Interviewed!

Kate Willoughby of the Los Angeles RWA posted a really fun interview with me here in her blog. (Thanks, Kim!)

Enjoy!

Back to the world

Words Written: DFL 20K over the course of 6 days.
Writing Stats: a few acceptances and a few rejections. I’ll update soon.
Exercise: walking on the beach.

I’m back in Hillsboro at Ken’s apartment. Survived the BIAW at the beach. Mostly braindead, but in a good way. Just struggling to get my brain actively working on something other than writing-related stuff.

I fly home tomorrow, and will of course have a ton of stuff to catch up on, but I’ll try to post a summary of the week soon. I thought I’d keep a daily log, but… I’m still not sure why I didn’t. I had so much to say, about what I was learning about my process, and the house, and my fellow writers, but in the end, I kind of didn’t want to. As if it were almost too personal, too private. We’ll see how I feel in a few days.

Once I’m home, I have to dive in to the edits of the rest of Waking the Witch in case the agent wants to see the full manuscript. I need to have that done by the end of the month, since we’re leaving on the 30th or 31st for the UK. (Ken’s buying another machine for the company here, so of course we’re going. We’ll probably have a day or two for sightseeing/fun stuff. If anyone’s in the Newport area and wants to swing by and say hi, let me know!) Anyway, once WtW is done, I’ll get back to DFL. I’d like to finish it by the middle of November, do another pass through, and then get it out to first readers. But other things may change that plan—Teresa and I have a proposal with our Black Lace editor, for example.

Now, however, it’s time for chicken-garlic pizza, and then I have to transfer all my stuff from motorcycle bags to my suitcase…

---

Currently Reading: something by Jenny Crusie, but the book’s not close at hand
Lately Listened To: Eurythmics’ Greatest Hits

Coasting

Words Written: “Behind the Masque,” ~1500
Writing Stats: Talking about writing!
Exercise: walking

So, here I am on the Oregon Coast. Ken and I rode out yesterday with Ernie & Pauline, and Jeff, the latter who let us borrow his K1200GT for the ride to Tillamook so we could try it out. (Ken’s thinking of it for his next bike.) Needs a better set and the passenger pegs readjusted for someone with, oh, legs (I’m a passenger, dammit, not a jockey!), but otherwise it’s pretty nice. Still considering. Anyway, we had lunch at the Tillamook Cheese Factory (cheese!), but didn’t have time for the tour because the other folks had places to be, and we were all going to ride to Newport together. Which we did, and then Ken and I split off and went to the Newport Aquarium.

Otters! Otters otters otters. One, who I believe was female, curled up against the glass and kept pressing her nose against the glass every time Ken looked at her. I’m sure if the glass hadn’t been there, she would have been trying to rub noses with him. Too adorable—I hope my photos come out. And there were moon jellies, and regular jellyfish smaller than my thumbnail, and an octopus, and purple starfish… The place was smaller than I expected, but no matter. There were otters!

We repaired to our hotel, whereupon Ken collapsed into a nearly two-hour nap. I napped a bit, checked e-mail, gazed at the gorgeous ocean view out our window. Now, while we were at the aquarium, I was looking at the salmon and insisting they should be pinky-orange on the outside, and Ken said, “Ooh, sushi for dinner?” But by the time we were ready for dinner, we were so hungry we hit the hotel restaurant, and ended up having a stellar meal. (Cajun garlic prawns and a glass of Chardonnay for me, salmon and zin for him.) Then it was back to the room for lounging and a loooong night’s sleep.

We got up here in time for the weekly writerly lunch, which was fun, and then we were able to get into our beach house. I chose the smallest room because it has the best view of the ocean. :-) That’s worth having to go downstairs for the bathroom. There are five of us; two people I’ve been in workshops with before and two I met for the first time today. All at different places in our careers, all with different projects to work on. Should be fun! We nipped out for food and supplies, ate dinner, and then sat around rambling about writing. The biggest distraction here won’t be TV (there are four in the house. Four!) or even the ocean, but the company.

But now it’s just about 11 p.m., and I’m going to work on a story collab with Teresa, then curl up in bed with the notes for DFL and refamliarize myself with the novel. Tomorrow, the fun really starts!

---

Currently Reading: Mystic and Rider, Sharon Shinn
Lately Listened To: random Cyndi Lauper from iTunes

Well, that's encouraging!

Words Written: “Behind the Masque,” ~500
Writing Stats: Received payments for “Subtle” (Secret Slaves) and “Busted” (Caught Looking)
Exercise: walking

About an hour and a half before I was set to walk out the door and catch my plane to Portland, I got an e-mail from the assistant to my top choice of agents, asking me to send the first 50 pp. of the manuscript for which I’d sent a query and synopsis almost two months ago! Stop the presses! So it’s printed and I’m slapping stamps on the envelope. Don’t want to wait almost a week and a half to send it…

So, yeah, off to Portland again. Ken left yesterday on the bike and will be there in a few hours; I arrive via plane a bit later. Tomorrow morning, we’re off to the coast for a mini-vacation (the Newport Aquarium and the Tillamook Cheese Factory, among other things!). Sunday afternoon we’ll meet with Kris & Dean and Chris & Steve and the other usual suspects for lunch, and then I’ll toddle off to a beach house with five other writers to embark on a Book-in-a-Week retreat. I’ll walk out of there next Sunday with a completed draft of Designed for Love, come hell or high water. (And, knowing the Oregon Coast, there’s a good chance of high water!)

That’s about it for news. Been catching up on writing and editing since Ken left. I’m mostly packed, except for a few things in the wash, and I need to change my shirt. I won’t have easy Internet access while I’m there—I’ll pop out to the charming Internet café once or twice to drink rose-flavored white tea and do a quick check of e-mail to make sure there are no emergencies, but I probably won’t have time to post here.

See you on the flip side!

---

Currently Reading: Mystic and Rider, Sharon Shinn
Lately Listened To: random and various
Recently Watched: Dr Who, CSI

Help!

In a particularly spectacular boneheaded maneuver, I managed to not record the first new Dr. Who episode, although I do have the second one. Since I was to watch them in order...does anyone local possibly still have a copy of "The Christmas Invasion" that I could borrow?

On another note, I managed to buy myself a second copy of Bring It On, the suprisingly funny cheerleader movie starring Kirsten Dunst and (more importantly) Eliza Dushku. (Mmmm, Eliza in a cheerleading outfit...) So, if anyone would like a DVD, I'd be happy to pass it on.

The most wonderful time of the year

Words Written: none recently
Writing Stats: see below
Exercise: yes, but I’m not sharing the details [eg]

Lots of random writing-related stuff going on; I figured it would be easier to list it here than cram it all in above:

• Reviewed proof pages for “Make Me Come at the Ball Game,” to appear in Sex in Public.
  
• Sent ALNM to our editor! Whew!
  
• Two rejections and a sale: as Teresa noted, our Sophie story didn’t make the cut for Iridescence, although we each sold a solo story to that anthology; and I didn’t make it into another anthology, although I got word at the same time that I sold “College Reunion” to the C is for Co-Eds anthology! The editor is still reviewing submissions for D is for Dress-Up. (Yep, it’s probably going to be a full alphabet series.)
  
• Catching up on languishing submissions and getting returned stories back in the mail.
  
• Received comp copy of Caught Looking, in which the Sophie story “Busted” appears.
  

<>-<>-<>

Having a lovely time with Ken, of course, so not a lot of time to post here. Saturday we mostly pottered about and ran a few errands. In the evening, Morgana and Brian came over and we all watched the first Pirates of the Caribbean in preparation for seeing the second one again the following night (only Ken hadn’t seen the new one yet). Sunday, Ken’s mom came for a visit, and we ate lunch at Franky’s Place before wandering around the antique shops in downtown Ventura. Mom bought me a sandwich/cake tea server (not the common two- or three-tier kind, but one that’s hard to describe, and I can’t find a picture of it online! I’ll take a photo at some point.). We met up with M&B and had dinner at Applebee’s (which I thought I didn’t like, but they’ve redeemed themselves. Fresh mozzarella goes a long way to appeasing me.) before Mom headed home and we four went to the movies.

Today, more pottering and errands. Ken bought and installed shelves in the Shire shed; we’ll do the inventory before he leaves. We bought cool Halloween decorations, including a lighted arch and two fence-type pieces and a black feather wreath (I put black feather boa up the banister as garland). And I indulged in some Halloween socks, although really they’re just a purple and black design. I wandered through the store singing “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” because, let’s face it, Halloween is just way better than Christmas (except for the presents aspect). Oh, and because my writing files are spilling out of one file drawer, we bought a filing cabinet for SCA files (so it can go in the sewing/craft room), which will give me another drawer in the main cabinet. Which will allow me to file month’s worth of stuff that’s in a pile right now…

---

Currently Reading: Mystic and Rider, Sharon Shinn
Lately Listened To: Celtic Twilight, Vol. I
Recently Watched: Supernatural, Heroes, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Happy Birthday to Ken!

Happy birthday to my beloved Ken, who arrived home today for about a week's stay. We've gone out to lunch (BJ's Brewery, where I had a meatball-and-onion calzone and he had jambalaya) and we're going out to dinner tonight with friends. I've given him two of his presents: a book about the group Rush and a shirt that says "My wife writes romances. I benefit. Big time." that made him laugh and laugh. (I'd already bought and given him the new Queensryche CD so we could both start listening to it in preparation for the concert we're going to at the end of November. Which is kind of another present, even though we're both going.)

Feel free to send him birthday wishes at ken dot meese at mac dot com!

Song for the soul

Words Written: ALNM, more edits and more edits
Writing Stats: Sale (see below)! Alas, also a rejection from Realms of Fantasy for “Berengere.” Shawna included a nice handwritten note, though.
Exercise: walking around the Home Tour, stretching

Sale! “Just Be” has sold to Iridescence: Lovely Shades of Lesbian Erotica.

<>-<>-<>

Where has the week gone? Oh, yes, swallowed up by a mountain of stress. I’m not sure I’d entirely recovered from the last Portland trip by the time I jetted off to Virginia, so I’ve been feeling even farther behind. Add to that some extra work from the editing job (which is especially stressful for reasons I shan’t mention here so I don’t offend the author), and I haven’t had much chance to come up for air. Oh, I’ve been laying about and watching TV, but that’s only after my brain has turned to mush and my hip’s hurting something fierce (I’ve pulled out the sofa so I can lie down). I’ve also started icing my right forearm, as the copy editing has triggered my tendonitis.

The good news is that Sarah and I have gotten through all of the edits on ALNM! I have one scene to tweak (probably amounting to writing all of two sentences), and then I have to put the chapters into one file, run a spellcheck with UK spelling, and change all the double quotes to single quotes. Then it’s off to the charming Adam, a month and a half early! Just in time to get some anthology stories written before I run off to the Oregon Coast for a week’s intense work on DFL.

And more good news: Ken’s on his way home as I type this. He could arrive any time after 4 a.m., although it would make sense (to me, anyway) that he stop somewhere and sleep. Then again, he really wants to be home… Tomorrow’s his birthday, and we’ll be having dinner with friends at The Greek (Fantastic Greek food! Hot dancing girls! Yay!).

<>-<>-<>

So in Virginia I had my first-ever book signing. I’ve signed stock locally as well as in Portland, Seattle, and other stores in the Norfolk, VA, area, but this was wildly beyond all that.

We didn’t get a huge crowd, but I didn’t expect one; I’m an unknown author, not even local. Scott, Sarah’s husband, manages the store and arranged the deal, and he’d told his customers about me, though. Sarah was my first-ever buyer (Scott wouldn’t let her borrow or buy the book until then!), and her mom and dad, and their friends visiting from England, also bought books. My friends Kathy and Bob (whom I met in Hawaii 9 years ago) also dropped by; I’d already signed Kathy’s book when we’d had lunch earlier in the week, but they bought the two anthologies Scott had on hand at my table (Sex on the Move and Sex in the Kitchen). A guy and his daughter (I think) chatted with me about the business of publishing (she wrote historical fiction). And I absolutely have to give a huge shout-out to Tory from the games store in the mall, though. I was sitting there, flipping through a magazine, when this enthusiastic person bounded through the door exclaiming how thrilled she was that I was still there, and she’d shake my hand except she had a cold, and… I told her I had a cold, too, and firmly shook her hand. She was just the sweetest thing. I felt like I had a fan. She was just utterly thrilled to have me sign the book for her. Tory, hope you enjoy the book. You rock.

Scott said I outsold the last person they had in, who was a nationally known author. But most importantly, I had a blast.

<>-<>-<>

The Home Tour was a success. I didn’t get to tour all the homes because Morgana and Brian and Tomi and I went out for brunch first, and in the afternoon I was a docent at Morgana and Brian’s house. My back and hip were killing me by the end of that, so I went home and vegged. Although I had fun, in hindsight I shouldn’t schedule something like that right on the heels of a trip. And I’m still bummed that I didn’t get to see a couple of the houses or go on the downtown tour. Next year!

---

Currently Reading: Fool Moon (Book Two of the Dresden Files), Jim Butcher
Lately Listened To: Celtic Twilight, Vol. 1, various
Recently Watched: CSI; Without a Trace; Eureka

(Photo by Barry Rodker. Thanks!)

From the unshadowed 4th row

Words Written: ALNM, lots and lots of edits, snippets of new scenes
Writing Stats: nothing of note
Exercise: dancing at the show

ALNM is done! We started a new ritual, of having Fiona (Sarah’s 9-year-old daughter) type “The End”. Now, we’d had a full manuscript already, but our editor wanted some substantial changes, and by about halfway through we’d pretty much abandoned the old version. So it’s all new enough to call it a new ms., as far as we’re concerned. We’ve reviewed the first six chapters and they’re officially final; I’m going to do a run-through of the rest and send them to Sarah, and then we’ll have one or two phone confabs to work out any final questions. Then it’s off to Adam, in enough time for me to focus on getting the beginning of DFL back in my head so I can finish it at the BIAW retreat in Oregon next month. Hoo-rah.

The Foreigner/Styx concert was a blast. I hadn’t seen Foreigner live before, and they were a lot of fun. Their new lead singer has obviously studied Steven Tyler’s moves in depth. My new concert shirt went over very well; Sarah said that at the end, when the band was tossing pics and taking bows, the keyboardist nudged the lead singer and pointed at me, and the lead singer said something and nodded happily. And to think I was back in the fourth row.

More charmingly, Ricky recognized me in the fourth row, pointed at me, and waved enthusiastically! When we were able to move forward, he came to the edge of the stage (which was beyond where Lawrence’s keyboards were set up) and got my attention again. What a sweetie. Lawrence either gave his water bottle to me or the 16-year-old boy next to me (by that time we were against the stage), but I have longer arms and got it. So I turned and handed it to the boy’s dad, who gave it to the boy, who was incredulous and grateful. Hey, I’ve already got two; I believe in sharing the love. It was the kid’s first show, and he said he wants to go to more. Yay him! Yay his dad!

Okay, I got through chapters 7 through 12 on the plane, before Afalwen’s battery pretty much reached its limit and my brain was pretty much in the same place. I’m safely home now, and although it’s going to be crazy-busy again this week, chances are I’ll be able to update a little more often!

---

Currently Reading: just finished Ghosts in the Snow, Tamara Siler Jones; about to start Fool Moon (Book One of the Dresden Files), Jim Butcher
Lately Listened To: …But You Can Call Me Larry, Gowan
Recently Watched: the little black letters across the white screen

Virginia is for lovers

Words Written: ALNM ~1500. There were edits in there so I didn’t pay close attention.
Writing Stats: Sales! One solo story and one Sophie story to Second Skins. The Sophie story is going to be expanded into a novel soon. :-)
Exercise: um…does video-watching count?

So I’m happily here in Virginia. The only thing I forgot this time was the power cord for Afalwen, and the replacement cost me a pretty penny—but it can live in the laptop case along with my other travel cords. (Why does everything I own seem to need charging now? Laptop, phone, Palm, iPod, wireless Bluetooth headset that doesn’t seem to work right anyway…)

Saturday evening I babysat Fiona while Sarah and Scott went out to dinner and a movie for their anniversary. Fiona requested Red Robin, so we ate there (got only a little lost, hee), and we rented Splash at her request. We also played a game and generally hung out. Fun.

Sunday was a BBQ at Sarah’s mom’s house, which was also fun and mellow thanks in part to the two bottles of Chardonnay I contributed to the cause.

Today we had lunch with Fiona at her school, after which Sarah dropped me of at a wi-fi café so I could catch up on e-mail and work stuff (she has only dial-up at home, and flakey dial-up at that). After that we hunkered down to get some work done on ALNM. Chapter 15 is done, Chapter 16 is pretty close. Probably two more chapters left, and then we’ll do a final pass through. Some of the earlier chapters need some trimming, and there are a few things we need to add in towards the beginning.

The only downside to this wild holiday of fun and writing is that I may be getting a cold. Could also be allergies, and it would be nice if it was only that. Mostly in my throat right now, but my eyes are a little tired/itchy, and it remains to be seen whether my sinuses are gearing up to be part of the festivities.

---

Currently Reading: Storm Front (Book One of the Dresden Files), Jim Butcher
Lately Listened To: various radio
Recently Watched: videos!

Drunk on books

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Katze-Kratzer-Fieber?!

We got word from our editor today that Cat Scratch Fever has been purchased for German publication! How cool is that?!

(I have no idea if the title will be the same as above--that's just a direct translation via babelfish.com.)

To do-be-do-be-do-be

Words Written: lalala
Writing Stats: Anna Genoese talk! Local romance writer contacts!

Exercise: hah

This is not a good time of year for Ken to be gone, oh no. Because this is the time of year when the Halloween stores open, and Morgana and I, not to put too fine a point on it, go absolutely apeshit insane.

Ahem.

So there is no one here to be the voice of reason and tell me I don’t need a spooky forest in the front yard.

<>-<>-<>

Friday’s stress continued into Saturday, when on my trip down south the main road I needed to take on the last leg of the trip was inexplicably closed halfway to where I needed to go. The detour dumped me into a residential area, which of course had wibbly streets and no clear exits. Meanwhile, the main street in question was in two counties and between pages in the Thomas Guide, so I was flipping between four or five pages to try to figure out an alternate route. I arrived late, but thankfully nothing had really started yet.

The stress was totally worth it. I met a bunch of lovely, warm, welcoming women, and Anna Genoese’s talk was awesome. Not so much her talk, but her critique of five query letters. I can see now why mine didn’t pass muster—and that’s invaluable information. Some of the attendees thought Anna’s crits were overly harsh, but having read her blog, I didn’t think so. Well, yes, they were harsh. But she sounded exactly like she does in her blog, so I wasn’t surprised. Plus, let’s face it, this is an endeavor where rejection is more common than acceptance, and if you can’t separate yourself from your work, you’re in the wrong job. She might have been harsh, but it didn’t affect me emotionally. I was there to learn. Funny, today I spent quite some time working through Miss Snark’s latest Crapometer, and she’s just as, if not more harsh. And I learned invaluable information from that, too.

The drive home was less eventful, although I did hit some traffic through LA. Overall, I guess it wasn’t as bad as Teresa’s trip to speak at the NH RWA—she got a flat tire. I think I got off easy by comparison. (Er…unintended pun…nevermind.)

So, other than reading Miss Snark today, I’ve been steadily churning through e-mail and my To Do list. I got almost everything done on the list for today, which rather amazes me. In part because I still feel like I’m far behind and haven’t gotten anything done. Silly brain, no wine. (Oh, who am I kidding? Of course there’s wine allowed!)

And in the words of Chris de Burgh, “Oh Lord, I'm tired, it's time to go to bed / Way after midnight, and the wine's gone to my head,” so off I should go. (Although, hm, I should put on my To Do list to add Chris de Burgh CDs to my wishlist, because I seem to be lacking some…)

---

Currently Reading: Seal Island, Kate Brallier; Hunting Midnight, Emma Holly
Lately Listened To: it’s been kinda quiet around here…
Recently Watched: Eureka

Beware the insidious stress bunny

Words Written: lalala
Writing Stats: nothing to report.

Exercise: walking

And in the Small World Category, today Morgana and I went over to a neighbor’s house to be interviewed about the Hersterical Society, the neighborhood monthly get-together of women in and around the Historic District. Turns out the reporter is also an RWA member and writes erotic romance. She didn’t even know about the LA RWA group, though. I sense lunch sometime soon…

<>-<>-<>

I’m a total stress bunny right now. Despite the work I did while in Portland, I’ve come home to find myself behind on a lot of things. Plus there’s what should have been a simple project that has turned into a project-by-committee, with me in the middle trying to juggle stuff flying at me and somehow turn it around into a coherent product. All of this is throwing a spanner in the writing works, and I’m getting downright cranky from lack of writing. And, I’m getting up painfully early tomorrow to drive two hours to the Orange County RWA meeting, because Anna Genoese of Tor is speaking. I’m excited, but not looking forward to the lack of sleep, the early rise, or the drive. (I’m extremely nearsighted, and to correct my vision to close to 20/20 results in making things really small—which means I can’t read street signs until I’m practically under them. And I haven’t had time to beat the GPS software on my Palm into submission and make it function properly. Thankfully, the directions to the meeting are very simple.)

Then, next week will be busy with meetings and appointments and getting ready for my trip to Virginia, to see my best friend Sarah and go to a Styx concert and have my first book signing! So it all eventually will be good; it’s just getting to the goodness that’s stressful.

Somehow, that sounds like something that belongs on a bumper sticker.

---

Currently Reading: Sanctuary, Nora Roberts; Hunting Midnight, Emma Holly
Lately Listened To: Legend soundtrack; Rob Roy soundtrack
Recently Watched: Bones

Indulgences

Words Written: nothing yet
Writing Stats: Ah, Labor Day: Time for editors to clean out their slush piles. Came home from Seattle to find three rejections: “A Father’s Blessing” from Orson Scott Card’s Medicine Show, “Queen of Hearts, Hand of Fate” from Farthing, and “The Rising” from Abyss & Apex, which said “It was well received here, but after some thought we have decided not to accept it for publication.” Which is better than a poke in the eye with a short stick.

Exercise: stretching

I’m en route home from Portland to Oxnard. It’s been a wonderful vacation, and I’m sorry to leave, as much as I miss the cats and the house (and need to pay bills and whatnot). I miss Ken more, though, already.

So, yes, a wonderful time. Oh, there were bad things, too—the airline losing my suitcase and then delivering it at 3 a.m., the three-day headache of doom, the late start to Seattle because the bike service took longer than expected, etc.—but I won’t focus on those.

So much good food and such good friends on this trip! We went out for Indian food (delectable shrimp biryani…) with Lev and Gayle, and spent a fantastic evening talking and laughing with them. We ate at a great Thai place near the apartment and at a Schlotzky’s Deli while the bike was being worked on. There’s little better in the world than eating a piled-high Reuben at a good deli while sitting with my beloved.

It utterly gladdened my heart to see Vicki-Marie again, and the Seattle trip was both relaxing and invigorating. She’s one of those people who make you feel smarter just for having talked to her—not that she teaches, but she brings out in you ideas and thoughts and opinions that you didn’t know you had, that you haven’t yet formed. Cecil, her friend with whom she was staying, was just charming. We ate many fine meals—Turkish/Mediterranean, Indian brunch, Italian (oh, gorgonzola-stuffed tortellini!)—and drank much fine wine and talked of period fence and Baroque music and Vicki-Marie’s thesis and the shapes of poetry and funnel witches and Marie Antoinette and… Sunday was the first day in as long as I can remember that I never really wondered what time it was. I checked the time once in the morning, when Ken and I decided to go for a walk before Cecil and Vicki-Marie got up and we wanted to let them know in a note what time we’d left, and Cecil mentioned in the evening the time to remind us we should rouse ourselves to go out to dinner.

We went to Pike’s Place Market, which wasn’t as grand as I’d expected, but was quite lovely, blooming with flowers and handmade gifts. I picked up a set of hand-blocked blank cards, and bought myself the perfect gift to celebrate the US release of Cat Scratch Fever. Actually, Ken insisted on buying it for me, saying it was more appropriate. It’s a pair of earrings, tiny handmade books no bigger than my thumbnail with handmade marbled purple covers. They can be made into memory books, if you can imagine something that small as such. I’ll shrink down tiny pictures of the CSF cover and our author photo to paste in, and write the date and other information on the delicate little pages. Just…perfect.

I signed stock at a Barnes & Noble in Seattle, and by the end of the conversation, the salesgirl said I’d given her hope to continue writing and submitting in the face of rejection. It brought tears to my eyes, and then again when Ken insisted on me showing him the signed books on the shelves, proudly displaying their “Autographed Copy” stickers, and insisted on taking my picture with them.

That’s all we had time for in Seattle. It was more of a spend-time-together visit than a sightseeing visit. But that’s okay. We’ll go back soon.

We rode back from Seattle through Ranier National Park and others: stately pines, cool meadows, twisty roads, deep shadows. Then we went to the nearest McMenamin’s, which may be my favorite. It used to be in a Victorian house, but now that houses only the pizza kitchen and they’ve built a restaurant behind it. We sat outside in the courtyard between the two, though, to enjoy the mellow evening. I indulged in their lovely Ruby Ale (which tastes of raspberries) and a chicken-pesto calzone.

I signed stock at Powell’s today, which was another huge thrill, because Powell’s is the bestest bookstore ever. I’d forgotten my camera, but took pictures with my phone. (I have no idea how to download them off the phone, but that’s a problem for another day.) There were several anthologies I have stories in face-out on the shelves, which was sort of…wondrous. Me. I have stories in all of those. Um, wow… I was good and bought only five books: The Blue Girl, Charles de Lint; To Serve and Submit, Susan Wright; Mystic and Rider, Sharon Shinn; Seal Island, Kate Brallier; and The Herb Bible. One YA, two SF/F, one paranormal romance, and one nonfiction. I’m not sure what that says. That I won’t be bored anytime soon, if nothing else.

---

Currently Reading: Morrigan’s Cross, Nora Roberts; Hunting Midnight, Emma Holly
Lately Listened To: Secret Portal, Scott Huckabay
Recently Watched: Lost

It's in stores now!

Words Written: various work on short stories, ALNM, Angelika synopsis
Writing Stats: Received contract for “Finding Perspective,” to appear in Ultimate Lesbian Erotica 2007. Received rejection from Tor for WtW proposal
Exercise: stretching, walking

So I went to Barnes & Noble today to find out about author signings and signed my first stock copies! Just holding the books in my hand… I know the book’s technically been out for months, and I have a stack of UK copies in the closet, but the US cover is so much prettier and somehow it feels more real. And watching the woman slap “Autographed Copy” stickers on the cover just made me feel all gushy inside. (The fact that I had developed an immediate crush on her, because she was cute and funny and articulate, had nothing to do with it, I swear.) So, local folks, go forth and buy! Please! If the store runs out, it looks really good if they have to order more because people are asking for it!

For local authors, they tend to do group signings, and the next one isn’t ‘til the spring, but she put my name on the list and we’ll see what happens.

Borders did not have any of the books in stock and their system showed that they weren’t ordering them, but I sweet-talked them into ordering five. They’ll be in by the time I’m back from Portland, and I’ll sign them then. I didn’t bother to ask them about an author signing.

I still need to check with an LA-based store, and also arrange a signing in Phoenix. My first actual signing will be in Virginia on 22 September, for anyone in that neck of the woods. Oh, and I plan to sign stock at Powells this week. :-)

This is beyond cool.

<>-<>-<>

Recent entry from my Forgotten English calendar: odditorium: A collection of curiosities. (Sample sentence: “Dayle’s brain is an odditorium.”)

<>-<>-<>

I added a new photo to the Faerieworlds set. Just having a little fun with the camera.

I also added two new photos to the Styx set and one to the Misc set, although all of these will show up first in the main page.

---

Currently Reading: Sanctuary, Nora Roberts
Lately Listened To: The Celts and The Memory of Trees, Enya
Recently Watched: Northern Exposure, Labyrinth, The Purple Rose of Cairo

Seattle

I'm going up to Portland next week, and as part of the trip we're going to Seattle to visit our dear friend Vicki-Marie, who herself is visiting from Paris. I've never been to Seattle, and there are several things I definitely want to see during the trip—most notably the underground tour and the Science Fiction Museum.

I don't know how much time we'll have for sightseeing vs. spending time with Vicki-Marie (which is our first priority), but I'd very much like suggestions of fun things to do and see in Seattle, good restaurants, etc. I know we won't be able to do everything we want to, so I'd love any and all recommendations!

(The picture above is from a previous trip of ours. That's me, the BMW K12LT we had at the time, and a glacier in the Swiss Alps.)

Flourishes

Words Written: “Sarita” 614
Writing Stats: Received contracts from Fabulous Whitby for “Proof of Devotion” and Sex in Public for “Make Me Come at the Ball Game”. Received comp copies of Tales of Travelrotica for Lesbians and The MILF Anthology. Both have very different, but very beautiful, covers. Rejections from Glimmer Train for “The Rising” and EscapePod for “The Sultan’s Sons” reprint, and return of “On Display” from Desire at Work because the antho has been cancelled.
Exercise: gym stuff, yoga, stretching, dancing

Whoops, didn’t mean to go so long without updating. Just…life going on, and little of it feels greatly newsworthy. Kind of like it’s summer, crops are growing…whereas autumn harvest will hopefully show the product.

The end of the week was fun, though! Thursday night I saw Dennis De Young (former lead singer of Styx) at the Canyon Club. I was loathe to go alone, but finally Teddie answered my e-mail and said she was going. For some reason, it didn’t even occur to me to ask Gillian if she was going (even though Ken swears we talked about it). Also, I’m sure I looked around online to see if Glen Burtnik (former bassist and guitarist for Styx at various times) was going to be there, and didn’t find info that he was. But he was! Alas, I didn’t bring my Styx shirt for him to sign—his is the only signature I don’t have, barring the two members who died before I started getting the shirt signed.

So we’re sitting there during the opening act (Mark Lennon of the band Venice, which opened for Styx in Germany in 2000…) when I register someone walking by in front of us. I turn to Teddie. “Was that Glen?” The two of us bolt out of our seats and head in that direction…to see him go into the men’s room. (What? Backstage has no men’s room? Dennis is hogging the backstage men’s room? Glen wanted to see if anybody would recognize him?)

When he came out, he came right over to talk to us (I think he recognized Teddie). She had a CD for him to sign, stuff to say…I had nuthin’. I babbled about being lame and not having anything for him to sign, and he just smiled and shook my hand. The worst (and funniest) part was, I had a barely controlled urge to hug him. I have no idea why. Possibly because I’d just hugged Gillian, Jenny, and Brett (Brent? Why can’t I ever remember his name?). Possibly because I’ve been hugged by several members of Styx, and Glen was familiar in the way that the rest of them are. Maybe just because he was cute and smiling and looked like he needed a hug. Luckily I was able to cross my arms and resist the urge. I’m sure I would’ve scared him to death.

I did buy one of his CDs (which I hadn’t even known existed) and after the show when he was on stage packing up his guitars, we got pictures with him and he signed my CD. So at least I got that. What a genuinely nice guy.

Oh, and I also bought a Sparky the Flying Dog shirt. If you understand that reference, I adore you beyond belief. (Tell me if you do!)

The show itself was fantastic. A little weird to hear Dennis again signing the songs I’ve been hearing Lawrence or JY sing for so long, but damn that man has an amazing voice. He might be a complete schmuck, but his talent is phenomenal.

This weekend I ran off to northern California for a conjugal visit with Ken and another Styx concert! Fran and I flew to Sacramento, rented a car, drove to Williams, and checked into Granzella’s Inn (the hotel affiliated with The Best Deli Ever!) before heading west into the mountains to the venue. The drive was gorgeous—I saw some of the most amazing specimens of California oaks I’ve ever seen, plus we drove by a pretty lake and it all made me a little homesick for the Adirondacks.

At the venue, we had dinner (I had an awesome lobster pasta dish) and Ken arrived and all was good. :-) The stage was thigh-high, the band was on fire (as always), and Lawrence cupped my cheek in his hand and I was all a-swoon. Plus I got a polaroid from him. Ken somehow ended up with a towel from JY and a drumstick from Todd (this is after joking as we walked in, that maybe my goal this year should be to get a towel from every band member, since I have Lawrence’s and Ricky’s already). After one particularly energetic song, Ricky mimed smoking motions at me. Why yes, thank you, I’m glad it was good for both of us! ;-)

Sadly, I had to fly back the next day, but I had all night to snuggle with my beloved. I’m going to go up and see him at the end of this month/beginning of next month (in part because our dear friend Vicki-Marie from Paris is in Seattle for a few weeks!), and we might be going to Britain at the end of next month…

<>-<>-<>

In writing news (because, yes, there is some in the midst of all of this!):

Sale! “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” won an honorable mention in the For the Girls Short Story Competition.

The new Black Lace Books website is up and running! You can read an interview with Teresa and I as Sophie, as well as a bio and other fun stuff.

Aaaand, Cat Scratch Fever got a lovely long review and 4/5 stars from Just Erotic Romance Reviews. A taste: "Sophie Mouette has a sizzling erotic romance with Cat Scratch Fever…. The twists and turns in the plot kept me guessing and I really liked the end, without a doubt…. Cat Scratch Fever is a very good erotic romance and I highly recommend this great read."

I’ve updated my website accordingly, including the judge’s nice comments about “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” Enjoy!

---

Currently Reading: Sanctuary, Nora Roberts
Lately Listened To: Styx, baybee!
Recently Watched: CSI: Miami

Where there's a widget, there's a way

Words Written: DFL editing; “Breakfast in Bed” 733
Writing Stats: Nothing of note to report.
Exercise: stretching, yoga

Like many writers/obsessives, I tend to sit too long at the computer. This is, of course, murder on my messed-up back. Even if I watch the clock, I tend to think, “Oh, just five more minutes to answer this e-mail” or whatever, and another half hour goes by, and I haven’t even changed position, much less gotten up and stretched.

I tried using a kitchen timer, but its ticking was too distracting. So finally I went searching for a widget for my Dashboard. (It’s a Mac thing—instead of putting widgets on your desktop and cluttering it up, you put them in your Dashboard, which you can access by keyboard or mouse click, and it comes up superimposed over whatever else is on your screen.) I found a great timer widget (with a lovely chime to tell me it’s time to move), a project widget that allows me to calculate total time on various projects (writing, work, e-mail/web stuff, etc.), and even one that counts down (4 days and 21 hours ‘til my next Styx concert!). Oh, and one that gives you the lyrics of whatever song is playing on iTunes.

My point is, the timer has been amazing for me. Several times I’ve not wanted to write, and I’ve told myself, just 15 minutes. The first time, I wrote over 500 words. That blew me away. I’ve always thought that at speed, I wrote 1000 words/hour. This means if I could keep the momentum, I could double that. Hot damn!

<>-<>-<>

Today was full of little annoyances. My chiro appt was good, but then I thought something was wrong with the car, and I couldn’t get hold of Ken to determine if it was a “yeah, you should have that checked sometime” problem or a “don’t even try to drive, call a tow truck” problem. I drove home and was then effectively housebound. I finally talked to him and decided to take it in, but then I took the chance of popping out the grocery store for one thing I needed to make tacos tonight, and I realized the noise is the same one that we’ve had for a while—some doohicky related to the air conditioner, which isn’t anything crucial and we’ll get fixed eventually. So that’s all good.

I’m also having a problem with my alternate e-mail account, the person I e-mailed about transferring our Dragon*Con memberships was downright rude to me (and the other person I e-mailed has been really busy and hasn’t written back—so I may end up eating the cost of the memberships, which royally sucks), and BBC America chopped the second season of Hex in half and doesn’t seem to be showing the “third season.”

But I’m okay. I went through the grumpycrankydistraught stage, and now I’m fine. I got some good writing done tonight, finishing up a languishing partial story that I realized would be perfect for an anthology that’s due tomorrow. I’ve printed out what I’ve done so far on DFL so I can refresh my memory of what I’ve done, make notes on what comes next, and see where to insert the new scenes I’ve recently written. Progress is always A Good Thing.

---

Currently Reading: Widdershins, Charles de Lint
Lately Listened To: not much
Recently Watched: Hex, CSI: Miami

...and so on

Words Written: DFL 674; “Face Reality” 373
Writing Stats: Received a note that the Fabulous Whitby contracts are finally being sent out, hurrah! Mailed WtW proposal to an editor and an agent.
Exercise: walking, stretching, yoga

Not a whole lot to report. I just feel like it’s been way too long since I’ve posted! I’ve been working and watching TV and trying to buy Styx tickets and talking on the phone to Ken—you know, the usual minutae of life.

<>-<>-<>

Two more nifty Forgotten English words:

“Nake: To make naked (1300s–1500s). Nakedize: to go naked.”

“Cook, slut, & butler: A common expression applied to a person who does all the turns of workd in a house (1825).” This was the word for July 28, which is the Feast Eve of St. Martha, “a patroness of housewives who, according to legend, subdued a dragon by dousing it with holy water while doing housework.” Proving once again that women are the ultimate multi-taskers.

---

Currently Reading: Widdershins, Charles de Lint
Lately Listened To:
Recently Watched: Without a Trace, Eureka, Monk