lydamorehouse: (Default)
Our washing machine broke a few days ago--almost two weeks ago, actually--and we bought one at Warner's Stellian. In preparation of delivery day, we've been doing a ton of work to make sure the delivery people had a clear path into the basement. I mean, I have a LOT of sympathy for these guys. It's been so hot. Our stairs into the house are steep; the stairs to the basement are worse.

BUT.

They scratched the front of it bringing it in.

And, worst of all, they left with out leveling it.

We bought one of the high efficiency washing machines and they spin a great speeds. It's clearly listed as part of the installation process and, while this is close, this is not quite level.

Just shy of level
Image: bubble sitting just shy of level.

Does this matter this much? I'm not sure, but my wife would sure like that bubble to be sitting exactly level... and I'm not sure she's wrong?

Anyway, once again I am not telling you all what I am reading despite the fact that it is Wednesday. This time, at least, I am not telling you because I'm deeply embarrassed by the fact that I went down a yaoi smut rabbit hole (as it WERE) and if you really want to read about it, you can check out my manga review site: mangakast.wordpress.com



Anyway, how are you all? It's been forever! Tell me about your life!
lydamorehouse: (Renji 3/4ths profile)
 It seems appropriate to follow up my post about baking, with another triumph of the wrench.  

I successfully changed my license plates on the car!

Sounds easy, you're thinking, but the back plate was a b*tch to get off. Had to pull out the old liquid wrench. Had to try a number of different tools--all of which I HAD. 

So, yep, that's it. I did a thing. Go me.
lydamorehouse: (Default)
 On Sunday, I got an email containing the copy-edits of Unjust Cause from Wizard Tower Press.

I'm not very far along yet, but I have stetted a number of things that are a matter narrative voice and/or of personal choice. I mean, the copy editor had crossed out "pennies" and written in "loose change." There's actually no need to change what I wrote, and mine is more specific, so... back to pennies, it is. I can see why, in that particular moment, the copy editor might have felt that loose change was more accurate since the earlier scene involves a number of coins that are not pennies. I don't care. I like the sound of the phrase "a rain of pennies" more than "a rain of loose change" and I am the author, so I get final say.

But, I mean, if that's my biggest complaint? It's so much better than the time that one of Penguin's copy editors didn't seem to understand what "Spidey Sense" was. 

Anyone who reads my journal regularly, however, knows how much I, in particular, need a copy editor. So, I might complain, but gods bless anyone who catches all my typos and fixes my overuse of commas.

I'm not sure if I talked about this here yet, but I also have had a conversation with the artist who will be designing my cover. I had to provide something called "an artist's brief" which I have never had to do before in my life, so I just made it into a chatty discussion of what the book is about with images of South Dakota and the kinds of stone eagles that buildings in the US have (since I wasn't sure if my artist was from the UK or not, since my publisher is... )  So, I'm looking forward to seeing that. I will say that I'm probably less picky about my covers than I am about copy edits since I have had some TERRIBLE covers in the past from Penguin.

No one should ever forget noodle appendage lady on the cover of Honeymoon of the Dead.

So, that's what I'll be working on today, I imagine. 

Otherwise, I don't know. I've been feeling kind of low-energy/borderline sad the last few days and I think it's just my body realizing that spring is coming... but isn't quite here yet.  I'm not sure. We are thinking of painting the kitchen finally, so that's a fun project to look forward to... like I said, part of it is a kind of underlying feeling of restlessness to get STARTED on spring things, while knowing I simply have to wait at least until the snow is gone.
lydamorehouse: (Renji 3/4ths profile)
 A lot has happened in the last several days. I'll work backwards in time and see if I can remember everything. 

Last night, after dinner I got a text from a friend who sent, "I'm running late, but I'll be there in a minute!" Which prompted me to remember that I'd agreed to go out to The Allusionist podcast's "No Title" show at the Parkway Theater. For those of you who are introverts, let me explain that, as an extreme extrovert, I am literally up for anything that is out, with people, and often spontaneous. So, even though I had never in my life heard an episode of the "The Allusionist," when my friend said, "Would you be interested?" a couple of days agoI said, "Hell yes!" (and then promptly forgot about it until she showed up.) 

We had fun. "The Allusionist" is, as you might imagine, a word/linguistic based humor podcast and their "No Tilte" show is all about honorifics and gendered words. I told my friend afterwards that I suspect a lot of the content of this show is more mind blowing when they play Salt Lake City, but the origins of the singular 'they' is really kind of ho-hum in Minneapolis. It was still quite funny and I did learn a lot about the history of the words "miss" and "mister," which I hadn't known anything about previously.

Plus, I got to go out, at night, to a crowded theater, which prompted me to say to my friend at one point, "I forget that people in Minneapolis DO THINGS after six."

Tuesday morning was also very social for me, as I had scheduled a chat with [personal profile] jiawen and then [personal profile] naomikritzer came over for lunch, even though it was her book birthday! (Plug/ if you haven't picked up a copy of Catfishing on Catnet, what are you waiting for?? Do it! Do it NOW!! /plug) 

Now, moving back in time to Monday, my birthday. I turned 52 on Monday, which I feel is incredibly young, even though I'm sure to some of my friends here and elsewhere it sounds like someone's grandma's age. I got several cards in the mail through out the weekend, but, more excitingly, a package arrived from [personal profile] yhlee ....

cover of Tingleverse RPG game--just think tentacle porn and you'll have most of it.
Image: Tentacle porn with T-rex cowboys, bigfoot, and a seemingly random elf lady (apparently the rules are similarly baffling).

This was a welcome surprise! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Yoon! I think this was one of the things that very much made my day. The other being the box of SIX POUNDS of stamps that Shawn bought me. POUNDS. As I said to Mason as I drove him to school that morning, "I have a very weird hobby. I collect small, useless scraps of paper." He said, "Hey, I collect small interlocking pieces of plastic. At least your hobby is cheap." 

And I'm pretty sure six pounds will keep me busy for some time, too, which is nice.

Otherwise, my birthday was all about going out to eat (which is my other favorite thing). Shawn and I had brunch at Colossal Cafe, which we drive past all the time (it's on Grand, on our way to her work) yet had never been in. One of my hipster friends from my coffee shop had been ranting about it (positively) for years, and I knew that my birthday was the one time I could talk Shawn into going somewhere brand new. I had especially wanted to try their biscuits and gravy, which did, in fact, live up to the hype--though I had not realized they made it with bison meat, but whatever. It was lovely. I would totally go back.

Oh, and Sunday night we did our big meal out for my birthday with my whole family at Taste of India, which is a favorite of mine, as a break between proofing and finalizing Unjust Cause, the sequel to Precinct 13, which I am happy to report has been delivered to the publisher. It is expected out in spring of 2020. More to come on that as I know it.

That's been me!  Today, Eleanor and I are planning on visiting Terry at her nursing home. Having followed her Caringbridge journal religiously, I'm looking forward to seeing her, as it sounds like there have been monumental improvements. 
lydamorehouse: (Aizen)
I was supposed to go over to a friend's house for anime viewing tonight, but I had to cancel. Mason has some kind of farewell to the Robotics seniors at Washington tonight and he asked me to play taxi. Normally, I'd ask him to make his way by train or bus, but it's a bit of a hassle to get from his work (the Science Museum) to Washington and the longer he's in transit the less of the party he can attend. At the point, I might as well stay home to fetch him when he's done, too, so he can stay longer.

Otherwise, it's been a much slower week than last week, that's for sure! And maybe this is the other reason I feel so quick to cancel tonight. I could use the down time to just stare at the wall.

We're two weeks out for our trip to Michigan and Indiana. I need to spend some time (maybe tonight, now that it's free) plotting out our course in order to hit the most roadside attractions as possible. We're also entertaining taking the "slow boat" home, too, rather than just doing our usual fast push through Illinois and Wisconsin. This will probably end up being the big road trip the family will take this year. Mason has been making noises about wanting to do a big trip to California or the East Coast with just me, as well, but we'll have to see what time and money allows.

It is Wednesday, so I should probably remark on some of the things I've been reading/consuming. I've been in a weird mood, writing-wise. I haven't wanted to write much of anything, not even fan fic, and I can't tell if I'm feeling kind of done with Bleach (*gasp* is that possible??) or if I'm just having one of my occasional fallow periods.

I've been assuming the later, which means I've been reading and viewing widely in the hopes of filling the creative well.

Manga:

I read the first five volumes of Gokusen by Morimoto Kozueko but then decided I didn't quite care enough to read to the bitter end. To be fair, the person who recommended this to me, recommended the anime, which I believe is only one season. It's hard to find as an anime online these days, since it came out in the early 2000s (I think), and doesn't seem to have remained popular enough for Crunchyroll to keep it in their catalog, as it were. The manga was fine? Reminded me, in a positive way, of all the other yakuza out of water stories I've read, including Gokushufudo: The Way of the House Husband by Oono Kousuke (funny! Highly recommend) and Hinamatsuri by Ohtake Masao.

I also read on recommendation: Loved Circus by Asada Nemui which is a yaoi about a guy who ends up working in a brothel, which sounds way smuttier than this story actually is. I mean, it is that, but it also had a surprising amount of story and I liked it quite a bit.

I also caught up on chapters of Morose Mononokean / Fukigen na Mononokean by Kiri Wazawa, which has become a favorite. I'm watching the anime, as well. It's basically yet-another-magical-boy who can see yokai, but in this one he runs into an exorcist, the master of the mononokean, who's job it is to protect the yokai. There's also some intrigue with the Underworld and the characters therein, that I find compelling. I recommend it, but not if you're tired of this troupe.


Anime:

Thanks to the regular gathering I've been watching/sampling a LOT more anime these days. Normally, I just don't make a huge amount of time for TV in my life. Not for any particularly righteous reason, but I just tend to be more likely to go to a manga site than an anime one when I'm goofing around on the internet. Probably because I do most of my manga reading on my laptop, and watching on my iPad--which I have to make a conscious effort to grab/set up.

What I've watched:

Shonen Onmyouji : Because of a continued interest in characters related to Abe no Seime, we watched an episode of this, which follows the grandson of Abe no Seime who is trying to make his own reputation in a world where his grandpa is literally the most famous wizard ever (Abe no Seime was a real historical figure, but he's become a Merlin character in a lot of anime.) The master of the Mononokean carries the surname Abeno, so one assumes that we're supposed to make the connection (apparently Ashiya is a well-known sidekick of the historical Abe no Seime, and that's the name of our hero.) Similarly, I'm very hooked on Midnight Occult Civil Servants / Mayonaka no Occult Kōmuin by Yōko Tamotsu whose main character is a distant relative of Abe no Seime, as well.

Then, because they're a series of very short episode, we also watched all of This Boy is a Professional Wizard / Kono Danchi Mahou ga Oshigoto desu, which is apparently a part of a number of indie OVA all entitles "This Boy is..."

On my own, I've been catching up on the third season of Free! Dive into the Future which I somehow missed when it first aired. I'm on episode four or something like that.  

On our anime night, we also watched the first episode of Good Omens, which I enjoyed. I'll be disappointed if they continue without me, but I am the party pooper so it may be the wages of sin, as it were.

Podcasts: 

I am also all caught up on the Amnesty arc of "The Adventure Zone," a roleplaying podcast. I also listened to the first couple episodes of "The History of English," which was recommended to me by [personal profile] offcntr and which I'm enjoying.  

I think that's mostly it. How's about you? Read/watch/listen to anything good?
lydamorehouse: (Bazz-B)
I'm writing to you on this screen because hanging open on the other tab is the proposal form for the Loft's fall line-up. I have one day and some hours to finish filling it in, and I'm already stuck on the first question after my contact information. What should I call this class? I've had clever names over the years: Attack of the 80 Foot Writer! and Mars Needs Writes!  but those are starting to feel old to me. I suppose a simple thing to do is to Google science fiction b-movie titles. Oh, hey, I haven't used "It Came From Outer Space" yet. I'll see what I can do with that. 

All right, that one solved. Should I propose an intro course, intermediate, or an advanced course?

I think I need a lot more coffee before I tackle this.
*passage of time*

Okay, it turns out that if I click the box that says I've taught this course before and I'm not changing anything about it, I don't actually have to go through the whole syllabus rigamarole. Who knew?  Of course, this also seems to mean that I can't update my bio, but whatever. I can put the new one on the syllabus if the class ends up being viable.

I swear I JUST did this, but the Loft uses "submittable," a tracking program for these kinds of things, so I can see that I have no currently open proposals. 

The other writing-related thing I did this morning was proof "Only Gossamer, My Gown," which is the apocalyptic short story that I submitted to Boundary Shock Quarterly. Unfortunately the cover reveal for the magazine isn't until June, because DAMN is it gorgeous. When I get all the information, I'll be sure to let you all know where, how, and when you can order your very own copy.

Yesterday, when I met up with Eleanor downtown, I started critiquing the manuscript the Loft sent me, too. If y'all don't know, you can hire me to read your novel and give it a very deep critique:  https://loft.org/critique/lyda-morehouse-book-length-science-fictionfantasy-novels. That price s pretty steep, but I put a LOT of hours into these things. Anyway, tell your friends. It's one of the ways I make money in this late-stage capitalistic gig economy.

Otherwise, the weather continues to be amazing here. I made plans to get together with [personal profile] jiawen when she comes to town, tried to do my online training for work (discovered that I have to be on site), and started a load of laundry.

I haven't written much about politics lately because I am running on empty. I have no words for what's happening in Alabama and the rest of the United States regarding abortion bans, except: elections matter.

I know I'm a science fiction writer, but I actually DON'T want to live in a dystopia.
lydamorehouse: (Default)
 First of all, I've had a number of people ask me: yes, Mason's got his ROG back thanks to a quick order of a replacement cord. In fact, he's currently sitting across from me voice chatting with his friend Gray as they play Portal 2 together. 

Meanwhile, this is how I'm typing.

a mac with a usb keyboard connected by a wire

It may not be clear, but my Mac is missing a few keys. It's been without an "s" and a "d" for some time, but I'd be able to tap over the empty space and still get what I needed. But, the other night a bunch of keys on that row stopped working. I could bang on them as hard as I wanted and nothing happened. So, I starting trying to clean out the gunk i figured must be underneath the keys. I was getting some good stuff out, too! But... uh, then... yeah, let's just say I should NOT be allowed to poke at my computer with any kind of implement including a frozen turkey.

The keyboard, though?  I kind of dig it. First of all, it's the keyboard I "grew up" on (I'm actually old enough to have learned to type on a TYPEWRITER). But, the clickity-clacking of this baby? I'm into it!  I might be wrong, but I feel like I type faster.

It's just kind of physically awkward.

But, for now, it's good enough.

Anyway, sorry for not keeping everyone abreast of things. Mostly, it's been snowing here and I've been shoveling... I mean, the excitement is palpable, am I right?  I honestly don't know what I've been doing with my time--oh, let's see, I finished my critiquing/mentorship with my Broad Universe Canadian. We're going to be having our last Skype session on Wednesday, coming up.  After that, I'm going to throw myself into finishing up my apocalypse story, and then get working getting the novel together for Cheryl at Wizard Tower Press. Mason and I are going to spend tonight finishing up PSEO application stuff. 

So, yeah, it's like that.

Here's a picture of my kitty playing with his favorite mousie game on the iPad. He'll actually ask for it by coming up to the iPad and pawing at it. He'll do that and then look at me, like, "Hooman, do the thing to make the mouse come?"

kitty playing with an iPad mouse game
lydamorehouse: (aizen's return)
 Yesterday I managed to sprain... my instep? the arch of my foot?... doing nothing more than bending down, while gardening.  I'm doing R.I.C.E.(Rest. Ice. Compress. Elevate.)  It hurt like CRAZY yesterday, but after a good night's sleep and a bunch of ibuprofen, I can put a decent amount of pressure on it now without feeling like I want to scream.

I have no idea what I did. Twist wrong? Step down funny? Stretch?

It makes me feel old. But, I'm going to keep resting it, and if I can feel the same amount better that I did between yesterday and today, I should be back to new (or old, as the case may be) in no time.

This is what I get for attempting to sweep and clear out the front gardens a little.  Lesson, children?  Don't do any more housework than absolutely necessary. You could hurt yourself.
lydamorehouse: (crazy eyed Renji)
For those of you just tuning in, I've been partnering with voice actor Jack Evans to record and produce audiobooks through ACX.com.  They've already produced Archangel Protocol and now they have just finished Fallen Host!  Because ACX is a subsidiary of both Audible and Amazon.com, you can buy my book exactly the same way in which you could buy any Audible book--on Amazon, on iTunes, or on Audible!  Here's a link to the Audible site: http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Fallen-Host-Audiobook/B01JQCXSW4.

What's cool about this particular project is that because it's just Jack and I and no middle-person/company, we're getting a royalty split similar to a self-published book. So, if you buy this audio version, Jack and I get the majority of the profits!  So, if you're looking for ways to support me more directly, this is definitely one of them.

In other news, Naomi Kritzer and I are teaching a class together at the Loft on short stories.  Don't worry, I'm not asking you to sign-up.  I've done my sales pitch for the blog.  We actually already had our first class on Saturday.  It's a LONG class: 3 hours and it's only two sessions. I feel like the class went very well, but I might be hallucinating because since the class started at 9 am and went until noon, I had nothing to eat but a WHOLE LOT OF COFFEE.  To say I was high energy during the class might be a slight understatement.

I think, too, my teaching style is.... okay, positive words would include: dynamic, flexible, and organic.  It worked pretty well to teach in tandem with Naomi because, as I told her beforehand (and the class, during,) that while I feel as though I'm a successful writer, I don't feel that short stories are necessarily an area of expertise for me.  I know a good one when it comes through my writers' group, but let's put that in perspective. I have Eleanor Arnason and Naomi Kritzer in my writing group, and between them they've had short stories nominated for and have won pretty much every short story award there *is.*  

So my job during class was to facilitate discussion.  To draw out ideas that Naomi has about writing short stories and to get the class to participate in ideas, etc.  Adult teaching, too, means making sure that adults leave class with a sense of having accomplished a specific goal. Adults like to leave class with something concrete in hand, so we had to structure the class in a way that provided students with some time to write and time to analyze the writing, etc.  And, despite the fact that the 3 hours slipped by much faster than we anticipated, we managed that.  The good news is that we have a second class to underscore the more important points, some of which we only skimmed over in the first class when we realized we were running out of time.

On the other hand, I'm a big believer in doing is learning, so the fact that all six of our students produced work they COULD take home and continue made me very optimistic that the second class is going to go as well as this one did and that all of them should be at least somewhat satisfied with their experience this last time.

Or I was high.

I could have been high.
lydamorehouse: (nic & coffee)
 The Dementors did their best to wear me out on Friday, but I managed to survive, anyway.  Luckily, because the deliveries were late, I actually managed to find some time to compulsively organize juvenile series titles.  (Weirdly, things like this relax me.) Also, the author in me rebels whenever I see all the 39 Clues books all jammed together willy-nilly on a shelf, like it's not important that some of the books are part of the regular series and some are from the Unstoppable series or the Double Cross or the Cahills vs. Vespers... especially when the subtitles are right there on the spine.  THIS IS IMPORTANT, PEOPLE.  Especially, I would think to young readers.  

Anyway, I survived that AND dinner with one of Shawn's brothers.

Mark Friday as a success.

Today, Mason is off at Math Counts. I delivered him at 8:00 am at Washington and they're being bussed off to some college for the competition.

This means Shawn and I had the house to ourselves this morning, so there's been a whole lot of nothing going on, as well as a trip to the Goodwill outlet.  

The Goodwill Outlet is different from other Goodwill shops in that it's just completely unorganized bins of STUFF that people dig through and pay for by the pound. For our loom, we brought home 45 pounds of fabric.  It was an interesting experience.  Shawn had a blast, and was among her people, digging away for bargains.  I hung back a little, since I had no specific goal and watched people.  There was one guy obsessively digging through bins for shoes.  He seemed intent on finding pairs.  He had an entire cart full of shoes, and was super methodical in the way he sorted and dug.  The staff all knew him by name.  My first impression was that he was legit OCD, but then it occurred to me that he might just have a method for hunting down to a science and be searching for shoes for a shelter or some other non-profit organization.  There was another woman who was actually very desperately hunting for clothes for herself/her family, and had a budget that seemed to involve pocket change.  That was very hard to see, but, as Shawn pointed out, the good news is that she did walk away from the super-store with three or four shirts for fifteen cents.  I also saw lots of people hunting through pockets and purses for... extras?  That was fascinating, especially as I watched one woman pull out what was clearly nicotine gum from a purse, consider them, and then toss them aside.  I was fascinated because my first thought was: "Who doesn't clean out their purse before they donate it?" Of course, the answer immediately presented itself: "Dead people."

Still, a very interesting experience.  
lydamorehouse: (crazy eyed Renji)
Rachel and I published our next episode last Thursday to the School of Wayward Demon's site:  "Aftershocks Run Deep."

Check it out.  We're pretty deep into the story now and a lot of the ensemble cast is really starting to show off their personalities and the world around them is deepening.  It's that part of the story that starts to feel lived in.

In other news, Shawn and I spent the day yesterday baking.  Shawn likes to get ahead of the holidays by baking cookies and freezing half of them. so we have lots of nosh around for our Thanksgiving guests, and stuff set aside for Christmas.  We made biscotti, honey caramels, and sand tarts (a kind of butter-sugar cookie cut-out, but with an egg-wash which makes them kind of chewy in a really yummy way.)  Then, because Mason is a fan of it, we made steak for dinner and I baked homemade bread.  So pretty much the oven was on and the kitchen was busting all day.

Today we're starting to do the holiday cleaning and all of that.

I'm finished with my Yuletide assignment, but I haven't posted it yet because I'm still not sure about the voice of it.  So, I'm letting it sit for a while and then I'll re-read to see how it "sounds."

I also did a really fun back-and-forth via email interview with Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith, the authors of a new YA dystopian novel called, Stranger that will eventually be published on Gay YA.  I'll post a link here when that happens.

Otherwise, I'm fighting off a headache which I blame on this really weird, warm weather we're having....


lydamorehouse: fish obsession (makoto)
 Who wants to see a picture of my new baby??



Look at that majestic delta/fan tail.  So handsome.  I think I actually got a clearer picture of him, but this one really shows off that tail.  He was mugging actually.  He seemed to be looking at me saying, "This!  This is my good side, monkey!  Take the shot!"

This, of course, is in between bouts of trying chase off that SUPER-HANDSOME other betta he keeps seeing in the reflection of the tank.

Anyway, he yet lives, so, as a reward, you can now see all of his Awesome.

In other news, I got a 99% on the quiz at last night's Japanese class.  So, turns out, cramming is a thing.  College students everywhere are unsurprised by this news.  

Last night's class was a blast.  I decided to show off the Japanese edition of Archangel Protocol to my teacher.  He was very cute about it.  He kept saying, "This is you?" To which I said, "Well, I sure hope that's my name there" (pointing to the one kanji I recognize, which is the "R" which I know starts my name, because it also start's Renji's.)  He's like, "Oh! It is!" Then he says, "You are famous!" To which I started to brush off until he cheerfully announced, "I am also famous."  Who can resist that bait, right?  So, I say, "You are?  What for?" 

Turns out, he's a knitter.  He's gotten some serious attention for a knitting pattern he invented for men's hats.  

My response?  HOW F*CKING COOL IS THAT?

I tend to agree that there is possibly a niche for men's knitting patterns by men for men.  I told him that he should totally go for it and try to make a book of patterns.

Anyway, I was sorry I couldn't get a copy of Archangel Protocol for him to keep.  I have no idea if it's even still available in Japan.  If it was, I'd love to get extra copies of it.  I'd love to give one to him, and another to my friend who is studying Japanese (and can actually read it.)

In class, we are now learning colors.  I was telling my Japanese-studying friend that I feel like I'm four years old again.  Numbers!  Colors!  Simple things like: school!  Building!

There was a very funny moment about traffic signals.  Apparently, in Japan, traffic signals LOOK the same, but when you get to the light we would go at, they call it "blue."  Tetsuya-sensei wanted us to know IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS that if you are standing in Japan and someone says, "Hey, the light is blue, go."  Do NOT turn to them and say, "What? That light is green."  I found this amusing because it was very clear that Tetsuya-sensei had some issues.  He made us promise just to never, ever do this IN JAPAN.  I mean, yeah, d'uh.  Your country, your signal colors.  Sure, I see that as green, but you know your language.  I'm guessing, however, this is something that comes up a lot in his life and it just F*CKING bugs him.  I'm down with that.  Any time you can say to students who are potentially going to your country of origin,"Traveling Americans: don't be dicks" it's probably a good thing.  

*grin*
lydamorehouse: (Default)
Dang it.

Sorry that I haven't kept up with my blogging. Here is another MangaKast, though, if you're interested in Mason and my thoughts about the latest Bleach, Toriko, and Fairy Tail: mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/09/25/26-mason-and-lydas-inter-directional-adventures/

I think the problem has been work. Something happened at Roseville (someone quit unexpectedly? Got ill?) and they needed a reliable sub for two weeks running. I worked last Monday through Thursday, and this Tuesday through Thursday. PLUS, I had a pre-scheduled gig on Saturday for EIGHT hours at a different library (North Saint Paul.) So, I've been working a lot.

And then, today, John, the big circulation boss, says there's been a lot of mis-shelved books so he wants to quiz me. Would I please do a cart of fiction and non-fiction and set the books on their sides so he can check my work? No problem I say. I get nearly all the fiction right (one policy one I blew because I wasn't sure if all articles were skipped or just "the" so I mis-shelved a book that started "a".) Then came non-fiction... yeah, to be fair, out of fifty some books I only got five wrong, but that's kind of a lot for a library. What can I say? In my defense I normally don't try to shelve nearly as fast as I did today. I was feeling the pressure because I knew another person was covering my time on the desk and I felt responsible to get back as quickly as possible. So, you know... but *sigh* I'm not in any real trouble, but I still feel like a dope. I got a reminder of how things worked and I'm going to have to put little bookmarks in my work for a while so they can make sure I'm not messing up.

On the other hand, I work exactly once at a totally different library (Maplewood) in the entire month of October.

So, you know, not a lot of opportunity to screw up! Bonus!

But, you know, while I have to admit I messed up, I kind of doubt that the mis-shelving was down to me. I didn't actually do a whole lot of shelving the whole two weeks I worked there. Most of my time was on the desk or the phones. The first week I was there I did some new things like interlibrary loans and new book shelving, so...

Thing is, I like this job. I don't want to lose it.

But, so that's one major thing that's been happening: a whole lot of work. I nearly worked 40 hours this week, and I have to tell you, failed quizzes aside, I'm not terribly fond of the whole daily grind thing any more. Nothing I do at the library is terribly hard (with the exception of non-fiction, apparently), but you know, the ever day thing... yeah, I don't know how you people do it. It's... tiring. Also, I really, really need to paint our fence (which I "fixed" the other day), so I'd much rather be doing that. The fixed bit is in quotes because I very much did a "There I Fixed It" kind of solution. I just didn't want to have to go to Menards, so I made do with stuff we had around home. This meant making a "butt joint" with two shorter pieces for the spacer. I guess butt joints are a thing, but mine is... interesting. Still that whole fence is going to need to be replaced at some point so, really, this works for now.

Tonight is Wyrdsmiths, so I'm headed out in a bit. I also had a bunch of evening gigs this week, starting Monday--when I did the "Hobbit: Book v. Movie" panel at Common Good books. That was a small, intimate gathering, as we like to say, but lively none-the-less. I met another author who does a podcast with his kid, only his is a dad/daughter show called Generations Geek.

Then, on Tuesday night I had my first of many Japanese language classes through the Community Education program. It's going to be... interesting.  I'm feeling a bit old to be learning a new language, though I am motivated by... otaku.  I told Shawn that since my teacher said that I need to study for an hour a day that CLEARLY means I need to watch at least an hour of anime daily, right?  I'm pretty sure that's what it means.... 

Anyway, okay, I'm off to my writers' group.  I feel like a  loser writer, though, too, because thanks to work and my Japanese class i managed to miss a week of writing my Tate project.  

*sighs*

Today is a day of *sigh* apparently. 

But the podcast is fun.  Go listen to that.
lydamorehouse: (more renji art)
Huh, I should have started posting this on a Wednesday so it could be "WattPad Wednesday" or something more alliterative. But, regardless, the newest section is up:

http://www.wattpad.com/57418191-unjust-cause-part-14-unnatural-unleashed

In "Unnatural Unleashed," Alex has to face the consequences unleashing her magic on Jack and his magpie familiar, Sarah Jane...

As usual, when you go to the site (or return here afterward), I would love any commentary you have, even if it's critical. I noted on the Wyrdsmiths' blog that the pacing for a serial-type novel is very different than writing a traditional novel. I took WattPad at their word when I signed up and have been tailoring these installments in very short, digestible chunks aimed at people who are using their smart/iPhones to read bits of things while commuting to work or wherever. I might be making these sections too short for other readers.

I will admit, as I have before, that I'm using this weekly deadline to make word count on a project that I've been struggling with. So, admittedly, much of what appears on-line is actually very first draft-y, very by the seat of my pants, oh-crap-is-it-Sunday-already--which is also why I would love suggestions for improvement. The work posted there is being collected and massaged into an eventual e-book, so anything people have to say will actually help me write a better book (even if I can't go back and change what's on-line.)

So, yeah....

In other news, I'm starting to gear up for CONvergence, which starts (for me), on Wednesday night. I'll try to post my schedule tomorrow, so if anyone in town wants to follow me around, they're more than welcome to.

Also, I just got my first Blogging for Books request, the graphic novel Harlem Hellfighters. I'll be reading that ASAP and posting a review of it somewhere, probably here as well as on my Tate blog.

You know all my whining about not feeling the love? I'm not alone. I read this in the New York Times Sunday Style section: "For the Love of Being 'Liked'" and saw myself just a LITTLE too much. :-)
lydamorehouse: (more renji art)
My experiment continues. I've just posted (as Tate) the third installment of my work-in-progress: the sequel to Precinct 13, UnJust Cause.

Here's where you can read it: http://www.wattpad.com/44898135-unjust-cause-part-3-the-body-and-the-suspects

If you're confused about what I'm doing over there, the short of it is that I've really struggled with motivation to write ever since I was dropped by my publisher. The idea of posting this is a work-in-progress on WattPad is to keep the momentum going. I am really hoping to develop a following and a community there, so I can be encouraged to keep on keeping on.

I can't really say it's working so far. It's possible that I've been silent too long. My readers may have given up on me, which is totally fair. I really dropped out of the scene pretty hard. Particularly as Tate.

I probably should have considered doing this sort of self-publishing thing immediately, but, the truth is I held out hope that one of my other projects would sell quickly. Obviously, that didn't happen, and when it didn't, I was very thrown for a loop. I still have projects that I'm hoping my agent will be able to sell, but I probably wasted a lot of valuable time scrambling around trying to fight a system that changed on me, seemingly overnight.

For instance, she and I were still trying to sell books on proposal, which, apparently, despite how many books you've had published, you really can't do any more. You need to have a finished project, ideally, but, if not that, then a lot of finished product to show off. I didn't have that, and so when there was interest, I had to scramble and write... which I'm not as good at. I did my very best, but I'm much better at having a chance to have a lot of revision and time to feel my way into a character and the plot. So, no surprise, those 'samples' fell flat for a lot of publishers....

...which, of course, only continued to depress me.

So, the whole idea behind publicly posting my work on WattPad was to up my confidence. But, alas, I've lost half my readers between my first post and my second. So... that kind of sucks. I'm not sure what to make of it. It wasn't like I had an overwhelming response for my first post, either.

However, I'm still trying to use the publication schedule I've set for myself as a motivator. At least if I write a 2,000+ word installment a week, that's forward progress. Considering that previously I was writing zero words a week, that's a very good thing. So, I'm not ready to write off this experience just yet. Not by a long shot.

For those who are wondering, yes, the end result should be a self-published e-book. Provided, of course, I stick with this.

In other news, I'm hoping to see "Captain America: Winter Soldier" today at noon. I'm sure to have a review of sorts for you tomorrow (which I promise to put under the cut). Also, tomorrow is Wednesday, so Mason and I will have a podcast for you (talk about a dwindling audience! Ah well.) But, he and I will talk Bleach and the new SnK and Toriko and whatever else strikes our fancy. Maybe I'll give a little review of Detour, too.

Anyway, there you are.
lydamorehouse: (cap)
Today is a cloudy, cold day.  Despite getting a late start (not only did Mason sleep in, but Shawn and I decided to have a breakfast "date" after she got some blood drawn for a celesterol (sp) test), I managed to go to the gym.  I'm not sure I ever explained my weird desire to be Captain America by 45, but here's the deal:  I'm one of those people who baulks at directness.  In otherwords, I need to lie to myself.

IF I told myself I was going to the gym to get buff and lose weight, the whole thing would become this gigantic chore. I'd hate it and quit.  Telling myself I'm going because I want to have biceps like Captain America, however, makes the whole thing silly and pressure free.  Thus any weight loss and/or resulting buffness is all bonus.

I often have to lie to myself about writing too.  If I think about writing for publication, I freak out.  So every time I sit down to write, I open up a blank document and pretend I'm just writing for fun.  

Yep.  Every time.

Weird, huh?

Anyway, Mason is sitting next to me reading his favorite lift-the-flap book by Richard Scary called CUCUMBER TO THE RESCUE.  He seemed to have a pretty good day at school.  It's hard to know beause getting useful informaiton from a pre-schooler is a bit difficult.  He loves, for instance, to tell me what was for snack -- today vanilla waffers, but is lose on details about things they actually DID.  Apparently, during active learning time (which I'm beginning to believe is Montessori code for "free play") he got "assigned" to the "drama center," which is a place to play house/pretend.  They also went to the art room for specalist time, apparently.  But, after that it's all rather murky.  Sometimes he'll sing me the songs they sang or might even remember the title of a book.  Still, I tell myself the information I do get is probably a lot more than I will when he's a teenager.

Tonight is class at the Loft.  I'm looking forward to it, actually, even though I'm a bit behind on Tate's writing.

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