Where did the time go? I just looked up and it's already past the middle of the month. And what a busy month it has been so far!
Last weekend it was a book signing at Crescenta Valley Park in La Crescenta, California in conjunction with the Society for Creative Anachronism's celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Barony of the Angels. This coming Saturday (the 18th) I will be signing books at the Kern County Pagan Pride Day celebration in Bakersfield, California at the Kern County Shriners' Club, 700 South P Street, Bakersfield, adjacent to the Fairgrounds. Next Saturday (the 25th) another book signing at the Antelope Valley Pagan Pride Day celebration at Poncitlan Square, 937 East Ave. Q9, Palmdale, California.
In between that it's Write! Write! Write! Starting Chapter 37 of THE BLOOD OF KINGS (Volume 5 of The Glastonbury Chronicles). Although it's not scheduled for publication till 2012, the story won't leave me alone, and since the hero of "Son of Air and Darkness" will be joining the regulars for this jam-packed adventure, I am having a hard time staying away from the computer keyboard. Twists, turns, a real Celtic interlace of mythology, fantasy, history and science fiction are making me pay rapt attention to every word The Muse lays down in this one.
Once again, sleep is for wimps!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
No...Really...A Giraffe
It was more than a year ago I first saw him...just a glance out of the corner of my eye, and then I shook my head. Travelling at 65 miles per hour on the freeway and seeing something like that near the foothills above Southern California...nah, couldn't possibly have been...
But yes, this is Southern California, and anything really is possible, so I looked again about a week later on the same route home, and all I saw was a very tall barn with no sign of life. Two days later on the same drive I looked again and he was there, tall and sort of yellowish and brown, but he wasn't moving. It must have been a very large stuffed animal.
It became the only possible way to go home, to see if there was anything to be seen on the right side of the freeway in that tiny window of opportunity when that barn could be seen, and occasionally my vigilance was rewarded with the sight of...well...a giraffe. The first time he moved I was ecstatic. A real live giraffe was living within 2 miles of me. A giraffe!
And then there was always the possibility that I had been writing too many strange things and I had only thought I had seen a...well...you know...a camelopard, Giraffa camelopardalis, (named camelopardus by the Romans because to their eyes it had characteristics of both the camel and the leopard).
So for days I was afraid to say much of anything about it, lest I be accused of having finally lost touch with reality, and for days I continued to drive by my long-necked friend to see how he was doing. He. How did I know if it were a he or a she, especially travelling down the freeway at 55 miles per hour? Of course I didn't, but I recalled a TV commercial for a toy store called Toys R Us (with a backwards R that my keyboard will not duplicate) and remembered they had a giraffe named Geoffrey as their -uh- spokesanimal, so Geoffrey he became. Or she. It no longer mattered. Geoffrey had become my equivalent of the 6-foot invisible rabbit Jimmy Stewart used to talk to in the film "Harvey", and I was duly waving hello to this giraffe as I drove by at 45 miles an hour.
And then one day I let it slip to a friend who had lived in this end of town much longer than I had and I asked her if she had ever seen a giraffe in the area.
She laughed and said "Oh sure, He's an animal actor. He does a lot of commercials and all. You can see him off the freeway not too far from here."
So if you see me driving down the freeway at 35 miles an hour, don't honk. I'm just trying to wave at Geoffrey on my way home. And if you look over to the right side of the freeway after you have slowed down, you may see him too.
After all, anything is possible in Southern California
But yes, this is Southern California, and anything really is possible, so I looked again about a week later on the same route home, and all I saw was a very tall barn with no sign of life. Two days later on the same drive I looked again and he was there, tall and sort of yellowish and brown, but he wasn't moving. It must have been a very large stuffed animal.
It became the only possible way to go home, to see if there was anything to be seen on the right side of the freeway in that tiny window of opportunity when that barn could be seen, and occasionally my vigilance was rewarded with the sight of...well...a giraffe. The first time he moved I was ecstatic. A real live giraffe was living within 2 miles of me. A giraffe!
And then there was always the possibility that I had been writing too many strange things and I had only thought I had seen a...well...you know...a camelopard, Giraffa camelopardalis, (named camelopardus by the Romans because to their eyes it had characteristics of both the camel and the leopard).
So for days I was afraid to say much of anything about it, lest I be accused of having finally lost touch with reality, and for days I continued to drive by my long-necked friend to see how he was doing. He. How did I know if it were a he or a she, especially travelling down the freeway at 55 miles per hour? Of course I didn't, but I recalled a TV commercial for a toy store called Toys R Us (with a backwards R that my keyboard will not duplicate) and remembered they had a giraffe named Geoffrey as their -uh- spokesanimal, so Geoffrey he became. Or she. It no longer mattered. Geoffrey had become my equivalent of the 6-foot invisible rabbit Jimmy Stewart used to talk to in the film "Harvey", and I was duly waving hello to this giraffe as I drove by at 45 miles an hour.
And then one day I let it slip to a friend who had lived in this end of town much longer than I had and I asked her if she had ever seen a giraffe in the area.
She laughed and said "Oh sure, He's an animal actor. He does a lot of commercials and all. You can see him off the freeway not too far from here."
So if you see me driving down the freeway at 35 miles an hour, don't honk. I'm just trying to wave at Geoffrey on my way home. And if you look over to the right side of the freeway after you have slowed down, you may see him too.
After all, anything is possible in Southern California
Friday, September 3, 2010
She Who Must Be Obeyed
I do not have insomnia. I have a Muse who is living on Greenwich Time and expects me to do the same, which makes it, shall we say "interesting" for someone who in her mundane life is currently living on Pacific Daylight Time.
So...no slug-a-bed, I found myself dozing off at 9PM last night and up brightly at about 1 AM to add 3 pages to a chapter (25) I had assumed was finished.
Never assume anything. Never assume I have any idea of where this Muse is taking me or why. I don't. I just hit the keyboard when I'm told to do so and marvel at what I read when it's all over.
It's past noon over there. It's a little after 4 AM here, and the alarm will be going off in less than 3 hours.
Sleep is for wimps.
So...no slug-a-bed, I found myself dozing off at 9PM last night and up brightly at about 1 AM to add 3 pages to a chapter (25) I had assumed was finished.
Never assume anything. Never assume I have any idea of where this Muse is taking me or why. I don't. I just hit the keyboard when I'm told to do so and marvel at what I read when it's all over.
It's past noon over there. It's a little after 4 AM here, and the alarm will be going off in less than 3 hours.
Sleep is for wimps.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
New Book Trailer Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4oYSJ41UBA
This is one of the two Book trailers we did for "Son of Air and Darkness". I was particularly happy with the way it came out.
This is one of the two Book trailers we did for "Son of Air and Darkness". I was particularly happy with the way it came out.
Monday, August 30, 2010
SCA Event Book Signing 11 September...Venue Change
This will affect only the 11 September book signing:
SITE CHANGE
Angels Anniversary will be held at Crescenta Valley Park, 3901 Dunsmore Ave, La Crescenta, 91214. Due to issues with the City of Monrovia, this event will NOT be held at Recreation Park.
DIRECTIONS TO CRESCENTA VALLEY PARK: From the East: 210 Fwy to Pennsylvania Ave off-ramp. At the end of the ramp, turn left, cross Montrose Ave, turn right on Honolulu Pl. Merge onto Honolulu Ave, proceed to park entrance on left. From the West: 210 to Pennsylvania Ave off-ramp. At ramp end, turn right & follow directions above.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
My Alfred Hitchcock Moment
I spent most of the day yesterday working with my publisher, Peter Paddon of Pendraig Publishing, on a couple of video promos for "Son of Air and Darkness". In addition to being a brilliant publisher, writer and lecturer, Peter is also very talented in the field of film production, it having been his major area of study at university in England.
We all arrived at his studio that morning to see the storyboards he had produced the day before with cartoons against the backgrounds that would be used and the voice-over of Peter reading from the book the passages that would be used for the film clips.. I had provided most of the costumes and props (chain mail, Roman helmet, spears, Celtic leaf blade sword, tunics and such) and Jenna Borgen had made up a feathery glossy surcoat to go over the black linen Morrigan dress. Jenna is both a consummate costumer and make-up artist and quickly applied the theatrical make-up including woad spirals to the cast, and some really scary make-up to transform yours truly into the Celtic Battle-Goddess, the Morrigan.
Ah yes...the Alfred Hitchcock moment...appearing in my own book promo!
It had started out as a joke. When we were auditioning people for the various roles in the promos none of the red-haired actresses who had signed up for the audition had actually managed to show up. Later that evening I started kidding around with an old friend about how the scene should be played and Peter said..."OK...you've got the part". After several Doctor McCoy-like protestations of "I'm a writer, not an actress" failed to work I gave in and started sewing for the role..
We were very fortunate to find two really great actors...Stephen White, whose intensity totally typifies Dubhghall, amd his friend Neil Etman, who was perfect as the Roman Guard.
Filming went smoothly, until we got to the capsules of theatrical blood.
Long ago, when Bela Lugosi was the most famous vampire on the screen, when vampires were in black and white and did not sparkle, they had a really tasty recipe for blood used in the movies: chocolate syrup. Ever since the day Dorothy Gale set foot in Oz and the world expected everything in Technicolor people wanted to see blood in shades of dark red, which would have been fine except that in order to get the colour and the consistency right they have had to go to something made with high fructose corn syrup and red food colouring, which somehow also has an undertaste of saccharine. It is perhaps one of the most vile tastes in the world...and when Stephen and I had to bite into the capsule the first time I am sure a tiny twinge of revulsion must have passed, however briefly, across our faces.
I'm sure the editor (Peter wearing yet another hat) will work it all out in post production. Having seen the takes against the green screen, I can hardly wait to see the final cuts.
We all arrived at his studio that morning to see the storyboards he had produced the day before with cartoons against the backgrounds that would be used and the voice-over of Peter reading from the book the passages that would be used for the film clips.. I had provided most of the costumes and props (chain mail, Roman helmet, spears, Celtic leaf blade sword, tunics and such) and Jenna Borgen had made up a feathery glossy surcoat to go over the black linen Morrigan dress. Jenna is both a consummate costumer and make-up artist and quickly applied the theatrical make-up including woad spirals to the cast, and some really scary make-up to transform yours truly into the Celtic Battle-Goddess, the Morrigan.
Ah yes...the Alfred Hitchcock moment...appearing in my own book promo!
It had started out as a joke. When we were auditioning people for the various roles in the promos none of the red-haired actresses who had signed up for the audition had actually managed to show up. Later that evening I started kidding around with an old friend about how the scene should be played and Peter said..."OK...you've got the part". After several Doctor McCoy-like protestations of "I'm a writer, not an actress" failed to work I gave in and started sewing for the role..
We were very fortunate to find two really great actors...Stephen White, whose intensity totally typifies Dubhghall, amd his friend Neil Etman, who was perfect as the Roman Guard.
Filming went smoothly, until we got to the capsules of theatrical blood.
Long ago, when Bela Lugosi was the most famous vampire on the screen, when vampires were in black and white and did not sparkle, they had a really tasty recipe for blood used in the movies: chocolate syrup. Ever since the day Dorothy Gale set foot in Oz and the world expected everything in Technicolor people wanted to see blood in shades of dark red, which would have been fine except that in order to get the colour and the consistency right they have had to go to something made with high fructose corn syrup and red food colouring, which somehow also has an undertaste of saccharine. It is perhaps one of the most vile tastes in the world...and when Stephen and I had to bite into the capsule the first time I am sure a tiny twinge of revulsion must have passed, however briefly, across our faces.
I'm sure the editor (Peter wearing yet another hat) will work it all out in post production. Having seen the takes against the green screen, I can hardly wait to see the final cuts.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
What Lies Beneath
I never really gave much thought to where ideas come from. They come from everywhere.
I have a Muse who breathes the words of my characters into my ear and I write them down. That's part of it, but there is a lot more to it than that.
Everything I have ever written, from the more than one thousand sonnets written in a single summer to the novels I have written over the span of decades have within them the seeds of everything I have ever experienced or dreamed of experiencing throughout my life. A name here...a physical description there...all have been amassed either consciously or unconsciously and have been assimilated into what I hope is literature.
Some were conscious choices. One name, Michael George Hartley, was lifted from a character in "Lawrence of Arabia". I had always loved the lyrical way the name rolled across my tongue and one day a few months ago it found its way into a later volume of "The Glastonbury Chronicles". Some of the other things, physical descriptions, for example, were a bit more insidious and I had not realised that I had dredged them up from characters in shows I had loved until about four days ago when I looked at one recurring character (though he has different names at different times) and realised it was Little John from "Robin of Sherwood". Another, Emma in "Uneasy Lies the Head" who will appear again as Alize in a later volume, is Maid Marion. And so it goes. I'm sure there are more in there from that show, as it was and through the miracle of DVD still is a very dear favorite of mine, and is actually incorporated into "Uneasy Lies The Head". (Talk about the old theatrical convention of Deus ex Machina!)
Whatever a writer observes becomes a part of his or her research. Words. phrases, names. physical locations, miscellaneous useless information...all are stored away in that mental library and come bubbling up into the conscious mind when needed.
We are what we write, or more correctly, we write what we are, even if we are not aware of it at the time
I have a Muse who breathes the words of my characters into my ear and I write them down. That's part of it, but there is a lot more to it than that.
Everything I have ever written, from the more than one thousand sonnets written in a single summer to the novels I have written over the span of decades have within them the seeds of everything I have ever experienced or dreamed of experiencing throughout my life. A name here...a physical description there...all have been amassed either consciously or unconsciously and have been assimilated into what I hope is literature.
Some were conscious choices. One name, Michael George Hartley, was lifted from a character in "Lawrence of Arabia". I had always loved the lyrical way the name rolled across my tongue and one day a few months ago it found its way into a later volume of "The Glastonbury Chronicles". Some of the other things, physical descriptions, for example, were a bit more insidious and I had not realised that I had dredged them up from characters in shows I had loved until about four days ago when I looked at one recurring character (though he has different names at different times) and realised it was Little John from "Robin of Sherwood". Another, Emma in "Uneasy Lies the Head" who will appear again as Alize in a later volume, is Maid Marion. And so it goes. I'm sure there are more in there from that show, as it was and through the miracle of DVD still is a very dear favorite of mine, and is actually incorporated into "Uneasy Lies The Head". (Talk about the old theatrical convention of Deus ex Machina!)
Whatever a writer observes becomes a part of his or her research. Words. phrases, names. physical locations, miscellaneous useless information...all are stored away in that mental library and come bubbling up into the conscious mind when needed.
We are what we write, or more correctly, we write what we are, even if we are not aware of it at the time
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