L. Jagi Lamplighter's Blog, page 45

Wright’s Writing Corner: — Guest Post at Magical Words

All About The Magic, Or the Gosling of the Golden Creek Vs. The Unicorn Pooper-Scoopers

This post appears at Magical Words, a website on the art of writing maintained by a number of fantasy writers, including: David B. Coe (D.B. Jackson), Misty Massey, and Faith Hunter

If you are a fan of the magic of wonder–that qualities that makes some of us love Doctor Who so much — you may enjoy this article: 

Beside the road leading to my street, there is a small pond. This pond is the favorite nesting place of a flock of Canadian geese who like to walk out in the street. The other day, I found myself sitting and waiting for the geese to depart, so I could drive home without running over them. As I watched the birds waddle by, I thought of people I knew who had expressed hatred for these creatures that stop traffic and leave goose droppings all over the sidewalk and golf courses. Their hatred added to my impatience.

After all, I wanted to get home. I had things to do, man!  But then I remembered something. As a child, I had loved these birds. Why? Because at the gateway to the local county park was a river. Canadian geese used to nest on the river bank. If one was lucky, if one came at just the right time, one might catch a glimpse the tiny goslings paddling behind their august parents. These adorable creatures were the only baby wild animals visible to us as children. Seeing these little beige and yellow bundles of fluff lit our hearts. It was as wondrous as magic!

When had I lost the magic?

Read more

Signal Boost Tuesday –The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin!

Next week, for Signal Boost Tuesday, I will post a list of Christmas suggestions…books by friends listed by catagory as to who might enjoy them.

This week, however, I am gearing up for tomorrow, when I am going to ask all of you to help me try to boost Rachel Griffin in the Amazon rankings. Tomorrow, I will post a list of simple things people can do to help.

Until then, I will post links to some of my guest posts from my blog tour.

Caption This!

Winner posted next week:

 

Caption This Winner!

Two winners this week:

 

Best General comment:

Climbing a stairway to heaven… from there you need to call a cab.

Best Doctor Who-related comment:

It takes many people, each of them a step, to create a work of art that can ascend to greatness, and be remembered fondly across generations. Even if it's all about a madman with a box.

The Making of THE UNEXPECTED ENLIGHTENMENT OF RACHEL GRIFFIN

Gearing up for Wednesday, which is Rachel Griffin Day. (More to come.)

 

Here is a short piece a friend posted about my latest novel:

The Making of The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin

Some time ago, a friend of mine finished the Harry Potter books and commented on how there was very little Christianity in them. In fact, it was almost as if the world had no Christianity at all.

In that moment, and idea was born. What, he wondered, would it be like if there was a world like that—no knowledge of God, of Jews, of Christians, of Muslims. No monotheism at all.

What would it be like if children at a school of magic, something like Hogwarts, began to discover the something that was missing from their life.

Read more: http://dianabrandmeyer.com/posts/jagi/

 

Mab’s Entry Two: Abumi-Guchi

Mab here, Prospero Inc. company gumshoe.

As part of my campaign to protect you woefully-uninformed humans from your own folly—in hopes of saving even one of you from an elf-induced death, or worse—here is some of my gathered wisdom concerning the supernatural world.

Read. Pay attention. And maybe you’ll live.

For those of you who are just coming in, we’ve started with Tsukumogami, Japanese household objects that wake up after their 100th birthday and become animate.

 

 

 

Name: Abumi-Guchi –  Stirrup Mouth

Description:  A furry tsukumogami formed from a stirrup that once belonged to a fallen soldier. The abumi-guchi are very loyal. They will stay forever where they fell, waiting for their master, the fallen soldier, to return.

Where To Find It: Old Japanese battlefields

Frequency: Rare

Danger Level:  Don’t be alarmed—but better stay away

Mab’s Eye View:  A cousin of mine stepped on one of these while walking across an old battlefield. Fell face first in…well, I won’t describe what he fell in, but let’s just say they use that field for pigs. The thing clamped onto his foot, and he couldn’t shake it off. Still walks funny to this day.

I tell you. Stay away!

 

 

Wright’s Writing Corner: Guest Appearance at Glipho.com

Here is an article on Character I did for GliphoWriMo.

 

 

Imagine that you and I are standing in front of an easel upon which an artist has drawn a circle. It’s just a circle. We tilt our head left and right, but there’s nothing else there.

One line. Round.

Flat.

Then, the artist comes forward. He squints slightly to the left, as if envisioning the light source. Then he picks up his charcoal pencil and adds shading. A darker bit around the curve. A lighter bit a little farther up and down.

And, voila! Suddenly, our circle has become a sphere, a ball fairly bouncing off the page!

Shading is a marvelous thing. A simple trick. Once you know how to do it, your pictures need never look flat again.

Ah, you say, sighing, as you look at the curve of the charcoal beach ball, if only it were that simple to make three-dimensional characters.

The good news is: it is!

 

Read the rest: http://glipho.com/gliphowrimo/guest-post-l-jagi-lamplighter-the-secret-to-writing-3d-characters-lampwright4

 

Comments

Signal Boost Tuesday

Today's boost is for author and newspaperman extraordinaire Ken Rossignol.

Ever read comics about crusading editors like Perry White (Superman's editor)? Ken was the real thing! He ran a little fishing newspaper called the ST. MARY'S TODAY. Then he got hit by a drunk driver. Not much damage done, but his brother had been killed by a drunk driver a few years earlier.

Ken decided the time had come to do something.

He hired a photographer and bought a police scanner. Every time there was a DWI pullover, he put a picture in the paper. Ver soon, people were overheard saying things like: "Drink and drive? Are you kidding? I'm not afraid of the police, but I don't want my picture in the ST. MARY'S TODAY!"

So the little mag turned into a hard hitting newspaper reporting on crime and graft. It ruffled a lot of feathers among the Good Old Boys of Southern Maryland. Eventually, the entire governing body of the county lost their seats and new people were elected.

In the middle of the fight, however, my husband John came onboard as one of the ST. MARY'S TODAY reporters. He worked there for several years, writing articles and editorials and drawing political cartoons. So we got to see Ken in action.

Ken was a very brave man. He wore a flack jacket, because he had received death threats. He would not back down from the truth for anyone…not ever friends or loved ones. He was one of those rare, rare, breeds–a newspaper man who tells the truth!

Nowadays, Ken writes books. He's written quite a few!  Thrillers. Histories. And a history of his time as editor of the St MARY's Today

Below is a link to his Amazon page, where you can look at what he has to offer:

http://www.amazon.com/Ken-Rossignol/e/B0051KKWKM

 

One of many!

I remember this incident! We had already moved away,

but we happened to be in town the next day.

Who Thoughts

Now that I've had a few hours to think about it, I really liked the Doctor Who 50th show. I think it was really excellent. Many good parts.

But, by far, my favorite moment was the last scene. In particular, I was blown away by the last thing the Curator said, where a combination of brilliant acting and brilliant script writing managed to get three entire meanings into two words.

This week’s Caption This!

In honor of Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary: