stillsostrange

A survey sort of meme swiped from la_marquise_de_. Just the sort of thing I need to distract myself on a gloomy Sunday when I should be working on this short story that's due quite soon.

Day 1 - Ten random facts about yourself

I spin widdershins when I dance.
I'm seriously considering bright blue curtains in the new kitchen.
I may be the only goth in the world who doesn't appreciate Nightmare Before Christmas.
One of my new fitness goals is holding a shield wall.
I wish I kept better notes and timelines for previous novels.
I don't know how to ride a bike, but friends are trying to convince me to do a triathlon next year.
I swim very slowly. (Which makes that triathlon doubly problematic.)
I chose snuggling over trail-running this morning. Warrior Dash is two weeks away. Oops.
Coming up with random facts is very difficult for me.
This short story still refuses to finish itself.

Day 2 - Nine things you do everyday
Day 3 - Eight things that annoy you
Day 4 - Seven fears/phobias
Day 5 - Six songs that you’re addicted to
Day 6 - Five things you can’t live without
Day 7 - Four memories you won’t forget
Day 8 - Three words you can’t go a day without
Day 9 - Two things you wish you could do
Day 10 - One person you can trust

This is just to say that I'm not dead, Space City Con was a very good time, and that I have my second lesson in properly punching things tomorrow. Further updates to follow.

LiveJournal updates remain thin on the ground, but I have not died. I had a lovely visit to Massachusetts last week to run around (literally) with matociquala and dance with readingthedark and meet other delightful people. And then I brought matociquala back to Austin with me, where we danced and hiked and signed books and danced some more.

After some delays on the insurance end, our old car was finally declared totaled (and hopefully given a Viking funeral). Today we brought home a new Honda, which with any luck will live a long and full life like my first Honda, not die a tragic and self-sacrificing death like the last one.

In addition to great busyness and some brain-eating personal stuff going on, I've been unposty because of a lack of novel progress and frustration therewith. But--cross your appendages--I may have had An Idea tonight. It's actually an old idea (spies in fabulous hats), but I'm starting to figure out what makes it tick. If I can get a surge of worldbuilding built next week, I should have a solid foundation. I hope.

I survived many hours in the Gothtopus getup today, and even sold a book. An unexpected side effect of my recent weight loss is that my corset fits amazingly well (I had nearly grown out of it at this time last year), but the tentacle skirt is now too large. And it's hard to have a tentacle skirt taken in.

Today's random writerly revelation: I really want to write a gothic*. Crumbling mansions and curses and madwomen in the attic. This dovetails nicely with my equal desire to write a Scion of a Creepy Family story. Now I just need to find a plot to support these dreams.



* I had fun doing high fantasy gothic in Kingdoms, and my unfinished Pinion is a Texas gothic, but I want even more gothic than that.

It's a bright side/dark side sort of week. On the bright side, my local B&N had several copies of Kingdoms, and copies of Brave New Love. Also, my unfucking habits have held on: not only is the kitchen clean, but I have coffee prepped and ready for tomorrow morning, and made my lunch. Also also, I went to a new dentist today, and was quite happy with her. My cavity was filled with entirely no fuss or pain, and I didn't have any other cavities lurking out of sight.

On the dark side... My laptop Jadis died yesterday. She'd been running slow for a while, so I freed up some memory and rebooted. Only for her to never wake up from the reboot. Steven still isn't sure what the problem is, but it does seem like most of my data is intact, somewhere out of reach. Say it with me now, children:

Back up early. Back up often.

So I'm borrowing Steven's Macbook for the time being, and hoping for the best.

I contemplate giving up something for Lent. But I'm not sure what. Something I like whose absence might be vaguely healthy. That means it's time for a poll!

[Poll #1821020]

I was hoping today would be a productive day like yesterday. I would haul some gravel, then write. Only while I was hauling gravel, what should appear in my yard but two stray dogs. I called them and they came over, then got distracted by exploring my back yard. I promptly shut the gate and got leashes and a spare collar. During the time they were shut in the back yard, Brown Dog managed to break a board in the fence and get into the neighbor's yard--luckily I managed to coax her back into mine. Brown Dog has a collar but no tags; her companion Yellow Dog has neither.

Next we went for a walk, and Brown Dog and Yellow Dog dragged me around the neighborhood, but never picked one house that might be theirs. None of the people we met knew them. After the walk we drove to my vet, where no one knew either dog, and learned they aren't microchipped. I took them to another vet in the area, with no better luck. I proceeded to print some fliers, put an ad on Craigslist, and leave my number with animal control, in case anyone calls to report them lost.

Brown Dog and Yellow Dog are both very friendly and well-behaved, but Brown Dog is a cat chaser. She also hates crates and bathrooms. Currently the cats are locked in the garage and my dogs are outside. I guess we'll go for a walk again at 5, and hope someone has come home to notice their dogs missing. Otherwise sleeping arrangements will be interesting tonight.

I was going to get up and haul some more pea gravel this morning, but the key to our back gate is MIA. Alas. Eventually I'll enpant and go see my tattoo boy, but he's not in the shop for another hour yet. So to kill time I guess I'll make an LJ poll.

I would like to write more short stories one of these years. I need a Mi-go story for early 2012, and I'm stupidly close to the end of "Flood" and need to start poking it again. But other than those, I'm not sure what to work on. I've managed two sequel/prequel stories, and would consider others. If you're familiar with my short stories--or just like sharing opinions on the internet--what would like to see more of?

[Poll #1793402]

Which are much like bulls, in this case. Between being trampled by a bull or paying to overnight a manuscript to New York, I'm not sure which is more painful.

deakat and saare_snowqueen, your books are finally in the mail! Sorry for the delay.

Blood Rose Books is running an interview with me and attendant contest (scroll down, you'll find it). If you know anyone who doesn't have a copy of The Drowning City yet, they can win one there.

And now, at long last, I get breakfast, and to sit down and brainstorm on the proto-book. Word Race 2011 crashed and burned spectacularly, as is my way with races, but maybe now I can get moving again.

There were things I wanted to post while LJ was down. Now that it's back I have nothing. Well, I have to take a sad, stupid dog to the vet in a little while, but that's not very exciting. (Protip: don't bring an ottoman to a landshark fight.)

Other than that, I'm mostly sitting around staring at the book-shaped hole in my brain where a book should be.