One Hot Mess

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:28:58 GMT

I'm going on a writing hiatus, for a variety of reasons. Actually, I'm kind of already on it, but this makes it official, I suppose. I'm still be around on my other livejournal, as well as Twitter, Facebook, etc. If I owe you a beta read, I promise I will get it done in the near future!

Today is my Friday

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:30:55 GMT

I'm having a four-day weekend in which to come to terms with my 30th birthday. I may or may not do this by getting drunk and shouting at young people.

In the mean time, please enjoy these Fennec foxes kissing! (Yes, I still really really want one).

"From 30,000 feet, creating looks like art. From ground level, it’s a to-do list."

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:05:16 GMT

To Do:

Publish UNDERTOW. I wanted it out in March, now it's looking more like late April/early May. But it is coming, I promise.

Finish Descent. No clue on this one. Me and this book are not friends right now and I'm reluctant to force myself to work on something I'm not happy about when there's no deadline bearing down on me. For me, writing has to be fun first and foremost or it's not my best work. I could force it, but I don't have to, so I won't.

Write first Common Brimstone newsletter. This should be fun and relatively straightforward! I'm probably going to be offering either some freebies or some shop discounts to subscribers, and the rest of it is going to be general rambling which I'm exceptionally good at, so.

Prepare SILVER KISS for resubmission. Happily this is just a case of reformatting. Unhappily, reformatting is dull. Still, hopefully it'll be worth it eventually!

In unrelated news, it turns out you can keep Fennec foxes as pets in the UK. They're classified as "small exotic pets." We've been talking about a dog for ages and had agreed that when we move, if the house is right, we'd look into it. Now we're kinda leaning towards getting a Fennec fox instead...I mean, look at them.

I have some reservations about keeping wild animals as pets, but in the UK at least, these guys are never wild. We have a ton of research to do before we make any decisions (and six months before we move house in theory), but unghfomfg, LOOK AT HIM. WANT. Apparently they do make great pets - very smart and sociable. So...We shall see...

April tarot card - Queen of Cups

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 09:12:06 GMT

I really need to remember to do these posts at the start of the month...Anyway. April's card is the Queen of Cups.

The Cups is my favourite minor arcana suit. It's all about emotions, creativity, compassion - things that are really important to me in day-to-day living. The Queen is introspective, nurturing and tuned into others. She tells you to trust your intuition and show empathy to others. She's a source of comfort and caring for those around her.

I feel like this really has been me this month. My trip to Ireland was all about reflection and emotional exploration, but it was also about bonding with my mum and offering her a source of support and solace while we were there, enabling her to let go a bit.

I've struggled with my creativity in terms of writing this month and I had to finally accept I needed to stop pushing and worrying and just let the writing come when it wants. That hasn't happened yet, but in its place, I've had a never-ending flood of perfume ideas, so I've run with those instead. I still feel like something is missing from my creative life because I'm not writing, but the perfume-making is a form of story-telling (really must blog about that soon) and it makes me so happy. I think the Queen's message is one of enjoying self-expression in whatever form it comes, and that's the message I'm taking forward for the rest of April.

That Urban Wolf news I mentioned?

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:23:36 GMT

I've signed the contract so I think I can reveal it now!

WOLF STRAP is coming to Evernight Publishing in May! And better, it's going to be part of Evernight's Free Reads series, which means (obviously) it's going to be available for the low, low price of absolutely nothing. Huzzahs!

I thought long and hard about what to do with the Urban Wolf series and I'm really happy to be re-homing it with Evernight. They have a great, growing line of f/f fiction in all genres and I'll be proud to see Ayla and Shannon join those ranks. I'm also delighted to be able to offer WOLF STRAP to readers for free as an introduction to the series. I haven't yet submitted SILVER KISS or DARK HUNT, but I fully intend to now WOLF STRAP has been accepted, and I fully intend to continue the series too.

In case you've already read WOLF STRAP and are wondering if there'll be any significant differences between this and the original version published in Queer Wolf, the answer is (probably) not. I did re-edit it slightly before submission - I originally wrote this story six years ago, and I don't know any writer who would be happy to let a story go out to the public again after six years without one last tweak. I made only minor changes - word choices mainly. I haven't received edits from Evernight yet, so there may be more changes to come but I'm pretty confident they will be minimal and mostly stylistic. I think WOLF STRAP is a good, strong story and I don't anticipate it needing extensive editing.*

I'm hoping to hear about a solid release date and have some fancy new cover art to share with you soon, so stay tuned!

*Hubris!

An rud a líonas an tsúil líonann sé an croí.*

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:44:30 GMT

On Monday Mum and I went to Northern Ireland. This sounds like a pretty small thing, so let me backtrack a little before I spam you with photos.

In 1990, my dad was posted to Northern Ireland. He'd been out there before in the past, once when I was eighteen months old, but this was the first visit I was old enough to remember. We lived in a tiny army camp on the coast, surrounded by rolling sand dunes, soaring mountains, and wonderful people. My school was predominantly populated by army kids, so every time a battalion moved out of the camp, the school was left virtually empty. Our cat, Mickey, used to wander onto the firing ranges in the dunes, forcing soldiers to call off their training until he'd been rounded up and run out. We would see foxes down on the beach. We met a soldier who kept a pet python he'd rescued from a wrestler who abused it. This posting is the part of my childhood I remember most clearly and with the most affection.

Whenever people ask me where I liked living best as an army child, I tell them "Ireland." And I couldn't tell you why. Partly the amazing landscape, partly the deep folklore and sense of the mystic that touches so much of the culture. Partly the people. Definitely the people, I realised this week. I think for my parents, this stay in Northern Ireland was one of the few times in their army lives they had a strong circle of friends, and those friendships have endured to this day.

Last year, for their wedding anniversary, Mum and Dad re-visited two of those friends. It was a brief trip, but they both loved it and we all assumed they'd be going back again soon for a longer stay. Of course, life makes other plans for you and Dad passed away in October 2012 without ever returning to Northern Ireland. These friends of ours came to his funeral and made us promise then we would always see their home as ours, whenever we wanted it.

So this Monday, Mum and I flew over to Carrickfergus to reconnect, mourn, explore, laugh, and relax. We went into Belfast and drove down the streets my Dad patrolled as a young soldier. Shankill Road, also known as the Murder Triangle, Crumlin Road and its infamous jail. We saw one of the peace walls that literally cut one side of the street off from the other and keep Catholics and Protestants apart. I saw places Dad saw, in very different times under very different circumstances, and it brought home the reality that my Dad risked his life for his job, time and time again.

We went to the Giant's Causeway, a place we'd visited as a family twenty years ago. It was a glorious day, warm sunshine, salty air, azure skies...and Mum and I hugged on the seashore and talked about how much Dad would have loved to come back there. It was a bittersweet trip, but I think it was also a healing one. I felt a bit like I was on a pilgrimage, revisiting this country that we all loved so much, this place where my Dad made lifelong friendships and had experiences he still laughed about two decades later.

Knockagh war memorial, one of the highest points in Antrim. Mum and Dad came up here last February, Dad being the military history buff he was.

Up close at the war memorial. Construction began after WWI. Before it was finished, WWII had broken out.

View from Knockagh out across the sea and to the Mourne Mountains. These mountains were my childhood view when I looked out my bedroom window, but from the other side.

Sweepie the poodle. Best lap-warmer in Carrickfergus and possibly beyond.

On our way to the Giant's Causeway on Wednesday, we stopped here at Laragh Lodge. They were preparing for a wedding, but insisted on serving us tea and toast nonetheless!

There was a walk round to a waterfall behind Laragh Lodge, but it was closed due to the snow (some parts of this glen had fifteen feet of snow over Easter and people needed food dropped in by helicopter).

So I took pictures of sheep instead.

See those distant mountains across the water there? That's Scotland.

Pic-spam from the Giant's Causeway, my favourite part of our trip.

On the way home from the Giant's Causeway, we stopped at Carrick-a-rede. This is the view from the cliff there. That's Sheep Island, which appears to be devoid of sheep...

...but I found some elsewhere.

We had two full days out there and it really wasn't long enough. We're already planning the next visit. It breaks my heart that Dad won't ever come back here, but I do think as long as we keep the friendships he made and visit the places he saw, he'll be there in a way.

Sweepie agrees.

*What fills the eyes fills the heart

A quick note from Common Brimstone: the holiday is over...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:53:52 GMT

...which is good news for you guys, because the shop is re-opened and I've added five new scents to the catalogue. Wander over to check out Oshun, Rose Jam, Hedgerow Tea, Beatrice, and Fox Maiden. And I've decided to keep Selkie as a permanent addition to the shop, so don't worry if you didn't get a chance to pick it up as part of the St Patrick's Day limited editions!

The next Pay Day Deal weekend will be 26th - 29th April and I'll be adding the next batch of new scents in early May. I'll also be putting together my first newsletter, so remember to sign up if you want news, coupon codes, and freebies!

On a personal note, I had a lovely, if bittersweet time in Ireland and I have SO MANY photos to share. So that will also happen soon!

Questions to ask yourself before taking part in medical research

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:15:51 GMT

1. Are you homeless?
2. Are you about to commit suicide?
3. Is the person approaching you about medical research in a limo?
4. Does the person approaching you about medical research know far more about you than they should?
5. Has the person approaching you about medical research offered you money just to talk to him about medical research?
6. Has the person approaching you about medical research offered you vast amounts of money just to hear more about medical research?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you may want to reconsider taking part in medical research.

If you choose to go ahead with taking part in medical research, here are some further questions to consider:

1. Does the information video you're being shown include any severed heads?
2. Is the doctor in charge of the medical research a wealthy eccentric who has been "forced" to conduct his research in secret by ignorant government bodies who don't understand how important his work is?
3. Does the man who initially approached you about taking part in medical research get an erection at the sight of severed limbs?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes and you still choose to take part in medical research, you're a twat and you're going to die and you deserve it.

"Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious."

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:17:42 GMT

So I had my gibbous cervix scraped clean of squamous cells last Thursday. Now I have to wait four to six weeks to see if they got everything or if there are still some ululating icky bits remaining. As such experiences go, it was fine. The nurse complimented me on my knee-high socks and on how lovely and smooth my legs are, and then Kyle and I went home and spent the day snuggled on the sofa eating chocolate and watching Gordon Ramsey's Hotel Hell. Don't judge me. I love Gordon.

And since then...well...We had an adventure of sorts Friday night (not suitable for repeating here), and as a result Saturday was a write-off. I spent Sunday packaging up the perfume orders I was planning to send out on Saturday, so Sunday was creative but not in a writerly-way. I've got three days at work this week, then I'm off until 8th April! I shall be visiting Ireland with my mum, who currently has a concussion, so that should be interesting.

My aim is to have UNDERTOW published before I go on holiday, which is entirely doable. I don't think it's reasonable to have a first draft of Descent finished by the end of March, so I guess it's the end of April now. I'm annoyed, but between various health issues and ~adventures~, there's not much I can do. There's only so many hours in the day and sadly I have to dedicate most of mine to my day job and, you know, sleeping and eating.

But hey! It's still the Year of the Unicorn and there's good news on the horizon for Urban Wolf fans, so let's move on. Happy Monday, everyone!

The Ethan Banning Philosophy, part 1 of 1

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:50:48 GMT

Monday morning ruminations

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:42:47 GMT

I'm hoping to have eARCs of UNDERTOW ready this week so I can start sending it for review before actually publishing. *chews nails* I want to do one more read-through before I start formatting and then I think I have no more reasons to delay.

In other writing news, I submitted WOLF STRAP to a publisher on Friday. For those who don't know, this was the short story that launched the Urban Wolf series. I'd love to re-home it as these books are really important to me, but I'm not fixated on a particular path - I'd be happy to self-publish the series but as I want to focus more on Ethan Banning this year, it would be nice to work with a publisher and not have to worry about cover art and editing so much for the Urban Wolf series. We shall see!

Business is pleasantly exceeding all my expectations over at Common Brimstone so I decided to go ahead and start that newsletter. If you want to be in the loop on upcoming fragrances, discount codes and other fun stuff yet to be determined, why not sign up? If it works out well, I might start one for my writing work too.

Less pleasantly, I found out last week I have pre-cancerous cells on my cervix. The medical description I looked up used the word "squamous," so from now on I will be referring to my cervix in Lovecraftian terms. You have been warned. I have CIN3, which means "severe dysplasia something something cells," which in turn means I have to go and be scraped clean as soon as possible. Obviously this is not cancer, but people around me have latched onto the word "cancer" rather than the prefix "pre," which means some people are way more stressed about this than I am. Let me assure anyone who may be worrying, there is no need to be worried, ~~Mum~~.

The only reason I'm mentioning it publicly at all is because after Dad passed away, I was struck by the thought that there can be a lot wrong with a person that you or they might never even know about. And bam, less than six months later, here I am with the most severe form of pre-cancerous lesions on my squamous cervix. Who knew? So I guess I want to tell you all to look after yourselves and not put things off when they relate to your health. If you're worried about something, don't be afraid to ask. Do research. I looked up all the terminology in my referral letter because it was, frankly, deeply unhelpful, and in five minutes I'd reduced all these long, complicated medical terms to easy, straightforward things. Don't let stuff become scary. Be informed and deal with it. And don't worry. It's the Year of Unicorn. We've got this.

It's been a while...

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:29:38 GMT

...So I thought I'd share a snippet of Descent!

I dreamed. I mean, I always dream. When the Voice is in charge of my dreams, I don't really remember them. I just know they're sick and disturbing and I always wake up feeling dirty and desperate. When the Voice isn't in charge, it's just the usual crap – naked in front of an audience, playing golf with Batman, that shit.
           Tonight it was different. The dreams were so vivid and powerful, it was like watching a movie, and even in my sleep, I knew "dream" wasn't really the right word.
           The landscape around me was nowhere on earth, I knew that much. Twisted black trees with greyish leaves gathered outside the house like mourners at a funeral. The sky was heavy with rust-and-bile coloured storm clouds and the light filtering down through them was weak, like I was standing at the bottom of a filthy pond. A hot, dry wind whipped round me and the dead trees, tossing decaying leaves into my face.
The house was impressively huge and built like Dali and Lovecraft got together and took bad drugs. I stared for long, painful minutes, trying to understand the architecture, trying to follow the arches and angles, and felt like my eyes were gonna bleed.
           I knew this place.
           I mean, I didn't. But part of me did. Some piece of shrapnel in my brain, the war wound I called the Voice, that knew this place. I felt a strange tug of emotion stir in the demon and realised it was yearning.
           Arcis. The word drifted through my head and I moved forward. Walking felt wrong, like my legs and my tendons were suddenly different lengths. I didn’t look down to see what the problem was. I didn’t want to know.
           Close up, Arcis didn’t look any better than it had from a distance. The dull grey brick work was choked in twisting red vines. The windows were all dark, no lights on inside. I shivered despite the heat. The house was set in the middle of nowhere; the path I’d walked to reach it was long and wound off into a smoggy distance. I had a feeling I was on an estate, like this was some grand Olde Worlde manor house where it was uncouth to have other buildings nearby.
           Arcis, I heard again. Arcis is the unreachable.
           Was it the Voice? I wasn’t sure and because this was a dream – just a dream, right? – I decided it didn’t matter. I went to the front door. It towered over me, the blackened wood carved with scenes of torture and mutilation: demons raping angels, broken wings, severed limbs. The images sent a sick thrill through me.
           There was a heavy iron knocker and it took all my strength to lift it and slam it back down on the wood. The sound echoed in the dry air and sent a spurt of panic through me. I glanced around, suddenly afraid of what would answer the door.

In honour of Year of the Unicorn...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:26:54 GMT

The Loneliest Unicorn.

I also made a perfume inspired by The Last Unicorn yesterday, so this feels like a good week for all unicorn-related activities, which by my definition means creativity and happiness. On the creativity side, I'm gathering ideas for a few big perfume projects, as well as a smaller one for St Patrick's Day (thank you, Twitter!) and hoping to make some serious headway on Descent. This weekend I'll be preparing UNDERTOW for publication too, so...argh! In a good way. All of this makes me happy, so that's that taken care of.

My tarot card for March was the Knight of Pentacles:

He is actually a bit of a cautionary card in some respects, warning against boredom and restlessness in the present. There's more, obviously, but from my current POV it makes sense, having just had a lot of time off sick and feeling annoyed that I wasn't doing anything with myself. I think that's bound to change now though, given everything I want to get done this week alone! The Knight of Pentacles also embodies the idea of "happily ever after" when it pops up in the right position in a reading, incidentally. Sounds good to me ^_^

Back on the wagon

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 09:36:47 GMT

So it's been about three weeks since I did any writing, which more or less scuppers my plan to have a first draft of Descent done by Mid-March. I blame viruses, and post-viral fatigue, which I think I still have as I am just exhausted all the time at the moment. But I want this book done, dammit, if only so I can make it better (it's not awful, but I know it's nowhere near how I want it to be). So I got back to work this morning and managed just under 1k in about half an hour, which is not too shabby.

I'm now at about 53k and ready to head into the final act of the book, in which Ethan and the Voice have all kinds of disagreements over when it's okay to hit women, and Moss...Well, I haven't decided Moss's fate yet. *cracks knuckles* Hopefully I can hit The End by the end of March, but I'm expecting to start prep for UNDERTOW's publication any day now, which may slow things down. We shall see. My big aim writing-wise for this year was to get UNDERTOW and DESCENT out and start Ethan #4, and I'm on track to accomplish that, so I shan't start panicking yet...

Grab a pay day deal!

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:41:46 GMT

I'm not planning to pimp Common Brimstone too much here, as I'd like this to remain my writing/random life blog primarily, so consider this a flying visit. I'm offering one of my 5ml perfume oils at a 20% discount between now and Monday 4th March because it's pay day week and that means you should treat yourself to something fancy.

Godfrey's Cordial is a Victoriana-inspired scent mixing honey, vanilla, cinnamon and clove. It might not cure what ails you, but it'll definitely make you smell better! This is already proving to be one of my most popular scents, so why not get involved and try it out?

I'll be offering discounted oils every pay day weekend, so keep an eye out for future bargains!

"It's no longer a question of staying healthy. It's a question of finding a sickness you like."

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:21:07 GMT

So I've been off sick since last Wednesday with a virus and then post-viral fatigue. My sick note runs out tomorrow so I have to go back to work (also my boss is taking a trip to Germany that she knows nothing about so I should probably make sure she gets on the right plane and whatnot). At first I was like, "I'm off work, yay! I'll do so much stuff." In the end, what I've actually done is sleep about twelve hours each day, be exhausted when awake, and zone out on the sofa watching American Horror Story and eating chocolate. So yeah, post-viral fatigue sucks the fun out of being signed off work sick.

I'm not really sure I'm well enough to go back, but I guess if I get to work and pass out at my desk, someone will send me home again. Plus, I've now finished American Horror Story and I have packages to collect at work. Apparently post-viral fatigue can be quite long-term, and since I had glandular fever when I was younger, it takes me longer to get over this kind of thing than it otherwise might. So I'm quite prepared to feel like shite for a while yet, but I'd like to go back to the office and clean my inbox out nevertheless.

In the mean time, I've decided to initiate a regular promotion over at Common Brimstone for the last weekend of every month (or the first in this case, given the way things have worked out). The last weekend of every month, I'll be offering one 5ml perfume oil at a 20% discount in honour of pay day weekend. I live for my pay day, because that's when I can buy all the shiny precious things I've been coveting all month. So from 1st - 4th March, something exciting will be on offer! Check back Friday to find out what ^_^

And now, I am cold and tired and Fergus is doing something that sounds suspicious in the kitchen...Off to investigate/sleep.

Common Brimstone is OPEN!!!

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:21:01 GMT

I've taken advantage of being sick (even unto death) to finalise my Etsy shop and open it up. I'm delighted and not a little nervous to present to you Common Brimstone.

My launch range is live and I'll be adding new fragrances as often as I can. I will also be adding solid perfumes in the next few months, so stay tuned for news on that too.

As a writer, I am a feedback junkie, so welcome any comments or questions you may have. You can chat with me here, via Etsy's convo system, on Twitter at @CommonBrimstone, or on Facebook.

Now, I urge you all to go see what I have to offer and enjoy! :D

February Tarot - The Sun

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:39:26 GMT

I forgot to post this at the start of the month. It's quite interesting to look back now February is almost over and ponder my card's meanings. My February card from my wheel of the year spread was The Sun.

The Sun, broadly, speaks of positive developments and good choices. I actually think that rings pretty true for how the month has been. I expected February to be really hard. My dad's birthday was on 3rd and my parents' wedding anniversary was just after that. There was a lot of emotion and tears, but despite that, we held together as a family and celebrated Dad's memory as positively as we could. Mum and I planned and organised a holiday to Ireland for ourselves in April. I am thisclose to opening my perfume shop. Despite spending a huge chunk of cash on a new laptop, Kyle and I were able to see ourselves through the month in reasonable financial manner. Work has been busy and I've been ill a lot, but I've stayed on top of things and feel like I've accomplished a lot.

The Sun advises transparency in your actions and cautions against secrecy. This is something I struggle with in a lot of areas of my life...I like to keep things close to my chest even if I don't need to and sometimes this comes back and bites me. I guess my message going forward into March is to work on being less secretive. Overall, I think the Sun is a pretty good card to reflect how February has been and how I've worked with everything that's gone on. Now if I could just stop being ill...

"Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life."

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 14:06:56 GMT

Why wasn't there a creative writing A-Level when I did mine? I could have avoided two years of torment trying to understand Tudor politics!

Also, I want these:

I haven't done rune stone reading for years (I always got on better with Tarot), but these are so beautiful they make me want to take it up again.

I don't normally go in for platitudes expressed in pictorial form...

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:22:11 GMT

...But this feels relevant at the moment.

This time next week...

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 19:10:37 GMT

...barring any major disasters, Common Brimstone Fragrances will be open for business on Etsy. As a sneak preview for the perfume oils I'm launching, I've put a scent catalogue up on the blog. I'll be adding new stuff as often as possible, but I'm pretty happy with this as a starting point. In the next six months or so, I'll be adding solid perfumes to the mix. Yay!

What are the haps, my sexy friends?

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:04:03 GMT

It feels like forever since I blogged, but obviously this is not true. Still, it's been long enough! Here are some things I've done in my blog-absence.

1. Spring-cleaned the house. OMFG, I hated it. We bagged up a ton of clothes for charity, threw out loads of stuff, cleaned ALL the things (we even hoovered under the sofa), sorted Mt. Laundry into manageable piles, scrubbed that space behind the toilet that's really hard to get to, and made some proper space for my perfume supplies. It was horrible and I want to move house immediately so I never have to clean this house again.

2. Got an ergonomic keyboard for work, which has made a massive difference to my RSI problems. I'm still not back on the writing schedule I want to be on, but my pain levels are back down to almost normal (as in, "the level of pain I am accustomed to" rather than "no pain at all") so hopefully I'll be back to business soon. I've squeaked my way to 50k on Descent and now hope to have the first draft done early-to-mid March.

3. Made plans for opening Common Brimstone this month. I'm tentatively setting the date for 22nd February. The opening range of perfume oils is ready to go and I have plenty of ideas for more to add!

4. Discovered I don't hate Guild Wars 2 as previously suspected.

5. All in all, despite not getting as much writing does as I want to, I'm feeling very productive and creative at the moment. So in the spirit of Year of the Unicorn, here's a baby unicorn!

"Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional."

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:07:34 GMT

I'm getting seriously worried about the state of my hands, wrists and arms. I'm hoping it's just the cold weather, but I am plagued with aches, pains, twinges, cramps, numbness, and general crappy-body-crapping-out-on-me-ness (that's a thing). It used to just be my right arm that gave me trouble, but now my left arm is in on it too. I can't make a cupping motion with my left hand without getting cramps, and I can't hold much weight on my left shoulder without severe aches. My left wrist also feels "tight" for want of a better phrase, and I can't do much handwriting (I'm right-handed) or typing without my right wrist seizing up. Night-time is horrible - however I lie in bed, I end up hurting.

I've been working on Descent in short bursts to get the most out of my crappy arms - an hour max every morning before work and half an hour or less on my lunch break. My work load at my day job has increased to include more minute taking, which isn't helping. It's easier to type the minutes than hand-write them, so I use my netbook, but this means lugging that to work more often which is affecting my shoulders and neck. And that's annoying because it's a netbook - it weighs less than Fergus.* I shouldn't be having this problem carrying around a netbook.

I take anti-inflammatories when the pain gets too much, but at this time of year that means popping pills all the freaking time and I hate that. I can't imagine it's much good for me long-term. I think I need to visit the doctor, although I already know he'll recommend physiotherapy which seems pointless as I already know every possible exercise they could give me and none of them help.

Ugh. Anyway. We'll see. It is slowly getting warmer, so hopefully that will help. In the mean time, I need a minion to carry my stuff around for me. I can't pay you or anything.

*Everything weighs less than Fergus.

Five Things for Monday Morning

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 10:54:14 GMT

1. I made vanilla chai body butter yesterday and it is my new favourite thing. I used the same recipe as I did for my shea sugar scrub, except without sugar and with mango and cocoa butter instead of shea. It was really runny last night, but it set beautifully and smells delicious and I'm actually pretty upset I can't eat it. Instead I just coated myself in it and layered a spicy dragon's blood perfume over the top. Now I smell delicious and I feel all warm and cosy. Making body butter might be my new obsession (although whipping the butters is painful. I need a proper electric whisk).

2. I'm aiming to crack 50k on Descent this week, which should put me in a good position to finish a first draft in February, leaving March free for UNDERTOW's release. It's been almost two years since DEMONIZED came out, so I want to come up with some fun stuff to get people interested. Ideas are welcome! If you'd like an advance copy for (an honest) review, let me know as they should be ready soon. I'm toying with the idea of a "street team," as they seem to work well for some authors, but I'm not sure I'll well-known enough to warrant it.

3. I should have a new laptop any day now! *dances* Officially it's just for gaming but unofficially I'm going to make it my writing laptop too, because my old Toshiba is perilously close to being a danger to everyone around it.

4. I got a gorgeous absinthe-based perfume from one of my favourite Etsy perfumers this morning and it came with two sample scents that I already have, so if anyone would like them, let me know. One is called Hearth and is all chestnuts and cream and rum, the other is called Dragon's Milk and is coconutty, dragon's bloody (yes, tezmilleroz, that elusive dragon's blood!), and floral.

5. There is no five, so please enjoy this baby sloth:

Who wants the UNDERTOW cover?

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 09:40:07 GMT