Nerd on the run

I run for various reasons. I like to be fit, running is great cardiovascular exercise, and my thoughts get to wander where they will as my feet pound mindlessly along. Also, running is a great reason to venture out in the cool early morning air during a Tucson summer, and man does it feel great to jump in the pool immediately upon my return home. I like that I can run and I do run, if that makes sense. I like the accomplished, relaxed feeling after a run. I've even come to enjoy running itself, so I look forward to heading out most mornings. Regular running helps my mind, my stress levels, my imagination, my appetite, my heart and lungs and various other body parts.

In some ways I'm an avid runner. I've run for over 15 years, and I run regularly, 3 to 5 times a week, even on vacations or when traveling. But when I go to running websites or talk to true running enthusiasts, I quickly realize I'm more dedicated and delighted by running than avid over it. I don't run particularly long distances and can't even imagine trying a marathon. My typical runs are between 3 to 5 miles, and I like it that way. I don't compete. Ever. I don't run in groups. I've never even run with one other person. I don't need a companion for incentive or inspiration or competition. I don't need to talk about running. I certainly don't need to talk while running. I just like to run as often, as far, and as fast as I feel like going.

So I'm a dedicated and delighted, non-competitive, long-time, regular runner. I'm also a nerd. I time every run, and I know how far I go and my average pace. I have a Garmin watch that communicates with satellites and uploads data to my computer, so I have charts that show how far I run weekly, monthly, etc... I even know how many miles I run each day of the week and which days tend to be my favorite and least favorite running days. I'm most definitely a nerd about this. I'm a running nerd.

It gets worse. When my pace changes, I try to understand why. For instance, recently and suddenly, I began running faster than I've been going for months. I feel like I should smile, say cool, and go about my business. But that's not what I do. I wonder if it's because I changed shoes or inserts, ran earlier than usual, stretched more before... Since my runs are always limited by how much air I can take in, I think about air quality. Is there less pollen? More humidity? Maybe it's the type of allergens in the air. Or the time of year. Maybe it's because I ran a few days in a higher altitude on a trip, and now that I'm back where there's more oxygen in the air, I can run faster here...

What a nerd, right? This is probably the result of my engineering side combining with my writer side. Engineers love data and reasons and understanding things. Writers are obsessive.

But for whatever reason, take warning, Tucson. There's a nerd on the run among you.

CANCELLED - Albuquerque book signing for Tango Sunday

--CANCELLED--

I'm sad to announce that due to severe illness in Janet's immediate family, the May 1st book signing in Albuquerque has been CANCELLED. Please send good thoughts to Janet, her husband, and their family. 

--CANCELLED--

I'm making my first trip to Albuquerque since we moved to Tucson over 2 1/2 years ago, and it's for a very good reason. I'm joining Janet K. Brennan at Bookworks to sign copies of Tango Sunday.

This will be fun! I enjoyed living in Albuquerque for over 7 years. I even made it the setting -- along with Chaco Canyon -- for my novel Struck. Now I'm excited to return for a very short visit next week, and I hope some of my Albuquerque friends will come out to Bookworks to say howdy. I'll be reading a segment from my short story, "Final Vision," which is my contribution to Janet Brennan's collection of "tales on the edge."

I've always had good feeling about being the guest author in this collection, and reading all the incredible stories in Tango Sunday made me even happier that I participated. The title Tango Sunday and the sub-title "tales on the edge" are both very appropriate. Each story in the collection dances boldly and gracefully along the border between everyday life and what's just beyond the edge. It's very fun to read!

The signing is at Bookworks in Albuquerque (4022 Rio Grande NW) at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, May 1st. If you're local to Albuquerque, please come see us!

So there was no book signing, but Tango Sunday is definitely worth a look. It's different and fun. CLICK HERE to check it out for yourself.

Standing Man -or- The Saga of My Sore Butt

I'm taking a stand against my office chair and becoming a standing man. I've been reading about standing desks for a couple years, waiting to see if it was a fad or a smart trend. In the meantime, my butt suffered from long hours in the chair, and I struggled from time to time with lower back pain. I tried a few things to alleviate the problem.

• I tried standing and/or walking around regularly. I read that this was a smart practice for office workers, but I like my work habit of total immersion for long periods. Interrupting my creative flow for the sake of my butt and back wasn't a great fix for me. 
• I tried taking my laptop to different places to work (couch, outside, kitchen counter,...), but I like working in my office. 
• I bought a better chair with a better seat design. It didn't help, so I bought a fancy gel cushion for the better chair. My back side continued complaining. 
• I bought a knee chair and switched back and forth from office chair to knee chair. That actually helped for some time, but I ultimately wheeled the knee chair into the closet because it was a bit awkward and my legs were stiff after getting up from it. 
• I considered gaining 50 pounds or so, figuring some of that added mass would find its way to my admittedly bony butt, but it didn't seem like a healthy choice. Okay, I really didn't seriously think about that one. :)  

So that's the saga of my sore butt so far. Now on to the next chapter, becoming a standing man. Standing desks can be pricey, but I found a nice looking one online for a very reasonable cost. I assembled it and hung it on the wall yesterday, and I already like using it. It's easy to transition back and forth, especially while my body is getting used to all the standing. I pick up the laptop, turn 90 degrees, and sit at my regular desk. Here's a photo.

I love the gel mat I purchased in anticipation of this change. We have concrete floors, so I figured I'd need some cushioning for the sake of my feet and joints. I'll transition slowly, experiment with the length of time I spend at each desk, and make modifications as needed (I already know I want to add a little stool so I can prop one foot or the other on it from time to time), but I hope to report great success with my workplace addition. So far, I'm quite happy with things as they now stand. hehehe

The "North Patio"

On a completely non-horror, non-writer note, we're almost done transforming the north mess of our back yard into the new and vastly improved "North Patio." We dreamed about doing this because it was ugly and highly visible to us while enjoying the other, more pleasant parts of our yard. We know a good contractor (who I now deem a great contractor), explained what we wanted, and he made it happen in about 3 weeks. Then we got to work moving rocks, planting trees and shrubs and flowers, and generally sprucing up the yard. Now we're in very good shape and so is our back yard. For your viewing pleasure, some before/after pictures.

What we saw vs. what we now see standing by the pool

From wasted space to our new favorite spot to eat meals

Old vs. new view from the hot tub

What a difference!

Still some work to go to finish it off, but looking good

Our artistic addition: "The Face"

Mist on the highway?

Saw this on Facebook and found it so startling, I decided to post it here (assuming this works). So put down that mug of coffee, read the introduction, and evaluate the mist on the highway for yourselves.

Fascinating or what?

I saw this circulating on Facebook and couldn't resist "sharing" it with my Facebook friends, along with my comment, "I think I have a new role model."

I moved on, but I found myself returning to my Facebook page several times just to look at this guy. I don't know if this picture of a big hairy dude on a pink tasseled bike reflects how he normally gets around on pretty days or if he's a biker with a sense of humor having a bit of fun or if it was staged. Probably staged, but who cares? It's a great shot and a great caption.

My question to you: Would this guy make a fascinating character or what? And if you choose what, please elaborate.

SpecFicPick Author Spotlight

I'm basking in the warm spotlight over at the speculative fiction webzine SpecFicPick. This is a great blog for readers of speculative fiction (and if you're not sure if you like speculative fiction or know what, exactly, it is, the site even provides a great definition HERE. Now you know!), because it'll help you find the good stuff out there. In short, SpecFicPick is "dedicated to providing quality content for readers of speculative fiction." And now they're featuring me and my novel Dark Knowledge. Yay!

CLICK HERE to find me and Dark Knowledge in the spotlight.

Squeaky wheels and time machines in the sky

Me on top of the mountain

We're back from the snow skiing trip I mentioned in the previous post, and it was a great time. It was also great timing. We'd made the hotel reservations and purchased discount lift tickets at Snowbowl weeks ago. Obviously, we had no idea what conditions would be like, but we were pleased when it began snowing in Flagstaff the week before our trip. It kept snowing too. I actually began to wonder if we'd be able to get up the roads to the mountain. But the snow ended Monday night, the sun came out Tuesday, the winds stopped blowing mid-morning, and we arrived to enjoy ideal slope conditions and perfect weather around noon. Wednesday was incredible too. By Thursday, the slopes would be getting crusty and skied off, but we'd already left for home, with a stopover in scenic Sedona.

Timing is a funny thing to think about. The timing of this trip was pure luck. "I'd rather be lucky than good" is one of my go to phrases, and this was a good example of why.

I love skiing. I like being bundled up and warm with just a few exposed places on my face feeling the brisk chill. I like feeling my legs work to absorb bumps or to turn me and keep me stable. I'm thrilled when I can let go to gravity and just fly down an empty slope for a while (under full control, of course). I like seeing the snow-flocked pine trees lining the slopes and the incredible views from the mountain tops. I like riding the lifts, catching my breath and anticipating the next run. And I really, REALLY like the sounds.

Jack on the time machine

First, I like the sound of snow under my skies (the soft squeaking of packed powder when I move across it, not the harsh scraping of my edges when I hit an ice patch). I like how quiet it can be, despite how well snow carries sound. Most of all, I like the sound of the lift, especially when there's a squeaky wheel on one of the towers. That squeak-squeak-squeak sound swells as the chair approaches the tower, then fades as we move up the mountain. When it's really quiet except for that sound, for whatever reason, my chairlift turns into a time machine. My mind goes back to all of the times I've listened to that squeak while sitting on a chairlift with a ski buddy, bundled up, happy, sometimes cold, always anticipating the next run down. I've done quite a bit of skiing over the years, so there are a lot of memories for that little sound to trigger. I love it. I notice it every time I ski.

When I get too old to ski, I'm going to bundle up, go to a ski resort, and pay someone to let me ride the time machine (up and then back down again). I think I'll start saving now.

Bloody Valentine Blog Hop

We're on the road this Valentine's Day, so if you're reading this post on Valentine's Day, it means I successfully figured out how to schedule Blogger to publish a post in my absence. Feel free to congratulate me. If things worked out as planned, we've been in Flagstaff, where we snow skied at Snowbowl, and now we're driving back to Tucson or enjoying a long stopover in Sedona.

I set up this advance posting because I'm participating in a Bloody Valentine Blog Hop. That means several authors of the horrific variety are posting Valentine's Day stories on their blogs today, and we're all linked together to make it easy for you to hop from blog to blog to read our offerings. Here's the list of participating blogs.

Love, Romanian Style | plague of dissent | Dean Harrison| A Diamond In The Dark | A Bloody Kind of Lust | Keith Pyeatt: Horror with Heart | The Cult of Me | Bestiary Parlor: The Musings of a Zoologist | Sheila Deeths Blog | Yours in Storytelling | Bertrams Blog | Laughing for a Living | Worldbinding | Pagan Spirits | Exile on Peachtree Street | A. F. Stewarts Blog

My offering is a rerun of a flash fiction story I included in my Horror with Heart Newsletter a year ago. If you subscribe to my newsletter and feel like you've already had enough of my story, "The Birthmark," and its multiple endings from last year, please hop on over to another blog.

If you're still here, I hope you enjoy "The Birthmark." There are four endings, so no matter whether you like your Valentine Day stories sweet and happy, dark and disturbing, or even with evil red gnomes in them, there's an ending for you. If you have a favorite, please leave a comment telling me which one. Happy Valentines Day!

The Birthmark

Adele risked her arm to stop the elevator doors from closing when a masculine voice floated in from her apartment lobby, "Hold it, please." The door bucked three times against her arm before receding into the wall.

"Wow," the man said as he entered, "I didn't realize how much I was asking of you." He smiled. He'd been pleasant enough looking before, but his big crooked smile made him handsome in a rugged, friendly way. 

"There's no button," Adele said. She caught the slight movement of his eyes, a subtle shift as he focused on her left cheek. To his credit, he made eye contact again almost immediately. His smile barely faded.

"What's that about a button?" he asked.

"No 'open door' button," she said, trying not to slur and doing a reasonable job. "It's an old elevator."

"Ah." He nodded, looking only at her eyes, not the rough, thickened skin that covered half her face like a red moonscape. "But I love these old buildings," he continued. "They have character." He had to reach close beside Adele to push the button for the fifth floor. She shuffled to the side, dropping her gaze and noticing his other hand held a heart-shaped box of chocolates, wrapped with a red bow.

"Corny, isn't it?" He held the box higher. "What can I say? I'm a romantic on Valentine's Day. If I can't be corny today, then when?"

Adele nodded, her way of smiling. She'd given up on using her lips for the gesture long ago. The birthmark pulled down and paralyzed the left side of her mouth, transforming even the slightest smile into something grotesque. "I'm sure she'll like it," she said.

The elevator opened on the third floor, and Adele crossed the hall to her apartment. She thought the elevator had closed behind her, but when she turned, the man stood framed inside the open doors. He used the hand holding the box to wave when the doors finally slid shut.

Inside her apartment, she shrugged out of her winter coat but left her lab coat on. She worked at a chemical company, where she was currently experimenting with high potency fertilizers. She took a vial of blue liquid from her pocket, placed it carefully on the kitchen table, and went to her bedroom to change into her slippers.

She thought about the man on the elevator, his smile and how kind he seemed. She wondered who on the fifth floor would get the chocolates. Was she pretty? Probably. Was she kind too? Possibly, but Adele had already considered the tenants she'd seen going to the fifth floor over the years. The only single woman of the right age was indeed pretty, but not kind. Adele heard her gasp the first time she entered the elevator with Adele. Ever since, the woman refused to look at her, pretending Adele didn't exist.

That was the worst reaction, really. Maybe people thought they were being kind not to look at her, but Adele would rather be ridiculed or taunted than ignored. At work, a few people spoke to her, but it felt forced. No one invited her to do anything outside of the lab, and no one accepted her invitation the few times she'd been brave enough to offer one.

It made her sad to admit her coworkers were the closest thing she'd ever have to friends. Exchanging brief pleasantries, like with the man in the elevator, was the closest she'd ever come to having a relationship. No one would ever look past her disfigured face and get to know her. No man would bring her candy in a heart-shaped box. She'd wasted years dreaming of a different life, using any kind gesture a male offered to launch an ongoing fantasy, but no more. The real world swallowed the last of her fantasies years ago.

Adele looked in the bathroom mirror. Sometimes she focused only on her eyes. They were beautiful, golden brown and shaped like almonds. The skin around them was smooth, untouched by the birthmark that lurked below her left eye, red and angry. But ignoring everything other than her eyes was just another way to fantasize. Today she took in her full face, the reality of what others saw, how they judged her. She stared at her reflection a long time. Then she returned to the kitchen table. She picked up the vial of blue liquid, removed the stopper, and lifted the vial to the functioning right side of her mouth.

A rap on the door startled her. She froze. Her eyes stung from fumes coming from the vial. Someone knocked on her door a second time, and she imagined the man from the elevator standing in the hall. He'd seen where she lived, so it was possible. The woman on the fifth floor always dated flashier men. She wasn't the type who'd appreciate the simple Valentine gift. Maybe it didn't go well.

Adele pressed the lid back on the vial, slipped it into her lab coat pocket, and answered the door, already visualizing a crooked smile.

********** ENDING "A" **********

No one was there, but a package lay at her feet. "Delivered to me by mistake," a voice down the hall said. Adele's neighbor already stood in front of her own apartment. She offered an awkward wave and disappeared inside.

Adele examined the package. It was a book she'd forgotten she ordered. She took off her lab coat and hung in the closet. No vial for her tonight. The fact that she'd hoped meant she wasn't ready. She'd give reality another chance to change.

She unwrapped the book. The cover looked cheap and cheesier than chocolates in a heart-shaped box on Valentines Day, but she'd read good reviews. Who was she to judge a book by its cover?

********** ENDING "B" **********

The smile wasn't where she expected it; it was three feet lower, on the face of what appeared to be a red gnome with pointy teeth. He reeked of sulfur.

"I can fix that for you, disfigured mortal," he said in a gravely voice. He lifted something that looked like a dirty pink chunk of Styrofoam. "Do you like my birthmark eraser? If you can afford it, I'll use it to scrub your face clean in seconds." He held out his other hand, displaying a picture of Adele without the birthmark. She wore a beautiful smile.

"How much?" Adele asked.

The red gnome's teeth glistened with moisture. "Nothing down, but we'll need something when you're done living, years and years and years from now." He seemed to gauge her hesitation. "You were about to cash out before tasting life. I'm offering you a bigger bite than you ever imagined." He mimicked taking a bite out of something with his horrible teeth and then made a chuckling noise that sounded like rocks in a garbage disposal. "What do you say?"

Adele focused on the picture, on her smile. She felt herself nodding.

"Good enough," the gnome said. He reached toward her face with the pink eraser. She didn't like the way he smiled. 

********** ENDING "C" **********

No one stood outside her door, but she caught movement across the hall. The elevator doors had just closed. At her feet rested a familiar box, shaped like a heart and wrapped in a red ribbon. A slip of paper was tucked under the ribbon. It read: "Thanks for risking your arm for me," and it was signed, "Jim." He'd written his phone number below his name.

********** ENDING "D" **********

He stood there, just as she imagined. Well, almost. Through his chest, she could make out the elevators his body should have blocked from sight. He offered her the heart-shaped box. When she took it, the pink color faded. The cardboard was dusty and warped with age, and the ribbon was frayed and brittle.

"I had to come back and find you," he said, "once I realized we're alike." He smiled, but this time it wasn't charming. His smile only looked crooked because part of his right cheek was missing. His face wasn't rugged, it was rotting. "I saw in you what I needed to see in myself." He reached up and cupped Adele's birthmark before she could back away from his touch.

"My birthmark?" she asked.

He pinched together what remained of his lips and slowly shook his head. "You didn't have that in life. That's no birthmark. That's your deathmark. It's time to go. Time for us both to go."

Just like that, Adele understood. She felt as if an orchestra had been playing nonstop, but she couldn't hear it until now. "What happened to you?" she asked.

"Jealous ex-husband with a baseball bat. Up on the fifth floor, one Valentines Day. You?"

Adele reached into her pocket and removed the vial. The glass was cloudy with age and dust, and it was empty expect for traces of blue residue stuck to the bottom. "Poison."

Rebel writer

I have this really cool, intriguingly dark novel started. It's full of passion, seduction, addiction, greed, a strange alternate world, and even some romance. I call the work in progress Sirens of Sayhurn. I've worked on it, abandoned it, plotted and re-plotted it half to death, redrawn the characters, changed the main threat, returned to writing it, abandoned it again... At one point I trashed 30,000 words I'd struggled to write because the characters bored me, and I started all over again. Now it's better. MUCH better. I love the characters and what they're doing and what they're up against. I love the darkness and the emotion and the motivations.

But...I still resist writing it. ARG!

Tired of trying to force myself to write on this novel, I finally decided to push the entire project aside, at least for now. No more worrying over this thing. I brainstormed new novels. I've got a couple pretty good ideas to consider.

But...like they do inside the novel, the Sirens of Sayhurn sang seductively to me, trying to lure me back to their novel. I resisted. They sang more seductively. I resisted. Now they're bothering my sleep, causing me to lapse into deep thoughts about the novel throughout the day. I think I'm going to give in.

Eureka! Instead of trying to force myself to write, I think I need to try to force myself not to. Then I'll be sure to write. I hope.

I'm such a rebel writer, even if the person I'm rebelling against is myself.

Score: Sirens 1, Me 0

Doing the Tango

Casa de Snapdragon's newest release is now available on Amazon, and I feel like dancing...the tango.

Tango Sunday is a collection of "tales on the edge," by Janet Brennan, and there's a story from me in there too. I'll have more to say about Tango Sunday in an upcoming newsletter, but a new release is too exciting to keep to myself, so I had to blog about it NOW. 

You can learn more about this collection and Janet Brennan or purchase this book through Casa de Snapdragon's website by clicking here or on the cover above. Casa de Snapdragon's webpage already has other helpful purchase links too.

If you want to purchase from Amazon (US), click here. It's also already available on Amazon Canada and in Europe. More to come...

Bookmans Book Signing this Saturday

I'll be selling signed copies of Struck and Dark Knowledge this Saturday, January 19th, from noon to 2 PM at the Speedway Bookmans in Tucson. That's at 6230 E. Speedway Blvd. near Wilmot, beside Beyond Bread (yum). I'm part of an Authors Fair. I don't know how many other authors will be there, but look for my posters shown below, and I'll be close by. Come say howdy before the irresistible pull from Beyond Bread lures you next door for lunch or desert.

Hope to see you there!

Speedway & Wilmot, Tucson

Saturday, January 19th

Noon until 2 PM

A carefree vacation

Me and a little piece of the very big ship

We went cruising again, this time to the West Caribbean out of Galveston. We stopped in Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; and Belize City, Belize. What fun! And it was a cruise, so...What food!








Cozumel was warm and beautiful. It was also a bit rainy. We didn't care. We boarded a little submarine (my first!) and headed underwater to where fish frolic and rain doesn't matter.

Colors get funky deep under the water, but that's us.

We went more than 100' deep (see red gauge).

We hiked in Roatan, and it was beautiful. It rained on us several times. We didn't care. It was warm and always cleared up after a few minutes. It was their rainy season, after all, and you could definitely tell by the trails. They were very muddy. We didn't care. Mud washes off, and they gave us a big stick to help in the slick spots. 

Me and my big stick.

Jack on the beach where we relaxed after the hike.

We went horseback riding in Belize. Weather was beautiful, and we saw geckos and iguanas and even a monkey. The skies were clear but the ground was incredibly wet and muddy. We didn't care. The horses had to deal with it, and they didn't seem to mind. What splattered on us washed right off. Mud's good that way. 

Jack on Coconut.

Me on Trek.

We were fogged in when we returned to Galveston, and we couldn't dock and get off the ship. We didn't care. They fed and entertained us.

By the time we made it to the airport, we'd missed all the flights home. We didn't care. We extended the vacation a night and flew home the next day.

Obviously, we left our cares behind for this vacation. It was great fun, but it's over now. We don't care. It's always good to get home. 

And on we go...

So this is about it for 2012. As always, the year flew by. 2012 certainly wasn't my most productive year writing-wise. In fact, it falls pretty durn low on that list, but I did have a few writing highlights.

• Daeva - The year started off right when, in January, I found a wonderful publishing home for Daeva, a novel that I've worked on very hard for a very long time. Aqueous Books will publish it in June 2014. Yes, still a year and a half away, but I'm so thrilled to be part of Aqueous's line up, I don't even mind the wait. 
• Dark Knowledge - This novel was already released as an ebook. As of October 2012, it's available in paperback too. Now I have something new to drag around to book signings and events. (DK's Amazon page)
• "Final Vision" - I was honored when Janet K. Brennan asked me to be the guest author for her upcoming collection of short stories (background here), and I'm very pleased with the story I wrote for the occasion. Now Tango Sunday is scheduled to be released mid-January 2013. Yay!

The writing lowlight for 2012 is my lack of new material written (other than "Final Vision" and a Halloween short story, "The Pumpkin Lady," I wrote for a Keepers of the Crypt event). I have a great WIP (that's writer shorthand for "work in progress" for you non-writers out there) about 1/3 written, but it's stalled because I'm not keeping my butt in the writing chair. I'd like to blame 2012--not that it's been a bad year. It hasn't. But it has been a busy year, with some nice non-writing highlights.

• Early in the year, way back in February, we stumbled onto the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood. We weren't planning to relocate, but we couldn't resist. We moved. That meant fixing up a house to sell, all the many efforts of buying and selling, moving and furnishing, then fixing up the house we bought to be the way we want it. Whew, still working at it.
• We also traveled, having decided we were at that age and stage when we could and should travel more. 

Is trying to blame all of 2012's non-writing activities a poor excuse for all my non-writing months? Definitely. But there you go. I won't use the same lame excuse for 2013. I'm ending this year by ramping up to pick up where I left off on my neglected WIP, and I have some ideas to whip up more WIPs for 2013. No excuses.

I enjoyed 2012 very much, and I feel fortunate to have had such a great year, despite the lack of writing motivation. I'm thankful for my partner, our good health, our dogs and home, those we've loved for years, new friends made this year... I'm taking loads of positive energy into 2013. I'm also bringing itchy fingertips into the new year, and I'm hoping that signals the return of my urge to spend hours tapping away at my keyboard to create new characters and new worlds and not the onset of some weird nerve disorder. I'll keep you posted.

Happy New Year, Everybody. 

High altitude dog dreams

I've mentioned dreams several times in this blog, because...well, because I dream a lot. Always have. And for the past 8 or 9 months, I've been dreaming even more than usual. Vividly.

I've mentioned that my dreams, for the most part, have become positive. I'm usually in control and respected by others verses recurring dreams I had for decades where I'd get lost or feel ignored or insignificant. Dogs have always found their way into my dreams, but lately, they're almost a constant. I'm a major dog lover, so I guess that's not a big surprise. Lately, I've been helping dogs, sometimes saving them. My rare bad dreams sometimes involve having one of our dogs injured. If a dog isn't featured in a dream, one will usually at least still make an appearance in one before the night is over.

An odd aside to all my dog dreaming is that one of our dogs, Tasia, is having her own dreams lately. Almost nightly, she dream-barks, and I have to wake her by saying her name or the barking goes on and on...

But that's enough about my dog's dreams. Back to my dog-dreams. My latest was last night. I was flying around, and--

I guess I should also explain that I've also begun having recurring dreams where I fly. It's an odd sensation. First of all, I always wonder if I'll be able to do it because there's nothing I actually do to initiate flight, but then I start running and I lift off. My ascents are very gradual, and sometimes I worry I won't clear the upcoming fence or trees, but I always do. I tend to over-compensate for the slow ascent and end up soaring higher than I want to be, but I make it back down okay. So despite my trend of being in control in my dreams, I never feel fully in control when I fly, even though I always end up going where I intended to go without crashing or bad consequences.

But last night I was diverted from my flight...by a dog. I didn't know the dog. It was a mid-size mix, chocolate brown, smooth hair, and lanky. I was in Amarillo, Texas (hometown and home until I was 31), and I was flying very close to the ground because I'd just gone too high and overcompensated (yet again). I knew I needed to gain altitude, but this brown dog jumped up, gently grabbed my ankle in his mouth, and pulled me to the ground uninjured. I took off again, but my slow ascent let him grab me again. And again. Finally, I made it into the air, but when I looked down, he was running along the ground to keep up with me. Dangerously busy streets were dead ahead, and I was afraid he'd run into traffic and be killed, so I returned to the ground yet again. He was at my side in an instant. I figured I made the right decision and woke.

So I guess I saved another dream-dog last night, my specialty these days, along with flying. A few more of these dreams, and I'm going to come up with a dog-saving superhero name for my dream self. Feel free to suggest something, maybe a costume too. No tights, please.

Interview, ebook giveaway, and prizes

I'm interviewed today over on Julie's Book Review blog. Drop by and enter to win a copy of my paranormal thriller ebook Above Haldis Notch, gift cards, or one of four other paranormal fiction ebooks published by Musa Publishing. You may want to bookmark Julie's Book Review while you're there. It's a great place to discover new authors and new books.

11-27-12 Edit to add:
Now there's an excerpt from Above Haldis Notch posted on Julie's Book Review blog. Click here to read it. And don't forget to sign up for the giveaways. There are five paranormal ebooks (including Above Haldis Notch) and three $5 gift cards up for grabs.

Coffee chat

Come chat with me over coffee this morning at Ally Shields' blog. Click the cup of java to visit Ally's urban fantasy blog. I hope you'll leave a comment there, telling me if you ever still percolate your coffee (as opposed to drip, press, or shot a cup through a one-cup machine.

The Next Big Thing in Horror with Heart

There's an author blog hop called The Next Big Thing that's bouncing happily around the blogosphere lately. To participate, authors answer ten questions about the story they're working on and tag other authors to do the same. Talented and diverse author Nancy Holzner tagged me as well as answered questions about the next installment in her popular urban fantasy series, Deadtown. If you're already a fan of Deadtown or are curious about a really well done urban fantasy series, I encourage you to head over to Nancy's The Next Big Thing blog post to see what's coming next.

Now it's my turn to tag some authors and encourage them to share information about their next big thing. I picked three. All three are authors with works I've read and highly recommend, and all of them have another story or novel in the making. 1) Greg Lilly (website / blog) is one of my favorite mystery writers. He's the author of the Derek Mason Mystery Series, Fingering the Family Jewels and Scalping the Red Rocks, plus the novels Devil's Bridge and Under a Copper Moon; 2) Catherine Cavendish (webpage) is a writer of excellent dark fiction and paranormal horror; and 3) Amaleen Ison (webpage) writes young adult fantasy stories that meander into a variety of sub-genres (tip: adults enjoy Amaleen's stories too). These fine authors will post their The Next Big Thing blog posts on November 28th.

If you've followed this blog very long at all, you probably know something about my current Horror with Heart offerings, but just in case...

As far as a work in progress to discuss here, I have two to pick from. One is still in first draft mode, and I don't want to jinx it, so my decision was easy. I'll answer the ten The Next Big Thing questions about my novel Daeva, which is scheduled to be released in June 2014 by Aqueous Books.

What is the working title of your book?

Daeva (formerly Mind Shadow; formerly Imagination)

Where did the idea come from for the book?

My original idea was to write about a boy who forced himself to never, ever use his imagination. I planned to show the effects that this rigid and unusual self discipline would have on him as he matured into an adult. To motivate this strange behavior, I stuck a powerful and manipulative demon inside the boy's mind. The demon gains some control over the boy, Chris, every time Chris uses his imagination. His only defense is to suppress his imagination, so Chris strictly controls his thoughts and never allows them to wander.

That was the seed for this novel. Once planted in my dangerously fertile mind, it grew quickly into a much larger and more menacing story, and it continued gaining complexity as I wrote. The original concept of growing up not using your imagination still exists in the novel, but now it's a small piece of a much larger story. Still, I'm grateful I acted on the original idea because it's what got me going.

What genre does your book fall under?

Psychological thriller is probably the best fit. Paranormal thriller or literary horror also work.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Hmm. I don't keep up with the current crop of young actors, and this novel's main characters spend most of their time in the 18 - 21 year-old range. I'll cheat and take years off actors I know.

• Sharon with her inner beauty and strength might be well played by a young Kathy Bates. 
• Chris would need an intently-focused, intelligent, athletic type, like a young Matt Damon (or Jake Gyllenhaal?). 
• The nerdy, insecure Rick character could be played very well by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. 
• Rothsirge, the daeva, has no physical self, but he definitely has a voice--deep, confident, and soothing, yet capable of conveying a booming evil. I gotta go with Kelsey Grammer doing Rothsirge's voice.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Sharon Linden tries to stop an ancient demon from dominating mankind and ends up the key to its success; her death will either empower the demon or destroy it.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I'm very pleased that Daeva is under contract with Aqueous Books, scheduled for release in June 2014.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

First draft was quick for me, about four months. The hard work came in edits and all my self-imposed rewrites. I don't even like to think about how much time over the years I spent working on it, but I couldn't give up on this novel, and I'm glad I hung in there.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I'm never good at this question. Daeva is psychological, intricate, character-intensive, and it spans generations. And there's a demon driving the action. Maybe it's a little similar to the paranormal thriller The Passage by Justin Cronin, which also spans generations, has a strong paranormal element driving the action, and pays much attention to developing the characters and making them react to a supernatural threat. But there are many differences too. See, I'm just not good with this question, but there's my attempt at an answer.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

My desire to show characters changing over time as they dealt with an unusual threat inspired me to write this one. Chris changes because he carries the demon in his mind, but Rothsirge also spent 50 determined years in Chris's grandmother's mind, and I enjoyed presenting those character changes too. Chris's sister never carried the demon in her mind, but Rothsirge altered her life because he impacted her family and threatened her beloved brother. And Rick was a childhood bully who felt Rothsirge's wrath, and his life was forever changed by the experience. With all of these characters, I show them first as children, then as adults who were at least partially molded by the demon's influence.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

The psychological aspects of the novel add interest. Rothsirge the daeva can't act for himself, and he has all this supernatural power, but he can't use it. Only his hosts can. Rothsirge sounds helpless, but he's not. He dangles the power he can offer in front of his hosts like a carrot to steer them. He knows his hosts' every thought and desire, even feelings the host may not want to own up to, and this intimate knowledge helps Rothsirge become a master manipulator. Being immortal, he has plenty of time to wear down his hosts, so he can gently shape their personalities and trick them to become what he needs them to be. As long as he's crafty and patient -- which he certainly is -- he's not helpless at all.

Then there's another big psychological angle that picks up around the mid-point of the novel involving Sharon and the men who love her. I hinted at that aspect in my one-sentence synopsis above, and it's one of the psychological angles that grabs hold of a reader's interest. At least it grabs mine. I hope readers will agree.

Heavy November

I always think of November as an odd month, and not just because it is an odd month, being the 11th of the year. November feels heavy to me. Summer is a memory, there are no more refreshing swims outdoors, sweaters and jackets replace shorts and sandals, Halloween is over... We eat heavier, craving substantial portions of starches and hot, dense foods instead of warm weather foods like grilled fish, steamed veggies, and fresh fruits (watermelon is a summer passion of mine). And it's physically darker. Days are short, and the sunlight we have is often filtered by cloud cover (especially during my years in Vermont).

I sleep more in November. Some part of me remembers the hibernation instinct, I think. I get a prolonged surge of energy in September and October as cooler weather sets in, and then my energy disappears in November. A few months ago, I was bounding out of bed at 5:00 or 5:15, ready to make something of my day. Now I crawl out from under the covers around 6:30, feeling groggy from all the starch I ate the night before and still debating whether to roll over to go back to sleep. And I nap, sometimes over an hour, sleeping deeply enough that I'm groggy all over again when I wake.

Despite all those things, I like November. As a kid, I couldn't wait for it to bring me another birthday and make me a year older. Believe me, I've gotten over the excitement of getting older, but it's still "my month," as far as birthdays go. My partner and many friends also have November birthdays, and those celebrations lighten the month for me. And then there's Thanksgiving, a great reason to enjoy an elaborate meal with family and/or friends and a reminder to be thankful for all our many blessings.

And I like earth tones, and November certainly has that going for it.

So November is odd to me. It has little of the active appeal of September and October, but I still welcome this heavy period. It re-nourishes and replenishes my body and mind from all I managed to accomplish during the energetic lighter periods. That's got to be good, right? And the heaviness of November doesn't overstay its welcome. Usually once I've slept off the tryptophan of Thanksgiving and December arrives, things feel lighter again to me.

Life plays out in cycles, and I like that. In fact, I think I'll add that to my list of things to be thankful for this year. Right after I eat a baked potato and take a nap.

Creating suspense...and ending it

When we lived in Albuquerque, NM, I was a regular at SouthWest Writers events for very good reasons. They helped me become a better writer, I met fine folks and made good friends, and I had fun. It's a great organization, and I learned much from their programs, workshops, classes, conferences, and the contacts I made there. After a few years, I joined the board and soon after served for three years as an officer of SWW, trying to give a little back to the organization while still benefiting and still having fun.

I've missed my regular contact with SWW since we moved away, but I'm a lifetime member and stay in touch. For all you writers out there, even if you're nowhere near Albuquerque, their monthly online newsletter, the SouthWest Sage, is a great resource, and it's free. This month, I'm proud to have an article about creating suspense in the November issue of the SouthWest Sage. To view this issue of the Sage, click the SWW logo or CLICK HERE. 

And while we're on the subject of creating suspense, I recently created some suspense in the latest issue of my Horror with Heart Newsletter by holding a Trick-and-Treat contest. The winner receives an autographed paperback copy of my paranormal thriller, Dark Knowledge. Yesterday, on Halloween, I ended the suspense and announced the winner in the Halloween Howling Addendum to my newsletter.

The Goodreads give-a-way for a paperback copy of my paranormal thriller Struck also ended yesterday. 387 people from all over registered, and the winner is practically a neighbor in Scottsdale, Arizona. It's funny how sometimes things work out that way.

Seems like there's a national contest going on now that's creating some suspense, but I can't remember what it is right now because there's never anything about it on the news. Yeah, right. As much as I love creating suspense, I'll be toasting an end to it in five days.

Honoring a Monster

Monsters come in many forms. There's the monstrously misshapen but initially kind creature who is turned into a real monster by humanity's intolerance. There's the beautiful, seductive monster with sinister plans or unnatural and unholy appetites. There are human monsters, man-made monsters, reptilian monsters, alien monsters, demon monsters, dream monsters... There are just a whole heck of a lot of monsters hiding between the pages of a whole heck of a lot of novels out there. And now there's apparently a monster of a hurricane hybrid, Frankenstorm, lumbering toward the east coast. Best thoughts to everyone in its wide, wide path.

When monster can be defined in so many ways, how do you pick one as a favorite or the most terrifying or the most devious?

The difficulty of the decision makes me doubly quadruply proud that the very talented Joylene Nowell Butler, author of Dead Witness and Broken but not Dead, chose Dark Knowledge for her Monstrous Monday selection. Click the Monstrous Monday graphic to go to Joylene's blog to see what she had to say. Then bookmark her blog. It's truly a favorite of mine, even before it honored Dark Knowledge this way.

Jack o'lanterns and give-a-ways

Yesterday I carved my first jack o'lantern since writing "The Pumpkin Lady." I'm a little nervous, especially with the full moon due to rise tonight and Halloween so close.

So in case I get Pumpkin Ladied this year, please accept my Horror with Heart wishes now that your Halloween is fun, frightful, and safe. And for your holiday reading, I remind you that my paranormal thriller, Struck, is in a Goodreads give-a-way that ends on Halloween. A signed copy of my paranormal thriller, Dark Knowledge, can be won by playing trick-and-treat with me as a Horror with Heart Newsletter subscriber.

And one more thing...BOO!

My return to bookstores

Well, it took me a little over two years after moving here to have my first Tucson book signing, but the paperback release of Dark Knowledge urged me out of my gargoyle-lined study and into the light of a bookstore. Two bookstores, actually. After such a long spell without a signing, I had two signing in two days this past weekend. Here's an iPhone photo of me at the first one.

Something tells me I was having a pretty good time. Thanks to Bookmans on Speedway and Bookmans on Ina for hosting me.

Since not all of you live in Tucson, not all of you could make it, but the paperback is now available on Amazon. Click the image of the Dark Knowledge poster below to grab a copy.

I also updated my handy-dandy purchase link blog post to include a link to this paperback along with the other links for purchasing Above Haldis Notch, Struck, and Dark Knowledge in all their forms at various online bookstores. Click the neon sign to visit the purchase link page.

And there's still time to play Trick-and-Treat with me for a chance to win a signed paperback copy of Dark Knowledge. Details in the Halloween Howling issue of my newsletter. Hurry though. Entries must be received before Halloween.

Book Signings in Tucson

This just in...Dark Knowledge, the paperback! I know I'm partial, and perhaps that gargoyle on the cover has a face only a father can truly love, but I tell you, the book looks great, inside and out. I'm very pleased with the work Etopia Press did. And doesn't it look fantastic next to Struck, the paperback?

As you can see, I posted a sitter to watch over my paperbacks as they get acquainted, but I'm not sure I needed to. They're already getting along very well, which makes me a proud author.

I'm celebrating the paperback release of Dark Knowledge with two book signings here in Tucson this weekend at two different Bookmans.

On Saturday, October 20, I'll be at a local author's fair at Bookmans-Speedway. That's 6230 E. Speedway Blvd. The cross street is Wilmott. I'll be there from noon to 3 PM.

On Sunday, October 21, I'll be one of two horror authors doing a Halloween-themed signing at Bookmans-Ina. That's 3733 W. Ina Rd. The cross street is N. Thornydale. I'll be there from 11 AM to 2 PM.

I'll have Struck and Dark Knowledge at both signings. I hope if you're local-ish and available, you'll drop by. If you can't make it, either due to location or time restrictions, but you'd like a paperback copy of either novel, click on one of the following links to purchase at Amazon (currently the only place I know of where Dark Knowledge is available):

Struck           Dark Knowledge

Halloween Howling

The latest issue of my Horror with Heart Newsletter, "Halloween Howling," went out this morning. It's full of news about Dark Knowledge's paperback release (today!), two Tucson book signings this weekend, the imminent release of Tango Sunday, and more.

In this issue, I'm also playing trick-and-treat (my variation of trick-or-treat) with newsletter subscribers and giving away a signed paperback copy of Dark Knowledge.

CLICK HERE to see the online version of "Halloween Howling."

By the way, if you want to subscribe to the Horror with Heart Newsletter, there's a gold box over on the right part of this blog (you may need to scroll down). Enter your name and email address and click the submit button. That's it. It's even easier to unsubscribe if you change you mind later. I typically send out 3 or 4 newsletters a year, but sometimes less, so I won't be swamping your in-boxes.