Lynn Flewelling's Blog, page 5

Off to ComicCon in San Diego today. Lunch with my wonderful editor, Anne Groell, hanging out with friend Reece Notley, signing CASKET OF SOULS (giving away 100 free copies!) 4-5 pm at the Spectra Booth, and dinner with friend Jay Lake. A very good day indeed.

I'm working my way through my latest shipment from Norbu Tea Company. Today's delight is their Gui Fei 2011 Taiwanese oolong. I do love Taiwan's teas! This oolong is very delicate, with a scent that's almost too light, but a sweet, smooth flavor with distinct notes of clover nectar and fresh lychee. (And may I just say that I am grateful to have lived a life such that I know what those two things taste like!) Brewed it gong fu style at 175F in my smallest, best Yixing pot. The first steep was good, the second better. On the third steep of about 45 seconds and the flavor is continuing to unfold, still sweet, a bit more body, and definite honey notes now. I suspect I'll get at least three more good steeps out of it. Unfortunately they've sold out of this one, but hopefully they'll soon have a 2012.

It's a shame to brew oolongs Western style, IMHO. You really don't experience them deeply that way. Here are two good places to find good quality, reasonably priced Yixing pots: http://www.sensationalteas.com/yixing.html and http://www.americantearoom.com/yi-xing-clay.html Most of the pots I bought from Mary at Sensational Teas are no longer available, but she still has the Leopard, which is a very good quality pot, and I lust after the River Stone.
You can also use a gaiwan if you don't have the dosh for a good Yixing. They are pretty basic and less persnickety so long as you use the right temperature water. You can just buy one you like the looks of, unlike the Yixing, which vary steeply in quality. Buying a Yixing pot only for looks might likely get you a pretty but poor quality pot. In general the good ones are expensive. Here's a very pretty gaiwan and as you can see, it's much less pricey than Yixing. http://www.enjoyingtea.com/smblflga.html

I am finishing up my last paper of the Spring quarter, working my way through the line edits of Shards, and simultaneously coming down with another bout of divertriculitus. You can file that last under TMI, if you like, but the initial treatment is several days of a clear liquid diet. Fortuitously, my shipment from Norbu Teas arrived just now and I'm sampling their Yiwu Mountain Bamboo Roasted Pu-Erh 2008. http://www.norbutea.com/2008_yiwu_bamboo_puerh_tea?category_id=35. I've had an earlier vintage of this tea and found it earthy and sweet but this one is harsher, with more bite and a definite ghost of the charcoal fire it was roasted over, less of the bamboo it was roasted in. The second steeping was a little less harsh, but the mouth flavor was still heavily smoke with only an undertone of stone fruit sweetness I was expecting. I'll give it a few more steepings to see what happens, but this one is not as much to my taste as the other tea. Perhaps that one was bamboo aged, rather than roasted?

**Hmm, checking my various reference books, I'm probably steeping it too long. Brewing gong fu style, so cutting the time to 15-20 seconds.

A miracle in California! We found a version of the straight sided hot dog roll necessary for toasted rolls suitable for lobster rolls, tuna rolls, even hot dogs! The real Nissan ones are impossible to find outside New England, as far as I can tell.

So our 4th menu is hot dogs boiled in beer and/or tuna salad in toasted rolls, Doug's grill roasted corn on the cob, potato salad, veggie platter, my strawberry rhubarb pie and wild blueberry cobbler. Add family, friends, and fireworks and mix well.

I've been hearing some funny things from friends and fans lately. One person said they'd heard that the Nightrunner Series had been cancelled due to low numbers, and another heard from a Barnes and Noble employee that Bone Doll was going out of print. NEITHER of these rumors are true. I just heard from my editor that all the titles are in print, with lots of copies on hand.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Children of all ages! Allow me to introduce a dear friend of mine, Jill Schultz, who I have known for years and watched develop as a writer. I've seen this, her first novel at many stages and even offered a word of advice and encouragement here and there. So I'm very pleased to have her here today to promote her lovely book, Angel On The Ropes.




Genre: science fiction novel, standalone, ages: adult.
287 pp. * 108K
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Tell us about your book.
In a nutshell, it's Cirque colliding with a Quaker Underground Railroad.

Amandine Sand is a dazzling trapeze artist who leads a dangerous double life. She has a life-threatening secret: she's one of the spotted humans wrongly accused of being a plague carrier. These "leopards" are hunted by zealots to protect their offworld colony from the scourge. Despite this threat, Amandine spends her days guiding other leopards to an underground shelter run by the pacifist Seekers. At night, she soars on the trapeze, the one place she feels free and gloriously alive.

When the persecution of leopards explodes into widespread violence, the Seekers are overwhelmed and demand more of her time. But her circus is teetering toward bankruptcy and desperately needs her, too. In the midst of this, she falls in love (because it's the worst possible time, so naturally, that's when it happens). But if her trust is misplaced and sheís unmasked, everyone she lovesóand everything sheís fought forócould crash.

To survive, Amandine has to draw upon everything sheís learned from the circus and Seekers, and summon the courage to reveal her true colors. But can a pacifist defend her violent enemies to stop a civil war? And can this very reluctant angel fly beyond her limits to save her life, her love, and her world?

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You went behind-the-scenes at Cirque du Soleil. What interesting thing wouldn't we guess about them?
Even their laundry room is memorable! Many of their costumes have delicate parts that have to air-dry, such as masks, hats, and evening gloves. They were lined up on shelves and draped over laundry bins, with industrial-sized fans blowing on them. It was a riot of color and sequins. While this was motivated by the same need that inspires some of us to drape bras over radiators, I was really struck by this unexpected mix of the surreal and the mundane.

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The two main characters are bisexual, but you don't make a big deal of it. How are readers reacting?
Love is love. If they'd been straight, no one would comment on the de facto acceptance of their sexuality. Course, I'm preaching to the choir here. : ) So far, only a few readers have commented on the characters' orientations with most saying they found the low-key depiction refreshing. One reviewer felt I needed to explain why the protag wasn't straight. Even though I expected that, it's still hard.

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And you're giving away books!
Yes, two autographed paperbacks. The contest runs through June 22 on GoodReads and is open to readers worldwide. So if you live on St. Helena Island and win, I'll be digging in the couch cushions for spare change to cover the postage. : ) Sign up here: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/51989-angel-on-the-ropes

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You just did the world's coolest book launch.
On June 1st, I literally launched the book--from 30 feet up, on a trapeze. It just seemed like such a natural, since my main character is a trapeze artist. I couldn't resist the word play offered by the phrase "book launch."

One of the professional trapezists who helped me (Peter Gold) hosted the event at his outdoor flying trapeze rig. We offered free flying trapeze lessons to the public, followed by a book reading and Q&A. I'm really proud that I managed to launch the book because I'm petrified of heights.

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Where can readers buy the book?
The ebook is available worldwide from all the usual online suspects. You can get the paperback from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and RiverRead Books (www.RiverRead.com). That's my local indie bookstore; they handle autographed copies.

Two bowls of matcha late in the afternoon = insomnia.

I emailed SHARDS OF TIME off to my editor last night and am enjoying a complete mental collapse today. First real break I've had in three months. Doing a little housework, a little reading, watched the first episode of "Journey Into Buddhism" on Netflix. I highly recommend the series. It's largely gorgeous visuals of SE Asia, temples, vistas, and people, with some information about Buddhism in those countries. It's really quite lovely and relaxing.

And at the moment I am enjoying the season's first chawan of iced matcha! Made the thin version (usucha) with ice water and added some ice cubes. Very refreshing. I'm sampling my shipment of teas from the California Tea House, who I've had very good luck with. Their Stone Ground Ceremonial Grade Matcha is not the absolute best I've had, but it is very, very good and quite affordable as good matcha goes. It is very fresh, rich, and vegetal, with powerful notes of raw cacao and sweetgrass. It didn't foam as much as some I've whipped up, but I could just be out of practice. If you're curious about getting into matcha drinking, this is a good place to start. Just be sure to have the authentic bowl and utensils. It does make a significant difference. I love Hibiki-An and get a lot of tea and teaware from them. They are in the heart of Japanese tea growing country and their teas are amazing. http://www.hibiki-an.com/default.php/cPath/42

Unfair or not, living in slavery brought shame on an entire clam.

Dear long time friends here at LJ:

I've been under the gun getting all the things I need to do done and have been mostly firing off shorter posts on FB. Response here has fallen off a lot, too, and I suspect the LJ exodus in general is continuing. Anyhoo, here's a catch up for those still here.

I finished the draft of SHARDS OF TIME on Friday and am in the final stages of polishing before I turn it in to my editor tomorrow. It was a very long and arduous project, especially in the past few months as I struggled to meet the deadline while also keeping up with my grad school studies. I am really happy with how the book turned out. It is the last NR (see below), at least for the foreseeable future. It's the ending I'd always wanted.

In answer to some questions:

1. I don't have a publication date for SHARDS OF TIME yet, but I've heard "Spring 2014" bandied about. Watch this space!

2. And yes, this is the last book of the Nightrunner Series, at least for now. That's something I am grieving (at this moment, even). I've know Alec and Seregil longer than I've known my own kids. Never say never, but it feels like it's time for me to move on. The last thing I want is to pump out bad books just because I don't want to let go. I want the boys to leave the stage while people are still applauding. But I promise you, I've worked hard to make it a really good book!

3. Will there be a Glimpses 2? I dearly hope so. I can't imagine not writing any fiction at all while I'm in grad school though the pressures of being Super Student are pretty significant, so I hope to work on short fiction, including NR short stories.

4. I'm about to write another story for the Tales of the Emerald Serpent shared world series. In case you missed the first book, in which I offer a very angsty, sexy young fellow named Shay. It's a great collection! http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Emerald-Serpent-Scott-Taylor/dp/0985332891/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370196762&sr=1-1&keywords=tales+of+the+emerald+serpent

Finally, please stick around. There will be more news, cover art, weird and amusing typo reports, and teasers for short fiction. I'm not disappearing, I promise. Lots more to be done!