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That is, if you also count the vice-presidential debate.

When I went to Russia, we visited with the mayor of a small ‘burb outside of Moscow. This guy was a nuclear physicist, but in the new Russia, not as many physicists were needed. So, many scientists went into business or politics. This guy was actually a celebrity on an expert think tank show, and that helped him win the election.

The group of professors I was traveling with had many questions for the mayor, including a question focusing on whether Russia was a better place now that Russia was exercising the right to vote someone into office, rather than having people in appointed positions. What the mayor said stayed with me. He wasn’t sure that elections were better than appointments. Elections meant you had to get people to like you. You had to put on a show. You couldn’t always say what you thought. You had to appeal to popularity. And you couldn’t always do what you thought of as the right thing.

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Pluses and minuses, I know. But that swings us right into talking about Wrestlemania Smackdown IIIthe debates. No wonder Romney is confused. And no wonder, especially in last night’s debate, Obama is occasionally this person I feel is less than presidential.

Continue reading “Canceled After Four Episodes”

Go forth and read.

Paper Golem would like me to alert you to some exciting new developments.

Both Cucurbital 2 and Curbital 3 are available electronically, as well as in hard cover and soft cover. Here’s where you can find them.

Cucurbital 2 at Amazon

Cucurbital 3 at Amazon

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Amazon has these exclusively for 90 days, so when there are other electronic links, we’ll post ’em.

If you’re like me, and you don’t do Amazon, Barnes and Noble can also help you out.

Cucurbital 2
Cucurbital 3

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Watch for a book contest soon.

My roommate from Taos Toolbox, adventuress and academic Catherine Evleschin, is kind enough to let me host her Next Big Thing.

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What is the title of your work-in-progress?

The title is Rivers Still Run.

Where did the idea for the book come from?

I’m terrified by the impact of the population bomb on the environment and on society, and of the possible solutions that may be considered or implemented.

What genre does your book fall under?

Post-apocalyptic science fiction with a sociological slant. The main characters are biracial, Latino, Native American, and Eurasian (reflecting the predicted demographic in Western USA).

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

See #3. No black-face.

What is a one-sentence synopsis of the book?

In post-apocalyptic Cuba, an archivist unearths a conspiracy that has saved the planet from environmental collapse, and must decide if humanity is ready to learn the truth of the Pandemic that destroyed three-fourths of the human race.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’m watching the way the wind blows in the publishing world.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

Four months. I am currently on perhaps the seventh rewrite.

What other books would you compare this story to in your genre?

Many wonderful novels of the world altered, each with a different take. I have been influenced by the quiet power of Mary Rosenblum’s Water Rites, David Brin’s The Postman, George R. Stewart’s Earth Abides, Octavia Butler’s Parables, Pat Murphy’s The City, Not Long After… so many visions of humanity struggling with and surviving collapses of societal infrastructure.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Bill McKibben’s and James Hansen’s warnings about our planet imperiled, and Kim Stanley Robinson’s bold visions of future’s that are based on science, not fantasies to save the select few.

What else about this book might pique your readers’ interest?

I am an ethnologist of African Diasporan and Latin American expressive culture, so each of my five settings reflects where I predict those cultures will be in fifty years after upheavals yield winners and losers in the fight for political and economic survival. Class warfare and exploitation, reflecting my West Coast anarchist upbringing, education, and lifestyle.

I wanted to call this entry “Slimeball.” But then I thought much too obvious.

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Last week, Jerry Sandusky made the news again with his final statements in the court room just before he was sentenced. Both he and his wife Dottie are convinced that they are victims of an immense conspiracy, and just this morning on the radio I hear that Sandusky plans an appeal.

You do that, Jerry. You do that.

Meanwhile, the rest of us might be interested in watching Aaron Fisher, also known as “Sandusky Victim 1” on 20/20 tonight. Fisher endured Sandusky’s obsessive abuse from the ages of 12-15 before he tried to get some help. And he and his mother were betrayed by a town in which obviously corruption was pervasive. The high school Aaron attended tried to sweep the case under the rug. Aaron was gifted with a persistent, protective parent who was not part of the problem.

Aaron waited for even more years to get justice. His case wasn’t enough for prosecution. Until evidence solidified en masse, irrevocably, the system would not move forward to see justice done. Justice is slow, very slow.

What I admire the most about Aaron is her persistence. Even though he was depressed and he relived this experience over and over, he kept telling his story. How many more victims of sexual abuse stay silent after that first attempt of confession fails? How many more of us have been betrayed repeatedly by the adults in our lives who are supposed to protect us? Too damn many.

Jerry and Dottie believe that they did nothing wrong. They believe that they can pretend that the victimized boys had it out for them, and in this town, where no one has previously made waves and let a predator get away with what he wanted, they can continue to live the life they lived before.

No one, no one believes that you and your wife are innocent except you and your wife, Jerry. I expect nothing better from you, because you are the lowest form of life, much much lower than mold spore. You are a man that takes advantage of children AND abuses power to do it. You aren’t just the scum wad that abuses his children, although believe me, that would be bad enough. No, you’re the man who believes he’s invincible and you can do what you want. You saw those boys as objects, and by God, in University Park, Pennsylvania, where the sun is shielded by a giant Goddam football, you were untouchable.

I can’t see what’s to be gained by keeping you alive, Jerry. You have no remorse or penitence. You’re a mad dog. We shoot mad dogs don’t we?

At least those boys know you’re done. Those boys know, like I know, that the piece that’s not broken is them. You’re not getting out. The case is shut, closed. We loathe you. Not just former victims like me. The whole of the country. We LOATHE you.

You have done one good thing–you have made real people all over the country understand more what happens during sexual abuse. You have helped remove some of the stigma for those of us who have suffered. Because you’re such an obvious villain, no one confuses any of this as the victim’s fault. Except you and your wife. Delusional.

University Park, I have visited you once, when my friend Diana went to school at Penn State for a short year in 1988. I shake the dust of your town off my feet. Your penance should begin right away. What will you do to make sure this never happens again?

I promise a political post soon. I’ve watched 3 debates, and we need to comment on some things. But I’m leaving work early today to go cook dinner for my husband and kids and then climb back into my binder to go write, and write I must. I am closing in on this draft, and I still want to be done by the end of October. Work has decided it wants to finish me, however, so it becomes a war of will.

Besides the political post, I need to talk about Paradise Icon, some of the cool things I’ve been reading lately, and a couple of more meta posts. But right now I gotta right some vampire suspense, and try to keep it a middle school level of scary.

Write well, fellow scribblers.

Christopher was kind enough to send me his Next Big Thing. I love the Elephant and Macaw Banner short that was published a couple years back in Realms of Fantasy. You know, the story that got him nominated for the Nebula?

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What is the title of your Work in Progress?

The Elephant and Macaw Banner

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I wrote a novelette called “The Fortuitous Meeting of Gerard van Oost and Oludara” back in 2007. While I researched that project, I fell in love with the world and characters, and realized the duo had a history going way beyond that tale. Before I’d finished that first story, I’d already come up with an entire three-novel arc for them. That novelette ended up being a type of origin story, and is now the first chapter of the novel.

What genre does your book fall under?

I like to call it historical fantasy, although many call it sword & sorcery. In any case, it is set in sixteenth-century colonial Brazil, and includes elements of Brazilian folklore.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje would make a perfect Oludara. He’s over six feet tall and even speaks Yoruba! It’s hard to imagine an actor more perfect for that part, although Nollywood probably has some up-and-coming actors who could also fit the bill.

I think a younger Ron Perlman would have made a good Gerard van Oost. A Dutch actor would be interesting, although I’m not sure I know any.

What is a one-sentence synopsis of the book?

A Dutch traveler and African slave meet in sixteenth-century Brazil and travel the wild lands there in search of adventure.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I don’t know yet. I’ll probably send the novel out to some agents when I’m done.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

I’ll let you know when I’m finished! I’ve been working on the series on and off since 2006, and stories set in the world have already been published in the U.S., England, Brazil, The Czech Republic and Romania. The novel is slow writing because each chapter introduces new places and characters. In any case, I hope to wrap up by June of next year at the latest.

What other books would you compare this story to in your genre?

The traveling pair of adventurers was inspired by Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and Grey Mouser series, one of my all-time favorites.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I began consulting in Brazil in 1997 and moved here permanently in 2001. Some of the first books I read were history books, and later I researched Brazilian folklore and travelers’ tales for a video game project. All that kind of stewed in my mind until I had the idea for the first story. The two most direct inspirations are Hans Staden (a German mercenary captured by Brazilian Natives in the sixteenth century) and the bandeirantes (bannerman) who explored the Brazilian wilderness in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I do massive research for this series (I have some two-hundred books I use for reference), and after publishing the first story, I began posting some of this information overflow to a website, for readers curious about the history and culture of the time. I also post series news and artwork there.

I also hope to take this series to other media. I already have a graphic novel in the works, and I’m discussing a possible video game with some companies right now.

(and check out this awesome art for the graphic novel!–Cath)

And let me wrap up by thanking Catherine for the chance to appear on Writer Tamago!

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Always a pleasure, Chris!

There comes a time when you get pretty darned tired of just grabbing a banana.

This weekend, rather than waiting for Christmas, I went out and bought a Kitchen Aid food processor.

This seven-cup beauty has a shredding blade, a slicer (gonna be great for that apple tart I want to make next week), and the usual food processor blades of whirling death. Yesterday I shredded huge amounts of golden beets making a slaw flavored with orange juice and apple cider vinegar, a little goat cheese on top. Thank you, Weight Watchers recipe book.

I’m eating it now. It sings and dances in your mouth.

The food processor is probably an investment Bryon and I should have made in our kitchen sooner than this. It makes eating healthier less of an onerous chore, as our previous kitchen tool for this was a dull knife. Tomorrow I’ll be making a mashed sweet potato and pear puree. Expect reviews.

The cost was about $110, so very economical for this versatile of a kitchen tool. It is a distinguished silver, and has three settings: low, high, pulse, plus several different food guard attachments. It’s easy to assemble and re-assemble, and most of the pieces lock for safety purposes.

Also, here’s that beet slaw.

Continue reading “Living with Osteoarthritis: Food Processor”

I really should address this as an open letter to XIV, XV, and XVI, but I didn’t get the idea to do it until this year. Whoops.

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I know you’ve just had a wonderful week. Three years ago, this very week, I journeyed out to Martha’s Vineyard. I watched glow in the dark jellyfish and I walked blisters on my feet by the sea side. I sat up late at night, my stomach churning as I worried about what people would say about my work, even though my exterior was rippleless. I washed dishes unbidden; I sat at the feet of Buddha, and I came home with new wings on my ankles.

I met twenty-three other writers of promise, all of whom I’ve interviewed, and many of whom I see on a still regular basis. I continue to read their work, and they continue to impress upon me how good they are, and sometimes I even wonder how I became one of their number.

I met six wise instructors. My session with John Scalzi changed how I draft. When Dr. Doyle told me that she thought my story was just like an Edward Gorey story, I was delighted. Laura Mixon was also magical in my session. The lectures and the sessions enabled me to take my work seriously, and for the first time I stopped believing I wanted to be a writer, and I was a writer. And there were three counselors who underscored this belief at every opportunity.

Listen now. This is very important. Right now you are empowered. You probably feel you can go home and you can do anything. AND YOU CAN. What will happen after the euphoria wears off is that your life and its mundane demands will try to rub the new shiny glitter of your experience away.

You must not let that happen. You must talk to your classmates, talk to your teachers, talk to your writer buddies, the people you sweated with and listened to, that community of intimate writers you built. Don’t let that dwindle.

I found myself recently in the place of realizing that I wasn’t taking myself seriously as a writer. It’s not easy to stay in that place when so much of the world competes for your time. BUT you can do it. Remember: you are part of a writing community now. You’ve bonded. You never have to go it alone.

Welcome to something larger than yourself and as large as yourself. Your imagination. Your writing career as a spec fiction story teller. I’ll see you in the bar, and I look forward to hearing all about your time on the Vineyard, and the stories you publish.

Welcome to the family.

I’m back to working on my Mac. I’d been flirting with buying a new power cord for a bit, but kept jiggling it and it kept working. Last week I woke up and there were exposed wires, so I rethought that. As soon as I’m done dinkin’ around here, I’ll be working on transposing the writing that I’ve done recently in word back to Scrivener. And then it’s smooth sailing into the last chapter (possibly two) of my third trip through the book.

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It’s been a bit since I’ve stepped back and looked at my life to weigh my sense of balance. Here we go. Let me hide this under a cut. There is a bit about writing under here, but you know, other stuff as well. I didn’t mean to spend this morning in my head, but there you go.

Continue reading “Manifesto?”