Mad Libs

It rained today. Still is raining. Well, it did stop for about an hour, but mostly it’s been raining all day. Girlie had to play soccer in it and frankly it was cold. In the 40s. But we really need the moisture. We’re in a drought and this will help all the fields and the feed for animals. Not to mention we’ve already had fires here. Didn’t do my walking though. Slugged out. More soccer tomorrow and possibly Iron Man 3.

Working on something that isn’t coming together very well. It’s very shiny though. So I keep stirring it to see what will turn up. Trouble is, I have to break outside my own expectations for a particular place. Normal behavior in this place doesn’t apply, nor do typical motivations, or typical laws. It’s upside down in a lot of ways, for a good reason, but I keep falling into traditional mental patterns and I have to get out of that. If only it were that easy.

All the purple has vanished from my hair and I need to put it in again. I’ll try to work on it this weekend.

Doing some research for my current WIP. Not sure if I’m getting anywhere. I’d like to go visit the location.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

I’m just not sure what it was that I did do. I did a lot of tinkering on the website, with some help from my web editor who did a tune up on some things, bless her. Makes it significantly easier to do some things. I now have an appearances and FAQs pages, and I they are updated, something I’ve been meaning to do for awhile. I started combing through pages to get some more things updated, though I’m not done yet. There are some consistency things I need to work on that will take more time. I attended my daughter’s recorder recital and my son’s band concert. He wore green: green shoes, green shorts, green shirt, green glasses. Guess what his favorite color is? It rained today a lot, something we desperately need. Soaked the dogs who did not go into their houses while we were at the concert tonight. So now the house stinks of wet dog fur.

Poked at the manuscript some more. But essentially I did a fair amount of website work, and it really doesn’t look like I did that much. How aggravating.

The lilacs have all popped, as have all the trees in town. Smells so amazing outside.

Just saw the news on Grandbury, TX. Oh, hell. What a terrible disaster. Never again do I want to live in tornado country. Feel like I got out of the midwest by the skin of my teeth when I see stories like this.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

I’m having doubts. This is the latest snippet. Does it make you want to read forward? Do you connect with Taryn at all? (I know, small snippet, but what’s your reaction?) I know it’s rough, so bear with me.

At the mention of the Brody name, Taryn went rigid. “That’s enough,” she said, pushing abruptly to her feet and collecting up her dishes. “I don’t need to hear any more.”

“What?” was Granger’s bewildered reply.

“I don’t need to hear any more,” she said, then turned around, folding her arms over her wrinkled blouse. “I don’t want to hear any more. Finish your pie and your coffee and get on with you.”

“But—  I have to tell you. You’re on the list.”

“List?”

“You know. The List.  The Book List.”

He cast a look around the kitchen as if searching for the incriminating book. It lay on the end of the kitchen island, beside a vase of white camelias. The edges of the flowers were turning brown and starting to curl. It seemed like an omen.

Granger’s gaze skimmed right over the book without seeing it. Hard to believe, given that it was bound in wood with traceries of silver curling across it like whisps of mist. Dotting the cover and set into bezels of silver were cabochons of amethyst, tiger eye, agate, moonstone, and a dozen other stones Taryn had yet to identify.

She’d left the damned thing— Taryn let out a quiet sigh. She couldn’t remember where or even when she’d even picked it up, much less actually put it somewhere. It didn’t matter. The book followed her. Silently demanding. Open it. Write in its blank pages.

When gators tanned their own hides and turned themselves into boots, Taryn thought sourly and focused back on her guest. Invader. Granger was eyeing her with frowning sterness, like a father about to give his daughter a lecture. Or so she supposed. Her father had scarecely ever noticed her, much less lectured.

A spider slid down a thread directly above the sheriff’s head. A black widow, by the looks of her. She hung there, waiting silent vigil. If he were to threaten Taryn, the spider would act. She wouldn’t be the only one. A swarm of delicate spider feet tickled up Taryn’s legs and over her lap, climbing up onto the underside of the table. A silent, deadly army. Whether he knew it or not, Granger was in serious danger.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

Miscon will take place in Missoula, Montana, from May 24-27. It’s a fabulous little con. Can’t wait to go.

On June 14th, I’ll be at Jayfest at Powell’s Beaverton in honor of and support for Jay Lake, a fabulous SF writer who’s struggling with cancer. There will be a group signing and a book fair. Other authors include David Levine, Phyllis Irene Radford, Devon Monk, Barb and J. C. Hendee, Shannon Page, Mark Ferrari, J. A. Pitts, M. K. Hobson, and Tina Connolly.

On August 14th at 7:00, I’ll be taking part in the SFWA reading series. Laura Ann Gilman is hosting the program, Phyllis Irene Bradford will also be reading. To register, go here.

I’m planning on Orycon, and may be at Spocon. More on those later.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

I was out walking the puppies today (and boy were they rambunctious) and thinking about weight loss. Do you remember Susan Powter and her Stop the Insanity diet stuff? Then there was Richard Simmons. Who doesn’t know him? There was the Jane Austen workout, and oh, what about the guy with the long blond hair hawking all sorts of diet programs and equipment? Can’t remember his name. I think he’s still around. Tony Little? Is that it? Don’t forget Chuck Norris. As for diets, there’s everything from Weight Watchers to Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, Ideal Me, Prism, South Beach, Adkins, Mediterranean, Dean Ornish, Zone, Biggest Loser . . . I can’t begin to think how many there are.

What I was thinking about as I was walking was how our sense of foods has changed over the years. Remember when a calorie was a calorie and it was just reduction of calories and exercise? Then we figured out that kinds of calories mattered. Fat wasn’t that good. And then there were all the cholesterol issues caused by the wrong kinds of fat. Somewhere along the lines the question of carbs came up–bad carbs v good carbs v any carbs at all. Then there was “real” foods v manufactured foods, like high fructose corn syrup. Oh, I also forgot the meat v. no meat question. Oh, and all the exercise questions: aerobic v. anaerobic; walking v something more vigorous; how long to do it and how often?

This raised the question for me–every time some of this comes up, it’s right. The science is right for a lot of it, or so we are told. And then the science changes and either we learned something new, or we were wrong before. I wonder how we know if we’re right now? Not that there’s any agreement. On the other hand, losing weight isn’t a once-size fits all answer. Not only are all our bodies different, but our access to foods is different, not to mention what we like and don’t like, what we’re inclined to do for exercise and not, and so on and so forth. In the end, we all have to find something that works for us and then make it work.

I’ve lost 35 lbs (I first wrote lobs, and thought, yeah, accurate that) over the last couple of years. I still have a long way to go. But my goals are always one pound at a time. I’m not entirely sure why it’s coming off to be honest. I’m not doing anything spectacularly different. I gave up aspartame September 1, 2012. That’s meant a pretty significant change to my sweet tooth. I don’t crave stuff as much. I’ve been trying not to answer my stress and tiredness with food. I’ve been trying not to eat when I’m not hungry. So just because it’s a traditional mealtime, i don’t necessarily eat, or rather, I don’t eat a meal. I’ll have a piece of fruit or a yogurt or just enough to keep my blood sugar steady (I’m prediabetic). I’m reducing carbs, but that’s not really all that intentional. I used to crave them more when I drank aspartame. Now I don’t. I’m working on flavors more. I like food and so I am trying to expand my food palette (had some great Morroccan soup and green Vietnamese curried steak for Mother’s Day). I also love salads, so I spend the time to make something tasty. I’ve also been doing a lot of walking. Especially as the weather has improved. And of course, the less I weigh, the easier walking is. Oh, and another thing I’ve done is shift to a lot more real food. Real butter, real sugar, and so forth. I try to keep high fructose corn syrup out of the house and do my best to cook from scratch as often as I can (though don’t get me wrong–hotdogs happen in this house).

What’s funny is that sometimes my mom will call attention to what I’m eating for being fattening or whatever, and I just have to laugh. Right now things are working. Yeah, maybe I could speed up the process, but since this is working, I’m afraid to change, especially since this is a way of life for me and to incorporate bigger changes might mean that I lose the weight and then gain it back. It seems to me my body wants to lose this weight and is helping me. I’ve lost fifteen pounds so far this year, since the end of June 2012. We’ll see if I lose any more before the year’s up. I’m just really happy to not be gaining it back.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

Stuffed myself tight as a tick for dinner. Last night of having my folks in town. Probably don’t need to eat for a few days now. But it was worth it.

My dog has a sore in his armpit (front leg). Every time it start to heal over, something happens and he starts licking and it becomes unhealed and open. I bought gauze and vetwrap today, and I can’t get it to stay on. I wrapped it multiple times. I can’t get it tight enough. Maybe if I shaved all the hair off, it could work, but don’t know that I want to do that (even if had clippers). I’m must not sure how to keep it covered so that I can keep neosporin on the wound. Suggestions? I’m going to keep him out of his harness and walk him off leash. Otherwise I think it adds to his discomfort. This has been going on awhile. The vet looked at it and shaved away the close-by hair. I thought it was healed, but apparently not.

I need cotton sheets. I’ve been using flannel for years, even through the summer, but I need cooler sheets. Time to go looking. I know very little about percale or sateen or thread-counts or whatever. I don’t suppose you do? I know, 14 years in Montana and it’s time to have summertime sheets. What am I thinking?

Got my hair cut today. Much of the purple got cut off, so I”m going to have to do some dyeing. Miscon is a week and a half away. Must look my purpley best, right?

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

I bought this painting by a local artist Jenny Fallein. She’s married to a poet who taught in my department (they’ve decided to move). It’s a big painting. Like four feet by three feet. Here’s a not-so-great picture of it:

Isn’t it lovely? It shifts color when the light changes. I love it. Today I took it in to see about a frame, which was seriously expensive. But it will be lovely. Oh, it’s of the Missouri Breaks.

I also bought a bunch of flowers today and will plant them tomorrow. Pretties to make the yard look nice for people who are looking. Also it looks like the lilacs will bloom shortly and my lilies of the valley are starting to come up. Pleased about that.

I’m having a good time with my parents. It’s really nice to have them here get a chance to spend time.

I also wrote a few words and keep poking at the WIP with a stick. Also shed another pound. Yay.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

I’ve not got much news, I’m afraid. School ended, and nothing so far has come from the showing this week. My folks arrived early, so that’s been wonderful. Weather is good. Thought we might get a thunderstorm today, but it didn’t happen. Did take a long walk with the dogs yesterday and today.

I was also mugged by an idea the other day. I thought it would be a short story, and maybe it will be. But then again, maybe it won’t be. It’s very difficult to say at this stage. It’s a story of the dead, but not zombies, not vampire, not ghosts. Yeah, a different kind of dead.

I’m feeling pretty worn out and flat. End of semester/school year blues? Or maybe just the post-showing-hope letdown. Feeling really tired.

I’m getting itchy to go digging crystals at Crystal Park. It’s full of quartz crystals and it’s a kind of treasure hunt. But the road is still snowed in, I think. So maybe in a couple weeks.

It is, in fact, dog shedding time for one of the dogs. The other is waiting to shed until his brother finishes so that they can extend the shedding season. How considerate. I’m seeing some lilac buds on some plants and a lot of leaves on others. Maybe spring is really here.

Roasted a chicken the other night. Turned out really well. Used fresh lemon, rosemary, salt, pepper, and roasted it 300 for an hour and a half, then turned it up to 350. Was juice and tasty and the skin was really crispy.

Want to get some flowers to plant in the yard. Girlie wants to do that, too.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

And it is one day more for this semester. In honor of that:

We have another showing tomorrow. Hoping hoping hoping!

It was lovely today. Things are greening and growing. Maybe I’ll get lilacs soon. Oh! and the peonies have poked up.

Not much else that’s new today. Got to laugh a bit and enjoy the company of friends and hug the kids and tease them. All in all, good times. I’ll have a post up on Magical Words tomorrow. Exact URL to follow. It’s about writing. Go figure.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

One day down, two days left of this semester. Did my last faculty senate meeting today. That’s six years out of seven that I’ve served. I’m ready for a break. Kind of interested in a different committee though. Might talk to someone about it.

People looked at the house today but have decided to go with acreage I guess. Depressing. But at least the house is clean.

I wrote a page today on the WIP and don’t like it at all. I think it’s going too slow and that my main character isn’t quite right. She’s a bit cardboardy. At least on the page, though not in my head.

I want to go dig crystals, but I don’t know if Crystal Park is open yet. My feeling is that it should be and the roads should be open. We haven’t had that much snow.

I haven’t planned a book club book for May. I wasn’t sure anyone was up for it. Maybe start again in the fall? What do you think? I’m reading Thieftaker right now. Or rather, I started it, but then got caught up in other stuff and now I have to go back to it.

I keep wondering how my house shows in comparison with other houses. I know it’s old–1917. But it’s in really good shape with a lot of the original woodwork and fixtures. Sure, some of my room paints are on the bold side, but the kitchen is only 4 years old. I know we only have 1.5 baths, but I feel like there ought to be more interest. I just wish I could figure out what the deal is. We supposedly aren’t overpriced, but yet we aren’t getting much looks. And we’ve lowered the price.

Emptied off a bunch of my DVR recordings. Decided I was never going to watch this season of Person of Interest. I also deleted my Havens. I like the show but– well, I want to read more and write more.

My folks are going to be visiting for a few days. I’m looking forward to that. At least the house will be clean for them.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

A number of years ago when I bought my first macbook, I got a free iPod Touch. I haven’t used it a bunch, but I did buy this little radio-dock to set it in. That was also a few years ago. Today, I figured out how to dock it and use it. *cue angels singing* The directions had told me to take off the case and set it in a little adapter tray . . . So I never did it. Seemed too much like work. Or maybe could be more like me being a technophobe. Today I used no little adapter tray (The three of which I had not lost in all that time–cue angels again). I just plugged it in and then I had to turn off the little speaker alarm noise, but now I have music, which makes the iPod a lot more useful than it was. .

Why did I need music? Well, for one thing, I needed to clean the bathrooms. Music is necessary for such occasions. But also someone is coming to look at the house tomorrow, so we needed house cleaning music. Plus the kids had to do all the yardwork of scooping dog poop and mowing among some other things. So there you have it. A clean house. Oh, and a clean fish tank. Poor fish. It had been forever since I cleaned it and so now they are happier. The filter is working right again and I changed out the bubble thing, which had become clogged.

I also brushed the dogs. How is it possible that one brother can shed a full dog every week, but the other barely loses any hair? Is he saving up so once the other one is done, he can suddenly turn into a dandelion?

But this mean that my housework for the week is pretty much done. I might go get some flowers and put them in. But certainly I will be writing as much as possible. I have a ton of other stuff to get done this week, too. But at least the house is clean, though looking around I keep seeing little places that need a bit more dusting or cleaning or whatever. Gah.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

I’ve had one of those weeks that’s a combo of busy plus lazy plus mopey plus cold plus mommy plus somewhat constructive. Had one of those weeks?

On the constructive side, which seems to be the most interesting really, I sanded down this spot on the hardwood floor (original quarter sawed oak), where it had worn off the finish too much and then applied this stuff that is not really a finish. It didn’t turn out as well as I wanted. Which is to say that it’s a bit darker. I sanded down enough I thought. I’ve got another spot to try but not sure what I want to do with it.

I also have been getting some writing done. I’m not entirely sure it’s going the way I want. I’m not sure I’m capturing the southern flavor that I want, and I’m not sure my main character is sympathetic enough out the door. But I keep going forward and hoping that it works out. I do like a fair bit of it. Though I’ve introduced a male character that I’m hoping is not a love interest. I had no intention of him being one, at least not for main character, but it’s possible I suppose. I guess I’ll find out when things play out.

Still no one looking at the house. School ends next week. And I have to clean the bathroom. Also, it’s really cold today and I’ve made a fire and it’s popping and crackling. Now I need tea and a nap. Or a nap and then tea. Alas, the bathrooms first.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

Got an email from a colleague tonight, which speaks to the title of this post. I won’t say anything about its content here, except what’s in the title, but I have to say I’m struggling with a reply. Which is to say, I’m struggling with not answering. Because frankly, there’s little point. It’s a lot like discovering that the Internet is WRONG and MUST BE CORRECTED. Banging a head on the wall, which only hurts my head. I’m taking note that Karma will take a bite out of his/her ass and trying to push it out of my head. I should note that the email was not to me, but the whole department.

And so, focusing on me and my writing, A snippet from my WIP

Taryn jerked awake, heart hammering against her ribs. She leaped up from her sewing table and stumbled over the piles of fabric surrounding her chair. She caught herself with a hand on the table and froze, her skin prickling. She strained to hear sounds of an intruder, but the thud of her blood through her veins drowned out all else. Her gaze darted across the cavernous room, searching the shadows at the far end where her sewing light didn’t reach.

Misty red and blue light pulsed through the space, turning the massed humps of clothing and fabric crowding the room to threatening monsters. She shivered and straightened her spine indignantly, spidering her fingers across her table to find her shears. Her jaw jutted furiously. This was her house and she’d be damned if she’d let some possum-faced coward slink about in the middle of the night and intimidate her in her own home.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

I need to start a new crochet project. I don’t know what I want it to be. Something relatively easy, but something I can learn to do new. I’m sure I have things in my books or online, but that seems like a lot of work. And I’m feeling lazy. Actually I’m feeling rotten. Semi-rotten. Think it’s sinuses. A massive windstorm has moved in and it’s playing havoc with me. That and I woke up to the stench of dog poop. Turns out Viggo pooped twice in my office. Didn’t look like diarrhea, so not sure what that was. I didn’t hear him telling me he wanted out and frankly, I didn’t sleep well, so I think I would have heard. Was he sick? Was he making a statement? Hell if I know. Meanwhile Voodoo is freaked out by the wind. Keeps wanting to crawl into my lap and under my feet and anywhere else he can hide.

So if you crochet, anybody got any good ideas for something to do?

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

Today is another day I’m not dying of cancer.

Does that sound odd? I have friends who are younger than I am or same age (I’m 45) who either are managing cancer or have become incurable. Chances are, even managing it, they are still slowly dying of cancer. I am not.

I get sad about being apart from the man and I understand that I’m entitled to those feelings, but at the same time, I have time. I am not looking down the barrel of imminent death. I am not struggling to hold onto things that I love. I need to remember that more and embrace my friends and family and the lovely weather and my body that is getting more healthy every day as I lose weight and can do things with it. I need to embrace the wonderful moments. I need to learn from the suffering and struggles of my friends and embrace what I have and not squander the days.

So I’m off to not squander the day, which is lovely.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

adriannem wins the giveaway! Send me an email. dpf AT dianapfrancis DOT com

Boy has made it back to school for one whole day. Yay. Girlie’s birthday is tomorrow. I baked treats today for her class and tomorrow I will bake a cake and also wrap presents and get ready for friends to spend the night. It should be fun. If I can stay awake. (All this after I get done teaching). I think the treats turned out well. I hope the kidlets in her class enjoy them. Girlie sure enjoyed making them with me.

I reached an epiphany on the WIP. I have had a difficult time starting on the chapter. I kept figuring out more details, but something eluded me, something key, that I needed before my head would get committed to writing. Turns out the piece that was missing was place. I had a place, but I didn’t have the terrain, the layout of houses, the specific where’s of roads and etc. I have that now and suddenly my brain said–okay, let’s go then. This is what I’ve been waiting for. Sigh. Why can’t the writer brain tell me things like this in a more obvious way so I know where to focus my energies? Gah!

Anyhow, so a breakthrough has been made and I am inching forward, feeling my way in the gloom. Finally.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

I’ve been thinking about villainy. I keep thinking about Tolstoy’s first line from Anna Karenina:

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

What does that have to do with villainy? you might ask. Well, I’ve been watching the coverage of the results of the interviews/interrogation of the Boston bomber, whose name I simply cannot remember. Everybody wants to know why–what drove him and his brother? Why would they do this? What changed them from seemingly nice, normal boys to terrorist murderers? The answer seems to be coming down to radical Islamist ideology. To me, this is no answer. It’s cliche. It goes back to that quote above, only in this case, Terrorists are all alike; every non-terrorist is individual in his or her own way. Doesn’t work, does it? It seems to me that villains should be at least as complicated as non-villains. And reducing this sort of attack down to radical Islamic ideology is, in a word, a copout. There has to be more, even if we never learn what that is.

This brings me to villainy in books. Villainy is as much about who this person is and what he’s willing to do, as it is about what brought him to this point. What was his journey of pain and disappointment, frustration, rage, torture, or what have you? What is individual and unique about this person? Because that’s the heart of the story. Bringing this individual person up against a very unique and individual protagonist. Bringing them into conflict. Especially since villains don’t necessarily or even often think that they are villains. They think they are doing the right thing (even if they are deluded), the necessary thing (even if it is painful and terrible), or they don’t see the terribleness of what they do (like exterminating and entire people to cleanse the world–after all, those people are just vermin and cleansing the world is a good thing, right?).

Then you add in that being Islamic is not by definition a bad thing, even there are those out there who would say it is. It is a form of religion no better or worse than others. So I can’t see how it’s a motivation or an excuse, unless it is twisted into something else. But even if it is so twisted, it has to tap into something in a person to drive them to being a terrorist. There has to be a need or a desire or a hole in a person that that fills. So I wonder, for these two bomber brothers, what was it? I somehow imagine that the older brought the younger in and I imagine that their bond of brotherhood is what mattered to the younger brother more than the religion. I’m absolutely making this up. But as a writer, I think that the two are not alike, they are not similarly motivated, and that something triggered them, and in different ways. I wonder what drove a college boy that everyone liked and admired to becoming a killer. Was he a sociopath? Possibly. But like radical Islamist ideology, that is too reductionist and easy an answer. The writer in me says there has to be more, more that comes from each person.

And to quote from Earnest Tubb: I know my baby loves me in her own peculiar way. Which is to say, everyone has their own peculiar way.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

First an update on boy. Boy has nothing specific wrong with him that the doc can see without going into a lot of tests. We’re going to try an anti nausea and antacid first, in case whatever he has had irritated the lining of his stomach and overproduced acid and the fact that he hasn’t been able to eat that much have created a stew of bubbling horror in his stomach. He has not barfed since about 11 this morning. Here’s hoping there’s no more to come. I found a watermelon at the store when I went to get the prescriptions. Boy had some for dinner along with some yogurt and some sprite.

I have been poking at my other WIP project and had a fabulous idea for the opening last night. I went to sleep without writing it down. You can see where this is going, can’t you? I totally forgot it. Damn it!!! This is a real problem because I’ve been struggling with how to bring together the elements. I’ve also been doing some research about where exactly I plan to set it and I have worked that out, and now I have to make a sketch of my world. But I really needed that way in because I have all these various elements that need to come together. Anyhow, I know better and I could kick myself for not getting up and writing it down. Idjit.

In other news, I’m totally annoyed with someone in my life, enough to work them into a novel and kill them off, or torture them heavily. just saying.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

First, I’m giving away another Amazon certificate. Forgot how much. Like maybe 10-15 bucks. Comment here to win. Say something entertaining if you like. In fact, tell me how much you love the gym . . .

And to go with the that, FUNNIES!

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

The boy continues to puke. I really don’t understand. It’s been four days. He tends to throw up every 1-3 hours, though not as much in the middle of the night. Usually he gets up once or twice for that. There’s no fever; it can’t really be food poisoning. I’m guessing it’s some sort of bug, but I’m starting to get a little bit worried. If it’s still happening Monday, I’m getting him into the doc. Anybody encounter anything like that before?

I was up early taking girlie to soccer. Her team tied one game and lost another. I’m really proud of the way she is playing. Really showing more initiative this year about going after the ball, about being in the right spots for passes, and paying attention to the game. Very proud mama.

The day was spent doing precious little after that except going to the store, napping, feeding the kid(s) (boy ate crackers and sprite, but little else), and combing the dogs. One of whom lost about a dog’s worth of hair, and the other of whom lost barely any, but was very happy for the attention. Given how much hair seems to be exploding off them, I was surprised by the latter. The very little bit getting done means that tomorrow will be busy for me. Lots of cleaning because I’m behind. And laundry. Lots of that.

I did introduce the kids to The 10th Kingdom today. We haven’t watched all of it. Forgot how much I love it. It’s been a long time since I watched. Boy loves “suck an elf.” Oh dear.

I really need to have a more exciting life, don’t I?

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

Oh man, the older bomber had a wife and 3 year old daughter. That poor family. I hope some answers come out, but I can’t imagine they will ever really make sense or satisfy.

Boy is still throwing up. Day three. I did get real food into him tonight and so far he’s kept it down. I’m catching some sort of headcold though. Blah. Like I needed that.

Seems like the Boston story has eaten up the week. Or maybe it’s because I haven’t accomplished much this week. I have done little on my writing and ended up taking care of boy and sleeping way too much. Think that’s part of the cold. Tomorrow is a long soccer day. I hope boy is feeling up to playing. Girlie’s game is at stupid early. Blech. Gotta be there at 8 a.m.

Damn, boy just threw up again. Gotta go.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

I got both very good news and very bad news today. The good news I can share. That’s that the man got offered a slot on day shift. We’ve been hoping for this and we are extremely happy, even though it means a pay cut (he won’t get shift differential). It’s better for him in terms of his mental health and better for us in terms of family life and it’s so very very nice. We weren’t sure he’d ever get on days, and it’s happened before he’s been there a full year.

The bad news is also family related, and all I can say that I have a young relative who appears to have gotten hooked on drugs and it’s quickly led him into very serious trouble. I’m scared for him and his family and I hope to hell that they find passage through these dangerous waters.

In the meantime, my students are working on Twisted Ink, which is now taking submissions, if you know of anyone who wants to submit, or might be interested yourself. The site is being constructed and already we see some serious progress. Anybody can submit, so please spread the word if you will.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

Three days into the block. It’s going well. But it’s cold. Tonight will be in the teens. It should be warmer. I’m jonesing to do some gardening and also for the end of the block. Much as I’m enjoying this class and these students–it’s a great group–I’m ready for some time to write full time. And also to see the man, whom I won’t get to see until June.

So a friend told me of this Anton Checkhov quote today:

Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s day to day living that wears you out.

That about sums things up for me.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

My local IGA makes bacon sausage. I mean, BACON SAUSAGE!!

Got my taxes paid, but not filed. Well, the extension was filed. We’re still waiting for one finalized document. I hate having them not quite done, but at least they are paid. My bank account was feeling so bloated and now it’s feeling svelte/slender (or maybe anorexic). Sigh.

Oh look, there’s going to be snow showers tonight. How lovely. (not).

I’m highly amused by the class I’m teaching. Because we build a webzine, there’s a lot of room for silliness and play, and this group is really fun. I needed that today.

My dogs forced me to nap today. I tried to resist, but I can’t resist their mighty sleepy powers.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

By now most everyone has heard about the explosions in Boston. I have no words. My reaction has been a visceral return to 9/11. I know it’s not the same. But turning on the TV to coverage put me right back to that day. I was in Montana. I am in Montana. But it doesn’t change the horror and the knots in my stomach and the chills and the desire to simply weep for those who are hurt, killed, suffering, and the rescue workers who are wading into danger never knowing if they too will be killed, and their families who must exist in fear today and tomorrow and I don’t know how long.

Prayers and hope and peace for Boston. The world holds you in our hearts.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

I found myself sleeping a lot the last two days. Stayed up a bit later than usual because I could, but I think in part it was the wind and cold on Saturday. It really sucked energy out of me. That and the dogs send out sleep pheremones. That and they crawl into my lap and flop down and sometimes snore. The wind had been blowing something awful the past week and I haven’t been out walking like usual. I’m hating wind right now. Hate the bite of it. I have to get over that.

I start the last block of the semester tomorrow. This is where we put together the literary webzine. I look forward to it. That and maybe warming up eventually. It’s teens in the overnight and 30s and low 40s at night. Tired of it. Girlie’s birthday is in less than two weeks. Have to work on putting that together. Figure out what to do. I don’t know if I can handle a full on party. Or if I can handle a slumber party. Course she has soccer the next day, so maybe she won’t want a ton of kids over. My feeling is that she’ll like her gifts so much she may not want to have friends to interfere. We’ll see. Sad part is her dad won’t be here. That is what sucks.

All right, nuff of the woe is me crap. Now to go read or write or scratch dog tummies.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

It’s book discussion time!!!

I have to say that I loved this book. I want to dig in and talk about so much but I don’t know where to begin. I would love first to hear about your reactions, I think. I can imagine this book didn’t appeal to everyone. Even if you haven’t finished yet, do say what you’re thinking.

This was one of those books I read largely in one sitting. Part of that was because I started it, then started teaching again, and had a bunch of life stuff. But part of it was that once I started, I realized I wanted to read it straight through. It’s a complex book told in wonderful prose that looks deceptively simple but is not in any way.

So let’s begin with your thinking and your reactions. Talk to me. Lay it all out. Go!

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

Tomorrow we discuss A Turn of LIght by Julie Czerneda for book club. Wheee! I will say, however, that because of unexpected soccer scheduling (as in we just got the schedule for tomorrow), we’ll have to start in the afternoon, if that’s all right.

You ever had one of those days where it feels all your nerves are exposed and getting pecked at by woodpeckers? That was my day. I’m seeking calm now. Sadly, eating myself into a stupor doesn’t seem like a good idea (I don’t have the chocolate for it anyhow), and I’ve never been good at drinking when I’m upset (I only get sick), and when I try meditation, there’s frequent moments of Squirrel! So I’m on the couch with a book (well, as soon as I’m done here) and dogs and tea and quiet. We’ll see if that works. Tomorrow will be exercise. I want to take the dogs for a long ramble, just as soon as I buy new leashes, since their old ones have vanished (what was that? One of the woodpeckers? Yes). Poor things. I got them all prepped to go tonight and no leashes to be found. I discovered that one promptly chewed through a soaker hose in revenge. Gotta get stuff to fix that next, I spose.

And as this is entirely appropriate and funny, I’m including it:

Sing the chorus loud when you get there. For me. Wait for it. You’ll know what it is.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

I have a post up at Magical Words today talking about Heroes and Anti-Heroes. It’s a fascinating topic for me and I’d love to hear your thoughts.

The end of the block was today and I gave my final. New block starts on Monday. I have some grading to do and I’ll be having lunch with the girls tomorrow. And of course, prepping next course. Kids start soccer this weekend and hopefully it will warm up enough to go out walking.

Made progress on the WIP while giving the final. Have a really cool idea of how the magic works. It’s pretty damned awesome. But my main character still isn’t enough. I need to tinker with her.

Thanks for the good wishes on my father. It’s a waiting until news game now. Except he’s said he isn’t interested in open heart surgery. We’ll see once we get solid data from inside his heart. That won’t be until probably June because they have some plans for before that and the doc things it’s okay. They put him on an anti-coagulant and since he’s gimpy, he doesn’t rev his heart up much.

I need to figure out something cool to make for dinner tomorrow night. I should find a cool recipe for something. I’d also like to bake some bread this weekend.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

You all have not made it at all easy to make a choice about what story to write. You know that don’t you? Is that on purpose? Are you trying to drive me crazy? That is, crazier? I think what I will do is make a plan to write several Horngate stories/novellas this year. Without knowing what will be happening in my life, it’s tough to plan, and not knowing what I will have to be working on as far as deadlines makes that worse. Plus I’m working on another novel proposal. All the same, I want to keep busy and do some more exploring of the Horngate world. What will I work on first? I don’t know.

On the life implosion front, my dad has an arrhythmia. According to the doc he has a valve issue. They are going to do an angiogram to see what’s causing it and to also look at the bypasses he had in 1995. It was a six way bypass. If there are no problems with those, then they will take measurements and later go back and install a new valve through the artery (an angio procedure). If the bypasses are problematic, they will do open heart surgery and fix things. Or so the plan is now without having an inside look. My dad is 83 with a pacemaker. So I’m just a little bit concerned. As in, freaking out and trying not to because really, none of this will happen until late in May or into June. Hard to sustain panic for that long, so I guess I’ll have to nurse it. Sigh.

Don’t forget we’re having our Turn of Light Discussion this Saturday. Have you been reading????

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

So my friends, if you were going to read a Horngate story, what would you want it to be about? I want to write one, but I can’t seem to settle on one choice. It’s like a box full of shinies and I keep thinking this one, but wait! What about–? And Oh, Oh! What about–? In response to such, I come to you to ask. Who would you like me to write about? Here are some I’ve thought of:

• An early Xaphan Story
• An early Tutresiel story
• An early Niko, Tyler, Oz, Max, Alexander . . . story
• A Giselle story
• What happens after Blood Winter.
• Something with Scooter or Ilanion.

See what I mean? And you probably have others. Maybe you have something really specific. Ready? Go!

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

The bad news is that the Man left today. I am unhappy as are the kids. I also did some cleaning and laundry today. Yesterday we had dinner with friends, which was a lot of fun, and we also made some enchilada-lasagne to freeze. We made a total of four of them, and the Man took one back with him. One we’ll eat tonight, and the other two we’ll freeze for later. I like these. I layer enchilada sauce (mixed red and green with green chiles), corn tortillas, cheese, and a mixture of pureed onion, olives, and bell pepper stirried into hamburger, frozen corn, and black beans. It’s really fabulous.

But on to Norwescon. I’m starting on Friday, since I already told you about arrival and the reading.

( Read the rest of this entry »Collapse )

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

I watched The Hobbit last night with the family. It was enjoyable and I did like it. It was not, however, a movie that matched the book all that well. I’m not unhappy about that, because I did like what Peter Jackson was trying to do, which seemed to me to be doing more to set up what would come later as far as laying the foundation for the LOTR. Specifically, going to Rivendell and the meeting between Elrond, Galadriel, Saruman, and Gandalf, really set out some things that explain a great deal about how they are reacting and noticing the rising of Sauron (or trying to pretend that it isn’t happening). It was also really interesting to see the way that the others perceived Gandalf. He was a bit of a lone wolf and not in a good way. Like he was running about doing things that they found both annoying and objectionable. It seemed that this was his habit. Only Galadriel seemed to accept his behavior with a kind of shrug–he is what he is after all.

Another thing that was very different was the way that Thorin is far more and equal or more major character than Bilbo. This really isn’t Bilbo’s story at this point, though that may change. He was much more anti-Bilbo than the book, it seems to me, and there was a lot of really cool conflict between him and Gandalf. There was a back story involving Moria and a big nemesis orc that he had battled and thought he killed, but now is pursuing him. None of that is in the book, but I think it’s necessary (or something like it), to building him as a character, and also in giving the group more of a sense of danger (as the nazgul were in LOTR). Otherwise, they don’t really have any major pursuit and therefore nothing to really drive the urgency, except, gotta make it to the mountain in time. In a trilogy movie, that wouldn’t be enough. Plus this establishes a connection to the LOTR movies.

Frankly I’m not sure there’s enough material in the book for three movies. I don’t think one would have done it justice, however. I’m really curious what will happen next. My favorite scene is in Bilbo’s house at the beginning with the meeting. So dead on.

I do have one question for you. I can’t remember the history of Moria and I was confused about it from the movie. So can anyone tell me what it is? Because Gimli was so surprised it was destroyed in LOTR, but it seems like it had fallen before The Hobbit in the movie, so what’s the story?

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

With improved health, the man and I have been doing work around the house. Because there are green leaves on things. GREEN!!! My roses are leafing out. Yes, I grow roses in Montana. And I have a grape and gooseberries. All of which are leafing out. Other things are slower, but I have faith. Anyhow, we have been cleaning the yard and I put down a ton of mulch with newspapers. Like 40+ bags and I need about three more to finish. Meanwhile the man fertilized, raked and bagged, got the lawn mower running, plus about fifty other little around the house chores. I didn’t plan for him to have to do so much, but wow it’s been so nice to have the help. And the company. I have missed him so much.

I plan to plant some peas in the next few days. I also need to find my miracle grow sprayer so I can fertilize things.

I got an invitation to go to Orycon, and I said yes, so looks like that’s on my docket. I’m excited! I haven’t been in ages. Like maybe a decade.

Can I ask you to go into a Barnes and Noble and see if any of my Horngate books are on the shelves? I would really appreciate it.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

I have this idea for a book. Have had it. But now that I’m digging into how certain things are going to work, I can’t make sense of it. Then I had a shining brilliant idea. It could work. But now I have to think it through. Except . . . I feel like crap and thinking is not what I’m able to do right now. Specially with my head throbbing like this. But I have hopes that it will be the answer I want.

Has everybody been reading Turn of Light for the 13th? I hope so! I’d love to have a big discussion. Can’t wait to hear what you think.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

I am still feeling awful, so I can’t do a full con report at this point.

We made the trip and spent the night at S.A. Bolich’s house in Spokane. The next day we got to the hotel later than planned. I had to park on the side of the road for a bit to sleep. Lucky for me my kids and the doggies were patient. We got there near about the time the Man did, which was lovely. We got me registered at the con and figured out where my reading that night would be, and then had dinner.

My reading was Thursday night and I think I read too fast. I need to practice more. I did have a good audience, which included a bunch of friends from Miscon and beyond, and that was delightful.

I think that’s about all I can tolerate tonight. Did I mention that a ton of flowers and trees were in bloom, grass was green, and the sun was lovely. No rain. I didn’t get to go away to eat very much, sadly. I always like to get good food traveling. But then again, given how sick I am right now, food sounds not so good.

More later.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

And that is what I plan to do tomorrow. I’m heading to Norwescon after I get done with my teaching. So excited. Can’t wait. But that means I won’t be here for the next five days or so. I hope you all have a lovely week and a Happy Easter, if you so celebrate, and I hope it’s warm and lovely wherever you are. See you when I get back!!!! Or for some of you, maybe at Norwescon?

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

My Horngate books are published by Simon and Schuster (also known as Pocket Books), and so this particularly effects me, but it also effects readers. Right now, Barnes and Noble is not ordering a lot of S&S books into its stores. They say it’s because they want S&S to pay more for in store promotions, and that people come in and look at the books, and then order them online (though let’s face it, BN has been reducing how many books they carry and really pushing the bestsellers and stocking up on those, which sounds very much like what Borders did before total fail. How can you be a bookstore and not carry books? but I digress). BN also wants to pay less for the books. I don’t know if that’s because they want to discount them or because they want better profit margins. They already pay somewhere around 40% of cover price, if they are like my local indie, but given their size, it’s possible they get greater discounts. I don’t know.

Here are some articles on the subject:

Christian Science Monitor
New York Times
Wall Street Journal

The heart of the heart of the matter is that authors are being hurt. If people can’t find their books, they don’t buy them. Especially new authors. I’m aware of an author whose last book in her series was canceled almost as soon as the contract was signed because of this. Order are down and if orders are down, it must be because people don’t want the books. And yet if readers don’t know about the books, or if they can’t find them, then exactly why are they being penalized? On top of that, there’s fairly little promotion that happens around midlisters (those authors who are not bestsellers, and even bestsellers may not get that much, depending on who you are).

The point is that word of mouth becomes even more important. Really spreading the word on books you like. And Indie bookstores become crucial–support the places that carry the books is what readers have to do. I’m not saying don’t shop BN, what I’m saying is, BN is making itself irrelevant to readers because it isn’t carrying books. Indie bookstores tend to pay attention to customers and work hard to provide the books that you want.

The thing is, readers don’t see what’s happening because frankly, it’s happening off the grid. It’s just that all of a sudden the books you want aren’t available, book contracts are cancelled, and you’re stuck without. What to do about it? Tell BN. Tell S&S. And spread the word on authors you like so that even if their books aren’t on the shelves, other readers have a way of discovering them.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

I survived the sleepover. Except that girlie now has what you might euphemistically call intestinal distress. By which I mean I’m washing a lot of clothes and her sheets (that I incidentally watched just yesterday) because, well, it got ugly, poor thing. Now she’s sipping Apple Juice and nibbling crackers. Gotta get some probiotics into her.

I have no idea what to wear to Norwescon. I have some cool costumery type things, but I just don’t know if I want to wear corsetry if I don’t know how uncomfortable it might be for the duration of a day in a hotel I’ve never been to. Same with shoes. I have a newish pair of boots that are very comfortable, but are they comfortable for 8-12 hours? My hotel is across the parking lot, so going back to change isn’t necessarily swift. Guess I’ll figure it out. Hopefully soon, since I’ll be leaving on Wednesday. My reading is Thursday night.

And speaking of Norwescon, here’s where you can find me. Also, I’m up for getting together inbetween and feel free to chat me up. My hair as some serious streaks of bright purplish blue in it right now. Bright. Can’t miss me.

Diana Pharaoh Francis reads Blood Winter Thursday 9:00pm-9:30pm Cascade 1
An excerpt from the latest Horngate Witches novel. Rated R
Diana Pharaoh Francis

Crowns & Swords Friday 2:00pm-3:00pm Cascade 5
Countless novels have been set in the intertwined worlds of monarchy and fantasy, often involving epic battles. Given that many fantasy novels are set in worlds drawn from medieval Europe, it’s no surprise to see so many stories based around monarchies – kings and queens, tyrannical emperors, and long-lost heirs to the throne. How much of fantasy’s appeal is grounded in this familiar setting, and how can this long-standing tradition be updated or refreshed; or should it be abandoned entirely?
Diana Pharaoh Francis, Gregory A. Wilson, Heather Hudson, Linda Pearce

Writing a Series Friday 6:00pm-7:00pm Cascade 3&4
Many of the most commercially successful speculative novels are series. Authors talk about how (and whether) they planned to write a series. How do you avoid repetition while keeping the setting and characters consistent from book to book?
Ken Scholes, John (J.A.) Pitts, Diana Pharaoh Francis, Rhiannon Held

Rogues and Anti-Heroes in Fantasy Saturday 10:00am-11:00am Cascade 7
From Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, to the denizens of Thieves’ World, to Alec and Seregil of Lynn Flewelling’s Nightrunner series — loveable rogues and anti-heroes have been part of Fantasy since the early days. But why do we love them? Do they fulfill some need in us when we “aim to misbehave?” Come join us as we talk about our favorites and muse about which ones show promise in current fantasy fiction.
Diana Pharaoh Francis, Brenda Carre, Peter Blanton, Mark Nelson

Autograph Session 1 Saturday 2:00pm-3:00pm Grand 2
Our Attending Professionals are available to sign autographs. PLEASE NOTE: So that as many fans as possible can participate, we will be enforcing a three-items-at-a-time (or single-sketch) autograph limit.
Autumn Grieve, Camille Alexa, Kevin J. Anderson, Carol Berg, S. A. Bolich, Clinton J. Boomer, Kurt Cagle, Chelsea M. Campbell, Charles “Zan” Christensen, Brenda Cooper, Erik Scott de Bie, Cymbric Early-Smith, Ellen Forney, Diana Pharaoh Francis, Jean Johnson, Karen Kincy, Nancy Kress, Edward Martin III, Susan R. Matthews, Angel Leigh McCoy, Dan Murphy, Mark Nelson, G. David Nordley, Brian D. Oberquell, David J. Peterson, Cat Rambo, Jon Rogers, Lorelei Shannon, Jack Skillingstead, Jeff Sturgeon, Jonny Nero Action Hero, Dennis R. Upkins, G. Willow Wilson

How to Write Vivid Scenes Saturday 5:00pm-6:00pm Cascade 5
What makes writing vivid? What does vivid writing do for the reader? How can you edit existing writing to make it more vivid? How to use all five senses.
Diana Pharaoh Francis, Karen Kincy, S. A. Bolich, William F. Nolan

Congratulations, It Sucks! Saturday 8:00pm-9:00pm Cascade 8
How to tackle a major rewrite. Rescue your story from your writing, and actually learn from your mistakes while you fix them.
Diana Pharaoh Francis, Chelsea M. Campbell, Jack Skillingstead

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

Is surprisingly sane. I have an extra girl here and apparently little girls turn into freaking cocaine-jumped-up kangaroos when they get together. They were (thankfully and finally) playing outside when a friend drove by with her father and she stopped and the upshot was that I had yet another girl for a few hours. Batshit Crazy. Then I had a bit of a meltdown with my son, recovered, apologized, and calmed things down. And put them into bed. It’s been quiet. Thankfully. Though I will admit the blood pressure went up a bit (a lot) when I discovered after I’d put the dogs out for awhile, that the kids had left the back gate open and the dogs had gone walkabout. I’m a bit attached to the dogs and never let them go walking out in the streets and anywhere else all by themselves. So I called them and eventually they came home and now I’m calming down a bit.

I have decided the book I’m working on will be set in Gatlinburg. Anybody have any information on the place would be helpful. I’m looking for anything and everything. Places to read about it and investigate it to give me a better sense of the place would be great.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.