Delilah S. Dawson's Blog, page 41
February 11, 2012
another dream come true
Yesterday, they drew on my eyeballs with Sharpie, then taped down my eyelids and... then there were lots of flashes and clicks and the smell of my corneas burning.
Then I went to sleep for 17 hours.
Now I can see.
I've needed glasses since 3rd grade. I wore glasses from 6th grade to 10th grade. Ever since, it's been contacts every single day.
Now, for the first time in my life, I can read the alarm clock from across the room.
Thank you, Dr. Woolfson. Thank you, mysterious and possibly insane inventor of Lasik. Thank you, Dr. Krog.
Finally, when the zombies come, I'LL BE READY.
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February 9, 2012
the abs I always wanted...
...are on Criminy Stain.
He looks good. He smells good. In 52 more days, you'll get to read about *all* the things at which he excels.Ahem.
Until then, you can come over and stroke his abs with me.
And dream.
Much thanks to my publisher, Pocket/Simon & Schuster, for sending this utterly delicious foamcore poster. Look for him at the launch party and, hopefully, various cons around the South.
And on my kitchen island.
*
Lasik at 2pm. Wish me luck!
*
This is my first pre-arranged post. I suspect tomfoolery will occur.I will blame Criminy.
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February 8, 2012
a glimpse of the carnival
Oh, squashblossoms.
I had so much fun last night that I don't even know where to begin.
The launch party for BLOOD AND BULLETS by local urban fantasy author, tattoo artist, and all-around nice guy James R. Tuck was a *FANTASTIC* success. Loads of folks came out to buy a book, get it signed, and listen to several local authors James was generous enough to invite out just for the purpose of reading their work.
And I am honored to be one of them. So that picture? It's my first public reading of WICKED AS THEY COME. I read an excerpt of Tish's first fortune telling practice in which we learn that the strong man is being plotted against, the horse-faced girl has a secret under her hat, and the lizard boy just needs some hand lotion.
I met so many wonderful people, and I was thrilled to see so much support for local authors. My friends Heidi and Betty came out, not to mention some of my talented pals from the Red Door Writing Group, including Ericka, Crystal, Seth, and Kevin. Thank you all so much!
Readings, signings, hand-shaking, card-handing-out-ing, and red wine were followed by the best pizza I've ever had at Vingenzo's, a marvelous Italian restaurant just a few doors down from FoxTale Book Shoppe in Woodstock, GA. I will definitely be making a date for another Pugliese.
In the words of Zoe Soldana's character in Center Stage, "THAT WAS THE MOST FUN I'VE EVER HAD!"
Thanks so much for inviting me, James. And thanks for having us, FoxTale. And thanks to everyone who came out to support local authors and an independent bookseller.
Now just make sure to come back on March 30 at 7pm for more excerpts, books, sexy vampires, cake, and wine at the WICKED AS THEY COME launch party. James is hoping to be there, too, so you can get a copy of BLOOD AND BULLETS signed while you're at it.
And maybe some pizza afterward, if you're good. Because DANG.
* [image error]
February 7, 2012
Want to hear an excerpt? YOU CAN!
Tonight, I've been invited to read an excerpt of WICKED AS THEY COME at the book launch party for BLOOD AND BULLETS, an urban fantasy by Woodstock author James R. Tuck.
Details here.
Leather, handcuffs, and tattoos are greatly encouraged.
As for me, I'll be dressed in black lace and reading a scene from the carnival.
There could be funny voices, including my famous British accent.
7pm, FoxTale Book Shoppe in downtown Woodstock, GA. Be there or be extremely square. Also, James is a bouncer, so he might mess you up.
*[image error]
Details here.
Leather, handcuffs, and tattoos are greatly encouraged.
As for me, I'll be dressed in black lace and reading a scene from the carnival.
There could be funny voices, including my famous British accent.
7pm, FoxTale Book Shoppe in downtown Woodstock, GA. Be there or be extremely square. Also, James is a bouncer, so he might mess you up.
*[image error]
on glasses and mugs
Age 6: I fell in love with coffee.
I'd had little tastes before then, always on vacation. A sip here, a sip there. Finally, while spending a week on my aunt's house boat, I was allowed my own small cup of coffee. It was tan, filled with too much cream and too much sugar, and it was hot and beautiful and delicious. I still remember sitting on the couch, feeling the wet touch of morning fog on my forehead and the edge of the boat under the ball of my foot. I felt so grown up and content, and it's as if the world slowed to a crawl while I drank. I wasn't allowed seconds.
I'm 34 now. The world still slows down when I drink coffee, always with too much cream and too much sugar.
*
6th grade: I got my first glasses.
I played softball and had been in a hitting slump for a year. They finally took me to the optometrist and learned that I wasn't dropping my shoulder-- I was going blind. I picked out two pairs of glasses. At first, I was excited, because I like change. Then I realized that glasses made me feel less pretty, gave me headaches, and narrowed my view of the world.
I grew to hate my glasses.
When I was 15, I got my first contacts and never looked back. Since then, I've really only worn glasses at home, at night, when sick. I've been wearing them steadily for the last two weeks, leading up to Thursday's Lasik.
I'm so excited I can barely function. To think-- I'll be able to watch a midnight movie! I'll see the alarm clock without squinting! I'll be able to wear heavy eye makeup!
And all they have to do is cut open my eyeballs for a little while.
If all goes well, that picture will be the last one you see of me in glasses.
*
Coffee forever. Glasses no more!
*
February 6, 2012
*insert thing here*
I'm out of it. I have no idea what to blog about.
Anybody have a question? Want to know a secret? Or something?
*
In lieu of actual content, there's a better picture of my new steampunk corset.
In the background is one of the last paintings I did. It's called Goodnight Horses.
*
February 3, 2012
unruly rant: reading = fun + duh + mental
My daughter brought home a "Reading Log" today.
And believe it or not, I'm pissed.
"Reading books is a sweet treat!" it says. And then it encourages my child to color in a cupcake every day that she reads a book. At the end of the month, I sign it, and she takes it back to school, and they give her a certificate for a child-sized pizza at Pizza Hut.
And you know what?
I threw it in the trash.
I mean, I get that we're not normal. I spend 95% of my free time either reading or writing. There are towering stacks of books in every room. And we buy books for the kids, too. I almost never turn down an intelligently worded request. There are books on the floor and the kitchen table and the stairs, books under their beds and in designated book boxes and stuffed between the car seats in my car.
No one in our house can walk three feet without encountering a book.
And I know that we're incredibly, incredibly lucky, and that not everyone has the access to books that we do.
But coloring in cupcakes and turning in worksheets and earning $3 worth of pizza? That's not how you turn a kid into a reader.
If you want your children to read, you buy them books. You read them books. You ask them to read books to you. You let them see you reading. You make sure that books are always around, waiting to entertain and delight. You make books into friends that you can turn to again and again.
You make books a priority and a fixture.
This worksheet is not a philanthropic way to encourage children to read. It's a great way to sell pizza to parents rewarding their kid for coloring in cupcakes. After all, your kid's pizza is free, but mom and dad and the other kids are going to want to eat, too. So basically, you save $3 on your kid's pizza and spend $30 on unhealthy food for the rest of the family instead of spending that money on, say, BOOKS.
So yes, books are a sweet treat.
But please don't pretend that your ad from Pizza Hut is encouraging reading.
I deeply resent the fact that public schools allow this crap into my life.
You know what's getting my kids excited about reading?
It's not pizza.
It's reading.
*
And believe it or not, I'm pissed.
"Reading books is a sweet treat!" it says. And then it encourages my child to color in a cupcake every day that she reads a book. At the end of the month, I sign it, and she takes it back to school, and they give her a certificate for a child-sized pizza at Pizza Hut.
And you know what?
I threw it in the trash.
I mean, I get that we're not normal. I spend 95% of my free time either reading or writing. There are towering stacks of books in every room. And we buy books for the kids, too. I almost never turn down an intelligently worded request. There are books on the floor and the kitchen table and the stairs, books under their beds and in designated book boxes and stuffed between the car seats in my car.
No one in our house can walk three feet without encountering a book.
And I know that we're incredibly, incredibly lucky, and that not everyone has the access to books that we do.
But coloring in cupcakes and turning in worksheets and earning $3 worth of pizza? That's not how you turn a kid into a reader.
If you want your children to read, you buy them books. You read them books. You ask them to read books to you. You let them see you reading. You make sure that books are always around, waiting to entertain and delight. You make books into friends that you can turn to again and again.
You make books a priority and a fixture.
This worksheet is not a philanthropic way to encourage children to read. It's a great way to sell pizza to parents rewarding their kid for coloring in cupcakes. After all, your kid's pizza is free, but mom and dad and the other kids are going to want to eat, too. So basically, you save $3 on your kid's pizza and spend $30 on unhealthy food for the rest of the family instead of spending that money on, say, BOOKS.
So yes, books are a sweet treat.
But please don't pretend that your ad from Pizza Hut is encouraging reading.
I deeply resent the fact that public schools allow this crap into my life.
You know what's getting my kids excited about reading?
It's not pizza.
It's reading.
*
February 1, 2012
further steampunkery
Sorry, but when I get a corset in the mail, I just *have* to post pics.
These things are like luscious, waist-wittling crack.
And, of course, it's by the lovely Michelle at Damsel in this Dress.
My first corset from her was a sleek, glistening, piratical thing, so I wanted something extra steampunky that would go with almost everything. I love how this brown one can be dressed up posh or dressed down for that "my airship just crashed and I need a ride to Constantinople" look.
After another trip to my favorite thrift store, I have a long khaki skirt with lace, this long black skirt, this engineer shirt, and a floofy black poet's blouse. Added to my plum skirt, white blouse, and black pinstripe vest, I basically purchased an entire steampunkable wardrobe for under $25. Well, and the corsets. But those are worth every penny.
Now I just need someplace to wear them to...
*
January 31, 2012
keke!
Had my eyes dilated at noon. Three hours later, and my pupils are so big that I have a horrible headache and look like an anime character.
It went like this:
optometrist: Okay, so these drops will dilate your eyes. Do you need to do anything that involves reading today?
me: I'm a writer. All I do is read and write.
optometrist: Nothing else?
me: Sometimes I sleep.
optometris: Can you go home and take a nap?
me: Nope. I have two kids under 5.
optometrist: Bad news...
And then he put liquid poison in my eyes.
The worst part is that being on the laptop or reading makes a big ball of angry hatred pulse behind my eyeballs, so I have to go find something non-reading/writing to do. Something that doesn't involve bright light, focus, coordination, or concentration. I mean, I slipped on a Han Solo figurine while trying to do dishes and almost wiped out.
So... what's left?
*
January 30, 2012
oh my, indeed.
I'm so honored and excited to see Wicked as They Come included in this hawt ad for the March edition of RT Magazine, one of the biggest venues for romance book reviews in the world.
Plus, Wicked includes both vampires *and* circus freaks, so that's a lot of bang for your buck.
Heh.
In other writing news, here's what I'm working on, two months before my first pub date:
* planning the launch party (Friday, 3/30, 7pm, FoxTale Book Shoppe, Woodstock, GA)
* writing an e-novella in the Blud world while listening to a lot of Gotye
* getting ready to write the second half of Blud book 2, out in Spring 2013
* wearing and loving the custom Sang scents from Villainess Soaps
* putting together steampunk costumes for Anachrocon and Dragon*Con
* networking and hoping to get involved with local lit festivals, cons, and book groups
* writing guest blogs and doing author interviews-- so much fun!
* planning to invite interested readers and friends from all over to participate in street teams to spread the Wicked word and receive perks like signed books and... other things I haven't dreamed up yet.
If anyone has a good idea for promoting the book, please let me know! I'd love to be on debut author panels at conferences within driving distance of Atlanta, have Skype chats with book clubs or writing groups, and do any sort of author interviews or guest posts on related blogs with followers who would be interested in steampunk paranormal romance.
Self-promotion:
It's scary, and I would rather be eating frozen cupcakes.
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