Month: May 2013

  Following on this wonderful essay about cannibalistic llamas (I told you! …right?) Chuck Wendig wrote about the underserved. I used to work at the public library. Libraries are of course where the books live but that’s only a part of what they do and one of the things they do is a very important function called: serving the underserved population. (Note: underserved, not undeserved.) I specifically worked with a department whose goal was to find the folks the library Just Plain Wasn’t Talking To and then Talk To Them. Are we helping blind people? We’re helping children, but are we helping seniors? What about African-Americans? Or people trapped in low-income brackets? And so on. I am lucky enough to live in an area with an exceptional public library system. I’ve seen that they do this too. I count myself blessed to have many librarians as friends, both here and around the country. They also do this. It’s not just a directive from on high for librarians, it’s a life choice. It’s one part of what makes librarians super-heroes in my book. You know I’m going to tie this in to what TDP is doing, right?

Continue reading

  So, after almost 3 months of not writing, I finally started writing last week.  I wanted to go slow, no pressure, just to start getting in the daily routine again.  Not writing for so long made me lose that spark that got me in front of the screen every single day.  And it’s a scary thing when you have come to rely on something so much and suddenly, it’s gone.  Suddenly, my moods were trending toward bad (on good days) and downright homicidal (on bad days).  Everyone noticed this.  And there was work stress I couldn’t handle without writing, so I was a bag of nerves for awhile.  So I said, enough’s enough.  I gotta start somehow.  Even if it’s just 100 words.  Something.

Continue reading

  After all, we’ve shown you some of ours. It’s been nearly three years since our intrepid quartet launched Turtleduck Press with Knight Errant, Hidden Worlds, and Life as a Moving Target. In the seven books, many free stories, and lots of blog posts since, we at Turtleduck Press have learned much and had a great time doing it. Now we’re looking to take the next step: TDP is looking for new members. As Kit Campbell mentioned in her blog post, we’re excited! We’re a publishing co-op and we’re good friends. If you’d like to join our merry band, please have a look at our Call For Submissions. Good luck, and may the best manuscript win! Return with your keyboard, or on it! Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire? And other moving and inspirational speeches!

Continue reading

I love to read. I love to curl up in an armchair with a mug of cocoa and an enjoyable book and while away the afternoon in the middle of someone else’s adventure. I’m pretty sure most writers (and bibliophiles of all sorts) do as well. (“I hate books, so I’m going to be a writer,” said no one ever.) That’s why I’m so excited that we’re opening up for submissions tomorrow!

Continue reading

Are you the “ooh, shiny!” type? The sort who picks up a new hobby or fascination, runs with it for a while and possibly learns everything there is to know about it, and then drops it for the next new thing? I am. My latest obsession? Vegetable gardening. Now, I know this isn’t an earth-shattering hobby. But I own land for the first time, or more precisely a house with a big backyard that was a vegetable garden for years. The soil is great; there’s no grass, and it seems a shame to put in new grass and cover up even some of that rich earth. So I’m gardening. We actually moved in last spring, but we were a little busy with other life stuff, so we had a minimal garden. Our next-door neighbour, a very kind and very Italian grandmother, planted tomatoes and basil for us, and her mint crept under the fence to join them. All of it grew like crazy. And I have to tell you…the satisfaction of picking and eating food out of our own yard was amazing. We didn’t have to buy any tomatoes for weeks…and we eat a lot of tomatoes. We were hooked.

Continue reading