A Fortnight of Mustard

Broken Records, Oak Trees, and Oranges- Picture Your Setting.

2012-01-18T14:43:00.000-08:00

A broken record and orange peel

Here are some photos the kids and I took on a hike one day to the open space, called Lime Ridge, near our house.

Sometimes we find weird stuff like broken records amid dozens of orange rinds. There's a story there, just don't know what it is. There's a writing prompt for you. Write a story explaining who left them there.

But typically we just enjoy the view, the plants, and wildlife.

Our house is down there. See it? To the right of the palm trees with a gray roof.

Fiona and Daphne under the oak

Oak Tree

looking up at the tree

That exact spot with the oak tree is in my W.I.P., Twelve Keys. I put a character under that tree when we first meet him. Does everyone use places from real life for their stories? Of course I often add or subtract elements. In place of a city, I put a river, but it helps me to picture the scene if I've been to a similar place. I guess that's why I'm writing a story set in California. Much of my first book was set in California too.

How to Draw or Write About Steampunk Gizmos

2012-01-15T16:13:00.000-08:00

From "The Steam House" by Jules Verne

You've got your steampunk, cyberpunk, dieselpunk, and cattle punk. How about photovoltaic punk or solar punk? That is, a story set in olden times (say, Victorian 1837-1901) or the old west (about 1849-1920ish), which are basically within the same time period, but solar energy running everything from gold mining equipment to horseless carriages. Hmm, maybe, maybe not.

The photovoltaic effect was discovered in 1839. In 1883 the first solar cell was built. Check out the Wiki article for the history of the solar cell.

I'm playing around with solar power in my time-spliced fantasy, Twelve Keys. I've got clockwork guns, steam powered engines, but a few solar powered things make sense in the world I'm building. Just can't figure how they will make photovoltaic cells without silicon. Maybe gold-coated selenium? I think I need more research.

Whether you're writing about a steam powered society or a solar powered society, it's helpful to know something about that technology. Sure, you may be writing fantasy, but that doesn't mean your air pirates' flying machine can't be believable. I've blogged before about my passion for steam power, particularly steambikes. Here are two posts you might find helpful.

Believability with Regard to Science and Technology and Sound Effects in Writing, Plus some Nifty Steam Powered Motorcycles.

Now I'd like to share this article I found. How to DrawSteampunk Machines. This artist actually builds steam powered gizmos, so he knows how they work and how to design convincing pictures of them. For us writers, it's a convenient explanation of how steam power works. We are designing with words instead of drawings, but what he has to say and show you is a marvelously help. It's nearly a tutorial on how to write steampunk- at least the gadget portion.

Revising over at Laura's Blog

2012-01-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

I've been kind of revising as I write my fantasy work in progress. But I'm about ready to get down and dirty with some serious revising. Laura Diamond's post today on revising and chocolate will be insanely helpful in figuring out what to watch out for. Plus, she gives us permission to consume mass quanitities of chocolate, which I may need as I kill my darlings- those awesome, yet un-needed scenes and phrases. So, get your tail over to Laura Diamond's blog so you can see what I mean. :)

Yum!

Harry Potter Oscar Nomination? and Playing "Hedwig's Theme"

2012-01-04T15:25:00.000-08:00

It will be interesting to see if Harry Potter And the Deathly Hallows Part 2 gets an Oscar nomination. The movie series hasn't been up for any major awards. I think it's about time one gets Best Picture or Best Director. But that's just my opinion. Read more on this at Mugglenet.

The Art Directors Guild nominated Deathly Hallows 2 in the Fantasy Film category. According to an article at Mugglenet, this isn't a good sign as far as the Oscars go. Apparently the Oscars don't usually pick from the ADG's fantasy category.

Oh well, I don't generally watch award shows. I just like what I like.

Premiere photo

Sorry. Slow blog day for me. "Hedwig's Theme" is seeping into my brain. Both of my 10 yr olds have been practicing it on the piano. If you've watched any of the movies, you know this song. It's heard over and over. John Williams composed this brilliant tune. If you google on YouTube you can take a listen, but in case you want a quick link, I found "Hedwig's Theme" being played on the ocarina.

Hugo Cabret and Automatons

2011-12-30T12:57:00.000-08:00

I brought the twins to see Hugo. The movie was as wonderful as the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, about a boy in the 1930's living in the clockworks at a Paris train station. I can't remember when I've said that. It's different because the book had pages and pages of amazing drawings mixed with the narration. But they both have a place.

We didn't see it in 3D, but there was still that feel of movement through the train station and the clockworks. I think 3D glasses would have been inconvenient, actually, because I had tears in my eyes so often. It's such a bittersweet story.

The other nice thing about the story in film form- you get to see some original footage of the old old films such as A Trip to the Moon. I've watched it on YouTube, but something about seeing it on the big screen made it magical.

My girls and I were discussing if this was a fantasy or realistic story. Though it feels magical and quite steampunk, it's realistic, if you can imagine a boy living alone in a train station caring for clocks to be a reasonable situation. I do. :) Maybe there's a bit of magical realism in it. A new genre perhaps? "Steampunk Magical Realism."

I remember after I read the book, I searched out information about automatons. I'd like to share a cool video of one with you.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T16:33:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, blogger friends. :)
I began a Christmas short story but I probably won't have time to finish it in time for Christmas. No matter. Have a wonderful Christmas, or a happy Hanukkah. If that's your celebration, you've already begun and I hope it's a pleasant one! :)

Nativity

Santa is Here... in a Velomobile?

2011-12-18T11:56:00.000-08:00

In spite of it being so close to Christmas I've gotten some writing done, do to the fact that I spazzed my back out in an ill-timed redecorating project. We had new flooring put in (something that looks not entirely unlike hardwood), which caused the walls to look horrid. So, I repainted several rooms.

So, I spend a couple of days sitting in bed, holding homeschooling classes there with the twins and writing.

I also finally got around to framing my niece's Syzygy artwork. I used the top one for the physical book. The middle one for the ebook, and the bottom one from my Twitter account.

Of course you'd think I'd have a lot of help from my trusty husband at a time like this and I did. He was kind enough to work on his human powered velomobile and ride it around. Whew! Glad I didn't have that job. Here he is in it. It's called a Mango. To me, it looks like a pedal car for grown men. Three wheels? Weren't we all so thrilled when we went from a trike to a bicycle? I think he's reverting, but what to I know about aerodynamics, weight to power ratio, or whatever...?

Have You Ever Seen Your Character in the Flesh?

2011-12-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I spot people--actors or ordinary people--who look like my characters. Sometimes I try to draw them, but I'm not an artist. My niece, Jasmine, an amazing artist, did an adorable depiction of Bea, from my urban fantasy Syzygy, for the cover art.

Now, my characters from Syzygy, are coming alive in a new way.

A few weeks ago I posted about a lady who created a Machimima, a short animated fan film, for Carol Kean's novel, Left on Stonehaven. She's now making one for Syzygy. She posted an update on her progress at her Machinima blog.

First gazing at my character, Finn, was like giving birth! Okay, not quite, but it was an oh-wow-I-can't-believe-it! experience to see him "fleshed out." Not having any sons, maybe the young males are more my babies than the females. I don't know. I recently watched that interview between J.K. Rowling and Dan Radcliffe and she said how moved she was when they chose Dan for the part of Harry Potter because she didn't have a son yet.

Sorry, I'm wandering off on a tangent.

Here's one of the pictures of Finn. To see more, you'll just have to visit Rhonda's Machinima Site. You'll even get to see one weird picture of the skin process which reminds me of that stretched skin character from Doctor Who, Cassandra.

NaNo Loser, Snakes, and a Shoe Shelf

2011-11-29T15:29:00.000-08:00

I'm not winning NaNoWriMo this year. But, my floors are clean. I'd only hoped to finish my current work in progress, so really, I'd only needed about 30k words. But, alas, it's not to be.

You zip along and zip along only to discover that a portion of what you've written is only fit to line the snake cage. Oh goody, now I'll get blog hits from googlers searching for snake cage lining. Well, FYI, there appears to be pine shavings in the bottom of ours. (Random Helpful Hint 42)

James the snake eating a mouse

They're not our snakes. We're borrowing them from my nephew so my girls can learn all things corn snake-ish, such as, it costs over $8 to buy three mice once a week to feed them. No wonder dear nephew was so eager to let us foster them.

But back to NaNo. I began with a bang, neglecting housework, proper meals, even nearly forgetting to pay a bill or two, like a good NaNo'er should, but I couldn't keep it up. Today, in a fit of writer's block, I scrubbed the floors and put together a small shoe rack for the hall.

You can tell we live in California- flip flops at the end of November. :)

Elevator Pitch: Your Thanksgiving Homework

2011-11-20T09:52:00.000-08:00

Quick- in 50 words or less, tell me what your novel is about.

Can you do it?

When you're living your daily life you're probably thinking about your novel all the time, but if you're like me, you don't always have a quick way to describe it.

Somebody at a party says, "I heard you're writing a novel. What's it about?"

You stuff a handful of chips in your mouth and start inching away, thinking, Who told you that? I want them eaten by zombies.

But we need to have something ready. They call this our "elevator pitch." It's the pitch that's short enough to present to somebody in an elevator. You could also call it the, "quick-before-her-eyes-glaze-over pitch."

Give the essence without character names or place names. Tell me the gist as if you were a squeeing fan of this novel.

I'll quickly do the three novels that happen to be on my table right now and I promise I won't cheat.

An orphan learns he can do magic and must save the world from an evil wizard by keeping him from getting a magic rock.

~Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

It's about the thirteenth sister in the Twelve Dancing Princesses and she has to solve the mystery and break the enchantment on her sisters.

~The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler

A guy learns his best friend's an alien and the world is getting blown up and he has to leave. He travels the galaxy and learns that mice are hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings.

~The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Okay, all of those need improvement, but you get the gist.

So, your assignment, if you're a NaNo'ing American, is to write an elevator pitch for your NaNoWriMo novel, memorize it, and utter it at some point on Thanksgiving, preferably before everyone is in an overfed stupor.

The Roper Steam Cycle and Why I'm Normal

2011-11-08T09:35:00.000-08:00

I have super news. I'm normal. When I sprang the news on my husband yesterday, he expressed disbelief.

"No you're not."

Well you, dear readers, will believe me when I tell you I'm normal. I found out yesterday when I read this.

Here's the full article.

I've been wild about old motorcycles for a heap of years. Long ago I wrote a series of stories about a girl who rides a 1922 Banshee, a cool looking bike made for a limited time by a guy who later went on to work for Triumph.

1922 Banshee

But the Banshee wasn't steam powered. When I began my WIP Twelve Keys, I had an excuse to research steam powered motor bikes. Before yesterday already had most of the very pictures shown in the Roper article in my computer for my own reference. I also have sketches I've done of them, because that's what I do while brainstorming--draw my characters, though I'm a lousy artist.

When I saw that the Roper Steam Cycle was going to be auctioned off, my first thought was, "Can I have it?" My second was, "Wow, other people want it! I'm not weird."

When this word "Steampunk" came into my vocabulary, I was thrilled and amused. Don't you love when things you enjoy become popular? Steampunk marries cool clockwork and steam powered gadgets with science fiction and fantasy. But it's not new. And writers adding steampunk elements to their stories will benefit not only from reading Jules Verne, but from learning engine history and development, (and checking out in real life or YouTube some of these guys who actually have running steam engine cars and motorcycles.)

If this post was interesting, you may also enjoy this one.

By the way, this is one of the bikes my husband rides. And he thinks I'm not normal? I guess he should know. ;)

My husband on his recumbent human powered vehicle

Mental Health Help for My Character

2011-11-07T12:16:00.000-08:00

Not my character as in me, but as in--for a character in my work in progess. Laura Diamond over at Lucid Dreamer answered my question about the loner character in my fantasy story, Twelve Keys. It helped me sort him out.

Laura's a psychiatrist and a writer. Her blog posts are always super interesting, but I especially enjoy her Mental Health Mondays. So, go check out her blog! :)

photo by Stan Shebs

*image source embedded in image caption.

42 Random Writer's Block Cures: Great for NaNoWriMo Participants

2011-11-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

If you're stuck in your NaNo novel, pick a number from one to 42 and choose a random plot turn or other device thingy to get you unblocked. I can't guarantee they'll make your writing better, but they'll keep your fingers moving.

(edited on 11/24/11 to add: I found this random number generator to help you pick a number. It even allows you to set it for any upper and lower limit.)

1- Your characters meet a random dog. They try to read the tag, but it keeps wiggling away.

2- Something explodes in the sky above them.

3- Your main character sits down and contemplates how he/she's divided. He/she really wants that main goal, but must have to give up something to get it. Go deep with this one. Put soul into the scene, not explosions. I believe it was Orson Scott Card who once wrote that thought is action.

4- A character smells something strange. Describe it in detail.

5- A character goes blind.

6- Something explodes.

7- Somebody spills something. How do they feel about it? How do others react?

8-A character tastes something new. Describe it in detail.

9-They find a dead animal.

10-Put music in your story- somebody sings or an instrument.

11-Your character realizes she/he lost a favorite necklace or pocketwatch.

12- He/she sits down to read and finds parallels in the story with his own life.

13- Write from another point of view. Just try it and see. Even if it's not in the final novel, it's eye-opening for you.

14- Your character prays.

15- Somebody gets drunk. What are the ramifications?

16- A man in a hat and umbrella is watching your characters from afar. Just put it in, even if it seems out of place. Trust me on this. :)

17- Somebody thinks your character lied when they haven't.

18- Look to your right, left and center. Write down three things you see. Now write a scene involving those objects. No cheating. If they can't possibly be in your novel, somebody can imagine/remember them.

19- Compose a poem about your character or novel. (I actually did this and one of my characters sings the song in the novel.)

20- A baby monkey riding backwards on a pig go by. How do your characters feel about it?

21- Write a chapter with no dialogue.

22- Your character must go shopping for bread.

23- Somebody suspects they're pregnant. How does everyone respond?

24- A large dog is hiding behind a house.

25- Somebody finds a gun in a drawer.

26- It rains. Does your character like rain? Describe the experience in detail.

27- The most unlikely character in the novel dances.

28- Write a chapter with only dialogue.

29- Write a chapter that begins- "I've lost my suspenders."

30- The weather unexpectedly changes and your characters are unprepared.

31- Write the closing scene to your novel if you haven't already. Do it now even though you haven't written the rest. You'll know where you're headed and you can always modify it later.

32- Hundreds of butterflies are suddenly flocking toward your characters. What now?

33- Write a gambling scene.

34- Open a scene with the words, "The stench was unbearable."

35- Write a journal entry or letter written by your character- main character or any character you're trying to get to know.

36- Give the villain, or some unsympathetic character, a stomachache and have to curl up in the fetal position for a while.

37- There's a car crash, steambike crash, space vehicle, or horse and carriage crash (depending on your genre).

38- Somebody says, "Hasn't this all happened before?" Everyone looks at him and he says, "Never mind. Déjà vu." Dumb, but it's a NaNoWriMo filler until you think of the right dialogue.

39- They find a dead kitten. The toughest guy cries.

40- Somebody makes a Shakespeare reference and after that, eerily the story starts to take on the shape of Macbeth.

41- A new character is introduced. He/she resembles your real life first grade teacher.

42- The TARDIS appears, Doctor Who steps out, and ...

Machinima

2011-11-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

Machinima is a basically the use of games such as The Sims to create animated films. It's a fascinating art form, which I realize won't appeal to everyone. I've never played Sims. Heck, the most advanced game I've played is Tetris, so it's a mystery to me how they pull off this Machinima stuff, but I hear it's complicated.

Two super creative ladies are responsible for a piece of art that may interest you. The novel is Left on Stonehaven by Carol Kean. It is, as yet, unpublished. The Machinima based on the novel was created by a rather humble yet brilliant lady who goes by the moniker DoLittleSayMuch. She's got a cool site as well as a YouTubepage.

The Machinima captures the gritty raw aspects of Carol's novel. To read the Machinima's description, go to the YouTube page but you can access the Machinima from either of DoLittleSayMuch's sites.

Just to warn you, the machinima contains adult themes, so don't watch while your little ones are present. Be sure to have the sound turned on. There's music and dialogue. It has the elements of both a story-ish film and a music video.

I was blown away. The story is gripping, as I suspected it would be, knowing what a talented writer Carol is. Technically, the film is amazing. I happen to know, this was a huge labor of love for the machinima film artist. She did a brilliant job bringing the characters to life and interpreting the story into a new form.

NaNoWriMo for Young Writers and Homeschooling Parents

2011-11-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

Today's the first day of NaNoWriMo, National NovelWriting Month. I've done it twice before. I've succeeded once. Well, I succeeded in writing a very poor zombie novel with flat characters.

This year, sitting in my chocolate induced daze, I resist the urge to tackle NaNo again, especially since I'm about half to two quarters the way through my WIP. But after some coaxing from my niece, I'm giving in. I'll approach NaNo as NaNoPoint5. That is, I'll use it to complete my half-finished novel.

Enough droning about my project, I'm here to encourage you and your kids too. Unless you are an under 21, in which case, you're a kid to me. (Insert obnoxious toothy grin.) Did you know that NaNo has a kid section? Yeppers! Here's that link. As a homeschooling mom, I get to call the time I ignore my kids while doing my own writing, "Homeschooling Time," and let them work on their own stories. Is that the best scam or what?

So, brew your poison--coffee, oolong, or some newfangled beverage with a cryptic name, dip your hand into the kid's candy stash, and start your NaNo flop... I mean masterpiece.

rainbow coffee

NaNoWriMo: Usernames, Passwords, and Planning Oh My!

2011-10-21T14:12:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again. Oh yes, you guessed it. It's time to rattle your peanut sized brain and try to remember your username and password for NaNoWriMo- National Novel Writing Month November 2011! Yay!

Composing that bestseller

Or perhaps this will be your first year and you're still trying to pick a name: Bestseller Bess, Paperback Writer, or Inescapable Grief.

Unless you're the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-trousers type and you select such things (like blog names) as the form is open on your desktop while you're on the phone with your mother, your gaze darting around the kitchen. It lands upon the spice rack.

"How about dry mustard?"

"Dry mustard?"

"What are you making?"

"A blog."

...silence

"Mom, are you still there?"

Remember, your NaNoWriMo user name will be with you every November for the next 742 years. So, for instance, if you name yourself after the main character of your parody fantasy novel, Barry Hotter, and then toss that manuscript into the shredder, hoping never to be reminded of that flop, you may be sorry come next year.

Take it from me, Zombie Girl (cringe) choose wisely.

Okay, so now you've picked your name and password. The password was easy because you only have one or two you use for just about everything and you wrote them down on that bit of paper you keep in your desk drawer because who-the-heck cares about security, right?

What will you write? I'm sure you've got a brilliant novel in mind, or you wouldn't have bothered reading this far on a NaNo blog post. The real question is- will you outline before beginning or go with the flow? I suggest something in between. My literary hat simply flipped with glee when I learned about Dan Wells' 7 point story structure. You can read what I wrote about that here and watch the first of his videos on the topic.

Were I doing NaNo this year, I'd take my vision and map it out the using the 7 point structure, which leaves a lot of flexibility. But you may be an outliner and if that's the case, do it. I wish I were, but if I try to outline, I become distracted by the urge to yank out my eyelashes with a pair of tongs.

Could you meet your NaNo goal using a quill and ink?

But I'm not doing NaNo this year. I'm not. No no no no no....

Well, maybe.

*Image sources embedded in image captions.

The Page 99 Challenge

2011-10-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

The page ninety-nine test is supposed to tell a reader if a book is worth reading or not. I think it's a bit random, but it's an interesting method. A while back I did the 99 test on my fantasy work in progress, Twelve Keys. However, I hadn't written enough to present you with page 99, so, I did the next best thing. I gave you page forty-two.

I now have about 156 pages written. Today I can show you my current page 99. I'm sure it'll change, with revising and all that.

Without further ado, here is 99- of Twelve Keys

***

"If we had a winged engine, we could cross the eastern mountains. We would see if the land was normal on the other side," Poppy prattled. "Rick? Rick, are you listening?"

He'd halted at a bend in the path to look down into a gully. "You can't cross the mountains."

"But we'd have a flying--"

"Even on the back of a giant polka-dotted eagle."

"Is there such a bird?"

"No." Below, Rick saw three little kids playing in a creek. They were covered from head to foot in mud and green muck. But what interested him was that the creek had a wide, low concrete weir built across it--from the Modern times. He wondered what else in the vicinity might still be standing.

He felt Poppy slip from Currito's back, and watched her step to the edge and look down.

"Rick, look. Children. Let's go talk to them."

The water level was low and the creek wasn't flowing. On one side of the weir the creek was little more than thick mud and some trampled vegetation. On the other, it was a scum-covered pool. Rick could already smell the stagnant stink.

"Naw. We'll move on."

One of the kids mounted the weir and waved. "Climb down."

Poppy looked up at Rick. "Check the watch."

***Lnks to image sources embedded in images themselves.

Character Study: The Sacrificing Mother

2011-10-12T19:02:00.000-07:00

One of the most kick-tail hero/heroine types is the sacrificing parent. I'll focus on mothers today. Mothers like, Ellen Ripley (Aliens), Lilly Potter (Harry Potter), Sarah Conner (Terminator). Film and literature are littered with them. I'll mainly discuss two- Ellen Ripley and Lily Potter.

From The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Why do we admire these characters as heroes? What qualities do they exhibit? Bravery, love, fierce loyalty, the ability to focus on somebody other than themselves. All qualities we hope to possess. Qualities we hope we'd find within ourselves when faced with terrifying dangers- be that alien attacks, Voldemort, or the threat of machines taking over the world.

from "Aliens"

Okay, that's fantasy. Let's take it to a realistic level. How about earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, or war? All of these situations can bring out your character's inner heroine.

Or perhaps a more personal tragedy like a car wreck, job loss, illness, or other crisis. Maybe those aren't as glamorous as flicking wands with Deatheaters, but they can be just as taxing.

I think heroes, such as the sacrificial mother, kicking serious booty to protect her child (or another's child, as is in the case in "Aliens") stirs our own inner hero and helps us feel more prepared to take on challenges. I don't know about you, but when I'm thinking about somebody else, I'm less worried about my own tail and can think more about getting the job done.

Let's look at each of these women:

Ripley (Aliens) has fifteen minutes to save a little girl, nickname Newt, before the space station explodes. The thing is, she has no real reason to believe the girl is alive. You see, they just saw the little girl fall down some... thing-- an air shaft I guess it was, and the aliens take her. Ripley goes to the ship and gets weapons to fight the aliens and rescue Newt all by herself.

She risks her own life for whom? A little girl she recently met and who probably already has an alien gestating inside her wee little body. And we love Ripley for it!

Lilly Potter (Harry Potter) is standing in the bedroom at their home in Godric's Hollow. She hears her husband get avada kedavra-ed and then Voldemort bursts into the room. There's no chance she can stand against old Voldipoo, but she'll try. She stands between the dark lord and her baby and pleads for his life.

From "Harry Potter"

Was it worth is?

Ripley lives and, miraculously, the little girl was able to be rescued. Though she dies in the next film. However, knowing that, doesn't make her heroics any less beautiful. We're petrified along with Ripley as she stands there holding Newt amid the alien pod egg things. Not for a heartbeat do we wish she'd left the girl behind. So, yeah, it was worth it.

Lilly Potter dies and Harry survives. Nobody says, "Foolish lady. She should have stepped aside, saved herself, and run off with Snape, living happily ever after." Not even the Snape-Lilly shippers say that! Lilly's lauded as a loving mommy hero. Heck yeah, that sacrifice was worth it.

In both of these stories, we cheer for the sacrificial mommies and fear/hate the bad guy monster types.

I focused on action scenes in science fiction/fantasy, but in some books and movies, the protagonist faces realistic obstacles, such as poverty or domestic abuse. But she's just as much of a hero when she selflessly puts her child first.

P.S. Have you ever noticed how Ripley's line to the alien queen, "Get away from her, you bitch!" is reminiscent of Molly's Weasley's line to Bellatrix, "Not my daughter, you bitch!"? Just an observation. Sorry about the language. ;-)

Ripley and Molly - as they give their famous lines ;)

Pacing, Characters, and an Excuse to Talk About C.S. Lewis

2011-10-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

I was listening to Writing Excuses, one of my favorite writing podcasts, and they were discussing the Hollywood Formula with their guest, Lou Anders. In this case, "formula" doesn't have a bad connotation. It's about how to pack maximum emotional value into a two-hour film.

I think for a novelist's purpose, one of the values in this podcast episode is learning about pacing. They discussed a two-hour film as a 120 page script. They break it down into three acts of 30 pages, 60 pages, and 30 pages. But percentagewise you can figure out the acts in your own novel page numbering.

One third into act one is your protagonist's fateful decision. That's when the character decides to take the quest or not.

So, I took a gander at C.S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew (because it was handy on my shelf), did some calculations and found that the fateful decision should come (in my copy) on page 16. This is just before Polly takes hold of one of Uncle Andrew's magical rings and gets swooped off to the "wood between the worlds." I think that Digory, and not Poppy, is supposed to be the protagonist and he hasn't followed her quite yet, but pretty close.

Wood Between The Worlds made of clay (by my kids)

Just after the third act is supposed to come the low point. It doesn't. I think it's much further on. On 176 (in my copy) the witch tempts Diggory in the garden. Of course, you could argue the low point is before that, when Aslan show's his disappointment, and this scene between Diggory and the witch is part of the final battle.

Magician's Nephew

Anywhoo, it's interesting to examine pacing through the lens of this formula. I also looked at my WIP with this formula in mind and I think it'll help me plan out the ending.

This podcast episode also touches on the three main characters in a film: protagonist, antagonist (not always the bad guy!), and the relationship character (doesn't mean somebody the protagonist has a romantic relationship with). I won't go into it because I can't explain it better than they do. I encourage you to listen because, if you're like me, you'll look at character relationships in a new way.

Digital Comics Addiction

2011-10-01T16:33:00.000-07:00

Oh please don't call them comics. Say it with me-- graphic novels.* I'm 41, for crying out loud! So what if I sometimes enjoy my artwork and literature all wrapped into one package?

Sure, a good fourteenth century Simone Martini flips my hat, like this comic strip... ehm, I mean painting, depicting an infant falling from its cradle and being healed by Saint Augustine.

A Child fallen out his cradle healed by Blessed Augustine

I think it's the word "comic" that doesn't work here, because the story depicted isn't humorous. Many illustrated stories (illustrated novels, graphic novels, cartoon strips) aren't humorous. And in case you didn't know, loads of them don't contain super heroes. But so what if they do? Everybody needs the occasional super hero and humor is necessary for survival. Isn't it? Well, I thought so.

Is a serious story loftier than a tragedy? Tell most people you're reading Chaucer and they'll nod approvingly without realizing he's full of base humor. Tell me what's sophisticated about "The Miller's Tale" in which somebody farts out the widow.

comic version of Chaucer's Miller's Tale

Don't mistake me, I have great affection for Chaucer, particularly in the original Middle English. I had this professor in college who spoke it so beautifully. Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote... Sigh...

But I digress. Digital Comics. Yum! Over at Dark Horse (home of Hellboy, B.P.R.D., The Goon, Conan, and others) they got me sampling freebies. The next thing I knew, I bought one. See, I didn't think I'd like reading a comic on the computer, but it's super dynamic. As I press my arrow key, I'm tossed into close-ups, then on to the next panel, into the next close up. I think if I wasn't used to reading comics, this might make for a good tutorial on how to read them- you know, to help you figure out which panel or word bubble to read next?

from "Abe Sapien: The Drowning 1" (the real thing is easy to see because if fills up your screen)

As I said, it's a dynamic experience, having the pictures move into frame like that. Plus they're cheaper to buy in digital form. I'll always love to hold an actual comic... I mean graphic novel, in my hands, but the digital experience is super fun and you can buy more of them for the same money.

*Notes on the terms-
Illustrated novels have few pictures- maybe one per page or even one per chapter. I fluidly interchange the terms graphic novel and comic book and some people will pop me in the nose for that. Many will call a little magazine style, a "comic book" and a bound up book with a collection of comics, a "graphic novel." Some are very particular about terms. This guy on Youtube explains how the experts feel on the issue.

~Links to image sources embedded in image captions.

Star Trek Quiz as Writer's Block Remedy

2011-09-18T14:58:00.000-07:00

Instead of confronting my writer's block, I ignored it and took a Star Trek quiz. I learned that I'm expendable. By doing so, I discovered my time is not expendable and I should have worked in the garden, washed the kitchen floor, or worked on another piece of writing instead of taking a silly quiz that most likely filled my computer with "cookies" that I can't even eat! LOL

I must say that I'm bummed that I'm least like Worf. I would like to be a Klingon.

Your results:
You are An Expendable Character (Redshirt)

An Expendable Character (Redshirt)		95%
Chekov		75%
Beverly Crusher		65%
Deanna Troi		65%
Uhura		55%
Mr. Scott		50%
Jean-Luc Picard		50%
James T. Kirk (Captain)		45%
Will Riker		45%
Data		40%
Geordi LaForge		40%
Spock		37%
Leonard McCoy (Bones)		35%
Mr. Sulu		25%
Worf		25%

Since your accomplishments are seldom noticed,
and you are rarely thought of, you are expendable.
That doesn't mean your job isn't important but if you
were in Star Trek you would be killed off in the first
episode you appeared in.

Click here to take the "Which Star Trek character am I?" quiz...

Units of Length and Time in Fantasy

2011-09-05T17:39:00.000-07:00

sun dial

Hours, and miles, and parsecs, oh my! How does a writer deal with time and distance terms in a fantasy or science fiction story? It's something to think about while world building.

My own WIP is set on Earth, but it's a fantastic enough scenario that I don't want to always use conventional units of measure, such as yards and feet. I decided to explore the alternatives and came up with phrases like "stride length," "hand span," and "and arrow shot away."

Looking at historic terms for measurement can be helpful, whether you use them as is, or modify them for your fantasy world. This article of old-timey measurement may be of help. Did you know the old Spanish unit, vara, appeared on many U.S. land deeds? The exact length varied from place to place, but in California it was set at a little over 33 inches.

If you invent units or use ones wholly unfamiliar to readers, you may want to give them a clue as to what they mean or mentioning measurements will serve no value.

To remain vague may work to your advantage, as in, "The Orange Duke's castle was a day's ride away." Use words such as- dawn, dusk, twilight, sunset. Better yet, describe- "Our shadows were lengthening as rode across the desert." Of size- "about as big as a squirrel," or "an acorn size __ ."

lengthening shadows

For non-earth stories: Do you have a 24 hour rotation to your planet? If there are two suns, are they always in the sky at the same time? (Research binary star systems.) Does each sun have a name? Do you have four distinct seasons. More? Fewer? How will you give the reader a feel for that? "It was the season of phacelia, when the purple blooms carpet the landscape, a welcome sight after fifteen months of snow. But I shouldn't complain. Winter was short that year." (Dumb, tossed-together example, but you get the point.)

Remember, as a science fiction writer, you must know more about your planet's astronomy, geology, etc. than the reader. He/she doesn't need or want science and history lessons. They want a story and to get a feel for your world.

twin star system

* links to image sources linked in image captions

Gadgets and Gizmos in Your Stories

2011-08-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

How many gadgets and gizmos do you have in your novels and short stories? If you write science fiction or steampunk, my guess is--quite a few. Still, even if you write say, mystery or historical fiction, you might enjoy including a funky techno doodad, as long as it's in line with your era/genre.

While researching I stumbled upon this article by Rob Temple, called "10 Historic Gadget Flops." Brilliantly researched, the article features some real loser inventions, such as the machine invented in 1927 that takes x-rays to determine a person's shoe size. But for writers, these flops are inspirational gems.

You could write a horror story featuring "The Finger Stretcher." It sounds like a torture device, but it isn't.

Or maybe the dirigible pilot in your steampunk story wears something based on the 1920's wrist watch navigator system which holds itty-bitty maps.

Hat Tipper

My favorite gadget in the article is the hat tipper. I don't know how or if I'll include it (or something similar) in my WIP, but if I can't see one in person, I sure would like to see it in a book. Then again, maybe I'll invent a hat taker-offer for certain young men I know who won't remove their hats at the table. Hmm...

Cowboys and Aliens and a Challenge for You

2011-08-01T17:25:00.000-07:00

Cowboys and Aliens worked for me. I mean absolutely. I went because it is so my genre(s). My wip (work in progress) is a combo science fiction/western/fantasy. If they'd given Jake (Daniel Craig) a magical creature for a companion, I'd have been in geeky mash-up heaven.

You should probably see the film before you read this blog because I don't want to spoil the story for you. So go see it. I'll wait....

I think what worked so well was the ordinary coupled with the unexpected. (Did you see the movie yet? Well quit reading now if you don't want spoilers!!!) They made out like the aliens were like the cowboys... well, they were actually bandits, but I guess saying cowboys sounds catchier. In one early scene, from far away you see the lights of torches and then horseback riders holding torches come into view. Soon after, there's a similar shot of lights in the distance, but this string of lights is a little too high to be riders.

Sure enough, they're a fleet of space ships. And guess what! They start lassoing everybody they can. Yep. Just like cowboys to cattle. Ha! Funny-scary-brilliant. Okay, so maybe they ought to have more superior technology than that, but it was unexpected--mixing the mundane with the strange and it worked for me.

And guess why the aliens were here. Go on guess! Gold. :-)

So, here's your challenge for the week. Write something where you mix the ordinary with the unexpected. Maybe create a bit of comedy in your story. Or an interesting first line for your novel. Perhaps you'll come up with a weird concept for a flash fiction piece.

Also see my review at "Catholic Once Again."

Hats in Your Stories

2011-07-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

1904 Hat Man

Because my last hat blog still gets hits each day, I'm doing another one. Hats are a popular topic. Many young people wear them today, so you can put your modern teenage protagonist in a fedora and a reader won't be surprised.

If you're writing a historical novel, do a bit of research, making sure a particular hat is in fashion and which gender is currently wearing it.

Also, ask yourself why your character wears his/her hat. Do they need protection from sun, rain, or the blows of falling fruit? Is the hat a symbol of rank or status? Is it improper to leave the house without a hat? Must they remove it indoors, at the table, or before urinating on cats? Does your character think they look cute, cool, or beautiful in their hat? Science Fiction and fantasy writers, you too can consider these types of questions as you world build.

Not only can a hat tell much about a character, it can be a good prop in a scene as a character takes it off, smoothes the brim, or pulls a an alien rabbit-like creature from it at parties.

Let's look at some hats, shall we?

Bowlers

A bowler (also called a derby or coke hat), was a popular hat in the Old West in America. That's "the hat that won the west," according to author Lucius Beebe. Surprise you? It suprised me!

A porkpie hat has a flat topped short crown with a indentation all the way around. It was originally a women's hat and gets its name from looking like a pork pie. In Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows we read about an unnamed wizard wearing one at the wedding reception. "Charlie, Hagrid, and a squat wizard in a purple porkpie hat were singing 'Odo the Hero' in a corner."

Buster Keaton in Porkpie hat

Boaters are similar to porkpie hats, but have no crease. One example of these are the straw ones worn by barber shop quartets. Those are mentioned in Harry Potter too. In the Philosopher's Stone it's said that Smelting boys wear them with their school uniforms.

Dudley Dursley in his boater hat

The fedora was invented in the 1880's and today there are variations on this hat style. For writing purposes, it's probably fine to simply put your character in a fedora and let the reader imagine what she or he will. If you like, give it a color or tell us if it's wide or short brimmed. Though some, particularly in the U.K., a short brimmed fedora is called a trilby.

Now some people consider a trilby to be a different hat entirely. It has a short brim, shorter crown than a fedora, and the brim turns up in the back.

Trilby

And just for fun, because I found this picture, here's Harry Truman's panama hat. It's made of straw, leather, and fiber.

Panama Hat Made for Harry Truman

Deathly Hallows part 2, Magical Knitting, and a lot about Neville

2011-07-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

Yes Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 was all it could be and more. I think it stayed truer to the novel than any of the other movies. It was moving- both fast moving and emotionally moving. I walked out of there satisfied and anticipating when I could see it again!

There were differences between the movie and the book, to be sure. And I will pick at them, but I still LOVE it!

Snape

No idea why they put Snape and Voldemort in a boathouse instead of the shrieking shack for the death scene, but whatever. It worked. Though I think Snape needed more memory "tears." In the book one got the impression they were just oozing out of him- his ears and eyes.

I do know why they "shipped" (to use a fan fiction term) Luna and Neville. You know that wasn't in the books, don't you? And the nineteen years later epilogue clearly shows they don't end up together. However, it is a common pairing among fans. A wizarding band, The Remus Lupins, even sing a song on the theme.

Neville

I got mixed reactions about the Luna/Neville pairing when I spoke to various friends who saw the movie and are great fans of the books. Some were happy and thought they always were meant to be together. One said there were hints in the books that Neville and Luna like each other. Others thought it was wrong to go against canon whether you thought they should be a couple or not. That sort of thing should be left to fan fiction. One woman I talked to, (and agreed with) said it was clear from the books that Neville didn't really like Luna at all and that they are all wrong for each other.

What do you think?

I know, I'm rambling on about a tiny detail.

They left out a bunch of background on Helena Ravenclaw. It was an interesting backstory, but it didn't matter much that it was cut. "The Prince's Tale" chapter was beautifully done. I'd have liked to see it longer and more of the details from the book, but again, not all of that was needed to move the main story forward.

I cried when Sirius, Remus, and Harry's parents appeared. Profoundly moving. The scene where Harry's walking through the great hall past the hurt and dead friends- amazingly sad.

Why did the Malfoys leave? I mean, I know their motive, but that wasn't in the book. They're supposed to be sitting in the great hall at the end. Oh well. No biggie.

Hey, Harry's supposed to repair his old wand with the Elder Wand. They forgot to do that! And he's supposed to put the Elder Wand back into Dumbledore's tomb. We don't see that in the book, but he says he's going to. He doesn't break it! Oh well, it's more final that way. But he should have repaired his old wand.

Elder Wand

Okay, other details I won't go into. I'll live with them.

And of course everyone cheered when Neville killed the snake. Everybody loves Neville. He's like the unsung hero. My niece told me J.K. Rowling should rewrite the Harry Potter series from Neville's perspective. Ha! I'd totally read it. :)

Hey, I loved how everyone cheered for Molly when she yelled at and then killed Bellatrix. Cool how Molly's the only one allowed to use naughty words. :)

Moral of the story- Don't mess with a knitting mother's kids or you'll get your butt kicked.

Speaking of knitting- Lion Brand Yarn has some magical Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows inspired patters for the Molly Weasley in you.

The Random Uprising- Exclusive (and nifty) Interview & News about Their Santa Barbara Show!

2011-07-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

Today you're in for a treat. I've interviewed Larry Cazenave and Brian Underwood, the guys of The Random Uprising, an independent band in the San Francisco Bay area. I find it fascinating how these two put together such an amazing album, Mutiny on the Mayflower, all by themselves without a lot of cash. They call themselves a garage band, but nothing sounding this good ever came out of my garage.

Take a peek into their creative process, learn about the nifty cover, and find out what inspires these two musicians. But you will not learn why Larry calls Brian, "Floyd". That, apparently, is a story for another time. Be sure to watch the video of the guys playing, which is located at the bottom of this post.

If you're in the Santa Barbara California area- be sure to see The Random Uprising in August. Details at the end of the inteview!!!

So, you guys are The Random Uprising. Tell me about the name:

BRIAN: Basically, we opened up the newspaper, scattered it all over the backyard and threw lawn darts until we hit on a combination of words that we thought represented us well. It was a moment of divine intervention…and when we found the title there was no way for us to move beyond it without being struck down by lightening or being swallowed up into the abyss.

The Random Uprising "Mutiny on the Mayflower"

Great CD artwork. Who design it the art cover?

BRIAN: The idea for the artwork was driven by the album title…which in itself was something completely arbitrary. Essentially we were looking to come up with an example of a ‘random uprising’ and a Mutiny on the Mayflower gave us both a good laugh. Larry and I tossed around a few ideas for artwork and I kept coming back to this image of the Mayflower with some graffiti. Initial sketches had images of pilgrims hanging over the side in the act of anarchy but this didn’t transfer as well as I had hoped so I went for just the Mayflower on the sea turning away from the coast of the America’s with just a hint of graffiti.

How long have you two played together, and how much time did it take you to write this album?

LARRY: We started playing in December 2010, and we just got on a roll. I started sending songs to Floyd and he would come up with the lyrics and melodies right away. We wrote and recorded the album in 4-5 months, and have since started working on some new material for our next one.

BRIAN: What is really cool is that by the time we sat down to record the vocals for the album, we had only really gotten together to jam maybe 3 or 4 times.

Where did you record this CD?

LARRY: As a first album, we decided to record, mix and master everything at home with limited means. I recorded many of my own solo work this way before, using just a small digital 4 track, and throwing the recorded tracks onto Garage Band [A software application] for editing, mixing, and mastering. We're never going to get a million dollars recording studio sound that way, but giving our means, I think it turned out pretty good. All together, we just spent $450 to make the cd... that and a few hundred hours of work. The thought process was also to be able to offer people a quality CD they can buy at home from our website for the price of a Starbucks coffee, or buy at a show for the price of a beer: $5

BRIAN: I think all of Larry’s blood, sweat and tears are evident in the album. He squeezed more out of Garage Band than Apple ever thought it was capable of.

Ha! Even the CD is decorated. :)

Do you write the lyrics or music first, when composing a song?

LARRY: For this 1st album, we wrote most of the music first, then added lyrics. It's always been the way I've done it in my solo days. I first came to Floyd with the "Tiny Dancer" music I think which he liked and quickly came up with a great melody and lyrics. Floyd did write the music for "The Devil Looks Back" and "Playing Pretend" so he can answer for those. But for the other 13 songs, it was music first that i wrote.

BRIAN: With "Devil "I wrote the music first but with "Playing Pretend" the lyrics and music grew together as I sat down behind the guitar one evening. With the other songs on the album it was amazing to sit back and essentially have 13 different sonic scenes for me to create a lyrical world for. While I enjoy creating music, the best part for me is putting together lyrics that we feel really fit and fall into the theme and feel of each song. Ultimately it falls into just riding out the inspiration and seeing where it takes you.

Did you guys have any major arguments about this project?

LARRY: Floyd and I have been on the same page since day one. To this day, if I suggest an idea, he will have thought of it at the same time. It's pretty crazy. The only other person I share that kind of "know what I'm thinking before I tell you" is my sister who've I've know for 30 years. Because I had experience making CDs, I took the lead on writing the music but always made sure Floyd had an equal say in all the decisions. We're in this for the long haul.

BRIAN: I believe we’ve agreed to wait until we’ve gone double-platinum and had ten songs sit in the top ten on billboard’s singles chart for 6 straight months before we decide to start arguing. To Larry’s point, it has been cool to sit in my own little brain-world and think about an idea and suddenly receive an email or call from Larry sharing virtually the same idea. I feel extremely fortunate to work in a forum that allows for open dialogue and the ability to explore ideas to see where they take us and I think it’s important to never mistake how passion manifests itself.

What inspires you to write a song? You just sit down and make yourself write, or does it just come to you when you're in the shower?

LARRY: Well I think it's different for Floyd and I. Perhaps he takes a more lyrical approach to writing the song. I play around on the guitar or piano, and when I find something I like, I grow that idea, and start building. You don't know really where you're going when you write music, but you eventually get there. The process and sometimes struggle of writing a full song is in itself the most rewarding part. You sit back and listen to the finished song after all the hard work and long hours, and that's the best feeling of accomplishment I've experienced. Then you just want to do it again.

BRIAN: For me, it’s my environment. A phrase I hear on BART, or the sound a car makes when it slams on its brakes can sometimes trigger a flood of ideas to spill forth between my ears. Larry’s music is a huge component of that and while a few songs (Oh to Be You, Finding our Way) took a bit longer to find the right words, some songs (Silhouette, Just Curious, Indian Trail, Live Ahead) basically wrote themselves and were written after listening to the music only once.

BART Station

What's the last concert (not your own) that you each went to?

LARRY: I don't go to nearly enough. The last one I really enjoyed was a Django Rheinhardt tribute band that played here in San Francisco called "The Hot Club de San Francisco". They were quite good.

S.F. Bay Bridge

BRIAN: That’s a tough one and like Larry, I definitely don’t see as much live music as I’d like. My wife, Cecily, dialed me in on the Strawberry Music festival which takes place in Camp Mather on Labor Day and Memorial Day weekends. Going to this 3 to 4 day festival essentially fills my cup for a good 6 to 8 months as I listen to amazing bluegrass, folk, country and rock musicians doing their thing. On the flip-side, I’m stoked to be going to see Soundgarden and The Mars Volta in Tahoe on July 20^th.

What are you listening to right now?

LARRY: Derek Trucks, sick slide guitar player. Some old live GNR right now, Zeppelin always, Dereck and the Dominos, Django Rheinhardt always.

BRIAN: I love the story-tellers. Guy Clark is a god to me, as is John Prine, Willie Nelson and Tom Waits. It’s funny because I tend to remember the worlds they’ve created less so than the words in their songs. But it’s the singers with the dynamic range and emotion that really draw my ear to a record – Larry’s got me back listening to Robert Plant and Led Zeppelin, but I’ve also been listening to Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder for some spiritual inspiration. Cedric Bixler-Zavala (The Mars Volta) and Jeff Buckley are always on the play list and I also really like Ray LaMontagne’s voice on God Willing and the Creek Don’t Rise.

Which musicians inspire you?

LARRY: I tend to keep going back to old blues, gypsy jazz, Zeppelin, gospel... and my French roots (Cabrel, Goldman, Brassens)

BRIAN: I think all of the musicians I am listening to inspire me in some way or another. Right now I’m listening to Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain – an amazing reminder for me that you don’t always have to tell a story with words. For the most part though, I’m going to take the easy way out on this one and say that I find inspiration in just about anything. You sit at an open mic and listen to someone poor their heart out, sharing the end product of hundreds of hours of practice …how can I not be inspired by this. Conversely, walk through the Tenderloin, give change to someone who needs it, or share a conversation with someone who’s dialoguing with three or four spirits that can’t be seen…this is inspiring as well and there is music in the common experience of that moment and all its seemingly scattered yet orchestrated parts.

guitars

Okay, I have to ask because I'm stupidly curious. Do either of you just listen to your own music for pleasure, like, put it on your iPod or stereo as you would any other music? Or do you think of that as music you make and not music you yourselves listen to?

LARRY: When you write a lot of music, you're constantly listening to your songs over and over again as you're building them, especially when you make a CD. I listened to all the tracks many many times. It's listening for pleasure the first few times when you finish (sense of accomplishment) but since we've finished the CD 6 weeks ago, I haven't been able to put it on. I rather move on to new material, and practice the old songs for live which will sound different then the CD.

BRIAN: I’m really proud of what we’ve created and do still listen to parts of it occasionally – less so for enjoyment and more so to revisit the phrasing or approach to certain melodies. I think I become too attached to the music we created to listen to it in the same manner as I would listen to another musician’s music. Listening through the album you remember the multiple takes, the long days, the work you put into the effort to bring it to completion and I haven’t been able to find a way to listen to the music as a stranger would. I’m ready to start working on new music and our next album.

If you had to pick a particular song from "Mutiny on the Mayflower" that epitomizes the entire collection, which song would it be and why?

LARRY: I think we tried to offer variety on this album, have songs that sound different from one another, so that's difficult. For me if I had to pick one it would be "Live Ahead", love Floyd's vocals and lyrics on there, and the way the music came out, you got a good beat on there with some rock, and Spanish influence.

BRIAN: Like Larry, I really like how "Live Ahead" came out. But, I think that "Tiny Dancer" may be most indicative of what we can and will do. You have the Fall version which was the first song we worked together and musically is still very true to our initial approach with the song. But the Winter version was a late addition as we explored our ability to bring more emotion to the music.

You guys are performing soon. Tell us about that.

LARRY: We're doing a live show down in Santa Barbara the weekend of August 6th at our friend Sean's wine shop called Vino Divino. Probably will be a very casual atmosphere. It's only fitting we play our first show there since Sean is the one who introduced Floyd and I. We are rehearsing now for that show with most of the material from the first CD and 2 or 3 new songs.

That show is Saturday, August 6th, 2011
"The Random Uprising" will be performing an hour acoustic set from 6pm-7pm!

Vino Divino: 2012 De La Vina Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105

(805) 682-7484

Here is the web site of Vino Divino in Santa Barbara. From their site you can get to their Facebook and Twitter.

Here's the web site of The Random Uprising where you can buy the digital album, Mutiny on the Mayflower for only five bucks. Take a listen to the song and read the lyrics. Mighty cool!

Here are Larry and Brian playing "Tiny Dancer".

*Links to sources of photos not my own, embedded in photo captions.

My Review of Another Fab Romance by Nicole Green

2011-07-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

I enjoy a good love story and Holding Her Breath by Nicole Green fills the bill. Whitney and Chase seem like an unlikely couple. She has a great job at a law firm. He's an "ambitionless stranger who had an aversion to shoes." (He's actually a great photographer and a sweet guy!) But it's love at first sight for them and they are really perfect for eachother.

Meeting Chase moves Whitney to change her life for the better, though she seems to have it all when we first meet her. But she doesn't have love. She wasn't even looking for it. Isn't that often the way?

Nicole Green's characters are always very genuine and they stick with you long after the novel is read. I enjoyed this book very much. :)

**That was basically the review I gave this awesome romance novel on Amazon after I read it. You can read it too. Get it in paperback or for Kindle.

Visit Nicole Green at her web site.

Learning about Story Structure

2011-07-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

Platform nine and three quarters

I want to share with you an amazing five part video of author Dan Wells talking about his 7 Point Story Structure System.

Interestingly, he begins with the resolution and goes from there. That makes a lot of sense to me. In my w.i.p. I know my resolution, so I'm already on the road to using his system. His focus is on the science fiction and fantasy genres and examines Harry Potter, The Matrix, and Star Wars, but he also looks at romance, horror and others.

It's well worth a watching and keep your notebook and pencil handy. I suspect he's tricking me into writing an story outline, something I thought I'd never do. But I like it!

My favorite part is when he says that our genre novel outline is supposed to sound cheesy. LOL

I first heard of his seven point structure on the Writing Excuses podcast. And I first learned of that nifty writing podcast at A Karabu Creation. I think Kara is the queen of podcasts. She knows all the good ones!

And Now for Something Completely Different: Unusual Musical Talent

2011-06-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

I went to a local coffee shop to watch my brother-in-law play guitar and bass guitar. Being a resourceful guy, he utilizes his feet for bass playing, while playing guitar with his hands.

What's a toe bass player doing on a blog about writing?

Well, besides being pretty cool, it's supposed to make you think. Do you have enough music in your current W.I.P.? Do your characters have any unusual talents? Where are you going in the world to gather ideas?

At open mic night, not only did I see my brother-in-law, I heard other musical talent, saw people dressed in various hats, and looked at the paintings of a local artist. I took in the general decor of the café (cozy, complete with comfy chairs and well stocked book shelves) and watched people walking by the window (especially the cute couple in the court yard who posed by the Spanish architecture, taking pictures). All of it feeds my writerly brain. What feeds yous?

The Lina Lamont Fan Club: Poll: Who is your favorite Star Trek captain?

2011-06-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

Nissa, over at The Lina Lamont Fan Club, is hosting a poll. If you're a Star Trek fan, check it out. Here's the start of Nissa's post:

The Lina Lamont Fan Club: Poll: Who is your favorite Star Trek captain?: "A lot of people think I'm a Whovian. Actually, I'm a Trekkie from childhood, I just find it easier to blog about Doctor Who. But in honor ..." Read on!

Talking about Star Trek, here's the dumb little cartoon I made at YouTube. Mister Spock goes into a Starbucks and orders a water. I won't tell you to enjoy it because you won't. LOL But I had fun and it was easy--too easy. Now I can spread my stupidity in just minutes in a whole new way!

Moon Drenched Fables Closing but Moon Washed Kisses Stays Open

2011-06-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

Sadly, a lovely online magazine story site is shutting down. Moon Drenched Fables put up their final issue. If you've been following me for a while you might remember me mentioning in the fall of 2010 that they published my story, "Black as Night and Azure Blue." You won't find it there now, as they don't have back issues. But do go and read the current stories, say goodbye, and vote for the best of the issue.

Their sister site, which focuses on romance, called Moon Washed Kisses, will remain open. Like Moon Drenched Fables, it takes fantasy (as well as other romantic genre), so that's nice for whimsical readers and writers like me!

half moon

The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award

2011-06-19T15:27:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Joylene Butler for this award! You are so sweet!
Her blog is "A Moment at a Time on Cluculz Lake" http://cluculzwriter.blogspot.com/

The Rules:

1. Thank and link to the person who nominated you.
2. Share 7 random facts about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 8 deserving blog buddies.
4. Contact those buddies to congratulate them.

Seven Random Facts About Me:
1. I have a thing for biplanes and every time we watch a movie with one in it I ask my husband, "When are we going to get our biplane?"
2. I used to be a La Leche League Leader (volunteer breastfeeding councelor).
3. I own a small gong because who wouldn't want to own one?
4. I guess I've liked steampunk since I was a little girl, but I didn't know the term for it. Did they even have that word back then?
5. I need music, but I'm unmusical. My singing is horrid and I can't play an instrument.
6. I guess my love of languages is like my love of music. I love to listen to languages: English(modern, Middle-a.k.a. Chaucer's, and Old English) and foreign languages, but I can barely handle English and I've failed at learning three separate foreign languages.
7. I love ginger--ginger tea, ginger candy, ginger anything.

I pass the award to:

1. A Karabu Creation http://karabucreations.blogspot.com/
She discusses conflict in stories in a recent post, but poke around her blot until you find the blue sheep. You won't be sorry.

2. Writing Thrilling Fiction http://nhwcwritingexercises.blogspot.com/
You'll want to see Friday's post and her pic of the week- weird statue! Get over there!

3.Anthony J. Rapino http://www.anthonyjrapino.com/
The Professor awaits your call. To find out what I mean- read June 17th post. ;)

4. Medeia Sharif http://www.medeiasharif.com/
Find out what Medeia has recently read and learn about her own novel coming out in July!

5. The Word is My Oyster http://lydiakang.blogspot.com/
On Friday Lydia asked what we're reading. But don't forget to also check out her Medical Mondays where she answers writers' questions.

6. Writ, Written, Wrote http://shelleyhw.blogspot.com/
Ripping up a piano??? You'd better read Friday's post.

7. The Lina Lamont Fan Club http://linalamont.blogspot.com/
Go visit my favorite Whovian Fangirl in the Galaxy and she what she has to say!

8. Diamond- Yup, Like the Stone http://lbdiamond.wordpress.com/
She's a psychiatrist and a writer. So she always has something interesting to say. Be sure to check out her Mental Health Mondays in addition to her other super posts.

Random Things in My Writing Space PLUS Editing on Your Kindle

2011-06-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

Coraline

Random Things

I thought I'd take an item from my own list from last week's post and tell you some random things in my writing space. I don't actually have a writing space. My computer is a little tiny thing that I can balance on my knees if I want to. So, I write any place I need to be.

Cupcakes (made by my niece, Jasmine)

Currently I'm in the kitchen, having just made coffee and fed the kids and cats. In my writing space I can see through my kitchen window that looks out at the neighbor's side wall and their bathroom window--which is thankfully shut, a sink with a drainer full of clean pots and pans, a colorful box of Annie's brand of bunny shaped cookies, two home grown zucchinis, and a copy of Coraline (the graphic novel adaptation) by Neil Gaiman.

My writing space could be at the kitchen table, my bedoom, our schoolroom (we're a homeschooling family), my sister's house (the girls take piano lessons with my niece), or my car (not while driving of course). Yesterday it was at this trampoline place we took the kids to. While there, I went over a chapter on my Kindle.

The Hitchhiker's Guide themed Kindle case my sister, Allie, made me

Kindle Magic

If you have a Kindle, you may want to read this next bit. You can convert any text to MOBI (the Kindle format). I put my work in progess onto my Kindle. I can easily take it with me, mostly I love to do this because it makes me see it differently- kind of the same effect as when I print it out, but I don't have to use ink. It allows me to make as many notes as I like--a feature I wasn't aware of until I got it.

I go here to convert, but I'm sure there are other places. I don't download their software. Here's what I do:
-Click, "read more" under "convert text or ebook to mobi format."
-Browse for the file I want to convert and upload it.
-Then it does the work.
-Download the converted file to the computer.
-Plug in the Kindle. A menu should open. Open the documents file. Drag the new Mobi file into it.
Note: I have found that when I turn on my Kindle, the file name is a random jumble of numbers! I've no idea why. But the text itself is fine. So, no worries. :)

42 Blog Post Ideas for Authors and Wannabe Authors

2011-06-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

Instead of writing a blog this week (or last week), I'm listing forty-two blog ideas. So, this post is about nothing... or everything, depending on how you view it.

1. Review of a novel.

2. Post photos of a recent walk in nature and post captions.

3. Discuss something you read that has something to do with writing or that pertains to the type of books you write.

4. Talk about a new baby in your family.

5. Post a photo and host a caption contest.

6. Explain how to make characters more realistic. (seriously, I want to know)

7. Post links to all the agent blogs and other blogs of use to other writers.

8. Write about hats for characters. (I have a hat fetish in case you haven't noticed.)

9. Compare a novel with the movie they made of it.

10. Explain some of the more complicated rules of punctuation.

11. The same goes for grammar.

12. List the most common writing mistakes.

13. List the top clichés to look out for in writing.

14. Talk about naming characters.

15. Explain how to add more of the five senses in our writing.

16. Post a sample chapter of your work in progress.

17. Give out awards to other bloggers... such as me. ;)

18. Post pictures of your pet.

19. Write a poem.

20. Post a recipe.

21. Describe what random items are in your writing space and invite others to do the same.

22. Host a short story blog fest with a fun theme. This is a great fun and good for networking.

23. Host a guest blogger.

24. Interview an author.

25. Write about music in general, or in writing. Does your character play an instrument? Did you invent some sort of music for your mythical planet?

26. Explain the nuances of a genre- such as the types of speculative fiction, like high fantasy, urban fantasy, steampunk...

27. Rant about a recent breakup, job loss, or other personal problem then go on and on about it for days and give names so that everyone in your real life will know who you're talking about. (I'm kidding. But some personal tales of woe aren't always bad. Blogland is a community of humans.)

28. Interview a musician or other artist.

29. Write a guest post as one of your characters.

30. Interview one of your characters.

31. Explore history, especially if you write about a time not our own. That way, when people Google something like- "California Gold Rush" they'll find your blog and learn that you happen to be writing a weird fantasy novel about that time period. Oh wait. That's not you. That's me. :)

32. Write about stuff in space, if you write stories about space. You'll attract googlers who may be interested in your stories.

33. Write about the history of space exploration.

34. Write about books and writers who write the same type of thing you write. So, if I Google Douglas Adams and I find you blogging about him, then I might be interested in reading your work.

35. Brainstorm words and phrases to describe color, gestures, voices, all sorts of stuff! Not only will you get your own writing juices flowing, but you will get super comments from readers and it becomes a conversation and you learn from them.

36. Brainstorm descriptions of people.

37. Explore first lines of great (and not so great) novels.

38. Study a topic, such as mythical beasts and tell us what you learned.

39. Make lists- lists of books you must read, of snacks you must have on hand, favorite crayon color names, 42 things to blog about, ten strange things about yourself then you never thought you'd tell anybody...

40. Writing prompts to help other writers when we get stuck or just want a writing exercise.

41. A "How To" post. -"How to get more readers" -"How to work through writer's block" -"How to make time to write" And then invite readers to add to the conversation.

42. Post a photo of your nephew's clubhouse and tell everyone that's where you live so they'll feel sorry for you and buy your book.

Sound Effects in Writing -- Plus Some Nifty Steam Powered Motorcycles

2011-05-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

Drawing of 1886 Roper steam velocipede. Page 52. Illustration by Hendee Manufacturing Co

How many sound effects do you include in your fiction writing? If you write comic books or graphic novels, probably loads. If literary novels, I'll wager not so much. Young adult and/or sci.fi.- fantasy-- maybe some? How about steampunk? Which is kind of like historic sci.fi./fantasy. This blog is for you. :)

Sound effects can liven up a story. They are onomatopoeias- words that imitate the sound associated with them, like a hiss or a buzz. Here are some off the top of my head and ones I got from flipping through my graphic novel collection: ding-ding, Boom!, BLAM, Zap, blub-blub, BUDDA BUDDA BRAKKA BRAKKA (That last was machine gun fire.)

If you're serious about sounds effects, you may want to get KA-BOOM! A Dictionary of Comic Book Words, Symbols & Onomatopoeia by Kevin J. Taylor.

You must be clear with yourself what exactly you are describing. Let me explain. I committed an error recently in my work in progress, Twelve Keys. A character rides a steam powered motorcycle. I've read extensively about the history of these machines and studied pictures. I've ridden on the back of my husband's traditional modern motorcycle. Stupidly, I thought I was an expert. DOINK!

Sylvester H. Roper handbill advertising "The Greatest Mechanical Exhibition in the World". Circa 1870

I pull up a YouTube video and watch a steamcycle in action and what do I hear? Not the Rumbly-Bumbly sound I described in my chapter, but more of tukkety-tukkety. I clicked on another vid of a different type of steam powered motorcycle and it was a chug-chug-chug-sss, almost like a mini train. Neither resembled my sound effect. (Yes, those are links to the videos embedded there. Take a gander.)

My point: do your homework. Go into the world (or at least YouTube) and listen. I'm sure, unlike me, you know the modern version of a thing doesn't sound like the old fashioned machine. Doh! (Darn that historic mumbo-jumbo.)Then, play around with the spelling of the sound effect. Read it, say it out loud, and ask somebody else to look at it and utter it. It's kind of eye-dialect* and the regular English spelling rules don't apply.

*Eye dialect, strictly speaking, is the representation of standard pronunciations by unconventional spellings, for instance- "sez" and "wuz." I'm using the term here because the sound effects do appeal to the eye as well as the ear.

1884 Copeland Steam Cycle (replica) The Art of the Motorcycle - Memphis

**Links for image sources embedded in image captions.

Towel Day and A Special Deal for You

2011-05-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Towel Day- The day to celebrate the life of writer Douglas Adams, writer of The Hitchhiker's Guilde to the Galaxy, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, and so much more! To learn about this wonderful day, go here---> http://towelday.net/ We enjoy such activities as building the three word story, sharing where we've spotted the number 42, and displaying photos of our towels. It's hoopy and mostly harmless fun!

***

In honor of Towel Day I am offering a special deal on my urban fantasy, Syzygy. Buy it at Smashwords.com for 42% off. Use the code UD35U at checkout.

Syzygy is a story within a story. Before the end the two tales become one.

A young patient in a mental hospital, who won't reveal his identity, grows to trust a widow. He tells her the fantastic story of Finn Wilde, a computer geek who doesn't appreciate his incredible speed, strength, and agility. Finn is a super-mobster in a criminal agency made up of others like himself. When he's ordered to kidnap Bea Jones, he falls crazy in love and goes rogue, a choice that could cost him his life.

And Syzygy has 42 Chapters!!! How hoopy is that!!! :P

But get it now because after Towel Day the Vogons will eat the UD35U coupon code and the book goes back to the wallet-breaking price of $1.99.

Point of View and Age of Characters in Young Adult Novels

2011-05-19T17:40:00.000-07:00

old typewriter

When writing a young adult novel, which point of view do you choose? First person seems to be the popular pick, but sometimes third person is the best for the story. I was well into my work in progress before I began second guessing myself. It's in third person and puts you alternately in two separate characters' heads. Of course I don't "head hop." A single chapter is devoted to one particular character's POV.

Poking around agent blogs, I found an old post at Pub Rants that eased my fears. She said to use whatever works best for the story. But do go read what she said for yourself. She's rather brilliant.

I'm still a bit worried because one of my main characters is older than the typical young adult main character. Okay, he's a lot older. But hey, Doctor Who is hundreds of years old and teens and young adults are clamoring to climb aboard the TARDIS. At least, I think they are. Maybe it's just the crowds I move in. LOL

the outside and inside of the Mother's Day card one of my daughters made me

I'm not claiming to be scripting the next Doctor Who and my character is no David Tennant (or Matt Smith, if you like). Heck, he's not even a Tom Baker. (Care for a jelly baby?) However, Rick (my character's name is Rick- Don't ask me why. My husband named him.) travels with a young companion who is rather naive to the ways of the strange world I've created for them.

But I've strayed off topic. How do you decide which POV to use to tell your story? Do you experiment and rewrite chapters until you get it right? I did that A LOT while writing Syzygy, my first novel.

Speaking of Syzygy, here I am in my Syzygy shirt. You can get your own at our Cafe Press shop. They look super in person. The shop pics make the images look dim- especially on the black. But in reality, the image is very bright and clear. Just thought I'd show off a bit! :) Anyway, link on my sidebar.

me in my Syzygy shirt- designed by my niece, Jasmine

Dongly Thing Found, Photos Uploaded

2011-05-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

I mentoned in my previous post that I could not find the proper dongly thing to connect my camera to my computer and upload the photos from our hike at Mangini Ranch in the East Bay Area of California. I've found it, so here they are:

Blue-eyed grass (sisyrinchium bellum) are little purple flowers with yellow centers, so I don't know why they're called blue-eyed grass. Perhaps there are some that are more blue than the ones growing around here. They are not true grass.

Blue Eyed Grass

Blue Witch Nightshade (Solanum Umbelliferum) are in the tomato family, if you can believe it.

Blue Witch Nightshade

Anyway, it reminds me of Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas and her deadly nightshade. I have a jar kind of like hers! :)

Deady Nightshade jar- front and back

The Hospital Canyon Larkspur is rare. I had never heard of it before the day of our hike. Our guide said that it no longer grows in place where it was discovered.

Hospital Canyon Larkspur

Mustard grows everywhere. It's invasive and non-native to California.

Mustrard

We have many types of oak trees in our area. I don't pretend to be able to identify them. It's nice to have a guide with you!

Blue Oak

I like streams.

Stream

No idea what this is. It's a big cement and metal structure.

A cement structure

Sometimes poison oak grows in big bushes.

poison oak bush

Here is our guide, George. He looks like the pied piper with all those kids following him.

Our guide, George, leading the kids

I'm a sucker for rustic wooden buildings.

Wooden Structure

And narrow streams...

Stream

I hope you enjoyed the nature pictures. I might share them on wikimedia commons. That's where people share photos they don't mind others using. I've uploaded mine onto there and have borrowed some too. Check it out. It's like a global photo album.

And one more thing before you leave. In case you haven't noticed, I have a new Cafe Press shop on my sidebar. We sell clothing, bags, and stickers all with a Syzygy theme. So, if you've read my novel and you'd like to take a gander and our shop, here ya go. Syzygy Shop

Hiking, Little Dongly Things, and Plants in Your Writing

2011-05-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

The kids and I went with our homeschooling group on a sunny hike today through a grassland area just a stone's throw from my house. Okay, maybe I'd have to throw the stone, run up to it, throw it again, run up, and throw it yet again. Mangini Ranch is owned and maintained by a conservation group called Save Mount Diablo.

I intended to offer you a beautiful photo spread illustrating purple needle grass, California poppies, live oaks, and the rare hospital canyon larkspur. But for the want of the correct "little dongly thing" (to quote Douglas Adams) I cannot show you these things. All of those photos will stay snug in my camera until I locate the cord that matches the camera.

The Writery Part of this Post
Apart from taking in the beauty of the East Bay area of California, the invigorating exercise, and the pure joy of back to back sneezes (yay allergies), guided hikes such as this one are research. For my WIP, I need to know the native plants of California, what plants where introduced by the early Spanish settlers, and what plants are recent additions to the landscape. I can look all of that up in books, sure- but to walk in nature is to walk into my novel. I can wander the rolling hills and be with Poppy and Rick (my characters) in their travels.

How about you, do you take your research on the road? Do you need to take plants and animals into consideration when you're writing? If you're writing historical fiction, you'll want to learn about the plants that grew in an area at the time you're writing.

If you're inventing a land in fantasy or science fiction, you can take ideas from real nature and "create" plants. Think about the climate on your fictional planet. Is it tundra? Research real life tundra vegetation. Is it desert? Go out to a desert and get inspired to create realistic yet fictional plants. Joshua Tree National Park would be a good start. If that place doesn't look alien, I don't know what does.

Joshua Tree National Park

A Rat Sonnet

2011-04-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine asked everyone to write a spring poem. Here's mine. It's about an angry rat and the reason that is... well, I won't go into it. I hope you enjoy it. :)

Rat Sonnet # 1

Each horror I escape is like my grave.
To a she rat as I, all is death.
The pressing sun by day makes me a slave.
But night is when I catch my squeaking breath.

The moon above shatters my vicious thoughts.
Rip out my pale bucktooth will and make time.
You are so slow, he rat. My patience rots.
Your twisted tail and patchy pelt match mine.

But by your waddling dawdling gait
A people kitchen is your frequent haunt.
I crave the city's wild streets when it's late
Where I feast like a plague, though I grow gaunt.

Still, I will wander under bone white moon.
While you sleep sugar fed in a snug room.

A pet rat we once had.

Okay, if you're still here, I'll tell you why I wrote about an angry rat. I misread my friend's facebook post. He was listing things to write about and one was "love" and another was "angry rant" and I thought it said "angry rat." I told him about the mix-up but he held me to it. So, this is about an angry rat in love. I was inspired by the magnetic poetry on my fridge. It's zombie themed, a gift from my niece, Jasmine. You can see her blog here.

Now for a music video about the plague:

My Obligatory Harry Potter Post

2011-04-21T20:52:00.000-07:00

Yes of course I bought the Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1 DVD. It was for the twins' birthday. Really it was! :)

Deathly Hallows, Part 1

Having it in my hot little Muggle hands only served to whet my appetite for Part 2 and THEY know it! But what can I do?

One day I realized that since my resident Harry Potter expert (a.k.a. older daughter- seen here in one of her old YouTube vids) moved out, I haven't been getting the daily scoop about the Wizarding world, so I did something I never thought I'd do. I clicked on MuggleNet.com.

Evanna Lynch

Oh, not that there's anything wrong with fan sites. I myself have been known to write fanfiction. But I can't count how many times I rolled my eyes at my daughter, moaning, "Get off the computer. You don't need to know every detail about Rupert Grint's favorite band or Emma Watson's adorable outfits. Yes, we want to keep track of the realease date of the next book, but the color shoes Evanna Lynch is going to wear in the next movie isn't important!"

Rupert Grint

But I suppose it's my own fault if I encouraged my kids in their Harry Potter obsession. For instance- I did film this video a few years back:

***Now shut your eyes or quit reading if you haven't read Deathly Hallows and you don't like spoilers.***

So there I was standing in the kitchen chopping carrots hushing the ten-year-olds as I listening to the people on MuggleCast (the podcast on MuggleNet) talk about where Snape was going to die in Deathly Hallows Part 2. Then they said it. A houseboat. Can you believe it? He won't die in the Shrieking Shack, but in some random boathouse!!! Apparently it's still going to be a very good scene full of drama and all, but it's in a boathouse at Hogwarts.

So, my Muggle, Wizard, and Squibbish friends, this just teaches you that you'd better keep up on your Harry Potter fan site reading so you don't have any surprises when you go the movies this July 15th.

*Links to images sources embedded in image captions.

The Steam Powered Calliope

2011-04-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

Calliope wail like a seaside zoo
The very last lately inquired about you
It's really very one or two
The first you wanted, the last I knew
(from "Cosmic Charley" Words by Robert Hunter; music by Jerry Garcia)

Okay, now that I've got the Grateful Dead lyrics out of my head, I can get on with the blog post. It's remarkable how I could concentrate on researching the calliope with that song running through my brain.

1874 Poster

I crave the appearance of a calliope in my work in progress. I'm always saying how wonderful it is to have music in your writing and this is such an unusual musical instrument, so I went on a hunt for their history and various forms. I won't bore you with too many technical details, but basically, it's a steam organ or steam piano. These days they often use compressed air. They were popular on riverboats where steam was already available to power the boat. Here you can see a modern video of one on a riverboat:

At circuses calliopes shared the steam power that drove the carousels, so that is why they became the classic carousel music. Some calliopes were in there own fancy wagons to be towed in the circus parade.

The design was patented in 1855 by Joshua C. Stoddard in Massachusetts. He wasn't the first to think up a steam powered musical instrument. In 1832 another guy invented the steam trumpet (a.k.a. train whistle.)

Something interesting I found while researching- "The Greatest Tattooed Man on Earth," Mose Smith (1891-1948), played the calliope. Nowadays the grandeur of his tattooing probably wouldn't be as shocking as it was at the time. But he toured with Ringling Bros as well as other shows. Another tidbit- he kept snakes and an orangutan.

You can buy calliope music at this link. They let you listen to a sample too.

Our trip to Disneyland in 2010

Hmm, now that I've discovered calliope's sister instrument, the propane powered pyrophone, I may change my story writing plans.

Pyrophone

*links to image sources embedded in image captions (unless image is my own)

42 Days Until Towel Day

2011-04-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

It's Forty-Two Days until Towel Day!!! Of course unless you are a fan of the late Douglas Adams, (author of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, and many more) that means little to you. If you haven't yet traveled the Galaxy with Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect or been rescued by Zaphod and Trillian on the Heart of Gold, then you probably don't celebrate this important day.

Towelday- Innsbruck

But if you are and if you have, then grab hold of your towel and get ready because in 42 days, it will be time to celebrate the man and his works.

Be sure to drop by DouglasAdams.com and http://towelday.net/ (one of my favorite hangouts)

Douglas Adams

What is Towel Day anyway???

Well, right after Douglas Adams died (May 11, 2001), fans were stunned. So, two weeks after his death, they decided to all carry around their towels- (to work, the store, school, everywhere!), because as you know, a towel "is the about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have," (Hitchhiker's Guide) And fans do this every year. You can go to such places such as Towelday.net to post pics of you with your towel and play Towelday related games and chat. Some folks post YouTube vids as well. I've been known to do that. :)

The Statistics Tool of your Blogger Blogspot

2011-04-10T22:39:00.000-07:00

1922

You have a tool that's both amusing and useful for increasing your readership.

Have you noticed that you can check the stats of your blog? Go to your Dashboard. The far right tab is marked "Stats." From there you can poke around and look at an overview of your week, month, all time, etc. What you'll probably notice right off is that you're getting more traffic than your comments or follower numbers indicate.

Many of us have a stats indicator right on our pages, but what I like about the built in Blogger tool is its other features. I can see where my traffic comes from (the referring sites and URLs). The place on the stats report that shows that info also displays the search keywords people used to find my blog if I keep scrolling down. For instance, today somebody found me by the keyword search "Cultural Science Fiction." Cool, eh? Now don't forget you're only looking at the ones for the week or month or whatever the time period you've selected at the top of the page. Expand it if you're only seeing one or two.

So what, right? Well, this tells you how your random market finds you- the people who just stumble onto your blog. It gives you a clue about how to phrase future posts. You'll increase your blog readership if you use phrases people are likely to search for, but be sure they pertain to your topic so the reader sticks around to read on and become a regular reader.

*link to photo source embeded in photo caption

Give Your Characters Character

2011-04-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

Well what do you know, your characters are just like people. Give them quirks, talents, and mannerisms.

Does your space pilot always fiddle with the seat adjustments when he climbs into the space flying machine thingy, even if he was the last person to fly it (much to the annoyance of his copilot)?

That coffee barista in your novel- she repaints her nails nearly every day (adding little fancy details such as spots and stripes), because she loves the compliments of her customers.

Nail Polish

Maybe your fairy has a bent wing because she's always flying recklessly through the forest.

Truffle fairies

Don't make a huge deal out of these little idiosyncrasies, for that could get annoying. "There's Sunbeam with her bent wing." "How's your bent wing, Sunbeam." "Gee, my bent wing sure is bent today." But memorable details can add character to your characters. I dare you to imagine Hugh Laurie's House without a limp or Indiana Jones with no hat.

Hugh Laurie

Indiana Jones

How about the individuality of every incarnation of the Doctor (in the Doctor Who series)? Aside from each one's signature costume (ie.Tom Baker's ridiculously long scarf, Peter Davison's celery in the lapel, and David Tennant's Converse), they all have unique habits and talents. For instance- Patrick Troughton's Doctor plays the recorder and Tom Baker eats Jelly Babies. And those are just some obvious traits. They also have particular mannerisms.

Tiny Tom Baker (4th Doctor)

Patrick Troughton (2nd Doctor)

Something to think about- Does the flaw, foible, or signature hat impact the character in some way? Will her peanut allergy defeat her after she battles fifteen ninjas single-handedly? How about this- the fact your professor knows ancient Hittite will come in handy because *whoosh* the characters fall through a crack in time! And remember Indiana Jones' fear of snakes? Yep, he had to face those legless reptiles. Lots of them.

Indy's Hat

Don't let all of your characters look at their hands when they are nervous. Observe the people around you. See what they do. Everyone behaves differently when feeling particular emotions. Your best friend sighs and sits back in her chair. Her dad chews the side of his thumb nail. Sally, from next door, twists the hem of her T-shirt. Get the picture? Good. Now your readers will too. :)

Fiona and Avery say, "Now get writing."

*Links to image sources embeded in captions (unless the image is my own)

-The forgotten inventor- And Rivets!

2011-03-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

Circa 1875 poster

We all have at least a couple pairs of jeans in our wardrobe and I'm sure one or both is Levi's brand. Today, Levi's are a household name, but few people think about the origin of these useful and even fashionable pants. While playing around in California history, (doin' research for my work in progress), I learned some fun facts I'll share with you.

The tailor, Levi Strauss, is typically given sole credit for inventing denim jeans with riveted pockets (back in 1800's California). But did you know he had a business partner?

Yep!

Jacob Davis (born Jacob Youphes) was the guy responsible for the rivets that keep your sturdy jeans together whether you're digging trenches, panning for gold, or riding your horse into the sunset shouting "Yee-haw!"

Levi Strauss came to California to mend and make tents. He ended up with quite a bit of leftover fabric. He made pants out of it and they grew popular. He had a dry goods business that boomed in gold rush California.

Meanwhile, Jacob, who made things like wagon covers, tents, etc.,(with fabric he purchased from Levi's company) found copper rivets held horse blankets together quite well. One day a lady asked for some strong pants for her large husband. He used the rivet method with great success. He wrote to Levi Strauss to suggest they hold the patent for riveted pants together. So, they went into business as partners.

The next time you yank on those Levi's give a little wink and nod to Jacob, the forgotten inventor.

Levi's

Now because I love words, I thought I'd include a little blurb about the origin of the word "jeans." The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology says that it came in 1843 from the singular form "jean" for the strong twilled cotton cloth (1567), which comes from the adjective "jene" Genoese (1436), which was borrowed from Middle French, "Genes" Genoa, the city in Italy, where such cloth was made.

Oh, and because one of my favorite quotes is about rivets, I'll bug you further. It comes from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

"[At the coast Y]ou could fill your pockets with rivets for the trouble of stooping down--and there wasn't one rivet to be found where it was wanted."

Isn't that always the case? Pins and spare buttons are like that too. But I digress.

*(links to image origins in image captions)

Writers Conference and An Award

2011-03-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

I'm having a busy and educational week at the Catholic Writers Conference Online and it's only Tuesday. Whew! I'm learning about characters, what details to include, blogging, publishing, G.K. Chesterton, and so much more!

I'm also helping out this year with moderating chats and transcribing. It's scary because I fear I'll totally mess something up, but I enjoy feeling useful.

Maybe I'll become a better writer for all this. I hope so. Already I've had the opening of my work in progress, Twelve Keys, critiqued and I think I got excellent advice! Now I just need a minute to apply it. The kids still need to be homeschooled and fed, (though I'm sure they'd be happy eating cereal, drawing, and reading all day).

Perri at Lesser Apricots gave me the Stylish Blogger Award.

So, now I have to tell you 7 things about myself:

1. I currently have a small tribe of Playmobile people standing around on my kitchen counter for no apparent reason.

2. I love pizza, especially pineapple, but I'll eat any kind.

3. I love coffee, but I gave it up for Lent so I'm craving it, but on Easter I'll be celebrating with a nice cup at brunch!

4. I have two cats and two birds. It's a dumb pet combination. Don't try this at home.

5. I hate wearing shoes.

6. I love rain. Maybe that's from growing up in California where we constantly say, "We need the rain."

7. I rather read, write, or do practically anything else than go shopping... unless it's at a book store.

Now I'll pass on the award to 7 people. Too bad it's just 7, because I could give it to dozens and dozens! I know so many stylish bloggers. Now don't feel bad if I didn't pick you. Maybe I just thought you were so stylish, you already got the award. ;)
Oh dear, did I just offend the people I did pick? Well, here goes anyway...

1.Kara at A Karabu Creation
2.Joylene Nowell Butler
3.Hannah at Musings of a Palindrome
4.DRC at Writing Thrilling Fiction
5. Nissa at the Lina Lamont Fan Club
6. Kate Jonez
7. Shelley at Writ, Written, Wrote

You Say email I say E-mail

2011-03-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

The AP (Associated Press) just added 42 new guidelines. Among them is the change from "e-mail" to "email." I don't agree with this and neither does my spell-check! I always thought of e-mail as being a word akin to "X-ray" or "T-shirt." I personally like "E-mail." But nobody asked me.

Another change is that they are smooshing "web site" into one word--"website."

Links for you :)

-- http://mashable.com/2010/06/02/ap-social-media-guidelines/

-- http://www.apstylebook.com/

Centaurs, Da Vinci Machines, and Gold Mining: Research Is a Blast!

2011-03-11T12:44:00.000-08:00

My current w.i.p., Twelve Keys, has fantastic as well as historic elements and it has me studying many things.

My writer's notebook contains sketches of pocket watches, DaVinci designs and ancient whales, notes about "hasty pudding" (corn meal mush), the definitions of ravines, chasms, and gullies (because they are all different), and legends about everything from mythical beasts such as the goat-sucking chupacabra to treasure supposedly buried on California Mission land. (No scanner, so I can't show you my actual pages, but the pics in this post give you the flavor.)

Santa Barbara Mission

My research has carried me to "The Early California Population Project," a web site housing historic records of, you guessed it, California's early population. I also get to visit sites with lists of Native American names (so I can find a Miwok name for a character), sites devoted to old-west slang and costumes. The internet is a Wonderland!

Rose Hill Cemetary (Antioch CA)

I've the advantage of homeschooling my 4th grade twins here in California, so it's the year for CA history. :) I read them Sid Fleischman's By The Great Horn Spoon. (Great web site for that book too.) Now we're reading Seeds of Hope: The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild, by Kristiana Gregory, and from the American Girls Collection, we're reading the Josefina books. For myself, I just picked up Daughter of Joy: A Novel of Gold Rush California by Joann Levy.

And my sources aren't just books and web sites. You'd be surprised what the people around you know. An online writer friend gave me tips about chupacabra and a friend's little girl knew more about ancient whales than most college professors. Well... I suppose if the particular professor's specialty was ancient sea life, it would be a different matter. :p

Rodhocetus

Then then there are films. I've been interested in traditional westerns and (woo-hoo!) "The Wild Wild West" (the 60's TV show, as opposed to the movie.) That thing's kickass! You've got this guy, James West, riding around in a train with his sidekick who makes all of these James Bond style gadgets for him. But it's kind of steam punk because it's, of course, old west. (Alas, Twelve Keys has no trains. They don't fit with my time period. But by a strange twist, the characters develop steam powered motorcycles. Go figure fantasy!)

And while my first book, Syzygy, brought me to San Francisco to look at buildings and ride on commuter trains, and into clubs to hear loud music--Twelve Keys, is getting me outdoors. I'm looking at hills, plants, and animals. What color exactly is a red-tail hawk's wing and how big is a coyote? These are important questions. :)

So, it's total immersion. I've even started wearing suspenders. I tried to get my husband to buy me a pocket watch (an item central to the plot), but so far--no go. LOL

"Wild Wild West" between scene thingy

Word Clouding and Short Story Land

2011-03-02T16:58:00.000-08:00

Word Clouding my w.i.p. (work in progess). Makes sense on a cloudy day.

I'm having fun with this one. It's called Twelve Keys. It's a fantasy. (What else would I write?) I'm still in the honeymoon stage of writing and haven't smacked into any walls... yet. I'm not ready to reveal any secrets except to say that it involves a pocket watch, a unicorn, a steam powered motorcycle, and one of the characters playing the ocarina. ;)

I also have a couple of short stories out in short story land waiting for a bite.
Question for novel writers:
Do you write short stories? Some novelists I've talked to say they don't bother. Is it useful to publish short stories and "get your name out there?" Do you enjoy writing short stories or flash fiction? Is it good practice?

I enjoy reading short stories and writing them too, so I shall continue doing both.

A Snapshot of Your Novel and Nicole Green's Newest Book!

2011-02-15T11:41:00.000-08:00

I've been neglecting blog-life. Sorry about that.

I was very excited to get Nicole Green's newest novel, The Davis Years, in my mailbox. But one of my daughters had read the summary and snagged it when she came over. :)

Here's the blurb I yanked from Amazon:

After graduating from college, Jemma returns to the one place in the world she never thought she'd see again--her hometown of Derring, Virginia. She can't stay away any longer when she realizes her best friend from high school is getting married. Returning home also means seeing Davis again. He broke her heart in high school and she's not sure she's over it yet. She's been thinking about him a lot since she turned down a marriage proposal from her college boyfriend. However, she has a new life now and Davis is a part of the past she's determined to put behind her.

Davis knows Jemma can do better than him and he wants her to. So even though his heart nearly stops when he sees Jemma for the first time in six years, he's determined not to get attached to her again for her sake. Trying to ignore what he feels for her isn't his only problem. His two brothers may want to sell the house their dad left all three of them. His brothers abandoned him to their abusive father and now he's sure they only want to come back into his life to take the house away from him.

Neither Jemma nor Davis want to fall in love with each other again, albeit for different reasons. However, it's hard for them to fight the forceful attraction that hasn't disappeared over the years. If anything, it's grown stronger.

Nicole's characters grab hold of the reader, they are so real. You WANT this book!

~*~

In other news-- one of the members at The Internet Writing Workshop posted this link. It talks about the page 99 test. It's an arbitrary snapshot of your whole book. It should capture the reader. If not, you've got problems.

I got to wondering if my newest work in progress, Twelve Keys, would capture a reader on page 99. Of course, it has the temporary flaw that it doesn't yet have a page 99. I use 1.5 spacing (because double spacing annoys me) and I've only written 58 pages... well, unless you count the scenes I wrote in separate documents, not yet included in the main document because they aren't in sequence... yadda yadda, I'm not linear. :p

So, I took another arbitrary page number- 42. (Douglas Adams fans will approve.) Though not polished, I think the page may capture readers. However, what I learned from this exercise is that the page 99 test doesn't tell you a thing about plot. From this page, you wouldn't know if I'm writing a lot of bull pucky or what.

See what do YOU think? :)

~~~
Angry, but having no choice, Poppy agreed to give up her clockwork gun to the guard at the gate. Rick assured her she'd get it back when they left Marketland, but she didn't trust the ogre guard with beady eyes and sharp fangs whom she was sure kept threatening her whenever he snarled. Though, after they walked away, Rick assured her that's simply how ogres behave.

"Don't take it personally." He smiled and tugged one of her braids before walking on.

Poppy trailed behind him, leading Currito and the other animals, her eyes big with wonder at the stalls selling opossum pasties, roasted meats, small wine casks, wineskins hanging from canvas roofs, swords and knives of obsidian, bone or metal, leather goods, and clockwork gadgets whose purpose she could only guess. Around the outside wall, in the alcoves, were more merchants and tradesmen making leather goods and shaping metal.

She nearly collided with a woman carrying a stick hung with feathers and coyote skulls. The woman, whose face was smeared with black and red paint to make her eyes wild-looking, bared her teeth at Poppy.

"Sorry," Poppy squeaked. Thankfully, the woman moved on.

Poppy glanced around in panic when she didn't see Rick anywhere. She wasn't used to crowds. The eyes of so many people looking at her made Poppy nervous. It seemed everyone was armed with swords or knives, or even, much to her astonishment, spiked clubs. And the guard wouldn't let her keep her revolver? Ridiculous.

Drawing closer to Currito, she stroked him for comfort. Then she saw Rick push through a cluster of people and come toward her.

"Where'd ye go?" he asked. "Stick close. And don't look anybody in the eye."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Just don't."

Poppy followed Rick to the other end of the square, where over a door hung a plaque with a picture of a canon painted on it. Poppy observed that it was identical to the canon sitting right outside the door itself.

"Redundant, don't you think?"

Rick gave a crooked grin. "Ye think?" He opened the door and the sounds and smells that wafted out made the purpose of the establishment clear to Poppy. It was a saloon. "Wait here with the animals," he said.

AND

How about your own page 99? :)

Flash Fiction, Art, and Other Publishing News

2011-01-24T07:23:00.000-08:00

Good news, flash fiction writers, Flashquake is back. They aren't just stories. They also take photos and artwork! And they are looking for some positions to fill, so check out their site.

And speaking of artists... You'll want to pick up a copy of this month's The Artist's Magazine (available at your local bookstore) and read the wonderful article by Lisa Wurster about my friend Andrew Ameral and how his "eloquent figures follow from his rigorous study of musculature." Way to go, Andy!!! :)

* * *

I enjoy flash fiction, (typically stories up to 1,000 words). They're a challenge to write but makes a writer mindful about extra words. With phone stories, some publishers don't count words, but characters, and it's even more of a challenge!

***Shameless Plug***

If you haven't been to my Smashwords page lately, you haven't seen that I published "Rainy Day with Sam and Bea," that little flash piece I wrote last August for The Writer's Hole Rainy Day Blog Fest. (She's doing another blogfest, btw).

"Rainy Day with Sam and Bea" and "Deacon Sam," both flash spin-off's of my novel, Syzygy, are available at Smashwords on many e-formats and Barnes & Noble for Nook.

How Many of These Books Have You Read?

2010-12-28T11:15:00.000-08:00

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here.

I discovered this at Nissa's blog at The Lina Lamont Fan Club.
She found it at Fabianspace, Karina Fabian's blog.
Instructions: Bold those books you've read in their entirety.

Italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read only an excerpt.

TAG! YOU'RE IT!

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (I really liked Northanger Abby though.)

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (multiple times)

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (I don't remember reading this and yet everyone else in my generation seems to have been assigned it in high school. Strange.)

6 The Bible

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 1984--George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (Sorry, I guess I read Hard Times while everyone else was reading this one)

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch-22 --Joseph Heller (I know I read it, but I don't remember what it was about.)

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (Okay, I read a whole lot of Shakespeare, but not absolutely everything he wrote, so I can't say "complete" works.)

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (When my oldest daughter was little I used to call her "Hobbit Girl")

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (A friend gave it to me, but I haven't read it yet.)

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot (No, I read The Mill on The Floss)

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy--Douglas Adams

26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma - Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (All of them! )

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding (Ah, my first lit. essay was about this book. I still have it.)

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel (My mother loaned me this book. I flipped through it.)

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce (A prof. threatened to assign this to us once. I don't know why she thought it would be a punishment, but it caused me to never pick it up.)

76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazu Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams (And also Tales from Watership Down)

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (I guess if you can't claim the complete works, they let you at least have Hamlet)

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl (Next question- Gene Wilder or Johnny Depp?)

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

The Indie Spotlight for Independent Authors

2010-12-22T08:09:00.000-08:00

If you don't regularly visit the Indie Spotlight, today is your day to get acquainted. They draw attention to both fiction and nonfiction independent writers who otherwise might go unnoticed. Today I got an early Christmas present. My urban fantasy, Syzygy, is featured at the site "Where the Independent Author Shines." I just adore their slogan. :)

You will get to learn what sparked my idea for my novel and see how cool Jasmine's artwork looks on the website.

Get Syzygy at Amazon or Smashwords.

Interview with Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator

2010-12-17T06:22:00.000-08:00

This morning I'll be interviewing Neeta Lyffe. She's a zombie exterminator and the star of Karina Fabian's newest novel, Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator. Stick around after the interview to learn where to get this awesome book "where the zombie apocalypse meets reality TV, California politics and the Green movement!" (quote from the press package.)

Good morning Neeta. It's so good to finally meet you.

It's a pleasure, Amanda. I appreciate this chance to tell folks about zombie extermination. It's a growing specialization--unfortunately, because the demand is still growing--but every one of us hopes to work ourselves out of a job eventually.

Yeah, I guess it's the nature of the business. So, tell me, why did you choose your career path as a zombie exterminator?

It's a family business. My mother, God rest her soul, was a single mom working as a general exterminator when she and her partner inadvertently stumbled upon a huge zombie infestation while investigating what a cemetery thought were rats. She and her partner discovered they had a talent for mowing down zombies. (In this case, literally. That riding lawn mower saved more than a few lives that night.) Since there was obviously a need, they specialized. Mom was a real activist for the cause of zombie extermination and preventation as well. I hope she looks at my efforts with the reality TV show, Zombie Death Extreme as another way of building awareness.

For sure. It's so important, what you're doing. Darn entertaining as well! What makes a good zombie exterminator?

Strength: strong arms, strong will, strong nerves… and a strong stomach. You also need to be able to think on your feet. Zombies, as we've come to learn, are far more variable than we saw in the movies. It's amazing what can be used against them. That's why I urge everyone to remember that your best defense against a zombie is not that butcher knife on the counter, but the cleaning products under the counter, the hamburger in the fridge, and the television. (Turn it on and run!)

Okay okay, it's on it's on! Now tell us, what's the best way to kill a zombie?

You have to destroy the brain: sever the spine at the neck. Decapitation, smash their brains. Setting them on fire works well if they're I an advanced state of decay, but sometimes, that only stalls them enough to give you a chance to go for the neck.

Do you have a favorite weapon?

Chainsaw and a supersoaker full of TidyToidy. They're the most effective, IMHO, but the chainsaw does get heavy. I train a lot.

Karina Fabian- Look out zombies!

How does one secure one's home against the undead?

First, attitude. Often an ARM (Animated Rotting Meat) will return to a familiar place--a home, workplace, bar… Some people still think it's a miracle that their loved one is returning from the dead. It's not--it's a tragedy in the making. These are not people anymore. I can't state that enough. A moment's hesitation at seeing Uncle Joe can cost you your life--and maybe bring you back to hurt those you love.

Second, cell phone and car keys. Most major cities have a skilled Z-Mat team and exterminators on call. Get in your car and dial 9-1-1 as you speed away. Some zombies are fast, but none can outrun a speeding car.

Third, cleaning products. We don't know why, but with few exceptions, cleaning products will repel zombies. Not the enviro-friendly stuff, however. Bleach. Amonia. You know those scrubbing bubbles? Those are actually kind of funny to watch--but don't delay your escape to get some video on your cell phone! Trust me, YouTube is not worth your life!

After that, imagination is your best defense. Some zombies can be deflected by cigarettes; others by a beer. Some will stop dead (pardon the pun) to watch Days of Our Lives. In the Middle East, many devout families nonetheless keep a package of bacon in their refrigerators just for zombie defense. Whatever you do, however, try it and run.

Wow, I'd better make my shopping list! Now, is it true that if you blend in with a horde of zombies and pretend to be one, they will leave you alone?

No. Oh, please, please, Amanda! If any of your readers believes that tell them no! They may get distracted by a pound of raw hamburger, but they can definitely tell the difference between a fresh brain and an undead one!

Myth busted. Good to know. Thank you so much for your time.

No problem. I hope folks will take a look at the book Karina Fabian wrote about some of my adventures on the Zombie Death Extreme Set. It's called Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator. It's a fun way to learn more about zombies and zombie defense.

Pick up Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator at Damnation Books or Amazon in both paperback and ebook.

From the Media Release-

Christmas With Zombies? Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator puts "ha-ha-ha-ho-ho-ho" into the holidays.

The Zombie Apocalypse for the holidays? Not quite, but Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator is bound to bring some ho-ho-ho (and ha-ha-ha) into the ho-ho-holidays with its comical view on the zombie genre, reality TV and American culture and politics.

Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator, by Karina Fabian, takes place 30 years in the future when causes unknown make people to rise from the grave. Unlike the dystopic tales like Zombieland, Fabian's world has taken measures to curtail the spread of disease. The result: zombies are pests and nuisances--and who better to take care of such things than an exterminator?

Neeta Lyffe is a professional exterminator down on her luck when a zombie she sets on fire stumbles onto a lawyer's back porch. Desperate for money, she agrees to host a reality TV show where she'll train apprentice exterminators in a show that crosses the worst of The Apprentice with Survivor with Night of the Living Dead. Can she keep her bills paid, her ratings up, and her plebes alive and still retain her sanity?

Fabian created Neeta Lyffe in a short story about two exterminators taking out an infestation in a Korean restaurant. "Wokking Dead" featured in The Zombie Cookbook by Damnation Books (www.zombiecookbook.net). Readers liked the cynical exterminator and asked for a novel.

Fabian, best known for her humorous fantasy and Christian and Catholic science fiction, hesitated at first. "I'm really not a horror fan, and I don't much care for the zombie genre. However Kim (publisher of Damnation Books) asked while we were in the Writers Chatroom. That evening, we were getting silly and talking about reality TV, and reality TV with zombies sounded like fun. We were living in California at the time, so I had plenty of material."

The timing's a little weird, but Fabian thinks Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator will make an, er, lively addition to anyone's holiday reading. Learn more about Neeta Lyffe and Karina Fabian at http://www.fabianspace.com/.

"Who's Your Audience?" A guest post by Lester Milton

2010-12-13T07:10:00.000-08:00

I know you'll enjoy today's guest post by Lester Milton. I met Les a while back at a mutual friend's kid's birthday party. He's a real hoot to talk to. Funny and hecka smart. So smart, he probably never uses the word "hecka." He wrote a science fiction novel called The Accidental Adventures of Dogget Mann. Info on that after the main show. But first, I'll let Les get on with his guest post! :)

***

“Who’s Your Audience?”

It seems like a simple question. Like, “What’s it all about, Alfie?” and, “Who put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp?” But I don’t think it’s simple at all. Maybe because I over-think a lot. Maybe because I spent two thirds of my twenties in a state of altered consciousness. Who knows? Who cares? Probably not you. But bear with me.

I wrote what would be described as an “all ages” science fiction novel. Of course, that label is ridiculous on the face of it. Most novels don’t appeal to your average two-year-old, and most people over one hundred hate all modern literature. But when I wrote it, I was trying to make something that someone as young as ten could enjoy, while keeping someone as old as ninety clinging to life if only to find out what happens next.

Too often, “all ages” entertainment is geared towards the youngest readers. Simple characters in magical situations solving mysteries in their pajamas as they drink lemonade and sing songs of a simpler time. Okay, I’ve never seen anything like that either, but boy, does it sound awful or what?

Imagined literary nightmare aside, I was hoping to avoid writing something that would appeal mostly to kids. I think it’s important to challenge kids. It keeps them striving to understand more and reminds them that they hardly know anything at all.

I was told that most ten year olds wouldn’t understand the ideas of quantum uncertainty and multiple universes in my book. But that was fine with me. I didn’t understand a lot of the “scientific” gobbledegook peppered in the old Star Trek reruns when I was a kid. I just knew that there was trouble. In space. And that Captain Kirk could have any woman he wanted.

I was also told that the tragedies experienced by my protagonist were too frequent and intense to create an enjoyable reading experience. I accepted that it might be true for some, but I also think that if something happens, it happens. And if it’s feasible in a story and you think it should happen, then it ought to happen. That’s very self-indulgent, of course. But self-indulgence doesn’t just make for boorish entertainment with limited appeal, though it can do that. Self-indulgence is the force behind some of the greatest artistic achievements in history. Also, the movie, “Ishtar,” which I, along with its director, Elaine May, quite enjoyed.

Some would say that writing for oneself and one’s audience is a razor’s edge to walk, which sounds painful, because it’s a razor. But I look at it more like a sidewalk, which, unlike a razor, is made for walking on. So I just write for myself. What I think I would enjoy as a kid and as an adult is what I write. Sometimes that works. Sometimes, not so much (which may well be clear to you as you read this).

So, I guess the answer really is simple, after all. This might make you ask, what’s your point, Les? To which I say, Merry Christmas, everybody! I’m going to Disneyland tomorrow!

If you’d like to check out my science fiction comic tragedy/tragic comedy for the whole family, you can order it here:

If you’d like to read the first chapter and/or order an ebook version, please go here:

The Accidental Adventures of Dogget Mann summary:

Accidental adventures may be exciting, but they're also a real pain in the butt.

Dogget Mann would never have run away from his group home if he'd known what it would lead to. Sure, he's interested in science and adventure more than your average eleven year old boy, but that doesn't mean he's eager to be mysteriously transported two thousand years into the future with little to no chance of returning home. And even though he lost his mom and dad two years earlier, he's not quite ready for a floating ball of a robot and a one hundred and sixty nine year old scientist/inventor to become his surrogate parents. Look, is anyone fully prepared to be chased around the solar system by a bunch of genetically engineered thugs and high-tech security forces?

He's just a kid, for crying out loud!

In some other universe they found a cylinder on the moon. Inside it was the story of a boy who just wants to be in the right place at the right time.

Interview at the Lina Lamont Fan Club

2010-12-11T13:19:00.000-08:00

If you haven't visited Nissa's blog, The Lina Lamont Fan Club, you've a huge hole in your life that you did not know about.

I'll invite you over there today out of complete self-centeredness. She has an interview with me about my urban fantasy novel, Syzygy.

But you'll want to stick around there and check out her other posts and her book, Where The Opium Cactus Grows, the contents of which have been compared to the stuff drunks write on the bathroom wall. ;)

Character Type Challenge

2010-12-10T15:32:00.000-08:00

Author Jeremy C. Shipp put a game on his Facebook wall. You have to choose 15 fictional characters, who have influenced you, in 15 minutes. I jotted down mine on the back of a handy envelope. (Accidently chose too many, though.) I was just sitting here barking at my kids to do their math and browsing what I wrote and noticed I have a pattern. I am attracted to five main types of characters: sacrificial, insane, clever, roguish, and reluctant monster types. Some, if not all, of the characters I picked fell into more than one category.

Orpheus and Euridice

Sacrificial/Tragic:
Samwise (Lord of The Rings)
Orpheus (Greek myth)
Simon (Lord of the Flies)
Sally (Nightmare Before Christmas) -she's also pretty darn clever

Insane:
Arabella (The Female Quixote)
Ophelia (Hamlet) - She might fall somewhat into the "sacrificial/tragic" category.

The Doctor

Clever:
Dirk Gently (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency)
Martin ("Unicorn Variation")
Father Brown (Father Brown Mysteries)
Doctor Who (particularly as played by Tom Baker) -also a bit of the rogue in him

Roguish:
Spider (Anansi Boys)
Tom (Syzygy- yeah, I put my own character on the list) -He'd also fit into "sacrificial" and kinda-sorta "reluctant monster"

Hellboy

Reluctant Monster:
Hellboy (various comics, books, movies)
Mr. Canis (The Sister's Grimm)
Dr. Jekyll (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)

Moody

Then there was Mad-Eye Moody (from Harry Potter- books and films) and I wasn't sure where to put him. He's clever, sacrificial, and even has much of the reluctant monster just because of his appearance and grumpiness, though he doesn't go into insane animalistic frenzies.

Anyway, you can make your own list and see what sort you're attracted to. But the main thing is- how does it influence our writing? What sort of characters do you create? We need to be careful not to recycle the same characters, but with different names, story after story because we're hooked on a certain type. As you can see, a writer can mix up the types for more variety and to create complex characters.

Maybe challenge yourself and create a character of a type you never have before. Maybe a type that's not even on your list! If you do make your own list I'd love to see it. (I have a hunch Jeremy would too. So drop by his page to comment on his character game note or his author page to get news on his amazing stories!)

Sally says, "Have a Happy Christmas."

An E-book for just a buck! And The Beatles! And Holidays!

2010-12-08T12:45:00.000-08:00

Have your characters celebrated a holiday? Do they celebrate the same holidays and in the same ways you do?

***

For a limited time (until January 1st) get Syzygy for just a buck! But only at Smashwords.
Type in this code: QG64V

Come on, treat yourself to a quick December read. You know you want to. ;)

***

The video below has little to do with this post except that it is the anniversary of John Lennon's death. John Lennon was English. The uncle of Bea, (one of my main characters), is English. And it is nearly Christmas.

Author Interview

2010-12-06T18:23:00.000-08:00

Welcome all!!!
May I direct your attention to Chapters, the blog of the author Nicole Green?
She did a fun interview with me about my fantasy novel, Syzygy.

Thank you Nicole! She's the super duper author who brought us Love Out of Order. Her newest novel, The Davis Years, comes out in February. I'm looking forward to that! In addition to her blog, you can check out her web site.

Catholic Fiction, The End of NaNoWriMo, and Exciting News

2010-12-02T16:20:00.000-08:00

On my other blog, CatholicOnceAgain, author/editor Karina Fabian discusses Catholic fiction as my guest blogger. Go check it out.

NaNoWriMo is over and done. I finished with over 50,000 words. Yay! But alas, my masterpiece is far from finished. I still have scenes to write and oodles of revision to do. Sigh...

What a rush it was to zip through so much writing, though!

But for now, I'll slow down and catch up on some reading. I have a book half read that I'm supposed to review, not to mention a stack of books begging to be opened and blogs to catch up on. Being Advent, we have Christmas to prepare for.

Exciting News!

Next Monday 12/6, author Nicole Green will interview me about my novel, Syzygy, over at her blog, Chapters. Fun fun fun! :)

Home Stretch of NaNo and Gunshot Wounds

2010-11-29T14:23:00.000-08:00

There are just a couple days left of NaNoWriMo and I think I'll make it to 50,000 words, though the story probably won't be complete.

I learned a few things along the way-

I learned that I can write more in a day than I ever realized if I don't stop to think and self critique.
My nine-year-old twin daughters have a great (and gruesome) imagination and can be relied on to help when I'm stuck.
I learned a whole lot about gunshot wounds. Lydia Kang at The Word is My Oyster so sweetly answered my questions about that today on her "Medical Mondays" blog post. Thanks Lydia! :)

I think I'll have the skeleton of a pretty good novel in two days. It still needs a lot of work, but maybe it won't take as long as my first novel took to write. For Syzygy I agonized over scenes that had to later be changed or tossed out because of how the story later developed. For me, writing is like sculpting. It's far from linear. I constantly go back to modify scenes as I realize what's going to happen later on.

Here's a scene from "The Family Guy" which will make many of you laugh and some of you say "grrr."

Author/Editor Interview: Karina Fabian

2010-11-23T06:48:00.000-08:00

I am pleased as intergalactic punch to interview Karina Fabian, the talented writer who, along with her husband Rob, co-edited the anthology, Infinite Space, Infinite God II. Ain't they a cute couple? :)

Karina Fabian

Rob Fabian

Infinite Space, Infinite God II contains twelve science fiction stories featuring Catholic heroes. Meet a time traveler who sacrifices his life to give a man a sip of water, and the nun who faces venomous snakes to save a friend. Share the adventures of priests who battle aliens and machines in order serve the greater good.

Infinite Space, Infinite God II spans the gamut of science fiction, from near-future dystopias to time travel to space opera, puzzles of logic to laugh-out-loud humor and against-the-clock suspense. A great read for any science fiction fan--a must-read for the Catholic sci-fi lover.

Now on with the interview!

Q: How did you go about gathering the stories for ISIG II? Did you contact your favorite authors or did you put out a general call let them flock to you?

Karina: I went to all the contributors of Infinite Space, Infinite God I and Leaps of Faith and let them know we were looking for more stories. Then I put out a general call through some common venues like duotrope.com as well as through my website groups. It took us a couple of years to get stories we really felt good about, so I can't say folks flocked to us, but we got some real gems!

Q: I understand there's a study guide. Could you tell us a little about it?

Karina: Actually, the study guide for ISIG II is under development. But it will mostly be discussion questions, usually with some answers or things to consider from the author of the story himself.

Q: These are all Catholic tales, but do you think they would appeal to non-Catholics as well?

Karina: Absolutely. As one of the authors has told me, any of these stories would have been perfectly at home in the old Asimov's or Analog that he grew up reading. The first requirement of all of these stories was that they be excellent science fiction. None of these are "message stories," either, so no fear of being preached to.

Q: Which of the stories, besides your own, stuck in your head most after reading it?

Karina: Oh, please! That's like asking, "Which child are you most likely to think of at the end of the day?" Let me answer this way:

Those I most think of for their worldbuilding: "Dyads," which is a space opera with an incredibly detailed and realistic universe populated by amazing creatures. "Ghosts of Kourion," a time travel story that brings ancient history to life. "Exercise in Logic," because I love Barton's aliens, even if they are infuriating!

Those that I remember for their heroes: "Tenniel," by Colleen Drippe', because her bishop is both spiritually strong and a fighter. "Tin Servants" because of the sacrifices Father ?? went thought to live out his calling; "Cloned to Kill" because of how Father ?? not only stand up against a powerful entrepreneur, but also a clone trained to kill that he's trying to save.

The "high adventure": "Basilica," because there's some great working-against-a-timeline action.

The comedy: "Battle of the Narthex" by Alex Lobdell.

The one that makes me cry: "Cathedral." I still tear up when I remember the last line.

Q: Thank you so much, Karina. This has been a pleasure!

~Aaaand we're back. Wow, I'm excited to read ISIG II. Aren't you?

Infinite Space Infinite God II is available through Twilight Times Books.

Also visit Karina Fabian on her blog and find out where else she's stopping on her tour. Good news, she'll be guest posting at my other blog, CatholicOnceAgain, on Dec. 2nd. :D

Take a gander at the review of Infinite Space, Infinite God II at Tribute Books Reviews.

And, of course, watch the super-cool trailer! :)

Movie: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part I

2010-11-20T17:15:00.000-08:00

With Harry P. fresh in my wizard scar brain I'll tell you my impression of the seventh film (part one). Fantastic!!! Fast paced, well acted, super affects.

Aside from a few minor book/movie differences that only a hard-core H.P. fanatic would notice, it was true to J.K. Rowling's novel. Smart move, breaking it into two parts. They were able to fit more in. They should have done the same with... gosh, with all of them. Then again, I guess the kids would be geriatric by the end if they dragged it out too long. As it was, it was tough to pretend Harry (Daniel Radcliff) was only seventeen.

My dear husband and I brought our nine-year-old daughters. No, they weren't scared. They know the story, having read the entire series and of course seen all the previous films. And if you haven't read the book yet, be warned that this movie does not have a happy ending. Save that for Deathly Hallows II.

SPOILER ALERT... Kinda
Now for my fanatical nits. Wahh!!!!

These aren't exactly spoilers if you've read the book, because then you know the plot. These are just things they didn't put into the movie. (Warning: This part is super boring unless you're VERY hard core.)

They cut out the touching scene when the Dursleys leave and Dudley is actually concerned for Harry. The Dursleys just sort of leave unceremoniously not even under any protection. The girls and I loved that scene. Dudley showed signs of having a heart.

Hedwig was flying around trying to protect Harry as they fought Voldemort and the Death Eaters in the air. Harry says she's what gave him away as the real Harry. In the book, Hedwig was in her cage and each fake Harry had a fake Hedwig. Harry was given away by his use of his trademark "EXPELIAMUS" spell.

Tonks (they always dress her so cute!) was supposed to be totally completely broken up about Mad-Eye Moody's death. I know, they can't spend time on grief, but he's one of my favorite characters and I sobbed my eyes out when I read that scene in the book. Also, Bill and Remus are supposed to search for Moody's body. That didn't happen. Later, at the Ministry, Harry does find Moody's magical eye, but he doesn't pluck it from Umbridge's door (so he can give it a proper buriel), as he does in the book.

Mad-Eye Moody

However, what the writers/director didn't do for Moody's honor, Brendan Gleeson more than made up for. He did a super-de-duper job getting into his part. He put subtle humor into those gruff abrupt statements and his timing was spot on. Woo-Hoo! :)

Harry wasn't in a pollyjuice disguise at Bill's wedding. Charlie wasn't at the wedding. Way bummer how the movies don't care a bit about the second eldest Weasley brother. :(

Ron didn't dress up the ghoul in the attic to look like him. (I just realized that was missing.)

Xenophelius Lovegood

Nobody at the wedding was upset at Xenophilius Lovegood's deathly hallows pendant. In the book Viktor Krum almost starts a fight over it, believing it to be Grindelwald's symbol. (It would be like wearing a swastika to a Muggle wedding.)

We didn't see Dean Thomas and Griphook in the forest.
We didn't get to see Luna's bedroom and the portraits of Harry and the others. How hard could that have been to do? I mean, come on, there wasn't one Harry Potter fan girl who would let you film her bedroom? LOL

There was no erumpent horn aka crumple-horned snorkack at the Luna house and the departing moment was changed a bit. (I won't totally spoil it for you.)

Oh, one other thing I can think of off the top of my head- Remember at the ruins of the Potter house there stood a memorial plaque that wizards and witches had signed. They didn't have that in the movie. Too bad. I would've liked to have seen it. It was touching when Harry read the notes people wrote him, not even knowing he'd one day read them.

There ya go. I am sure I missed some missing moments, but that's my first impression. We did love it, even my husband who isn't a huge Potter fan. He's seen the films but hasn't read the books, so he didn't miss anything I've mentioned.

ANOTHER SPOILER ALERT for anyone who hasn't read the book or seen the movie, but good info if you're bringing your kids:

The violence was your average Potter violence. Voldemort is scary looking. People curse each other. To me, the most disturbing part of the movie is the most disturbing part of the book. The Muggle studies teacher is hanging suspended over the Malfoy dining room table and is finally killed with the killing curse and Voldemort's snake is sent to eat it. (Thankfully we don't have to watch that part.)

The closest we got to a sex scene was when Ron's going to destroy the locket and he sees a vision of Harry and Hermione in an embrace. The vision is smoky from the chest down, but it appears they may be naked. But the image is created by evil in order to upset him. He knows it and we know it and he does the right thing and destroys the locket.

The Trio

Character Change

2010-11-08T09:37:00.000-08:00

I prepared this post while deep into my NaNoWriMo novel. I'm writing by the seat of my pants, going forward, not glancing back. I have a vague idea about where it'll end and I already wrote several chapters for the second half of the book.

But this post has give me a breather and allowed me step back and examine my characters. Maybe the ideas will be useful to you in your writing.

I asked:
Do characters always change for the better?
Do they mature?
Must they change? In many plot driven novels they don't.
Do they change and then go right back to where they started?

I haven't been writing with an eye for character change, but it's happening anyway. I'm simply moving the story forward. When I know my characters, I can go back and modify their dialogue and mannerisms and all that.

My female protag is growing a backbone, but my male protag isn't changing all that much. He's learning to be self sufficient in a practical way, but he isn't making psychological leaps.

One supporting character went mad in an Ophelia-like way (cool, I just thought of that connection), another became a zombie, but more importantly, before that, he became more self sacrificing and mature.

I'm still stuck on the fourth supporting character and he's making it impossible to get my story where I want it. He's too capable and good. It's not that I don't want to kill him off (he must be eliminated), but it must be logical.

So, there you go. If you're a semi-panster, sorta-kinda mapping out your characters' changes when you are maybe 20k into the novel might be useful. I was just trying to write a blog post and this ten minute exercise has cleared up some things for me. :)

Now, off to kill a character...

NaNoWriMo: Day Two (Some fun stuff)

2010-11-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

I have 1858 words written for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I don't have the smallest wordcount of all my buddies, but I'm on the lower side. That's okay. I didn't expect I'd be cranking out 2000 or more a day.

Wizard Rock fans, Brian Malfoy, of "Draco and The Malfoys" is recording a new song each day of NaNo. Listen on their blog.

My friend Kara of A Karabu Creation turned me on to this NaNo vid.

Kara, my niece Jasmine (of Fruity Dragon), and I went to a NaNo cafe party thingy the day before the great NaNo kickoff. This was my first official NaNo event. I was surpised at the number of people there. It was a huge coffee/tea drinking NaNo rally!

We made little plot bunnies. We each recieved a sheet of origami paper where we wrote a plot element to help another writer when he/she gets stuck during the month. We folded them into bunny shapes. You could take one home if you wanted. Otherwise, they kept them for us and while at a write-in you take one if you hit a wall in your story.

Kara, Jasmine, and I each took one. I'm dying to open mine, but I shall resist until dire need.

Flash Fantasy in LITSNACK

2010-10-30T17:14:00.000-07:00

My flash story, "An Odd Friendship" has been published in LITSNACK. I wrote this for an exercise at an online writers workshop quite a while ago. Since that time, it has transformed and is now part of one of my works in progress. But I hope you'll go take a look.

NaNoWriMo Is Coming To Take Me Away. Oh my!

2010-10-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

Well, it's gettin' to be that time again. That moment when level-headed people transform into half-crazed lunatics who toss out reason and participate in... No, not Halloween. In NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).

Write a novel in a month? What is it you're smoking?

I failed utterly, last year. I shall fail utterly again, but that's okay. I'll do it anyway. And why? Because everyone else is doing it. It seems that everyone on Crackbook... (Oops, I mean Facebook ) is chattering about it. I'm not normally prone to peer pressure. In high school I looked like a hippy and played D & D and Warhammer and generally slouched around with a hodgepodge of individuals, some of whom are still friends. ... Wait, what was the point I was making? Hmm, never mind.

Last November, I wrote maybe a chapter or two of "The Last Guy on Earth Who Isn't a Zombie." Then, I went on for months after, writing page after page of drivel- flat characters, stilted dialogue, meandering storyline. I'll stuff that into a locked file cabinet in a disused lavatory marked, "beware of the leopard."

I'll begin anew. It will be fresh, unsullied, electrifying, inimitable and an upsetting quantity of other adjectives. I'll go ahead and write the entire thing in one month. Perhaps it will still be crap, but at least I'll have only wasted a single month.

I do have two gems (aka- scenes I love) but I shall not give them a glance until NaNo is over. No point. Just shove forward, right?

p.s.

Why do I always want to say NaNoWriMo with the "Wri" part pronounced as "REE?" Defies logic.

Word Clouding Just For Fun

2010-10-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

Here is my Wordle word cloud. My friend Chris over at Echoes of Dusk turned me on to the idea. You get to enter a bunch of text or your web addy and it makes it for you. This is the one for this here blog. Go make your own. Go on, what are you waiting for? Oh. You need the address? You go here -----> wordle.net

Culture in Fantasy and Science Fiction Writing

2010-10-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

I recently read a blog post- It was a guest blogger post by Jeannie Lin on The Ron Empress.

She was talking about conveying deep culture and surface culture in novels. Her specialty is Asian culture, but her post got me thinking about writing science fiction and fantasy. Of course it did. What doesn't get me thinking about that? ;)

My novel, Syzygy, is set in modern America, but the race of people in it, called Fir Na Gealaí, have a subculture of their own which they carry with them no matter where they live in the world. They have their taboos, traditions, ways of doing things. My main character, Finn, rebels against it. But even as he goes against his culture, it sometimes rubs him wrong because the belief system is so engrained in him. For instance, he's angry at himself when he takes sedatives to sleep through his "madness phase," because it's highly frowned upon by the Fir.

This is just one example of Fir deep cultural that made it into the novel. There are dozens that I "discovered" in the course of writing Syzygy that didn't make it in. Do other fantasy writers feel like they're "discovering" rather than inventing a culture? Well I do. Most of the time, anyway.

One of the tough aspects of writing scifi/fantasy is deciding how to gracefully include all the sumptuous tidbits of your new culture and its history. The fact is, you can't. Or rather, you can't and also hold your reader's attention. They do want you to get on with the actual story. But I think it enriches the novel if the author knows the background. And you never know what you'll end up weaving in. So, world-build and backstory to the fullest but don't worry if it doesn't all get shoved in. You can always write your own Silmarillion. ;-)

I was working on my new fantasy w.i.p., Twelve Keys, last night. I starting making myself mentally gag while writing the little asides within a conversation between my protag and another character- explaining polite behavior in this invented culture and how they're breaking it. It began to sound like a Miss Manners lecture. Don't do this.

So, I tossed it aside for the night and watched Van Helsing. I'm not sure I learned anything of use from the movie, but watching Hugh Jackman hunt monsters in a cool hat is always a pleasure.

New Story: "Black as Night and Azure Blue" and Some Cat Pictures

2010-10-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

Happy October!

I'm pleased to tell you that my flash story, "Black as Night and Azure Blue" is up at Moon Drenched Fables. I adore MDF. I hope while you're there, you'll read some of the other stories.

Now I'll show you some random pictures of our cats.

Avery

Owen

Avery

Owen with big sisters

Syzygy Interview

2010-09-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

My good friend and fellow writer, Kara, interviewed me at her blog, A Karabu Creation. I hope you'll go take a look. Read her other posts too. She writes about all sorts of fun stuff.

I'll tell you what. To celebrate the interview, I've created a coupon so you can get Syzygy from Smashwords for just .99 cents until October 26th. Just use the code: GJ42C

Research Trip to Sonoma

2010-09-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

Research is one of the more gratifying aspects to writing. I'm working on a project that is kinda-sorta set in California's early days. (It's a fantasy piece where time is funky, so it gets complicated.) My twins happen to be in fourth grade, the year to study California history if you're a California kid. So we took a trip to Sonoma to visit the Solano Mission and surrounding area and bathe in the juices of history.

Sadly, I had a battery malfunction and didn't get all the pictures I wanted. But here are a few highlights I did manage to snap.

Barracks of the Spanish soldiers next to the Mission

1853 Cherry Stoner

Stove at the historic Toscano Hotel

Clock at General Vallejo's House

A Bottle

Cannon

Unfortunately I didn't get any of the Mission itself. ...grumble grumble...dagnabit camera bateries...

Some New Things to Show You

2010-09-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

First off, I have a new Catholic blog to replace the old one. It's called, Catholic Once Again. I moved some of the posts from the old one to the new one. Did you know you could do that?

And on the side bar of both blogs I posted something called "pages" which I just figured out. I shoved in there a sample of my novel, Syzygy. Mighty nifty. See it over there on the right? :)

I'm pleased to say that later this month Moon Drenched Fables will publish a story of mine. They're running a bit behind schedule. And pretty soon Kara of Karabu Creation will post the interview she did with me on her blog. I'm hoping it will be the kickoff of my blogtour, but I haven't actually scheduled any other stops yet, so... Guess I'd better get on that. ;p Anywhooo, I'll let you know when those are up.

Sorry I haven't been keeping up on reading everyone's posts, but we've had some family stuff going on. I'll get back into the groove real soon.

My Romp Through the Land of Copyright Infringement

2010-09-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

For the six of you who subscribed to my other blog, I'm sorry to say it's gone. Technically, I'm not sorry to say it; I'm sorry it's gone. It was *gasp* an illegal blog. Specifically, its name was illegal. It shared the name of website/corporation or something- (not quite of their official status). Basically the name is their registered trademark. I understand why they asked me to remove it- legal mumbo-jumbo-yadda-yadda. I honestly didn't realize the coincidental name at the time I created the blog. I was just plugging in variations of what I wanted to convey and it was the first thing that wasn't taken. It wasn't my first pick.

They sent a very kind note. Too kind. My brain was a bit fried because our family suffered a sudden loss that week. Maybe that's why it took me a while to poke through the sweet padding (like a stinger in a creampuff) to figure out the gist of the note.

I won't post the note.

But...

Here is what I would have written to me:

Dear Imposter,

This is a stink letter. You won't enjoy one word of it. Delete your blog entitled, [redacted so I don't get my tail kicked]. I read your latest post about the recent death in your family. Sorry to rub salt in your fleshy pink wounds. Timing sucks, but I have to protect our company ~~in case you~~ when you write something completely stupid or wholly inaccurate and some poor dolt comes along and thinks you are us.

You understand.

Sincerely, blah-blah-blah

But I guess this is why I am not in public relations.

I may replace that blog with a new one. I saved the posts. Just don't want to think about it right now.

This was my second bout with copyright infringement in the last month. The first was on YouTube. They informed me that one of my homemade videos is banned in Germany because on the car radio in the background you can hear... hold on, let me look up the name of the singer... Adam Lambert. So, it seems that in Germany, if folks are allowed to watch my "Driving Through The Caldecott Tunnel" video, this guy's music sales will go down. This doesn't say much for the quality of MP3s in Germany if this video's audio quality is just as good.

Note: Book and song titles are not protected. That's why there can be many songs and books who share the same name. I suppose you could make your book title your registered trademark and stick that little R in a circle after it. I wonder what the rules are on that. Can I register any word or set of words? What about Apple? They are a company and yet I'm allowed to use the word "Apple" all the time. Apple Apple Apple. Can I call my blog Apple? Surely that's registered. Hmm...

YouTube and You: Promoting Novels is Fun

2010-09-14T16:51:00.000-07:00

Highlights in Technohistory... as it pertains to what I care about at the moment...

I remember The Jetsons- (Actually, I watched it with my twins a few weeks ago.), and their push-button world wowing me with all its futurosity. I recall learning DOS- (or not learning it), in school and having no computer at home. At the dawn of MTV The Buggles sang about video killing the radio star. Sometime in there, along came the internet. Then, three guys in a garage in Menlo Park invented YouTube, sold it to Google, and became millionaires.

YouTube says it's a way to "broadcast yourself." So... do so.

Apart from procrastinating by watching guys pull their lips over their eyebrows, Potter Puppet Pals, and motorcycles flipping over, YouTube is useful for posting BOOK TRAILERS -little videos that give readers a taste of your novel. Share them on blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace or post to your webpage.

Some examples of book trailers: Circe, by Anita Saran, Master of Horror, and Love Out of Order by Nichole Green. Please, let us know the link to your own book trailer. Let's share the love. :)

I made a brief trailer with my book cover and promo art for my book, Syzygy, using royalty free music provided by YouTube. It's not much of a video, but it took only a few minutes. My niece and I plan to create something more amazing.

SEARCH STORIES are a fun fruit born of the intermingling of YouTube and Google. You pop in search options, music, and poof, you have a fun vid. I made a "search story" for Finn, for Sam (both characters from my novel, Syzygy), and even one for Dobby from Harry Potter (just for the heck of it.) The ones you create for your characters are a nifty way to promote your book.

YouTube is a natural vehicle to promote my novel. One character makes VIDEO LOGS (vlogs) and a character's YouTube channel is mentioned by name- Fatalwidget. It was my teenage daughter who warned me to nab that title if I was going to put it in the novel, so I did. Some writers may want to post videos of book readings, signing, vlogs... Get creative. Think John Green of the Vlogbrothers. Think Nerdfighter!

I have a regular YouTube channel as well. There I have a link to my blog and link to the Syzygy related videos. Every bit of exposure helps. And don't forget to visit other people's channels and comment their videos. BUT I don't mean spam! But you knew that. :)

Particularly if your book would appeal to young adults, you'll want to tap into the wacky wild world of video.

Short Story at Joyful!

2010-09-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that Joyful! published my short story "Just a Shell Game" in their fiction section this month. (LOL It feels funny to stick an exclamation point in the middle of a sentence.)

Surprise! The the tale contains no zombies, werewolves, vampires, nor fantasy of any sort. Just the regular sort of magic and horror that regular people bring into the lives of children.