Magick 4 Terri

Terri Windling, author, editor, artist, and all around beautiful soul is in need. She is dealing with some serious health and legal issues which have drained her finances. The creative community has stepped up big time to help one of their own by holding a Magick 4 Terri auction.

Some of the items being offered are amazing:

Dinner with Tamora Pierce! OMG! What I wouldn’t give to have the money to win this auction.

A signed water color by Brian Froud. Guh…

A YA/Middlegrade manuscript critique by Simon & Shuster editor Navah Wolf.

A rare, limited edition Brian Froud Print.

A beautiful faerie doll handmade by Wendy Froud.

There are so many awesome auctions going on by some amazing artists/writers/all-around creative people. Go take a look and marvel at everything.

Cat Valente, Emma Bull, Charles DeLint, Kyle Cassidy, Charles Vess, George RR Martin, and Holly Black are also offering auction items up. You have until December 15, 2011 to bid.

Manic Monday

Today truly is a manic Monday. Or, it was manic until I took the pretty little Ativan the oral surgeon prescribed. In just under an hour, I go to get my wisdom teeth pulled.

Yesterday we put up the Christmas tree and decorated it. It’s beautiful 9′ tree we bought after Christmas last year. Our poor little 6′ tree just looked pitiful with the 10′ ceilings in our house. Unfortunately, we didn’t buy any extra ornaments, so the tree looks a little bare in places.We have some goofy ornaments like Garfield, cars, and other such ones, but I’m not a big fan of those. We don’t have kids, so the kid-like ornaments just don’t work for me.

Oh well, we’ll buy more ornaments after Christmas this year so that next year we have enough.

We also hung a few pictures in the living room, finally. I wanted to wait until we’d had a chance to tear down the old, cracking plaster and put up new drywall, but the way things are looking, it might be later next year that we get a chance to do that. Bah… I’m sick of living in a house devoid of decorations.

Okay, time to go get ready to be put to sleep for a few hours.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving (and if you don’t celebrate it, have a Happy Thursday)!

Hubby and I are heading off to his aunt’s house in a few minutes and then later tonight we’re going to my mom’s. I feel stuffed already. Okay, that may be because I made honey ginger carrots to bring to my mom’s and I’ve been munching on them all morning because they are so yummy.

 

RIP Anne McCaffrey

I just got the news that Anne McCaffrey passed away today. She was my writing idol as a child. When I was in the 4th grade, my Aunt Joanie handed me DragonFlight and told me to read it because I’d love it. I did and I did.

For years all I ever wanted was to be a dragonrider. I didn’t care what color dragon it was, I just wanted one. Someone who would love me unconditionally. Someone who would be there with me always and forever unto death.

When I finally realized that I was never going to be a dragonrider, I decided that I was going to be a writer. I was going to create worlds and characters that would entrance readers as much as her world and characters had entranced me.

I’m sitting her now with my throat aching and my eyes burning from unshed tears. Anne’s books gave me refuge and hope when I needed them the most. She contributed so much to fantasy and science fiction and she will be sorely missed.

RIP Anne. May flights of dragons wing you to your rest.

I’m Still Alive

I know I haven’t been posting very much lately, but life is so hectic right now.

I’m trying to whip When Demons Cry into better shape by adding scenes and expanding the ones I already have.You would think, since I already know what’s going on, that this would be easy. But no.

I have a friend’s manuscript that I’m critiquing. Or, to be more accurate, I’m trying to find the time to critique a friend’s manuscript.

After more than eighteen years of not going to the dentist, I’m now playing catch-up with them. This coming Monday I’m having three wisdom teeth pulled. Yikes! This will be my very first serious medical procedure. Then there’s the consult with the orthodontist next month to discuss possibly getting braces. Then there are cavities to be filled and a chipped tooth to be fixed. I’m not sure if, at the end of this, I’ll be terrified of going to the dentist or blasé about it.

Along with all of this comes the standard holiday chaos. Thanksgiving this week, Christmas a month from now. Yikes!! Christmas is only a month away. There’s so much I need to get done before then and no way it’s all going to be accomplished.

I need to start planning an actual website for myself and not just this blog. I tried explaining to my husband why I wanted a website before I’ve got a contract, but he just doesn’t understand. Ah well, I love him anyway.

At least stressing about all of this other stuff is keeping me from stressing  about being out on submission, right? 😀

 

A Saturday Snippet

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

I groaned. I really hated that quote.

“No, you know what happens when good men stick their noses where they don’t belong?” I snapped, baring my teeth.

He shook his head.

“They die. They die horrible painful deaths because evil doesn’t give a shit that they’re good men. Unless you’ve got the skills and power necessary to defend not only yourself but your loved ones as well, the best thing to do is to stay the fuck out of evil’s way.”

Draft 0

It’s messy, there are a great many holes to fill, rough edges to scrape off and smooth, and it’s in need of some major paint work, but there’s a fairly complete story here. I’m going to say that the zero draft of When Demons Cry is done. It’s only at 47k words, but once I get the holes filled and flesh some things out more, I’ll probably double that word count.

NaNoWriMo

I’m thinking about giving up on NaNoWriMo for this year. The combined stress of everything that’s going on is really starting to wear me down and NaNo is the easiest bit of stress to get rid of. If I do quit, I’m still going to do my best to get to 50k words, but I’m not going to push myself too hard.

I remember how burnt out I was when I did NaNo back in 2009. I could barely think for two months afterwards. That’s the last thing I want to do to myself right now.

So, the plan is to be kind to myself, get done what I can and not worry about what I can’t.

Holy Hells!

I just got the submission list from Cameron yesterday. She’s going to start sending the pitch out by the end of the week.

This is just… just… Oh my gods! You guys!!!!

I’m going out on submission.This week!

Not only out on submission, but out on submission to some of the greatest editors of Urban Fantasy.

O.o

I can’t seem to wrap my brain around this. I have to admit that I never honestly thought I’d get this far. Each step of the way, I’ve kept expecting the worst to happen — I wouldn’t get an agent, she wouldn’t like the changes I made for her, she’d drop me as a client. And each step of the way I’ve been blessed with not the worst, but the best outcome.

So please, keep your fingers crossed for me.

And SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Stupid sewers. Stupid Moor-rats. Stupid mages.

After taking all of Friday off, my brain has been re-energized. I’ve written more than five thousand words this weekend and right now my NaNoWriMo word count stands at 11,077 and I still have words left in me today. I’m hoping to write at least another 1k words today.

This section of the book is going to be awesome! Alex, Vic, a horde of ghouls, no way out except for Alex to give in to her demon side. There’s fire, there’s blood, there’s the destruction of a beautiful car. *sigh* I love it when the writing flows like this.