Living on the west coast of Canada means that I often wake up to find that a few voracious readers (in other timezones) have already consumed a new release while I slept, and Graveyards, Visions, and Other Things that Byte (Dowser 8.5) hasn’t been an exception. I’m so, so glad that so many of you have enjoyed hearing from Mory, Rochelle, and Jasmine. I very much enjoyed writing their novellas, exploring Mory’s and Jasmine’s voices as well as getting a chance to speak through Rochelle again.
I stumbled upon this picture two days ago, a long-time friend found it among his collection, scanned it, and sent it to me last year. And, after exclaiming for some time about being SO young and SO slim, I filed it among my digital photos without another thought.
I don’t often share personal photos (of myself), but I thought you might find it fun to see a tiny little bit of my life experience bleeding into the character of Mory. Allow me to present Narissa, my inspiration for Mory’s turtle, Ed.
MCD, age 20 (?), with a red earred slider semi-aquatic turtle, aka Narissa.
I also thought that today was an opportune time to mention that writing Dowser 8.5 has spawned numerous ideas for more side stories and that the Misfits of the Adept Universe series, starting with a Mory book, will be coming your way in 2019.
As always, thank you for reading. Without you it would just be me in my tiny writing shed wondering if the words I spend hours a day typing were ever going to be read by anyone else.
Okay. I’m making fudge marshmallow bars now. Then later there will be homemade pizza!!
I feel like the only possible way I could have eaten the nine salted caramels that came in this box from Hummingbird Chocolate Maker in twenty-four hours is if Michael has been ‘helping’ me.
However … I’m somewhat concerned about accusing him of stealing caramels from my stash. Because, if he hasn’t, I’ve just admitting to eating nine caramels. In twenty-four hours.
It’s a mystery that is doomed to remain unsolved.
Just as long as I get the box into the recycling bin without Michael noticing.
Michael: *peering into a small pale blue box* “What are these?”
Me: *glancing into the box on my way through the kitchen* “My salted caramels.”
Michael: “Oh.” He glances mournfully at the box he is holding – which used to be full of chocolates he’d selected for himself – then down into a drawer that is *literally* teeming with a crazy amount of chocolate and treats that we’ve just spent two days in Vancouver collecting.
Me: (feeling magnanimous, since there are two of the caramels) “You can have one if you like.”
Michael: “No. That’s all right.” He closes the box, puts it back, and picks up a crumpled plastic bag instead. “I’ll just eat the rest of my sour patch kids.”
Me: ???
Yes. Dozens of amazing treats to choose from and my husband wanders back out to his studio after lunch with his leftover movie night treats in hand.
I ate one of the salted caramels. It was freaking amazing.
Back to writing.
[I’ll run the random number generator(s) for the T-shirt giveaway(s) at the end of the day].
I know, I know, I made this big announcement about how I was going to cut back and refocus, including taking Saturday mornings off. And then I worked all day last Saturday (I really, really just wanted to get the first draft of Dowser 8 done) and now I want to spend more time with Mory (aka the opening novella of Dowser 8.5) this morning.
But being self-employed has to have some benefits, doesn’t it? And tomorrow I’ll reward myself with a chocolate milkshake and buying/planting a pear tree (I’ll try to remember to take a picture. It’s a two combo espalier and I’m planting it in the raised garden bed outside my office window).
And really, the recycling/groceries/mail can totally wait. Ahem, ah, yeah, confession time, if you won a copy of Dowser 7 from me like a long time ago, I still haven’t managed to get it in the mail. Sorry! But the padded envelopes I needed finally showed up yesterday, so the paperbacks will be on their way soon!
Now where did I leave Mory … oh, yes, Mountain View Cemetery. Where else would she be?
It’s a gorgeous morning on Salt Spring Island. The ravens and eagles have been playing in the wind and the snow has all melted (yay!).
Warning: this post diverges from my usually positive offerings.
Yesterday I set out to write a massively joyful post about Dowser 7’s great release – biggest release day ever, great store rankings, fun live release day party. I wanted to thank my amazing and supportive readers. And to tell you how blessed I am to have you all in my life.
Then I got blindsided.
Tagged. On Facebook. By a reader who just had to let me know how lacklustre she thought my new book was – less than 24 hours after its release. A reader who’s name I recognized. A reader who I’d had positive, fun interactions with previously. She decided that the first thing I should see the morning after I’d released a new book – the accumulation of months and months of my life – was just how bored she was with my newest effort.
Of course, I answered her politely, as is my default. And I shook it off. Not everyone likes every book (I certainly don’t). And I’ve had people be nasty to me before, though usually in a private message.
I went to work. I spend my entire morning boxing up giveaways. Hundreds of dollars of giveaways. Happily. Because I do love to give things away.
Then a couple of hours later another reader decided to comment here on my blog, expressing his disappointment in the book. He was rather detailed, including informing me (the lowly writer) that my FEMALE character had learned her greatest lesson from an OLDER MALE character and that she should just stick with that. I imagined I was supposed to reply with gushing gratitude. What with me being a FEMALE writer and him being MALE, he was totally in his rights to tell me – in my personal space – everything I could be doing better. Right?
Nope.
Fortunately the comments are moderated on this blog aka my personal space. So, yeah, I deleted that message. And then went on with my day.
I must, must mention that positive after positive message was also filtering in through all of this – lovely reviews, lovely readers who seemed to understand and appreciate the tenor of the new book and what it was setting up.
But, of course, I’m exhausted.
I’m empty.
Drained.
I just didn’t realize just how tired I am. So the nasty messages are what stuck to me (as they do to any of us). And by the end of the day I just shut down. Far, far down. As in needing to be in a dark room with my head pressed against the wall with Michael trying desperately to figure out was wrong and how to fix it.
And, after he coaxed me out of the dark and got some food in me, we made a plan. A plan that has me working less, and buffering myself from nasty people more. And that is sad. It is sad that because a few people are nasty, I have to pull back on all my relationships, that I have to pull back on my level of commitment to keeping up those relationships.
But, eager to keep moving ever forward, I started my new routine this morning – namely, half days rather than full days, on Saturdays. Yes, I’ve been working six, often seven days a week, for over three years now. No vacations that last longer than two days, and I had only one of those in 2017. But this morning was a new day, a new plan. I headed out and got my driver’s license renewed – only 3 months after it had expired – and I helped Michael with errands instead of working like I usually do.
Because if I’m balanced, I shouldn’t be so thin skinned, right? I shouldn’t allow myself to get so empty that someone can make me cry after a great release day because she tags me on Facebook just to make certain that I read and understand her opinion.
Anyway.
Moving forward.
I did errands this morning. I bought myself some new seeds. I reminded myself that there is life away from the writing.
I’m sure the names of these tomato seeds speak for themselves and why they caught my eye this morning.
After I made my hot chocolate, I happily wandered back into the office, ready to box up the last of the giveaways (I had to buy padded envelopes to do so).
And in my inbox sits an email. Another male reader. This time complaining about the preorder giveaway.
Now – unfortunately – readers do like to complain about my giveaways.
Yes.
People complain about how I GIVE things away.
This has happened in some form or another many times. Usually it has to do with shipping – over which, as I’m sure you understand, I have no control. Occasionally, I also apparently make giveaways ‘too difficult’ to enter.
But the reader who felt compelled to email me this morning informed me that I’d disappointed him – funny how men always seem to need to express their utter disappointment in me when giving me a scolding. He was disappointed because I hadn’t given him enough time to enter the preorder giveaway. Yes, the giveaway announced on my blog over a month ago, then mentioned weekly (sometimes more) on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Google Plus, then mentioned in my monthly newsletter on January 2. That giveaway.
Apparently, I needed to make a bigger effort so that he’d had more time to enter.
So …
I’m starting a Shit List. Yep. For the first time in my long writing career, I’ve been pushed too far. Three straws in less than twenty-four hours have dented my resolve to be perpetually positive. I opened a Word document and I wrote three names in it. It’s titled: shit list and saved to my desk top.
And now I’m writing this blog post, publicly admitting that I’m tired of being treated badly by people who just expect me to suck it up.
So here it is, for everyone to see and understand, if you are nasty to my face in my space – my inbox, this blog, or any of my personal social media pages – I’m putting you on my shit list.
Because no.
Just no.
You can’t be nasty to me and expect to enter and win giveaways. I might have always adhered to the random number generator in the past. I might be Canadian. I might love to laugh. But I just cannot do it any longer. I cannot be quiet about rude, inappropriate behaviour. I cannot reward nastiness.
Be nasty about me or my books in your own space, in your reviews. That is your business, and your right to your own opinion.
I will not be mentioning this again. I don’t want to mention it ever again. But try to make me cry? To make me feel like I’m worthless? I’m putting you on the shit list.
And now I will post this, then happily go back to addressing giveaway packages.
Oh! There are new T-shirt designs coming. That’s fun. And Dowser 7 paperback giveaway, of course. I just ordered copies.
To my extraordinarily patient/understanding/thorough/supportive editor (and I’m not just saying that because you’re currently working on Dowser 7):
Yep, that’s another freaking year!!
Please join me in wishing Scott Fitzgerald Gray the happiest of birthdays. Without him my novels would be clunky, at best, none of the characters would be dressed (at least not consistently) and you’d never know what anything – be it a weapon, an artifact, or a room – looked like.
I often get asked about my favourite books/series/authors, specifically in the urban fantasy genre (which I read almost exclusively these days). And since I find myself repeating myself a lot – I’m a rather loyal reader – I thought I’d start a list here, then add to it as it becomes necessary.
To make it easier on myself, the links below lead to book one of the series on Amazon.com (simply replace the .com with .ca or .co.uk to find the book in your region). FYI these are affiliate links. I reinvest any $$ I make into paperback (etc) giveaways.
Favourite authors:
Authors who I preorder the instant I know they have a new book coming, and who I reread.
Kelley Armstrong – my current favourite is the Casey Duncan thrillers (City of the Lost), but also any of her Otherworld novels, including the YA offshoots, starting with Bitten. Kelley gets bonus points for being a fellow Canadian. 😀
And new to the list: Tracy Deonn. Her Legendborn Cycle (Legendborn) is actually life-altering. I can’t wait for the next book!
Favourite series:
The Psy/Changeling Series (Slave to Sensation) by Nalini Singh. I was late picking up my first Nalini Singh book (Why? Such a terrible oversight on my part!) but I’m now all caught up and have book 21 preordered! I’ve reread Mine to Possess, Kiss of Snow, Heart of Obsidian, and Shield of Winter. And loved all of the off-shoot series. I’m also a fan of her Guild Hunter Series (Angel’s Blood).
Terry Pratchett – any Discworld book with witches in the lead POV with Wintersmith being my favourite. I own but find myself unable to read, The Shepherd’s Crown, which was published after Terry passed away. I got to a certain plot point, lost it, and had to put the book away so I could continue to function in my everyday life.
Sookie Stackhouse (Dead Until Dark) by Charlaine Harris – one of my first entry points into ‘modern’ urban fantasy. I recently picked up her Gunnie Rose Series (An Easy Death) and absolutely adored it.
The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Illuminae). Also their newest collaboration, The Aurora Cycle (Aurora Rising).
The Consortium Rebellion (Polaris Rising) by Jessie Mihalik. Also, I’m really enjoying her newest, Starlight’s Shadow (Hunt the Stars).
InCrypid Series (Discount Armageddon)[ongoing] and October Daye (Rosemary and Rue)[ongoing] by Seanan McGuire. Seanan also writes as Mira Grant, and I LOVED her Newsflesh Series (Feed).
The Firebird Chronicles (Rules of Redemption) by T.A. White [Ongoing series]. I’m obsessively in love with this space opera.
Forgotten Empires (The Orchid Throne) by Jeffe Kennedy [completed trilogy]. And Bonds of Magic (Dark Wizard) [ongoing].
The Scholomance (A Deadly Education) by Naomi Novik. Loved! I reread, bought the audiobook, and I instantly preordered book two. Then I read that and instantly preordered book three! Big fan.
The Bonds That Tie (Broken Bonds) by J Bree. This series totally sucks you in and keeps you guessing, full of sexy times (Why Choose!!), magic, enemies to lovers, and traumatic histories. I also enjoyed J Bree’s Hannaford Prep series (Just Drop Out).
The Legend of All Wolves (The Last Wolf) by Marie Vale. Love this very different take on werewolves/magic/etc. The first and the fourth book are my favs. Sexy, emotional reads.
Influential books/series/authors:
William Gibson – his sci-fi Sprawl Trilogy (Neuromancer). The character of Molly Millions has definitely influenced how I perceive/write/create my own superhero females. [Also the namesake of my chocolate Shar Pei). I’m also a big fan of Pattern Recognition (just adding that link makes me want to reread it).
Messenger Chronicles (Shoot the Messenger) by Pippa DaCosta [Complete series.]
Shadowspell Academy (The Culling Trials) [complete] by K.F. Breene and Shannon Mayer
All three books in the Galactic Love series by Ann Aguirre. But the first book, Strange Love, had me in tears because I was laughing so hard. Also sexy! Sexy!
The Crownchasers duology (Crownchasers) [complete] by Rebecca Coffindaffer.
Gargoyle Queen (Capture the Crown) by Jennifer Estep. This is an offshoot of Jennifer’s Crown of Shards (Kill the Queen) series but I think it can also be read separately.
Fourth Wing (Empyrean 1) by Rebecca Yarros – definitely worth the hype and I’m looking forward to book 2 in Nov 2023.
Baby & the Late Night Howlers (Sweet Omegaverse 1) by Kathryn Moon as well as books two and three, Lola & the Millionaires (Part One). Sexy, Why Choose, with bites, knots, and a plot! Fun, Fun!
The two-volume, Pack Darling (Part One) by Lola Rock is a great omegaverse (knots, butes, Why Choose) as well.
And, if I’m listing fun Why Choose romps, I’d be seriously remiss if I didn’t mention the epic (21 books and counting) Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon. Blue aliens, mating bonds, and seriously sexy times. I’ve currently tapped out at book 10, but don’t doubt I’ll pick it up again at some point.
I’m having a good cry this morning, because it should have been Laurel’s (my step-mother) 69th birthday today. She succumbed to her Alzheimer’s a few years ago. Her relatively-young death was what prompted Michael’s and my move to pick up our entire life in Vancouver and strike out to try something new, leading us to Salt Spring Island with a garden, chickens, and a spectacular view where we could both concentrate on our writing. Laurel’s death gave as that push, but it is her life that I always wish to celebrate yet find myself incapable of articulating my … joy … grief …
Because it is the small things I remember, that I miss …
How when I visited in the summers, she would give me the bits of pastry leftover from making a pie, showing me how to sprinkle them with sugar and cinnamon, then roll and bake them into tasty morsels.
How she would always talk to everyone in a room … that person who no one else seemed to talk to …
How she would bring me photos of people I didn’t know, who I still don’t know or remember that I’m supposed to know, and she would tell me all about their lives … or a conversation she’d been having with them …
But mostly, there was this thing she did … this way that she twisted her hand when pointing something out – she was left handed – and … I recall that and I weep … just her pointing something out to me. Something she was holding, a flower bud or shiny rock. Or someone in one of the photos she’d brought to talk to me about. It was this simple twist of her wrist, something so unique to her, something I’ve never seen replicated.
It’s easy enough to write about grand gestures and impassioned actions, but when I remember Laurel it’s that twist of her left hand, pointing something out to me that I recall, that I mourn the loss of.
She was kind. There isn’t nearly enough of that in this world.
She was worth the tears.
Me, age 3, with Laurel. I love this shot – taken February 1977 in Tillicum Park, Victoria BC (according to my Dad’s handwritten notes) – because I imagine I requested the kerchief, wanting to wear one as she did.
So as I worked my way through the multiple drafts of Catching Echoes, Reconstructionist 1, I highlighted every instance of ‘effect,’ ‘affect’, ‘past, and ‘passed’ that I came upon. I did so because I invariably use one or more of these words incorrectly at least once in every book. Yes, no matter how many times I go over the sentence, no matter how many rules I recite in my head and apply, I always get at least one wrong.
After editing over thirteen of my novels, and I don’t know how many of my screenplays – ten? fifteen? – my lovely editor, Scott Fitzgerald Gray (aka SFG)(who you can find on his Insane Angel website), suggested I might want to jot down the following rules on a Post It! note, then attach said note to my computer screen.
I did one better. And then thought I should share with you all.
Please feel free to share (I’ll also post these separately on Twitter and Facebook for that purpose). And it’s back to writing for me!
