"What Dragons Prefer" podcast!

I'm delighted to announce my very first podcast publication!

Not only that, but it's a resale (can't call it a reprint, can I?) of my first professionally published story. "What Dragons Prefer" is a short fantasy tale with a wicked twist at the end. It first appeared in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine in 1996.

You can listen to "What Dragons Prefer" here or download it for future audio pleasure on your computer or iPod.

Because, that's right, it's free! So go forth and enjoy!

My mother never said "If you think too hard, you'll hurt yourself."

So I was just sitting at the computer trying to come up with a short story idea for an anthology, and apparently thinking hard is enough to pop a rib or two out of place. I'm back from the chiropractor now (my regular visit was this morning…), undoubtedly bruised (apparently I have strong muscles that require adjustments to be near violent to actually work) with orders to ice my shoulder for 45 minutes.

No writing. No sewing. No computer work. Sit and ice.

Well, fine then. My writing has been sucking like a 2-ton sucky thing anyway.

Just can't find the words

Ever have one of those days (or several days) where you're afraid to say something or write something because every time you do, your words/intent are misconstrued? Or, I suppose, they're coming out wrong (because you're not blaming the other people for not understanding).

Problem is, I need to deal with certain things today; I can't put them off. Which means everything is going to take 9 times as long as I agonize over every word and phrase to make sure I'm saying what I really mean to be saying.

Sigh. Wish me luck!

Thursday 13: Thirteen Favorite Things

(I’m going to skip the blindingly obvious, like, say, Ken, and my cats, and Styx.)

1. The lace-edged Post-It Notes I keep in my purse.
   
2. Otters.
   
3. PG Tipps tea. It’s my daily tea, so it must be my favorite. The rose tea from the Huntington Library is my favorite “special” tea, and I just got my hands on Glengettie, a Welsh tea (!) (despite the name), and ohmigods is it good! It would be my daily tea if it weren’t a wee bit pricey in comparison to PG Tipps (which, as an import, isn’t exactly cheap-like-Liptons).
   
4. Cheese. A good stinky bleu (I love Trader Joe’s ), a slightly runny Brie, a sharp biting cheddar, a salty mizithra, creamycreamycheeseycreamy cheese… Bring ‘em on!
   
5. Rose-scented anything.
   
6. The sound of running water: a brook, a fountain…
   
7. Pre-Raphaelite artwork.
   
8. The microwave, the rice/veg steamer, and the George Foreman grill. Without those, I’d probably starve to death.
   
9. ICanHasCheezburger.com
   
10. The nesting pair of red-tailed hawks that lives in the high trees by the 1904 church about two blocks away.
    
11. My friends all over the world. I squee every time I get a comment in my journal, or an e-mail, or a phone call….
    
12. Silk.
    
13. Reuben sandwiches. I make ‘em with pastrami or turkey, low-fat Swiss, low-fat Thousand Island dressing, rye (natch), and mounds of sauerkraut, on the aforementioned George Foreman grill. Yum!
    

If you can't laugh, what's the point?

Morgana and Brian came over tonight to watch last week’s episode of Eureka, which they’d forgotten to record and thus had asked me not to delete off the DVR. They then watched the most recent episode, and after I finished talking to Ken (who finally had a U-Haul and was about to drive the rest of the way to Oregon, after many annoyances and further delays), I watched the latter half with them. I’d watched only 40 minutes of it up ‘til then anyway.

If you’re concerned about spoilers, don’t read the next few paragraphs. Skip to the next section.

Dammit! Stupid show! I’m so not happy that they killed off Nathan. (Although, as Morgana said, it’s a time paradox, and you never know…) If they’d done it last season when he was still just a jerk, fine. But he and Jack had a great conflict banter, and he wasn’t a bad guy, even if his ego barely fit in the building. (Oh, his reaction when Jack asked him that…to raise his eyes and gauge whether the building really was big enough. So sardonic. Loved it.)

My favorite interchange between them was, I think, in the first season, when Nathan wouldn’t even say Jack’s name. Jack walked in and Nathan said, “Sheriff.” And Jack replied, “Scientist.” Hee!

But here’s the thing. With Nathan out of the way, once Allison gets over her grief, there’s nothing standing between her and Jack. And that’s not interesting anymore. Love triangles are monumentally more interesting.

So I’m just going to hope for a time paradox tweak.

~ ~ ~

I’m sorry to have been such a slacker about rambling here. I hate not keeping up with things, because it makes the days slip by even faster… Sometimes I’m talking to Ken and I can’t really remember what I’ve been doing. I’ve been doing lots of stuff, but it all blurs together and just fails to be interesting. Even doing a talk at LARA with two other writers, and going out to lunch with a few ladies afterwards. Or lunch with my trainer (Katrina) and my training partner (Jen) (Katrina’s no longer working for the gym, and it’s ugly, and…ugh.) Let’s face it, errands and cat litter scooping and doing dishes just aren’t scintillating conversation. And it’s hard to talk about writing, even with other writers sometimes.

And then I think of other perfect moments. Of doing a full moon ritual with Morgana and Brian and Caterine and Eleanor and Janet, because Morgana was teaching Eleanor and Janet her Wicca 101 class and it was, after all, the full moon. It’s so…so…so uplifting to see their reactions, to know that even if this isn’t the path they eventually follow, they’ll have a broader, more open outlook. And it was so wonderful to spend the day with Caterine (I took her out for sushi, and we talked for hours); I wish she hadn’t had to move just far enough away that it’s not easy to see her, but not really that hard, either, even with gas prices what they are.

I worked out with Jen on Tuesday, and it was the first time I’d been to the gym since coming back from RWA Nationals. I’m grumpy at the gym in general for forcing Katrina out, but so far I haven’t found a decent option to change to (I’ve got one more gym to check out), so I guess I’m here for the count. Jen and I are looking at maybe doing the online training program Katrina offers.

My massage therapist makes me laugh and I make her laugh, and she gives me insight into what it’s like to be cute and single and navigating through a world full of clueless men (not that all men are clueless, mind you. But we agree that many are just as insecure as women are.). All while helping put me back together. I still hurt. But not as much as I used to. We take our successes where we find them.

~ ~ ~

And then there’s the writing. But more about that later. Now it’s time to curl up in bed with a good book, and then sleep…

Because I really should start getting to bed earlier in preparation for my godawful disgustingly early flight this coming Tuesday. Bleargh.

---

Currently Reading: The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes, Jennifer Crusie, Eileen Dreyer, Anne Stuart
Lately Listened To: Hannah Fury, various
Recently Watched: Eureka

...aaaand then you lose a little more

Ken's in Washington, headed back to Oregon.

And the clutch just went on the bike.

Bloody hell.  :-(

You win some, you lose some, but you always learn something in the process

Ken was on a 7-day motorcycle last week, one that took him all over the continental US (there was a bonus location in Alaska, but I don’t think anyone tried for it). He left on a Thursday from Nebraska, and around midnight that night called to tell me that he’d be at Pink’s the next day at 1:30 p.m., and could I meet him there? Well, duh? Given that I hadn’t seen him since July 2, there was no question. Driving 4.5 hours total (abysmal Friday LA traffic) was worth 1.5 hours to stand in a loooong line and eat a hot dog with my beloved. (I had a Rosie O’Donnell Long Island Dog—mustard, onions, chili, and sauerkraut*—yum!)

Of course, to actually get Pink’s as a bonus point, he had to have a hot dog at another deli…in New York City.

Yeah, it’s that crazy.

Anyway, the longest rally he’s done so far has been 3 days, I think, so this one was a challenge, one he’d been looking forward to. His ultimate goal is the Iron Butt Rally: essentially 11,000 miles in 11 days (yeah…), and this was a step in proving he could do a real mult-day rally.

He was doing great. A few hiccups that he recovered from (misreading the Martha’s Vineyard ferry schedule, oversleeping by 4 hours), but overall, he had a good sense that he was going to make a podium finish.

Three hours from the end, the rear drive on the bike failed.

Now, with the LT (which he used to ride) this was a know problem, although BMW won’t cop to that. Note that two of his LTs had rear drive failures. They swore, however, that the GT (his bike since last year) didn’t have the same problem. Hah.

The folks in charge of the rally tallied his points, and had he made it in, he would’ve been the clear winner by a buttload of points.

So, yeah.

All things told, Ken’s pretty pragmatic about it. He learned a hell of a lot, including the fact that he could survive a multi-day rally, much less nail one. And the way things worked out, a hell of a lot of people know how things sussed out, too.

And at CCR in a few weeks, he’ll be having a wee talk with a BMW rep. :-)

But can I say that I’m beyond way proud of him?

---

*because a girl’s gotta have her veggies, don’tcha know

Thursday 13: Thirteen Books I Brought Back from RWA Nationals

1. The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes, Jennifer Crusie, Eileen Dryer, Anne Stuart (and signed by the latter two, plus they gave me a Dogs and Goddesses bumper sticker! Squee!)
   
2. Betrayed, Jamie Leigh Hansen
   
3. Night’s Rose, Annaliese Evans (ARC) (a person I was in line with convinced me to get it—all they had to say was “erotic fairy tale” and I was so there!)
   
4. Eve of Darkness, S.J. Day
   
5. Night Keepers, Jessica Anderson (why didn’t I think of writing a contemporary fantasy about the Mayan end of the world in 2012, oh why?!)
   
6. Dark Needs at Night’s Edge, Kresley Cole (yeah, it’s a vampire novel, but it’s also got the ghost of a famous ballerina from the last century)
   
7. A Little Bit Wicked, Victoria Alexander (I don’t “get” Regencies, but I’ve been saying that I’d be willing to read a good one, and this was a freebie, and she was a great speaker)
   
8. What a Lady Wants, Victoria Alexander (see #7)
   
9. Skinny Dipping, Connie Brockway (Phaedra took one look at the title and said “Oh, a book for you!”)
   
10. No One Heard Her Scream, Jordan Dane
    
11. The Undead Next Door, Kerrelyn Sparks (another vampire one, but it looks funny, so I ‘ll give it a try. I know there are good vampire books out there…I just don’t always know how to find them)
    
12. Silent in the Sanctuary, Deanna Raybourn
    
13. The Hollow, Nora Roberts (okay, technically I’m cheating with this one, since I bought it beforehand to read on the trip. But I brought it back with me, too, and this is Thursday Thirteen and I needed a 13th book. ::gg::)
    

If I had more time/energy/wherewithall, I'd post links and covers, but...nah!

July stats

8 stories subbed
8 stories rejected
1 story sold

9 novel submissions (for 2 novels)
2 novel rejections (same novel)

Sale! For a good cause!

It's a reprint sale, but still one to be delighted about! "Just Be" will appear in the Phaze Books charity anthology Coming Together: At Last. All proceeds of the Coming Together anthologies go to a charity or relief fund, including breast cancer research, the 2007 Southern California wildfires, HIV/AIDS, and more. Coming Together: At Last is a collection of interracial erotic fiction and will benefit Amnesty International. I'm proud to be a part of it!

The anthology will be out in 2009; I'll post ordering information when I have it.

* "Sale" is something of a misnomer, as I will only receive some comp copies. Normally I don't write for no pay, but this was for a really good cause!

Photos from RWA Nationals

My photos from RWA Nationals can be viewed here. No telling when I'll have the brainpower to write up the experience (today was mostly a washout) but rest assured it was fabulous!

Writers in some of the photos:

Teresa Noelle Roberts (one of my coauthors and best friends)

Phaedra Weldon (the other half of my brain)

Christine Ashworth (my travel buddy and dear, dear friend)

Portia da Costa

Madelynne Ellis

Eden Bradley

Jax Cassidy

The cat from Wales

Home from RWA Nationals. Dead tired, yet somehow floating. Maybe that's the wine. Or the information and experiences swirling in my brain.

More when I'm coherent again!

All the ways of my life, I'd rather be with you

Ten years ago today, my beloved and I ran off to Gretna Green, Scotland, and eloped.

It wasn’t our first plan, not by far. We’d gotten handfasted in California as an engagement ceremony before we moved to Wales, and intended to move back in a year and plan a big SCA wedding. But the British government had other plans. Apparently my plan to stimulate their economy by being supported by my husband and spending lots of money on tourist travel and antiques and whatnot was only feasible to them if we had this particular piece of paper.

(They lied, by the way. We didn’t have to be married for me to get that damned visa. They lied and took away my lavish ceremony. Two husbands, three ceremonies [four if you count the handfasting], and I still haven’t had what I’d consider the perfect ceremony. I’ve come to terms with that. Goodness knows two of the ceremonies are such great stories, nobody would believe them if I wrote it in a book. Large ceramic ALFs. A drunken Scotsman trying to beat down his new bride's door. That's just the tip of the iceberg.)

But I digress. The point is, if we had to get married, in Britain, this was the place to do it.

Our attendants were Elizabeth and Chris Flagge, SCAdians we’d met only twice before. When they heard at our second meeting that we were running off to elope, they asked who our witness were, and we said, “Erm, we were just going to grab someone out of the chip shop across the street…” They brought something old, etc., as well as a bouquet for me, which was so unexpected and sweet (I still have the pence for my shoe). They also brought Elizabeth’s (I think) mother, who took pictures and was just lovely. (Sadly, we’ve lost touch—if you’re reading this, guys, send me an address or phone number!)

We were married in the Registry Office in the room for 20 people (remember, there were only 5 of us, and 4 of us were standing up) because the room for 8 was already booked. Our Registrar, Donna, had a delightful Scottish accent.

Afterwards, we had our picture taken over the historic anvil, took our entourage out to lunch, then hopped on the bike and spent the weekend in the southwest of Scotland.

It’s strange…we don’t usually celebrate this anniversary, because it’s just not the important one for us. The day we moved in together (February 25, 1996) was really the day we made our commitment to each other. Our handfasting (March 14, 1998) comes a close second. This one, not so much.

Today is our 10th, though, and we have to celebrate it apart, and that’s making me feel maudlin and droopy.

So I’m looking at pictures of that day (except I can’t find the one of us and the anvil), and quietly celebrating that even if we can’t be together, we are together. 983 miles means nothing to the heart.

So tell me something about the person (or persons) of your heart. About your ceremony (any kind) or your favorite memory. Help me celebrate this day….

I broke down...

...and joined Facebook. Drop by and say hi!

(I'm already on MySpace here.)

LoJ 2008 photos!

Labyrinth of Jareth photos finally uploaded—you can view them here!

Submit or perish!

Pooh. Realms of Fantasy passed on “Oroflex (Patent Pending),” saying “this is a cute fairy tale variant, but I’m trying to cut back on those a bit.” Just my luck to get an editor who’s on a literary subgenre diet!

But I had a stack of returned stories to send out today anyway, so here’s what happened:

• “Soulsearching” to Coyote Wild
  
• “Hell’s Belles” (reprint) to Clonepod
  
• “The Queen’s Gardener” to Doorways
  
• “Matchmaker” to Serpentari.us
  
• “A Familiar(’s) Tale” to Renard’s Menagerie
  
• “Oroflex (Patent Pending)” to F&SF
  

I have no idea where to send “A Father’s Blessing” right now, but some markets open up on 8/1, so I can wait a week or so.

---

Currently Reading: Heaven Sent, Christina Jones
Lately Listened To: 7 Deadly Zens, Tommy Shaw
Recently Watched: Graham Norton, The Middleman

Onslaught...brace yourself!

I just added back posts from 7/4, 7/6, 7/7, 7/8, 7/9, and 7/11, in case anyone's interested.

Now I have to catch up about Labyrinth of Jareth, my talk at the Alternative Lifestyles Group, the latest Styx show, Meg's visit…but right now, I'm off to the gym!

Important note to self

It's perfectly acceptable to stay up until 3 a.m. Thursday night when you've gotten home from a Styx show at 1:30 a.m. and you're still buzzed from all the love your boys showered on you (it was, after all, your 75th show. And you did put a light stick in your cleavage.).

It's entirely acceptable to stay up until 3 a.m. Friday night because Meg is visiting and you can't stop talking to each other.

It's not acceptable to stay up until 3 a.m. tonight, because you have to be on the road to the LARA meeting at 8 a.m.

This is your only reminder. Pay attention…

Fabulous Whitby is finally here!

Great news! The anthology Fabulous Whitby, which contains my story "Proof of Devotion" (which I wrote all the way back in 2002 at the Oregon Coast Writers Master Class!), is finally available!  ::squee bouncity::

Right now, amazon doesn't seem to be supporting it well: amazon.com doesn't list it at all, and amazon.co.uk and amazon.ca are listing it as out of stock or whatnot.

The good news is, you can order it from a place called York Publishing Services out of the UK.

The better news is, they charge only $3.99 to deliver to the US, which is the same as what they charge to deliver in the UK (using the current exchange rate). That's right—international shipping is the same as UK shipping!

Click on the link above to go to the Fabulous Whitby order page. I'm soooo excited about this one. I'm in an anthology with Liz Williams and Esther Friesner and Cherith Baldry and Jay Lake andandand…!

Haunted Hearths: more great reviews!

Rainbow Reviews called my story the "the unexpectedly romantic heart-wrenching 'Some Old Lover's Ghost.'"  ::beam::

Queerhorror and Bay Windows also have lovely things to say about the anthology as a whole. Yay!