Calendar Recycled Pocket Journal

My second project for Recycled Journal Week came out so well I surprised myself, and it all started with this unused 2014 calendar:



This is a big glossy wall calendar with beautiful photos of gardens around the world on lovely thick paper, and I originally planned to take it apart and use the photos to make some journal pages, which I then never got around to doing. Here's how each page in the calendar looked:



I took out the two staples holding all the pages together and cut each one in half to separate the pictures:



It took a while to figure out how to use the pictures. I knew I didn't want to use the monthly grids, and I thought of all the craft blogs I've seen use old calendars to make pretty envelopes. That sparked the light bulb for me, and I folded each picture over in half, then in half again so that the grid was on the inside, and the photo faced out:



This produced twelve rather gorgeous signatures:



Once I had them folded I could see how to make each signature into two pockets. First I stitched each open end of the signatures with some embroidery floss:





Once I had all the signatures stitched up, I used the sewing machine to stitch them to a long piece of the calendar's cardboard cover, which I cut and folded into a cover for my pockets. Sewing down the fold of each signature created two pockets (and if you try this, remember to keep the open/unstitched end up as you sew each signature to the cover):



Once all the signatures were stitched to the cover, I had a completed journal. It came out so nice I used last year's Victorian calendar to make another one, and this time I used the sewing machine for all the stitching:



Here's the inside of the garden calendar pocket journal:



And the inside of the one I made from the Victorian calendar:



What can you do with a pocket journal? Save the little stuff! I'm going to use one of mine for some ribbon and Venise lace I frequently use, but you can also pocket your mementos, receipts, notes, photos, postcards, cookie fortunes, letters, or index cards in this type of journal. As a gift for a writer pal you could make one and stuff the pockets with writing prompts, or recipes for a friend who likes your cooking:



What I learned from this project is to keep in mind what purpose you want your recycled journal to serve, and take your time figuring out how to use your materials in interesting ways. Total project time: 2 nights @ 4 hours for the garden journal, and 1 night @ 4 hours for the Victorian journal.

Cover Me

Watch author/artist Victor Robert create a dust jacket for his illustrated kids' book Brian Wonders (with background music, for those of you at work):

BrianWonders-making-of-23 from Brian Wonders on Vimeo.

Just Write

Today I'm off to write something new and post it online before midnight. Everyone inclined to do the same is invited to join me.

My link: More on Ghost Writer (click on the title to go to the .pdf), with new material beginning on page 98.

For more details on Just Write Thursdays, click here to go to the original post.

Image credit: windujedi

The Cybrarian's Web 2

My second book from Library Thing's Early Reviewers program is The Cybrarian's Web 2 ~ An A-Z Guide to Free Social Media Tools, Apps and Other Resources by Cheryl Ann Peltier-Davis. This is the second book on this topic by the author, who is also the Digital Initiatives, Cataloguing and Metadata Services Librarian at the Alma Jordan Library at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, so this is obviously information she works with every day.

In the introduction she shares her goals in compiling this book, and I'll quote here:

". . . to offer an 'environmental scan' of available eresources and to methodically identify, select, and evaluate tools that information professionals can introduce and integrate into their workspaces, communities, and even their personal lives."

As the host of a blog devoted to finding free resources for writers I know how much time it takes to track down, investigate and even test drive free software, services and online tools; I've been doing it for ten years. It's definitely a lot of work. The payoff is sharing the information with other users who need these resources but can't afford to pay for them -- and this includes but is not limited to not-yet-published writers, students, the unemployed or underemployed, folks on fixed incomes etc. Since these folks are usually also regular patrons of public libraries, the information in Ms. Peltier-Davis's book can enable librarians and media specialists to do the same with this reference.

The book contains over sixty unique resources arranged alphabetically and also by website, type of service, and those available for mobile devices in the back of the book appendixes. The author covers each resource with website URLs, a detailed overview of the free services and each service's particular features. She then discusses in depth how information professionals can effectively use the resource in one or more ways. There are also scattered through the book little FYI boxes with more information, background notes and important tips.

How valuable are these resources? I'll give you not one but two examples: After the problems I've had with Google Docs I've been looking for a low-cost, no-hassle service to host my free e-book library and my weekly Just Write stories. In fact, I've been looking since December with no luck. Then I read this book and found a free hosting service to do that on page 111. I'd never heard of this service before, either, but when I went to check it out it appeared to be exactly what I need. Then my daughter came to me to ask if I knew of a web site for free online courses for a friend of hers who needs to brush up on her maths, and that was on page 33 of the book.

I rarely use the words must-have in relation to any book, but The Cybrarian's Web 2 is a reference that should be owned by every library and school out there, not only to help the professionals provide better services but to make available the kind of free eresources that are needed by so many of their patrons and students.

Purchase Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Brittle Box Recycled Junk Journal

As my first project for Recycled Journal week I picked an old, clean, colorful box that once held peanut brittle. Mom left it behind after one of her visits, and I saved it because it was pretty and made of laminated card stock, and it reminded me of her (she is a nut for peanut brittle).

Along with the box I pulled a stack of old paper from my recycling bin to use for the pages. I decided to use all different types of paper for the pages to add interest:



I then unfolded the box to how much material I had to work with:



If you want to recycle a food box, the best kind for journals are those that are clean (anything that held a plastic bag inside, like a cereal box, is generally reusable) and match or could be cut down to the book size you want. You also want something that is reasonably sturdy.

For this journal I simply trimmed off the end flaps and folded my paper into pages to fit the dimensions of the box, using the left side panel as the spine. I then stacked four sets of pages (aka my signatures), perforated the folds with an big embroidery needle to create sixteen evenly-spaced holes, and sewed seven sets to the spine area with three strands of embroidery thread in a simple running stitch (which I did in dark green thread so you can see it; normally I'd use thread to match the paper color):



The final result still looks like the original object from the outside:



But when you open the cover, it looks like this:



Any trimmings you create while working can also be recycled; I used the two big end flaps I trimmed off the box to make a bookmark for the journal by gluing them together with a piece of ribbon. Total project time: two hours.

Recycled Journal Week

This week I'm giving myself a creative challenge to make some journals out of stuff I have sitting around the house. First, the stuff:



Why make journals out of three used boxes, an unused/out of date calendar, and a mini-quilt I picked up at a show some years back? For fun, mainly, but also to recycle and repurpose these items into something I'll use (versus simply tossing them in the trash or donating them to a thrift store.) I'll post each project daily, along with pics and notes on what I did in the event any of you want to try the same.

When making journals out of recycled items the best place to start is with the item itself. Look at the dimensions, the material it's made from, and how it might lend itself to becoming a book. Virtually any flat surface can be converted into pages or covers for a journal, but don't limit yourself to cutting things apart and binding them back together. Consider painting them or dyeing them to alter and/or enhance their appearance. Binding can be as simple as stapling your signatures to your cover materials, or if you have thin pages and covers and a sewing machine, you might try stitching your book together. If you've never made a recycled journal and want to watch someone do it, check out these video tutorials at Jennibellie Studio blog.

Stay tuned for updates on my progress and more info on how to make your own recycled journals.

Pic Ten

Ten Things I Saw on My Birthday
(Because you can never bore people enough with your one-day vacation photos)

GW Cover, LT ER

I've finished fiddling around the cover art for Ghost Writer, so here's a look at what will be on the final edition:



I've also received another free book from Library Thing's Early Reviewer program:



Just at a glance-through I think this book is going to be seriously cool, too. Looks like it's packed with info on free internet stuff. I'll have more to report once I've read it.

Genius

This gorgeous dream of a film offers a view of the Renaissance world through the genius who was Da Vinci (with background music, and some nudity, for those of you at work or who have minors in the vicinity):

DA VINCI PROJECT from Escalle Alain on Vimeo.

Just Write

Today I'm off to write something new and post it online before midnight. Everyone inclined to do the same is invited to join me.

My link: More on Ghost Writer (click on the title to go to the .pdf), with new material beginning on page 94.

For more details on Just Write Thursdays, click here to go to the original post.

Image credit: windujedi

Sub Op

Scheduled to launch in November 2015, NineStar Press would like to see submissions of "LGBTQA romance fiction, literary novels, and erotica shorts.

For romance
Length: 12-120k words.
Heat: Sweet (no sex or “fade-to-black”) through to fully erotic.
Content: The story must have an LGBTQA romance running through it. Both HEA and HFN accepted.
Genre: Currently seeking works in the following genres—contemporary, paranormal, romantic suspense, sci-fi & fantasy, horror/thriller, crime, BDSM, historical, cowboy/western, New Adult/college.

For erotica
Length: 5-12k words.
Heat: Super hot. Scorching.
Content: Must be focused on LGBTQA characters. Romance isn’t necessary. Lust/sexual tension definitely is. Strong payoff.
Genre: All genres and kinks considered other than those listed in the “what we don’t accept” section below.

For literary novels
Length: 45-120k words.
Heat: If applicable, sex scenes of any heat level are fine, provided they serve the story.
Content: Must have an LGBTQA main character. Romance plots aren’t necessary. We’re particularly interested in well-crafted stories about trans, ace, aro, nonbinary, and genderfluid characters.
Genre: All considered.

Standalones, series & serials all considered across the board. Serials must have a defined ending in each instalment. Previously published or self-published books are considered. Authors with orphaned books after the folding of a publishing company are encouraged to submit. You must own all rights to the story.

What we don’t accept
Pedophilia
Necrophilia (doesn’t apply to vamps, zombies and any other kind of “undead”—they’re a-okay with us!)
Incest (step relations are considered)
Bestiality (doesn’t apply to shifters or most sci-fi & fantasy creatures with human forms)

Special Call for Seasonal Stories!
In addition to our regular submissions request, we’re also currently on the lookout for seasonal stories for the holidays/winter release period. These stories must have a winter or Christmas/holiday theme. Any genre, any category, and within the word count length parameters stipulated in our general guidelines. Please put “Seasonal Submission: [Title], [Author Name]” in the subject line and follow all other guidelines as stated above.

Why submit a manuscript to NineStar Press?

40% net royalty on ebooks, paid monthly
A contract term of 2 years
An author-friendly contract—no rights grab!
Absolutely NO fees/payments required of you—ever
No ROFR clause in your contract
Thorough editing to ensure your book is the absolute best it can be
Stunning cover & promo art
Excellent publisher-led promo. We don’t expect you to do all the work! We will organise a blog tour for your book, submit to reviewers, include it in paid advertising, blast it across social media, and so much more! We believe that maintaining a promo & marketing budget in the company finances is one of the most important things a publisher can do for authors."

For more information, visit their website or the original listing over at AbsoluteWrite.com.

Fabric for Life Contest

I don't often put non-writing contests on the blog, but PBW has a lot of quilters and fabric fans who visit, so this one might tempt some of you:

Keepsake Quilting, from whom I buy fabric now and then, is sponsoring a very cool contest that includes a 20-year supply of fabric for the grand prize winner and a brand new sewing machine for first place. The contest is open to adult U.S. residents only (sorry Fran K and our other outside-the-U.S. pals), but you can enter daily until December 31st, 2015. To enter, click here.

Disclaimers: I have already entered the contest, and when you click on my link and enter, you will also be giving me an extra entry. Since today is my birthday I'm thinking you won't mind. Also, because it's my birthday I'm taking the day off to be with my crew here, so I'm going to shut down comments for this post and go enjoy myself. See you tomorrow.

Summertimes

Just as I'm settling in with the new computer, our modem decided to start acting up. We've replaced the problem component but if for any reason I'm not around to approve comments it's likely because I am temporarily out of internet access.

Despite these technical woes, a very rainy June, a pretty hot July and what I expect will be a stormy August, summer is still my favorite season. I think it dates back to summer vacation from school. For me it was like being released from a too-small cage lined with sharpened spikes, and I'm sure my teachers felt the same way when they saw the back of me running out on the last day of school.

Summer was the only time I could spend my days alone, too; something that didn't often happen in a house overcrowded by too many kids and relatives. During the summer months I could ride my bike, take the bus to the beach or go to the library all day. Literally, all day -- as long as I was home before dark I could do whatever I wanted. It wasn't that my mother didn't care; it was the way things were back then. Also, we were too afraid of our parents to get into any real trouble.

I was a good kid, and spent most of my time at the library because I could stay there and read or write whatever I wanted as long as I liked and no one cared. Also, the librarians loved me because I was a quiet kid. Even when the library was crowded I'd borrow a stack of books, tuck them in my bike basket and head to the park, where there was always a good shade tree to sit under and read the latest Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames or SF by A.M. Lightner, or pen my latest story in longhand.

I'll never be that kid again, but as an adult I still try to preserve some of the fun from my summer memories. I make an effort to visit book stores and the library a few times a week. I read out on the porch every day. I write for fun and for myself in a journal. And I spend time by myself in places that make me happy.

What do you do to recapture your childhood summers? Let us know in comments.

Sub Op

Haunt Jaunt has an open call for their upcoming Shadow People & Cursed Objects anthology: "What we're looking for: 13 fiction stories about ghosts or haunted objects. (As long as your story contains one or the other, we want to read it!) We’re open to any genre of fiction. Your story doesn’t have to be horror. It can be a paranormal romance, literary, humor. (Although, we’re not going to lie. We love horror. But we’re looking for the very best stories about ghosts and/or haunted objects that we can find.) It must, however, involve either a ghost or a haunted object. (We can’t reiterate this enough.) The twist: Our anthology is going to be a little different. We want readers to participate by trying to figure out if your tale of a ghost/shadow person or haunted object is based on a true story or not. The print version will have a section at the back detailing whether the author based their tale on a true story…or if they culled it purely from their imagination." Length: up to 5K; Payment: $50.00 + 10 print copies. Reprints okay, electronic submissions through online form only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: July 31st, 2015.

MS 408

Books with mysterious reps, bizarre origins or that contain puzzles of any kind fascinate me. What's not to like about the world's longest secret novel, created by the incredible self-taught writer/illustrator Henry Darger, or curses like the one that supposedly haunts Sangorski's bejewelled edition of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, or exactly what sort of secrets Ripley really put in his alchemist's scroll? Yet no book quite matches the alluring (and enduring) mystery of The Voynich manuscript.

We've known about the Voynich manuscript since 1639, and thanks to carbon dating we are reasonably sure it was written around 600 years ago. That's all anyone can say for sure about the book because it has never been read. We don't know who wrote it, or why. The book is also handwritten in an unknown language that has never been translated, and illustrated with drawings of things that have yet to be identified or fathomed -- and there are a small number pages missing from it.

Many people believe the Voynich manuscript is an ancient hoax filled with gibberish. Others think it might have been written in a deliberately complicated code to hide important secrets from that era. It is beautiful to look at, and when you do inspect the lovely writing and interesting illustrations they do seem like something we should recognize, as if the book might be copied from a more sophisticated work by someone who didn't understand the language in which the original was written. There's a lovely feeling of naivete about it, too, and it's not a stretch for me to imagine a self-taught but otherwise illiterate artist creating this book.

The Voynich manuscript likely predates the Gutenberg printing press, and I agree with experts who don't believe it is a hoax or gibberish because back then it was very time-consuming and expensive to create books. All the work had to be done by hand, often by monks in monasteries. This book doesn't have that Eau de Scriptorium about it, however. It's no Da Vinci notebook, either, but it reminds me of him.

Here's my admittedly unscientific theory about what this book really is: a practice workbook. At this particular time in history most books were created by copying other books, and if you wanted to do that for a living, you obviously had to practice. If you look at Arabic botanical journals written in the same time period, like this one, you see a startling resemblance between them and the Voynich manuscript.

Now imagine an amateur or apprentice scribe (possibly a young one), who didn't speak or understand Arabic, copying Islamic calligraphy from a botanic journal. The words weren't important because he couldn't understand them, so his writing might be an archaic form of lorem ipsum text. If this budding book maker was practicing his drawing by copying the plants, charts and other contents from the original work he probably didn't understand them and/or had never seen them. Since it was just practice he might have even embellished them.

Since I'm not a scholar of ancient manuscripts I can't prove my theory, and I'll be the first to admit it's probably wrong. The thing is, it's fun to guess. So what do you think the Voynich manuscript is? Let us know in comments.

Steady

This short film demonstrates the lost art of painting a miniature portrait:

Painting a Portrait Miniature from Victoria and Albert Museum on Vimeo.

Just Write

Today I'm off to write something new and post it online before midnight. Everyone inclined to do the same is invited to join me.

My link: More on Ghost Writer (click on the title to go to the .pdf), with new material beginning on page 87.

For more details on Just Write Thursdays, click here to go to the original post.

Image credit: windujedi

PBW's Book(s) of the Month

Due to the holiday and the computer crash I didn't have a chance to post my pick as book of the month for June. I also spent a couple days dithering before I decided my pick would have to be a tie between two titles I read last month, and they are:

   

Pick#1 is Derelict by LJ Cohen, my latest revisited read, which I thought was spectacular the first time I read it last year.

Since Derelict wasn't a new read for me I thought I should also choose something from the new books I read last month, which is why pick#2 for June is In a French Kitchen ~ Tales and Traditions of Everyday Home Cooking in France by Susan Herrmann Loomis, which I received as an ARC and reviewed as part of LT's Early Reviewers program.

So what have you all been reading? Any recommendations you want to make? Let us know in comments.

Up & Running

I've finally got the new computer up and running, and the usable parts of the old one here will be donated to our pubic high school. I'm also checking with a local group that recycles old/scrap computer stuff to see if they can do something with the old tower.

It's always a bit of a wrench for me to say good-bye to a computer, especially one that worked so well for so many years. Any computer I've had has served as my work partner, secretary, creative collaborator, idea safe and window to the world outside my little corner of the country, so I usually get pretty attached. On this one I wrote a lot of stories that made me happy; probably more so than any other computer I've ever had. I was pretty hard on it, too; I moved it all over the house, and the dogs even knocked it over once. Add to that all the power failures, virus attacks and software glitches it survived, and still it never gave me a bit of grief.

Time to move on and figure out all the stuff that came with the new one. Farewell, old pal. You will be missed.

Rebuild

An update on the technical difficulties: after five years of faithful service my old computer is not fixable, so that's the bad news. The good news is I managed to find a new tower -- on sale, no less -- and swapped it out last night. Today I'm transferring files and software to the new system.

A couple of early observations:

Overall I think Windows 8 is beyond stupid. I already hate the jumpy picture thing that replaced the start and program main menu. It took me like an hour to get rid of all the vendor crap that came factory-installed, including the idiot XBox games. Don't even get me started on how much fun it is to try to get out of a window you don't want to be in, or the fact that every living thing I close still saves itself as a miniature window on my task bar, so I have to close it twice.

I have nine zillion apps. I don't want any of them. Why are there apps on my damn computer anyway?

I'm now having to jump from using Word 2007 right into using Word 2013. Prayers requested.

I love Adobe Acrobat. I pop in the disc, install, done. No problems. No having to go online and register my life away. Adobe should be designing Windows.

My ancient photoshop program installed and is operating with no problems, which was kind of a miracle when you consider it's almost ten years old. I expect this will be the last computer I'll be able to install it on, so I'm going to have to make an effort to learn the Adobe photoshop program now.

I'm on a connected cloud thing now -- I don't know how, why, or even what that is -- but they connected me. To something cloudish. Look, don't tell me what it is, okay? I'll probably freak out.

Semi-Scorched

I hope you're all having a good weekend. I am except for one problem -- last night my main computer crashed repeatedly, and while I've mostly gotten it back it's definitely getting ready to take a more permanent dive. Luckily I keep everything backed up, and I should be able to keep limping along until I get a new tower. That will hopefully be today, but just in case I'm putting PBW on technical hiatus for now.

Let me use this opportunity to nag you all about backing up your files. If you haven't in a while, stop reading this post and go do it, please, and try to make it a regular part of your weekly routine.

See you once I get this sorted out.

Wishing You

Green Dreams

This short film shows you the very precise, painstaking process involved in transforming emeralds from big clunky rocks to sparkling gemstones (with background music, for those of you at work):

THE LANGUAGE OF EMERALDS from maya stark on Vimeo.

Just Write

Today I'm off to write something new and post it online before midnight. Everyone inclined to do the same is invited to join me.

My link: More on Ghost Writer (click on the title to go to the .pdf), with new material beginning on page 82.

For more details on Just Write Thursdays, click here to go to the original post.

Image credit: windujedi

Winner

If I ever go on a trip to the future I'm taking all of you with me. As to what I'd sneak back in my luggage? The time travel machine that took me to the future, of course, so I could make more trips to bring back other things -- although that's probably like wishing for unlimited wishes. :)

I dusted off the magic hat tonight, and the winner of the Pack Your Bags Giveaway is:

Dianna, who wrote: Definitely the Lotto numbers and stocks to invest in. I also want to know what art that is being created now will be popular in the future.

Dianna, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to address to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get your package out to you. My thanks to everyone for joining in.

Off Again

I'm taking off again today to get some work finished. Yes, I know, but such is the life of a writer-for-hire; these people keep hiring me.

Also, a reminder: I'll be posting name of the winner of the Pack Your Bags Giveaway tomorrow morning, so if you want a chance for it to be yours be sure to enter before midnight EST tonight.

Off to Write

I'm bailing on you all today so I can get some work done. In the meantime, be sure to enter the Pack Your Bags Giveaway for a chance to win a handmade tote filled with some great SF reads and other fun stuff.

Pack Your Bags Giveaway

From time to time we all need to escape, but when you can't get out of town in person you can always let a great story take you away. I think that's what I've always loved about great SF adventure stories -- they're guaranteed to whisk you off to new worlds.

To celebrate the release of LJ Cohen's new novel Ithaka Rising, and because I love traveling through her Halcyone Space universe, I'm having a giveaway:



I packed one of you a getaway bag, which consists of this nifty SF-ish tote (one of my rare quilting experiments), an unsigned trade paperback copy of LJ's Derelict, a traveler edition of Gimble for hands-free reading, a blank journal called The Anti-Social Network (couldn't resist that one) and a quilted bookmark made by yours truly. There will also be an unsigned trade paperback copy of Ithaka Rising by LJ Cohen (which is not pictured because it's still en route to me with my own copy from the bookseller.)

If you'd like to win it all, in comments to this post name one thing you'd like to bring back after a trip to the future (or if you're afraid of customs, just toss your name in the hat) by midnight EST on Tuesday, June 30th, 2015. I will pick one name at random from everyone who participates and send the winner the getaway bag. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Q&A with LJ Cohen

Today PBW is proud to host an interview with indy writer, publisher, poet and longtime blogpal LJ Cohen, the author of Derelict and Ithaka Rising:

Who or what first prompted you to write science fiction?

When you start writing as a young person, all these well meaning adults tell you to 'write what you know.' But what I knew at the time was a whole lot more limited than what I know now: I knew how to be at school, how to be the 'baby' in the family, how to play with the neighbor kids. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to read that, much less write it. What I did read was a whole lot of SF and fantasy books. It was what I knew. All those worlds and all those realities - Heinlein, L'Engle, Norton, Asimov - were my worlds and realities. So it was utterly natural to gravitate to those genres as a writer.

Name one book that you never tire of re-reading, and why.

Besides Stardoc? :) Seriously. And why? Because I love the character of Cherijo. She is intelligent, driven, talented, and resourceful. And I love the mixture of SF and medical technology you have woven together. As a medical professional myself (I have a masters degree in Physical Therapy and spent nearly 25 years in clinical practice), I appreciate how realistic the medical details and the injuries are. And it was nice to have a lead character who was not a military commander for a change. I also have a huge love for another SF series - Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan saga books. While I wish there were more female viewpoint characters in the stories, I appreciate how many fully realized women populate her world. And I love Miles Vorkosigan - the lead character in most of the books. He's a bundle of neruoses in 'Mission Impossible' situations. In space.

Along with being an author you're also a poet -- how does poetry influence your fiction writing?

I can think of at least two distinct ways poetry influences my fiction writing. The first is in the sound and feel of language. A writer makes word choices on any number of levels: connotation, denotation, cultural appropriateness, dialect, to name a few. I add the sound and feel of the language to that mix. Poetry is an auditory and kinesthetic experience. When I read poetry (and I love to read it aloud) there is a music to the flow of phrases, lines, and stanzas that can be used to good effect in prose. Do I want to ramp up the tension in a scene? Then I go to short, sharp words that have a staccato rhythm. Looking to slow the pace and create a more relaxed experience? Then I choose longer, more flowing kinds of words.

The second way poetry comes into my fiction is in the use of metaphor and simile - both types of comparison that are the heart and soul of poetry. (See what I did there?) One of the things I work toward, is creating apt comparisons that emerge organically from my characters' backgrounds and experiences. That will deepen reader immersion and world building, as well as add layers of meaning to the work.

If you could step into a time machine and visit any SF universe (including your own), what would you choose as your destination, and why?

That's easy. Doctor Who. Okay, I know there is debate as to whether or not this show is actually SF, but I'm sticking to my choice. I've been a fan since 1973. I was 10, and I couldn't find any saturday morning cartoons. Every station was playing some boring grown-up thing called the Watergate Hearings. So I channel flipped until I found a PBS station that showed this crazy dude in an Opera cloak who had this blue box that was supposed to move through time and space. Soon after, he got killed off (!) and this other guy with crazy hair and a long striped scarf became the Doctor. I was hooked. I made a scarf when I was in Jr High School that I still have (and wear) today. My office has a wall dedicated to all things Doctor Who. And when I was growing up, I wanted to be Sara Jane Smith, one of the Doctor's most famous companions.

When you return from your SF universe trip you can smuggle one thing back with you. So what's hiding in your luggage?

Why, the key to the TARDIS, of course!

What are you writing now, and when can we expect to get our hands on it?

Well, ITHAKA RISING is due out any minute now! So I guess that's the next thing readers will see. I'm brainstorming book 3 in the series. And I actually already have a title - which is exceedingly rare for me. I usually struggle with titles. (Seriously. I have a manuscript from 2011/12 that I call YAGSIP - Young Adult Ghost Story in Progress.) Book 3 of Halcyone Space will be DREADNAUGHT AND SHUTTLE, which is a reference from book 1, and is the local vernacular for 'cat and mouse'. And we'll come back to Micah Rotherwood (he had a very small role in ITHAKA RISING) and his quest to bring down the drug cartels that ruined his life. Based on my typical writing pace, my goal is to have it out one year from now.

I've also gotten myself tangled up in a co-writing project that emerged from a silly comment thread on Google Plus a few weeks ago. (Which is what happens when you let two writers brainstorm.) It's not quite SF, but close. A mafia hit man is contaminated by a virus during a hit that makes him utterly unmemorable. Which would be a huge boon to his line of work, except that it effects everyone, even his famly. Right now, it's in the 'way cool new shiny idea' phase. No deadline. No plans for the writing in any way, other than to be playful with it.

I take part in the #saturdayscenes project on Google Plus, so I'll likely be posting snippets from both works in progress starting later in the summer.

We're going to look in a crystal ball to see what you'll be doing in ten years. What do you think we'll see?

With any luck, we'll really be empty nesters by that point. . . living in a smaller house on a larger piece of land. The problem is where. Hubby is a country mouse. I am a city mouse. There aren't a lot of places that are funky and urban enough for me, yet quiet and rural enough for him. But the Amherst region in Western Massachusetts might fit the bill. I will definitely have a computer set up with kinesthetic controls like Ro. And room enough to build a life-sized TARDIS.

Revisited Read: Derelict by LJ Cohen

A little over a year ago I first read Derelict by LJ Cohen, and it impressed me so much I not only gave it a quote I even wrote a ten things list about it. It came into my hands exactly at the precise moment I needed a wonderful read, too. At the time I was beginning all the lab work and prep stuff for the first of my two eye surgeries, and Derelict provided a terrific and very necessary escape from all that. Now that the sequel, Ithaka Rising, has just been released I decided to take a trip back to my first experience to revisit this amazing universe by having another go at Derelict.

I remember my strong first impression of the novel came from being immediately hooked by how smart, engrossing and interesting the story begins, and that happened again. As a writer I appreciate that elusive, page-turner magic because I know how difficult it is to capture, and as a reader it's absolutely what I want when I hit the first page. Don't give me a weather report, make me burn dinner. Fortunately I wasn't cooking when I began Derelict or something would have scorched. Same again this time -- I deliberately waited until I was not operating any electrical appliances when I began to read and lost myself in the story.

I think on this read I appreciated the diverse cast a bit more. When you're first introduced to each of the characters you become absorbed in the immediate aspects of their particular personalities and conflicts. I loved on the first read how real they felt on the page, but this time around I knew them and so noticed the less obvious elements. Ro, the protagonist, is very intelligent, driven, and rather cold, but it's a facade, and this time I spotted more glimpses of her vulnerabilities. The same with Barre, the musician son of physicians who always comes up short when compared with his brilliant baby brother -- until his innate ability to compose music enables him to do things the other characters can't. I felt much more sympathetic to Barre this time around.

Halcyone, the derelict ship in the story, also took on more depth for me. On my first read I was caught up in the adventure, but the second time around I knew what would be happening and paid more attention to the details around the action. Those little things that I zeroed in on this time allowed me to better visualize the ship, which made every scene more colorful and alive for me, and in turn enhanced the action. As a result I'd say I probably enjoyed the book this time more than the first read-through.

The feel of the novel once more transported me back to my young teens, when I read every A.M. Lightner book I could borrow from the school library, so it definitely works as a YA. At the same time it doesn't read like most YAs that shove that too-young, over-the-top teen angst in your face. The young cast in Derelict are not standing around wondering what he said or she said. They're dealing with very serious situations in their lives, and while they act their ages they also resonate with me as an adult. I know how Ro feels about being awkward with people because I'm the same, and the age difference doesn't matter. Jem's tireless and sometimes overwhelming enthusiasm for advanced programming rings true with me because I feel the same about my art.

I'm glad I took the time to read Derelict again, because I've just ordered the paperback of Ithaka Rising and I want to see what happens next with Ro and the crew. Tomorrow I will also have a Q&A interview with Derelict's author, so if you'd like to find out more about LJ Cohen, stop in. And if you haven't yet taken the first wild ride on Halcyone, Derelict for Kindle is less than a dollar right now, so click here to get it for a song.

Just Write

Today I'm off to write something new and post it online before midnight. Everyone inclined to do the same is invited to join me.

My link: More on Ghost Writer (click on the title to go to the .pdf), with new material beginning on page 78.

For more details on Just Write Thursdays, click here to go to the original post.

Image credit: windujedi

Secret Covers

Sometimes when I want to write a story but I don't have time, have to finish other projects and/or want to wait and let it simmer a bit more, I make secret cover art for it anyway. Sometimes it's to try out art for stories I plan to make into freebies, but more often it's just for my own amusement. I'll print out a secret cover for my personal journal, the idea file or any notebook I've started on it, but otherwise no one ever sees it but me. I feel like I've made a million of these secret covers, too.

In the spirit of spontaneity, and (hopefully) me being a bit more transparent, here are the three latest secret covers I've made:



My sequel to In the Leaves, for the day when I can get back and write more of Sally's story. Definitely writing this one.



This cover is for some notes I found on a novella series I planned to write to continue the story from Frostfire (and alas, never got the chance.) It's unlikely that I'll ever write all five stories I outlined, but you never know -- and the ideas were really solid and fun.



I have a story sorta/kinda based on/partially set in/orbiting distantly the StarDoc universe that has been bouncing around in my head for a couple years. Lately I've been revisiting the idea while I drive around running errands, so I jotted down some notes and decided to make a cover for it. I have seriously mixed feelings about this one. I also have ten million excellent reasons to never revisit StarDoc in any way shape or form. This might end up being the novel that they only find after I'm deceased, along with the twenty-eight others no one has ever seen that I have hidden away. Kidding. There are only like seventeen.

Do you ever do weird stuff like this? Confess your secrets in comments.

Image Credits:

Far Seer -- massonforstock
Frenchman's Pass -- zacariasdamata
21 -- Molodec