National Poetry Month, April 2

I’m taking poetic license on the definition of “date,” as I often do. It is the same day from the time I wake up until I go to bed. So there.

This is a quick post, at least.  I had this pairing in my mind for a while because this is a picture that has remained with me since I took it.  For a little over ten years, I volunteered for the Bay State Equine Rescue. It was a wonderful experience that gifted me with my own adopted horse, Calico Silver.  This picture far predates Calico, though, and comes from my early years at the rescue.  One morning, when I came in for my volunteer shift, lo and behold, there were three new horses!  It was an Appaloosa family: a stallion (soon to be gelded), a mare, and their baby! I happened to have my camera with me (well before camera phones were a thing, so a miracle in and of itself!), so I snapped pictures. And this picture of the stallion, Metro, was one that stayed in my mind as striking with his expression and the wind in his hair.  For the final piece, I will likely use the black and white (which was quite some stressful playing in PhotoShop since all my other photo editing has just been on my phone, itself!), but I wanted to share all his gorgeousness here!

The poem is also in its rough draft form, too. My aim is to compose the poems this month, and then go back and edit later.

Please do not share these photos; I am not finished and sharing them can hurt my future plans for this piece. Thank you!

National Poetry Month, April 1

For National Poetry Month, I decided to challenge myself with an ekphrastic poem every month.

What’s an ekphrastic poem? It’s a poem written about a picture or work of art–or inspired by a picture / work of art–meant to expand upon the meaning of the piece it’s in response to.

I’ve had the honor and privilege to be part of the Blackstone Valley Art Association‘s Art-Poetry Pairing for the past three years, and I’ve loved working with artists. This year, I participated as both artist and poet.  You can see this year’s parings at this link.

So, this year, I decided to celebrate National Poetry Month by doing my own pairings of my hobby photos and poems. Some days the poem will be the inspiration, other days the picture will be.

Today is my first full day home after attending Conbust, one of the regular conventions I attend. It was amazing, as always, and it’s the inspiration for this particular pairing.  I had an idea of taking a picture of my duffel bag spilled first and writing a poem about recovery, about self-care and permission to recover–particularly after several excellent panels discussing invisible disabilities and the challenges of neurodiversity.

Instead, with the photo plan in mind, I wrote the poem first–a very different poem than I planned–and then did the shoot, chose the pictures, and edited them a little. The poem, however, is unedited and will be edited.  Most of my poems are handwritten first. So here are the two pictures I am deciding between for the pairing and a photo of the VERY ROUGH draft of the  poem.

Please do not share these photos; I am not finished and sharing them can hurt my future plans for this piece. Thank you!

Arisia Schedule!

I love doing conventions, and I’m always really thrilled to return to the Arisia family each year!

And look… I am actually remembering to post my schedule so people can find me!

 During hours I’m not on panels or giving workshops, there is an excellent chance you will find me at the Broad Universe table in the Dealer’s Room.  I have books! It makes me super happy when people buy said books and ask for signatures. <3 br="">

So, outside of the Broad Universe table, here’s where you can find me THIS weekend at ARISIA!

Friday, January 12, 8:30 PM, Room 404 – Party Not Found? 2 (Electric Boogaloo)

I’m hosting the Broad Universe party at Arisia, and they put me in Room 404 again—and even a technophobe like me can make bad puns. Do find us and enjoy great food, great stories, and meet some awesome Broads!

Saturday, January 13, 10:00 AM, Adams – Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading

(I’m waking up early after throwing a party for y’all!) Come discover your new favorite writer as members of Broad Universe read short excerpts from their work. Each writer has just a few minutes to show you what she’s capable of! We offer chocolate and the chance to win prizes. Broad Universe is an international organization that supports women writers, editors, and publishers. NOTE: Not all authors may be in attendance for the entire time slot. Other members of Broad Universe not listed may be reading.

Saturday, January 13, 7:00 PM, Douglas – Rewriting Fairy Tales: Updating our Mythologies

(I’m moderating!) With anthologies such as _The Starlit Wood_, along with many authors choosing to rewrite and rework old fairy tales, what is the purpose of rewriting our myths, or writing new ones? What can we learn about ourselves when we bring these old stories into today? What is the purpose of creating new fairy tales?

Sunday, January 14, 11:30 AM, Bulfinch – Writing & Tarot

Last year we filled this up, so this year you gotta pre-sign up at PROGRAM NEXUS. In any case, I love teaching this hands-on workshop that talks about Tarot as both a tool for divination and a tool for your writing.

Sunday, January 14, 4:00 PM, Alcott – Tricks for Self-Editing

I’m thrilled to be giving this workshop again too, and this is another that fills up quickly, so pre-sign up at PROGRAM NEXUS. Why should you sign-up and come to this workshop? I’ve edited over 50 books for multiple publishing houses; I teach writing and editing; and I put a lot of effort into not making people cry.  And what I can teach you will make you a better writer because most of writing is editing.

Sunday, January 14, 7:00 PM, Independence – Everything But the Writing

This is Trisha’s killing the workshops year at Arisia! And it’s another one you should pre-sign up for at PROGRAM NEXUS.  I’ve been in business as “A Novel Friend” since 2003—and I have the tax forms to prove it.  This is a look at the business side of making a career as a writer or editor, whether you want to stick to fiction or branch out into journalism, non-fiction, or “other” realms.

Monday, January 15, 11:30 AM, Marina 1 – Spec Poetry Reading

I also write poetry! And so do a bunch of other awesome folks. Do you? Join us or come listen.  If you want to read, come early to sign up for a slot.

Monday, January 15, 1:00 PM, Alcott – How to Train Your Dragon & Other Writing Issues

(Because animal stories! And as an editor, I have been known to leave...detailed...comments on misuse of animals in Track Changes.) Whether you're writing horses and dragons in a medieval setting, or having your space hero(ine) bond with a psychic cat or flying banshee, incorporating animals into your fiction requires knowledge of how real-life animals act. Our panel of experts will discuss how to write real and unreal animals, what they eat, how often they need to rest, how they act around humans, other animals and machinery; and other interesting tidbits which can bring your sci-fantasy stories to life.

 

Back in the Saddle… yet again

A long time ago (like, the beginning of January), in a galaxy far, far away (my kitchen table as opposed to my desk), I put together a handwritten business plan and a list of goals for 2013.

One of those goals was to write up those goals and post them as a blog on a particular date in January…

Ha! Hahaha! LOL!  I just kill me!

Another of those goals?  A weekly blog schedule!

Hahahahahahah!! ROTFLMAO!!  Totally dying of laughter, here!

But, as I've said in prior blog posts… (and couldn't find to link after 15 minutes, so I gave up… but believe me, they're there!) … one of the most important life lessons I've learned from riding is that you do, in fact, get do-overs.  So long as you don't give up and get back in that saddle!

And I say this having suffered cracked ribs, disjointed vertebrae, bites, sprained and strained ankles and knees… months or weeks or, pre-Calico, even years of doing next to nothing with horses.

Back into the blogging saddle I go, then.  Because I do love blogging… and I have an awful lot of amazing things to share this year!

Now that I'm here, let me hit that other goal of writing up some of my goals here. I know some people say writing and sharing one's goals is more detrimental than helpful, but honestly, I've not seen such in my life.

Goals:  Better late than never, right?

Meet all Spencer Hill Press Deadlines

I'm truly in love with my work in both writing and editing for SHP, and I have a lot of people's dreams of publication and their stories riding on my ability to hold up my end of the contract.  Thus far, I've been pretty good.  There are a few things running later than the most preferred deadline, but none that are running far into the extra-security padding that Kate, in her infinite wisdom, has built into the system.

Done in January: 1 novel proofed from galleys, 1 to galleys, 1 to closing edits, 1 through copyedits, my own to 2nd round edits, 2 submission novels read, 3 I gave the ok to offer on (one I read back in December). Also, first round of edits on half the Doorways submissions, and second round of edits on half the remaining half.

Dude… that's 8 different novels and 15 short pieces that I worked on! Yay!

Novel Goals

The Kelpie comes out this December, and I'm going through edits for this, plus working on the marketing plan.

A Silent Starsong is with Vikki to be submitted to Spencer Hill Press upon her edits.

The Earl's Childe is the sequel to The Kelpie is one of the novels I'm currently working on and needs to be finished, polished and submitted this year.

A Shooting Star is the sequel to A Silent Starsong and is actually entirely drafted! It just needs polishing.

The Banshee's Cry will be the third MacArthur book, and needs to get started.

Besides that, there are two other novel-length projects that I'm attending to but are not ready for discussion yet. ;) Stay tuned!

Other Fiction/Poetry Goals

Write three new short stories.

Submit to at least 5 different short fiction or poetry markets this year.

Write one new novella (done! And by accident, too!)

Write three new poems (one down, two to go!)

Business Goals

Make Goodreads profile and list fiction

Update Amazon profile

Update blog every week

Update website every week

Send website revamp changes ASAP

Horsey Goals

Two major trail rides

Three horse shows

Ride 2x per week on average (very difficult this winter!)

Other Goals

Lose 25 lbs

And that's what I'll be up to this year. :)  It's a lot, but more doable than other plans I've made for myself. 

I look forward to sharing the journey with you!

Another Bits & Ends for a Manic Monday

Here comes the last week of July, and what's up with Trish?  A lot, actually!

The pics are old ones from a very messy desk.  My very messy desk… which is currently, horrifically, messy once again.  It's bled out to one side and the book cases and has been doing so for some time.  About a week or two ago, Scott got me a file folder cabinet and it has finally been moved into its new home beside my desk today, along with a new, narrower, bookshelf. 

So, Stuff is getting rearranged.  It makes for a great metaphor.  I'm doing an awful lot of rearranging life around stuff right now.  Here's a glimpse!

xx

Good news!  I have an acceptance to announce!!

New England Horror Writers accepted my poem "Kali's Promise" into their upcoming anthology, Epitaphs, which will be available 11-11-11 for Anthocon, in New Hampshire!

I haven't written much about New England Horror Writers, but it's another grassroots group that I'm proud to be a part of.  If you write horror or dark fantasy and live in the New England area, definitely check out the group!

xx

As I mentioned on Friday, I'm the new president of Broad Universe.  :)  There's a ton of stuff I need to do and reorganize for that… not the least of which is to write the press release. 

I also have to reorganize all of my Broad Universe stuff that I inherited from Phoebe.  I put two boxes in what I think will make a nice home.  I have two more, plus my own collection of stuff. 

That said, I am already talking about specific new projects on the horizon!  Stay tuned. 

 

xx

Pi-Con just sent me my schedule!  I'm on a bunch of panels AND working on a Rapid Fire Reading for Broads!  I'll post it shortly.

Oh, and if you've missed it, I am their Guest of Awesome!

I'm also putting together a dealer's room with a few friends.  We'll have art, jewelry… and some very special surprises.  :)

Related to-dos: Um, actually fill out dealer paperwork, get party room for Broad Universe!

xx

Come August, Kate Kaynak and I will start sending edits back to our fabulous contributors for UnCONventional!

As hard as some of the "no" responses were that we sent back, hearing so much excitement from all those we accepted is just amazing!  We do have an excellent line-up, so keep an eye out for the book.

xx

I owe my webmistress a bunch of stuff so she can update my website… oi!

xx

On the non-fiction writing front:

1.  I have a deadline on apples for the end of this week.

2.  I have a review deadline end of this week.

3.  I have to put together some horsey news within the next two weeks.

xx

On the fiction writing front:

1. I owe my Trickster novel a synopsis; I promised the main character.

2. I need to re-edit "Photograph of a Mermaid" per various trusted people's advice and then resend it to Kate for UnCONventional.

3.  I need to finish editing Kelpie. 

xx

And if you don't think that's enough to keep me busy (on top of my tutoring and training!), then you are far more sadistic than I am masochistic.  :p 

What am I doing blogging?  I need to get to bed so I can get to work!!

Post DragonCon Delirium

Warning: More Scattered than Usual Blog post!

xx

DRAGON*CON!!  I'm Back!! 

Points of fabulosity:

Besides EVERYTHING?!

Ok:

Both BEYOND BINARIES panels.  Great panelists, great audience… great ideas to make it even better for next year!

(The Beyond Binaries panels were done with my friend Sunder Cameron Addams and explored SF&F beyond male/female gender/sexuality.  'Cos, you know, it's SF&F… aliens and other fantastic beings.  Why do we get so stuck with traditionally gendered pairings and sex?)

Also, after Beyond Binaries 101, Jim Butcher flew up about a million more points in my opinion as he stayed until wellll after the panel to sign things for fans, chat, and have pictures taken.  Yay Jim Butcher!

Beyond Binaries 201 also had a full room and talked about sex - whee!

Sunder moderated the WHAT WOMEN WANT panel, which also flew by and was a ton of fun.  It was basically about what women want to see in SF/F writing/reading/etc. - with a lot of wonderful discussion. Thanks, Sunder!

In the Alternate History Track, Emilie Bush moderated a most fun STEAM QUEENS AND CLOCKWORK HOOKERS panel discussing feminism and women in Steampunk genre.  We had a ton of fun there, with a lot of great audience questions and conversations.  Thanks, Emilie!

We had not one but two RAPID FIRE READINGS for Broad Universe.  Cindy Macleod invited us to revisit BROADS THRU TIME for alternate history, where I read one piece of "Last Gate to Faerie" from the latest Bad-Ass Faeries anthology: In All Their Glory.  I read another section for the BROAD UNIVERSE RAPID FIRE READING in the Literary track run by Sue Phillips.  Both readings had nice audiences and, as always, I enjoyed hearing my sister Broads read!

Very special thanks to Cindy and Sue for inviting us back in 2010!  We're looking forward to 2011.

xx

Another bit of Dragon*Con Awesomeness:

Weird Tales editor Stephen Segal started a new poetry slam/performance panel on the Lit Track (Even more Props to Sue!).  On the panel he included Cherie Priest and...

*drum roll*

ROGUE FROM THE CRÜXSHADOWS!!

I can't imagine many more things that get a "ZOMGsqueeee!" than that.

Scott was in the audience, thankfully, or I mighta just chickened out.

I didn't.

I took my place among the readers, pulled out my cute little chapbook, and read all of "The Unicorn & the Old Woman" to the audience and panel.

Not to sound proud, but I really think that was the best performance I've ever given of that poem.

At the end, and again at the end of the whole panel, I got many compliments, sold copies of the chap book… and more specifically, Rogue said he liked it!!!*

In case you didn't know or couldn't tell by context, Rogue is the writer/head man for my number-one-favorite-ever band, the Crüxshadows.  Were it not for the Crüxshadows, I would not have found out or attended my first ever Dragon*Con in 2002.  The lyrics are the most powerful and personally moving to me than any other band in my collection.

The fact I read MY poem in front of Rogue?  And the fact he complimented me on it?!

Forget Cloud 9… I was on Cloud 11.  (Take that Spinal Tap!)  And still am.

*Reality check:  Yes, Rogue was exceptionally kind and supportive to everyone, not just me.  BUT the Husband-of-Awesome, who WILL tell me if that dress makes me look fat, said that the panel was watching me attentively, including Rogue, and he doesn't lie.  :)

xx

That's all I can fit now… but that's not "All."  Stay tuned for Faery Friday and more great news!

Happy Happenings

This Manic Monday post is brought to you by…

Moms and Happiness!!

I hope all the moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day! Many hugs & blessings to you all!

Newsy Newsiness…

I have a partial MS request out for Kyra - the novel I >just might< href="http://www.stainedglasscreationsandbeyond.com/">Stained Glass Creations and Beyond) drawing for me - and we had some great times using her hubby and each other as models.

We're also working on a more serious schedule than, "once a month, if we can possible, maybe, find one day a month where we are both free." J

And… we found a grant and are looking into it!

- more finger crossing! -

xx

BAD-ASS FAERIES 3: IN ALL THEIR GLORY is coming out end of this month!!!

Our head editor, and my friend, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, has details about the Legendary Triple Launch Party in Baltimore over Memorial Day Weekend. If you'll be at Balticon, PLEASE GO!! There are some fabulous prizes to be won, there's always great food (I’m sending Danielle my famous macaroons), and just a Bad-Ass good time!

xx

And you can still see my poem from the Eye on Life Poetry Contest at Poetry Locksmith here!

xx

This week in my blog, I've got planned a more essay-like response to the conversation on Freedom, Rights and Responsibilities of Creativity that I shared with Dr. Aimee Weinstein. Then, Foodie Friday will cover my adventures with strawberry and rhubarb and thickening agents. (Confession: Mostly, it was adventures of the Husband-of-Awesome with said ingredients: I followed directions and managed not to sneeze, cough, hack, pass out, or slice off a finger while following instructions.)

xx

The one real down note: Allergies are kicking my butt… so that's the end of this post. : ) !

More April Adventures

OMG - is the month REALLY almost over?

Is it REALLY almost my birthday???

Didn't I just write my first April post… wow… that long ago?

Add the cliché at your own risk.

In any case:

News!

We haz podcast!!

http://broaduniverse.posterous.com/

or

http://broadpod.podbean.com/

The actual screwing around on Audacity continues to get easier with the occasional glitch of half of someone's reading going silent for no apparent reason - but was easily fixed by pasting the original over the messed-up part.

Even the time it took to figure out how to get the files smaller (with Scott's help), was easier.

Then… Podbean's server crashed.

Yes! Just my luck!

Sooooo… I moved onto Posterous, which was recommended to me from Kim Vandervort, from a friend of hers. It lets me continue my lazy addiction to doing just about EVERYTHING from my email account, and that makes me happy.

So does the 1 gig of storage space.

And then Podbean was up and running, so I reposted all the even-more-compressed files there.

Fingers totally crossed that the new site doesn't go the way of mypodcast.com and get overloaded by people wanting to use it and failing! (At least I know Podbean's been around for a while and… if push comes to shove, I may bite the bullet and ask BU to fund it for better storage space, but I'm hoping to keep this an endeavor that doesn't cost the organization anything.

In the meantime - go enjoy some fabulous fiction!

(And, because I was so busy on this compressing and stuff, stop back at the Broad Universe website and give us a donation if you like it!)

xx

This week, I'm reading poetry at the Jacob Edwards Library on April 29th (the day before my birthday!). There will be a bunch of local poets - so please come by and show your support.

I'll be reading from The Unicorn & the Old Woman… and other Poems, along with the poem that will be published in Poetry Locksmith this May!

xx

The DragonWriters, my very first writing group and a bunch of amazing writers and artists, FINALLY has our own blog! We're still working out a posting schedule, but please check us out here:

http://www.dragon-writers.com/

xx

It's 2:30 now… Can I post my blogs, have completed podcasting updates, done a food review... AND HAD A REALLY PRODUCTIVE DAY … before 3:AM???

See my answer on Twitter!

You expect me to forget?

I like Danielle's poems better, but here's my response to today:

I remember the day, the fall.
Went to work, normal day as any.
Falling debris, people—I remember.
Secure, safe, cubicle blankets
made us think it a hoax, unreal.
I remember my stomach diving, launching.
Left our seats to stare
at big screen TVs.
High definition destruction, death, deception.
Burning hell and suicide—I remember.
Call Mom. Yes, I'm fine.
Oh—you haven't heard? Turn on the news!
I remember forcing dulled detachment.
Back to work, regardless.
Attend the phones and investors' panic.
Refresh the news screens with OCD mouse clicks.
Living minute-to-minute body count updates—I remember.
Didn’t matter the miles,
the country, the world were at the falling towers.
I remember standing and crying beside them.
Perfect strangers, I prayed for them all like family.
Of course I remember.