K.A. Laity's Blog, page 131

BitchBuzz: Women's Dangerous Desires

Just a tad bit too late to make it into the column, two news stories today: HarperCollins has a new erotica imprint, Mischief, and the Wall Street Journal has another gasping-for-the-shock-of-it story about what women read on their Kindles (oooh, scandal!). All this frothing shows the ultimate futility of the attempts to stuff women back into the genie-bottle of the past. Annoying that these old geezers keep trying, but we will triumph in the end. After all, women have more endurance. And multi-tasking!


Women's Dangerous Desires

By K.A. Laity








We may have accustomed ourselves to the bizarre hysterics of
the Republican war on women in the States, but there's a more subtle
campaign against women's desire. I guess it's a way of getting to the
root of the problem. Apparently snapping some kind of chastity belt on
the vagina just isn't enough. These busybodies would love to shackle
women's minds as well.



It can be very subtle and often masquerades as "positive" coverage. The Independent Magazine had
a story this past Sunday on a number of erotic romance writers, women
of various ages and backgrounds. The male author approaches the writers
as if they were some kind of lost species. The idea that he must ask,
"Do women write porn?" flabbergasts. The shock angle is they are "shy
introverted woman [sic] with a love of reading and writing." Like most
writers of every genre, I suppose.



The editorial side plays up the
sensationalism: "Kinky Books" the interior title screams. The first
pull quote, "I write in secret, using words I would never, ever say,"
makes Kay Jaybee sound very different than her other words like, "Sadly,
many people can't separate the art from the subject matter," rightly
noting that people seldom assume crime writers to be murderers.
Predictably perhaps, although the authors write mostly erotic romance,
the cover blurb has it, "WOMEN WHO WRITE PORN." Porn triggers a more
sensational reaction, of course...

Read the rest at BBHQ.

Writer Wednesday: Victoria Watson

[image error]
Victoria Watson was awarded 'Young Reviewer of the Year' in 2009 and completed a Masters degree in Creative Writing in 2010. Victoria has contributed to publications including True Faith (Newcastle United fanzine), NCJ Media's north-east titles The Journal, Evening Chronicle and Sunday Sun. She has also reviewed for Amazon, Waterstones and Closer Magazine.
Victoria had a story published in the Home Tomorrow anthology published by 6th Edition Publishing in 2011. Her work is also featured Off the Record. Her collection Letting Go has been in the Kindle Top 100 free downloads for a week.
Victoria currently lives in the North-East of England and dreams of living somewhere hot and sunny, paying the bills with her writing.



Letting Go is a collection of eight short stories. Each of these tales has a twist that the reader won't be expecting. Regret and how just one moment or snap decision can change your life forever are key themes in each of these stories.




Q: What do you write on? Computer, pad o' paper, battered Underwood? Give us a vivid picture.



I always carry a notepad and paper around just in case inspiration strikes when I'm away from my laptop but I prefer to type directly onto my laptop. I also use my mobile phone as a way of making notes – if you're in public, it's easier than pulling your notebook out of you battered handbag and scribbling. Next time I upgrade my laptop, I'm looking forward to getting a really tiny one so it'll fit in my handbag – along with my Kindle and god knows what other detritus.



Q: Do you listen to music while you write? Does it influence what you write?



I listen to music, I listen to the radio, and I watch TV. I'm a big Radio 4 fan so I find that I listen to a range of things while writing – it could be news, drama or something educational. I'm a multi-tasker. If I could read and write at the same time, I would! I think listening to Radio 4 sometimes gives me new ideas though, which is great. I don't think the other stuff I do when I'm writing influences what I write although if I need to get into a certain mood to write a particular scene, I sometimes listen to a certain song or album. When I need a hit of energy, I like to listen to Beyoncé or Lady Gaga. I'm not well-known for my musical tastes!




Q: Do you write in short bursts or carve out long periods of time to work? Is it a habit or a vice?



I write while I can so some days could be a full day's writing and other days it might just be a snatched 15 minutes. Other days, I must confess, I don't write at all. It's not as much of a habit as I'd like it to be. But my life isn't very routine at the moment which is guess is why I don't have a strict schedule. When I'm lucky enough to have a lot of ideas, I write as much as I can to make the most of it. Also, if I'm thinking about ideas, I find they keep me awake at night so if I have to write to get a decent night's sleep!



Q: What writer would you most want to read your work? What would you want to hear them say?



I'd love for Alan Bennett to give them a read and say he liked them. If Roald Dahl was alive, I'd love for his opinion but sadly that is not longer possible. I respect a lot of authors so I wouldn't be picky about who read them! I also respect the opinions of the readers so any positive feedback is always a big boost.



Q: On the days where the writing doesn't go so well, what other art or career do you fantasize about pursuing instead?



I never describe myself as artistic which people often disagree with because they say writing is a form of art. Other arts don't come easy to me – I always have great ideas but can never put them into practice. I often fantasize about being a TV or radio presenter. I'd love a job like Mariella Frostrup's – she gets to read books and interview authors and she gets paid for it. How lucky is she?!




Q: What do you read? What do you re-read?



The only books I've ever re-read are Talking Heads by Alan Bennett, Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I find that there are so many amazing writers out there that I like to read new books all the time. There are other books, like A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and Mark Haddon's books that I intend to re-read at some point. I get sent a lot of review copies of books by publishers, writers and book stores so I generally end up reading things I don't necessarily choose but that's nice in a way as it means I read more books that I wouldn't choose myself. Often, the only time I read books I choose is when I'm on holiday. I love writers like Roddy Doyle and Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche as well as Tony Parsons and I really like to read books about cultures I haven't experienced.



Q: Where did the idea for 'Letting Go' come from? Do you have a surefire way of sparking inspiration?



Letting Go is a collection of my short stories. The common thread through each of the stories is that they hinge on how one moment or choice can change everything. I'm now working on a follow-up collection. I don't have one way that's guaranteed to inspire me but if I'm stuck for ideas, I listen to the radio and read the news. Generally, I don't find issue with getting initial ideas; it's more like padding out the story that takes a lot of time and effort. What I often do in that circumstance, is spend a lot of time thinking about it before I start typing. They're the nights that keep me awake.



You can find Victoria on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads. Visit her blog or check out her author page on Amazon.




[image error]

Tuesday's Overlooked A/V: The CundeeZ

Wi language az rough az a rhino's erse

Oary Dundonian in poetic verse

Itz oor tongue, oor dialect, itz how wi converse



I heartily recommend The CundeeZ: punk rock with Dundee accent and a DIY can-do spirit. And not just because lead singer/songwriter Gary Robertson was the punk rock cupid that brought me and my sweetie together :-) but because the music is terrific. I've written before about Gary's book Skeem Life (which he tells me he's now turning into a musical) and about finally seeing them play -- albeit briefly -- for the the first time back in December. I suspect I will have plenty of opportunities to see them again when I am back in Dundee.



Their latest CD Lend Wiz Yir Lugs can be bought or downloaded for just £5 and it's a fine set of ear scorchers, veering from punk to ska to a little old school rock-n-roll. It's a wild ride from the evocative pipes of "Caleil" to the blistering "Mr E Go" and the plain-talking "Yir Talkin' Shite" (dedicated to politicians everywhere and all the rest who sling manure). It's all good: check out their first CD, Cundee Radio , too.



Find them on ReverbNation, Facebook and Twitter. Here are some of their videos to give you a taste; if you are of delicate constitution or easily alarmed by frank language, this is not the band for you. Everyone else: Enjoy!



As always, see the full round up of TOA/V at Todd's blog.

Humo(u)r

A hasty post as I'm still entertaining my delightful guests, who seem to be having a good time. I know I am, though I'm also aware of my shortcomings as a hostess. I'm used to living on my own, never paying attention to clocks (except once a week :-) and not planning ahead. But there's plenty to enjoy in  Galway -- and no, not just the pubs!



I'm one of the writers featured in this month's BroadPod on the topic of humor (or humour -- I have to keep shifting back and forth between American and British/Irish spellings that every word begins to look slightly suspect and editors in various countries sigh at me). I read from The Mangrove Legacy, so you can get a taste of that if you haven't already (why haven't you?!).

Six Sentence Sunday: The Big Splash

I had the best time writing this story. After reading too much P. G. Wodehouse (too much? is that possible?) and some Winifred Watson, I was full of madcap story ideas and thought it would be fun to try to set a story in Jazz Age London. I wrote The Big Splash in a kind of fever over the Christmas break between semesters. It ended up being a novella instead of a short as I intended, but I had such a grand time inventing my own Bertie and Jeeves. I have an idea for a new one, so Constance and Collier will get another outing soon. Here we meet the best friend, who makes our heroine look positively sensible in comparison. Yes, of course I found an excuse for someone to say that immortal line.



Both their heads turned at a sudden outburst of noise. As Constance suspected, the sound accompanied the arrival of her friend, the irrepressible Hardie. All of her entrances seemed to include dropping things, making loud excuses, and happily shrieking greetings, though at times they had also included gunshots, fire, and the occasional oran-utang. 



"Con-stance!" Hardie shouted across the room as she bashed into a small planter, then corrected her path by jostling an elderly judge who harrumphed most alarmingly. His equally ancient partner brought up her lorgnette to examine the madwoman who walloped her way across the room, leaving destruction in her wake. 



"Constance, darling! What a delight to see you!" Hardie grabbed her shoulders and kissed each cheek in turn as if they had been parted for years rather than the space of a mere day and a half. 



Be sure to check out all the Six Sentence Sunday posts and discover some new writers.

On Tour with the QoE & Marko

Next week, I'll be back to regular posting, but for now, here's a nice picture of my guests. We'll see how many photos they let me post :-) probably better when they get over the jet lag. Yes, a picture at Spanish Arch is required of everyone who sets foot in Galway. Tick that box!

Women's Day, Con-Eire & BitchBuzz

Happy International Women's Day! A day to celebrate and a day to chastise because there's a long way to go yet and I'm getting more than a little impatient at fighting the same battles I have fought since childhood. There has been progress, I remind myself, but there's a long way to go until NO ONE gets dismissed or disrespected on account of gender. This is for all of us.



Of course, I celebrate the day in my usual way: a new publication. Well, not exactly new -- Con-Eire has been available in an expensive print edition which kind of missed the point of it being a fun and light-hearted thing. Now it's available for your Kindle or ebook reader for just $1.99.



Having just come back from a terrific con experience (which may have seemed anything but until it began), I had a lot of fun and chuckles while editing and updating this, including removing a couple of references to MySpace (!?) and some other tech innovations. Wow, so much has changed in just a few short years. But the over all issues remain the same for any event of this kind. I'm really proud that Lee Martindale (who also took a role in the premiere performance) gave me such a lovely blurb.



"From the bowels of back-of-house, from the deepest, darkest, most
secret chambers of arcane ConComm knowledge, comes a screamingly funny
glimpse into what's behind the curtain at a science fiction convention.
Fairy-dusted hilarity served with a side order of giggles."



It reminds me of the good old days of Trinoc*coN and there's a new dedication to Susan and Mildred (and Birdie and Ron) in it, with the hope that the next Three Mothers reunion won't be too far away. In the meantime, it's back to work including cleaning for the arrival of the Queen of Everything and Marko this weekend. Hurrah!







  
One of the things that simplified the process of making an ebook of Con-Eire was the wonderful new open source platform called Booktype. I was so delighted with it, I wrote about it in my column today for BitchBuzz.  I was really glad to find that:

 

"Booktype has been developed by the folks at Sourcefabric who
have an ambition to foster independent journalism around the world by
creating software to facilitate its development for print, digital and
on air delivery."

Read the whole piece over at BBHQ.


<A HREF="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=ss_... Widgets</A>

Tuesday's Overlooked A/V: The Bedsitter

I have featured Tony Hancock before on a Tuesday (though I don't seem to have done The Rebel yet which amazes me; and this reminds me too that I haven't yet done the apocalyptic comedy The Bedsitting Room). This is an episode of the half hour shows, but an unusual one as it's the first after he decided to end the partnership with Sid James and to move from the original setting at 23 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam to a bedsit in Earl's Court. To signal the change, this first episode of the last season (1961) features Hancock completely on his own. This solo exploration of boredom offers a wonderful showcase of Hancock's timing and precision without the exuberant foil of Sid's unflappable humour. And it's marvelous -- just marvelous.



Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



I'm off teaching the doctoral students in digital humanities today, so amuse yourself by checking out all the other overlooked gems at Todd's blog. With luck, I'll get to the P-Con recap tomorrow, although I am teaching as usual on Wednesday (it never ends, eh?).

HB MES and Publications

Back from a fantastic trip to P-Con. With luck I can get a con report up soon, but I have to give a talk to the digital humanities doctoral students at the Moore Institute tomorrow, so I better get that completed first. Many thanks to Pádraig, Catie, Deirdre and all the organisers as well as to Maura for taking me under her wing, the lovely Sarah for all the laughs, Suzanne and Juliet for great craic, the Talbots for my signed copy of Dotter of Her Father's Eyes, John Connolly for buying us all dinner, the tango dancers for giving us a cause -- oh, and so much more. Anon.



My publication: I have a piece "Before the Watchmen Palaver" in the latest issue of Drink Tank (309). The editors have turned the entire issue over to discussion of the proposed Watchmen prequels. There's a wonderful and terribly unsettling cover, too. Read the full issue in PDF form here: it includes Pádraig and Laura Sneddon, too. Thanks, James, for asking me to contribute. UPDATE: I don't think I remembered to post yet that the collection that includes my essay on reading Lost Girls as post-Sadeian text is also out:









Last but very much not least, fifty-five years ago in a dark corner of Manchester, the lighting flashed, the skies opened up and Mark E. Smith was born. All right, I'm only guessing about the lightning and rain, but it's bound to be likely. My muse, my role model (LOL) -- well, he has inspired me in several stories of late and what better example of sticking to your guns and succeeding on your own terms do you need? So while I might post perennial favourites like "Bill is Dead" or "Touch Sensitive" or "Tempo House" I'll share this instead for those not yet up to speed on The Fall or if you'd prefer a story, snuggle in for storytime with MES and Lovecraft.

Six Sentence Sunday: High Plains Lazarus

I began writing this story about a day before I went off to Trinoc*coN one year, because I knew I had to read something and I suddenly decided I hated everything I'd ever written (yes, I have those kind of days). It came from the voice: as soon as I heard Finn's voice in my head, I knew I had a winner. I hadn't planned to write a zombie western -- and I didn't know that it would end up being a 10,000 word novelette that really would like to be a novel. In time, in time.



As another bottle went whizzing by my head I knew that I had made some serious miscalculations. I knew too that Jim was like to kill me because of those miscalculations, but at the moment the shambling wreck of a corpse was a much more pressing issue. I had unloaded most of my pistol into it already when Jim shouted that I should quit wasting bullets like they were made of manure and throw something more substantial, but somehow guns still seemed like a good idea. Cursing his illustrious forebears, I finally holstered my beloved pearl-handled Colts and looked around for something heftier. The dead guy continued his staggering plunge toward me, so I grabbed a chair and flung it wildly across the room. It fetched up a glancing blow on his shoulder, which spun him around to the left...



You can pick this story up in the collection Rotting Tales from Pill Hill Press. Fun stuff there -- get your zombie on and go west.