manifesta

I swear that post on the portrayal of women's strength and sexuality in paranormal romance and modern urban fantasy is forthcoming. I even have a decent chunk of it written. Unfortunately I have an exam and two papers due next week, and we're finalizing the script for the main experiment I'm working on. It's a design I've in been helping build from the ground up, so I'm super excited to see it go live by the end of March.

Salsa performance group also started last month. My partner and I have dreamed up some amazing moves for part of the choreography. This also means I hurt on a regular basis.

Black Widow's Walk is moving along. I adore the book but loathe writing middles. I'm pushing it forward out of sheer stubborness right now. I just finished a scene where some of the Spinners are busking on the street (stringed instruments + rain = bad) and in the next scene I return to the High Court, where one villian manipulates another villian. There will be deception involved, and someone is going to get Spun into oblivion.

This weekend I intend on studying, writing BWW, writing papers, studying, eating chocolate, seeing Valentine's Day, studying, making brownies, and celebrating a friend's birthday. Hopefully my next weekend will be more restful.

I recently reread Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith and Exiles: The Ruins of Ambrai by Melanie Rawn. I haven't reread Exiles in some years, so until recently I'd forgotten how utterly amazing it is. It's a complex, heartbreaking political fantasy that plays with gender roles. As always, I love love love Rawn's heroes and heroines.

Next quarter I'm going to host a giveaway contest for a book or two that I've read or reread recently that feature strong heroines. Why? Because I wish there were more books like Exiles and Skin Game and The Raven Prince, and I think the only way to change people's standards of what isn't acceptable characterization of women is to provide examples of what is.

Stay tuned.

The start to the new year has been lovely. Over the course of New Year's Eve I blazed through Hilari Bell's Rise of a Hero, and then through Forging the Sword, the last two books in her Farsala trilogy (the first being Fall of a Kingdom). Her style is reminiscent of Alma Alexander's in her Changer of Days duology and features many similarities, although both first books came out around the same time. I don't really consider this to be a bad thing; I think each books expands in separate directions within the context of their own worlds. I particularly enjoyed some of the innovative obstacles the protags face in RoaH.

I think it's YA, but I could be wrong. I could see it as adult epic fantasy.

Yesterday I finished Marie Brennan's Midnight Never Come, and it stuck me how ahead of the publishing trend my first two books were. My first was a contemporary fantasy when contemp/urban was just starting to expand, and my second was a contemporary faerie tale with roots in an alternative Tudor England. Books like Midnight that combined my two loves--faeries and real-world fantasy--were limited to Holly Black, Francesca Lia Block, and few others, all of which were YA.

Brennan's writing is luscious, and her leading female character a realistic mix of strength, desperation, and cunning. She also kept regional faerie lore intact, a task that must have had its difficulties.

Now, partially inspired by Brennan, I'm re-reading Charles de Lint's The Onion Girl. It has reminded me why I love urban fantasy--true urban fantasy, not the gutted version that's being reproduced over and over again today. It also reminds me of a time when women's strength in UF was portrayed through determination and character rather than the false symbolism of a vampire boyfriend or knives.


Classes have started, and in lieu of finishing the last stats courses, I'm indulging in reading-focused history and women's studies courses, as well as psych of law. I'm still researching stereotypes with a professor, and will be for the rest of the year, but our direction may be changing a little-- something we discussed at our 8AM meeting this morning, 4 full hours before my first class. Ah, the sacrifices I make in the name of science. 

The sociology department is trying to lure me over to the Dark Side. They've invited me to apply to work on a grant-funded research project, which would do wonders for my resume. Tempting.

Tomorrow I get to watch Pocahontas in class. On one hand, yay. On the other hand, this is ironic, given that I just watched Avatar last weekend, and was not that impressed (via shiegra).

I'm 1/3 of the way done writing Black Widow's Walk! *dances* *snuggles book*

With the end of the last scene Deahnna realized something partly inaccurate, and in the current scene I switched to a POV I haven't written in before. She's a minor character, but an important one. I was also finally able to write in some nonheterosexual secondary characters that are adorable and make me squee with happiness. (It also helps that they're courtiers but not nearly so awful as the others.)

I'm not currently reading anything other than psych articles, though I did pick up Lynn Viehl's new Shadowlight in an attempt to keep it on the NYT list for a second week (which it did, and totally because of me). I also found Califa's Daughters by Leigh Richards a few weeks back in an indie store. It has the makings for a feminist fantasy, or in the very least a fantasy that plays with gender roles (ala Anne Bishop). 

It's been raining nonstop lately, which has been disheartening. I love autumn... but I love autumn more when it's sunny and chilly, not rainy and chilly. I just hope it doesn't pour on Halloween. I don't fancy walking down the street in a rather long dress (albeit with boots) and getting soaked.  (For those curious, I'm going as River from Serenity.)

The dress is actually longer than it should be for River's dress, but it's blue and layered like hers. As I was walking around in it the other day, I realized that it's an outfit Deahnna would approve of, if not wear.

I know. I'm weird.

Black Widow's Walk   30, 009 / 90,000

Quick writing update because, oy, I'm tired.

My characters have been attending the same fete for the last 10k. I'm officially no longer a fan of huge parties. On the bright side, at least one person's dead, and a lot more people are about to die. (And I only have one more scene to go before I can change settings. Huzzah!)

Black Widow's Walk 25,026 / 90,000

After a variety of hold-ups, BWW is moving again. YAYAYAYAY. I've been feeling rather weary, so I've been trying to listen to my playlist for BWW more often, just to jazz myself up. I usually only listen to it (and always with earphones in for the illusion of surround sound) when writing Deahnna's scenes, which admittedly are probably a third to half of the novel. Most of it's neo-classical violin music (Vanessa Mae and Bond in particular), and many times what I'm listening to will impact what Deahnna's playing or someone's feeling at that given time. Today involved Bond's song Duel and an impromptu pizzicato (plucking of the strings with the fingers) bridge that morphed into a lullaby-waltz.

Also: I wanted to mention that I'm very, very saddened by the passing of Patrick Swayze. Coincidentally, not long before I found out about his death yesterday, someone asked me what my favorite movie was. I grew up watching the movie Dirty Dancing and it's a HUGE part of the reason I love dancing as much as I do. Yesterday I watched it again and rewound to each of the dance clips. I realize that Michael Jackson represented childhood for a lot of people, but Patrick Swayze represented mine. 

Still reading Palimpsest. I haven't had much time to myself that hasn't been dedicated to writing or sleeping since training began, but hopefully I'll finish it this weekend.

Black Widow's Walk   16, 054 / 90,000

A while ago, SJMaas posted an entry with pictures of her desk. Since I'm ridiculously proud (probably more so than can be justified) of putting together mine, here's what's on it:

 

There's nothing on the walls at the moment because they were sprayed with mud and thus blue tape doesn't stick to them very well. I'm hoping to get a few tackboards for notes and a white board for novel plotting and/or psych experiment planning soon. I live pretty minimally and don't like a lot clutter, so my current set-up it really nice.

 

1-3 are usually carried around in my purse.

1. Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente. I usually keep a book or two around (though I have more on my bookcase).
2. Moleskine notebook containing various writerly ideas and a decent chunk of world-building for Black Widow's Walk.
3. The mandatory iPod. Complete with coconut gummy earphones. 
4. My beta fish, Magnolia. He's about a year and half old and named after a street in downtown Bellingham, WA.
5. Lavender and cedarwood oil and reeds. Its twin is in the living room and is currently spreading tendrils of vanilla-goodness everywhere. My goal is for our apartment to be the best-smelling place in the world.

 

6. Dell laptop where all the writing occurs. The wallpaper is a friend and I posing backstage before a salsa performance in June. (I'm the one with the sunglasses). I like it because my dance shoes are reflected in the mirror. Black Widow's Walk and its accompanying files (a tentative and vague scene list, the pitch, names, etc.) is contained in the folder by my shoulder.
7. Mandatory coffee cup. It was filled with 2% milk at the time, but usually it's tea.

Also: I've been contemplating the fact that since moving in, either my (totally awesome) roommate and/or her friends and/or my friends have randomly been wandering in and out of my room throughout the day. I've since considered hanging a tie on my doorknob when trying to write. Awkward connotations, but perhaps effective...?

Kidding. But still an amusing thought.

I'm all moved into my apartment! It's gorgeous, with a balcony looking over the street and large rooms. It took a while, but my cable was set up today, and I put together my desk yesterday with only minor injuries. Training starts tomorrow at 8:30AM.

I had hoped to write more tonight, but halfway through I realized the scene I had anticipated on writing next simply couldn't happen yet. The two leads don't trust each other enough, and it's going to take a little more time before they do. I shuffled some scenes around; hopefully this order will flow better.

I know I'm behind on commenting, but I will, soon! I hope your weeks have been wonderful.

Black Widow's Walk 12,853 / 90,000

As promised for when I hit 10k, the teaser for Black Widow's Walk. I actually wasn't able to write yesterday because my eyes hurt so badly due to allergies (not being able to see tends to hinder the writing process), but I made up for it today with 2k+ words. May I present: completely raw and unedited goodness. Enjoy!

 

( in the glory of the maelstrom )

Now that I'm properly exhausted, time to sleep.

Worked on a good scene today, one that established fledgling trust between my two lead characters. I'm writing at a steady 1k or so a day, which is all I'm asking of myself for now. When I hit 10k total, I'll post a teaser (so in less than a week?).

I've noticed that I've barely described the environment at all, focusing more on the characters and their actions. My scenes have been somewhat on the short side because of it. I think it's an automatic impulse for me to downplay description after reading so many fantasy novels where there would be paragraphs after paragraphs of it.

I finished reading Naamah's Kiss yesterday. It's good in its own way, but not as good as her other novels. The pressing conflict just isn't there, and Moirin doesn't have to make any serious sacrifices. A huge draw for me in any novel is the level of the stakes involved. The greater the stakes, the greater the reward. A book without stakes that invoke emotional investment can still be good... but it won't be one of my favorites.

However, I will say this: Carey's portrayal of pansexuality through her main characters makes me very, very happy. In fact, I think her work qualifies for Outer Alliance membership: "As a member of the Outer Alliance, I advocate for queer speculative fiction and those who create, publish and support it, whatever their sexual orientation and gender identity.  I make sure this is reflected in my actions and my work." Link found via Amanda Downum, whose book I'll probably be reading next, because its luscious cover and badass female necromancer keeps staring at me from across the room.

Black Widow's Walk 5,018 / 90,000

Finished the first scene of my dark something fantasy, with high expectations for the second scene. It's a dark 'something' fantasy because I haven't yet decided what to call it. Odds are it'll end up a dark romantic fantasy, but I'm rebelling against that notion for as long as possible. I keep calling it a dark court fantasy in my head, but it's a small, practically unheard-of subgenre that I may very well have made up and assured myself existed.

I debated continuing with the second scene, but I didn't feel like lingering in the head of a psychopath past 2AM.

Black Widow's Walk 1,636 / 90,000