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Friday Miscellany: Merry Cthulhumas!
Dec. 23rd, 2011 09:31 am
And, you know, seasons greetings and whatever.
October is nearly over and November is just a few days away, so it's your last chance to sign-up for Anti-Nano!
If you're new to the Anti-Nano family, here's the gist of it:
If you love the idea of Nanowrimo but know 50k is an impractical target for you, never fear! Join the cult, and dedicate November to writing as much (or as little) as you want in the company of like-minded writers. We'll be doing bi-weekly check-ins throughout November (Mondays and Fridays), and once a week there'll be excerpt postings (Wednesdays).
(I'd like to add that if you're doing Nanowrimo but still want to stop by the Anti-Nano community and share your progress, you're very welcome!).
If you want to participate, head over to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
squidathon and join up. This is now HQ for Anti-Nano, so go and make yourselves at home, read this post to see what we're all about, and I'll see you in November for hardcore (but self-governed) writing action.
Oh, and Happy Halloween!
If you're new to the Anti-Nano family, here's the gist of it:
If you love the idea of Nanowrimo but know 50k is an impractical target for you, never fear! Join the cult, and dedicate November to writing as much (or as little) as you want in the company of like-minded writers. We'll be doing bi-weekly check-ins throughout November (Mondays and Fridays), and once a week there'll be excerpt postings (Wednesdays).
(I'd like to add that if you're doing Nanowrimo but still want to stop by the Anti-Nano community and share your progress, you're very welcome!).
If you want to participate, head over to
squidathon and join up. This is now HQ for Anti-Nano, so go and make yourselves at home, read this post to see what we're all about, and I'll see you in November for hardcore (but self-governed) writing action.Oh, and Happy Halloween!
(I never promised these blogs would be intellectual.)
1. What if Dr Suess wrote The Call of Cthulhu? Dude. I would have been all over this as a kid. I'm pretty much all over it as an adult.
2. Katy Perry - ET
I don't care for much of her music, but I love this song. I especially love this remix:
And, I don't know, there's just something I really like about Katy Perry. She's like a cartoon character.
3. The Yogscast. I don't play Minecraft, but Kyle does and therefore I blame him entirely for my current obsession with the Yogscasts. We spent all day yesterday watching this, and then we went to bed and watched some more like the freaking grownups we are.
4. Toffee apple cider.
I don't like cider when it tastes like cider. I love it when it tastes like toffee apples (although carbonated drinks don't agree with me, so I can only manage about one bottle a week, which is frankly probably more than enough given the amount of sugar in the stuff).
5. Editing! I edited an upcoming novella for Damnation Books called The Noctuary and it was amazing! I got in a bit of a fit over the weekend about writers who want to be published, rather than wanting to write, but The Noctuary helped me get over that. It's a haunting, atmospheric beauty, and when it's available to buy, I will be pimping the hell out of it.
1. What if Dr Suess wrote The Call of Cthulhu? Dude. I would have been all over this as a kid. I'm pretty much all over it as an adult.
2. Katy Perry - ET
I don't care for much of her music, but I love this song. I especially love this remix:
And, I don't know, there's just something I really like about Katy Perry. She's like a cartoon character.
3. The Yogscast. I don't play Minecraft, but Kyle does and therefore I blame him entirely for my current obsession with the Yogscasts. We spent all day yesterday watching this, and then we went to bed and watched some more like the freaking grownups we are.
4. Toffee apple cider.
I don't like cider when it tastes like cider. I love it when it tastes like toffee apples (although carbonated drinks don't agree with me, so I can only manage about one bottle a week, which is frankly probably more than enough given the amount of sugar in the stuff).
5. Editing! I edited an upcoming novella for Damnation Books called The Noctuary and it was amazing! I got in a bit of a fit over the weekend about writers who want to be published, rather than wanting to write, but The Noctuary helped me get over that. It's a haunting, atmospheric beauty, and when it's available to buy, I will be pimping the hell out of it.
Daily Lovecraft - ambigrams!
Sep. 28th, 2011 09:56 amHow amazing are these? I found them last night whilst browsing for pictures of Cthulhu. We decided this one should probably be Kyle's next tattoo:
I really love the Azathoth one too:
I really love the Azathoth one too:
Achievements achieved: an achievable day
Aug. 11th, 2011 04:13 pmI just sent the edits for A Fear Unnatural back to the author! Yay! Or at least, yay if he's happy about them... It was a very good book, but it needed lots of fine-tuning, so I hope he doesn't hate me... Anyway, First editing assignment complete. Huzzahs!
In other news, I went to a local wildlife park this morning with Pip as a pre-birthday treat for her. We got there very early, so a lot of the animals were actually still dozing, but we got to see tigers and meerkats, and adorable otters! They sneezed! It terrified Pip. I'm not sure why. Then we headed into Cambridge for brunch and shopping and I managed to achieve the one thing I've been determined to do all summer: buy a maxi dress. I found a gorgeous blue one on sale, so I snapped it up. Now, obviously, it's pouring with rain, but the point is I found the dress, dammit.
I also finished reading this:
I love this story, and it actually suits the graphic novel format really well. I have it on audiobook too, so I might listen to it tomorrow and see how they all compare. I'm slacking off for the rest of today because my beloved![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
chaostheory is on her way over, possibly for more Lovecraft-related activities, but there is still some stuff I want to get done before the week is over, so let's have a list!
1. Edits for DARK HUNT.
2. Finish a short story about Ayla and Shannon, for DARK HUNT promotional purposes
3. Sort out my books and take a load to charity (to make room for all the new books I want)
4. Get back to work on Night Breed
5. Start the next freelance editing job
Will I achieve any of these things? Stay tuned for my next adventure...
In other news, I went to a local wildlife park this morning with Pip as a pre-birthday treat for her. We got there very early, so a lot of the animals were actually still dozing, but we got to see tigers and meerkats, and adorable otters! They sneezed! It terrified Pip. I'm not sure why. Then we headed into Cambridge for brunch and shopping and I managed to achieve the one thing I've been determined to do all summer: buy a maxi dress. I found a gorgeous blue one on sale, so I snapped it up. Now, obviously, it's pouring with rain, but the point is I found the dress, dammit.
I also finished reading this:
I love this story, and it actually suits the graphic novel format really well. I have it on audiobook too, so I might listen to it tomorrow and see how they all compare. I'm slacking off for the rest of today because my beloved
chaostheory is on her way over, possibly for more Lovecraft-related activities, but there is still some stuff I want to get done before the week is over, so let's have a list!1. Edits for DARK HUNT.
2. Finish a short story about Ayla and Shannon, for DARK HUNT promotional purposes
3. Sort out my books and take a load to charity (to make room for all the new books I want)
4. Get back to work on Night Breed
5. Start the next freelance editing job
Will I achieve any of these things? Stay tuned for my next adventure...
It's been a while since we had some Daily Lovecraft, so here's ten ways you know you're reading too much...
In other news... there is no other news, really. I'm feverishly counting down to holiday time! Oh my God. I'm going to write until my fingers fall off next week. You don't even know.
Oh wait, there is some news! The WILD July summer sale is over, because it's now August, so WILD is back up to full price, but that's still pretty damn cheap. On that note, Monster Librarian has reviewed WILD here and they think it's a "fantastic book, dark in ways that are somewhat uncomfortable, but ultimately hopeful."
I've also had a short story about sea monsters accepted into Static Movement's Evolutionary Blueprint anthology. So I guess there is more news than I realised. I think that's it though.
Weekend Link Madness!
May. 7th, 2011 03:56 pmFirst up, The Pen and Muse find Ethan's adventures "unhinging and delightful."
"Clark does an amazing job in this one and provides a wonderful atmosphere of mystery to find out who did what."
I think I tweeted a couple of other recent reviews, but didn't talk about them here, so since it's a Saturday and not much else is going on, I may as well do it now.
My Book Addiction thinks AFTERLIFE is "beyond amazing" and says she would stock it in her bomb shelter if she only had room for ten books. She also thinks DEMONISED is an "amazing novella," and thinks I know how to keep readers on the edge of their seats. Which is nice!
And Reading the Paranormal had this to say about NIGHT AND CHAOS:
"Intriguing mythology and a huge cliffhanger have me waiting impatiently for the next part of the story in this series."
And just because it's not all about me, here's some Daily Lovecraft - What About Cthulhu's Feelings?
"Clark does an amazing job in this one and provides a wonderful atmosphere of mystery to find out who did what."
I think I tweeted a couple of other recent reviews, but didn't talk about them here, so since it's a Saturday and not much else is going on, I may as well do it now.
My Book Addiction thinks AFTERLIFE is "beyond amazing" and says she would stock it in her bomb shelter if she only had room for ten books. She also thinks DEMONISED is an "amazing novella," and thinks I know how to keep readers on the edge of their seats. Which is nice!
And Reading the Paranormal had this to say about NIGHT AND CHAOS:
"Intriguing mythology and a huge cliffhanger have me waiting impatiently for the next part of the story in this series."
And just because it's not all about me, here's some Daily Lovecraft - What About Cthulhu's Feelings?
Friday Night Linkage Delight
Apr. 8th, 2011 08:39 pmSo despite this week ... not being all it could be, what with fractured metacarpals and various other things, I'm actually feeling quite chipper tonight. Partly because Kyle is cooking something spectacular involving feta cheese and chorizo and olives, but also because I had two short story acceptances this week.
Happy Ending is going to be in Beyond the Grave. I'm probably more excited about this than is really warranted because it's an Ash story, and he's my favourite. My favourite everything. He's badass and a necromancer and drinks too much and runs a gothy night club and is just basically awesome, and this is the story of why he digs up his father's grave.
Pumpkin Soup will be in Fall Shudders. I wrote this yesterday when I was feeling particularly jaded, and it's actually pretty sad, but really beautiful, if I do say so myself. I don't often make such claims about my own writing, but I do really like this piece, so that's good too.
Happy Ending is going to be in Beyond the Grave. I'm probably more excited about this than is really warranted because it's an Ash story, and he's my favourite. My favourite everything. He's badass and a necromancer and drinks too much and runs a gothy night club and is just basically awesome, and this is the story of why he digs up his father's grave.
Pumpkin Soup will be in Fall Shudders. I wrote this yesterday when I was feeling particularly jaded, and it's actually pretty sad, but really beautiful, if I do say so myself. I don't often make such claims about my own writing, but I do really like this piece, so that's good too.
Also good is that WILD (now with caps!) is fully-formatted and ready to change the world of paranormal-urban-fantasy-YA-with-romantic-elements-and-drugs. Huzzahs! I am going to do a line-edit over the weekend in case I missed anything vital or obvious, but I have high hopes it will be ready to upload next week. OMG. Hold me, you guys. I'm scared.
Luckily, I have Mansions of Madness to distract me. I had no idea there were so many HP Lovecraft-inspired board games out there, but there are definitely three in my house right now, which makes me a happy Nome. Kyle and I are going to attempt to play it after dinner. If you don't hear from me again, I went mad and was incarcerated in an insane asylum, okay?
We're all mad here
Mar. 9th, 2011 10:02 pmIn lieu of actual content:
Daily Lovecraft - HP Lovecraft's first day as a substitute teacher at Arkham Junior High School Thanks,dwg , for making me laugh hysterically at work and inviting curious glances from my co-workers.
Alice and Kev - as a recovering Sims addict (I want Sims Medieval, dammit!), I love this. It's actually quite moving in places. Although I am opposed to computer programmes thinking for themselves.
Indie Book Blog reviews NIGHT AND CHAOS and thinks I'm very talented. Huzzahs!
We're watching the V remake. I love how it's basically Cancelled/Finished Sci-Fi Show Actors Reunited. Bit concerned about Father Jack; he's not the greatest resistance fighter ever. Every time he opens his mouth, something goes wrong. Loving Oded Fehr and Charles Mesure. Particularly Charles Mesure.
I wonder if, if we had the technology and we wrecked up Earth badly enough, we'd jet off to the nearest habitable planet and conduct a hostile takeover?
Daily Lovecraft - HP Lovecraft's first day as a substitute teacher at Arkham Junior High School Thanks,
dwg , for making me laugh hysterically at work and inviting curious glances from my co-workers.Alice and Kev - as a recovering Sims addict (I want Sims Medieval, dammit!), I love this. It's actually quite moving in places. Although I am opposed to computer programmes thinking for themselves.
Indie Book Blog reviews NIGHT AND CHAOS and thinks I'm very talented. Huzzahs!
We're watching the V remake. I love how it's basically Cancelled/Finished Sci-Fi Show Actors Reunited. Bit concerned about Father Jack; he's not the greatest resistance fighter ever. Every time he opens his mouth, something goes wrong. Loving Oded Fehr and Charles Mesure. Particularly Charles Mesure.
I wonder if, if we had the technology and we wrecked up Earth badly enough, we'd jet off to the nearest habitable planet and conduct a hostile takeover?
Your Daily Lovecraft is here
Mar. 7th, 2011 02:23 pmSo I really was joking about the Daily Lovecraft thing, but then I spent yesterday watching the first two Reanimator films with chaostheory and Kyle and realised that sometimes the Elder Gods have their own plan for you. I'm not sure Lovecraft would recognise his story, but there was much hilarity, and even a philosophical discussion over whether Herbert West really exists, or is merely a projection of Dan's own psyche. And then we just made slashy jokes, because it's pretty obvious Herbert loves Dan very, very much.
And then we watched an online review of Mansions of Madness, which looks to be the most horribly complicated boardgame ever designed. It's the kind of game that might actually induce madness if you attempt to play it, and I'm sure we will own it before much longer.
Anyway, all this Lovecrafting meant I got no writing done this weekend, despite my best intentions. I was going to write while Kyle andchaostheory were watching the films, but apparently this would have been antisocial, possibly even rude, so I dutifully shut down my laptop. Guys! I have done no writing of worth for almost a month now *chews fingernails* I'm determined to finish my current tessa_morelock wip before I do anything else, because I really could get it done in a week if I make myself sit down and work, dammit. I've got guest blogs to write for the NIGHT AND CHAOS ebook tour, but they can wait til the weekend.
So, my goal this week is to write at least 1k a day on the Tessa wip so I actually have something to report tospringathon on Wednesday. I can do that, right?
chaostheory and Kyle and realised that sometimes the Elder Gods have their own plan for you. I'm not sure Lovecraft would recognise his story, but there was much hilarity, and even a philosophical discussion over whether Herbert West really exists, or is merely a projection of Dan's own psyche. And then we just made slashy jokes, because it's pretty obvious Herbert loves Dan very, very much. And then we watched an online review of Mansions of Madness, which looks to be the most horribly complicated boardgame ever designed. It's the kind of game that might actually induce madness if you attempt to play it, and I'm sure we will own it before much longer.
Anyway, all this Lovecrafting meant I got no writing done this weekend, despite my best intentions. I was going to write while Kyle and
chaostheory were watching the films, but apparently this would have been antisocial, possibly even rude, so I dutifully shut down my laptop. Guys! I have done no writing of worth for almost a month now *chews fingernails* I'm determined to finish my current tessa_morelock wip before I do anything else, because I really could get it done in a week if I make myself sit down and work, dammit. I've got guest blogs to write for the NIGHT AND CHAOS ebook tour, but they can wait til the weekend. So, my goal this week is to write at least 1k a day on the Tessa wip so I actually have something to report to
springathon on Wednesday. I can do that, right?
The Madness* continues
Mar. 4th, 2011 11:07 amSo, I'm guest-blogging with Su Halfwerk, another Damnation Books author, right here today. I'm talking about when side characters (like, for example, PI Ethan Banning) take over. I may also be guest-blogging with David Bridger later on a related subject if I can get my email to behave, so look out for that too!
I've arranged a blog tour for NIGHT AND CHAOS. I don't know how well these things work, but it seems like fun, so more details on that as and when it happens. I also gently nudged my cover artist yesterday and he confimed he'd started work on the new cover, so hopefully there will be that soon too. I'm pretty excited. I went to school with this guy and he really is an amazing artist, so I have unreasonably high hopes, which I've decided are the only kind of hopes you may as well have.
Okay, so I know I mentioned doing a Daily Lovecraft yesterday, but I didn't think the internet would provide so instantly. Turns out Guillermo de Toro is directing an adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness. With Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise! What. The. Hell? Why would you cast Tom Cruise in anything nowadays? It's not the 80s! It's not Top Gun. Look, fine, he may once have been a credible actor, but I think those days are long past, and you're going to have to work pretty hard to convince me he can pull off using words like gibbous and ululating (I'm assuming the script will be full of gibbous, ululating things, or why bother adapting a Lovecraft novella at all?).
I am excited, because I love the story, but I'm also wary because the casting doesn't fill me with hope (I guess Ron Perlman is always a bonus but all I can see is Tom Cruise jumping on couches screaming "I worship Cthulhu! I worship Cthulhu! Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!" and it's really annoying). The good news is that chaostheory is bring her copy of Reanimator round on Sunday and we're going to watch it and laugh uproariously.
ETA: I am guest blogging with David Bridger. It's all right here.
A Miscellany of Stuff
Mar. 3rd, 2011 12:20 pmHere is your linkage for today (not necessarily in order of importance or relevance):
Lovecraft's Favourite Words. I can't believe "squamous" only came up once! I think I probably need to include that word in a story pretty soon. (Do we need a daily Lovecraft Link? I'm really tempted to make one day a week Lovecraft Day on my blog, just for shits and giggles.)
My Static Movement anthology, Serve in Heaven, Reign in Hell, is up to about 55k. Static Movement shoot for 70k in order to go to print, so there's still room for stories. If you're working on one, let me know. I know a couple of people were thinking about it and I don't want to pressure anyone, but we are approaching critical mass or something.
I'm being interviewed by my fellow Damnation Books author, Fiona Dodwell, today. She's asking me about DEMONISED and my advice for writers. I don't really feel the most qualified to give out advice, but luckily I recently read Stephen King's On Writing, so I just borrowed some from him,
Tyhitia Green over at Obfuscation of Reality is interviewing me about NIGHT AND CHAOS, and running a giveaway too, so that's worth checking out if you like free stuff.
And that's it! The only question that remains is whether I'm good and eat the delicious salad I bought to work with me, or bad and go down to Costa Coffee for muffins and paninis. Important stuff, people!
