Meet Al. Our Spoiled Frog.

Gargoyle Avatar

If you’ve been following my blog, you probably heard me mention that we have two cats and a frog. I’ve had a hard time taking pictures of Al, our thirteen year old albino water frog, because of the way his previous tank was set up. We recently constructed a new stand and situated Al in a brand new twenty-gallon tank in my office — now I’m *truly* never alone.

Al in his new tank

We opted to keep the setup relatively simple for now. There’s a glow-in-the-dark rock, a working drawbridge, and a gothic column. We managed to take a close-up of what he looks like.

Al Closeup

Now, sometimes (because he’s VERY spoiled) we get a bunch of minnows. This time around, he swallowed five of them and then sat for hours without moving.

Victims

It’s been a few days and we’re down to the last three minnows. I’m really curious to see how long they last, but I suppose Al’ll surprise me. Oh, how he does tend to pig out…

If wishes were fishes, I’d have a tank that would stretch from one wall to the other. The ancient ruins aquarium theme would be our “dream” way to decorate it. ‘Course, if there were ruins… There’d have to be a few skulls and treasure chests lying around, too…

    Mood: Curiouser and curiouser
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Coffee and a Pepsi Max
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: There was a chair and there was my bum.
    In My Ears: Google Hangouts
    Game Last Played: Dragon Age II
    Book Last Read: Research materials for work
    Movie Last Viewed: Alice in Wonderland
    Latest Artistic Project: *Still* *still* *still* need to take pictures… It’s on the list!
    Latest Fiction/Comic Release: Last Man Zombie Standing
    Latest Game Release: Friends in Low Places
    What I’m Working On: Primarily tie-in games work and novels.


October 22, 2013
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Link Salad. Caesar, not Garden.

There's a trojan on your computer

I’ve pledged to blog more often than I normally do, but sometimes it’s hard coming up with “a” topic. Hence, today’s post is a link salad of some websites and articles I found.

  • Frankenstein – If you’re a Benedict Cumberbatch fan, you might want to check your local theatres for this 2010 performance. He alternates roles with Jonny Lee Miller and, based on the preview spot alone, it sounds like its an outstanding show.
  • Fiction is a Waste of Time – I found this article to be ironic, not because it plays into the whole “elitist” mindset that is so prevalent here in the states or that most writers are not rolling in the dough — but because a musician, a songwriter, made that claim. Songwriters tell stories! As a musician myself, I see a LOT of similarities between the two fields. Replace “literary” with “classical” and there’s kerfluffles even within that discipline. Sheesh.
  • Open Government Foundation – This was really interesting to me, because it’s a list of what legislation is going through the House. Sure, we’ve all heard of SOPA and PIPA, but this allows you to get in on the ground floor and see what’s being discussed.
  • Friends in Low Places – My new Episode is now number four on the hottest items list for DriveThruRPG.com. Many, many thanks for supporting my work. Huzzah!
  • Top 5 Excuses Stopping You From Finishing That Novel – And I quote: “Whatever the scenario, all of these aspiring authors feel frustrated and powerless by the writing process, rather than empowered. The more powerless they feel, the more frustrated they become. The more frustrated they become, the less they feel like writing. And, of course, the less they feel like writing, the less they get done.”
  • Dragon Age Legends Remix – This sounds so tempting, but I don’t want to play this blind. Have you? “Playing as Dragon Age Legends’ Viscount Ravi, players will learn about Ravi’s back story while fighting their way through hordes of demons and darkspawn. By completing levels of the Remix, players are able to earn gifts for their hero in Dragon Age Legends on Facebook.”
  • HWA Scholarships – Just dropping in a note that you, too, can apply for an HWA scholarship if you’re an active member. I used to be, but I believe I let that lapse for now.
  • The Problem With Medium – This post talks about content farms and offers a warning. It’s a model that does favor the publisher and tends to earn them lots and lots of money. Think what you will about them. Certainly, I’m not advocating for or against them. I just think if you’re a good writer who wants to make a career based off of selling your work — do THAT. Don’t give it away in a business model where someone else profits off of what you provide.

And that’s it for today’s link salad!

    Mood: SO CAFFEINATED RIGHT NOW ZOMG
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Coffee plus a single Pepsi Max. Noticing how much caffeine hits me when I drink pop.
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: For the ever-lovin’ wash… FOUR LOADS.
    In My Ears: Water filter and drawbridge! (new fish tank)
    Game Last Played: Dragon Age II
    Book Last Read: Research materials for work
    Movie Last Viewed: Alice in Wonderland
    Latest Artistic Project: *Still* *still* *still* need to take pictures… It’s on the list!
    Latest Fiction/Comic Release: Last Man Zombie Standing
    Latest Game Release: Friends in Low Places
    What I’m Working On: Primarily tie-in games work and novels.


October 21, 2013
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And the Changeth of Seasons-eth

Jack The Pumpkin King Avatar

First, before I say ANYTHING else… Some GOOD news! So far, you’ve helped raise over $2,000 to fight hunger through DriveThruFiction.com‘s Read and Feed charity drive. Thanks for downloading the bundle! If you haven’t, you have until the 20th. I’d *really* like to see this hit $5,000!

So how have things been going? It’s been a roller coaster these past few weeks, but thankfully everything’s beginning to normalize. I *really* don’t like to take my bad mood out on other people, but I’m grateful for the time spent with friends who understand that while I’m a strong-willed person, even I have awful days. But those are behind me, come hell or high water, I’ll make it so — it’s all about the ‘tude for me. Sometimes, I just need to hang upside down to catch a different perspective. Six impossible things before breakfast. Etc. Etc. Etc.

I’m happy that the government is back to it’s normal day-to-day operations; I have a lot of friends that were dramatically affected by the shutdown. I understand it’s a politically charged topic, like many issues are these days, but it is what it is: people I care about were directly affected by this. Some worked as contractors or in other public agencies associated with different branches of the government (e.g. outside of the 800,000 figure). Others had to go back into work with no guarantee they’d get paid for that time. Hopefully, things will go back to normal for them very, very soon.

I’ve dealt with ideological purity before and the destruction those beliefs can leave in its wake. I was reminded of this last night when I was looking at some of my b-b-b-b-b-b-b-bad poetry. Wrote this oh, a while ago, but it’s fairly apropos to how I’m feeling right now about all of this political mess:

    Untitled

    spinning in a square pattern
    his spoken word one sad vibration
    of logic and the one way
    of naught perception, nay
    so Truth spins wayward from his line
    Statistics take their place up high
    emotions fall the Great fall
    failing his so smart conclusions

    they die the silent death
    of wind and water and angel’s breath
    till no more Truth exists within him
    a pile of data, just one more number
    un-separated from a mass
    who can not distinguish “eye”
    from “i”.

Told you it wasn’t *good* poetry. Heh, heh. But, if I’m looking on the bright side… I’m happy Fall is officially here. Seems like just yesterday it was 70s and sunny — and now it’s 50s and cool. I am totally and completely in love this weather!

Now, back to my to-do list. Oh, is it ever a beaut.

    Mood: Sunny side up
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Decent consumption
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Pesky Chores
    In My Ears: Water filter (new fish take)
    Game Last Played: Dragon Age II
    Book Last Read: Research materials for work
    Movie Last Viewed: Alice in Wonderland
    Latest Artistic Project: *Still* *still* *still* need to take pictures… It’s on the list!
    Latest Fiction/Comic Release: Last Man Zombie Standing
    Latest Game Release: Serenity Crew, Wedding Planners Cortex Plus, and Shooting Fish
    What I’m Working On: Primarily tie-in games work and novels.


October 17, 2013
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Fall, Fiction, and Feeding Heads

Sleepy Cat... So cute...

Phew! It’s been a busy last couple of weeks and I’ve neglected my blog. I should say “shame on me,” but if it’s any consolation, I haven’t even decorated for Halloween yet. Well, more than it already is, anyway. Oh, but this is my favorite season. Already made apple crumble, cinnamon rolls, and dirty chicken and gnocchi. I am eagerly waiting for the world to turn dark so homemade hot chocolate, chicken and dumplings, and pot pies are on the table. Finally got my pumpkins, but one of them has mold on it. Haven’t quite figured out what I want to carve, but I suppose at some point I’ll give in to the owl craze. Thar be paintings on my agenda.

In fiction-land… I’ve been taking an online short story workshop. Might have mentioned it before, but I’ll give a recap after we’re done to talk a little bit more about it. Some writers post about how they want to get “there,” to the point where they don’t have to hone or sharpen skills — I’m not one of them. I’m very self-aware about my work and how my emphasis on different forms of writing (or consumption thereof) affects my fiction. I’m with Michaelangelo on this one. It doesn’t matter where I am in my career or how many years I’ve written — “I am still learning.” The minute I think I’m “good” or get cocky about my abilities… Well, that’s when my work suffers. ‘Course, the opposite is true as well, because then I freeze up and the words just don’t flow. Yes, “word anxiety.” It’s a thing.

Here’s an exercise I wrote recently:

Deadwood was the kind of town that had everythin’. Well, almost everything. You see, it had a barber shop, saloon, pokey — and a whorehouse, too. What it needed was a doctor’s office: nothin’ fancy. Just a small house with one of dem picket fences and a purty l’il lawn. Instead, that good-for-nothin’ mayor cut a deal, the kind that folks are scared to talk about, on account of the people involved in it. Yep, that’s right. Mayor Wilkins went ahead and signed a contract with that good-for-nothin’ varmint: Jackson “Evil Eye” Miller. And what fer? To build a mall. Now, this mall weren’t just any collection of shops, it was built to attract them rich folk. Though the buildings were mighty plain, it was decked out like the President’s mansion when he welcomed that Japanese dignitary. E’erywhere you walked, fresh orchids and blood lilies spilled out of bronze urns. Fine silks were sewn into draperies and the names of all the stores were painted on the windows in gold and silver. If that weren’t enough frippery to impress the nobles, the stores themselves were top end. Why, there wasn’t a shop in that mall that didn’t have something interestin’ to offer folk, something unusual like sweaters made from alpaca wool or tea harvested from hibisucs. That mall was e’erythin’ gentile folk might dream of, which is exactly why Ma’s Diner was such an eyesore. Against such finery, who’d bother dropping by Ma’s dingy log cabin just to order a stack of greasy flapjacks?

I did… And my stomach’s still mighty queasy, too. What was in those pancakes? And what’s “Ma” stand for, anyway? By the way my guts feel, I’m startin’ to worry she’s actually Miller’s mom, bakin’ dead bodies in her l’il diner. Boy, I hope not. Deadwood may be a lot of things, but I shore hope folks ain’t takin’ its name too literally.

Gee, can you tell I’ve been knee-deep in Firefly or what?

In other news, want a great deal on ebooks and feed the hungry at the same time? I’m guessing you do! DriveThruFiction.com is sponsoring a Read and Feed eBook bundle. It retails for $150 but you can pick up over 30 eBooks for twenty bucks. The proceeds will be donated to Feeding America. Both REDWING’S GAMBIT and Eddy Webb’s collection SLICES OF FATE are included in this collection, but there are several others, too! If you want more information, FlamesRising.com has more details.

    Mood: Sunny side up
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Decent consumption
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Pesky Chores
    In My Ears: Movie soundtrack mix
    Game Last Played: Dragon Age II
    Book Last Read: Darn it… Can’t remember!
    Movie Last Viewed: Alice in Wonderland
    Latest Artistic Project: *Still* *still* *still* need to take pictures… It’s on the list!
    Latest Fiction/Comic Release: Last Man Zombie Standing
    Latest Game Release: Serenity Crew, Wedding Planners Cortex Plus, and Shooting Fish
    What I’m Working On: Primarily tie-in games work and novels. Added an online writing workshop, too!


October 9, 2013
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Coming Together

Firefly Avatar

Tons to tell you about today, so I better get started!

gaming-in-the-verseThe preview for the Firefly RPG line, Gaming in the ‘Verse: Gen Con 2013 Exclusive, will no longer be available at the end of this month. You can order print copies from www.margaretweis.com and a digital version from DriveThruRPG.com.

I just had a fantastic meeting with our Systems Lead, Mark Diaz Truman, to wrap up the corebook. We were talking about the overwhelmingly positive response to the Exclusive and how some folk’d be happy just with that. I said that the Exclusive sets expectations by giving them what they need, but the corebook? Gives them what they didn’t even know they needed. Will there be new material? How ’bout over 100,000 words worth?

Today, I’m developing the Episode for the corebook, which was written by Jack Norris. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m incredibly sensitive to sound. Sometimes, I can’t listen to anything with words in it when I need to concentrate because it slows my progress down considerably. Other projects, I go the opposite route and have an audiobook on in the background (I happen to adore the Terry Pratchett’s Discworld performances) or I have a movie on that I’ve seen a 1,000 times so I can tune it out. Music with words, though? Can’t do it. Not sure if the fresh air and open windows have something to do with it. Guess I’m just weird that way.

I try to stick to a theme when I’m listening to instrumental music and, for Firefly, it’s all about the Chinese traditional compositions — which is great because it’s something I’d listen to anyway. Lately, I’ve been putting the theme song for a fun, very relaxing puzzle game called Entanglement on in the background on repeat. I’m putting dueling banjos and old west-inspired fiddles on my list of tunes to research.

Sugar Skull_Liz MieraNot sure if I mentioned this yet or not, but I’m modifying a dress I already own (it’s a pink A-line) for Halloween with this patch and some beadwork. So, Etsy can yield some pretty awesome things and I have to say: Liz Miera Embroidery is phenomenal. The quality is great and the design is spot on. It can be REALLY hard to find sugar skull designs that aren’t…well, awful. Here’s a link to her Etsy store if you want to check out her inventory.

Heading out to my salon and will be asking for recommendations on hair. (They’re used to my crazy-ass requests by now. Hah.) I got a black wedding sash to take care of the girly bow problem. I may design jewelry for the overall costume, too, but if I do it’ll likely be a bracelet of some sort. Already have the rest of it. Now, if I can just get back into painting I’ll be shiny. I have a few I need to work on, but have to finish converting my office into a studio. Let’s just say moving our extraordinarily spoiled frog required some shifting — in a good way.

In domestic news, we watched The Gift last night with Cate Blanchett. What a fantastic film. ‘Course, I get Ryan Gosling confused with Giovanni Ribisi (BAD WRITER) but one of the things that I really loved about this, is the very realistic way certain townsfolk got addicted to Annabelle’s readings. She used what are known as “zener cards” which are cards scientists use to test psychic abilities. (You can follow that link to test yourself.) Anyway, I really dug this one because the psychic aspect, when combined with the small town aspect, added a lot of conflict to an already unique and very memorable cast of characters.

Making a buffalo chicken pizza today. Figured you might be interested in the recipe, because it’s SUPER EASY. And this is where I’ll leave you… With the NOM NOM NOMs…

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

(1) tube refrigerator pizza dough
4-5 Frozen buffalo chicken tenders
1-2 Carrots
1-2 stalks Celery
1/4 to 1/2 cup Bleu Cheese dressing
1 cup cheddar cheese
Fresh cilantro, chives, or parsley for garnish

Cook buffalo chicken tenders according to instructions and set aside. When cool, cut up into smaller pieces. Roll out the pizza dough. Spread bleu cheese dressing across the bottom of it. Add the chicken pieces and scatter cheese across the top. Bake according to the crust’s directions. While the pizza’s in the oven, chop up the celery and use a potato peeler to make ribbons of carrots. When the pizza is done, top with your veggies and garnish.

Voila! A tasty pizza!

    Mood: I am a grasshopper who is focusing.
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Hit it really hard yesterday. Tired.
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Walked!
    In My Ears: Entanglement soundtrack
    Game Last Played: Dragon Age II
    Book Last Read: Amphigorey
    Movie Last Viewed: The Gift
    Latest Artistic Project: *Still* *still* *still* need to take pictures… It’s on the list!
    Latest Fiction/Comic Release: Last Man Zombie Standing
    Latest Game Release: Serenity Crew, Wedding Planners Cortex Plus, and Shooting Fish
    What I’m Working On: Primarily tie-in games work and novels. Added an online writing workshop, too!


September 26, 2013
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