Knights of Microfiction!

It's time for a little flash fiction exercise. I'm excited to participate in Kathy and Jessica McKendry's monthly meme "Knights of Microfiction!"

For those of you who don't HATE flash fiction with a passion (you know who you are), anyone can join us to stretch your fingers and get the creative juices flowing. You can sign up on Kathy's page. Post your entry before 11:59pm on Wednesday Jan, 16th and then go around to read as many other entries as you can.

Here's this month's prompt:

In 400 words or less your character(could also be more than one) has a chance meeting with someone who will change their life.

And here's my entry, the intro from last year's NaNo project (hope that's not cheating):


Mermaids don’t just happen to exist, they’re made. No one knows exactly where the first one came from, she won’t tell. But after she arrived in Orkney waters, people began to "mysteriously" disappear.

Tides along that cursed coast are murderously swift and subtle, taking the unsuspecting wanderer off guard disturbingly often. No warning waves crash out the threat of violence that the water brings with it. Linger too long among the tidal pools, and before you realize it, water seeps in around your ankles and then, with a woosh, past your waist, up to your shoulders and carries you out to sea.

That's how it happened to Lilith in her 15th year of life. Despite her mother's warning, Lilith crept down one twilight to crawl amongst the tide pools, fascinated by the myriad creatures that made their home in that transient strip of land and sea. She laid herself down to get a better look at a giant anemone clinging to the porous rock. His swirling tentacles and pulsing colors, magenta, umber, canary, held her in a hypnotic spell while the waters crept in closer and closer until she was trapped with no way back to the shore. Dark water enveloped the jagged rocks as the tide rushed in, filling the empty spaces in the pock marked shore, and then it was too late.

If anyone had been watching, they would have seen a swirl of black water, green sea grass, and auburn hair as Lilith gasped and grasped at nothing and slipped away. But they would have missed what really happened.

Lists in the new year

Hi January. Nice to see you here. You sort of crept up on me.

Here's the eloquent Neil Gaiman's New Year's wish to start things off:

It's a New Year and with it comes a fresh opportunity to shape our world. 
So this is my wish, a wish for me as much as it is a wish for you: in the world to come, let us be brave – let us walk into the dark without fear, and step into the unknown with smiles on our faces, even if we're faking them. 
And whatever happens to us, whatever we make, whatever we learn, let us take joy in it. We can find joy in the world if it's joy we're looking for, we can take joy in the act of creation. 
So that is my wish for you, and for me. Bravery and joy.

It's time for making lists. Time to catalog the things I've done and the things I want to do. Last year was full of things I did not expect... like two publishing industry internships... and launching my freelance editing career. I really didn't expect those things to happen, but they made perfect sense and the timing was absolutely right.

Here are this years goals:

• Yoga, at least twice a week... (one day at class, one day at home)
• New clients (three, to be exact... and hopefully more)
• Journal every day. (I hope that this will help boost my writing and blogging, as well)
• Finish a draft of either Lilith or the Red Riding Hood novel. And by finish, I mean SHOW it to someone.
• Take a dance lesson or two.
• Enter a painting (probably the raven) into an art show.
• Read... LOTS... good things... including non-fiction.

There you have it. A list of goals. What are your 2013 goals?

I read more books in 2012 than in 2011. I hope I read more in 2013 than either of the years before. Here are the books I read in 2012. I'll keep a list again this year on the blog so you can see what I read as I read. (FYI, the titles with * by them are/were unpublished manuscripts. Yep... I'm that cool.)

47 - Second Chance Summer - Morgan Matson
46 - Over Sea, Under Stone - Susan Cooper
45 - Immoveable Feast - John Baxter
44 - Under Wildwood - Colin Meloy
43 - Ruins - Orson Scott Card
42 - The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Steven Chbosky
41 - Paladin of Souls - Lois McMaster Bujold
40 - If You Catch an Adjective, Kill It - Ben Yagoda
39 - Beauty Queens - Libba Bray
38 - Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo
37- Seraphina - Rachel Hartman
36 - Iron Daughter - Julie Kagawa
35 - Unleashed - Sara Humphreys
34 - Creatura - Nely Cab*
33 - Pathfinder - Orson Scott Card
32 - Fifty Shades of Grey - E.L. James
31 - The Sweet Far Thing - Libba Bray
30 - Rebel Angels - Libba Bray
29 - How to Be the Leader of the Pack (and have your dog love you for it) - Patricia McConnell
28 - A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray
27 - For the Love of A Dog: Understanding Emotions in You and Your Best Friend - Patricial McConnell
26 - A Lady Can Never Be Too Curious - Mary Wine
25 - The Fastidious Feline - Patricia McConnell
24 - The Talisman Ring - Georgette Heyer
23 - Lost Voices - Sara Porter
22 - Trespassing - Patty Griffin*
21 - Heart of a Highland Wolf - Terry Spear
20 - Self-editing for Fiction Writers - Renni Brown and Dave King
19 - Venetia - Georgette Heyer
18 - Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
17 - Let's Pretend This Never Happened - Jenny Lawson (The Bloggess)
16 - In Celestine's House - _. Gernes *
15 - Crank - Ellen Hopkins
14 - A Dance With Dragons - George R.R. Martin
13 - Divergent - Veronica Roth
12 - The Elements of Style - William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White
11 - Unspeakable Things - Kathleen Spivack *
10 - Of Wolves and Men - Barry Lopez
9 - Pearl - John French *
8 - The Artist's Way - Julia Cameron
7 - American Gods - Neil Gaiman
6 - Shift - Kate Thurmond *
5 - Tyme Benders - Thomas Suprenant *
4 - Twenty Mile Bottom - Joe...? *
3 - Butterfly - Gloria Montero *
2 - Legend - Marie Lu
1 - The Iron King - Julie Kagawa

I hope this new year brings strength, wisdom, and prosperity to you in unexpected ways.

'From the Ashes' Blogfest and Cover Reveal!

I'm so excited to take part in Jessica McKendry's 'From the Ashes' blogfest and cover reveal today!!! Jess is an amazing and dedicated teenage author. She's been tenacious. Over the past year-plus that I have known her, I don't know that anyone has inspired me more in the craft of writing than this girl. She just keeps at it!!

And now, without further ado, here's the cover for her upcoming release!

I'm not sure how it all went wrong.

The concept was simple.

The Trials were made to test us. They were made to challenge our strengths; our bravery.

We were supposed to come out better.

Winning the Trials would make us Superior citizens.

It would bring us honor and demonstrate our loyalty to the Imperial Alliance. I knew exactly what I wanted.

Until I met him.

There was something about him. Something dark. If only I had known the danger it would put us in.

I thought I knew the risks.

But I never imagined the price we'd pay.

***

An insightful look at the good and bad that exist within us, McKendry's debut is a high-octane adventure that pushes the imagination to the limit as it lays bare the nature of self-reliance, self-confidence, and teamwork. Playing with the concepts of dark and light and how they affect our lives in multiple forms, her novel is a complex coming of age story that encapsulates the heroine's journey from student to leader. A dark tale of love and revenge, From the Ashes is a powerful reminder to think for yourself instead of blindly following what you've been taught to believe.

Snow

I went away for the holiday.
I came home to a world of white.

I hope you all had a lovely Yuletide. I'll write again in the new year. It's time to make your resolutions known.

Merry Solstice

It's the longest night of the year. The darkness has been creeping in, rising to it's fullest height. But tonight marks the turning point. The days will begin to be longer, fuller, brighter. Spring has rung the bell from far away. We'll wait for her return.

I have news for you

(9th century Irish)

I have news for you:

The stag bells, winter snows, summer has gone

Wind high and cold, the sun low, short its course

The sea running high.

Deep red the bracken; its shape is lost;

The wild goose has raised its accustomed cry,

cold has seized the birds' wings;

                                                      season of ice, this is my news

In honor of the solstice and the midwinter, I'm going to pick up Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" series again. They're perfect for acknowledging the long dark of winter while looking ahead to the coming of the spring.

Thoughts and prayers

Just taking a moment to say to our family who read this blog that we're safe here and we love you all very much.

My thoughts and prayers go out to those who are suffering after the tragedy in Newtown today.

Gratuitous Puppy Post

I know I know... but my awesome dog, Tag, turns 4 today and I just can't believe he's grown up so much! If you can't tell, I love my dog. He's my child. He's amazing, smart, beautiful, and so well behaved.

We hike together, snuggle together, play ball and dance around the kitchen together. Seriously... I can't imagine a better pup for me.

So happy birthday, Tag. You'll get a big fat treat later and a present to shred into bits. I know you'll love it. I love you!