Judith Tarr's Blog, page 14

Lipizzan Number Nine, and Sundry

Book View Cafe blog today about Lipizzan Number Nine, with horse-yoga neep. And pictures by tcastleb .

Also there's a short story on the front page, with a holiday theme. These will be appearing on Mondays through the end of December. Enjoy!

And here's a reminder before I forget: Now through December 7th, there's a mentoring sale right here. Mention this post and get $20 off a five-hour package. Excellent for that post-NaNo revision blitz (and can be banked for later if you need a brain break before the blitz).

I'm finally over the cold. Mostly. That was a long one--and I never get colds. Brain is more or less back on line, which is a considerable relief. I was wondering if it needed a missing-persons investigation. I'm slowly getting caught up on three weeks' worth of To-Do's.

My big ambition for December is to dive into fiction and get lots of pages done. And get back to RIDING. Three weeks of sick = three weeks of no ride. Bad, bad, bad. Will start with Capria. Pooka objects Strenuously to the current cold weather and has his cranky pants on. And they are in a twist. Capria likes cold weather. Q.E.D.

Happy T-Day to Everyone!

Whether it's (US)Thanksgiving, (Canada)Thanksgiving(sixweekslate), or plain last-Thursday-in-November.

For the first time in several years, I feel as if the good of the season here outweighs the bad. In no particular order:

Nine horses in the barn and I hyperventilate a bit at that, but number nine is a piece of my heart that left seven years ago and now is back, and she won't be leaving again except, if she feels like it, to do a show or a clinic. And then she'll come back home where she belongs.

The Lipizzan Rescue Foundation, which made it possible, and came through in a big tearing hurry, so that she could be vetted and shipped inside of a week (which in the annals of cross-country horse shipping is rather epic).

The Essential Eight continue healthy, happy, and while I've been sick for most of the month, I will be back up and riding starting this weekend. Capria might capriole of I cough too hard, but we can cope with that.

The good horse people of the world, including Awesome Trainer/Masseuse and Yoga Master Extraordinaire. You've all but wiped out the memory of the bad horse people. There's lots more of that good stuff (and people) ahead. And oh, the places we'll go!

Housemate asleep at the other end of the house, international finalist for Best Housemate Ever, and she's discovered horses and brought in the White Horse yoga thing and found her music again. (Under a whole lot of boxes in the back of the closet.)

Family in Green Valley, where I'll be going later this afternoon and staying until Saturday. Sister and her SO can be here because sister's job brought her to Arizona this week and she got to stay on for the holiday.

All of you friends (both old and new) and fans and readers and Camp Lipizzan-ers and mentees and mentors and fellow writers who have helped in so many ways, from a kind word to a huge, farm-saving load of aid and assistance. I literally would not be have made it through the past few years without you.

So glad to be able to post this. And to want to. And to only feel a little icky because we New Englanders, we are not the touchy-feely-huggy-mushy sort. But there it is.

Happy ThankfulDay to you all.

Fast News Dump AAANNNDD...The FIFTH (Yes! Fifth!) Annual Holiday SALE!

I have lots to post, but I've got a narsty cold (and I never get a cold), so it will be a while before I do it up proper. Short form:

Nine Lipizzans in the barn (thank you, Lipizzan Rescue Foundation!)

Might be offering a breeding lease in the spring (anybody wanna Pooklet?)

Final sample chapter of ALAMUT up on Book View Cafe today. Our surveys were demonstrating that no one was reading the chapter-a-week offerings, and they weren't doing anything for sales, so we're revamping the front page and changing to free samples instead. I'll be putting up holiday-themed short stories next week and through the New Year. Short, sweet, fun to read. Plus of course doing the Horseblog every other week. WRITING HORSES is out (and selling nicely! Thanks, guys!), but the Horseblog lives on. Next one will show up on Monday the 29th. There will be neep!

Also, while we're talking about BVC, there's another new release this week, from fellow member Jerry Weinberg: a new, never before published contemporary novel of the fantastic called THE HANDS OF GOD. Starting tomorrow, you can get it here.

And now, the thing I wanted to be sure to put up today. Every year at this time I offer a Mentoring Sale. Old and current as well as new mentees can play. Packages can be given as gifts. If you're not quite ready now but will be in a couple of months, that's OK. I'll bank the hours for you.

Over here is a general explanation of what I do. The rate has gone up to $40 an hour but I'm holding it steady for now. What it adds up to is a one-on-one, you decide what you need, I work with you to get it, ongoing for as long as you want or need, online class in writing and developing fiction. You can start at any point, from first idea to finished ms. needing revision (hello, NaNo participants!). I have done poetry, and can talk to you about nonfiction, memoir, etc.

Here's the deal: Between now and December 7th, I'm offering 5 hours for $180. That's $20 off the regular rate. This is time enough for a query/synopsis/sample review and some revisions, a good start on an ongoing novel development or revision, or a fairly in-depth review of a fistful of short pieces.

Another thing I do that may be of use or interest is a sideline that kind of made itself: I'll look at just the parts of your story that have horses in them, review them, answer questions about them, help with development as needed. Base rate of $75 gets you up to two hours of review and answers; further hours at the regular rate.

Interested? Questions? Email me at capriole at that gmail thing. And do please boost the signal. We like to spread the wealth with this one. :)

It's Raining Horse Resources

I am very excited--WRITING HORSES, my compilation of (edited, revised, expanded, and lavishly illustrated) Horseblogs from Book View Cafe is out at last. It's right here. :)

In addition to its many illustrations, it also has many many links to further resources. This as sartorias noted is one way that ebooks have it all over hardcopy. It was so useful to be able to present an overview with a link to a more in-depth exploration.

It was great fun to do, and it's Horse Neep on a book-sized scale. There's even swag. Vonda convinced me to do a mug with my Pooka-in-the-flowers photo on it, because she wanted one. So I did one. I'm going to get one, too.

Today's Horseblog is about "Why Bother to Get It Right?" Which is all part of the same philosophy.

One thing I wish I had known about before we put this book to bed--I just found a link to it last week--is a site called Horses Inside Out, where a physiotherapist paints anatomical images on horses and then does things with them to show what's happening under the skin when a horse runs or jumps or does (in one wonderful case) a levade. Horse people, you've got to see this. It's amazing.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we're having a horsey week. Lessons on Thursday, White Horse Yoga on Friday. Then a very musical holiday, with Rachael Sage in town for gigs, which means smoemeth and wojsvenwoj , too. Tucson locals and visitors, I'll be at the gallery performance with tcastleb on Saturday. Come and hear some good music, interspersed with some of the funniest shtick you ever did hear. Cellist Dave Eggar is coming in for this one, which is a seriously excellent bonus.

I'm kind of bouncy, aren't I? But. Hey. Horse book. And Horseblog. And lessons and ponies and yoga and music! And smoemeth ! Yes!

Why Arizona?

I did a guest blog over at janni 's lj just now. Talking about why I moved out here, and why I stay.

That was fun. :)

At Long Last, Book Trailer

It's up all over the place, but I wanted to be sure lj got its own special delivery.

Not your usual book trailer. Mostly, it's Fat White Ponies. :)

Horse Girls and Magic

Somebody likes my book. :)

http://blog.bookviewcafe.com/2010/11/07/horse-girls-and-magic/


Very interesting comments. I agree with the person who wants more girls-and-dogs stories.

Ardha Chandrasana

I just love the way that phrase looks and sounds.

Here is what it is, with Tia (and me, and Jenny):



That was horse yoga yesterday at November Camp. We're doing something new--White Horse yoga--that's going to be a monthly thing for the locals. But Camp has been getting to do the beta testing. Yesterday instead of keed literally in our faces, it was Pandora and a supernally soft Camilla


and a suddenly very adult (and rock-solid) Tia.

This felt amazing:



Pandora was supporting me. It was like leaning on a warm wall that went all the way down to the center of the earth.

Tia has been Growing Herself Up. She was an absolute screaming snot on Wednesday when I was riding Capria. Kept trying to spook Capria with wild bolting and mad gallops right behind or in front of her. Finally when I finished and started to ride toward the gate to dismount, Tia whirled and popped a kick.

That was not on.

So I handed Capria to the indispensable tcastleb and got the longe whip and had a Discussion. Which went like this: GALLOPGALLOPGALLOPGALLOP KICK!!! GALLOPGALLOPGALLOP. And I said, Trot! And she immediately, without hesitation, dropped to a trot. So Canter, I said. And she did more GALLOPGALLOPGALLOP. Trot, I said again. And boom, she did.

Brat. That's what she wanted. Her very own training session. So we had a free longe and she was excellent. She got praise. But no cookie. Because people who kick don't get cookies.

By the time birdhousefrog and rstefoff got there for Camp, Tia was very very thinky. And she stayed thinky through lessons on Thursday (which she sat out) and into yoga on Friday, when she decided to be, like Pandora, a pillar of the earth. And she was good at it.

Today is a quiet day. Writing is happening. I have to change Pandora's bandage--she cut her leg on Wednesday, is healing unbelievably fast but needs to have the wound covered for a bit to keep it clean--and poultice Ephiny's foot, which is trying to blow an abscess. Poor baby is not happy. At all. I'll call the Wonder Shoer tomorrow and see if he can fit us in this coming week, and trim the crew and see if he can dig in there and find the pocket of ick.

Yes, we are tired. But Camp is going well. And we have Stuff happening. Like this, which is coming out on Tuesday (oh my) (squee):



I already have copies, which means Amazon must be shipping the preorders.

And also this, which is coming out from Book View Cafe on the 15th:



Also coming from BVC in November: GALVESTON by P.G. Nagle and HIDDEN FIRES by Katharine Eliska Kimbriel, reprints in e-form, and a new novel, THE HANDS OF GOD, by Gerald M. Weinberg. Details here.
Camp finishes first thing Tuesday morning. Then there is a breathing space for the patented mad holiday dash. I'll come up for air again sometime around Twelfth Night.

Bloody Blaydin' LJ

LJ is no longer letting me post comments. Claiming that I have logged out and am not allowed to post anonymously. But I am logged in. And I can't re-log in.

So I'm not ignoring you. LJ is refusing to let me say anything.

Oh hai!

I am not doing NaNo. Every year I think about it. Every year, sanity prevails. But I do intend to ride the wave of energy that all the NaNo posts can create, and up the productivity with the fiction.

I have been working on something, mind. It's coming out from Book View Cafe in two weeks. Finally, horses for writers! Ebook only for now, but you can get software to read it on your computer if you don't have an ereader. Here's a preview of the cover:



This week there will be Camp. There will be lessons and horse yoga and writing and food. Also, food. Did I mention food? I have some new recipes I want to try. We are keeping the carbs low and the wheat at a minimum this week, which is a challenge, but we embrace it.

I've been recovering from the Big Go Boom off Pooka. We're both mostly over it now, though I did some processing and made a Horseblog out of it. Pook has apologized profusely and has been exerting himself to be the Best Horse Ever, successfully for the most part.

November is going to be busy. After Camp, there will be Thanksgiving festivities, including sister smoemeth 's working vacation. Rachael Sage, for whom she is Roadie Supreme, is doing gigs in Bisbee and Tucson and then up to Phoenix. I may be able to say, with perfect sincerity, "I'm with the band." Or at least think it.

Also I am thinking about a post-NaNo, holiday mentoring sale. I'll have some openings at that point. So, hmmm. Thinking. I think I will.

And that's where I'm at today. If you do facebook, I post regularly there; for busy-brain ADD, the format works. I do twitter, too, but fb is more flexible. And you can put pictures in posts a la lj.

But lj is still the go-to place for the meatier bits. And catching up with friends who don't Do the trickier social media. It's a good mix.