Faith's Enclave News

wooowhoowhoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I finished my short story for the anthology STRANGE BREW (with Jim Butcher as headliner).

I am celebrating!

One deadline to go, the rewrite of Skinwalker.

Vacation looms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Faith

I need the Celtic translation for a spell:

 "Healing, healing, bloody blight." or death.
or "Heal, heal, bloody blight," 
or "Heal, heal, bood soaked blight," 
or "Heal, heal, blood soaked death?"

Can anyone help?
faith hunter

I blogged at 
magicalwords.net
today.
This is a group blog by David B Coe, Misty Massey, C.E. Murphy, and me.
All about writing.
Visit us today!
Faith

Lots of random thoughts today.  None of them important to anyone but me. But it's my blog, so maybe today is just a quiet, boring day and maybe I'm just going to blog about what that means to a writer... First, Mick and Michael.  Then tea.

Michael is my brother, whom everyone but Mom and me calls Mike. He and wife had a son late year, Michael Junior. Now, everyone but Mom and me calls the Jr, *Michael*.  We call Jr. *Mick*. It gets complicated. Especially for Mick and Michael. But, hey, lifelong habits are hard to break.

I am babysitting Mick while Michael goes on a business apt. Remember. Michael is the daddy. He's old enough to do buisness. Well, so is Mick, but the business he does is totally different. I'll probably get to see both kinds today... Ick.

The dogs are good with babies. They take a look and then go on about their business. But it's been a while, and Dinky has gone nearly blind. He came over to the carseat / chair thingy and sniffed. Was about to walk away. Mick moved. Scared Dinks to death! The little 8 lb dog jumped back about 3 feet and looked at me with a *did you see that?* expression. I was giggling by then.

Mick is one of those truely happy babies. He's been sitting in his carseat / chair thingy *talking* to me.  Right now he's in my lap watching me key.  He seems ok with it. But he's a talker. Even before he knows how!

Tea... My writer pal Tamar Myers gave three days worth of herbal tea made by an eastern/western doctor she goes to. You make a decoction and drink a third before each meal to clense your body. The dry tea looks like something swept off the forest floor. Brewed, it tastes like that too. Yuckers. But I am intrested in herbal stuff.  Always have been. Hope the clense is worth the taste.

Time for Mick's nap, and time for me to write. *Must* finish a book today. Then start and finish a short story this week. Sigh...

Deadlines, you know? And I still have to do the laundry. See what I said about a boring day? But boring is good. Everyone needs a little boring in their lives.

Awww. Mick's asleep. Just that fast!

Faith

The rest did wonders for me. Hubby and I took theLower Green in the two-man inflatable ducky. The water was running at 100% according to the dam that feeds it, which means that one sluice was open. Last time we ran it, there were two sluices open, and the river was running at 200%.  The wording and the percentages seem wrong, but then I am not an engineer. To me, 100% would mean that all sluies are open. Anyway, the run was much less challenging this time and I liked it better. Next time I run it? It won't be challenging enough! I'll be ready for the 200%, which means I'll need to go up after a hard rain.

After the full Lower run, we still had plenty of time until the dam shut off, so hubby and I ran the last mile, or mile and a half, in our hard boats -- kayaks. I *loved* it! It was so freaking much fun! Not that there are anything but Class II rapids on the Lower Green, but it was just challenging enough for this noob.  And I am ready to do it again!

We had a wonderful time!

On the way home we stopped at an outlet and I bought two new rugs, black and brown, in the same style as the black and brown and burgundy rug in the dining room. Now, the living room and the foyer look so fresh and new! I love it!

So -- today I wrote 11 pages (so far) and am ready to put this baby to bed!

Later, Ya'll!
Faith

This morning I went to the doctor, and there was was a mix up in their apt. system and I didn't get in. I was totally ticked off. That is today's kvetch session, which seems relatively painless for you guys. At the time I was fuming. Good thing I didn't blog then...

After that debacle, I had lunch with Tamar Myers, my bestest pal / mystery writer. If you haven't read her cosy mysteries you are missing a laugh a minute. She and I eat at the Cracker Barrell once a month, except in December, and talk about all things publishing and books. And we laugh. And I relax, which is why you guys got off so easy on the kvetching portion of today's blog.

Later today...I'm going to take off more time to relax. You, know. Because of the deadlines. Counter-intuitive? Yes. It is. But it is fact too. If I don't relax I'l never meet the deadlines. So, tonight, hubby and I are heading to the Green River to run the Lower section in our two-man ducky and our kayaks all day tomorrow.  Whoowhoo!

Later guys!

Faith

Just a quick note for readers who want to know what a good reviewer sees in books before you risk buying the book...

I am impressed with Tez, (hey, she likes my work!) and here's her site.

http://tezmilleroz.wordpress.com/

Faith

Tea for us is a visit to Starbucks, curling up in a corner, and talking about writing, our carrers, travel for our books, signings, and also about the life of a writer -- our SOs, families, pets, etc. It is something relaxing that I do about 2 times a month. And it keeps me sane. It gives me an hour away from the desk. Away from the phone. I come away refreshed and ready to write, ready to see things (life, my WIP, problems, whatever) differently.

Now I'm ready to write. Whoowhoo! And at 4 PM I am meeting with a foundation grant person to talk about my new project. As if I don't have enough to do, I am thinking about this Traveling Writer in Residence Program for the fiscally challenged schools in my state.

Sigh...  Good day!

Faith 

Friday was interesting. Not *getting a lot written* interesting -- I only managed a bit less than 4 pages -- but interesting all sorts of other ways. Hence the odd title of rolls and sushi.

First of all, I didn't sleep Thursday night. Just one of those nights, you know? Teaching at the school is a new kind of stress, which I totally enjoyed, but still. A new kind of stress.

Then I was in contact with the teacher for a couple of hours.  Then I wrote my 4 pages. Jane Yellowrock totally rocks! But she is *much* tougher than any character I have ever written before. Tougher than Thorn. Tougher than Rose. So tough I may need to give her a softer edge somewhere. Hmmm. Good thought. I'll ponder that.

In the afternoon? Hubby and I went to our friend's pool so he could try to Eskimo roll. In the kayak. He has managed to do it successfully 3 times prior to that, but it is a counterintuitive, flowing action, requring the use of the entire body. Not something one does once and has it, but something one does once and then might not do sucessfully for several hundred more tries and then finally *gets* it and has to practice often, forever. He did 2 rolls successfully!  It was lovely to watch.

The roll, at its best, is fluid, economical, graceful as a seal. I was so proud. And no, I didnt get into the water. I have vertigo from the pollen. Rolling over and over when one already has vertigo isn't smart. But I did get a bit of sun, a bit of rest, and have fun.

The sushi part of the title? Massage therapist extraordinaire Diane Stordock and I took a sushi class at Paula Gillman's kitchen shop! It was totally cool! I will never be a susih chef (I understand that a chef spends the first 6 - 8 years of his training  learning how to make rice. Oy.) but I can at least fix some fairly competent version of my favorite food at home. It was a blast! Traci, at the shop, took pics, and if she sends them to me, I'll post them on the Yahoo group.

Faith

Not being the kind to rest on my laurels, or rest on anything come to think of it, I have a new project. Not the Jane Yellowrock, SKINWALKER, project. (Though I am on page 225 and totally loving it!) But a new project for kids.

South Carolina, the state I grew up in and went to school in, has the worst dropout rate in the nation. Yep. We hold 50 fingers on that one. And our test scores are close to that lovely record, near last.

I am designing a program that will get commercially published writers into the school system to galvanize kids and get them to write. Because if you write, then you have to read. And if read, then you have to become a better student. One leads to the other like a dog on a trail.

Three days this week and three days next week a playwright friend and I are in the local school system, (the best in the state) testing the program.  And it seems to be working. Freaking amazing! Will it work in the schools with failing test scores? I don't know.

So far (day 2) the student have already designed 2 characters as a group, to see how it is done, and desigend 2 characters alone to put that into practice. Today we read a play built around the characters they designed as a group.

This is fun!

And I still got 5 pages of Jane written. Whoowhoowhoo!

Faith

Today is a new beginning. I'm going to try something new. I have a job interview tomorrow in a different part of the state, hoping to become the head of TWIRP. Or maybe the leader of TWIRP. The Big TWIRP.*Grinning* I'm taking off this afternoon for parts unknown.

Wish me luck!

Faith

Just a few thoughts on the perfect agent, from my perspective.  I know writers who need a hand-holding agent, one who calls every couple of weeks to chat, to pass along news about the publishing world.  This is what I call a warm-and-fuzzy agent.  Not for me.

I have two agents and both understand I don't need hand-holding, but one agent is decidedly *not* a warm-and-fuzzy kinda a guy.  He's... different.  The other is warmer and fuzzier, but still knows I don't need much attention.  So, what do I want in the perfect agent?

1.  Agent who reads everything I write and *gets* it.

2.  Works like a dog to get it published.

3.  If he/she doesn't get it, then sends me to an agent friend who might.

4.  Gives me ideas for PR.  (Not my best thing, PR.)

5.  Knows people in New York.  Important publishing industry people.  And they like him/her.

6.  Knows important people on the west coast.  Important movie industry people.  And they like him/her.

7.  Has no people he/she hates in the industry (neither east or west coast) and no feuds ongoing.

8.  Has good manners and no drinking/gambling/drug problem.

9.  Has a good rep in the industry.  Has important clients and makes a living on selling writing.

10.  Okay, a little hand holding is nice...

Do I have this?  Oh yeah!  Especially between the two of them.  Even better?  One agent is also a published writer and knows the business from two fronts.
I am blessed.
Faith

1. water worlds with no fire. no fire then no metals, no metals, then no ships.
2. metal-poor worlds, see above.
3. different kind of intelligence, like the elephants, who are more interested in history and relationships than space travel.
4. too dang far away.
5. no opposable thumbs.
6. wiped out by nature/novas/etc.
7. died in space and never made it here.
8. came and saw us and ran screaming for their lives
9. came and saw us and are still here, eating popcorn and laughing their butts off
10. came and saw and decided we were too violent to survive, so why bother interacting with us.

Honestly, this writer started jotting down what I was saying. I still think he’s nuts for even having to ask. I came up with about 20 more, but I'm interested other people's ideas. Whatcha think?

Faith