Dawn Metcalf's Blog, page 49

More Steampunk Zoology: Gearworld or Bust!

I just remembered that it's been *ages* since I've mentioned steampunk animalia on this blog, so I figured it was high time to tune into one of my old faves from Metal and Magic, Ursula Vernon. A friend linked me to her work: a fascinating combination of animals, native cultures, and more than a fair helping of either dark beauty or brilliant humor. (You want great examples? Look at her Weird Fruit or Viking Hamster lines -- or, perhaps, her Dragonbreath books, which are hi-larious, btw! Just...

Not Written in the Stars

I have just finished the laborious process of deleting all my starred reviews from Goodreads. Why? Because I have joined the many authors who acknowledge that we are writers first and, therefore, not able to be good reviewers or critiquers. We know a lot about the business, we know a lot of other authors, and it's hard to condemn any book knowing how much blood, sweat, tears and time goes into making one versus stepping back to get clarity when something just doesn't work (for us). Knowing it...

One of These Things...

...is certainly "special" and "different!" Honestly, having read this blog for any length of time, would you want it any other way? (Um...Don't answer that.)

So: Time for a quiz!

*ahem*

What do these things have in common?


Lt. Uhura Barbie


Proper zen posture


Anime eyes


Dragon Well (Lung Ching) Green Tea


Epinephrine


Malcolm X


...did you guess right? Answer: My new WIP! *wheeeee!*

Looking for Loose Leaf Aficionados

Dear LJ Hive-Mind:

I am interested in talking to tea lovers regarding a character in my current WIP. Not just tea drinkers, mind you, but folks who take their tea seriously; I'm looking for loose leaf aficionados, ceylon cynics, black leaf baristas "ooh"-ing and "ahh"-ing for oolong, I'm talkin' full-fledged tea snobbery, people! Whether it's Black, White, Green, Pouchong, Oolong, Jasmine, Ginseng, Herbal or Blended, I want to hear from YOU!

What type of tea do you like & where do you get it?
Wh...

Why I Write YA

I just finished reading an adult mystery. The premise was a great hook, intriguing me long after I heard about it so that I had to actually go back and pick it up; the cover was compelling, the author well-recognized and reputable, and the first pages were well-written so I took it home.

I plowed through it, ignoring the obviousness of the lead-in character dialogue, the heavy-handed cliffhanger endings in every chapter, and the open-ended plot threads shouting "Remember Me! I'll Be Important...

¡Hola 11sies!

cross-posted at the Elevensies

Look! Photographic proof of 11sies in the wild!


It's true: we exist outside the blogoverse and our own overactive imaginations!

Pictured above are Karsten Knight, author of WILDEFIRE, Kim Harrington, author of CLARITY, and Dawn Metcalf, author of...something TBD! It wasn't Second Breakfast, more like evening of Mexican food, spicy salsa and hot Elevensies conversation – muy caliente! We chatted about many things "book," laughed about random personal antics, and pur...

You Wrote A Book!!!

On Verla Kay there's sometimes talk about the "Green Eyed Monster" in publishing where we acknowledge or confess some icky jealous feelings over this person's market deal or that person's advance, and while it's good to vent and get over it with safe people who understand, I think it's valuable to step back and realize that there's an important fact that has been skipped-over: You Wrote A Book. That's right. YOU wrote a *book*! How amazing is that?! You sat down and with nothing more than a b...

Sometimes, They Get It RIGHT!

You know there has been a rash of complaints about covers not "getting it right" for one good reason or another? Well, move over people because Stephanie Burgis' UK edition of A MOST IMPROPER MAGICK hits the nail on the head and drives it home. Seriously, it's gorgeous and I covet the art director who made it up. I *cannot wait* to read about the unladylike adventures of Kat Stephenson and the Tiffany blue/gold/white of the new cover makes me want to grab it and a bone china plate of petits f...

Follow Up: RAY GUN!

And here it is: after a trip to Home Depot, a can of spray paint, roughly $7, and a bunch of stuff lying around the house...may I present my first ever Ray Gun!

Remember the original idea:


Number One: Make It So!

has now been morphed into this:



I imagine it as an adapted medical weapon, "Dr. Whatzzis' Scorpion Special" able to zap things impressively with an variety of vaporized substances with a flick of a trigger (this version can be loaded with a number of liquified plugs, featured here is Me...

This Is How My Brain Works

I was shopping for random 4th of July objects for festooning our vehicle for the Fourth of July Parade that happens on July 10th (I know...I know...) Still, marching in the parade is something I've loved to do ever since I was a kid in our town parade all dressed up red-white-and-blue, from clothing to facepaint to ribbons and streamers, on bikes or walking the dog, waving and throwing candy to the crowds amidst floats. Now I do this with my husband and our karate dojo family and I'll be darn...