Aftermath...

Yeargh. I haven’t had a full night’s sleep for about a week. You’d think now that Styxfest is over, I’d be fine, but nooooo… We got to my parents’ Sunday evening (drove 7 hours from Toronto), and were ready for bed before my parents were—and they pretty much crash at 9 p.m. I stayed up ‘til about 9:45 phutzing with my concert notes for Sarah, and then I dropped off immediately…only to wake up again after midnight. I curled up in the living room with the laptop and a book, and after two glasses of wine, staggered back to bed at 2 a.m., only to find Ken awake. Sometime after that, I tossed and turned for a while, and in total, never felt like I got a full rest. Now it’s 10 p.m. Monday night, and I’m tired-ish, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep. We’ll see.

I arrived in Toronto on schedule, had no problem at Immigration, and then was reunited with my beloved! We collected my luggage and the rental car, and drove around until we decided on a restaurant for dinner (oddly enough, Boston Pizzaria). Then it was a drive through the darkness to the wilds of Orillia to the Days Inn, across the street from Casino Rama. We arrived on the heels of the rest of the staff, all of whom had driven from Buffalo in various vehicles.

Staff breakfast was the next morning, and then we all loaded up with stuff and went across the street to Casino Rama, where we laminated passes and stuffed swag bags and generally flailed about trying to get organized by the time registration opened. I’d say we were semi-successful. Attendance that day was small, which we kind of expected since it would be a travel day for some people, so it was mostly hanging out, looking at silent auction items, eating, etc. The concert that night was, as always, awesome, with the additions of “Suite Madame Blue” and “A Criminal Mind” since we were in Canada, and “Love in the Midnight,” which made just about every female Tommy fan wet her pants. I have to admit, it is an awfully sexy song.

Friday was day two of Styxfest, with a talk by the band’s manager and a performance by the Styx tribute band What Not To Do To Your Roboto, who brought the house down. We held the first half of the live auction, and the advance copy of A Little Night Music went for $69! (Thanks to all my fabulous friends who bid on it!) Also, very importantly, the promised-but-until-now-unreceived leather wrist cuff of Lawrence’s arrived for the next day’s auction. We knew this would be a big ticket item, a fight to the death between our friend Lin (who was incredibly smart enough to ask Lawrence months ago if he’d donate it) and Ken (who’d decided that, by all that’s holy, I deserved that wrist cuff. It is in A Little Night Music, after all.)

The concert that night was even better, thanks to a blow-everyone’s-socks-off performance of “Midnight Ride.” For one thing, Styx hasn’t performed it live in probably 20 years or more. For another, it’s a smoking song. For another, JY essentially said they were pulling out old songs because they knew there was a fan convention going on and they wanted to do different stuff for us. And finally, Lawrence strapped on a Stratocaster and proceeded to rock out, causing all the Gowan fans to do what the Tommy fans had done the previous night, in spades. [fans self, swooning at the memory] Ken recorded video of the whole thing, and also got a still shot, which he said was the real cover of the book. Pretty damn close.

Afterwards, we wandered off to the bar in search of food and alcohol, hung out with various crew members…and I was able to give Ricky his copy of A Little Night Music and talk to him for a while. Have I mentioned that the book is dedicated to “the boys in the band,” with all their first names listed? He seemed quite impressed, and hugged me, then looked at the cover and said, “This looks like it’s steamy.” Yup. He was happy because he said he needed something new to read. Eep! He also gave me his extra beer. I’m not much of a beer drinker, but apparently I’m enough of a geeky fangirl to drink a beer that’s handed to me by a band member.

Then there was Saturday. Oh, Saturday, a highlight of my short, sweet life. Chuck did a Q&A and booksigning, and I was able to give him his copy of our book. He was also happy to have something to read…

The auction. I can’t bring myself to say just how much Ken spent on that wrist cuff, but I can say it was incredibly amazing and incredibly stupid in equal measures, and made us celebrities in our own right. I cried. Then fifty thousand people took pictures of him buckling it on me. (That’s only a slight exaggeration, but it was like a garter at a wedding.) I have to give Lin the credit she deserves, for she is the epitome of grace and friendship—she was the first person to hug me, despite how much she wanted that wrist cuff for herself. She truly does rock.

While we were waiting at the stage for the concert to begin, the assistant tour manager found us and, yes, we were off to backstage to be personally thanked for how much money we gave to charity that day. (In total, Styxfest raised $17,000 for four charities, and the cuff was a significant portion of that. Tani, Ken, and I agreed that we’d put the wrist cuff money directly to one of the charities, a New Orleans one that’s bringing musicians displaced by Hurricane Katrina back to NO. It was the charity that the band requested, and being able to tell them that was a great moment.) Lawrence gave Ken one of his ties (and showed us a copy of a promo band photo that had him wearing it), and I was able to give him and Todd their copies of the book, and they also seemed quite pleased about the dedication (although Lawrence is now probably confused about what my name is…). Because Lawrence and Todd were the only ones who met with us, I gave the final two copies to the tour manager to deliver to Tommy and JY. We also got to keep our backstage passes, even though we were technically supposed to return them, but the tour manager said he trusted us. Since it was my first-ever backstage pass, and something I’ve desired for years, I’m thrilled about the whole thing.

Unsurprisingly, I was totally Lawrence’s bitch during the show that night. (Ken: “You’re totally Lawrence’s bitch tonight!” Me: “So are you, honey!”) It was a gooood concert. ;-) Along with the new songs from previous nights, Lawrence did part of his solo hit “Strange Animal,” which was a real treat. At the end, when he took all his polaroids to give out, he held my hand and took a picture of the wrist cuff, my arm, and me, and gave me the picture. I think I’m going to have to make a copy to give back to him.

The next day, we peeled ourselves out of bed and hopped in the car for that 7-hour drive to my parents’ house in upstate NY. I’m still processing that Styxfest is over. What do I occupy my brain with during non-writing time now?! And, as usual, I’m starting to feel the first niggles of PCD (Post-Concert Depression), which is always worse when I don’t have tickets to my next show yet. (They’re touring with Def Leppard this summer, which means that tickets have been dear, and I’ve found no reasonable seats at any venue I wanted to go to.) Plus, on Wednesday I get on a plane back to CA, and Ken gets on a plane to OR. I’ll see him in mid-June when I head up there for a bike get-together (while will include a champagne brunch river cruise and a ride around Crater Lake), but dammit, I want him to come home with me now! [stamps foot petulantly]

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Currently Reading: Three Fates, Nora Roberts
Lately Listened To: Styx, Gowan, Melissa Etheridge, Damn Yankees, the Buffy musical, Taylor Mills…it was along car trip…
Recently Watched: Styx, Styx, Styx

On the road again...

So, I’m on a plane to Toronto. How often do my posts start with me being on a plane, or in an airport? And why do I seem to get more work done on planes and in airports than at home sometimes? I have to mention, I totally heart Canada Air. They have electrical outlets at all their seats on the plane. Anyway. Styxfest is finally upon us, and soon it will be over and I’ll have something resembling a life again. Hallelujah, praise the gods.

Oh, the event itself will be fine, if not even fun, but I’m going to be very, very happy when it’s behind us. Afterwards, we’re headed to NY to visit my parents for a couple of days, and I’m also getting interviewed by the local newspaper. I e-mailed a friend of mine who’s a reporter (I used to write for the paper as well, æons ago, but he’s the only one I’ve kept in touch with), and he told the editor (whom I remember) that I’m a bigshot author now. Hah! But it’ll be fun. Between that and pimping A Little Night Music at Styxfest (I have copies for the band, and one to put in the auction, and ran an ad in the yearbook), I’m starting to wonder if I can write this whole trip off on taxes…

Of course, the best part of all this is that I get to snuggle with my beloved for a week. He had to fly to Boston for work, but he should already be in Toronto as I type this.

What I said a while back was that I’d commit to one major volunteer project a year. There might be little things here and there, like being Quartermaster for the Shire, or making award cords, or speaking at a writer’s meeting, but only one big project/commitment. This year, obviously, it’s been Styxfest (and given that Tani, Sheri, and I first met about it on April 1, 2006, it’s been a year plus). I thought perhaps next year (again, meaning my year’s start somewhere midstream) I’d run Black Oak Lodge, our Shire’s weekend event, but I volunteered only if nobody else wanted to do it, and I hear there are at least two sets of people interested.

My new plan is that this year will be the Year of House and Craft Stuff. Morgana and I went to the fabric district recently and I got gorgeous acorn-and-oak-leaf Morris-esque fabric for living room and dining room curtains. I also ordered a sari, of all things, for bathroom curtains. Many more rooms need proper curtains, but I haven’t found the right fabric yet. Then there’s scraping 40-year-old ugly rubber things out of the original clawfoot bathtub, and maybe some paint removal, and… I’ve always got one weaving project or another going. Then there are sewing projects (besides the above-mentioned curtains). I’m making a whole new outfit for Pirate Tournament this year, and some of those pieces will also work with a new faerie outfit. I finally found the sleeves for a cotehardie I’ve already beaded, and I’m back to work beading those. Hell, we still need to get the sewing room in order! (Once Ken’s home for a stretch, he and I and Morgana will be going through every single tub of fabric and culling ruthlessly.) And I’m also planning a project for Ken’s birthday, which I shan't mention here in case he reads this (but if anyone else wants to know what it is, e-mail me for details).

All that should keep me busy for a while, don’t you think?

<>-<>-<>

Now, a brief catch-up on why I’ve been so lax about updating here.

I blame it on April. April…happened.

First there was my birthday, which was quite pleasant. In defiance of last year, I went to the gym and worked with my trainer. A few friends and I went out to dinner, and then everyone came over for cake (chocolate ganache tort) and champagne and presents.

I did write this in my journal then: I swear, the best part of my birthday is getting the automated birthday message from the Styx Lounge “signed” by the band. I get a goofy smile on my face every damn year. Even if it does arrive at 11:10 p.m. the night before my birthday. :-)

The following week was three Shaw-Blades shows, followed the next day by the Moscow Cats Theatre, followed the next two-and-a-half days by our house being fumigated. Ken was home for the shows and fumigation prep, and then I stayed at Morgana and Brian’s while the actual tent was on. (Grimoire and Eostre handled the whole transition marvelously well, BTW.)

The upshoot of all of that, though, was that I ended up behind on absolutely everything. Writing, work, e-mail, life… I felt like Sisyphus, and correspondence was my rock. It’s only in the last week or so that I’ve felt as though I can breathe again, and that’s with all the final work on Styxfest on my plate. Go figure. I’m hoping this trip won’t put me so far behind the eight ball again, and I rather expect it won’t. I’ll write on the trip, and I’m down to my final work project which, will it’s a messy one, at least has a pleasant author attached to it who’s responsive and conscientious. I’ll have a couple weeks until I head up to Oregon for a bike trip, and then I don’t leave again until mid-July for RWA National Convention.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. In late April, I went to the EFBC’s Twilight Tour with Kelly, Richard, and Tomi. I’ve been trying to go on that tour for several years now, but every time, something else was already scheduled. The benefit of the tour is that you get to go into areas not normally open to the public. What I learned: The EFBC has a lot of amur leopards. They also had baby fishing cats! (And I’m sorry this journal doesn’t have sound because you’re really missing out on the high-pitched glass-shattering squeal by the end of that last sentence.)

Ken came home in early May, and we had a few days at home before we headed up to Cambria on the bike for a conjugal weekend (and motorcycle group outing). On the way up, I brainstormed a few stories, and we stopped at a Japanese restaurant in Santa Maria (mmm, sushi). We stayed at the Bluebird Inn, which my brain kept stubbornly referring to as the Bluebird Inn of Happiness. The main part of the hotel is an 1880s house, although the actual hotel rooms are newer and not terribly interesting. They have fabulous gardens there, though.

Of course, all of Cambria is gorgeous. I’d forgotten how different the central coast is from our area; how much more lush and green and cool. We spent Saturday strolling through the charming sunny town, wandering through gift shops and garden shops and antique shops. All I ended up buying was an assortment of flavored green teas, though. We went for a ride through the hills, and I saw a turkey in a field, a turkey vulture in a field, a crane in a field, and lots of turkey vultures in the sky). We had Mexican with the group that night, and on Sunday took a longer ride home, actually heading north up the coast before cutting into the hills. We stopped to see the elephant seals, who congregate en masse on a particular beach every spring. It really is an amazing sight. The parking lot was filled with cheeky squirrels who’d gather ‘round you and eat out of your hand. Or stomp away in a huff when they realized you didn’t have any food for them.

We stopped in Atascadero for lunch (garlic chicken pizza with a white sauce) and then went to the Charles Paddock Zoo. It’s small, but utterly charming. We stumbled upon it years ago when we were on another trip, and it was so lovely. I took a couple pictures in the aviary, but then completely forgot I even had a camera, I was so enthralled with the animals.

Loreena McKennitt finally toured again, and being on her mailing list, I was able to snap up four decent tickets when they went on sale (knowing that Morgana and Brian would want to go, too). Because Ken couldn’t make it home, I invited our friend Julie after finding out that she and her husband considered one of Loreena’s songs “their” song. Her husband died last year, so it was really no question that she had to come with us.

Julie has MS and uses a wheelchair, and going into the theatre she was taken down in a couple of small elevators (kind of like locks, actually). After the show, a security lady came over to say that one of the elevators had broken, so we’d have to go out through the backstage entrance on the other side of the theatre. Okay, no problem. They brought us out into a courtyard, and Brian went off to get the car (which was now far away from where we were).

(I’m going to pause here to say, I heart Air Canada even more, because their hot tea is actually good. This is a very civilized airline.)

Morgana, Julie, and I looked around, and noticed a few things. The bar. The buffet. The nicely dressed people. The door over there to the backstage.

And we realized we were at the backstage party.

Someone offered us water, which we accepted. Then our security lady came over. “You know you’re at the backstage party, right? Have a drink, have some food. The sandwiches are really good.” We said we were just trying to be inconspicuous… “Nah!” she said, flinging out her arms. “Mingle!”

We didn’t mingle, although we did see two of Loreena’s musicians. Then Brian showed up, and someone offered to lead us out to the exit, and we realized that we were driving through the back lot of Universal Studios and we hyperventilated all over again.

I can’t even describe the concert. “Breathtaking” might come close. “Stunning” sort of touches on it. To be honest, I’m getting teared up just remembering it. There really are no words to describe it…which perhaps is how the very best music is.

It’s going to be years before Loreena tours again, and I’m already pining for it.

This past weekend was our Shire’s annual Anniversary Tournament, and I was smart and didn’t volunteer to do a damn thing (because of Styxfest), although I am co-Quartermaster, so I had to get things checked in and out of the shed in our backyard. I spent time with so many people I haven’t seen in ages, and learned Viking whipcord braiding, which I’m utterly addicted to now. The next day was a tea at Albra’s and a loose Herbal Guild meeting, but some of us who are also in the Textile Guild sat in a corner of the garden and discussed cross-pollination with the Woodworkers Guild to make the proper weights for Viking whipcord braiding so we can do it at Pirate Tourney in July.

And that brings us up to now, and you can see why I got so behind and crazy and my writing suffered for it.

June, boy howdy, is going to be writing month. And I promise to never say “boy howdy” in this journal again.

<>-<>-<>

In honor of all my travels, I give you the picture above: the picture from my very first passport, which my mom gave me when I was home. Damn I was cute! (I was 6, BTW. There are two visa stamps, for Iran and Greece.)

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Currently Reading: Three Fates, Nora Roberts
Lately Listened To: Celtic Woman
Recently Watched: Blood Ties, Painkiller Jane

Damn you, faint praise!

Novel rejection: “You’re a talented writer, and this story really had some compelling elements. Unfortunately, though, it just did not catch fire for me in the way I had hoped.”

Acts of kindness

My faith in humanity has been restored with one amazing act of kindness.

I came out of Albra’s this afternoon, where a group of us had been enjoying tea and sandwiches and melted chocolate and things to dip into the chocolate and so forth, to discover that someone had dinged my car. Not a horrible ding, but white paint/scratches and a small dent. My new car. The one that I haven’t even been able to register yet (long story. Not going into it. I do finally have all the paperwork and bits I need, but I’m doing it after I get home from Canada and NY.).

I wasn’t exceedingly upset; I figured there was nothing I could do. I assumed that the person had just taken off.

I was wrong. There was a note beneath my windshield wiper; a phone number, “please contact me,” and “SORRY.” I was stunned.

When I talked to him, the poor guy was so apologetic. Another car had been turning around in the cul-de-sac and he’d backed up to get out of its way, and he said he’d felt so horrible, especially when he saw the car was new. I told him I was so touched by his honesty, that most people would’ve just left. I almost felt a little bad taking his insurance info, and even apologized that his rates would go up.

Really, he could’ve left and I never would’ve have known who did it. But he was honest and kind and decent and honorable, and while it’s a little sad that I expected the opposite, I’m overwhelmed knowing that people like that still exist in this world.

(I do know that people like that exist—I’m blessed with amazing friends. I think the fact that this was a stranger is what truly touches me.)

Win books! Wooh!

Over at Lust Bites, we're having a May Madness competition, where you can win books! All you need to do is click on that link right there, and leave a comment on the Lust Bites blog. That's all. And it's really, really nifty if you say where you came from, because it makes me feel all popular and loved.

The books in this drawing include Teresa's and my very own Cat Scratch Fever, as well as anthologies I (or we) have stories in, such as C is for Coed and Sex With Strangers.

Go forth, my pets, and make me proud!

Beyond the Comfort Zones

Check out "Beyond the Comfort Zones: Writing Across Boundaries," the latest Lust Bites column, written by Teresa and myself!

April stats

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Photos!

Photos from my March trip to Oregon, Book-in-a-Week, etc., can be found here.

Very busy, behind on everything, promise to post more soon. For now, enjoy!

Turn of the page

Words Written: OOTFP edits
Writing Stats: Rejection from Cemetery Dance for “Queen of Hearts, Hand of Fate”
Exercise: day off, although I cleaned litter boxes and took out trash and recycling—does that count?

Egads, April already! March just flew by so fast. But it was good things—coming off the rush of the concerts, to dive into the rush of the BIAW workshop… It’s just been heads-down working since then—I’ve clean out my e-mail lists folder except for one, and I’ve got a few more e-mails to go in the normal In Box. Work is mostly caught up (and will be ending sometime soon, or at least slowing down towards ending…I’ll know more by the end of the week). And while my intense workouts with the trainer still hurt, I’m not hurting quite as bad afterwards!

Yesterday I went to my first SCA event in longer than I care to ponder. Except for the wind that kicked up the dust and made my eyes feeling like someone was scratching them with sandpaper, I had a truly lovely time. I set up another kumihimo cord (for Kingdom awards—we try to give all our awards on handmade cords) and wove and chatted with all my wonderful friends. A much-appreciated day off.

So, I just signed up for four novel workshops over the next year. Dean’s starting ‘em up again, and I’m a sucker for external deadlines, so…! That’s on top of the one in November in San Diego. So, two novels between now and the beginning of November (one due by 10/1, not sure when the other is due). I’m hoping we can organize another BIAW in late October to overlap with that quarter’s novel workshop. Anyway, two novels? Piece o’cake. I may have to table the heavy editing on yet another novel (which I’d mentally scheduled in after I finish WSWL), but it’s all about the flexibility, baybee!

Good stuff, this life thing.

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Currently Reading: Poison Study, Maria V. Snyder
Lately Listened To: Influence, Shaw/Blades
Recently Watched: Northern Exposure

Done!

The draft of Out of the Frying Pan is done! The proposal is enveloped and will be mailed today, and Teresa's also going to pitch the book at the New England RWA conference this weekend!

But, no rest for the weary... We still need to do a clean-up pass through the rest of the manuscript (shouldn't be a lot of work, but it's fiddly back-and-forth stuff), and I also have a short story that must be written and submitted today. I've also got a couple of anthology deadlines in the next month.

Then it's back to With Soft Whispers Laden, which I mostly set aside in the crunch to get OOTFP done, because it was hurting my brain too much to switch between erotic romantic comedy and menacing gothic-esque paranormal romance.

So I win my Beautiful Trophy for this quarter, and plan to get WSWL done by the end of June for another Beautiful Trophy!

Invitation

We're keeping things pretty low-key this year, but if anyone would like to join me on my birthday for dinner, that would be most lovely!

TGI Friday's, Oxnard
Friday, April 6
7 p.m.

If you're able to join us, please RSVP by Thu, Apr 5, so I can make a reservation. (If you can't make it, no need to RSVP your regrets. Feel free to raise a glass in toast, though, wherever you may be!)

Everyone is welcome to come by Brenneis Oaks afterwards for tea, coffee, alcohol, and maybe even cake....

Cheers,
Dayle/Rhieinwen

P.S. Gifts are absolutely not necessary. But, if you so wish to peek at my heart's desires, I maintain a wishlist at Wish Central ;-)

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Words Written: OOTFP ~1300
Writing Stats: Mostly a sale… “A Few Things…” may not be fitting into G is for Games, but the editor thinks it could be great in K is for Kinky. She promises it will get into one of the alphabet books, at any rate!
Exercise: 1 hr w/personal trainer

Busy, busy. Ken’s home for a couple days, mainly to pick up his new motorcycle. He arrived this morning (actually passing me at an intersection while I was on my way home from the chiropractor) and went out to a movie (Music & Lyrics, perhaps the funniest thing I’ve seen in years. Not an award-winning movie, but if you like early-80s pop…oh my gods.) and lunch with Morgana and I.

I then had about an hour to make some phone calls and answer some e-mail before I dashed off to the gym. See, last week I got an early birthday present for myself: I hired a personal trainer for two months. I had a crap birthday last year. I spent a good chunk of it in the emergency room. This is not going to happen to me this year, nor ever again, if I have anything to do with it. When the head trainer asked me what my goal was, I said “To not be in constant pain anymore.” To his credit, he blinked only once or twice before recommending three trainers who have rehab experience.

I’m not going to talk about it much more, though. Personally, I don’t find people’s exercise logs interesting reading, including my own. (This is absolutely not meant as a commentary about what anybody chooses to put in their personal journal/blog. I love hearing about people’s successes, I love hearing about new workout things they’ve tried, but a daily listing of statistics doesn’t float my personal boat.) I’ll just keep mentioning in my stats above what I’ve done recently, because I do look back over the journal from time to time.

Plus, I’m not interested in obsessing about weight on a daily basis. That way lies madness. Weight fluctuates during the day, during the week, during the month for reasons that may have nothing to do with how much one ate or how often one worked out. I’m more interested in toning (especially my core—again, so my back stops hurting), and I’m more interested in the bigger picture. Today Katrina, my trainer, gave me a strength test, checked my body fat, took my measurements, and took “before” pictures. I want to see how all that has changed two months from now. Not next week.

Anyway. So tomorrow, Ken picks up his new bike, makes some modifications, and then we go to the custom seat guy to get our butts measured for custom seats. I also have another trainer appt and a massage scheduled. Wednesday Ken leaves, but I have a chiro appt and an eye appt (and with the dilation, I’ll be unable to work for a bit afterwards). Thursday I have a work conference call and another trainer appt and Lick’n’Stick/Healing Circle, and Friday…gods, I don’t even remember now. Chiro. Something else? Then Saturday, my first SCA event in months, which means I have to find all my stuff for that.

Meanwhile—and most importantly—Teresa and I are on the last chapter of OOTFP! She’s done a pass through the first few chapters to clean up some items we noted, and I’ll do a pass, and then we’ll tweak the synopsis (now that the book’s done) and get it sent out. I’ll get my damn Beautiful Trophy this quarter, by gods! And hey, maybe we’ll sell this book to our dream editor. :-)

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Currently Reading: Savannah Blues, Mary Kay Andrews
Lately Listened To: Au Quebec, Home Field, Gowan
Recently Watched: Northern Exposure

When Two Heads Are Better Than One

Check out today's Lust Bites column, written by yours truly and her dauntless coauthor Teresa. It's all about how we collaborate--something we get a lot of questions about! If we didn't answer them to your satisfaction, let us know!

Enjoy!

A Little Night Music cover!

Ooh! Lookie!

And what can I say to you to show how it feels?

Words Written: OOTFP edits
Writing Stats: caught up on the Lust Bites list
Exercise: hah

It’s a gloriously rainy, grey day, and yet it’s also one of those days where I feel like for every step I take forward, I’m sliding two steps back. One of those days where I hate e-mail, because people keep writing to me. I love it when people write to me, don’t get me wrong, but when they all need a response, and I’m already behind (still catching up from being away)…!

I guess there’s a part of me (the anal-retentive, moon-in-Virgo-or-whatever part of me) that wishes I had different e-mail addresses for all the different compartments in my life: friends & family, writing, Styx and Styxfest, SCA… But in the end, I’m sure that would drive me even more batty.

Do you all have days like that? Where you feel like you’re working and working but just spinning your wheels?

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Currently Reading: between books
Lately Listened To: Au Quebec, Home Field, Gowan
Recently Watched: CSI: Miami

But I thought I would say, I'm afraid I must disagree

Words Written: OOTFP 1210, edits
Writing Stats: Rejection from IGMS for “What Price Beauty?”
Exercise: does getting a 2-hour massage count?

So we did a candle making workshop on Saturday, and after we made a bunch of candles in Caidan blue for largesse, I made a bunch of different purple ones (rose-scented) for me. We also talked music, and our hostess, Mara, asked what three bands we wished we could’ve seen but never did. At first I drew a blank, because I’ve seen Styx 63 times so far, and what else is there? (Other than more!) But then I figured it out:

• Led Zeppelin
  
• Marillion’s Misplaced Childhood tour (which I could’ve seen, if only I hadn’t been distracted by a typo. My college newspaper listed a show in Montréal by “Silmarillion,” and I thought, “Nah, not the same band.” I found out the day after that it was. I’ve seen both Marillion with Steve Hogarth, and Fish solo, and while they were both fabulous, it wasn’t the same.)
  
• Any Gowan solo show in the ‘80s (Oh, to have met him when I was young and cute. Of course, when I was young and cute, I was mostly clueless about what to do with it. Sigh.)
  

<>-<>-<>

Yesterday I headed into the Valley in my spiffy new car for the LARA (LA RWA) meeting, where I accidentally volunteered to do a talk—but it won’t be ‘til the beginning of next year, which helps. It basically came from learning that the current speaker didn’t know about how to click to make the first page header of a document different from the rest of the headers. So I’ll be doing a “Word for Writers” talk, if they can swing a screen and hookup to a laptop. It shouldn’t be too very much work to set it up, I don’t think. Back when I worked at Sage Publications, when we switched from a DOS-based word processing program to Word, I taught a series of classes on “Word for Production Editors and Copy Editors,” and I’m sure I can pull some of that forward. I’m sure I have those files around here somewhere…

After that, the fabulous Christine and I headed to Lulu’s, where she met her hubby for lunch while I pulled up a chair at the writers’ table with the amazing Jenn and others. After Christine joined us, she and I booked our flights for RWA Nationals (so we could fly together, which is more fun!) and then settled down to work. Once I got going, the next scene in OOTFP just flowed. It’s times like that that make me especially love this crazy job.

In other writing news, I’ve made a somewhat difficult decision, although I’m feeling like a great weight has been lifted off me now that I’ve made it. I was slated to go to Seattle in May for a Novel Workshop, which meant I had to submit the novel by the beginning of April, as well as read two full novel manuscripts and about eight partials starting around the same time. When I first signed up, I thought I’d be working with DFL, but my heart’s just not in it…and then I was gripped by WSWL—only to discover that switching between light, comedic erotica and dark, menacing gothic romance was not working for me. And OOTFP has to be my first priority. That’s a promise I’ve made to my coauthor. So I finally accepted that I needed to give WSWL the time it deserved, not rush it for the workshop. (Not to mention the other things I have going on in May that will consume a part of my brain.)

So I’ll finish WSWL for the second quarter of the year, and all will be well. Teresa and I are on the last chapter of OOTFP, and it will be finished and winging its way to editors before the end of this month.

I can’t complain, really…

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Currently Reading: between books
Lately Listened To: RWA sessions
Recently Watched: The Dresden Files

Houston, we have connectivity

Words Written: er, none again
Writing Stats: Rejection from Superqueereos for the Sophie story “Pow! Bash! Yes, Yes!”, and from Weird Tales for “The Rising.” Pout
Exercise: none

We have achieved new cable modem and connectivity! Hurrah!

Despite the fact that I’m still exhausted, it’s been a pretty good day. Took poor pathetic Grimoire to the vet for his 6-month comprehensive, and he’s gained 0.7 pounds. I blame the cat sitters… Then I picked up the new cable modem and made that work, and pounded through e-mail and whatnot (and a bunch of necessary phone calls) before going to a chiro appointment, where I learned that my back crunching is a good thing, because it means things aren’t all seized up. Who knew? My back actually hurts a little less right now. Then there was food shopping, and talking to Ken, and tuna on rye with pickles and green chilies, and a lovely hot bath, along with lots more e-mail and work stuff.

So, my back feels marginally better, I love my new car, I love my GPS, I like my bathtub (it’s the house’s original clawfoot tub, which is wonderful, but it’s not quite deep enough for me), and I can get onto the Internet and work again. Yeah, it doesn’t all suck.

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Of course, just as I went online to post these last few entries, the cable went down. All of it, including the TV. Since my next goal is to curl up in bed, read, and then get a nice long night’s sleep, I’m skipping straight to Plan B…

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Currently Reading: Staying Dead, Laura Anne Gilman
Lately Listened To: Influence, Shaw/Blades
Recently Watched: Heroes

But what does it all mean?

Words Written: big fat zero
Writing Stats: Rejection from Fishnet for “At the Faire.” Phooey. Four stories mailed.
Exercise: walking

The Internet problems seems to be the cable modem. Will be calling the cable company first thing in the morning. Meanwhile, I spent four hours at the local Starbuck’s fighting with a crappy connection (because I was using an open wireless connection rather than paying for the T-Mobile thing), trying to catch up on work, submit stories that were due and otherwise handling writing-related stuff, and deal with some Styxfest issues.

That was after going to the DMV and trying to explain that I needed a temporary registration something-or-other because there’s a problem with the title to the new car that the dealership in NV is trying to sort out.

My lower back is crunching. That can’t be good, can it?

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Currently Reading: Staying Dead, Laura Anne Gilman
Lately Listened To: One With Everything, Styx
Recently Watched: The Dresden Files

Disconnected

Words Written: OOTFP 1016
Writing Stats: Received comp copies of C is for Coeds.
Exercise: um…

Dammit, for some reason I can’t connect to the Internet today. It seems to be a problem at the cable company’s end, but it’s been going on all day, and I have stuff that needs to be sent out and/or dealt with! Muttergrumble. Yes, I just spent a week and a half pretty much without access, just fine—but it meant that a number of things didn’t get done that now need priority… Not to mention my part-time job, which I can’t do without being able to remotely access the company’s network.

I could go to an Internet café, but I keep hoping connectivity will return here. But have I spent the day writing like a fiend? Noooo… I’ve been doing every other little thing that doesn’t involve writing or the Internet. Got all the receipts into Quicken, ran Quicken reports for taxes, reconciled Quicken. Finished unpacking. Did dishes. I did do some minor edits on a story that’s now ready to send out…if only I could.

Of course, this also means that I don’t know when I’ll be able to post this entry anyway…

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Being very tired Monday night, I see I forgot to link to Cowboy Lover: Erotic Tales of the Wild West. So there you go. Order early and order often!

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Currently Reading: Staying Dead, Laura Anne Gilman
Lately Listened To: Big Bang Theory, Styx; RWA session
Recently Watched: The Ri¢hes

Away and home

Words Written: “The Light at the End,” ~600
Writing Stats: Received, signed, and prepped to mail two contracts: “Stranger to my Shores,” Paranormal Erotica anthology (as Sophie), and “When the Rancher Needs a Loan,” Cowboy Lover: Erotic Tales of the Wild West anthology (as Andrea Dale). Received a rather preachy rejection from Clarkesworld for “Seeds of Hope.”
Exercise: walking through airports

I’m at LAX, waiting for my slightly delayed flight to Oxnard to be called. I’m tired, so the delay especially sucks. They looked for a volunteer to give up his/her seat in exchange for a round-trip ticket anywhere in the US, and if I wasn’t so tired, I’d take it and just rent a car. Oh well.

Part of me doesn’t want to go home. I really wanted to stay with Ken in Portland for a few days, working and relaxing and easing back into reality rather than hitting it full speed. I don’t have that luxury, though… Plus I really miss the cats. And my chiropractor and my massage therapist…

The week was incredibly successful and productive. Teresa and have two chapters left to finish OOTFP. (When we got there, we didn’t think we’d finish it there; then we thought we might; then we slowed down a little.) We’ll get the proposal in the mail this week, I think, and then get the draft finished and polished by the end of the month.

I also rewrote the beginning of WSWL, getting about 4000 words down (some new, some taken from the previous version). I realized it needed to be both darker and richer, and I had to start over to really weave that in—I needed that new info in order to be able to move ahead.

I also finished one story, which Teresa kindly critiqued and will be in the mail this week; wrote half of a joint Lust Bites article on collaboration; and started another short story on the plane today.

Everyone else at the retreat wrote lots of words and broke through barriers, and the energy was just amazing. Last time, we all stayed in our rooms to write, but when we hit the common area, we tended to hang out too much and not be productive. This time, we decided to try two optional two-hour quiet joint writing periods per day, from 10 a.m. to noon and 8 to 10 p.m. Well, the first day, all the women sat down and did it…and we never left. We did almost all of our writing in the common area all day, every day. Occasionally someone would hit their room for an hour or two, and Teresa and I did retreat to our room when we needed to brainstorm and confer. On the other hand, the two men in the group almost never came out of their rooms…

We ate out every night, with Kris & Dean and Chris and Steve, so we had lots of great seafood and great conversation. K&D invited us to bring take-and-bake pizzas and drinks to their place one evening, so I got to see how they’ve transformed the workshop house back into their home (they have two houses and one large office [former garage, I think] with several rooms). My usual bedroom is now Kris’s closet. That took a little getting used to…

It’s been almost exactly five years since I took my first OCW workshop, the Master Class, which changed the way I write and the way I approach and think about writing and my career. For a while, it seemed like nothing was changing, that it hadn’t had an effect. But five years on (and quite a few workshops later!), I’ve sold two novels and I’ve sold more short stories every year. It snuck up on me, strangely enough. But, as we discussed one night, you’re never satisfied. You’re always raising the bar, striving for a greater goal. To lose that would be to not need to write anymore. I can’t wait to see what the next five years will bring.

So we reluctantly left Lincoln City on Sunday after the weekly writerly lunch, swung by Hillsboro to pick up Ken, and went to an airport hotel to drop off Laura and get Teresa checked in. Then Ken, Teresa, and I went to the Kennedy School McMenamin’s to meet up with erotica author and fellow Lust Biter Shanna Germaine for dinner, drinks, and much laughter. Shanna’s a blast! Just a bundle of energy, with a great sense of humor, an incredible focus (she writes, edits, teaches…I can’t keep up with all of it!), and a keen mind. We sat there for hours, not wanting to leave despite how tired we were. We finally, reluctantly dragged ourselves away, and Ken and I didn’t get back to Hillsboro until after midnight.

So now I’m almost home, not wanting to get distracted by bills and e-mails and the rest of the real world. I’ve really got to focus if I’m going to get WSWL done in time for the novel workshop in May (manuscripts will be due in April so everyone has time to read them before the workshop). Plus I miss Ken. But he’ll be home towards the end of the month to pick up his new shiny motorcycle (he’s abandoning his beloved K1200LT for a sleeker, peppier GT), and then I may just ride back up there with him so I can spend my birthday in the Pacific Northwest.

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Home now. Despite the fact that I watched my suitcase get loaded onto the plane at PDX, it didn’t arrive with me at OXR. But they’ve delivered it, and all is well. I’ve picked up some groceries, eaten dinner, talked with Ken, watched a bit of TV, scritched the cats, and done some catching up in e-mail and whatnot. I’m exhausted, so I don’t think I have the brainpower to write any more today. I’ll just hit the ground running tomorrow…

Despite some things, it’s good to be home. In part because there’s still Styx confetti all over my bedroom floor…

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Currently Reading: Staying Dead, Laura Anne Gilman
Lately Listened To: Big Bang Theory, Styx; RWA session
Recently Watched: Without a Trace