Soap?

Posted on November 18, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

Um, no… it’s S.O.P.A. as in the Stop Online Piracy Act.

Good idea! In principle… but full of all kinds of problems that, frankly, I’m not going to go into here.

One of the fun things about NaNoWriMo is that thousands of people all over the world are working towards the same goal at the same time. It’s great to feel a part of something bigger than oneself; to share are trial and woes, triumphs and tragedies.

We share.

Now, sharing our words is our own choice. Other than the paranoid refrain of “My story idea is so fantastic, if I even hint at my plot or setting someone is sure to steal my fantabulous work!” there’s not much to worry about.

Sharing images is trickier. Most of the time, the images a writer uses are not their own property. Bloggers in particular are notorious for posting any old image they find on the internet, with either no thought at all to who might own the copyright, or with a little “I didn’t mean to steal” smiley face next to it.

In October, I browsed the website Model Mayhem for images of a cast with a multi-national look and lack of height. I already had Peter Dinklage in mind for my MMC; I just needed three more men and four women.

I found my FMC right away, and tried to contact the model to ask if I could use her image on social media to say “Hey, look! This is exactly how I see this character.” But unfortunately Model Mayhem does not have a method for browsers to contact the models; the site is designed for photographers, models, film makers and all variety of other industry professionals to be members of the site and contact each other. Some list a facebook page or website, but the model I like for my FMC says clearly on her facebook profile that she uses it solely for friends, and she does not accept requests from people she does not know. I’ve never heard back from her.

So, this rambling blog post is here not so much to dazzle my thirteen subscribers (Hi! Thanks for subscribing!) but to document my own search and attempts to obtain permission to use these images.

A decade ago, I might have clipped pictures from magazines and pasted them to a scrapbook, sharing that with anyone without fear of breaking any rules. But since my scrapbook is digital, and my method of sharing with friends is the internet, there are now a lot more rules involved. It is my intention to follow them.

That said, I’m going to immediately contradict myself and put a small, closely cropped image of each of my inspirations here in this post. I want there to be just enough of an image so that the model or photographer who owns the image can say “Yup… I recognize that.” I hope that there’s enough information in this post that any professionals who are looking at this in order to decide whether or not to grant me permission can make an informed decision.

Generally speaking, I am looking for photos that make the characters look like well-dressed professionals. I am not looking for cheesecake or skin shots. These eight characters  were selected to become the new Dukes and Duchesses of the Duchy Fallcastle on the Planet Kingdom Come, set about a thousand years in the future. Each character applied to be in what they call the pool of noble candidates, hoping that they would eventually be offered a position. The position of Duke/Duchess means a lifetime commitment, as well as an arranged eight-way marriage. The heat level in my novels is about as racy as you’d find in many romance novels on a supermarket shelf. They are not erotica. I posted an excerpt that is an example of one of the most explicit scenes.

The purposes for which I use these images are:

  1. My own inspiration and reference. I look at the pictures while I write, so I know how the character looks.
  2. To share with friends, other writers and my (very few, so far) readers the visual inspiration for my characters.
  3. I’d like to use one or a combination of pictures to make my “working cover” to share on the NaNoWriMo site. Right now, I have an image from Flikr with a creative commons license. It doesn’t exactly fit, but at least I have permission to use it.
  4. If, someday, I actually sell the novel, I would send the same images to whatever artist is creating the cover. Whether they simply take the general look as inspiration to draw something, or whether they contact the model(s) to arrange a shoot is up to the publisher.
  5. The sites I use are this blog, the fiction blog that goes along with it, twitter, facebook, and Google Plus. I’d like to be able to share the photos on all these sites.

Here’s a list of the characters, and the models I’ve chosen as inspiration:

Peter Finborough, the Green Duke of Fallcastle

Peter was the old duke’s right hand man for almost ten years when he was selected. He is emminently capable, and popular with both the people whom he will serve and the nobility whom he will join. He’s the man who knows the job and the duchy inside and out, whereas the other seven are less experienced and look to him as a leader. Although the reasons for a noble family’s selection is never made public, everyone suspects that the other seven were chosen specifically to fit around him.

The inspiration for this character’s look is award-winning actor Peter Dinklage. The image here is the most-used publicity shot that shows up on almost every recent interview or article on the web. I hope that means it is kosher to use the image for posts like this, but honestly, I don’t know, and I’m not sure how to find out.

While watching HBO’s Game of Thrones, I started thinking “Wow… Peter Dinklage really is an incredible actor, esp. as a nobleman!” Now, wouldn’t it be incredible if I did sell the book, and Peter himself agreed to do a photo shoot for the cover? Wow!

Natasha Chan, the White Duchess of Fallcastle

Natasha is only a few months out of college when she gets the offer to be a duchess. It is unusual for someone to be chosen that young, but it’s not unheard of, and she is definitely qualified, even though she’s not very experienced. Natasha eagerly embraces her new appointment. Although her seven fiances are very supportive, Natasha comes to suspect that she was selected, not for her abilities and accomplishments but because she is pretty and petite, arm candy for Peter.

The inspiration for this character’s look is model Kanya Sesser, Mayhem # 881343. The photo that stopped me in my tracks and say “That’s Her!” even though I had originally visualized her as a blonde was this image by Scotts James Photography ©2011, uploaded to MM May 16, 2011, captioned “Flowers”. What I’ve tried so far to get permission for the photo: I found Kanya’s facebook, but she doesn’t accept messages or friend requests from strangers. I sent a message anyway, being as polite as possible, but received no answer. I googled the photographer, but there are many with the same name and I have no idea which is the right one.

I’m at a bit of a loss now. I absolutely love this photo; her expression perfectly captures Natasha’s feelings when she had been so honored to receive the appointment, then dashed when she finds out the reasons are not what she thought they were. I’m hoping by putting this out there that I can eventually find whoever owns the copyright and get their permission to share the whole picture.

The rest of the Dukes and Duchesses…

The story concentrates specifically on the relationship between Peter and Natasha, but the other six spouses are also important. When I couldn’t contact Kanya, I decided it wasn’t worth trying to contact the models for the secondary characters, but now I’m rethinking this…

Teddy Rodriguez, the Blue Duke of Fallcastle

Teddy is sweet and easygoing. He has a bit of the boy-next-door thing going for him. He’s well liked by the others, who find making that initial connection easier with him than any of the other men.

The inspiration for this character’s look is model Mark Jones, Mayhem # 1882725. He goes by “Pinoy Model.” There were a lot of really great photos. My favorite (seriously cropped here) is of him in a striped vest and tie, sitting on a bench. It’s a very intellectual look. (The Blue Duke is in charge of education.) There is a link to the photographer Noushin, ©2011. I’m going to send her an e-mail and see if she’ll grant permission.

Yachi Orinoco, the Black Duchess of Fallcastle

Yachi is a very professional lawyer-type (Black is the color that represents law.) She rarely takes the lead in any social situation, although she is perfectly capable of interacting with her peers.

The inspiration for this character’s look is model Olive O (There is no other name for her on the site) Mayhem # 2260767. I loved this photo of her as a blonde, even though her ethnicity is listed as Asian. The © and photographer are listed as Rejean Brandt. The picture was uploaded on September 18, 2011. I’m sending off a message, via the photographer’s own website, to ask permission to share this photo. The tiny crop I did hardly does it justice… I really hope they agree so I can show everyone the whole thing!

Noapeh Eagleflight, the Brown Duke of Fallcastle

Noapeh’s parents are the Counts and Contessas of a county in the mountains of Fallcastle. More than any of the others, he knows what life in a noble household is like. He was making a career in the military when he was chosen as the new Brown Duke.

The inspiration for this character’s look is model Teddy Hernandez, Mayhem # 1504586. I find it ironic that I ended up naming a different character Teddy, but Noapeh is a soldier and Mr. Hernandez is a former soldier. It seemed fitting. None of his photos list a photographer or copyright information. I’ve googled his name, but I’m at a loss for how to contact him.

Lydia Weisz, the Violet Duchess of Fallcastle

Lydia is a listener. She has a way of putting people at ease, and getting them to open up.

The inspiration for this character’s look is model Erdem Polat (AKA Holiganist) Mayhem # 1437690. And… yes! She lists an e-mail address! Message sent. Some of her photos list D Brown Photographer, but the one I selected does not list a photographer.

Graeme Forbes, the Grey Duke of Fallcastle

Graeme is from a Duchy in the southern hemisphere, about as far away from Fallcastle as one can get. It is not unusual for a noble to be selected from a great distance, as that lends cohesion to the Kingdom as a whole. But although it makes him a bit of an outsider, he is very friendly, smart, and well-liked.

The inspiration for this character’s look is model Eytan Official (there is no other name listed for him) Mayhem # 2295944 and huzzah! He lists an e-mail! Sending off another almost identical message now…

Huzzah! An answer!

Hi Amybeth,
    You may use the first one but please have the whole head in the picture (instead of just the center of my face) I own the rights to them.
I am an artist and would
Appreciate if you can link the picture to my site www.Eytan-Music.com
I appreciate you asking.
Let me know how it goes.
-Ethan (Eytan)
My full name is Ethan Arabov if you wanted to add that in there as well.

Yeah! I’m so happy one of the models has responded! I updated this post by using the complete picture, as asked, and linking to his site. He’s a musician!

I’m also over the moon after checking out his website. I admit, this is going to sound strange… but since my story is set on a planet colonized by humans, I wanted to make sure most of the characters had a multi-national look. This would be appropriate for the descendants of a group of humans from every ethnicity on the planet. When I picked Eytan’s picture, I thought he looked like any average guy (granted, an extremely good-looking one!) you’d see in my very white New England neighborhood. Listening to his music though, he definitely fits the “multi-national” ideal quite well!

Stark Severin, the Red Duchess of Fallcastle

Stark is a research psychiatrist who loves to mess with people’s minds, especially those closest to her. Although technically a secondary character, at 25,000 words into my novel, I’ve found that she is playing a stronger part than originally intended because she is a catalyst for many incidents.

The inspiration for this character’s look is model Severin Stone, Mayhem # 2310419. The picture I cropped here shows her wearing a cocktail dress, holding a glass, and looking mildly bored. It is absolutely the epitome of Stark’s character. The picture says © EM as if EM was the photographer’s logo, but the details only say the image was uploaded last July. ~grumble grumble~ There’s a facebook page listed, but clicking on it says “Page Not Found.” Frak. It’s a dead end. Googling shows some leads… a possible twitter account with a similar name and same city. I’ll give it a whirl and see what happens! Umm… it looks like I’m tweeting into nothingness. That user does not exist. (Then again, sometimes twitter thinks I don’t exist either!) But… huzzah! I’m pretty sure I’ve found her on facebook, although there’s no way to make sure it’s not an imposter. I’ll take what I can get.

Regrets?

Now that I’ve written, posted, and sent these messages, I’m worried that it will come back and bite me in the ass. I’ve used models as character inspiration in the past, and their reaction was “Hey, cool! You used my picture as inspiration for a character!” As long as all the pictures also had their real name listed close by, all was good. They were happy. But other times, I’ve contacted a model and never heard back (In which case I ended up not sharing the photo at all, which was disappointing.) and I have no idea whether they never got my message, or if they ignored me. But there’s always the possibility that someone will say no to their image being shared at all.

I sincerely hope I can reach all the copyright holders, and preferably the models themselves. I hope they are flattered and pleased that I have their faces in mind for my characters. I hope they like the idea, and are willing to share a few more photos as well. (Do you have any idea how hard it was to find a man in a suit on MM? OMG! Shirtless? Sure! But dressed nicely? Sheesh!) Although this is a romance novel, and the characters do have some hot and steamy scenes, it is primarily about people and relationships. It is about things that happen when they’re fully dressed, and in this case, they usually have to dress very professionally and often formally.

Which reminds me… on a lighter note, just a quick mention for my favorite go-to for fashion… After all, this is a SciFi universe, and the fashion should reflect that. I love the short-lived TV show Firefly. Their costumes were very believable and realistic. Shoot… I can’t find the designer, but they are based in India and have the most gorgeous sarees! I’ll just have to add it to this post later if I find it.

OK… I found it: https://www.facebook.com/ShyamalBhumikaUS

Although I’m still writing this post, I did hit the “publish” button yesterday in case any of the models and/or photographers I’ve contacted visit the blog. Since I hit “publish”, the post has had two views. I’m not going to advertise this post like I usually do, I’m just going to leave it here so that, hopefully, the models can see I have the best of intentions regarding their images.

The shortlink to this post is http://wp.me/p1qnT4-tW

Posted in Kingdom Come, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Interview With Jenny Schwartz

Posted on November 18, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

Jenny Schwartz is a West Australian writer. She studied history and sociology at university — which proves she’s always been curious about people. Then she worked in the public service for a while. Great people, but sometimes government policy is just plain dumb. Implementing dumb policy can be more soul-sucking than two dozen vampires. You do not want to hear her rant about politics.

She loves writing, particularly fantasy, because it lets her explore the world and its issues in new ways, but always — always! — with the guarantee of a happy ending. Jenny is a happy ever after addict.

1. I was just thinking that all writers have cats, and I discover that you have a Golden Retriever! So, what is the human/animal census in your home?

A census question! You’re a treasure, AmyBeth. I love census night. I’ll admit it, I enjoy filling in forms. But to answer the question…Unfortunately, Toby is an only. Although sometimes my sister’s dog, Abby comes to visit.

Here they are pretending to be good. Toby’s the blond drongo (Aussie slang for brawn but not much brain) and Abby’s the black dynamo. She’s half kelpie and endlessly energetic.

2. How many imaginary creatures share your home?

They’re perched everywhere! A few years ago I picked up a copy of Brenda Rosen’s The Mythical Creatures Bible and that was it. They invaded my stories and my poems, rampaged through my novels.

Little Minerva isn’t mythical, but she is my writing mascot and sits beside my computer and the never-ending To Do list. The photo though is taken outside so you can see the glorious northwest Australian stone she’s carved from. I think it’s called zebra-tite, something like that.

3. How many blogs do you participate in?

I’m a member of two group blogs, Here Be Magic (fantasy authors published with Carina Press) and Dark Side DownUnder (speculative fiction writers who are also members of Romance Writers of Australia). Both blogs are awesome because of the people involved. Writers are among the world’s most generous, supportive, friendly and damn funny (in a good way! Not funny-strange) people.

I have my own blog at my website where I post daily … well, Sanity Sundays excepted.

4. Besides the blogs, what social media do you use? Do you keep the personal and professional separate?

Personal and professional blurs for me. I’m online as me. My motto is “If I’m not willing to own it, I shouldn’t say it”. With that clear in my mind, I then go ahead and say anything I want!

You can find me on Facebook as a person, a page and as part of the anthology A Clockwork Christmas FB page .

I’m on Goodreads … *sneaks in a little promo* I’ve started a discussion group for “A Clockwork Christmas” there, too. We’re talking steampunk and steampunk Christmas crafts and anything else!

I’m on Twitter, Tumblr and definitely on Google+. I love chatting with you there, AmyBeth. And there are so many great posts shared on G+.

I’m also part of the Harlequin Community.

5. How much writing did you do before being published?

Lots!

I’ve always scribbled. What I found really helpful was submitting stories to SF&F magazines. The spec fiction community is incredibly supportive. Often the editor/publishers are volunteers, but they give time, advice and encouragement lavishly.

I also spent years lurking and learning at Absolute Write. Wonderful people!

6. What kind of works have you had published?

A couple of romance novels, one with a fantasy element. Three paranormal romance novellas with Carina Press. A number of short stories in a range of different magazines that still blows my mind; from “People’s Friend”, a very conservative UK fiction magazine, to horror ezines. And poems. I love getting my poems published. Again, the place of publication ranges widely from Christian magazines to Australian literary and a number of SF&F zines.

7. What’s the difference between historical fiction and Steampunk? Is it science fiction?

My rough and ready definition is that steampunk is history as it ought to have been. But yeah, I think it fits in science fiction. It is the future imagined in the past. It’s also incredibly addictive, both to read and to write. You have been warned!

8. Why do images of octopi tend to show up so frequently in Steampunk?

Now this is a question that puzzled me, too, so I did some research a few weeks ago and found Cthulhu. So now we both know: H P Lovecraft is to blame!

9. What background and experience do you draw on to write Australian Steampunk?

I misused my history degree. Years ago, I studied Australian social history along with sociology. My interest in both has never faded, so steampunk came along as the perfect fit. Even better, it’s given me a chance to re-imagine the town I grew up in – Fremantle – and the history of Western Australia. West Australians are famously parochial … think Texan with kangaroos … so this is part of my master plan to lure everyone into visiting. I really hope you do.

And since that’s a great excuse for a photo…here is Fremantle’s Bathers’ Beach which will host the Sailing World Championships in December — at the same time as my steampunk novella with a Fremantle setting releases from Carina Press. Well, obviously, the sailing isn’t going to happen on the beach…but the spectators will be there and you can see preparations are underway.

10. What path did your manuscript take to be included in the anthology A Clockwork Christmas?

Actually, the path to publication for “Wanted: One Scoundrel” has been so smooth it must have been blessed by the steampunk gods.

Angela James put out an open call from Carina Press for Christmas and winter themed steampunk novellas and I immediately thought of an idea. The idea grew, flourished and practically wrote itself. I had so much fun with the idea, I think it’s probably illegal to enjoy your work that much.

Then came the tough part. I sub’d the MS to Angela, crossed all my fingers and toes, and went back to working on an angel and djinn story.

Fortunately, Angela loved the story, signed me up, and I lucked out with three of the best antho sisters you can imagine: JK Coi, PG Forte and Stacy Gail. These girls are amazing and we’ve been having a blast with promo – which might just be our excuse to talk and talk and talk. Little things like timezone differences don’t stop us!

11. Can you describe the experience of becoming part of an anthology?

Oops. I started answering this in the question above. Let me see. I can honestly say it’s awesome. You become part of a team and that doubles and redoubles your enthusiasm.

12. Do you know who is recording the audio for Wanted: One Scoundrel? Will they have an Australian accent?

An Aussie accent would be cool, but I’d also really like a man’s Californian drawl. Then I could imagine he was my hero, Jed, come to life. But no, I’ve no idea who’ll be reading the antho. But I do know the audible.com voices are excellent, so I’m not worried.

13. Christmas in the north means snow outside and a warm fire inside. Does Santa trade sleigh runners for all-wheel-drive when he delivers down under?

I have got to find you a picture.

In Australia Santa arrives in a sleigh pulled by kangaroos.

In my neighbourhood, growing up, Santa also arrived on the back of a truck and threw lollies to us kids. Sadly, I don’t have a photo of that.

14. What would a Steampunk Santa look like?

Hmm. Steampunk Santa…now there’s a challenge. I love this 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea version, but for my money …

A Steampunk Santa has to wear brass goggles to protect his eyes from soot (and to see milk and cookies in the dark!) and steam-powered boots to boost him back up the chimney. He’ll have freed Rudolf and co to roam around the North Pole, and travel by dirigible instead. Clockwork elves keep him organised with lists of who’s been naughty or nice, and he carries an emergency tot of brandy in a hip flask with a stylised octopus stopper.

15. What is your favorite electronic or digital writing tool?

MS Word. No, seriously. I’ve used it for so long I’m really comfy with its shortcuts and I find myself typing effortlessly. But I’ve also just bought myself a curved keyboard and that is proving a blessing for my poor wrists.

16. What is your favorite non-electronic writing tool?

My old atlas. Not because it’s an atlas, but because it’s the perfect size to rest my small notebook on to scribble. I curl up in a chair with it and start scribbling ideas. Most of my writing is done as typing, but poetry absolutely demands pen and paper. I hope that doesn’t sound pretentious? It just works that way for me.

17. What is the most persistent distraction from writing?

Reading! But then, reading will distract me from almost anything. A new book on the kindle and the darned chores can wait!

18. What is your ideal writing environment? Have you ever been able to create it?

I do manage to get uninterrupted writing time and that is my main requirement, but if I could dream … I’d like a house by the sea, a room in it just for writing, a public library in walking distance and chocolate that doesn’t make me put on weight. LOL, I’m not asking for much.

19. What are you working on next?

More steampunk. Esme and Jed from “Wanted: One Scoundrel” just insist on having more adventures. And in getting their love lives tangled. Such fun! Hopefully Carina Press agrees with me, but somehow, some way, these stories will be told.

I try to keep readers up to date with what I’m doing on my Current Projects page at my website. Try being the operative word. Why is there never enough time in the day for everything I want to do?

20. Who shot first, Han or Greedo?

Huh? *laughs* Now, AmyBeth, you know I’ve never watched a Star Wars movie. However, I have read all the Terry Pratchett Discworld novels (many times, I’m such a fangirl) and in those Greebo is an evil one-eyed cat who gets turned into a man by the witches (who have a good reason, no cruelty involved). And as a man he is sex personified. RRRowl.

Um, where was I?

Oh, yeah, who shot first? Well, it’d have to Han because Greebo the cat would have used his claws.

These have been the best questions to answer. Thank you, AmyBeth.

***

We Wish You a Steampunk Christmas

Changed forever after tragedy, a woman must draw strength from her husband’s love. A man learns that love isn’t always what you expect. A thief steals the heart of a vengeful professor. And an American inventor finds love Down Under. Enjoy Victorian Christmas with a clockwork twist in these four steampunk novellas.

Anthology includes:

Crime Wave in a Corset by Stacy Gail
This Winter Heart by PG Forte
Wanted: One Scoundrel by Jenny Schwartz
Far From Broken by JK Coi

Stories also available for purchase separately.

117,000 words

The shortlink for this post is http://wp.me/p1qnT4-sF

Posted in Interviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Let’s Give ’em Somthing to Blog About

Posted on November 16, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

ROW80 Update: I’m barely chasing that diagonal line on the NaNoWriMo statistics page. I’m at 23,000 words, and I wanted to be at 30,000 by now. But I’m finally back home in Vermont after spending two unexpected weeks in North Carolina while my father recovers from Double Bypass Surgery. He’s doing well, I’m home, and hopefully I can get back on track. Overall, the story is shaping up well; I just have to get the words out.

Last night I started watching 30 Rock when it came on after whatever else I was watching. It’s not a show I usually watch, so I was surprised when I saw Peter Dinklage on the screen! I realize now that it was an old episode (Senor Macho Solo), and I hope I can watch it again on-line. The reason I was excited to see Mr. Dinklage on the screen is because I’ve based my MMC on him. It was great seeing him play a contemporary character, as the most screen-time I’ve seen him in is HBO’s Game of Thrones, which is a medieval-ish fantasy. My novel is Science Fiction, so seeing him play a modern character was very interesting.

Hmmm… I think I’ll post an excerpt. So, yadda yadda yadda spoiler alert, but there’s probably only going to be three people who actually read this post, so…

The excerpt is rated R, but really funny. But since it’s R, it’s going Under Loch & Key.

The shortlink for this post is: http://wp.me/p1qnT4-tP

Posted in Commentary & Musing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

SyFy Q of the Day: I’ll Go If…

Posted on November 15, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

Terraformed Version of Mars by Daein Ballard

Before I even started this blog, I would occasionally pose a SyFy Question of the Day to my facebook friends. Sometimes, it was directly related to what I was writing, and I really did want some input to help me decide what direction to take with the story. Other times, it was purely fun.

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Here’s one of my favorites, from July 2011:

SyFy question of the day: So, mega-corp has found/terraformed an earth-similar planet, and has a reliable spaceship to take a large number of colonists. They leave in two years. I’ll go IF _______

Tyler:                     I can fly the ship.

Emily:                    I get paid well

Geri:                      I get a percentage of all mineral rights

Zoe:                       I get a guaranteed ‘land’ grant.

Bernard:              I can sing “I’ll take you home again Kathleen”

US_Nessie:         @Tyler: fat chance @Emily: good point @Geri: smart thinking @Zoe: planning ahead

@Bernard: that’s my favorite answer! But you can’t actually take Kathleen home with you again.

Bernard:              That’s the saddest part. “No party tonight”

Tyler:                     ‎:o(

US_Nessie:         OK, Tyler, you have two years to get qualified to fly a starship!

Tyler:                     ‎:oD WILL DO!

Kevin:                   How long is the voyage, and can I bring a tape of the “wheels on the bus go round and round” set to continuous replay

Alan:                      I’ll go if you go. You wanna go, eh? Please?! I can’t go if you don’t go and I really wanna go 😦

US_Nessie:         @Kevin: tape is not allowed. Nor CD, nor DVD. You MUST buy it on Blu-Ray because the powers that be insist that everyone do so! @Alan: OK. They must accept all friends and family who want to go too!

I would love to hear what you think! Even if you are reading this post a year or more after publishing, I hope you will leave a comment with your own ideas on this topic.

Post Script: I’ve wavered back and forth about the whole SciFi vs SyFy thing for a long time. Saving just one little letter in a tweet isn’t really saving much, and the Polish translation is a really strong argument against SyFy! I’m not one to make changes lightly. But I think that, at the end of this year, along with other structural changes I might make to the site, I will change SyFy Question of the Day to the name SciFi Question of the Day.

Joe will be happy. :)

The previous SyFy Q of the Day is StarFleet Karaoke

The shortlink for this post is http://wp.me/p1qnT4-s4

The next SyFy Q of the Day is The Abandoned Planet

Posted in SyFy Question of the Day | 4 Comments

Tower Building

Posted on November 14, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

I find myself with an odd surplus of blog ideas at the moment. I was musing this morning about how good erotica is a story about a person’s (or several) sex life. This can be just as important and interesting and meaningful as, say, the story of a person’s career in Physical Therapy, or their experience in visiting a foreign country. The second thought I had, after reading Jenn LeBlanc tweet about how she’s starting to hate the book she’s editing, was to post about the fact that many writers do go through a stage when they hate what they’re writing. But like a music teacher who endures the horrific sounds coming from their beginner students, the teacher continues to work amidst those horrible sounds because they know that, eventually, some of those students will eventually produce beautiful music. Another great blog post would be about folks like me who moved away from Colorado and desperately want to get back.

But what’s most on my mind right now is tower-building. Oh, that’s right… I want to establish some scientific details regarding the Skytower and Space Elevator in my story. Fortunately, I’m staying with Dan & Geri, good friends from college. Geri is a writing partner and beta/proofreader for me. Dan is my primary scientific consultant. And he works for free!

But that’s not the kind of tower I’m contemplating at the moment.

Imagine your job is to stack a series of complicated objects onto a tray, and then carefully take that tray on a journey through a large office building. As you go, some of the objects will be taken off, and others added on. But it’s a precarious balance all the way through.

Now imagine that every time you have the objects arranged, and are about to pick up the tray, someone comes along and knocks it all over. They don’t mean to, they simply don’t understand how delicate the structure is. But you have to start over again.

After this happens a few times, someone comes by and asks “Why haven’t you made your rounds yet?”

Sure enough, you haven’t actually accomplished anything. You’ve worked, but you have nothing to show for it.

Writing a novel is like this. I have a gazillion details in my head, and even though I have notes and spreadsheets and post-its, my brain is still the central processing unit for it all. I don’t want to keep stopping to look up little details; I need to carry a lot of this in my head. If someone wants to put something else in my head, such as “Mommy, can I have a peanut-butter waffle?” or “Hi, I just wanted to share with you what your daughter did at school today…” I have to set the tray down. All the details I’d carefully constructed, by thinking, not typing or drawing or anything so concrete, fall to pieces.

All that work, and absolutely nothing to show for it.

Today is a good day. I miss my family terribly, but my friends are wonderful hosts and have made this difficult trip possible. Tomorrow is my last day down here, and today I’m alone in the house getting a lot of writing done. I have hardly any distractions other than the ones I create for myself.

In the last year, I have regained a lot of the brain cells I lost during infertility treatments, pregnancy, and mommyhood. A year ago, I could barely manage a simple game of chess, now I can do much more.

I can balance the tray.

Until someone knocks it over.

Now, which is the path to success? Do I find a way to keep people from knocking over that tower? It will be almost a year before my littlest goes to preschool, unless we find a large stash of money to pay for daycare/preschool out of pocket. There are writers who retreat to an office, just like a dayjob, and sit there and write. I would love that.

Or will this always be the situation? Do I need to train myself to hold the tray in place even while others are knocking it over? Perhaps. But I know the quality of writing I put out when I’m in “interruption mode” and it’s crappy.

Only time will tell. Maybe a year from now, I’ll have something else to report about how I found a way to write while still living my life.

The shortlink for this post is http://wp.me/p1qnT4-tF

Posted in Commentary & Musing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Unrealistic Dialogue

Posted on November 11, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

AmyBeth and Geri at the NaNoWriMo write-in at the Green Bean in Greensboro.

I hope I write good, unrealistic dialogue. Because the real dialogues that take place in my life just aren’t the kind of thing that any editor worth their salt would ever allow an author to keep on the page.

Take this example, which isn’t real (because there is no way I could recall an entire actual conversation between Geri and me. I’ve tried) but it’s a close approximation of our dialogues:

AB

Do you know what my kid did this time? She cut through the power cord to her clock radio! Clean through, while it was plugged in! The scissors actually have scorch marks. And on top of that, she actually said “I don’t know how this happened! I didn’t do it…” Yeah, right.

Geri

Oh, I know all about the lying thing.  My kid… (insert a few hundred words here where she relates an anecdote about her own child lying…somewhere in the middle, she mentions the words “at church”) …and he did it with a straight face. I was watching him the whole time, he knew he was caught, and he still lied to my face.

AB

Our church went through the same thing… (insert a few hundred words here about something that happened at church. But before I actually get to the point, I say something about my GPS) …which led me in circles, which was why I was late…

This prompts Geri to tell me about her own adventures with GPS, and I forget all about what the church anecdote was, because she mentions brownies, and I start talking about nuts.

This can go on for hours.

This has gone on for hours all week, as I’m staying with Geri and her family so I can be close to my parents while my father recuperates from double bypass surgery.

So if we’re both behind on our NaNaWriMo manuscripts, you know why.

The shortlink for the post is http://wp.me/p1qnT4-tA

Posted in Commentary & Musing, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Interview With Rebecca Blain

Posted on November 11, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

Rebecca Blain is a writer. When she’s not slaving away on contracted work, she is trying to finish a few books. Her major project is Betrayer’s Truth, which is a high / epic fantasy. She likes to talk about writing because it is what she really enjoys doing. She has a nyan cat fairy muse who sometimes makes Rebecca sketch her being cute or abusing her as the muse sees fit.

Rebecca is also NaNoWriMo’s Municipal Liaison for Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

I have squeaked by as a non-fiction author and editor for almost 10 years, am married and have four cats. Sometimes I think I am married more to the cats, but then my husband disagrees because the cats never buy me anything and he does. /ponder

1.      Can you explain to a layreader what NaNoWriMo is?

This is a good question. NaNoWriMo is a ‘little’ project with the full name of National Novel Writing Month. This is a bit of a misnomer, since it isn’t ‘National’ by any regards. It is done world-wide, although it was created by Chris Baty in the western United States.

NaNo is pretty simple. The idea is that for the month of November, you try to write a book in 30 days. They use the term book or novel lightly, requiring only 50,000 words. No doubt, this is a lot of words, but seeing that the average adult novel weighs in closer to 75,000 words, it is more of a novella. That said, it is an achievable goal. In order to make 50,000 words in 30 days, you have to write 1,667 words a day.

If you’re curious about NaNo, or you want to give it a try, you can find their website at www.nanowrimo.org. Last time I checked, there were about 100,000 participants logged in. So, if you decide to give this a whirl, you definitely aren’t alone!

I guess I should mention this, but NaNo is meant for fiction writing, just so you don’t get a nasty surprise when you check out the official rules.

2.      How many years have you participated?

This is a good question. I’m going to have to check my profile for that one. I think my first year was 2005, and I skipped one year due to poor health. The profile agrees; I started in 2005, skipped 2008 due to health problems, and have participated in all of the rest. That brings this to my 6th year of actually participating. Wow, this makes me feel a little old, truth be told.

3.      What are you writing this year?

I am an overachiever. I’m working on two projects this year. The one that I’m going to finish first is an Urban Fantasy. I wrote the short summary, so I’ll just share it with you. I’ve decided to give the book the tentative title of ‘Winter Wolf’.

When Nicky and her twin sister were attacked by werewolves, Nicky emerged relatively unscathed. Her sister, on the other hand, is transformed into a werewolf. Ten years after their separation, she can finally meet with Lisa for the first time since their attack. But a pack of werewolves in Seattle have different plans for her. Kidnapped just days before their reunion, she is given a choice: Help them find the Winter Wolf, or watch as her sister and all of the werewolves of North America succumb to plague. But the Winter Wolf is a legend among legends. If such a powerful werewolf exists, he doesn’t want to be found, even if his powers are all that can save the wolves from extinction.

The second project is a high fantasy blended with traditional. I haven’t gotten a whole lot written on that one yet, but it has the tentative title of The Jewel of the Hidden Hand. Here is the short summary.

When her betrothal turns sour, Vera flees from the Crimson Isles with the assassin who had been set on taking her life.

But until she can make the Imperial Princess Pacifica Veradine disappear completely, she will never be able to find peace. Unfortunately, every Kingdom wants her alive, for her hand in marriage will ensure an alliance with the Crimson Isles and as well as its wealth of jewels, ore, trade goods and knowledge.

I started November planning on working on The Jewel of the Hidden Hand first. I spent the first day or two on it. Got some done. Went to bed. Had this absolutely awesome werewolf dream. Decided to write Winter Wolf based off of said dream.

The funny part? I don’t remember anything of the dream now. It is a good thing that I wrote a short summary and hammered out a first scene right after I woke up!

4.      What is an ML and how did you become one?

An ML is someone with too much ambition, too little sanity, and a healthy regard for self-punishment. Err, I mean, they’re the awesome people who organize NaNoWriMo on a region level. ML stands for ‘Municipal Liaison’. As the name implies, we serve as a buffer between the organizers of NaNoWriMo (Also known as the Office of Letters and Light) and the participants.

Montreal

My job during the month involves a lot of things. First, I have to make sure everyone behaves on the forums. I’m in the Canada :: Quebec :: Montreal region, and as of this moment, there are 1,675 people who have affiliated themselves with my region. That is 1,675 folks who can post comments, start threads, and join in events. Now, granted, the number of people who stick around and are actually active is much lower than that, but there are enough people who do poke their head around that I have to make sure that everyone plays nice together.

For the most part, this is rarely a problem.

In addition to that, I help coordinate events during the month. We started the festivities with a dinner party at Scores. And, yep, you guessed it, it was my job to plan it. We have several write-ins a week that I have to make sure either get off the ground, get on the calendar, or otherwise happen. I join in two of them, personally. We go to a Starbucks on Friday, and a local library hosts us on Saturdays. There are other write-ins in the other areas of the city, ranging from downtown, North Shore, South Shore, and East End.

The work doesn’t stop there (and honestly, those two facets are probably the least time consuming!)

Next, I’m also the local cheerleader. If they’re having problems writing? They’re welcome to come cry on my shoulder. Really, I’m almost like a parent, except for I have hundreds of children that can all ‘call’ if needed. (Though calling is actually done by private message or by posting on the forums.)

I kind of fell into becoming an ML. Montreal’s had MLs come and go, and last year, the two co-MLs wanted some help. I’ve always been a bit of a forceful personality, which is really needed in an ML role. I like getting stuff done. So they dropped me an email and asked if I would help them out last year. I said yes, so here I am. This is my second year as an ML. One of the past ML’s since dropped to just being a regular participant, but my co-ML is super-duper.

5.      Do you have any idea how many participants are in your region?

Oops,I jumped the gun on this one. Yes, as of the writing of this post, there are 1,675 people associated with my region. (Myself included.) Since I had rambled on about my region in the ML question, I’ll give some fun-facts about NaNo in this spot.

Right now, there are 96,828 registered users online poking around the forums.

Canada :: Quebec :: Montreal has had 955 posts since the forums went live in middle of October.

Plot Doctoring – a thread to help NaNo’ers write their books, has 2,920 threads with a total of 36,915 posts. If you’re participating and need help with your book, that is definitely the place to go. (This is the most active of the forums, just in case you’re curious.)

With a little spreadsheet magic, 541,504 users are associated with a region. Not everyone chooses to have a region, and not everyone has a region due to low populations in the area. My region is ranked #82 in terms of numbers of users associated with the region.

New York City has the highest number of participants, with a whooping 10,370. I tip my hat to the MLs of that region… and I thought 1600-odd was a lot!!!

6.      What kind of events do you have?

We started the month with a dinner. So far, we’ve done write-ins at librarys, write-ins at cafes, write-ins at people’s homes. Later in the month, there will be an All-Night write-in. (I can’t participate but there seems to be quite a few who will be. Good for them!!)

Beyond write-ins, start parties and finish parties, we don’t do a lot of events. Planning an event with a group of writers is similar to herding stubborn cats. I love writers, I love writer-types, but we are not necessarily the best at event coordination!

7.      Wait… you live in Quebec? Shouldn’t I be conducting this interview in French?

Hahaha! No, please don’t, I don’t speak any French. My Co-ML does, though. The ML that recently stepped down is writing in French. There are a lot of participants who are bilingual, and even a few who can’t speak English. We make do, though! Because we’re in Montreal, a lot of the population is bilingual, even if I’m not!

8.      Which came first? The husband or the cats?

The husband. The cats came along several years later. I have four of the little buggers. The first one we got is a big, smoke-colored beast named Smoke. Yes, my husband named him. My husband also picked him out because the cat had spunk. We were looking at kitties, and I wanted the one with the extra toes. He wanted nothing to do with a cat that had too many toes, so we were making sour faces at each other. Then this lady comes up and starts cooing at this tiny grey kitten. And boy, do I mean _tiny_. This cat was the runt of the litter for certain. So, this lady is cooing at this kitten. The kitten puts his ears back, plops down, lifts his leg, and starts licking his obviously-male bits. The lady makes this horrified noise and wanders off.

My husband started making these choked ‘awww’ noises. Someone ran off with my extra-toed cat. (Those jerks!) So I flagged the girl down and pointed at the grey kitty. While we were waiting, the husband pokes his finger through the cage bars, and the kitten grabs his hand and face-rubs. Husband melted on the spot. Cat came home.

Now he weighs 25 pounds, and I’m always asking WHAT HAPPENED TO THE RUNT!?! Where is my runt!? Why is there this huge demon cat running around my house!?

Note: Smoke is very sweet. He was also six months old when we got him. The other kittens kept blocking him from the food, so he grew lots when we brought him home and put him on a vet diet. Now he has a food complex and gets very upset if his bowls get empty and is slightly overweight, but we’re working on that!

We bought Lily as a companion for Smoke after I started leaving the house. Oh, there comes Mr. Smoke, cooing for attention.

Five Minutes Later…. The next two were acquired from the local shelter. They played a radio ad for the first one. Husband interrupted shopping to get a cat because it tore his heart strings listening to the commercial. Good thing we did, too. If we hadn’t, she wouldn’t have survived. As it was, we had to take her to a 24 hour emergency vet because she couldn’t breathe due to Rhinovirus. Several hundred dollars later, and two weeks of bottle feeding her mush because she couldn’t eat, we had a healthy cat. Fortunately, our second shelter baby wasn’t sick. The sick one we named Miss Tia, and the last acquisition was named Princess. We kept the name.

9.      What is a nyan cat fairy, and does she make a good muse?

Oh boy. The Nyan Cat Fairy. Don’t tell her this, but she is a figment of my imagination, and the one I peg bad (and good) ideas on. She started as a sketch when I wasn’t being productive on writing and wanted to get back in a creative mood. So I sketched the fairy talking to me and posted it on Google+.

I’ll be honest, I don’t put much stock in Muses (once again, don’t tell the Nyan Cat Fairy this. She’ll eat me.) – creativity is something that you choose to do or you choose not to do. It is harder for some, and some feel that it has to come from some outside source, but at the end of the day, your creativity is something you use or you don’t. If you don’t exercise your creativity, it won’t come easy. If you exercise it, and try to be as creative as possible, it does get easier. But starting isn’t easy. And it takes a lot of courage.

But in the interest of self-preservation, the Nyan Cat Fairy is a most excellent muse.

Geek Girls Rock!

10.   How did you get hired to design a fantasy strategy war game?

I’m a freelancer. I saw the job bid on a freelancing site, and bid on the project. I love gaming. It is fun. But to write a game? SCORE. And it being in the fantasy genre? Score x3. I can’t talk a lot about the game due to various agreements, but it is in stages of being developed. So, I have to wait till it is ready for play testing before I can work more on it. (I will sulk now.)

11.   What kinds of non-fiction have you published?

Ugh, more than I care to think about. Some of the more notable projects have included a book on genealogy, the content for a few websites, and a lot of articles. A lot of articles. So many that it kind of makes me sick. The article-writing industry has changed a lot. Once, I could make $60.00 an hour working. Now I’m lucky to get $10. I refuse to work for crap, so I’m gradually breaking out of this sort of work. It does seem to be picking back up a bit, but really, I want to write fiction, so I’m taking advantage of the horrible market to write fiction.

12.   Tell me about Betrayer’s Truth.

Ah, Betrayer’s Truth. This is my high epic fantasy. My protagonist is a young man with one arm, and most people want to kill him. My counterpoint is a religious cult and their summoned beasties, a species of creature I’ve named the Averanmor.

Betrayer’s Truth was my NaNoWriMo project from last year. It just went out to an agent at the end of the September after several re-writes and an editing run. This isn’t about my book, but please make certain you rewrite and edit your Nanowrimos before you submit them. Rushed writing shows, and agents and editors are already scared of projects that come from National Novel Writing Month because they aren’t usually edited.

I expect that the book series will be about 5 books when done, give or take. I have no plans on making a Martin or Jordan style epic. Instead, I will tell shorter epic style novel series that tie to one another. Same idea, but different execution. I don’t want to leave my readers cursing me with 6 year or more waits for books to be completed, or wondering if a series will ever end. I’d rather do shorter books, slightly longer series, but more series to make up for it. I built a world, not just a story that needed a world for the characters to stand on. Kalen’s journey isn’t the only epic journey in this world, so there are many stories to tell!

13.   Do you ever have trouble when you are trying to work on one story and another story starts knocking around in your brain?

Once upon a time I did. Not so much anymore. I’ve matured a lot as a writer, and maturing also means having focus. This year for Nano is different. I meant to start with a certain book, but it didn’t work out that way. I got hit with this idea for an Urban Fantasy, and since it is November, I decided to roll with it. I’ll continue working on the Urban Fantasy until I need to clear my head. Then I will jump back to The Jewel of the Hidden Hand. When I first started writing, I did this a LOT. I have a graveyard in my inactive writing folder to prove it. Now, I’m serious and focused, and try not to hop projects unless I’m done a book.

My muse is a Nyan Cat Fairy!

14.   Is your sketching just for fun? Do you sketch the characters in your stories?

My sketching is for fun, yes. I don’t usually sketch my characters. I sketch them when I write, in words. I do tend to draw my AD&D characters frequently though, since I don’t get to paint them in prose.

15.   What social media do you use?  Do you use them for promotion, or do you have fun?

I use Google+ and Twitter. I use them for fun. Sure, I do some promotion, but it is usually just sharing links to my BookCountry updates. I don’t actively try to hunt down people for the purpose of promotion. I use Twitter and Google+ to meet people, not spam them. I really get annoyed when writers just use social media to promote their books. I want to get to know the writer behind the books. I can count the times I’ve purchased a book based on social media promotion with one finger. Select the middle one, please. At the risk of real rudeness, that is how I feel when a writer or author spends their time just promoting their books on their social media. I want to learn about them, not about their books. If I want to learn about their books, I’ll go to the library or buy a copy… from their websites.

16.   What is your favorite electronic or digital writing tool?

I just got an HP mini a few weeks ago. This is definitely my favorite tool now. It is small, light, has stellar battery life, and the keyboard fits my tiny hands just right! I’m using scrivener for NaNo this year, and now that we’ve figured out how to work together, I really like it.

17.   What is your favorite non-electronic writing tool?

Uhm, a pen/pencil and paper. I’m not too picky about the non-electronics. I will admit I’m a pen-whore. I will do almost anything for a new, shiny pen. The same applies to Moleskin journals. I love them. They’re paper-sex. My husband does not like them, because he has found me in my bed curled up with them, pens strewn over his side of the bed. This involves extricating a clutched-to notebook and pens from a sleeping tiger. The netbook has ended most of the paper-in-bed incidents though.

Gratuitous squirrel picture.

18.   What is the most persistent distraction from writing?

Social media, of course! Fortunately, my social media is often writing-related, so at least I’m learning something relevant while goofing off. (Also, World of Warcraft, but we won’t mention that too much… oops, I better log in. I have a Winterspring cub that requires played with so I can get another mount….)

19.   Many writers go through a stage when they hate what they’re writing.  Do you ever feel this way?

I don’t hate what I’m writing. I am disappointed in my crappy quality frequently though. So, I guess the answer is yes. But I don’t let this bother me. Every word I write is one word closer to writing good words. I like King’s comment that it takes one million bad words to write a single good one. I live by this. It doesn’t matter if I am disappointed in my crappy words, so long as I keep writing them. Crap can be turned to silver, gold, and gems in the editing phase of writing. That is why we edit.

20.   Who shot first, Han or Greedo?

Han. Shot. First. I get it, I know, writers want to make their stories fit their initial dream for it. But if you submit something, and it gets published, LEAVE IT ALONE. I don’t care if you think it is better after the fixes. When I read a book, I want to go back years later, pick up a copy of that book, and READ THE SAME BOOK. That is why I liked THAT BOOK. If you change it, it isn’t ‘THAT’ book anymore.

Han shot first. I don’t want to show people new to Star Wars the new versions. It isn’t the same movie. It wasn’t the same films I grew up with, that captured my imagination, and turned my attention to the stars, wondering ‘what if’. I haven’t watched Star Wars in a long time due to this. Which is sad, because I loved Star Wars when I was young, and I feel like something has been taken away from me that I can never get back.

At least they haven’t messed with Indiana Jones.

If you get through more than 30 seconds of this video, you have more stamina than I. The shortlink for this post is http://wp.me/p1qnT4-tb

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ROW80NaNoWriMoTMA

Posted on November 9, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

AKA…

A Round of Words in 80 Days Update

and…

National Novel Writing Month Update…

and Too Many Acronyms!

Anywho…

How it’s going:

I’m actually getting at least a moderate amount of writing done between sitting at the waiting room in the hospital (like I am now) and hanging out with Geri. My father came through his double bypass and stayed in Intensive Care just a few days. He’s in a regular room now. I’ll be down here for another week, and then I’ll fly home and relieve my poor beleaguered husband who is keeping the home fires burning with two sick kids.

I haven’t been promoting and tweeting links to my blog each week, but that’s fine. At least Synaesthesia, the SyFy Question of the Day, and the interviews are going up regularly, mostly pre-scheduled. As of today, I’m at 12,500 words on my novel, and I wanted to be at 16,000, but that’s not terribly far off.

The shortlink for this post is http://wp.me/p1qnT4-t2

Posted in Commentary & Musing | 4 Comments

SyFy Question of the Day: Starfleet Karaoke

Posted on November 8, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

Before I even started this blog, I would occasionally pose a SyFy Question of the Day to my facebook friends. Sometimes, it was directly related to what I was writing, and I really did want some input to help me decide what direction to take with the story. Other times, it was purely fun.

Here’s one of my favorites, from August 2011:

◊

SyFy question of the day: The karaoke contest has a 1st place prize so wonderful you can’t resist. But you have to choose one Starfleet Bridge Crewmember (any incarnation) to sing with you. Who do you pick and what do you sing?

Katherine:         Data. Hands down.  Though Uhura… Damn.

US_Nessie:         Fine, enter twice and double your chances lol! What do you sing with each of them?

Juno:                     A very adolescent Wesley Crusher, and he’d have to sing Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”.

US_Nessie:         I call dibs on Beverly Crusher. We’re gonna bust out the Tina Turner version of “Proud Mary”

Tony:                     Lt. Warf. “Let the Bodies Hit the Floor”, or whatever the title of that song is. 🙂

Gwendolyn:       Yeah I’m going Uhura because she can sing and I can’t 😉

Though Capt. Picard would be a close runner up (Anyone seen that hilarious video of him cuttin’ a run on the bridge? LOLZ!)

Shane:                  Deanna Troi and I will be doing a sappy cover of Journey’s “Faithfully”.

Gawain:               My first entry is definitely with Uhura – and we’ll be doing a special rendition of Dante’s Prayer.

I would love to hear what you think! Even if you are reading this post a year or more after publishing, I hope you will leave a comment with your own ideas on this topic.

Post Script: I’ve wavered back and forth about the whole SciFi vs SyFy thing for a long time. Saving just one little letter in a tweet isn’t really saving much, and the Polish translation is a really strong argument against SyFy! I’m not one to make changes lightly. But I think that, at the end of this year, along with other structural changes I might make to the site, I will change SyFy Question of the Day to the name SciFi Question of the Day.

Joe will be happy. :)

The previous SyFy Q of the Day is Sparkly Vampires

The shortlink for this post is http://wp.me/p1qnT4-rY

The next SyFy Q of the Day is I’ll Go If…

Posted in SyFy Question of the Day | 2 Comments

Love is… 20 Years Later

Posted on November 6, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

Prologue: Last Thursday my hubby delivered me to the train station so I could go down to North Carolina to be with my parents as my father underwent double bypass surgery (AKA Open Heart Surgery.) Fortunately, he came through it fine, and is now working on his long road to recovery.

I was immensely relieved when friends from college (Yeah… that long ago. Nineteen Eighty-something.) offered to let me stay with them when I came down to NC. It is a complete and utterly amazing coincidence that they, whom I met at college in Wyoming, happened to move to the same city where my parents spontaneously retired several years ago.

I am loved. I was picked up at the train station and allowed in the car even though I was rather stinky after 22 hours of train travel. I have been fed, listened to, provided with an internet connection and given a warm bed in a nice, private room.

But that is not all that lets me know I am loved. I lost track of Dan & Geri sometime after we all got married and I ended up moving back east. Thanks to facebook, we reconnected a little over a year ago, and were amazed to discover they lived very close to my parents. When I came to their house a few days ago, Dan brought out a very large, very old book, and said “Look what I found!”

A little background: Hubby and I have been cleaning out the garage, basement, and every other storage place, getting rid of as much stuff as possible and carefully re-packaging and labeling those boxes that contain sentimental stuff we want to keep. A common label I apply is NWILF. This stands for Not What I’m Looking For. One of the things I’m looking for is a map of a fantasy planet I drew about twelve years ago, and haven’t seen in at least six years. One of the other things was a very large book titled The Collected Works of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

Apparently, when I was leaving Wyoming after dropping out of school, I left Geri a box with a few things I couldn’t take with me to Vermont and I couldn’t bear to throw away. Even though she’s moved at least a dozen times, she still had that book, and now it’s mine again.

I was flabbergasted to find that Geri kept this book so long, especially considering the moves. I know I’ve lost quite a few things in the many moves I’ve gone through in the last twenty years. Holding onto something for a friend through so many years is an act of love I will remember forever.

The shortlink for this post is http://wp.me/p1qnT4-sT

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