before the day is done

(WARNING: This post contains discussion of sexual violence.)
I'm going to be honest. I've been struggling so far this year. Some of it is internal: stress and new job and too many deadlines and a lot of emotional commitments and just AGH. Some of it is external: new job (yes, that counts both ways!) and old job and freelancing and what's been in the news lately. Today really got me; I was catching up on Kat Howard's blog, and hit on this post, which led me to Amanda Palmer's blog, and then on to news articles about Steubenville. And then I got really, really angry.
How can people treat other people like that, like they have a right to do whatever they want? And the bystanders . . . people were taking photos. Videos. People were uploading photos to the Internet as the abuse was happening, but nobody HELPED her. What is wrong with America that we raise our children to stand back and document the wrongdoing but not do anything to stop it? And that reminded me of that poor man who was pushed onto the subway tracks in front of the train in December. People took pictures. Nobody tried to help him.
I could go on and on about this sort of thing, about how I often feel like women are in an abusive relationship with America due to the prevalent rape culture in our country, about how so many of us have been abused but that doesn't make it right or okay or acceptable. But I think that my earlier anger short-circuited my brain a bit. All I am now is sad. Sad that a teenage girl can't be safe at a party with her friends. Sad that so many of us have to endure bullshit like that. And I don't want to be sad. I want to do something about it. But what? Does anyone out there have any ideas? How do we combat this sort of behavior? What do we do?

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!

brambles and briars

My head is full of fairy tales and impossibilities this morning. The restless feeling just grows and grows in these cold autumn days. . . . Some days it is all I can do to drag myself to work, to deal with my responsibilities. I want to write. I want to take long rambling walks in the park, to stay up late drinking wine by candlelight, to give in to temptation.

And this is exactly the wrong month to do so.

Sigh.

How is everybody else doing?

this life is just flying by

Man, it's November already. I feel like I blinked and a week and a half went by! I wish I had something exciting to tell you all about, some reason for not posting for a while, but the fact of the matter is . . . I'm just busy. We're apartment hunting in earnest now, I've got multiple freelance jobs, I'm a week behind at work, and I'm 40k into the first draft of the book I'm working on. The holidays are coming so I really should be thinking about planet tickets, gifts, etc. I'm in the middle of reading four different books but am not really making headway with anyway of them.

We did do ritual for Samhain (Halloween, for those of you who don't know the pagan holidays) and that was nice. Two nights ago we saw Blind Pilot play at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. That was a great show!

How about you? Anybody do anything exciting in the last couple weeks?

I've got to get to work, it's nearly 10 am. Happy Wednesday, everybody!

would you take my candlelight

October has flown by in a whirlwind of work, freelance, writing, social life, and the beginning of the great apartment hunt. Work has been pretty intense due to a crash book. I've been taking more freelancing again so my bank account won't be totally wiped out by moving. I'm really trying to hold myself to an end-of-year deadline for this draft. Things are just busy! And on top of that, one of my neighbors is a drummer and is into jamming as soon as I get my bass out of storage, so I'm itching to start that too. Busy busy. I know, someday I need to learn to slow down and take more time for myself. . . .

Two books:

44) Storm Front by Jim Butcher. This is the first book in the Dresden Files series, and I loved it. Sharp, snarky urban fantasy with a gritty edge. I'll definitely be sucking down more from this series in the near future.

45) Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke. This is a graphic novel aimed at a younger audience about a girl named Zita who follows her friend Joseph through an interdimensional portal to rescue him from the aliens who kidnapped him. this is a totally fun, whimsical romp through a world populated with robots and aliens. Definitely recommended.

And now, a dream I had a few nights ago. I was at someone's house somewhere. My ex-girlfriend was there, trying to convince me to sleep with her, but I didn't want to. There was a hurricane coming, so I left that house to go to the store for supplies and then beat the storm home. I wore galoshes. There were large puddles at the intersections with golden koi in them that I avoided walking in. My ex followed me to the store, where I picked up some bottled water, batteries, snacks, etc. Two or three bags of supplies. Then I headed home. To get there I had to walk across this ridgetop, and when I got up there I saw that many people from my neighborhood had come out with lawn chairs and picnics to sit on top of the ridge and watch the storm blow through. I followed the path through the crowd and finally got home. My impression of my house is many windows and heavy wooden beams. The windows were open, as were the doors. The storm was picking up. I could see the water rising outside my house, so I ran around frantically closing windows. Then I sat down near a glass door to meditate and watch the storm. My sister came over with an arrow bundle in her hands and said something to the effect of, "This should help you focus," and rammed the arrow through my right shoulder, diagonally down through my torso, and out my left hip. I remember gasping in shock, but not crying out. I remember the inside of my torso feeling strangely hollow as the arrow passed through. I remember holding as still as possible so it wouldn't start to hurt, and trying to meditate around the hollow feeling. then my mother walked over and pulled the arrow out. That hurt. She handed me the arrow and a towel and told me to clean myself up. Then she walked away, leaving me bleeding on the hardwood floor.

Weird, right? I know, my dreams are usually weird.

And now, I have a lot to do. Happy Tuesday!

champagne dreams

Life has continued to be busy, busy, busy. I'm definitely struggling with balancing work, freelance, writing, relationship, clarinet, and social life. I'm determined to slow down for the rest of September, to have time to enjoy the beginning of autumn. I want time to sit in the park with a cup of tea and a good book.

That said, apartment hunting should begin sometime in the next week or two. I can't WAIT to live aboveground, in a place with lots of windows and more space. I'll tr to post regularly about how the hunt goes.

And here are a couple books:

38) Heartless by Gail Carriger. This is the fourth book in the Umbrella Protectorate series, and as I've said before, I just adore them. The language is sharp, I love the juxtaposition of the vampires and werewolves with Victorian London, and the steampunk bits are great without being overwhelming. I can't wait for the fifth and final book in this series.

39) How Did You Get This Number by Sloane Crosley. I always enjoy Sloan Crosley's essays. I think they're sharp and funny. I read her first collection a year or two ago for a book club, and was hooked. For anyone who likes the essay as a writing genre, or who likes humorous writing, I'd say give her work a try. This one is definitely a keeper for me.

In other news . . . I have a temporary puppy. She's lived with us for three weeks now. If anyone out there is interested in adopting a very sweet chihuahua mix puppy, or knows someone who might be, please get in touch. I love the puppy, but we can't keep her. Sigh.

I need to start thinking about plane tickets home for the holidays. It seems early for that, doesn't it? It seems early to me, too. But tickets are just getting more and more expensive. I paid far too much to go home for that wedding in July; I'd really like this plane ticket to be cheaper.

Last night, I dreamed that my twin sister was marrying her boyfriend. It was the day off; all the guests were arriving, we were trying to get ready, things were in chaos. Then we decided to take a ten-minute power nap. We laid down at 2, and the ceremony was supposed to be at 2:30. We woke up at 4, and panicked. All the guests were wondering what was going on. My sister finished getting ready while I circulated among the guests to tell them that the ceremony would happen at 4:30. I caught a guy trying to steal a camera from a girl's backpack, which he then denied. Weird. When it was time for the ceremony I still wasn't ready, although I was the guest of honor, so I slapped some makeup on and just left my hair down, and we went to the hall to do the ceremony. The groom-to-be's friends were playing the music for the ceremony on guitar, bass, and drums. It was fun. I woke up thinking how fun it would be if they actually got married.

And on that note, I should settle into my Monday morning at work. Have a good week, everybody, and I'll do the same.

this summer

I have to admit, this summer has been rough. I've been busy as all hell. I'm not as happy with my job due to a department shake-up. I'm waiting to hear back from several agents about my superheroes novel, which is nerve-wracking, and I've started a new one that I'm not totally sure about yet. Last weekend a stray dog showed up on our stoop; we've been taking care of her all week while we look for her owners. Through July and August I've felt stressed out and exhausted more than anything else. This summer has had some great moments, too. My trip home around the fourth of July was great. We've gone hiking twice, and been to the beach once. I've started a literary salon with a good friend. I've read some great books, and finished Buffy, and had some good times with some good friends. Overall, though, it's been a tough summer.

I'm not really sure what I'm trying to say in all this other than ask everyone for a little patience while I sort my life out. I won't be exhausted and overwhelmed forever. I just need a little time to get a couple things off my plate, and to get reorganized about a couple other things. Fair deal, life? Give me time to relax, and we can have a good autumn?

At least today is my Friday. Hopefully this weekend will be good for getting some things done. Especially with Hurricane Irene possibly nailing the East Coast, I'm hoping for a quiet, productive weekend.

Happy Thursday, everyone.

heat wave

It's supposed to reach almost 100 degrees today. YIKES. I love the fact that NYC has real seasons, but sometimes the heat and humidity in the summer is a but much. And it's so early in the season for weather this hot! At least I'm in an air-conditioned office for a good portion of the day.

How is June treating everybody? It's a busy one, for me. Plenty on my plate, as always, but I've scaled back on the freelancing again. And I'll be buying a new laptop tomorrow. After I get that situated, let the writing begin! In July, at least. New novel. A little research to be done first, so I may start the actual writing of it after I head home for the first week of July.

Not last night, but the night before, I dreamed about what-if boy. It's been a little while. We were hanging out in the living room at the Agate House, only he lived there, not me. Watched two of his roommates race each other in the driveway. Talked a lot. Then he curled up on the couch to take a nap, so I retreated to my room, only someone else was living there. I tried to take a nap in the bed, but was uncomfortable with it, so I went back to the living room. What-if boy woke up and we decided to go out somewhere for food. I don't remember getting there, but I remember sitting at a small round table outside somewhere, talking more. I woke up with a smile; it was nice to see him again.

A book to report! I know, it's been too long. 24) Blood and Iron by Elizabeth Bear. This is a good, good book. It's complicated. Smart. Edged like a sword, all bloody and raw and beautiful. It's about Faerie, and New York, and magic, and Arthurian legend, and what happens when you find yourself part of a myth. I recommend this to anybody. Forget whether or not you like fantasy. If you like good stories, read this one. It's the first in a four-book series, and they're all published, so you don't have to wait. You can devour them all at once.

Hopefully more books in the future. there was far too much freelancing in May, followed by a visit from a sister, so there just wasn't a lot of reading time to be found. But this summer I have every intention to read a lot.

I do have an admission to make: Lately I've been feeling edgy. Discontent. I don't think I can blame it on any one factor in my life. I think . . . I think I've not been spending enough time on myself, and on the people/things that are truly important to me. Time to get things back under control. Time to simplify, and focus, and get my priorities back on track. I've let things slide for too long.

And with that, it's time to focus on work, since there's a lot of it today. I'll report in about my new laptop over the weekend!

Blessed Be!

she knew it'd been too long

Sorry, everybody. Life snuck up on me and tackled me to the ground this month. Between freelancing, writing, band, Shadow Unit, having a life, and injuring my ankle last week, plus the intermittent nature of internet at home and the busyness of work, I just haven't managed to be online a whole lot. May will (hopefully) be better, and May 1st I am hoping to take the day off from everything but Shadow Unit and celebrating Beltane. We'll see how that goes.

What else is there to say, really? My band concert is this Saturday. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm also looking forward to having the summer off. To working on some solo pieces instead of band music. Emmelina is plugging along; I haven't added as much as I'd hoped, so far, but there's still a ways to go, so we'll see how my word count ends up. I may take a second pass through it to flesh it out a little more, even. I'm still hoping to fill it out to around 60K words. The superheroes novel . . . I haven't submitted yet. I know, what am I waiting for? I'm sort of dragging my feet. All I need to do is a little more agent research and one more pass over my synopsis, and then I'm ready. I just need to pick a day to stay late at work (better internet at work) and get it out there.

I suppose, in short, what I'm saying is that I have some things to get off my plate. As three different people have pointed out to me, my injured ankle is probably the Universe's way of telling me to slow down. I'm trying, Universe! There are just a few things I have to finish first!

Anyway. Happy Monday, everybody. I'll really make an effort to get back here later this week. I have a book to blog about, after all. Ta!

grey would be the color

My work computer is dead. I still feel busy-busy all the time. And lately, I've just been frustated by my life. Lack of time, lack of money, lack of space, everything. I'm trying to ignore it and just get things done so I can feel less stressed. One day at a time, one task at a time, and eventually I'll feel like I'm in control of my life again.
Without further ado, here are the next three books I've read this year:
6) The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin. This book took me by surprise. I'm not as into epic fantasy as I used to be. In fact, it's safe to say that these days I prefer fantasy of the urban variety. So the fact that this book just sucked me in and kept me enthralled until the end was pretty exciting. I like the characters, the court intrigue, and the religion, and the descriptive language is lush and well done. I will recommend this to anybody who likes fantasy books, or just good writing. A keeper, for sure, and I'm looking forward to the next one!
7) Foiled by Jane Yolen. This is a cute graphic novel about a girl who doesn't really fit in at school. She's a talented fencer, and spends most of her time outside school at practice for that. But over the course of the story learns that faery folk exist and she's been chosen as a Protector. I enjoyed this, and if it's the start of a series I'll read the rest, but I don't think it's a keeper for me.
8) Heat Wave by Richard Castle. This book was SO MUCH FUN. It reads like a long episode of Castle, which I also adore, so I had a great time with this and can't wait to get my hands on the next one. Definitely a keeper, and definitely recommended to everybody!
Anyway. Time to move on to the next thing on my work to-do list. Hopefully by the end of this week I'll have things under control again. Blogging may be pretty intermittent as I deal with computer issues at work and lack of consistent internet at home, but I'll try to be back soon. I've got a post about the writing life percolating in the back of my brain.
Happy Tuesday!

baby it's cold outside!

14 degrees right now, to be exact. At 10 am. Brrr. I'm cozy in the apartment with some sporadic space heater assistance for now, but I've got brunch plans at noon. And you know what? I'm going to walk all the way there and home again after. I'll bundle up. I love a freezing day with wide open blue skies and air so frigid that taking a breath is like a drink of ice-cold water.
I've got a lengthy to-do list for this weekend, as always. But I'm taking time out for me, too. I slept in this morning (until 9:20!), and will do it again tomorrow. I've got a freelance deadline Monday, so we'll see how that goes. But I'm enjoying the project, and looking forward to reading the rest of it.
Lately I've really been craving a simpler life. Just me, a small cottage, some wilderness, and a whole lot of creativity and art. Doesn't that sound lovely? And perfect? Sometimes I just want to crawl into the photos that Terri Windling posts on her blog. She lives in a cottage in Dartmoor. Rima Staines lives in her village. The Frouds and William Todd-Jones live somewhere nearby. It sounds like a dream world, a fantasy land brimming with everything I could ever ask for.
So how do I make that happen for myself? I'm not sure. Ironically, I don't feel like I can afford to live somewhere like that. Literally. I think that maybe the best thing I can do for now is to keep living and loving and creating and reaching out to other creative people. It's a tricky thing, this life we live.
It's time to be off. I do feel that a bigger web presence is important for me to have, but I've got to balance that with everything else. Besides, there's brunch ahead!
Bright blessings!

the rain collects outside the door

It rained pretty much all night; I could hear it every time I woke up. It's too bad I couldn't open a window and listen to it properly.
December's been busy so far, both at work and at home. I covered for my work spouse this whole last week, on top of a full week with my own titles. I finished my last freelance project for the year. I've made good progress on editing my novel, and on critiquing someone else's. I've also been sorting through the apartment, getting rid of some things, choosing some other things to go to storage. My band concert was a week ago, so I was practicing a lot up until that, as well. None of this is surprising, though; I'm adept at keeping myself busy. And now it's the season of holiday parties, of people wanting to squeeze in one more hangout before I leave for the holidays, so there's a lot on my plate socially. I enjoy seeing my friends, and it's all going to be fun, but it's still a fine balance between the social, the work, and the writing.
A couple more books to report:
65) Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler. This book is wicked good! It's about an anorexic teenager named Lisabeth who becomes Famine, one of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Kessler doesn't shy away from really showing how eating disorders affect people. Lisabeth is an interesting heroine, learning who she is and how to be strong over the course of the book. This isn't for the squeamish (Lisabeth's bulimic friend gets a graphic scene about her eating disorder) but I really think this is a fresh, interesting YA urban fantasy. Definitely recommended, and I can't wait for the sequel, Rage, to come out next April!
66) Averno by Louise Glück. This amazing collection of poems, Glück dives deep into the story of Persephone. I think that these poems are beautiful, as is the way she digs so deep into the Greek mythology to unearth new layers. Absolutely recommended for anyone who likes poetry or Greek mythology.
67) Life Sucks by Jessica Abel, Gabriel Soria, and Warren Pleece. This graphic novel is about a vegetarian vampire named Dave who is the night manager at the Last Stop mini-mart. He falls for a Goth girl named Rosa, but she's mortal. Then total-jerk, surfer-blond vampire Wes decides he wants Rosa, and the story takes off from there. This was a fun run. I wasn't convinced in the first few pages, but I'm glad I gave it a chance. The art is good and the story is fun, with no conventional happy ending. I'm glad the story didn't get tied off perfectly; I think that would have detracted from it. Anyway, I really liked this one.
And now, I'm off to check my e-mail, wake my partner-in-crime, and get ready to head out into the rain to see a play. Happy Sunday!

whenever i'm alone with you

This is me on the weekend with no freelancing to do. Thank goodness! The last couple of weeks were a disaster due to one project taking substantially longer than I'd estimated, and another coming in earlier than anticipated. Ah, well. The important part is that I got it all done. And I am determined to make this weekend lovely. Some good work time on Emmelina, on the Superheroes novel, and on the radio play. Some down time hanging out with my partner-in-crime. A birthday party to hit tonight, and then maybe a friend over tomorrow for a while. Sure, somewhere in there I need to do things like laundry and grocery shopping, but still, it's going to be a nice weekend. With no work!
I'm still torn on what to write next. I know, I know, I shouldn't get ahead of myself, but my brain always starts considering the next book at this point in the process. I've been talking about the witch/ghost series for a while, and I do really want to do that, but I haven't sorted out the overarching storyline for it, which I need to have firmly in mind before I can do much writing. And meanwhile, in the underside of my mind, a sort of Gothic noir urban fantasy is taking shape, all angular, rain-wrapped city buildings and gritty, narrow streets. Two of the characters are stalking me at odd moments. Here's the thing, though: I don't know if I'm a good enough writer yet to tackle that one. Maybe I just need to keep scribbling out notes on that one for now while I tackle the witch series.
Anyway, time for a quick breakfast and then a walk in the park with LG. Happy weekend, everybody!

away from myself

I'm in Seattle for a long weekend right now, and am having a very nice time just relaxing and not doing a whole lot. Went to a great used bookstore with my friend K and her husband B, and bought too many books, darn! I have to say, overall, this has been a good reading year. I mean, I always like the books I finish, but this year I have read a lot of books that I love. The kind of love that means I shove copies into other people's hands and say "You've GOT to read this, it's so amazing!" So that's great. I know that I'm super behind on my book blogging these days, but today I just can't be bothered. Eventually you, dear readers, will find out what books have occupied my (small amounts of) spare time, but today is not that day.
Last night I went to the wedding party for a couple of good friends of mine, and it was lovely. A few other friends were up from Oregon for it, so I got to catch up with them, and there was good food, good wine, great company, all in a lovely backyard with music and candlelight and a gentle rain. It was perfectly lovely.
There's a lot in my head right now. Story ideas, dream fragments, books I'm reading . . . K and I have stayed up late drinking wine and talking both nights I've been here so far, so there's a lot of those conversations tangled up in my head too. Serious illness and history and people and relationships and books and just big life concepts. It's great, but my head feels a little overly full. (The wine hangover probably isn't helping that, either!)
The end of summer is approaching. Only a couple more weeks of summer hours before work goes back to normal. Only several more weeks until the weather really starts to cool off, and after a couple days in Seattle I'm REALLY ready for the humidity to go away in New York.
This fall promises to be fairly quiet. Not a lot of travel, not many houseguests. Just me, my partner-in-crime, and my writing. Of course, things never turn out that simply, do they? Still, I'm looking forward to it.
Anyway. I should probably go wake up K from her nap and start talking about dinner plans. Getting hungry already! Have a good Sunday evening out there, everybody.

once upon a sunday

Well, here we are, May already. Happy Beltane! Slightly belated, as the holiday was yesterday, but ah well. Yay for spring and fertility and the coming of summer!
Big news that I somehow completely forgot to mention last time I wrote here: My promotion FINALLY happened on April 27. Hurray! Only three and a half years later, I'm no longer an assistant! I'm glad to have it happen, at long last. No more offsets for me; just domestics from now on. Thank goodness!
Three more books for you. 20) Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier. This is a retelling of two fairy tales in combination, set in Transylvania. I loved it! Great, strong-willed characters who don't back down from their responsibilities or their mistakes. Multiple challenges for the heroine(s) to overcome. And beautiful writing. Definitely a keeper, and definitely recommended to anybody who reads. 21) The World's Wife by Carol Ann Duffy. Interesting collection of poetry from the perspective of big-name wives throughout history/mythology. Mrs. Midas, Mrs. Tieresias, etc. plus a few other strong women such as Medusa. If you dig poetry, check this one out. It's a keeper for me. 22) The Music of Razors by Cameron Rogers. This is a hard book to explain, and a hard book to read. It's about a girl named Hope whose life is kind of awful. A mysterious man named Henry is trying to recruit her for a mission involving something called the Third Option (as compared to Heaven or Hell), and her comatose brother, Walter, is trying to protect her from Henry. I was really into reading this at first, even though it's emotionally rough. It got great blurbs from big novelists. But . . . there's no redemption at any point for any of the characters. Things just keep being hard, and they keep making mistakes, and the end is not really a finishing. It's an ending, but not a conclusion, if that makes sense. Anway. I struggle with books like that, so for me, this isn't a keeper, but if you don't mind the lack of redemption, then you should check this one out.
Anyway, I'm still struggling with getting through all the freelancing on my plate, although I did get through a good chunk already today. It's a slow process to achieve balance, but I think as long as I hold the goal in my mind I can achieve it. I am getting back on top of my life, slowly but surely. My checkbook is finally up to speed, I've managed to keep the house tidy, I did some good brainstorming on the next short story I'll be writing. I've been getting better about exercising. The rest of today involves a run, another chapter of freelancing, and some writing on my superhero book. And then having dinner outside, perhaps with some bubbly. Oh, and did I mention it's gorgeous out?
Happy weekend, everyone!

she's lost in her own time line

Well, April is just flying right by. It's been a busy, busy month. Got back into freelancing after taking March off. Did make some forward progress on the superhero novel (I suppose I should do an updated honeydew list at some point here). My band concert is this Saturday, so I've been practicing regularly. I've also had some sekrit extracurricular stuff going on, which sucked up a fair chunk of my time. And, I've been meeting with a group of people about writing an urban fantasy radio play! So, life as usual I guess. Lots of things going on. Hopefully in the new future I'll have some exciting news to share; we'll see about that!
I wanted to share this post by Catherynne Valente. She's a writer I've been curious about for quite a while; I really should give in and buy some of her novels. What do you guys think about the concept of Skinny Buddha and Fat Buddha? Do tell. I'd love to have some good conversation about this, because the concept of focusing solely on one thing versus having a multitude of things going on is something I struggle with on a regular basis.
A quickie book to tell you about: 19) Giving Up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel. It's her memoir. I thought the beginning was great and the ending was great. But I felt that the section about her childhood dragged on for too long. And the big reveal left me a little disappointed. Part of it was how it came about, part of it was just the fact of what it was. Not a keeper for me, even though her writing is beautiful. I'll definitely check out her fiction. If anybody really enjoys memoirs, I'd say give this a shot.
And now, back to work I go. Happy Wednesday, everybody, and have a good afternoon. I hoep some of you make it outside to enjoy the sunshine!

it's been a while

Sorry about that, everyone. Every so often, life gets too busy for this sort of leisurely pursuit! And, as always, I only have a minute before I have to run. Sometime soon I'll get around to blogging about the books I've read recently, and the two Broadway shows I've seen. For now I'll just say that life is good, although BUSY. Work is good, although REALLY busy. Thanksgiving was great, with my sister visiting as well as a surprise guest from Oregon. There is enough food still in my fridge to feed an army!
We're rapidly approaching the end of the year and there is still so much I want to accomplish. I need to remind myself that I've still got a month, and that's really plenty of time.
Well. Time to go meet a friend for a jaunt through the holiday market. I'll be back sometime this week. Happy December!

too much

Sorry all, life has just been too much lately, and there hasn't been time for blogging. But things are well, and I'll blog sometime this week! Promise! I've got several books to dish about, a couple movies I want to see, and time to update my writing to-do list for the year. So, soon. I will blog. I'll do it.

the weight has lifted

I turned in an eight-hundred page freelance project on Wednesday. What a relief! With the exception of Memorial Day weekend, I've had solid freelance work since mid-March. Which is crazy. So I'm taking a month off from it. No freelancing until the new Charles de Lint comes in and it's time for me to proofread it, because oh yes, that freelance project is mine. But I need to be a little more choosy about the projects I take. Not that I mind taking projects I don't really enjoy. It's more that I've really ran myself into the ground over the last couple of months, and I need to teach myself to not do that. Taking time out for myself is important. Working on my book is important. Sleeping enough is important.
That's the theme for this summer. Treating myself with respect and doing what I need to do for my own health and happiness. It'll be good. And on that note, although there are only ten days left in June, I do have a to-do list:
- organize my kitchen properly
- make some serious headway in editing my book
- start running regularly again
- read another book or two
Sounds good, doesn't it? I feel like I'm taking it easy on myself, if that's all I've got for June, but that's enough, I think. July's list will be bigger, I'm sure.
Some recent reads:
The Book of Joe, by Jonathan Stropper: This book was so much better than I thought it was going to be! It's about a man who writes a fictionalized expose of his hometown. Several years later his father falls into a coma and he goes home for the first time since high school. And then his life falls apart. The writing is clever, the dialogue is witty, and the relationships between the characters are wholly believable. I definitely recommend this one, and I enjoyed it enough that I'll be on the lookout for his other books.
Wicked Lovely, by Melissa Marr: A great YA urban fantasy about a girl who can see fey folk, and how her life changes when the Summer King decides he wants her for his Queen. Well written; I love YA books with believable teenagers. I put this one right up there with Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, which means very high marks.
Lucky Dog, by Mark Barrowcliffe: I read this one for a book club I'm in. And it was a fun, lighthearted romp, about a man who accidentally acquires a dog and then discovers that the dog talks, but only to him. Hijinks ensue, involving a gambling ring, a dirt real-estate deal, his girlfriend, and his employee. It was fun. Not a keeper, by any means. It had some really nice moments, but it just didn't catch my attention enough.
On the subject of books, on Wednesday night I went to a reading at KGB Bar. As part of the Fantastic Fiction reading series that they host every third Wednesday, they had Terri Windling and her partner Howard Gayton. Interestingly, Terri did not read any fiction. Instead, she read from a nonfiction work-in-progress about fairy tales and folklore. Whenever she came to an actual story, Howard would take over and read aloud in a very droll, British, lovely fashion. Fascinating stuff about the history of certain fairy tales (Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty). And it really reminded me, as Mythic Journeys always does, that this is what's important to me. The act of creation, the sharing and telling of stories. The understanding of where our stories, our fairy tales, our myths, come from and why they are important. I left there feeling rejuvenated as a creative and spiritual person. I find it fascinating that certain people, certain moments, certain works of art can make me feel this way. Can actually change my outlook on things and remind me what's truly important. I just wish I had those reminders more often, because, as we all do, I sometimes lose track of my path, and wander in the woods for a time, feeling more and more lost and alone and uncertain, until one of those moments or people comes along and shows me my path again. That is what we all need to spend more time cultivating. An understanding of our path. Not just where we are going, not just where we have been or where we are now, but the whole arc of our own story, and how our stories fit in with others.
Well. After all that seriousness, I think it's time to go back to my lovely apartment for some clarinet and some writing time. I'll be back here again soon, to post about book progress and whatnot.