H.B. Pattskyn's Blog, page 25
April 9, 2012
Working at home...
There are some general "common sense 'rules'" for being a creative person, working from home.
When you don't have somebody else's clock to punch, it's important to carve out a routine and do your best to stick to it. Getting up at a timely hour--whatever that means for you. If you're the most creative at night, it makes sense to work late and get up later in the day. If you're like me and typically better first thing in the morning, it's better to get to bed earlier than I did last night... although I still managed to get up around 7:30 this morning, so I'm not doing too badly.
Don't tell my husband this, but I actually prefer getting up closer to 6. I am *not* a morning person, I swear, but when I'm out of bed much later than 8, before I realize it the morning is gone and I haven't gotten anything written. Blog entries don't count ;-)
Goals are important, but they have to be the right combination of challenging and realistic. My goal, for fiction, not the ghost book, is 15,000 words a week. Yes, that's a big goal. But I know how fast I type. My goal is also for an average 50 hour week, because I know that 40 of those need to be spent writing/editing, and the other ten will be divided between various kinds of marketing. Yes, that's a long week. But I want to write 15,000 words ;-)
That also means sticking to a routine. For me, that includes actually getting dressed to come to work. I don't know about anybody else, but I feel more like I'm "at work" when I'm not in my pyjamas and bathrobe.
It is generally advised that those of us who work from home have some sort of office space--and that we keep it neat.
No comment.
Seriously, I'm going to have my husband help me clean up in here next weekend (last weekend, it was more important to me that he tackle the yard). My office started out as neat (ish), but four conventions later and stuff has gotten piled up again.
It is also generally advised that creative types try to streamline our lives as much as possible. For me, that means concentrating on writing, as the new website layout demonstrates. I know it means more cats to keep happy (see about two blog entries down if you don't understand that), but I'll be working on putting up a site just for my esoteric work later--and updating my art site as well as the Ghosthunting site. (The latter at least I can call part of "business").
Oh and getting a website together for my YA book, which is part of the plan for this coming year.
Having a plan. If anyone is seriously considering giving up their day job (or in my case giving up the search for a day job), you need a plan. I suppose that goes back to setting goals. I set my word and hour goals around the goals my publisher helped me work out for when she wants to see which titles--because yes, I have a full calendar's worth of Works in Progress that have estimated completion dates attached to them. Talk about motivation!
When you're working from home, you need to figure out what will motivate you, and it's going to be different for everyone. For me, it's having someone to answer to, whether that be a writing buddy or (yikes), the lady sells my books.
And one of the most important...no, I'm going to pull a Monty Python on you. TWO of the most important things are:
Before you start any of this, you have to take an honest look at your finances and assess the reality of it. If you have to make X amount in order to continue living in your home, but your writing or art or music or whatnot won't bring in enough, you have some tough choices on your hands.
This one is even harder. Not everyone in your life is going to be supportive of your creative dreams. There are all kinds of reasons for that, but when it comes down to it the reasons aren't what matter. What matters is that you don't need negativity--you need it even less when you're pursuing creative dreams. And that means even tougher decisions than the ones you'll have to make about finances. Letting go is never easy, but it's always necessary. You need to surround yourself with people who believe in you as much as you do!Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
When you don't have somebody else's clock to punch, it's important to carve out a routine and do your best to stick to it. Getting up at a timely hour--whatever that means for you. If you're the most creative at night, it makes sense to work late and get up later in the day. If you're like me and typically better first thing in the morning, it's better to get to bed earlier than I did last night... although I still managed to get up around 7:30 this morning, so I'm not doing too badly.
Don't tell my husband this, but I actually prefer getting up closer to 6. I am *not* a morning person, I swear, but when I'm out of bed much later than 8, before I realize it the morning is gone and I haven't gotten anything written. Blog entries don't count ;-)
Goals are important, but they have to be the right combination of challenging and realistic. My goal, for fiction, not the ghost book, is 15,000 words a week. Yes, that's a big goal. But I know how fast I type. My goal is also for an average 50 hour week, because I know that 40 of those need to be spent writing/editing, and the other ten will be divided between various kinds of marketing. Yes, that's a long week. But I want to write 15,000 words ;-)
That also means sticking to a routine. For me, that includes actually getting dressed to come to work. I don't know about anybody else, but I feel more like I'm "at work" when I'm not in my pyjamas and bathrobe.
It is generally advised that those of us who work from home have some sort of office space--and that we keep it neat.
No comment.
Seriously, I'm going to have my husband help me clean up in here next weekend (last weekend, it was more important to me that he tackle the yard). My office started out as neat (ish), but four conventions later and stuff has gotten piled up again.
It is also generally advised that creative types try to streamline our lives as much as possible. For me, that means concentrating on writing, as the new website layout demonstrates. I know it means more cats to keep happy (see about two blog entries down if you don't understand that), but I'll be working on putting up a site just for my esoteric work later--and updating my art site as well as the Ghosthunting site. (The latter at least I can call part of "business").
Oh and getting a website together for my YA book, which is part of the plan for this coming year.
Having a plan. If anyone is seriously considering giving up their day job (or in my case giving up the search for a day job), you need a plan. I suppose that goes back to setting goals. I set my word and hour goals around the goals my publisher helped me work out for when she wants to see which titles--because yes, I have a full calendar's worth of Works in Progress that have estimated completion dates attached to them. Talk about motivation!
When you're working from home, you need to figure out what will motivate you, and it's going to be different for everyone. For me, it's having someone to answer to, whether that be a writing buddy or (yikes), the lady sells my books.
And one of the most important...no, I'm going to pull a Monty Python on you. TWO of the most important things are:
Before you start any of this, you have to take an honest look at your finances and assess the reality of it. If you have to make X amount in order to continue living in your home, but your writing or art or music or whatnot won't bring in enough, you have some tough choices on your hands.
This one is even harder. Not everyone in your life is going to be supportive of your creative dreams. There are all kinds of reasons for that, but when it comes down to it the reasons aren't what matter. What matters is that you don't need negativity--you need it even less when you're pursuing creative dreams. And that means even tougher decisions than the ones you'll have to make about finances. Letting go is never easy, but it's always necessary. You need to surround yourself with people who believe in you as much as you do!Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
April 6, 2012
It's Official
My husband and I discussed it and it's official.
No, nothing ominous.
Or rather, nothing bad, because it sure was a big decision and not something either of us takes lightly.
We looked at my writing goals for the year (and in terms of an overall plan for the future), and my prospects for employment in the field I actually went to school for...and we did the math on buying a second car which would be a necessity for almost any job I were to take... and I am officially no longer looking for a job outside the house.
But that doesn't mean I'm unemployed. It means I work inside the house. I sit at my keyboard for 40 (or more) hours a week. Every week. It means I get up every day, I drink my coffee and I come to work, right here in my office. It means that I during my work day, I don't take an inordinate number of personal phone calls because my boss (me) will get irritated if I'm always on the phone. It means I don't spend more time on Facebook than is actually necessary to do my job--and yes, some FB time is actually necessary for networking and promotion. Farmville, however, is not a part of my job.
See, being a writer isn't just clacking out a good story. It's editing. It's re-editing. And then editing some more. Just one more pass. Okay, one more and then I might think it's almost enough to submit it. Which means I'll edit it one more time before sending it in. Where, assuming it's accepted, a professional editor will find all kinds of mistakes and send it back to me for revisions. But we're not done yet. I'll revise and then someone else will go looking for mistakes. It may get a third round of edits as well, if somebody thinks it's necessary.
Then I'll finally get last proof and go through double checking the formatting, and resist the urge to scrap the whole manuscript and beg for the chance to start over.
Then it's time for the fun stuff: cover art! Everybody loves cover art.
Except when I haven't got a clue what to put on the cover.
THEN it's time to promote, promote, promote! Chats, blogging, Facebooking, Tweeting, showing up in person to places like conventions... just being around so people get to know who I am.
In addition, part of being a good writer is critiquing other people's work, either as part of a critique group, by beta reading for another author (because you want someone to beta read for you, right?), and by learning to read with a critical mind and give thoughtful reviews of published works on your blog. Oops... been falling short on that last part lately.
And oh yeah, there's another book waiting to be finished and I did promise my husband I was only going to work 50 hours this week, right? Maybe I can squeak in a little "overtime" if I promise him a movie date three weeks from Tuesday...
Because that's what you do when you have a job. And writing is a job (even if you haven't published that first book, yet)--it just so happens to be a job that I dearly love doing. :)
Next post: staying on task and making it workHelen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
No, nothing ominous.
Or rather, nothing bad, because it sure was a big decision and not something either of us takes lightly.
We looked at my writing goals for the year (and in terms of an overall plan for the future), and my prospects for employment in the field I actually went to school for...and we did the math on buying a second car which would be a necessity for almost any job I were to take... and I am officially no longer looking for a job outside the house.
But that doesn't mean I'm unemployed. It means I work inside the house. I sit at my keyboard for 40 (or more) hours a week. Every week. It means I get up every day, I drink my coffee and I come to work, right here in my office. It means that I during my work day, I don't take an inordinate number of personal phone calls because my boss (me) will get irritated if I'm always on the phone. It means I don't spend more time on Facebook than is actually necessary to do my job--and yes, some FB time is actually necessary for networking and promotion. Farmville, however, is not a part of my job.
See, being a writer isn't just clacking out a good story. It's editing. It's re-editing. And then editing some more. Just one more pass. Okay, one more and then I might think it's almost enough to submit it. Which means I'll edit it one more time before sending it in. Where, assuming it's accepted, a professional editor will find all kinds of mistakes and send it back to me for revisions. But we're not done yet. I'll revise and then someone else will go looking for mistakes. It may get a third round of edits as well, if somebody thinks it's necessary.
Then I'll finally get last proof and go through double checking the formatting, and resist the urge to scrap the whole manuscript and beg for the chance to start over.
Then it's time for the fun stuff: cover art! Everybody loves cover art.
Except when I haven't got a clue what to put on the cover.
THEN it's time to promote, promote, promote! Chats, blogging, Facebooking, Tweeting, showing up in person to places like conventions... just being around so people get to know who I am.
In addition, part of being a good writer is critiquing other people's work, either as part of a critique group, by beta reading for another author (because you want someone to beta read for you, right?), and by learning to read with a critical mind and give thoughtful reviews of published works on your blog. Oops... been falling short on that last part lately.
And oh yeah, there's another book waiting to be finished and I did promise my husband I was only going to work 50 hours this week, right? Maybe I can squeak in a little "overtime" if I promise him a movie date three weeks from Tuesday...
Because that's what you do when you have a job. And writing is a job (even if you haven't published that first book, yet)--it just so happens to be a job that I dearly love doing. :)
Next post: staying on task and making it workHelen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
April 4, 2012
Keeping my pussies happy...
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A week and a half ago, I was at a workshop put on my publisher, Dreamspinner Press. Damon Suede and Ariel Tachna led a great discussion about what is probably one of the toughest parts of being a writer: marketing and self-promotions. If most of us had our way, we would sit a quiet room somewhere--or maybe in our favorite coffee shop--making magic with our keyboards.
Long before my book was picked up by Dreamspinner, I knew I had to learn to market myself, to build a "platform"--that's part of why my legal name (or at least my initials) appear on my book cover. I had been publishing fanfiction as H.B. Pattskyn for years and had a small following (still love you guys!) So when Damon started talking about branding, I had at least half a clue. The idea is to pick a few words that describe one's work. I guess I'd already done that when I started using that Judy Garland quote; and really "Romance for your heart and soul" sums up what I think I write.
And yeah, I know "branding" is a bit of a dirty word--after all, it's so commercial, and we're creating art right? Yes, but we're creating art we'd like other people to enjoy, that means other people have to be able find us. Besides, I seriously do want to earn my living this way. And that means marketing, because even though I am a part of a wonderful publishing family that does want to see us all succeed, who can sell my book better than me? I lived with it for 8 months. I know ever detail. I LOVE my characters.
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And I have a certain advantage in that I'm not the least bit shy ;-) I really don't mind talking to strangers, and I'm comfortable selling myself. But even for those who weren't s comfortable with marketing, Damon gave us a great analogy. You guessed it, it has to do with cats, specifically with the upkeep of a long haired cat. And of course, my mind immediately conjured up images of Mrs. Slocombe, who was always so very careful of her pussy.
Long haired cats require lots of care--and you can't skip a day, either or you end up with a very unhappy pussy.A long haired cat must be brushed daily, fed the right food (I'm not about to post the picture of the hairball I found while searching for cat pictures. Dee-gust-ing!)
And like any other cat, your long-hair requires lots of exercise, it needs its nails clipped, and you had better deliver up the requisite amount of love and affection.
Your "brand" needs just as much attention and takes up just as much time. So much for just writing good books....
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But here's where it gets interesting; if you have more than one brand, you have more than one cat. Anyone who has more than one cat knows that the more cats you have, the harder it is to keep them happy.
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Currently, I have three "brands" to deal with: there's me the artist, me the m/m writer, and me the non fiction writer. Now, I don't care if the folks who read my romance learn about my ghost book, I doubt any of them are going to get offended. I'm in the beginning stages of writing a book about runes that also falls under the category of non fiction...but if y'all haven't figure out I'm a witch by now...
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I guess in a way, that makes the cat analogy even more appropriate ;-)
I certainly don't also care if people who see my artwork at a science fiction convention know that I write m/m romance, I usually have copies of my book on the table as well--and enough of my artwork is LGBT themed that it would hardly come as a shock. I'm hawking the ghost book at sci fi cons, too. So in that respect, me the artist and me the writer are fairly well integrated. (Really, I'm just lazy. I didn't want to maintain an artist site and a writing site separately, although I am putting together a site that features my artwork; frankly, I'm very unhappy with the representation I've had at other sites, and would rather just show case my work, myself).
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But I am trying to keep a little insulation between the ghost book and my romance novels--not that writing nonfiction under Helen Pattskyn is going to afford much of a cushion, but the ghost book has its own website, one that's "safe" to put in the back of that book, and a safe url to print on my ghost hunting business card. That site, however, is SOOOO needing to be updated. Once I turn in my final manuscript, I'm going to have to set aside a minimum of two days to get it sorted.And speaking of business cards, I just ordered a set of cards that represent me only as a writer... I kinda wanted cards that looked more like everybody else's, for when I go to things like the Rainbow Book Fair, or to head off to Animazement in May. Since I'm really only there selling myself as an author, I wanted cards that were just for that part of my creative life.
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Now, just to make life interesting (you know the old saying right, "May you live in interesting times"?) I've decided I want to write for Harmony Ink, Dreamspinner's YA imprint.I cannot in good conscience write YA books as H.B. Pattskyn, no way I want kids finding my adult material. Even though I'm most likely to write for the upper end of the YA spectrum, I would be utterly mortified anyone under the age of 18 found Heart's Home or the BDSM themed book I just finished.
I know it can happen, kids are smart, but I need to at least try to keep that bubble of insulation there, so I'm going to take my grandmother's maiden name, Bobbish. It's robably still a pretty thin disguise, but it's something.
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and my husband thinks its bad when our cats sit on the table!However, because there are only so many cats I can handle, I'm planning publish (self publish) my urban fantasy novel under the name Helen Bobbish, too. I don't anticipate writing a whole lot of non-romance fiction, and The Necromancer's Apprentice is pretty safe for kids.
So there you have it. I am officially:
H.B. Pattskyn -- m/m romance novelist and artist
Helen Pattskyn -- non fiction author
Helen Bobbish -- YA and fantasy novelist
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otherwise known as the crazy cat lady...
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Mrs Slocombe's pussy...
and of course, my favorite cat of all time...
Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
March 31, 2012
the search for a favorite coffee shop...
I am currently sitting at the Bean and Leaf Cafe, in downtown Royal Oak.
Good coffee: checkFriendly staff: checkAcceptable prices: checkReal food on offer: yes (and a sushi place across the street!)Close to home and good hours: yupQuiet atmosphere: thank the Gods, yes! (Starbucks is always a frigging zoo!)Decent music: it's got that too.Limit on how long I can stay online? Nope.
Do we have a winner? I think so.
The only downside is feeding the meter...but such is life.Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
Good coffee: checkFriendly staff: checkAcceptable prices: checkReal food on offer: yes (and a sushi place across the street!)Close to home and good hours: yupQuiet atmosphere: thank the Gods, yes! (Starbucks is always a frigging zoo!)Decent music: it's got that too.Limit on how long I can stay online? Nope.
Do we have a winner? I think so.
The only downside is feeding the meter...but such is life.Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
Is it the weekend yet? YES!
Even though I don't have a 9-5, Mon-Fri job, the weekend still brings with it a certain joy. Saturday morning cartoons, my daughter off at her friends' house... a chance to catch up on everything I haven't done because I was out of town for a week.
I was going to blog about my search for a new coffee shop today (in fact, as soon as I'm done here, I'm going to take a quick shower and head into Royal Oak for the first shop up on my list of potential new haunts), but I while I was eating breakfast, I was surfing the web, hoping to come up with some new marketing strategies for my book. Alas, there is nothing new under the sun.
What I did see in one thread annoyed me a bit, so it is the topic of this morning's blog. See, I'm an introvert. What that means is that I "recharge my internal batteries" by being quietly all by myself. Being alone makes me very happy--sure, once in a while it's good to go out with friends, but I am happiest when I'm not directly engaging with people. That doesn't mean I don't like people, and it does NOT mean I'm shy. And that is the crux of my point. Introvert does not equal shy any more than extrovert equals gregarious. An extrovert simply recharges their inner batteries by being around people. Extroverts tend to focus outwardly; introverts tend to focus inwardly.
The article I was reading about self-promotion made it sound like all introverts were shy, almost timid, people who have a hard time approaching strangers. This is SO not true. Yes, sometimes I have to steel myself a little to walk into a store and pitch my book, but that's more fear of rejection (and a determination to maintain a professional persona when it comes) than fear of talking to a stranger.
Why is this such a big deal to me? Because for years (frigging decades ) one message was hammered home to me by family and even sometimes friends: Introvert=shy and shy is Bad . First off, that's just not true, there's nothing "bad" about being shy, as long as you're okay with not having a sea of "friends". If you're both an introvert and shy, and working in a field where you can do that, why try to change?
But see, my family (and sometimes friends) often did try to change me--and because I believed that I was shy, and that being shy was Bad, I bought into it for years. Decades. And I was miserable. For one, I couldn't reconcile my own knowledge of myself (someone who has no problem talking to strangers) with other peoples' perception of me ("oh, she's such a wallflower")--I was looking at myself through others' lenses rather than my own and it was confusing. People would constantly push me to "get out more", "go talk to him/her/them"--and not understand that not wanting to talk to "him/her/them" wasn't the result of fear or insecurity, I just wasn't in the mood for people, I'd been around people all day at work or school and I needed some time to recharge. But being the sort of person who likes to make other people happy, I had a bad habit of going along with it... that eventually changed (and pissed a few people off along the way).
Sometimes family and friends mistook general politeness (that thing family had instilled in me early on) for "shy"--because really, it's not very polite to charge some celebrity at convention full tilt, crashing through the crowd to get to him. It seemed a better tactic to not step on the big Klingon's toes (literally) in order to get to my "target"--but there was my friend, shoving me forward, telling me not to be shy. I may not actually be shy, but even if I were, I don't think the opposite of "shy" is "asshat"--or at least it shouldn't be.
What am I actually getting at? I have no idea. Maybe just this: if you're shy, it's OKAY. Shy isn't Bad, it is what it is. Introvert isn't bad, either. And neither is extrovert. Asshat...now that's bad, that's not something anybody should want to be, even if we do all go there sometimes!
If you're an introvert and not shy, don't let yourself get stuck with somebody else's labels (seriously, don't let yourself get stuck with somebody else's labels no matter who or what you are). Just be you and be happy with you.
And now, I'm off to the Bean and Leaf in Royal Oak, to see if they might be able to meet my needs: a quiet place to work, and a staff that knows how to acknowledge regular customers (because I've been going into the Caribou near my house I moved here 4 years ago, sometimes as often as twice a week, and only *one* barista ever figured out that I was there all the time. I don't want the royal treatment, but seriously, if I practically live there, you'd think they'd notice me. I'm not some kind of wallflower, you know.... ;-)Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
I was going to blog about my search for a new coffee shop today (in fact, as soon as I'm done here, I'm going to take a quick shower and head into Royal Oak for the first shop up on my list of potential new haunts), but I while I was eating breakfast, I was surfing the web, hoping to come up with some new marketing strategies for my book. Alas, there is nothing new under the sun.
What I did see in one thread annoyed me a bit, so it is the topic of this morning's blog. See, I'm an introvert. What that means is that I "recharge my internal batteries" by being quietly all by myself. Being alone makes me very happy--sure, once in a while it's good to go out with friends, but I am happiest when I'm not directly engaging with people. That doesn't mean I don't like people, and it does NOT mean I'm shy. And that is the crux of my point. Introvert does not equal shy any more than extrovert equals gregarious. An extrovert simply recharges their inner batteries by being around people. Extroverts tend to focus outwardly; introverts tend to focus inwardly.
The article I was reading about self-promotion made it sound like all introverts were shy, almost timid, people who have a hard time approaching strangers. This is SO not true. Yes, sometimes I have to steel myself a little to walk into a store and pitch my book, but that's more fear of rejection (and a determination to maintain a professional persona when it comes) than fear of talking to a stranger.
Why is this such a big deal to me? Because for years (frigging decades ) one message was hammered home to me by family and even sometimes friends: Introvert=shy and shy is Bad . First off, that's just not true, there's nothing "bad" about being shy, as long as you're okay with not having a sea of "friends". If you're both an introvert and shy, and working in a field where you can do that, why try to change?
But see, my family (and sometimes friends) often did try to change me--and because I believed that I was shy, and that being shy was Bad, I bought into it for years. Decades. And I was miserable. For one, I couldn't reconcile my own knowledge of myself (someone who has no problem talking to strangers) with other peoples' perception of me ("oh, she's such a wallflower")--I was looking at myself through others' lenses rather than my own and it was confusing. People would constantly push me to "get out more", "go talk to him/her/them"--and not understand that not wanting to talk to "him/her/them" wasn't the result of fear or insecurity, I just wasn't in the mood for people, I'd been around people all day at work or school and I needed some time to recharge. But being the sort of person who likes to make other people happy, I had a bad habit of going along with it... that eventually changed (and pissed a few people off along the way).
Sometimes family and friends mistook general politeness (that thing family had instilled in me early on) for "shy"--because really, it's not very polite to charge some celebrity at convention full tilt, crashing through the crowd to get to him. It seemed a better tactic to not step on the big Klingon's toes (literally) in order to get to my "target"--but there was my friend, shoving me forward, telling me not to be shy. I may not actually be shy, but even if I were, I don't think the opposite of "shy" is "asshat"--or at least it shouldn't be.
What am I actually getting at? I have no idea. Maybe just this: if you're shy, it's OKAY. Shy isn't Bad, it is what it is. Introvert isn't bad, either. And neither is extrovert. Asshat...now that's bad, that's not something anybody should want to be, even if we do all go there sometimes!
If you're an introvert and not shy, don't let yourself get stuck with somebody else's labels (seriously, don't let yourself get stuck with somebody else's labels no matter who or what you are). Just be you and be happy with you.
And now, I'm off to the Bean and Leaf in Royal Oak, to see if they might be able to meet my needs: a quiet place to work, and a staff that knows how to acknowledge regular customers (because I've been going into the Caribou near my house I moved here 4 years ago, sometimes as often as twice a week, and only *one* barista ever figured out that I was there all the time. I don't want the royal treatment, but seriously, if I practically live there, you'd think they'd notice me. I'm not some kind of wallflower, you know.... ;-)Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
March 25, 2012
Short Announcement--save money on romance!
I forgot to post this sooner...sorry!
In celebration of their 1000th title being released, Dreamspinner Press is having a month of sales!
Sales like this are a great time to try a new author, or even a new genre (and seriously, next week with anthologies on sale... guess what I'm gonig to be buying!)
Here's what's going on, for the next few weeks: March 28-April 3 - All short fiction (daydreams and nap-size dreams) will be discounted 20%.
April 4-10 - All eBook anthologies discounted 20%.
April 11-17 - All paperbacks will be discounted 20%.
This is the PERFECT time to go buy some books! (And seriously, I don't mean just me... of course I'd love it if you did buy my book, but there are SO many amazing authors on Dreampsinner, and I've the pleasure of spending the last couple of days here in New York with quite a few of them!)
I'm off to breakfast and goodbyes...I'll be updating soon, though. I'm staying in the city for a few days to visit friends.Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
In celebration of their 1000th title being released, Dreamspinner Press is having a month of sales!
Sales like this are a great time to try a new author, or even a new genre (and seriously, next week with anthologies on sale... guess what I'm gonig to be buying!)
Here's what's going on, for the next few weeks: March 28-April 3 - All short fiction (daydreams and nap-size dreams) will be discounted 20%.
April 4-10 - All eBook anthologies discounted 20%.
April 11-17 - All paperbacks will be discounted 20%.
This is the PERFECT time to go buy some books! (And seriously, I don't mean just me... of course I'd love it if you did buy my book, but there are SO many amazing authors on Dreampsinner, and I've the pleasure of spending the last couple of days here in New York with quite a few of them!)
I'm off to breakfast and goodbyes...I'll be updating soon, though. I'm staying in the city for a few days to visit friends.Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
March 21, 2012
How long as it been...?
I figured it was way past time to update my blog; I've been super busy on a lot of stuff, but none of it seemed exciting enough to blog about.
Well... I almost blogged a really catty blog about book covers. I subscribe to a couple of lists, and every Monday, my email is inundated with a Flood of Biblical proportions by romance book blurbs. I've picked up a few really good titles, though and contributed to the Flood a few times, so.... last week this blurb came across that sounded *really* good. I clicked in the link, but the cover...ye gods. The cover. The story is set in Victorian Era Boston but the ladies on the cover are wearing black bras and panties. The gents are naked, but we only see them from the waist up. One of the girls has bleached blond hair (about an inch of roots is showing), and they're both wearing enough make up to make Tammy Fay or Ru Paul blush (with envy or chagrin, I'm not sure). Needless to say, nothing about this cover screams: Victorian Era romance--a sweet sounding romance at that. Yes, lots of hot sex, but still, it sounded like a solid story. Only... can I trust a book with a cover like that? Or am I just a snob? Maybe I need to thank Paul Richmond when I see him next weekend for the totally awesome job he did on my cover; I would have hated to see James and Alun in muscle shirts and biker shorts. Well...okay, maybe I might not mind *seeing it*, but seriously, it would not have set the tone for my book!
That might be an interesting blog...I'm always fascinated by character interviews, but haven't sussed out how to do one myself. Maybe I could have James and Alun (with Mrs. Dunberry as chaperone) discussing the plight of men's fashion ;-) Better yet, James, Alun, and Robin... you guys probably don't know it yet, but Rob is quiet the little fashionista.
So my real blog today is about ghosts. Or more accurately my awful day yesterday and how persistence paid off.
I'm on the west side of Michigan today--currently sitting in a Budget Host Hotel in Allegan, MI. (I totally recommend this place. Okay, for a few bucks more I could have stayed at Henderson Castle, which I really wanted to, but that would have required backtracking, and by the time I pulled in, I was exhausted--I DO recommend Henderson Castle though, the next time you have to stay in Kalmazoo. It's about the price of your average B&B--or reasonable hotel and never minding the ghosts, who are all very friendly, according to owner Francois Moyet, it is just a beautiful place to visit). Allegan is just up the road--or the river--and it's really a lovely little town, too.
But yesterday started off with the woman who was supposed to meet with me in Portage never showing up. Now, we spoke on the phone last week when I set up my appointment and then I had to reschedule and could only leave a voice mail message, so I'm assuming she didn't get it, or signals got crossed, or maybe something just came up on her end. Life happens.
My next stop was the Book Bug in Kalamazoo. I wanted to see if they would carry Heart's Home, and maybe some other DSP titles. The name of the store made me hesitate, but they have a good deal of genre romance--and m/m romance--on their website. And they're located right off Western University's campus. I was here anyway, right?
The store is, quite literally, 90% juvenile literature and YA. Right. The owner was very gracious, he even took a look at my book, but we both agreed it would not make a good fit for his store. But I'll be back when the ghost book is done!
For my next stop, I backtracked into Marshall, because the place I was coming to out here didn't open until 7. Marshall is a lovely town, and I may be back to check out a couple of other spots, but person who *might* be able to help me at my actual stop wasn't in when I was there. I took a couple of photos and hit the road *back* up this way, although really, when I got back on 94, what I wanted to do was head East, and go back home!
I'm glad I didn't. I wended my way through town (Map Quest had not taken into account all the one way streets; it wanted me to go right, when the street signs told me quite clearly that that would be a Bad Idea). But I'm a Detroit girl, I know my way around one way streets, so around the block I went. Parking was a breeze; Allegan is one of those little towns where everything seems to close up at sundown. At one point I was taking photographs from standing in the middle of the street with no worries, there was no traffic.
I got to my destination, the Regent Theatre (it's a cinema) and went in...yes it's haunted, yes there's someone who can talk to me. She didn't know a whole lot, but I was able to coax some information out of her just by relaying a few stories to see if maybe I could just get her talking. I have to write 2000 words after all! Then she sent me across the street to see Fred. He was just closing up his store, but he was very kind and happily talked to me for quite a while about the town's ghosts. Yes, the whole town. I made my way over to the library (because librarians know everything!) and got a little more information, took some more photos around town, and finally wound up here.
Before I leave, I'm going to one of the other places in town that's supposed to be pretty haunted; it'll put me behind on my travels and I may not make it to the Ada cemetary... we'll see. From Allegan, I'm headed up to Grand Haven, then to Manistee. Then Ada and then home!!!!!!!!
Home. Where I unpack. And then repack. Because tomorrow morning, I'm on a plane to New York to attend the Rainbow Book Fair with my (totally awesome) publisher, Dreamspinnner Press! (And I'm staying a couple of extra days with my equally totally awesome friend Kitsa and her family. Although she's right, she's a bad kitty... we were bouncing around ideas...well, she was letting me bounce ideas, but whenever I bounce ideas off her brain, I always come back with brilliance...or at least something I want to write! Only right now I don't have time to think about the white corvidthrope who used to "date" (read was doormat for) the white pavonithrope, but eventually hooks up with the black cygnathrope. (Hint: if it ends in "thrope" in my world, it's a shapeshifter, thrope is from anthros, or "man". The front part of the word is part of the scientific name. Corvid. Pavoninus. Cygnus. Corvid and cygnus most of you probably know. I'll let you look up the third one on your own...although the images at the end of the blog should help ;-)
But first, speaking back to book covers....
What do you think? That's the Mission Table (formerly Bower's Inn), which might not be *the* most exquisite place I visited, I think it captures "Michigan" perfectly, all woods and rustic inns. :)
Okay, here are those birdies... imagine if you will, a love triangle, and a rather viscous one at that, if you take cygnus's and pavoninus's temperaments into account...
(by the way, I don't own these images... but eventually I will be doing a painting to reflect this story, since that's pretty much how the idea started out, as a painting in my head...)
I'm thinking about when I get around to writing it, actually just offering it as a "free read" here on my website... assuming I get enough traffic here and people actually want a free novella set (and this is Kitsa's fault) in the Regency era... because she's right. That's where it belongs. I couldn't really get my head around the characters until she said those two words... Sigh. Research.
Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
Well... I almost blogged a really catty blog about book covers. I subscribe to a couple of lists, and every Monday, my email is inundated with a Flood of Biblical proportions by romance book blurbs. I've picked up a few really good titles, though and contributed to the Flood a few times, so.... last week this blurb came across that sounded *really* good. I clicked in the link, but the cover...ye gods. The cover. The story is set in Victorian Era Boston but the ladies on the cover are wearing black bras and panties. The gents are naked, but we only see them from the waist up. One of the girls has bleached blond hair (about an inch of roots is showing), and they're both wearing enough make up to make Tammy Fay or Ru Paul blush (with envy or chagrin, I'm not sure). Needless to say, nothing about this cover screams: Victorian Era romance--a sweet sounding romance at that. Yes, lots of hot sex, but still, it sounded like a solid story. Only... can I trust a book with a cover like that? Or am I just a snob? Maybe I need to thank Paul Richmond when I see him next weekend for the totally awesome job he did on my cover; I would have hated to see James and Alun in muscle shirts and biker shorts. Well...okay, maybe I might not mind *seeing it*, but seriously, it would not have set the tone for my book!
That might be an interesting blog...I'm always fascinated by character interviews, but haven't sussed out how to do one myself. Maybe I could have James and Alun (with Mrs. Dunberry as chaperone) discussing the plight of men's fashion ;-) Better yet, James, Alun, and Robin... you guys probably don't know it yet, but Rob is quiet the little fashionista.
So my real blog today is about ghosts. Or more accurately my awful day yesterday and how persistence paid off.
I'm on the west side of Michigan today--currently sitting in a Budget Host Hotel in Allegan, MI. (I totally recommend this place. Okay, for a few bucks more I could have stayed at Henderson Castle, which I really wanted to, but that would have required backtracking, and by the time I pulled in, I was exhausted--I DO recommend Henderson Castle though, the next time you have to stay in Kalmazoo. It's about the price of your average B&B--or reasonable hotel and never minding the ghosts, who are all very friendly, according to owner Francois Moyet, it is just a beautiful place to visit). Allegan is just up the road--or the river--and it's really a lovely little town, too.
But yesterday started off with the woman who was supposed to meet with me in Portage never showing up. Now, we spoke on the phone last week when I set up my appointment and then I had to reschedule and could only leave a voice mail message, so I'm assuming she didn't get it, or signals got crossed, or maybe something just came up on her end. Life happens.
My next stop was the Book Bug in Kalamazoo. I wanted to see if they would carry Heart's Home, and maybe some other DSP titles. The name of the store made me hesitate, but they have a good deal of genre romance--and m/m romance--on their website. And they're located right off Western University's campus. I was here anyway, right?
The store is, quite literally, 90% juvenile literature and YA. Right. The owner was very gracious, he even took a look at my book, but we both agreed it would not make a good fit for his store. But I'll be back when the ghost book is done!
For my next stop, I backtracked into Marshall, because the place I was coming to out here didn't open until 7. Marshall is a lovely town, and I may be back to check out a couple of other spots, but person who *might* be able to help me at my actual stop wasn't in when I was there. I took a couple of photos and hit the road *back* up this way, although really, when I got back on 94, what I wanted to do was head East, and go back home!
I'm glad I didn't. I wended my way through town (Map Quest had not taken into account all the one way streets; it wanted me to go right, when the street signs told me quite clearly that that would be a Bad Idea). But I'm a Detroit girl, I know my way around one way streets, so around the block I went. Parking was a breeze; Allegan is one of those little towns where everything seems to close up at sundown. At one point I was taking photographs from standing in the middle of the street with no worries, there was no traffic.
I got to my destination, the Regent Theatre (it's a cinema) and went in...yes it's haunted, yes there's someone who can talk to me. She didn't know a whole lot, but I was able to coax some information out of her just by relaying a few stories to see if maybe I could just get her talking. I have to write 2000 words after all! Then she sent me across the street to see Fred. He was just closing up his store, but he was very kind and happily talked to me for quite a while about the town's ghosts. Yes, the whole town. I made my way over to the library (because librarians know everything!) and got a little more information, took some more photos around town, and finally wound up here.
Before I leave, I'm going to one of the other places in town that's supposed to be pretty haunted; it'll put me behind on my travels and I may not make it to the Ada cemetary... we'll see. From Allegan, I'm headed up to Grand Haven, then to Manistee. Then Ada and then home!!!!!!!!
Home. Where I unpack. And then repack. Because tomorrow morning, I'm on a plane to New York to attend the Rainbow Book Fair with my (totally awesome) publisher, Dreamspinnner Press! (And I'm staying a couple of extra days with my equally totally awesome friend Kitsa and her family. Although she's right, she's a bad kitty... we were bouncing around ideas...well, she was letting me bounce ideas, but whenever I bounce ideas off her brain, I always come back with brilliance...or at least something I want to write! Only right now I don't have time to think about the white corvidthrope who used to "date" (read was doormat for) the white pavonithrope, but eventually hooks up with the black cygnathrope. (Hint: if it ends in "thrope" in my world, it's a shapeshifter, thrope is from anthros, or "man". The front part of the word is part of the scientific name. Corvid. Pavoninus. Cygnus. Corvid and cygnus most of you probably know. I'll let you look up the third one on your own...although the images at the end of the blog should help ;-)
But first, speaking back to book covers....
What do you think? That's the Mission Table (formerly Bower's Inn), which might not be *the* most exquisite place I visited, I think it captures "Michigan" perfectly, all woods and rustic inns. :)
Okay, here are those birdies... imagine if you will, a love triangle, and a rather viscous one at that, if you take cygnus's and pavoninus's temperaments into account...
(by the way, I don't own these images... but eventually I will be doing a painting to reflect this story, since that's pretty much how the idea started out, as a painting in my head...)
I'm thinking about when I get around to writing it, actually just offering it as a "free read" here on my website... assuming I get enough traffic here and people actually want a free novella set (and this is Kitsa's fault) in the Regency era... because she's right. That's where it belongs. I couldn't really get my head around the characters until she said those two words... Sigh. Research.
Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
March 3, 2012
Something Witchy This Way Comes
No, really, I'm blogging about witchy stuff today!
Last weekend, I attended ConVocation, a yearly spirituality convention in Metro Detroit. I had a blast! Not only did I sell a bunch of stuff, but I was teaching and I actually got to attend workshops and rituals as well.
Which explains my general absence from life the past week! By Saturday night, I was running on pure adrenaline....and maybe a little magical willpower. But it was worth it. This was, for me, one of the best years ever.
One of the things that happened, was that I got into a very brief conversation with a lady who bought a set of my herb infused runes (I think it was the artemsia set). Like me, she's a tarot reader. I regretted having taken out all of the tarot correspondences in definition sheets I made to go with my runes because it probably really would have helped her (although I'm sure she'll come up with some great correspondences all on her own!)
That got me thinking about the rune book I started writing last year. It went to the back, back, back, back burner when I picked up Katie Gerrard's book Odin's Gateways. In it, Katie says just about everything I want to in almost exactly the same way I'd like to say it, so instead of finishing my book, I started pointing people to her book, instead.
But.... that conversation about runes and tarot cards got me thinking. Maybe a book on tarot cards and runes together would be useful. I'm not saying there's a direct correlation between the two (there isn't), just that we as humans sometimes lump things together--and sometimes it works really beautifully.
So, the rune book has come back up to one of the middle burners, with a new title and a new purpose: Runes for Tarot Readers. I'm expecting to work on it this summer (yes, along with my long list of other projects) and have it available by ConVocation 2013. (I have already made the decision to self publish. Honest answer as to why why: I don't want to wait a year or more for it to come out, and there is no earthly reason why I can't hire a copy editor and do at least most of my own artwork).
Okay, on that note, it's time for another cup of coffee and to get back to work!
Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
Last weekend, I attended ConVocation, a yearly spirituality convention in Metro Detroit. I had a blast! Not only did I sell a bunch of stuff, but I was teaching and I actually got to attend workshops and rituals as well.
Which explains my general absence from life the past week! By Saturday night, I was running on pure adrenaline....and maybe a little magical willpower. But it was worth it. This was, for me, one of the best years ever.
One of the things that happened, was that I got into a very brief conversation with a lady who bought a set of my herb infused runes (I think it was the artemsia set). Like me, she's a tarot reader. I regretted having taken out all of the tarot correspondences in definition sheets I made to go with my runes because it probably really would have helped her (although I'm sure she'll come up with some great correspondences all on her own!)
That got me thinking about the rune book I started writing last year. It went to the back, back, back, back burner when I picked up Katie Gerrard's book Odin's Gateways. In it, Katie says just about everything I want to in almost exactly the same way I'd like to say it, so instead of finishing my book, I started pointing people to her book, instead.
But.... that conversation about runes and tarot cards got me thinking. Maybe a book on tarot cards and runes together would be useful. I'm not saying there's a direct correlation between the two (there isn't), just that we as humans sometimes lump things together--and sometimes it works really beautifully.
So, the rune book has come back up to one of the middle burners, with a new title and a new purpose: Runes for Tarot Readers. I'm expecting to work on it this summer (yes, along with my long list of other projects) and have it available by ConVocation 2013. (I have already made the decision to self publish. Honest answer as to why why: I don't want to wait a year or more for it to come out, and there is no earthly reason why I can't hire a copy editor and do at least most of my own artwork).
Okay, on that note, it's time for another cup of coffee and to get back to work!
Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
February 28, 2012
Keys to the Kingdom?
I went to a convention over last weekend; this was the first time I'd been to this one since my book came out, and I guess you could call this my "home convention", it's the one where I know the most people. I had an absolutely awesome time, stretched myself way too thin on Saturday night (what's wrong with three rituals in a row--and I don't mean just attending!) By the end of the night I was running on pure adrenaline...just like most people on Saturday night at any kind of con, but a Pagan spirituality convention...yeah, adrenaline, magic, caffeine, and duct tape are what hold the universe together.
I met a lot of wonderful people and really enjoyed talking to everybody that stopped by my table to see me.
But something odd happened, too. It isn't actually the first time I've had this sort of conversation--and it's not a conversation I mind having--it just got me to thinking. Why is it that just because someone writes a book that gets published other people (not all, but enough) start assuming you have the Keys to the Kingdom? Some folks didn't even ask "what kind of book is it?" or "what else does your publisher print?", they just said, "how cool, whose you're publisher? My friend, uncle, brother, sister's boyfriend's niece wrote a novel and they'd love to get published, too!"
That's terrific! Half the battle is finishing the darned novel. I'll be totally happy to pass along whatever information I have that might be useful, but if your sister's boyfriend's niece wrote a literary novel, I'm not going to be much help. Even if my publisher did handle literary novels (which they don't), I'm nobody special, honest. I'm just a writer.
And anyway, why can't your sister's boyfriend's niece do the same thing I did? It wasn't hard: I went to Amazon and typed in "gay male romance". When a book comes up on Amazon, the publisher is listed. I visited different publisher's websites and checked out their submission guidelines. I checked Editors and Predators. I made a list reputable publishers, their submission requirements, contract terms (where noted), I added notes of my own, and I bought books from each of the publishers I would seriously consider sending my "baby" off to. It wasn't hard to rank the publishers I found from "top picks" to "middle picks" to "not first or second choice, but not scary" to " Hell no !" Yes, there really are a couple of publishers in that category. No, I won't name names. It's a personal choice; there are simply some titles I don't want mine sharing self space with. Yes, I am perfectly well aware that that makes me a snob.
I am all for helping other people, especially other writers (if we don't help each other, who will?) But just because I got one book published doesn't mean I have any great wisdom on the subject (although I try to keep up with the industry as much as I can). It doesn't mean that my name is going to get your foot in the door. Will I read some of your book and tell you what I think? Sure, if I have time--and if you write in the same market I do. I love talking to m/m writers; I don't mind sharing my list.
But honest, I don't have the Keys to the Kingdom. I don't even know where they are.Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
I met a lot of wonderful people and really enjoyed talking to everybody that stopped by my table to see me.
But something odd happened, too. It isn't actually the first time I've had this sort of conversation--and it's not a conversation I mind having--it just got me to thinking. Why is it that just because someone writes a book that gets published other people (not all, but enough) start assuming you have the Keys to the Kingdom? Some folks didn't even ask "what kind of book is it?" or "what else does your publisher print?", they just said, "how cool, whose you're publisher? My friend, uncle, brother, sister's boyfriend's niece wrote a novel and they'd love to get published, too!"
That's terrific! Half the battle is finishing the darned novel. I'll be totally happy to pass along whatever information I have that might be useful, but if your sister's boyfriend's niece wrote a literary novel, I'm not going to be much help. Even if my publisher did handle literary novels (which they don't), I'm nobody special, honest. I'm just a writer.
And anyway, why can't your sister's boyfriend's niece do the same thing I did? It wasn't hard: I went to Amazon and typed in "gay male romance". When a book comes up on Amazon, the publisher is listed. I visited different publisher's websites and checked out their submission guidelines. I checked Editors and Predators. I made a list reputable publishers, their submission requirements, contract terms (where noted), I added notes of my own, and I bought books from each of the publishers I would seriously consider sending my "baby" off to. It wasn't hard to rank the publishers I found from "top picks" to "middle picks" to "not first or second choice, but not scary" to " Hell no !" Yes, there really are a couple of publishers in that category. No, I won't name names. It's a personal choice; there are simply some titles I don't want mine sharing self space with. Yes, I am perfectly well aware that that makes me a snob.
I am all for helping other people, especially other writers (if we don't help each other, who will?) But just because I got one book published doesn't mean I have any great wisdom on the subject (although I try to keep up with the industry as much as I can). It doesn't mean that my name is going to get your foot in the door. Will I read some of your book and tell you what I think? Sure, if I have time--and if you write in the same market I do. I love talking to m/m writers; I don't mind sharing my list.
But honest, I don't have the Keys to the Kingdom. I don't even know where they are.Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
February 22, 2012
Lydia Nyx: Technology and fiction.
Lydia Nyx: Technology and fiction.
Fellow (and fabulous) M/M romance author Lydia Nyx on technology in fiction....
I really enjoyed Lydia's thoughts on the subject; there is so much that those of us in the 30 (or in my case 40) something age range need to remember when we're writing--especially someone like me who really is not hip on the latest gizmos and gadgets.
I use my cell phone to make calls. Usually only in an emergency (loosely defined as "Honey, while you're at the store, could you pick up .....?" or "I think I'm lost...." or "I'm out and was thinking of getting...for dinner, how does that sound?") I don't take photos with my phone or ask it to find me a restaurant (although maybe if I did ask it to find things for me, I wouldn't get lost!) I don't need a phone that's smarter than I am. I can check my email at home. I don't text. (Although I do instant message, so go figure...)
I was writing a passage in Bound where my MC comes home and is contemplating the creature comforts in his dad's house and found myself stumped. My creature comforts are my creatures (my four legged friends), my favorite blanket, and a good book. But the guy I was writing about (the father) is... well, A) male and boys like toys and B), in my age bracket, but totally into "keeping up with the Jonses" (I'm more into keeping up with the Engels... you know, the family from Little House on the Prairie). I knew the basics, DVR, Dishnetwork (they live in a more rural area, where Dish is more prevalent than cable), and a big flatscreen television, but...what else? I had to ask. I don't really know what says "opulence" when it comes to electronics.
And then someone pointed something out: if I get too specific (I was looking for the more hip version of an iPod, because my daughter, age 15, informs me that "nobody uses iPods anymore!" I will apparently never make the "cool mom" awards. LOL.) At any rate, if I get too specific, the device that I name by name may be just as outdated by the time the book is published, because technology is evolving so quickly. So on the one hand, it's good to be specific if you're a writer (don't call it "a car", call it a Mustang or a Lamborghini, or an Escort, because those convey very different things to the reader), but on the other hand be careful what you're specific about (or your cool character with a neat new iPod will suddenly seem like an out-dated dork!)
Talk about a Catch-22!Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
Fellow (and fabulous) M/M romance author Lydia Nyx on technology in fiction....
I really enjoyed Lydia's thoughts on the subject; there is so much that those of us in the 30 (or in my case 40) something age range need to remember when we're writing--especially someone like me who really is not hip on the latest gizmos and gadgets.
I use my cell phone to make calls. Usually only in an emergency (loosely defined as "Honey, while you're at the store, could you pick up .....?" or "I think I'm lost...." or "I'm out and was thinking of getting...for dinner, how does that sound?") I don't take photos with my phone or ask it to find me a restaurant (although maybe if I did ask it to find things for me, I wouldn't get lost!) I don't need a phone that's smarter than I am. I can check my email at home. I don't text. (Although I do instant message, so go figure...)
I was writing a passage in Bound where my MC comes home and is contemplating the creature comforts in his dad's house and found myself stumped. My creature comforts are my creatures (my four legged friends), my favorite blanket, and a good book. But the guy I was writing about (the father) is... well, A) male and boys like toys and B), in my age bracket, but totally into "keeping up with the Jonses" (I'm more into keeping up with the Engels... you know, the family from Little House on the Prairie). I knew the basics, DVR, Dishnetwork (they live in a more rural area, where Dish is more prevalent than cable), and a big flatscreen television, but...what else? I had to ask. I don't really know what says "opulence" when it comes to electronics.
And then someone pointed something out: if I get too specific (I was looking for the more hip version of an iPod, because my daughter, age 15, informs me that "nobody uses iPods anymore!" I will apparently never make the "cool mom" awards. LOL.) At any rate, if I get too specific, the device that I name by name may be just as outdated by the time the book is published, because technology is evolving so quickly. So on the one hand, it's good to be specific if you're a writer (don't call it "a car", call it a Mustang or a Lamborghini, or an Escort, because those convey very different things to the reader), but on the other hand be careful what you're specific about (or your cool character with a neat new iPod will suddenly seem like an out-dated dork!)
Talk about a Catch-22!Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author
