Tuesday, March 29, 2011
The Man in the Hat
The Man in the Hat, a short story based on a news item I saw in the LA Times about ten years ago, has officially been accepted by Sam's Dot Publishing for their November 2011 Cover of Darkness Anthology.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Oracle of Themazuri on front page of Mindflights!
Though it's been up all month, it's now on the front page of Mindflights.com. So come on by and check it out. Let them know whether you like it, or not. www.mindflights.com/
The above image is the front page artwork for this issue and is called The Woodland Faerie by Chasity iJames.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Seeking Reviewers!
In a month or two, my scifi novella will be coming out and I wondered if there was anyone out there who would like me to send them a copy for review on their blog. I'm not asking for a good review - because that's not fair and it doesn't help me get better. What I would like is for people who will read the novella and then give the world (or their world anyway) their assessment of my story.
To give you a better idea, it will be a hard copy (not online) and is of the space-ship-exploring-the-galaxy variety. While I didn't write it for kids or Young Adults, I think it probably skews that way.
If you're interested then leave a comment here or send me a PM/email.
To give you a better idea, it will be a hard copy (not online) and is of the space-ship-exploring-the-galaxy variety. While I didn't write it for kids or Young Adults, I think it probably skews that way.
If you're interested then leave a comment here or send me a PM/email.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
"See! Saw! Margery Daw!"
xposted at: http://puttputtproductions.com/blogetary/2011/03/16/balanc/
“Johnny has found a new maaaaaster….he can pay but a penny a day, because he can’t work any faaaaaster!”
That song used to make me laugh as my dad, and sometimes my mom, would sing it with me when we were on the See Saw. I didn’t realize how much they were pushing up to make me feel like I was getting them in the air. And I loved when they sat down placing me in the air. The ups and downs made my belly flip and I laughed with delight, and just a little bit of fear, when I felt the bump as their end hit the ground. Sometimes they’d tease me and stay seated. I’d swing my legs and look down at the ground. What if I fell? Half the fun was wondering. The other half was knowing I was safe. And then Mom or Dad would level it out, bring it back to balance. The fun would come to an end; it was time to get off the See Saw.
I’ve been remembering that because I’ve been thinking about balance recently. Balance is such a mundane word. It’s so utilitarian. It’s used for weighing something, or perching something, and for describing a state of being whether in regards to a single organism, or the entire cosmos.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the use of the word in English dates back to the 9th Century CE, though Euripides described the concept of balance as far back as the 5th Century BCE ( “The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man.” Euripides).
And what is balance? The day after the 8.9 earthquake in Japan, a large chunk of the world away, where reactors were beginning heat up and start their terrifying journey creating some sort of outlet for themselves, it was a beautiful day in L.A. The sun shone. The sky was blue. The breeze had that slight tang of beach – seawater, salt, sand. It was a perfect day. Was that balance?
If you grab one of those fantastic tools called a thesaurus, or my favorite, Rodale’s Synonym Finder, and look up the word balance, you will find six inches worth of words in 8 point font.Words of varying pedigree and age, but arguably as much history. Words like equilibrium, acumen, aplomb, poise, equipoise, steady, uniformity, evenness, reckoning, estimation, counterpoise, reason, sanity, weigh, ponder, deliberate, align, range… the list goes on. You could write an entire scene using mostly words that mean balance:
She sat poised on the chair with great aplomb, breathing evenly, awaiting the deliberation. The jury had some reason, in her estimation. She wondered, though, as they weighed her innocence against her guilt. Would they question her sanity? In a moment she faced her reckoning. With the uniformity of the justice system they declared her…
See – it could go on for a while.
Aplomb isn’t used much anymore (which is too bad) and dates from the 19th Century. I like to think that cats work to keep the concept of aplomb alive. They certainly seem to have plenty of it.
Poise, counterpoise and equipoise all come from variations in the 13th-14th Centuries. When did we cease teaching poise to people? I guess we assumed people would just pick it up. But, while you could say nature seeks balance, you wouldn’t say it seeks poise. Poise needs to be taught. But first the beings learning poise need to understand the concept of balance, and know what it is to be balanced, even – not constantly on an up or down.
But, we don’t allow for that anymore, do we. Everything is up or down. There is no “even keel”. We’re so enamored of the See Saw ride – we want to keep that belly flip. Not that there’s anything wrong with the belly flip, but eventually, we gotta come down, or at least even out. Eventually, osmosis works to create an equilibrium between spaces. Eventually, boundaries are reached, rebounding back and forth until some kind of accord – kinetic or otherwise – is reached.
My dad fixes pinball machines. He fixes other bar games and video games, but his father was in the pinball business and so it fell to my dad to get into it as well. When you play pinball, it’s all about keeping the ball off balance long enough to hit things and make points without QUITE throwing the machine off balance. So to get more points, you gotta get that steel ball to bounce the right spots at the right angles. When the ball finally does find it’s own equilibrium – well – that’s when you’ve lost the ball down the hole.
It’s easier for me to find balance when I’m in my own world – of course. Easier when I’m gardening and ignoring the world around me. Easier when I’m reading a book and listening to my iPod, shutting out everything else. Easier when I’ve shut and locked the door and decided I’m not leaving for the weekend.
Out in the great world out there, I might, like the steel ball, hit the wrong band, get stuck in the wrong hole, or set off the wrong lights, get bruised and bounced around while I seek all those “points” I’m supposed to be seeking.
I might lose balance.
Or, maybe I could learn from my four-footed friends and gather aplomb and poise around me like a fur cloak to keep the world from battering me about too much.
And now we’re at that point in this blog when you’re wondering what is the point? And there is none, unless you’re talking about the point that is used to balance…
Happy St. Patrick’s Day. And if you’re looking for something to read, check out The Oracle of Themazuri at Mindflights.com.
“Johnny has found a new maaaaaster….he can pay but a penny a day, because he can’t work any faaaaaster!”
That song used to make me laugh as my dad, and sometimes my mom, would sing it with me when we were on the See Saw. I didn’t realize how much they were pushing up to make me feel like I was getting them in the air. And I loved when they sat down placing me in the air. The ups and downs made my belly flip and I laughed with delight, and just a little bit of fear, when I felt the bump as their end hit the ground. Sometimes they’d tease me and stay seated. I’d swing my legs and look down at the ground. What if I fell? Half the fun was wondering. The other half was knowing I was safe. And then Mom or Dad would level it out, bring it back to balance. The fun would come to an end; it was time to get off the See Saw.
I’ve been remembering that because I’ve been thinking about balance recently. Balance is such a mundane word. It’s so utilitarian. It’s used for weighing something, or perching something, and for describing a state of being whether in regards to a single organism, or the entire cosmos.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the use of the word in English dates back to the 9th Century CE, though Euripides described the concept of balance as far back as the 5th Century BCE ( “The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man.” Euripides).
And what is balance? The day after the 8.9 earthquake in Japan, a large chunk of the world away, where reactors were beginning heat up and start their terrifying journey creating some sort of outlet for themselves, it was a beautiful day in L.A. The sun shone. The sky was blue. The breeze had that slight tang of beach – seawater, salt, sand. It was a perfect day. Was that balance?
If you grab one of those fantastic tools called a thesaurus, or my favorite, Rodale’s Synonym Finder, and look up the word balance, you will find six inches worth of words in 8 point font.Words of varying pedigree and age, but arguably as much history. Words like equilibrium, acumen, aplomb, poise, equipoise, steady, uniformity, evenness, reckoning, estimation, counterpoise, reason, sanity, weigh, ponder, deliberate, align, range… the list goes on. You could write an entire scene using mostly words that mean balance:
She sat poised on the chair with great aplomb, breathing evenly, awaiting the deliberation. The jury had some reason, in her estimation. She wondered, though, as they weighed her innocence against her guilt. Would they question her sanity? In a moment she faced her reckoning. With the uniformity of the justice system they declared her…
See – it could go on for a while.
Aplomb isn’t used much anymore (which is too bad) and dates from the 19th Century. I like to think that cats work to keep the concept of aplomb alive. They certainly seem to have plenty of it.
Poise, counterpoise and equipoise all come from variations in the 13th-14th Centuries. When did we cease teaching poise to people? I guess we assumed people would just pick it up. But, while you could say nature seeks balance, you wouldn’t say it seeks poise. Poise needs to be taught. But first the beings learning poise need to understand the concept of balance, and know what it is to be balanced, even – not constantly on an up or down.
But, we don’t allow for that anymore, do we. Everything is up or down. There is no “even keel”. We’re so enamored of the See Saw ride – we want to keep that belly flip. Not that there’s anything wrong with the belly flip, but eventually, we gotta come down, or at least even out. Eventually, osmosis works to create an equilibrium between spaces. Eventually, boundaries are reached, rebounding back and forth until some kind of accord – kinetic or otherwise – is reached.
My dad fixes pinball machines. He fixes other bar games and video games, but his father was in the pinball business and so it fell to my dad to get into it as well. When you play pinball, it’s all about keeping the ball off balance long enough to hit things and make points without QUITE throwing the machine off balance. So to get more points, you gotta get that steel ball to bounce the right spots at the right angles. When the ball finally does find it’s own equilibrium – well – that’s when you’ve lost the ball down the hole.
It’s easier for me to find balance when I’m in my own world – of course. Easier when I’m gardening and ignoring the world around me. Easier when I’m reading a book and listening to my iPod, shutting out everything else. Easier when I’ve shut and locked the door and decided I’m not leaving for the weekend.
Out in the great world out there, I might, like the steel ball, hit the wrong band, get stuck in the wrong hole, or set off the wrong lights, get bruised and bounced around while I seek all those “points” I’m supposed to be seeking.
I might lose balance.
Or, maybe I could learn from my four-footed friends and gather aplomb and poise around me like a fur cloak to keep the world from battering me about too much.
And now we’re at that point in this blog when you’re wondering what is the point? And there is none, unless you’re talking about the point that is used to balance…
Happy St. Patrick’s Day. And if you’re looking for something to read, check out The Oracle of Themazuri at Mindflights.com.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
New Poem Out In Poetry Quarterly!
Thanks very much to Angela Consolo Mankiewicz, one of the poets in our Miracle Mile Writers Club, I decided to make another go at writing a sestina and now "The Message" has been accepted at Midwest Literary Magazine. You can read it in their February online issue on page 39.
Eventually, hopefully, it will make it into their yearly anthology for anyone out there who prefers reading hard copy issues.
Eventually, hopefully, it will make it into their yearly anthology for anyone out there who prefers reading hard copy issues.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
New Poem Out In Poetry Quarterly!
My poem, Hot House Plants, can be seen online now in the Fall Issue of Poetry Quarterly. To read it, click on the link and go to about p. 84/85 of the online publication: http://poetryquarterly.com/?page_id=7
Monday, January 24, 2011
Year in Review ...
xposted from Blogetary: http://puttputtproductions.com/blogetary/2011/01/24/year-in-review/
Year in Review...
Originally, I was going to post this around New Year's Day and label it my "Holiday Cocktail Mix Year in Review Blog," but it's well past the New Year now (unless we're talkin' Chinese New Year - Year of the Rabbit - but that's for another day) and over a month before Mardi Gras and I don't officially recognize Valentine's Day. I suppose I could call it the "MLK Year in Review " (for the holiday just past) or the "President's Day Year in Review" (for the holiday to come).... but those just aren't FUN.
So, you see my "Die-Lemma".
But in a sense that was what a lot of 2010 was about - being in between things, or having a mix of things, juggling the good with both the bad and the ugly. For the most part, it was good, and for your amusement I've listed the highlights of all three down below - mostly good, a little bad, and some real ugly...
January:
• Poem published at Everyday Weirdness: http://everydayweirdness.com/e/20100117/
February:
• "Love's Clothing" published in Aoife's Kiss: http://www.genremall.com/zinesr.htm (scroll down to issue)
• Saw Neil Gaiman speak at UCLA.
June:
• Interviewed for Road Trip Nation high school project. The girls got an A+ I'm told. (See pictures below of me in the hot June sun trying to be helpful to three beautiful, kind, smart high school girls who are on their way to becoming a writer, an actress and a veterinarian.)
July:
• Signed a contract with Drollerie Press for publication in March 2011. Not sure if that is still on schedule as there are probably a round or two of edits to go before it comes out, but I'll let you know.
• Had another poem published in Everyday Weirdness: http://everydayweirdness.com/e/20100729/ (which I haven't been paid for yet. Only $5 and I imagine they need it as much as I do, but hey, I could buy some Top Ramen with that $5 - things are still kinda tight around here.).
• Had another poem published on DailyLove.net: http://www.dailylove.net/2010/07/71810.html (they don't pay, except in making poets feel better for having their love poetry out there somewhere).
August:
• Poem published on DailyLove.net: http://www.dailylove.net/2010/08/81210.html (see note above).
September:
• Poem and an interview in Aoife's Kiss: http://www.genremall.com/zinesr.htm (scroll down to issue).
• West Hollywood Book Fair: Miracle Mile Writers Club had a booth at the Weho book fair for the first time; moderated a YA Fantasy panel of authors at the Weho book fair (lotta work, volunteer, paid in karma points).
• A poem published online at Eternal Haunted Summer: http://www.eternalhauntedsummer.com/index.php?p=1_59_A-Goddess-Work-Is-Never-Done
October:
• Two poems published in Poetry Quarterly: http://poetryquarterly.com/?page_id=7
November:
• Poem published in SciFaiKuest: http://www.genremall.com/zinesr.htm
December:
• Poem published online at Eternal Haunted Summer: http://www.eternalhauntedsummer.com/index.php?p=6_6
• And The UGLY: No fewer than three (count'em - 3) clients flaked out on me in December:
1) Client One pulled a bait and switch on me and had me proofread and copy edit his paper for his committee (and it obviously several papers thrown together and not one integral paper) instead of the college application essay he'd asked for. Did it anyway because he was having a hard time with it. He refused to pay me. I will be reporting him to all three credit bureaus soon.
2) Client Two had an emergency paper that went from being due in a week to due in a few days to due in a few hours. That changed the price considerably. I gave a little discount, got half up front, but he still owes me and if I don't hear from him soon I will be reporting him to all three credit bureaus soon.
3) And Client Three discussed at least two different novels he wanted me to proofread and copy edit for him. But he was hedgy on time and price. I told him to send one to me and I'd look it over and give him a quote or do something for him. He said to just go ahead. Well, the holidays happened and I ran out of time and notified him I'd be getting something to him a little later than I first heard back. His emails were returned - three times. I waited a couple of days and sent more emails and called. Emails went through this time but I never heard back. So, it's a good thing I only worked a little bit on that one cuz obviously I wouldn't have been paid for it.
Looking into the future some of my faith in humanity will obviously be tempered with distrust and I'll be making the appropriate changes to both my website and to how I handle orders from clients I don't know from now on.
On a more positive note, I'll be continuing to write for The Illuminata at Tyrannosaurus Press (http://tyrannosauruspress.com/ ) occasionally, reading slush for Bewildering Stories (http://www.bewilderingstories.com ), Vice President/Secretary at the Miracle Mile Writers Club, writing, proofreading and copy editing for a variety of regular clients whose business is very much appreciated (if you're a regular, you know who you are and thank you very much!), and writing for myself.
Which is what I need to get back to doing, now. I've been in a bit of a funk lately, and not working on several short stories I have in the works, so if you'll excuse me, I'll sign off for now....
Year in Review...
Originally, I was going to post this around New Year's Day and label it my "Holiday Cocktail Mix Year in Review Blog," but it's well past the New Year now (unless we're talkin' Chinese New Year - Year of the Rabbit - but that's for another day) and over a month before Mardi Gras and I don't officially recognize Valentine's Day. I suppose I could call it the "MLK Year in Review " (for the holiday just past) or the "President's Day Year in Review" (for the holiday to come).... but those just aren't FUN.
So, you see my "Die-Lemma".
But in a sense that was what a lot of 2010 was about - being in between things, or having a mix of things, juggling the good with both the bad and the ugly. For the most part, it was good, and for your amusement I've listed the highlights of all three down below - mostly good, a little bad, and some real ugly...
January:
• Poem published at Everyday Weirdness: http://everydayweirdness.com/e/20100117/
February:
• "Love's Clothing" published in Aoife's Kiss: http://www.genremall.com/zinesr.htm (scroll down to issue)
• Saw Neil Gaiman speak at UCLA.
June:
• Interviewed for Road Trip Nation high school project. The girls got an A+ I'm told. (See pictures below of me in the hot June sun trying to be helpful to three beautiful, kind, smart high school girls who are on their way to becoming a writer, an actress and a veterinarian.)
July:
• Signed a contract with Drollerie Press for publication in March 2011. Not sure if that is still on schedule as there are probably a round or two of edits to go before it comes out, but I'll let you know.
• Had another poem published in Everyday Weirdness: http://everydayweirdness.com/e/20100729/ (which I haven't been paid for yet. Only $5 and I imagine they need it as much as I do, but hey, I could buy some Top Ramen with that $5 - things are still kinda tight around here.).
• Had another poem published on DailyLove.net: http://www.dailylove.net/2010/07/71810.html (they don't pay, except in making poets feel better for having their love poetry out there somewhere).
August:
• Poem published on DailyLove.net: http://www.dailylove.net/2010/08/81210.html (see note above).
September:
• Poem and an interview in Aoife's Kiss: http://www.genremall.com/zinesr.htm (scroll down to issue).
• West Hollywood Book Fair: Miracle Mile Writers Club had a booth at the Weho book fair for the first time; moderated a YA Fantasy panel of authors at the Weho book fair (lotta work, volunteer, paid in karma points).
• A poem published online at Eternal Haunted Summer: http://www.eternalhauntedsummer.com/index.php?p=1_59_A-Goddess-Work-Is-Never-Done
October:
• Two poems published in Poetry Quarterly: http://poetryquarterly.com/?page_id=7
November:
• Poem published in SciFaiKuest: http://www.genremall.com/zinesr.htm
December:
• Poem published online at Eternal Haunted Summer: http://www.eternalhauntedsummer.com/index.php?p=6_6
• And The UGLY: No fewer than three (count'em - 3) clients flaked out on me in December:
1) Client One pulled a bait and switch on me and had me proofread and copy edit his paper for his committee (and it obviously several papers thrown together and not one integral paper) instead of the college application essay he'd asked for. Did it anyway because he was having a hard time with it. He refused to pay me. I will be reporting him to all three credit bureaus soon.
2) Client Two had an emergency paper that went from being due in a week to due in a few days to due in a few hours. That changed the price considerably. I gave a little discount, got half up front, but he still owes me and if I don't hear from him soon I will be reporting him to all three credit bureaus soon.
3) And Client Three discussed at least two different novels he wanted me to proofread and copy edit for him. But he was hedgy on time and price. I told him to send one to me and I'd look it over and give him a quote or do something for him. He said to just go ahead. Well, the holidays happened and I ran out of time and notified him I'd be getting something to him a little later than I first heard back. His emails were returned - three times. I waited a couple of days and sent more emails and called. Emails went through this time but I never heard back. So, it's a good thing I only worked a little bit on that one cuz obviously I wouldn't have been paid for it.
Looking into the future some of my faith in humanity will obviously be tempered with distrust and I'll be making the appropriate changes to both my website and to how I handle orders from clients I don't know from now on.
On a more positive note, I'll be continuing to write for The Illuminata at Tyrannosaurus Press (http://tyrannosauruspress.com/ ) occasionally, reading slush for Bewildering Stories (http://www.bewilderingstories.com ), Vice President/Secretary at the Miracle Mile Writers Club, writing, proofreading and copy editing for a variety of regular clients whose business is very much appreciated (if you're a regular, you know who you are and thank you very much!), and writing for myself.
Which is what I need to get back to doing, now. I've been in a bit of a funk lately, and not working on several short stories I have in the works, so if you'll excuse me, I'll sign off for now....
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