In the course of looking for something else, I’ve just found the original outline for Shades of Milk and Honey. I’ve mentioned before that the ending is vastly different from what I had originally planned. Basically, what happened was this. I began writing it for NaNoWriMo and somewhere around Chapter 10 began to feel that […]
Extra: The original outline for Shades of Milk and Honey Read More »
Don’t panic. Today is my 42nd birthday which I plan to celebrate, in part, with the poundcake that arrived in the mail yesterday. My mother is a wonderful woman, in case you hadn’t guessed that. She sends me a poundcake for my birthday every year, without fail. The poundcake is mostly harmless. For those of
I am 42! And yet no closer to the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything Read More »
In a move that will surprise many of the people who know my husband, he has begun a blog. The nature of it, however, will not be surprising at all. Personally, I’m very much looking forward to the experiment. “Reality has passed completely into the game of reality.” – Jean Baudrillard.1 My undertaking here is
Robert Kowal BLOGS! Read More »
I participated in yet another Writing Excuses episode while I was in Utah. Why? Because they are fun. This talks about using holidays in fantasy and science fiction, which led to Howard suggesting that a good holiday would be “Bone Puppet Day.” This was not my fault. Dave Wolverton/David Farland was on hand to talk about
Writing Excuses Episode 5:23 — Life Day! Read More »
I’m plugging along at The Transfigured Lady and just wrapped up Chapter Four. I’m trying to stay at least two chapters ahead of what I’m posting here because of the way I tend to write. I often layer things as I go. That is to say, an idea will occur to me while I’m writing
Chapter 2 is posted, if you’re interested in my progress Read More »
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Protected: The Transfigured Lady draft, chapter 2 Read More »
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Protected: The Transfigured Lady draft – Chapter 1 Read More »
With Shades of Milk and Honey, I posted the first three chapters in the clear as I wrote them and then password protected the rest. I also posted chapters of Glamour in Glass and had folks reading it as I worked. I discover that I miss having you read along as I write. The new novel,
The Transfigured Lady draft. Want to read along? Read More »
Not that Grandma is going to come online and see the birthday wishes, but I thought I would share them with you. I’ll tell you, having a 106 year-old Grandmother who is still sharp changes one’s views of aging significantly. I’ll give Grandma a call today, if she has time to talk to me given
Happy 106th Birthday, Grandma! Read More »
Tour can really count as conventions or book tours. The thing is that as an author you will probably wind up traveling a lot. It can be exhausting, even when everything goes right. Back in the day, I spent five years touring for a living as a puppeteer. I found that the same tricks I
Debut Author Lessons: Surviving on tour Read More »
While I was in Utah I joined Dan Wells and Howard Tayler, of Writing Excuses, for a conversation with Dave Wolverton about movie considerations and formulas. Dave explained the three-act structure to us, and we talked about how this applies for transitioning stories to the screen. As always, you can listen to this at Writing Excuses
Writing Excuses 5.22: Film Considerations Read More »
One of the challenges with writing an alternate history fantasy is the language. Basically, I have three sources I check which I’ve listed in the order that I generally go to them. This is mostly based on ease of use where “ease” means I don’t have to leave my desk. Etymology Online Google Books. I
Checking my language for 1907 Read More »
I have, of late, been pondering the rituals of mourning. We recently watched Downton Abbey (which is wonderful) which has a scene where family members are discussing how long they will have to wear black. With the prevalance of the Little Black Dress today I don’t think that “taking the black” would have the same
Mourning in the early 1900s Read More »
Rob is listening to Jake Shimabukuro’s live album and his rendition of Michael Jackson’s Thriller just came on. Oddly, it makes me more aware of the musicality of the piece than all the zombies did.
Video: Thriller on the ukulele Read More »
Behold! Here are photos of the Midwinter Feast that the Oregon Regency Society threw this year. They had a photographer on hand, Michael Linn, who took some gorgeous photos of the evening. Just click to start playing the slideshow. There’s even a photo of Rob smiling. I know!
Oregon Regency Society’s Mid-winter Feast Read More »