Best in Show

The American Kennel Club just announced the Top Ten most popular dog breeds in America. And look who ended up in Third Place.

Mr. I'm So Gorgeous, Take My Picture Now German Shepherd.

Yes, I agree. Except this guy should have gotten First Place!!

Creative Carnival

Silly me. I submitted something to a wonderful site, Write Stuff, and then couldn't find the link. So I apologize, profusely. Arrgghh.

It's a bit late for Christmas, but the Creative Carnival is still up and running with lots of holiday cheer.

And they ever-so-politely posted my personal essay, "Retro Christmas," a piece I wrote awhile back for Romantic Homes magazine.

Pardon me while I get back to editing my almost done novel...

I'm Listening

As far as I can see, the New Year is the perfect time to talk about blessings. Those I have already seen, and those I hope for. I can see God walking through my life, his fingers leaving trails of light like sparks.

People I’ve met, doors that opened. The fact that I didn’t give up on writing. Although I wanted to.

This past year I met some wonderful people at Mount Hermon. Writers like Sharon Hinck, Rebecca Luella Miller, Jeff Gerke, Rachel Marks, Randy Ingermanson, John Olson, Cathy Carlton Willis, T.L. Higley, Camy Tang. Editors like Mick Silva, Andy Meisenheimer, Shannon Hill, Nick Harrison, Denny Boultinghouse, Karen Ball, Andy McGuire.

I had the opportunity to work with some talented people, including writers like B.J. Taylor, Cathy Carlton Willis, Rebecca Luella Miller, Tera Hansen, Wendy Dixon, Rebecca Razo, Meryl Schoenbaum, Melissa Quinlan, Jickie Torres, Hillary Black, Jacqueline deMontravel, Erika Kotite, Abella Carroll; photographers like Jaimee Itagaki, Franklin and Esther Schmidt; art directors like Shelley Baugh and Elena Oh.

I had another year at the helm of Victorian Homes magazine.

And I finished the book that I dedicated solely and completely to the Lord. Resurrection. I didn’t want to write any more, felt like I was already doing something important as the editor of a national magazine. Then I heard a small voice, that very quiet voice that God uses to get your attention when the rest of the world holds still.

It said, what if I wasn’t using my gift the way I was supposed to? What if I got to heaven and found out that I had buried one of my talents? What if the blessing I had been hoping for wasn’t what I expected; all because I thought that I was already “doing enough?”

Tough question. Made me sit up. Made me think. Wasn’t real happy about the idea that heaven could be less than I expected, just because I got lazy.

So I guess you could say that I made a deal with God. Okay, I said to Still Small Voice of Big Important God. Okay, I’ll write another book. One more. I’ll go back into that closet for another year, that dark place where I sit alone, unnoticed, unimportant, silent and ignored. For a whole year. Just me and the keyboard.

But.

But this time I’m going to write it for you, God, I said. So that means all the other rules are thrown away. I’m not going to write the way one expert wanted me to, years ago. I’m not going to write it the way the books say I should. I’m not going to write for the CBA market, I mean, everybody knows they don’t want Sci-Fi. And I really don’t like writing supernatural fiction. Demons are creepy. That’s what I was saved from, I really don’t like hanging around with them for a whole year. Ick. I have trouble sleeping when I write about them and how is that an honorable pursuit?

So, Sci-Fi it is. And I’m going to write the most beautiful language I can, I’m going to delve deep inside my characters, even if other people don’t want to read an internal book, even if everybody in the world wants plot-driven pablum. I’ll have a plot, sure. But it will be stitched on the skin of my people, tattooed on their flesh. They will be the story. The world will be their landscape.

I broke the rules. I finished my book. The year is over.

And I can feel God moving through my life, his fingers like sparks, setting my horizon ablaze. His smile. His heat.

I write for God’s pleasure. I live for his voice. And I wait; I always wait, for his blessing. It’s the New Year, the perfect time to set goals, make changes.

My goal. To listen more carefully to that Still Small Voice. And to always be willing to obey. Even if it means sitting alone in a closet for a year.

Hallelujah!

I finished my novel. So excited. So very excited. Can't wait to start the edits, can't wait to tell all my friends, can't wait to send a copy to my agent . . . zzzzzzzzzzzz.

The Razor's Edge

Season Three of Battlestar Galactica ended with a fantastic cliffhanger and a song that created buzz on the Internet for months.

Here are the last four minutes that left everybody breathless, plus a little something extra . . .



That clip gives me chills every time I see it! I'd love to see Kara and Lee get back together. Here's my favorite ending scenario: They finally make it to Earth, but only two people survive the landing. Lee and Kara, the new Adam and Eve.

If you've been waiting for the next installment, keep your TV on this weekend. Battlestar Galactica: Razor is scheduled to air on the SciFi Channel (where else?), November 24.

I Choose

They’re putting their hooks in me and pulling me down, when I want to fly. Pulling me back to sanity, to reason. But I crave the insanity of the unknown. I dance at the edge of belief; tease the unknown, lure it like a wild tiger. Come closer, I plead, knowing I will end up torn and bloody. Knowing that I would rather be mauled by that which lurks in my imagination, than pampered by that which sings from inside a golden cage.

Forever forward, I choose the road of danger, the path dirty and overgrown with wildflowers. I follow the forest line, out of the city, to the place where silence intoxicates and no voice propels me to submit.



Words will drip from my fingertips, they will continue to weave stories, perhaps bold and brave, or perhaps in reflection they will be foolish.

But they will come from that inner place of unsatisfied hunger, that soul's desire for something wild, something stronger than me, something that can never be tamed.

Writing and Reading

Now and then, every writer needs to step away from the keyboard and do that which got them in this whole mess in the first place. Reading.

For me, it all goes back to my love of books. I have no one to blame, except maybe that dratted first grade teacher who helped me decipher those strange looking symbols called letters.

Books. I love books. Except when I have writer’s block and I’m trying to finish a book. Or, the other dreaded peril, is when I have to write a book review that I know more than five people are going to read.

Sorry, I’m getting off the point. Probably on purpose.

I was talking about reading. The kind that is done out loud.

I know. Painful for a somewhat introverted person who would rather stand behind a computer monitor and project her thoughts to the world.

Still, tonight I will be doing a reading. Out loud. In front of humans. Aliens would be better, but they aren’t easy to find on short notice.

I’m going to be reading the first two chapters of my work-in-progress, Resurrection, to a group of completely innocent Southern Californians who never deserved anything worse than a bad tan. I feel sorry for them. All of them.

So, I hope none of you come. Because then I’d have to feel sorry for you too.

But, if you feel so inclined to subject yourself to the excruciating horror of listening to me read my writing, out loud and in front of God—because He is always listening, whether we are worthy of it or not—then, well, here is where I will be.

WHERE: Refuge, 7800 Edinger Ave, Huntington Beach, CA 92647; Phone: (714) 891-9495
WHEN: November 16, Friday, 7 p.m.

I hope I don’t see you there.

Great Advice for Writers

Mary DeMuth posted some really great advice for beginning writers over at The Master's Artist.
Check it out!

My Favorite Oxymoron

Above is my favorite oxymoron of the day. Gleaned from an Ozark Web site.

Live help. Meaning right now, immediate.

Leave a message. Meaning guess what, we're not really here.

I Signed Up!

I don't know about you, but I registered to go see the FREE showing of Razor on Monday, November 12. Are you going? If you are, drop a note below.

Skiffys unite! (Or is it Skiffies? Who knows how to spell a made-up word? Especially one treated with such great respect throughout the universe, one that has its OWN page in Wikipedia and is used by all those who dearly love Sci Fi.)

No Cigar, But A Diamond Tiara Will Do Just Fine

It doesn't look like I'll make my goal to finish writing Resurrection by October 30. I'm close, though. Really close. I can feel the ending on my fingertips, everytime they press the keyboard.

Scenes are flowing, characters are obedient. Even when they have to die.

I forgot that I cry when I kill off a character. It took me completely by surprise the other day. I had to stop and grieve for about half an hour. Even though I knew it was coming from the beginning.

Well, back to the mines of metaphor and plot twist.

It's a dirty job, but somebody has to destroy the world.

What I’m Reading

If you’re a writer, you should be reading. Goes with the publish-or-perish territory.

Here’s a list of what I’m reading or just finished:

1. Spook Country by William Gibson: just finished. Gibson’s eloquent, as usual, but I must confess that I felt like an intellectual half-wit through most of the book.

2. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card: just started, already halfway through (loving it!)

3. Auralia’s Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet: on chapter 4

4. Vanished by Kathryn Mackel: on chapter 4

5. How to Write Funny, edited by John B. Kachuba: jumping around and reading chapters at random. Great reference material.

6. The Children of Men: Halfway through the book. [Spoiler alert] Very discouraged by the main character. Any man who is happy when he accidentally kills his own infant is extremely hard for me to connect with.

7. Wicked by Gregory Maguire: on page 30. A bit slower than I expected.

It seems rather obvious, when I look over my list, that I am more willing to read science fiction than fantasy.



What can I say? I’m a Skiffy at heart.

Battlestar Galactica Returns

In serious withdrawal, Battlestar Galactica fans have already programmed their DVRs to record Razor on November 24, and pre-ordered the unrated extended DVD, which is coming out on December 4. If that's not enough, you can attend the advance screening event if you happen to live in one of the lucky regions: Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle.

It's free as long as you reserve your ticket.

Or, if you want to watch Flash Gordon on the Sci-Fi Channel on Friday nights, they're running "Razor flashbacks."

If you don't want to record and fast-forward through Flash, you can watch the flashbacks at http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/.

On Fire

The world is on fire. A rushing, hissing silver wind blows through the treetops and ashes mask the mountains. Half a million people have been evacuated as the flames steadily devour the landscape.

In my backyard, the world is on fire.

Creative Carnival: October 2007

Check out this month's Creative Carnival over at Write Stuff. It's full of the unexpected: everything scary, creepy and horrific.

And yes. Oddly enough, one of my stories is over there.

A Step Too Far

Personally, I have to say that Miller beer has gone a step too far with their recent endorsement of a Christ-mocking image.

There are a few things I hold sacred and Jesus happens to be one of them.

This is one of those times I'm glad I don't drink. At least I know I'm not supporting this company nor have I made a recent contribution to their advertising fund.

Boo, hiss, Miller. Very poorly done.

Reason Number Three

Any woman brave enough to carry her own mosquito net around with her deserves to be queen.

Reason Number Two

Georgia O'Keeffe meets Cate Blanchett in this stunning epic.
(Sorry, I had to say that.)

Reason Number One

A very good reason to go see "Elizabeth: The Golden Age." Pirates are the good guys.

Secret Confessions

I must confess that I am completely addicted to Fiction Friday. Any fiction writers out there, who are surfing the Net instead of writing, should check it out.

The home page for Fiction Friday is here.

You can check out my current Fiction Friday post on my Crop Circles blog.