The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Persephone, and an Herbalist walk into the Underworld...

Just wanted to send everyone to look at a recent "The Big Idea" post by John Scalzi. Various authors write about their recents releases, usually with some really interesting background about their inspiration.

This one: The Big Idea is about Merrie Haskell's The Princess Curse, which stems from some of her own fears, and loves.

Check it out. I am going to be on the lookout for it when I next go to a bookstore.

August disappeared, but hey, what about books?

With all the Borders closing, I am beyond irked and upset by their lack (in so many ways). I'm pretty sure this weekend will be the last for the Borders left on the island (the Waikele location closed earlier due to a different reason).

Without Borders, there will be two B&N left on Oahu, neither anywhere close to where I live.

So I get to thinking. I reach under the metaphorical bed for a dusty box I remember but haven't thought of for years. I dust it off, smile at the corner of a picture poking out from under the lid like a tongue, then I open it and rifle through the old, younger dreams of a me gone cynical and tired.

Is it so out of the realm of possibility and success to even vaguely consider in any whimsical, hypothetical way, that I might have the skills and resources to open a small bookstore nearby and in some way fill a tiny part of the footprint left behind Borders' departure?

SAD makes me irked

Seasonal Affective Disorder usually refers to a tendency for people to become depressed or sad during the winter holidays.

For me, it usually manifests with irritability during the summer. (Not that I am diagnosed with it. It is just a trend in my moods.)

I am not a summer kind of gal, said the person living in Hawaii for 20 years. But we're getting towards those hotter days and it's much harder to concentrate on anything.

On top of my weather-induced mood shift, there are a number of things that will make it hard to get any writing done. But I plan to try.

My aunt is coming for a long visit soon.

But, despite a nice-looking work schedule (sure I won't be able to eat for most of my Mondays and Wednesdays, but that's not really new), which affords me time to hang out with the family and rest, I'll have to be more diligent about writing.

I am finally getting into the swing of my clockwork ghost story, and I'm typing up notes for a collaborative UF with someone. [That will hopefully keep my creative juices flowing.] So I'm hoping that devoting some bus time to writing longhand, as well as setting aside time when I get home from work on Tuesdays and Thursday (when I finish work early) will help make a lot of headway on both stories.

I am also hoping that having taught here for a year, there will be less prep to do in the mornings,so I'll have time in the air conditioned office to do some writing as well.

It'll mean a lot of early mornings, which I am not prone to when the time is my own (I stayed up until 1 last night and could've stayed up later except I knew I had plans today), but the plan is those will be productive early mornings.

Anyway, so that's the update from me. Now please enjoy this random photo:

Writing is Not Solitary

I've been writing today.
I am in the midst of my two-week break between quarters, and although my time is full of other things (including some intensive spring cleaning for the whole house, gearing up for a visit from my aunt at the end of the month), I took today to write.

Shortly before dinner, and partly because of the heat, I decided to put my computer to sleep and rethink whether I wanted to continue writing after dinner. I ate, returned to my room and pondered. I woke it up and was going to shut down for the night when I checked a friend's blog.

There is a lot about writing that forces the writer to sit by him- or herself in a room with pen and paper, or computer, and work alone for hours, days, even weeks or months without real connections to other people. But it is not a solitary act.

It is not a solitary act.

Although some people don't work well with writing groups, usually a writer has at least someone they can talk to. This may be talking out plot points, or just looking for some encouragement. It may be a beta reader or a cheerleader. All have their purposes and place in the process. (I promise the alliteration isn't deliberate.)

Tonight, I regained the urge, even stronger than earlier today, to keep writing, to keep going for as long as I could. So thank you, fellow writer. I'd been sitting in a room by myself for too long.

Happy writing, everyone.

A Change of Pace?

I am coming up on the final weeks of my fourth quarter teaching. These weeks will be incredibly and exhaustingly busy. Which makes it a bit of a surprise that earlier this week I had a spurt of "I wanna write. I wanna write right now!" and then actually wrote.

Lately, whenever I've had the urge, I have't had the time or honestly, just been too tired to do anything. When I did have teh time and energy, I didn't have the motivation.



Now, I've already talked about how much I love getting back to reading. I just finished An Artifical Night by Seanan McGuire, third book in her October Daye series and absolutely loved it, and I'll be starting the next, Late Eclipses, later today. But, the writing has taken a hit because of work and who knows how many psychological issues, so that I had the urge and followed through on it was pleasantly surprising. I rewrote the first couple of pages of my fae urban fantasy.

This Wednesday, I went to my writer's group and the general concensus was that the original pages were stronger in that the genre ("adult" UF vs. YA) and the attitude of the protagonist were clearer. I thought I had to change to the beginning of the story and apparently went too safe. It's hard to get shot down when you feel like you need more encouragement, but I'm going to take this as a sign that I'm ready to write again.

I want to write. I want to see my work in a bookstore. I want to inspire at least one other person to feel like their ideas are important and that they can do and be whatever they want. To get there, I need to write. And I want to. So I will.

Re-Crushing on Sabriel

Last post--the shiny, far-off thing from weeks ago--I talked about my childhood book crushes and it reminded me that (1) I really loved the book Sabriel by Garth Nix, which I bought and have kept near at hand since fourth grade. But also (2) I had not the foggiest idea what happens in that book. Years with too many books in between dimmed my memory to little more than the knowledge that I enjoyed it and it was a good book.

I wanted to visit it again. I wanted to reread that book.

Friends and fellow writers, I love that book. Despite how absurdly busy I've been with work and trying (in a very real, but positive, sense forcing myself) to maintain some semblance of a social life, I made time and read that book on the bus and enjoyed every minute of it.

For the full impact of this you need to know that I rarely reread books, so much so that I can't remember the last time I reread a book before this month. My thinking always seemed to be, "There are so many books I haven't read for the first time, I should read those first, then reread these others." (Incongruously, if I love a book, I want to own it, even if I never read it again, because I always think I will at some point.)



So on the first Saturday of May (Free Comic Book Day), I picked up the rest of the Nix series and a Mercedes Lackey book, Intrigues, which was the sequel to Foundation. I had read Foundation a while back, so here is where the first stirrings of a change in habit arose. I reread it, then moved onto Intrigues in quick succession.

Afterwards, I reread Sabriel. And as soon as that was done, I leapt into Lirael, and just as quickly into book 3, Abhorsen. I finished that this morning, and in between some little necessary computer stuff, have been reading pages of Across the Wall, an anthology whose first story is a novella that takes place in the same world.

I really want Garth Nix to write more books set in this world. I really, really do. Each time I finish a book, I love the characters and stories and world more and more, and really want to keep going.

Although my plans for today involve socialization and singing loudly into a mirophone (I'm going out to karaoke), I will be spending a healthy chunk of time on the bus, which means although I am tucking a new notebook, an old notebook, and a sketchbook in my bag, Across the Wall is coming with me. And I will be turning it back to the library with the last Old Kingdom story singing through me, making me sigh wistfully for one more story.

I love these books. And I love rereading them. And I am going to amend my thinking of the process because even if it pushes back equally good books that I haven't yet read, there is a warmth and excitement to reading a book I've read before that I won't deny anymore.

I Have a Confession...

I've got a crush. Actually a number of them. Since my youthful years so long ago.

I'm picking up this topic from Jennifer Ambrose at The Charmed Bracelet. (Go there and read hers, it's a good post, along with many others!) She brought up the subject of literary crushes from childhood, which got me thinking about my own reading habits from yesteryears.

To be honest, I don't think I read as much fantasy when I was younger. The books that stick out for me now were mostly school books: "The Great Gilly Hopkins" (I loved how tough she was), "Julie of the Wolves" (possibly the start of my love for wolves), "Bridge to Terabithia" (I wished the world they created was real, and even now, I cry a little near the end), and "Tuck Everlasting" (I think my opinion of Winnie and the story changed every few pages, it brought up some complicated issues with immortality to my young mind).

My introduction to fantasy was probably through movies--I can still recite whole passages from "Labryinth" even though it's been a few years since I've watched it--but my first fantasy book that I recall was in fifth grade. [This is another story for another post about an awesome substitute I had. I'll tell it you later. ;) ]

After that, there were some books and characters that really stayed with me, mostly in the fantasy genre.

1. Vanyel Ashkevron in The Last Herald-Mage Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey



He went through a lot of tragedy, but he still worked hard to protect those he cared about, and he sacrificed a lot. I was struck by how he just kept going, even when he wanted to quit. This was also the first book I recall having gay and lesbian characters, who were main characters and side characters, and who were treated as individuals (both by the author and within the story's society). This is still something I feel is lacking in a great many books.

2. Alanna from The Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce



I should add the main character of Pierce's second Tortall quartet as well, Daine (and, frankly, her third with Keladry). Alanna was a twin (which I am not, but twins are awesome!), and she defied her family in order to become a knight. She was strong-willed and created a new family of friends and people she cared for and who cared for her (Jonathan, George, and the royal spymaster, Miles, a great father figure). I've always liked stories that showed the important side of friendship and non-blood families.

Daine was a softer character, a little more introverted, and had that wolf connection I loved, and I felt a more personal connection to her. I think that's something a lot of [young] readers look for, a character they can step into.

3. Sabriel from the Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix



I saw this at a Scholastic book fair at my school. I will admit part of the reason I picked it up was because the titular character had a name similar to mine. A young girl on a journey to find and rescue her father, taking up a huge responsibility in the process--now that I think about it, this might have appealed because of my own childhood a little bit, where I felt my responsibilities (to get As in school, be "perfect") an inescapable burden, but one I was driven to achieve. Honestly, I really need to reread this series, because I've enjoyed Nix's other work and it's been far too long since I traveled with Sabriel.

4. Dorothy and Elphaba from "The Wizard of Oz" and "Wicked" by L. Frank Baum and Gregory MacGuire, respectively

(Idina Menzel as Elphaba)

Okay, so I've read these both in only the past few years, but the play of good versus evil and how those lines can be blurred so much is a theme I'm finding in some of my own work. I saw the Judy Garland film when I was very young and of course, imagined myself in Dorothy's place, but nowadays I think of that scene when the pair first meet and of the confrontation that ends with a bucket of water, and I ponder all the possibilities for new and different stories. Like a lot of fairy tales, I'd like to find a new interpretation and write my own version, because I think there's a lot to be said for finding or making your own path, listening to authority, and the homes and families you make for yourself.

(I feel like there may be a analytical article in all that. Huh.)

***

There are others. I stuck to characters from series, but as I mentioned in Ambrose's comment section, Eddi from "War for the Oaks" and Jack from "Jack of Kinrowan" are also strong characters that have stayed with me through the years and deserve a reread. They've also helped shape me as a writer in ways I can hardly begin to quantity or qualify.

So dear readers, who are your literary crushes from your childhoods? I'd like to know. I'm curious that way. Comment and better yet, link to your own post. I'd love to read them!

Blogger Cookies, not the tasty kind

Blogger apparently doesn't want me to comment on posts anymore, blaming my cookie settings, which I never change (though I did delete them recently, along with my temporary files). I've gone into my internet options to allow Blogger cookies and it still won't let me leave a comment. In my own blog. Ergh. >.<

I'll admit it. Computers confuse me. I will never understand them quite as thoroughly as I'd like to. (~~~flashback~~~ I was halfway through high school before we even had a computer in our house. Even then, I got it as a donation from my school, from the bunch they were getting rid of, because we couldn't afford one otherwise. ~~~end flashback~~~)

Anyway, there's are posts coming in the next few days, but I'm hopefully going to figure this blogger/cookie thing first.

In the meantime, head on over to The Charmed Bracelet and read about Jennifer's first literary crushes.

(SAWD) Seasons Affecting Writing Disorder

Not quite like Seasonal Affective Disorder, but it hit pretty suddenly today all the same.

See, most days lately have been like this:

*

(Not actually Hawaii, but it has been rather overcast here, so our skies have looked quite a bit similar.)

But today, when I had work to do on the computer, so I knew I'd have it on all day (in a house with no AC, ugh), it was a hot day. It felt more like this:

**

What does this all have to do with writing?

I finished one novel in the wee hours between 10 pm and 2 am over winter break one year, completed another in fits and starts, also into the wee hours while living in the dorms, but between these two, I wrote another novel all on my own--these others I completed by having professors waiting for pages. This other novel, I wrote the summer after I graduated with my Bachelors'. I was at home, resting after going full-force for far too many years, but I very quickly got antsy.

I don't do well at home with no plans or expectations. I don't do well with prolonged lazy.

But that summer, it was hot. This heavy, oppressive heat that just settles on your head and shoulders, and basically, every exposed inch of flesh. But I spent hours on my computer, typing hundreds of thousands of words until I had a complete draft.

This heat today felt like that. Somehow I had forgotten how hot summers get here (I know, people who have been to other areas of the U.S. and world can argue, but I am not a fan of hot weather, so this is unpleasant). But just a few moments of realization and I was brought back to that summer, how accomplished I felt, and despite the heat, was ready and gearing up to work on my new novel.

I know, I know, what I need to do is focus on editing one thing, not write a new one. :P

(This rambly kind of post has been brought to by a day filled with non-fun-writing work and the letters s and t, for sore throat. Yeah. I really hope I'm not getting sick.)

Happy writing everyone, regardless of the weather outside your door or in your room.


*First photo is borrowed from: http://climate101withjason.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html
**Second photo from this blog and credited thusly: "Picture taken by Peter near Longreach, western Queensland, in July 2004."

LGBT "Issues" in Genre Fiction

Disclaimer: I've been thinking about this topic for days, so below are my thoughts and opinions as they are right now. I won't claim they're 100% correct or complete (I always forget something, it feels), and I certainly don't expect everyone to agree with me, but I don't want to start any fights. I just felt the need to organize my thoughts and present them here.

***
I say "issues" in quotation marks because a friend said something a few weeks back that struck me. "LGBT aren't issues, we're people." They're also individuals, but it seems lately, various people are too fond of treating them as a lump group.

So some of you may have heard about the Wicked Pretty Things anthology, and how one author's story, which had been accepted, was then rejected. The editor told the author she needed to change the gender of one character, so that the primary relationship was male/female, rather than male/male. This is despite the fact that it was m/m when first submitted and accepted. Other authors in the anthology have also subsequently pulled out of the project.

I won't try to guess at what the editor was thinking or how she truly feels about the situation or the story element in question. It'd be all speculation and unfair.

What I do want to discuss/think aloud about, is the fact that the presence of LGBT characters is becoming a bigger topic in the publishing industry, and one that despite a broad awareness, doesn't seem to have made much progress.

In an urban fantasy I'm working on, I have two characters who are openly gay and in a relationship. It's a challenge for me to write them being affectionate, more because I still have a lot to learn about romance in a writing sense and consider myself a novice in that area, and because I want to find a balance between not hiding their relationship and fan service (gratuitous affection), neither of which is fair. My goal is the portrayal of a solid relationship between two adults who, because of the story plot, have to deal with a lot of new stressors on their relationship.

I feel like it shouldn't matter whether these characters are gay or straight in order for me to show that, and I think it should have no bearing (I hoe it doesn't) on how likely I am to get this story published. I try to mimic real life in my casts, and in real life, a 3/4 Japanese woman in her 20s, living near the West Coast, is going to know a diverse group of people.

These two aren't my main characters, though they are present throughout the story, but there seem to be very few (if any) fantasy stories in the mainstream with LGBT characters, let alone as protagonists. That needs to change. One can make the argument (and as I heard some time last year, when a lot of blogs were debating about the inclusion of characters of color in fantasy) that a straight white girl shouldn't be writing characters who are gay men. ~shrug~ I can't say I'll get it right the first time, or the second, but I think there needs to be more diversity in fantasy, and if I can write a character who is foremost a person, and identifying as gay is one aspect of their personality, then I'm not going to shirk from that based on another individual's opinion.

I can only do my best to help make this change, but it's a change for the best IMHO, and I think the only way it will become more acceptable in mainstream publishing is for more people to include LGBT characters, and for more people to make it known that they'd read stories with LGBT characters. There's too much disconnect, so it seems, between what readers want, and what publishers/editors/etc. think readers want. That needs to change, too.