I had the opportunity recently to visit New York City and attend Paramour, the new Cirque du Soleil Broadway musical at the Lyric Theater. The show closed shortly after, and I had a number of people ask me to share my thoughts on this unusual fusion of circus and theater. We like circus, and we like theater, but would they work as well together like some sort of fusion cuisine?Paramour: A Broadway Review
Check out the newest issue of HAVOK! It includes my flash fiction about a woman traveling with her service Velociraptor, and a lot more dino-themed stories. Seriously, that cover.
(Okay, I know pterosaurs aren’t strictly dinosaurs, but are you going to argue with that cover? I didn’t think so.)Cry HAVOK and Let Slip the Dinos of War
You want a story about unicorns? Of course you want a story about unicorns.
You want a whole books of stories about unicorns, winged horses, water horses, sky horses, ordinary horses, and even Sleipnir? Yeah, I thought so. So you want the upcoming anthology Equus, edited by Rhonda Parrish and the final installment of the Magical Menageries.EQUUS cover reveal!
You might recall that I offered a prize for making fun of my awkward pictures. Because I take myself that seriously, all the time. And now, we have the results. The grand prize of three ebooks and a $20 Amazon gift card goes to Alex McGilvery, for his… Contest Results: The Derpening
Okay, warning, today is a rant.
I’ve had a few people think it was “dirty” that I have dogs in my house, or that I touch them regularly in my job as an animal trainer. Okay, not everyone likes dogs, that’s fine, and I guess if you’re seriously weirded out about them you can imagine airborne cooties flying through the room or something. (Though the service dog under the table is not a risk to your food and isn’t going away.) But the weird thing is, the people who voice such protests say nothing to or about parents doing actual gross stuff with their kids in eating areas.
I have long been disgusted by parents who change diapers on restaurant tables. SERIOUSLY PEOPLE, how is that okay, and it’s not like there aren’t legally-mandated changing tables in the restrooms just a few steps away. But I guess they figure they’re busy and special, and anyway no one should be stupid enough to eat off a restaurant table or have their eyes open while eating. If I didn’t want to see exactly how much nastier strained peas are post-processing, I shouldn’t have chosen a restaurant which serves families. And anyway, breast-fed babies’ diapers are so much better than formula-fed babies’ diapers, see the difference? so they don’t know how I could be upset.
Gross! Parents, Seriously.
I was shooting some video and realized I’d accidentally bumped the selfie button while using my phone camera to check lighting. That’s how this starts.
And I thought that expression and that green screen were just too inviting, and so we’re going to play with them.Contest: Derp Me!
Brag moment! Even though I get no real credit for this one.
I’ve been an avid appreciator of Joel Friedlander’s The Book Designer site for some years, and I keep an eye on his cover design awards and commentary as a useful educational tool (and a fun one). I’ve entered several of my covers, commissioned and self-designed, and gotten nice feedback on them. But this month I landed the coveted gold star.Hey, Gold Star!
It’s St. Patrick’s Day. Do you feel lucky?
No, not in a Dirty Harry sort of way. More of a, Are you ready to achieve your dreams? kind of way.
Let’s listen to some Irish talk about dreams.Luck, the Irish, and Writing Toward Your Dreams
So I’ve been working very hard, and I’ve dropped a few hints, and I’m finally ready to reveal it: I have a new training and behavior book coming out soon!
(Animal training and behavior is my day job, when I’m not letting my imaginary friends irritate each other for fun and profit.)
Social, Civil, and Savvy: a new non-fiction book
Today’s another entry in the Background & Research posts for The Songweaver’s Vow.
When Thor goes to fight Jörmungandr, he seeks the sea-sized serpent at a place he calls the Wyrmhole, baiting him out with a bull cut into quarters. The Wyrmhole is shamelessly based on a real place I visited in Ireland. (Though I saw fewer sea serpents.)
The Songweaver’s Vow: The Wyrmhole