Robin Layne's Blog: From the Red, Read Robin - Posts Tagged "vampire"
Eenie Meenie Miney Moe . . . Catch a Title by the Toe
What should I Name this Blog?
I started brainstorming titles, and came up with a veritable kaleidoscope of them! I thought I’d throw them out here because they show various facets of myself, my interests, aims, and writings. I might come up with more in time, but for now, I welcome thoughts on these—or combinations of them. You can see I’ve already eliminated some of these, but I hope that seeing why is informative and entertaining. I plan to write on subjects for book lovers and writers alike.
Red Robin’s Bloggin’—could mean either the process of blogging or the fact that Robin is blogging. The color red has significance to me on a number of levels. Downside: could be confused with the restaurant. (How do you trademark a color and a bird? But they did.) Also sounds like “noggin,” and that’s where these thoughts come from.
Red Robin Bloggin’—rhymes, and so is more poetic than the former idea. Still could be confused with the restaurant.
Red Robin’s Bloggin’ Toboggan—a wild ride, to be sure.
Robin’s Red Blog—reminds me of the Portland Red Book, but it’s not a very similar name.
The Little Red Blog—sounds like a children’s book blog—not appropriate for most of what I will talk about.
Robin’s Big Red Blog—possible.
Little Red Robin Hood—now that’s a mixture of tales!
Little Red Bloggin’ Hood—too cutesy, I think.
Robin’s Blood-red Blog—this is okay, although it reminds me of “The Blood-red Pencil” (a writing website). But I like “blood-red.”
Robin’s Blood-read Blog—a little cleverness thrown in for readers with eyes sharp enough to see it, and would be especially appropriate when my book comes out.
Blog Blog Bloggin’ Along—a play on my name but nothing more.
A Walk Down Robin La(y)ne—another play on my name, but what does it mean to walk down me? No, I think not.
Robin’s Song—lame, unoriginal.
Herald of the Eternal Spring—this is a name for my spiritual identity and purpose, and also sounds like the name of a newspaper, perhaps. But I don’t know that people would connect a blog with a newspaper. A robin is a herald of the spring; I am a herald of the spring of Christ’s blood and God’s Spirit, and of the eternal spring they will bring.
My Night-blooming Series—a blog is a series of posts, and my books are expected to be a series as well. I usually bloom at night, like the night blooming cereus flower (pronounced “series”), and in the morning feel wilted and half-dead. I also might still have some graphics from my old web domain picturing a red-toned night-blooming cereus. . . . Just checked all over the computer. Nope; I don’t have the picture, except for part of it with “Robin’s Nest” written on it. But anyway, I wrote a poem in my younger days called “The Night-Blooming Cereus,” expressing the value of fleeting beauty and life. This poem will appear in the novel I’m working on, as written by one of the characters. And since my novel and its planned sequels concern vampires, the name is appropriate on that level as well. A discouraging thought is that people making the connection with the flower may think I misspelled its name.
I think I like this last name best, but I would like to sit on it a while. Still, I hope you have found this fun to read. What do you think?
Welcome to my blog!
I started brainstorming titles, and came up with a veritable kaleidoscope of them! I thought I’d throw them out here because they show various facets of myself, my interests, aims, and writings. I might come up with more in time, but for now, I welcome thoughts on these—or combinations of them. You can see I’ve already eliminated some of these, but I hope that seeing why is informative and entertaining. I plan to write on subjects for book lovers and writers alike.
Red Robin’s Bloggin’—could mean either the process of blogging or the fact that Robin is blogging. The color red has significance to me on a number of levels. Downside: could be confused with the restaurant. (How do you trademark a color and a bird? But they did.) Also sounds like “noggin,” and that’s where these thoughts come from.
Red Robin Bloggin’—rhymes, and so is more poetic than the former idea. Still could be confused with the restaurant.
Red Robin’s Bloggin’ Toboggan—a wild ride, to be sure.
Robin’s Red Blog—reminds me of the Portland Red Book, but it’s not a very similar name.
The Little Red Blog—sounds like a children’s book blog—not appropriate for most of what I will talk about.
Robin’s Big Red Blog—possible.
Little Red Robin Hood—now that’s a mixture of tales!
Little Red Bloggin’ Hood—too cutesy, I think.
Robin’s Blood-red Blog—this is okay, although it reminds me of “The Blood-red Pencil” (a writing website). But I like “blood-red.”
Robin’s Blood-read Blog—a little cleverness thrown in for readers with eyes sharp enough to see it, and would be especially appropriate when my book comes out.
Blog Blog Bloggin’ Along—a play on my name but nothing more.
A Walk Down Robin La(y)ne—another play on my name, but what does it mean to walk down me? No, I think not.
Robin’s Song—lame, unoriginal.
Herald of the Eternal Spring—this is a name for my spiritual identity and purpose, and also sounds like the name of a newspaper, perhaps. But I don’t know that people would connect a blog with a newspaper. A robin is a herald of the spring; I am a herald of the spring of Christ’s blood and God’s Spirit, and of the eternal spring they will bring.
My Night-blooming Series—a blog is a series of posts, and my books are expected to be a series as well. I usually bloom at night, like the night blooming cereus flower (pronounced “series”), and in the morning feel wilted and half-dead. I also might still have some graphics from my old web domain picturing a red-toned night-blooming cereus. . . . Just checked all over the computer. Nope; I don’t have the picture, except for part of it with “Robin’s Nest” written on it. But anyway, I wrote a poem in my younger days called “The Night-Blooming Cereus,” expressing the value of fleeting beauty and life. This poem will appear in the novel I’m working on, as written by one of the characters. And since my novel and its planned sequels concern vampires, the name is appropriate on that level as well. A discouraging thought is that people making the connection with the flower may think I misspelled its name.
I think I like this last name best, but I would like to sit on it a while. Still, I hope you have found this fun to read. What do you think?
Welcome to my blog!
Take Stock of the Word: Wordstock 2012, Saturday Edition
Been awake since about 1 a.m. and can't sleep. What irregular sleeping patterns! But it's all the better for you, if you want to read about my experiences at Wordstock, because I've have a lot of things to juggle, and only in the insane hours of the middle of the night do I feel justified to do something I don't absolutely have to do. I figure I'm too tired to pursue my obligations during such an hour. And I'll test out that semi-dream state I heard about, although I don't remember any of my dreams of the evening.
I was going to start with some highlights, but ended up covering a good amount of detail in the order that I enjoyed it.
The event began an hour later than I expected, and I was there early even for my expected time. It wasn't clear that doors open at 10, not 9, so it was hurry up and wait, then wait and hurry up. Fortunately, two books vendors had their ware on display out front, YA and poetry, respectively, and I was soon so engrossed in looking over those that I missed the 10 o'clock starting time. (My watch band broke that morning, so I had my watch in the pocket of my tight pants and I didn't look at it that often.) I rushed in to do the Open Write, and after waiting in a line with nothing much to do (books, books, everywhere, but none of them to read!. My nine minutes of fame was a disappointment. My fingers had a hard time finding the proper keys on the laptop, and I lost much precious time going back and fixing mistakes in a slow way I'm not used to. My prompt didn't inspire me much, and what I wrote was banal and incomplete. I will try again this morning with a different prompt and a different judge and I'll ask ahead of time what to do about typos. (My home keyboard is a large ergonomic one designed for carpal tunnel sufferers.)
I barely made it to my first panel, "Putting Words in the Mouth of God." Three authors with radical approaches to religious subjects led a fascinating discussion of saints of old, and imagined ones of today--their courage, their determination, and even their humor. I think it was Colin Dickey (but it might have been James Bernard Frost) said that there is no laughter in the New Testament--an idea I find absurd, considering the laughter I and many others experience under the power of God today and the absurdities of some of Christ's sayings. Who could have kept a straight face when the carpenter described a current religious leader swallowing a camel, or a judge with a beam of lumber sticking out of his eye? Dickey, who wrote Afterlives of the Saints said that Lawrence was the patron saint of comedians; Lawrence joked about being done and ready to eat while he was being burned to death. Dickey thought that Lawrence seemed to come from another religion. Certainly, he doesn't belong with the Jesuit who told his class the story and then upbraided them for laughing at it.
This reminds me of a dating site I am familiar with. You can use multiple choice answers to fill in some basic information, and if you pick a religion, you can say you are "very serious about it," "somewhat serious about it," "not very serious about it" or "laughing about it." To be serious might be to be devoted to your God or faith with all your heart that you are able, or it could mean you are a stuffed shirt. "Laughing about it" could mean you don't like the label you've been given and you make fun of it, or it could mean you just plain don't care. Or it might mean that your religion really makes you happy. How often these days is laughter really about happiness, and how often is it an expression of cynicism, ridicule, or a shallow escape from deep sadness or anxiety? I think even in those cases, it can sometimes be healthy. The problem comes in when "taking things seriously" means we can't laugh at ourselves, our circumstances, even our sufferings and deaths. As I like to put it, Don't take yourself seriously; you're just a character God invented.
Someone in the audience pointed out that today people with the intensities of the once-admired saints are labeled with mental disorders and subdued with drugs. Where are the zealous today? Tanya Hurley said that much of her novel, The Blessed, about three reincarnated teenaged girl saints, takes place in mental the ward.
Panelist James Bernard Frost wrote a very Portland- (Oregon)culture story called A Very Minor Prophet: A Novel, concerning people who have lost their religion and still need something. And based on some of the things I've heard and read about religion, losing it can be for some the best way to start on a path of real life. As Frost put it, religion is stiff and reverent, and new life is needed. The dwarf preacher in his story gets carried away, swears, and is a laughingstock but a breath of fresh air. But the author says it is a Christian message and that some ministers have expressed appreciation for this unorthodox book.
All three of the panelists grew up in Catholic homes and were influenced by stories of the saints. Dickey appreciates their spunk, although he is an atheist today. Within Christianity, it is chiefly Catholics (and then only those who actually LIKE Catholicism rather than those who have found themselves scarred and left the Church) who don't treat "religion" as something of a dirty word. It used to be a good thing to be thought of as religious, but today, both the born-again crowd and New Agers prefer to call themselves "spiritual" and the people outside their belief system "religious."
After this panel, I was hard-pressed to decide whether to attend a reading by two apocalyptic writers or listen to parts of A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry. Poetry feeds the soul and I don't read or listen to enough of it, so I chose the latter. Persona poetry turned out to be just what I guessed it was: poetry written from the point of view of characters other than the poet--the poetic version of first person fiction. I got to meet the goddess Calypso, who finds Odysseus washed ashore like a drowned kitten and wonders if she can keep him; a Russian fairytale version of Snow White; a total jerk of a man; the Hulk; and more. The poets said that you need empathy to wear the mask of another person and that not everyone is capable of doing that regarding people very different from themselves. These poems were great, and I want to try writing more of this type of poem myself.
The next event I attended was "The 'Adult' in 'Young Adult,' about handling "adult" subject matter in teen novels. I put "adult" in quotes here because, as both audience members and authors acknowledged, everyone is younger in some ways and older in others. I didn't take down who said what here, but it was said that who you write about determines a books niche rather than who you write for.
I learned some interesting facts about libraries: 1. Faced with budgets that limit the number of books they can order, they don't so much out-and-out ban books as avoid ordering ones that are likely to create a hubbub. 2. At least some libraries buy the newest titles, keep them for a little while, and then send them back and buy the fresh new titles.
Many questions strayed from the topic. People wanted to know more about techniques of writing YA. Most YA is written in first person. Third person can be done, but authors using it tend to tell rather than show. It is important to keep an intimate point of view, whichever approach you use.
Next, from authors Lisa Burstein and Katie Kacvinsky, I learned some surprising things about what publishers and reviewers consider acceptable today in young adult books: sex is, drugs and alcohol are not. However, Steve Brezenoff includes drugs and alcohol, as well as cussing in his YA novel, Brooklyn, Burning. A writer must be true to the characters. The writers also pointed out that teens always feel like they have a spotlight on them. Yes, I remember that self-consciousness well!
I'm getting increasingly tired and it's getting fairly close to the time I should get ready, so I'll gloss over most of the next talk I went to, featuring Steve Brezenoff and Inara Scott. I was very glad I went to this, though, because it was a great relief to hear from successful published writers who don't follow all those rules they tell you you have to do: Brezenoff doesn't write every day. Inara says you don't have to. She writes in spurts like me! At last, I have been validated! She said, "If the passion's not there it's okay to take a break." As a pin I inherited from my mother says: Screw guilt.
There is, it was said, a huge crossover between young adults (up to age 21) and adults--about half and half. Understandably, then, there is more sex and violence in YA today than there used to be. Parents concerned about what their children read can ask booksellers and librarians about books appropriate to their ages, and when the youths liked a book they can ask for similar titles.
It was pure enjoyment listening to Ray Rhamey read from The Vampire Kitty-Cat Chronicles. Told from the undead tomcat's point of view, it is funny and takes into account a lot of practical matters that vampires might have to deal with. I absolutely had to buy it. I confess my mind wandered as Rhamey read from two of his other books and I didn't get interested in them, but afterward I ran to the bookseller's table, bought the last copy of Vampire Kitty available, and ran to get the author to sign it for me.
I heard a new term from two different writers, the second one explaining what it means. A pacer is a writer who doesn't plot. Rhamey writes to see what happens. He wrote the kitty story online at first, something I did for a while with one of my vampire characters. That character, by keeping his own journal, seemed to invent himself; he developed in a matter of months while others have taken years.
The final panel was about sidekicks, or secondary characters. A sidekick isn't necessarily the protagonist's best friend. The sidekick is almost always of the same sex, but there are exceptions. There can also be more than one of them. Sidekicks can be a contradiction of the main character, to keep things in balance. A panelist gave the example of Don Quixote's Sancho Panzo. The character may be an externalization of the protagonist so he isn't talking to himself; the sidekick can be either antagonistic or agreeing.
For my novel-in-progress, Blood of the Willing, I like to throw my protagonist Mary together with her cantankerous and humorous friend Darrell for contrast in personality and in views toward how to handle the problem the book poses. Darrell, the traditionalist, thinks vampires are purely evil undead monsters that should all be killed. Mary finds herself taking a different view and approach. Either way they choose, both approaches have serious prices to pay.
I think I have finally said all I want to say about yesterday's half of the book fair. Tomorrow is here, that is to say it is 5:33 a.m., and I have to "get up" in less than half an hour. I pray I will have an energetic day in spite of my lack of sleep. I look forward to my workshop on starting a series.
I was going to start with some highlights, but ended up covering a good amount of detail in the order that I enjoyed it.
The event began an hour later than I expected, and I was there early even for my expected time. It wasn't clear that doors open at 10, not 9, so it was hurry up and wait, then wait and hurry up. Fortunately, two books vendors had their ware on display out front, YA and poetry, respectively, and I was soon so engrossed in looking over those that I missed the 10 o'clock starting time. (My watch band broke that morning, so I had my watch in the pocket of my tight pants and I didn't look at it that often.) I rushed in to do the Open Write, and after waiting in a line with nothing much to do (books, books, everywhere, but none of them to read!. My nine minutes of fame was a disappointment. My fingers had a hard time finding the proper keys on the laptop, and I lost much precious time going back and fixing mistakes in a slow way I'm not used to. My prompt didn't inspire me much, and what I wrote was banal and incomplete. I will try again this morning with a different prompt and a different judge and I'll ask ahead of time what to do about typos. (My home keyboard is a large ergonomic one designed for carpal tunnel sufferers.)
I barely made it to my first panel, "Putting Words in the Mouth of God." Three authors with radical approaches to religious subjects led a fascinating discussion of saints of old, and imagined ones of today--their courage, their determination, and even their humor. I think it was Colin Dickey (but it might have been James Bernard Frost) said that there is no laughter in the New Testament--an idea I find absurd, considering the laughter I and many others experience under the power of God today and the absurdities of some of Christ's sayings. Who could have kept a straight face when the carpenter described a current religious leader swallowing a camel, or a judge with a beam of lumber sticking out of his eye? Dickey, who wrote Afterlives of the Saints said that Lawrence was the patron saint of comedians; Lawrence joked about being done and ready to eat while he was being burned to death. Dickey thought that Lawrence seemed to come from another religion. Certainly, he doesn't belong with the Jesuit who told his class the story and then upbraided them for laughing at it.
This reminds me of a dating site I am familiar with. You can use multiple choice answers to fill in some basic information, and if you pick a religion, you can say you are "very serious about it," "somewhat serious about it," "not very serious about it" or "laughing about it." To be serious might be to be devoted to your God or faith with all your heart that you are able, or it could mean you are a stuffed shirt. "Laughing about it" could mean you don't like the label you've been given and you make fun of it, or it could mean you just plain don't care. Or it might mean that your religion really makes you happy. How often these days is laughter really about happiness, and how often is it an expression of cynicism, ridicule, or a shallow escape from deep sadness or anxiety? I think even in those cases, it can sometimes be healthy. The problem comes in when "taking things seriously" means we can't laugh at ourselves, our circumstances, even our sufferings and deaths. As I like to put it, Don't take yourself seriously; you're just a character God invented.
Someone in the audience pointed out that today people with the intensities of the once-admired saints are labeled with mental disorders and subdued with drugs. Where are the zealous today? Tanya Hurley said that much of her novel, The Blessed, about three reincarnated teenaged girl saints, takes place in mental the ward.
Panelist James Bernard Frost wrote a very Portland- (Oregon)culture story called A Very Minor Prophet: A Novel, concerning people who have lost their religion and still need something. And based on some of the things I've heard and read about religion, losing it can be for some the best way to start on a path of real life. As Frost put it, religion is stiff and reverent, and new life is needed. The dwarf preacher in his story gets carried away, swears, and is a laughingstock but a breath of fresh air. But the author says it is a Christian message and that some ministers have expressed appreciation for this unorthodox book.
All three of the panelists grew up in Catholic homes and were influenced by stories of the saints. Dickey appreciates their spunk, although he is an atheist today. Within Christianity, it is chiefly Catholics (and then only those who actually LIKE Catholicism rather than those who have found themselves scarred and left the Church) who don't treat "religion" as something of a dirty word. It used to be a good thing to be thought of as religious, but today, both the born-again crowd and New Agers prefer to call themselves "spiritual" and the people outside their belief system "religious."
After this panel, I was hard-pressed to decide whether to attend a reading by two apocalyptic writers or listen to parts of A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry. Poetry feeds the soul and I don't read or listen to enough of it, so I chose the latter. Persona poetry turned out to be just what I guessed it was: poetry written from the point of view of characters other than the poet--the poetic version of first person fiction. I got to meet the goddess Calypso, who finds Odysseus washed ashore like a drowned kitten and wonders if she can keep him; a Russian fairytale version of Snow White; a total jerk of a man; the Hulk; and more. The poets said that you need empathy to wear the mask of another person and that not everyone is capable of doing that regarding people very different from themselves. These poems were great, and I want to try writing more of this type of poem myself.
The next event I attended was "The 'Adult' in 'Young Adult,' about handling "adult" subject matter in teen novels. I put "adult" in quotes here because, as both audience members and authors acknowledged, everyone is younger in some ways and older in others. I didn't take down who said what here, but it was said that who you write about determines a books niche rather than who you write for.
I learned some interesting facts about libraries: 1. Faced with budgets that limit the number of books they can order, they don't so much out-and-out ban books as avoid ordering ones that are likely to create a hubbub. 2. At least some libraries buy the newest titles, keep them for a little while, and then send them back and buy the fresh new titles.
Many questions strayed from the topic. People wanted to know more about techniques of writing YA. Most YA is written in first person. Third person can be done, but authors using it tend to tell rather than show. It is important to keep an intimate point of view, whichever approach you use.
Next, from authors Lisa Burstein and Katie Kacvinsky, I learned some surprising things about what publishers and reviewers consider acceptable today in young adult books: sex is, drugs and alcohol are not. However, Steve Brezenoff includes drugs and alcohol, as well as cussing in his YA novel, Brooklyn, Burning. A writer must be true to the characters. The writers also pointed out that teens always feel like they have a spotlight on them. Yes, I remember that self-consciousness well!
I'm getting increasingly tired and it's getting fairly close to the time I should get ready, so I'll gloss over most of the next talk I went to, featuring Steve Brezenoff and Inara Scott. I was very glad I went to this, though, because it was a great relief to hear from successful published writers who don't follow all those rules they tell you you have to do: Brezenoff doesn't write every day. Inara says you don't have to. She writes in spurts like me! At last, I have been validated! She said, "If the passion's not there it's okay to take a break." As a pin I inherited from my mother says: Screw guilt.
There is, it was said, a huge crossover between young adults (up to age 21) and adults--about half and half. Understandably, then, there is more sex and violence in YA today than there used to be. Parents concerned about what their children read can ask booksellers and librarians about books appropriate to their ages, and when the youths liked a book they can ask for similar titles.
It was pure enjoyment listening to Ray Rhamey read from The Vampire Kitty-Cat Chronicles. Told from the undead tomcat's point of view, it is funny and takes into account a lot of practical matters that vampires might have to deal with. I absolutely had to buy it. I confess my mind wandered as Rhamey read from two of his other books and I didn't get interested in them, but afterward I ran to the bookseller's table, bought the last copy of Vampire Kitty available, and ran to get the author to sign it for me.
I heard a new term from two different writers, the second one explaining what it means. A pacer is a writer who doesn't plot. Rhamey writes to see what happens. He wrote the kitty story online at first, something I did for a while with one of my vampire characters. That character, by keeping his own journal, seemed to invent himself; he developed in a matter of months while others have taken years.
The final panel was about sidekicks, or secondary characters. A sidekick isn't necessarily the protagonist's best friend. The sidekick is almost always of the same sex, but there are exceptions. There can also be more than one of them. Sidekicks can be a contradiction of the main character, to keep things in balance. A panelist gave the example of Don Quixote's Sancho Panzo. The character may be an externalization of the protagonist so he isn't talking to himself; the sidekick can be either antagonistic or agreeing.
For my novel-in-progress, Blood of the Willing, I like to throw my protagonist Mary together with her cantankerous and humorous friend Darrell for contrast in personality and in views toward how to handle the problem the book poses. Darrell, the traditionalist, thinks vampires are purely evil undead monsters that should all be killed. Mary finds herself taking a different view and approach. Either way they choose, both approaches have serious prices to pay.
I think I have finally said all I want to say about yesterday's half of the book fair. Tomorrow is here, that is to say it is 5:33 a.m., and I have to "get up" in less than half an hour. I pray I will have an energetic day in spite of my lack of sleep. I look forward to my workshop on starting a series.
Conquering the Horror Within
Throughout November, I spent a great deal of my time composing and rewriting a short story that is just short of novelette length to submit to a horror anthology called War is Hell. Writers might be interested in the process (including finding six incredibly helpful people to critique it on short notice, for which I am eternally thankful), but anyone may benefit from the moral lesson that writing it drove home to me. My story, “Against Heaven and Hell,” concerns two people who hold onto their wounds and bitterness, and reveals the horrible paths they follow. The two people are a vampire named Luke and the infamous Benedict Arnold. The horror the tale highlights is something we can all find within ourselves: if we cling to bitterness, it can destroy us and, potentially, the people around us. Bitterness kills friendships, twists the conscience, blinds us to truth, robs us of health, leads to revenge, and ultimately ends in despair. Jesus said that people who refuse to forgive others will be turned over to tormentors until they have paid all they owe (Matt. 18:34)—not because God delights in seeing us tormented, but so that we might learn to show a little compassion in return for the huge amount of compassion He has shown to us. When we defeat bitterness by forgiving offenses, the person we release is ourselves. This is no new thought for many, but learning to walk in such freedom can still be a lifelong lesson.
While concentrating so much on writing “Against Heaven and Hell,” I found myself absorbing the attitudes of its two main characters. I grumbled at how little pay I would likely get for all my hard work. I felt that however fun this labor might be, my talent and time was worth much more. After all, such a piece of writing as this represents a lifetime of gathering and communicating stories for close to no compensation at all, and the result of half a century's work, I am pleased to say, is some of my strongest writing. I’m not the only person who shares such an opinion about this story. But I was falling into the same pit as Benedict Arnold when he harbored resentment toward Congress for not giving him his back pay.
Most people today know nothing about Benedict Arnold except that he was a traitor. But research reveals that he was a brave, charismatic general and a brilliant strategist—clearly one of the greatest heroes of the American Revolution. Without his help, the American cause may well have failed, and if he had succeeded in his betrayal, Britain would likely have won the war. George Washington thought the world of Arnold and did all he could to recognize his heroism. But General Arnold’s successes and temperament earned him some strong enemies, and he missed out on much of the recognition he deserved. Add to that plenty of time to stew over the injustices against him while he spent months in excruciating pain recovering from a battle injury, and you have a potential time bomb, if you will excuse a more modern alusion.
In my fictional story, a surgeon’s assistant tending Arnold encourages the bitterness in his heart and guides his thoughts toward the eventual betrayal of his country. My fictional character, Luke, acts as the embodiment of the temptations that beset the injured general, but in real life, we need no vampires to tempt us away from the healing that we can gain through forgiveness. It seems to be within our nature to hold onto offenses that have come against us, even though it means, so to speak, cutting off our noses to spite our faces.
We often make the mistake of thinking in terms of whether people who have hurt us deserve to be forgiven—as if it’s all a matter of the size of the offense, and we, as the offended, have the ability, and perhaps even the responsibility, to make that judgment. I have learned, however, that it’s not a matter of how bad the offence is, but of how much was paid by our loving Savior to rescue both the offender and the victim. The price was so high as to be compared with infinity.
Forgiveness is not always easy, no matter what we may know about it. When barbs pierce my heart, I don’t feel like I am forgiving the person who has hurt me. Sometimes the best I can do is choose to forgive, or, if that is not possible, to ask God to forgive for me (a model I learned from Jesus at the cross). The feelings of hurt and anger are normal, okay to feel, as long as we don’t cling to them and let them fester like gangrene in an old wound. The rule of thumb is to let go of these feelings within a day. “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.” (Ephesians 4:26) In other words, don’t sleep on it and let a grudge seep into your dreams.
It may shock some to hear this, but sometimes the person we have to forgive is God. In the case of my character Luke, the incident that incites his evil bent is his childhood perception that his December 25th birthday has been supplanted by the baby Jesus—implying that from his very birth, Luke is slighted by God. It doesn’t matter how absurd the cause of our pain may seem. Feelings are important, especially if when we are children too young to make sense of our pain. It is important to acknowledge our anger. God is big enough to absorb it. In fact, he is the only one big enough to do so.
The feelings that accompany healing will follow the decision of the will to forgive. I’ve found it can take years, even decades, depending on the nature of the offense and our reactions to it, but the pain does lessen. I am convinced that the hard work of forgiveness is much more satisfying in the end than the seemingly easier road of resentment. And if we learn not to be offended in the first place, everything will be easier.
In other news, please note that I've just posted the final installment of “Manuel Pascal” under Robin’s Writings, in time for you to enjoy the entire tale for Christmas.
Wishing you all a blessed time as you celebrate the holidays this winter,
Robin
While concentrating so much on writing “Against Heaven and Hell,” I found myself absorbing the attitudes of its two main characters. I grumbled at how little pay I would likely get for all my hard work. I felt that however fun this labor might be, my talent and time was worth much more. After all, such a piece of writing as this represents a lifetime of gathering and communicating stories for close to no compensation at all, and the result of half a century's work, I am pleased to say, is some of my strongest writing. I’m not the only person who shares such an opinion about this story. But I was falling into the same pit as Benedict Arnold when he harbored resentment toward Congress for not giving him his back pay.
Most people today know nothing about Benedict Arnold except that he was a traitor. But research reveals that he was a brave, charismatic general and a brilliant strategist—clearly one of the greatest heroes of the American Revolution. Without his help, the American cause may well have failed, and if he had succeeded in his betrayal, Britain would likely have won the war. George Washington thought the world of Arnold and did all he could to recognize his heroism. But General Arnold’s successes and temperament earned him some strong enemies, and he missed out on much of the recognition he deserved. Add to that plenty of time to stew over the injustices against him while he spent months in excruciating pain recovering from a battle injury, and you have a potential time bomb, if you will excuse a more modern alusion.
In my fictional story, a surgeon’s assistant tending Arnold encourages the bitterness in his heart and guides his thoughts toward the eventual betrayal of his country. My fictional character, Luke, acts as the embodiment of the temptations that beset the injured general, but in real life, we need no vampires to tempt us away from the healing that we can gain through forgiveness. It seems to be within our nature to hold onto offenses that have come against us, even though it means, so to speak, cutting off our noses to spite our faces.
We often make the mistake of thinking in terms of whether people who have hurt us deserve to be forgiven—as if it’s all a matter of the size of the offense, and we, as the offended, have the ability, and perhaps even the responsibility, to make that judgment. I have learned, however, that it’s not a matter of how bad the offence is, but of how much was paid by our loving Savior to rescue both the offender and the victim. The price was so high as to be compared with infinity.
Forgiveness is not always easy, no matter what we may know about it. When barbs pierce my heart, I don’t feel like I am forgiving the person who has hurt me. Sometimes the best I can do is choose to forgive, or, if that is not possible, to ask God to forgive for me (a model I learned from Jesus at the cross). The feelings of hurt and anger are normal, okay to feel, as long as we don’t cling to them and let them fester like gangrene in an old wound. The rule of thumb is to let go of these feelings within a day. “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.” (Ephesians 4:26) In other words, don’t sleep on it and let a grudge seep into your dreams.
It may shock some to hear this, but sometimes the person we have to forgive is God. In the case of my character Luke, the incident that incites his evil bent is his childhood perception that his December 25th birthday has been supplanted by the baby Jesus—implying that from his very birth, Luke is slighted by God. It doesn’t matter how absurd the cause of our pain may seem. Feelings are important, especially if when we are children too young to make sense of our pain. It is important to acknowledge our anger. God is big enough to absorb it. In fact, he is the only one big enough to do so.
The feelings that accompany healing will follow the decision of the will to forgive. I’ve found it can take years, even decades, depending on the nature of the offense and our reactions to it, but the pain does lessen. I am convinced that the hard work of forgiveness is much more satisfying in the end than the seemingly easier road of resentment. And if we learn not to be offended in the first place, everything will be easier.
In other news, please note that I've just posted the final installment of “Manuel Pascal” under Robin’s Writings, in time for you to enjoy the entire tale for Christmas.
Wishing you all a blessed time as you celebrate the holidays this winter,
Robin
Glitches and Vampires and Blogs, Oh My!
Tonight I tried to add a few things to my basic profile information: My new blog address (though I'll keep this one going, too, with a different emphasis), and the news about my earning my editing certificate (see previous blog entry). Goodreads wouldn't let me save the changes because, it said, my Influence list was too long. I hadn't even changed my Influences list. I hadn't even touched it. And no matter what I did, I got the same message. I had to give up making the changes. I'm reminded of a shirt I once had (until it got stolen). It said "Computer Wizard and the Glitch." The Glitch was a little monster sitting on the wizard's shoulder.
Speaking of monsters, my friend Francis Franklin let me know about a contest (or it was originally a contest; I don't think now that it has winners, unless everyone nominated is a winner) called the Vampire Lover Blog Award. People were asked, If you could ask a vampire one thing, what would it be? Actually, some people submitted more than one question, but all 29 questions submitted are available to choose from by any vampire who wishes to respond by picking and answering 11. Being a writer of vampire stories, I was immediately interested, and I submitted a question and told Francis my Carletta was aching to talk. Soon I had four vampires lined up and wrote all their interviews in Word files. But someone was missing. Ah,then I remembered, the new kid on the block. I will post them all in the order I wrote them--but not on this blog, because it won't let me attach special images to my blog, and it's part of the rules to post the logo of the contest on your blog. So I started a new blog on Wordpress.com. Here it is, with 11 things about myself to start and then my first interview with a vampire: robinlayneauthor
If you want to join in the fun of the contest, see vampireloverblogaward
(I hope those links work. Writing them in code is a pain.)
Speaking of monsters, my friend Francis Franklin let me know about a contest (or it was originally a contest; I don't think now that it has winners, unless everyone nominated is a winner) called the Vampire Lover Blog Award. People were asked, If you could ask a vampire one thing, what would it be? Actually, some people submitted more than one question, but all 29 questions submitted are available to choose from by any vampire who wishes to respond by picking and answering 11. Being a writer of vampire stories, I was immediately interested, and I submitted a question and told Francis my Carletta was aching to talk. Soon I had four vampires lined up and wrote all their interviews in Word files. But someone was missing. Ah,then I remembered, the new kid on the block. I will post them all in the order I wrote them--but not on this blog, because it won't let me attach special images to my blog, and it's part of the rules to post the logo of the contest on your blog. So I started a new blog on Wordpress.com. Here it is, with 11 things about myself to start and then my first interview with a vampire: robinlayneauthor
If you want to join in the fun of the contest, see vampireloverblogaward
(I hope those links work. Writing them in code is a pain.)
Persectives on Youthful Beauty
When people learn I’m writing vampire fiction, many say, “Good for you, that’s a very popular subject right now.” And they’re right. Vampire books abound, you can take your pick of vampire shows and movies, rock artists sing about them, and the web abounds with them.
Why are people so interested in vampires today?
One reason is that the vampire holds time still, freezing youth in its place. The fountain of youth holds such an appeal that some people, fictional or real, will pay any price for it—even blood. Even their souls.
Read the rest on my other blog:
The Vampire's Lure of Youthful Beauty
The blog post introduced here was inspired by the blog of someone writing something quite different from my vampire series. I am very familiar with her soon-to-be released science fiction novel, "Never Again," because I have the wonderful fortune of being its editor.
While reading submissions soon after joining the staff of Barking Rain Press, I fell in love with Heather Starsong's manuscript. Written in poetic prose, her charming story of an 80-year-old woman transformed by compassionate extra-terrestrials. It made me cry, and still does. I told the publisher I wanted to represent it, so I have been working with Heather on every stage of the process. We are wrapping up the copyediting today. We await the cover art, and in July we bring in the fresh eyes of a proofreader to help us catch any last-minute mistakes.
The book is slated to come out this August. Here is the link to Heather's information about it:
HeatherStarsong.com/NeverAgain.
And here are her reflections about youthful beauty, which inspired my own post on my vampire series blog:
The Lure of Youthful Beauty
Beauty is Dangerous
Beauty is Power
Why are people so interested in vampires today?
One reason is that the vampire holds time still, freezing youth in its place. The fountain of youth holds such an appeal that some people, fictional or real, will pay any price for it—even blood. Even their souls.
Read the rest on my other blog:
The Vampire's Lure of Youthful Beauty
The blog post introduced here was inspired by the blog of someone writing something quite different from my vampire series. I am very familiar with her soon-to-be released science fiction novel, "Never Again," because I have the wonderful fortune of being its editor.
While reading submissions soon after joining the staff of Barking Rain Press, I fell in love with Heather Starsong's manuscript. Written in poetic prose, her charming story of an 80-year-old woman transformed by compassionate extra-terrestrials. It made me cry, and still does. I told the publisher I wanted to represent it, so I have been working with Heather on every stage of the process. We are wrapping up the copyediting today. We await the cover art, and in July we bring in the fresh eyes of a proofreader to help us catch any last-minute mistakes.
The book is slated to come out this August. Here is the link to Heather's information about it:
HeatherStarsong.com/NeverAgain.
And here are her reflections about youthful beauty, which inspired my own post on my vampire series blog:
The Lure of Youthful Beauty
Beauty is Dangerous
Beauty is Power
Never Again--at least this year--can you get such wonderful books at such prices
In my last post, I told you how excited I was to be editing Heather Starsong's "Never Again," a beautiful science fiction approach to the theme of the fountain of youth. The book is done, and you can get it for half off this month--and here it is the last of the month! I am so sorry to be let you know this late in time. Everything's been happening. Now I am still getting over being sick, but I'm doing this so you can take advantage of Barking Rain Press's 4th Anniversary Offer. (I tried to put a picture of the book on here, but I couldn't find it by title and the program doesn't allow me to use the ISBN.) You can get half off on any of Barking Rain Press's books when you use the code BRP4YEAR when ordering any version from their website or the electronic version anywhere.
Secondly, I want to tell you about another great book from Barking Rain that I had the privilege of working on--this time as a co-editor. It's called "The Stage," by Catherine Russell--a new twist on the vampire romance genre that has the capability to be a bestseller. And it's the first in a series. I'll tell you more here when I'm feeling better, but you can read recommendations on my website, writingthatsings.com and order them on BRP's site: for "Never Again," BarkingRainPress.org/NeverAgain
--and for "The Stage," BarkingRainPress.org/TheStage
Secondly, I want to tell you about another great book from Barking Rain that I had the privilege of working on--this time as a co-editor. It's called "The Stage," by Catherine Russell--a new twist on the vampire romance genre that has the capability to be a bestseller. And it's the first in a series. I'll tell you more here when I'm feeling better, but you can read recommendations on my website, writingthatsings.com and order them on BRP's site: for "Never Again," BarkingRainPress.org/NeverAgain
--and for "The Stage," BarkingRainPress.org/TheStage
New Addition to my Vampire Interviews
In 2013, a friend on this site, Francis Franklin, started The Vampire Lover Blog Award--a chance for people to write the questions they were dying to ask vampires. Bloggers like me let their vampires out to respond to 11 questions of their (or the blogger's) choice. Because we were expected to include the nice graphic for the "award" with the blog posts, and Goodreads doesn't have an option for a separate pictures on blog posts, I started a second blog on Wordpress, Robin Layne, Author: Welcome to the AVS. I had five vampire characters answer the most appropriate 11 of the questions asked, including the one I submitted, in separate interviews that August. But some of my vamps could provide interesting answers to more than 11 of the questions, and, inspired by an interview Francis wrote, I decided to let two of these characters answer the rest of the questions in a descriptive scene instead of just quoting the questions and having the vamp simply answer each in written form. The setting for the dual interview is a Starbucks. I'm the uneasy interviewer, and the vampires, Luke and Carletta, don't like each other. In the interview posted on October 3, 2013, Luke helped interview the 16-year-old beauty Carletta--using psychic manipulation and bribery to get her to answer honestly questions she wanted to avoid. We left the post with the promise that Carletta would help interview Luke next. Now, after 2 years and over 5 months, the I have at last finished and posted Luke's second interview! And in the interim, guess what? Several MORE questions were posted to the Vampire Lover's Blog Award site. So Carletta had to answer those along with Luke.
Please consider all the time this literary meal has been on the loving backburner and go enjoy At Last--Luke Answers the Rest of the Questions!
I had a lot of fun writing it, and every project I do with my characters helps me know them better, adding to the depth of the books I've been working on since about 2000. It will be a whole series (AVS:The Anti-Vampirism Society). I'm thinking of 6 books at this point. Later, I'll post notes on what it's like to envision and put together a series of novels. I'm learning as I go along. It's harder than I thought it would be, and I'm taking longer than most writers seem to. But why boast about how LITTLE time it takes to write books, when life increases the meaning and skill that go into them?
I think you'll enjoy the whole blog, if you haven't read the other parts yet.
Please consider all the time this literary meal has been on the loving backburner and go enjoy At Last--Luke Answers the Rest of the Questions!
I had a lot of fun writing it, and every project I do with my characters helps me know them better, adding to the depth of the books I've been working on since about 2000. It will be a whole series (AVS:The Anti-Vampirism Society). I'm thinking of 6 books at this point. Later, I'll post notes on what it's like to envision and put together a series of novels. I'm learning as I go along. It's harder than I thought it would be, and I'm taking longer than most writers seem to. But why boast about how LITTLE time it takes to write books, when life increases the meaning and skill that go into them?
I think you'll enjoy the whole blog, if you haven't read the other parts yet.
From the Red, Read Robin
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