Lilith Saintcrow's Blog, page 203

Why Yes, I Am Always This Driven

I was fine until about 10:30 last night, when my stomach decided it'd had enough of hosting dinner and muscled everything out like an irritated bouncer. I'd call it food poisoning, but nobody else shows any symptoms; I'd call it a bug but I have no other symptoms; I'd call it stress but I'm remarkably unstressed for once, having had all the locks replaced and deadbolts put in. Maybe it was the release of stress, and finally feeling completely safe again?

I don't know. I've officially thrown...

When The Gallop Takes Over

For the past couple weeks the Deadline Dames have been blogging about How We Got Published. We've had:

* Dame Devon: How I Got To Where I Am

* Dame Jackie: My Path To Publication

* Dame Rachel: The Echo Of My Own Voice

* Dame Keri: The Long Road To Publication

* Yours truly: The Rocky Road

* Dame Jenna: An Overnight Success

* Dame Kaz: Dark Nights and Brighter Days

* Dame Toni: A Business Analyst Becomes A Novelist

There's a lot of good stuff there, and frankly I don't have much to add...

The Damndest Questions

Morning. (Insert yawn, gap, and stretch here.) Links first! There's an interview (10 Favorite Things) with me over at Book Chick City, as well as a giveaway. And decluttering your life. (Been doing a lot of that lately.) You can make jelly out of Mountain Dew. But if you want something a little less jet-fuel and a little more tasty, gingerbread pancakes are probably a good bet. (Thanks to Reader Kathy McC for that last one!) Last but certainly not least, tolerance in two stories: New York...

The Rocky Road

It's Friday! Which means a Friday writing post, but before we get into that, a quick recap of the Jealousy signing at the Beaverton Powell's last night.

Short story: it was fantastic.

Slightly longer story: I arrived after traffic that seemed designed to test the temper of a saint, had to check twice to make sure I'd brought the chapter I was going to read a bit of, and saw people waiting in the event area. I was only prevented from fleeing by the fact that I was in heels and couldn't run very ...

Tonight's The Night

Regular blogging will commence shortly. I know I haven't been popping in much to say much of substance here. Deadline hell looms, as always, and I'm getting everything situated for another school year, as well as cleaning house emotionally, so to speak.

BUT, things are calmer. Summer is winding down, which means the publishing world is picking up speed again, thank goodness. Tomorrow I'll be writing about my path to publication, since that's the theme of the week over at the Deadline Dames...

Happy Dance and Defiance Reading

Today is just turning out well all over. The Little Prince is thrilled with his new rock climbing gear, my friends are happy little bandits, I saved an online sale for the bookstore by remembering where a specific book came from, and the big news…I can't share the big news just yet, but it's a weight off my mind and it means I get to do something completely new that I'm so excited about, I can't even tell you.

The heat's also broken today. It's a comfortable almost-eight degrees instead of...

Events! And Cold Comfort.

It's Monday, and another scorcher. I spent my Sunday putting together an Ikea dresser. I triumphed, but just barely. Between the dresser and rock climbing, my knees look like hamburger. I could, i suppose, stop using my knees to brace myself as I clamber up the wall…but I doubt that's going to happen.

Anyway. There's an interview with me over at the Book Mogul. And this Thursday at 7pm I will be signing at the Cedar Hills Crossing Powell's! Come on by, if you like. I will be reading from...

That Dreaded Syllable: Saying No

Recently I've been asked about writing advice that isn't geared specifically toward new writers or those looking to "break into" print. It's not often I write about those further along–because careers, like people, are pretty unique, mostly, and any advice I'd be able to give might backfire terribly in someone else's arena. But I figure what I'm about to say is Reasonable Life Advice as well as Publishing Advice.

My Friday the 13th started about 24 hours early. The 12th was one of the more...

Anxiety Ruffles And Singing Weird

I had one of the weirdest anxiety dreams I've ever had last night. In it, I ate a whole king-size bag of crisps (Ruffles, for those of you wondering, the really thick ones) while looking for my car. I kept pressing a little button on my key fob that would make the car chirp so I could find it, and each time it chirped it was in a different direction. I finished the whole damn bag of crisps, found the car, and woke up feeling sick and sweaty because I'd been sleeping over a pillow.

Yeah...

Hyperactive Monkey Day

I've been amazingly productive–the second draft of Defiance is now resting with the editor, and I'm doing cleanup on the 5th Dru book and getting wordcount in on Jill Kismet, flipping back and forth like a hyperactive monkey. Plus I've upped my mileage, cleaned the kitchen, and picked up a few things that will make living in this house easier. All before 2pm.

Either I am going to set a new personal record for Most Things Accomplished In Twelve Hours, or I'm going to hit the slump between...