Greetings from Napa

Hubby and I are spending a few days in a timeshare in Napa. It's been great. Today's a bit on the gloomy side, but I won't be bothered by that while I'm having my massage in the "cave". I think I'll taste some wines in the wine cellar before I go to the spa. Hubby, unfortunately, had to go into work today. We'll meet up later for dinner.

Meantime, I finished the Paul Park book, A Princess of Roumania. I enjoyed it. I do have a beef, though. Not enough of the loose ends were tied up in the end for my taste. I know that there's a book that comes after it, The Tourmaline, but I would have liked more closure with this one first. But, alas, he didn't ask me. ;)

I also brought the galley with me. I think I'll work on that a bit this afternoon. Either that, or get in some Christmas shopping. Of course, both of these ideas sound too much like work to me. Maybe I'll drag out one of my short story rough drafts instead. Or write a new one.

I also read some good stories in Asimov's. I especially enjoyed "Strangers on a Bus" by Jack Skillingstead. It's his 13th story for Asimov. He must be doing something right. It's in the December 2007 issue. In the January issue, there's a good article by James Patrick Kelly about SFWA. The stories by Mike Resnick and Deborah Coates were worth a look, too. I'm trying to catch up on my reading. I decided to read one story per day in addition to reading novels. More grist for the mill.

The sun's starting to peek through the clouds. Perhaps I'll take a walk in the vineyard this afternoon. :)

Writer's and Reader's Resources

Everyone needs a hand up to succeed in the arts. Well, unless you have some kind of magic you're not telling us about. I'm inviting speculative fiction writers to check out one of the places where I'm still getting a hand up. Other World's Writers' Workshop. I've been in lots of critique groups. They come and go. They help, they don't. This one is the one that I have consistently benefited from over the years. They have lots of helpful resources on the main page and the workshop is great. The rules are tough, but that's why it works and it's still around after at least five years.

Now, if you write ANYTHING (minus grocery lists, letters, emails and to-do lists) and live in California, here's the place to be: California Writers' Club. They have about 17 branches throughout the state. Tons of help and resources. I highly recommend checking them out. Go to their website to find a branch near you.

Not to forget you readers out there, if you haven't discover Fantastic Fiction, today's the day. Don't you hate it when you pick up a used paperback or a book in the library that's part of series, and it doesn't tell you the order of them on the flap? Problem solved.

Going Green and Awesome Lavratt

This year my husband and I are doing something different. We toyed with the idea of drawing names for Christmas since the family is increasing all the time. That didn't go over very well. And I LIKE finding something thoughtful for each of my five kids and their wives/girlfriends/boyfriend. It just adds up really fast. And it's very hard to go backwards on spending from the year before. It seems we end up spending more every year. I don't want it to be ABOUT the gifts this year, but don't want to appear cheap, either.

Unlike most of my gender, I HATE shopping. Most of my thoughtful purchases are done online. I was sick of the barrage of Christmas shopping ads before Thanksgiving.

So, our solution? We go green. We're making some of our gifts this year. My husband is not a bad photographer. He has a number of great shots that we're framing to send to family and friends. I just heard on the radio that we are also doing our part by using a digital rather than a 35 m camera. Some or all of the solutions used in processing the rolls are toxic. Yeah, us. I just like not having to deal with the hassle of getting the rolls developed and love the erasability factor of digital. I'm NOT a good photographer.

I'm trying to crochet some stuff. Dismal failure so far. I write. I don't do crafts. I might be able to whip out a scarf or two, but will anyone wear them when they can buy nicer ones in the store?

Maybe I'll make bourbon balls. Beats fruitcake, right? I also make a mean Irish Cream. I did give some to friends last year. Last year I gave all the kids a tastefully bound family tree I worked on for two months. Several of the kids call me asking for recipes. Maybe a recipe book? I can type better than I can crochet.

We purchased LED lights for the tree, the picture window and the outside of the house. They'll pay for themselves in reduced energy costs eventually, right?

Would have been nice to have my book in print before Christmas. Oh, well. That isn't happening. It's a case of hurry up, wait. The private release of Awesome Lavratt may not happen until February or March now. :(

Meantime, with two great critique groups, I'm zipping through the rewrites of Under the Suns of Sarshan. I'm trying to get as much done as possible before my mother-in-law arrives for the holidays from Texas.

Awesome Lavratt

Just received the galley today. And now I have to eat humble pie. I had one paragraph that contained the word "lake" four times! I can't wait for the real thing to come off the press. But on the other hand, some things can't be rushed. I'm on a mission to find every redundancy, typo, phraso and formatto that's there. Don't worry, I'm enlisting help. ;)

SF TV Characters

Having hoisted my stiff back out of bed after the latest virus, I'm back to blogging.

I got some reading done. The synapses weren't up to rewrites and writing just yet. I read some very good stories in Analog & Asimov and I'm nearly done with Paul Park's A Princess of Roumania. I'm finding it wonderfully entertaining, yet galling at times as he gets away with stuff that my work (and anyone else I know) would get red-lined for. He uses the same phrase three times on the same page. Twice within two sentences on another. I can't do that. I'm honestly not sure if it's his style or poor editing.

Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying the story very much. I wouldn't notice these things if I wasn't a born editor. I find all the typos. Probably because I'm, alas, a slow and literal reader. It's a double-edged sword.

On the plus side, Park can use a ton of different POVs without causing confusion or slowing the story down. He puts us in the shoes of each of the players. Even some of the minor ones. It all adds more depth to this intricate story that is a bit like an Alice in Wonderland or Wizard of Oz adventure. All of his characters learn, grow and adapt. None is wholly good or evil.

When I wasn't reading, I was watching Firefly, Torchwood, Heroes, Bionic Woman, Dr. Who and Flash Gordon. My husband and I both had to wonder if the episodes on Friday night were written by the second string writers due to the WGA strike already. It seemed to be "make the characters unbelievably stupid" night. My plausibility meter doesn't go crazy with the worldbuilding and the riftblaster (I just enjoy the ride) on Flash.
SPOILER WARNING - skip the next sentence if you haven't watched yet.

But when Joe decides to go to Mongo for some photos, Dale opens the jar and they bring Joe back BEFORE they ask him about the upgraded riftblaster he took that would bring Ming down on them - ugh! My favorite character is the alien woman, Baylin. She's straightforward.

Then, we watched Bionic woman. That was on the DVR from earlier in the week. The stupid thing there was hopping into the guy's car who already stated his own people would kill him. How could she NOT see that coming? I was dissappointed. My plausibility meter was going nuts.

Even Stargate Atlantis had stupidity. Wait for back up already!!! This is one I've seen many times on movies and cop shows. But perhaps I'm meant to believe that the genius is lacking in common sense? I had a friend that was extremely academically intelligent yet lacked common sense. But how does that explain the FBI (or NSA?) guy that was with him? Ugh! I can forgive unrealistic science in my TV entertainment but I'd like the characters to be a little more believable. A little less stupid.

And now for something fun (I'm done ranting - must still not be feeling well). I found this essay by Firefly's Nathan Fillion. I don't like westerns but space westerns...well Firefly is the best blending of the two I've seen. Well rounded, entertaining characters. I, Malcom by Nathan Fillion from
Serenity Found: More Unauthorized Essays on Joss Whedon's Firefly Universe by Jane Espenson. It's reproduced with permission on USA Today.

Oh, and yes, we watched Tin Man. I'm reserving my opinion until I've seen it all.