Save the Villagers! There’s a — Wait, Wrong Dragon
This is a brief blog post, for reasons you’ll soon understand. It’s been an experimental week here in the Myth Lab. (I borrowed that title from Chuck Wendig until I can think of something better; he’d decided not to use it anyway for obvious pronunciation/law enforcement reasons.) I got my Prodigal manuscript off to the copy editor successfully over the weekend – woo hoo! This week, I’ve been doing a lot of work on my writing business infrastructure. I’m tweaking my website, upgrading my email function, learning a new book formatting program (which I LOVE—Vellum rocks!), updating old book files and links, etc. Read more…
Happy New Year! Don’t Forget Your Sub-Bucket List
Ah, yes, another New Year is hard upon us. If you’re not going out to celebrate, I hope you have all of your entertainment and dining options standing by, as well as any appropriate medications for your pets (and perhaps for you, to deal with them). Today my husband is picking up more Valium for our dog Fred, who—thanks to a few neighbors with more guns and fireworks than sense—has been working his way slowly but surely through the bottle and possibly toward doggie rehab. With the exception of sleep-disrupting dog anxiety, I’m not really feeling the New Year’s thing Read more…
Psychic Dogs, and a Holiday Treat for Sydney Brennan Fans (Shh–It’s a Free Short Story)
Well, I’m back in rainy Hawaii this week. My jet-lagged brain is still struggling to make complete sentences, but my sloughing skin has never been happier. 😉 I’ll be sharing more about my visit to West Virginia soon, along with whatever pictures I can filch from my husband and mom (my position in the back seat, along with my tendency to forget my phone/camera, left me photo-less). For now, I’ll just say it was cold (high temperatures in the teens) and dry. Did I mention the d-r-y? Traveling anywhere from the islands is always… let’s just say involved. But the Read more…
Back to my Roots with a Country Music Confession
This is a “pre-recorded” blog post because I’m currently in the midst of a quick visit back to my hometown in West-by-God-Virginia. (Not to mention, mostly without internet.) You may recall that my upcoming new series, the Dead Hollow Trilogy, is set in a fictional Appalachian town, so this visit isn’t just about potato candy and apple butter. (Mmm… potato candy. Apple butter.) As much as I’m looking forward to spending quality time with friends and family, I’m also looking forward to grilling them. Interrogating them. Picking their brains about all the random bits and bobs that have come up for Read more…
Considering a Zombie Apocalypse, and The Writer’s Environs: a Trip to the Lava Lake
Today, I’m sharing the pictures my internet couldn’t handle last week, but first, thank you for the commiseration with the last post’s kvetching. Good news—the rain has finally abated to occasional showers, although with heavy vog (volcanic fog) and cloud cover, nothing is drying out in a hurry. I’ve mentioned before that with 150 inches of rain a year (380 cm), unless we’re in the middle of a drought, it’s always wet here. That’s why any opened food packages (chips, cereal, etc.) go in a sealed plastic bag with a desiccant pack. A few days ago, I tried to pour Read more…
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