K.A. Laity's Blog, page 138
December 6, 2011
Krampus and Digital Monks
Did the Krampus visit you last night or did Saint Nicholas fill your shoes with gifts? Happy Independence Day, Finland (let's have a little Värttinä for that).
My talk is today at the Moore Institute. It's an update of my keynote address from April; I wanted to hit a lot of the same issues, but I've also cut it a bit as well. Mostly the jokes: different audience. Not all of the jokes, of course. But I figure some of the offhand popular culture references won't travel well.
Writers: have you taken my survey about writing in the digital age yet?
No idea what kind of audience there'll be. Some friends have promised to show and there will be sandwiches. We'll see. And no, I didn't go through with my plan to graft a Guy Fawkes mask onto the Moore Institute logo for one slide. Coward.
My talk is today at the Moore Institute. It's an update of my keynote address from April; I wanted to hit a lot of the same issues, but I've also cut it a bit as well. Mostly the jokes: different audience. Not all of the jokes, of course. But I figure some of the offhand popular culture references won't travel well.
Writers: have you taken my survey about writing in the digital age yet?
No idea what kind of audience there'll be. Some friends have promised to show and there will be sandwiches. We'll see. And no, I didn't go through with my plan to graft a Guy Fawkes mask onto the Moore Institute logo for one slide. Coward.
December 5, 2011
Publication: It's a Curse
Whoohoo and hoooowwwwwwl! It has arrived. My contribution to Mr B's fine Trestle Press series Drunk on the Moon: IT'S A CURSE. Yes, of course of course, it takes its title from a song by The Fall and yes, there may be a few references to other Mark E. Smith lyrics in there.
You're shocked, I can tell.
Here's the synopsis:
Roman Dalton's woken up in the wrong place again, but he can't blame it
on the moon this time. Finding himself in a tug-of-war between two
lovely women might sound like he's landed in clover, but one wants to
'save' him and the other—well, he's got a feeling she's a whole lot of
trouble wrapped up in a designer gown. As far as our favourite werewolf
PI's concerned, IT'S A CURSE.
On Friday I had a chance to chat about it on the G-Zone with fellow Trestle Press writer Edith Maxwell. Mr B called in too and well -- to be honest, the two of us kind of hijacked the rest of the show, hee hee. You can listen to the whole thing from the archive. Great fun.
I've already made a trailer for it. Tell me what you think. And help spread the word! The page could use tagging, liking and of course, reviews! It's at B&N, too.
December 3, 2011
Kipper Lost! and Found!
UPDATE: He's been found! Now being spoiled with some tuna -- a neighbour let him in and then he was retrieved. Whew!!
Poor little guy! He got out of Barb's house. We're hoping he hasn't gone too far and can be lured back in. She saw him on the porch, but he ran off. She's putting out the have-a-heart trap and hoping for the best. Fingers crossed. I feel so helpless, so far away.
UPDATE (Sun night): Barb says that some of her neighbours have seen Kipper around so he hasn't left the area -- a very good sign. The hunt continues. Keep your fingers crossed!
Kipper Lost!
Poor little guy! He got out of Barb's house. We're hoping he hasn't gone too far and can be lured back in. She saw him on the porch, but he ran off. She's putting out the have-a-heart trap and hoping for the best. Fingers crossed. I feel so helpless, so far away.
December 2, 2011
My Birthday Month Wish
I mentioned this yesterday, but I'll provide helpful links today. I'm claiming the whole of December for my birthday. Why not? I
already have to share my birthday month with both Markos, Jane Austen,
Hannukah and Xmas, so there's barely any month left for me!
But I'm not
demanding to be showered with gifts!
All I want for my birthday is for you to like me -- well, not me really: my books.
The most difficult thing for a writer is not to get published (especially now with ebook publishing) but to get noticed
once you are published. People are eager to find new writers they might
enjoy, but they are reluctant to try things blind. How do they know my
books are great if someone else hasn't read them first and said, yes,
these are good? Reviews help with that.
So if you're feeling kindly toward me, head over to my Amazon Author Page and like, rate or review my books. I'd be especially grateful for any attention to Kit Marlowe over at All Romance eBooks (only The Big Splash is on Amazon, though The Mangrove Legacy is supposed to be there soon...), but any help would be appreciated.
I've also got profiles on GoodReads, LibraryThing and Shelfari if you spend some of your time there. Sadly, not all my books are even listed under my name! If you see one missing and feel like adding it, I would be ever so grateful. I've got a new profile on CrimeSpace, too; if you're over there at all, friend me. If you actually do book reviews
on your blog or website, let me know: I'll be happy to give you review
copies of books you're interested in reading. I have confidence that my
words are worth reading. I just need to find ways to let more people
know that!
Thank you for your help. I appreciate it greatly! With luck I will have news about It's a Curse later today -- whoohoo! Now I shall get back to dancing.
December 1, 2011
News, a Wish and BitchBuzz
Criminy: it's December! How the time has flown by this semester, even though I haven't been in class. My sympathies to my colleagues knee-deep in exams and grading. I know how it feels -- and couldn't be happier that I am not.
Sorry! But it's true.
NEWS:
It's a Curse: Drunk on the Moon, Book 7 by moi should be about tomorrow from Trestle Press. Thanks again to Mr B for inviting me to have fun playing with his werewolf PI, Roman Dalton. I hope I did him justice -- it sure was fun :-) I will have a book trailer up soon: just waiting on the cover art.
I'll be on the G-ZONE blog radio show, AKA Gelati's Scoop tomorrow night to talk about It's a Curse. You can listen live and call in, or listen to it later online. I'll be on about 4.30 pm Eastern time, which is about 9.30 pm here.
I'm interviewed in the latest Broadly Speaking from Broad Universe which is about mentors and teachers in literature, so I talk about Owl Stretching and Pelzmantel a bit and my own teaching experiences a little bit.
Next Tuesday is my talk at the Moore Institute at NUIG. I keep thinking about trying to add a Guy Fawkes mask to their logo just for a lark, but I lack the requisite skills.
My column for BitchBuzz this week is on gifts that won't steal your soul. Give something genuine if you're gift-giving this holiday season.
WISH:
It's my birthday month, so I want to ask you for a gift. Nothing expensive -- all it costs is a little of your time. I don't need stuff: I spent some harried weeks this summer trying to get rid of a lot of my stuff. What I would really like is some attention: not for me, for my books. My wish is for any who have the time to "like" my books on Amazon, Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing etc. and offer them reviews. They need not be elaborate; they need not be glowing. But books without reviews seem chancier to potential readers. No one wants to be the first to do something; they want to see that others have trod the path before them and it's safe. So if you have a few spare moments, can you help out a fellow American who's (okay, not really) down on her luck?
November 30, 2011
Know-vember: Your Humble Narrator
I want to thank all the wonderful friends who took part in Know-vember. It was a delight to share. I think I may well make this an annual event. Yes, as promised, I will now turn the tables on myself. Don't you already know too much about me? You must be part of the Cult of Kaity or you wouldn't be coming by here, surely, so you must have heard me blather on and on for the--what?!--six years I have been blogging here. From Texas to New York to Galway. Where will I be next? What will I be doing? If I knew, would I tell you? Probably, but first I'd have to know. Wow, didn't the fabulous Queen of Everything make me look good here? This is one of the pictures that hung in her first gallery show. I am art!
1. What's the first thing you do upon waking in the morning?
I pick up my phone to see if I have any messages from my sweetie and then I check Twitter (and then Facebook and email and...) and then I finally get out of bed and make some tea (black with one sweetner. If there is no sweetener, I do not add sugar because I do not like sugar: never milk!).
2. What's a song you might be persuaded to dance to?
I will dance to nearly anything with a beat and a few things that have none. Anything from Vic Reeves' fantastic version of "Dizzy" to Fred Astaire's version of "Cheek to Cheek" -- particular faves include Tori's "Raspberry Swirl" and Dee-Lite's "Groove is in the Heart."
3. Where in the world do you live?
I live in lovely Galway and every day I stop to think how lucky I am to be here. Life is good and there are magpies outside my window on Eyre Square. I walk down by the bay and am filled with wonder to be in this wonderful world.
4. What's a great night out for you?
I am happiest with a good meal, some tasty drinks, maybe a little dancing or a concert with great music: essential -- good friends with lots of laughs (friends who make me laugh are the best gift of all). That said, an evening down the pub with my friends is aces.
5. What's a great night in?
A good movie and a cuddle in front of the fire with my sweetie. A real fire would be best, but at present I have a fake coal fire and he has no fireplace at all, so we have to make our own sparks.
6. If you were offered an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world,where would you go?
Around the world I would go, for sure for sure. I have always wanted to go to Egypt and India, but as long as I were going there I'd want to go to New Zealand too and then why not Japan and China and then Russia and back through Scandinavia and to Finland again and Iceland too -- on and on. Macchu Picchu! Rio! Everywhere.
7. What book do you wish everyone would read so you could talk about it?
I would say Alice in Wonderland which people tend to know from movies rather than the real book and it is one of those lynchpins of my life, but I'd also want to get people to read Beowulf (in the original!) so I could just recite lines from it at random and be understood (well, I already recite lines at random, but people tend to stare at me). I should be smart and say one of my books...
8. What movie makes you cry?
Lots of movies make me cry! I'm a sap. Guaranteed tear-jerkers include Auntie Mame, Now Voyager, The Women, Dark Victory, An Affair to Remember, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility -- oh, the list goes on and on!
9. What makes you laugh?
Peter Cook, Peter Cook, Peter Cook! HAHAHA -- unexpected that, right? And Tony Hancock, the Goons, Pythons, Goodies, AbFab, Black Books, The Mighty Boosh, Blackadder, and all my witty friends.
10. Are there fairies at the bottom of your garden?
I am the fairy at the bottom of the garden but I moved inside because my toes were cold.
Thank you all for a fantastic month of sharing.
1. What's the first thing you do upon waking in the morning?
I pick up my phone to see if I have any messages from my sweetie and then I check Twitter (and then Facebook and email and...) and then I finally get out of bed and make some tea (black with one sweetner. If there is no sweetener, I do not add sugar because I do not like sugar: never milk!).
2. What's a song you might be persuaded to dance to?
I will dance to nearly anything with a beat and a few things that have none. Anything from Vic Reeves' fantastic version of "Dizzy" to Fred Astaire's version of "Cheek to Cheek" -- particular faves include Tori's "Raspberry Swirl" and Dee-Lite's "Groove is in the Heart."
3. Where in the world do you live?
I live in lovely Galway and every day I stop to think how lucky I am to be here. Life is good and there are magpies outside my window on Eyre Square. I walk down by the bay and am filled with wonder to be in this wonderful world.
4. What's a great night out for you?
I am happiest with a good meal, some tasty drinks, maybe a little dancing or a concert with great music: essential -- good friends with lots of laughs (friends who make me laugh are the best gift of all). That said, an evening down the pub with my friends is aces.
5. What's a great night in?
A good movie and a cuddle in front of the fire with my sweetie. A real fire would be best, but at present I have a fake coal fire and he has no fireplace at all, so we have to make our own sparks.
6. If you were offered an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world,where would you go?
Around the world I would go, for sure for sure. I have always wanted to go to Egypt and India, but as long as I were going there I'd want to go to New Zealand too and then why not Japan and China and then Russia and back through Scandinavia and to Finland again and Iceland too -- on and on. Macchu Picchu! Rio! Everywhere.
7. What book do you wish everyone would read so you could talk about it?
I would say Alice in Wonderland which people tend to know from movies rather than the real book and it is one of those lynchpins of my life, but I'd also want to get people to read Beowulf (in the original!) so I could just recite lines from it at random and be understood (well, I already recite lines at random, but people tend to stare at me). I should be smart and say one of my books...
8. What movie makes you cry?
Lots of movies make me cry! I'm a sap. Guaranteed tear-jerkers include Auntie Mame, Now Voyager, The Women, Dark Victory, An Affair to Remember, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility -- oh, the list goes on and on!
9. What makes you laugh?
Peter Cook, Peter Cook, Peter Cook! HAHAHA -- unexpected that, right? And Tony Hancock, the Goons, Pythons, Goodies, AbFab, Black Books, The Mighty Boosh, Blackadder, and all my witty friends.
10. Are there fairies at the bottom of your garden?
I am the fairy at the bottom of the garden but I moved inside because my toes were cold.
Thank you all for a fantastic month of sharing.
November 29, 2011
Know-vember: Bertie
It's the man who needs no introduction, but did insist on his own special font. Here is he at Eton; nothing but the best for Bertie.
1. What's the first thing you do upon waking in the morning?
say oy
2. What's a song you might be persuaded to dance to?
Anything by the sensational Irish duo Jedward! [Ed: groan!]
3. Where in the world do you live?
just a bit north of manhattan....a bit. quite a bit.
4. What's a great night out for you?
drinks with the guys at Harry's Bar in Paris, sank roo doe noo. (celebrating 100 years, this Thanksgiving!)
5. What's a great night in?
chewing on marrow bones with Connor, maybe with a little 1990 Chateau Margaux
6. If you were offered an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?
a Thomas Cook agent, to purchase all the tickets and accommodations to all the places i want to go to. i think st. helena would be the first stop.
7. What book do you wish everyone would read so you could talk about it?
why, Pelzmantel of course!
8. What movie makes you cry?
Dr. Zhivago
9. What makes you laugh?
tragedy + time
10. Are there fairies at the bottom of your garden?
no. Connor took care of them.
Merci, mon frère!
1. What's the first thing you do upon waking in the morning?
say oy
2. What's a song you might be persuaded to dance to?
Anything by the sensational Irish duo Jedward! [Ed: groan!]
3. Where in the world do you live?
just a bit north of manhattan....a bit. quite a bit.
4. What's a great night out for you?
drinks with the guys at Harry's Bar in Paris, sank roo doe noo. (celebrating 100 years, this Thanksgiving!)
5. What's a great night in?
chewing on marrow bones with Connor, maybe with a little 1990 Chateau Margaux
6. If you were offered an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?
a Thomas Cook agent, to purchase all the tickets and accommodations to all the places i want to go to. i think st. helena would be the first stop.
7. What book do you wish everyone would read so you could talk about it?
why, Pelzmantel of course!
8. What movie makes you cry?
Dr. Zhivago
9. What makes you laugh?
tragedy + time
10. Are there fairies at the bottom of your garden?
no. Connor took care of them.
Merci, mon frère!
Know-vember: Frances McCormack
Okay, what're the odds? Oh sure, it is entirely likely that I would get on with the first medievalist I met at NUI Galway. After all, we medievalists have to stick together like all endangered species. But we keep finding amazing things in common like our birthdays (!) and P. G. Wodehouse and the Marx Bros and Tony Hancock. Destiny took a hand in things, I think, when it sent me to Galway. She even invited me to talk to her Old English course so I wouldn't forget entirely what the inside of a classroom looked like. Here's the lovely Frances, award winning lecturer.
1. What's the first thing you do upon waking in the morning?
Let the cats in for a cuddle and go back to sleep, even if only for two minutes. I'm not a fan of sleeping late, but I do like to wake up slowly.
2. What's a song you might be persuaded to dance to?
I'm a trained dancer, but the best songs are those that make me dance like I don't know how! "Come on Eileen," by Dexy's Midnight Runners, has made me jump up and down on ever since I was a bairn in 1982. I remember the first time I heard it: I jumped around the breakfast table with such enthusiasm and abandon that my mum cried with laughter. "Late in the Evening" by Paul Simon makes me do what my husband calls "Muppet Dancing", and it works best when I'm in the passenger seat of the car (although God knows what the people looking in their rear-view mirrors at me are thinking)!
3. Where in the world do you live?
In books. I much prefer stories to real life!
4. What's a great night out for you?
I don't tend to go out. I much prefer 'in'.
5. What's a great night in?
Learning languages, or doing something craftsy. I like to be busy!
6. If you were offered an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world,where would you go?
Japan, Japan, Japan...or New York! But unfortunately, as I don't really like 'out', traveling is not the easiest thing for me to do!
7. What book do you wish everyone would read so you could talk about it?
The one with the boy with the orange pyjamas...but I can't remember what book it was. I vaguely remember reading it in bed--there was a boy who may have been an orphan; someone (it may have been a man) took him in, and a woman (whose name may have begun with a J) brought him pyjamas in which to sleep. The pyjamas either had oranges on them or orange buttons, and the boy had an aversion to the colour orange, so he slept in his clothes and then crinkled the pyjamas the next morning to make it look like they'd been slept in. I can't remember whether I actually read this book or DREAMT that I had read this book so if it sounds familiar to you, let me know what on earth it is!
8. What movie makes you cry?
I don't cry at movies...but Graham Greene's books always have me in tears!
9. What makes you laugh?
At the moment, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. But everything in general...I'm a giggler! [Ed: I can attest to this.] Ooh yes, and games where you substitute the word 'goose' for either a noun or a verb in a film title. That one makes me chuckle too!
10. Are there fairies at the bottom of your garden?
Yes! There's actually a special fairy garden in my garden, where the dead trees are and the primrose grows. I don't like to visit it very often, because it's also where the septic tank lives, but the fairies don't seem to mind.
Thank you, Frances, a delight!
1. What's the first thing you do upon waking in the morning?
Let the cats in for a cuddle and go back to sleep, even if only for two minutes. I'm not a fan of sleeping late, but I do like to wake up slowly.
2. What's a song you might be persuaded to dance to?
I'm a trained dancer, but the best songs are those that make me dance like I don't know how! "Come on Eileen," by Dexy's Midnight Runners, has made me jump up and down on ever since I was a bairn in 1982. I remember the first time I heard it: I jumped around the breakfast table with such enthusiasm and abandon that my mum cried with laughter. "Late in the Evening" by Paul Simon makes me do what my husband calls "Muppet Dancing", and it works best when I'm in the passenger seat of the car (although God knows what the people looking in their rear-view mirrors at me are thinking)!
3. Where in the world do you live?
In books. I much prefer stories to real life!
4. What's a great night out for you?
I don't tend to go out. I much prefer 'in'.
5. What's a great night in?
Learning languages, or doing something craftsy. I like to be busy!
6. If you were offered an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world,where would you go?
Japan, Japan, Japan...or New York! But unfortunately, as I don't really like 'out', traveling is not the easiest thing for me to do!
7. What book do you wish everyone would read so you could talk about it?
The one with the boy with the orange pyjamas...but I can't remember what book it was. I vaguely remember reading it in bed--there was a boy who may have been an orphan; someone (it may have been a man) took him in, and a woman (whose name may have begun with a J) brought him pyjamas in which to sleep. The pyjamas either had oranges on them or orange buttons, and the boy had an aversion to the colour orange, so he slept in his clothes and then crinkled the pyjamas the next morning to make it look like they'd been slept in. I can't remember whether I actually read this book or DREAMT that I had read this book so if it sounds familiar to you, let me know what on earth it is!
8. What movie makes you cry?
I don't cry at movies...but Graham Greene's books always have me in tears!
9. What makes you laugh?
At the moment, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. But everything in general...I'm a giggler! [Ed: I can attest to this.] Ooh yes, and games where you substitute the word 'goose' for either a noun or a verb in a film title. That one makes me chuckle too!
10. Are there fairies at the bottom of your garden?
Yes! There's actually a special fairy garden in my garden, where the dead trees are and the primrose grows. I don't like to visit it very often, because it's also where the septic tank lives, but the fairies don't seem to mind.
Thank you, Frances, a delight!
November 28, 2011
Know-vember: The Other Marko
Jeez, now we're doubling up on entries! Where were you folks at the beginning of the month? I know, I know, everyone's a last minute Charlie. I couldn't get Marko to do the question thing, but his evil twin Bizarro Marko AKA Pony Boy has given me his responses. He's one of the handful of people I still know from when I lived in Los Angeles -- or know again (thanks, social media). Let the madness begin!
Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!
1. What's the first thing you do upon waking in the morning?
Beautiful coffee...
2. What's a song you might be persuaded to dance to?
"Disintegration" by the Cure
3. Where in the world do you live?
Knoxville, TN in my own little world.
4. What's a great night out for you?
Good meal with friends, wine, dancing of all sorts - ballroom to freestyle.
5. What's a great night in?
Wine, fire and movie with my children.
6. If you were offered an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?
So torn! Italia? Egypt? Sao Paolo? Hmmm, probably Ukraine from where my parents came.
7. What book do you wish everyone would read so you could talk about it?
Gods of Eden
8. What movie makes you cry?
Gladiator
9. What makes you laugh?
My children in laughter.
10. Are there fairies at the bottom of your garden?
Who told you about my fairies? Of course there are and they drive the gnomes crazy with their practical jokes. One time, these two fairies flew past... Wait! I've said too much.
Thank you, madman!
Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!
1. What's the first thing you do upon waking in the morning?
Beautiful coffee...
2. What's a song you might be persuaded to dance to?
"Disintegration" by the Cure
3. Where in the world do you live?
Knoxville, TN in my own little world.
4. What's a great night out for you?
Good meal with friends, wine, dancing of all sorts - ballroom to freestyle.
5. What's a great night in?
Wine, fire and movie with my children.
6. If you were offered an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?
So torn! Italia? Egypt? Sao Paolo? Hmmm, probably Ukraine from where my parents came.
7. What book do you wish everyone would read so you could talk about it?
Gods of Eden
8. What movie makes you cry?
Gladiator
9. What makes you laugh?
My children in laughter.
10. Are there fairies at the bottom of your garden?
Who told you about my fairies? Of course there are and they drive the gnomes crazy with their practical jokes. One time, these two fairies flew past... Wait! I've said too much.
Thank you, madman!
