Well, in cyberspace, at least.
I've got a lot going on right now, and I really need to consolidate. So I'm asking anyone who lands here to come on over to my other blog from now on. That's where I'll be nattering about books and writing and my sad addiction to Taco Bell and the neverending mystery of why I'm still watching Lost, and much more.
Come on over!
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
Almost as good as the real thing
I got my Buffy comic yesterday. Issue #1 of the new Season 8 comic by Joss Whedon himself.
And it's ... good. Interesting. Short, to be honest. Even if the plot might have taken an hour, when filmed, it took me about five minutes to read it, which was sort of disappointing. Buffy night at my house was a ritual that included anticipating the new episode all day long, getting the kids out of the way by 7:50 p.m., thanks to Stephen, and settling down with a drink (not like that, usually -- just iced tea or hot tea or Diet Pepsi) and having my cigarettes near the back door so I could dash out for a smoke during commercials.
Flipping through a comic book was a little underwhelming, after that.
But it's Season 8! The story continues! In ... let's just say surprising and very-true-to-Joss ways. If you're planning to read it, prepare yourself for a couple of "wink wink nudge nudge" moments.
But read it, okay? I mean, it's Season 8, and we weren't even supposed to get one, and now we have. In a slightly different format, true, but if I can join the ranks of comic book reades, so can you.
And it's ... good. Interesting. Short, to be honest. Even if the plot might have taken an hour, when filmed, it took me about five minutes to read it, which was sort of disappointing. Buffy night at my house was a ritual that included anticipating the new episode all day long, getting the kids out of the way by 7:50 p.m., thanks to Stephen, and settling down with a drink (not like that, usually -- just iced tea or hot tea or Diet Pepsi) and having my cigarettes near the back door so I could dash out for a smoke during commercials.
Flipping through a comic book was a little underwhelming, after that.
But it's Season 8! The story continues! In ... let's just say surprising and very-true-to-Joss ways. If you're planning to read it, prepare yourself for a couple of "wink wink nudge nudge" moments.
But read it, okay? I mean, it's Season 8, and we weren't even supposed to get one, and now we have. In a slightly different format, true, but if I can join the ranks of comic book reades, so can you.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Meet Barbara (aka Caridad) Ferrer!
I love to ask questions, and I love to talk about writing, so I'm combining those things into a feature I'm calling Author to Author -- and inerviewing some of my favorite authors!
For those of you who haven't met her, let me introduce Caridad Ferrer (also known as Barb), the author of Adios to My Old Life -- a double finalist in this year's RITA competition!
AMY: Tell me about the first fiction you ever wrote.
BARB: Wow - first fiction? I wrote a lot of poetry in grade school for gifted class assignments that were then entered in the Dade County Youth Fair and won lots of ribbons that my mother would then frame and put up in the dining room, right next to my First Communion pictures, much to my eternal embarrassment. First full-length story that I wrote though was probably in eighth grade or so; this epic, sprawling, love story (yeah, I had a thing for romance even back then) that spanned at least two single-subject spiral bound Mead notebooks, and if I recall correctly, was a forbidden, Thorn Birds sort of thing. Student/teacher, not priest, because, you know, EW, and wasn’t in the least bit Mary Sue-ish autobiographical. Nope. Not at all.
AMY: What's your favorite part of the writing process -- brainstorming, research, character development, the *zone* when you're in a scene that's really clicking? Something else?
BARB: Oh, the zone. No doubt about it — there’s no better feeling than to be so lost in the moment that time is just suspended and when you finally come out of the fog, you’re amazed to realize that hours have passed. And then, to go back a day or so later and read it and be caught up in it as if you’ve never seen it before, because you were so deep into writing, it was almost a subconscious thing.
AMY: Do you *cast* your books?
BARB: Absolutely. One of my favorite parts of the process and something that really helps especially if I’m stuck in the early parts of a manuscript. Sometimes I go with popular actors or singers, but more often than not, I’ll pick slightly more obscure ones who aren’t quite so entrenched with a particular character in my mind so I can mold them and play with them and call them George.
AMY: What's your favorite writing tool? Notecards, sticky notes, a white board? Something else?
BARB: ::clutches Mac laptop tightly:: Seriously, I’m very literal and linear— I’ll mull the idea over in my head and let it marinate for quite a while, then when I’m ready to go, I’m ready to go. That’s why I love my laptop— I don’t even like switching files from one computer to another. If for some strange reason I don’t have my computer with me and I get slammed with a story idea, I’ll use a notebook— the nice spiral-bound ones you can get on deep discount at Barnes and Noble? I always have one of those handy. Other than that, my other favorite writing tool is music. I use it to set the stage for every scene and mood and it immediately gets me into the right headspace for any given manuscript.
AMY: What book out there -- written a hundred years ago, or released just this year -- do you wish you had written?
BARB: From a purely avaricious standpoint, I wish I’d written Harry Potter. I mean, who knew? From a purely writer standpoint, I wish I’d written Anne Rivers Siddons’ HEARTBREAK HOTEL. I first read it back in junior high and it’s one book that has stayed with me in terms of plot, characterization, the lyricism of the language. It’s just one of the most beautiful perfect books ever.
AMY: If you couldn't write for whatever reason, what would you do instead?
BARB: Wow. If I had the gumption, I’d try to be a professional singer. If not, I’d teach. I actually trained as a teacher — elementary, of all things — and I love dealing with the little rugrats. However, I am not at all a fan of administration so, from that standpoint, not such a good teacher. I’d rather just teach rather than deal with the politics and silliness.
AMY: Favorite book you read this year?
BARB: This is going to sound so unbelievably smarmy, simply because she happens to be a good friend, but out of the books I’ve read so far this year, I’ve absolutely LOVED Alyssa Day’s (AKA Alesia Holliday) ATLANTIS RISING, the first in her Warriors of Poseidon series. Normally, I’m not a big fan of the larger than life Alpha male, but in this case, when you’re a high prince of the lost kingdom of Atlantis, it would be weird NOT to be larger than life and Alpha. And the real trick here, is that she also made her female equally strong, without being some emasculating bee-yotch with a chip on her shoulder and an agenda. It’s tough to create a strong, yet really feminine character and Alyssa did it. The other thing she did with this book, that to me, is the mark of a really wonderful writer, is she set the scene beautifully for all the stories that are to follow — has readers anticipating each of the characters’ different tales. I’ll find myself thinking, “Hmm... this would make a good situation for Denal,” or something along those lines and that just doesn’t happen often with me.
AMY: Favorite book when you were a kid?
BARB: Hmm... toss up between WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND, A SWIFTLY TILTING PLANET, and THE THORN BIRDS. (What can I say? I read it when I was ten.)
AMY: What are you working on now?
BARB: I’m in a period of stasis/waiting right now. I just finished a women’s fiction manuscript, BREATHE, that I’ve been working on, off and on, for fifteen months and that has easily been the most difficult manuscript I’ve ever worked on, emotionally, technically, from a lot of different standpoints. The partial for that has been on submission with some editors for a bit—now Lovely Agent is going to be calling and letting them know it’s finished. I have another women’s fic manuscript, LUCKY THIRTEEN that’s also making the submissions rounds, plus I just finished a proposal for a third YA that I hope to hear about. So, right now, I’m taking a creative breather and trying to figure out what I want to start developing next. I have lots of ideas — just need to pick one and run with it.
AMY: What was the first thing you did when you got the call about your RITA finals?
BARB: Aside from hit our poor President-elect, Sherry Lewis, with a repeated barrage of “Are you serious?” After I double-checked the Caller ID and made sure I hadn’t hallucinated the whole thing, I tried calling my agent, but her phone was off, so I was simultaneously emailing and leaving a message for her along the lines of “Pick up your $(@&$)(*#) phone!” Then I called my friend Alesia and managed to spit out, “I did it!” and she knew what I meant, so she said, “You finaled?” and I answered, “Doubled.” and then much squeeing commenced. After that I called my husband and work and gave him some garbled version of the previous conversation, then was absolutely SLAMMED with emails. Oh, and I posted on LJ about it.
Thanks for playing, Barb! You know I'll be rooting for you come RITA night.
For those of you who haven't met her, let me introduce Caridad Ferrer (also known as Barb), the author of Adios to My Old Life -- a double finalist in this year's RITA competition!
AMY: Tell me about the first fiction you ever wrote.
BARB: Wow - first fiction? I wrote a lot of poetry in grade school for gifted class assignments that were then entered in the Dade County Youth Fair and won lots of ribbons that my mother would then frame and put up in the dining room, right next to my First Communion pictures, much to my eternal embarrassment. First full-length story that I wrote though was probably in eighth grade or so; this epic, sprawling, love story (yeah, I had a thing for romance even back then) that spanned at least two single-subject spiral bound Mead notebooks, and if I recall correctly, was a forbidden, Thorn Birds sort of thing. Student/teacher, not priest, because, you know, EW, and wasn’t in the least bit Mary Sue-ish autobiographical. Nope. Not at all.
AMY: What's your favorite part of the writing process -- brainstorming, research, character development, the *zone* when you're in a scene that's really clicking? Something else?
BARB: Oh, the zone. No doubt about it — there’s no better feeling than to be so lost in the moment that time is just suspended and when you finally come out of the fog, you’re amazed to realize that hours have passed. And then, to go back a day or so later and read it and be caught up in it as if you’ve never seen it before, because you were so deep into writing, it was almost a subconscious thing.
AMY: Do you *cast* your books?
BARB: Absolutely. One of my favorite parts of the process and something that really helps especially if I’m stuck in the early parts of a manuscript. Sometimes I go with popular actors or singers, but more often than not, I’ll pick slightly more obscure ones who aren’t quite so entrenched with a particular character in my mind so I can mold them and play with them and call them George.
AMY: What's your favorite writing tool? Notecards, sticky notes, a white board? Something else?
BARB: ::clutches Mac laptop tightly:: Seriously, I’m very literal and linear— I’ll mull the idea over in my head and let it marinate for quite a while, then when I’m ready to go, I’m ready to go. That’s why I love my laptop— I don’t even like switching files from one computer to another. If for some strange reason I don’t have my computer with me and I get slammed with a story idea, I’ll use a notebook— the nice spiral-bound ones you can get on deep discount at Barnes and Noble? I always have one of those handy. Other than that, my other favorite writing tool is music. I use it to set the stage for every scene and mood and it immediately gets me into the right headspace for any given manuscript.
AMY: What book out there -- written a hundred years ago, or released just this year -- do you wish you had written?
BARB: From a purely avaricious standpoint, I wish I’d written Harry Potter. I mean, who knew? From a purely writer standpoint, I wish I’d written Anne Rivers Siddons’ HEARTBREAK HOTEL. I first read it back in junior high and it’s one book that has stayed with me in terms of plot, characterization, the lyricism of the language. It’s just one of the most beautiful perfect books ever.
AMY: If you couldn't write for whatever reason, what would you do instead?
BARB: Wow. If I had the gumption, I’d try to be a professional singer. If not, I’d teach. I actually trained as a teacher — elementary, of all things — and I love dealing with the little rugrats. However, I am not at all a fan of administration so, from that standpoint, not such a good teacher. I’d rather just teach rather than deal with the politics and silliness.
AMY: Favorite book you read this year?
BARB: This is going to sound so unbelievably smarmy, simply because she happens to be a good friend, but out of the books I’ve read so far this year, I’ve absolutely LOVED Alyssa Day’s (AKA Alesia Holliday) ATLANTIS RISING, the first in her Warriors of Poseidon series. Normally, I’m not a big fan of the larger than life Alpha male, but in this case, when you’re a high prince of the lost kingdom of Atlantis, it would be weird NOT to be larger than life and Alpha. And the real trick here, is that she also made her female equally strong, without being some emasculating bee-yotch with a chip on her shoulder and an agenda. It’s tough to create a strong, yet really feminine character and Alyssa did it. The other thing she did with this book, that to me, is the mark of a really wonderful writer, is she set the scene beautifully for all the stories that are to follow — has readers anticipating each of the characters’ different tales. I’ll find myself thinking, “Hmm... this would make a good situation for Denal,” or something along those lines and that just doesn’t happen often with me.
AMY: Favorite book when you were a kid?
BARB: Hmm... toss up between WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND, A SWIFTLY TILTING PLANET, and THE THORN BIRDS. (What can I say? I read it when I was ten.)
AMY: What are you working on now?
BARB: I’m in a period of stasis/waiting right now. I just finished a women’s fiction manuscript, BREATHE, that I’ve been working on, off and on, for fifteen months and that has easily been the most difficult manuscript I’ve ever worked on, emotionally, technically, from a lot of different standpoints. The partial for that has been on submission with some editors for a bit—now Lovely Agent is going to be calling and letting them know it’s finished. I have another women’s fic manuscript, LUCKY THIRTEEN that’s also making the submissions rounds, plus I just finished a proposal for a third YA that I hope to hear about. So, right now, I’m taking a creative breather and trying to figure out what I want to start developing next. I have lots of ideas — just need to pick one and run with it.
AMY: What was the first thing you did when you got the call about your RITA finals?
BARB: Aside from hit our poor President-elect, Sherry Lewis, with a repeated barrage of “Are you serious?” After I double-checked the Caller ID and made sure I hadn’t hallucinated the whole thing, I tried calling my agent, but her phone was off, so I was simultaneously emailing and leaving a message for her along the lines of “Pick up your $(@&$)(*#) phone!” Then I called my friend Alesia and managed to spit out, “I did it!” and she knew what I meant, so she said, “You finaled?” and I answered, “Doubled.” and then much squeeing commenced. After that I called my husband and work and gave him some garbled version of the previous conversation, then was absolutely SLAMMED with emails. Oh, and I posted on LJ about it.
Thanks for playing, Barb! You know I'll be rooting for you come RITA night.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
I'm at Romancing the Blog today...
...talking about the idea of taking a hiatus.
Speaking of which, it took me a half hour to get into Blogger this morning. Bad Blogger, no biscuit.
Come on over to Romancing the Blog! And come back here tomorrow for a new feature! I'm going to start an Author to Author interview with some of my favorite writers.
Speaking of which, it took me a half hour to get into Blogger this morning. Bad Blogger, no biscuit.
Come on over to Romancing the Blog! And come back here tomorrow for a new feature! I'm going to start an Author to Author interview with some of my favorite writers.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Apparently, I'm a bear.
Since I've clearly been hibernating since before Christmas. Oops.
But spring has sprung, or almost. Most of the SIX FEET of snow we had this winter has melted, which is sort of messy but welcome nonetheless. I can see grass! I wore a spring coat the other day! And this morning, hello weirdness, we had thunder and lightning.
Enough weather reporting! How about an update instead? I turned in two books and am working on another, due soon. (Very soon.) The mass market reissue of I Love You to Death came out in February. My web site was down for a while, but it's back up now and I'll be updating it this week.
And, most important of all, I have fallen hard for Supernatural and the Winchester brothers. Oh, Dean. So pretty, and so very, very wounded. Expect to hear more on this subject, folks. I can't be stopped.
But spring has sprung, or almost. Most of the SIX FEET of snow we had this winter has melted, which is sort of messy but welcome nonetheless. I can see grass! I wore a spring coat the other day! And this morning, hello weirdness, we had thunder and lightning.
Enough weather reporting! How about an update instead? I turned in two books and am working on another, due soon. (Very soon.) The mass market reissue of I Love You to Death came out in February. My web site was down for a while, but it's back up now and I'll be updating it this week.
And, most important of all, I have fallen hard for Supernatural and the Winchester brothers. Oh, Dean. So pretty, and so very, very wounded. Expect to hear more on this subject, folks. I can't be stopped.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Time SUCK.
I am forever behind the curve. I didn't get a cell phone until years after most people had already considered giving up their land lines and had gone through two dozen ring tones. I still don't have TiVo. (Or even TiFaux.) I didn't start watching Buffy until the third season, for heaven's sake.
So while I could talk about my opinions on Anne Stuart's comments about Mira on All About Romance, or Miss Snark's criticism of same, or Jenny Crusie's brilliant response to Miss Snark, it's all a bit old hat now.
Instead, I'll introduce you to a game I discovered throughevil well-meaning online friends. They're way ahead of me (thus more proof of my behind-the-curve-ness) but at least I know they'll have answers if I need them.
It's a simple word association game called Funny Farm. You start with one block, and as you fill in answers, more blocks appear. Apparently it's not meant to be completed by one person alone, which makes it much more fun to do with friends, and it will take you days, if not weeks, to finish it. A time suck! I mean, really, who doesn't need another one of those?
Go here. You'llcurse thank me later.
So while I could talk about my opinions on Anne Stuart's comments about Mira on All About Romance, or Miss Snark's criticism of same, or Jenny Crusie's brilliant response to Miss Snark, it's all a bit old hat now.
Instead, I'll introduce you to a game I discovered through
It's a simple word association game called Funny Farm. You start with one block, and as you fill in answers, more blocks appear. Apparently it's not meant to be completed by one person alone, which makes it much more fun to do with friends, and it will take you days, if not weeks, to finish it. A time suck! I mean, really, who doesn't need another one of those?
Go here. You'll
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Thursday Thirteen
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This is a new meme I found courtesy of Alison Kent. Sounds like fun. I'm also totally copying her today because I have precious few brain cells left this week. The next thirteen books I want to read are: 1. The Grand Tour, Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer 2. Lady Luck's Map of Vegas, Barbara Samuel 3. The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger 4. Cell, Stephen King 5. Thirsty, M.T. Anderson 6. Lost in the Forest, Sue Miller 7. Wonderland, Michael Bamberger 8. Reading Like a Writer, Francine Prose 9. The Devil's Feather, Minette Walters 10. The Ruins, Scott Smith 11. Vanishing Acts, Jodi Picoult 12. Cruel Sister, Deborah Grabien 13. Libba Bray's next book Let me explain about that last one. I am a huge fan of Libba's first two books -- A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels. I have no idea when the third book is coming out, except that it's sometime in 2007, I have no idea what the title is, and I don't care. I can't WAIT to read the book -- and I know Libba turned it in because I read her LiveJournal. Yay! Now let's see if I did all this coding stuff right... Links to other Thursday Thirteens!1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!) |
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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