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Miyazaki & Story

I’m not a huge Hiyao Miyazaki fan — okay, I haven’t even seen all the standards! — but I really like some of what he says here about story in general and about stories for children. And what he says about stories of fantasy and monsters requiring the… Miyazaki & Story

Old Notes & Plots, New Year

English: Puma_Punku
Puma Punku blocks (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So while I was cleaning the house — I do that every epoch or two, believe it or not — I found some index cards with plot notes. I’m not actually an index card plotter, but I did some detective work and determined, based on the debris strata and corresponding artifacts, that these were from a writers’ conference workshop from 2013, I think. We were supposed to invent a novel plot from scratch within the workshop.

Here’s the short summary I found:

Old Notes & Plots, New Year
Giftmas Blog Tour December 2015

Making Something of the New Year

TGiftmas Blog Tour December 2015oday is my turn again to host in the Giftmas Blog Tour, and I’m happy to introduce you to author Jay Wilburn. Please don’t forget to enter the contest for free books and stuff! You’ll find the entry below the post. Catch the whole tour here. Thanks, and Happy New Year!

Making Something of New Year

by Jay Wilburn

I always felt a little darker around the New Year than I did around Christmas. I think it had a lot to do with being a teacher for so many years. The dread of knowing I was going to be dusting myself off and getting back to work was hanging over me on the first of the month.Making Something of the New Year

Dark Side chocolate chip cookies, Princess Hair cinnamon buns, baby sarlacc

A Star Wars Roundup

English: Opening logo to the Star Wars films
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Okay, okay, I know this is the third time I’ve mentioned Star Wars in the last two months. But it’s been kinda everywhere, y’know? And I just wanted to do a round-up of some of my favorite cultural references, from music to electric cars to party food.

A Star Wars Roundup
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Merry Christmas!

May each of you have a joyous holiday as we celebrate the greatest gift, and may your new year be bright with plans for your future. Merry Christmas!

midway through Advent

Guest Post: Counting Down to Giftmas

TGiftmas Blog Tour December 2015oday is my turn to host in the Giftmas Blog Tour, and I bring you author and editor Rhonda Parrish. Rhonda has written and edited a bunch of things, but readers of this blog will know her as the editor of Fae, Corvidae, and Scarecrow. Please don’t forget to enter the contest for free books and stuff! You’ll find the entry below the post. Catch the whole tour here. Thanks, and in case I don’t catch you tomorrow, Merry Christmas!

Counting Down To Giftmas

Growing up my family had holiday traditions, traditions that I carried on even after I moved away from home. Then, when I moved in with my husband fourteen (!!) years ago he had his own holiday traditions and we (my husband Jo, daughter Danica and myself) had to find a way to try and mesh our traditions together into something that worked for us. One of Jo’s traditions which I was super happy to adopt was advent.Guest Post: Counting Down to Giftmas

The Force Awakens: A New Hope for the Star Wars Franchise

Yes, /waves Jedi hand/ you see what I did there.

I’m not gonna lie, I had a very hard time getting excited about the new Star Wars movie. I’d been very excited about a new Star Wars movie before, and that backfired hard. Ever since Jar Jar and the disregard of established canon, I’ve had trust issues.

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But as I hate spoilers, I bought an opening night ticket in self-defense, and I sat tense in my seat through the ads and trailers, wearing my Mara Jade costume*, waiting. Daring, just a little, to hope.The Force Awakens: A New Hope for the Star Wars Franchise

FFVII Chocobo concept art

Roast Chocobo – Geek Feast Blog Hop

Geek Feast Blog Hop

Today I am participating in J.L. Mbewe’s Geek Feast Blog Hop, sharing fandom-inspired recipes. As we are presently between Thanksgiving and Christmas, when oven-tender fowls are traditional fare, I thought I would share a time-honored family recipe for chocobo. (Don’t miss the contests below and the fundraiser, as 100% of So To Honor Him royalties this week go to charity!)

Sephiroth’s Favorite Roast Chocobo

photo courtesy PicJumbo

As the holiday season of marathon eating begins, we think not only of the loved ones no longer with us (all of them, from Aerith to Zach) but of the family and social gatherings where we will gorge ourselves on our favorite recipes. One which has been a repeated hit is Sephiroth’s favorite Roasted Chocobo.

Roast Chocobo – Geek Feast Blog Hop