longer human?" That's not really the thing we worry about these days. We worry about the environment. We *do* still worry about corporations taking over, but a lot of what we feared has already come to pass. I mean, corporations as people? Pretty sure that was warned about in any number of early cyberpunk novels. 

Also, as our resident hacker pointed out, it's actually a bit harder to by-pass The Man. Technology has outpaced some simple phone hacks. It's harder to break-in and it's much, MUCH harder to escape without leaving a trace.

Our fiction has also become a lot darker. No one believes any more that taking out one corporation/Power That Be will solve all the problems... without causing others. The revolution is murky and complicated and deeply underfunded...

It was a good panel, but in comparison to the squee fest of the Marvel Roundup it felt far lower key. But maybe that was because it was "meatier."

CONvergence Begins....

Last night was CONvergence's 'opening night.'  Traditionally, there's a Guests of Honor/Former Guests of Honor mixer held on Wednesday night to kick everything off.  Eleanor Arnason (GoH 2001) and I (GoH 2012) went together.

I managed to loose my voice yesterday afternoon, so I squeaked a lot, and pretty much everyone who heard me gave me advice about how to conserve it/help it.  (All of which I intend to take.)

The party itself was surprisingly fun.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, the CONvergence people are always awesome and know how to throw a good party. It's more that as a visiting artist/writing professional in a room of one's colleagues, sometimes the atmosphere can be kind of... well, daunting.  You look around the room and you think, "Wow, all these writers/artists/media stars..." and your next thought is often, "What am I doing here?  Compared to them, I'm nobody."

Like actors, writers are often seen as 'only as good as their current project' (at least among ourselves.) This, I've found is far less true out in the Real World.  If you've written and published once, for most people, you're always a professional writer. The latter makes far more sense than the former.  A book, once published, is always there for people to see.  Regardless, a fellow author is likely to ask, "What are you working on now?" And, when the answer is, "Oh, um... nothing official," it can make for a very awkward night.

For whatever reason, last night, I didn't feel any of that.  I saw a room full of people, many of them friends I hadn't seen in a while, and then I found the corner of anime fans and we squeed about the fact that the newest season of Free! started.

Seemed like an auspicious start.  Fingers crossed that the rest of the con goes as well.

If you're attending con this year, here's a lovely pointer to my CONvergence schedule:

http://schedule.convergence-con.org/lyda.morehouse#.U7VFsl5hPwJ

You can also get from there to the main programming schedule.  CONvergence is amazing because they also have this whole 'app' thing figured out.  You can download any number of amazing things to keep track of your con and follow along with live tweets and everything.  (Didn't I say? These CONvergence people are GOOD.)

Wordpress Wednesday

Hah!  I knew I'd figure out an alliteration!  Speaking of silly language tricks, Mason and I have named our 15th MangaKast "15 - Ichi Go" because the hero of Bleach, Ichigo, is constantly seen wearing the number 15.  It took me years of reading (and finally learning a bit of Japanese) to realize that it's a giant pun on his name because Ichi is the word for "one" and Go is "five" together his name makes 15.

http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/07/02/15-ichi-go/

So, of course I put up a picture of Renji who has nothing at all to do with the number 15.  But, I really couldn't resist the fact that he's talking about chickens.  Chickens is a funny thing at our house.  One time, as we were snuggling before bed, Mason asked: "What do you want to talk about?"  I said, "Chickens!" just to be a weirdo.

So now, every night before bed, we discuss something about chickens.

Tate Tuesday

Huh, I should have started posting this on a Wednesday so it could be "WattPad Wednesday" or something more alliterative.  But, regardless, the newest section is up:

http://www.wattpad.com/57418191-unjust-cause-part-14-unnatural-unleashed

In "Unnatural Unleashed," Alex has to face the consequences unleashing her magic on Jack and his magpie familiar, Sarah Jane...

As usual, when you go to the site (or return here afterward), I would love any commentary you have, even if it's critical.  I noted on the Wyrdsmiths' blog that the pacing for a serial-type novel is very different than writing a traditional novel.  I took WattPad at their word when I signed up and have been tailoring these installments in very short, digestible chunks aimed at people who are using their smart/iPhones to read bits of things while commuting to work or wherever.  I might be making these sections too short for other readers.

I will admit, as I have before, that I'm using this weekly deadline to make word count on a project that I've been struggling with.  So, admittedly, much of what appears on-line is actually very first draft-y, very by the seat of my pants, oh-crap-is-it-Sunday-already??--which is also why I would love suggestions for improvement.  The work posted there is being collected and massaged into an eventual e-book, so anything people have to say will actually help me write a better book (even if I can't go back and change what's on-line.)

Road Trip

Last night, I read this article: How to Solve an 88-Year-Old Literary Mystery by Susan Cheever.  It talks about the limits of research, about how you can talk about a thing, read about it, interview people who know things or might even have been there... and still miss some critical detail.

It's a fascinating article in its own right, but it made me think about the fact that one of the things Wyrdsmiths told me to do for the novel I'm working on is take a road trip to Pierre, South Dakota.

I've spent a lot of time on Google Earth, walking around that town, but there's probably something I'm missing, some quality, that would stand out more if I went.

We joked about making it a group exercise. If that happened, I might go.  

The Guilty Pleasure of Implement Porn....

Shawn has been looking for a journal to replace the one she keeps Mason's memories in.  That sounds very science fictional doesn't it?  But, in reality, it's just a kind of a baby book that's kept growing over the years.  Shawn writes down little tidbits she'd like to remember or thinks should be noted for the future/future reference.  The one she just filled upstarted in 2004.

Today, after her haircut, we decided to see what we could find to replace it.  We went to the kinds of stores that specialized in fancy pens and papers and...

...of course, it was *me* who walked out with twenty dollars worth of STUFF.

Admit it (because you know it's true), paper and pens are like porn for writers.  I will confess that have this particular love affair with quad lined notebooks.  I filched my very first one from Shawn, back in our college days, when she would have to special order lab notebooks that were quad lined.  Now you can find those pretty regularly at Target, and I usually buy myself a couple of the really cheap ones during the back to school sales.

At Wet Paint today, I found something I might be even more in love with "dotted" notebook paper.

Look how pretty!

The guy at the art store might have thought I was a little odd for petting it, but they DON'T UNDERSTAND.

Paper is very special to me.

I mean, maybe I *am* a bit weird, but I still love the feel of pen on paper.  I find notebook writing still very useful.  I've been known to carry a notebook around not only to take Captain America style notes, but also to have on hand should I be inspired somewhere where my computer isn't easily accessible--like, say, when I show up a little early at Mason's school for pick-up or whatever.  Plus, even though it ends up messy and crossed out, I enjoy the constriction of having to write long-hand sometimes.  I almost always edit when I transcribe to screen, but the act of having to push on and not worry about perfect phrasing can really help me get the gist of a scene out on paper.

Also I used to occasionally sketch out pictures of my characters and I found that a lot easier when I had quad or blank pages.  Now... now I can haz dots!

Plus, I had to buy a pen. I had two in my hand, but Shawn made me put one back.  I did get out with two notebooks though... hee hee.

I'm not sure non-artists understand this weird implement thing.  I suppose it's like anything aesthetic, like a nice briefcase for work or a good pair of sexy shoes.  Paper and pens are a bit cheaper, too... or at least can be.  There are some people who are willing to pay a LOT for a really nice pen (luckily I'm a cheap date when it comes to pens.)

New in Ebook!

The penultimate novel in my AngeLINK series, Apocalypse Array, is out as an e-book from Wizard's Tower Press today.  Believe it or not, this cyberpunk book was never previously released in e-book format.  Now you can go get it.

It also has, as you can see, shiny new art from Bruce Jensen.

New Podcast

Mason and I had a blast doing out 14th MangaKast: https://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/fourteen-for-the-team/

Go check it out if you want to hear me babbling about manga without coffee--well, technically, I HAD a couple of cups, but... I felt like I was in a sitcom or something because, not finding any of the good stuff on the shelf, I simply ran water through the old filter.  Yeah, that was just about as gross as you might imagine it would be.

Anyway, what I find fascinating about the podcast is that, unlike my WattPad project, I really could care less if no one listens.  The process of making it with Mason is just so MUCH fun.  So, you know, check it out... or not.  I will keep doing this because I love it.

I only wish I felt that way about other things I do...

I wish I could figure that out.

At any rate, here's another screen shot from this week's Bleach (by Tite Kubo.)

New Installment and Thoughts

My newest installment of UnJust Cause, my serialized work-in-progress is up:

Alex hasn't used her magic since she accidentally blinded Devon (the half-werewolf/half-vampire). Now, feeling cornered, she instinctively lashes out... at a friend.

http://www.wattpad.com/56251842-unjust-cause-part-13-a-dangerous-rush-of-power

I thought that maybe here on the thirteenth episode, I should take a moment and discuss my feelings/experiences working this way.

There are, for me, some distinct advantages to having a strict 'publishing' deadline. Having set myself a weekly goal of getting something up, some forward momentum made, is probably the only way I would have written as much as I have to-date. Considering the extent to which writing original fiction has been difficult for me in these last few years, this stands out as a HUGE benefit.

The disadvantage is that writing like this is also very seat-of-my-pants. If I go down a road, I'm committed to it. Revision is only going to be possible once the story is completed and ready to become an e-book. I'm already feeling places where I wish I could go back and restructure things a bit.

The way I've decided to deal with that is that I've handed out some of this to Wyrdsmiths with the idea that I can be concurrently working on a more polished draft for the e-book. Of course, the first-draft-y-ness of this serialization may ultimately turn off some readers. I'd been hoping, of course, for the kind of community that AO3 (archive of our own) gives a writer, where there might be a strong back-and-forth during the process, between the writer and the community of readers. I'm not getting anyone brave enough to point out my faults yet, and that really kind of bums me out.

This is, btw, one of the main reasons I don't come out on AO3 as a 'professional' writer. I have a feeling all the criticism would stop dead under the silly idea that 'well, she must know what she's doing,' which is of course not only nonsense, but which actually discourages me. I like the back and forth. I like knowing people are into a story enough to get mad about some turn of events or a moment that seems out of character or whatever.

*sigh*

Well, all the same, at least I'm writing. This is much more than I can say that I'd be doing without WattPad. So the experiment continues to be "profitable." We'll see if I'm able to grow an audience as I'd like to, and whether or not it will translate into e-book sales once everything is done and dusted.

What I'm Reading....

I probably haven't mentioned this here yet, but I've taken an extremely part-time job at the Ramsey County Libraries as a "sub," (which they, quite charmingly call "itinerant page" a job title that makes me feel like it ought to come with tights, a tunic, and a lute.)  It pays well, but I work very random hours.  So one of the biggest benefits for me is exposure to all the books, etc.

On Saturday I worked at Maplewood (one of my favorites partly due to their astounding manga collection).  While I was there, I noticed a two volume manga set marked as "new."  It was called No.6.

Yesterday, while cooking our annual fleischkuekle batches, I read both volumes and started in on the remaining chapters at MangaPanda.

So, I ended up writing a review of it this morning:  https://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/review-no-6/

And... I just got a call from my sub coordinator, and it looks like I'll be working there again tonight!  Yay!  More manga!

Poetry Market

I'm not much of a poet, but maybe some of you are.  If you have some speculative poetry you've been wondering if there's a paying market for, there is:  http://www.liminalitypoetry.com/?page_id=6

During national poetry month, I did, by chance, write a haiku.  I have no idea if it's quite what this market is looking for, since it's not terribly speculative, but I thought what the hey! and sent it.

Wish me luck.  And luck to anyone else who might submit!

Will Review for Books

Today I got the strangest e-mail on my hotmail account from these folks: http://www.bloggingforbooks.org

They seemed to be under the mistaken impression that I was a blogger of note.  Maybe, it's just that not a lot of people blog at all anymore and so the pool of names to pick from is very, very tiiiiiiiny. Because, let's be straight with one another, I haven't blogged here with any regularly since the Late Jurassic.  So, it can't be THIS site that got them interested, especially since it's very obviously connected to my gmail address (I don't actually think you can use blogspot without gmail.)  The Wyrdsmiths blog, likewise, is gmail connected and fairly static, so.. that kind of leaves LJ (Live Journal) which would make ZERO sense.

My Facebook and Klout accounts attach to my dusty hotmail address, as do my super-static web pages.  But again... WTF? Really?

I still think you'd have to be high or desperate (or both!) to count me as any kind of influential book recommender.

Regardless of how they got to me and whether I'm really what they want, we're talking about FREE BOOKS.  They're willing to send me review copies if I'll post honest reviews on their site (and presumably link the review to all my social media places.)  So, what the hey... I signed up.  I've requested my first book-- a graphic novel by the same guy who did World War Z called "Harlem Hellcats" (I think.)  It's a historical graphic novel about a WWII black regiment and their struggles on and off the battlefield.  I actually read something about this somewhere else (a Random House tweet, maybe?) and thought it sounded interesting.

So you might be hearing more about the things I'm reading here and elsewhere.

The Dragon of Awkward

I feel somewhat bad for the nameless Loft photographer who attempted to come into my classroom today to take pictures.  When the door opened, I looked at him and my lectured screeched to a halt.  I stared at him for what felt like a long time (though it was probably only a matter of seconds), trying to figure out what was happening and who would just barge into to a class in-progress--and then I saw the high-powered camera he had in his hands and everything clicked into place.

Being who I am, I pretty much narrated my entire thought process, "Oh, and who are you... a photographer?  Are you here to take pictures of the class?"

Even as I was talking, another part of my brain was thinking, "No, just no.  Not these kids."

I should stop for a moment and explain.  Last year when I taught a class of the same name, I had a rowdy room full of self-confident, smart-a$$, BRILLIANT kids.  Seeing a camera, they would have jumped up to pose dramatically or come up with an on-the-spot reenactment of a battle of wits involving pens and origami hats or something even sillier and outlandish.  I never had to worry when I asked, "Who would like to share?" that I was going to get crickets.  They were those geeks--the ones not unlike myself, really rather relish the theatre of it all and who would, if provoked, recite all of Monty Python's skits while on the city bus.

This year, I have a slightly smaller group of utterly BRILLIANT, deeply shy, perfectly NERDY kids.  I had a couple of students desperate to share their work but so unable to read in front of a group that they had me read their entries for them.  Only now, four days in, have they, with my coaxing, very, very, vvvveeerryyyy slowly begun to trust me and each other enough to flail around and squee a bit when things are going well in class.  (Today, in fact, one of them was bold enough to say to *me*, "Hey, now, settle down!" because I was waxing nerd-ly about science and bouncing on the balls of my feet.)  But my geeky side has proven that I am one of them, but I suspect they see me as a squirrelly, eccentric auntie who is just a little too loud in public.

So, when this photographer came in my mama-bear side came roaring out.  I looked at him in the middle of my stream of consciousness chatter and said, "Oh, no, that's going to be awkward."

He looked at me.

He looked at my class (half of whom were giving him the stare of doom, the other half of whom were trying to find something to hide behind). He put his camera down.  Very slowly as if hoping not to anger us, he backed out of the room and said, "Yeah, a little too awkward."

It was like we'd defeated a dragon together.

Double-Feature MangaKast

Because I'm sure you've all been waiting on the edges of your seats for our return to MangaKast.  Well, the wait is over, my friends.  Here it is:

http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/06/18/lucky-thirteen/

New Update

Just a quickie post to let you know that there is a new bit of UNJUST CAUSE up on Wattpad.  Check it out: http://www.wattpad.com/55131739-unjust-cause-part-12-the-innocence-of-dragons

Well, that was... flail.

Today was the first day of my "More than Just the Zombie Apocalypse" week-long class at the Loft as part of their Summer Youth Writing Program.  It was... yeah, it could have gone better.

Several factors were working against me, however.  First of all, I could *not* find a copy of my syllabus anywhere. It took me forever to remember that I had a copy stored on Google Drive.  I got that transferred to a usb drive and then had to make a dash to Kinko's/FedEx in order to print it out and make enough copies.  The only thing working in my favor was that I guesstimated that I'd have 10 students and I was exactly right.  (Last head count was seven and I always plan for a few extra.)

So, I already started out a bit frazzled and feeling like I was running behind.  The frustration was added to by the fact that there was a woman at Kinko's who insisted she was still on the copy machine when all she was doing was collating her things on the table nearby.  Finally, she gave into my frantic hovering and muttering about how I had class in less than a half hour and NO SYLLABUS if I couldn't get to the copy machine.

My copies done, I busted out and hit the highway only to discover... no parking spaces.  I ended up parking in a very weird "services" parking lot for an apartment building and, as I left, I thought, "No, this isn't right.   I'm going to get towed."  So, when I found the Loft education coordinator I asked her about it and she graciously allowed me to park in the Loft Staff spot, but that meant I had to rush back out, move my car, and get to my third floor class all within about ten minutes.

So, I came to class feeling flustered and out of sorts, and then... it occurred to me:

I'D FORGOTTEN TO EAT.

Not, just "oh, crap, no time for lunch," but a full-blown, "oh, sh*t, I forgot breakfast as well as lunch."  So I was literally running on empty the entire class.  It's probably a miracle that I didn't faint dead away an hour into my hour and a half class.  But, that's extroversion for you.  I got the energy I needed from being in front of people and being expected to perform.

And there was a lot of dancing monkey and flailing, let me tell you.

A lot of flail.

All I can hope is that the students will be forgiving and all show up tomorrow.  I tell myself they've paid and probably have nowhere else better to be.  Also, the first class is usually just introduction at any rate, and I did manage that (though they must be all thinking instructor = moron.)  I also introduced the ideas of the wiggly definitions of science fiction and fantasy and how we'd probably end up covering both since: wiggly-wobbily define-y whine-y thing.

Oy.

Spoilers and Silliness

Mason and I give you our 12th MangaKast, a podcast about all things manga.  This episode we discuss Bleach 583, Toriko 280 and I give somewhat sketchy and random reviews of other things that I'm reading/watching (namely Vinland Saga and Yowapeda).

http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/06/04/a-dirty-dozen/

In this podcast, I also discuss a new anime that I'm watching called Yowapeda.  In the podcast, I mostly talk about how it relates to Bleach (there are voice actors in common).  But, here, I thought I'd take a moment to talk about how strange Japanese storytelling pacing often is for a Western viewer.

For instance, here I am, about to start episode 4, and the premise of the show--an "otaku" (Japanese nerd/geek) joins a bicycle racing club--hasn't really even happened yet.  We've met our hero, had many discussions about the dorkiness of his 'mamachari,' "Mommy bike," and met a few other characters.  People have mentioned the biking club in passing, BUT NO ONE HAS JOINED YET.

I think, by now, this show would have been cancelled in the U.S.

To be fair, there was an exciting race at one point, up a very steep hill, and there were many IMPLICATIONS that our otaku hero might actually be even stronger/faster than he knows.  But, it kind of amazes me the extent to which speculation has fueled the "action" of this story.

I always tell my writing students that you have to start strong, lay it all out, get to the point, so that people will know what the story is about, what's at stake... basically, show why a reader should invest their time and keep reading.  We spend a lot of time as writers talking about 'the hook' and how important it is to get our 'hooks' into readers so that they will be dragged deep into the story from the get-go.

 There's something about this that is utterly and truly DEFIED by animes like Yowapeda.  By rights, I should CARE LESS.  I mean, really, all that I know that's at stake is that our anime-loving hero would really, really rather join the anime club, but it cancelled due to lack of interest.  THIS SHOW SHOULD BE CANCELLED DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST, but it's in its second season and, frankly, I'm fairly captivated.

I wonder if it has something to do with character.  Because character can be its own hook, and, frankly, our little nerd hero represents a lot of things a lot of people are and WOULD LIKE TO BE.  I'm a nerd.  I'm scared of sports clubs (or was, when I was in high school), and I would really, really love to be recognized for my specialness (wouldn't we all?)  So, right away there's a kind of guilty pleasure watching people looking at our dork/geek hero and saying things like, "Oh, even on his Mommy bike, he does x and y like a pro!" The implication is: this guy is special.  Without even having joined the biking club yet, you start to get the feeling that this little doofus is going to be critical in elevating everyone to a higher level.... and there will be cheering and trophies and heartbreak along the way.

I'm in.

Totally.  Just on the IMPLIED promise alone.

It's Tuesday....

Tuesday!  So that means there's another installment of UNJUST CAUSE for you to read up on Wattpad:  http://www.wattpad.com/53052964-unjust-cause-part-11-jazz-dance-of-justice

"Jazz Dance of Justice" a title that will make more sense when you read the installment, but which has to do with the fact that Alex's superpower can be somewhat... unhelpful, since sometimes the messages she gets from 'beyond the grave' are garbled at best.

Enjoy!

Next week I may not get my installment up on time as we're going to be on honeymoon in the Boundary Waters.  There's limited internet there, so I will try, but no promises....

The Joys of Obscurity

We all have this dream.  It goes like this: write a book, get it published, and live the life of the rich and famous authors like J.K. Rowling.

Most published authors don't live like J. K. Rowling.  Instead, they live like me... and this guy: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/books/review/please-turn-to-the-chapter-on-obscurity.html

My favorite part of this column is the bit that goes like this:

In Boston, a woman approached me after the Q and A., her face tense with anguish and disappointment. "I thought you were going to be Alice McDermott," she said. "So did I," I said.

It reminds me all to well of the time I was booked at a B. Daltons or Borders (when those still existed) and they gave me a card table in the hallway near the food court.  I was reduced to hawking my wears to passers' by, most of whom looked baffled to be harangued by an author (this was Minnesota, after all.)  A woman gives me a sneer and said snootily, "I'm sorry, I don't read."  "At least you're sorry!" I replied.

Like Mr. Rosenblatt, I've play to audiences of three... sometimes even none--beyond the awkward, apologetic bookstore liaison/event organizer.   I've also had the experience of sharing a signing with a FAMOUS author, and watching his/her line stretch around the corner and out the store.  Both are frustrating, but I've always been lucky to have friends who will push through the crowd and shout, "OMG!  TATE HALLAWAY!!  WILL YOU SIGN MY BOOBS!?!" (because those are my friends...) This is, btw, a true story, and I remain proud because it made Neil Gaiman turn his head to see who I was to rate boob signing....

So you have to make the best of it as Mr. Rosenblatt says.  Learn to take joy in the obscurity.

Hair Curls of Doom!

Hair Curls of Doom!  Costume squee!

Mason and I present our 11th podcast:  https://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/05/28/eleven-heaven/

MOAR

In keeping with tradition, here is another Tuesday installment of UNJUST CAUSE.  This time, Alex and Jack investigate the second 'drop' victim who was found by members of the werewolf biker gang on the side of the county highway.

http://www.wattpad.com/51990582-unjust-cause-part-10-maggots-and-magpies

Hope you enjoy!

The Song of Our People (Otaku)

Our tenth podcast is now up!  http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/05/21/and-then-ten/  In this episode, Mason and I discuss Bleach, Toriko, and One Piece... and our cat Inky sings you the song of his people.

The Saga Continues...

My newest installment of UNJUST CAUSE is up on Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/50932760-unjust-cause-part-9-naked-dragons-on-the-lawn.  I feel like the title pretty much sums this one up, "Naked Dragons on the Lawn."

What I really need soon is some cover art for this thing.  I'm thinking about commissioning something from someone on Deviantart.... if you know any artists, let me know!

More Manga Madness

My son and I have produced our 9th MangaKast, Nine is Fine... in which there is a lot of giggling, spoilage, and squee...

It's Tuesday again...

So that means that my newest installment of Unjust Cause is up on Wattpad:  http://www.wattpad.com/49931265-unjust-cause-part-8-of-tops-and-bottoms

In this episode, Alex attempts to play the part of the dom to varying degrees of success.

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One of the things that I'm enjoying about this experiment on Wattpad is that not only can I be a lot sexier than my NY publisher seemed to have wanted, but sex can also be... silly and more, IMHO, like Real Life (tm).

In this episode, too, I'm showing off my queerer side a tiny bit, something else that got a surprising amount of resistance when I tried it in the Garnet Lacey series.  (The book in which Garnet is able to see people's inner gods and goddesses I'd really wanted Matyas' inner god to be a goddess and that was given a very strong no-go.)

I'm not going crazy, by any means, but it's nice to know I can stretch where I like.

Podcast and More...

My son and I have recorded our 8th podcast:  http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/eight-is-great/

And... my alter ego was tapped to participate in SF Signals: MIND MELD.  This one is about books we've worn out reading.  Check out all the great answers:  http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2014/05/mind-meld-books-weve-worn-out-re-reading/

Coming to you from Indiana: New Installment

A new installment is up!

In this episode, Valentine reveals more about his past (and his kinks!)  Alex finds herself wildly jealous of someone who died over a hundred years ago...

http://www.wattpad.com/48927549-unjust-cause-part-7-kinbaku-and-kitsch

Go get it!

Next episode should be very "interesting" as we say in Minnesota.  I would have gone forward and written it for this episode, but I just couldn't write a sex scene while sitting on my mother-in-law's couch!

The Story Continues!

I just posted another hot-off-the-computer-screen installment of UnJust Cause for you over at WattPad:  http://www.wattpad.com/47941159-unjust-cause-a-dragon%27s-confession?d=ud

In this chapter, Valentine makes a startling confession...

Which is a giant tease, of course, so go find out what he says!

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:

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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.

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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.