Second Life's Fantasy Faire is well underway! And within that huge, magical event, there's a literary festival. I'll be there on Sunday! Here's how to find me.
The Brassbright Chronicle
If you are a librarian. If you know a librarian. If you have a library card. Please indulge me? See, book royalties are nice, but I knew from the get-go I wasn't going to get rich being an author. What I *want* is to be read, and enjoyed, and possibly remembered later in life for providing a memorable experience. Libraries help me fulfill that wish. Here's a new page at my website with information for librarians and library enthusiasts!
While Constance traveled Industralia carrying at the most a carpetbag and a hatbox (and at first, much less!), I do want readers to understand that her circumstance was quite unusual, especially as she really wasn't able to carry a lot due to the nature of her... flight. :) However! The rather brilliant and well-researched author Gail Carriger's characters travel in a more historically accurate style.
I Nano. Do you Nano? Do you know what it is? In a nut house shell, I commit to devoting the month of November to writing a novel (50,000 words being the Nano definition of a novel.)
My first attempt was in November of 2003. I had SUCH lofty dreams. I had the most amazing concept ever! Or so I thought.
For those who write historical books. Learn more about tomatoes, ice cream sundaes, and more, thanks to an amazing and useful Food Timeline.
If you've read The Flight To Brassbright then you know about that brilliant, ill-fated inventor, Gerard Liddle. These motorized skates made me think of him right away! He'd probably have called them Liddle Rollers.
Usually I can't edit while listening to music with vocals - the words of the music clash with the voices of my characters. Tonight is an exception. I've been happily editing chapter five of the next Brassbright adventure, "Down The Tubes", while listening to the 1984 Talking Heads 'Stop Making Sense' live concert. I've loved that concert since forever!
I'll share the concert link. If you've never met David Byrne, do give him and his friends a listen. If you've been away from his genius for a while, it's time to reconnect.
At one minute past midnight Pacific time on March 1, the special Smashwords "Read an Ebook" promotion catalog goes live on the Smashwords home page. Readers can browse the catalog and search by coupon code levels and categories. At the stoke of 12:00am Pacfiic time on March 8, the catalog disappears.
I love researching the little details for a story. Yesterday I decided that a particular character in "Down The Tubes" should live next door to a paper clip factory, simply because I liked the way that sounded. But I needed to be sure paper clips had been invented in 1895. I found patent application diagram, which shows a paperclip that is identical to the classic clip we still use today.
If you are a resident of the virtual world of Second Life, I cordially invite you to the monthly book discussion at the rather luxurious R.F. Burton Public Library in the steampunk city of New Babbage. I enjoy these discussions - it's a fun and lively group. In March, I'm very pleased to announce that The Flight To Brassbright has been chosen for discussion.