Literate Shrew

Vote on My Writing!

2011-10-10T14:36:00.000-07:00

I wrote two versions of one piece. Come read them and tell me which one is better!

CLICKY!

Also, you get to visit the new WordPress site!

HALP! The Shrew Needs to Move!

2011-09-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

Here's the deal. I am moving over 900 miles at the end of the week, and my freelance writing has been seriously impacted by the packing and other things involved with such a major move.

In short, I'm dead broke, and I have to be out of my farmhouse attic apartment by the first. The money is simply not there. I am desperate and afraid I'll have to store all of my things to come back for later. That's how bad it is.

Help me. I am your friend, and PayPal is my friend. $1, $5, $20, whatever. Anything. Please.

Once I'm settled, there will be goodies in the mail for anyone who has sent me anything. Post cards, jewelry, small pretty things, some token of my affection and gratitude. Just help me get myself and my bed and my desk back to home.

Also, I get that people are broke. The economy sucks right now, and we're all feeling it. I'm just reaching out because I don't have other options. I also appreciate all the moral support and soul-love that has been coming my way. Thanks to everybody who has expressed concern and sympathy. I love you guys too.

Ethan Forrest

2011-07-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of pictures of one of the main characters in "Knight of Arrows, Knight of Swords."

Everybody, meet Mr. Ethan Forrest, hipster druggie gyspy mage...

This is a sketch from a lovely friend of mine that I met at AWA. I think it captures him perfectly.

This is a picture of a ABJD stolen from the alientune on Deviantart. Is it stolen if I just linked back? Anyway, she has some gorgeous dolls that totally remind me of characters.

Knight of Arrows, Knight of Swords

2011-06-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

To make it official, here is the announcement of my novel purchase! (You will be seeing many more updates on the novel coming soon!)

http://www.candlemarkandgleam.com/tag/knight-of-arrows-knight-of-swords/

Candlemark & Gleam is proud to announce the acquisition of a new title: Knight of Arrows, Knight of Swordsby A.C. Gaddis!

Like a number of our other books, this one doesn’t easily slip into simple blurbs or neat little soundbites. But that doesn’t mean it’s not an incredible story.

Knight of Arrows, Knight of Swords takes place in a burnt-out, post-apocalyptic world where demons roam the earth, and certain humans are sworn to both kill the demons and suppress the knowledge that they’re out there (don’t want to start panic in the streets, after all).

Two of these gifted humans, a mage and a warrior, were paired off in a Sacred Band within the mysterious, cunning, powerful Order of Steel – but they broke the Order’s laws, and have been driven apart and sent to find their own ways in the world.

Now, each has become involved with a creature that he doesn’t understand – not demon, not angel, not human, not undead – creatures both beautiful and terrible, with agendas of their own.

Knight of Arrows, Knight of Swords follows these men and not-monsters on their journeys, both real and metaphorical, as they try to prevent demons from overtaking the world, evil from shattering a fragile peace forged between races, and heartbreak from shattering them.

It’s a romance in the old, medieval sense of the word – laden with lush imagery, grand and sweeping heroic adventures, and, yes, a whole Gordian’s knot of tragic love stories.

Radio Silence

2011-06-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

The Shrew officially apologizes for the radio silence on this blog.

I have been working on revisions to my novel and writing to pay the bills. Haven't had much time for blogging.

In the coming months, however, things will be picking up!

In the meantime, check out my friend's debut novel: Broken Gods by Jason Vey! Congrats, Jason!

The Life of a Freelance Writer and One Quasi-Review

2011-01-29T19:22:00.000-08:00

So right up there at the top of this blog it says "tales of a the life of a freelance writer," and you know what's hilarious?

I haven't been posting here lately because I've been too busy with my freelance writing.

Does this count as a tale of the life of a freelance writer? Ironically? I would ponder this, but that means I would have to type some more. And I've been doing that all day.

In other news, I finished The Fall of The Kings by Ellen Kushner, the third in her fantasy series that begins with Swordspoint. I skipped The Privilege of the Sword because I am an idiot, even though I hear it is a great book. I might go back and read it. These books are amazing, and I can't recommend them enough. If you enjoy historical novels and city novels, you will enjoy Kushner's books. And of course, they have boys who love boys in them. Which makes it better. And that's all the "review" I have in me now. Terrible, I know.

Regular reviews will return when morale improves.

Got fiction? Call for Submissions from Lethe Press.

2011-01-21T14:34:00.000-08:00

Call for Submissions from Lethe Press!

Melt in Your Mouth: Chocolate, Boys and Bed
Editor: CB Potts
Publisher: Lethe Press, Summer 2011
Deadline: March 30, 2011
Payment: 2 cents/word and a copy of the book on publication

Melt in Your Mouth: Chocolate, Boys, and Bed
Sweet, sticky, decadent…is anything better than chocolate? Yes, there is – especially when the tempting mouthful is presented by a candy artistan who looks good enough to eat…

Lethe Press is seeking well-written, inventive gay male erotic stories that feature chocolatiers, confectioners, bakers, and candy men of every persuasion – including the one that got caught with his hand in the bon-bon box! Particularly attention paid to stories that are fun, upbeat, and a step or two off the beaten path…give us your best gourmet treats!

Click HERE for more details.

Holy Bulging Muscles, Batman!

2011-01-19T19:00:00.000-08:00

So I was browsing iO9 and came across this gem: 90s Marvel Comics Pin-Ups.

And I was struck by how many of those male superheroes look, well... gay.

Exhibit A: Captain America.

Yeaaahhh, um... iO9 said it best: "This Captain America illustration was a collaboration between Norman Rockwell and Tom of Finland."

And of course, I would be remiss if I didn't point out comics' first gay superhero: Northstar.

Now, he's hot, don't get me wrong... but somehow this is more demure than the "straight" superhero pin-ups in the bunch. I honestly wonder why that is... Is Northstar not presented as a sex object because he's gay? Because it would be more threatening to show him in a banana hammock? Possibly. Are Captain America's muscles presented to the (presumably male) viewer as something to aspire to rather than something to desire? If so, where does this put female or gay male viewers? Is Capt. America presented to female viewers as titillating, and if so, then is Northstar as well?

Take a minute to glance at these two pictures... Captain America's ass is there for all to see (oh, those wrinkles are driving me crazy), but Northstar's is conveniently hidden by that spray of water. The Shrew wonders why. The Shrew does not have any hard answers, but thinks it's fun to contemplate the intersection of comics, representation, sexuality and the male gaze. If anyone has thoughts, feel free to share in the comments.

If you're interested in reading more about gay superheroes, here's a few links:

Good Ole Wikipedia

Beek's Books Gay Superhero List

Perry Moore, author of Hero (a gay superhero novel), also has a list.

A great article on HubPages.

...

New Author: Jordan Castillo Price

2011-01-16T16:25:00.000-08:00

The Shrew had some personal issues over the past couple of weeks, but she's back and raring to go with a new author: Jordan Castillo Price!

Jordan Castillo Price writes highly entertaining and addictive M/M novels, many of which have a speculative fiction focus. This author's engaging novels are also probably termed "gay paranormal romance", though the Shrew has a somewhat irrational dislike of the term paranormal romance, even if it is prefaced by gay. In the world of M/M romance, it is hard to find quality writing, especially in sub-genres such as M/M paranormal romance, fantasy or science fiction. But Jordan Castillo Price proves the exception to this rule. Her stories are down-to-earth, funny, romantic, strange and refreshing. Her characters are fleshed-out people, men and women you could imagine knowing.

Perhaps because of her academic background, the Shrew is very picky when it comes to her M/M titles, and so she overlooked Jordan Castillo Price for a long time. When I finally gave in and searched for "gay vampire fiction", I found (and unfortunately paid for) some pretty dismal titles. It's a sad state of affairs when solid characterization is a quality lacking in many genre novels, and I was overjoyed when, after slogging through some uninspired titles, I found Hemovore.

At first glance, the cover was already light years away from the shirtless-hunk-and-bad-Photoshop covers sported by most M/M titles. Then I started reading, and a grin spread across my face. Jordan Castillo Price had created a fascinating paranormal world and a totally adorable main character. Hemovore is set in an alternative-reality Chicago where vampires live uneasily alongside human beings, ala Charlaine Harris. The twist is that the vampires were created by a virus, and they're referred to as V-positive. The main character, Mark Jensen, is the personal assistant of a very beautiful and mysterious V-positive artist, Jonathan Varga. Mark is neurotic about hand gel and gloves because he's terrified of catching the vampire virus. You would think that this would be grating, but it's ultimately endearing. You get completely sucked in and are eager to follow Mark's adventures as he gets pulled into the world of the V-positives. And that's all I'm going to say, lest I give anything away.

In Hemovore Jordan Castillo Price did some very impressive things with what was essentially a gay paranormal romance novel: created a totally realistic world in which vampires exist without resorting to cliches, wrote a very tight mystery and action plot without getting bogged down or skipping over anything, introduced readers to a main character that's totally believable but also lovable, let the sexual tension build and build throughout the novel without boring the reader, and tackled AIDS issues in the gay community without being heavy handed. All of that in one novel. After reading Hemovore, I was determined to read more from Jordan Castillo Price.

That led me to her most popular series, PsyCop, which "features frazzled psychic medium Victor Bayne and his smokin'-hot boyfriend, Jacob Marks" (from the PsyCop website). Victor is a flawed character but completely endearing. The paranormal mystery plots of the novels are interesting, and the sex between Victor and Jacob is totally hot. I read the first PsyCop novel, Among the Living on Kindle in about a day because it was so engrossing. Then I promptly downloaded the second PsyCop novel, Criss Cross, and then the third, Body & Soul. Each novel took about a day to read, but I am a fast reader and I got kind of addicted.

The only drawback to the PsyCop novels is that they feel a little short, but I suppose that's what happens with serial novels like these. The upside to this is that each novel is reasonably priced on Kindle, so you can indulge in the whole series without breaking the bank.

The thing I love the most about Jordan Castillo Price is her narrative voice (to get all academic about it.) Plainly put, her main characters are real people, and they speak in real voices. Victor Bayne, in particular, reads like a real guy--he's got issues, fears and quirks, but he's also self-effacing and funny. You find yourself rooting for him throughout the series. The Shrew, for example, is completely in love with Victor. I would have downloaded the other books in the series already, but I didn't want to go through them too fast. Like a large box of delicious chocolates, Jordan Castillo Price's novels should be savored.

If you want to read more about Jordan Castillo Price, you can find her fan page on Facebook, her blog on LiveJournal, or at the PsyCop website. If you fell as hard for Victor as I did, you can even sign up for her newsletter!

On Becoming a Freelance Writer

2011-01-02T17:47:00.000-08:00

Check out the new blog by my business partner about freelance writing. Her first post answers many of the questions we get about how to become a freelance writer.

"Rarely does a day pass without one of my well-meaning friends inquiring about how to become a freelance writer. It’s no hidden fact that I write from home, nor am I exactly quiet about celebrating my financial successes via my social media outlets. So in a way, I asked for these constant interruptions. One of the keys to my success is sheer, single-minded focus on hitting my daily financial goals. To be completely honest, it’s pretty hard to meet said financial goals when taking an hour out of my day (nearly every day) to explain how I make a living.

Unfortunately, most of my friends wait to ask for advice on how to become a freelance writer until they are in dire financial positions. Let me state this from the start:

FREELANCE WRITING IS NOT A GET RICH QUICK SCHEME."

More @ http://freelancescribes.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/hello-world/

Caturday: New Years Edition

2011-01-01T14:10:00.000-08:00

Whut? Is Caturday already?

I promised cat pictures, and in honor of the first Caturday of the new year, I'll introduce my boy Prophet. He's a doll-faced Persian male born on September 12th, 2010 in the Treasure Grove cattery.

This is Prophet at around six weeks old. He was just one of the litter of white kittens at that time, and I didn't realize he was for me just yet.

Here he is at around eight weeks. Now you can see why I had to have him! He's got one green and one blue eye, called odd-eye in the Cat Fancier's world. And no he's not deaf. That's a myth. Only about 10-20% of odd-eyed white cats are deaf, so it does happen, but not nearly as much as you might think.

But what's with the name Prophet? I have a character in my stories who is an albino with one green and one blue eye--you guessed it--named Prophet. (Al'enshar in the vasgir language, for those in the know.) When I saw this kitten, I knew he was for me.

Here's a close up.

That's also his Angry Face, inherited from his daddy, Snowman.

For reference, here is Snowman.

Snowman is one of the most massive cats I have ever seen, and it just blows my mind that one day Prophet will be as huge as this guy. This picture doesn't show it, but Snowman also has that giant tom cat head and the crazy long lion mane fur around his face. One day, this will be my little baby.

Anyway, more pictures of Prophet!

He's getting really good at Angry Face, especially when I interrupt his scratching/catnip time for pictures.

His expression here is just classic: "You expect me to *play* with that? Right now?"

I had to get a picture of him because he was sleeping next to the toy after tiring himself out batting it around. Then of course he woke up right as I settled onto the floor.

BONUS: Prophet and his momma, Dolly, both playing with the bug toy.

Prophet is a very playful kitten, just not once the camera comes out, of course. Even with Angry Face, I just can't get enough of looking at this little guy. He's got the fluffiest fur I've ever felt, and can be really sweet if you catch him at the right time. My only concern is that he's not a cuddler, but I think in time he will come around. Snowman absolutely loves me and begs for petting regularly, so I'm not too worried. Besides, all Prophet knows me for is baths and grooming, which are not his favorite things.

Featured Author Fridays: Catherynne M. Valente

2010-12-31T11:03:00.000-08:00

The author for today's Featured Author Fridays is the incomparable Catherynne M. Valente.

To introduce Catherynne M Valente, here is a review I wrote* for her book Palimpsest, which won a Lamda Award this year as well as being a finalist for both the Hugo and the Locus. Also, I thoroughly love this book.

A palimpsest is a parchment from which writing has been partially or completely erased so that it can be written over with another text. In her 2009 novel, Catherynne M Valente explores how history, community, and the human heart are all palimpsests, erased and written over again by experience. Valente’s lyrical style perfectly complements the fantastical subject, and she makes the urban fantasy genre itself into a palimpsest, erasing what went before and rewriting the genre with richer, more evocative images.

The novel explores the magical city of Palimpsest, a city where all manner of nightmare creatures live lives parallel to our own. There are fairy-sized tea shops, silent cathedrals for beast-headed beings, insect factories, living trains, canals of clothing. These unusual details might seem off-putting to the casual reader, but those hungry for unique visions will explore the city as eagerly as the characters themselves. The novel moves back and forth between Palimpsest and the real world, and Bantam was smart to mark the shift with different fonts to avoid confusion. Valente’s lush writing makes the Palimpsest sections read beautifully, capturing a city where the unusual reigns supreme. The reader is drawn into the dreamscape completely, and comes to love Palimpsest as the characters do. Like any kind of traveler, the reader explores the city, marveling at each new fantastical image Valente creates. The landscape of Palimpsest is truly a dreamscape, and Valente describes each architectural detail with a lyricism worthy of her phantasmagorical subject. The city of Palimpsest is so lovingly realized that the mundane world seems dull by comparison, a place of heartbreak, death, and missed connections.

Yet, Palimpsest is not just about the title city, but also about a group of four travelers from our world: November, a beekeeper from California; the Italian bookbinder Ludovico; a young Japanese woman with blue hair named Sei; and the Russian locksmith Oleg. Each of them runs to Palimpsest to avoid a personal tragedy. November escapes her own alienation, Ludovico the loss of his wife, Sei the death of her mother, and Oleg the ghost of his sister. By entering the dreamscape of Palimpsest, their heartaches and personal histories are scraped clean and written over with new experience. Yet traces of their tragedies remain in the fantasy realm of Palimpsest. November meets the Queen of the Insects, Casmira, the leader of Palimpsest, another sort of bee to commune with. Ludovico chases after the specter for his wife, and eventually finds absolution for his sins. Oleg likewise chases his sister’s ghost, and is forced to confront his own demons in the process. Sei, obsessed with trains, finds echoes of her mother’s ghost in the animate trains of Palimpsest. Each character, though running into the dream city to erase their pain, finds it reflected by the city, transmuted into nightmare. Their experiences in Palimpsest allow each character to work through their tragedies, transforming their lives.

In turn, Palimpsest marks each of the would-be immigrants both mentally and physically because once they enter, the travelers are literally inked with a section of the city’s map. They carry a part of Palimpsest with them forever, indelibly inked onto their skin. These map tattoos become both a badge of honor and a scarlet letter for those who have been to the city. As the characters find others with the tattoos, they get drawn farther into the world and politics of Palimpsest. These tattooed travelers need each other to enter Palimpsest not only out of a need for community, but because that is the secret way into the city: one must sleep and dream after a night with another traveler, one with the map on their skin.

*Review originally published in HUMID, the Undergraduate Literary Journal of Stephen F Austin University, Vol 2 2010.

Be sure to check out her newest novel, The Habitation of the Blessed.

Quick Note: Rainbow Awards

2010-12-30T08:58:00.000-08:00

The Rainbow Awards were given out for outstanding LGBT fiction, and there were categories for LGBT science fiction, LGBT fantasy and LGBT horror. I have not personally read any of these books, but I probably will hunt them down for reading soon. It looks like many of these titles are genre romance, so be forewarned. I have linked to Kindle editions where possible because many of these books are cheaper in ebook format.

The winners are:

Best Gay Fantasy
1) Heidi Cullinan - Hero
Heidi Cullinan - Miles and the Magic Flute
2) Becca Abbott - Cethe
3) J.C. Herneson - Spring of the Stag God

Best Bisexual, Transgender & Lesbian Fantasy

1) Sandra McDonald - Diana Comet and Other Improbable Tales

2) Jane Fletcher - Wolfsbane Winter

3) Alex Mykals - Nigredo

Best Gay Sci-Fi / Futuristic
1) Mark Alders - Light of the Body
2) Mark Kendrick - Trenekis of Hiera
3) Belinda McBride - An Uncommon Whore

Best Gay Paranormal / Horror
1) Viki Lyn - Last Chance
2) Jenna Byrnes & Jude Mason - Alex's Appeal
3) Marguerite Labbe - Our Sacred Balance

Best Lesbian Paranormal / Horror
1) Nell Stark & Trinity Tam - Everafter
2) Moondancer Drake - Natural Order
3) Gill McNight - Goldenseal

A short article at Science Fiction Awards Watch can be found here.

The Shrew's Obession with LGBT Speculative Fiction: The Roots

2010-12-29T00:00:00.000-08:00

The Literate Shrew is back from her long hiatus and ready to get back to business. I started this blog not only to have a place to vent about my favorite things, but to showcase some of the amazing writing I have been privledged to read. As ever, life got in the way. Well, I'm not putting up with that BS anymore. Let me kick off my new LGBT speculative fiction focus by explaining how I fell down this particular rabbit hole.

Speculative fiction (fantasy and science fiction, to the unintiated) has fascinated me since I was old enough to read. In my time, I've devoured every fantasy, science fiction and horror book I could get my hands on. In recent years, my genre reading habits have narrowed significantly. Gripping tales of the dangers of new technologies or the price of magic on mortal souls no longer quite satisfy me. I've grown up, and my tastes have grown up too.

Now I look for books that have characters who fall into a different definition of "other." That is to say, characters who are gay.

It's taken me many years to come to terms with my own identity as a queer female, and even longer for me to actively seek out stories featuring characters who, like me, don't fit into society's narrow definition of acceptable sexuality. Looking back, I can see that I was always drawn to speculative fiction with a LGBT focus, but only recently has that interest galvanized. This also has a lot to do with the fact that I just finished my first novel, which is urban fantasy with a gay male protagonist, and I realized that I had no idea if anybody else had written a book like that. Am I alone? I had to know.

Thus began the amazon.com searches, the discoveries of new writers and the rediscoveries of old favorites. Before I get into a long, fan-girly list of the new discoveries, I’d like to look at some of my “root” authors, or the writers that I've been reading for years that, lo and behold, have written some excellent fiction with LGBT characters or *gasp* might even be gay themselves.

Samuel R. Delany

This author started it all. I first discovered him through my Dad’s collection of science fiction novels (thanks Dad), and, like many a burgeoning geek, devoured Dhalgren in high school. Delany’s stories and novels were opaque and different, captivating and strange. As a wee shrew, most of the speculative fiction I read was from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s (way to date yourself, Shrew), and this was a time in speculative fiction where people were playing with ideas of gender and sexuality in new and amazing ways. Delany was in this vanguard, depicting fluid sexuality amidst speculations on the nature of the universe veiled in literary allusions. Delany is a certifiable genius, and also happens to be gay. Discovering this fact was a revelation for the teenage shrew, and I have been in love with him ever since.

Perhaps my favorite Delany titles are the Neveryon series, which features a bisexual (if I remember correctly) main character and many homoerotic elements. He has also written openly about his personal sexual journey in essays and most notably in the novels The Mad Man and The Motion of Light In Water. Delany is a treasure. If I ever get to Clarion, I will no doubt follow him around like a puppy.

[Sidenote: In the intellectual circles that concern themselves with literary criticism of science fiction (yes, they exist), Delany is pointed to when people talk about gay sci-fi, kind of like Ursula Le Guin is indicated when the words “feminist” and “science fiction” are in the same sentence. I won’t get into any major literary fights here, but let’s just say that doesn’t exactly mean the SF community throws pride parades. But that’s a post for another time.]

Tanith Lee

Tanith Lee is a prolific British writer who was also part of the New Age SF vanguard. She has written vampire fiction with transgendered characters and “hard” science fiction with fluid gendered characters, but my favorites are her old DAW sword and sorcery fantasies with the yellow spines. Those old DAW books had the best late 70s barbarian covers, and even if they didn’t have anything to do with the story inside, they were a joy to behold. To this day, I will scan the shelves of used book stores looking for those bright yellow spines. But I digress.

Tanith Lee has most recently written an excellent book called Disturbed By Her Song that features stories by the Garber twins, Esther and Judas, both of whom are homosexual. Like many of her works, it is a beautiful, dreamlike book with timeless settings and fascinating characters. This book is really a jewel in any LGBT speculative fiction collection. The Shrew highly recommends it.

James Tiptree Jr, AKA Alice Sheldon

As James Tiptree, Jr, Alice Sheldon wrote some of the most intense and influential science fiction stories of all time. “Houston, Houston, Do You Read?” is considered a classic of feminist science fiction, and has been widely collected, most recently in her collection Her Smoke Rose Up Forever. I fell in love with her works after reading some stories in my Dad’s vast Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction collection. In particular, “The Color of Neanderthal Eyes” absolutely floored me.

The life of Alice Sheldon is as fascinating as the stories of her pseudonym, James Tiptree Jr. The fact that she chose a male persona to write under and her subsequent journey as a science fiction author is fascinating by itself. I could write a whole blog post about her, so instead I’ll simply recommend her biography: James Tiptree Jr: The Double Life of Alice Sheldon.
Those are the roots authors of my queer science fiction obsession. More authors and book reviews will follow, notably a more substantial review of Lee's Disturbed By Her Song, which I recently read.

The Influence of Fantasy/Sci-Fi Literature (from Something Awful)

2010-12-27T15:17:00.000-08:00

Apparently, "Led Zeppelin loved them some hobbits."

This interesting article by Dennis Farrel @ the always-funny Something Awful (one of the progenitors of LOLcats, dontchaknow) lists some connections between F/SF literature and rock and roll. Good stuff!

Some tidbits:

1. From the Not Really Surprising Department: "The foundation for David Bowie's Space Oddity was formed at a friend's party, when Bowie came across an open copy of Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey with an enormous pile of cocaine covering the pages."

2. From the "Yes, They Are THAT GOOD" Department: "The entirety of Beck's album Sea Change is a word-for-word reading of George R.R. Martin's first book in A Song Of Fire And Ice series, A Game Of Thrones."

3. From the Shrew's Childhood Favorites Department: "Bob Dylan's decision to return to an acoustic sound was inspired by a number of fantasy books, primarily Anne McCaffrey's then-new Dragonriders Of Pern series, in which a number of fantastical events take place without the use of electricity."

The Saga of Short Bus

2010-10-07T20:37:00.001-07:00

This is Short Bus. He is the Runt of the Outside Kittens, son of Molly the Tramp, little brother to Mop and Mama's Boy.

He was dead this morning.

Here's what happened. Earlier this morning, Jill did her Daily Outside Kitten Count. She counted six, one too few. At first he was hidden by the Kitten Basket, and then she saw him. Short Bus was lying behind the Kitten Basket, stiff, ice cold, and covered in ants. Jill swore he was dead. She went to get a paper towel to clean him up, and when she touched him, he twitched and cried out weakly.

"[expletive deleted] what do we do?!?"

"Warm him up!"

We put him in a bowl of tepid water and held his head up so he could breathe. The water drowned the ants and brought his body temperature up. We kept him in the water and slowly warmed it up so it wouldn't shock his system. He was so pathetic, ya'll. I swear he stopped breathing in my hands and in Jill's hands multiple times. While Jill was holding him in the water, I threw two hand towels in the dryer. When he seemed warmed up, we put him in the towel. We rubbed his little chest and belly, his little back and his little neck to keep the blood flowing. He stopped breathing again, and I fought back tears. But he was warming up. He was breathing.

Jill is a trooper and a genius. She has an old cat named Dizzy who had a terrible bladder infection. The vet had given us an IV to give her fluids while she recovered, and Jill remembered that we still had it. Jill held Short Bus, pinched the skin behind his neck and carefully put the needle in. I warmed the IV with my body and squeezed. We worked like a well-oiled machine, like two vet techs who had been working together for years. We got some fluid under his skin, where his body would absorb it. Short Bus got transferred to another warm, dry towel.

At this point, there was nothing else we could do.

I cradled him against my chest in the towel, just like he liked to be held on these cold autumn nights, and we went outside. Short Bus opened his eyes and looked around. He was mostly dry by this point, and was looking better, though he was still weak. Momma Molly came up then and started nursing the other kittens. Jill put him on her and made sure he nursed. We had to pry off several of his brothers so that he could nurse uninterrupted. Once he was done, we put him back in the towel and gave him some antibiotics we had left over from the other cats. Short Bus was steadily gaining strength, yelling at us and looking around, though the warm towel made him sleepy.

Short Bus became an Inside Kitten at that point. We fed him kitten formula; we fed him nutrient rich wet cat food. His tiny belly was big and round. We showed him the litter box. He was confused.

Now here's the cute part of the story.

At the end of our long day, I brought Short Bus upstairs to live with me. I have a small dog cage that my Persian kitten Firefly was sleeping in. I moved it out of Firefly's bathroom and set it up in my living room. I made him a tiny litter box out of a Priority Mail box, a Hobby Lobby bag and some duct tape. I gave him some food, some water and, most importantly, his warm towel. I put him in and closed the door. Short Bus promptly jumped into the middle of his food bowl, laid down, and started eating.

I ran downstairs and got Jill to show her how cute he was in his little room.

When we came back upstairs, Short Bus meowed at the top of his lungs and ran up to us. The door of the cage was still latched.

"I gotta see how he did that."

So we put Short Bus back into the cage, and watched him. He meowed a bit, then proceeded to climb up the door of the cage (still securely latched). Then Short Bus shoved his giant head through the grate at the top of the cage, climbed on top, and tumbled, not very gracefully, to the floor.

He has been climbing all over my neck, shoulders and chest as I type this, making biscuits, chewing on my ears, and screaming. It is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard.

2010-07-14T20:28:00.001-07:00

This is the best possible outcome of this test.

I write like
Ursula K. Le Guin

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

“Books are your crack.”

2010-07-09T22:16:00.001-07:00

This was said by my housemate today in the car. It’s true. I admit it. I made big promises to review books on this blog recently, but that has not come to pass with all the freelance writing I am doing. But I have been reading the hell out of some books lately. Escapism at its finest. Or industry research. Whatever.

I am currently reading Black Blade Blues by J.A. Pitts on my Kindle, which tells me that I’m 11% into the book. It’s urban fantasy with a lesbian protagonist. (Industry research, like I said.) I’m loving it so far.

My recent conquests, in order from most to least recently read:

Namaah’s Kiss by Jacqueline Carey in mass market. Finished yesterday. It’s been out for a while, but relatively recently came out in mass market. The Kindle edition is still shamelessly overpriced at $13, so I went ahead and bought the analog version. The sequel, Namaah’s Curse, is out in hardcover still, so I might spring for the Kindle edition. Then again, Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series are high fantasy romance, so I like reading and owning them in paperback. Somehow the pulp version works for me. On Kindle, price aside, I just don’t know. I have the Kushiel series all in mass market already, and I love matching sets. I don’t want to get too much into how I felt about the book itself right now, as I’m still holding onto the illusion of writing reviews at some point. Suffice it to say that the main character and plotline were engaging, but the romance/erotic bits left me feeling lonely and sad for reasons that have nothing to do with Ms. Carey and everything to do with my own romantic situation at the moment.

Vintage: A Ghost Story by Steve Berman, Kindle edition (which was very reasonably priced thankyouverymuch). Finished day before yesterday, maybe (whenever that is—It’s been a long week, OK?). I’d hesitate to call Vintage horror, but it is a ghost story, so call it what you will. Love love love this book. I was charmed the whole way through. Made me very nostalgic for my goth days. Ah, the 90s. From the limited research I’ve done, Steve Berman is the darling of the gay speculative fiction scene. He’s edited anthologies, written a passel of short stories, and been a finalist a whole bunch of times for the Lambda Award. Definitely one to watch.

Knight of Arrows, Knight of Swords by yours truly on Kindle. The Kindle edition still has some bugs, but seeing as how it’s a string and glue production by my other housemate, it’s forgiven. Some of the bugs were actually helpful. The extra line breaks between scenes (the ones that usually indicate time has passed or scene has changed) were deleted, but that gave some of the scenes a really interesting feel. There’s one chapter where a character is shifting from reality to memory, and without line breaks, it reads like stream of consciousness. In a good way. I’m no Faulkner, but it was interesting. Made me realize that I did actually write transitions in there, so I’m considering taking the line breaks out. As far as the experience of reading my entire novel… It’s still amazing to me that I did it. I made that! I get excited to read certain scenes and yell at the characters as I read (Yes, I’m one of those people) just like I do with books other people have written and… it’s not bad. Not bad at all. Sure, there were some cringe-worthy moments where I realized I definitely needed to edit, but that’s good. Anyway, it was fun.

The White Road from the Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling, Kindle edition. This is the fifth in the Nightrunner series and a sequel to Shadow’s Return, which I read last week also on Kindle. (I’ve been working the hell outta my new baby.) I unabashedly love these books. They’re not-quite-high-fantasy about two theives/spies named Seregil and Alec who happen to be gay. And in love with each other, though nothing happens until book three. The first Nightrunner novel is Luck in the Shadows, if you’re interested. They’re brilliant. Ms. Flewelling isn’t terribly fancy with style, but they’re fun, fast, pulpy fantasy novels about charismatic rouges. Who are GAY. It’s fantastic. Such a breath of fresh air to read a book with gay characters that’s (and I can’t stress this enough) not about the fact that they’re gay. I’m not saying that’s bad (I loved the hell out of Vintage, which definitely had some “this is a coming out story” moments.) but it’s very nice to read a plain old fantasy novel about my people. Just like any other damn book. OK I’m done.

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs, on Kindle. This is the first of the Mercy Thompson novels about a female shapeshifter mechanic who hangs out with a bunch of werewolves and vampires and fey and whatnot. I’ve been meaning to check these books out for a while now because they’re one of the mainstays of the new urban fantasy scene. A shit-ton of people recommended them, etc. When I bought the Kindle, I figured why not? I have to say, I’m not impressed. I mean, Moon Called was a solid supernatural potboiler. Tightly plotted, solid characters, some funny moments, engaging protagonist, but… I probably won’t be reading the rest of them. Why? They didn’t grab me. Mercy Thompson is a great character, and I feel for her, but I just don’t care to read a whole series about her. I mean, Sookie Stackhouse is hilarious and I love watching her go through a crazy life. But Mercy? There’s a little too much “I’m the girl protagonist caught between two love interests” in there. Yawn. Sookie did it better. Maybe I just like vampires more than werewolves, but something was missing for me. Briggs also laid the whole “werewolves are animals and they hunt by scent and they’ve got the whole mate for life thing and the dude wolves are all possessive of the girl wolves and….” Yawn. I know, Patricia. I know. You don’t have to beat me over the head with it. Mercy does a whole lot of standing up for modern gender roles in the face of some good old fashioned “werewolves—I mean men—are possessive assholes because they’re animals” sexism, and, frankly, it gets kind of irritating. After a while, I just want her to be a lesbian. The books would be vastly more interesting if she were.

So much for not reviewing books.

I’ve read a few more, but it’s late. Good night, internets. More book-related nerdgasms to come.

Advice for selling short stories that actually go into my brain.

2010-07-01T19:46:00.001-07:00

Thanks to i09, I found this excellent advice from “Fantasy” magazine editor and author, Cat Rambo. Most of Cat’s advice sounded pretty familiar: pay attention to craft, be persistent, research markets, writing groups, etc. All good advice, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve heard it.

However, there were some bits that really struck a chord with me.

“One of my bugbears in speculative fiction is that, while we see good stories exploring race and gender, there’s a lot fewer talking about class. Do we really need more stories about a King (or Queen) and his/her court? What about the little people?”

This makes me happy in my soul. My last semester at SFA, I took a class called Science Fiction and Empire, which dealt with issues of imperialism in science fiction texts. Class issues? All over it. The other night while drinking Mudslides with my new roommates, I hit on an idea for a postcolonial steampunk story, sort of a twist on the explorer narrative.

Good to know my brain is where it needs to be. Now to write the damn thing.

In a new place, catching up with an old friend

2010-06-30T23:00:00.001-07:00

And that friend is insomnia. Up late, reading all the internets. Found a new site, the Awl. It goes like this—i09 is to geeks, as Awl is to hipsters. Now I want to spend more time in Atlanta.

That is the gist of these insomniac thoughts: my new life. Life hacking. As utterly pretentious as that phrase is, it fits. Hacking into a life as a writer: freelance, creative. Freelance, meaning the web content sites that I’m setting up on my own today and tomorrow, figuring out words for which I can get paid. (See what I did there? With the preposition? Writerly!) Creative, meaning shopping around The Novel, a process which makes me feel sort of like a pimp and sort of like someone giving away a kitten. Creative, meaning making time to write short stories that will also need homes.

I need to move into my life for real this time. Get my gigs in order and put my socks in the drawer. I think I’ve been living the last month as if I’ll be leaving any time now, or I’m not really here or something. It’s so different. I’m trapped in someone else’s life, surrounded by bucolic beauty and animals. There are five horses and a foal, three feral cats outside, three cats inside, and a dog. Not to mention the children. I’m not saying I don’t love it, but, honestly, it’s been someone else’s life recently. I’m just a visitor.

Well, not any more.

COMING SOON: The Vixen Reviews Books!

2010-06-24T22:29:00.000-07:00

I have recently purchased this fascinating new piece of technology called a Kindle. I hear you can read books on it. I will be doing that and reviewing them here.

Thoughts for today...

2010-01-16T18:41:00.001-08:00

I am an individual with the right to a good life. I must not look to anyone else to make a good life for me; this I must do for myself.

I pray to learn the way to see myself as a child of the Universe, bearing in my heart and mind the dignity and grace the Goddess has conferred on every one of Her children. Let me learn to live up to this.

2010-01-12T09:41:00.001-08:00

What do I want to do today? Not worry about tomorrow!

2010-01-08T00:27:00.001-08:00

Topped out at 2,200 words tonight, and finished the chapter! Joy! Tomorrow, intros for new chapters and onward to the next! I'm unstoppable!

Just found out....

2010-01-07T16:29:00.001-08:00

SAMUEL R DELANY is teaching at the Clarion Workshop this year!!!!!!

http://ping.fm/WFxyw

I want to go so bad! But it is $5,000. I'm going to go cry now.

2010-01-06T20:41:00.001-08:00

Hey, photogs! A friend of mine is selling his cameras & equipment! Check it out --> http://ping.fm/qMBdo

2010-01-06T20:34:00.001-08:00

Dinner, TV watching, and Valentine's hat making completed, I will now commence with the writing. We'll see how that goes.

2010-01-06T17:36:00.001-08:00

Enough fiddling with the internet! It's time for eating food.

2010-01-06T16:28:00.001-08:00

Testing new internet connectivity. I am in the future, man!

Just to get things rolling...

2009-04-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

A picture of an actual shrew.

#7

2009-02-01T12:58:00.001-08:00

Tattoo Ballad

Torrents of electrons
Find vent in steel
Flickering magnetic
Bonds clapping
Open, closed
Fast as hummingbird hearts
Drive the needles’
Staccato plunge

Viscous metals
Pigments spreading
Find homes in skin
Cells accommodate
Microscopic inkblots
Permanently etched in
Slow weeping
Surface wounds

This is how I remember you.

"Time takes all but memories"

2008-11-01T19:44:00.001-07:00

In honor of All Souls Day, here are some pictures that we took in the cemetery in downtown Nacogdoches.

Probably the coolest sundail ever...
...and detail.

My favorite angel statue.

The Virgin.

Amazing creepy broken statue.

A beautiful old grave.

And, finally, the stately oak tree which guards the cemetery.

Click!

2008-10-24T15:29:00.001-07:00

Wow, I just read something amazing in "The Fat Girl's Guide to Life" by Wendy Shanker.

"It's not my job to defend myself against this girl. It's her job not to attack me" (10).

Wow. That really hit me hard. It's so true for women and human beings in general. Too often we get into the habit of victim blaming. (I'm talking about every kind of victimization, from rape to racism.) It's easy. It takes the pressure off. It helps us cope with violence or uncomfortable emotions like hate. We can say that the victim "should have" done this, or could have "defended themselves" in this or that way. We say this because it helps us believe that we have options if we get in the same situation.

But all of that is a lie.

The bottom line is this: It's not our job to defend ourselves. It's other people's jobs not to attack us.

My Big Fat Confession

2008-10-19T16:12:00.001-07:00

I am fat.

There, I said it. Now really hear me.

My BMI is 37. I wear a size 18/20 in pants, a 9 in underwear, a 38DD in bras, and a 6.5 in shoes. I am four feet, ten inches tall. I am 31 years old. I am fat.
I am also a writer, a tutor, a student, a fiance, a friend, a daughter, and a sister. I am not stupid or lazy or sad. I am loved. I am respected.

And I am judged because I am fat. Worse, I judge myself because I am fat.

This is what I am trying to say: I accept myself as I am. I can accept myself and also seek to improve myself. I can be fat and eat well and enjoy my food and exercise and listen to my body--all at the same time. It's not easy, but I can do it.

--------------------------
This begins a series of entries about fat acceptance. I need to write about this because I need to understand where I fit.

#14 ow

2008-07-23T17:57:00.001-07:00

This was my morning.

This is what I had done. Sort of. I love how this picture portrays absolutely none of the pain, indignity and stench associated with the actual procedure. Who knew burning teeth smelled so bad? Not me! Also, it turns out that Tooth #14 was "hot," meaning so riddled with infection that it only responded to the "special" anesthetic. (Which, apparently, costs hundreds of dollars.) Fun.

So, yes, a very nice and gentle dentist gave me a root canal this morning. I am currently in the "Waiting for the Man" portion of the pain killer cycle, in which our hero bites back moans and waits patiently for the next dose to kick in. This will be followed by the "Am I OK? I think I'm OK" stage, the brief "Things are pretty" stage, the "Will everything please stop spinning now?" phase, quickly followed by the "Overwhelming Nausea" stage, and then, finally, the "I'm just going to take a little nap now" phase.

Protest Letter to Organon

2007-03-27T17:45:00.001-07:00

Organon USA
56 Livingston Ave
Roseland, NJ 07068

Dear Organon,

I purchased and used the NuvaRing faithfully. I recommended it to every woman I knew. Now I can’t afford it. You have just lost a customer. You have just denied a woman birth control because of her economic status.

According to your website, you value action. “Each letter in ACTION represents an important value we share as an organization: accountability, communication, transparency, initiative, objectives, and now.” You must be accountable to the thousands of women who you have just disenfranchised due to your price increase. You must open lines of communication by being more available on the web. You must actually be transparent in your business practices. Take the initiative and support women's reproductive health. Fufill your objective to provide reasonably priced birth control to all women.

Lower your prices. Now.

Your former customer,
Pixie Pedagogue

2007-03-27T17:44:00.001-07:00

We are very lucky women. We live in a nation where we have control over our own reproductive health. We even have options as to how we may prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Except for poor women. Their options are rapidly disappearing.

Why? Because Organon, the prescription company who makes Cyclessa, Desogen and NuvaRing, has raised their prices. So has Ortho, the makers of Ortho Tricyclen Lo. Both companies have cancelled their discounted pricing for ALL University Student Health Centers across the country. But wait! These prices have not just gone up for women who can afford college. They have gone up in Planned Parenthood, the only option for most low income women. Most increases have been from 200% to 300%. Even though Organon reported an 8% increase in revenues in 2006.

I am one of those women now out of options. I use the NuvaRing. I have been using it for two years, and it is the best birth control I have ever tried. It’s the only one I’ve ever trusted. The NuvaRing is easy to use, free of side effects (for me) and—here’s the best part—more effective than the pill. I used to buy it for $15. Now it costs $52. That is an increase of over 300%. Three times the price! Planned Parenthood went up to $40 for one NuvaRing.

This is outrageous. I’m through taking this crap. We have to do something about this, sisters.
I searched all over the internet for the contact information for Organon, and this is what I found: Organon USA
56 Livingston Ave
Roseland, NJ 07068
Customer Service Department:1-800-241-8812, 8:00am - 5:00pm(EST).
Organon has a website, but no email addresses and no local sales representative information that I could find.

This means that you have to MAIL A LETTER, ladies. Do it! I know you have stamps laying around! Protest!

We have to let them know that American women deserve better! Those of us that can afford birth control have to speak for those who can’t.

Here’s some articles:
Planned Parenthood on the NuvaRing: www.plannedparenthood.org/birth-control-pregnancy/birth-control/the-ring.htm (They won’t say anything about the price increase, but they’re feeling it too. Call your local clinic and ask.)

The price increase at University of Texas: http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2007/02/09/TopStories/Birth.Control.Prices.May.Increase.To.50.Per.Month-2709330.shtml

It’s happening around the nation, too!
In North Carolina. http://www.ecu.edu/cs-studentlife/studenthealth/contraceptiveprices.cfm
In Georgia. http://www.emory.edu/UHS/what'snewNuvaRing.html
In New Hampshire. http://media.www.tnhonline.com/media/storage/paper674/news/2007/02/02/News/Birth.Control.Prices.Up-2693129.shtml

Entry #1 in the Big Book: Here we are now. Entertain us.

2007-03-02T18:40:00.001-08:00

I am calling myself the Pixie Pedagogue, the tiny teacher, but I have been doing precious little pedagogy lately.
I have been missing work, classes and student teaching; been generally deliquent in all duties. Except going to the doctor. And sleep. I've been on top of that shit. Lemme sum up, 3 words: upper respiratory infection.

Word for the Day:
cessation n. [se-sey-shuhn] : a temporary or complete stopping; discontinuance: a cessation of hostilities.

[Origin: 1350–1400; Latin cessātiōn- (s. of cessātiō) delay, inactivity, stoppage, equiv. to cessāt(us) ptp. of cessāre to delay, stop (cess(us) yielded, ceded (ced- cede + -tus ptp. suffix) + -ātus -ate1) + -iōn- -ion]
—Synonyms stop, halt, end, suspension, stay, recess.

~ Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

As in: smoking cessation. Or what I'll be doing in a week.
Pray for me.