Month: March 2009

Another 3 chapters. Three more to go. Also, a study guide, and a power point/presentation prep for next week.

To celebrate, I’m going to clean the kitchen.

Catherine

And then…chapters 4 and 5 of HH:PW were edited. Those two chapters are very meat and potatoes now. Lots happens.

Muzzly now. Must stop to watch Code Geass. No, really.

Catherine

Okay, so I didn’t make the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Quarterfinals, and that’s cool.

BUT

There is some exciting news. My friend Julie K. Rose did! And honestly, given the panel of judges, I can see why. It’s exactly the kind of book these esteemed judges write.

I’m luckier than most of you. I’ve gotten to read The Pilgrim Glass in its incarnations, and it’s really good.

There are two links I’d like to share with you:

If you visit Julie’s site, and click on the sample chapter link, you’ll find chapter one.

This is the official Amazon site

Why should you read and review The Pilgrim Glass excerpt? If you are the kind of reader who likes a heavy dose of realism mixed in with your fantasy, or if you like fantasy with a strong historical base, this is a good book for you. It comes from the same school of writing that produced The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Lake House.

The characters are fascinating and realistic, and the situation artistic and evocative. The writing is full and descriptive. It is a mystery of angles and alcoves, and the first 27 pages are waiting for you at Amazon.

Congratulations, Julie, and I wish you much luck in moving forward!

***

Catherine

It’s a cheeky little headache today, but not a migraine, so we are slowly getting the junk out of the system!

I’ve been playing at being a writer today, and I’ve finished editing the first three chapters of Hulk Hercules.

I’ve also managed to get the next installment of Blood up!

Now, to finish up some teacher work, and then a well-deserved break.

Catherine

If this is the shape of things, I want to go back to work.

You might know that I have GERD, or acid reflux disease. Occasionally this causes me trouble. It caused me the mother of all trouble I’ve had with it thus far Friday night, and although I guessed I was dealing with gastritis, I was off to the emergency room because of the wickedness of the symptoms, and, because when you’ve started Wellbutrin, you’re supposed to watch that sort of thing.

I figured I’d get a GI cocktail and that it would be over with. I also figured this would come after all the heart tests that showed my heart was okay.

Steps one and two went according to plan. However, the chest didn’t stop hurting after the GI cocktail, so they decided to keep me in overnight for observation, and they gave me three healthy doses of nitroglycerin.

Let me say for the record: I am fine. I have a gastroscopy scheduled for next week just to check out my GI tract. That’s pretty regular, and we’ll take a closer look at what last night’s doc thinks might be a jumpy esophagus (for which I have another new, delicious medicine!). But I’m not in any danger. No caffeine for a while (that’ll kill me!) and bland foods, but I’m okay.

What I am having trouble with is losing the migraine that the nitroglycerin pills and paste gave me. The one that had me throwing up almost all day yesterday, and makes it impossible for me to move around without getting more of a headache today. I’ve been sleeping to hide from that pain, and will rejoin that effort shortly.

Here’s hoping you are all well.

Catherine

FYI–I’m not sure how much I’ll be around next week, because I get to play all week at being a writer (HH:PW edits, dontcha know). I may weigh in with boring old progress reports, or I may just show up with a finito at the end. Or I may come every day for sanity breaks. However, it is my spring break priority, so I thought you should know I might be gone. And there might not be any Blood is Thicker Than Water next week either.

***

Now, to the meat of today’s post. My friend Catrina Horsfield, a writer and artist, has generously allowed me to interview her about her artwork. But first, some art.

This is the conceptual picture that she drew of Errol Klarion and Stephanus Gale from The Substance of Shadows, my current out there project.

A recent picture of Janetta from Gossamer and Veridian, still in process.

The pencil sketch of Aurora (not a character of mine!) that she did for an anthology a few of us did a while back.

If the pictures have whetted your appetite, the interview and a link to more of Catrina’s art are just a click away.

Continue reading “My Artist Friend Catrina Horsfield”

I am very excited to show you the cover of the collection that you will find Sister Night, Sister Moon in–Things That Go Bump in the Night by George Cotronis.

The collection will be available with various other anthologies over the next few weeks. Check out the official Drollerie Press Release!

While I can’t promise to “sign” your electronic copy if you buy it, I can sign any proxy you might want me to, as long as it doesn’t disrupt my marriage. 🙂

At any rate, tell your friends.

Catherine

Cultural Appropriation Question: Does it strike anyone else as ironic that a bunch of U.S. citizens who have regular access to the Internet are talking about cultural appropriation, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, religion or sexual orientation? Given the following information:

1. The average impoverished person in the U.S. is better off than the average middle class person in many African countries.
2. The predominate issue of globalization is the Western usurpation of more traditional societies, usually through technological means. This has often been called cultural colonialization.
3. The truly poor and citizens from other countries are shut out of the argument of RaceFail by a lack of access to technology, or a lack of the ability to speak English, which is rapidly becoming a common language and (alas! although there are movements to the contrary) privilege.
4. Those of us who have access to technology, regardless of where we come from or what we think, are actually privileged over those who have no access.
5. There are those that have no leisure and/or limited freedom, given their harsh day to day life, to answer these questions.

So, cultural appropriation is an issue. Agreed. It’s important to consider the plurality of all, and to consider the issue of cultural appropriation as it relates to globalization and a general stamp of Western or colonial culture in regard to the rest of the world. Agreed. For your consideration: everyone who is engaged in the conversation is more privileged than everyone who is not engaged in the conversation due to issues of lack of access, often due to geographical, political, and economic circumstances, as well as the linguistic challenges and stigmas of non-standard English, notwithstanding.

Did the RaceFail conversation address any of these concerns of global inequity? Does anyone know? Can you point me to places in the argument where that happened?

To clarify, I’m not saying that we should not address the conversation. It’s an important conversation that affects many people. However, let’s all take a moment to consider how lucky we are to be able to do it, and appreciate that for the privilege it is. Let’s all decide to do something else to listen to our brothers and sisters worldwide for whom it is impossible to enter the conversation as a sincere indication of how much we appreciate our privilege.

The English Language Acquisition teacher in the back of the room

Jennifer Jackson links to two interesting places today, and I can’t resist.

There’s More than One Measure of Success as a Writer by Patrick Ness, suggesting that enjoyment alone is enough reason to write, and maybe unpublished writers are also writers?

and

Best Thing about Writing? Money by Allison Flood in which Colm Toibin suggests that his writing is all about cash, not enjoyment.

Hmmm…I suspect there’s lots more to be said on this, and I suspect also that this is not a clear dichotomy.

I wrote a fairly long-winded response to Jennifer’s original posting, and then realized that I should probably post that here for purposes of discussion, because it’s a topic I find fascinating as an author, a former writer of a fairly popular fan fiction story, and an academic researcher.

Continue reading “Writing and Magic versus Writing and Money”

…a new word bought on by a combination of my head cold and teaching A Handmaid’s Tale to the students (prayvaganza, anyone?)

So. The edits for HH:PW inch along. I just shut down an accelerated literature class last night, so that’s going to help me get the edits and the study guide completed. Happily, I set the edit due date for the 23rd, with the idea that work might not ease up, and I might need to dedicate my spring break to Tony, Leo, and Bianca. I like being able to occasionally read the future!

***

You might remember that I was diagnosed with situational depression a month ago? I won’t go into any details, as this isn’t that kind of journal, but I do want to put in a plug for depression medication. While my dosage is light, and short term, I have to tell you that I notice I feel loads better taking it. Lots of little nervous habits I have are gone for the duration. My weird dreams are also gone. And, no more chest tension when there is too much to do.

Why do I even mention it? Well, artistic sorts, we tend to be moody and depress more easily than most. I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s true! If your doctor tells you you need depression medication, you might listen. Ignore the stigma, if you feel there is any. My counselor suggests that people who feel it’s a crutch have no authority to suggest this. My doctor proposes that it is no worse than a diabetic managing their lifestyle changes. If you’re taking an SSRI, you have a seratonin problem, perhaps even temporarily. Nothing wrong with taking the pills until you’re “cured.”

Signing off. My check from the pharmaceutical company is in the mail, I’m sure.

Catherine