Tales from the Raven

Tonight I ventured out as Bellatrix Lestrange.  I knew the muggles wouldn’t notice me, as they were gorging themselves on candy and blinded by their masks.  They also spent a lot of time talking to pieces of plastic.  So typical of muggles!

It was distasteful to brush elbows with the muggles, but I had a bit of fun.  A cauldron full of spiders brought to life, here, a  child’s sword sharpened, there.  One lady thought she had a clever snack of little mummies and their mum–

I whispered a spell as I passed by, and the lady’s screams echoed through the mall.

My crowning mischief of the night I worked while riding my broomstick home.  Someone had left their carved pumpkin to watch over the fluffy little chicks.

Their mistake.

Really, these muggles don’t know the first thing about Halloween.  But I and my wand will teach them!

Happy Halloween, Muggles!

Yesterday we bought our pumpkins, and this weekend we carve them!  I’m super excited, but also a little nervous.  You see, in past years, however my pumpkin turned out, I was reasonably pleased with it and happy to have had fun.  I do always wish I had a few more to play with, but I can always promise myself that next year, our pumpkin patch will still be going strong on Halloween.

But this year, I’ve been inspired by a master, and don’t know what to do!  Check out these pumpkins, carved by Tim Trudeon at the state fair!

He did hour-long demonstrations, showing us how he finds the face within the pumpkin,

and brings it out by removing the pumpkin skin and pulp around it.  I don’t know if he usually names his carvings, but this fellow was dubbed Grumpy Guy by our family.  Isn’t he just so sad?

Now I have a big, beautiful pumpkin…and the burning desire to carve something spectacular.  Unfortunately, I suspect it takes more than a burning desire.  I suspect it takes skill.  Plus, it helps to have the right kind of pumpkin (Tim suggested sweet pumpkins, also called pie pumpkins, rather than the typical carving pumpkins) and the right kind of tools.  It also involves trusting myself and a willingness to make that first cut.

I guess if it looks really, really bad and so botched I can’t put it out on display, I can always feed it to the chickens!

It’s October, and the Thirteenth–what could possibly be cooler than that?  Well, maybe if you flipped those numbers around and made it the 31^st, so we could all get our fill of candy and costumes!  Of course, that would also mean the month was over, and I’d never hasten October on its way.  ‘Sides, I haven’t decided yet if I have the chutzpah to go through with my Halloween plans.  I’ll report in if I do.

In the mean time, stop by Jen Wylie’s blog for my guest post, Keep Your Demons Close.  But be ready for a kinda creepy piece of flash fiction I wrote while having an arachnophobic moment, courtesy of October’s spooks.  Help yourself to a few candy corns while you’re at it–I’ve got a ‘handful’ to spare!

Mmm, yum!  Hehehe.

No treats come without tricks, though, so watch out for these little demon guardians.

They like their candy, and they’re not about to share!

Happy Monday!  Hope you had a great weekend.  I’m supposed to be looking into an insurance matter, so you can bet instead I’m playing with a list of Have Read and To Be Read books!  lol  I stole this list from Janet Sumner Johnson’s blog, and posted it here cause I’ve been meaning to see where the holes are in my reading.  Let me know what I’m missing, and which ones are your favorites!

But first–a disclaimer:  I didn’t come up with this ”Top YA” list, so it’s sure to be missing stuff and I can see it also includes plenty of books that are actually middle-grade or not YA at all.  If I had made the list, it would be perfect, of course!   It’s also true that some of the books I’ve read I only remember in fractured pieces, and some I’ve missed I know I really want to read.  So this list isn’t meant to be a recommended reading list, either!

Continue reading Read Any Good Books Lately?

Some days just feel like a continental slide.  You’re ready and willing to address the needs of the day, but those needs keep tilting and tripping all over one another.  Today would be one of those days–probably ’cause it’s bumping up against October and can feel our impatience to be on with the next month.  Personally, I’m hoping to pull out Halloween decorations this weekend, and maybe whip up some pumpkin pancakes, too!

But instead of having the high-energy work and cleaning day I planned for, I spent my morning in the doctor’s office listening to the lady who was taking my blood tell me how her mom and kids were at home puking.

Uhm.

She was wearing gloves, but I kinda wish she’d added a mask to that!  At least I got some meds that should take care of the nausea and ear pain I’ve been swimming through.  Remember my post a couple weeks back with the cute little girl sick in bed?  Yeah, it’s been that long, and I still haven’t kicked this.  But!  But, but, but!  Today is Friday, and I have faith in Fridays.

So, newsy bits and pieces for Friday:

• I entered my query for 13 Demon Days in Mystery Agent Inbox (entry #39) over at Mother. Write. Repeat.  If you go check it out, you’ll get a quick look at my first 250 words of immortal text, and feel very special for having been privileged with a glimpse, I’m sure!  Seriously, though, drop by and tell me what you think!
• I posted a blog on the Cabinet in which I touched on a few highlights from the SCBWI Carolinas Conference last weekend.  We also have an interview with Caleb Warnock available, which I’m tardy in mentioning.  But, Caleb’s insights are timeless, so no harm done!
• Lastly, congrats to fellow cabinet member Becca Fitzpatrick on the announcement of a fourth book in her Hush, Hush saga!  Woot, woot, goooo Becca!!!

So, that’s it for me.  Here’s hoping your fun and games for the weekend will be a monumental success, and your Friday only slides in the direction you’re trying to go!

Last night when I went in to do the dishes (at 11:00pm, the only decent hour for housework) the pile was so ugly and aggressively leering that I grabbed my camera and took a picture.  That way I’d be ready if some nasty beast crawled out and demanded I cook him an omelette.

Plus, I’ll always have proof that no matter how bad the kitchen looks, it could always be worse.  Because, you know, I like to keep it positive!

I thought about sharing the pic, but decided to shield your tender eyes–and my dignity.  Besides, the dishes are looking up.  After another round tonight, they’ll look even better.  By the time we leave tomorrow, the kitchen will probably have reached the transcendent state of semi-presentable.  Which is, you should know, my highest aspiration.  I learned a long time ago, back in the way beyond days when my house used to enjoy a state of spotlessness, that I could keep a clean house and be a Super Housekeeper complete with the Super Housekeeper badge and trophy…or I could be a great mom, a busy writer, and happy lady.  And when I really, really just gotta have a badge or spiffy-sized trophy?  I can make one for myself, out of cardboard and crayons, and stack them all in a row.

So, what will I be doing this weekend?  Straightening up, vacuuming, washing dishes, catching up laundry?  Ha!  I’ll be at SCBWI Carolinas writing conference, along with my hubby and kids, and loving every minute of it.  Let those dishes leer–they don’t scare me!

I want to duck my head under my wing and hide when I see how neglected my poor blog has been.  That, or stand up and sqwak.  Which, come to think of it, may give you some insights into where I’ve been!

Here’s another clue:

Yep, we got those guinea keets I was debating about–and they’re so cute!  And so sweet!  And so much trouble!  Lol.  We bought twenty from two (mostly) local hobbyists, ranging in age from about a week to a few hours old.  You can see how much variation there is in the bunch, and we’re super excited to see what color they grow up to be.  Guinea fowl genetics can be a bit complicated, but we’ve got a good group of blue, brown, and recessive genes represented in this group.  We’re hoping for a rainbow flock!

I’ve also spent some time like this:

Which is a highly productive way to get lots of reading in, I’ve found.  And in doing so, I discovered the thrilling stories of my fellow Hillsborough writer John Claude Bemis.  Tall tales, magic, coming of age and discovery–what a great read!  The Clockwork Dark is one series that you’ll want to clear your calender and settle in with, so be forewarned!

In writing news, I’m back down to three fulls of 13 Demon Days out with agents, but still feel hopeful as the misses are very close calls.  I’ve also this week discarded a half dozen beginnings to my new YA novel, Siren’s Scream, and tossed around characters ’til they’re dizzy.  I’m feeling really excited about this novel, and the story that’s growing in my mind as I work through the early kinks.  Yay for inspiration and the right doses of perspiration!  Now if only I can harness the flighty energy of my new guinea keets while keeping a steady hand on the creative spark, I’ll be full-steam ahead!

Or, rather, to ADD guineas, that is the real question!  I want some–lovely little tick eaters running around keeping my yard free of pests.  But, do I want to deal with raising the keets (babies) just now?  I’m thinking yes.  We’ve got a ‘room’ in the barn that’s baby-proofed and has a brooder light so I wouldn’t have to keep them inside.  The kids aren’t too busy with school yet, so they could help.  And our single surviving adult guinea is really desperate for some company that isn’t chicken-faced.  Plus, they’re super cute!

On the other hand, no one I know personally has had much luck raising guineas.  I think the success ratio has been something like one in five or less.  That’s mostly cause the little buggers are really wild and tend to escape before they’re old enough to be out.  And, it’s kind of annoying to have an adorable little ball of fluff that hates the sight of you, even when you’ve been patient and hand fed it from day one.  But, that’s guineas for you.  Definitely not so domestic as chickens or other birds.  What do you think?  Jump in and hope for the best, or hold off for now?

You know all the buzz about ebooks?  Indie authors, and the latest way to make $$ on the internet writing what you love?  Well, get ready cause I just finished an interview with Sarra Cannon, indie author extraordinaire!  It’ll go up on my group blog, the cabinet, this Friday morning.  Come check it out, and bring your questions about ebooks, demons, or anything Sarra!  She’ll be dropping in throughout the day to answer questions and I can tell you from experience that Sarra is super fun and a real wealth of information!

I picked Friday partly ’cause I will be home all day–the first time in two weeks! 

Eight states, seven YA books (including Summer of the Traveling Pants, which just seemed appropriate!), three swimming pools, one lovely old abbey, and countless desserts later, I feel ready to wave the kids off to school and dive into my new project.  Seven apocalyptic seals, a group of girls marked by fate and a cursed island.  I can’t wait!

Facebook, email, texting…if you’re anything like me, sending letters in the mail as a form of communication sounds really, really sloooow.  But what if you couldn’t even use the good old red flag on your mailbox, and had to send your messages by bottle and cork?  What would you say?

Me, I think I’d write a blog.  Why?  Because obviously anything that was meant to be ‘current’ or newsworthy wouldn’t be by the time it was received.  What’s that, you say?  You’re stuck on an island and feel certain the turtles are in cahoots with the sharks and negotiating your demise?  Well, the message in the bottle isn’t going to help you–you’ll have moved on from that crisis, led a revolution in Atlantis and settled down to raise mer children by the time help shows up.  But a blog, now, that’s intended to be a timeless shout out from one human being to the rest the two-legged population, and it’s okay if the message gets picked up by a beachcomber in Texas instead of your Aunt Lucy in Maine.

So, here’s my message in a bottle:

The beach is great, the water’s even warm!  And we’re making friends.  Meet Alexias, an Entwife.  She’s enjoying the sun and sand, but would like to send word to Treebeard that she’s here.  Maybe he’d like to visit sometime.

We’ve also made friends with birds, crabs, and even dolphins, but we’ve spent the most time with the sun.  We’re actually becoming quite chummy.  We have a deal.  I wear my sunblock (even on my feet) and the sun promises to make an appearance every day so we can play.  He even posed for his picture the other morning, which I found very considerate.

Of course, he made me get up at the uncivilized hour of 6:00am for this shot, but I love the pic so much I’m not holding a grudge.

Lastly, a few words of advice from one islander to another.  Don’t let anyone pee on your jellyfish sting–even if they line up to help.  Never believe your children when they tell you they’re heading to the beach in their street clothes but ‘won’t get in the waves.’  And if you see an alligator, climb a tree.  Preferably higher and faster than the guy behind you.

Have a great week, and send me a reply by bottle when you finish off your coke!