Raima Larter's Blog, page 7

NaNoWriMo Starting Soon!

 

I have participated in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as it's known, every year since 2010. I was going to skip it this year. 

I have many reasons to skip it: I have a book contract! And the manuscript is due in a couple of months! And I have a novel from a previous NaNo year that I need to finish!

So many reasons to NOT do NaNoWriMo again, and yet I would be breaking a TEN YEAR streak if I sat this one out.

So many reasons TO do NaNo again, though, such as: an escape from the news that has become way too intense; an activity I can do alone and indoors, socially distanced from others but connected online; a chance to finish the project I started last NaNo and managed to get only 3/5 of the way done; and probably others.

We start November 1st - this Sunday! If you want to participate, sign up here: https://nanowrimo.org/ or follow along on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NaNoWriMo If you follow on Twitter, look for me here: https://twitter.com/raimalarter

See you in November...

NaNoWriMo Starting Soon!

 

I have participated in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as it's known, every year since 2010. I was going to skip it this year. 

I have many reasons to skip it: I have a book contract! And the manuscript is due in a couple of months! And I have a novel from a previous NaNo year that I need to finish!

So many reasons to NOT do NaNoWriMo again, and yet I would be breaking a TEN YEAR streak if I sat this one out.

So many reasons TO do NaNo again, though, such as: an escape from the news that has become way too intense; an activity I can do alone and indoors, socially distanced from others but connected online; a chance to finish the project I started last NaNo and managed to get only 3/5 of the way done; and probably others.

We start November 1st - this Sunday! If you want to participate, sign up here: https://nanowrimo.org/ or follow along on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NaNoWriMo If you follow on Twitter, look for me here: https://twitter.com/raimalarter

See you in November...

Book Contract!

 The Lorenz Attractor
I'm thrilled to announce that I've just signed a contract with World Scientific to publish my book, Spiritual Insights from the New Science. This book has been "in progress" for almost thirty years and bringing it into the world has been my dream for all of that time--which means that this is, literally, a dream come true. 

World Scientific is a major science publisher based in Singapore, producing upwards of 600 books per year as well as almost 150 scientific journals. They also have a growing list of popular science titles, of which my book will be a part. We don't have a firm publication date, yet, but I'm guessing it will be in late 2021. 

Here is a description of the book:

Spiritual Insights from the New Science is both a memoir of a life in science and a guide to the deep spiritual wisdom drawn from one of the newest areas of science, the study of complex systems.  The author, a former research scientist with three decades of experience in the field of complexity science, tells her story of being attracted, as a young student, to the study of self-organizing systems where she encountered the strange and beautiful topics of chaos, fractals and other concepts that comprise complexity science. Using the events of her life, she describes lessons drawn from this science that provide insights into not only her own life, but all our lives. These insights show us how to weather the often disruptive events we all experience when we are growing and changing.

The book goes on to explore, through the unfolding story of the author’s life as a practicing scientist, other key concepts from the science of complex systems: cycles and rhythms, attractors and bifurcations, chaos, fractals, self-organization, and emergence. Examples drawn from religious ritual, dance, philosophical teachings, mysticism, native American spirituality, and other sources are used to illustrate how these scientific insights apply to all aspects of life, especially the spiritual. Spiritual Insights from the New Science shows the links between this new science and our human spirituality and presents, in engaging, accessible language, the argument that the study of nature can lead to a better understanding of the deepest meaning of our lives.

I am so grateful to all those who have helped bring this book this far--my critique partners, writing instructors, and all those who have cheered me on. When I first got the idea for this book, I had written nothing but scientific articles and memos for work, and did not have a clue about how to write this type of book. This is one reason why it's taken me almost 30 years to bring it into the world. 

The other is, of course, life, which has a way of intervening. I do think, though, that the experience I've gained over the last several decades in writing about science for the public and writing fiction has equipped me for this undertaking. I expect the book will be a lot better than it would have been back in the 1990s when I first started scribbling notes for it.

I look forward to posting more information about this exciting publishing adventure as it becomes available. Stay tuned!

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Western Native

We have just bought a house in Colorado and, after spending two months in virtual quarantine in Virginia, I have been able to travel to this new house and begin to settle in. Part of my settling in process has involved exploring my new neighborhood, and one of my new-favorite places is nearby Sand Creek.
This neighborhood used to be Stapleton Airport and you can still see evidence of it. Blocks of broken concrete and asphalt, strange pieces of metal, even the old control tower, which is still here. Sand Creek ran along the edge of the airport and it is one of those things that remains relatively unchanged. And along its banks, the native plant and animal life is thriving.

I've taken my camera along on my morning walks and challenged myself to name what I see. It's a personal test to see how much I remember of a childhood in a place very much like this--a semi-arid region of the mountain west. Here are some of my photos...
First up: prickly pear cactus and sagebrush!


Next: Foxtail grass and Cottonwood Tree


Lupine and blooming Milkweed

Morning Glories and Poppy

Thistle bloom and Sunflower

And, finally, some critters...who don't really require any captions!
I have lots more photos, but no matter how many I take, they don't totally capture the place--the sharp scent of the willows near the water, the rustle of the wind in the tree branches, a constant gurgle from the creek as the water tumbles over stones, and the bird song. So many birds: redwing blackbirds, meadowlark, and killdeer in the long grass and, on the water, ducks and a pair of egrets.

And, finally, a parting shot...will post more later!

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

 
Snapdragons!Third year in a row these beauties have come back. First year they've all gone blood red.
For more of my photos, see Flickr.For more Wordless Wednesday, see the main site.

Identity

Who are you? Are you, like me, a parent, someone's child, a grandparent? Are you, like me, a writer, or a scientist? Or are you something else entirely?

Do you identify yourself through your relationships or by what you do?

It is popular in some circles to denigrate what we do. People say, "I'm a human being, not a human doing," but honestly, all of us are doers.

In many ways, what we do, especially with our hands, makes us human. Those two opposable thumbs we developed along the evolutionary chain changed everything for our species. We became able to manipulate tools and make things in a way no other animal can do.

And as I thought about this more, I realized that one of my dearest-held identities is as what people younger than me have called "a maker."

I've always been a maker, but we didn't call it that when I was growing up. I'm not sure we called it anything, since it wasn't an identity anyone owned up to. But, to be honest, making things is what gives me the greatest pleasure. If I can hold the finished product in my hand, or at least touch it if it's too big to hold, I feel like I've done what I'm supposed to be doing.

So, what do I make? Well, books, for one thing. And facemasks, lately. And bread! Here is a series of photos showing my latest adventure: creating a sourdough starter from my existing kefir starter. The kefir has yeast in it, so I figured I could culture it up and add some flour (following a recipe, of course) and get bread. And it worked!

So, who are you? Are you a maker, too?

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

View from my kitchen window* - the azaleas know nothing about a pandemic and just keep on blooming.

For more of my photos, see Flickr.
For more Wordless Wednesday, see the main site.

*Trying to start posting on my blog again. Have been away for TOO long!

Annual Writing Report - 2019

This year is nearly over and I am determined to pull together an accounting of all that has happened in my writing life and beyond. 2019 was a very good year for me in terms of published pieces, including my first two novels that came out in the spring! Those led to lots of book promotion events, and because of that, and the personal challenges I faced this year (more on this below...) I didn't submit quite as many finished pieces as I would like. There's always next year!

BOOKS
I was thrilled when my first novel, Fearless , was published in February. Although this was my first novel to be published, it's actually the fourth one I've written. The first two are still not ready for prime-time, but the third, Belle o' the Waters , came out in April. Huge thanks to both of my publishers, New Meridian Arts Press and Mascot Books, for taking a chance on a new writer. All this shows that it's important to keep writing, and if a book just doesn't seem to be getting finished, go ahead and start the next one!

STORIES

I had four new short stories published this year, as well as two reprints of previously-published stories that were re-published in 2019. In addition, one of my stories from 2018, Solve for X was nominated for a "Best of the Net" award this year. Big thanks to the editors of Linden Avenue Literary Journal for their support of my work.

This year's new stories and reprints are listed below:

Motherhood , published by Good Works Review (FutureCycle Press), January, 2019

Time to Leave , reprinted by Derelict Lit, January, 2019

All the Birds Scattered , published by BULL: Men's Fiction, March, 2019

Amanda is Moving Back to Montana, Although She Vowed She'd Never Do It , published by Cleaver Magazine, March, 2019

Deathwatch , reprinted by KYSO Flash, Summer Issue, 2019

Annie Apple , published by Fiction on the Web, December, 2019

 SCIENCE WRITING

I have continued writing press releases, newsletter articles and web highlight pieces for scientific journals and other clients. The American Institute of Physics (AIP) has published a lot of my work, including thirteen Scilights in 2019. This link will lead you to all my bylined science-related publications for AIP.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE...

Although this post is largely about my writing adventures over the course of this last year, I really can't stop there, since so much has happened in my personal life in 2019, and all of it has had a large impact on my writing. Some of this was very good, some of it not so good, but all of it is important...so here goes.

In January, I was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer. I haven't written publicly about this anywhere yet, and I may do that eventually. I had no idea I was sick when I went in for my mammogram. They found a small tumor and I embarked on a series of tests, a biopsy, more tests and eventual surgery and radiation. All this happened, as it turned out, at the same time my two books came out! The publishing events were a good distraction from the medical worries, but it was all rather exhausting.

I was very lucky. My cancer was of a type that responds well to treatment, and I did not have to have chemo. I did have a month of daily radiation treatments and a lumpectomy, though, and I am now on daily medication - an estrogen blocker, which has definite and unpleasant side-effects. I'm due for my one-year follow-up mammogram in about two weeks, and am hoping for a good report!

The other major personal event this year is much happier, but I suspect it happened more quickly because I had a cancer diagnosis. My eventual reaction to that was, "Why wait?" My husband and I had been planning to take steps toward retiring in the western part of the US, back closer to my home turf and to our kids and granddaughter. To make a very long story short, we just closed on a home in Denver and although we have no furniture in it yet and my husband is still working full time in Arlington, Virginia, we have a foothold here in Colorado now - and I couldn't be happier. I will be spending a lot of my time in the mountain west with short trips back east, and the plan is to (eventually) move completely to Denver. More on that as it develops.

I wish all of you the best in the coming year, and good health for everyone!

Happy Blog Anniversary!

Today marks eleven years in the life of this blog! It's hard to believe I've been at this for over a decade, but am very grateful for all my readers over this long period of time. I looking forward to another decade of writing and posting!

Two Week Notice!

Two weeks to go! NaNoWriMo 2019 starts Nov. 1st, a little over two weeks from today. I am participating again this year and have a project in mind -- but first I need to finish the project I'm currently working on. No time to prepare for the new one, so it should be "interesting" this time around.