At long last a LiveJournal by Jeri Smith-Ready

 It's going to be a busy weekend. You know, it's one of those rare weekend where you decide that you're going to be an insane overachiever. They happened rarely in my case since I like to relax over the weekend.

Harley and Demona were nice enough to wake me up at 7:30 this morning when I should have been able to sleep until at least 10. After a quick breakfast, I went for a brisk walk and then headed to Panera for some coffee and work. While at Panera, I shipped a few website updates over to Design by Drake. I'm hoping they will get posted to the site sometime this weekend. I'll keep you posted as to when they appear. In addition, I got some writing on the short story done.

From there, it was to Home Depot for some paint for the spare bedroom, then to Biggs from some flowers and a cool pot, and then to Bed Bath & Beyond for some curtains and a rug for my entry.
I'm currently waiting for my father to get home. He has a larger car than me and I need some planting soil before I can get the flowers in the ground. I am also thinking of picking up a ceiling fan for the spare bedroom.

Later tonight, I plan to hang out with a good friend and then work on the short story again while finishing my laundry. Whew.... I'm tired just listing all that. Tomorrow is supposed to rain so I think I'll be writing and painting.

Hopefully, you're smarter than me and you have a relaxing, do-nothing weekend. If so, here is a random video for your enjoyment. It's one of the more twisted ones I've been sent.

I believe this is Brenda's 4th  year of sponsoring this auction and it has grown to unbelievable proportions. The goal is $300,000 and the auction had already netted half of that halfway into the month.

You'll see so many items donated by your favorite Fangs, Fur, and Fey authors. And there is an unblievable amount of items to bid on. Check the auction out at  Online Auction to Benefit Diabetes Research.

Time for this week's BOW (Buffoon Of the Week) Award, and I'm happy to report that with the arrival of warmer weather buffoonery appears to be in full bloom across the nation.  Huzzah!

It started early, with something you may have heard about on The Daily Show the other night.  As many of you know, the Republicans lost a special election in Mississippi this past Tuesday, failing to hold a seat that had been in GOP hands for more than a decade in a district that George Bush carried in 2004 by a double digit margin.  This was the third time this spring the Republicans have lost special Congressional elections in strongly red districts (the other two races were in Louisiana and Dennis Hastert's old district in Illinois).  In the wake of yet another special election disaster, the Republicans decided that they needed to change their image and fast.  So they unveiled a new party slogan:  "The Change You Deserve"  Okay, never mind the ridiculousness of touting yourself as the party of change when you've been running the Federal Government for the past seven years.  Turns out the slogan is already taken.  The good people at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals have used that slogan for their powerful prescription anti-depressant, Effexor (TM).  It also turns out that some users of the drug have been experiencing severe and unpleasant side-effects, including nightmares, anxiety, insomnia, and memory loss.  Actually, the GOP's new slogan might be appropriate after all....

Er, sorry for the radio silence. Work has been absolutely crazy and draining, so when I get home at night pretty much all I have in me is spending time with the family, and spending time with my dear friend Ryan who convinced me to return to City of Heroes for awhile so he and I can spend some time together as well. (He is also bank-rolling this return, which I greatly appreciate!) I am still brain-storming and thinking about writing, though I haven't gotten in many words the past couple weeks.

I dipped my foot back in just now by doing a story critique for a new-found friend from City of Heroes. I actually enjoyed getting back into the swing of the writing mindset, and I can really tell just how far _I_ have come in my craft skills by helping him with his. So that felt great!

Getting ready to feed my baby boy, head to at St. Louis County library branch to get a library card (oy, our county library just stinks for genre reading especially), and then planning to write and play City of Heroes later.

Mark Henry and Carrie the Book Girl dragged me into the League Lounge for a very special interview this morning.

Hey, what's that on the bottom of my shoes? 

*sniffs*

Huh.  Anton scat.  Three, four days old.

Jeri stopped by the League to chat, unfortunately she had to witness something unseemly.

"Part of creating is letting go. I remember very vividly when writing The Land of Laughs that I reached the part in the story where the dog speaks for the first time. I wrote the passage and stopped. I thought-- the *dog* just spoke-- that's crazy. But a moment later I said okay, let's just see where that goes. In an essential way it was the turning point of all writing I have done since then. My paradigm moment came about because I simply let go, accepted the nutty for fact, and kept moving. The Germans have a nice phrase about trust in romance-- 'fall back and I'll catch you.' The same could be applied to writing or any art, as far as I can see: If you believe you have it in you, write whatever it is you want and stop thinking about approaches or limitations or or or... Just *write* it. Clear your mind of hesitation and everything other than the sentence you are trying to write and do it. Then write the next one. The more you think about it, the less well you do it. Start with a phrase or a character you like or who intrigues you. Then begin to spin a spider's web out from that center point. But don't *think* about it. Very often when I begin a book or story, I only have a single line or image which I put down and then think--who is this? What are they like? 'Haden was in trouble again' is the beginning of GLASS SOUP only because I liked that line. After writing it I thought-- who's this Haden? He's a handsome asshole. Okay, what does he do? Where is he? Etcetera. Don't think about it-- just be a spider and spin the web only you can design."

Read more of Jonathan's thoughts here.

Today, May 17, is the birthday of Karen E. Taylor, author of Twelve Steps from Darkness (27th April 2007). Have a good one, lass :-)

Be sure to check this out, before the bloke takes the page down. Theo Black, previous web designer of Jeaniene Frost's, Melissa Marr's and Vicki Pettersson's, has lashed out at his former clients. Let it never be said that men don't bitch as much as women ;-) Dear oh dear. For the record, I want DreamForge Media to design my site, if ever I can afford to pay someone.

Anyway, you may know that Mr Black is the spouse of Ms Holly Black. Will this cause a rift in the urban fantasy community? We shall see. Just goes to show that high school never ends.

starting count: 61131
ending count: 62302
change: +1171

starting line:
He’d left the long blade in Andreas’ room, but there were scissors on the nightstand for cutting more bandages and they were plenty sharp enough.

ending line:
No one answered.

darling:
Tony had pulled the bed out from the wall when he’d set the candles up: now, with the black flames dancing in the twilight, the room looked like a gateway into a cotton candy hell.

The final nail of official approval has been hammered into the coffin of my Balticon--wait, I'm not sure I like where this metaphor is going, especially since I'm rather fond of Balticon.  Let's just say, I have my Balticon schedule and it is good:

E-Publishing (Friday, 7 p.m., Derby) - After editing Crescent Blues for eight years, persuading other people to publish my articles and stories online, and working with Samhain as an author and final line editor, this was probably a no-brainer.  But I'll try to find some new stories to tell.

How Do You Write Them Shorter? (Friday, 11 p.m., Salon D) - This is a perfect example of chance working for you.  I hadn't marked this on my Wanna List, but I actually do have some good info to share--like how to cut 45K from 165K manuscript in 30 days or less and what to do when you get invited to participate in an anthology and you haven't written short fiction in over five years.  My only problem is I'm not sure how to promote this as a sex panel.  When it comes to late night panels, short is generally not considered a good thing.  ;-)

Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading (Saturday, 11 a.m., Salon D) - I've got two passages earmarked for reading here: the opening of Highway from Hell and the opening of "Hero Material", the short story resulting from the panic attack alluded to in the last paragraph.  Guess it depends on what the other writers--Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Kelly A. Harmon, Gail Z. Martin, Christy E. Tohara and Trish J. Woolridge--choose to read.  My natural inclination is to read whatever offers the greatest change of pace.  But I won't know what that will be until I get there.

Feudalism (Sunday, 6 p.m., Derby) - You'd never know my minor was British History in the Medieval/Early Modern Period from the way my brain froze when I read that.  Time to relearn "usufruct".  LOL

Reinventing The Myth (Monday, 2 p.m., Salon D) - This is the one I asked for special, and the Programming Crew was kind enough to sign me up.  This so very much relates to Highway and my work-in-progress.  Looking forward to hearing what my fellow panelists are up to, as well.

Looking forward to connecting with everyone who can make it.  Now it's time to get back to researching that WIP--more You Tube videos of Who Wants To Be A Superhero auditions.  Who says I don't suffer for my art?
Cheers and grins,

Ok, I can't tell you guys anything, but SWW and I are happy humble creatures. That's all I'm saying. You'll hear more when I can. :D

So I was talking to penmage about The True Meaning of Smekday (a very funny SF book I very much liked), and the whole subject came up of: what makes a book post-apocalyptic?

It's not spoilery to say that The True Meaning of Smekday takes place after an alien invasion that had casualties and that changed life as we knew it forever--you learn that in the first few pages. But ... the world doesn't end, exactly. Life goes on, even in the immediate aftermath of that invasion.

But then, life goes on to some extent in almost every post-apocalyptic book, or there wouldn't be a story to tell.

So what makes the changing of the world dramatic enough to be post-apocalyptic? How do you define the end of the world?

Does it even have to be the whole world? Or just your own corner of it? It's as much a matter of defining "world" as "end," really.

Which is it "donut" or "doughnut?" After all, it is made out of dough, so the latter seems likely. But they aren't nuts, per se. So maybe it's all just nonsense. Anyway, I'm done worrying about it and the research would bore me to tears. So let's get on with the post.

I've been to donut Mecca.

I've seen God.

I was chatting about this with my Yahoo group awhile back, as I'm wont to do. But here's the story for all of you. Last week, when I accompanied Richelle and Caitlin to their reading/signing at Powell's--if those two don't need a chaperone, no one does--I was firmly mid-Atkin's induction and thus carbs were a no-no. But being out of state, one loses a bit of motivation. Alcohol does not help the situation.

Well, on many occasions, I've sought out the comfort of a warm donut (I probably should have used the other spelling for that sentence, lest I give the wrong impression). And in Portland, there is a place. A place where the icing flows like manna from heaven onto bulbous pastry so tender you'd sock your moms. What's even better? The recipes seem culled from the depths of MADNESS!

The place is Voodoo Doughnut.

I've attempted to make my acquaintance with this locale many times, always to be denied. I didn't think this particular night would be any different. So, to my surprise, following much debauchery at a Portland pool hall, my companions and I were driven to Voodoo Doughnut. Which was open (as it is 24 hours a day, unless you're really jonesin' or are me--in many cases-- and then it will be closed mysteriously).

Under the cruller chandelier we made our selections.

Mine...


The Cap'n Crunch--though it could have easily been called the Cap'n Crunchberry. Dear God what diet could survive in the presence of such glory? It was delicious. Raised and fluffy and covered a thick slathering of pink icing and an avalanche of forbidden breakfast treats. Ummm.

I just gave myself shivers.

Caitlin opted for the Double Bubble (not pictured). A decision, she insisted, made entirely based on the Double Bubble gum protruding from the center of the delicacy. I don't know much about the flavor, but her jaws were smacking, so I'm certain it was a success.

Richelle had to be dirty and ordered herself a Dirty Snowball...


I'll have you know, the woman ordered that one sight unseen. I was half expecting something yellow to pop out but the donut turned out to be far more enigmatic (yes, I think that's a dollop of gooey peanut butter protruding from the hole, if you catch my meaning.

I'm not saying there's a sexual connotation to the name "Dirty Snowball" but there is another donut that might clear up the issue...
( Under the cut, as to protect the children... )
There were so many weird donut varieties, I thought I'd have an aneurysm, or maybe, someone has jammed the pretzel into the voodoo doughnut's head...


It could happen, you know? Anyway--and I can't stress this enough--the next time you're in Portland, do yourself a favor and cheat on your diet at Voodoo Doughnut. You'll be happy you did...and bloated.

Which Goddess lurks in your soul? Athena You are a wise one, my dear! Athena is the Greek Goddess of wisdom, disciplined war, philosophy and knowledge. She is a selective Goddess, as she only inhabits those of your high intelligence and keenness to learn great things. You’re usually not seen without a book in your hand or your eyes glued to the internet (which is, after all, the great information highway!). This should not suggest that you don’t enjoy people, as your cleverness and sharp wit are usually in full force when in a social situation, to everyone’s delight. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

I'm starting to get along with the idea of liking and enjoying Chaucer. I have much to read for next week but I read Wife of Bath before and didn't really understand it. But the General Prologue...I'm partway in and I'm really enjoying how -human- his characters are.

This gave me goosebumps. I'm ignoring the fact that she's a character on One Tree Hill:


Another artist I want to bring up is Delta Goodrem.



When I first bought her CD Innocent Eyes, I loved how strong her voice was. And then I saw a picture of her in a magazine and wondered, "OMG! What did she do to her hair!?" See, she had these long flowing waves before. And all of it was gone. Turns out, she had fallen seriously ill with cancer. She was only 21 or something equally ridiculous and heart-wrenching.

But now she's back. And I am looking to get my hands on a copy of this CD, even if just for this song: Click here to listen (YouTube).

So now, I'm bored. I mean, going-crazy bored. I guess I'm going to be reading a lot of Chaucer to appease the itch.

Just popping in real quick (before my carpal tunnel thingie wears out):

The Book Girl is holding a contest between now and Sunday midnight for a bag of WVMP Lifeblood of Rock 'n' Roll swag--buttons, bookmarks, a book and more.

All you have to do to enter is comment on her blog post and tell her your favorite rock 'n' roll song.  Easy, huh?

Have a great weekend, and I hope to see my MD, WV, VA, and DC folks at Borders in Winchester, VA, tomorrow from 3-5 for the signing!

We have an interview with Lisa McMann the author of the NYT Best Seller Wake here today -- http://the5randoms.wordpress.com/2008/05/16/random-qa-lisa-mcmann/#comments

THE PRETENDER’S CROWN is spell-checked, the prologue is rewritten, the NOTES are fixed, and it has been submitted to my editor, who says, “Huzzah!”

I am officially On Holiday* until after my birthday. Laura Anne, the writing brain is yours; have at. I will be reading, exercising, trying to get my bad eating habits a little bit sorted out, visiting family, doing photography, and generally taking time off.

Starting *now*.

*Where “On Holiday” means I only have to write one short story, and possibly a comic book script if I get ambitious.

(x-posted from the essential kit)

Marilyn Manson is the cure for what ails me.   I swear that every time I don't listen to him for a little while I almost convince myself that he's not as incredible as I remember, must be a trick of memory or something, but then I hear his voice . . .   If you could take that feeling of temptation, that if I could bottled sin it would be this . . .  *sigh* and the voice . . . and the lyrics . . and passion . . . I've even watched YouTube videos to find interview clips and of course, looked at his art online . . . It all underlines the "yes, wow, and did I mention YES" reaction I get when I hear his voice.

I listen to others, hoping to find someone else that flicks my switches to this degree, but he's it.  There are plenty of other artists I can & do enjoy, but none come close to this never-fails-to-please reaction.  I don't even need to see which CD I'm selecting. If it's his, I'll be happier once it's on.  His music is the perfect drug--all the pleasure without any of those nasty consequences real drugs have.

So, what abt you?  Is there something--music, food,  painter, school of art,  style of poetry, etc--that is a surefire "daaaamn, that's what I needed" source for you?

There is nothing quite like being sea sick without actually being on a boat. I have a BAD sinus infection and ear infection. My equilibrium is off so bad that I'm rolling even when I'm still. Bleh. Someone please throw me overboard and put me outta my misery. And still I'm writing because it's my only day off. I hope my pages aren't nauseating.

.