The Kiss

the hum and flutter
the joy and stutter

I-love-you

love and glisten
stop and listen

I. need. you

Heart, beat faster
Mouth, press closer

I, want, you

Your candy or your ankle

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Even Super Heroes Make Mistakes

Super Dog accidentally wore his cape to the office party.

There goes another secret identity down the drain.

Hannibal Lector Goes to the Vet

That's my boy. Woof.

What the dog is thinking on Halloween

Does this bag make me look fat?

Nap time

On the job

I'm working.

But in my heart I'm sleeping.

The Other Side

I know it’s dark
Not quite what you expected
But it’s beautiful
No?

Yes, he breathed
in my ear, soft
and slow
It is
beautiful

I let the trace
of a smile tease
my lips, tease him
too.
You see it?

He nodded, enchanted.
A world away, on the
other side of
the black and
white

page

In a quiet room, roaring with
the music of staccato
words. He was
reading

My book
My heart
My soul

And he swore that
it was
his. I let the
trace of a smile tease
his lips

Black and white, wrong
and right, day and
night

Dark and light
On the other side
Of the black and
White

Page

The one thing I don't like about Southern California in the winter

The crows.

They sit outside my window and torment me. On purpose. They know I'm trying to write. They know they're irritating. They know all the other birds are cuter and nicer and sing better songs.

And still, there they are. Cawing up the skies with incessant chatter.

Dark feathered vermin.

"You can't write. Ha ha. Caaaw. You'll never finish that book. Haaaa ha caaw caaaaaw."

I think the Son of Sam was listening to crows before that dog came along.

Music

Do you hear it?
Music. Driving me
To my knees, with the breeze
Holy spirit, holy song
Calling me, soaring free.
I want to stretch my
Wings, silver bright, water tight,
Want to fly through sun and
Rain, joy and pain.
Do you hear it, do you, do
you
hear it on your knees?
Forehead to the floor
Knocking on the door
Of heaven.
Music. Driving me.
Do you hear it?

Page 99

Outside the wind shivers and blisters.
Rips through the leaves, tears down walls inside me.

Page 99

Why is it always page 99, why don’t I push through the barrier? Silken skin like a womb. I want to soar through.

Not for me, not today, I want more.

Much more. Can taste it, on the back of my tongue. Sweet and thick, rich as blood. Bite on the skin, piercing my way into the womb of words.

Go ahead.

Let everybody else fight their way out. I’m gonna win this battle on the inside.

Where I belong.

Watching me

The alligator in the mirror is watching me.

The reason why I work

They want to eat. Now.

Photo Finish: The Big Event

The Fantasy Fiction Tour is over. All the authors are home (I think). The event at Calvary Chapel Refuge went extremely well. I got caught up in hosting the event, so I didn't get all the photos that I wanted. Somehow I completely missed getting pictures of Donita K. Paul and Jonathon Rogers. And I really wish that I could have gotten a photo of all eight of them when they were on stage for the question and answer session.

But for now, here is a photo essay of the evening . . .

Christopher Hopper (The Lion Vrie) and L.B. Graham (The Binding of the Blade) stand outside the sanctuary. Chris was posing for the camera because it took me nearly half an hour to figure out how to take a picture. Arrgghh.


The event began with Jennifer and Christopher Hopper leading worship. Beautiful music and beautiful couple!


L.B. Graham spoke on "God's Faithfulness" earlier in the evening. Here he visits with fans during the book signing.


Rebecca Luella Miller and Sharon Hinck (the Restorer series) during the book signing. Becky helps run the CSSF blog tour and hosts the popular site, A Christian Worldview of Fiction. She also helped throughout the event.


Bryan Davis (Dragons in our Midst) and Wayne Thomas Batson (The Door Within trilogy) discuss all things literary with their fans. Bryan delivered a powerful message titled "Why Fantasy" and Wayne performed an excellent dramatic reading.


Eric Reinhold (Ryan Watters and the King's Sword) and fans. Eric spoke on "God's Timing."


Sharon Hinck and me. I have to confess, she is a talented lady with a heart of gold. Truly. Her message titled, "How to be a Hero" made me cry.


Andrea Verde and Jeremy Clendening--faithful workers that helped pull this event together. And, oh, that's me in the middle.


Me and Jeannie Kleker--another wonderful volunteer that helped throughout the event.


Here we have an optical illusion--it looks like Wayne just chopped off someone's head. But, in fact, everyone left with all their body parts intact. Thank goodness. Can't read a book without a head.

It's always something

Anatidaephobia — the fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching you.

The Big Day

Today's the Day. Eight fantasy fiction authors are going to descend upon Huntington Beach with a shout and a song.

Music by Christopher and Jennifer Hopper.

Dramatic readings.

Powerful messages.

Laughter. Lots of laughter.

Maybe some swordplay.

Wayne Thomas Batson, Eric Reinhold, Bryan Davis, L.B. Graham, Sharon Hinck, Donita K. Paul, Jonathon Rogers and Christopher Hopper.

7:00 p.m.
Calvary Chapel Refuge
7800 Edinger Ave.
Huntington Beach, California

If you can't make it because you live in Kansas, there is still hope.
You might be able to see it live on the Internet.
Visit the Fantasy Fiction Tour Web site, and remember that this is taking place on the West Coast. Pacific Time out here in the land of sunshine.

The land of aliens, like me, who love sci-fi and fantasy.

They're on TV

Here is a TV interview with Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper where they discuss this year's Fantasy Fiction Tour.

Fantasy Fiction Tour

The countdown has begun. Five days. Five.

The West Coast Fantasy Fiction Tour--featuring eight authors--will swing by Huntington Beach on Friday, October 10.

The event will include Christian authors, Sharon Hinck, Wayne Thomas Batson, Bryan Davis, Christopher Hopper, Eric Reinhold, Jonathon Rogers, Donita K. Paul and L.B. Graham.

Friday, October 10
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Calvary Chapel Refuge
7800 Edinger Ave.
Huntington Beach, California 92647

Of course, I'm going to be there too. In all of my alien glory.

Havah: A Review

It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed a book as much as the one I just finished reading.

Havah: the story of Eve by Tosca Lee. I’m not even sure where to begin. Here—I loved it. I devoured it. From the moment I cracked the spine and started to read, I was compelled to finish. Not many books command me to read them, tell me to stop working, stay up late, and sacrifice my entire Saturday so that I might spend a few more moments seated before the hearth of someone else’s tale.

Havah required that I hear her story.

The book never felt like a piece of fiction to me. It was as if, finally, the veil had been lifted and I could hear the beginning verses of Genesis told in Eve’s voice. As if we crouched together before a flickering fire, the night wind at our backs, and like a beloved friend, she told me all of her secrets, from the beginning to the end.

Tosca has created a masterpiece in Havah.

Chapter one begins with the birth of Havah (Eve) in the Garden. With a poetic voice, Tosca tells the tale of the first woman, her relationship with “the adam” and her desire to know the One that Is. Havah frolics in a perfect world, where the river sounds like music and the air is stained with the fragrance of pomegranate and plum. Her dearest friends are a lioness, Levia, and a fallow deer, Adah, and it is through these relationships that we later see the bitter contrast between life in the Garden and life after the Fall.

Because, of course, Havah has yet one more friend—a serpent. More beautiful than any of the other animals, it dwells on an island, always near a tree that bears forbidden fruit.

If you think this is a story you’ve heard before, you’re wrong. No one has ever told this tale with such lush detail. As much as I have contemplated Eve and her life in the Garden—and I have—I never saw it this way. Havah is both heartbreaking and stunningly beautiful.

Tosca’s voice, so unique and fluid in rhythm, reminds me at times of Sue Monk Kidd or Janet Fitch. But the spiritual quality of this book elevates it to another plateau.

This is exactly the type of story, book, and author that I have been waiting to see emerge in CBA. I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to get lost in another world, anyone who would like to experience the Book of Genesis in a fresh way, or anyone looking for a story that is beautiful and compelling from beginning to end.

Shhhhhh. I'm reading

Just so you know that I am NOT asleep at the wheel. I just got three books that I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for.

As soon as I read them, I plan to write reviews of each. Oh, and I'll post them here.

"What books?" you ask on the other side of the computer screen.

Havah by Tosca Lee, Shade by John Olson, and Shadow of Colossus by T.L. Higley.

Fiction Friday: Write about 8.

“The fascination may go away, Mrs. Lee. And then again, it might not.”

“Fascination? Doctor, I can’t even believe you are using that word!”

“Well, we’ve run a full diagnostic. Your daughter isn’t autistic, and there are no signs of obsessive-compulsive behavior—”

“And so that’s it?”

I could hear the voices in the background, a bland pattern of words that interrupted my own thought process from time to time, their words occasionally slowing me down from my healing reverie…

Eight dogs running down the alley, eight cats yowling at midnight—

“Will she need to be—” My mother struggled with the word, “—institutionalized?”

Eight fluffy clouds in a denim blue sky. Eight questions that all begin with why.

“No, I don’t think so.” Big man in a really big white coat. Looking down at me.

Eight days in a week—I wish!—eight freckles on her cheek—and a tear.

Mother crying. Big man sighing.

Eight. Eight. Eight. Can’t be late. Eight minutes, eight hours, eight songs, eight notes. Eight reasons, eight rivers, eight brownies, eight boats. Eight grinches, eight buildings, eight cars, eight goats—

She glanced down at me, mother of mine, sweet giver of life. Took my hand, led me out of the office, into tepid New York streets where more clatter and noise drove me deeper into my mantra.

Mother, dear Jennifer 8. Lee, held my hand as she signaled for a cab.

Eight. 8. Eight. 8.

Don’t be late, don’t skate.

Don’t be mad, Jennifer 8.

More proof I'm a real girl

I haven't posted for awhile and just saw this quiz over at Julie Carobini's site.

It was such a cool quiz, I just had to play!

Your Autumn Test Results

You are a playful, spirited person. You have a limitless imagination and amazing creative talents. When you're happiest, you are outgoing and expressive . You love celebrations, and you enjoy showing off a little. You tend to be afraid of change. You are never ready for things to be different. You find love to be the most comforting thing in the world. You feel at peace when you're with your loved ones. Your ideal day is active and full. You like to keep busy with your favorite things, and you appreciate a routine. You tend to live in the moment. You enjoy whatever is going on, and you don't obsess over the past or future.

The Autumn Test