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allycatophile
allycatophile
Ally Cowee
Thu, May. 15th, 2008 10:06 pm
Thankful Thursday

Yeah, yeah, an unprecedented number of posts, I hear ya.

I am thankful for:

air conditioning

my healthy family

a husband who won't let me starve when I'm in the sprint-to-the-finish stage of a novel

a husband who will cook what I like

beautiful children that are mine, that love books, love to write, offer criticism and props, love to make art (and teach me a thing or two) are proud to be themselves and in general bless my days

2 dogs, 5 cats, and a landlord who allows them

an agent who will talk on the phone for an hour, and totally gets me and my writing

a brain full of stories

the ability to stay home and write those stories, even if it means going without a whole lotta luxuries

Tags:
Current Location: soon to bed
Current Mood: Thankful, duh!

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allycatophile
allycatophile
Ally Cowee
Thu, May. 15th, 2008 09:25 pm
WIP

So, spoke on the phone today with Secret Agent Man--great convo. We've been brainstorming which project I'll submit in June for my face-to-face crit at the conference in August. Along those same lines, I've been trying to decide which of several projects would become my love affair post Brown Shoes. I really want to work on something light and humorous, as BSD has been... darker... more emotionally charged than LTS, or anything I've done in a couple of years.

Ready for a break, much? Yeah.

So as Steve and I were running through projects, I pitched this one I started a month or two ago (not getting into the whole process thing again, if you're interested, I've totally dished on this in previous posts) and he got SO excited, he asked to see what I've already written. lol. Normally I don't share first draft material, but he insisted, so I complied, and we'll see what he thinks.

For now, the word count stands at:


and I think this one might be a crazy-fast, summer-festacular ride.

Ask me Monday, when BSD is to the cps and I've had no sleep to speak of...

Tags: , , , ,
Current Location: living room, watching Juno w/family
Current Mood: relaxed
Current Music: Juno

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tezmilleroz
tezmilleroz
Tez Miller
Fri, May. 16th, 2008 12:25 pm
A. J. Menden's Website is GO!

Jes Battis has received an author copy (or author copies???) of his first novel, Night Child (27th May 2008). Visit his blog to see it posing with resident regal cat Guinevere. (She seems to tolerate it, which is good news.)

A. J. Menden's website is now open. It even includes the copy for her first novel, Phenomenal Girl 5 (8th November 2008):

Lainey Livingston has just been made a member of the Elite Hands of Justice, the world's premiere cadre of superheroes. Her work with the Red Knights and the Power Squad was impressive; her apprehension stats are above normal, and her great strength and ability to fly are equally remarkable. But no one gets a free pass to active duty, and Lainey's next test is going to be her hardest. She's to train with the Reincarnist.

Robert Elliot, the Reincarnist. A magician who has lived multiple lifetimes, he's the smartest man in the world — and Lainey's last obstacle. He was personally responsible for seeing Pushstar wash out. But his eyes are the softest, kindest that Lainey has ever seen, and he's just the sort to knock her for a loop. Lesson #1: Romantic entanglements among crime fighters are super exploitable, and falling in love with a man who "can't die" is like waving a red flag at a bull. Especially not when the most fiendish plot ever is about to break over Megalopolis like a wave of fire.


If you shop at Chapters (a Canadian bookseller), you can pre-order the book here.

Devon Monk's Magic to the Bone (November 2008) cover has been updated with blurbs from Patricia Briggs and Rachel Vincent.

Nicked from A. J. Menden:
LiveJournal Username
Your Primary Super Power
Cape?
Identitiy
Origin
Location of Head Quarters
Primary Costume/Uniform Colors
Why are you a Superhero?
Your Superheroic Codename
The veteran grim member of the teamonlylive_twice
The sexist and crass but annoyingly effective onechloe_saunders
The bright-eyed novice or sidekickmikko1283
The teammate that will eventually go evil or insanpersephone_qd
The inept yet determined/reoccurring supervillainmistful
The sinister Arch-Villain and team's greatest foelixia84
The perky civilian that keeps getting kidnappedvpettersson
How often does your team actually 'save the day'?
72%
This Fun Quiz created by Shannon at BlogQuiz.Net
Free Daily Horoscopes at DailyHoroscopes.Biz


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Current Music: Madonna - She's Not Me (in my head)

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jmprince
jmprince
Julie M. Prince
Thu, May. 15th, 2008 07:14 pm
Things to click.

Jan still needs our thoughts! 

If you haven't seen this book launch 2.0 video, you must clickety! 

If you need to feel great about the state of YA books in today's market, be sure to read Newsweek's article on Generation R!

I can't wait to see my fellow desert dwellers at this Saturday's SCBWI conference. I hope everyone else takes lots of pictures and lets me steal some for my blog, since I'm volunteering again and will be running around like a madwoman! :-)

Current Mood: crazy

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alanajoli
alanajoli
Alana Joli Abbott
Thu, May. 15th, 2008 10:14 pm
Chinese Zodiac FTW

The extremely awesome [info]stargatedragon recently published the Chinese Zodiac info I was looking for--only with more story! (The personality types start at the end of page two, but the myth of the zodiac itself is well worth the read.)

In other news, I am making progress on my work. I turned in a review to SLJ today, have written several of the obituaries, and wrote a blurb on a forthcoming book (which was incredibly exciting for me, as the blurb was for an author whose work I very much admire). More work will be accomplished tomorrow.

And now, just for grins and giggles: Who comments the most on this journal? )

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susanwrites
susanwrites
Susan Taylor Brown
Thu, May. 15th, 2008 07:10 pm
Thankful Thursday

Today's random thankfulness:

I am thankful that I finished my work-for-hire projects and got them turned in this afternoon, leaving me three days off from the day job to work with Plant Kid.

I am thankful to my super brainstorming buddy who stirred up lots of gray matter for me today.

I am thankful in today's record heat that we have air conditioning.

I am thankful that since we have a two story house we have a split AC system.

I am thankful we can afford to run the AC.

I am thankful for my husband who does all the shopping and cooking around here.

I am thankful to anyone who reads my blog, whether you comment or not.


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Current Mood: content

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allycatophile
allycatophile
Ally Cowee
Thu, May. 15th, 2008 06:22 pm
The Agony and the Ecstasy

My agent is made of awesome. Just saying.

So, once again I've been a bad, absentee blogger. Other than the typical life things (mother's day, school ending, summer plans etc.) I've been finishing my wip, and determining which project to submit for the face to face crit at Pacific Coast Childrens Writers Workshop.

This stage of a project is always both stressful and amazing. I imagine it to be a bit like riding a chemical high, though I can't say from personal experience.

I don't sleep much, and when I do it is a light doze filled with dreams of scenes and mini-revelations and epiphanies.

I barely eat, and then only what I can grab and gulp, or consume at the computer.

(the extreme heat 102 degrees forecast for the next several days, doesn't help at all)

I tend to zone out and have to have people repeat themselves, because I am totally focused on the story and its culmination on paper.

I can't type fast enough, unable to keep up with my brain, which has been finished with and waiting to tell this story for a rather long time. And it goes on like this until I type the end.

So that's the agony, such as it is.

The ecstasy is that beautiful siren song calling to me as I finish, of the next project (the beginnings of which I've already begun), the story itself playing out in the recesses of my mind even as I complete its predecessor.

This weekend I will type The End on The Brown Shoe Diaries. I will pack it off to my cps, who will tear it apart, and then I will revise it to my own standards, feast on their feedback before implementing it, and send it off to Secret Agent Man.

And we shall see.

Meanwhile, I fully intend to document my journey through the next novel. Starting today.

Tags: , , , , ,
Current Location: living room
Current Mood: creative
Current Music: Professor Trelawny (HP3)

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thecityofdis
thecityofdis
Rick
Thu, May. 15th, 2008 07:55 pm
Argument (as told to Andy)

I just got into an argument with my father after dinner, because he is one of those Those Fucking Muslims people, and I am majoring in pretty much the closest thing my school has to Islamic Studies (hell, I designed half of it...)

And I'm like UHHHM ya think maybe you don't know what you're talking about? KTHNX.

Like, apparently there was a news article about a super-observant Muslim cab driver who wouldn't accept fare from a passenger carrying alcohol. And my father is all indignant about this and You Fucking Muslims Think You Own The Place.

And I'm like "...Daddy... how many Christian pharmacists refuse to fill women's birth control subscriptions? A LOT MORE."

And in some places, the state protects the good Christian pharmacist rather than the customer. OH HAI CAKE, can I eats you, too?

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breckinwood
breckinwood
Var-mæltr
Thu, May. 15th, 2008 07:47 pm
The first part, possibly...

els was the cause of the apocalypse.
... afterward, els got into a car accident while talking on a cell phone.
'How will you be remembered in history books?' at QuizGalaxy.com



But on the phone while driving? On the phone at ALL? Bwahahahahaha

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kellyrfineman
kellyrfineman
kellyrfineman
Thu, May. 15th, 2008 07:03 pm
Lubar in real life

Last night, I had the pleasure of picking up David Lubar at his hotel and bringing him back to my place. (That all sounds so much racier than the actuality of the situation.) David was visiting a local middle school today, so I invited him to come for dinner. Highlights of the meal (apart from having David here as a guest, and putting aside the food, which actually was pretty good, if I do say so myself) included S asking David if he felt famous (David's answer, the short version of which is "No"), M discussing a handful of short stories by other authors with David before asking if she could be excused to see the end of America's Next Top Model, and hubby sharing both his knowledge and many of his bourbons with David. In fact, the photo to the right would be David at the dining table with a little sip of something -- Bulleit, I think.

And here's a photo of David & me holding two bottles of bourbon each. Kids, don't try this at home. Also, in the interest of full disclosure, David was drinking extremely small portions of the bourbons as a sampling, and I wasn't drinking any of them at all. No, the rosiness of my face is entirely the result of a single glass of red wine with dinner. Gotta love rosacea (the skin condition, lest anyone think that's a new kind of pinkish wine):



Today, I had the pleasure of hearing David speak at the local middle school, which happens to be where my M attends 7th grade. In fact, I heard David twice - once in the morning at the full assembly, during the course of which he read the short story about author letters that he referenced in yesterday's post, and again in the afternoon when he spoke to a group of kids about writing and revision. Let me say this: David is quick-witted, smart, and funny, just as you'd expect him to be. He asked for an offbeat topic from the assembly crowd in order to demonstrate a technique he uses for brainstorming and managed to pick the wisest acre in the crowd, who gave him "plumbum" to work with. Within 20 seconds, David had listed at least 7 ideas related to that word. Meanwhile, I was still processing the word as a concept (you could say that I wasn't able to get the lead out).

I'd seen David speak at an SCBWI event in the past, so I knew he was a genius at speaking to grown-ups. And he has a skill for speaking to kids as well. The male population of the school was equally as engaged as the female, in part because of David's history as a video game programmer. Both genders (and all skill levels) were volunteering to share their writing samples during the smaller workshop. And having seen some other of these sorts of events, I'd say that's a magical thing.

Dear David,

Thanks so much for coming to dinner. My knowing you seriously boosted my own standing as a writer with my kids. And with their friends as well, seeing as both M and S told all their friends that you were here for dinner. We all very much enjoyed having you here, and hubby and I will be happy to partake of mojitos with you one of these days. Or Sazeracs. Your choice.

Sincerely,
Kelly Fineman





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Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Hubby humming a happy tune to the puppy

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cmpriest
cmpriest
naked and killing people
Thu, May. 15th, 2008 05:56 pm
May 15, 2008

I didn’t get much fiction work done yesterday — only a few hundred words. Instead, my husband took a “working from home” day, wherein I tagged along while he ran a bunch of errands. None of it was very interesting, but it was all pleasant and different, which was helpful. Sometimes I just need to get out of the house, you know?

Today the weather is beautiful, and it’s going to continue to be beautiful for another 3 or 4 days before the sky once again descends into its perennial suck. I have all the windows open, and the front door as well (save the screen). The cat is asleep beside me, lounging on the back of the couch and catching the first sunbeam she’s seen in weeks. It’s nice. When I finish this post, I think I’m going to make myself a snack. That will be nice, too.

But anyway, here’s today’s progress on the west coast steampunk Victoriana book with zombies, air ships, toxic gas clouds, mad scientists, dead folk heroes, secret criminal societies, and Bonus! extended deleted scenes from the Civil War:

Project: The Boneshaker
New Words: 4293 (most of that today, so it’s pretty good)
Present Total Word Count: 127,560 words
Goal: 130,000 words by July 1st.





Observations: It’s going to be wicked trouble blending these two POVs, but I think it’ll be worth it. I finished Zeke’s perspective this afternoon — reaching the point at which his narrative and his mother’s narrative will reunite into one story. The end really is in sight. I just need to kill off one more guy and make an awkward getaway that may or may not be wholly successful. Then there’s just the wind-down, and the fat lady sings. Man. I can’t believe it. I love this project so much; I’m so proud of it — it’s the most ambitious thing I’ve ever tried to write, and I think it works.

Things Accomplished in Real Life: Not much, honestly. Batted some email correspondence back and forth; received, signed, and sent back a contract for my employment at the Evil Empire (as I jokingly call it). This was a good thing. There’d been some paperwork tangles, and several invoices have logjammed to the point where I’m expecting several thousand dollars spread across several invoices, sometime in the next week or two. Ah, the life of a freelancer.

Reason for Stopping: Got to a good stopping spot. Getting munchy. Want to pry myself away from Twitter and go run around outside while it’s pretty enough for me to do so.

Total Fiction Words Composed in 2008: 196,135

[Crossposted to/from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so either here or there.]

Tags:
Current Location: home -- on the couch
Current Mood: warm

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