Marian Allen's Blog, page 392

#6WSC Honey

While my sister from across the sea, Marion Driessen (The DuTchess) is on vacation, I’m carrying on her Wednesday challenge. When she returns, she and I will do it on alternate Wednesdays.

HONEY – In the hive or in the jar, a color or an endearment.

Write a tiny little story in only six words (not counting the title).

Here’s a Six Word Story by Ernest Hemingway.

Such an impact and unseen images in only six words…

Publish your Six Word Story on your own website/blog and paste the link to that post in a comment to this one here. Here’s mine:

Honey

Once blond, now gray. Still beloved.

The next 6WSC at Figments of a DuTchess will be up on Wednesday, August 14th.

MA

 

Fandom Fest Food Faintly Fails

I hadn’t intended to write about the food this weekend, but the fantabulous Jen Christopherson asked, and I obey!

We stayed at The Galt House. Now, when I tell you that, you might think, “Wow! Bet she had some glorious feasts there! They have, like, WAY fancy restaurants at The Galt House!” Substitute the word “expensive” for the word “fancy”, and then guess whether or not I ate at any of them.

Right.

Now, since my room mates, T. Lee Harris and Ginny Fleming, also members of the Southern Indiana Writers and of Hydra Publications, and I are veterans of conventions, we took our own food. Since the GH is accustomed to booze hounds, there was a fridge in the room. Since it’s accustomed to big spenders, there was not a microwave. So we et, but we et cold.

T made and sliced a beautiful beef brisket (delicious cold) and brought a side of the mushrooms and onions she cooked with it (not so nice cold). She also brought a lovely gluten-free pasta salad made with brown rice pasta. She brought some coffee concentrate which we could top off with hot water from my electric kettle.

Ginny brought much tea and coffee bags, so we never had to go without caffeine, chocolate, and, as she said, “Cheeeeeese, Grommit!”

I also brought chocolate and coffee (do you notice a kind of little pattern here? Hmmm?), cheese, chicken stewed with onions and marsala wine, fresh dill pickles, homemade mayonnaise, and ladoo, which I’m posting about today at Fatal Foodies.

The Fest had no Hospitality Suite with free snacks and sodas, which most sf/fantasy conventions have, at least for the panelists, nor did the Convention Center. Our exhibition hall, where we sold our books, was so far from our room, we couldn’t go back to eat during the day, so had to forage in the Convention Center. For a place named YUM!, the food was singularly meh.

T and I did get very nice salads at one little stand, though, at a price we could bear. And there was a café actually IN the exhibition hall that had the Best. Fries. Ever. They must have fried them in lard or something, because they were absolute heaven: pillowy soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside, and never got soggy right to the end. I suspect witchcraft was involved.

After all the meat and cheese I had this weekend, I was actually very glad to have cereal and veg all day today. I never thought I would MISS veg, but I’ve reached that point.

Oh, and this: Best reason for not buying my books: “I’m spending all my money on bourbon.” Excuse ACCEPTED.

Tomorrow, here there be pictures.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character has to figure out how to eat when the food around him/her is too expensive.

MA

I Haz Returned!

Fandom Fest was a blast, mostly because of Hydra Publications publisher guy Frank Hall and fellow Hydrated authors at our boof. I mean booth. Here is a picture of a happy publisher:Frank is happy because of the many, many books we sold this weekend, and the many, many wonderful, funny, delightful people we met and shared fun with, whether they bought books or not.

I’ll post more about the convention on Wednesday, after Foodie Tuesday and after I’ve had enough sleep to make up for being wore to a frazzle, rode hard and put up wet, and plumb tuckered.

How hard did I work this weekend? I worked so hard that I thought this was the funniest thing ever. I’m still so tired, I still think it’s purdy durn funny.

Key Card Door gives you the raspberry.

See you tomorrow, when I hope I’ll be close to mornal. I mean normal.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character goes to a business convention that is both hard work and loads of fun.

MA

#SampleSunday Origin of Dragons from SAGE

Here is the story Andrin’s grandmother/dragon tells him of how dragons came to be. It’s from Silver and Iron, Book 3 of my Sage fantasy trilogy.

Origin of Dragons

Silver and Iron, Book 3 of Sage – Excerpt

by Marian Allen

Long, long ago (the dragon said), there was only One Dragon. The earth was her body, and the moon was her pearl; the waters of heaven and earth were her lifeblood, and the sun was her heart. One day, to amuse herself, the Dragon created Time. Then she knew that she was old and she knew that she was lonely.

The One Dragon then took scales of the five colors from her body: red, green, blue, black, and yellow; scales soft, like cloth, because she had no enemies. She spun the scales into thread and knitted little dragons, using her talons as needles. She invited her three friends to come help her celebrate the end of her loneliness.

They all came: Tortoise Spirit, Phoenix Spirit, and Unicorn Spirit.

“These children of yours will live in the world,” said Unicorn Spirit. “They will need protection.”

Tortoise gave the little dragons armored scales. Phoenix gave them fire. Unicorn gave them back what their mother had lost – freedom from the shackles of Time.

“My children are wiser and stronger than I am,” said the One Dragon.

“Then come with us,” her friends begged her, and she agreed.

One Dragon left her body and became Dragon Spirit, and her children were the first dragons. They were all the dragons there were and all the dragons there would ever be. Every so often, one of them would discover Time, and would leave its body and join its mother as part of the Dragon Spirit. So, to keep dragons in the world, the first dragons created Translation. A human who learned what a dragon must know – patience, acceptance, courage, joy, and freedom from enslavement to Time – could be Translated into a dragon. And these dragons are the strongest of all because they, being partly human, can be aware of Time yet take no notice of it.

~ * ~

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Write an origin story for a mythological or imaginary creature.

MA

#Caturday Katya v The Feathered Horde

Katya Graymalkin here. Mom is still playing at Fandom Fest, so I didn’t see why I should do any work. I decided to invite some of Mom’s online friends to come post for me, but three things went wrong:

They’re birds.
They came before Mom left.
THEY’RE BIRDS.

Still, one of them typed my post for me today (using — what else? — the “hunt and peck” method), so I suppose it turned out all right. Many thanks to Jo Robinson of africolonial stories for sending her Feathered Horde to visit.

~ * ~

The Feathered Horde

When our mom told us we’d been invited to Katya’s house for Caturday we were confused. What’s this Caturday? And what’s so cool about cats that they have their own day? When’s our day? Well! We don’t mind about being rude. We’re BIRDS. So we said NO. We have things to do… Stuff… Can’t be bothered about famous online cats. Hmphft! Then our mom said that Jelly had a whole story written just because of him. Now he’s even more pleased with himself than usual, and being all extra cute for the humans. Button mentioned that we’d probably get snacks too. We like snacks. So we said we’d go. Just because of Katya, you see, we’ve never met a real live cat before. Hope she’s not a scared of us.

The Loo
(toilet to you Yanks)

Where do these cats go to the toilet? We like going to the loo, and rush there as fast as we can when we feel something coming on. Mom makes loud noises and wipes it off quickly so that it doesn’t get away. That means she likes it. So we hopped on, and all showed Katya what the actual toilet was, but she looked doubtful and we think that she only said that she might give it a try when her mom’s out to be polite. She said she normally has another loo, and didn’t think her mom would like what we did. She couldn’t have been more wrong! Her mom loved what we did. She did another big happy dance, then wiped it off just as fast as she could.

Button with a strawberry

We like Katya. She said she wondered what we’d taste like. We said she could have a try but we wanted to see what she tasted like first. She looked keen, and said fine, but when I munched down on her tail with my trusty parrot beak, she yelled for her mom and started a game of hide and seek. We were just about to go find her, when her mom did another happy dance, and it was time to go home. We hope we get invited back again. She tastes really nice. We think we might have Thbirdsday now, and have her come around here too.

Thanks for having us Katya’s mom. X

Hi from Jelly

~ * ~

And thanks for doing my post. Come again any time! I like that dance Mom did.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR ANIMALS: An animal of another sort comes to visit and wreaks havoc.

KG

Who Cares About FIREFLY?

~MomGoth holds up hand so high she nearly dislocates shoulder.~

The best part about Firefly was that it was cancelled after eleven episodes, before it had a chance to get sucky (i.e. to go in a direction I didn’t personally like). SERENITY, the follow-up movie, for example, does so not get the MomGoth seal of approval.

Three members of the cast of Firefly will be at Fandom Fest this weekend: Adam Baldwin (the man they call Jayne), Jewel Staite (li’l Kaylee), and Alan Tudyk (Wash).

Why do those of us who love it love it so? Partly because the run was so short it’s easy to remember the trivia. Partly because the acting, scripts, music, and production values were so darn good. Partly because it was moving and funny. I started watching it because Nathan Fillion was such a cutie, but I’ve watched it over and over because the female characters are so strong and because Jayne is a neverending source of amusement.

Here’s the Wiki about it.

Here’s the link to Hulu, where you can watch it for free.

Here’s some great news: There will soon be a Firefly online game! Will I play? Probably not. There aren’t enough hours in the day as it is.

So will I get autographs from the Firefly crew? Are you kidding me? They want money for them! I ain’t payin’ nobody to scribble a little bitta ink on some piece of paper — less’n it’s a check. Know what I mean? — Thank you, Jayne, that will do.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: What autograph would you pay to get from the living person?

MA

#FandomFest Is THIS WEEKEND!

And I expect to have a double-dog blast! In case you don’t know what Fandom Fest is, it’s a bunch of conventions all rolled into one, including body art (no tattoos for MomGoth, but I can sure look!), celebrities, and a literary track. I’m on a few panels:

Friday

2:00 Meet the Panelists – Rm 106

4:00 Dynamic Dialogue – Rm 107

What are some approaches to writing effective dialogue? This panel will contain a few surprises, as our panelists will demonstrate how dialogue that might look correct on the page can be very different on the ear. Be sure to catch this panel for some moments that are both instructive and entertaining!

Featuring:

Marian Allen, L. Andrew Cooper, Scott Sandridge (M), Missy Goodman, Ian Harac, Ren Garcia

 

5:30 Effective Social Media – Rm 106

So many social media outlets and so little time. What is an author to do? This panel will feature several individuals who are savvy and effective when it comes to social media, to offer their insights on how to approach some specific social media outlets, as well as what not to do. There is an art to being effective with social media, and this panel will shed some light on that area.

Featuring:

Alicia Justice (M), Tony Acree, Marian Allen, RJ Sullivan, Missy Goodman, Jennifer Malone Wright

 

7 Writers Guide to Drinking – Rm 108

What’s the easiest place to find authors at a Con? Just go to the bar! Yes, authors have been known to have a drink or two, and we thought we’d include a fun panel featuring authors talking about the topic of drinking! What they like, whether they drink when writing, and more! Should be a fun, light-hearted addition to the track!

Featuring:

Tony Acree, Marian Allen, Chris Brown, Christian Jensen (M), Scott Sandridge, Neil Sayatovich

 

Saturday

2:30 Genre Fiction as an Effective Aid for Those With Disabilities – Rm 109

From special literary programs, to themes in stories, science fiction and other genre fiction has long been of help and comfort to those with special needs or disabilities. This panel will explore some of the ways in which genre fiction plays a wonderful role in helping many who are contending with disabilities.

Featuring:

T. Lee Harris, Lee Martindale (M), J. L. Mulvihill, Joy Ward, Marian Allen

 

4:00 Fan Fiction – Rm 109

A panel focused on writing fan fiction, including the reasons why it can be a useful endeavor for some writers, and why other writers advise strongly against it. An honest discussion of a very popular pursuit in the world of creative writing today.

Featuring:

Marian Allen, Alicia Justice, Kayelle McClive, S.H. Roddey (M)

 

Please forgive the crazy-go-nutz formatting. Life is just like that, sometimes. The Galt House CHARGES for Wi-Fi in the rooms, almost $6 for up to 2 devices; since there are three of us sharing a room, that’s nearly $12 per night. So I’ll be setting up the weekend posts early and checking for comments from the common areas, where the Wi-Fi is free. Ha!

Meanwhile, I’ve been interviewed about SAGE at Pat Bertram Introduces. Hop over and leave a comment or sumpin.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character leaves their room (singular they — ha!) to use the Wi-Fi in the common area and locks themself (themselves? how does that work, singular they, eh? how does that work?) out.

MA

#6WSC Sharp

While my sister from across the sea, Marion Driessen (The DuTchess) is on vacation, I’m carrying on her Wednesday challenge. When she returns, she and I will do it on alternate Wednesdays.

SHARP – Cheese, blades, words, wind. Gossips’ noses. Toddlers’ elbows.

Write a tiny little story in only six words (not counting the title).

Here’s a Six Word Story by Ernest Hemingway.

Such an impact and unseen images in only six words…

Publish your Six Word Story on your own website/blog and paste the link to that post in a comment to this one here. I’ll post my own in the pm.

The next 6WSC at Figments of a DuTchess will be up on Wednesday, August 14th.

MA

What Can A #Vegan Eat? #Food !

Our #2 Daughter is almost-a-vegan. She’ll eat eggs from her own chickens, because she knows they’re spoiled rotten. She’ll eat dairy from small farms which will let you come visit the cows. But mostly, she’s vegan.

Because of her influence, Charlie and I are mostly vegan, as well, although we aren’t as principled as she is, and I’m less principled than Charlie. SHUT UP! I MEAN ABOUT VEGANISM. I’M PLENTY PRINCIPLED. I AM, SO!

ANYWAY, for those who feel sorry for vegans and think poor old vegans have nothing they can eat, here is a picture of one of our meals.

Reading from left to right, that’s beet greens, breaded and fried summer squash, and bi-color corn, all from local farmers. I particularly enjoyed the beet greens, because I bought the beets and the greens came with them as a bonus. They’re delicious and beautiful, with the red and green of them.

If you want to see some real fancy vegan vittles, visit Vegans Eat Pencil Shavings. You’ll wonder why you bother with boring old meat.

I’m posting today at Fatal Foodies on the subject of my new favorite snack, Crusty Charlie.

ALSO, please allow me to remind you that I’ll be at Fandom Fest in Louisville this weekend (July 26-28, 2013) as part of the Literary Track. My panels are:

Friday 4pm Dynamic Dialogue
Friday 5:30pm Effective Social Media
Friday 7:00pm Writers Guide to Drinking

Saturday 2:30pm Genre Fiction as an Effective Aid for Those With Disabilities
Saturday 4:00pm Fan Fiction

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character visits a farm to see how the cows are doing.

MA

Rachel Desilets on Hipstopia

What is Hipstopia? you ask. Yes, you do. Shut UP! You DO!!

ANYWAY, Hipstopia is the irresistible title of Rachel A. Desilets’ book, due for release THIS VERY DAY AS EVER WAS.

Rachel A. Desilets was born in southern New Hampshire. She graduated from Emerson College with a B.A. in Writing, Literature, and Publishing. She currently resides in California with her husband and cats.

She blogs at R A Desilets: Young Adult Writer.

Hipstopia:

It’s been three years since Murphy led the Hipster uprising. For three years, Jay has been by his side. All that’s about to change. It starts with the beautifully intense Prisoner Forty-Seven… and a loaded gun.

Hipstopia is the first book in Young Adult Dystopian duet, The Uprising.

I asked her some questions. She answered.

If you and your characters were on the Titanic and you were first in the lifeboat, which characters would you let in?

That’s a tough one, because I literally have eight named characters. Obviously I would let in the main character, Jay, as well as Prisoner Forty-Seven and Diego, without explanation (you’ll have to read the book to figure out those). Honestly, if I had room, I would probably save them all because their drama would be so much fun to watch while we waited for rescue.

What part does setting play in your book?

Hipstopia exists in a fictional version of Los Angeles. The Hipsters rose up from Silverlake and took the city back from corporate personhood, pushing out anyone who wouldn’t join their side.

Do you ever use visual aids to help you in writing? (Story boards, photos, maps, Pinterest, Polyvore)

I have character photos everywhere. For every story I write, there’s at least one photo of each character, if not more. When I’m writing about a city that I’m unfamiliar with, or have only visited once, I do a lot of “walking around” on street view.

If you had a million billion dollars and had to spend it selfishly, what would you do with it?

Other than buying a really nice house with a large plot of land for my husband and I (and maybe adopting a dog or two), I might try my luck at starting a publishing house. There’s so many talented writers who I would love to work with. But if that fails, I would definitely make a custom built library tree house (because what’s cooler than a library in a tree?).

Do you have another writing project underway?

I have way too many projects underway, but beyond the sequel for Hipstopia, here are the two novels that are actively being edited for self-publication:

The Unanswerable is an adult apocalyptic story where Matthew tries to escape New York City during an ebola breakout with his wife and son. Was aiming for October release, but might get pushed back to later this year.



No Sugar Coating is young adult magical realism that looks at the trials and tribulations of dating when you have a magical twist. I don’t want to give too much away until we get closer to the release date, expected to be February 2014.

Buy HIPSTOPIA in paperback from Createspace.

At Amazon for kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E37VT7E

At Amazon in paperback:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1490583319

~ * ~

Thanks for visiting, Rachel, and good luck with that book! I absolutely utterly ADORE the cover, and the name Prisoner Forty-Seven. I can’t wait to get over and check that out!

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: (Not Rachel; I mean for anybody. Well, OBVIOUSLY, Rachel can do it if she wants to. Anyway–) If you could choose five people to be in a lifeboat with you, real or fictional, living or dead (I mean, they’re dead really, but not dead in the lifeboat, although it’s your writing prompt, so it’s up to you), who would they be?

MA