What? Me? You know who I am?!

So. Here’s the thing. I’m sure it’s blindingly clear from this blog (as well as various other social media, and even talking to me) that I’m proud of the work I do. I have no problem advertising my work in a cheerful and nonpushy way. (I don’t want this blog or my FB or Twitter or whatever to become All About Dayle’s Latest Publication, because even I know that’s booooring.) I want to let ya’ll know when a new story is released, because if you don’t know it’s been released, then you don’t know you have the option to go buy it. I don’t expect you to buy everything I have available, especially if it’s not to your taste. I assume nothing. I just put the info out there.

Which is what the writing life is like, really. I sit here in my study and I make shit up, and then I send it out in the world and hope that it clicks with an editor and s/he will buy it. I get a happy squee moment when I sell something, and again when I get the check (because this is my job, after all) and the comp copies. A positive review is a bonus, and someone taking the time to personally let me know they liked something is a bonus with awesome sauce on top.

But even still, I don’t assume People Out There notice. I’m not sure how to explain this, except to give you an anecdote from high school. I was shy, growing up. (People who know me now are no doubt falling over in astonishment, but it’s true. Painfully shy.) I hung out with friends and I did things I enjoyed doing, but I didn’t assume people other than my friends were aware of my existence. Then, towards the end of senior year, yearbooks came out. And all of these people started asking me to sign their yearbooks. People I “knew” in terms of “I’ve been going to this not-very-big school since first grade” but not in terms of “I hang out with you.”

And honestly, all I could think was, “What? Me? You know who I am?!”

(Now, the fact was, I was A Joiner. There’s a picture of me on something like 20 pages of my junior yearbook, because I was in ::deep breath:: band chorus pep band marching band special chorus yearbook newspaper Olympics of the Mind Student Council swim team and other things I’m forgetting right now. I shouldn’t have been surprised people knew me. I was always there, even if I was mostly sitting quietly in the corner. Working on my novel.)

I still get this way, though, sometimes. I send out my stories and sometimes someone buys them and they get published. I don’t expect or assume anything beyond that.

So awhile back, when Violet Blue included me in a list of “legendary erotica heavy-hitters,” what I hit was the floor. In shock.

My point (and yes, you’ll be glad to know I’m getting to the point) is that even that didn’t really clue me in that People Out There notice.

I recently learned that an anthology I have a story in has been nominated for a LAMBDA Literary Award. (I’ve been in several nominated anthologies in the past, including on that won in its category, wooh!). “Queens Up” was reprinted in Best Lesbian Erotica 2010, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that lovely editor Radclyffe is recognized with a win.

(I’d like to point out also that “Queens Up” originally appeared in Lesbian Cowboys: Erotic Adventures, which was the Lammy winner in its category last year!)

When I heard about the nomination, I clicked through and discovered something. The “Product Description” on Amazon and wherever the book is being sold, which I assume was written by someone at publisher Cleis Press, includes this line: “All readers will enjoy these stories of romance by the best in the genre, including Sommer Marsden, Sacchi Green, Evan Mora, Andrea Dale, and the grand master Radclyffe herself.”

My name is in a list of “best in the genre”?  With those other awesome writers? Bguh?

Go ahead and laugh. I’m used to it. I’m just not used to people noticing….

Looking for a good laugh?

Squee! Soul's Road Press has started making my fantasy and science fiction stories available! They've been doing such a great job with the erotica so I'm chuffed to get these stories out into the world again, too. (Erotica fans, don't worry, there's a lot more of that to, er, come, too!)

(Also: That's right, Alia—stories you can read and enjoy!)
Here's info on the first two:

"If the Shoe Fits"

 Is Prince Charming really interested in Cinderella…or was it her shoes that captured his attention? A “funny (and rather ingenious)” short story (Errant Dreams Reviews).

“Dayle A. Dermatis’s ‘If the Shoe Fits’ is a funny (and rather ingenious) semi-modern twist on Cinderella, in which we find out why that shoe was really so important to everyone.” —Errant Dreams Reviews

“If the Shoe Fits” originally appeared in The Trouble With Heroes (DAW, 2009).

Available in a variety of electronic formats
Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hell's Belles"

Teaching etiquette to a spoiled debutante can be hell…literally.

“Hell’s Belles” originally appeared in Deathgrip: Exit Laughing (Hellbound Books, 2006).

Available in a variety of electronic formats

Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords

Publisher's Weekly, on More Scary Kisses

Publisher's Weekly has given More Scary Kisses (in which I have the story "Matchmaker" as Dayle A. Dermatis) a glowing review!

Edited by Liz Grzyb. Ticonderoga (www.ticonderogapublications.com), $15.99 trade paper (260p) ISBN 978-0-9807813-2-8

Talent shines in this beguiling collection of 17 paranormal romance stories from Down Under, many of which are more haunting and humorous than scary. Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice takes a turn as a barbaric demon slayer in Fraser Sherman's "The Sword of Darcy," while a sugar-crazed cherub does his best to reunite two lovers in Nicole R. Murphy's "The Protector's Last Mission." A telepathic tentacle monster reluctantly wedded to a human woman finds a way toward happy-ever-after in Liz Coley's "Marriage of Convenience." On the creepier end, both Felicity Dowker's "Berries and Incense" and Kirstyn McDermott's "Frostbitten" will leave readers with chills. Martin Livings and Talie Helene close the anthology with "The Last Gig of Jimmy Rucker," a brilliantly hypnotizing and heartwarming tale. Readers will be delighted by this introduction to some of Australia's best paranormal romance writers. (May)

There's a moonchild for everyone

In honor of tomorrow’s moon of rare size and beauty (which I may not be able to see due to the clouds), I give you my Moon Playlist:

• Desert Moon, Dennis DeYoung
• Drawing Down the Moon, Gaia Consort
• Falling From the Moon, Marillion
• Full Moonlight Dance, Libana
• The Light of the Moon, Emily Mitchell
• Moon Cradle, Loreena McKennitt
• Moon Dance, Enaid and Einalem
• Moon Over Bourbon Street, Sting
• Moonchild, Shakespear's Sister
• Moonchild's Psychedelic Holiday, Gowan
• Moonlight Desires, Gowan
• Moonlight in Samosa, Robert Plant
• Morgana Moon, Woodland
• New Moon on Monday, Duran Duran
• Poet's Moon, Fish
• Rocket to the Moon, Runrig
• Shadow of the Moon, Blackmore's Night
• Shepherd Moons, Enya
• Sister Moon, Sting
• Sisters of the Moon, Fleetwood Mac
• Tea-House Moon, Enya
• Under a Violent Moon, Blackmore's Night

(And I confess I’m astonished to discover we don’t have Ozzy’s Bark at the Moon album in our collection.)

What's on your list?

2011 Census

I saw this cute census me!me! on someone else's blog and thought it would be fun to play along. What a trip down memory lane! I guess I never really looked back and processed how much can change over 10 years.

The original me!me! I saw started in 2011 and went backwards, but being the rebel that I am, I went chronologically. (That is not an easy word to type.)

1961 – I wasn’t even a glimmer in my dad’s eye yet, but in five years my sisters would be mildly disappointed at what they got instead of a pony.

1971 – I was five. We lived on New Cumberland Army Depot in Pennsylvania, and I went to kindergarten, which involved walking down what seemed like a really long neighborhood street to get to the bus stop. It was probably only a block. I shared a room with my sister Donna, and would sit at the end of my bed after I was supposed to be asleep and read Bobbsey Twins books by the light of the hallway through the half-open door. Sesame Street was on at 3 p.m. weekdays, we went boating/waterskiing on the river every weekend in the summer (or so it seemed), my grandmother fed me Bugles, and life was pretty idyllic.

1981 – Ah, teenage years and the Eighties! I was 15, ending my freshman and starting my sophomore year of high school in upstate NY. Styx put out Paradise Theatre and we sang “Too Much Time On My Hands” on the bus to track meets…although I never participated in a meet, because I severely sprained my left ankle practicing the long jump, and that ankle has never been the same. I wrote 40-page letters to my best friend Sarah every few weeks, receiving the same from her. I was also writing some novel or another. The following year, on my 16^th birthday, I would receive my first-ever rejection slip for a short story from Seventeen and think “I’m a real writer now!”

1991 – What a difference 10 years makes! I was 25 and married to my first husband, and that January we moved from upstate New York to the Bay Area. We adopted our first cat, Porthos. I went to three Styx concerts and thought it was a lot (hah!), and a couple of Damn Yankees concerts. I had a couple of freelance gigs with local weekly newspapers and worked a temp job or two before getting a part-time job as an assistant to a guy who handled magazine distribution in the area; he let me play on this new Internet thingie and on Prodigy, I found other Styx fans (!). I finally found the SCA, although I would make it to only one event (in January 1992) before we moved again. I finished my novel Fantasy in late 1990, and in early 1991 got an agent who was shopping it around.

2001 – Damn, talk about life changes. I was 35. I’d married Ken, given up a pretty damn good job as a production editor, and moved to Wales. We were living in our third house there, in fact, with three cats (Eostre and her kittens Grimoire and Eclipse). I was at the Celtic Manor Hotel for a spa day with a friend (our birthday present to her) on 9/11; Ken had flown home from the US the day before. I got chicken pox (Ken brought them with him—thanks, honey). I finished up my tenure as Kingdom Chronicler, founded the Incipient Shire of Mynydd Gwyn, and stewarded at least one event. I flew back to the US to visit Sarah and see my 15^th and 16^th Styx concerts, and also saw Blackmore’s Night in Cardiff. I finished writing Waking the Witch.

2011 – I’ll turn 45 next month, and I’m kind of looking forward to it. I’m working out, have changed my eating habits, and am overall trying to focus on my health and self. I’m living in southern California with Ken and 4.2 cats (two indoor cats, Eostre and Grimoire; two outside cats, Teddy Boy and Zip; and one cat, Mr. Churchill, who lives with our tenant but we pay for his food, care, etc.). We own a 100-year-old Craftsman-style bungalow and I know more about Victorian and Arts-and-Crafts decorating than I ever thought I would. I’m Kingdom Chronicler again (albeit for a different Kingdom). I hit Styx show #109 this year (so far), the band knows my name, and I’ve hung out drinking with some of the crew. I’ve had two novel sales and seen publication of more than 100 short stories (holy moly!), and I’m working full-time at this gig (although still not actually making a living at it…yet!).

The derriere dilemma

Can you judge a book by its cover? Well, it’s far from an exact science, but a good cover can entice you to pick up a book by someone you haven’t heard of before, and a bad cover (whether one that misrepresents the book or one that is just poorly designed) can turn you away without giving the text a chance.

Even though e-books don’t have physical covers, a cover image is important when you’re browsing on Amazon or B&N or wherever. So Soul’s Road Press and I design covers for all of the short stories and novellas I’m selling, and we try to be as eye-catching as possible.

I had no idea designing covers was so much fun! and I think we’re doing a reasonable job at it. One of the challenges is that the stories we’ve been putting up so far are of the erotica/erotic romance type (don’t worry, SF/fantasy and romance fans, those stories will come!), and we have to find images that are spicy without being crude—along with being appropriate to the individual story.

So when we were ready to publish “Artistic License,” about an Italian statue come to life (or is it just a smoking hot dream?), we found a great statue image.

Here’s the first cover we put up:

But then we got a little notice from Smashwords:

“Although your cover image is tasteful, some of our retailers are super-sensitive to nudity. Please consider uploading a new image where his derriere is covered up a bit.”

The use of “derriere” made me laugh and laugh. (That and the fact that I’m pretty sure the derriere in question belongs to a female.)

Anyway, we went back to the drawing board, and you know what? I think the second cover is even better!

(We love feedback on our covers, so feel free to check ‘em all out at Soul’s Road Press and let us know what you think!)

And if you'd like to read "Artistic License," it's available for 99¢ as these fine venues:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

"Bathing Beauty" now available via Soul's Road Press

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Apparently it's World Book Day...

...so here's a bookish me!me!

The books I am reading: Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

The book I am writing: Out of the Frying Pan (revisions), as ½ of Sophie Mouette; Ghosted, as Dayle A. Dermatis; Seasoned With Danger, as Andrea Dale or Andrea Loewen (depends on how steamy it gets)

The book I love most: The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee

The last book I received as a gift: no freaking clue. People usually let me buy my own books….

The last book I gave as a gift: no freaking clue. Anybody out there get a book from me recently?

The nearest book on my desk: No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty and Gotta Have It: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel (which contains my story “Wasn’t It Good?”)

---

On a related note (being it's about books), I just won a copy of An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire, book three in the October Daye series. Yay! I adored books one and two (I rec'd book one here and will be rec'ing book two soon) and now I get to read this one just in time for book four to come out!

Right, now back to writing!

The first step

Hands down, my favorite episode of South Park is the one with the Underpants Gnomes. I love Tweak beyond imagine. Poor Tweak, already strung out on coffee and unable to sleep, and nobody believes him when he says little gnomes come in the night and steal his underwear. No wonder his sweater is buttoned wrong.

And I adore the industrious gnomes, who steal underpants and believe that somehow this will result in profit…if only they could figure out the elusive second step in the process.

For myself, when I’m stressed or feeling overwhelmed by all the things I have to do, I break things down into manageable tasks. Awhile back a friend posted a quote/tip (probably from somewhere else, but I fear I didn’t make note of the original link) that’s come to be almost a mantra for me: When you’re stressed, take a deep breath and say “And the way forward is…” In other words, what’s the next step?

Maybe it’s setting a timer for 15 minutes and hammering through as much e-mail as possible. After all, 15 minutes is barely a blip of time. Or I’ll make a cup of tea while doing the dishes. Unless I have an unusually large mound of dishes, I can get them all done in the time it takes to boil water and steep the tea. Plus making tea is a relaxing, calming ritual for me.

Sometimes it’s just reminding my brain to focus on one thing at a time. No, I can’t make eighteen phone calls and write the next chapter of a novel and visit the kitlings outside and go to the gym all at the same time. So pick one thing, and figure out the next step, and do that step. Don’t worry about all the other things, or even all the other steps, until that one’s completed.

A few minutes ago I went out to the garage to point out to Ken that we had forgotten earlier to discuss meals, make a grocery list, and go shopping, and thus we had no ability to make supper. (We got home at 2 a.m. from more than a week away.) We agreed that we’d either go out or order something in. I then came in to make my protein shake, which I drink about an hour before supper.

I then remembered my shaker bottle was still in my suitcase—a minor annoyance, since I like to have the water chilled before I make my shake. Also, now had to go all the way upstairs.

For some reason, I always misquote the South Park episode; instead of “Phase 1: Collect underpants” I invariably say “Step 1: Obtain underpants.”

Tonight, I sighed as I walked through the kitchen to go upstairs and get my shaker bottle, and I muttered, “Step 1: Remove underpants.”

And then I stopped dead in my tracks, wondering just where my brain was going with that.

(For the record, I have not removed my underpants—still not sure why my subconscious thinks I should, especially if we’re going out to eat—but I have finished drinking my shake.)

Come see Ken in Portland and Eugene!

Live in Oregon? Ever want to hear Ken's talk about his experiences on the Iron Butt Rally? Well, here's your chance!


Saturday, February 26, 6 p.m.
BMW of Western Oregon, Tigard
12010 SW Garden Place
Tigard, OR 97223


Sunday, February 27, 6 p.m.

BMW of Western Oregon, Eugene

2891 W 11th Avenue

Eugene OR 97402

The Iron Butt Association is a loose-knit group of riders dedicated to safe long-distance motorcycling. Entry into the club is obtained by documenting long-distance riding challenges, such as 1,000 miles in under 24 hours, or Coast to Coast in under 50 hours. Every two years the IBA hosts their premier event, the Iron Butt Rally. Billed as "11,000 miles in 11 days," this Rally tests the mettle of selected riders by sending them all across the US and Canada on a giant two-wheeled scavenger hunt. In fact, more people have gone into space than have completed an Iron Butt Rally.

Ken Meese has been riding ever since he snuck his parents' 125cc bike out of the garage as a teenager. He has logged several hundred thousand miles on BMWs and has ridden in Asia, Europe, and North America. Ken has ridden numerous Long Distance Rallies and Iron Butt certificate rides that have covered nearly every US state and most Canadian Provinces. 2009 was his first Iron Butt Rally, but definitely not his last.

This evening will be full of road tales, travails, and triumphs as Ken shares his experiences of competing in the ultimate motorcycle endurance Rally, and shows just what it takes to survive on a BMW for 11 days and 11,000 miles.

Aaaand she's off!

Whee! So much going on!

Yesterday I got seven short stories back in the mail, did 10K words on a copyediting job, and wrote a story for Custom Erotica Source (link clearly NSFW). I also did laundry, etc., etc. Before that, I wrote a short story for an upcoming workshop…that one was really hard, though, because the theme not only wasn’t one I’m normally that interested in, but it leant itself to darker stories, and I really need light and fluffy right now.

I’m super-excited, though, because this afternoon my friend Anwyn is coming to visit! (If I weren’t a Real Writer [TM], I’d add a million exclamation points at the end of that sentence!) We knew Anwyn in Wales, although she’s really from Australia, and I haven’t seen her nine years! Squeebouncity!

She’s visiting her beau in the Bay Area, so they’re driving down today. Tomorrow I’m co-teaching a cord-making class at an SCA event, so we’re all off to that, along with lunch with friends in Santa Barbara. Sunday they want to go to Disneyland, which is convenient because I have friends who throw an annual Superbowl bash each year, and they live pretty close to Disneyland. Between all that there will be much eating (she’s making me her patented six-cheese lasagne!) and drinking and watching A-Ha videos and talking until the sun comes up. Busy weekend!

So, before she arrives, I still have to…

• read through my CES story and mail it
• review and return a contract
• review another story and mail it
• get a novel proposal in the mail
• take Eostre to the vet
• go to the gym for an hour of cardio
• shower, etc.
• get water
• get cat litter
• get gas
• put away laundry
• do more laundry
• wash the sheets
• tidy the sewing room so I can blow up the air mattress
• put my sheets on the air mattress and other sheets on the bed
• clean all the crap off the dining room table (aka sweep it all up and dump it on the sewing table)
• print the handouts for tomorrow's class
• probably more little things I’m forgetting right now

I’ve almost finished drinking my morning tea. 1-2-3…go!

A brief, stream-of-consciousness update

My cleaning lady is due to arrive in less than an hour, I’m still in my pyjamas, and I haven’t tidied in preparation for her.

I have a list of phone calls to make.

The supplement that miraculously healed Eostre’s kidneys is backordered everywhere and I can’t get anymore and I’ve run out. Fuck.

Ohmygods where did all those overdue e-mails come from??

The story I’ve been writing has been eating my brain to the extent that I’ve gotten no other work done for several days. It must be finished today, though, and I’ve got bits and pieces of the end written, so hopefully it just all needs to be stitched together into some attempt at a coherent narrative.

Downton Abbey was awesome with a side of awesomesauce.

The wind was so wild last night it woke me up around 4:30 a.m., and then at 5 I had to get up to make sure the roof over the kitlings’ run hadn’t blown away, and then at 5:30 I got up to see if it was our gate that was banging and crashing (it wasn’t). Ugh.

I miss Ken.

I'm in a book trailer!

Well, at least, my voice is, reading two sentences from my story "Wasn't It Good?", which appears in Gotta Have It: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex! I didn't have time to get all gussied up and figure out how to record a movie of myself, so my voice is what you're gonna get.

The book trailer is up on YouTube, and isn't graphic, but it's still probably NSFW. (It's sensuous/steamy/sexy.)

Can you guess which excerpt is mine before you see the credits?  ;-)

Recommended Reading, September & October 2010

I know, I’ve fallen behind on this. I have the list of books I want to rec each month, just haven’t had the time to write up the info. But I’m almost there, and for this installment you get two months for the price of one!

Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay. Okay, okay, you know GGK’s my favorite author evah, so I was predisposed to love this book. But I’ve loved some of his more than others, and this one’s toward the top of the list. What I love is how he immerses the reader into the characters—so often, I feel like I know them, even in just a few pages—and the world. For those of you who haven’t read him, what he does is take a historic time period and creates a very similar fantasy world. Characters may be based on real historic people—but he’s explained that he doesn’t want to write a historical novel and put words in people’s mouths. It’s his way of exploring that time and place and those events in history. The fantasy/magic in Under Heaven is subtle—it’s not dragons and wizards—so don’t expect that going in. Also, it’s a big book, and gorgeously written, not something you’ll want to skim, so block out the time to savor it.

Hyperbole and a Half. Hyperbole and a Half is a web comic, and it’s…well, there are a couple I’ve read repeatedly, and each time, by the end I’m crying with laughter. The artwork is crude but amazingly deft—those little stick figures have real emotion and reaction in their triangular faces—but it’s her stories that are the gems. She mostly relates scenes from her childhood, dipping into how her childlike brain interpreted a situation and made decisions, but told with an adult’s perspective. Does that make any sense? I don’t know! All I know is that in November, I went back to the very first page of the Hyperbole and a Half blog, and I read it all the way through to the present. (In the beginning she just tells funny stories; the cartoons come later and really are the icing on the cake.) My personal favorites are “This is Why I’ll Never Be an Adult,” “The Party,” and “The Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas”. Paaaarp!

Ashes and Light, Karen L. McKee. I had the privilege of copyediting this book, which was fantastic because it’s something I might never have picked up otherwise (except maybe for the fact that the author is a writer-friend). A romantic suspense set in modern Afghanistan? Really? NY publishing just wasn’t ready for that (she got great “we love it but the subject matter scares us”-type rejections), and that’s NY publishing’s loss. Also, McKee knows her stuff—she’s a world traveler and has visited Afghanistan. Romantic, suspenseful, and in an unusual and exotic location. Yum. 

Jukebox stories, Dean Wesley Smith. Over the years, Smith has written and published a number of stories set in the same bar with the same basic premise that’s explained at the very beginning of each story (so, this is not a spoiler, ‘kay?): There’s a jukebox that has the ability to send a listener back in time to when a particular song had meaning for him. And when he’s back there, he has the length of the song to change things if he chooses. We all have a moment we regret, right? Or a moment we look back on and say, at the very least, what if I’d done X instead of Y? Smith explores this idea in each story, often to heart-wrenching results. Some characters chose to change the past, for better or worse; others don’t. I’ve been wanting to read these for years, and Smith is now publishing them online. Each week he’s publishing a free story on his website (some Jukebox stories, some not), so keep an eye there; you can also buy the rest of them as e-books via the usual venues (Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, etc.). Also, here’s a link to an e-book of a collection of five of the stories. I suspect he'll have a paperback of them out soon!

Pretty!

Here's the cover for More Scary Kisses, a paranormal romance anthology that will contain my story "Matchmaker" (the one I wrote years ago that went to a bazillion markets before getting accepted by this one!). Isn't it pretty?!

More Scary Kisses will be released in April 2011. Squee!

Present to myself

When my maternal grandmother passed away (back when I was in high school), my mother put her money into a trust, and every year my sisters and I get a Christmas check from Grandma L. She loved giving gifts (oh, the enormous box that would arrive every Christmas!) and this is a glorious way of remembering her.

The rule is that we’re supposed to use the money for ourselves—not for the household, not as a gift to anyone else, etc. (In other words, buying groceries is not okay, but going to for romantic dinner with the husband would be just fine.)

I haven’t officially used my gift in the past few years, because I could never decide what I wanted. Then, at Thanksgiving, Ken commented, “We really need more light in the living room. We should buy lamps.”

And I said (not really gritting my teeth…much), “Absolutely. You mean, like, the lamps I’ve had on my wish list for years?”

As it turned out, those lamps were on sale, and I’ll take a picture of them gracing our living room soon. (Along with the new curtains, which are perfect!)

But this post isn’t about them. This post is about what I did with this year’s money:

A picture is worth a thousand words, right? So I shall say no more.

Because I have to go practice!

Keeping breathing...

So, as I said to a few friends privately, I feel as though I can breathe again. The family member who is ill has made great strides…it will be a long road, but much of the fear is gone. Yes, it’s a cliché, but it does feel like a weight has lifted.

When you’re worried about someone in the hospital, it consumes you. It’s hard to let go, to think about other things; normal routines seem pointless and difficult. Feeling happiness feels like a betrayal. When you work in a creative field, it’s even harder: You struggle with whether what you’re doing is important or necessary or worthwhile, and gods, it’s so hard to be creative when you’re worried or scared or consumed.

I don’t think I was even aware of the fog ‘til it lifted. I’m sort of stunned by how bright the world is again. And I can really look forward to the things I’m looking forward to:

• Ken’s coming home! I’ll have another session of getting crazy amounts of work done at the airport while waiting for him (so I don’t have to drive there in the dark) on Tuesday, and then he’ll be home!
• Five—count ‘em, five!—Styx shows in a row, starting next week! And for four of them, we’re road-tripping with my friend Sara from Arizona. She’s flying in for show to, and the adventure will culminate in Arizona with the last show.
• A trip to LACMA to see their Fashioning Fashion exhibit.
• Anwyn’s coming to visit!  ::squeebouncity!::
• Nanci & Lenny’s annual awesome Superbowl party. I go for the friends, not for the game (as every year, I have no clue who’s even playing).
• Flying back to GA to visit family—this time, a much more positive and hopeful trip!
• Seeing Dennis De Young perform—it’s been way too long.
• Road-tripping to Oregon with Ken: We’re hauling the two old bikes up there for him and his buddy Ernie to get into selling condition, and I’m going to an Oregon Coast Writers workshop. Four of us ladies are sharing a room, and there will be a major gab-fest the night before the workshop starts!
• Then in March, two more Gowan shows! And this time, Ken’s coming, too! And Nanci and Helen again, and we will meet up with lots of other Gowan fans, and lo, Niagara Falls will never be the same.

Meanwhile, I have a slew of things to do before that Styxgian road trip… Back to work!

Filling the soul, or, a request for a bookplate

So, recently I received a lovely e-mail from someone I guess I should call a fan: She read and enjoyed “Lost and Found” in Lesbian Lust, and wanted to know if I had any signed bookplates.

Here’s the thing. We writers write in a vacuum. We hunch over our computers and sometimes the words flow and other times they’re chiseled out by one-armed dwarves wielding rusty pick-axes. We do the best we can, and when we’re done with our art, it becomes our product, and we fire it out into the world and hope it sells, because that’s what pays the bills.

We also hope that someone reads it, and that some of those people who read it kinda like it.

If someone actually writes a positive review, or asks for an autograph, etc? That just about sends us over the moon. Really. Honest. Wow. That’s what fills the soul.

Anyway, I didn’t have any bookplates. Hadn’t even considered they might be necessary. I went online and found a slew of ones I couldn’t afford (in terms of, I don’t need 500 of them at this time, but when I do, I assume I’ll be able to afford them!), and then I found erinshelby.etsy.com and picked up some lovely affordable customizable ones.

If anyone else wants a signed bookplate (i.e., you’re not local and can’t hand me a book), just let me know and I’ll fire one off to you. That is, if you want an Andrea Dale autograph. I’m still sorting out all the other pseudonyms! (But if you do want a different pseudonym, still let me know, so I know there’s a need for those bookplates!)

Wow.

Lo, some things are spiffy indeed

Despite the chaos I see everywhere and the lists of things to do I have (yes, I have multiple To Do lists…doesn’t everyone?), I feel like I’m slowly chipping away at the mountains and actually accomplishing something.

Still, I’m overdue at mentioning several very spiffy things!

First, Alison Tyler, who’s bought a number of my stories and is an author and editor who just amazes me (she has so much energy!), listed my story “The Queen of Christmas” as one of her favorites when it comes to, as she puts it, “happy porn.” I have to admit, the story makes me giggle every time I re-read it. So, thank you, Alison!

(If you want to read “The Queen of Christmas,” is available as an e-book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords, as well as in the Alison-edited anthology Naughty or Nice: Christmas Erotica Stories. Oh, and if you like it? Please leave a review…kthnxbai.)

Second, let me direct you to this fabby review of Orgasmic: Erotica for Women, in which I have two stories, one as Andrea Dale and one as Kendra Wayne. Although neither of my stories is given a shout-out, I’m dead chuffed by the positive review of the anthology overall, because it is, in fact, a great one!

Third, I have spaghetti sauce in the slow cooker, veggies prepped for stir-fry tonight (the aforementioned sauce is for future meals/freezing), all the dishes are done, and Eostre and I had a nice long scritchies-and-purring session. Now I’m off to clean the sewing room and finish up a few projects in there. Later, I plan to finish and short story and get some copyediting done. :-)

In Her Hands - first chapter available

To start off the new year with a bang, the scrumptuous folks at Soul's Road Press have posted the first chapter of my short spicy romance novel (written as Andrea Dale), In Her Hands, for all and sundry to read! Absolutely free!

Sarabeth Delany’s fantasies come to life when she meets male model Michael Steele—the inspiration for her erotic sculptures. They bond over a discussion of art and passion…which leads to steamy nights with blindfolds and erotic photo sessions.

Michael appreciates the advantages modeling has given him, but he’d really rather be behind the camera. He longs for a woman who’ll love him for who he is, not his fame. When he finds out about Sarabeth’s sculptures, will it mean the end of their affair…and her career?

Sarabeth' fantasies come alive when she meets model Michael, the inspiration for her erotic sculptures. Their discussion about art and passion leads to steamy nights with blindfolds and erotic photo shoots. Michael would rather be behind the camera. He longs for a woman who doesn't care about his fame. When he finds out about the sculptures, will it mean the end of their affair…and her career?

“In Her Hands” was a top-10 finalist in the Brava Novella Contest.

Go here to read it...and enjoy!  :-)