Krista D. Ball's Blog, page 5

Six Sunday & The Blog Tour Begins!

From today through to August 20, I'll be touring around a number of blogs, doing guest articles and interviews. Also, some folks will be reviewing Flying Kite, Crashing Ship and Harvest Moon. Please check back here often for all the news!

Today, I'm guest blogging at Maria Zannini's about my recent trip to Newfoundland to visit my parents and show my partner around the province. Come check it out!

For this week's six seven sentences, I've pulled them from my upcoming military science fiction novel, Road to Hell (release date: November 4!). Captain Katherine Francis is in the midst of a war, trying to organize a black ops mission, and dealing with a Operations Centre of under-trained officers:

A young man appeared on the vid screen a moment later, his curly red hair resembling an emergency evac light. She made a mental note to remind him to not use vid chat within the station; it drained an unnecessary amount of power.

"Oh, hi Captain. I didn't know you were in your office. What can I do for you?"

She made an additional note to have someone train him on proper communications protocol. Didn't they teach that during training?

 

Today's "Spread the Word" suggestion: Let your Facebook, Twitter, and blog fans know about my blog tour! Share this post's link with everyone.

Gearing up for my summer blog tour ADVENTURES IN SF&F

From July 10-Aug 20, I'll be touring around the blogosphere (blogasphere?blogisphere?) talking about writing, books, science fiction, and fantasy. I'll be posting links every few days, as well as doing some special posts here as well.

I can't wait!

Back from vacation…why am I so tired?

Does anyone else come back from vacation needing a vacation to recover?

"Disneyland: My Own Personal Hell" by Dina James

The title says it all…

 

Disneyland is the Happiest Place on Earth for some. It's pretty much my own personal Hell.

You see, I'm not a "happy, sparkly, pixie-dust" sort. I'm a "give me my tea and I won't stab you in the eye with a double-pointed knitting needle" sort.

A few years ago, my mother turned 55. She'd never been to Disneyland and always wanted to go, so my husband and I saved up for a year in order to take her on an all-expenses-paid vacation to The Happiest Place on Earth. This was not a vacation I was going to relish. I got through it by reminding myself daily that this trip wasn't about me. This was about Mom. Mom had worked the whole of her life raising two kids and serving her country in the US Army, so if her heart's desire was to hug Mickey Mouse and Cinderella, fine. Bibbity-bobbity-freakin'-boo.

Mostly "boo."

It rained the entire time (the only week they'd had of rain in months – the week before and the following week it were perfect). The Monorail was broken every single time we tried to board it for the whole four days we were there. The Haunted Mansion was closed for renovation. It seemed everywhere we went, the staff had a problem with one of my party for some reason or other. My husband couldn't get his name embroidered on a hat because "it's against park policy to put nicknames on hats." (Seriously? Who thinks up these policies? And um, it's his NAME? Not a nickname. They didn't want to see his ID, either. We didn't buy the hat.) My mother couldn't wear her birthday tiara in the park because it was considered a "costume" and "only children 10 and under are allowed costumes" and it would "take away from their show" (um, it's her 55th birthday, and it's a cheesy little tiara…I seriously doubt she's going to be mistaken for Sleeping Beauty). Ad nauseum.

The only good things about Disneyland were the drinks (I amassed quite the collection of plastic light-up LED "ice cubes") and the fact that my mother had a blast despite the annoyances. It being her birthday, she was the recipient of all sorts of attention, treats and special things. That's what made it worth it.

Well, that and the Star Wars stuff. The Lego store had a life-size Darth Vader, which DID make me happy.

 

Dina James is a chronicler of the paranormal (which is a cool way of saying she writes about vampires) and avid collector of all things Darth Vader. Her first book, All Wounds, will be available from Mundania Press in October 2011.

 

Snow Hell

Today's guest blogger is Barbara Elsborg. Barbara is a prolific romance author with so many published titles that I've lost count. You can find her online at 

www.barbaraelsborg.com.

[image error]When I read that it was possible to go underneath the glacier at Hintertux, near Mayrhofen in Austria, I was soooo excited. I love anything to do with snow, except driving in it, and thought it was an opportunity not to be missed. They said the tour could be done wearing ski boots so after husband and I had a few runs down the mountain, I joined a group for the tour. Nearly all German speakers so that was my first problem. I speak a few words and that's all. Ja and nein. Okay, two words.

The walk down the slope to the entrance to the ice cave nearly undid me. So steep and I kept slipping. One foot inside the glacier and I remembered I didn't like small spaces. At all. Encased by ice on four sides I had to fight hard to keep going. It was beautiful under the ice- all sorts of colors and crystalline structures but steep ladders in ski boots and slippery ice underfoot- my heart was pounding. At the bottom of the first ladder, I'd descended so slowly I couldn't see anyone and I went the wrong way. Fortunately, I realized and turned back. My mind went into overdrive and I imagined being lost under the ice – gone forever.

Climbing back up the three ladders was easier but the relief in getting out into fresh air was overwhelming. No more small spaces for me.

The worst though, was climbing back up the snowy slope I'd slithered down. Everyone found it hard but in ski boots – it was doubly difficult side stepping up loose snow. I could hardly breathe when I got to the top.

In desperate need of sympathy – I fell into my husband's arms – he'd been skiing instead of doing the tour – only to find he felt desperately ill and needed to go back down the mountain. He ended up in hospital. Always has to have the attention.

The good news – the trip inspired a story – Snow Play – published by Ellora's Cave.

"I'm a writer and I don't take vacations."

Diana Pharaoh Francis is among my favourite fantasy authors. Her Crosspointe series got me back into epic fantasy reading after rage quitting the genre.  True story.

 

Hello. I'm a writer and I don't take vacations. Ever.

Isn't that pathetic? And it's not entirely true. I mean, every year I go camping on the Oregon coast and I love it. I also manage to sneak away here and there with the family. But the truth is, I don't really ever leave the job. That's because a writer is all about the experience and observations. Graham Greene said that every writer has to have a splinter of ice in their hearts. What he meant was that in even the most emotional, difficult situations, in the back of their minds, writers are taking notes.

 

Oh! So this is what that's like! How it feels or smells or looks or happens . . . We take notes. Even on vacations. Hell, especially on vacations because we go places and see things we might have never seen and done before and we are going to stuff those details into the vault of our creativity and use them.

Which means that vacations are ultra important. We need them to add to the creative well. But it goes beyond that.

Writers have a bad habit of writing all the time. Oh, sure, some are great about taking weekends off or even putting aside the writing for a couple of weeks and declaring a holiday. But sadly most of us have day jobs and have to fit the writing in around them, and even if we didn't, we get totally absorbed in the writing and can't force ourselves to leave the book.

But we have to. Like everyone else, we need to de-stress and relax and enjoy life. More than that, we need to remember that there is a life to be led beyond writing. It's really hard, sometimes. Especially since most writers write because it's a joy and why would you want to step away from the joy?

We're workaholics. Really. Ask me how many hours I put into my writing just yesterday. Go ahead . . . The answer? Between 10 and 12. And that didn't feel at all out of proportion to normal. Maybe I'm sick. Maybe I need a vacation.

Want to know where I dream of going? Belize. And Costa Rica. And Machu Pichu. Those are the three places I really want to go. I need to save up. I'm dreadfully afraid of heights but I want to do a zipline through a jungle. I want to learn to scuba dive, and even thought I've only been once, I love to snorkle. I also want to go to Hawaii and see a live volcano.

If you could go anywhere and cost wasn't a factor, where would it be and why?

Diana Pharaoh Francis

Mad Libs, my blog: http://difrancis.livejournal.com

Hitting London town by Samantha Goodwin

Samantha Goodwin is an amazingly talented photographer. Her work can be found at www.ferrris.blogspot.com and http://www.flickr.com/photos/sammehg/.

 

The roads are always grid locked from red buses to angry taxi drivers and there's always noise like that distinct whistle of the underground tube; I'm talking about London, Great Britain. I live a good two hours away from the capital, on the train that is. It's the only reason I choose to get up very early to go to the very cold Manchester Piccadilly train station, where if the smell of oil that lingers in the air doesn't sober you up at 7am, nothing will.

As you arrive in London you're welcomed with the hustle and bustle of suited up ladies and gents clutching their briefcase or Mulberry handbag. I like to admire them from a far knowing I'd suffocate in suits or a crisp blouse such as theirs as soon as touch them. London is very clean. Compared to Manchester where I'm from, it's spotless. There's always something to do whether you want to go to the theatre, take your pick there are millions of stages! Or if you want to catch an opening of an art exhibit – so what if you don't care for stick and ink portraits? You attend for very bad and very free wine.

The River Thames smells like the seaside and Carnaby Street, although no longer swinging, is still vibrant with its colourful characters and boutiques as it was in the 60s. Cram like a sardine into the tube up to Camden town to lose yourself in market stalls, shisha bars and china shops that sell plates in celebration of Princess Diana and Prince Charles' wedding (I'm always tempted to buy one!) If you're not into jumble sale style shopping you'll fall in love with Notting Hill. Where the street buskers play the Cello and the antiques are actually real.

London is my favourite place to travel. Not Rome or Dubai, but the capital, London. I never want to leave which is why, in September, I shall be moving there to go to my dream University. It's a scary move from my home and my grungy city that is Manchester. Each journey to London is important, making it a little bit easier, a bit more familiar and ten times more exciting.

 

Samantha Goodwin: starting London College of Fashion in September for BA (Hons) Fashion Journalism.

My blog, for cool things, Manchester things and things from my trips to London town: www.ferrris.blogspot.com

 

Vacation is not for sleeping

[image error]When Krista asked me to write a guest blog post on vacations I thought, 'yes! I get to write about Kenya again!'

Then I realized—after several false starts—I no longer wanted to write about Kenya. Outside of fiction, that is. Though I've only been once, it now feels like home…a setting for my future fiction. I thought I would instead write about Cozumel, the place I visited with my wife, son and mother-in-law two months after my life changing trip to Kenya.

After being spoiled on my solo trip to Africa, I wanted some family time; to reconnect with my fourteen year-old son, Jacob. I had returned from my African journey changed in many ways. But everybody else was still the same. I felt euphoric, but odd. Disconnected from Western civilization!

 

Enter a week of fun with Jacob! But while touring Kenya I had become, unbeknownst to me, the Vacation Nazi (a title that was later bestowed upon me).

There are many things to see and do on Cozumel! The race was on…how many of them could we crush in one week. I planned the itinerary; daytrips for the family and others just for Jacob and me. Exciting things like cave exploring, 4-wheel jungle tours, scuba diving…death defying stuff!

I thought Jacob was as euphoric as I was about all my wondrous vacation plans. We were doing things he had never even dreamed of doing.

Day four, six a.m. alarm sounds. Jacob, almost crying, looks at me pleadingly. "If I were going to school today, I'd still be sleeping for another two hours!"

The moral? When going on vacation, plan to actually rest. It's not a vacation if you're busier than you would be if you were at home. Find a chair. Sit. Enjoy some calm and silence. Vacate!

Kevin's first Young Adult novel, SUMMER ON FIRE, will be available July, 2011 from Museitup Publishing.

 

 

 

The Best Vacation…Is No Vacation

Lindsay Below, the self-processed workaholic, is guest blogging today about how she doesn't vacation. When she's avoiding taking time off, she writes books for the young and the young at heart. Under the penname L.K. Below, she crafts stories for adults ranging from saucy romance to gripping speculative fiction. Visit her online at www.lbelow.net.

Wait, hold the phone. Did I really just say that I'd rather not have a vacation? Well, yes. And if you know me, it's 100% true. But maybe an introduction would help first.

Hi, I'm Lindsay. My life can be summed up in two words: Author. Workaholic.

There you have it. As a writer, I shape my own schedule. I can write just about anywhere. All I need is a pen, paper, and an idea. In my experience, it's (unfortunately) rude to bring edits or a work in progress to someone's house when invited for dinner. Since I'm a bit on the reclusive side (and those who know me are guffawing over that understatement), I've often wished to be able to. I've known authors who are social delights, able to chat about anything and by the end of the night, skillfully turn the conversation to their books to earn a sale. I'm not that way. I sit quietly, listen, and sometimes chime in if I have something to contribute. Unless someone asks, I feel too out of place to mention my books. In fact, even among family, I would be in heaven if you would stick me in a corner and give me my latest masterpiece to scribble on.

What does this have to do with a vacation? Everything. This is an illustration of how reluctant I am to set aside my work for even one night. Because I'm always working. Promoting, blogging, scheduling, editing, researching, and of course the all-important task of actually writing. But I love to do it. My sense of self-worth is tied into being productive. I don't want to stop, even for a week or two.

My boyfriend has a different idea of vacation. Doing nothing. "Relaxing." But if I'm not working, what can I do, twiddle my thumbs? Well, I could read (which I do adore) but if I pick up a classic book, I run the risk of jotting down possible quotes/elements to weave into a work in progress.

If I had to take a "vacation" and go anywhere, I would want it to be somewhere rich in history. Museums, old buildings, ruins, monuments. Something that I can see and take pictures of. Something that I can learn from. Why? So I can use it in a book someday.

See? I'm incorrigible. "Vacation" just isn't in my vocabulary. And to be honest, I don't want it to be. I love what I do, even if it means I fixate on work when I shouldn't. This is a part of who I am. Maybe someday I'll convince my boyfriend of that. In the meantime, there are plenty of ways I can cheat and work when he doesn't know that's what I'm doing. *Cue maniacal laughter.*

Is anyone else as much of a workaholic as I am? If not, how do you like to kick back and relax?

A Writer Goes to Egypt

I'm really happy to have my online friend, Marie Dees, talking about her trip to Egypt. See that expression on my face? It isn't jealousy. Honest.

[image error]Egypt.

It conjures up visions of pyramids and camels. But for me, it's part of a long love affair with mystery novels from Agatha Christies "Death on the Nile" to Elizabeth Peters Amelia Peabody series.  So when offered a chance to go on a Mediterranean Cruise that included an overnight stop in Egypt and a chance to visit the pyramids, I wasn't going to turn it down.  Even if it meant risking nearly two weeks on a cruise ship when I can get motion sick in a rocking chair. Fortunately, the motion sickness was kept at bay by  a steady dose of Dramamine which left me feeling a little like I was floating through most of the cruise.  Which had an extra benefit. I managed to get a lot of writing done during the "at sea" days as I wandered the ship with my little pink netbook.

And then we were in Egypt. We docked in Alexandria. Cairo and the nearest pyramids where three hours drive away. The buses were comfortable and though this was December and before the protests in Egypt, we were escorted by armed government guards who wouldn't let the convoy of buses stop for a break during the drive.  Egypt was going to turn out to be a whirlwind of pyramids, museums and Cairo traffic.

Yes, the pyramids are amazing! But seeing them did nothing to convince me that they'd been built by aliens.  I've seen Stonehenge, the pyramids in the Yucatan, and now the pyramids of Giza. All amazing sites, but all testaments of what humans can accomplish.  At Giza we were besieged by people selling trinkets and such for the tourist trade. Fortunately I was prepared and knew I'd be expected to pay if I took a photo of someone one or to use the bathrooms in the area.

But I did splurge for one thing. Two handsome young Egyptians offered to take my picture on their camel. Riding a camel takes a bit of getting used to, but once you figure out the balance part, it isn't bad for a short ride.  Besides, what is more iconic than a romance writer on a camel in front of the pyramids of Giza?

Marie Dees lives in Central Florida where she enjoys gardening and thinking up devious plans for the characters in her novels. Her works include mysteries, romance and erotic romance. The last would surprise the neighbors, but when the weather in Florida gets hot and steamy, so do her characters. Check out her blog!