Stuff

The time has come for me to be completely honest.  

I'm watching Brett Micheal's Rock of Love on Wednesdays. I'm actually only able to watch the last five minutes ... but it's like a train wreck. I can't take my eyes off it.  

deakat seems to have the same macabre fascination with it.   

SNL did a wonderful parody of the show ... except it really isn't a parody.  Its pretty much a perfect re-enactment. 

I now wander around the house grunting "Facetime!  I need facetime!" at odd moments and have begun to bite my tongue from asking  deakat  if she'll stay in my house and rock my world. 

I'm so ashamed.

 

Had the IM tarot reading this afternoon and have been mulling things over off and on all day.  (btw .. 

catdancerz  rocks)

I had the option of her doing a reading and sending me a picture of the spread and an email describing the cards and what they meant.  Tarot is meant to be interactive - there are so many potential interpretations and the interactions between the cards. To me, they beg for discussion. There's something about readings ... they tend to focus my mind on whatever issue has been bugging me - seeing the cards and the way that they interrelate can bring a different perspective and make me think around things as I consider the interpretations.   There's a clarity that can come from them.  At least in this instance. Even though i think tarot is largely subjective and firmly based on psychology, there's also a primal superstition that rumbles in the back of my mind.  Sometimes, the cards line up in a rather spooky way.  

As I said, the reading was positive and definitely thought provoking.  The reader was also a blast to work with - funny, knowledgeable and very amiable.  

In a nutshell, what I got from the reading was that I need to move forward and its up to me.   Not really earthshattering, but something I needed to get my head around and have it sink in. It was just what I needed.

 

 The Good 
I finished my revisions for What's Bred in the Bone and got the story sent off Monday morning.  I'm feeling rather good about the story - the changes work well.

If I can get the last of my work stuff done by Wednesday, and if nothing more hits the street (and my plate), then I'm going to play hookey on Thursday and Friday and have a nice long weekend of writing. There are three stories I want to tackle ... new ones. I'll see which one takes hold.

Also sent Run Run Rudolph out for a e-zine.  We'll see if that sappy little piece can find a home.  :)


The Bad
Without a fast approaching deadline on my current project, I'm dragging my feet and taking my time.  I need deadlines looming.  That's what gets my ass in gear.  Otherwise, I'll just just dither about or expand the work to fill the void of time before the final crunch.   On the good side, these documents are going to kick ass when they do get submitted - they have been combed and revised to the nth degree. 

The Anticipated
I ended up bidding on, and winning, a Tarot reading as part of the "Live Long and Marry" auction (all proceeds are charitable donations for several US Based funds to support same sex marriage).  As this is the internet and we are completely geeky, the reading will be done via IM.  :)  I'm looking forward to it. :))))

Sent off my submission via Canada Post today. ::shaking head in utter disbelief:::

For a manila envelope with 23 pages in it, I was advised of the following options:

Delivery in 8 to 15 days - $3.50
Delivery in 5 to 8 days - $7.50
Faster delivery - $32.00

May god have mercy on my soul when and if I ever write a fricking novel!

Out of principle, I refuse to pay twice the amount for the potenial of it being delivered two days earlier.  Out of principle, my story won't make it in time.

My love of electronic submissions is validated once again.   I shudder to think how long it would take to submit a story overseas.  

Lesson Learned - when submitting hard copies, factor 15 days for delivery.

A few weeks ago, I had set a few goals for July 12th:
Final review/revision of What's Bred in the Bone and send it off to find a home.

Finish Ghost in the Machine, and then revise, review and submit it.  

Finish P. Manifesto and either put it up for the contest or submit it for an anthology.

Crack open the file with my Voices submission (which I still kick myself for not completing) and tinker with it to see if it might be viable for Tesseracts. 


So here it is ... July 12th.  How'd I do? 

What's Bred in the Bone:
Okay, this one is good.  I revised the POV shift - but found out that I messed up the point of the story because everyone thought the fairy was the antagonist rather than just the catlyst (makes sense if you've read the story). So based on some comments from Mallie, I've done some revisions to make it a bit more apparent, removed some gerunds (which I am rather fond of) and tried to do something about passive voice (also very fond of).  Oh yeah ... I added another sex scene.  So much for trying to move away from erotica. ::roll eyes::  
I'm at the stage right now where I really like the changes and I think they work. By tomorrow I'll be at the stage where I think the entire story sucks and I will despise it with every ounce of my being.   Based on what comments I get back, I will do a bit more clean up and mail it on Monday.  Yay me!

Ghost in the Machine 
This is back under moratorium - I need to figure out what direction I want it to go in and I'm well and truly stuck.  :(  I think I'm just going to stick to the erotica on this one and forget about upping the horror.  

P. Manifesto
Based on the fact tht I got What's Bred in the Bone done today, I'm kinda charged and ready to tackle P. Manifesto.  I think it only needs another 500 words to finish it off - especially since I've abandoned my rather LSD like speculative fiction twist on it.   I still liked the twist, but I really don't think it would find a home.  This one I'm pushing to finish tomorrow - I'll either submit it to Best Lesbian Erotica (hah) or Where the Girls Are. 

Bump in the Night and Vacancy 
I've been thinking about these ones alot.  Not writing ... but thinking about them.   One is a pretty simplistic "Cthulhu in the closet" piece and the other is a bit more challenging.  These are going to be my priority next week.

Hollow
Another one I've been thinking about.  I need to get this one down to see if I can capture the emotion.  More of a writing challenge than something that I think will sell.  But Midnight Confession was a personal challenge and it managed to find a home. Hmm.


When all is said and done .... only one goal achieved.  But it is something that I accomplished - so points for that.

The internet is a wonderous thing at times.  I stumbled across a couple of videos of Strong Bad that reminded me how much I loved that  dastardly villian. I was never a big fan of Homestar Runner as a whole - but Strong Bad rocks, especially when he's answering email.

Caution ... the following is quirky and odd. 

Stong Bad on Techno Music  

Strong Bad on Bike Thieves  

Strong Bad on Trevor the Vampire  


"oh trevor, i pine for you"






 

The Good suddenly got Outstanding!

I just recieved my first review for Garden: A Revised Tale from Rainbow Reviews.  

Pardon me while I do a little happy dance.

The Good
Lots of good - I found a writing community that seems to be what I was looking for.  Things have just started, but I'm already feeling re-energized about writing and connecting with people again. I've even got someone who has volunteered to work with me as a mentor  *ulp* - no pressure, must get my ass in gear.   

The crunch I was expecting this weekend and next week has eased off due to an extension.  This means I get a weekend without work, and I won't be in the office til 9pm every day next week. yay!  We may even go to a movie this weekend.


The Bad
I'm staring at one of my stories and can't figure out  what direction I want it to go ... and I've got three or four potential calls for submissions that I need to look at carefully, prioritize and determine which ones I should focus on. 

The  Ugly
I just can't seem to let old wounds heal - or leave the past in the past and move on with things.  I'm tired of it, but I can't seem to shake it.

Just got an extension - this means I get to have a weekend without work. :)  

Now I can catch up on the sleep and other stuff I missed out on earlier this week.  Perhaps I'll even write.

The  Good
Dropped off Haunted Hearths for my mom yesterday. Got a call today from her - she read Midnight Confession and loved it. She's never read anything I've written and she's proud of me.  

The Bad
Now my mom wants to read my erotica. 

The "My Own Damned Fault"
Because I didn't get much work done this weekend, I think I'll be working on Canada Day. :( 

I have bought my official "Summer Six Pack".  I now have six bottles of beer in my fridge.  By Labour Day, I will likely have three still there - two of the original will have been used for "beer-can chicken" and one I will likely drink on Canada Day.  I am nothing if not a cheap date.  :)

Unfortuanately, I am not a cheap date in a bookstore - we went to Chapters to pick up a book for deakat's mother's birthday. I walked out with eight books for myself - five from the reduced shelves, three from the current picks.  I'm justifying this by the fact that I picked up books by authors I keep hearing about but haven't read yet - Louis McMaster Bujold, Anne Bishop, Nancy Kilpatrick and Sarah Monette (actually, this is the third Monette book in my TBR pile ... I have high hopes for her).  The current books were ones that all but leapt off the shelf at me - Cecilia Tan's White Flames, Sheri Tepper's The Margarets and CE Murphy's latest (yeah, I was all over that damned store - erotica, SF, Fantasy).   I may never get my TBR pile under control at this point. 

Ah well ... time to mow the lawn.

On the phone tonight, she asked about the other story I had being published this summer and whether she'd get a copy of it. My answer was "omigod, no, you're not getting a copy of that."

I ended up coming out to my mother as a smut writer, but I didn't have the guts to tell her I wrote biblical smut ... some boundaries must not be crossed.  

 Damn. Just got a note that my submission for Best Women's Erotica has not been accepted. It was a lovely form letter though*. :)  I'm really not sure what else I can do with an erotic scene from Much Ado About Nothing.  Back in the file, I suppose - and I'll just continue hoping someone, somewhere sends out a call for submissions for Bawdy Bard Tales.  

*edited to add: deakat does not think that it was a form letter and she thinks that I'm a bit obtuse. she suspects that I don't realize when I'm being flirted with either - but she seems to be okay with that level of obtuseness. 

 

Final review/revision of What's Bred in the Bone and send it off to find a home.

Finish Ghost in the Machine, and then revise, review and submit it.  

Finish P. Manifesto and either put it up for the contest or submit it for an anthology.

Crack open the file with my Voices submission (which I still kick myself for not completing) and tinker with it to see if it might be viable for Tesseracts. 


I'll be interested to see how many get crossed off by the 12th.

I've taken a break from some of the SpecFic books I've got piled up and have been making my way through a number of lesbian themed books. 

 







 

The good ...
Last week a friend bought us tickets to a local charity event for the Pride comittee - a reading by Ivan E Coyote, who was the writer in residence at one of our Universities. I will admit up front that  I went under duress - readings either grab me or bore me to tears ... the latter is more often the case.  This time I was absolutely and positively enthralled.  Ivan is the perfect mix of storyteller and wordsmith - and her charm is palpable, accentuated by a soft northern accent (made me think of some Native accents I've heard) that had a wonderful lilt.  The stories she wove completely enthralled me and at one point they seemed simple and straightforward - a conversation with a woman on a plane - but they became so much more and left me laughing outloud and blinking back the odd tear.   I was absolutely and totally enchanted and I strongly recommend seeing her read if you ever have the chance.  I'll be picking up her books at AfterStonewall when I'm down there next.

Two days later, I found myself enthralled once again - this time at a local play called Plan B, a play about  a secret negotiation to draft the seperation of Quebec and Canada, a clandestine affair and a whole bunch of anglo-franco politics.  Believe it or not, it was a comedy.  A smart and biting comedy with some amazingly clever dialogue and wonderfully talented actors to deliver one of the best performances I've seen.   Part of why I (and the rest of the audience) loved it was probably because we're in Ottawa, right on the border of Quebec.  The situation hit home and the politics were pretty close to the mark.  The play was funny and thought provoking - the anglais weren't the heroes and neither were the quebecois.  It was definitely an emotionally charged performance - you can't have a discussion about English and French Canada without tempers, feelings and gut reactions being involved.  The level of humour was a perfect counterpoint though - giving a break to what could have been a pretty heavy play.

I'm hard pressed to choose between Ivan and Plan B ... both were amazing evenings in their own right. 

One last good - Sunday afternoon, I was in the office (okay ... not so good) for a series of conference calls and to manipulate some documents on my big dual screens (I love extended desktops).  The calls finished earlier than expected and deakat said she'd come pick me up.  So after a hellish week of overtime and extended hours, I sat back in my ergonomically designed chair, propped my feet up and read a few stories from Haunted Hearths while one of the biggest nastiest storms of the season raged outside the wall to wall window I was sitting in front of.  Perfect weather for reading a ghost story or two.  If you've got a copy of the book "Words Like Conversation Hearts" is a must read.  I loved that one. 

The bad ...

Work.  Sucks.  'Nuff Said.

The ugly ...
I don't want to get into it. 

Lifted from mallie_kite


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I'm rather pleased to announce that Garden: A Revised Tale is now available through Torquere Press.  

As is rather obvious from the title, this is a retelling of the Garden of Eden story. This was always my favourite erotica story that I've written, but it was too long for most anthologies.  I'm happy to have found a home for it through an e-publisher.

So - go buy a copy and enjoy.  :)