a new blog post for a new year

Well, here we are. January, 2016. Last year went by in a blur. I’m not going to dwell on 2015; there were a number of things about it that were not good. But there were some other things that were good. It was a year of transition, and those are always difficult. Now I’m choosing to look forward. The transition year has left me poised to move ahead confidently in the direction of my art, and I’m excited to do so. I don’t really do New Year’s resolutions, but I like to do goals, so here are my (vague) goals for 2016: Take better care of myself. Write more. Freelance less. Give myself more down time. 

How about you? What are your goals or resolutions or dreams for 2016?

I will tell you one highlight of 2015: my partner-in-crime and I adopted a kitten. We still have Zoe, our smart, beautiful, antisocial girl who is now almost nine. And now we have Isabel. She's a delightful terror, and is eight months old. I'll post some photos at some point, I promise.

I read a lot more books than I blogged about in 2015. There’s not time to discuss them all, so here’s a list of some of my favorites from last year that I haven't mentioned previously: Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley, The Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace, Chimes at Midnight and The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire, Uprooted by Naomi Novik.

I’ll leave you with links to two blog entries that I read the other morning and found inspiring:

https://mariadahvanaheadley.wordpress.com/2015/11/06/taking-writing-risks-new-adult-novel-sold-to-fsg-and-more/

http://pacificrain.blogspot.com/2016/01/2016-new-direction.html

Blood and kisses, and Happy New Year!

my love has concrete feet

I've not slept well for the last two nights, so I feel a bit vague in my head. I'm sure it'll pass, but it's frustrating to be tired and lethargic when I have so much to get done. Last night it was mostly Zoe who kept me up, plus a sudden downpour early this morning. The night before it was partially Zoe and partially a strange dream or two (including one where my partner-in-crime and my best friend were driving me to the airport but then decided we had to stop for church service, and I was really frustrated and couldn't find my pocket watch, and then they disappeared and I thought I was going to miss my flight), but it was mostly my new recurring dream. Once every week or two, I dream that there's someone in my apartment. It's the same someone every time. Sometimes it bothers me, sometimes it doesn't. Next time I wake up from that, I'm jumping straight into a ritual to figure out what's going on.
I'm slamming through a lot of freelance work right now as well, so there hasn't been any writing or much of a social life. I did go to paintball on Saturday evening for my partner-in-crime's birthday party, followed by the bar. Paintball was more fun than I thought it would be, honestly. And I walked away with only one humongous bruise and several little ones!
Even though I'm so busy, I'm still trying to simplify, to get back to the things that are important to me. After I finish this copyedit tonight I'll have more time, so yoga twice a week will start again, and I'll start back up with both novel and short story writing, as well as clarinet and bass. Don't worry, I'm not doing all of that every day. There's not time for that. My music concept right now is clarinet Monday/Wednesday/Friday and bass Tuesday/Thursday. Weekends are up in the air. I think I need to approach my writing the same way. Novel work on clarinet days, short stories on bass days, weekends are flexible. I'm going to try it.
I think my trip home will happen sometime around Halloween. My goddaughter's baby should be out of hospital around then, and I think it's decent timing for the other people I would like to see. Now I just need to find a reasonably priced plane ticket.
Here's what I've been listening to lately: the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack, Amanda Palmer's Theater Is Evil, and "Heavy in Your Arms" by Florence + the Machine.
And now, time to drink some coffee and get a lot done. Blessed Be, everybody!

she broke your throne

This morning is colder than it's been for the last couple weeks, and it makes me happy. The colder it is, the better my mood is? Sometimes . . .

Two books for you:

8) Norse Code by Greg Van Eekhout. This book was a fun urban fantasy. I appreciated the Norse mythology; it was a refreshing change from all the usual British Isles fairy tale/folklore fantasies. I liked the characters, particularly Mist and Hermod. Ragnarok was deftly dealt with, and the underlying question of whether or not we have a hand in our own fate isn't overly pushed. I would definitely recommend this to other fantasy readers.

9) The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. I love this book. Love. First one in a while that made me cry at the end. It's about a boy named David who takes refuge in books as his family life falls apart, and ends up traveling to a magical kingdom. It's rather like a fairy tale; David begins his journey with help, but as he goes along there are three perils to overcome and by the end of his journey he is both alone and well on his way to growing up. There are many fairy-tale references included, and it is very touching to watch David grow into himself. Anybody who likes a good read should check this one out. It's a keeper for me, and not only that, I'll be looking for other John Connolly books to read.

Zoe continues to settle in well, although she's still quite skittish with my partner-in-crime. I wonder if she was abused by a man in her previous home, or if she had some rough male doctors at the ACC. But we're working on that. They had a good moment together on the couch last night. And as for Zoe and me . . . she follows me around. Especially when I'm the only person home, Zoe is right behind me far more often than not. It's pretty adorable.

A brief check-in on my March goals:

Cat? Check.

Finish apartment? Well, I've made progress. I have some paperwork to go through. After that I think it's just art and knickknacks.

Freelance projects? I'm on my third one. So we're good there.

Edit novel: I've started. I haven't made the serious dent I was hoping to make, but at least I've begun. After the freelance project I'm working on now I'll really dig into the novel.

And now, to work. There's plenty of it, and I am determined to make time to clean out my office in the near future.

and if you go

First, a couple books to talk about.

5) Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, vol. 2: I love the Buffy series. Enough said.

6) The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender. I really enjoyed this bit of magic realism. It was well executed. The characters were interesting people, and there were some really stunning scenes. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys magic realism, or just really well-done books.

7) Pure by Julianna Baggott. I just finished this one on the train this morning. This is another YA dystopian novel. Call me a sucker for this sort of thing, but I fell headlong for this novel. The hope and despair of the characters is palpable throughout. The strength that lies within them is amazing, and so is how, even though their world is wholly different than ours, they all have moments that are very easy to empathize with. The world this book takes place in has depth and resonance. This is a keeper for me; I know I'll come back to it. And I'll probably notice things on a reread that I didn't catch this time in the layers of clues and lies. I want the sequel so I can read it RIGHT NOW.

In other news . . . I adopted a cat on Sunday. Her name is Zoe; she's a five-year-old torbie with pale green eyes and a squeaky meow. She's beautiful, and she's adjusting very well to living with us. Her favorite place so far is my laundry basket.

That's about it right now. Work is busy, freelancing is happening again, band is fine, home is getting there. And now I need to get to work. There's a chance I could get caught up this week or next, and I mean to make it happen. Blessings!