Wine for Rednecks

Quite possibly the coolest wine glass ever. Hafta thank my sister for this one:

Yes, folks, that is a mason jar. And in case you were wondering, there is also a lid. Not that you need one when you're drinking wine.

The most wonderful time of the year

I'm not talking about Christmas. Eff that. I love October, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. Why? Hmmm, hard to explain. I've always been into horror movies and stories. I was pretty much raised on them (thanks for that, Dad). I remember doing a book report on Stephen King's Christine when I was in middle school. My best friend and I used to rent horror movies (VHS!) and stay up all night watching them in high school. Creepy, skin crawling stories that have you yelling the characters to stop being so stupid and get the EFF out of there...there's just something about them. Of course, none of this even begins to cover the real history behind the holiday, which is interesting in itself. I realize I'm babbling and probably not making much sense.

ANYWAY, Walking Dead season premier tonight. Hopefully it will live up to the build up.

Blogging it

When I first started this blog, I fully intended to post a least three or four times a week. It's pretty obvious that hasn't happened! Recently I've been thinking (I know, right?) about what exactly I want to get out of blogging. Obviously, as a writer aiming for publication, it could turn into a valuable tool for self promotion and networking. Problem is, I haven't promoted my blog too much because it doesn't really have an identity yet.  Or, at least it doesn't feel like it. Why would anyone other than my acquaintances want to read this? What would I have to offer that another blog wouldn't? *cues crickets chirping*

Anyway, I'm hoping to get back onto a semi-regular blogging habit. I guess I'll figure it all out along the way...

Doing ten things at once

I haven't meant to neglect my blog, honest! Here in northeast US, however, Summer is wrapping up, school has just started and all that busy fun stuff that goes along with it. My tomatoes have all ripened at the same time, leaving me with a cardboard box full (time to do something with them!). I've canned some hot peppers, because I've also got tons of those. I'm really looking forward to the cooler, drier fall weather, because it seems like this Summer has been exceptionally hot and humid. And for me, hot + humid = little to no motivation.

My writing? I've still been bouncing around working on different projects, depending on  my mood. I'm thinking I might start pitching my shorter works, and have begun researching possible markets. Honestly, I hate querying work, though. A lot. That's probably why I haven't bothered doing anything with my shorts.

Researching markets is a job in itself. I usually start with a database like Duotrope.com, but once I find a market that sounds interesting, I check out their site. If it's for book length fiction, I'll also check out availability + number of reviews on places like Amazon, as well as Absolute Write to see if there are any threads on that particular publisher. So what I'm trying to say, is it's time consuming!  This is what I do when I don't feel like writing.

So I've been pitching my novel, and as the rejections have started rolling in, I've gotten to thinking. I had structured the novel so that it alternates between two different story lines, because one is supernaturally themed and the other isn't, and there's a whole long story behind why I decided that (won't get into it now). ANYWAY, I'm thinking of switching back to the chronological version. I wrote a prologue that would set the story up as if the main character is telling the story posthumously, which I think would eliminate any reservations I had about tying the whole thing together. This was actually something I toyed with a while ago, but set aside. We'll see where that goes!  

Wow, what a rambling, random post! I suppose I should get some cleaning done so I can relax and get to writing without feeling guilty. Since the kids are with their dad, I have no excuse! Have a great weekend, everyone...and I will try not to be a stranger! Now, where to start...

Holy Wow it's Been a While Since I Last Posted!

I'm reading Diana Gabaldon's 'A Breath of Snow and Ashes' from her Outlander series right now. I've been working on this series for a long time, mainly because I have to be in the right frame of mind to read her work (and will go a couple months in between reading the next book in the series). She's one of those writers that goes into tons of detail and has all these little subplots with supporting characters going on. And the main plot kind of crawls along at a snail's pace.

That said, I do like the series. For those who don't know what it's about, in a very tiny nutshell: Claire, a 20th century nurse, accidentally travels back in time to 18th century Scotland where she meets Highander Jamie Frasier. The two are married for convenience, but eventually do fall in love, and the series chronicles their lives and adventures. I've enjoyed it for many reasons: 1) the main characters are so well drawn she could be talking about real people. For me, characters that are engaging is a must. 2) Historical setting. She's created a believable world. I like how she wove actual historical events into her story, and has her characters live through them. 3) Strong love story. This is where I usually get hung up--I like a good love story, but I dislike 'love at first sight and we're soulmates and ready to be married after knowing each other for a week' type stories. It's so CHEESY when that happens!!!! So yeah.

I admit I took a brief (two day) break from this book and read Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost. That was pretty much the literary equivalent to a candy bar or a bag of chips...ZERO nutritional value, but then again, you don't eat it for your health, do you?

Random Vampires in High School

So this is what happens when I'm tired and my brain is fried. I'm sorry.

What would happen if Edward Cullen had been turned into a vampire as a balding, middle-aged white guy with a beer gut and man boobs? Without the looks, does a brooding pasty-white vampire with no personality even stand a chance of getting the girl? Even if he was superfast and super strong, I can only imagine what would happen if she discovered him lurking in her bedroom and watching her sleep...

He certainly wouldn't pass as a high school student, either, so that blows the whole first meeting out of the park. I suppose he could've instead posed as a teacher, though. Then, when he chased after a high school girl, their forbidden love really would be forbidden, because he'd look like he was old enough to be her dad. Meaning he'd probably be arrested. Huh. I wonder what Bella would say...

"How long have you been 56?" she asks.

"For a long time," he says.

Ha. Doesn't have quite the same feeling as with the young-looking vampire. But when you think about it, even young-looking vampire is kind of creepy. I mean, he was probably what, like eighty when she was born? Why is he chasing after a teenage girl, anyway? Fuck that, why is he even pretending to be a teenager? Why is it not disturbing that she's making out with someone that's old enough to be her great grandfather? Is it just because he looks young?

I'm not really a Twi-hater, by the way. Just...meh. Kinda tired of hearing about it. Don't really care. I wrote this because I was just randomly thinking about the latest vampire fad, how we've gone from blooodsucking monsters to...well, pussy vampire love stories. They can be entertaining, but they're not the monsters I love.

Which brings me to Vampire Diaries (a.k.a. 90210 Vampires) which has yet another vampire who decides to pose as a high school student. And guess what? He is wicked frickin' old too. And he falls in love with a high school girl. Gofigure. I tried to watch this show. I made it through almost the entire first season, simultaneously hating myself for watching it because it was so stupid and not stopping, because for some reason I wanted to know what happened next. Sigh.

Stefan, the love interest of the main character, is a moody, brooding douchebag. But he doesn't kill or drink from people. Anymore. And they go into this whole storyline where he falls off the wagon and drinks human blood. Donated blood from bags. Dude, you're a fricking vampire, that's what you do. Was killing fuzzy little bunnies and squirrels somehow supposed to make you more appealing? Really? And you know what?

This Stefan dude is a little creepy, too. He follows Elena (main character), randomly popping up wherever she goes, and instead of thinking it's creepy and stalkerish, she kinda digs it. Cuz he's cute. Giggle. Even more creepy, is he's doing it because she looks exactly like the vampire who turned him, a woman he supposedly loved, which I don't understand, because this woman was a manipulative, nasty c*** who completely dicked him over.

I found myself rooting for Elena to like his evil-ish brother instead. Damon, the brother, was much more palatable...though still not overly original. He's pretty much the classic bad boy. Zippy, witty dialogue. Likes to cause trouble. Does whatever he wants. Not quite as evil as he wants you to believe. And much hotter than his brother.

But anyway... I just got annoyed with it. Lots of stupidity. Characters die left and right. Too much drama. Too much teen drama. And hey, that's the audience they're going for, so maybe that's just what appeals to the kids these days. (That just made me sound old...) But in the end, I was left feeling: This is not for me.

So that, in a nutshell, is my rant for the day.

Riding the wave?

So I've found that the one thing I have to do when I'm in the middle of a creative burst is to go with it. Unfortunately, that means I've gotten absolutely nothing else done in past couple days. Housework? Pffft...what's that? Go outside and weed the garden? HA! Critique for all those lovely crit partners I've promised to read...uh, sorry? I'm stuck somewhere between guilt and euphoria right now. Guilt, because I haven't done any of the things I wanted to do this weekend. Euphoria...because I've cranked out almost 10,000 words of a new novel in just three days. That in itself is completely unheard of for me, which is why I've just kinda gone with the flow. I'm exhausted. Damn, do I really have to go back to work tomorrow?