Ali and I have story n the upcoming Toy Box: Twisted Presents Angels We Have While High
It features Alex & Zed from Drawing Conclusions and The Art of Seduction

It's all fun and games... Until someone freaks out!

Alex and Zed, back from spending Christmas with family, are ready to celebrate their first Christmas together their own way. A little too full of 'Christmas cheer', the boys are set for a relaxing night of cuddling in front of the Christmas tree. That is, until a friend turns up... with an Angel in tow. Suddenly, Zed finds himself being used as inspiration for someone else's art. His own artist/boyfriend seems to be inspired too.

What happens when those that think they're Demons want to be Angels, those that are named Angel don't care what they are and someone who thinks like Satan unsuccessfully tries manipulating them?


( Angels We Have While High - NOT WORK SAFE )

I've been busy getting my Christmas packages ready. I am determined to have my friends in London and Australia get theirs on time this year!
I love buying the stuff, but hate packing it.

I tend to get stuff throughout the year. So when it's time to pack, I am overwhelmed by all the stuff I've gathered.

So now I have to try and stuff everything into boxes, flat rate ones if possible. I hate this part.

So, what about you?
Do you shop all year round or start on Black Friday?
If you ship presents, how do you cope, especially if it's overseas?

What's an LJ day without a contest?
Since Ali isn't here, I can't do prompt words.
So...
Christmas Movie Quotes!

Up for grabs is a $5 Torquere Gift Certificate
Email your answer to me andyslayde@gmail.com or message me through my LJ
Contest ends at 8am tomorrow EST
Winner will be drawn in some random fashion as yet to be determined
I'll announce the winner on my LJ as not to disturb tomorrow's poster
And I have been known to give hints ;o)

( Christmas Movie Quotes )

Here's a pretty package for you to open early! I've written a NWS piece of short fiction featuring F.B. and Matt from my stories "Caffeine for a Marine," "V-Day," and "First of Foot, Right of the Line."

Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!

( Click for Marine naughtiness! )

Tea today: linden chamomile
Teacup today: quityerbitchinandwrite

Just finally settling down to get some work done on "The Unicorn Evils," after yoga, weights, grocery shopping, eating something before I fell over, putting the groceries away, and putting all the bones in the freezer into stock pots to become stock so I had room to put away the frozen veggies.

Also, the bread is in the loaf pan. I hope it rises sufficiently to be baked tonight or tomorrow, because I want to eat it. With butter and harissa and sardines, because--god knows why--I am craving sardines lately. And other fish. And fresh orange-carrot juice. And harissa. Maybe I need vitamins and fish oil, to counteract the looming lockdown of winter.

I'm surprisingly pleased with the way TUE is shaping up so far. It's giving me lots of good, juicy ideas and character stuff, and it's only going to be better once Emma gets her teeth into it.

Yay for work we love!

The Complaint Department seems to be adapting to her new pill regimen pretty well so far. At least, no obvious personality change, but she does seem calmer when something mildly stressful happens, like being picked up by her monkey or a Kjitten! Attack! (Which we have with appalling regularity around here.)

(One diazepam for the cat; one for me... nah, they'd catch on to that.)

To-do list shrinking slowly.

Here's a WS snip from "A Green Christmas," my Holiday Sip, coming soon from Torquere!

In "A Green Christmas," Noël Chester (named after "The First Noël" and pronounced the same way) works on his family tree farm for most of the year, and sells live Christmas trees on a corner lot during the holiday season. Noël is a nice guy, but not very lucky at love, at least not until he meets a most unusual...man, to use the term lightly, who teaches Noël that sometimes holiday miracles really do happen.

In this scene, Noël meets Jack for the very first time.


( Click for a peek at "A Green Christmas" )

Okay, just before I go to bed I'll post a little something Andy and I wrote for this day. It's not part of anything longer, just a little piece for fun. Oh, and not totally work safe.

( December the Fourth )

Kiernan Kelly and Andy Slayde & Ali Wylde are hosting!

To celebrate we've put Dancing on the Head of a Pin, Hell Takes a Holiday, Taste Test: Artistically Yours and Toy Box: Body Paint on sale until December 6.

Good morning/evening. I totally forgot we were sharing the lj today with kiernankelly. It's just gone 11pm here and, because of kid's sports commitments and other kid related stuff, I won't be around much past midnight - my time. andy_slayde will be though. You'll get more sense out of her anyway.

Now, most people here have cold Christmasses. Winter and snow and ice etc. But I haven't experienced that for a long time. Would you like to experience a warm/hot Christmas? What would you do? What would Christmas dinner consist of? Or would it be no different except for the weather? Let me know, I'm curious.

I do, I do!

I live for those badly animated, Claymation specials -- "Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer" (favorite line? "Don't you know about Bumbles? Bumbles bounce!), "Frosty the Snowman," "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus," "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" (ya gotta love that skinny Fred Astaire postman!)...

I even love "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians." For those of you haven't seen this film (and I use the word lightly), green men from Mars kidnap Santa. No kidding, I swear. They have light 'em laser guns, and you can see the strings on the space ship. Honest.

Actually, I think it was voted one of the worst films of all time, ranking right up there with "Plan Nine from Outer Space."

I love it because of its cheesiness.

Laurel and Hardy's "Babes in Toyland" is another good one. I love the rubber masks the bogeymen wear (remember the scene when one of the soldiers plants one of his huge, round, flat feet on the bogeyman's face?), the twisted evil of Mr. Barnaby, and the sweet gayness of Tom-Tom (yeah, I know he goes for Little Bo Peep, but we all know he was just being closeted).

For me, the holidays wouldn't be the same without them. Even though I own many on dvd, I still watch them when they're on network television, even with the commercials. I guess it's more nostalgic that way.

I love all the old Christmas movies, too, of course -- "The Bells of St. Mary's," "Going My Way," "It's A Wonderful Life," "A Christmas Story," "White Christmas,"and every version of "A Christmas Carol," but its the cheesy animated ones that really make it feel like the holidays to me.

Do you have a favorite? How about one you absolutely can't stand to watch?

I'm going to be here today doing the Advent calendar thing, along with Andy Slayde and Ali Wylde (who I hope will be popping in whenever they're able), and I'll have a snip from my upcoming Holiday Sip, "A Green Christmas," as well as an early Christmas present for y'all.

I'm going to catch a few winks since I've been up writing all night, but I'll be back soon!

Magic Bites (2007)
Written by: Ilona Andrews
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 260 (Mass Market Paperback)

This book has been on my radar for a LONG time, since it's release. I've put it on my Christmas list a few times, but never got it, and I never really felt inclined to pick it up for myself. I'll blame the cover for reasons I'll get into later, but what finally steered me into picking this up was the glowing remarks from friends of mine, namely janciu and revolutionsheep. I'd been warned though that the second book was stronger than the first, so I kept that in mind while reading. That way, I had a kind of context, you know?

The premise: plucked from the authors' website: Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren’t for magic . . .

One moment magic dominates, and cars stall and guns fail. The next, technology takes over and the defensive spells no longer protect your house from monsters. Here skyscrapers topple under onslaught of magic; werebears and werehyenas prowl through the ruined streets; and the Masters of the Dead, necromancers driven by their thirst of knowledge and wealth, pilot blood-crazed vampires with their minds.

In this world lives Kate Daniels. Kate likes her sword a little too much and has a hard time controlling her mouth. The magic in her blood makes her a target, and she spent most of her life hiding in plain sight. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, she must choose to do nothing and remain safe or to pursue his preternatural killer. Hiding is easy, but the right choice is rarely easy . . .

Review style: As far as plot goes, it's a rather simple story and for that matter, a short book. Spoilers are inevitable for this one, so if those bother you, just jump to the "My Ratings" section of the review.

( MAGIC BITES: spoilers )

My Rating

Give It Away: close to worth the cash, but I've been told the second book is better, so maybe I was predisposed to read with caution. And don't worry, I'm reading the second book whenever I get my hands on it. Despite some of the odd plot problems and some confusion on my part regarding the world-building (and a heroine who needs lessons from Miss Manners), I was entertained by the story, which moved at such a fast pace that I pretty much finished the book in 24 hours. One note of warning to potential readers is that this urban fantasy is more dark fantasy than not, and if you're more in the paranormal romance camp, you'll probably want to stay away from this one, because it is NOT paranormal romance, and has more horror than you may care for. It didn't bother me, but after reading some reviews on Amazon, I learned it bothered others. The world-building is pretty solid and original, and I hope later books get into it more. There's a lot of promise here, so I'll be happy to read the second.

Cover Commentary: I don't hate it, per se, but it's just not very attractive. Even though I love the color green, there's something ill about the color mixing of this. Kate doesn't look how I pictured her, and her skin tone gets grayer and grayer from her face down to her chest. The lion in the background is meh, doesn't catch my eye, and for me, the sword's a real turn-off, since it IS urban fantasy (the sword, while interesting, was a turn-off in the book too, but oh well).

Next up: Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe

Thirteen things left on the monster to-do list. Calling it a day and taking off to eat dinner with friends. Probably back at it before bedtime.

Now I'm getting compulsive about finishing....

 Still chugging away at that to-do list. Will be taking a break tonight to go have dinner with netcurmudgeon and ashacat.

Just about to start invoicing things. If I could have one wish, it would be a paperwork fairy. I could be so much more productive if I didn't have paperwork.

I am minded of Henry in The Lion in Winter, ranting that he could have conquered all of europe if he hadn't had women in his life. I wonder what the women of the world would have accomplished over the years if it hadn't been for men, babies, and paperwork?

Tea today: Upton  Chai
Teacup: Teddy bears

In addition, some of britgeekgrrl's friends are running a charity auction for her. I'm offering a copy of the uber-rare out of print impossible to find limited edition of New Amsterdam (with chapbook). If you wanted one and didn't get it, here's a chance to do a little good and fulfill that acquisitive urge.

Hey y'all!

Since I was talking Nancy (and Ross and Tank and Jed...) Here's a snippet from Taking the Leap, the third Thatcher novel...

“Hey, baby. How’re you doing?”

“Hey, Mom.” Ross took his cell phone out on the porch, not wanting to disturb Tank’s communion with the UT football game. “I’m good. How’s everything up there?”

“Not bad. Lloyd is making pies for Angie Lohman’s sweet sixteen, and I’ve been turning out a huge Noah’s ark for Lila Marsh. She wants it for her grandbaby’s first Christmas.”

“Bit early for that, isn’t it?”

“Not when I have to make two hundred wee animals, it’s not.”

Ross laughed, his mom’s dry tone sounding just like her, just like always when she was about to light into him for being a dumbass.

“Well, good luck with that. You still making that dollhouse for Carrie?” Carrie was one of Ken’s brood, and she wanted a dollhouse with all of the fiery passion of a four year old.

“Yup. I got the couch done yesterday.” The click of a lighter and a sharp inhalation told him his mom had lit up a cigarette. Made him want one, though he hadn’t smoked since right after Kev left. “When are you coming home? Hell, where are you?”

“Texas. And I was thinking about Christmas. Or Thanksgiving. Though Christmas might work better.”

“Texas? Well, damn, baby. You taking up the rodeo like your daddy or something?”

“Or something.” He knew he should tell his mom about Tank before showing up with the man, but he just couldn’t. Not yet. Tank was his own thing, not something he wanted to keep secret, but something he just wanted to revel in a while. “And no, I’ve been teaching jump school and self-defense classes.”

“Oh, good. You know how I feel about rodeo.”

Ross snorted. “The whole western slope of Colorado knows how you feel. How’s Ken and Jed and all?”

“Good, good. Eli’s doing real well on the training position. Him and Jed took a vacation up to Oregon over the Labor Day. Mandy’s so pregnant it hurts. Ken is tickled.”

"Are you sure Ken hasn’t turned Morman?” he teased, knowing it would puff her up.

“He’s just making up for my other two sons, who show no interest in making their mom a granny.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Grinning, he leaned on the porch rail, watching Tank through the kitchen. “I can’t help it. Even before I swung like a rusty gate I wasn’t into the kids and the picket fence.”

“I know…” She was stubbing out the cigarette, he just knew it by the last big blow of air. “I miss you, baby.”

“I miss you, too, mom. I’ll see you in a month or two. I promise.”

“Promise.”

“I do. Okay? I love you, mom.”

“I love you, baby. Call me once in awhile.”

“You bet.”

They hung up and Ross wandered back into the house, grabbing him and Tank both a beer and a bowl of chili with slabs of cornbread. The thought of Colorado used to leave an ache in his belly, missing it like home.

Now it just gave him a tingle of anticipation. He couldn’t wait to show Tank where he grew up. And introduce the man to the rest of his family.

Hey y'all!

It's my day on the advent calendar. Which is funny, because I'm heading off to no internet acess for the weekend in about an hour.

I'd better make it good, huh?

The holidays always make me think of family, and the First Family of Julia Talbot is definitely the Thatchers of Colorado (and Texas, thanks to Ross and Tank)

Lloyd may do all the cooking these days, but mom Thatcher Nancy has a surefire way to use up leftover turkey. Turkey casserole of amazingness!

The boys and the dogs all come running when she makes this, and if there's the occasional wood chip in it, well, so be it.

Here we go!

Nancy Thatcher's Turkey casserole

2 cups Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing Mix
1 stick margarine
1 fryer size chicken or the equivalent in leftover turkey - cooked
1 small can evaporated milk
1 can cream of celery Soup
2 tbsp minced onion
1 can chicken broth

combine and heat soup, meat, milk and onion. Melt margarine and pour over stuffing in large bowl. Put half of stuffing mix in bottom of casserole. Pour chicken mix over stuffing, then cover with remaining stuffing. Pour can of chicken broth over top of casserole. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Let cook for at least 5 minutes before eating.

Julia Talbot will be hosting today!

To celebrate we've put A Gentleman of Substance, An Itch to Scratch and Buckle Up on sale.

Man, listen to the wind howl out there.

And yet, it is in the sixties.

Winter has apparently been canceled this year.

1576 words today, some on a blog post for Tor.com; the balance on "The Unicorn Evils."

I've donated a tuckerization to the TAFF fan fund auctions. Yes, you can win naming rights to a character in something I am writing--for charity!

Auctions close on the 7th, and I am not alone!!! There are more here.

My review of nojojojo's forthcoming first novel The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is here. (as is the rest of a new issue of Ideomancer. I have some reservations, but overall, a very fine first novel.

My review of Fantastic Mr. Fox is here, at Tor.com. Likewise, some reservations. But who would I be if I had none?

In other news, the honeydew never ends.

Crap, this week, what IS is?

Rest of the week:

pay phone bill
call vet
and pick up script
write year in review thingy
think about Secrit Project email from kyle
tax paperwork
stuff for ROF
wash charred stuff out of self-cleaned stove
make bread dough
fold laundry
invoice!
package other books
write rec letters
podcast contract
lift weights
bake bread
grocery shop
convert bones in freezer to stock: duck, turkey, lamb

clean refrigerator (TBRE says she will do this yayz!)


brush dog
record some more "Knock on Coffins"
post office
write "The Unicorn Evils"
swim
yoga (x3 x2 x1)
climb?
run (x2 x1)

make miso (friday)
make something in an alfredo sauce (saturday)

My good friend dancinghorse is having all sorts of sales. The first one, of more interest to writerly folks, is a mentoring sale. Details here. Basically, this means for $150 she'll give you four hours of reading and critiquing your manuscript, story, query letter, whatever. And, having benefited from this service myself, I can highly recommend it. Pro author here, with lots of experience. Well worth the price!

The other sale is more for the horse folks. Namely, these two lipizzan ladies and lipizzan/arab gelding are looking for a good home. All of them are wonderful, lovely horses with awesome personalities. Please re-link or forward to anyone you know who's into horses.
More info here

Tia:


Khepera, the gelding:


Ephiny:

Boneshaker (2009)
Written by: Cherie Priest
Genre: Steampunk/Alternate History
Pages: 416 (Trade Paperback)

If you've followed this journal for any length of time, you should know I'm a serious Cherie Priest fan. I've read all of her books (save for Fathom, which I own but haven't been in the mood for yet), and I've re-read her debut, Four and Twenty Blackbirds (first review here and second review here). While all of her stories are a little bit different, I would say a defining characteristic of her fiction thus far is the element of horror. Sometimes it's straight-out horror, as found in Dreadful Skin and Those Who Went Remain There Still. Sometimes it's more of a dark fantasy/urban fantasy horror, like the Eden Moore trilogy, which starts off with Four and Twenty Blackbirds. But it looks like Priest is going to do a different kind of horror with her Clockwork Century books, of which Boneshaker is the first, and that type of horror?

Steampunk.

I'll be honest, I don't get it. Steampunk, that is, not Cherie Priest. I just don't get the appeal of steampunk, and I'll admit I was one of the few who wanted to die a little when Tor.com announced that October would be Steampunk Month, because that meant I was subjected to TONS OF STUFF about a sub-genre that 1) I didn't get and 2) didn't care about.

Do I "get" or "care" about it now that I've read Boneshaker? That is actually not a fair question, because anyone who knows anything about steampunk will tell you it's incredibly diverse. Priest tackles it through the horror/alternate history lens, and because it's Priest, I can handle it. Because it's Priest. Give me the exact same book with a different author's name on the cover? I wouldn't have looked at it twice. That's how much I love Cherie Priest.

The premise: in order to truly appreciate what Priest is doing, I'm giving you not one, but TWO premises. The first is the overall premise for the series/world-building, and the second is the actual premise of the book. I think that's fair.

The Clockwork Century: explanation plucked from Subterranean Press's website, the preface for Priest's short story, also set in the Clockwork Century universe, Tanglefoot.: Stonewall Jackson survived Chancellorsville. England broke the Union’s naval blockade, and formally recognized the Confederate States of America. Atlanta never burned.

It is 1880. The American Civil War has raged for nearly two decades, driving technology in strange and terrible directions. Combat dirigibles skulk across the sky and armored vehicles crawl along the land. Military scientists twist the laws of man and nature, and barter their souls for weapons powered by light, fire, and steam.

But life struggles forward for soldiers and ordinary citizens. The fractured nation is dotted with stricken towns and epic scenes of devastation–some manmade, and some more mysterious. In the western territories cities are swallowed by gas and walled away to rot while the frontiers are strip-mined for resources. On the borders between North and South, spies scour and scheme, and smugglers build economies more stable than their governments.

This is the Clockwork Century.

It is dark here, and different.

Boneshaker's Premise: Rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike encouraged the Russians to seek a machine that could actually drill for it. Leviticus Blue took up the challenge and built the great Boneshaker. But before the Russians could get a hold of it, it went on a test run through the city of Seattle, not only destroying several blocks of the city, but it released a blight of gas that turned anyone who breathed it into a rotter (aka the living dead). Now, years later, the son of Leviticus Blue is determined to prove his father wasn't a criminal for his actions, and he sneaks into the now-walled city of Seattle to get that proof. His mother, Briar Blue, terrified for her son's safety and what he might find, goes after him. But nothing easy within the walls of Seattle, as there's more than just the undead to outwit and outrun, and Zeke and Briar will need everything they've got to survive those who have a peculiar and deadly interest in them.

Review style: No spoilers. I'm going to talk about, and I may say some things that might lead you to figure out certain plot points, but I won't outright spoil anything. :) If you're paranoid, just jump to the "My Rating" section of the review, and you'll be just fine. :)

( BONESHAKER: no spoilers )

My Rating

Worth the Cash: it's definitely an entertaining read, and a well-written one. For anyone curious about steampunk as a sub-genre, it's a great place to start, because Priest has a sensible, practical approach to it, all the while telling a fun story. Fun might be an odd word to describe a book that reeks a bit of horror, but it's all good. I could easily see this made into a movie, and to be honest, I hope it happens. There's something wonderfully visual about this book, and the story lends itself to the big screen. While it's not my favorite Priest book (that honor goes to the Eden Moore trilogy, but that may be bias talking as the trilogy's setting is two hours from where I live), it's very good and I'm happy to have another Priest book under my belt.

For those of you still not sure if Boneshaker is right for you, you can sample the Clockwork Century universe by reading Priest's short story Tanglefoot. The only relation to Boneshaker is the world itself, as no characters overlap and nothing references the events, let alone spoils the events, of the book. It's a good little read, with shades of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and I think you'll enjoy it. You can also check out her Clockwork Century website, which features news of all the books and short stories taking place in the universe. Priest is an entertaining blogger anyway, so you shouldn't be disappointed.

As for my part, Priest remains one of my favorite authors, and I'm happy to continue with her books, steampunk or no. She hasn't kindled a great love within me for steampunk or anything, but I'll read whatever she writes provided it's well-written and entertaining. She hasn't let me down yet.

Cover Commentary: very eye-catching, and very appropriate for the book. I particularly like the design and placement of the author's name and the title of the book, as well as the fonts used (surprising, since people tend to complain about Tor's use of fonts). I also like that splash of yellow and gold in the goggles and its lens. Nicely done.

Next up: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews