Inter-connections

jennawaterford

10:01 pm - If you're looking for gift ideas...

Might I suggest Heifer International? I've been a supporter for many years, and it's a gift I give myself, knowing that my donations have helped families all over the world survive and prosper.

The modern world does not reach as far as we may think. Not so long ago even in what we call the First World, a single cow meant the difference between a decent life and poverty, and that's still true in so many places. Just think: A single cow or a flock of chickens can make the difference between malnutrition and good health, between poverty and prosperity.

Families helped by Heifer receive their animal(s) and training in their care. They also make a commitment to pass on offspring from their gift animals to others in their community, so a single animal can eventually impact many families and strengthen the community to which it is given.

That's a far better bargain than any door-buster sale item will ever be.

catsparx

02:14 pm - gifted

Looking for a truly original Xmas gift? How about a celestial soul portrait by Erial Ali?
(note -- mine is not an Ali original but a dodgy martinlivings knock off)

Thanks Martin, finally an author photo I can be proud of!

Current Mood: amused

bravado111

07:08 pm - Novel is done. Honeyed Words first draft is complete

I wrote 17,000 words since Wednesday to finish book 2 in the Black Blade series.

After several hours of brainstorming with my son on Wednesday evening, I had a clear runway to the end of the novel.
From that point, the words flowed like opening a tap. I wish the middle had gone this smoothly, but I have no real complaints.

Proofs from book 1 should be here Monday or Tuesday. I’ll read that straight through, return them to NY, and then pick up book 2 and read it from the beginning. It seems funny to say, but I’ve only written the book. I haven’t actually read it yet.

Should make for good synergy and continuity reading them back-to-back like that. After I do the read and a pass to smooth things out, I’ll get it out to my first readers.

Man, this is GREAT! I’m so happy to wrap this. It’s seriously early but I want it to be better than book 1, so I need some quality time to see what works and what doesn’t. It is also longer than the first one, which surprises me. I tend to be a put’er-in’er, so the thought I may actually cut seems absurd.

The story is what it is. If my exceptional editor thinks it’s long, then we’ll adjust.

But before that, we have the first readers and mine are superb. Top notch folks with good eyes and who are not afraid to let me know when something doesn’t work for them.

Off to chill and make a few phone calls — let the panic set in that it’s a horrible mess. But that’s not today’s business.

Originally published at J.A. Pitts. You can comment here or there.

jeffsoesbe

05:39 pm - [writing] OryCon Report: Saturday and Sunday

Well, another OryCon has come and gone. Once again, I had a great time, go to hang out with many old friends, made many new friends, and got a second done of writerly reinvigoration fresh on the heels of WFC. Orycon is small, but not too small, and it's in Portland which is one of my favorite cities for so many reasons. And so, here is the full report.

( Saturday is a looong day, but coool )

( Sunday is more, much more, mellow )

As always, Orycon was a great time. It's fun to feel like I'm becoming part of the writing crowd, and thus feel freer to chat with people, go to parties, and have more participation in all aspects of a con. But behind it all is the reminder that there is plenty more to be done with my writing, and it's entirely up to me to put in the work, to continually dig deeper into my stories, and to always try to write the best story I can. One month is left in the year, so I'll be working to close out 2009 on a really strong writing note!

Now it's time for two slices of pizza and a plane flight home! Yay, home! It will be good to be home and see everyone. Can't wait!

mistymarshall

01:35 am - Shadow

So I took this portrait in London in front of Buckingham palace. I actually was shooting something else and then noticed the cool shadow. So I posted it because it is a kind of how I feel right now. Just like this shadow, I am not a substantive form. I keep waiting for it to become something more, but it is just a shadow and easily ignored. So here I stand in the shadow of royalty merely a shadow myself or a shadow of my former self..not really sure. Enjoy...

jennawaterford

02:48 pm - Runner's World

Or, to be more honest, hobbler's world.

I've recently taken up running or should I say, I've recently aspired to taking up running. Finding no nearby gyms to my liking for the prices quoted, I've been looking for an alternative way to get in my workout (vital considering my job involves me sitting for 8+ hours a day), and the high school's track which is literally across the street finally beckoned me to give it a try.

That first day, I made it around six times, mostly at a walk, but I really liked it. I never used the running tracks at the various gyms I've belonged to, preferring to use the treadmill, but I think that allowed me to take it too easy on myself. Just you and the track or sidewalk, there are no distractions (TV, magazines) to slow you down.

They have the distances posted on signs by all the entrances to the track, and seeing that I had gone a little more than a mile and a half or about 2500m, I thought, "I know! I'll work up to a 5k!"

And so I've been working for the past couple of weeks now. It's hard going because I have no stamina for running. I'm a solid walker and can go for miles and miles, but running is not something I've ever really done. I looked at the "train for a 5k" calendars and I need a remedial "train for a 1k to get started on training for a 5k" calendar which I'm sort of making up as I go along.

Today I ran over a third of a mile (0.375 miles) without stopping. That's a personal best. And I ran a full mile out of my 1.5+ miles (or 4 of my 6 laps) which is another personal best. Once I can run all or almost all of the 6 laps, I'll start working on that "train for a 5k" plan. I'm surprised I managed that 0.375 as that is twice my prior best distance.

Who knows? By summer I might actually be ready for a real 5k run!

jimvanpelt

10:49 am - Robert Holdstock

Robert Holdstock, the author of the amazing Mythago Wood, which I have been listing as one of my favorite and most personally influential books since I read it in 1987, died this morning of an E. Coli infection.

This sucks on so many levels.

Both coppervale and ellen_datlow have posted heartfelt thoughts about him. As much as I have wanted to since I read Mythago Wood, I never met him. We never corresponded. I only know him through his works.

Damn. There are many people who actually knew Robert who have more immediate reasons to mourn. Everyone who loved his writing, though, but didn't know him personally, will join the throng. I'll be in that group.

Current Mood: depressed

criada

07:29 am - Orycon

I've been having a good Orycon. I've never been, and my usual con-mates (plunderpuss, kehrli and mikigarrison) aren't here, so it's a little unfamiliar. But there's still plenty of people I do know and was able to get to know better. I found plenty of people to glom on to. (And thank you all, for letting me cling.) I'm apparently at the point in my life where I'm forgoing panels. I've seen most everything already, and would only go because I wanted to watch a particular panelist. I only went to a few panels, and those were great.

davidlevine beat out Neal Stephenson to win the Endeavor Award on Friday. I like that the Endeavor Award seems to be one that isn't guaranteed to go to the biggest name.

Saturday was marred by the disappearance of my hoodie, aka, the only thing keeping me warm when I go outside. Lost and Found didn't have it, and a search of the room turned up nothing. I hoped that it was someplace stupid, where my things frequently vanish to. And sure enough, I found it this morning, wedged between a chair and the sliding glass door, nicely chilled.

Saturday was also marred by a distinctly bad night of sleep on the previous night. I couldn't get my mind to shut up, and kept waking fully from my half sleep every half hour. So Saturday I was a zombie for much of the day. But a nap and an awesome dinner with nisi_la later, I was up and running.

But otherwise, Saturday (and the other days) was great! I went to the "Jay Lake" reading, where our hospital-bound friend was played by several different people. The whole affair (which consisted of a HUGE room of people ALL OF WHOM wore Hawaiian shirts, each louder than the next) was being recorded, and this was marred (look, it's my favorite word of the post!) by a leak which dropped persistantly behind the readers. At one point, someone (Liz, who may or may not have an LJ) grew so sick of it, she went up to let the drips fall silently on her hands like Loki's wife. She stood there the whole time, her hands changing position when they grew too pruny. cscole came in late and honestly thought she was doing some kind of interpretive dance.
Meanwhile, another leak sprung back by the door. This one grew stronger and stronger, until finally the show ended and we all fled for our lives. I hope this isn't The Leak That Followed Elizabeth, since at World Fantasy, I was the one who discovered the column of water streaming from the second-floor swimming pool. (Maybe I just discovered a secondary leak, since supposedly the leak damaged the dealers room, which I was nowhere near. Suffice to say, I was taking a morning walk round the hotel when I though, "Listen, a fountain! Wait, there's no fountain in the hotel!")

maryrobinette

11:40 pm - Bid on me! Raise money for TAFF

Well, not actually on me, but on a tuckerization by me in a short story or novel as part of a fundraiser for the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund this year.

For those of you who don’t know, TAFF sends – in alternating years – a delegate(s) from North America to Europe or from Europe to N. America, to attend a science fiction convention. The point of the auction is to raise funds to make this possible. The folks running for TAFF this year are the team of (1) Anne KG Murphy and her fiance Brian Gray and (2), Frank Wu.

Frank says:

I have posted to eBay several Tuckerization auctions (in which you get to bid on the naming rights of a minor character in a novel or story by a famous author!). The auctions for Tuckerizations from Cory Doctorow, Charlie Stross, Nalo Hopkinson, David Brin, Elizabeth Bear, Julie Czerneda and Mary Robinette Kowal are up!

We also have auctions for first editions of Orwell’s “1984″ and John Hersey’s “Hiroshima”.

In addition, Chris Garcia’s fanzine The Drink Tank, issue 231, has been posted with articles by Anne KG Murphy + Brian Gray, and by Frank about our TAFF campaigns. Anne and Brian’s article serves as a good introduction about them to everyone!

And, of course, don’t forget to actually vote for TAFF!

So go on, bid on me.

Comments? -- Link.

jeffsoesbe

10:30 pm - tweets for the day

(Posted here for reference. At twitter, I'm "yeff")

• 07:36 #orycon day 1 was much fun, but I fell asleep at 8:45 pm and missed all the parties, dang it! #fb #
• 17:39 #orycon - listening to the Broad universe readings and enjoying them! #fb #
• 18:03 Taking a very short break before my reading in 25 minutes, just to relax and rest the voice, cause it's a second reading after that... #fb #
• 20:34 the readings went well, much fun was had, and now it's a little food and then parties! Tonight, I avoid the accidental mega-nap. #fb #
• 20:36 at #orycon, my commitments are all well-met and now the evening can begin. parties, food, socializing! #fb #

catsparx

05:12 pm - things i learned this weekend

1. My current writing project does not suck as much as I feared
2. Gluten and lactose-free friands are ridiculously easy to make. And disturbingly tasty
3. Ditto on gluten and lactose-free pizza
4. Smershy has been weeing in both of our studys. Bad bad kitteh.
5. JJ Abraham's Star Trek movie was every bit as good the second time through as the first

Current Mood: chipper

mizkit

07:51 pm - saying no is hard!

Maaaaaan. I’ve been invited to two anthologies in the past week, and it’d be so fun to do both of them, but I swore to myself I wouldn’t accept any more anthology invitations until next October. And I was wibbling on one, at least, because I’d been told about it before my No More Anthologies rule, but I remembered I had to do a proposal (for more Inheritors’ Cycle books) between writing WORLDBREAKER and RATTLESNAKE DANCES next spring, so nooooooooo, no anthologies for me. *tries to stay smart* :)

Current Mood: busy

jeffsoesbe

08:49 am - OryCon: Friday Report

After a full Thankgiving of eating, drinks, conversation, and playing Dance Dance Revolution and Rock Band with our footy friends Matt and Amy, I got up at 5 in the morning to get to the airport for the plane to Portland and OryCon.

( Friday review behind the cut )

Saturday is three panels, a critique session, and two readings.

One reading is mine (6:30 pm, Madison), where I'll be reading:
- "Fairy Lover" (micro-fiction story, sold to thaumatrope)
- "All That Was Left Behind" (spam flash fiction, sold to Weird Tales)
- (part of) "The Very Difficult Diwali of Sub-Inspector Gurushankar Rajaram" (short story, sold to DayBreak Magazine)

The other reading is the "Jay Lake reading" (7:30 pm, Hamilton?), where a group of us will be doing full multi-cast readings of a couple of Jay's stories since he's in the hospital recovering from surgery. The stories are a secret, but fun is guaranteed! Come check it out!

And now it's time to begin Orycon: Saturday. Report tonight, or tomorrow.

frankwu

06:34 am - TAFF updatery!

The TAFF (Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund) auctions continue! (For those of you who don't know, TAFF sends - in alternating years - a delegate(s) from North America to Europe or from Europe to N. America, to attend a science fiction convention. The point of the auction is to raise funds to make this possible. The folks running for TAFF this year are the team of (1) Anne KG Murphy and her fiance Brian Gray and (2) me, Frank Wu.)

I've posted to eBay several Tuckerization auctions (in which you get to bid on the naming rights of a minor character in a novel or story by a famous author!). The auctions for Tuckerizations from Cory Doctorow, Charlie Stross, Nalo Hopkinson, David Brin, Elizabeth Bear, Julie Czerneda and Mary Robinette Kowal are up!

We also have auctions for first editions of Orwell's "1984" and John Hersey's "Hiroshima".

In addition, Chris Garcia's fanzine The Drink Tank, issue 231, has been posted with articles by Anne KG Murphy + Brian Gray, and by Frank about our TAFF campaigns. Anne and Brian's article serves as a good introduction about them to everyone!

And, of course, don't forget to actually vote for TAFF!

mizkit

08:02 am - that went well.

The book signing went pretty well, I think. Sold around 20 books, which isn’t bad for Fairbanks, and saw one friend from the North Road where I grew up whom I hadn’t seen in probably 20 years, plus another one who had no idea I was writing for a living, and did a wonderfully classic double-take when he saw me. :) And a third whom we had no idea was living in Fairbanks, but who is in fact actually working part-time at the B&N, so that was all-around awesome.

Ted, more than once, went dashing off to the shelved books to get copies of books I’d sold all the copies of (HEART OF STONE and THE QUEEN’S BASTARD, mostly) from my little display table. Ted is an awfully good guy.

One woman, the mother of a fan who lives in Chicago, came by with a bag full of books that her daughter’d sent to have signed, so that was awesome. Equally awesome was the fact that the grandmother accompanying the mother saw fit to move two large display/signs so people could actually see me when they came into the store. :)

Another gentleman whose wife had gone to UAF’s creative writing program told me the story of how they’d met when she’d picked him up off a fantasy bookrack at a used bookstore. :) She’d apparently come to Alaska with a fella, and they’d broken up shortly after arriving, so she’d gone to drown her sorrows by stopping by the bookstore, and found someone she knew to talk about it to. She said, “I guess I’m free to date now. Maybe him,” she said, gesturing to my storyteller. “He’s kind of cute. Tell him he should ask me out.”

“Ah!” said the friend, “that’s my friend John! John! Ask Mary out, she thinks you’re cute!”

That was thirty years ago. :)

Anyway, so it was a good day. We did a very little bit of shopping before the signing, but there were no mad crushes of people (though the parking lots were all crammed full), and we had a specific shopping list, so it was pretty strategic strike. That’s the only kind of shopping I like to do anyway, so it was all good. :)

Current Mood: pleased

catsparx

05:32 pm - urgh

Had what could only really be described as a useless day today. Started off trying to write but Smersh wasn't going to have a bar of it. He's been very needy of late and kept up the headbutting of my mouse hand until I had to get cranky and put him outside. Then Rob and I went into town to do some shopping and sorting of stuff that couldn't be procrastinated any longer. I hate shopping at the best of times but pre Xmas is always really horrid. Is it even December yet? The aisles are already fully stacked with obese tattooed bogans clutching at singing reindeer animatronics and all manner of imbecillic and irritating inventions. I fucking hate Xmas... do you hear me? Hates it will all my heart!

So tonight we'll be watching the new Star Trek movie and eating home made smoked salmon flan in an effort to reset my zen so that tomorrow I can plant my carcass at my keyboard and spew forth another couple thousands plus words like I did on Friday.

Bah humbug.

Current Mood: aggravated

jeffsoesbe

10:30 pm - tweets for the day

(Posted here for reference. At twitter, I'm "yeff")

• 07:03 Off to Portland for #orycon! #fb #
• 07:04 Travel sight: stores with full parking lots at 6am Friday #fb #
• 07:15 Travel; friday flight is not full. Sunday, certainly, will be #fb #
• 09:02 Landed in Portland, waaaay early! #fb #
• 09:31 Good morning, Portland! Very nice here, it is! #fb #
• 09:48 On the light rail from pdx to the con hotel. How perfectly convenient #fb #
• 10:03 Someone on this light rail has a mad-on going for the whole world: train, riders, parking lots #fb #

mistymarshall

06:08 am - magic

Just finished watching Stardust again. That is such an amazing movie, makes me almost believe in fairy tales...... At least it is a pleasant distraction. I always read and watch many movies when I am avoiding the world. I have read 4 books this week and watched two movies. I guess I better get it out of my system this weekend. I really need to work next week....sigh.

frabjouslinz

04:37 pm - ...the carcas of the beast may still be found haunting the kitchen...

Happy day after turkey day. Had a loverly time over at Michelle's, eating and being generally merry, in a small group kind of way. Much food was had, and while I did not stuff myself too badly, my stomach is protesting the abuse still. Silly tummy, it's only carbs. (Mmmm, carbs.)

The work situation continues irritating, as while I am now able to get *into* the software I need to do my job, it is so slow as to take 30 minutes or more to do anything in it. Super bleah. I think I'll give up after this last attempt at an update. Being in the office is a little strange, as I think there are maybe 4 people here. Miki came in to keep me company (and do some work or something, I don't know). We did go get lunch and felt a little decadent taking about an hour and a half out of the office. But I think working on a day when no one is here is penance enough to justify a long lunch, right?

I am sad to be missing OryCon this weekend. But I'll have to work Sunday as well, to make up for my being gone next Friday for my eye surgery, and maybe the Monday as well, depending on whether the swelling and double vision will have gone down. Hope OryCon is a party this weekend. Boogie in my honor, will ya?

I'm kind of nervous about next Friday and general anaesthesia. I've never done this sort of thing before. But the risks in the surgery are reportedly low, so I'm, er, confident? Um. Suffice it to say that I've been putting off this surgery for 10 years. I really need to do it before I'm 40 and my eyes change more. So, um, yeah. Forging ahead we go. Should be all fine. Miki, that wonder-woman of all things medical, is coming along with Scott and me to drive us home after and to make us all calmer. (OK, me.) She's good at that. Swedish just called to confirm everything. Also, apparently I can't wear any deoderant and need to take two showers. Probably due to possible staff infections. They won't be cutting into any skin for this surgery (just muscle inside the eye), but I can see their point. However, people have surgery for far more serious issues all the time. It will be fine, as my mother is always saying.

Other than that, here comes December. 'Tis the jolly season, and I do loves me the jolly. I listened to xmas music while I was baking cookies yesterday, and I plan on doing more this weekend while I clean the WHOLE HOUSE FROM TOP TO BOTTOM before my surgery. (Kittehs beware.) I'm feeling a little manic about the cleaning, and while the xmas music might not make me less manic, it will certainly make it a cheerful mania. One hopes. And as the month progresses, I plan on decorating and baking and being relatively obnoxious because I like jolly and I like decorations and I like pretty lights. So nyah. Mr. Sweetie is less enamored of the whole process, but as I told him, he loves me, I love jolly, so he really doesn't have huge amounts of choice here. Poor Mr. Sweetie. I believe he'll live, though. Next issue: when will I find time to shop for presents? Um, Amazon is my friend?

I have to figure out travel plans, but I'm working on that. Money, money, money. Driving is starting to look like the best option after all. We'll have to see. Hope everyone had a lovely day yesterday, and a nice weekend upcoming. I'm leaving the frustrations of work now. Stupid thing finally uploaded, so I'm off.

Current Mood: out of here

jaylake

01:21 pm - [cancer] Still in hospital

I am doing unexpectedly well here in hospital. Per this post from calendula_witch I do believe I'm up to visitors today and tomorrow. Also, looks like I may be here til Sunday despite earlier hopes.