Tuesday, April 30, 2013

The habits of the magpie.

Do not introduce a magpie to new, shiny things. That way lies...ooh, whassat?

Ahem. Hello again! My apologies for the radio silence as it were. I found a shiny (it's a game, I freely admit it) and I have been consumed by it for the past few days. I have lifted my head now and looked around and remembered there's a world out there. Phew! So that's what civilization looks like!

(To be fair to myself, it's not actually that bad. Yes, it's eaten my time, but I have actually, you know, gone outside. And socialized, and everything.)

I will be headed for a writing workshop/retreat/party-of-sorts at the end of this week. It's my local RWA chapter's semi-annual writing retreat, and we are fortunate enough to have the amazing Margie Lawson back with us again. I will get to catch up with people I've not seen much since taking a bit of a wander from writing. I will meet new people, I'm sure. I will get to see a new conference center and have some fun.

Oh, and I have another new shiny: a brand new laptop to take with me for writing purposes. I've named it Cherokee (we have a tribal naming thing going on in the chez) and it is a Dell Inspiron with a light-up keyboard (the magpie is pleased) and Windows 8. Not...so pleased with Windows 8, but I'm on the learning curve, so we'll see.

I spent the weekend past with my Ren Faire people in deep discussion and entertaining debate. This season seems poised to be an interesting one. More updates about that as they happen.

But you want to know about the writing, right? Well! I feel fairly confident in saying that Tybalt and the gang will be joining us in the world within the next week or so. I promise, when that happens, you will know. I will shout it from the rooftops, so you're not bound to miss it. Edits are proceeding, formatting will happen, and then, yes, there will be a book!

How exciting is that?

Oh, yes, and that excerpt I promised? Enjoy. :)

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     If you want to get an impression about the people in a city, take a look at the architecture. New Yorkers like to pretend they're not interested, with their high walls and closed off spaces, too busy with their own business to care about yours, but the buildings practically lean on each other. You can bet someone's watching you from somewhere, day or night. Los Angeles sprawls, sleek and well-put together, but the pretty wrapping hides a multitude of sins. I'd trust her people about as much as a car salesman's smile.
     St. Sebastian's kind of like a starfish. We're better off working together, healthier as a whole, but we can still function if we lose an arm. The neighborhoods tend to pretty much keep to themselves, except for big events. The best and worst of the city is right at its center. That's why Diego keeps a penthouse there. That's why I avoid it as much as I can. Out here on the edge, though, it seemed like we had this particular arm all to ourselves.
     Which meant, of course, I couldn't have been more wrong.

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