palmedfire

Every so often I lose track of this and stumble across it again. And the amusements in this one... I had to post.

Nonfiction totally counts for this!

How NOT to Write a Novel: 200 Classic Mistakes and how to Avoid Them - A Mistep-By-Misstep Guide by Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman.

I read far more books about writing than I probably should for the limited amount of writing I actually do. But this one was a lot of fun. Despite the tongue-in cheek title, it's actually very helpful, because they do go through the common stumbling blocks of unpublished writing, complete with hilarious over the top examples. And they keep their advice simple, straight forward and to the point.

Good book to have on your shelf if you're like me and still harbor illusions of becoming a writer some day

Yay going to Portland means I got books read!

Book #7 Eon by Alison Goodman - Continuing my love of young adult fantasy novels and my love of girls disguising themselves as boys, I picked this one up at Borders months ago, but only started reading it on the flight out to Portland. Finished it in a day, it was that good. It's very Chinese myth-inspired, but the author has really made the world her own and not just "fantasy China". It's a fascinating story, and the main character is very gripping. She makes many mistakes, all while trying to do what she thinks will help, only to have things go more and more awry. I picked up the sequel at Powell's and am looking forward to how this all turns out.

Book #8 - Family Ties & Torn Skies by various authors, including myself - Well, I figured since I've been doing so much shameless self promotion for this, I should read the whole thing myself. I'd read most of the stories on the Torn World site, but it was neat to read them all in a bunch. As with any anthology there are some stories that are stronger than others, but overall it was very good. And I gained a bit more appreciation for the Northerner culture, which thus far hadn't really grabbed me. I still prefer the Empire, but that's a personal thing. It's also kicked back my desire to write more, which is always a good thing.

Normally I don't cross post these, but I'm going to do so for this one because of my review of Family Ties & Torn Skies. If any LJ-folk wanna see what else I've read this year, hop on over to my Dreamwidth and follow the 'read in 2011' tag.

I'd almost forgotten I was going to do artslam until a couple of people made posts about it. Thank you!

Anyway, my intro + first day's work is posted over there, please feel free to take a look: http://artslam.livejournal.com/1062766.html

Feel free to leave me comments there or here.

And, because I had free time at work I drew this:


Ray and his firelizard by ~palmedfire on deviantART

See, I play Ray from Silver Wolf at this fab RP called adstringendum, where he's recently gotten himself Impressed to a Pernese firelizard (brown, if you're curious). And I just had to draw that. I think it came out okay.

...because if you can't promote yourself, who can?

Thus, I wish to make everyone aware that preorders are now available for this anthology:




One of those names on that list of contributors is ME!

Thus, you should totally go HERE and preorder yourself a copy. Or two. Or twelve ;) Preorders get the .pdf of the ebook version for free, and immediately! Come on, you know you want to!

Oh, you wanna know what it's about first? Well, the anthology is for the shared world project Torn World, a wonderful collaborative project with a definite steampunk, science fantasy vibe. This is the official blurb from the website:

In a world where time itself has been torn, family is more important than ever.

Explore concepts of kinship - by blood and by choice - in a setting that spans lush rainforests, monster-infested seas, wild valleys, and frozen mountains. Journey between the strictly licensed, steam-powered cities of the southern Empire and the small communal villages in the north that believe they are alone in the world. Meet the varied people and cultures who define family in so many different ways. Glimpse mysteries unique to the temporal structure of Torn World and search for answers to universal questions about belonging and relating.

And heck, if it looks interesting enough, you can even join and help all of us create and explore more of the world!

Or just buy the book. That'll make me happy too]

Since my last plan to get in shape sorta fizzled, I've been making myself go back to the full, three-days-a-week resistance training program m'lady and I did a few years ago and worked really well. And despite my body currently being in full-on 'I hate doing this so I'ma gonna ache all the time' I've been pretty good about keeping up with it so far. And perversely, I've found it gives me more energy and motivation for the day, and I'm not hitting that 3pm slump where I just want to nap. Which is good because 3pm's when I leave for work most days. I think I can feel myself getting stronger. Not sure how the weight loss is going, but I'm trying not to focus on that aspect.

I've also found that watching Takarazuka revue shows makes the whole routine far more enjoyable. Sparkles and feathers, FTW!

Today I worked out while watching Tarantella, which I think may currently be my favorite revue. Unsurprising, since it's the one attached to my favorite show and has a lot of my favorite 'siennes in it. I was struck, this watch-through by a couple of things.

1> Kimu is subtly amazing. Seriously, you can see in everything she does in the show that she doesn't just hope to become a top star, she knows she will. And she has, I think because she's a very, very deliberate actress, who knows how to make the best use out of Every Single Moment she's on stage. Seriously. She knows how to draw the eye, without upstaging others, which is amazing in and of itself. And the camera loves her.

2> I don't think Maachan sweats. Like, at all. I was watching the end, and there's Komu dripping with sweat, and Maachan, who honestly has been dancing just as hard looks as fresh as a daisy. Well, okay, she is breathing heavy by the end of the number, but that's about it.

3>The end is so beautifully bittersweet, as Komu looks back, and then turns away to walk the rest of the way up the stairs. It's also I think a nice touch that she passes Mizu coming down the stairs. Symbolic passing of the troupe?

Okay, that's enough random ramblings for now. As I do not have Maachan's amazing anti-sweat powers, it is time for my post-workout shower. Yay!

First, a Public Service Announcement - I have two offers up on help_japan. I am offering an amigurimu eevee HERE and a pony drawing HERE. Winning bidders donate to charity. So please bid?

On to the actual entry.

For those who don't know, I have very thick, very nice hair that I keep cut short-ish for ease of dealing with/work. I've had long hair in the past. In college it was down to my midback, and I use to regularly grow it out to roughly shoulder length. Then I realized how much easier it was to deal with when short, especially since working massage means I have to have it out of my face anyway.

So why am I mentioning this?

Well, last week I had two people at work comment about my hair. Now neither of the people are people who's opinions I care much about (there's a big rant coming about one of them soon), but I still found the comments annoying. Basically because both people said "Oh, you would look so pretty if you grew your hair out!", with the very heavy implication that it would make me look more 'feminine'. This needless to say annoyed me quite a bit. And sadly, even though I know I should just ignore them and move on, sadly has continued to annoy me in the back of my mind. Because really, it's neither of these women's business if I look 'feminine' or not. I know it came up because I am due for a hair cut, and my hair's grown out to the point that its a little shaggy, but I'm not sure why it's convinced either of them (neither of whom have ever seen me with long hair) that I should grow it out.

Feh, I could shave my head and I'd still look like a girl. I can't pass as male, even if I wanted to. My hair length or lack there of doesn't make a difference. And even if it did, it's no one's business but mine (and maybe m'lady's) what I choose to look like.

Fuckers.

That said, I am due for a haircut, probably this weekend. And completely unrelated to the idiots' comments, I have been debating getting it cut even shorter than usual so I can do the spiky thing with it. I'm just not sure it'd look good on me, and I'm not sure how to tell. I'm probably thinking way too much about this. After all, if it doesn't look good, it'll always grow out, right?

What, you thought I was done with the pony pictures? Ha! I have some more to subject you to!

( But I will nicely put them under a cut in case you are offended by cute )

There will be a Mercutio pony eventually, but I need to find a better reference image for the pose I have in mind.

Tomorrow will be everchanginmuse and I's ten year anniversary.

Ten Years

That's longer than something like 50% of marriages in this country. Maybe more. I can't remember the statistics right now.

This is both amazing and slightly terrifying. I'm not quite sure why.

Well, I'm not reading as fast as some of the other people on my flist who are doing this, but I'm trying not to worry about that. Just going to keep plugging away at this.

I picked up Soulless right before Christmas, on recommendation from zehavit_lamasu and to bump my Amazon order up enough for free shipping. Only just got around to reading it, but that sort of thing happens a lot in my house. Too many books, such a trial ;)

So, about the book: Soulless is a roughly Victorian-era, steampunk AU sort of book, set in a London where vampires and werewolves not only do exist, but are part and parcel of society. There's some very interesting things set up about the supernatural society - the idea that one needs an excess of soul to be turned into either vampire or werewolf (if you don't have sufficient soul, the change kills you), and the idea that while werewolves have packs, vampires have hives, which isn't something I've seen before. Then again, I'll admit to not having read a ton of vampire lit.

Anyway, our main character is a wonderfully strong-willed woman named Alexia Tarabotti. Alexia is far too bright and blunt for her social status and time period, and also has no soul. This gives her the ability to neutralize supernatural powers, which is either incredibly handy, or rather inconvenient depending. Often both at once.

I truly loved this book, Gail Carriger manages to be incredibly witty and amusing all through the story, even when the situation is getting bad. Alexia is a compelling character, so perfectly in-voice for the time period, but yet so a women who would have done much better born later in history.

I am looking forward to picking up the rest of the series (Changeless, Blameless and Heartless) at some point.