MegaCon Final Day

I met an adorable prince today at MegaCon (and his Dad was pretty cute, too):



We'll be finishing up today, so if you're attending please do stop by our booth to say hi and enter your name in the Final Day Booth giveaway. Meanwhile, here is today's blast from the past post:

The Last Samurai Agent

"Ms. Hartlace," Janey said over the intercom. "There's an agent who would like to speak to you."

Senior Editor Agatha Hartlace chewed the last piece of her doughnut and swallowed before she punched the reply button. "Tell whoever it is that I'm not in today."

After a pause, Janey said, "Uh, Ms. Hartlace, he's standing right here with his assistant. In my cubicle." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "He's carrying, like, swords."

Takamori, of course. Only he would have the nerve to show up without an appointment. "That's why I said to tell him come in." Agatha switched off the intercom, turned off The Young and the Restless feed on her computer, and brushed away the powdered sugar that had fallen on the front of her blouse. "Idiot temp."

Takamori entered the office and came to stand before Agatha's desk. His gleaming black hair was pulled back in a perfect chomage. He wore navy blue kamishimo and hakama over his black kimono, and two swords and a dagger thrust through the left side of his black silk obi. Agatha smelled cherry blossom and oiled steel as he offered her a shallow bow.

"Takamori, what a nice surprise." Agatha shuffled a stack of rejection form letters that needed rubber-stamping. "How are you?"

He folded his hands inside the wide ends of his sleeves and regarded her without expression. A petite woman in a pink kimono embroidered with white cranes stepped out from behind him and bowed.

"I am Natsu," the woman said. "I will translate what my master says into English for you."

"Okay." Agatha found it highly annoying that Takamori understood English perfectly but refused to speak it. "What can I do for you and your boss today?"

Several minutes of silence passed.

He was just trying to psyche her out; Agatha knew that. But he never blinked, and she wasn't sure he was even breathing. "Or should I say, what can I do for your client?"

Takamori uttered a long string of sharp syllables.

"My master says that the perfect manuscript is a rare thing," Natsu translated. "He says that you could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life."

Agatha forced a smile. "He should talk to my mother sometime."

Takamori spoke again, with Natsu translating almost simultaneously. "My master says that his writer is an honorable author, with talent as endless as the stars. His writer wishes to write more novels for the House of Penguins, and offered you three most perfect proposals."

Takamori took a folded a contract from his sleeve, dropped it like a used tissue on the edge of her desk, and grunted.

Natsu gestured to the contract. "And you sent him this?"

"I did?" Agatha picked up the contract and skimmed the top page. "Oh, right, the one for the next three books. We're very pleased with how the last one sold." She checked through it. "Seems in order." She glanced up. "What's the problem?"

Natsu looked at Takamori, who drew his katana.

Agatha put down the contract. "Whatever it is, I'm sure we can work it out."

Takamori drove the tip of the katana into the worn carpet and drew his wakizashi sword.

"I don't understand," Agatha babbled, staring at the razor-sharp edge. "I thought our contract offer was very generous--"

Takamori placed the shorter sword across his palms and offered it to Agatha.

"As my master has no Kaishaku-nin," Natsu said, "he would be honored and grateful if you would behead him after he disembowels himself."

"Mr. Takamori!" Agatha jumped to her feet and backed away. "Natsu, tell him that there is no reason to commit hari-kari over an unsigned contract."

"Seppuku," Natsu corrected gently as Takamori placed the shorter sword on the desk. "For ninety years, the samurai of my master's agency have protected and fought for their writers. My master is the last, and now . . . he cannot stand the shame of defeat."

"This is a very nice offer," Agatha said firmly, and faced the samurai. "Takamori, I know you understand me. You also know how hard things are for the publishing industry now. Your author should feel grateful to have the work."

Takamori opened his upper garments and slipped out of them until he was naked to the waist. He dropped down and tucked his sleeves under his knees.

"Why is he doing that?" Agatha demanded.

"To prevent himself from falling backwards," Natsu said as Takamori removed a long dagger and contemplated it. "A samurai agent should die falling forward."

"Tell Mr. Takamori--"

Natsu gestured as Takamori took the hilt of the dagger in both hands. "If you would please stand behind my master, Miss Hartlace? You must cut off his head as soon as he slices open his stomach."

"Wait," Agatha begged as she saw him invert the dagger. "I know we can work this out. It's the advance, isn't it? I could do a little better for him. Maybe . . . two thousand more on signing?"

The tip of the dagger stopped an inch from Takamori's navel. The agent did not look at her.

"Three thousand," Agatha said, and gasped as he drew back the dagger for the final thrust. "Five thousand!"

"Ten thousand would restore my master's honor," Natsu said as Takamori closed his eyes.

"Seven. It's the best I can do. I swear."

Time crystallized as Takamori breathed in deeply. Agatha didn't exhale until she saw him lower the dagger and mutter something.

"My master says his writer will be displeased with him," Natsu said, her black eyes filled with delicate sorrow. "But he believes he can persuade him to accept such terms. You will issue a revised contract by Friday?" When she nodded, Takamori rose to his feet, sheathed his dagger and swords in his obi, and bowed.

Natsu did the same. "We are most humbly grateful for your understanding and generosity, Miss Hartlace."

"You're welcome. Have a nice day." She watched the pair leave her office as silently as they had entered before she collapsed in her chair. She groped, found the intercom button, and pressed it. "Janey?"

"Yes, Ms. Hartlace?"

"Get legal to issue a new contract for Takamori's author. Increase the advance on signing by seven thousand." Agatha opened a desk drawer and took out a roll of TUMs. "Then call that ninja agent I was not supposed to see at two and reschedule. I'm taking the rest of the day off."

MegaCon Booth

I'll have lots of MegaCon pics to share after this weekend, but here's a peek at how our booth looks (see yesterday's post for where we're located on the con floor map):



We're having a great time hanging out with all the cosplay fans, and I've never seen so many exceptionally amazing handmade costumes. While I'm away at day two, here's today's blast from the past post featuring a trio of characters I frequently have to handle:

Bad News, Worry and Death

Bad News sits on the counter in the kitchen watching me make coffee for my guy. "I'm going to be dumped on you again today."

"You're dumped on me practically every day." I hand her the package of coffee filters, which I can never separate on my own. "Just don't make me cry. We're out of Kleenex and I don't have time to go shopping."

Bad News frowns. "There's a box that fell behind the work table upstairs when you were doing the taxes last week."

I yawn. "Thanks."

Death looks up from the obituaries he's reading. "Hey, want to play Who's Next?"

Worry, who is poking around in the fridge checking expiration dates, looks around the door. "It's not me."

"It's never you," I assure her.

Death stretches and scratches between his second and third ribs. "I'm hungry. Are there any Toaster Tarts left?"

"Those things are very bad for you," Bad News says, and searches through her innumerable pockets. "I've got the scientific study to prove it." She takes out a wad of papers and shuffles through them. "Here we go. Four out of five rats who were fed Toaster Tarts every day over a two year period developed cancer."

"Excellent." Death heads for the pantry.

"I bet for two years they were really happy rats, though." Worry makes a face. "Sorry, forgot myself." In a solemn voice she intones, "Everyone in this family who has ever eaten a Toaster Tart is probably going to develop cancer and die."

"We're not rats." I go over to the table and move Death's scythe to a safer spot next to the wall. "Come on, you guys, it's getting late. Let's do this."

Worry and Bad News come over to sit at Death's right and left side. Worry pokes a new little mystery lump on my left wrist but pulls her hand away before I smack her. Bad News hides a smile. Death opens a pack of Toaster Tarts and offers them around before he starts munching.

No one ever wants to start, so I do. "I have one orthodontist and two dentist appointments," I tell them as I check the planner. "PT on Friday, and nine and ten days respectively to finish two colliding deadlines for different publishers. Housework, laundry, dishes, decluttering the hall closet if possible, and the girls want to go to the art show this weekend so I need to get things done early. As always I'll try to accommodate you but you know how it goes. Family first, work second, whatever else third."

"You ever wonder why they call them deadlines?" Death asks no one in particular. "They're not deceased. They don't kill anyone. Usually. I really have nothing at all to do with them. Why didn't they call them last-day-to-turn-in-your-work-before-we-fire-your-asslines?"

We all look at Death.

"Right." He hunches his shoulders a little. "This week looks good for you, me-wise. You know, barring acts of God, runaway tractor-trailers and the undetected cerebral aneurysm going pop. And as usual I can't guarantee I won't drop in on your Dad or Mom, that sick friend in the hospital, anyone you know over forty . . . "

"Got it." I glance at Bad News. "You?"

"Counting the weekend, that conversation you have to have with your mother, and the stack of mail you haven't read yet, that makes . . . " She thinks for a minute. "Four incoming deliveries. No, five."

"Five?"

She sulks a little. "Okay, four." Before I can say anything, she adds, "And one more but that turns out to be a blessing in disguise."

"Yipee." My head is starting to hurt. "Next?"

"My turn." Worry starts rubbing her hands together. "That pain in your right foot could be a fracture. Or a tumor. You're a month late getting your mammogram. You're going to get breast cancer and die. The milk your guy used last night expired two days ago. Botulism. The date on the egg carton is too blurry to read. Salmonella. That possum in the neighbor's shed is probably rabid--"

I hold up a hand to stem the flood. "Do you have any new business?"

She ducks her head and mutters something under her breath.

"Excuse me?"

"The dogs could kill you." As Death chuckles, she glares at him. "Well, they could!"

"They're Shelties," Death chides. "What are they going to do, lick her to death?"

"There was that article online about people who've gotten sick from touching their pets and kissing them and sleeping with them and stuff," Worry says, indignant now. "Some of them even died."

"Pitiful. Truly pitiful." Death slowly shakes his head. "If the dogs were a valid concern, I could have iced her decades ago."

"I don't sleep with the pets, I don't kiss them on the mouth, and I wash my hands after I handle them," I tell Worry. "You know that."

"One time you might forget." She looks exasperated. "Oh, all right. I guess I don't have new business. Unless you eat those Toaster Tarts, in which case--" she sees the look on my face and sighs. "Okay, okay. That's all I've got."

"Thank you." I sit back and start sorting out priorities. "Bad News, I need to focus on work in the mornings, so I'd appreciate it if you'd hold off deliveries until the afternoons. Worry, you and I will do our usual one hour in the morning meditation sessions." I face Death. "I think you and I spent enough time together last week."

He shrugs.

"That should wrap it up." I stand, hesitate, and then pick up a Toaster Tart and take a bite.

Worry gives me a warm smile and takes one for herself. "You're such a good sport."

"Sure, I am." I hate Toaster Tarts. "Anyone want to help me wake up the teenager?"

Bad News coughs, Worry chokes and Death pales right before they all vanish.

I take another bite of the Toaster Tart. "Wimps."

Blast from the Past: My All-Time Favorite Video

If you happen to be attending MegaCon 2014, stop by the Disenchanted & Co. booth to say hi. Our booth number is 81, and it's the first booth you'll see as you enter through what I believe is the south Main Entrance, but here's the booth marked on the floorplan map so you can find it:



The booth will feature my signed books, writing books, journaling books, handmade jewelry, artworks and my 1K cards project, all for sale, and other fun items related to my work for purchase. To help sell them I'll be there, too. :)

Now Blast from the Past week continues with one of my all-time favorite videos:

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

Blast from the Past: Mary Sue Anonymous

A tall brunette walked to the front of the meeting room and stepped up to the podium. "Hi, everyone. My name's Jane, and I write Mary Sue novels."

"Hi, Jane."

"I've been coming to meetings three times a week for nine months now." Jane toyed with a thread hanging from the end of her sleeve. "I was feeling pretty good, and confident about earning my one-year chip, but this past weekend, I . . . I fell off the wagon."

Most of the audience shifted in their seats.

Jane pushed her shoulders back. "I knew what I was doing. I mean, I knew when I made my protagonist a virgin at twenty-six that I was heading down the wrong road. She's not a Christian fundamentalist, or unmarried and living in Iran. But I just couldn't bring myself to give her a fumbling backseat high school experience or a token bad marriage to an older man with regular erectile dysfunction. It's stupid, but . . . I really thought I could handle it."

Someone snorted loudly. A middle-aged redhead in the second row elbowed the bearded man sitting next to her.

"I kept writing, and made her beautiful and built and brilliant . . ." Jane stopped and covered her face with a trembling hand.

The redhead sighed. "The three killer B's."

Jane dropped her hand and bravely pushed on. "From there, I admit, it snowballed. I gave her a bottle-green Jag, and a job curating an art museum, and a Victorian mansion she bought for a song and renovated single-handedly. The next thing I knew she was gardening, raising hybrid roses and tossing together gourmet dinners for one."

A lanky teenager in a black leather jacket slowly clapped his hands three times. "So what did you name her? Elizabeth? Angelique?"

"Jennifer. Jennifer Jane Fairchild." Jane avoided his eyes. "I knew it was wrong. I knew it spelled the end of my sobriety, but you know . . . God, it felt so good to write it."

A thin, balding man stood up. "Tell us about the dog, Jane."

"I don't know what you mean." Jane's chin lifted. "I didn't write a dog in the story."

Everyone stared at her.

"All right. All right." Jane hung her head. "It was a golden retriever. Never sheds, never pukes or piddles on the carpet. Sleeps on the floor at the foot of Jennifer's antique brass bed. I named him . . .Goldie."

A tattered-looking man with a straggly goatee and a black cigarette planted between his chapped lips entered the meeting room and took a seat in the back row.

"Anyway." Jane paused to sniff a few times. "I did stop. I stopped as soon as Jennifer Jane stumbled across a Neo-Nazi plot to murder the democratic, extremely popular governor of her state. A murder which only she personally could prevent, of course, at great personal risk. I put away the pages in my desk."

"Oh, Jane." The redhead knuckled away a tear.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Jane snapped. "Sure, I know the rules. My protagonist should have been a recovering crack whore hiding from the cops in a flop house room with a sometimes-boyfriend named Wife Beater--"

The man with the goatee interrupted Jane by applauding loudly. One of the women sitting near him leaned over, asked him a question, shook her head and pointed to the door. The man with the goatee rose and walked out.

Jane rubbed some sweat from her face. "It's not like I'm going to publish it. Look, it was just a story. One story."

"That's how it starts, Jane," the balding man in the front row said, not without some sympathy. "One story, and then another, and soon you can justify every aspect of the Mary Sue novel. You join a writer organization, wear pink suits, have your business cards scented and go to luncheons once a month. And you know what the next step is after that."

Jane paled. "That won't happen to me."

"You never think it does," he said, "but then suddenly you're writing the last three words of your novel." He looked around the room. "And they are?"

The audience answered as a group. "Happily. Ever. After."

Jane burst into tears.

"I think we should have a reading now, to remind us all of why we're here." The balding man opened the book in his hands and began to read. "The Twelve Suggested Steps of Mary Sue Anonymous. Step One: We admitted we were powerless over Mary Sues--that our stories had become unrealistic."

As Jane groped in her purse for a tissue, the other people in the meeting echoed the balding man's words. Down the hall, the man with the goatee finally found the correct room for his meeting. He was welcomed by that group, and invited to step up to the podium and introduce himself.

"Howdy." He rubbed his mouth, dishevelling his goatee. "My name is Nick, and I write literary novels."

"Hi, Nick."

Blast from the Past: Publishing 911

Operator: Publishing 911, what's your emergency?

Reader: Yes, this book I've been reading has, you know, something really bad in it.

Operator: What is the bad thing, ma'am?

Reader: I can't say that over the phone. But it's really, really bad.

Operator: I need to know what the bad thing is, ma'am, or I can't help you.

Reader: Can't you just take my word for it and send the police to arrest the author?

Operator: No, ma'am, I can't do that.

Reader: Well, that's not fair.

Operator: You're free to destroy the book at your convenience, ma'am.

Reader: I can't, I need to turn in the book at the used book store to get credit for it.

Operator: Then do what everyone else does and post an anonymous review on Amazon.com. (switches lines) Publishing 911, what's your emergency?

Author: (sniffling) A reader just sent me a hateful e-mail and I read it and now I'm so upset that I can't write.

Operator: Was the e-mail accurate, sir?

Author: No, of course not. My book is wonderful. I'm a genius. This reader is a jealous idiot who's trying to make a name for himself by destroying my career.

Operator: Then why can't you write, sir?

Author: (lowers voice) What if I'm wrong? What if my book sucks? What if everyone in publishing is laughing at me right now?

Operator: I'm not laughing at you, sir.

Author: (eagerly) Did you read my book?

Operator: Sir, you need to delete the e-mail, block the reader from your mail account, and recite your writing mantra.

Author: But I don't have a writing mantra.

Operator: Repeat after me: "I am powerful. I am purposeful. I am published."

Author: I'm pathetic, aren't I?

Operator: That's not part of the writing mantra, sir. Please recite what I told you fifty times and stop reading e-mail for the rest of the day. (switches lines) Publishing 911, what's your emergency?

Reviewer: (whining) There's this writer who hates me. I read his blog every day. He says terrible things and I know he's talking about me.

Operator: Does the writer name you in his blog, ma'am?

Reviewer: Not exactly.

Operator: Has he ever mentioned your name once in his blog, ma'am?

Reviewer: You don't understand. He won't name me because then I'd have proof of what he does.

Operator: Does the writer ever link to you, or quote you?

Reviewer: No. Okay, look, he pretends like I don't exist. But I know he hates me. I can feel it.

Operator: Have you ever had any direct contact with the writer?

Reviewer: Well, I've read and reviewed every book he's ever written.

Operator: He doesn't hate you, ma'am. He doesn't know you. Stop reading his blog and read someone else. (switches lines) Publishing 911, what's your emergency?

Author: I've just seen my new cover art and it's horrible.

Operator: How horrible is it, ma'am?

Author: Do you remember that book that came out in January with bright metallic glow-in-the-dark pink albino Robin Hood on the cover?

Operator: (winces) Yes, ma'am.

Author: Worse than that.

Operator: I'm sorry, ma'am, but that's highly unlikely.

Author: (furiously) Don't you dare tell me it's not as bad as I think, because I swear to God I will come down there and kick your ass.

Operator: Calm down, ma'am. What color is the cover art?

Author: Green. Lurid Green.

Operator: Everyone is going green these days, you know. (flips through calendar) And St. Patrick's Day is coming up. You could do some clever tie-in promo and turn this tragedy to your advantage.

Author: Can't you just send the police to arrest my editor?

Operator: No, ma'am, I can't do that.

Author: Damn.

Operator: (tentatively) I can transfer your call over to the That Can't Be My Cover support and recovery group for cover-traumatized authors. The writer with the albino Robin Hood cover runs it, and she has complimentary chocolate-covered Valium at every meeting.

Author: Really? I thought she killed herself. Okay, transfer me over.

Operator: Thank you, please hold. (transfers call, switches lines.) Publishing 911, what's your emergency?

Reader: Hi, it's me again. I'm ready to tell you what the bad thing in the book was.

Operator: Go ahead, ma'am.

Reader: (whispers) Gee. Ay. Why. Es. Eee. Ex.

Operator: I don't understand you, ma'am.

Reader: (dismayed) I can't actually say it. I'm spelling it for you. Can't you spell?

Operator: No, ma'am, that's not part of my job requirement. (switches lines) Publishing 911, what's your emergency?

Reader: (angrily) I wrote a letter of complaint to this terrible author about his lousy book and he didn't answer and then he blocked me from his mail account.

Operator: (sighs) Have you recited your reader mantra today, sir?

Reader: Authors write for me. Authors must please me. Authors tremble in fear before me.

Operator: I think you'll be fine, sir.

Reader: But I have to tell this author much, much more about how much his book sucks.

Operator: Then do what everyone else does and post an anonymous review on Amazon.com, and get all your friends to vote that it was helpful and it will end up as the first review on the page.

Reader: That's not good enough. Can't you send the police to arrest the author?

Operator: No, sir, I can't do that. Have a nice day.

Blast from the Past: NovelWorld

At the Fiction Freedom Force's modest beachfront cottage headquarters, Captain Conflict and his workout partner, Major Action, started the day by sparring together on the beach.

The major, tanned and toned to a tee, avoided his mighty leader's headlock by feinting left before throwing a classic right hook. "Eat fist!"

"Is that the best you can do?" the silver-haired captain snarled as he easily avoided the punch and kicked sand into the major's face. "Where's the build-up? Where's the finesse? If you knock me out, what are you going to do for the rest of the morning?"

"I dunno." The major knuckled his eyes. "Your wife busy?"

"You're going to lose a tooth for that," the captain promised just before he lunged.

In a parallel scene, Captain Conflict's wife, Dame Dialogue, stood in the cottage's kitchen having a talk with Setting Son about his compulsive redecorating. From just outside the door, the ever-meddling Plot Twister eavesdropped.

"Sweetheart, please understand, it's not that I don't like your little pink restrooms," Dame told her son. "I think they're adorable. It's just that your father . . . ."

"I know, I know." Set scowled down at his plate of heart-shaped waffles. "He thinks they're sissyboy stuff."

This talk was not going as Dame had planned. Her rough-and-tumble husband and sensitive, artistic son rarely agreed on anything these days. "I'm sure that your father realizes that you're doing your best, dear--"

"Oh, H-E-double toothpicks, Mom," Set said, pushing his plate away. "All Dad wants me to do are stupid war-torn battlezones and ridiculous chrome-and-glass situation rooms. He said if I use pink in one more scene he's going to send me to work for Tom Clancy."

"Oh, no, not Tom. All he uses is camouflage and interior Russian sub scenarios." Dame sighed. "Look, honey, I'll talk to your father, but in the meantime just stick to outside nature scenes." She smiled. "Your father can't complain if the sky happens to be robin's eggshell blue, or the grass a minty green, can he?"

Set grinned. "Thanks, Mom. You're the best." He jumped up and kissed her cheek before hurrying out the back door.

"You can talk anyone into anything." Plot Twister came up behind Dame and rested his thin, cold hands on her shoulders as he added in a whisper, "Even me."

"Stop it." Dame glanced through the window at the beach where her husband and the major were still wrestling on the dunes. "I told you before, it's over between us. Didn't I speak plainly enough? Or are you deaf as well as manipulative, transparent and pointless?"

"How quickly she forgets." Twist ran his palms down the sides of her arms. "You needed someone to really talk to, remember? So who was it that put in enough twists in the last story to keep both of those grunts chasing red herrings for six months?"

Dame turned in Twister's arms. "We have no future together, Twist. You're too unpredictable, you never say what you mean and I don't like the way you look at Set when you think I'm not watching."

"Just doing my job." He tried to kiss her. "If you don't play along, baby, I might have to throw a wrench in your happy, boring little marriage."

"You wouldn't," she flared. "You couldn't."

Twist patted her stomach. "Set could use a little brother who doesn't resemble the captain in the least." He looked up as the door slammed and narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you?"

"Not saying." The large, bland-face man glanced at the watch strapped to his thick wrist. "Yep, it's time." He pointed at Twist. "You. Outside."

Twist released Dame. "I think I'll call for the Captain. Hey." As the big intruder grabbed him, he paled. "You can't do this to me. You want her husband. Hey!"

The large man tucked Twist under his meaty right arm and nodded to Dame. "Ma'am, I'm sure we'll meet again in the next book." He strode out of the cottage carrying the writhing Twist and abruptly vanished out of sight.

"Wow." Set, who had come in to quietly redo the kitchen curtains, put his arm around Dame. "Gee, Mom. How come you never told me that you knew Cliff Hanger?"

Off to MegaCon & Elsewhere

For the next week I'll be off preparing for and then heading out to MegaCon. Rather than shut down the blog I thought it would be fun to post some blasts from the pasts, so those will start tomorrow and run through until next Monday. Please also note that I will approve comments whenever I have a chance, which will likely only be once a day, so your comments will definitely not post in a timely manner this week.

Meanwhile, over at the series blog I'm having a pre-MegaCon giveaway; stop by if you get a chance and enter for a chance to win this handmade tote filled with signed books and goodies from our booth.

Book Vibes

NPR has a neat article here about the Vieuxtemps Guarneri, a 273-year-old violin that recently sold for $16 million dollars, and whose new owner has loaned it out for life to violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. During the interview Ms. Meyers said something very interesting about the instrument, too:

I think every violin has its own soul, and the soul has been imprinted by a previous performer. So I definitely feel the soul of Vieuxtemps on this violin.

I think in some ways used books are like this, and before anyone starts thinking I'm a touch-psychic let me explain. People leave more than ephemera in the books they read, and it's because paper tends to act like a sponge for odors, stains and traces of life. Anyone who has ever acquired a book previously owned by a smoker, for example, can tell you that it either reeks of tobacco odor or sheds bits of ash that were caught in the page folds (or both.) People who douse themselves with cologne or perfume also leave scent traces behind in books. Used cookbooks almost always carry cooking odors and food stains left behind while the previous owner was working in the kitchen. Pet lovers generally can't avoid depositing at least one hair from their furry friends in a book, and it's also not uncommon to find spots and dribbles caused by drinks or food the last owner consumed while reading.

Pay attention to your senses and you may find a used book will tell you exactly who read it last. My Mom has all of my grandmother's favorite books, and whenever I open any one of them I smell the transfer of the Camay soap she always used on her hands. Mom is currently imprinting all of her books with the Chantilly hand cream she uses, too. I imagine someday one of my descendants will open one of my old books and discover the scent of French lavender (I use it as an air freshener in my book room), a strand of hair from one of my pet pals, or perhaps even a bit of sparkling metallic quilting thread.

Not all odors are pleasant, of course. Personally I hate acquiring books that have water damage as they are usually mildew-stained, and the smell of any mold makes mt stomach turn. If you have a used book that reeks, you can detox the pages by using a couple of different methods with some common household items (eHow.com has an article here with some good ideas on how to remove musty smells.) If you have a particularly rare or expensive book it could be worth it to have it professionally detoxed by a rare book expert; they usually know how to do it without harming the book.

I have a couple of books that possess mysterious and fascinating scents that I love; my favorite smells of clove and peppermint (a combination I actually used as a description in one of the Darkyn books.) An herbal encyclopedia I picked up in a garage sale still retains the scent of earth and green things, as if the previous owner read it while working in a garden. One very ordinary paperback thriller I found must have been kept on a boat, because every time I open it I can smell the salt and sea water.

Have you ever detected an interesting scent or stain in a used book you've bought? Let us know in comments.

Quilting Picasso Update

Since today is National Quilting Day I thought I'd post an update on my Picasso project. I've made a bit more progress on the piece, as you can see here:



And for a closer look:



I'm very pleased with the gold and amber crystal beading out on the midsection just above the hands; that was a bit tricky to work into the small spaces. Not entirely surely the cross-hatch stitching on the upper torso and the running stitches on the hands were good choices but I didn't want to bead everything to death. Enhancing some of the lines and colors Picasso used seems more appropriate than obliterating them, so I'm going to forge ahead with the same conservative caution.

There is still no real plan with this piece; I'm allowing the artwork steer me in whatever direction I go. For me it's difficult to surrender to serendipity; I am OCD about advance planning -- so as creative risks go this is probably very good for me.

Cosmic

This time-lapse film of ice crystals melting is a prescription for calm (and has background music, for those of you at work):

Ice Crystals Timelapse from Shawn Knol on Vimeo.

Winner

The winner of the For Whom the Wand Waves giveaway is:

Digillette, who wrote I just read Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen and found it to be utterly charming.

Diane, when you have a chance please send the title and author for your BookWish and your ship-to address to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get the wanded one to work her magic. My thanks to everyone for joining in.

For Whom the Wand Waves

Yet again the Publishing Fairy crashed my morning work session to complain about how long it's been since she's appeared on the blog. Since I have to get ready for MegaCon, and she's in the mood to grant a BookWish* for one of you, I'm letting her take over today.

If you'd like to be the one upon whom she sprinkles her magic reading sparkles, in comments to this post name a book you've just read that you really enjoyed (or if you haven't read anything enjoyable recently, just toss your name in the hat) by midnight EST tonight, March 12th, 2014. I'll choose one name at random from everyone who participates and grant the winner a BookWish. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

*A BookWish is any book of the winner's choice available for order online and that costs up to a maximum of $30.00 U.S. dollars (I'll cover any additional shipping costs involved.)

Biblical Sub Op Trio

Garden Gnome Publications has an open call for their Biblical anthology series: "The Biblical Legends speculative fiction anthology series was born to give writers a chance to use their imaginations interactively with Old Testament and New Testament texts to create a new type of fiction within a growing genre. This is a marriage between the ancient and the new."

What they want to see: "Each anthology will feature flash fiction, short stories, essays, and poetry. Specific guidelines are: Flash Fiction – 300-1,500 words. We want stories that address the specific theme of the anthology and that fall within the word count. From the weird to the orthodox, stories that stretch readers’ imaginations about the possibilities are encouraged; Short Stories – 1,501-10,000 words. Stories that address the theme or explore possibilities within the broadest possible interpretation of the Biblical passage; Narrative Poems – 50-500 lines. We’re looking for narrative poems, or poems with narrative structures. Lyrical brandishings are encouraged. Feel free to mix and match formal elements with the avant-garde. As Ezra Pound said, “Make it new.” But please address the theme; Essays/Nonfiction – 1,000-2,500 words. From personal essays to journalistic pieces, from creative nonfiction to creative histories, and from scientific explorations to biographical exposes, we want spectacular essays that challenge conventional thinking about the Biblical themes we are addressing." Payment: "For flash fiction, the pay is $3 per story; for short stories, pay is $7 per story; for essays, pay is $11; for poems, pay is $13 per poem. In addition, each contributor will receive a digital copy of the anthology in which they appear. All payments will be made by PayPal."

Query on reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadlines: "Sodom and Gomorrah – Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction set in these two pre-historic legendary cities. Deadline: Midnight EST, March 23, 2014; Deluge – The flood came and only one family was saved. How does everyone else cope/react? Deadline: Midnight EST, June 23, 2014; Land of Nod – Cain killed his brother and was banished to the Land of Nod. What did he find when he got there? From its origin until the flood or any time in between, tell us what happened. Deadline: Midnight EST, September 23, 2014."

Quilt Show Ten

Ten Things That Happened at the Annual County Quilt Show

Arty: Lately I'm getting more into the art side of quilting, and while reading books about them helps I rarely see real examples in person (this would be because most of my quilter friends are sticking with traditional patchwork.) Thus I was bowled over by the number of innovative art quilt extries in the show. I learned so much by simply studing these gorgeous quilts that I think feathers, stones and decorative thread might start leaking out my ears.

Bags Galore: I love handmade quilted bags, totes and purses, and the ladies had an entire table of them in the Gild's boutique. Suffice to say I now have enough bags, totes and purses to start my own shop. Except they're mine, all mine!

Colleague Collision: I saw another author who quilts at the show, but she was busy with some clients so I didn't get a chance to chat with her. I'll just have to catch her at that other quilt show next weekend . . .

Fat Quarter Frenzy: The fabric choices offered by the show's vendors were splendid; I could have bought a thousand fat quarters. Fortunately I left the credit cards and the check book at home or I might have (for me attending a quilt show is what going to Vegas must be like for people who love to gamble. I take only cash in an amount I decide before I get to the show.)

Quilt Ethic Envy: I debated the merits of machine versus hand-quilting with an amazing gentleman quilter whose lifetime creative goal is to make a king-size log cabin for every member of his extended family. He pieces, binds and quilts them by hand. P.S. He's already made seventeen and has twenty-two more to go. P.S.S. He's sixty-nine years young, bless him.

Quilter's Karma: A lady admired a swatch of fabric I picked up from the gild's stuff-a-bag-for-five-bucks scrap fabric table. Although I liked it, too, I promptly handed it over to her. Later that day someone else did the exact same thing for me.

Possible Second Career: Lots of people admired the crazy-quilted tote I brought with me to show my pals some beading experiments I've been doing. I thought they were just being nice until one lady offered me a hundred bucks to sell it to her.

Technical Difficulties: I took five hundred photos, which was fun. Since I neglected to check the settings on the borrowed camera I was using, about two hundred and fifty of them were fuzzy (but you can see a slideshow of the unfuzzy pics over at the photoblog today.)

Unbelievable #1: I won this quilted duck (or perhaps it's a goose) in a ticket raffle. Since I hardly ever win anything I went right into shock.

Unbelievable #2: I also won this lovely pair of art dolls at the same ticket raffle. Went from shock to utter disbelief.

I believe in passing along good luck, so I'm going to give someone some signed books, the art dolls and a bag of goodies from the quilt show. If you'd like a chance to win, stop by the series blog and enter the Quilt Show giveaway.

Off to the Show

I'm taking off on my annual pilgrimage to attend one of my favorite quilt shows and hang with my other people. Have a great weekend, and see you on Monday.

Popcorn

This short but informative video may teach you some new things about a very old and beloved snack (and is narrated with background music, for those of you at work):

Click To Enlarge: Popcorn from NPR on Vimeo.

Quilting Picasso

This is an update on the creative challenge I decided to embark on last month featuring a textile printed with one of Picasso's works. I did some hunting first to find some additional materials I needed, which turned up in a remnant bin in Wal-Mart:



The off-white roll is a length of scrap canvas that was exactly the right dimensions for my project area. The little plastic bag is filled with small scrap trims, as you see here:



I'm using some beads, thread and scrap batting I had leftover from my last quilted project, and I also have a wonderful collection of trims to work with from the original kit I purchased from Kathy:



Once I basted the Picasso to the batting and canvas I quilted it first as the textile is very thin and fragile, and the quilting will keep it from pickering and shifting as I embellish. I had a very specific idea I wanted to try first, so I went to work with the seed beads. This is how far I've gotten with it:



I know, it's very subtle (and I'll be sure to take close-up shots when it's finished) but the art is so strong in color and line that I don't want to diminish or obscure it by over-embellishing. I probably should have trimmed squared the piece first but cutting it even with the rotary blade worried me; a soft breath makes the material move and I was worried a stutter while cutting might result in a tear. Once I'm finished the stitchwork on the Picasso I plan to sew some ribbon or fabric over the raw edges.

I'm still not entirely comfortable with the art, but I'm losing some of my hesitancy toward it. Someone I read once described Picasso's work as "full of Southern light", and working so closely with the image I can understand why -- so much boldness, no shadows; completely revealed and entirely unapologetic. I admire that kind of strength in any art.

Dimensional

In the past I've mentioned that I want to get away from writing long series. My readers are wonderfully loyal and patient, but I don't care to leave them hanging for years as I did while struggling to bring back StarDoc. Most series authors also don't attract the followings we did ten years ago, which given all the books being published is entirely understandable.

Many of you who have invested in my new Disenchanted & Co. series (for which I thank you) have been asking when the next book will be released. There is no next book (yet) and before I accept any offers or even write any more books I really have to decide how long I want to make the series. Five books would work best with my original series plan, and I think that's a decent length for a series these days, so that's what I'm inclined to make my goal. Or I could condense my plan, wrap things up with one more book and end the series as a trilogy, which would definitely guarantee closure for the readers and less headaches for me.

I thought I'd get some opinions from you all -- what do you consider an ideal length for a novel series? Let me know what you think in comments.

Image Credit: Smosh

Spirit City

Answer nine questions and the City-o-Meter will decide where your spiritual home is. My (laughable) results:



I suppose it's not entirely ludicrous; I grew up in a Cuban-American community, and I still do love all things Cuban. Well, except the current regime running that nation, they can go burn in Hell. So until they do, I think my spirit will be much more content to dwell in Little Havana.

Where is your spiritual home? Take the test and let us know in comments.

(Test link filched from Gerard at The Presurfer.)

Freely Ten

Ten Things You Can Have for Free

Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.

Creative Side is "a group of projects designed to unleash creativity through multimedia, allowing you to easily create digital content and share it with friends. creative side is home to the following open-source freeware projects: creative - create amazing graphics from images; enhance quality, colorize, convert bitmap images to scalable raster drawings; ultimate dictionary - 33+ Dictionaries in One (English, Spanish, French, Polish); examples finder - find example usages of words (dictionary examples, literature); flash video album creator - create online albums with downloaded youtube videos; crosswords - create crosswords, wordsearches, half a crossword ESL activities; movie player plus - fast playback, volume boost, subtitles, all codecs included; games - what's creativity without a little fun?; easy backup - one click backup of personal documents and settings" (OS: Windows)

Folders Popup allows you to "move between their frequently used folders like a breeze using both keyboard and mouse shortcuts. Main Features: Adding, removing, renaming and re-ordering folders; Adding any type of standard dialog box to support different programs; Setting desired keyboard and mouse button shortcuts for opening Folders Popup menu; Supports special folders, which can be either hidden or visible; Launching folders using numeric menu shortcuts; Displaying the popup menu at a fixed position" (OS: "Compatible with all modern Windows operating systems")

FreeText is "a simple and easy-to-use notebook for making notes, keeping to-do lists, storing information on accounts and contacts, etc. It can be helpful when you need to save a link, interesting citation, phone number or to simply insert text from a clipboard for a short time" (OS: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8)

Grisbi is "open source personal accounting software for practically any platform/operating system. The project strives to provide simple and easy to use software for managing your accounts. Grisbi lets you keep track of all transactions on your accounts. Grouping of expenses makes it easy to see of you are using too much money according to your budget for a certain category" (OS: Windows, Mac)

iDaily Diary "provides a simple interface that immediately gets you started taking daily notes, creating a journal, putting your thoughts into writing and much more. The iDailyDiary editor is "richtext" with the ability to insert graphics, URL's, Hypertext links and links to other diary pages. iDailyDiary is fully searchable so you can always track down those important dates and reminders. Key Features: Data files encrypted and password protected; Richtext Editor; Fully Searchable; Insert Pictures, URL's and Hypertext; Multiple "pages" for each day; Export to HTML format to create web pages; Supports Unicode (non-western character sets); Mutli-Language GUI, including Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Turkish and Japanese" (OS: "Works with MS Windows 2000, XP, 2003, 2008, Vista, 7, 8 32bit & 64bit")

Monex is a "personal finance manager based on double entry bookkeeping principles. You can organize your accounts into a tree structure. Branch expense and income accounts or join accounts by currency or type. Create, remove or change your account tree structure depending on your needs. View current, cleared and total balances of a single account or a whole branch of accounts" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7/8.0)

Novello is a "book writing tool for computer savvy writers." Designer notes: "I wrote Novello when I was trying to complete my book "Oom". MS Word was ok while I was spewing out the first draft but was no good for the later stages of book development. The quality of my first draft was a long way from what I wanted. I needed to plough through my manuscript to do rewrites, jiggle things about and throw away the crap. Novello made these tasks easier because it helped me split the book up into small (smaller than whole chapters) managable chunks. I was able to keep several major rewrites of each chunk together in one document" (OS: Not specified but looks like Windows)

PDF to Word Doc Converter is a "desktop document conversion tool to convert Adobe PDF file to Microsoft Word Doc file. The program can extract text, images, shapes from PDF file to Word Doc file and preserve the layout. It can convert all the pages, or any pages range of the PDF file. And it is a standalone program - you can convert PDF to Word Doc without Adobe Acrobat Reader or Microsoft Word installed" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7/8/2000)

tinySpell is a "useful utility that lets you to easily and quickly verify the spelling of words in any Windows application. tinySpell monitors your typing on the fly and alerts you whenever it detects a misspelled word. It also checks the spelling of every word you copy to the clipboard. tinySpell installs itself in the system tray for easy access. It comes with an American-English dictionary containing more than 110,000 words" (OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7/8)

Zim is "a graphical text editor used to maintain a collection of wiki pages. Each page can contain links to other pages, simple formatting and images. Pages are stored in a folder structure, like in an outliner, and can have attachments. Creating a new page is as easy as linking to a nonexistent page. All data is stored in plain text files with wiki formatting. Various plugins provide additional functionality, like a task list manager, an equation editor, a tray icon, and support for version control" (OS: Windows, Linux)

Discover Your Story

As a storyteller and a fan of all things archaeology I'm fascinated when treasures from the past are unearthed. Lately there have been some stunning discoveries in the news, too:

Hidden fortress found beneath Alcatraz

Nine Manuscripts Discovered in Qumran Artifacts

Northern California couple discover cans filled with 19th century gold coins

These news items are particular stupendous: A Civil War fortress we didn't know still existed, nine more manuscript scrolls from the Dead Sea caves that have never been seen, and ten million dollars' worth of 19th-century gold coins hidden in a bunch of buried tin cans. In addition to the wealth of knowledge these discoveries will provide, they also offer some exceptional possibilities as story inspiration.

Take the Alcatraz find, for example. If they excavate, what else might they uncover down there? Could someone have been using it in the more recent past, perhaps? And why would you build a prison on top of a Civil War fortress, for that matter (were they trying to keep something else from escaping?)

Those nine newly-discovered scrolls likewise have great story potential. What if instead of scripture they contain some wonderful -- or terrible -- secrets? What if we were never meant to find them? I've used an ancient scroll as a story-telling device, and I can tell you from experience that playing with ancient media is as fun as it is inspiring.

Obviously ten million in gold coins is a truly life-transformative find for that happy couple. But what if your protagonist was the one to find them, or (if you're writing a historical) bury them? Even back in the 19th century, that was a heck of a lot of money to hide. What if those coins were connected to a particular historic event, the details of which will now be altered by their reappearance?

Every storyteller will answer those questions differently, which is the other cool thing about using discovery news for inspiration -- your imagination will provide the unique spin you need to change it from fact to fiction. So make it a habit to check out your favorite news feed or paper, and search for discoveries -- you might just uncover something pretty wonderful for your next story.

Elsewhere

Over at the Toriana blog I'm celebrating finding a new hat box prop for this year's online promotions (so much work, having to browse through all those amazing antique shops.) Stop in when you have a chance, enter the giveaway and you could win a signed print copy of Disenchanted & Co. as well as Cynthia Hart's 2014 Victoriana calendar.

Sail On

We all take journeys in life for which we have to rely on a spiritual compass; the short film explains why with a man and a canoe (background music, too, for those of you at work):

Spirit Canoe from Symbols of the West on Vimeo.

MD SF/F Contest

While I've lived in Florida most of my life I'm actually a native of Baltimore, so I thought I'd give a nod to my birthplace by posting this writing contest for Maryland residents:

"To promote the creation of quality genre literature in the state of Maryland, we're holding the annual Baltimore Science Fiction Society Amateur Writing Contest and encouraging everyone to enter. Anything that falls into the "speculative fiction" genre--science fiction in all its forms and fantasy in all its forms. Urban fantasy, hard science fiction, dark fantasy, it all counts. That is to say, the work must have a speculative element." Length: 1-5.5K; Prizes: "1st place is $250; 2nd place is $100; 3rd place is $50. 1st place winner will be published in the BSFSFan (our convention guide at Balticon) and invited to Balticon to do a reading of either a selection of their winning story or the entire story (depending on length and the availability of time and the wishes of the winner). The top five entries will all receive free memberships to Balticon." See contest page for more details, deadline: "The 2014 BSFS Amateur Writing Contest will begin accepting submissions April 1, 2014, and close June 15."

BAM Ten

Ten Neat Things I Found On My Latest Trip to Books-a-Million
(All prices shown are after application of my 10% BAM card discount)


#1 -- All of the remaining 2014 wall and desk calendars, like this lovely Secret Garden edition, were marked down to $3.00; I got it for $2.70.

#2 -- Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen is out! Hardcover, $23.39.

#3 -- Adorable bookmark and pen set featuring Grumpy Cat of Internet fame, $3.59.

#4 -- "Keep Calm and Type On" bookmark featuring an old typewriter, perfect for writer pals, $2.65.

#5 -- Joyful Abundance pad of cookbook page flags, which work equally well on other books and are the perfect size for carrying in my purse, $4.49

#6 -- Novelty Ninja Pen that makes the coolest sword sound when you press a button on the hilt, $4.49

#7 & #8 -- The Mind/Body/Spirit and Travel editions of Mini-Marks, sets of 6 themed magnetic mini bookmarks, $4.49 each.

#9 -- Don't Forget elephant-shaped sticky notepad, $4.49.

#10 -- Hmmm, this looks very familiar . . . $7.19.

The Wolf Arrives

Today is the official release of The Clockwork Wolf, the second novel in my Disenchanted & Co. urban fantasy series. Also, if you missed it last week, here's the video for the book:



I think that's all the promo I'll throw at you this time. Besides, I have to talk about some people who helped:

My editor, Adam Wilson, deserves much for every wise and amazing thing he did to bring the world of Toriana to publication. I also wish I could name all of the other folks at Pocket Star who put so much creativity and wisdom into the series production, because they did a fabulous job, too.

I am very grateful to author and filmmaker Jeff Somers for creating yet another superb video trailer for Kit and her crew; it was everything I wished for and then some.

Last (but never least) I must somehow thank NYT bestselling author and my dear friend Darlene Ryan for her nonstop support and generous encouragement during this entire adventure. Until I can think up something better, Bubba, know that you are the best writer friend on the planet.

Places where you can purchase The Clockwork Wolf (click on them to do that and keep me writing this series):

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-Million

iBookstore

Indiebound

Nook

S&S.com

Amazon

Kindle

Find Someone a Job, Win $1K in Books

I'm going to back-burner today's ten list for a neat offer from Library Thing as an incentive to help them hire a new programmer:

"We need to find a kick-ass PHP programmer, so we’re offering $1,000 worth of books to the person who finds them. Think of it. $1,000 in books. What would you buy? Everything.

Rules! You get a $1,000 gift certificate to the local, chain or online bookseller of your choice.

To qualify, you need to connect us to someone. Either you introduce them to us—and they follow up by applying themselves—or they mention your name in their email (“So-and-so told me about this”). You can recommend yourself, but if you found out about it from someone else, we hope you’ll do the right thing and make them the beneficiary."

For more details go to their blog and read the job post here.

Test Your Typing

Do you know how fast you type? This fun online test gives you a short fable to type and calculates both your speed and accuracy while you do so (it includes typing sounds and background music, which I think is what made it fun.) Here are my results:



I'm definitely getting slower, but I'm happy that I maintained decent accuracy despite my snail's pace. Take the test and post your results in comments.

And You Are . . . ?

Since I'm reading my own book at the moment (yes, I know, but I'm updating my series bible) this would make me Charmian Kittredge. Who are you? Let us know in comments.

See the Wolf

I won't be posting the usual Friday video here at PBW today but I would like to send you elsewhere to see one you might like. RT book reviews is hosting the online debut of the official video for The Clockwork Wolf, which they've also selected as one of their Top Picks for their March issue*; to have a look click here.

Added 2/25: I've finally seen the issue myself and turns out the info I was given is wrong; RT gave the novel 4-1/2 stars but it was not selected as a Top Pick for March. I'm quite happy with the rating, however, and my apologizes for passing along the misinformation.

Steampunk Sub Op

I am taking off today to be sick in bed. So that your stop here was not entirely wasted, here's an interesting listing from the marvelous assortment of markets at Ralan.com:

Inventive Press is looking for "Truly inventive speculative fiction. Steampunk, both adult and young adult. Historical fiction. Contemporary young adult novels. Inspirational non-fiction." Also: "We love spec fic, but there are hundreds of micropresses and major publishers taking spec fic submissions. Yours has to be unique, or we can’t help you be more than another face in the giant crowd. We’re particularly interested in steampunk and alternate history. For spec fic in general, your synopsis needs to convey a sense of 'this is different.'" Length: Less than 130K (fiction); less than 80K (YA) and 40-150K nonfiction. Payment according to Ralan: "ebook=50% net; print=40% net; profit sharing bonuses; possible advance for established authors." Query on reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

Get the Wolf

I'm getting a late start today because I nursed my guy through a bad sinus infection and promptly caught it myself. I always kid about my head exploding; last night I thought it just might.

The good news is I can still buy real Sudafed, the only OTC decongestant that works on me, although it's been a while since I have. Thanks to abuse by drug dealers the local pharmacy now keeps this medicine locked up behind the counter, and they had me show my license and sign a register before they handed over the pack of ten pills I purchased (I shudder to think what they'll do the next time I want a bottle of Nyquil.)

On the bright and less sniffly side, The Reading Cafe is offering a print copy of The Clockwork Wolf along with some other neat reads for some lucky reader. If you'd like a chance to win them, head over and enter their giveaway.

Math Under Pressure

Take this online quiz to find out how well you can perform simple maths under pressure. My results:



I don't know that I'd call the math involved especially simple as the time calculations nearly did me in a few times. Post your results in comments and let us know how you did.

Not a Dime Ten

Ten Things You Can Have for Free

Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.

Anki is a "program which makes remembering things easy. Because it's a lot more efficient than traditional study methods, you can either greatly decrease your time spent studying, or greatly increase the amount you learn. Anyone who needs to remember things in their daily life can benefit from Anki. Since it is content-agnostic and supports images, audio, videos and scientific markup (via LaTeX), the possibilities are endless" (OS: Win 98/ME/NT/2K/XP/2K3/Vista/7/8)

Bandizip is a "lightweight, fast and 100% free All-In-One Zip Archiver. Bandizip has a very fast Zip algorithm for compression & extraction with Fast Drag and Drop, High Speed Archiving, and Multi-core compression. It handles the most popular compression formats, including Zip, 7z, Rar, and so on" (OS: Windows XP/2003/Vista/7/8 [32-Bit/64-Bit])

Buddi is a "personal finance and budgeting program, aimed at those who have little or no financial background. In making this software, I have attempted to make things as simple as possible, while still retaining enough functions to satisfy most home users" (OS: Designer notes: "If you have a modern operating system with a copy of Sun's Java Virtual Machine [version 1.5 or higher], it should work fine. This includes most recent versions of Windows, Macintosh OS X 10.4, most Linux distributions, Solaris, and possibly more. Please consult the help files for your given operating system if you are unsure whether it supports Java 1.5 or not.")

GanttProject is a "project management tool" that is "very usable for small to medium size projects, with a surprisingly good depth of features and accessories for a free product. As its name suggest, it's excellent for making Gantt charts, great for making logical and easy-to-understand development plans" (OS: Windows, Linux and Mac OS X)

Pencil is a "free drawing program that helps users to create mockups on their PCs. Its friendly graphic user interface provides ready access to a collection of built-in shapes that can be used to create interfaces for both mobile and desktop platforms" (OS: "The prototyping tool is available for all platforms")

Scribus is an "open Source program that brings professional page layout to Linux, BSD UNIX, Solaris, OpenIndiana, GNU/Hurd, Mac OS X, OS/2 Warp 4, eComStation, and Windows desktops with a combination of press-ready output and new approaches to page design. Underneath a modern and user-friendly interface, Scribus supports professional publishing features, such as color separations, CMYK and spot colors, ICC color management, and versatile PDF creation." (OS: Complete download list and links here)

SSuite My Money Portable is a "simple to use personal finance manager that is also portable. SSuite Office - My Money – Portable is a cross-platform utility that allows users to keep an eye on their accounts, income and expenses, and to generate financial reports. New accounts can be added by specifying the type and balance, and you can give details about transactions, such as description, date and amount. Thanks to its built-in search engine, you can quickly find the accounts in the list; they can be edited or deleted. Furthermore, it is possible to specify the income description, date and amount, as well as provide information about the inter-account transfers and expenses. SSuite Office - My Money – Portable allows users to create financial reports by selecting a report type and fields that are included (account number, type and balance), specifying the report title, number of columns on each page and page orientation (portrait or landscape), and picking the font style" (OS:Windows All [32-Bit/64-Bit])

The free trial of TaxSlayer Books is a "complete, online accounting software for your small business needs. Includes payroll, and bookkeeping software." It also "allows you to import bookkeeping information from Quickbooks, making setup a snap" (OS: Windows XP, Vista)

Tomboy is a "desktop note-taking application" that is "simple and easy to use, but with potential to help you organize the ideas and information you deal with every day" (OS: Linux, Unix, Windows, and Mac OS X)

Tonido "allows you to set up and run your own personal cloud storage" (OS: Linux, Mac OS X 10.5 or later, Windows 2000, Windows 7 [32 bit], Windows 7 [64 bit], Windows 8, Windows Vista [32 bit], Windows Vista [64 bit)], Windows XP)

Sub Op

Weird Bard Press has an open call for their upcoming Torn Pages antho: "Given the title, Torn Pages, the ideal submission will deal in issues such as religion in the science classroom, censorship, historical revisionism, chilling effect, book (media) burning, net neutrality, or Orwellian concepts like Newspeak and Thoughtcrime. Watching the recent Nye/Ham debate we were reminded of Burrough's assertion that language is a virus. Think books. Think classroom. Think logical fallacies, partisan politics, and education standards in the balance. Acceptable as well are stories related to a real-life wrong so great or insidious that the issue must be told, though it may not relate directly to books or the classroom, such as abuses of political or social power. Pussy Riot, Occupy, or Anonymous may be good starting points, but refrain from propaganda for or against any one of these. Inherent in this project is an interest in stories from under-represented points of view, be they ethnic, gender, cultural, sexual orientation, or others we have not considered. The person who comes from what they perceive as a mundane background may have an equally important story to tell." Length: 1-5K; Payment: 2¢/word. No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Reading period opens March 1st, 2013; do not submit before that date. Deadline: March 31st, 2014 or when filled.

Unlikely Inspiration

I like to reward myself for finishing difficult projects, and most often I gravitate toward something that I love but don't indulge in too often. Some examples would be art supplies, fabric, or other such materials with which I can experiment but that I have no particular purpose in mind. It might seem strange that I celebrate completing work with more work, but it's really more like play. It also helps refill the well to do these things, so that when I do tackle the next project for work I feel creatively rested, if that makes sense.

Kathy Uhrig, the proprietor of Strange Notions on Etsy.com, is one of my favorite sources for this type of thing; she puts together wonderful little tin kits and packs of trims that always provide me with hours of creative fun. In one of the kits I recently purchased from her I found this very interesting textile:



The image is a Picasso -- you can still see a fragment of the artist's signature down at the bottom right corner -- and the piece probably started out as a scarf. While it's thin the colors are still quite bright, and there are no major snags or stains on the piece, which make it perfect for repurposing into a quilted project.

I can honestly say that I've never worked with a Picasso; I've always thought of his art as pretty bizarre and somewhat alien. Still, something about this particular piece is very compelling. I like the colors and the strong lines, and the lady's face is both tranquil and mysterious. Making this into something else presents an interesting challenge for me.

It's not my usual thing, but sometimes it's good to get completely away from that. Creatively speaking, every time you step outside your comfort zone you open yourself up to new opportunities. You explore unknown territory, discover unfamiliar ranges within yourself and regularly encounter other, unexpected surprises. Sometimes this also means making mistakes and finding out something really new is not for you. I might work on this piece for weeks and hate it by the time I finish. The thing about this kind of creative playing is that it doesn't matter -- success is not the objective.

I'll post updates on the Picasso project as it progresses; I think it'll be a lot of fun to see what I can do with it. I'll also include any screw-ups that happen along the way and what I learn from them.

How do you challenge yourself creatively? Let us know in comments.

Elsewhere for Valday

First, Happy Valentine's Day to everyone -- I'm hoping that those of you in the storm zone are staying safe and warm at home.

As for me, I'm spending the day over at Under the Covers book blog to talk about some alternative gifts for your Valentines who (like me!) can't have sweets. Stop in if you have a chance and enter to win this nifty tote packed with goodies and signed print copies of Disenchanted & Co. and The Clockwork Wolf ARC.

Steaming Along Elsewhere

Today I'm over at XOXO After Dark, my publisher's blog, to talk about some of our technology that might be improved by adding steam power. Stop by if you have a chance and enter to win a print copy of my latest release, Disenchanted & Co.

New Hunter Kiss Novel

I have an FYI for all the other Maxine fans out there: Labyrinth of Stars, Marjorie M. Liu's new Hunter Kiss novel, is being released on February 25th. Here's the gorgeous cover art:



I've pre-ordered my copy, but if you haven't you can get your order in at these online retailers:

Barnes & Noble

Indiebound

Amazon

Writer by Word Choice

Take this short online quiz at Oxford Dictionaries blog and they'll decide what kind of writer you are based on your word choices.

My results:



Eh. I wouldn't mind winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, but I don't hate women or gay people, and I can metabolize iron. Just not on Tuesdays.

If you take the test, post your results in comments. Added: Test link now works!

Shiloh's Ten

Ten Things That Happened When I Went to See Shiloh Walker

With zero prior warning I crashed the Coastal Magic Conference and they did not kick me out. On the contrary; Jennifer and her ladies were very welcoming, and helped me sneak up on Shiloh, and let me sit with her for their charity booksigning with no fuss whatsoever.

Before I shanghaied Shi I met up with wonderful steampunk jewelry-maker Leslie from Aunt Matilda's Jewelry Box to do some personal shopping. While I was depriving her of inventory I bought another of Kit's pendants to give away to one of my readers (this week ~ stayed tuned to the blog for details.)

I met and chatted with the lovely and charming USA Today bestselling author Carrie Ann Ryan, who can be described by many other words; the next that comes to my mind should be awesome as she gave me this gorgeous tote to hold all the books I bought. Her assistant Charity was so sweet and helpful, too, and I think somehow moved at the speed of light.

Author Gini Koch may have as many pseudonyms as me and was giving away e-book freebies, which was way cool (she is a rather amazing powerhouse when it comes to presentation, too; she should be teaching classes in how to promote your books in person.)

Author Sarah M. Ross was a delight to talk to and quite gorgeous in person; among other things she has that perfect hair I will never attain (sigh.)

Author James R. Tuck is a handsome devil with a wonderful voice and a neat sense of humor, too; I think every gal at the conference was falling in love with him.

I did not get around to all the tables, but I bought books from every one I visited, so it was probably good for the bank account that I didn't make it around the room.

Some people asked me and Shiloh to pose for pics and we did for two, I think; Tori from Smexy Books has one of them. Please note if you happen to see it that I am not dead, a man, or Stephen Leigh.

After the booksigning I dragged Shiloh out to dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, where I made a complete pig of myself over the delicious spicy fish and rice dish I ordered. We also talked shop, families, ordnance, explosives and plotted the overthrow of the online writing community. Kidding. We really didn't talk shop that much.

After many, many years of being cyber colleagues and blog pals I finally met Shiloh Walker, who is just as wonderful in person as she is online. Of all the people I've wanted to meet in the biz, she was the one I drove 500 miles (much of that in the pouring rain) to see, which should give you some idea of how much I care for her.

Strangely Funny Sub Op

Mystery and Horror LLC has an open call for their upcoming Strangely Funny II antho, and describe the project as: "An anthology of humorous paranormal/supernatural stories. All stories must contain paranormal or supernatural elements (ghosts, witchcraft, vampires, etc.) and be funny. Think Addams Family, Zombieland, or Love at First Bite. These stories should not contain gratuitous violence, gratuitous sex, or excessive foul language." Length: 2-6K; Payment: Ralan says "shared 25% net royalty ($5 advance) +print copy." Query on reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Reading period opens February 10th, 2014; do not submit before that date. Deadline: May 1st, 2014 or when filled.

Out of Here

I'm off on a business trip this weekend, so new comments will not post until I return. So your stop here was not entirely wasted, here's an interesting freeware that may come in handy with tax season upon us:

The designer of Ace Money Lite touts it as an easy and free alternative to Microsoft Money or Quicken: "It makes managing multiple accounts a breeze. You can manage your budgets, track multi-currency finances, analyze your spending habits, make transfers between accounts, and do on-line banking. You can start instantly without any prior accounting experience. Features: Track your spending habits and see where the money goes; create and manage budgets; track performance of investments; do your financial math in multiple currencies; enjoy the convenience of on-line banking Download and import information from on-line banks in QIF and OFX formats. If you run a small business, export to HTML, Text, or CSV; Don´t miss the next deadline for bills; Double check - Enjoy the security of password protection of every file, scheduled backups and many other features; Plan debts and mortgage payments" (OS: Win 9x/ME/NT/2K/XP/2K3/Vista/7/8)

Remember the usual PBW freeware caution, too: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.

Light Show

Sometimes we forget we have an immense theater that perpetually plays light shows for us each night. Randy Halverson's Huelux gives us a long and lovely reason to remember this -- and look up (contains background music, for those of you at work):

Huelux from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.

Under Pressure

Can you write proper English under pressure? Take the online test here.

My results:

Library Thing Heads Up

The good folks over at Library Thing sent out this notice yesterday:

During a security review, we found that LibraryThing suffered a data breach in June 2011. While no book data or financial information was taken, lost or changed, the hackers did take email addresses and encrypted password hashes for some accounts created prior to that date.

People like me who were members at the time of the breach were advised to change our passwords, which I did (and if this affects you, you should receive an e-mail with the password reset link. If you haven't received it, you might check your account.) LT is also doing something quite classy in response to the breach:

The entire LibraryThing team and I deeply regret and apologize that this happened on our watch. Since 2011, we have significantly improved our security measures, which have been further tightened across the board since we discovered this breach. As a further apology, we are upgrading you and all LibraryThing members who joined prior to June 19th, 2011 to full lifetime accounts.

To read more details about the breach, see this post on the Library Thing blog.

Split Seconds

One of my favorite art and video sites, Kuriositas, has an amazing collection of photos here taken of events that happened in a split second. If you have a chance to go visit it's definitely worth it (my favorite is the one with the pigeons, naturally.)

I also admire the quick skill of every shooter behind these pics; as an amateur photographer I know how hard it is to capture an exciting moment that only lasts for a blink or two. Only by pure dumb luck do I ever get a split-second shot, and oddly enough it always seems to happen for me at RenFaires:





My technique? I don't have one; I simply point, shoot and pray. My favorite of all my split second lucky shots is this one, with cropped enlargements following to show why:









(Link swiped from Gerard over at The Presurfer)

Argh Ten

Ten Things That Always Seem to Happen The Week Your Book is Released

Appliance Fail: a major or integral appliance in your home that has never once given you a second of trouble will stop working, start leaking or emit a stream of dark oily smoke when you turn it on.

Comrade in Harm: In the process of congratulating you a colleague will artfully mention that they're not buying your new release because they're too busy to read it, they prefer another author in that genre, or the whole idea really wasn't their cup of tea.

E-mail Gainer: Your incoming e-mail will quadruple, and about a third of it will be from people who have never before contacted you but bought your book the second it hit the shelf, hated it, and now want to tell you in excruciating detail why.

Gaming Glom: To stop from thinking about your release on Monday you'll find an online version of Candy Crush and decide to try playing it for the first time. By Wednesday you'll be competing in tournaments. By Friday you will be the highest-ranked Candy Crush player on that site.

Gone Data Gone: Your editor, publicist or video producer will need a vital bit of information from you asap, which is part of a file you discover you can't open, you can't remember what you named, or that you deleted last month while cleaning up your hard drive.

Honey Huh: About halfway through the week your honey will call home to see if you performed some time-sensitively and extremely vital task s/he needed you to do, which you haven't. Worse, you will have zero recollection of agreeing to do it.

Match Game: You won't understand why all the book store managers keep giving you such odd looks until you get home from a long day of making the rounds and realize as you undress that your shoes don't match, you're wearing your shirt inside-out, and/or the bright red lipstick that still gleams on your mouth is all over your front teeth, too.

Pet Pouting: The well-behaved, healthy, house-trained furry friends who are always content to slumber away most of the day suddenly become crazed demons of destruction with severe tummy troubles who sit at your hip and whine to go outside. Every. Five. Minutes.

Takeout Tonight: While worrying about your release's debut, how it will be received, if it will sell, how many copies are hitting the stores and why in God's name you every thought this was a wonderful job, you will finally remember you have to make dinner. This will happen no earlier than thirty seconds before dinner time.

Writer's Blech: As you begin to perform a reading, chat up a reader, introduce yourself over a microphone or pitch your release to an important industry entity over the phone, your nervous digest system will surge to produce audible flatulence, a generous amount of bile going the wrong way or an involuntary burp that not only escapes but can be measured on the Richter scale.

Interesting Sub Op

To continue the spin on breaking out of bounds from yesterday, The Dreadful Cafe has an open call for their upcoming anthology Thresholds: "We cross boundaries every day--the door to a room, a crack in a sidewalk, the border of a city. "Thresholds" is not so much a theme as a sign to the reader that we want to take them somewhere fantastic: to another time, into the dark, into the arms of a lover, to another world, or to the dark recesses of the mind. All genres of fiction and all sizes/colors of art are eligible. Just show us something fantastic, something adventurous, something far out, something fun." Length: "Manuscripts must be between 1,000 and 25,000 words and not previously published by anyone but the author. Self-published works are accepted and encouraged!" [PBW notes: that's why it's so interesting] Payment: "Short Stories (1,000-7,000 words) — $125; Novelettes (7,001-13,000 words) — $250; Novellas (13,001-25,000 words) — Negotiable" Also noted: "The Dreadful Cafe is committed to socially responsible publishing. All after-cost proceeds from Thresholds and Membrane go to support St. Jude's Children's Hospital, because life is too short not to have fun and too precious not to do good." Query on reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: Website says "TBD" which I'll assume means to be decided; Ralan.com says "Until filled." Either way if you're interested I'd get your submission in asap.

Doodle Zen

I've been a dedicated doodler practically since the first time I picked up a pencil. Throughout my childhood I would draw blocks, shapes and patterns in small spaces; usually in the margins of my notebook paper while in class at school. The process for me was soothing and curiously satisfying, but the results were always something I concealed or tucked away out of sight -- I suppose I didn't want anyone laughing at me. In fact until Zentangles became popular I had no idea there were other people who doodled as small or as obsessively as I did.

Doodling, which I think practically everyone does at one time or another in life, can be viewed as the art of the subconscious, and it was certainly that for me. I'd never once planned a doodle except for choosing the space in which to draw it. This changed when I learned of Zentangles; the popularity meant I didn't have to hide my strange doodles anymore and there was even a logic and discipline I could now apply to them.

For months I happily Zentangled away on countless squares drawn in my sketchbooks, until one day I began doodling around the square's edges, and beyond them, until I was filling the entire page around my Zentangle with more doodles. Once I crossed the boundaries I suspected I was committing some form of doodling heresy, but it felt right to grow in that direction (I've never been content to color inside the lines for long anyway.)

When I saw Zen Doodle ~ Tons of Tangles, this lovely doodling art book edited by Tonia Jenny and Amy Jones, I thought it would be more of the same squares and fill-in-the-spaces. Once I began thumbing through it I was pleasantly startled to find a collection of gorgeous works by artists who regularly step outside the square to explore the universe of doodling possibility. Some are inspired by nature, online challenges, and even mehndi (the custom of using henna to stain designs onto skin.)



There are four sections in the book that cover abstract designs, shapes & objects, animals & beasts, and friendship & love, but other than those themes each artist brings their own vision to doodling. Along with detailed instructions on how to create some of the patterns and linework, and pictured example doodles in various stages of completion, the contributors also talk about their process, what influenced a particular doodle and other aspects of their creativity. Going through this book is a bit like taking a doodling workshop with forty-two different instructors from around the world. I think it's already had a very positive impact on my Zen doodling:



I know to many doodling may seem like a complete waste of time and paper, but you're probably not aware of the benefits. The next time you're on hold with your doctor's office I bet many of you will be drawing tiny 3D boxes on your message pad, or looping a continuous line like a Slinky from one side of an old envelope to the other. You may think you're killing time, but what you're really doing is a form of meditation through the simple beauty of no-stress no-expectation creation -- something I think all of us can use on a regular basis.