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January 31, 2008

I hope

When I think about him, I smile. I know he'll smile when he reads this.

First snowfall of the year, and it's a beaut. I was basically told that there was no excuse for us techs not to come in to work tomorrow unless the University shuts down (unlikely) because we have those wonderful free Metro passes. Hopefully it will stick around long enough for snow angels but not interfere too badly with Mardi Gras/Super Bowl (whose idea was that? Gonna be quite a few people calling in sick on Monday, I bet...)

stay warm.


reading  Faerie Tale, Raymond Feist
file under: muses

January 25, 2008

yep, that's my name on the cover

toastedraviolibook.jpgSo if you've been reading this blog for a while, you might know that the writer's group that I participate in has written an anthology of short stories based on landmarks of St. Louis. I'm in it, with a modern day faerie tale that takes place at the Muny (the Municipal Theater in Forest Park, the oldest and largest outdoor amphitheater in America, with trees growing out of the stage...)

And by golly, the book is out! You can check out the page at www.toastedraviolibook.com (though there's not much there at the moment) which has a link to buying the book online, do a book search on Amazon for Toasted Ravioli, or (the best way) ask me for a book in person. That way you get a discount and a signed copy and I (or the group) gets more money.

Or better yet, come to our first signing this Saturday (tomorrow, eek) the 26th of January at Legacy Books, 5249 Delmar (at Union) from 12 pm to 5 pm. All the authors will be there, so you can get a full complement of signatures on your new book, and the authors will read from their work. There should also be a Q&A session for the curious.

I hope to see you there!

listening to  No Such Thing, John Mayer
reading  Hood, Stephen Lawhead
file under: books , celebration , reallife , writings

January 13, 2008

Happy 31

...to Orlando. Still the prettiest.

orli31.jpg



file under: celebration , orlando

January 8, 2008

you should read this

A soldier's last words, posted after his death in Iraq:

Final Post

listening to  Bridge to the Other Side, Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls

file under: serious

Results: Presidential Candidate Matching for 2008

I really need to figure this out. This quiz, while nice for quantifying my stance on the issues, really just points out that the three democratic candidates that I already liked are at the top.

87% Barack Obama
86% John Edwards
84% Hillary Clinton
83% Bill Richardson
79% Chris Dodd
75% Joe Biden
70% Mike Gravel
69% Dennis Kucinich
51% Rudy Giuliani
43% John McCain
39% Mitt Romney
34% Mike Huckabee
34% Tom Tancredo
24% Fred Thompson
19% Ron Paul

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz


reading  Carnival, Elizabeth Bear
file under: politics

January 4, 2008

Breath & Bone

I got three hours of sleep last night thanks to this wonderful book. Carol Berg stays at the top of my favorite authors list with this one, because it kept me reading from 8 pm until 5 am. Yes, 5 am. Oh, there were interruptions of dinner and a chat with the roommate and Pirates 3 (it was quiet in the apartment, what can I say? I have to stare at Orlando), so I could have finished sooner, I suppose.

Not quite the less-than-six-hours marathon of finishing HP 7, but close. I never wanted to sleep. I begrudged the time it took to shower and get ready for bed. Valen is as real to me as anyone, and I could see him in my mind as he leapt and danced, which is not at all usual (a phrase often applied to Valen in the book). I have a hard time visualizing characters, but my hands are itching to take a shot at drawing what I see for him.

I felt like a bad fan. I knew this book was coming out and I was looking for it, but I didn't know the exact release date, so I was actually a little late getting it. It wasn't until Carol sent out her sweet little email yesterday that I knew it was even available, and you can be sure that the hours I had to wait until I could leave work and head off to Borders were pretty darn long. But I have it now, and I'll be riding the high from reading it for a while.

I had to finish. It was too wonderful to stop, and I honestly didn't want to. Well done, Carol. Words can't express how happy I was to be reading it. It makes me want to write that well, and I hope I come close. I love Valen so much right now. For once, my speculations were right, but the story never made it too obvious.

So nice to read the rest of the story I got a glimpse of during those private readings with Carol at Archon in August. What a fitting conclusion to Flesh & Spirit.

Sleep deprivation will hit me a little later, but it was worth it.

listening to  John Mayer, "Say"
reading  on to "Iron Kissed," Patricia Briggs, after last night's B&B marathon
file under: books , celebration , fantasy , reviews

January 2, 2008

Belief

We are what we believe we are. C. S. Lewis

So I have to believe I am a writer. And I really have to get Bastian out of that tree.

Back to work.



file under: muses , writings

January 1, 2008

Happy New Year, all

May 2008 bring you nothing but good things.

I had a thought today that writing is my own personal kind of magic. I can make anything I want to happen, whenever and however I want, exactly the way I see it in my head. I get to shape things to my desire, until the story takes on a life of its own and runs away to do its own thing.

If I can't have magic for real, at least I can do it by writing.

Bonne annee!

listening to  Split Screen Sadness, John Mayer
reading  Dust, Elizabeth Bear
file under: celebration , muses