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Thoughts On John Lennon
Yesterday was the anniversary of John Lennon's death. 32 years have passed since that fateful walk, when the world was forever robbed of a mad, genius, restless, beautiful soul.
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Welcoming Winter, Gravely
It was in the 70s today here in North Carolina. After a few weeks of absolutely amazing weather–chilly and in the 50s during the day, scooping down into the 20s at night–we’re in a bit of a mini heatwave. The flannel sheets seem rather preemptive. But I guess that makes sense. This week has been a study of contrasts, and not just seasonal ones. My husband was laid off on Monday last, his entire department vanishing into “we’ll give you some contractor hours” and that’s that. I’m trying to stave off the panic and dread (and fury; I assure you there is plenty of fury, considering everything we’ve been going…
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And that’s that. Farewell, NaNoWriMo 2012.
Even though I honestly had no intention of doing NaNoWriMo, as of this evening it appears I have “won” said writing frenzy. I have brought Joss Raddick from a little tadpole of a man to a Kraken. He is currently on an island, about to enter a Synod with a few other godlings, and he has a big wedge of iron lodged in his skull. He went on a rampage as a Kraken, he met another crazy Kraken, he sired a poet, and he was swindled more than once. He also made some friends. And more than anything, I’ve had such pleasure writing this. Joss has always been one of my…
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A Room of Their Own: A Look at Characters and the Spaces They Inhabit
The last few days I’ve been thinking about some interesting aspects of the writing process, particularly in line with writing this follow-up (not really quite a sequel) to Pilgrim of the Sky. And a great deal of it has to do with space. So, in the first book, Maddie leaves her space (her apartment she shared with Alvin) and spends the rest of the book going to other places. But she most certainly doesn’t make a space of her own. As this book begins, she’s half in the process of doing that. But, as is the habit of many of my characters (when I think upon it) she doesn’t have a lot…
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blog, editing, fantasy, fiction, nanowrimo, pilgrim of the sky, poetry, watcher of the skies, WIP, writing
Watcher of the Skies and Thoughts on NaNoWriMo
So, my last post really did make it sound like I wasn’t doing NaNoWriMo, mostly likely. And apparently that’s the thing that got me going. Or something. I’m not going to try and explain it in too much details, but it goes something like this. I screwed up my back. I had to take medicine. I found out my kid does, in fact, have Asperger’s. My brain was mushy, I was in need of escape in the form of writing therapy that wasn’t going to require much editing (see: medicine), and my best friend Karen started talking to me about Joss Raddick. Readers of Pilgrim of the Sky know Mr.…
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No, no, NaNo!
So I’m not saying I’m not doing NaNoWriMo. And I’m not saying I am. I’m going to be mercurial and special about it, so there. Life is moving in about a thousand different directions as we speak (I haven’t written much this weekend but… I collected pine cones from the yard, and spray painted them and made a wreath and a tree sculpture thing and designed and painted the Steve head from Minecraft for my eldest kid, while he critiqued every brush stroke and also dealt with his total meltdown at AC Moore–all while still trying to process that he’s likely got Asperger’s and “something else” and there’s nothing that…
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Rock Revival: Draft Zero
I’m very happy at the moment. This weekend I finished the first (zero) draft of Rock Revival. Now, I know, I’ve written books before. I’ve figured out “the method” or whatever of “being a writer” and all that jazz, sure. Except, since having my surgery in 2010 I hadn’t actually finished a novel. Yeah, there was that pregnancy thing that accounted for nine months. But about three weeks after the baby girl was born, I started Rock Revival to my own surprise. I mean, I had other books to write. Speculative books. Good books, surely! Yet, for whatever reason, it’s the story that wanted to be told first (in spite of my…
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The middle of Octember.
These -ember months do seem to pile up rather quickly, don’t they? Last week I went away to the West Coast, spending some time with family. I don’t know what it is about me, but every single time I make a trip like that I somehow think I’m impervious to jet lag. The truth is, I’m terrible with jet lag. Eastbound is nuts. It’s almost been a week and I still haven’t acclimated, not even close. So the last few nights I’ve been up well past 2 AM, then up again at 3 AM with the little girl. So lucidity is not exactly my strong point at the moment. Anyway,…
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The GeekMom Book is Here (And Available for Preorder)
I got a very nice package in the mail today containing one copy of the finished book I worked on with Jenny Williams, Corrina Lawson, and Kathy Ceceri — Geek Mom: Projects, Tips, and Adventures for Moms and Their 21st Century Families. It was a labor of love that started more than two years ago, even before GeekMom.com existed. We’re really excited to share the geeky side of being a mom with the world. If you’re so inclined, you can preorder the book on Amazon, or wherever you so desire. From a writer’s perspective, I do plan one day to write about the million differences between writing and publishing non-fiction,…
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Words are flowing out like endless rain inside a paper cup
I have been meaning to work on The Wind Through the Wheat, but my brain and the characters in Rock Revival are telling me otherwise.
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In the trenches between pain and progress.
So. This is me trying out the new dictation for Mountain Lion. Why am I dictating? That’s a good question. You see, I had a lot of fun in prose. Too much fun. It’s definitely a mixed bag. I’m really excited to be writing again, but it’s been difficult. Just when I started getting in the groove my hands gave out. Thankfully there is such a thing as dictation software. But it’s far from perfect. It isn’t so bad that writing has come to a complete stop, but it’s enough that when it comes to things like blog posts, I figure it’s probably worth it to save the fingers (and…
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Escapism of all stripes
It’s been a busy weekend here in our household, with my husband away at the Escapist Expo most of the time, and me wrangling the babies. I did have a panel there yesterday on geek parenting, and it went rather well–a great audience and, as usual, more questions than we had time to answer. The Expo is really impressive for a first-year con (reminds me of ConTemporal that way) and I’m super excited that it’s right around the corner! This area of the world is quickly becoming home to some fun geek conventions, and I highly approve. Anyway, once the kids have been in bed I’ve used the time for…
