Robin Lythgoe's Blog, page 34

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"I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date! No time to say hello, goodbye! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!"
I think I could successfully masquerade as the White Rabbit this Halloween. The end of the month is upon us and I still haven't finished editing my novel. National Novel Writing Month begins in a mere five days.
"What?" you say. "Is your book that big a mess??"
Well, yes and no. There is plenty of 'mess' to straighten, but I confess I have also fallen victim to avoidance. I'd rather scrub the toilet than edit. I'd rather clean the basement, reorganize all my computer files, watch paint dry... Or work on my book cover. Or make a map for the book.
Speaking of Halloween, check out these awesome Severed Fingers I made instead of editing:

Pretty awesome, right?
Good news, though! I survived wading through the entire thing, pruning the overgrowth of those dreaded Filter Words. You know the ones. "Filtering is when you place a character between the detail you want to present and the reader." (Suzannah Windsor Freeman at Write it Sideways) Those things grow like weeds on steroids, but I certainly learned a lot. I'm thinking of creating a typographical art list of the whole list so I can print it and hang it right in front of me while I'm writing. About now I'm picturing each word as some kind of monster or demon, and not because Halloween is in a few days, either!
I've also made it through a good portion of my revision log, a document in which I list things that make me have to stop and think about a solution that I haven't yet devised. You can read more about it here: Revision Log . Sometimes my notes to myself are a little lengthy (but not more than 2-3 sentences!), which can be a good thing. It helps me remember the concept of the missing information. I have a few lines whose purpose entirely eludes me. The information is too brief and/or cryptic. I've decided that's good, too. If I don't understand it, I can delete it!
So what's this book about, anyway?

For a thief, getting caught is never a good thing. Getting caught by a wizard is even worse. But when a man is coerced into stealing a nonexistent prize, threatened with his very life—and that of his not-so-darling sweetheart—and compelled to cooperate with his worst enemy, well, a man's got to do what he's told. Unless, of course, he can think of a better plan.

As the Crow Flies is coming to an e-reader near you. SOON, dangit!



The act of writing is an act of optimism. You would not take the trouble to do it if you felt it didn't matter. • Edward Albee •
In the Mirror and Dragonlace are both available for the Kindle.

Joel Friedlander, a book designer, blogger and the author,  hosts an eBook Cover Contest every month, and gives comments about the covers entered—which is a really great way to see how your cover stacks up. Kudos and a cool web sticker go to the winners of the fiction and non-fiction categories. I entered the cover my sister helped me design for In the Mirror, and although we didn't win, we got some really nice feedback.


One of the commenters, Zelah Meyer, even said that ours was one of her two favorites. Thank you, Zelah! MarshaLee and I are both tickled pink.
Check out the other covers featured in this month's edition of the e-Book Cover Design Awards—See what others are doing and come away with some inspiration for your project.

The act of writing is an act of optimism. You would not take the trouble to do it if you felt it didn't matter. • Edward Albee •
In the Mirror and Dragonlace are both available for the Kindle.

Writers! Need chocolate in a hurry to fuel those writing sprints or to reward yourself for meeting a goal? This blissful cup of brownie goodness is sure to hit the spot.

My experience with recipes for Brownies in a Mug has been largely unsuccessful—until now. They were either not chocolately enough (Remember, milk chocolate is a color, not a flavor!), too spongey (the result of using a whole egg, and if you only use part, what do you do with the rest?), or too dense and dry. Not any more! This recipe is a huuuuge hit at my house, and I can make it so quickly I don't feel guilty for briefly abandoning the BIC** rule. (Secret: The whole thing can also be prepared and completely finished during a single commercial break...)

÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷

Brownie in a Mug

In a 12 ounce microwaveable mug* mix the following:

1/4 cup flour (oat is good!)
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa
3/8 tsp. baking powder
dash of salt
1/2 Tbsp. canola oil
3 Tbsp. milk, water, or coffee

Stir together until well blended. Microwave on HIGH for one minute. Microwaves, vary! Check every 30 seconds. When done it will be springy but gooey on top.

*Any other 12 ounce microwaveable dish will work just fine. Anything less and you'll have a Brownie Mess. No, the NaNoWriMo mug is not actually large enough—unless you want a slightly more dense brownie, in which case decrease baking powder to 1/4 tsp., and then it will turn out just like the photo. My daughter said it was every bit as tasty and 'do-over-able.'

÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷

Speaking of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), it's coming right up! Only nineteen days! Are you excited? I am. I'd be even more excited if I knew what I was going to write. It's time now to be plotting and outlining, but I'm working feverishly to finish up a few other projects.

I do know that I'll be tackling one of Kai's stories, but I'm not yet sure which.

I do know that I'll have plenty of cocoa on hand for Emergency Brownies. And I suddenly wondered how this would taste if orange juice was used for the liquid...

Check out some of these helpful ideas for getting set for 30 Days and Nights of Literary Abandon:

How to Prepare for National Novel Writing Month(NaNoWriMo) by Brian A. Klems @ Writer's Digest 11 Ways to Prepare for NaNoWriMo by Gary McLaren @ Publish Your Own eBooksNaNoWriMo: Quick Preparation Tips and Resources by Suzannah Windsor Freeman @ Write it Sideways

Want to hook up on the NaNoWriMo site? You can find me masquerading as StillCypher. So... who's going to join the party, and how do you prepare?

Official AE Marling WebsiteGet your copy of Fox's Bride


A desert fox. An enchantress. And a sacrificial marriage.

Everyone in Oasis City worships the fennec fox as a sacred animal, except for the one woman forced to marry him. Enchantress Hiresha believes her fiancé is possessed by nothing more divine than fleas, and she also objects to the wedding venue: the afterlife. Priests will trap her in an airless sarcophagus with the fox. She has only four days of engagement left to live.

Her escape attempt ends in disaster, leaving her at the mercy of the city's vizier as well as her own pathological sleepiness. She wishes she could trust help from the Lord of the Feast, a past acquaintance with forbidden magic. He warns her that a sorcerer with even fewer scruples than himself may have arranged her marriage, to murder her. To find the truth before it's too late for her and the fox, she must slip off her silk gloves and break into pyramid tombs.

Enchantress Hiresha's intelligent fantasy/mystery continues in Fox's Bride, the wonderful follow-up to Brood of Bones. Marling's prose beautifully captures the flavor of the desert, creating richly painted scenes. The plot is full of expertly crafted twists and turns, and the characters are brought to you in vibrant technicolor. I loved seeing Hiresha thwarted, regrouping, stepping outside the bounds of what she knows, and growing as she does. She's not just a focused 'scientist,' she's whimsical, at times callous, and she has a habit of putting her foot in her mouth. Her new bodyguard, Chandur, strikes me as a good-hearted, wonderfully loyal and idealistic but frustratingly dense individual, but he too grows through his experiences, making for a more solid, engaging character. The doings of the Soultrapper antagonist are devious and woven expertly into the tapestry with threads of creepiness and dark humor. Well done! I would have liked Tethiel to figure a little more prominently; I missed his biting wit and dry humor, and the knife-edge relationship with Hiresha developed in the first book only received token attention after his reintroduction. Fox's Bride flows well, keeps a quick pace, and ends on a strong note. Once again, I am looking forward to Marling's next book.

You may have heard that Twitter recently supplied users with a new way to dress up their profile pages with picture headers similar to Facebook's. Ooh, shiny! Right? Yes, the moment I heard, I hurried off to rummage through photos taken by my hubby, searching for something appropriate that I could torture manipulate in Photoshop so the theme as well as the colors would match my current custom theme, which matches my blog (Didja notice?). Luckily for me, the obligatory white text goes very nicely with my choice, and I didn't have to do any crazy headstands or leaping through hoops to make things work.

Apparently the Twitter Folks aren't aware that "light designs are preferred by the general web-going audience by a whopping 47%. The main reason is readability. Most people don’t like viewing light text against a dark background on websites because it strains their eyes, making for a much less enjoyable experience." (The Do's and Don'ts of Dark Web Design)

Amazingly, I kept the distraction under control. Mostly. And voilá!



Writing Partner Kris says "Looks awesome!" and I am inclined to agree.

What do you think? Have you created your new Twitter header image yet? Post a link!

"Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert." (laugh!)

I probably shouldn't share so many of the burning questions of the universe at once, but I started giggling and couldn't stop. I do think I feel alert now, but if I don't get busy editing my sadly neglected novel I might be grounded. From the internet!

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We are a strange lot to have noses that run and feet that smell...

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland called Holes?

Why do we say something is out of whack? What's a whack?

If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

If I speak of a foot and you show me your feet, and I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?


Why do they have ear piercing while you wait? Is there some shop where you can drop them off and pick them up later?


How come Writers write but Fingers don't fing, and Grocers don't groce, and Hammers don't ham?

If tin whistles are made of tin, what are fog horns made of?


If you mix flour, water and salt you get glue. If you add eggs, baking powder and oil, you get cake. Where does the glue go?

Why does night fall but never break and day break but never fall?


If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?

When someone asks you, A penny for your thoughts, and you put your two cents in, what happens to the other penny? Or do you get change?

Why is the man (or woman) who invests all your money called a broker?

How come you never hear of a combobulated, gruntled, ruly, or peccable person?

Why do croutons come in airtight packages? It's just stale bread to begin with.

Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist but a person drives a race car not called a racist?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

Why are a wise man and a wise guy opposites?

Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things?

If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

Why isn't 11 pronounced onety one?

Quicksand takes you down slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

If brother becomes Brethren, why doesn't mother become Methren?

If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?

The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

Why do we wash bath towels?  Aren't we clean when we use them?

If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?

Do Lipton Tea employees take coffee breaks?

Whatever happened to preparations A through G?

When the stars are out, they are visible; when the lights are out, they are invisible.

Just think how much deeper the ocean would be if sponges didn't live there.

If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

If horrific means to make horrible, does terrific mean to make terrible?

I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older, then it dawned on me . . they're cramming for their final exam.

Since light travels faster that sound, isn't that why some people appear bright until you hear them speak?

When two airplanes almost collide why do they call it a near miss? It sounds like a near hit to me!

Why is it, when a door is open it's ajar, but when a jar is open, it's not adoor?

If it's zero degrees outside today and it's supposed to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold is it going to be?

Why are they called apartments, when they're all stuck together?


If "con" is the opposite of "pro," what is the opposite of progress?

Why is it that lemon juice contains mostly artificial ingredients but dishwashing liquid contains real lemons?


I thought about how mothers feed their babies with tiny little spoons and forks so I wondered, what do Chinese mothers use? Toothpicks?

Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are we supposed to do, write to them? Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen could look for them while they deliver the mail?

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

Do Roman paramedics refer to IV's as "4's"?

No one ever says, "It's only a game," when their team is winning.

Ever wonder what the speed of lightning would be if it didn't zigzag?

If a cow laughed, would milk come out her nose?

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Better than a shot in the arm, eh? Which is your favorite? If you have another great one-liner to tickle my risibility, post it in the comment section!

For just an indulgent second, let me take a moment to whine. The week did not go at all the way I'd planned. I was attacked by a ruthless, brain-sucking spider.

Or maybe a virus.

Same thing, right? Whichever it was, it clogged my sinuses, provoked horrendous headaches, had me sneezing constantly, plagued me with a low-grade fever, and generally robbed me of the will to do anything but slog about the house like a zombie. My husband said, "Really?? I felt the same way. Took me weeks to recover, but now I'm feeling fantastic!"

He's such a sweet, sharing soul, but there is hope, right? At the risk of speaking too soon, I daresay I am starting to recover. After several restless nights, I slept pretty well (at last!) and got up late today. Would have stayed in bed, too, but what I was dreaming got FAR too weird and I woke myself from it. No, I did not take notes with the idea of using it in a story. I like to write fantasies, not horror stories. It would have to be horror; we moved from our house to a tiny apartment, and there was no room for my writing desk. AUGH. Things went downhill from there, though I've no conception how I could go from fretting over my desk to sorting out a double homicide at a church activity...

Anyway, it seems like a perfect opportunity to share with you a review I wrote about one of my new favorite books: Brood of Bones , by A. E. Marling.

Newcomer A. E. Marling does a bang-up job with this fantasy novel about a magic-wielder afflicted with a sleeping disorder. Her drowsiness does not equate boredom for the reader. On the contrary, Brood of Bones is a fantasy whodunnit, with Enchantress Hiresha cast in the role of arcane detective. The setting and the magic are skillfully portrayed; the characters are complex and not always predictable. Hiresha struggles not only with her sleeping problem, but with the past that has formed her; her position is her armor and her purpose. Maid Janny is a gem of irreverence, while the Lord of the Feasts is both charming and terrible. The deposed arbiter of the city is exasperating at the same time she is delightful, and the two city leaders (a pair of priests representing different deities) are not what they might seem. I could wish the bodyguard were better developed, but it is a small complaint. The story is told from Hiresha's point of view, depicting her insecurities and fears in a very personal, very *human* way embroidered with the mores of her particular society. Easily 5 stars, and I am looking forward to Marling's next book.

P.S. Isn't the cover (by Eva Soulu) absolutely beautiful? I love it. And just let me say, I am really looking forward to the next book... (I hope you're reading this, Alan!)

Can one get hitched without a hitch? Oh, there were a couple of (very tiny) hitches, but I'm very pleased to say my daughter's wedding day went beautifully. Really beautifully. The reception center's decor is Tuscan, and so lovely. My daughter's colors were black and purple. We decorated with black-and-white damask cloth over black table cloths, purple and black ribbon, white roses, white and purple silk rose petals, white pillar candles with bow ties, and a crystal-hung wishing tree (which received disparaging remarks from Certain Family Members at home, but earned a boatload of compliments at the reception, so HA!).

So very sweet to see the groom get all teary-eyed during the ceremony. Yes, the bride did, too, but she's a girl. We girls do that. Strangely enough, I didn't cry until the next day, and there was fortunately no one around to see me being all weepy and sentimental. Trust me, it is not a pretty sight.


Now we must wait (augh!) for the photographer to provide the official pictures—a horrible thing to have to go through when one is used to the instant gratification of plugging the Photographer Husband's camera straight into the television to see the pictures RIGHT NOW. Thankfully, there were folks snapping pics, and aren't digital cameras so fantastic? No waiting for the film to be developed! Hurrah!
Much to our delight, we've been invited to watch the gift-opening tonight. Sweet, right?
In spite of my declaration to do Absolutely Nothing for the rest of the week, I put things away and cleaned up some of the collateral mess. What took months to prepare took hours to tidy... Granted, I still have a few bits and pieces floating around. I am eager for the restoration of order, but find myself dawdling, leaving sentimental items lying about...
I've also caught up on my email, read a few articles about writing and social media, revamped my Twitter bio, and even sorted through the I-don't-have-time-for-this-now! folder on my computer where everything important and/or interesting landed while I was in Wedding Land. Sorted, mind you; I've only actually dealt with a couple of items. I'm recovering!
The wedding was absolutely the best part of this week. Second best has been returning to Writing Project #2, Kai's story. A dragon figures prominently, and I have long been mulling over the part dragons play in this world. Why are they there? What do they do? It turns out there are two types of dragons, though not everyone is aware of this. In fact most people believe that all dragons are dangerous, predatory, acquisitive, and devious. You and I both know that saying all dragons are, say, 'savage' is like saying all chocolate is equal. (In reality, milk chocolate is a color, not a flavor, and white chocolate—well, we won't even go there. Unless we have pretzels.) This is not to say that the dragons are anything so easily definable as 'light and dark' but, for the sake of the masses existing in this fantasy world, they might be described as 'higher and lower.' And if the lower variety are not particularly prevalent, the higher types are extremely rare. In those elite circles of mages and scholars better educated (or more hopeful) than the masses, it is rumored that the high dragons, the Sira Naje, are immortal.
Take the frustrated aspirations of one mage, add a wounded dragon, create something powerful and  unexpected...
Hobsyllwin and Kume, by Ciruelo Cabral

Work on my novel has gone from "spotty" to nonexistent as we get ready to celebrate my daughter's wedding. The invitation turned out awesome—and I'm not just saying that! The coolest part of designing the various stationery items is getting the printed work back and seeing how surprisingly good it looks.

My photographer hubby took both the engagement photos and the bridal photos. I'm prejudiced, I know, but those bridal pictures are soooooo pretty! Going through those and doing (just a few!) touch-ups was time-consuming, but fun. We don't have quite a million of them printed and framed to display at the reception... It's so crazy to think of my little girl being old enough to marry—but I thought that when my son got married in May. Being the mother of the groom is definitely an easier job than being the mother of the bride! My son's wedding was lovely, and after all the planning, creating, phoning, sorting, and decision-making involved in my daughter's, I am very grateful for all the new in-laws did for them.

I've also made the pillow for the ring-bearer, a fabric-covered box for the gift cards, and I have the garter(s) to do yet, and... the video montage still awaits my attention. So wonderful to be able to use my talents for such a good cause.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing it all pulled together (next week!). I'm also very much looking forward to life getting back to "normal" afterward. :D

(names and information changed to protect the innocent)

I don't often post book reviews here on my blog, but I've been doing a lot of reading lately, and thought I'd afflict the world with my opinion of the most recent.
I picked up "The Sheepfarmer's Daughter" by Elizabeth Moon(via Baen's free book library) because I'd heard many good things about this epic, alleged fantasy. It begins very well, establishing the main character Paks's independence, her dedication and enviable determination, her passion, her desire to do what is right and good.
The story then devolves into a daily account of How to Become a Soldier and, once she's received her training, Paks's story moves into scene after scene of military maneuvers sans any real political groundwork. There are pages of scenery descriptions which, while they are lovely, do nothing to move the tale along. And then there are lists. Paragraphs long! I found myself doing a lot of skimming, and a lot of getting up to walk around and wake myself up.
Now and then a little magic is thrown in as if the author sometimes remembered the book was supposed to be a fantasy. Paks sees, at a distance, some dwarves and an elf, we're told about gnomes, and there are legends of orcs — but there is never any interaction with them. There is a religious medallion that may or may not be magical, and a brief 'magical moments' deals with another medallion and a magical sword. Luckily, there is a battle toward the end that includes some flashing lights and dark, swirling smoke…
Most of the characters, including Paks herself, are rather flat and one-dimensional. Worse, it appears as if the author had a limited list of names to choose from, for there are multiple characters with the same names, and/or characters whose names are different by one vowel or consonant. It made for some confusing, frustrating reading. 
Near the end of the book, which is told from Paks's POV, there's a chapter thrown in from the viewpoint of another character — not even a character Paks has had much interaction with, but the son of a commander who's a friend of *her* commander. This chapter doesn't even have the courtesy of following the timeline, and seems to have been inserted for the sole reason of tossing in a (tastefully handled, to be sure) torture scene. In the end, the torturee doesn't even make a comment about how the captured bad guy should die, although he is included (verbally, anyway) in the scene.
The book *ends* with plenty of pointers to "something uncommon" about Paks, but she is determined to continue her Life as a Soldier in spite of the presence of the exciting (and magical, woohoo!) Marshal and/or paladin. I wonder if the second book includes as much marching and rain and latrine-digging, but I don't have any real inspiration to find out.
Hmmm...
In other news, we're preparing ourselves for Wedding #2 of the summer. Child #3, as it happens. She has asked me to design her invitations, but I'm having a wee bit of trouble with the printer (This is me looking pointedly at my husband, who has the know-how and access to the facilities). But hey, we still have a week before the invites need to be mailed. LOTS of time, right?
In the meantime, there are some other design-related things I get to do (a picture/poem, tags, place cards, seating chart, video montage...) Not a chance of being bored, no, sir.
I've also been working on some novel-editing. I'm wondering if I'm stuck in a cosmic Slow Cycle, because that, too, seems to be proceeding at something less than a snail's pace. Usually reading inspires me fantastically, but lately when I sit down in front of the computer I am just as likely to go catch up on the Fringe episodes I missed as I am to write. Er, I mean edit...
Let's face it: this is Me, spending some quality time polishing my crown. I am, after all, the Empress of Procrastination.
So... what have you been reading lately? Anything that might successfully distract me from completing my various quests? :D