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A note of appreciation to Mssr. Samuel Montgomery-Blinn
The first time I met Sam Montgomery-Blinn in person, it was 2009, and he got me very, very drunk on Fat Tire beer. Not my usual fare, but he was buying. I was nervous as hell after my first public reading, so not really arguing. I’m still not sure how I got invited to the reading that night (it included actual writers like Mur Lafferty and Jeff VanderMeer) being in such an nascent state in my writing career, but I’m pretty sure it had to do with Sam. They wanted someone else local, I suppose, so I packed up my favorite shoes and read from the novel I had been…
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Running Away Toward Myself
Running has become my escape of choice lately. I’ve mentioned before that, well, running has never been A Thing for me. I’m not exactly built to the ideal running form. Between my Eastern European, First Nation, and French-Canadian roots (the Swedish part is just entirely overwritten), tall and lithe I ain’t. I’m built closer to the earth: compact, strong, and bendy (I like to think I might be good at using a bow–haven’t tried that yet…). Until now, I’ve used that as an excuse not to run. In spite of recurring dreams where I’m running, I’d resisted. “I will never be a runner,” I said, on many occasions. “Never ever.”…
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A portal between worlds… in the bottom of a wine glass
I’ve spent the last weekend at Dragon Con in Atlanta, with beloved friends of all stripes–some of whom I get to see here in NC, others who I hardly ever get to see (or I only see virtually). It was fantastic, a welcome diversion from general life as mommy, etc., and while I missed my family I should point out that it was way more fun than I thought it would be. My brain is so tired it’s practically wobbling, but I laughed so hard the last days and nights (staying up far, far too late) that my soul feels revived. Friends, wine, and words. It just doesn’t get much better…
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Running on the beach and making peace with the water gods
Making peace with the waves, and finding deeper meaning through personal achievements.
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Over and under and round about; thoughts on villains
Well, the book is almost done. It’s nearing the end. The body count is high. There was a scene with monsters made of quicksilver, and then ignited mercury vapor and lightning and flayed people hanging from the ceiling of a decrepit Roman bath. But while that’s all very interesting, I’m thinking about villains. I’ve never liked simple villains. Being evil for evil’s sake just doesn’t do much for me. And especially in this book, I had a deep and abiding desire to make villains that aren’t always villains. Friends who turn. People who go mad. Deals done wrong. Because while harm is a choice, circumstance is a great catalyst. No…
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Byron was a handsome scoundrel
By Richard Westall (died 1836) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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A great and torturous circle
“Oh, Joss, it’s a great and tortuous circle. We have found each other, time and again, across time and across worlds. Which of us began which poison? I am, and am not, a product of my own mind. I was shaped, as you were shaped. Sraosha trained up Verta, and Verta trained up me—and I found you. And we fight and hate and wound and take down entire worlds with us, century after century. And for what purpose? Do we truly make world better? Or are we simply forces of destruction? I have to believe there is some reason to all of this, some greater plan, some great melody that…
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Look into my brain, why don’t you?
Pinterest and a poem from Watcher of the Skies.
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Tying Up Loose Ends
I’m closing in on 90K with Watcher of the Skies, and I’ve been elbows deep in Pinterest and my board there. I thought I’d add it to the RSS images over there—> so you can see it. You can also visit here. My birthday present (and getting a real job present) this year was an iPad Mini, and it’s really done nothing for my Pinterest obsession. But! I figure time “researching” is still time well spent. You will see lots of waves and fish and faces. Just a little longer to go, and the book will be through draft zero.
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Blake Illustrates Shakespeare
Yeah, that pretty much sums up where things are at the moment. And then things are going to get really, really bad. Ah, writing.
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Happily lost in the weeds: balance and the writer’s life
Sometimes balance in the writer's life comes in odd places.
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Writing Stories With Dinnerware
Writing Stories With Dinnerware I wrote this piece for GeekMom last night, and thought it also pertained to writing. So thought I’d share here!
