Have been watching the long (three hours and 12 minutes) 1963 film version of Cleopatra, staring the scintillating and dynamic Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. According to the Wikipedia entry, the film was the only film to be the highest-grossing film of the year, yet still ran at a loss and nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox. It won four Academy Awards, and was nominated for five more. Despite production and cast problems, it still holds…
Consider this: If you were to work for seven years only to discover not only was your income so far below the poverty line as to be non-existent, but worse, people had been seeking out, using, and enjoying your work without paying you for it — would you be disgruntled, perhaps peeved, perhaps even angry? Would their love and praise of your work diminish in its importance under the weight of knowing those secret customers…
As a girl I have wonderful memories of singing carols in St. Paul’s Anglican cathedral in Toronto with the Havergal choir. One of my favourites was Angels We Have Heard on High. I remember how our voices seemed to rise and collect in those towering, vaulted ceilings, creating a sublime resonance that could bring tears to the most arctic of hearts. In tribute to that memory, but with a fresh, modern jazz vibe, I thought…
Over the years I’ve read my fair share of how-to books on the subject of writer’s craft, scoured magazine articles discussing the particulars of writing scintillating dialogue, taken workshops with established authors in the hopes of finding the formula for creating that perfect novel. There are quite literally thousands of books on the subject, from the dos and don’ts, to world-building, character-creating, genre writing, motivation, and every facet and nuance you can imagine, some written…
Have been casting about trying to find information about Ellen Datlow’s forthcoming anthology, Fearful Symmetries, which is being published by ChiZine Publications. I’d submitted a story, Dreams of the Moon, back in May 2013. Heard nothing. Thought that was positive. Today discovered on Datlow’s FB page the selections have been made. Only four stories from their slush made it into the 19 being published. Mine is not among them. Disappointing to be sure. So, followed…
Received an email this afternoon from Ranylt Richildis, Fiction Editor at Postscripts to Darkness, with the edited copy of the short story I’ve sold to them, At Union. Just a few very small tweaks required. I’m a bit embarrassed I didn’t see those flaws myself, but I suppose it’s a simple case of that forest and tree thing. Anyway, seems the crew at Postscripts are hard at work putting together Volume 5, and my story…
Finally back in the writer’s chair after long weeks away. Have been searching for a work-around to the problem created by this frustrating D-Link router which won’t let me access the main computer from the laptop. So why not work from the office on the weekends? Well, cause the office is on the third floor, I’m arthritic, and want to be in the thick of what goes on in the house during the weekend, and…
It’s Sunday. A kitchen therapy day. I had a pork shoulder roast in the freezer, bone in, saddle attached, and thought I’d experiment with a fusion of eastern fragrances and tastes in a slow-roasted environment. pork shoulder roast The ingredients. olive oil bulb of whole fennel, stalks included, washed and sliced thickly red pepper, washed, seeded and cut into chunks whole bulb of garlic, peeled and minced; or frozen, pureed garlic scapes, about 2 tbsp….
Normally when a negative review (which thankfully are few) for one of my books appears I just shrug. We all have different aesthetics, points of view, something the Internet has allowed us to share through social media. So it was when I raised the very public hackles of Liz Bourke, reviewer for Strange Horizons, I merely allowed Ms. Bourke her opinion about my novel From Mountains of Ice and carried on. It would seem, however, her…
Despite all my bluster chivvying authors into brave faces, preaching that the un-achievable is attainable, when it comes to my own career as an author I tend to shrink back into the shadows. I have no idea why I do that. But I do. Always have. Call it a character flaw. However, every now and again I emerge from my cave, or shell, or whatever, and decide, HEY! I can DO THIS! And I summon…