So, it turns out that sitting on your butt for long periods of time, like writers do, is really bad for you.
This should be one of those no-brainer things — sedentary lifestyles are bad, this isn’t news — but it really came home to me when I realized that since I became a published author and started really taking my writing seriously, I’ve gained almost 20 pounds. Ouch.
Time to take back my life!
I Walk a Lonely Road: my new treadmill desk
I respect books. I hate to see books damaged, even — especially — in the name of decor. At a decorators’ show house recently, my sister, mother, and I looked in horror at shelf art made of cut up books. “Oh, thank goodness,” my sister soon identified, “they’re just Reader’s Digest Condensed Books.”
Walking through a decorating fair using vintage books and paper as disposable materials makes my blood run dark. The current trend of tearing up old books to get aged or interesting paper is infuriating and wholly unnecessary. My mother has decorated her bathroom with delightful antique book illustrations, everything from Sinbad to Sherlock Holmes, all color-copied from the originals for a neat aesthetic with no damage.
Vintage Books Are Art
“A well known American writer said once that, while everybody talked about the weather, nobody seemed to do anything about it.”
— Charles Dudley Warner, Hartford (Connecticut) Courant, August 27, 1897 (often attributed to Mark Twain but probably mistakenly)
It’s said that there is no bad weather, only bad clothing. While I can’t agree wholly — I’m from the midwest, and no clothing in the world will save you from a tornado — I agree with the sentiment that a little preparation goes a long way toward making one safe and comfortable.
How I Survived the Arctic Blast and Beyond
Okay, I’m pretty excited about this.
I have a story in an upcoming anthology, Fae, edited by Rhonda Parrish and published by World Weaver Press. The collection centers on, predictably enough, fairy tales — but not the kind you’d think. These are cyberpunk fairies and Civil War fairies and fairies among us. You can check out the contents here, and don’t some of those titles look delicious?
Coming Soon: Fae
“The Ruins” is now available to read online at Punchnel’s. Later this year, paperback sales of the Mythic Indy anthology will go to support Second Story, a program to encourage eager and reluctant kids to explore creative writing and improve their literacy and writing skills.
“The Ruins,” like the rest of the Mythic Indy stories, is set in a supernatural Indianapolis. Urban fantasy, folklore, science fiction, and slipstream all bump shoulders here. My story centers on the famous statues in Holliday Park, and what they might really be.
New Story Out: The RuinsJust for fun today, here’s a snippet from a suspect interview, from Con Job. “So you had nothing against her?” “Well, this is probably stupid to say while her murder’s being investigated, but I can’t honestly say that. She wasn’t a nice person. I’d rather stick a fork… Tuesday Teaser: Con Job
So I’m wrapping up Con Job, a murder mystery which takes place at a fan convention which is populated by the usual assortment of fans and guests: cosplayers, actors, writers, trivia nerds, fanfic enthusiasts, photographers, collectors, executives (from a cocky corporation with the ridiculous name of MEGAN!ME) and more. It has a lot of editing yet to go, because drafts are to books as crops and live poultry are to Thanksgiving dinner, but it’s coming along.
In the scene below, three guys are talking show business, and a voice actor drops the name of one of my own favorites, Rob Paulsen. I tweeted, just in case he’d see it, because it really was meant as an honor.
Rob Paulsen and Con Job
So I recently finished The Ghost Bride, by Yangsze Choo (who also narrated the audio book), recommended to me by Stephanie Cain who predicted I’d enjoy the Asian folklore and supernatural elements. I did.
The Ghost Bride: Chinese Folklore and Ramen
Okay, I’m gonna pull some hate for this one, I know. But.
Disney’s Frozen could have been amazing, but its script got in the way and made it, not a glittering glorious castle of ice, but that splashy muddy sludge left after snow melts. It had good moments, but given its individual parts, the sum should have been much better.
I’m not even talking about the internet rage at the de-feminizing of The Snow Queen, a fairy tale which featured a nearly entirely female cast and a girl actually rescuing a boy. I’m talking purely internal plot problems. And yeah, there’s gonna be lots of spoilers ahead, so be warned.
Frozen: What Went Wrong