but also fo anyone else who has tried to post a comment here. My comments section seems to be broken. Precious, I read your question about the James Paatterson masterclass and wrote a long reply and that was deleted too. How. Very. Annoying.
For those of you just joining us...
The question was--is it worth it?
I said YES and here's why.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Monday, June 15, 2015
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.)
Labels:
horror,
Julius Caesar,
Macbeth,
Romeo & Juliet,
Shakespeare
Sunday, June 14, 2015
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.
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.
Labels:
#OrangeCat,
charity anthology,
Gerri Leen
Thursday, June 11, 2015
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.
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.
Labels:
James Patterson,
Stephen King,
Writer's Digest books
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Arthurian fantasy set in Vancouver?
Why not? This series actually looks like a lot of fun. for more information go here.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
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
Labels:
Book Candy,
Christine Pope,
Djinn Wars
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.
Monday, June 1, 2015
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.
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.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Violets & Vetiver
I have always been interested in Aromatherapy--making my own bath products and such. I've written two diffrent books on the subject for two different marketing cmpanies and also, under my pseudonym "Delia Fontana," I've written a longish paranormal suspense story about a modern-day apothecary called Vetiver Quinn. (It's called The Fourth Sense and I had a lot of fun writing it.) I decided to create a logo for my character's shop, Violets & Vetiver, and I'm also creating a new blog where I'll be writing about aromatherapy and sharing lore and interesting tidbits and reviewing books about fragrance and perfume and the like. I'll be using this cool logo on the products i make for myself and my friends.
Every girl needs a hobby.
Every girl needs a hobby.
Labels:
aromatherapy,
fragrance,
The Fourth Sense,
Vetiver Quinn
Shameless Self-Promotion Saturday
This is the summer I finally get all the bits and pieces of writing up and out there. Joy Sillesen of Indie Author Services has created a great new cover for me as I collect all the L.A. Nocturne stories and add them to new ones as a "teaser" for my Misbegotten novel. (Urban Fantasy, set in L.A. There are vampires and werewolves and shapeshifters but no chicks with swords or tramp stamps.)
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Tanith Lee 1947-2015
One of the people reviewing my book Bride of the Midnight King compared my prose to Tanith Lee's. I could not have asked for higher praise. I discovered her through the Science Fiction/Fantasy book club, picking up the two novella book--Sabella, or the Blood Stone and Companions on the Road as one of my freebie choices.
I LOVED her writing.
So I immediately went in search f other books she'd written. Even then, she had a slew of titles in her backlist and by the time I'd gone through them, she'd written about ten more. (With Stephen King and Tanith Lee on my list of go-to authors, I never had to worry about not having anything to read.)
Except, now she's dead at 67 and there won't ever be any more of her gorgeous dark fantasies, the words piled up on each other like oil pigments, so thick and luscious it was a multi-sensual experience reading her books.
RIP Tanith.
I LOVED her writing.
So I immediately went in search f other books she'd written. Even then, she had a slew of titles in her backlist and by the time I'd gone through them, she'd written about ten more. (With Stephen King and Tanith Lee on my list of go-to authors, I never had to worry about not having anything to read.)
Except, now she's dead at 67 and there won't ever be any more of her gorgeous dark fantasies, the words piled up on each other like oil pigments, so thick and luscious it was a multi-sensual experience reading her books.
RIP Tanith.
Labels:
Companions on the Road,
Sabella,
Stephen King,
Tanith Lee
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Introducing: Mickey Cozart--cozy sleuth
One of the reasons I moved from L.A. is that I wanted more time to write. Now that I've been herein Bellingham six months, I've been able to go through my pending projects and start getting them into shape. Joy Sillesen of Indie Author Services has been helping me with that--providing covers and formatting and other assistance. Check out Indie Author Services here.
I've been writing a lot of fantasy lately, which is fun, but my heart will always belong to mysteries. This is the first of what I envision as a three-book series about Mickey Cozart, a woman of a certain age whose best friend is an actress making the awkward transition from leading lady to character actress. (She keeps losing parts to Glenn Close.) She has a daughter whose best friend is a gay man who works as a production designer on a "pretty people" show on the CW. Mickey--which was my mother's nickname--is a no-nonsense type who was widowed early. She met her husband when she was waitressing at a pie place near JPL where he worked. He was 20 years older. He died when she was 37 and she still misses him, even though she has a full life. But there's this cop...
I have been working on this book on and off for a few years. Some of it even got written longhand during the hours I was sitting at the eye clinic waiting for the monthly shots of Lucentis to wear off. (And wasn't it a treat tramscribing those scribbles?) Unlike a LOT of the stuff I write, this is a book I think my mother would have enjoyed. I hope so anyway. It'll be out this summer. Finally.
I've been writing a lot of fantasy lately, which is fun, but my heart will always belong to mysteries. This is the first of what I envision as a three-book series about Mickey Cozart, a woman of a certain age whose best friend is an actress making the awkward transition from leading lady to character actress. (She keeps losing parts to Glenn Close.) She has a daughter whose best friend is a gay man who works as a production designer on a "pretty people" show on the CW. Mickey--which was my mother's nickname--is a no-nonsense type who was widowed early. She met her husband when she was waitressing at a pie place near JPL where he worked. He was 20 years older. He died when she was 37 and she still misses him, even though she has a full life. But there's this cop...
I have been working on this book on and off for a few years. Some of it even got written longhand during the hours I was sitting at the eye clinic waiting for the monthly shots of Lucentis to wear off. (And wasn't it a treat tramscribing those scribbles?) Unlike a LOT of the stuff I write, this is a book I think my mother would have enjoyed. I hope so anyway. It'll be out this summer. Finally.
Labels:
cozy mystery,
Indie Author Services,
JPL
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Masterclass with James Patterson
As you know, I habitually cruise Craigslist looking for jobs and gigs. I'm on there enough that I've seen the same scams posted over and over ("Quick, fast writing gig") and noted the emergence of the phony Yelp rating business and marveled at the unbelievable gall of people who are trolling for people to exploit. But I've also made about 50 percent of my income from CL ads in the last eight years and among the gigs I scored was one beta-testing this MASTERCLASS WITH JAMES PATTERSON.
Yes, I was paid to take a class (complete iwth workbooks and assignments) that is being offered to the public for $90. the "lessons" are edited from a series of interviews and in them Patterson takes his "students" through his process--from getting ideas (one of the lessons I found most engaging) to marketing. Along the way he tells some engaging stories.
You might want to check it out. Here's more information on the people behind the Masterclass concept.
Yes, I was paid to take a class (complete iwth workbooks and assignments) that is being offered to the public for $90. the "lessons" are edited from a series of interviews and in them Patterson takes his "students" through his process--from getting ideas (one of the lessons I found most engaging) to marketing. Along the way he tells some engaging stories.
You might want to check it out. Here's more information on the people behind the Masterclass concept.
Labels:
James Patterson,
Masterclass,
writing lessons
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Blood Ties by Nicholas Gjuild
My review of Nicholas Guild's Blood Ties is live over at Criminal Element. In it I ponder sexism in crime fiction and note that in a book written by a guy, the women are strong and dimensional. And just saying that seems sexist to me. But I have gotten awfully tired of seeing women crime writers ignored or shuffled to the side or marginalized or dismissed or ignored. But I'm repeating myself. I enjoyed Blood Ties and wouldn't mind seeing more in the series.
Labels:
Blood Ties,
Criminal Element,
mystery fiction,
Nicholas Guild
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
REVIEW The Devil's Making by Sean Haldane
The Devil's Making by Sean Haldane--a review
Darwin and
the edge of the Empire
Amateur
naturalist Chad Hobbes—the atheist son of a preacher—has come to the colony of
British Columbia to learn a bit about life before he settles down to a life as
a lawyer. Unfortunately for Chad, he’s just missed the Gold Rush, which means
that nobody in Vancouver or nearby Victoria really needs a lawyer. But what
they do need is a policeman. The wilderness settlement has several police
officers but none with Hobbes’ particular set of skills. The idea of being a
“peeler” appeals to Hobbes and he’s soon thrust into the heart of a murder
mystery that has racial and colonial implications.
Hobbes is
fascinated by his duties and dutifully records everything he observes in a
leather-bound journal his mother gave him before he left home. There’s plenty
to observe. Elections are pending and one of the questions is whether B.C. will
become part of America. Passions run high on both sides of the question but not
as high as when an American “alienist” is found dead and the most likely
suspect is a medicine man.
Sean
Haldane’s novel transcends genre here with its literate (but never ponderously
literary) style and the sharp observations on everything from class to
vegetation. (Hobbes is fascinated by the quality of blue in the sky, so
different from the English sky back home.)
Fans of
historical mysteries are in for a treat with this book.
Labels:
historical mystery,
Sean Haldane,
The Devil's Making
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)