Random, Again

 Posted by at 9:22 am  Life, Miscellaneous
Jan 082013
 

newmedusa The drawing-back continues apace. The decompression is something fierce, let me tell you.

So, some random links!

* Murder By The Book is closing, which is very sad. If anyone out there wants to buy a bookstore, well, you’ve got a chance now.

* I couldn’t help but cheer at Agatha here. (I’m going to be going around muttering “I DO NOT NEED RESCUING” all day now. And giggling.)

* The irrepressible, brave, and awesome Danny Marks talks about creativity and depression.

About that last one…I have a post in mind about anxiety and my own creative process, and I’m not sure I want to write it. *is thoughtful*

* Apparently birds don’t have salivary glands, but squirrels do, and you can consequently put hot sauce on birdseed to keep squirrels out of it. I am…conflicted about trying this. On the one hand, the entertainment factor with Squirrel!Napoleon is HYOOOJ. On the other, well, it seems a cruel thing to do to a creature who’s simply struggling to survive and avoid Odd Trundles’s friendly advances.

* On the Odd Trundles front, yesterday he went to the vet. Bulldogs have amazing jaw strength, and Odd decided yesterday was the day to exercise it. On a can of squeezy-cheez. There were definite puncture marks, and the vet (a very nice lady who is utterly calm even in the midst of bloody crises, as I well know) blinked and said, “Well. He’s a snapper, isn’t he.” In Odd’s defense, he got several vaccine pokes and one intranasal vaccine. I really don’t blame him for deciding a can held down near the floor was fair game. I am, however, exceedingly grateful that the damn thing didn’t explode. Because knowing my luck, that would have happened.

In other news, I really need to buy milk today. It’s always something, and heaven knows the kidlings will have strong bones if they continue at this rate. I think we probably keep a dairy or two afloat all on our lonesome.

Over and out.

To Cure A Cold

 Posted by at 10:27 am  Life, Miscellaneous
Nov 192012
 

Dried up, dessicated, exhausted. Yep, I’m fighting off a cold. I hate it when my nose fills up; it’s like being blind. I rely on my sense of smell to tell me so much about the world, losing it makes everything colorless.

Here, have a bit about how Elvis is Orpheus, Dionysis, and Hercules all rolled into one. And about Boccaccio’s famous women, featuring Tamsyn the Kickass.Oh, and Mount Doom is really about to blow up. Geology is awesome.

Today the wind is up and we’re supposed to get loads of rain, always my favourite thing. This morning’s run (I want to cook the incipient cold out of me, if I can) was full of those sharp but warm rain-laden gusts that sometimes happen in autumn, dancing leaves and spattering drops as trees toss their arms in their sleep and birds float in the sky. I’ve wondered what a bird feels on days like today, what they think of wind, if sometimes they just fly because it feels good.

I am trying to get back into blogging more. Retreating like a crushed anemone is all very well, but really, I’ve got this nice shiny website and I should really pay attention to it.

Today is for writing a logician’s descent into madness and a sorceress’s going against her better judgment. Then to shift gears and get the trailer-park fae into some more trouble. If that doesn’t cure a cold I don’t know what will.

photo by: Gonzo Carles

From Life Lesson to Soda

 Posted by at 10:46 am  Life, Miscellaneous
Apr 262012
 
Nick Chill Photography / Foter

Life Lesson Lili Learned Today: whereas once a banana was enough to get me through a five-mile run, now a banana and three shots of espresso are most definitely not enough. I compensated with extra chia seeds in my post-run oatmeal, and as soon as my blood sugar started coming back up I vowed Never To Do That Again.

That said, I made pretty good time. Even on days when I feel slow and deliberately hold my pace back I’m clocking 10.5-minute miles. It’s a far, far cry from where I started however many years ago, being unable to run for even thirty seconds without feeling like my lungs were going to tear themselves out of my body and go find a more congenial atmosphere, followed by my cardiac muscle.

Today is Take Your Child To Work Day. I gave both the Little Prince and Princess the option to stay home, but they didn’t want to. The Princess wanted to see what school was like with hardly anyone there–her classmates were quite vocal about taking any sort of vacation they could–and the Prince, after staying home with a cold yesterday (without video games, I should add) was hellbent on getting back to his Teacher Crush.

Go figure. Of course, they see me work all the time, staring at the screen and muttering, and they know it’s Revision Time. Which is about as fun to watch as seeing me hit myself repeatedly in the head with a hammer. Despite the initial amusement value, it gets old right quick.

What does NOT get old: cucumber soda with a shot and a half of Ten Cane rum, torn-up mint, and a splash of Key Lime juice; Jim Hines posing like a man; figuring out that crazy is sometimes code for really awesome; and clarifications of plagiarism.

Another thing that doesn’t get old: the endorphins that hit usually about the end of the second mile, especially when running on a nice cloudy spring day, one where the rain waits until you get home to start pouring down and everything smells fresh and green. Hopefully the endorphins will get me through this line edit.

If not, I suppose there’s always lavender soda and gin…

Friday Six

 Posted by at 9:56 am  Book Update, Life, Miscellaneous
Jun 242011
 

I finally finished the copyedits last night. My brain is porridge, but I go straight into Book 2 of the duology I just finished edits on book 1 for. *headdesk* So it’s six random things this Friday while I recuperate. Sort of. I guess. Maybe.

* James “Whitey” Bulger’s finally been caught. (He was in Santa Monica for 14 years.) I heard about him years ago on America’s Most Wanted (I used to watch that show religiously, you just don’t know) and always wondered, off and on, if he was ever going to be caught. Kind of like Ira Einhorn. (Einhorn was gone for 17 years. Justice grinding slow but fine, anyone?)

* What was Shakespeare smoking? They want to dig him up and find out. Seriously. No, really. The words “crack pipe” are used. I AM SERIOUS.

* Oh, what happens to a state’s economy when the expected quasi-slave labor pool is driven away? Any guesses?

* For heaven’s sake, just let people get married and spend their lives together. The world is cold and cruel enough. Quit trying to make it harder.

* My new cell phone (the one I had to teach how to curse, remember?) has Google Tracks. Which means I can run with Miss B., and have my distance, speed, elevation, and quite probably what I had for breakfast, the state of the cartilage in my knees, and the number of hairs on Miss B. right front foot tracked. Already it’s been thought-provoking; I’ve found out that my pace outside is a lot quicker than I thought possible, as well as a number of other things. The future is here. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with it, but it’s mighty convenient.

* I am told that in my next podcast I have to do my Hans and Franz impersonation. So, that’s coming up in the near future. I’m also taking questions for that same podcast. Drop me a line if you have a podcast question for me!

And that’s about it for Friday six. Off I go to force my porridge-brain through another sieve. It’s about as fun as it sounds…

Posted from A Fire of Reason. You can also comment there.

It’s not oatmeal. It’s my brains.

 Posted by at 4:14 pm  Life, Miscellaneous
May 232011
 

First, the obligatory self-pimpage: don’t forget the RECKONING contest! The May 31 event grows ever closer!

Things I did today include:

* Dropping off people at the airport without killing, maiming, or screaming at anyone. Banner occasion.
* Staring at a weird pale growth in the front yard until I realized it was a mushroom.
* Saying very loudly, “Jesus Christ, don’t eat that, what’s WRONG with you?” to my dog, then looking up and realizing a woman and her toddler were staring at me round-eyed.
* Wondering just where the J. Peterman Company got my address from. I mean, I’m not mad. I’m just curious.
* Realizing my current TBR stack includes five books on psychopathology, two books on forensic pathology, and six books on World War II.
* Admitting to myself that I find China Mieville‘s brain disturbingly hawt. (WHAT? I paid for Embassytown in HARDCOVER, thankyouverymuch.)
* Spending serious time while walking considering just how best to set up shots of Gilbert the Zombie Gnome at the May 31 event.

Things I looked up today include:

* Mining in the 1800s
* How to say “you magnificent bastard” in German
* Rapiers. RAPIERS ARE COOL. Actually, medieval fencing manuals are interesting too. I should totally get someone around here to put on a couple rapier fights for me…
* Prostitute slang in Victorian London. ^o.0^

Things I wrote today include:

* A mentath, an assassin, and a mad Bavarian go into a mine.
* A REALLY BAD joke. (If it ain’t baroque, donna fixit!)
* An entire email based on a sleeping tapir. (I love saying “TAPIR TOES!” at random moments.)
* A scorching letter to the Entitled Stalker Of The Week. Which I promptly deleted. Because I am an adult.
* An email beginning “Dear Mr. Jones,”. No lie.

And a couple of links to round things off:

* Jill Filipovic on accusing the accuser.
* And the BEST THING IN THE WORLD TODAY is this vlog, where a lovely young lady calls out Beyonce for being a liar-liar-pants-on-fire, and does it with such clarity and grace it leaves one breathless.

Over and out.

Posted from A Fire of Reason. You can also comment there.

The Sea Came To Me

 Posted by at 9:36 am  Book Update, Life, Miscellaneous, Writing
Apr 112011
 

Morning walk was a treat. Sometimes when the wind is just right, you can even smell the sea, which scratches that itch quite nicely. I don’t feel like myself if I don’t see crashing waves every now and again, but I don’t get out to the beach nearly as often as I should. That may change this summer, with a dog and a decent car. We’ll see.

Unfortunately, I’d have to clear three months’ worth of work before I could afford to take a weekend off. No pain, no gain.

Miss B. is sacked out at my feet–I worked her hard this morning. I’m even wearing out a mini-Aussie, for heaven’s sake. I didn’t think it was possible. Oh well, a tired dog is a well-behaved dog, and all that.

Spring Break is over, the house is quiet because the kidlings are back at school, and I’m settling in. Before I turn off the wireless and get cracking writing the destruction of a whole Londinium shipyard, though, here’s some linkage!

* This is why I’m not letting Miss B. go outside alone. Also, when you have to use baby strollers as bait to catch squirrels…yeah.

* Courtesy of the lovely Mazoku, a little cautionary tale about caffeine. Well, maybe not cautionary. Maybe more like, I’d try this at home just to see the dude in the Matrix coat.

* This morning’s musecrack from my writing partner: a Laura Marling video. There’s a selkie story just begging to be written there.

* Just a note: the Reckoning cover that’s making the rounds on Goodreads? It’s not the final one, guys.

And now I need to plan that shipyard rumble with the assassin, the mad Bavarian genius, the mentath Clare, and a couple of prematurely-awakened mecha. This afternoon will be given over to revising a certain Sekrit Project I hope to announce soon. Let’s just say that if you like the way I write fantasy, you’re in for a treat.

Over and out.

Posted from A Fire of Reason. You can also comment there.

Friday Four

 Posted by at 10:08 am  Life, Miscellaneous
Mar 112011
 

* First off, a collection of links on how to help after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Plus, emergency numbers and live reports.

* This week’s writing post (Habit and Ritual) was on Wednesday. I am putting together ideas for a new podcast episode. Now’s the time to get your questions in!

* Interesting article on Ayn Rand. I always wonder, when reading about Rand, how coverage or criticism would be different if she was male. But that’s a question/rant for another day.

* Let’s not forget that Governor Scott Walker and the Republicans in Wisconsin have basically given the finger to working families with a series of shenanigans. The cynic in me says that now that the bill is signed, the mainstream media will move on and shove more Charlie Sheen and disaster pr0n down our throats and hope we forget all about it. Let’s hope I’m wrong. Also, Peter King’s hypocritical McCarthyite witch hunt, America isn’t broke, and Murder City just over our border.

Today I have to get some work done, so I’m signing off and turning off the Internet connection. I just can’t handle any more. Have a safe weekend out there, dear Readers.

Posted from A Fire of Reason. You can also comment there.

Podcast, Dopamine, And Nonexistent Mafias

 Posted by at 4:36 pm  Life, Miscellaneous, Pennyworth Advice
Mar 042011
 

I am currently stamping on some flaming revisions at the moment, hoping I can put them out in time to make deadline. So just a few things today:

* Yes, I’ve started a podcast! I can treat you all to long rambling rants about nothing in my screechy caw, not to mention try to get over my fear of speaking into a microphone.

* Chuck Wendig on how not to starve and die as a writer, and on what dopamine is and why writers need it. I should just steal all his writing posts and pass them off as mine.

* Holly Black on the (nonexistent) YA mafia. John Scalzi on the (nonexistent) YA mafia. For Christ’s sake, there is no YA mafia. This is just the latest iteration of the “gatekeeper” myth–the idea that there is a secret cabal somewhere that you have to kiss up to or figure out the secret handshake for in order to break into publishing. There is none. There is quality control and business practices, but no fricking gatekeepers, keymasters, Zuuls, Viggo the Carpathians, or Stay-Puft Marshmallow men.

Okay, so there is a Stay-Puft Man, but like I said earlier on Twitter, you have to be drunker than Hemingway to see him. So, yeah.

* Slacktivist has moved! But he promises to keep doing the Left Behind rundowns. So I suppose I’ll adjust.

Writing posts will resume when I have some mental and emotional energy to pour into them, which frankly isn’t at the moment. I’m too busy trying to put out the bonfire of the revisions. (They burn longer than vanities, I’m told…)

Over and out.

Posted from A Fire of Reason. You can also comment there.

Linkage, plus Bannon & Clare

 Posted by at 12:45 pm  Book Update, Life, Miscellaneous, Publishing Biz, Writing
Feb 172011
 

My semi-hiatus from blogging proceeds apace. Here’s a couple links:

* I linked to my “The Hard Sell Doesn’t Work” post on Twitter yesterday, and Becca Fitzpatrick has further thoughts.

* An underground village in France, continuously inhabited for thousands of years.

* The Wishery Snow White remix, just because it’s been too long since I’ve linked to it.

* Larissa Ione on thickening skin and review scars.

I am also breaking the semi-hiatus to announce something. It’s that time. I’ve been given official permission to announce the project I’ll be working on after (sadly) finishing up Jill Kismet, Bannon & Clare:

Emma Bannon, Prime sorceress in the service of Britannia, has a mission: to protect Archibald Clare, a failed, unregistered mentath. His skills of deduction are legendary, and her own sorcery is not inconsiderable. It doesn’t much help that they dislike each other, or that Bannon’s Shield, Mikal, might just be a traitor himself. Or that the conspiracy killing registered mentaths and sorcerers alike will just as likely kill them as seduce them into treachery toward their Queen. In an alternate Londonium where illogical magic has turned the Industrial Revolution on its head, Bannon and Clare now face hostility, treason, cannon fire, black sorcery, and the problem of reliably finding hansom cabs. The game is afoot…

I am so ridiculously excited about this. Clockwork horses. Charm and charter. Gryphons. Cannon fire. Logic engines. GIGANTIC CLOCKWORK MECHA RUN BY LOGIC. *does squealing Kermit arm-wavey dance* This is why I’ve been diving up to my eyeballs into Victoriana. I am having a ball with creating Bannon & Clare’s world, and I can’t wait to invite you, dear Reader, into it.

And now, back I go to the semi-hiatus…

Posted from A Fire of Reason. You can also comment there.

My Temper, and Linkspam

 Posted by at 9:22 am  Life, Miscellaneous
Feb 082011
 

Have blown out three electrical appliances in the last two days. (Temper, my besetting sin.) And today I’m not going to be slowing down for anything until dinnertime (and maybe not even then) so here are some links in lieu of a post:

* The Return of the REAL King, a review of a new book on Elvis. I am pretty fascinated by the ongoing worship of all things Presley, and this book seems to focus on a little-mined subject: the actual making of the music instead of the messy personal life.

* A fascinating look at Russian television.

* Waterloo teeth. This is one of the reasons why I don’t get when people say history is boring. It’s juicy and fabulous and utterly weird.

* Chuck Wendig’s utterly hilarious take on why you don’t want to be a writer. I laughed until I cried, holding onto both sides of my desk, sides heaving and tears rolling down my cheeks.

* Monica Valentinelli on a writer’s hidden enemy.

And with that, I’m outie. Got to work while the iron’s hot, and there’s errands today besides. See you.

Posted from A Fire of Reason. You can also comment there.

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