This post is a long-overdue review of the Occoquan Arts and Crafts Show. I had a table at the show back at the beginning of October. I had a fabulous time, but not without one significant downside. Downside: Logistics The organizer, who was otherwise fantabulous, had an email glitch that affected several vendors, including me. This meant we didn’t get the emails with the vendor setup times, when the streets would be closed to the cars, etc. She was flagged as a spammer because she sent so many emails, so her emails didn’t get through but she didn’t get the error messages. This […]
Yearly Archives: 2015
25 posts
Like many authors, I like to dream of my books being made into movies. Good ones, of course, with huge budgets so that all the props are meticulously detailed and the actors are perfect and the musical score is magnificent and original and awe-inspiring. My hypothetical movies will be like the Lord of the Rings movies (except without the tiny changes that are oh-so-important to Tolkien purists like me), so that the soul of the books and the characters is laid bare, brought to life for viewers who haven’t yet discovered the books themselves. So… who do I imagine playing my characters? […]
This fall is going to be busy! In addition to writing, I also make jewelry at Shy Violet. While I don’t have a lot of cons close by this fall, I do have craft shows! My schedule is below (click the names for links to the fliers). September 26-27 – Occoquan Arts and Crafts Show in downtown historic Occoquan, Virginia. Saturday the show runs 10AM-6PM, and Sunday the show runs 10AM-5PM. I will be there as an author only. October 3-4 – Fort Belvoir Oktoberfest Autumn Bazaar at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The show runs 9AM-5PM both days at Specker Field House. I’ll have both books […]
I occasionally post on Quora.com, a question and answer site. Recently someone asked why Labyrinth is so great. You might already know that I love Labyrinth. But let me tell you more, because this movie is dismissed far more quickly than it deserves. Someone else had already given a short answer that mentioned the fantastic story and David Bowie, but I will go deeper. I don’t like the sequel manga and I think it derailed some of the fantastic symbolism, so my answer below is going to pretend it doesn’t exist. In my mind and in my answer, I’m treating the movie completely as a […]
For #SaturdayScenes this week, I’m sharing a continuation of the short story / novella draft that I began with School Days, which is set during Kemen’s childhood. Enjoy! ~~~ “What is he?” Chavo asked. Bekendi followed Chavo’s gaze. “He’s a Dari. Full-blood, I think.” All the boys exercised together, and the instructors who weren’t leading watched the students. The oldest were at the front today, where they could be corrected. Their performance was critical to their final assignments, and they worked hard. “Have you had any problems with him?” Bekendi had been watching another boy and glanced at Chavo in […]
My lovely fan Courtney has made more fantastic fan art! Check out this adorable Niall from A Long-Forgotten Song series (Things Unseen and The Dragon’s Tongue so far): She’s also done some cosplay! See it here and here If you’re inspired by my characters, please share your art! I’d love to see it.
To celebrate reaching $25 per story on my Patreon campaign, I interviewed Kemen Sendoa from the Erdemen Honor series. This interview takes place after Honor’s Heir, so beware of spoilers! I’m also sharing this scene for #SaturdayScenes, a weekly event on G+. You can find me on G+ here. SPOILERS AHEAD! Kemen enters the room. As the author, I wrote from his perspective, imagining what it would be like to be tall, to be male, to be a soldier, to be a Dari. I experienced these things from his perspective, not my own. Now I see him from […]
For #saturdayscenes (an event on G+) this week, I shared a snippet from the sequel to A Fairy King. I’m considering reworking a bit of the end, so some of this may change. Also, I’m pretty proud of myself for finding a piece that only has spoilers for A Fairy King and not the sequel itself. Go me! SPOILERS AHEAD! BEWARE! “Close your eyes.” Cadeyrn’s gloved fingers wrapped around hers, and she felt the world fall away and reassemble itself. The transition was nearly as smooth as it had been that first time, and she smiled to think that Cadeyrn was nearly recovered. The familiar […]
Bear with me. This is a post about me being dense and finally realizing what to do about it. It’s also a post about money and about stress and about “finding balance” (whatever that means) and about blessing others. And letting myself be blessed. And not feeling like I have to constantly prove something to the world. Confession: I am always stressed. I have a wonderful life. I am a stay-at-home mom to two brilliant, adorable, sweet, well-behaved children. I have a husband who is the love of my life, selfless and brilliant and a total hottie. I have wonderful friends […]
I just hit a major author milestone: FAN ART! This is, without any exaggeration, one of the most exciting things that has happened to me as an author. Not only did someone love my characters, but she loved my characters enough to draw them! As an author, this is makes my heart go pitter patter. This is why I write. Isn’t he cute? I love this drawing. I like this depiction of Kemen. In my head, he looks a bit like a darker-skinned, green-eyed, longer-haired, more muscular version of Egyptian actor Amr Waked (at least in this photo). Maybe a bit like this color […]