One More Day...

Until DEAD IF I DO officially comes out!!

Today I'm sitting in a nice little coffeeshop in downtown Valparasio, Indiana sipping a latte and taking full advantage of their free wifi. I'm here visiting my "in-laws," Mason's grandma. We're leaving tomorrow morning, and hope to be back to the Cities by Wednesday.

It's kind of strange to be out of town so close to the release date, though really I suppose it hardly matters where I am in the world. It's not like the book ONLY comes out in my hometown or that I need to sit by the computer to watch the Amazon.com sales rank fluctuate.

Hope you all are well and had an excellent Beltane.

Busy, Busy

I've been absent from the blogosphere because I've been finishing up my novel for deadline... and I'm happy to report I finished on time! So hopefully this means there will be another Garnet Lacey story for you to enjoy some time in 2010.

After finishing all that, I've been flooded with publicity work for the up-coming release, DEAD IF I DO. As events and contests and whatnot get confirmed, I'll try to make sure I post links and other pertinent information here.

The next couple projects on my plate are:

1) getting the proposals finished for the next three books in the Garnet Lacey series. I had one finished, but it involved the Greek god Eros, and I noticed there's now a TV show with Cupid... so I'm thinking maybe I should scrap that one. I'd be bummed, except as I was finishing the last of the revisions for HONEYMOON (which I'm hoping will be re-titled DEAD & MARRIED,) I wrote in a scene that I think will lead very nicely to a whole new book.

2) Start on my new YA book which is due in mid-October.

3) finish up my alter ego's science fiction book for the small press.

No rest for the Wiccan, I guess!

Marvel (tm) Tarot: THE LOVERS

On Saturday, while my partner finished reading the manuscript for final editing, revision, proofing before it goes to my editor on Friday, I had some time on my hands. If I don't busy myself while she's reading my work, I tend to stand over her and say very unhelpful things like, "So? Do you like it? What's happening now?"

I happened to feel like drawing, so I decided to work on the tarot card set I've been slowly making for myself of Marvel superheros. I'm up to #6 of the Major Arcana, the LOVERS. I had originally intended to have this card be the quintessential X-Men lovers: Jean Gray/Phoenix and Scott Summers/Cyclops, but my brain just didn't go there for some reason and I ended up with Susan Richards/Invisible Woman and Prince Namor/Sub-Mariner.

I usually can't stand the Sub-Mariner. He's not a terribly likable character, but his love affair with Richards (Susan, that is, not "stretchy-man,") is rather legendary and... I don't know, "illicit"?

Which is so not what this card is supposed to be about. The Lovers, out side of the two figures being naked, is not a terribly sexy card. It's usually kind of dull. Two figures (one female, one male) are standing naked, open palmed, and being looked over by an angel. It's clearly all about the "higher" aspects of love, not the base down and dirty bits... which is what I drew.

As I said in my alter ego's LJ, this might just be Marvel fan art masquerading as a tarot card, but when I finished it I was really very pleased with the results none-the-less. The pose is original (meaning I didn't copy it from a comic book, which I did with my Iron Man/Emperor card,) and it just makes me happy. As Shawn commented, it's that scene we never really see but always imagine between these two.

I don't know... what do you think?

Rocking Socks

I'm kind of like Garnet in that I can be a total technological dweeb, but I was just on Facebook and discovered that in 2008 someone started a Facebook group called: Tate Hallaway Rocks My Socks! And I just invited *all* my Facebook friends.

Next I'll be sending you all "Good Karma"...

Dead If I Do Review

Sorry I've been so absent from this blog, but I've been caught up in my alter ego's fish woes, and, of course, racing to finish HONEYMOON OF THE DEAD in time for my DEADline of April 30.

Google Alerts found this new review by Darque Reviews for DEAD IF I DO: http://darquereviews.com/12612/117112.html

The reviewer doesn't call me god's gift to literature or anything like that, but she did seem to enjoy the book which is really all that matters. :-)

A Gift to Literature!

Okay, people, I'm going to get a big head if you keep this up! Here's a new review for ROMANCING THE DEAD that says I'm a gift to paranormal literature: Bitten By Books.

And you do know I'm Minnesotan, right? I mean, we get nervous when people heap too much praise on us!

Dracula LOL Cat

A friend sent me a link to an LOL Cat that's vampire related, and I thought you guys might appreciate it as well:

http://mine.icanhascheezburger.com/view.aspx?ciid=3276638

Of General Interest (and a Shameless Plug)

Tonight I'm going to be interviewed by Morven Westfield for the Vampires, Witches and Geeks' podcast. The interview won't air until close to or on DEAD IF I DO's release date (May 5th, for those of you counting down the days). But, I thought y'all might like to check out the cool stuff you can listen to there in the meantime.

And, yes, I hope to also make an audio recording of the first chapter of DEAD IF I DO... so you can listen to me stumble through that, if you like.

My Newst Favorite Reviewer EVER!!

This is the kind of review a grrl dreams of:

The Movieholic & Bibliophile's Blog: Nobody's Perfect

Goddess Poetry Monday

This is another one from Patricia Monaghan, which I cribbed from the WitchSchool's Daily Spell:

She is the goddess of power:
earth’s mothering power,
soil’s nurturing power,
grain’s sustaining power.
We see her in the stars,
taming dragons and riding
them, bits between their teeth.
We see her on earth too:
giving seeds to strong farmers
and princes, commanding them
to sow not only the fertile soil,
but raw earth too, which bears
exactly as she tells it to.
--Ovid, Metamorphoses

My Alter Ego Rules

So not only do I need to buy the Wyrdsmiths a round of coffee for my German deal, but now my alter ego came home last night to an e-mail informing me that "SHE NAILED THE STAKE THROUGH HIS HEAD: TALES OF BIBLICAL HORROR," which is being published by Dybbuk Press (editor Tim Lieder) seems to have accepted my short story "Jawbone of an Ass."

I'm only not entirely sure because when Lieder sent the acceptance e-mail, heasked if the story was a reprint or not. I gave him my same information I had when I sent it in (which is "kind of," since it appears in our self-produced, limited edition chapbook New Wyrd), and it's not clear if that's cool or not. I'll keep you posted.

I'm kind of excited because I really, really like this short story of mine (unusual for me. Ask any Wyrdsmith, the short form is usually not my best.) This is not a AngeLINK story, but it does (perhaps obviously) have a religious overtones. Here's a blurb if the story had one: What would it be like to know that God is absolutely *not* on your side? “Jawbone of an Ass” is a modern day retelling of the story of Sampson’s first wife (known only as the woman of Timor), who slowly comes to realize the horror of knowing she, through no fault of her own, is on the wrong side of the wrath of angels.

Go me!

Happy Full Moon

If I didn't have a book to write, you would find me tonight over at the Eye of Horus doing their full moon ritual with them. But, alas, I have ten thousand words to write in the next few days (not actually humanly possible for me, but I have to give it the old college try.) I'm trying to finish up the second draft of HONEYMOON OF THE DEAD so that it will be ready to hand off to any Wyrdsmith who might be willing to look at it. (I'm really hoping Naomi Kritzer will volunteer, as she has the awesome ability to see the themes of my books and help me draw them out better.)

But, hey any of you pagan-types out there who might be saluting the Goddess tonight, lift a libation for me, will ya?

German Sale!

For all of you German speaking folks out there, I bear good tidings! My agent just informed me that the German publisher VGS publishers want my first four books (Tall, Dark & Dead, Dead Sexy, Romancing the Dead and Dead if I Do for a paperback original publication under their imprint LYX.

Cool, huh?

Reviews Rollin' In

The reviewers have discovered DEAD IF I DO...

Alternative Worlds (Harriet Klausner)

And a late, breaking one for Tall, Dark and Dead at Bitten By Books.

Birthday Report

Shawn kept telling me she had one of the best birthdays ever yesterday, and I think it had a lot to do with the fact that she got well wishes via Facebook. How the times have changed, eh?

But I was pretty pleased with the presents I gave her as well. Thanks to the economy her "to-be read" shelf is actually empty. I was thinking about snapping a photo of it, because it's such a rare (and forelorn) sight. Anyway, she was complaining about having to re-read books she bought decades ago just to have something to read. So I bought her a $50 gift certificate to Uncle Hugo's/Uncle Edgars. Plus, when I stopped in to purchase it, Don, the owner, informed me that thy were out of some of my alter ego's out-of-print books... could I bring some in for trade credit? Heck ya! I just doubled Shawn's buying power.

The plan is that in a couple of hours I'm going to pick Shawn up early from work and we're going book shopping!! I'm telling you... it's the gift that keeps giving.

Plus, I bought her some "bling" (earrings) and a gift certificate for a couples hot rock massage. Nice, eh?

They Liked Me!

I just got 4 Stars from Romantic Times Bookreviews!!

Here's what Jill M. Smith has to say about DEAD IF I DO:

"Nothing in the life of Hallaway's heroine every goes exactly as planned, which generally leads to madcap mayhem. This chapter in the first-person series is packed with humor, wackiness and a touch of pathos. It's a genuinely heartwarming treat for fans!

Go me.

Happy Birthday, Shawn

No, it's not an April Fool's day joke. Today my beloved turns 42! Hooray!

In fact, in a few minutes I'm off to go shopping and then to bake a cake. I've got the babysitter lined up for tonight and, fingers crossed, all should go well with much Margaritas!.

How Many Books Do You Read (at Once)?

Currently, I'm reading about three books.

This seems to be a condition of the fact that I'm reading more non-fiction than I used to. When I'm reading fiction I tend to stick to one book at a time. But, I get more bored with non-fiction, so I have several I carry around and read whichever one I'm in the mood for.

Currently, I'm reading Mysteries of the Dark Moon: The Healing Powers of the Dark Goddess by Demetra George, and Chiron and the Healing Journey: An Astrological and Psychological Perspective by Melanie Reinhart. Plus, I'm still working on the Goddess image evolution book I mentioned last time...which is hard to carry around because it weighs a ton.

I keep thinking it should be time for some fiction, but I just don't quite seem in the mood for it. I wonder if that's because I have so many of my own books to write right now.

How about you?

Monday, Monday....

Spend this morning running around replacing cards and ID and such lost when my wallet was stolen over the weekend. I feel awfully stupid about it, because the whole mess could have been avoided if I'd just bought a lock at the community pool that Mason and I went to for a friend's birthday party.

I'm too trusting, is the problem.

Normally, despite living in the "inner city," I rarely lock my car (although after this last weekend I have been.) I tend to leave the door to the house open when I'm home... and all sorts of things smarter people would never consider.

It bums me out when I'm confronted with the fact that there are people out there who don't have my best interests at heart. (No, I'm not REALLY this naive, but I WISH I could be, you know?)

So that's my day so far. Now I'm off to have a Mai-Mai burger and start working on the revision of HONEYMOON OF THE DEAD.

Goddess, Revisions, and Meditations

I *do* hope to write more about my epiphany about duality, once I figure it out more. I started a new book THE MYTH OF THE GODDESS: EVOLUTION OF AN IMAGE by Anne Baring and Jules Cashford. I'll let you know if anything comes of it.

Right now, I'm concentrating on finishing up a rather major revision for HONEYMOON OF THE DEAD, which is due at the publisher in May for a '10 release. For those that have been following this blog, you probably remember I wrote most of this over the course of two months as part of a contest with a fellow writer. As a consequence, it's a bit patchy and rough. I'm actually quite fond of this kind of revision, i.e. when large section are already written. But I'm finding it hard to find enough hours in the day, what with grocery shopping, sick kid, late-night field trips for school, and such.

Given all that craziness, I'm really glad that a friend turned me on to this web site: Meditation Oasis. I've been shamelessly downloading their podcast/guided meditatoins by the fist-full for use on my .mp3 player. I have to say, if you're at all the sort who, like me, has always wanted to meditate but usually end up falling asleep... these might be for you. I'm really enjoying them, at any rate, and I'm totally the sort to conk out when I try to do it without "guidance" as it were.

Duality Sucks

I've been a student at WitchSchool.com for several months now. Despite a heavy writing load this year, I've dutifully continued my studies and have even found time to read a number of supplemental books on Wicca and Witchcraft. (The nice thing, of course, is that my writing and my religious reading intersect in so many ways!)

As part of lesson seven, I think, in the first degree program, we're encouraged to do some research into Gods and Goddess -- their history, myths, lore, etc... and I think I'm all about reclaiming the Goddess as the All.

I "blame" those feminist Dianic Wiccans for this epiphany. I'm not sure Patricia Monaghan would consider herself a Dianic (though she seems to clearly be a feminist), but that book of hers that I raved about here before (RED-HAIRED GIRL FROM THE BOG) kind of blew open my head in terms of thinking about Earth as the Mother's body.

Her book made me crave more stories about the first Goddesses, which lead me to THE GREAT COSMIC MOTHER by Monica Sjoor and Barbara Mor, which is quite unapologetically feminist and Marxist. Truth is, we just happened to have THE GREAT COSMIC MOTHER laying around. Shawn and I have a compulsion to pick up any Goddess book we stumble across at used bookstores, so we actually have a number of books like that we haven't ever read, though we've had them in the house for years. (I'm sure none of you book-a-holics out there can understand that!)

Anyway, I gave up on the GREAT COSMIC MOTHER a hundred pages into it because it's very much one of those books from the 1970s that seems intent on reminding us every paragraph that the PATRIARCHY IS BAD!!! (As my friend Naomi would say, "Patriarchy bad! Wham! Wham!" as in the sound of being smacked by a two-by-four.)

Yet... in between the pages, and after I put the book away, my brain started percolating. And the basic thought I kept returning to is: duality sucks.

What's with all this division by twos anyway? Yes, yes, there's a sun and a moon, a day and a night, boys and girls, two eyes, ears, arms, and legs.... but when did one thing become the purview of gender? What I mean is: WHY is it that traditions, like the one I'm studying at WitchSchool, always give their gods the cool powers (IE, the Goddess is involution, darkness, the moon, quiet contemplation, while the God is evolution, manifestation, light, the sun, action!) I'm sick of it. It's all ONE.

And I've decided it all comes from the feminine. You don't get more manifest that birth, damn it.

Already Off to a Bad Start

For some reason I thought TODAY was New Moon, not, uh, this coming Saturday...and now I just feel dumb. But to be fair, the rest of the day started well. The weather is very... European today. The air is moist and chilled, but the temperature is a very mild 50 (F). Most of the traveling to Europe that I did with my family was during the cheaper winter months, so this kind of cool, wet, overcast, but warm enough day always reminds me specifically of Paris.

Anyway, Mason and I took a walk this morning before school. Mason mostly ran along Summit Avenue (near my favorite coffee shop where I was FORCED, I tell you, FORCED to stop because we ran out of coffee in the house). We walked on retaining walls and played, "don't step on the cracks." Despite the cold, wet wind, it was actually very nice. I found my vision sharpening, if you will. I noticed bird's nests and the vibrant colors of the painted lady houses we passed.

I think I need to get out more....

Today also promises to be a good day because last night my friend and fellow writer Sean M. Murphy came over and critiqued my latest novel, HONEYMOON OF THE DEAD, which is due at the publishers in a couple of months. I'd written a very rough frame very quickly and I needed some professional help... er, as it were. Anyway, last night we had an awesome brainstorm session and I really feel ready today to conquer the draft and make it a real novel, Ghepetto.

Wish me luck.

Awesome Poetry

This is from GODDESS COMPANION by Patricia Monaghan (my new favorite writer on pagan/Goddess subjects:

I am the goddess, mistress of the land.
It is I who created the unbreakable laws.
It is I who divided earth and heaven.
It is I who charted the stars.
It is I who set the moon and sun overhead.
It is I who ordered the tides.
It is I who brought men and women together
and I who created all the mysteries.
It is I who made justice stronger than wealth,
and I who designed penalties for evil.
It is I who first created mercy,
and I who metes it out.
I am the queen of the earth and wind and sea,
queen of the thunder, queen of the sun.
Only I can overcome fate.
Only I can overcome death.

-----Song of Isis, Egypt

It is I who added the emphasis, but today with all the economic injustice that's being practiced that line really sang to me.

Spring Equinox Eve

My household is a twitter with the excitement of the impending spring equinox. The eggs are decorated. The altar is set. Birds are chirping excitedly just beyond the windows. The cats nap happily in a pool of sunshine on the porch. And this morning, in my back yard, I had a face-to-snout encounter with Peter Rabbit, himself, the grand old hare.

I was headed out on garbage detail, and I whipped open the garden gate. There he sat: a huge, powerful, old rabbit. He, of course, bolted the instant he saw me. But when I calmly explained that I wasn't a predator and meant no harm, his ears twitched, and he stood still, pretending, of course, he was an invisible rabbit-shaped stone.

Being the sort I am, I left my garbage bags there and went to do some other outside work, thinking he'd scatter if I left him alone. Nope. He was still there when I returned with a bag of leaves (and garbage! yuck!) that I'd raked from the front boulevard and street gutters. Very slowly, I took the leaf bag and one of the abandoned garbage bags back to the alley. He watched me with large, beady eyes, but must have figured his old stone-trick was working, because he didn't budge. I bid him farewell since I had more to do out front, but when I came back with a second bag... he was still there.

I finally decided it was chilly enough out that I needed to finish up and go in, so I snuck the remaining bags past him. He finally left some time after I returned with the broom that I retrieved from the garage to sweep the dirt from the sidewalk.

Seemed auspicious, don't you think?

Gardening Dreams

Despite frost on my window shield this morning, the scent of spring is finally reaching the frozen north. Mason still has to wear boots to school, but now it's mostly to keep his toes dry while he stomps in the muddy puddles. There are still a few recalcitrant piles of dirty ice and snow in my back yard, but more and more ground is peeking through. At Crossroads this morning, I even saw a few, brave green sprouts of hosta (or perhaps tulips) poking through the ground.

I'm starting to look at seed catalogues in earnest. This year I'm planning two new gardening projects. The first one is a meditation/memorial area in the spiral herb garden. There's a section of deep shade near the neighbor's garage wall that Shawn has been considering for a mediation garden. Since very little grows in such dense shade, we're thinking about laying some paving stones and filling in much of the rest of the area with ferns, hostas, and perhaps a few native, woodland flowers like Virginia bluebells, jack-in-the-pulpit, and Dutchman's breeches. Shawn would also like a few bleeding hearts and other shade tolerant flowers to soften the area. We've got a Japanese lantern for decoration, and we're going to buy a bit of bamboo fencing to soften the neighbor's garage wall. She also wants a glider rocker out there, though we have a bench that says "Sit a Spell" courtesy of our friend Sean.

I took this photo of the area in late February, and I've been taking shots every now and again to get a sense of the light and "feel" of the space.

The other big gardening project I'm considering is planting a boulevard garden. Thanks to a lot of trees, we really don't have a lot of hot, sunny spots for flowers and Shawn would love a cutting garden. I'm thinking that the boulevard might be just the place, especially since Saint Paul actually encourages boulevard plantings and has published a guide on how-to, which I picked up some summers ago.

Can you tell I'm ready for Spring?

Up for a Lammy!

The anthology PERIPHERY was just short-listed for the 21st Lambda Award in the lesbian erotica catagory. My alter ego has a short story, "ishtartu" included in that, so a round of applause goes out to her... er, me!

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring has finally come to Minnesota.

Friday I complained about my car door being stuck, and over the weekend temperatures climbed into the 50s (F). You've got to love Minnesotans: a little sun goes straight to their heads. I saw FOUR young men in shorts. Despite patches of unmelted snow, Mason and I broke out his bicycle and we zipped around the block. We took a walk up to Ax-Man (a surplus store that is well worth the visit if you're ever in Saint Paul -- they have all sorts of funky remaindered things like parts of baby dolls, electronic bits and pieces, to things like an iron lung and a dentist's chair.)

I also put the finishing touches on my Ostara altar. WitchSchool is having a contest and I can hardly resist a little friendly competition, so, of course, I had to enter. The picture is a bit blurry, but here's what it looks like:

I made almost everything... including painting the stencil on the altar cloth. I have this great book of Celtic knot work stencils and I photocopied the goose knots and goose from there, cut it out with the exacto (which I finally found! Thanks Shawn!), traced it onto the cloth (an old shirt), and painted over the lines with puffy fabric paint. Here's a close-up:

Do I Live Here? (And Why?)

Sometimes I wouldn't be able to find my own a$$ if it wasn't attached. Today, all I really want is an exacto knife. I know Shawn has one. I *thought* she kept it with her scrapbooking stuff, but it's not there (or... I didn't see it.) I want the exacto because I'm working on my Ostara altar cloth. WitchSchool is having a competition and I have never been able to resist competitions. Shawn, being the crafty one, also has a book of Celtic knotwork stencils which I did find, and I discovered an awesome knot of geese which I think would be cool for the border. Now all I need is an exacto. Can I find one? No.

In the why do I live here news, I'm sick of my car. Any day we wake up and it's freezing (as in 32F/0C) or below outside, one or both of the front car doors freeze shut (or won't latch, depending on the whim of whatever demon has bedeviled my car). Do you know how many days are below freezing in Minnesota? A lot. Yesterday (or maybe Tuesday) morning, in fact, I had to do the classic Minnesota winter hairdrier trick before I could even leverage my keys in between the door the frame to pop it open. I was funny the first hundred or so times, but it's becoming an every day thing... and deeply annoying.

What's frustrating is that, honestly, for Minnesota... this isn't that cold. I'm okay with the idea that I might have to run an extension cord from my garage to the street when there are -40F wind chills, but at 32F many Minnesotans start talking about heat waves and we all smile a bit brighter as the icicles start melting in the sunshine. 32F is a good, warm day for March, damn it. I shouldn't have to be standing outside with a hairdrier pointed at my car door lock. That's just... annoying.

Deeply annoying.

Especially since outside of this one quirk, Steve (our car) runs like a dream. It's even vaguely green, since it's flexible fuel and could run Ethenol if any gas station nearby carried it any more. If it wasn't silver -- a color I find very boring, and it seems to be difficult for other motorist to notice -- it'd be fairly perfect. Except the door thing.

At least spring seems to be coming. I mean, hell, it's warm out (32F)!! And I had a gardening dream last night, even.

A Bit of Me Elsewhere

I did an interview about publicity over at Writerly So. Check it out.

On-Line Murder Trial Class

****PERMISSION TO FORWARD GRANTED AND ENCOURAGED!!*****

Announcing the Heart of Carolina Romance Writer's April Online Workshop: April 2009 Workshop
How to Try a Murder
Instructor: Lucinda D. Schroeder
When: April 1-30, 2009
Cost: $20 for HCRW and CRW Members, $25 for All Others

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:
Before your protagonist can break the rules, she has to know them! Learn the facts about legal procedures and how they can go awry. To thicken the drama in your story, stir in entrapment, illegal searches, tainted evidence, tampered juries, and badgered witnesses. Lucinda Schroeder, a career federal agent and author, will give you countless ideas on how to cause trouble before, during and after a murder trial. Don’t be guilty of missing this class!

SPEAKER BIO
Lucinda D. Schroeder has a BA degree in Criminology and is a retired federal agent who worked in the field for 30 years. She is also the author of "A Hunt for Justice," a creative non-fiction based on one her cases. Lucinda uses her writer’s perspective to focus on legal and administrative procedures that writers can best exploit for plot twisters and added tension. She also has a multitude of true stories that are sure to stir your muse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Cost for the workshop is $20 for HCRW and Carolina Romance Writers members, $25 for all others. All fees payable in US dollars only. The workshop will run from April 1-30. Registration deadline is March 25th 2009. Once registered, you will be subscribed to the workshop loop prior to and for the duration of the class. To register, please visit the HCRW website at: www.heartofcarolina.org and click on the Online Workshops page.

You may pay by check made out to HCRW or by credit card (via Paypal on the site). PLEASE NOTE: You do not need a PayPal account to use PayPal and you may pay by credit card through PayPal. However, if you want to join this class, but prefer to pay by check or money order, please print the registration form and send your check or money order made to payable to HCRW in US funds. The mailing address is:

HCRW Online
PO Box 811
Louisburg, NC 27549

You may contact the coordinator at : HCRWonline@heartofcarolina.org with questions. If you pay for a workshop and do not receive an invitation to join the workshop loop by the first of the month,please contact Elizabeth at HCRWonline@heartofcarolina.org. Cancellation and refund policy: No registration fees will be refunded. All payments for a workshop must be received by the registration cut off date. Late payments can be applied to a future workshop of the applicant's choosing. If a workshop does not have 10 students enrolled by the first of the month, the workshop will be canceled and registration fees will be applied to a future workshop of the applicant's choosing. Hope to see you in class!

Heart of Carolina Romance Writers ~ RWA Chapter 114
Jodie Pearson www.heartofcarolina.org President,
Heart of Carolina Romance Writers RWA® Chapter 114
Raleigh, North Carolina

Oh, hi... How Long Have You Been Standing There?

So, I've actually been busier than you'd think. First of all, I had a lot to say about something someone said at MarsCON both at Wyrdsmiths and on Livejournal.

Then I had a crazy lady show up at my house and either try to scam me or sell me something... I'm still not entirely sure.

Oh, and then Realms of Fantasy magazine was pulled from the ashes of a firey grave... though that has nothing to do with me, it's just cool.

And I wrote a lot.

You?

Sex Scene Writing On-Line Class

**Permission to forward granted and encouraged**

Yosemite Romance Writers is proud to present their online workshop for April.

Date: 4/6 - 5/1/09

Workshop title: Creating Effective Sex Scenes

Writing about sex in our stories is often a literary mine field. You can easily find yourself caught up in clichés, aphorisms, and euphemisms. You might end up romanticizing or depersonalizing sex, or find the genuine emotion connected with it so difficult to capture that you exaggerate or pull away. This four-week course gives you a lot of strategies and tips that make it unnecessary to fade to black. You learn the key elements of a well-crafted sex scene and how sex in your stories can enhance and promote character, plot, and theme. You also learn how to use language that is sensory, specific, and thoughtful to create scenes you love (and others will too). By the end of the course, you have in hand one-to-two new scenes.

About the instructor: Jessica Barksdale Inclán

Jessica Barksdale Inclán's debut novel Her Daughter's Eyes, published in 2001, was the premier novel published under New American Library's new imprint Accent. Her Daughter's Eyes was a final nominee for the YALSA Award for the best books of 2001 and best paperbacks for 2001 and has been published in Dutch and Spanish. Her next novel The Matter of Grace was published in May 2002 and was re-released in a mass market version in May 2004. Her third, When You Go Away, came out April 1, 2003. Her fourth, One Small Thing, was published April 2004, and has been published in Dutch and Spanish. Her fifth, Walking With Her Daughter, was published in April 2005. The Instant When Everything is Perfect was published in February 2006. In June 2006, she published the first in a trilogy from Kensington Books. When You Believe was followed by Reason to Believe and Believe in Me. Being with Him--the first in a second trilogy, was published February 2008 and the second, Intimate Beings, is due out October 2008.. She is a 2002 recipient of the CAC Artist's Fellowship in Literature. Inclán teaches composition, creative writing, mythology, and women's literature at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California, and on-line creative writing courses for UCLA extension. She has studied with Sharon Olds, Anne Lamott, Kate Braverman, Grace Paley, Marjorie Sandor, and Cristina Garcia. Her short stories and poems have appeared in Rockhurst Review, Hotwired, The Salt Hill Journal, Free Lunch, The West Wind Review, The Prairie Star, Gargoyle and many other journals and newspapers. Her short story Open Eyes was given first prize by Sandra Cisneros for El Andar magazine's 2000 writing contest. She co-edited a women's literature/studies textbook Diverse Voices of Women (Mayfield Publishing, 1995). Ms. Inclán has degrees in sociology and English literature from CSU Stanislaus and a Master's degree in English literature from SFSU. Ms. Inclán lives in Oakland, California and is currently at work on her next novel.

Deadline to register: 4/5/09

Fee: $20 YWR members; $25 non-members. RWA Membership isn't required; Anyone can take our courses.

Where to sign up: You may register online at our website. Please click the Pay Now button and follow the instructions for Paypal, then EMAIL us at Workshops@YosemiteRomanceWrtiers.com to Confirm. You may also YRW at YosemiteRomanceWriters@YosemiteRomanceWriters.com. For any other Questions.

Thank you for considering our workshops!!

Sandra Marlow Vice President, YRW Yosemite Romance Writers http://WWW.yosemiteromancewriters.com

MarsCON Schedule

I'm going to be in attendance (mostly as my alter-go, however,) at MarsCON this weekend. It will be at the Holiday Inn Select in lovely Bloomington, Minnesota, where there is still several inches of snow on the ground.

Here is my annotated schedule:

Friday, March 6
9:00 - 9:45 pm
HOW TO SURVIVE A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

A small group of people, who have made it be their hobby to think about what to do when zombies infest the world, share their knowledge with those who are willing to accept it. Instructions on locations, weapons, and specific situations will be explained with questioning throughout out the whole thing.
With Brian LaBounty, Jr., Kevin Berg, Erik Pakieser, Lyda Morehouse[1]

Saturday, March 7
Noon - 12:45 pm
BROAD UNIVERSE RAPID-FIRE READING

A series of twelve minute readings by Broad Universe members. BU promotes work of women SF/F/H writers
Catherine Lundoff, hoest: Kimberly Long-Ewing, Lyda Morehouse, Catherine Schaff-Stump[2]

Saturday, March 7
1:00 - 1:45 pm
GOOD THINGS IN SMALL PACKAGES

Small and medium press publishing for sf/f/h writers and readers: what's out there? What are the differences between presses that do POD (print on demand), ebooks, and small print runs? What's in it for writers? For readers?
Catherine Lundoff (mod); Roy C. Booth, Rob Callahan, Lyda Morehouse, Bryan Thao Worra [3]

Saturday, March 7
3:00 - 3:45 pm
TRUE BLOOD TO TWILIGHT

Vampires in literature, films, television, comics, and games (Radio perhaps?)
Cythnia Booth (mod); Jeanne Cavols, Jessie Berg, Roy C. Booth, Lyda Morehouse, Jason D. Wittman. [4]

Saturday, March 7
10:00 - 10:45 pm
THE DAY STAR WARS DIED FOR ME

Come discuss with your fellow panelists the day the Star Wars saga died for you.
With: Ben Ellis, Romeo Azar, Lyda Morehouse, Roy C. Booth, Cynthia Booth. [5]

------

End Notes:

[1] It should be noted that I am not at my best any time after, say, eight at night. Also, I'm not actually a zombie expert at all, and so the "questions" part will probably be me.

[2] I'm currently thinking about reading a short segment of my short story "The VanBuylen Effect" which appeared in the 09 issue of Tales of the Unanticipated because it's, like, the only SF I really have.

[3] I signed up for this panel to get the scoop on the small press deal, since I'm going to have a novel published by a small press for the first time this fall (provided, of course, I finish it on time.) I'm also hoping to provide, if necessary, the counter point of someone who's had years of experience with a New York publisher as well.

[4] Vampires! Finally!

[5] Another late-night-out-of-my-element panel for me, but Romeo is awesome so I may drag myself back to the con in order to have this conversation with him.

Local Announcement -- Copyright Workshop

Tuesday March 10, 2009:
Who Owns What? Learn about permissions and copyright

On Tuesday, March 10 at 1 PM, the Twin Cities chapters of the National Writers Union and the Professional Editors Network will hold a free workshop abou t permissions and copyright and other intellectual property issues concernin g writers and editors.

Location: St. Louis Park Library, 3240 Library Lane, St. Louis Park. Two attorneys—Debra Kass Orenstein and Kenneth Kunkle-- will explain copyright and permissions.

Literary property lawyer Debra Kass Orenstein is in private practice representing writers, publishers, and agents all over the country. She has worked in the legal departments of Harper & Row (now Harper Collins) and McGraw Hill and was General Counsel to the Lazear Agency in Minneapolis. Attorney Kenneth Kunkle’s practice focuses on legal issues affecting creative professionals. He assists his clients with a variety of matters, including copyright, trademarks, licensing and general business issues.

Please join us for this FREE event! For more details about the Twin Cities National Writers Union, visit www.nwu-tc.org For more details about the Professional Editors Network, visit www.pensite.org

TGI-March!!

February 2009 is going to always be remembered in my household as the month everyone was sick. We started off the month quite nicely with a poetry party in honor of Brigid, but after that, everything pretty much went to hell in a hand basket.

The very day of our party, Mason got sick. Turns out he had strep AND what the doctor described as a "macho" cold. That took him (and his mom, Shawn, who is susceptible to ANY virus that comes into the mere vicinity of her) out for at least a week. Then, in my fool hearty way, I mocked the virus's ability to take me down. "Ha," I bragged on my livejournal, "I have the constitution of an ox. It'll never get me!!!"

Famous last words, no?

So I, who so rarely get sick, was completely knocked on my a$$ for a week and a half.

At some point in here, Shawn fell down our stairs, hurt her back (she's always had a bad back -- a herniated disc(k?), and got a migraine that last ten days (the worst she's ever had.

The calendar changed, and POOF! We all got better.

I have never been happier that it's March in all my life.

My project for today is to get back on track, and I can't say it's started out all that well. I headed off to the gym this morning after dropping Mason off at school and discovered that I'd forgotten to repack my tennis shoes. As I didn't think I'd get much of a work out done in snow boots, I gave up and went home.

So now I'm sitting in front of the computer gathering notes for the next book project (Honeymoon of the Dead is in the hands of a beta reader: SMM, whom I hope to get some good advice about ASAP), which is the small press project for my alter ego. I had a brilliant flash about it last night, and that is that I'm planning to try to make it read like a faux memoir. I just read a really great memoir by Patricia Monaghan called RED-HAIRED GIRL FROM THE BOG, which I devoured in three days (very unusual for a slow-reading dyslexic like me) and I thought, "Hmmm, normally I despise the form of memoir, but maybe this is the structure I've been needing. Because then I don't have to tell things in chronological order!"

Wish me luck. This will be the sixth time I've re-started this novel.

How-to Write Pirates! (On-Line Class)

***Permission to Forward***

Class: Bringing Pirates to Life
Instructor: Cindy Vallar
Dates: April - May, 2009
Registration Deadline: April 1, 2009
Fee: $10/HHRW members, $20/others
For Registration Form: http://heartsthroughhistory.com/classreg.htm
FMI: HHRW Campus Coordinator: classes@heartsthroughhistory.com

Class Description: Peter Blood in Captain Blood, Long John Silver in Treasure Island, and Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean conjure up images of buried treasure, black schooners, wooden legs, eye patches, vibrant parrots, walking the plank, and swashbuckling swordsmen. Are these accurate portrayals of pirates? Some are, some aren't. This workshop explores the differences between the reality and mythology of piracy, and how writers can create believable characters that fit within historical parameters. We will look at why individuals became pirates, who's who on a pirate ship, the rules governing pirates, individuals who interacted with or encountered pirates, and other aspects of maritime life an author needs to know to write a pirate romance. Cindy enhances the workshop with a timeline and three resource bibliographies - maritime, storms at sea, and piracy. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to discuss 2 character profiles - one a major character, the other a minor character - and the type of ship the characters might use in the novel. At the end of the workshop, Cindy offers to provide a free edit of a chapter from participants' manuscripts involving pirates.

Bio: A retired librarian, Cindy Vallar began researching pirates in college while working on The Rebel and the Spy, a historical novel about Jean Laffite and the Battle of New Orleans. She is the Editor of Pirates and Privateers, a monthly column on the history of maritime piracy. She also reviews piratical and maritime fiction and non-fiction books, and maintains an annotated list of the best piracy and maritime sites on the web. She is the Associate Editor of Industry for Solander, the magazine of the Historical Novel Society, and writes the "Red Pencil" column where she profiles authors and compares a piece from their published novels with an early draft of that work. She also reviews for their journal, Historical Novels Review. She is a freelance editor and an editor for Wings Press. She belongs to the Historical Novel Society, the Texas Coalition of Authors, the Laffite Society, the Louisiana Historical Society, the National Maritime Historical Society, and the Red River Branch of Clan Cameron. She is the author of The Scottish Thistle, her debut historical novel about Scotland's Rising of 1745, and Odin's Stone, a romantic short story of how the Lord of the Isles settled the medieval feud between the MacKinnons and MacLeans on the Isle of Skye. She invites you to visit her award-winning web site, Thistles & Pirates (http://www.cindyvallar.com/), to learn more.

Past Workshop Participants' Comments:

Your course presented what I as a writer wanted to know about the times-not just straight history. - Judith Hanes

Your course has been extraordinary to say the least. Thank you for the extensive information and feedback you've offered. - Kathleen Kirwood, His Fair Lady (Signet)

Your ability to put a lot of information in a succinct and entertaining fashion is truly amazing. - Elizabeth Bryant

I use a lot of what I learned in your class in pirate history presentations that I give for groups of seniors and at public libraries. - Claire Britton-Warren, Tales of the Seven Seas Pirate Reenactors

This has been one of the most awesome and informative courses I've ever taken. I feel like I could be a pirate. - Judy Soifer

Format: Course is conducted via Yahoo Groups email with lessons and Q&A

Dolly Domestic

This is "Flo" (as in Ice Flo) that Mason and I built in the back yard today. The temperatures were reported to be in the 40s, and I can believe it. So the melty snow was perfect for building this fabulous snow lady. (She's got a GREAT hat, no?)

Then I pretty much did in my entire dolly domestic quotient by baking and decorating spring cookies today as well.

Finally, Waxing Moon!

I've really been feeling the various moon phases in terms of writing this year. Last night, I actually started really thinking about my book again and I realized, looking at the moon calendar in the bathroom, that it was NEW MOON. Weird, huh?

In other news, I swear Hotmail eats my really thoughtful responses to my WitchSchool Study Group questions. One of the mentors on the list asked if there was anything about Wicca that we could change, big or small, what would it be and why. (An excellent, thought-provoking question, IMHO). And as I was falling asleep last night I thought about what I wanted to say. I wrote this wonderful response this morning about how, in the beginning of Silver Ravenwolf's book TO STIR A MAGIC CAUDLRON she tells this story about a guy who phones her and is looking for help with somekind of magical / psychic attack. She asks him what daily devotions he's doing, and he replies with a stunned: uh, none. She's righteously indignant about this, but the story always left me wondering why. It's not like the spiritual aspects of Wicca are emphasized at all -- particularly in the "beginning" or introductory books. In fact, Ravenwolf herself doesn't really bring up the subject until her second big "how-to" book. (TO RIDE A SILVER BROOMSTICK being sort of her first one.) If you skimmed most beginning Wicca books, you'll likely see tons more spells to get you stuff entries than ones on how to live a compassionate, decent life....

So what I said I'd like to change was that sense that Wicca is mostly a "what do I get if I burn this particular color of candle" instead of a "how do I become a better person more in touch with the divine" kind of gig.

It was really nice and thoughtful and...

Hotmail seems to have eaten it.

Grr.

NYT Best Seller!

According to Toni LP Kelner, MANY BLOODY RETURNS has done it again; we debuted at #29 on the NYT Trade Paperback Best Seller List! Go team!

This is one of those successes that I really wish I could say I had more to do with, but I can only hope that half of the people out there who read the book for Charlaine Harris or Jim Butcher or whomever else they really bought the book for reads my story and thinking, "Hmmm, not bad. I'll have to go look for something else by her."

It's Monday...

I managed to blog about writing observations and being sick as a dog over at Something Wicked: Devilish Details.

I also managed to name drop *cough*NeilGaiman*cough* since he's like the most famousest guy I ever interviewed for Science Fiction Chronicle. Still, I get a LOT of milage out of that one interaction.

And I'm still sick as a dog. Did you listen to me on AM 950? I was upright! I said things when asked questions! My fever broke "on air." I'm impressed I made any sense at all (although I'm not sure I did.)

Now I'm off to collapse again. Bye.

Pacing Class On-Line

OKAY TO FORWARD

Online class: March 1-31, 2009
"Pacing: How To Create A Page-Turning Manuscript"
by Mary Buckham
Registration $30 at www.WriterUniv.com/

What keeps a book intriguing enough to have fans turn the pages and not set it down? How can one author's books have you riveted and another's leave you feeling ho-hum? Ever wondered if there are key craft tips and techniques to balance fast-paced conflict, tension, suspense or mystery, action and emotion? In PACING: HOW TO CREATE A PAGE TURNING MANUSCRIPT you'll learn:

* The ingredients of a page-turner
* What hooks are and how to maximize them
* The power of effective scenes: common pacing pitfalls to avoid
* The ten elements of strong pacing
* How to use subplots and secondary characters
* How to avoid a sagging middle
* What a beat is and how to use it
* Great beginnings & endings that have your readers wanting more!

Mary Buckham’s debut Romantic Suspense novel, THE MAKEOVER MISSION, was a Silhouette Intimate Moments release. Her second novel, INVISIBLE RECRUIT, was a May 2006 Silhouette Bombshell. A former magazine editor, she has written hundreds of free-lance articles and a non-fiction book. Currently she is a national writing-workshop presenter, both online and at conferences. Visit www.MaryBuckham.com or www.BreakIntoFiction.com for more information about the release of her Break Into Fiction book coming June 2009.

OKAY TO FORWARD

Chat Tonight

Wednesday, February 11, 2009, I will be taking part in the Valentine Soiree at the Writerspace chatroom from 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm EST. Sign up for the contest and win copies of my newest release! There will be a ton of other writers participating as well. To see a fill list check out: http://www.writerspace.com/valentine

Zero Words

I slept much of yesterday, instead, trying to fight off the inevitability of a cold / strep.

But the funny part was my mind must have felt guilty about it because I had at least two thoughts about the novel hit me while in a fevered state. So I'm hoping -- fingers crossed -- that I'll get some good writing in tonight. I have to say, though, I still don't have a clear vision of my final showdown. Hopefully it'll come to me during the day today.

House of Plague

On Saturday in the middle of our poetry/Imbolc party, Mason started acting sick. In very uncustomary style, he hid upstairs and read quietly to himself while everyone else enjoyed each other's poems, etc. He was very feverish by Sunday, and yesterday we went to the doctors just to rule out anything more serious than a virus.

Turns out that on top of a cold, he has strep throat.

My partner, who will catch anything anyone who even passes her on the street has, instantly also caught the cold. I seem to be the only one in the house left standing...

...so far.

But under the heading "silver lining," because my usually high-energy, high maintenance kid is in the mood for watching TV and reading quietly to himself, I've managed to keep up with the word count (so far!)

Middle Ages Course for Writers (on-line)

***PERMISSION TO FORWARD***

Yellow Rose Romance Writers is proud to launch online workshops for the first time! All workshops are $15 for Yellow Rose members and $25 for non-Yellow Rose members.

In March, Eliza Knight will present A Noble's Life In Medieval Times. This is a 4 week course. To register, go http://yellowroserwa.com/workshops.php and fill in the form. We accept PayPal and check/money order. Registration deadline is February 28, 2009.

Course Description:

Life in medieval times was so much different than the way we live today. When readers sit down with their favorite medieval historical romance, they are taken away to another time and place. For most readers, this is where they learn about medieval times, and it is the duty of the author to be as authentic as possible. That being said, you don't want your book to be a history lecture either, but to just flavor it enough.

This workshop will teach you how people, particularly nobles, lived in medieval times, in order for you to be truer to the era you write about. This is an open discussion workshop, questions and comments are welcome and encouraged. The lessons will be presented as follows:

Lesson One: The Medieval Castle
Lesson Two: Medieval Entertainments
Lesson Three: Day in the Life of a Medieval Lord and Lady
Lesson Four: Medieval Medicine
Lesson Five: Medieval Clothes

Eliza Knight is the author of multiple steamy Regency and erotic Highlander time travel romance novellas published by The Wild Rose Press. She is a freelance copy editor, Newsletter Editor for Hearts Through History Romance Writers, and President of the Celtic Hearts Romance Writers signature chapter of the RWA. She also volunteers her time as moderator of a critique group and contest coordinator. Eliza is the author of the award-winning blog, History Undressed and has published numerous articles in various newsletters. She presents workshops on history, researching techniques and writing craft, to writing groups online. While not writing, reading or researching, she is chasing after her two--soon to be three--children and living with her own knight in shining armor. For more information on Eliza, please visit her website at, www.elizaknight.com, and www.historyundressed.blogspot.com.

On the Radio!

This is subject to change, but yesterday I agreed to be on Radio Cafe with Cathy Hauser on Saturday, February 14, 2009 (yes, Valentine's Day) from 3:00 - 4:00 pm CST on KTNF / AM 950 (that's "Voice of Minnesota," Air America.) If you're out of town and still want to listen in, please go to www.am950ktnf.com. Also, if you wish to harass... er, support me, feel free to call into the studio line at (952) 946-6205. I'm sure Cathy will also announce a 1-800 number if they have one.

Professor X as Heirophant

Here's Professor X as the Heirophant in my continuing Marvel (tm) Tarot pictures. I didn't write anything in my tarot journal after drawing it because it turned into a busy day, but here are my thoughts now.

I picked Professor X to be the Heirophant after reading the section in my WitchSchool.com Tarot 101 course. The instructor talked about the Heirophant as a guardian of arcane knowledge, and in many ways Prof. X is a kind of hero's school for mutants. You really can't be a good guy mutant without getting past the door marked "School of Gifted Students." He is the headmaster of the School, and, in the very beginning when it was just the five X-Men, the sole instructor of everything from math to "Superhero 101."

The two figures in the front take the place of the kneeling monks. I didn't intend them to be any particular characters, though I considered Jean (Phoenix) and Scott (Cyclops), though they will be making an appearance in the LOVERS card. I decided that the figures should remain sketchy and naked to represent the "anyone" aspect, though I did make them white/Caucasian, which given the diversity of the school kind of limits the characters. I suppose I could have colored them purple and green, also given the nature of the characters that are often admitted to the School of Gifted Students. :-)

The Point of No Return... Or Something Like That

I FINALLY past the half-way mark for me, 40,000 words yesterday. Although this has been a very messy process give how quickly I've been writing. I've been doing a lot of "ah-ha!"s and realizing what I SHOULD have written, and going back and layering in a lot of that. For instance, yesterday, though I ended up writing nearly 2,000 words (which is my daily goal,) most of those where a paragraph here or a couple of lines there. And I realized last night that there's a scene I've worked on maybe three times since I wrote it that STILL needs some massaging to get right.

Happy Imbolc!

Yesterday, my family and I did our usual Imbolc ritual where we added beads to our charm/magical necklaces. Mason really enjoys this one, and he always ends up doing an extra project. This time it was making a necklace to ward off the monsters under the bed.

I also have a new Tarot card I need to post. Maybe tomorrow.

Hope you all are keeping warm as February returns to Minnesota with a vengeance.

X-Posted Cat Blog

Normally, on Fridays over at Wyrdsmiths' blog, Kelly McCullough posts pictures of his cats along with silly captions. He's out of town today, so I decided to step in. I think this one kind of makes for a nice "story arc" (that's Mason, obviously, MUCH younger...)

Mz. Peep sez: "What the frak?"

Mz. Ball sez: "What the frak?"

Kittez sez: "OMG, there's a baby in teh condo!"

How I Spend My Free Time

Here's what me and my family does on the weekends:

Many Bloody Returns... in Polish!

Here's the Polish version of MANY BLOODY RETURNS, the anthology my story "Fire and Ice and Linguini for Two" appeared in -- somehow I neglected to post this here when I first found out about it. Cool, huh?

Realms Closing!

I heard about this through a list I'm on: http://sfscope.com/2009/01/realms-of-fantasy-closing.html. This is bad news for fantasy writers everywhere.

Hopefully, I'm the Tortoise

As I've reported here before, my friend and fellow writer Kelly McCullough and I are racing to each finish our novels by the end of February, as we have other irons in the fire. I've been keeping a tally of my progress in the sidebar of the Wyrdsmith's website: http://wyrdsmiths.blogspot.com. Kelly is currently handing me my a$$ on a plate.

The worse part is that I've been writing and working non-stop on this novel. I just don't have anything to show for it because I realized that I needed to do some massaging of the first 2/3rds in order to write the last bit. Yesterday alone, I probably cut 3,000 words. Yet miraculously, today my word count is still in the positive, which means I must have seriously kicked butt.

Not that you can tell just by looking at the word count.

I comfort myself by telling myself that winning is good, but having a good novel at the end is my actual goal.

The News!

I'm happy to announce that my agent brokered a three-book deal with Penguin for a new series! I'll be writing an YA (young adult) about a fifteen year-old girl living in Saint Paul, Minnesota who has a vampire prince for a father and a mother who's a real Witch.

The only draw back is that I agreed to write this book by October of '09, and, as you know, Bob, I already have two books with deadlines this year. So... if I come and go on the blogisphere, that's the dealio.

Anyway, whoot! Many whoots!

Argh! I'm Sitting on a Great, Big Secret

And I'm just about ready to explode. All I can say (as a great, big TEASE) is that it involves more books, my agent, and my editor.

And I'm really, really happy!!!!!!

Mason and Obama

I wish I'd had my camera last night as we were all watching the inauguration speech I'd taped. In the middle of it, while Shawn and I had tears streaming down our faces, Mason hopped up and gave the TV (which showed a close-up of President Obama's face) and gave him a big hug and a kiss. It was SUPER cute.

I managed to get some writing done yesterday, even though I was very distracted by an overwhelming feeling of joy. The biggest problem with having written this novel so fast is that I find I've gotten sooner to the point in the novel where I wonder if a huge revision is in order. A lot has happened in this novel, but there's no clear villain or tah-dah to head for and I'm feeling a tad lost. I may have to take part of today to do a little thinking and re-reading.

It's okay. It's part of my process and part of what seems to happen to me during these waning moon periods, you know?

As a friend texted me yesterday, "Happy Obama Day!"

Life Interruptus

I've been doing PRETTY well with this writing competition that I have going with fellow Wyrdsmith, Kelly McCullough. But, yesterday, life happened.

I had way too many errands to do. I panicked about it for a while, but then I called my partner Shawn. She said, "You know what? Sometimes you have to do other things. It's OKAY."

And it was.

So I only got 461 words written. It's still 461 closer to "THE END." Some days, that's the best you can hope for.

Uh....Thanks?

Google Alerts found this gem for me: Review: Tall, Dark & Dead and Dead Sexy.

The last line made me laugh out loud. Though written by an Australian, it could have been written by a Minnesotan: "you could certainly do worse [than read these books]."

Uh... wow. I feel extra warm and fuzzy now. Although to be fair, the review, up to that point, is really quite nice. And, in context, the whole bit about doing worse is really quite positive. Still...I feel like calling my publicist and yelling, "Stop the presses! I need that tag line on the cover my next book: 'Could do worse!'"

Medusa as Empress

According to my tarot journal, I drew this card on January 3, 2009. It's the first image in my new tarot journal for 2009, which I got from Shawn for Solstice. Anyway, here's my "mystical rambling" about why I drew it the way I did:

Here's Medusa, Queen of the Inhumans as the Empress. It's not totally rocking awesome, but there are still things about it that I like. One of the things I was fascinated by in the Rider-Waite version of this card was how the Empress seemed to be sitting at the boundary between civilization and wilderness. I really wanted that idea reflected in my own version, thus Medusa sits on a cushioned chaise lounge in front of a window that looks out on the moonscape (because, as you know, Bob, the Inhumans are currently based on the moon.)

I gave her the Venus shield and an orb with the equal armed cross because otherwise this card is devoid of the usual symbolism. You'd have to know me to know that I've always been fond of the Inhumans, particularly of Black Bolt, Medusa's consort/husband/king. He might have made a good Emperor card because responsibility is certainly his watch word given that he only has to utter a single whisper to destroy worlds. But, the relationship between Medusa and Black Bolt has also always fascinated me because, thanks to his awesome sonic power, she speaks for him. (She may be telepathic or, I don't know, they've maybe just been married that long.)Either way, there's got to be a lot of trust there, don't you think? Plus, if you like the Grail interpretation of the Empress and Emperor cards this makes her the "kingmaker," without her Black Bolt could not rule (as he could never make his wishes known.)

She's always seemed sexy to me, too, and -- though I can't point to any particular issue that makes me believe this -- I've always thought that she and Black Bolt had good sex and had a very sensual, loving relationship.

I feel like she's someone's mother, too, though I was corrected on LJ that she's Crystal's sister, not mother. Anyway, she seemed a good fit: mother, lover, ruler.

Getting my Butt Kicked

Yesterday was not a GREAT writing day for me. I only managed to get just over a 1,000 words written, though I did have a nice visit from a friend I hadn't seen in some time. So, there was that social upside thing. (Damn my need for friendship! How will I ever crush the competition if I keep having friends!!!)

Oh, and I should have a Marvel Tarot (tm) up tomorrow, as I took a picture yesterday. I'd get it up today, but I'm already late to start writing.

Wicked Cold

It's seriously ARCTIC outside today. Wind chills make the air feel -36 F, which is just... well, polar.

Mason, of course, was super excited. I think he was hoping to see my face ACTUALLY freeze off.

Meanwhile, yesterday was a good day for the race of words between me and Kelly. I wrote nearly 2,000 words (actually 1,784,) and am now at 26,220 words total. However, today has started out rough and I'm expecting a guest this afternoon which is going to completely derail me.

This is the problem with competition. There's no accounting for life.

Well, now that it seems the race is on, I'm going to be very motivated to keep my word count running. Have I mentioned that I'm very much motivated by competition? Well, it's true. I like to win. Or, really, I like to race, I'm not all that motivated by winning. I just just like the elbow jostling of a good competition.

Oh, and my digital camera seems to be working again thanks to the brilliant and technical mind of Shawn, my partner.

What else? I worked out today. My muscles ache.

Oh, and it's snowing, like really awesome, huge, white flakes. I kind of wish I had time to go for a nice long walk in it.

Other People's Tarot

I got a great email from a reader in Des Moines who has been following my Marvel (tm) Tarot (and has also read my books), and she sent a long an awesome link to her sister's Stick Figure Thoth Tarot Parody. These are quite charming. You should check them out.

In the meantime, as I think I reported, my digital camera has decided to freak out so I haven't been able to post my Empress card. Since I've done Iron Man as the Emperor, it's time to start Professor X as the Heirophant.

My other big hold up drawing mor cards is that I've been writing HONEYMOON OF THE DEAD like a squirrel on crack. In the past seven days I've averaged 1,300 words, and in a caffeine induced haze last night at Wyrdsmiths I challenged fellow writer Kelly McCullough to a duel of words. We're each going to try to finish our novels by the end of Feburary. Once we work out the "rules," we're going to post results/updates/etc. over on the Wyrdsmith's blog. So if you're interested to see how competition motivates me, check over there periodically.

It should be noted that as a Scorpio competition is my lifeblood.

Numberology and Years

So, ever since I first discovered Tarot, I've been keeping a journal of the various readings I've done for myself. It was an idea I got from Mary Greer's influencial books TAROT FOR YOURSELF, which I love deeply. One of the things she has students do is some numerology stuff for each year that corresponds to one of the Major Arcana.

This year, my card is: DEATH.

And, I want to be honest: I'm completely freaked out. It's not that I'm expecting to physically die, but there are so many ways to DIE in the publishing industry that I'm on pins and needles.

Not to mention that word... DEADlines. Of which I have two this year (so far.)

Maybe that's it. Maybe this is the year of the DEADlines....

Okay. That's a little less scary and a lot more positive.

I can LIVE with that.

Out of the Broom Closet!

There's no keeping secrets if you have a five year old.

I was waiting for Mason to make sure he had something with him at school today and his teacher pulled me aside to tell me a funny story. Apparently, while they were sharing stories about things people did over the holiday, Mason piped up with, "I went sledding with Barb and Gerriann. Well, actually, I went with Barb. Ima and Gerriann stayed at home because they're practicing to be Witches, but that's another story."

Oh, isn't it just? :-)

Once is Spooky, but Twice...?

Okay, the Universe is really, really trying to make sure that I understand that part of how I practice Witchcraft is through writing because...

So there I am at the keyboard yesterday afternoon writing the bit in HONEYMOON OF THE DEAD where Sebastian explains that, well, see, he's got this stalker who's convinced that he's part of the Illuminati because he's rich (at least that was my original idea, anyway).

Just guess where the historical Illuminati started?

That's right, Bavaria, which at various points of its history mingled with what is now Austria.

Is it just me, or is it magic in here?

Resolved: Write Every Day

That was my blog title over at Something Wicked this morning, and it pretty much sums up everything I really ought to have said on the subject (but, of course, I blathered on for several paragraphs.)

In other news, I finally decided on a character to be my Empress card for my Marvel (tm) tarot. Medusa, Queen of the Inhumans (and mother of Crystal, I believe.) She seemed like a good pick. I drew out the card, but my digital camera has now decided to go on the fritz. Hopefully, I can get it taken care of in a few days. In the meantime, enjoy this picture of Medusa, which I cribbed from that Internets all you kids are using.

I need to search for one of those graphic/bar thingies that shows my daily progress on the novel. It might be a good kick in the pants to have to upload my word count every day.

Did I mention I have a lot of writing to do this year??

Bringing in the New Year Right

I faxed off the corrections for DEAD IF I DO today, and, last night, as I was reading them I had an epiphany about the book I'm working on now, HONEYMOON OF THE DEAD. I realized that, in many ways DEAD IF I DO is about the trauma of GETTING married, and that HONEYMOON OF THE DEAD should be about the trauma of BEING married.

Except, of course, with ghouls and goblins and zombies, as usual.

Cap as Justice

I'll be honest. I'm not terribly happy with this one which is why it's still in sketch form. After the cool action-y pose of Iron Man, Cap is kind of a let down (and you KNOW he's my favorite Marvel superhero these days.)

But, technically, Justice is the 11th card and so I kind of skipped ahead mostly because, after drawing Iron Man, my fingers itched to do Captain America.

I think I may have settled on a subject for the Empress card, however. Medusa, Queen of the Inhumans. She's both sexy and a mother, and she rules over more than just a family (as Sue Richards does for the FF.) Plus, there's something in the Rider-Waite deck that I noticed that I'd love to include in my own... that is that the Empress sits at the edge of a cultivated field and the wilderness can be seen behind her, as though she marks or defends the end of civilization. As the Inhumans are on the moon, it would be easy to show Medusa sitting somewhere near a window that shows the moonscape behind her. Just a thought. I'll see how it all works out when I actually try to sketch it.

Do You Believe In Magic?

I was once on a panel with Neil Gaiman about... actually I can't remember what it was about exactly because I was awfully busy being awed by being in the presence of Neil, but I do remember that we touched on the fact that sometimes writers access synchronicity with a skill that's akin to magic. For example, you start thinking about a certain subject, say, alchemy and you decide -- totally randomly -- to make your vampire an alchemist from Vienna, Austria, then later, say, like yesterday, you're at Border's and you see a "Idiot's Guide to Alchemy" and you think, "Damn, you know, I know almost nothing about alchemy really, I should buy that so I can do some research and make Sebastian's alchemy more 'real.'"

So you open the book up to the introduction this morning over your bowl of Corn Flakes, and read this:

"Four hundred years earlier, Vienna and nearby Prague were the heart of European alchemy, and hundreds of alchemists flocked to the area to study."

Hairs rise on the back of your neck, and you say, "Holy coincidence, Batman. That's freaky."

I can't remember entirely the story that Neil told about his magical moment of research other than it had to do with his book American Gods, which at the time he hadn't quite finished. I just know that it's absolutely true. This isn't the first time something like this has happened to me, but it's still always so startling.

It's a Monday

Made obvious by the fact that a few seconds ago I posted a blank blog. WTF? Somehow I fumbled the keyboard. Yeah, it's Monday, all right.

Plus, as I wrote over at the Something Wicked Blog, I woke up this morning with a headache and an impending sense of doom. The headache I mostly blame on the weather. Here in Minnesota it's been warmish (for winter, with temps in the 20s and 30s F), which always gives my sinuses a workout. The impending sense of doom, however, has more to do with the fact that APPARENTLY 2008 is almost over.

How did that happen?

I feel like this entire year has been moving at super-sonic speeds. I have no idea where all my time went, though at least I appear to have some things to show for it. ROMANCING THE DEAD came out this year, and I finished DEAD IF I DO at some point. I'm only certain of this because I'm looking at a set of reader's proofs that are due back at the publisher at the beginning of next year --- a matter of days, actually. The good news there is that I'm half way done reviewing it, and I can fax back the pages that need corrections.

But what the hey? Why do I only have fifty pages on the next book done? What have I been doing with my time?

Oh, yeah, watching HELLBOY 2 and drawing Marvel (tm) tarot cards. I should really try to develop a bit more focus for the new year. Ah! A resolution! Hooray, something accomplished already.

Iron Man as Emperor

This one may look a little blurry, but that's because I decided to do it all in colored pencil without any "inking." I should note that I stole/redesigned the pose from the cover of IRON MAN CIVIL WAR.

Here's what I said about it in my tarot journal:

I skipped the Empress because I'm not quite sure who best fits that card in the Marvel Universe (tm). I'd originally thought Sue Richards/Invisible Woman because she is one of the few heroes who is actually also a mother, but, after meditating on the card, I'm not sure she's quite sexy enough.

The Emperor as Iron Man seemed a much more obvious choice. In this card, I put him in a "ready for action" pose, and in full armor because the Emperor shows no mercy to his enemies (even if they were once friends, ala Cap and the Civil War storyline.)

He is ready to lead and shoulder all the responsibility that entails. He follows the law. As Emperor Iron Man is the apologist for his government. He will explain the law to his subjects and lead those who enforce it. He will, in effect, represent the law (regardless of any misgivings.)

The only nods I gave to the traditional images (besides the armor) is the bleak, orange background and the ram's head on the gargoyle.

Happy Yule

My family and I had a wonderful Yule. I wrote a little about it over at Something Wicked, but I just wanted to wish everyone out here a happy return of the Sun.

Storm as High Priestess

So in my continued Marvel (tm) super-hero tarot deck, I have this new beauty to add:

Here's what I wrote about it in my tarot journal:

I'm pleased with this one, even though it ended up quite differently from my original vision. Though I always pictured Storm sitting much as she is, I'd initially thought to show her inside a ruined/collapsed Egyptian tomb (even though she's claustrophobic) -- I'd been planning to show an opening above, symbolizing salvation, "reaching beyond the veil," etc.

But this image, with the open air and pyramid behind her, just sort of came out instead, as did the finger to her lips -- as if she's saying "no talking. Time to listen to your heart." or "I've got a secret." Both of which I feel suit this card pretty well.

I gave her a crystal ball, but she's not gazing into it. This high priestess has access to divinary power, but doesn't need to use it. Similarly the "Tora" scroll is there, but not in her lap. She already has that information -- hence the slight smile that says she knows it too.

My other nods to tradition are the black and white columns. I made these Egyptian with the lotus blossom motif to reflect the general setting.

I also gave Storm her punk outfit and hair because, IMHO, she really came into her own during those (Chris Claremont?) years. She lost her elemental powers, but gained belief in her own, inner strength. Her fierce independence during this era seems, to me, to fit this card very well.

Here's a close-up:

Dash, dot, dot,dash!

"Dash, dot, dot, dash. Ampersand!" is how my son Mason swears. He gets it from comic strips mostly, where the author/artist will replace choice words with dingbats. But, since he likes the sound of dash and dot, it sounds a bit like he's cursing in Morse code. (Although I have no idea what "dash, dot, dot, dash." would work out to be.)

Today, I am swearing because my dash-dot-dot car is on the blink. Actually, it decided to throw a starter wire, which is, at least, blessedly simple (I hope) to fix. It's at the garage right now, though it took some monumental effort to get it there last night. (Many calls to Triple-A, much waiting and pacing in the 4 degree weather, lots and lots of "dash, dot, dot"s from me.)

Also because Minneapolis/St. Paul has a pretty lame public transportation system, I walked about three miles this morning (uphill both ways!) But seriously, after one of Mason's school friend's parents dropped me off at my coffee shop this morning, I decided to start hoofing it down Grand toward our service station. I'm glad I did, because I was able to show the mechanic exactly which wire was the problem. As I jostled the wire, a big chunk of it actually broke off. We looked at each other for a moment. Then the mechanic says (completely deadpan,) "Yeah, that could be a problem."

Sometimes I love Minnesotans.

More Tarot Images

I ended up not very happy with my first attempt, which you can see here. Though the image remains much the same in the second attempt (below). Here's what I wrote in my tarot journal after I finished this:

"I'm not sure how much I like it, because I'd originally imagined the lab/background a lot more science-y and full of tools the Adept had already brought into fruition. I changed Reed's costume somewhat because I wanted the symbolism of white/the uncarved block/limitless potential in the Magician's hands. There is nothing this guy can't build or produce; his understanding of physics, engineering, and mechanics is so powerful. He has so conquered the intellectual world, he doesn't even notice he's casually defying the laws of physics by levitating the gizmo/wand."

"That's not the usual image (levitating), and goes a bit against the idea of the Magician as firmly grasping the wand/his tools, but he is still the conduit of the creative force, the lightening bolt of higher consciousness."

"Reed gazes at the tools of the magical realm with a cool, logical, dispassionate eye. He hasn't quite mastered magic yet, so it needs further study. All the colors (except those of the tools themselves) are "cold" colors, because I wanted to make the connection that the Magician is incomplete -- he is too much intellect and not enough heart."

"The spiral shaped doo-hickey behind Reed's right, downward pointing shoulder is meant to be the closed portal to the Negative Zone. If the card were reversed, the Negative Zone would be in the foreground, replacing the Arcane tools. To me, the Negative Zone represents genius in the service of darkness -- Reed's intellectual folly/moral blindness, intellect misused. Because Reed allowed (encouraged?) Stark Industries to imprison heroes in the Negative Zone during the Civil War (which he did because of a social political formula which predicted the future), it symbolizes genius without heart -- with dark, perhaps even evil, intent -- even though it might appear to have the best intentions."

"If I re-drew this, I might try putting Reed in a lab coat and obscuring his role as a hero, because in his lab -- Reed focuses solely on creation rather than being part of a team. Also, I am considering choosing the title ADEPT instead of MAGICIAN because Mr. Fantastic more fully embodies that term, IMHO."

And here's my second attempt:

I like this one a little better, but I'm still not fully satisfied. I do like that the infinity symbol is now part of the machinery that Mr. Fantastic has built and is almost unnoticeable, as is the fact that he's defied gravity with the gizmo. I added more cool colors to the Arcane symbols on the table as well, and this time the Negative Zone is shown open.

What do you think?