Other than sheer masochism? They offer a slight shortcut to the usually long query process, they let you meet fellow writers and industry professionals, and they offer the chance to get agent offers and free feedback. I’ve blogged before about some dangers and darker sides of online pitch contests. Now for a spotlight on the…
Read More Why enter pitch contests?Based off a great Twitter thread earlier today, I’ve cleaned up this version of a ‘Nazibasher’ stencil design. More anti-fascist art can be found here on Pinterest. My compliments to the original stencil maker. I’d love to cite you but we both know that may not be safe. Disclaimer: I’m making no money off this…
Read More Resistance StencilCharacter names and titles are important in fiction (duh!) Different genres have different naming trends and types, if not outright rules. A clever writer can exploit or twist those, while a tone-deaf writer can suffer for them. Of course, it helps to read massively and currently in your target genres. I have a perennial problem…
Read More Character names and titlesTechnology is wonderful. Especially when bright but otherwise bored people say ‘Hey, these zirconium ceramic ball bearings and whetstones are nearly as tough as sapphire. I bet we could make jewelry out of this stuff!’ Jewelry wonks are already familiar with Cubic Zirconium, the relatively cheap and readily available diamond-substitute gem, usually faceted and sold…
Read More Black Ceramic ChainOr: faux inlay technique on wood. I make artifacts and jewelry, along with book art and a ton of other largely useless but fun things. I belong to a loose-knit group of like-minded souls who, upon occasion, will make Harry-Potter-inspired magic wands as props and cosplay pieces. This newest piece is made from a Blood…
Read More Blood Orange and Jasper Magic WandI’ve been at a plateau for a while on the big fantasy project: polished, but not quite gleaming. This weekend, three things happened: I wrote a decent pitch for an upcoming pitch contest. I tightened the first chapter, and bridged new and old versions with really strong scenes. I forced more emotion into one character,…
Read More When writing goes exceptionally wellA brief but long overdue update, on erotic romance publisher Samhain. After announcing their closure late in 2015, they regrouped in a flurry of activity over 2016. But they’re closing for real at the end of February 2017, only a few days after releasing a last round of contracted books. Those first rights are burned,…
Read More Shame on SamhainIt’s done! It looks like this: It started from an old beige cotton Dorfman Pacific Legionnaire Cap, bought at Popular Surplus when that was still around in AZ. Around 2003, for a Halloween event, I put the cap into a salmon-pink dye bath. Then doodled some red fabric paint on it, and stitched a raggedy…
Read More Pussyhat Legionnaire CapMy friend A. G. Carpenter and the great people at Falstaff Books have released ‘Of Shade and Soul’, the second novella in her Southern gothic ‘Touch’ trilogy. Delaney Green might be dead, but she don’t mean to stay that way. As she searches for a way back to the realm of the living, and the…
Read More Of Shade and Soul: A Touch Trilogy NovellaA test piece from circa 1991, made with scrap linen, plain old paraffin wax, acrylic dyes, a lot of cheap paper towels and a thrift-store iron, and a design borrowed from Balinese carvings and an amaaaazing Chinese celadon vase (Thank you, ASU West Library). I’m posting it because it’s fun, fierce, and there’s only so…
Read More Dragon Batik, a PussyHat, and the Tax Day MarchSo apparently there were at least three times as many people protesting Trump in Washington, D.C. Saturday 1-21-2017 than attended Trump’s inauguration the day before. The National Guard has confirmed it the largest single-location protest in American history. If you count all the *other* protests in the US and worldwide, participation numbered in the millions.…
Read More Crowd sizes and why they may actually matterJust so we’re clear. This guy is not heroic, he’s not smart, and he’s not honorable. He got where he is in life by being the exact opposite of those three qualities. He’s gold-plated pewter proof that if you have enough money, you can steamroll your way through life, aided by people who want to…
Read More Trump = FascistThe first necklace with my mini-landscape pendants on stone. I might be playing with gold-filled chains for an even more (for me) minimal look. But for now, this will do. Materials: black stone pendant, black polyester waxed cord, Toho glass seed beads, India lampworked glass beads, acrylic paint, bronze leaf, varnish. Necklace adjustable from 15″…
Read More Well, that workedPainter 17, Alien Skin filters, and a fast snapshot of me trying on a recent creation. I like how well Painter’s new Impressionist brushes work, and mimic how I’d do this in physical oils or acrylics. While I still think it’s sort of ‘cheating’ to doctor photos with digital filters and sell the result,…
Read More Selfie with a shell scarfThis is Adelaide, named for the charming little boutique that used to employ her. She’ll look a bit different when I’m done with her upgrades. If I’m going to do more wearable art and large-scale jewelry, I need a dressform!
Read More Say hi to AdelaideA few months ago I scored some carved black stone pendants. A little research into painted shell and stone (resulting in a LOT of humility), I had a film hardener recipe for acrylic paint. And many ideas. These are the first test batch with bronze leaf accents. Each is about one inch high. Once…
Read More Painted rocksMy debut novel MORO’S PRICE, a M/M space opera erotic romance, was first published in 2012. I’m pleased to announce that a newly revised version will be coming soon from NineStar Press. If you liked the original version, I think you’ll love this one. If all goes well, you’ll also be seeing the direct sequel…
Read More New version of Moro’s Price coming soon!