Distant Relatives?

When I found Julian Alexander at the Renaissance Faire a couple of years ago, I thought I’d found a truly original, fantastical, magical creature. He was so fantabulous, that he earned a cameo in The Zodiac Collector. (Both sisters, Anne and Mary, have a Drabbit-like creature.) Drabbits are part dragon and part rabbit. Interested in more info? Check out this website HERE, where Drabbits are born.

Julian is refined, intellectual, and driven. 



Today, I met Julian’s distant cousin, Labbitus Tigrus Rotundii, AKA the Labbit.



Mustachioed, chubby, and prone to binge-watching Netflix, the Labbit tends to be more of a wallflower than the Drabbit, but you must admit, he’s just as fantastical.

So, what say you? Are these animals distant relatives or utterly and entirely independent species?

Indie Life: Feeling Like Sisyphus

It’s the second Wednesday of the month, which means it’s time for the Indie Life!

I’m in the midst of juggling edits and rewrites on THREE novels. EEEEPPPPP!!!!!! *rips hair out*

I may have to take a couple weeks off from blogging to meet deadlines, but I’ll definitely be back by July!!!

The connection to the Indie Life is that this seems to be a fairly common occurrence. Indie authors have lots of projects going and often times they are faced with novel hopping. No pressure!

Makes me feel like this:

How about you? 😉

What is Indie Life?
How: Sign up on the Linky at the bottom of this page
When: Post on the second Wednesday of the month (starting 1/9/2013)
What: Write anything indie related: something that will inspire or help a fellow indie; something that celebrates a release or a milestone; something that talks about the ups and downs, joys and heartaches of Being Indie.
Grab: The banner above to include in your posts!

Because being Indie doesn’t have to mean going it alone.

Flake-out Friday–Sit on it

For those of you who are Star Trek The Next Generation fans, you may have noticed how Commander Riker sits…or maybe you haven’t. I gotta admit, I haven’t watched a lot of the TV episodes, though have seen the movies and never really paid attention. When I saw this clip posted on someone’s Facebook wall, I definitely chuckled. How had I not picked that up before?

Enjoy!

So, have you noticed this? Ever try it?

What’s the most awesomest way someone has sat down?

Flake-out Friday–Everything Wrong with Twilight

Once I find a bunch of funny vids on YouTube, I can watch them for hours. Today, I’d like to show you the vid” Everything Wrong With Twilight In 6 Minutes.

Enjoy! 😉

Flake-Out Friday–Honest Trailers

OMG, have you seen any of the Honest Trailer vids on YouTube? I watched the Harry Potter one that a FB friend had linked, then spent the next two hours looking at other ones.

Here are my favorites (the riffs on actor names are FAB!):

Harry Potter

Lord of the Rings

Twilight

(Sorry the vids aren’t embedded; when I pasted the embed code, it all changed to Iron Man 2, LAME.)

Flake-out Friday–True Facts

A few weeks ago, author Mary Lindsey (of Shattered Souls and Ashes on the Waves fame) posted a link to a YouTube video, True Facts About the Tarsier.

I clicked the link and am SO glad I did. The narrator had me guffawing, fo riz.

I’d like to share that vid and another of my favorites: True Facts About the Angler Fish–It’s HIL-ar-i-OUS!

…what a pretty, pretty lady… 😉

What are some of your favorite YouTube videos?

Mental Health Monday–Cyber Dysfunctional Personality Disorder

My coworkers and I were discussing how much time we spend on social media sites. Since becoming a writer, I’ve delved into social media with enthusiasm (prior to writing, I barely touched my computer and rarely surfed the web) and haven’t once looked back.

Years later, I can’t imagine stepping away from the screen for any length of time.

And I know I’m not alone.

Urban Dictionary defines Cyber Dysfunctional Personality Disorder thusly:

Cyber Dysfunctional Personality Disorder (CDPD) is a non-hereditary, largely contagious, psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by abnormalities in the perception or expression of reality. Those who suffer from this condition will go on to create tens, if not hundreds of accounts on social networking and video sharing websites such as facebook, myspace and youtube. They will then converse with themselves across their many accounts in a lame bid to create the impression that they are popular and sociable. Often they will use their various accounts to team up on other internet users who have shown themselves to be smarter than them, in a desperate bid to restore some pride. Currently there is no cure for this ever increasing psychopathic trend, but most sufferers give the game away within a week, such is their lack of concentration and intellect.

Note: The smilie and the excessive use of question and exclamation marks give it away.

Pretty dang accurate, yes?

Are you a cyber addict? When did you realize it?

Flake-out Friday–Upheaval

Hey gang!

I wanted to direct you to the lovely February Grace’s blog, where she’s hosting me for an interview today. THANK YOU, February, for having me!

If you check it out, you may get to see a snippet of NEW PRIDE’s cover!!!!! 😉

And do check out Bru’s FABulous novel GODSPEED. Did I mention it’s fabulous? ‘Cause it is! (I adore how February combined steampunk, romance, and victorian-esque historical elements into a rich, engaging plot.)

Hey, as a special bonus, I’ll GIVE AWAY an electronic copy of GODSPEED to one lucky commenter on today’s post!

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For today’s post, I wanted to comment on the ups and downs of publishing. Gosh, can they be drastic or what?

Just last week, I went from losing a publishing deal (the press that was going to pub ENDURE shut down), to hearing that a publisher wanted to talk on the phone about my middle grade adventure ZODIAC COLLECTOR! (Fingers crossed!)

WOW.

What kinds of ups and downs have you guys faced?

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Psst, in case you missed Wednesday’s post, I’m gathering peeps for a Release Day Blitz for my novelette NEW PRIDE. Please refer there to see how to help, if you’re so inclined. THANK YOU!!!

Mental Health Monday–A Joke Is An Epitaph To An Emotion (Nietzsche)

This is a post from 2010, when I first started blogging! I came across it the other day, and it resonated with me, so I decided to share it again with you. 🙂

On Friday, I had the honor of meeting a trusted colleague and friend for tea. I must say, he’s one of my most reliable coaches on my writing journey. Whenever I’m discouraged, I know I can go to him. He offers me unconditional support, sound advice, and tactful critiques. And he pays for dinner!

Halfway through my cup of Earl Grey, I realized not only does my friend have a knack for producing fascinating topics to explore, he also has an encyclopedia’s amount of information cataloged in his brain. One of his most remarkable talents includes an incredible penchant for remembering quotes and lines from songs and poems.

Anyway, during the course of our discussion, we touched upon emotions and how people cover them with jokes in order to suppress the pain of their impact. (In “psychiatry speak,” humor is considered a mature defense mechanism. It’s something relatively healthy people employ in the face of hardship and stress.)

My friend aptly pointed out this quote from Nietzsche:

“A joke is an epitaph to an emotion.”

What an important idea to remember. Not only is this pertinent to my work in psychiatry, it is also useful to keep in mind when I’m writing. For the most part, anger and sadness come relatively easy to me as I construct a scene. It’s simple enough to describe yelling, slamming fists, and storming out of rooms. I’ve used several terms for tears and grieving too. What I get stuck on is humor. I can do the subtle stuff, sure–the puzzled expression, the dry joke, even the comical slip and slide on an icy sidewalk. But true laugh out loud humor eludes me.

As a good friend should, my literary cheerleader triggered a cascade of thoughts leading me to action from that simple quote. So often in my writing, I am in the moment explaining the direct, raw emotion. I’m left to wonder, where is the space to incorporate a humorous reflection, a comic relief character, or a joke to lighten an overly negative mood?

My new task, then, is to scour my writing and look for spots where humor can be incorporated. I am certain including little punches of laughter and happiness will make my characters more well rounded, more dynamic, and more human.

Epitaphs don’t only have to be on tombstones.

Mental Health Monday–Expect the Unexpected

I watched the opening minutes of X Factor last week and was blown away by the first audition.

From Greensboro, NC, the singer came out on stage embodying The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. He wore high top sneakers, an oversized jean jacket, a plaid shirt tied around the waist, and had a hi-top hair cut with stripes razored along his hairline.

After he introduced himself, a country music tune blared–twang and all.

Screen shots of the judges going “WTF?” alternated with the kid waiting for his cue.

I watched, mesmerized, wondering whether or not I was about to witness a disaster.

As it turned out, dude could SING.

I bring this example up in order to discuss character development.

As writers, we want to paint a clear picture of who our characters are. We also want to make out characters interesting. And we need to do that by avoiding stereotypes and highlighting uniqueness.

What’s more unique than a “Fresh Prince Country Singer?”

How do youse guys develop interesting, unique characters?