My Very Own Blogetary (Blog: Web Log; etary or ary: engaged in or pertaining to)

Well, things are a little up and down here at La Maison d’Olivier. Let’s look at the bad stuff first:

1. Guy who says I don’t have a right to my logo is back though we already settled that I was moving on to something else. So, I reiterated that to him a few times so he’ll get it. Hopefully, he’s moved on.  I don’t know. We’ll see.
2. I recently changed banks and this new account they’re holding paychecks 9 days. I know it’s SOP and will be over when it’s over, but in the mean time, it’s a pain.
3. I think my thyroid is off again. Little things are kind of pointing me in that direction. So, I’ll need to talk to my provider about that next visit.
4. It’s going to be a tight holiday season.
5. Besides the businesses folding in this economic desert, other ventures are folding as well. Flytrap sent out a notice to subscribers that they’re suspending operations for a while. It’s not just the economy with them, I know. It’s life and stuff. But they’re a force in the small press world. I hope they’re back again soon and that other small presses in the speculative fiction world don’t follow suit. I hope they all hang in there, hang tough.
6. My schedule is off. I haven’t done much, if any, creative writing. I’ve done revisions. I’ve done article and review and paper writing. I haven’t really done creative writing. I know it’s just a matter of time, but right now I’m just off and “meh” about it all.
7. Prop. 8 is still on the books and there are still people out there who just don’t get it. They’re probably the same people who don’t understand how important the ERA was and the significance that it never really passed. They’re probably the same people who don’t get that Affirmative Action is an important program still.

That’s the bad. And it’s really not all that bad. Now for the good. Soon you’ll see why I saved the best for last:

1. I gotta yes on one of my stories tonight!  The Crow King. YAY! It will be in the September 2009 Aoife’s Kiss.
2. I’ll be getting hard copies of the issue of EV that has my poetry in it soon.
3. My Christmas story, Santa is My Homeboy, will be coming out online at Mindflights.com in December and I’m really excited about it.
4. Another Christmas story is currently on the positive side of maybe, maybe, and I’m hoping to hear back from them soon. Hopefully you’ll see that one in December as well.
5. Had the best dream the other night full of my orange tabbies and floating and cool stuff.
6. Despite held checks at new banks, I’m paying bills and paying rent. It’s still tight, but I love that I am once more able to kinda sorta take care of myself. I still have a long way to go to paying people back, and I still have little or no expendable income, but it feels a whole lot better.
7. After coffee with friends after my last writers meeting I came away with two cool gems of wisdom.
1. If my writing schedule is off, then all I need to do is figure out a new schedule that works for me. It will take time, but I will get there and I will find it (I do wonder when that will happen as I lie awake at 11 pm thinking I should be up writing cuz that’s when I wrote the last year but knowing I need to be in bed so I can get up in the morning to go to work).
2. If I’m feeling frustrated because I’m not connecting to someone, part of it is because I feel as if they should try to relate to me and I’m tired of being the one trying to relate to them (thanks, Leigh!). Looking at it that way makes me realize I don’t even have to try to relate. If it doesn’t happen, and they aren’t trying on their end, then it’s time for me to just walk away. Save the energy for other pursuits. I have friends already who relate to me just fine, thank you very much.
8. I really like my job. I really like my coworkers and boss. The other day, Friday, one of the women called me in to let me know that they like me, too. I want to try really hard to do a good job there. I don’t want to let them down. I don’t want to let myself down.
9. Even with my thyroid being weird again - at least my commute is only a minute or two away and not an hour and a half. So even though I’m having a hard time getting up in the mornings again, it’s still all good.
10. I’m learning a lot where I work about how a monthly print newspaper works. Writing for Chocolate Zoom has helped me understand a monthly online publication, but now I’m learning about print. It’s all fascinating and I love it all.
11. Criminal Minds is going to be filming in our office on Friday!  Yay!  We’re working early and out early and probably won’t see much, but I think it’s cool, as I am a fan.
12. After cataloging my gift cupboard and stuff I bought last year during the after Christmas sales, I’m further ahead than I thought I would be for Christmas and that makes me very happy.
13. I have friends coming to town in December and we’re going to go to Disneyland!  That will be fun. And I might even be able to afford it.
14. I’m enjoying being creative with my life and my Christmas.
15. Right now, at this point, it’s easier to see the dross and cut it from my life. The fog hasn’t filtered in to cloud issues. Yet. But right now, it’s good.

I haven’t gone through and hyperlinked everything cuz I figure if you’re really interested, then you’ll Google it and I need to get to bed so I can get up in the morning. You know how the internet works. If there’s not a link to click on, you know how to research it.

Good night. Angels on your pillows.

Electric Velocipede is a scifi/steampunk type journal and it is publishing two of my poems, The Story and Homemade Rosewater. EV is a print journal, but it has some of the poetry and fiction online, if you want to check it out, including my two poems.

So, take a look. Hope you enjoy it!

This month’s Chocolate Zoom is about more than just Halloween candy! It’s our special fashion edition as well. In October’s issue you can read about chocolate fashion — from clothing to jewelry — as well as about chocolate specially made for ghosties and ghoulies, and even chocolate paintings!

So check it out - but make sure you have some chocolate at hand, cuz by the time you’re done reading this issue, you’re gonna be hungry!

(Cross posted in a few different places…)

In case anyone is interested, the next issue of Electric Velocipede will be coming out soon. It will be a double issue (#15 Summer and #16 Winter) as the floods in Iowa this summer seriously hampered getting anything out. They have some advertising space open for anyone interested.

I am particularly attached to this upcoming issue because I have two poems in it. However, there are a lot of other stories and poems in that issue that will be worth the read. I’m honored to be listed among the authors in this issue.

The September Issue of Chocolate Zoom is out. Drop by and check it out. It’s full of lovely tastings, such as Chocolate and the Printed Word or Bestsellers That Oughta Be Dipped in Chocolate. Then there’s chocolate as regards to your decorating choices, and chocolate that is healthy for you. If you want to learn about some innovative ways that chocolate is being used in cooking, checkout Hotel Chocolat. And if you want to know about the current craze overtaking the country grab your umbrella cuz It’s Raining Cupcakes!

I want to publically thank Jim (and Lyle) for aiding me in my hunt for cupcakes and taking pictures!

Personally, my favorite cupcakes were the Lark Cupcakes.

From left to right they are vanilla, lemon, berry shortcake, and chocolate mousse. I LOVED the lemon one.

Getting a yes NEVER gets old, and rejections always set ya back a little. Today, I got a yes for a little thing I wrote that I didn’t know what to do with. So, I sent it to an editor who tends like my writing more than dislike it and he knew exactly where to put it.

Yay!

That’s all I have to say. Back to work now.

Michael Geffner is a writer currently residing in New York. His internet workshop for writers has been around in one form or another for many years. He now has a newsletter he puts out in the form of a blog, and has also set up a social network just for writers. I wrote an article on my experience at the BEA Writer’s Digest Writers Conferenct that has just appeared in the August Issue. Check it out if you’re interested.

Since the sirens and police loudspeakers and helicopters don’t seem to have a bedtime in my neighborhood right now (and hence I am unable to get to sleep), I decided it might be a good time to log on to the old blog and tell you that my poem, Learning Alchemy, can now be read in the June 2008 issue of Aoife’s Kiss.

But don’t take my word for it. Check out the anniversary issue at Genre Mall, and if you scroll down you will see a list of contributors, one of them being me! So, get yourself a copy. Heck, even if you aren’t interested in reading my poem, I think you should get yourself a copy because it’s a good magazine.

Just heard that three articles I wrote are appearing in June’s issue of Chocolate Zoom. It’s their spa issue, so there are articles about treats for the body as well as for the taste buds.

Hope you enjoy.

A lot has happened since I wrote you last.

What I’ve Been Doing:

We had a speaker come to our writer’s group last Saturday and that was very nice. Only thing I regret is that he didn’t seem to reach the under 40 crowd, but oh well. I tried.

Was asked to be Vice President of our little writer’s group as well that same day. That was nice! Been a little discouraged lately and almost considered dropping out of the group until then.

Searching for writing, proofing, and copy editing gigs, as per usual….trying to stay out of trouble.

OH! And I just got me a bright, shiny new external hard drive so my workhorse of a computer doesn’t need to labor so hard under so much memory keeping.

What I’ve Been Reading:

I’ve finished reading Rogue by Rachel Vincent (second in her Werecats series) and was on the edge of my seat much of the time.

Stayed in all day Sunday reading The Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik and quite enjoyed that. It is Book 4 in her Temeraire Series. Book 5 is due out in hard cover in July.

Currently am reading Solstice Wood by Patricia McKillip. I forgot how much I enjoy her.

I’m still working on an anthology edited by Marvin Kaye called The Fair Folk, with stories in it by Tanith Lee, Patricia McKillip, Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder, Megan Lindholm, Kim Newman, and Craig Shaw Gardner. I quite like it and recommend it.

What I Am Writing:

Some poems, some short stories, an essay/article or three. Revising a few that need it.

Since the mountain top experience with Julie Andrews I’ve gotten like 8 “No Thank Yous,” which was a little bit why I was discouraged. But I did also get 1 “Yes Thank You,” which totally made my day. It’s a Christmas story so I’ll let you know when and where it will be in December if you’re interested.

Well, that’s my news. Hope you have a great day and I’ll write again soon!

Fond regards,

Rachel

P.S.

I had a really good dinner and the BEST CAKE IN THE WORLD EVER! And I learned how to play Crazy Rummy after said dinner and CAKE! (Ice Cream cuts the sweetness.)