Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Random Catzilla Fun...

This post will be brief. Really there's nothing to say. The photo speaks for itself.





On the right we have Catzilla aka Griffon, and on the left, we have my niece aka Walelu.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Dithering, Digression, and oh Such Sweetness...

There are a few things that I've vowed never to write about. Or at least, I've vowed never to write an entire book about these subjects : vampires, werewolves, and angels. This isn't to say that I don't like stories involving vampires, werewolves and angels. On the contrary, I'm eagerly awaiting several books sporting beasties of the aforementioned sort. The thing is, there are so many of these at the moment (and I'm not saying that most of them aren't good) that I feel as if the world simply doesn't NEED one more story about vampires, werewolves and angels. I've actually been known to grumble (very loudly at times, and with exciting and unique explicatives, depending on where I am) about how I'll choke to death on my own tongue if I see one more 'my boyfriend/best friend is a werewolf/vampire/angel title on the shelves, especially if it's a debut. Don't get me wrong, I congratulate all debut authors, regardless of subject. You've worked hard, and gotten farther than I have. But I want something I've never seen before. Or I want an entirely new take on an old standby. Like Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Just finished it, and considering that it falls into my 'I'll choke on my tongue' category, I really enjoyed it. Enough that I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a fast read, with likeable characters and some new twists on old ideas. I also can't say enough about Sisters Red, by Jackson Pearce which is an even more abstract take on an old idea. Both manage to get through my barriers.

But I digress. The point of all that dithering about things I won't ever write about, was to set you up for the announcement that I've started a WIP about.... werewolves... ack, I know... HYPOCRITE.... The thing is, I don't WANT to write this book, but all of a sudden these people are walking around in my head, bantering back and forth, having conversations that I don't understand but that somehow make sense, and I can't stand it any more. I have to write them down before I start acting like them... that would not be good, considering most of them are Wolfens... that'd be really hard on the furniture... and the horses at the farm would undoubtedly have a bad reaction to it... and, well, it's just better all the way around if I entertain the book until A) I finish it or B) I run out of story to record and it unravels, whichever happens first. I'm still working to finish my main squeeze WIP, Amarok and the Gone Missing Girl, and Thornbriar, my retelling of Beauty and the Beast is eeking along as well. But at the moment, my intemperate passion is fixated on what I've been calling Genesis. Which is about werewolves. Do you think this is punishment for all the grumbling and snarling I've been doing about all the 'my boyfriend/best friend is a werewolf/vampire/angel' books out there? Is Fate pinching my ass? Am I stupid to give in to the itch?

What stories (if any) have you ever sworn you'd never attempt and then found yourself attempting?

And to end on a note of 'aaawww' and prove to you all that I'm turning out to be an awesomely responsible Aunt Waguli, I've put in a picture (one of a dozen blackmail options) that my twin sis Fenris took tonight when she and the hubs stopped by for a bit.