Feb
21

Every Day I’m Shuffling…

Posted in blog, drowning in stuff to do, metaphoric crap that is supposed to mean something deep but probably doesn't, release day coming | 1 Comment
It’s been a few years since I’ve seen/read it, but in Memoirs of a Geisha there was a scene where Saiyuri, the Geisha in training, goes from tea house to tea house to try to boost her status. Of course her rival found out and it became a constant game of cat and mouse. As one showed up, the other one would leave. Neither here nor there, except to say that an author on a blog tour is much the same. Not about the rival part, just that sometimes it feels like I’m constantly shuffling  from blog to blog. A guest post here, an interview there, giveaways and promo and smiles everywhere. Which is awesome – but not with my boss sitting catty corner to me in cubelandia. I’m actually taking next Tuesday off since I’ve got so many things going on. I was at the day job during my… Read more
Jan
30

Fleeting Beauty

Posted in blog, butterflies, metaphoric crap that is supposed to mean something deep but probably doesn't, publishing | 3 Comments
I went to the Museum of Natural History in DC yesterday. Nothing major. Just a day alone with mr myn (which culminated in a feast of gut-busting proportions over at The Melting Pot.  You can never have enough cheese. Or chocolate.) Anyway, one of the new things over at the museum is you can pay a few extra bucks and go wander around in their butterfly house. It’s not super huge, but there’s a moment of enchantment to be had there. I mean, I’m sure most of us have seen butterflies before, but it was a nice change of pace for midwinter, and fun to just be surrounded by them. And they were *everywhere*. They landed on your hair or your clothes, your phone, the wall, the floor, whatever. (As you can see by the pictures I’m tossing up here – I finally got a new camera, so that was… Read more
Jan
17

Following the Leader

Posted in blog, followers, metaphoric crap that is supposed to mean something deep but probably doesn't, social networking | 5 Comments
One of the things I’ve always found rather fascinating with social networking is how it seems to have moved from a simple format of interacting with people into a cyber-popularity contest. It’s all about how many followers you have…and the quality of who *you* are following. (Hmm. This person is following 40 people…but is being followed by 9000! They must be popular!) Quality, of course, being the operative term.  (And rather subjective, at that.) And there are so many choices, aren’t there? So many places to make connections that it often feels like a whirlpool of words and thoughts and opinions. Impossible to keep track of on a regular basis, never mind the people who continually change their user names or avatars or website titles. The other night, I got a new follower or two on my Tumblr. No big deal, and I didn’t think much of it. Less than… Read more
Jan
13

Ripening

Posted in blog, ideas, metaphoric crap that is supposed to mean something deep but probably doesn't, rambling | 1 Comment
The only problem with temporarily abandoning a project is that you can never really go home again. I’ve been trying to get back into a project I stopped working on in late 2009. It’s not something I had gotten very far into at the time – and it’s actually pretty well written. All fairly good points, but what’s interesting is that three books later, I can see how much this mostly unwritten story has changed over the years. How my writing has changed, compared to what it was. The overall story idea has stayed the same, but over two years of percolation has definitely expanded my initial concept. Which isn’t a bad thing at all. Maybe it’s a bit like ripening fruit. The story might have been fine as it was, but I’ve had a few years to work on my writing craft, as well as flesh out some plots… Read more
Oct
14

Autumn Shoes

Posted in metaphoric crap that is supposed to mean something deep but probably doesn't, writing | 2 Comments
I know it’s Fall now. Not because of the weather, or the leaves changing or any of that stuff. No, I know the seasons have changed because today was the day I gave up my sandals and put on Real Shoes. (aka Shoes One Must Wear With Socks) Which saddens me greatly. For the most part I detest wearing shoes. My toes like to breathe, I guess. And all isn’t lost as I’m sure there will be a few more warm days to be had before winter sets in, but it seems almost cruel to my feet to tease them that way. I did find it amusing that after months of wearing flat sandals, I actually had trouble walking in my real shoes today. There’s a little bit of a heel and I’m all over the place and out of balance. I’m sure there’s a metaphor there, but at the moment I… Read more