Maria Lima's Blog, page 7

I’m still trying to process the events of yesterday at the Boston Marathon. Too much like 9/11 for my psyche, which immediately scrambled to “oh, fuck” and “OMG, OMG, OMG.”

Part of me wants to bury myself in a small hole and not know.
Part of me wants to dive deep into news stories, blog posts, commentary and wallow in the facts & reactions.
Part of me (the more-or-less stable piece) has pulled back into “normal world” mode and, though not avoiding, is not enmeshed in all-Boston-all-the-time.

Not sure which is the healthiest or sanest, but in the practical words of Laura Anne Gilman yesterday:

 

Reminder: if you’re feeling echoes of past Bad Stuff, reading the news out of Boston, it’s ok to look away. You’re not letting anyone down.

— Laura Anne Gilman (@LAGilman) April 15, 2013

She’s right. Just because I don’t look at the photos or videos from the site, I’m not a bad person.  Neither are you.

I’ll focus on work today and just being alive.

Originally appeared at the Lipstick Chronicles blog as a guest post

I love the Internet. I mean, really. As in I love it ALOT. I can chat with people in New Zealand just as easily as I do with folks in the next office. I can read articles aboutThor’s Hammer or peruse newly released World War II era color photographs. I can indulge my easily distracted brain with pretty much anything I want. I can share pictures of my cat, my trip, my book signings, my silliness. Google is my friend and my blog buddies can be my closest confidants. There is no answer that I can’t uncover** and Wikipedia is of teh awesome liek woah. 

The Internet has brought me amazing friendships, love, laughter, joy. Though in the last few years, it’s brought me the absolute and utter amusement of the mangling of the English language—by native speakers. At first, I was beyond incensed, ready to wield the flaming sword of the righteous (is there a patron saint or angel of grammar?).

I’m a writer, damn it, and a total grammar nerd. I mean, I subscribe to the online version of the Chicago Manual of Style, for fun! The topmost item on my ongoing wish list is a subscription to the OED online. With all these amazing resources, how can people be so ignorant of the rules of grammar, punctuation and spelling? Honestly! When the proper usage can be found with a simple search? When in-depth discussions of the Oxford comma take up megapixels of my screen? It’s ridiculous!

One day, the answer to my rage occurred to me. Ridiculous became the default keyword in these situations. Instead of getting angry, I could chose to be the other “a” word: amused.

I’ve gone from wanting to tear my hair out at its gray roots to chuckling over the umpteenth example of homonym abuse and misuse. I don’t worry about folks’ education or lack thereof. Now, I just wonder at the (sometimes) insanity I see and rest easy in mind that I can take the high road. For every correct phrase, there’s another just as heartfelt, but absurdedly worded or spelled. It’s become a fun pastime and frankly, I can read posts and comments without my brain exploding. So much nicer that way. So much less stress.

I no longer cringe when I see tips on how to loose weight or that ice cream is the best desert. Characters peaking around the door don’t raise my peek, nor do they rein on my parade, but I sometimes still have to reign in my comments. Via a tech loop I belong to, I’m often asked to go sightsee a Web site, but I always make sure my responses and feedback are thoughtful rather then mean. I know that this isn’t a conspiracy against my friends and I, but a reel, true and well-meaning group of concerned citizens who just want to be herd.

Yes, I still sigh in vein, but I know that I can’t fix this. Some days, I do have to put the breaks on my initial urge to correct, to teach, to educate. I know it would just be a time waist. So I hold back my instinct in a vice-like grip and chuckle. After all, this is the Intarwebs. I try to not let it effect my blood pressure. I’ll bear this burden. I’ll except this homonym abuse. Instead, I’ll continue to rack my brain for better ways of using words in my own books to avoid typo’s. I suggest you all do the same, in loo of loosing your cool.

I’d love for you all to share you’re own pain…***
‘S’alright? ‘S’all right.
* Seen on a blog post reply

** Even if it’s wrong

*** I reserve the right to lose it over egregious apostrophe abuse

###

Those of you who know me, know my never-ending quest for decluttering – a.k.a., a constant battle between my love of clean lines and simple living vs. my collector/accumulator side.

One of the websites that has been extremely helpful is Unclutterer.

Today’s tip is a list of practical steps for uncluttering your junk drawer (or, if you’re like me, several drawers).

 

Chuck Wendig is one of those authors who I admire because of his plain-speaking and the fact that he utterly gets it…where the value of “it” being what being a writer entails. No fluffy, la-di-da existential claptrap, just pure hard facts are the reasons I will always keep reading his blog.  

Recently, he posted a great list: 25 Hard Truths About Writing and Publishing. If you haven’t already read it, do so now.

He doesn’t pull any punches and he’s absolutely right, especially point #3: They may like your book…and still not buy it.

Publishing is a strange, yet wonderful industry.

Writing for publication is definitely not for the weak.

I really, really love Lifehacker. From tech tips to practical at-home ideas, not a day goes by without me bookmarking some cool idea.

Today’s home tip: Remove tape residue with duct tape.

What’s your favorite home tip?

As I’m working on the audio recording of Blood Heat, it crossed my mind that I could do an audio recording of my short story, The Butler Didn’t Do It.  Instead of offering it via Audible, I might just sell it myself, via the blog/website at a price less than what they’d charge.

Any of you guys interested? I’d provide a downloadable MP3 file.

 

My friend, fellow author, and fellow Buffy fan Dan Hale posted a picture today on Facebook of the show Jonny Quest. I remarked in a comment that it was my first fandom.  

When I was a young kid (8 or 9?), the only cartoon I *had* to watch on Saturday mornings was Jonny Quest. To this day, I can still hum the theme & remember the opening title sequence. Little did I know then that Jonny, Hadji and Bandit would be my gateway drug to writing fiction, as frankly, most fandom would be.

Later on down the line, I graduated from Jonny and moved on to Star Trek: The Original Series and the fandom bug that had bit me as a child just kept biting. I created stories in my head about the characters; further adventures that were never to see the light of day. ST:ToS was the catalyst for my interest in how television shows were made and led to my getting a degree in Journalism, TV & Film.

One thing lead to another and before I knew it, I was writing, writing, writing – mostly for myself. Fan fiction (fanfic) stories set in established universes bled into my own attempts at original work. Jonny had sparked a fire that would (and will) never die.

Fandom, reading and writing fanfic and now years later, I’m a published writer. Who’d'a’thunk?

 

1. Am very glad I remembered to fill up the car tonight as tomorrow’s high is slated to be in the mid-20s. (BRRRRrrr)

2. I LOVE my eye doc. She gives me free samples of very expensive eye drops that I need to have.

3. Quarterly eye checkup was awesome. No inflammation. Pressure normal.

4. Now I need to heat up dinner and watch last week’s Scandal and last night’s Downton Abbey.

5. And by heat up, I mean cook the frozen DiGiornio cheese pizza.

 

(I’m trying out an experiment. Since I kept having writer’s block or ennui or whatever, I’m going to start posting stuff here that I’ve posted on Facebook. If you follow me on both, you may want to unfollow on one of them.)

Wishing you and yours a fabulous holiday season and happy 2013!!!

 

 

 

They’re everywhere. They’re everywhere. Authors all over the intarwebz blogging about their “Next Big Thing”.  I’ve been tagged by the fabulous Sujata Massey in her blog post. I figured I’d play along and talk about my current project which is the audio narration of my books.

 

What is the working title of your next book?

I’m currently working on recording the audio for the last 2 books in my Blood Lines series: Blood Heat and Blood Sacrifice. Audiobooks for the 1st three are now available on Audible.com.

 

Where did the idea for the book come from?

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…uh, no, strike that. I got the idea for the series from a kernel of a dream/amusing thought once upon a time. It eventually morphed into what’s out there now.

 

What genre does your book fall under?

Urban fantasy – or, should we call it contemporary fantasy? Urban implies nitty gritty noir-inspired city setting, but my series is set in very rural Texas – only, it’s not the Texas you  might think it is.

 

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Such a question! I’ve pondered, searched and pored over IMDB to answer this in other Q&A blog posts, and I have yet to find anyone who physically resembles Adam at all. For Keira, it’s a toss up between of Merlin and (Thor).

For Tucker & Niko – oh, so easy: and (Thor, The Avengers). They are perfect!

 

What is the one-sentence synopsis of the book?

Mystery, mayhem, murder and politics in the Texas Hill Country…of the supernatural kind.

 

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

The audiobooks are published via Audible.com.

 

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your masterpiece?

Each audiobook takes a couple of months of working weekends to record, master and upload the files. This was rather a surprise to me, as I didn’t expect it to take so long. Each book is about 10 hours or so of recorded audio, which translates to about 30-35 hours of actual work.

 

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Again with the loaded questions! ::g:: I’d say my stories tend to fall in between Tanya Huff’s Vicky Nelson series and Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series.

 

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My main inspiration was having read Tanya Huff’s series back when it first debuted (early 90s). I immediately fell in love with the idea of writing a fantasy novel based in the contemporary “real” world. I was also devouring a lot of Charles de Lint at the time, another wonderful Canadian writer. De Lint’s world was populated with magic and mystery. He opened the doors to Faery and hooked me completely. Tanya, on the other hand, showed me how I could combine my two loves: mystery books and fantasy books by merging both those worlds successfully.

 

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I love to tell folks that the books are narrated by me. I’m enjoying the heck out of doing the recordings. A reader once told me he could hear my voice when reading the books (they are 1st person narrative) and doing the audio for them lets me project that voice so others can actually hear it.

 

That’s my .02 on the Next Big Thing. Thanks for stopping by. I tag my fellow Outer Alliance members!

Readers, why not spend awhile checking out the other Next Big Thing Blog posts?