23 books WHO’S GOT IKOSATRIAPHOBIA NOW

I have another shift to survive – and depart from, since sadly I’m not a hundred percent sure I’m going to be relieved in the morning on time, which at this point is like, ok lol. And then I’m at Conflikt X, yay.

Paul’s giving me a lift down and hopefully back again… I may have to take transit north to meet up with him for the ride back but frankly I’m going to worry about that later.  Over the years I’ve realized that I only need to take five things to con. My phone, my computer, a bag full of clothes, my passport/wallet and Otto. Everything else almost inevitably proves to be surplus to requirements and sorrowful hard to lug around.

Paul and I walked up to the new pho restaurant on Edmonds and had a lovely meal, my treat.

Simultaneity

I am currently working on a near future short story (not in the Upsun universe), an abandoned romance novel which I have retitled Tangled Angels, as well as a destiel fanfic and I’ve started re-edits on Upsun.

Jeff says people may be disappointed in Upsun because it’s not as action packed as MMCo, but there’s definitely action in there. It’s mostly backstory, though; all the stories of how people met with George, as he was trying to bring an entire city under his indirect control for O-day.

Jesse’s story is of alien contact when the contactee figures it out. The Upsun novel stories are about how he chooses to reveal himself to specific people that he needs help from, as gathered by his special friend, Raven, Jesse’s sister.

Sweep off those Waves is mostly about Kima’s pregnancy and George finally moving the chess pieces around so that he can go to astronaut school.

Hair Sinister is about George dealing with failure, heartbreak and angry children.

Sweetie’s House of Tentacles is a slash porn novel, essentially a fanfic set in the Upsun universe between two known characters. It’s thoroughly disgusting, and extremely funny in spots. I had a gas writing it. Oh, and I cried so hard, too. I love that bit.

 

 

13 books! it’s spooky.

Sales continue. They will die off in a week if I don’t start marketing. New West Library does not want my book; they’re locked in to a couple of specific ebook service providers, and they only accept works which meet a very narrow set of criteria. I imagine when I check that the rest of the Lower Mainland Library systems will be exactly the same. Fortunately I don’t care.

 

Wild between the time I started and the time I stopped it incremented by two books.  Go litel bok. Go Go Go litel bok.

Edited on Jan 25 – 20 books, including one ‘accident’, and two people on the “I won’t buy it until it’s a book book book” list.

first sales

I sold two books yesterday. I will always link it with the women’s march; 3 million men and mostly women marched against Trump in the US. Sixty thousand people turned out in TO, Catherine said it was the biggest demo she’d ever attended and guh knows she’s known a few…. It was my own little contribution to throatpunching fascism.  Thanks to whoever bought them!!!

MIDNITE MOVING COMPANY IS LIVE SON

HERE’S the LINK.

The first book in the series (written 4th, time-line 1st) is LIVE ON LEANPUB.

What you can do to support my writing career:

Think of everyone you know who’s into social justice and SF and send them the link.

Sadly think “I can’t afford this” and read it for free, in pieces, on my blog (see sideroll.)

Buy it as a present for someone else.

Laugh at the timing – I’m dropping it the same day as the women’s march, and buy it as a souvenir of women’s resistance.

Fall in love with the characters and buy every novel as it comes out.

Cannily wait until I bundle them all, wee hoo, and buy all five for 10.99, a substantial savings.

Did I mention that there’s social justice and TENTACLES!?!? You has been warned.

 

Acknowledgements – Jeff for service above and beyond, and mOm for being Cheerleader in Chief (don’t get up, mOm, it’s okay….)

 

It’s done it’s over

Went to see a therapist today at the request of a family member for family therapy going forward. It was a very good session and I got some insight into the situation which I would not have received any other way.  More fun times in February. Really – I had gone in thinking it was all a big drag but came out quite upbeat, and I’d recommend her.

This is part of OPERATION NORMALIZE MENTAL HEALTH SELF CARE.

Then I had my first Fatburger, a lettuce wrapped fatbaby with mushrooms.

A LITTLE EARLY FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH but Fatburger is a business that was founded by a black woman, so….

Had the most extraordinary encounter with a bus driver today.  I ended up hugging him, after he offered one.  He said, and I quote, “A real Winnipeg hug” which was LIKE THE SWEETEST THING EVAR SAID TO ME BY MORTAL MANG.

I’m going to write a poem about the experience, he made me laugh until I cried for about 10 minutes, and then my phone alarm went off like a bomb on a tv show and everybody screamed. Sort of. Then  all the people on the front part of the bus laughed at me.

After all the horrible things I’ve said about my employer, why would I ask to work there full time? Which I did today. Because when I compare my mental health now to September, I’d rather be working. So that’s it, I’m going to be full time. I HAVE SOMETHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT EVERY DAY NOW THAT ISN’T DONALD TRUMP how useful. Also, see -working, which also means I’ll have benefits after a while, which is useful.

like this

America’s wedding night
by inTrollXChromosomes

I need an alarm clock.  Using my phone as an alarm is sucking, I have so many multiple alarms to set.

 

yet more feelings

Coworker quit, hellzapoppin’ down to three count them three people to keep the place running. Don’t care. It will be what it will be, no point with any of that flinchy rebellious crap. I’ll be here for the foreseeable future and probably making rude amounts of overtime money.

Paul and I hung out for a bit this evening; I’d felt I’d like forgot what he looks like.  I took him to Brown’s Social House and I had a perfectly prepared filet mignon and we laughed very hard about nothing to do with the InHogYourNation.

Really, really, really enjoying X Company this year. Great scripts, excellent acting.

Now I’m going to go sniff the air outside and see if it’s quit raining.

 

The feeling when

Your coworker quits and that means that you are doomed to never stop working here. She’s apparently going to stealth quit on Friday, which is bullshit. A little adulting, please!? This may actually kill my ability to go to Conflikt at the end of the month, so I’m a teensy bit despairing at the mo. I was given a hall pass, but that was before my colleague decided she won’t be working past tomorrow. I’m already working 2 hours of OT, at least; I’ll know what extra emoluments the day holds after my relief shows up, whenever that is…

I have almost 600 likes on my second Supernatural fanfic. Rowena refers to Castiel as a ‘clucking halfwit’ which I think is a very jolly but rude thing to say. There are a couple of other lines in there I really enjoyed writing, but I think I have to give it up and go back to the ACTUALLY WORKING ON MY OWN SHIT end of the ‘verse. You know, editing, and whatnot.

 

 

That feeling when

Jeff calls the new Hulu show “Burn Tarot” and expects Jeffrey Donovan to be doing voiceovers “When you’re a psychic,” and you laugh so hard you pull a rib.

Some irritated person threatens to call the Site Leader (basically GOD ON CALL) when you warn them that work requests will be slow tonight because you’re at 50% staffing and your response is OH WOULD YOU PLEASE we’ll need her help sorting through all the work requests that were in the system AHEAD OF YOURS. That was 3/4 of an hour ago.  Yeah, you guessed it, no call. Just as an aside I actually paged the Site Leader yesterday and she didn’t answer, so make of that what you will. She probably pulled an Allegra and when she didn’t recognize the number didn’t pick up lollllol.

People who work nights and complain about the workload and do a shitty job and sleep in the ER until 5 am when they wake up and pretend to do more work are on the receiving end of one of your pointier emails.

I have 64 likes on my Supernatural fic and 4 kudos and I’m thinking I KNOW SOMEBODY LIKES MY WRITING and Jeff says my interest in slash fanfic for a show I don’t watch equals zero, interest in MMCo = 100% and you just think squee.

You’ve invented a fanfic universe in which you have a McGuffin to make any character pairing possible (with a lot of effort, but possible).

Your daughter calls and tells you she got a job, a good job, in a union environment, close to home and you’re dancing around like an idjit.

You think ‘I’m actually going to miss this job’. I mean, I quit a month ago and I’m still working here, it’s insane. And some of the people are so much fun, I come in early just so I can interact with them.  Others, well, you know how it is.

I’ve almost paid off my credit card debt and I did it with money I earned.

You forget to tell your mother that you received and deposited the cheque she sent you… a month ago.

You watch the Wrong Box again.

I’m putting it in my pile of movies to watch when I’m feeling icky. Because watching it put a bounce in my step. Figuring out that John Larroquette based his performance in the Librarians in part on Ralph Richardson’s tremendous turn as Joseph Finsbury; (so many classic lines among which ‘the playing of games, with balls of varying sizes’ never fails to crack me up), marvelling at Peter Sellers’ false nose and moggy filled apartment (at one point he mops up an ink blot with a kitten’s ass); drooling over the set dec and costumes, which are lovely, and the script (done in part by Larry Gelbart whom you may also know as one of the creators of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and M*A*S*H the tv show, also family faves), the hilarious and stylish music, with a score by John Barry, also a fave of mine (his theme for the Persuaders was one of the highlights for me on tv when I was a teen); John Mills’ voice; the ridiculous train derailment; Tutte Lemkow, the professional villain, and his entirely mute performance as the knitting mad Bournemouth Strangler. Anyway, if you haven’t seen it, and would like a film that amuses without cloying, it’s really, really good.

So yeah… all in all I’m having a good week, and writing 15k words in 4 days was… interesting. Graphomania is a helluva drug. I was literally pacing when I wanted to write and couldn’t, and that’s PSYCHOMOTOR AGITATION folks.  Perhaps the sun is coming back and making me twitterpated.

 

 

 

There’s an offal lot of fuckery hereabouts

I am right and you are left
Fuck the fucking dress code
You are slight and I have heft
Fuck the fucking dress code
Life is short and art is long
Fuck the fucking dress code
Don’t distort my little song
Fuck the fucking dress code
 
My plan is simple you will see
Fuck the fucking dress code
Make a dimple easily
Fuck the fucking dress code
First I’ll wear salwar kameez
Fuck the fucking dress code
Then I’ll dare men’s suits with ease
Fuck the fucking dress code.
 
Not to screen what people wear
Fuck the fucking dress code
Does not mean that you don’t care
Fuck the fucking dress code
Warm in winter, cool in sun
Fuck the fucking dress code
And here’s a hint
Please have some fun
Fuck the fucking dress code

Welcome to the pre-existing condition that is my nightmare.

Fortunately, there’s a cure.

Un fucking believable screw up regarding my hours at work tonight.  I don’t know what to say about it in public but I was good and wound when I got here. Yes I’m blogging from work.  I quit already, I’m an at will employee. Wut they gun do fire my sorry ass? Bit, please

The battery on the MR2 gave its first evidence that it was not happy earlier this week; stopped turning over reliably two days ago and died like the inverse Energizer Bunny yesterday.  Dja s’pose the markedly nipply weather had anything to do with it?

Posted my first fanfic today, too. No mOm, I’m not telling you where it is….

Many thoughts

I was thinking last night that there’s a point that comes during the long conversion from selfish clod to self-actualized human where you just have to drop the rope you’re tying yourself up in.

Racism doesn’t just tie you tight to almost everything bad about your own culture, it ties you up and incapacitates your own mind. You look without seeing, feel without empathy, hear without understanding and speak without compassion.

I have another novel in prospect.  It’s called Earbud, and it’s not set in the Upsun Universe (or if it is, it’ll be because of something the Sixers Plus Henchmen are doing in the background.) It will be interminably chatty, though. It’s WOT I DO. It’s not like I have any other projects to be working on.

leftovers

Brief overview of current projects, with projected completion dates.

Novels (all complete, Midnite Moving Co. will be released on Leanpub shortly)

Upsun – complete

Sweep off the Waves – in for edits

Hair Sinister – in for edits

Midnite Moving Co. – about to drop

Sweetie’s House of Tentacles – will be ready after the trilogy is published. (Bonus book of in-universe slashfic if you buy the other four.)

Memoirs and Nonfiction

Elements of Modern Stupidity – The story of my life so far

Broad Hints – the best of my short non-fiction, mostly culled from my blog from 2004 forward.

The Recovering Racist – a curriculum for settlers

Tarot for Atheists – Tarot for storytelling and psychological insight

Homilies 1998 – 2015

The Book of Kind Words – A modern take on the Victoria compendium

Allegra’s in the Kitchen – a cookbook, everyone is doing it

366 Days of Truth and Reconcilation (perpetual calendar)

Poetry

Some words before we’re through (collected)

The Labyrinth

In Colours Unsuspected

The Netmaker

Children’s fiction

The Oscar stories

Grandma Comes Apart

Songbooks

Singing in the Hallway (Allegra’s Filkbuch)

Choons (Everything but the Filk)

 

How could I possibly work full time? And I’m only posting this because my mother is publishing 6, count ’em, 6 books of family history this week.  Why no I’m not competitive why do you ask.

awake, of course

Mike feasted me at Yianni’s last night, and the lamb shoulder was quite splendid. I even drank alcohol last night, and for my trouble I have a faint pain behind my right eye. Back to sobriety!  I love the stuff, but it doesn’t love me.

Since I’d already had five solid hours of sleep, I’ve kipped for a  couple of hours and now I’m awake in the dark and quiet, but I shan’t repine despite my wakefulness; I have the LAST CHAPTER of the current book, which is going to be a monster, in prospect; the book will be somewhat shorter than I intended, but I may plump it up during editing, since I invariably put more in to be clear than I take out avoiding repetition or extraneous stuff.

Jeff has produced (I do not know how many hours he put into it, but it was work) a wonderful cover for MMCo, which you can all see when it goes live on Leanpub. My only contribution was the basic design idea (which Jeff immediately improved, by adding an unmarked white truck), a creative commons picture of a man against a starfield, the font and a suggestion re the basic shape.

Back to work….