I have supped full wuth horrors

That lines comes form Act 5, Scene 5, Line 13-15 - Macbeth. I know it's upposed to be bad luck to quote "the Scottish play" but I always felt like that was an actor's superstition, not a writer's one. I always thought that if high schools had students read Macbeth instead of Julius Caesar, there would be more Shakespeare enthusiasts in the world. But no one asked my opinion. (It's Julius Caesar and Romeo & Juliet, which has a higher body count than Hamlet and I honestly don't think those are the best plays to start with.)

If you haven't supped on any horror lately but would like to, check out my longish short story Unsanctified, which is free on Kindle this week. I did a lot of spider research for that story--yet another example of getting lost in research.  I so love Google.)

A Quiet Shelter There is coming

Gerri Leen's charity anthology (proceeds go to help homeless animals in Northern Virginia) is now edited and proofed. I just finished reading it and can tell you that it is chock full of strong stories and evocative poetry. And there are stories that will make you cry unless you're made of stone. And some that will make you smile. And a few steampunk stories that will convince you there's hope for the genre.
The anthology is called A Quiet Shelter There. I'll let you know when it's coming out. And in the meantime, a totally gratuitous picture of Orange Cat lounging on the bed in the spare room.

Master classes all around!

I have mentioned my enthusiasm for the James Patterson masterclass video learning experience and now it seems Writer's Digest books has taken note of it as well. They're offering a fantastic deal on 14 of their books and recordings on every aspect of writing. The bundle is currently selling for $50, which is a little more than $4 per item. The item that caught my eye was a recording of this: Thrillers, Killers, and Fanboys: How to Succeed as a Writer by Knowing What Not to Do: Writer's Digest Conference Session Recording

It's really exciting to me to know that I have such great tools available. Add Stephen King's On Writing and you're good to go.

Arthurian fantasy set in Vancouver?

Why not? This series actually looks like a lot of fun. for more information go here.

the Djinn Wars trailer

christine Pope's book FALLEN publishes today. It's the latest book in her Djinn Wars series. She had Book Candy whip up a trailer for the release and it's great. (The music gave me chills.) Check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs0q96NIbUk&feature=youtu.be

New cover reveal

I have a new longish short story that I'm about to put up as a kindle "short read" and I found this cover on a pre-made site. I fell in love iwth the font and also with the spider photographs. I once encountered a spider just like that one with the striped legs. Only one of us survived the encounter. Spite is, as you can imagine, a horror story. But I've been playing around with vmapire mythology and I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out.

Shakespeare, gender identity, and Caitlyn Jenner

We kick off the third summer of Shakespeare with a few thoughts about gender identity. Shakespeare wrote several plays where women masqueraded as men and of course, back in his time, all the female roles were played by boys, so it must have gotten a little confusing in there somewhere. Caitlyn Jenner is not the first celebrity butterfly to emerge from a chrysalis of gender and she won't be the last. (Chaz Bono--we have not forgotten your gender journey. You're a class act babe.)
My dislike for celebrity culture is pretty deep and the constant bombardment of Kardashian/Jenner trivia (effluvia) just makes me sad. But Caitlyn Jenner's emergence has opened a national dialogue on gender issues that will be far more useful in the long run than all the politically correct reminders about not using certain terms and slurs.

When Ellen DeGeneres came out ("Yup, I'm Gay"), it was huge because she was so warm and funny and so damn likable that people who would swear they didn't so a single gay person (oh, yes you do) could suddenly say, "Wait. I like Ellen. And she's gay. So...maybe it's okay." Not that anyone needs permission to live their lives but in the real world (where my gay little sister lived), living out and proud isn't always that easy.
I think Caitlyn Jenner's legacy is going to be less about the Olympic medals and much, much more about the way her life transformed the way people look at gender issues. I hope so anyway.   And omg, that Vanity Fair  cover photo by the ever-awesome Annie Leibovitz is stunning.