Embrace your beigeness!

It's 11:03, and I'm going to bed in a few minutes, but I'm at a hotel with wi-fi and finally have a chance to share the beige jokes I've been promising.

For those who have forgotten, we have been unsuccessfully trying to sell our house. After the movers packed out our stuff, we hired a different agent who was more knowledgeable and willing to promote our property, and did a few more things to make it more marketable. (MLS ID# ST6497947--look it up at realtor.com!)

One of the major changes we did was to paint the bolder colored walls beige. Paraffin wax, it was called, actually--beige with snooty attitude. Personally, I hate beige, and since it was going over the chili peppers I adored and the colorful handprints that the children made as a border along the playroom wall, I was esp. annoyed at the necessity. To compensate, I make up beige and realtor jokes:

Where to Realtors go on vacation? Beige-ing (Thanks to the folks at the Writers' Chat room for that one.)

How can you tell a realtor is going through mid-life crisis? The beige sports car.

If Realtors wrote songs: "We are living in a Paraffin World." "I'm Beige" "Beige semi-gloss shoes" "Feels just like I'm walking on hardwood floors"

Realtor fashion advice: Beige is the new black.

If Realtors wrote the Bible:
--In the beginning there was beige. And God said, "It goes with everything." And it was good.
--And God said to Noah, "Why are you painting the ark?"
Noah said, "Well, God, we only needed it those 40 days and the missus thought..."
God said, "Thou Shalt Paint it Beige."

That's all I can remember. the other computer took the rest on it's death bed. Maybe it was the fumes from the beige paint. time for me to go to bed.

Fade to beige...

Infinite Space, Infinite God Virtual Book Tour Schedule

If you read my last post, you know my computer died, taking about a week's worth of info with it. (Third time for this computer. I have sworn off HP laptops and encourage folks to stay away from them.) I now have a new Toshiba, and am working with Circuit City to get a refund on my HP Lemon. We're on the road to Minot, ND tomorrow, but if we get time between packing, Rob is going to load all my info from my back-up drive, and I'll have only lost a week of work. In the meantime, I can only blog on my MIL's computer, which has dial-up. Very Slow dial-up.

Here's the schedule of the ISIG virtual book tour. Some folks have gotten excited and posted early. Please leave a comment; bloggers are getting a prize for most comments, and anyone who comments gets a chance to win either a copy of our Christian SF eBook, Leaps of Faith, or a gift certificate at Twilight Times Books.

LEARN MORE ABOUT INFINITE SPACE, INFINITE GOD ON ITS AUGUST BOOK TOUR:

1: www.doylebooks.com (summary) www.kaleidosouls.info, Day 1 (summary)

2: www.kaleidosouls.info, Day 2 (interview)

3: www.thewritingjungle.blogspot.com (interview)

4: www.freewebs.com/mary-andrews (interview)

5: http://writeurthoughts.blogspot.com (interview)

6: www.catholicfiction.net (interview) (interview)

7: http://timewithtannia.tripod.com/ (interview) www.writeandwhine.blogspot.com/ (interview)

8: http://www.jillelizabethnelson.com/artisticblogger.shtml
http://www.shoutlife.com/jillelizabethnelson
http://www.myspace.com/jillelizabethnelson (interview)

9: http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/ (interview)

10: http://cmwforum.blogspot.com (review)

11: www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com(interview)

12: www.thedarkphantom.wordpress.com (interview)

13: www.lostgenreguild.com (review) http://gloriaoren.blogspot.com (interview)

14: http://www.blogcatalog.com/blogs/dragons-of-the-pyramid-book-reviews.html (review)

15: http://beverlyjean.livejournal.com (interview) www.virtualbooktourdenet.blogspot.com (trailer)

16: http://cfvici.blogspot.com/ (review) http://catharsys.wordpress.com/ (interview) http://cdrippe.wordpress.com (summary)

17: http://www.annmargaretlewis.com/ (interview)

18: 12 Noon: Live Chat: http://jolinsdell.tripod.com
http://blog.myspace.com/grace1979

19: http://blog.myspace.com/grace1979 (review)
7:00-9:00 PM: www.writerschatroom.com (Live Chat)

20: www.marilynmeredith.blogspot.com (interview)

21: www.snoringscholar.blogspot.com (review)

22: http://solshine7.blogspot.com (review and interview) http://scifijournalist.blogspot.com (review and interview)

23: www.jamiesonwolf.blogspot.com (interview)

24: www.authoralley.blogspot.com (interview) http://www.karenee.blogspot.com/(interview) www.disturbingreviews.blogspot.com (interview)

25: www.thebookpedler.wordpress.com (interview) http://worldsapage.blogspot.com/ (interview)

26: www.livejournal.com/~paulinebjones (interview)

27: http://penelopemarzec.blogspot.com (guest blogger) http://aspiringauthor.blogspot.com/ (interview) www.disturbingreviews.blogspot.com (interview)

28: http://www.myspace.com/happywriter (guest blogger) http://zyphe.blogspot.com (review) http://360.yahoo.com/raeshylle (review)

29: 12 Noon: Live Chat "Infinite Space, Infinite God and the Infinite Possibilities of Book Marketing" http://www.virginiajennings.zoomshare.com/5.html
http://writetype.blogspot.com (guest blogger)

30: www.noveljourney.blogspot.com (interview)

31: http://afrankreview.blogspot.com/ (review)

Infinite Space, Infinite God Virtual Book Tour

The Infinite Space, Infinite God Virtual Book Tour started August 1st. We have 43 posts with interviews, reviews and more. To find out who's saying what when, check out the calendar at www.myspace.com/infinitespaceinfinitegod or at http://isigsf.tripod.com.

Sadly, my computer has chosen tonight to die or at least go comatose, so I cannot bring you any more information. (I'm on my mother-in-law's.)

Bum luck and blessings

Sorry--no beige jokes tonight.

It has been a long and busy and none-too fun week. It started with painting half the house beige or white (including covering over the chili peppers and kids' painted hand prints on the wall) and ended with the three-hour mad dash to totally clean a messy house in time for an surprise open house. We'd left the house Friday night with paint cans, paint splatters, three loads of junk to take to the dump, dirty bathrooms, etc. We thought we would have all day to clean, then we discovered at 9:30 am Saturday that our realtor had scheduled an open house at noon. Since she said the ad was in the paper, we hustled to get it done. By 1:00, we were just finishing up and she came in from where she'd been sitting in the front yard to apologize--the ad never went in the paper.

Our great luck did not end there--that evening, bringing two of the kids home from a birthday party, we got hit by a drunk driver. No one was hurt, thanks be to God, but Rob's car (2007 Honda Ridgeline with 2100 miles) needs a new back panel, wheel and alignment--possibly the frame straightened. All before we leave Monday morning. Somewhere in this time, we also need to get the tonneau put on so we can carry our junk.

So the beige jokes I was promising got tossed in with all the other junk I was trying to hurriedly get out of the house for the open house that wasn't, and in light of all the other stuff going on, from getting the car fixed to finding a new realtor, I haven't had time to dig them back out.

So what are my blessings? Our neighbors--wife, husband and kids--all pitched in to help clean up. we'd have never gotten it done if they hadn't. My mother-in-law helped repair and clean, and picked up the kids after the accident when the police took so long to arrive. When we were hit, one person in the neighborhood was already calling 911 to report the drunk driver and stuck around to make his statement to the police and make a copy for us. The EMT folks were there within minutes and stayed with the lady who hit us because they were afraid she was going to run. They came by every few minutes to check on us and reassure the kids. The accident happened on a residential street at a very low speed; had she not hit us, she would have turned onto a high-speed busy road and could have killed herself or someone else.

So tonight, I'm offering up a cyber-prayer of thanks to God for giving us such great friends and neighbors, for protecting us, and for making what could have been major tragedies into merely major annoyances.

BTW--for those who asked, Alex's arm is in a cast now and he feels much better. They think we can take it off when we get to Minot.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel...

...is Beige! House is painted, new carpet installed, yard work done, house half-cleaned, child in cast, and a whole slew of beige and realtor jokes have been thought up. I'll share those with your Tuesday, promise. In the meantime, we need to shut down the computers, pack up the last of our stuff and head over to Grandma's. Tomorrow, we finish cleaning our former dear home, and I kiss it good bye and declare it "That House We're Selling."

Anyway, Rob found a great article for those Catholics who wonder about evolution, science and faith: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19956961/
One last thing: I'm celbrating because my mom, who was looking at heart surgery in August, has responded so well to her medication that they are waiting six months before re-evaluating her. She may not need surgery after all. God is so good!

Tuesday: Embracing Your Beige-ity!

Broken Arms and Billboards

Movers packed out everything yesterday. Then, in the evening, Alex fell of the back porch and broke his elbow! He's fine, but four hours in the hospital put a cramp in our schedule. Over the next 4 days we need to paint the house, clean the house, put in new appliances, and shampoo the carptes--all befor ethe Sunday open house!

Just in case anyone's reading this blog--and if you are, pray for Alex's elbow--here's a cut link Ken Pick (co-author of "Mask of the Ferret" in Infintie Space, Infinite God) sent me.

Billboards Discuss Church

Robots and Movers!

Movers called and want to pack us out tomorrow instead of Monday! So, here's a cool article to read instead of my blog. I will say that I wish I could have one of these!

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/robot-love/mitsubishi-hiring-out-robots-as-receptionists-278291.php

My Dragon Story Won an Award!

Almost a year ago, I started writing a silly fantasy noir serial for the North Dakota Mensa publication, the Prairie Dawg. Shirley Starke, the editor, had done a translation for me for another Dragon Eye, Pi story, and we'd gotten to talking about Vern and Sister Grace and came up with the silly idea of the two chaperoning the Faerie at a Mensa convention. No heavy mystery, but a lot of fairy and Mensa in-jokes.

This year, even though it wasn't finished, Shirley entered it in the Mensa Publication Recognition Program contest. I got a rather..yellow..certificate of participation, so I figured nothing came of it.

Imagine my surprise when I received a trophy in the mail today! Stunned silence followed by much whooping and jumping and happy dancing!

It's funny the coincidences life brings your way. As it turns out, we're moving to North Dakota in 3 weeks, and I already have a friend and several acquaintances there thanks to the Prairie Dawg and MM&M. Also, It was such for to write, that I've novelized it and it may be my first Dragon Eye Mystery.

If I can ever find the cable for the camera, I'll put up a photo of the trophy.

To Tickle Your Funny Bone

The movers come the 23rd, and we have someone coming to look at the house today, and I have interviews to write for the August virtual book tour for Infinite Space, Infinite God. (Official announcement coming Tuesday.) In the meantime, here are a couple of things to tickle your funny bone.

2001 Things I'm No Longer Allowed to do in Role-Playing Game: http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=608704&styleid=74

20 Ways to Maintain a Healthy Level of Insanity
(Thanks to my friend Rhonda for sending me this)

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with that.

4.. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In."

5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.

6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Smuggling Diamonds"

7. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy."

8. Don t use any punctuation

9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.

10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat with a serious face.

11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."

12. Sing Along At The Opera

13. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme

14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play tropical Sounds All Day.

15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You're Not In The Mood.

16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Bottom.

17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won!"

18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"

19. Tell your Children over Dinner: "Due to the Economy, We are Going to Have to Let One of You Go"

Websites and Presentation

Do you hate websites that are hard to read? Are you concerned yours is the same?

I've run across some great information about websites and presentations that I want to share. The first is a posting on the MuseOnline Yahoo group. (Incidentally, if you have not signed up for the MuseOnline Conference in October--DO IT! It's free and totally via the Internet.)The other is a hilarious video about PowerPoint presentations. It's parody and applies to speeches, but the principles are sound and apply to websites as well.
On Website Design, by Jan Verhoeff

I often have multiple pages up and music pulls band width, so when I pull up a site with music on the page - it slows my computer and I'll actually not stay as long if there's music on the page.


Another thing I absolutely hate is a bunch of motion on a page. Flashing lights belong on cop cars and Christmas trees.

If you want me to stay on your page long enough to see what it's about, use great copy and high quality graphics that capture my attention.

As a designer, I've learned that if the colors aren't pleasing and coordinated in some fashion, the page ultimately doesn't get the attention it deserves either. So be aware of the colors you select on a website.

If your colors are subdued don't splash in neon Yellows and Greens that slap your reader senseless.

Opposites on the color wheel compliment. Split complimentary is good for a tri-color scheme.

Focus on white space to rest the eye.

While a dark background with white lettering can be read, they eye strains to read it because it isn't "normal" so even if your page needs a reverse color appeal to stand out against the crowd, you might consider a white background inserted behind LARGE amounts of text. I rarely read dark mystery online because it is so difficult to focus on the black backgrounds. If it isn't something I value reading enough to copy and paste into a document, I struggle through a few lines and skip to the next page.

Those who spend a lot of time on the computer are significantly more aware of eye strain than others... so you might want to consider who your audience online will be.

Centered EVERYTHING on the page SCREAMS amateur and unless I find something in the first couple of lines that captures my attention I exit fast. This is another style that is extremely difficult to read.

Font sizes matter.

If the page is a professional page with business information, you'll want to stay in the 10 - 12 font size range (2 or 3 on some design formats). This also applies if you have a lot of text. In print, use a serif font, such as Times New Roman. Online use a block font - sans-serif, such as Arial or Verdana.

Save the large clunky text for headlines and sales letters.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER (did I say never?) write large amounts of script in ALL CAPS online. It is difficult to read, and feels like you're screaming at your reader.

(Think about how you felt reading the last paragraph even... )

Whether you write your website using style sheets or not, organize your pages into 'expected columns' to keep your reader from having to search for specifics.

~Primary site links across the top just under the header graphic or logo.
~Links on the Left.
~Body of text in the middle.
~Ads and Alternative content on the right.
~Banners, Ads, and Important Data lower on the page - center column.

When you use a banner across the header of your page - be sure you label the graphic with the title of your page and your most accessible keyword to maximize the SEO on your page.

Maximize keywords in the page (at least to a 3 - 6%) to optimize search engine placement of your pages.

NOTE: For more about web page development, be sure you've signed up for my ezine at http://brandyourmarket.com because I'll be giving tips for site development all week this week in that ezine.

Jan

Video on PowerPoint "Tips"

http://www.davidairey.com/how-not-to-use-powerpoint/

It Runs in the Family...

Today, my 13-year-old Steven took a "test" where he was shown some photo and asked to make a story about them. I have no idea what the evaluator will say about his answers, but as a writer and his mother, I was quietly rolling in the waiting room. (In fact, once I had to leave the building to laugh.) With his permission, I present you some of the snippets from Steve's storytelling. (And I'm sure anyone who knows me will know where he got it):

Picture (as described by Steven): A man and woman sort-of embracing. He has dark circles around his eyes. She has her hands on his sides. (I don't think he was hugging her back.)

Story: The man has been protecting something precious. A sacred artifact like the spear that pierced Jesus. Even though the girl is attractive, she wants to steal the spear. She's not hugging him. She's searching him.

Picture: Short man at an operation. There's a man on the operating table and surgeons around him. There's a gun in the picture.

Story snippet: The midget is an assassin for a rival gang. He shot the guy dead, but they had to remove the bullet because the bullet has a spacial marking because the gang leader gave them to him. The operation was a success (Mom: I'm thinking, "even though the patient was dead..") but little did they know there was a secret eyewitness. The eyewitness told the police and they all went to jail.

Picture: Boy sitting in a cottage doorway in a thinking pose.

Steven: This boy has been grounded for eating all the cookies and he's thinking of a way to get out of it so he can go to his friends' bachelor party--no, slumber party...

One character was described as "works in a factory making Sunshade retractable awnings." The evaluator had to make him repeat that a couple of times slowly.

Another character was described as "a guttersnipe most of his life. He spent his time dodging the gangs who wanted to force him to do crimes, waiting in line at the temple for his daily bowl of soup, doing odd jobs, lemonade stands and such..."

One story ended with "Knott accidentally kills the wizard by taking it a little too far with the rage thing, so they get the reward for his head--literally. They bring back the wizard's head on a stick..."

Vacation Wrap Up

Hooray! Finally, we're on our way home from vacation. I'm typing this as we're doing our best to make it to St. Louis before quitting for the night.

We'd spent the last two weeks in Colorado. It was definitely a working vacation. Rob has a squadron commanders' course to attend at Peterson AFB, and I attended the squadron commander's spouses' course. My parents live in Pueblo, just south of Colorado Springs, so we stayed there and Grandma watched the kiddies while we went to the classes. The class was interesting; for us spouses, it was mostly about the different services on base that we can refer folks to should the spouse of the spouses of our husband's troops came to us with a problem.

On Sunday, we had a fundraiser book signing for our old Parish, St. Paul the Apostle of Pueblo West. The congregation had overflowed the parish building, and they have been trying to raise funds for a new church for nearly a decade. They have $2.5 million raised, but cannot begin construction until they raise 3.2 million. We sold every book we brought, which, even if it was a drop in the bucket, was still exciting. (Incidentally, if you'd like to contribute to a very worthy cause, please contact me and I'll send you information on how to help.)

The second week, Rob had the second part of his class, so I played with the kids, visited some old friends, and finished the manuscript for Magic, Mensa and Mayhem! This is my first novel in the Dragon Eye, PI universe, and I'm pretty excited about how it turned out. It's always fun when a character surprises you, and several of the Faerie decided to surprise me: Valkyrie Brunhilde falls in love; Coyote gives good advice. Vern considers becoming a Floridian "snowbird." Lots of laughs and of, course, twisted clichés. I've already read it to the kids. That's one of the great thrills of writing for me--reading my stories. My mom stayed up to listen, too. English is her second language, so she's not much of a reader, so that was an extra treat for me.

Rob prefers to drive, so I do a lot on car rides. I've been working hard on the interviews for my August virtual book tour, and am thinking of my next story. It's been a terrific vacation, but I'm glad to be home and ready to gear up for our next adventure--moving to Minot AFB, ND.

But that's another blog.

Steam Trek!

Tomorrow, we're on the road to Colorado for Rob's Commander's course, my Commander's Wife course (yes, they have a course), and the booksigning/fundraiser for St. Paul the Apostle Church in Pueblo West.

If you are near Pueblo, CO, on June 24, drop by Pius X church in Pueblo between 8 am and 2 pm. We'll be signing books. $3 of each book goes to the church building fund.

In the meantime: what if Star Trek was written in 1903?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6Y39gHihP74

The Value of Life

Busy week--getting ready to go to Colorado for a Commander's Course, a booksigning, and vacation with my parents. Have to get the house ready for a open house, not to mention writing Magic, Mensa and Mayhem, the media room class, and the virtual book tour...

Ann Lewis posted this on her website. Get tissue before you see it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0


What incredible parents to strive so hard and see such beauty in tragedy.

What if the Crocodile Hunter Met a Dragon?

I'm 50,000 words into my newest novel, Magic, Mensa and Mayhem, and had a fun idea.

I'd just written the scene where Vern, my sarcastic, sentient Faerie dragon, decides to catch a nap in the Everglades. Little did he know that "Gator Louie" a Deep South twist on Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, was filming a special on the endangered species of the area that day. He comes upon Vern, who's deeply hidden in the rushes, so he only sees the snout. After some discussion, which Vern overhears, they decide to film him. Vern, of course, decides to take this chance to play a practical joke on a human.

I read it to my husband, who liked it, but thought the scene could go differently--and proceeded to have me rolling with his re-write. Let's face it: "Gator Louie Meets a Dragon" has real potential. Don't you hear him already? "Get out your asbestos underwear. danger, danger!"

I want to hear your story!

Go to www.freewebs.com/dragoneyepi and click on Gator Louie & Vern. There you'll find the scene as I wrote it and Rob's suggestion. I'll include my e-mail address on the bottom. Write your own scene (300 words or less, please) and send it to me. Keep it clean and in character. I'll try to talk the publisher into printing the best ones as an appendix, "Gator Louie Outtakes," and I'll post them all in Vern's blog.

Want to try? Come on! Write your own version.

August Virtual Book Tour

I'm planning another Virtual Book Tour in August to promote Infinite Space, Infinite God, which comes out in Print August 15. 31 stops in 31 days is my goal.

I'm looking for hosts. I am glad to do this in one or more of several ways:

You post a blurb and cover art.
You interview me and post it.
You have me as a guest blogger.
I write the interview and you post it.
You review the book.
You post someone else's review.
Any other idea you have. I'm flexible.

If you have a chat room, podcast or newsletter, I'd be glad to be a guest on any of those.

I'll have a give-aways for readers and one for participants as well. I'm thinking a hard copy of the book, and an e-book version, with a coupon to Twilight Times Books for those who already have ISIG but win.

I'll be posting the calendar of sites on my website and the ISIG site and will be sending out media releases, so this is a chance for you to get some publicity for your site, too.

Now the catch: We're moving in late July. I want to have as much of this done as quickly as possible. I'll take participants until Aug 31 if I can, but the sooner you can give me a hosting date and interview questions, etc. the easier it is for me—and the more publicity advantage you get.

Please e-mail me directly at karina(at)fabianspace.com if you're interested in participating.

Guest Blogger: the Coach talks about Magic and Godly Imagination

Busy day for me today--in addition to getting the house clean for showing and massive shopping, I've got to get more written on Magic Mensa and Mayhem. (Vern, the dragon comes up against environmentalists who are angry because he traumatized some threatened subspecies of fish.)

My friend Coach Culbertson posted this on the Lost Genre Guild and I asked to cross-post it here. Coach Culbertson is the Technical Editor of Relief: A Quarterly Christian Expression and Editor-In-Chief for Coach's Midnight Diner, a genre anthology with a Christian slant coming in Summer 2007. The Diner will include Jesus Vs. Cthulhu, hardboiled detective, horror, and more. You can keep track of all of his crazy publishing adventures at http://www.reliefjournal.com.

In which Coach rambles on about magic and God and speculation about
the Universe

I used to hold to some fairly radical notions on the conservative side
of the world. I used to think I had it all figured out. Somewhere
along the line, it seems that after a few strange and odd experiences,
the world became bigger than what I thought, and I realized that I had
a lot of things wrong.

One of my mentors once told me that we don't see the world as it is,
we see the world as we are. I found this to be a scary truth,
especially when I stated reading Genesis over again. Around chapter
six, there are some very interesting passages. What did mankind do to
the earth to fill it with violence? Was it technological, or perhaps
"magical?"

Speculation: As a race we may have known more back then than we do
now. Think about the library of Alexandria and the knowledge that must
have been lost in that great fire. Perhaps, we had greater, even
intrinsic, knowledge of the physics and metaphysics that God built in
this particular system we call Earth. And due to our fallen nature, we
misused the gift of knowledge of how to manipulate these systemic
forces like gravity, harmonics, electro-magnetism, and other naturally
occurring elements that God had given us dominion over, thus injecting
a violence and destruction on the Earth rather than using these forces
as He intended to build and create. Thus, the necessity of flooding
the earth became more and more evident (not to mention the whole
Nephilim thing)to prevent further systemic degradation and perhaps
restore and reverse some of the effects of man's efforts.

As the human genome continues to degrade over time, and the
destruction that was set loose in the garden of Eden continues to work
itself out in the system that God created, it seems to me that
practices that manipulate forces that God created without a full
knowledge of consequences and effects is a really bad idea. But
nevertheless, I find very few who dispute the validity or existence of
"magic" (whatever that may mean), else it would hardly be something to
rail against.

Of course, additional problems come about when fallen angels enter
into the mix, who are more interested in riding us around like shiny
new Buicks and then dropping us off in the scrap yard when they're
done, but if in fact the rest of the angels are here to aid us, then
perhaps at one point in time, requests of angels were perhaps a valid
way of manipulating and learning about the universe as it is. Enoch is
reported to have walked so closely with God that He taught him the
names of the angels. But then, degrading into angel worship rather
than partnership, plus probably listening to the wrong angels, humans
once again screwed up the intended order of things, and brought about
the necessity of discouraging such practices.

Like we learned in the Net boom of the 90's, just because we can do
something doesn't mean we should. But when it comes to speculative
fiction, it is just that- fiction. In the fundamentalist mindset, if
something is in print, it becomes more real, more persuasive than if
someone merely speaks words. And, as always, we fear what we do not
understand, and rail against what does not fit our view of the world.

It is up to us as consumers and readers to be able to filter out truth
from lies, to become critical thinkers, but to also be able to
exercise our imaginations in a way that may actually point backwards
or forwards to a time when things did in fact operate like they
should. God did create a marvelous universe that holds mysteries for
us to uncover and to talk about, and perhaps, eventually, to expand
upon. Who is to say that in the New Jerusalem what will be possible
again? The afterlife will not be clouds and singing all the time
(thank God). Perhaps, when the universe is renewed and there is a new
heaven and a new earth, we may zip along in Enterprise ships exploring
what He has created anew, and used harmonics and telekinesis to create
and produce life-giving structures and truly become partners with God
in creation.

But who's to say we'll need spaceships? Maybe we'll just think it and
zoom off Superman style. But I digress.

We should push forward in our cause despite the nay-sayers, to revive
the Christian imagination and to further extend the reach of Christ by
creating high quality writing that will force people to think in new
ways about life and facets of this universe He has built for us to
discover.

Ten reasons Why I Didn’t Blog About Working At Home Today

In no particular order. From the Home Office of Karina Fabian:

Kids kept interrupting me for help on their schoolwork. (If I have to spell "privacy" one more time...)

Steven was yelling at Liam because Liam hit him, but that was because Amber was kicking him because he (Liam) was in her spot and she couldn't see the TV, and besides, Steven is grounded from TV and Alex even told him so, but he wouldn't move so Liam hit him but...

The toilet backed up, and I'm the janitorial staff.

My friend IM'd about a problem she was having with her latest story, so of course, we worked on that and then we chatted about moving and kids... They should call it Yahoo! Watercooler.

I couldn't concentrate, so I took a long shower to think about it. Had a great idea for a story and wrote that instead. Took another shower to think about the blog.

I went to make a pot of coffee and realized the dishes hadn't been put away. Putting away the dishes reminded me I still had clothes in the dryer, and as long as I was folding them I may as well put another load in…Did those ever get put in the dryer? I'd better check.

Husband came home "frisky."

The dog wanted to play. Who can resist a dog with a squeak toy in her mouth?

It was 90 out and the pool looked sooooo good!

Oh, wait--I just did it! Never mind.

Friendships Bring Energy to Writing

This week, I had the chance to go to New York City to visit some writing friends from the Catholic Writers' Guild, Ann Lewis and Lisa Mladinich. We'd become good IM buddies, and I was thrilled to get to meet them face to face before I moved halfway across the country. We had a real writers' holiday.

On the flight up, I critiqued Ann's latest mystery. It was more of a character-driven story, with the mystery tossed in the middle that helps him answer his own personal crisis, but somehow, the mystery hadn't achieved its purpose. I got an idea for restructure and wrote it down just as we were landing.

Ann picked me up and on the way to Lisa's house, we talked about my idea. It might work, but still had some flaws, these of a more theological nature-the mystery involves the famous Fr. Brown--so we decided to bring it up to the writer's group Lisa was hosting. In the meantime, Ann noted a flaw in my mystery novel. While the book was a lot of fun, there was no immediate threat to give the book some depth. "Why should I, the reader, care?" Ann explained. I'd sensed the same thing, but had dismissed it as asking too much of the plot. Now the doubts came back.

At the writer's group, we met some wonderful ladies. There were poets, children's book writers, illustrators and even a bookstore owner. We shared our stories, played with verse, and exclaimed over the illustrations. Ann's plot problem was brought up and soon we had a new organization that looked promising. I shared some of the other stories and background of Dragon Eye, PI, and in doing so, came up with my plot complication--and yes, it's so cliche'! Just like the Faerie. I gave a copy of ISIG to the bookstore owner, with some marketing ideas for it, and even sold a copy to another lady in the group.

After everyone had left, Lisa, Ann and I started our brainstorming session for a Catholic cartoon we'd been working on. Later, when Ann had to get home, Lisa and I chatted about books and writing and life (isn't it all one in the same?). I told her my Miscria plot and told her daughter my Witch Androvitch stories. She told me more about her book (Catholic paranormal romance--it's GOOD!), her puppets and her hopes for the Catholic cartoon. We talked about prayer and needing to ask God to guide us in our writing.

The next day, Ann returned, bringing her 3-year-old son, and while he played in the backyard and amazed us with his wit and intelligence, we got the majority of a pilot episode hammered out. There's a real energy from discussing something in person. Would we ever had fallen so in love with Gus the Caterpillar if we hadn't been able to see Ann pinch her glasses and lift them ever so slightly with a funny half smile as she acted out Gus in a moment of discovery? Would Lisa have come up with her lovely song if we hadn't been discussing different hymns? We decided we need to try to meet at least once a year.

As I flew home, I found myself refreshed and inspired. What a great couple of days.

We sometimes think writing is a solitary experience, but there's an energy in working with others that cannot be denied.

Thanks, ladies!

Book Signing and Lessons

We had our first book signing today!

We held it at the Salem Church Library in Fredericksburg. I called a couple of weeks ago, and at the advice of the event manager, agreed to set up with a table at the lobby. I sent out some press releases, forgot about it when my computer decided to run MicroSloth instead of MicroSoft, then scrambled to let folks know the day before.

It was a busy day at our little library, with a used book sale and a quilting show. At about 9:50, we showed up at the library with our books and our paraphernalia and our box of books. The lady at the reference desk asked us what kind of table we wanted, and since it was Rob and me, we chose a long one rather than the card table. She gave us tape to put our sign on the table cloth, taped the poster to the front, and lined up some books along the left with the EPPIE trophy. On the right, we set one book on a stand, and the flyers, post cards, etc. In the middle was the sales flyer and a sign-up sheet for visitors.

So we sat for the next four hours. We greeted everyone as they came in. Usually, they'd smile and make a quick left turn to the quilts or used books. Some would come right to us...only to ask where story time was, or if there were water fountains. After awhile, I got more comfortable and started saying to anyone who would do more than give a distracted "hello" as they stared at the artwork behind us, "If you like science fiction, come look." That drew a little more reaction, even if it was just to say, "Nope, sorry. Don't like sci-fi."

About 15 people stopped and asked us about the book. Some gentlemen sat on the bench and perused it while their wives perused the quilts. A couple of people stopped to discuss the interaction of religion and sci fi. Some signed our guestbook. Some took cards with our e-mail address to check if their friend or relative were interested. We only made one sale and donated one to the library, but it was a good first experience.

Here are some things we learned:

--PR!! Don't just rely on media releases. Put up flyers in areas that attract your kind of readers. Invite your friends and neighbors. Tell them when you make the announcement, a week before and the day before. Ask them to tell a friend. Use your contact list.

--At the library, it's good to have a book signing when they're having other events. Other events draw folks. Our only sale was to a lady who came for the show. She was delighted to go home with quilting patches and summer reading.

--If you have family in the area, tell them. (Can you believe I forgot to tell my mother-in-law? She was not happy with us.)

--Don't expect your title to reveal the genre. We thought "Infinite Space, Infinite God" was obviously religious sci-fi, especially with the cover--a monstrance against a background of stars and earthscape. Nonetheless, we had several people say they couldn't figure it out. Make sure your poster gives the genre.

--Bring a scrapbook. While we had our EPPIE trophy and the sell sheet, there were times I could have generated more interest if I'd shown them the story synopses, reviews, etc.

--Have a sign-up sheet. We made one with name and e-mail, and places to checkmark for the genres we write in and whether or not we could contact them with info about our next efforts. These will add to our contact list. (I'm also sending the thank you e-cards.)

--Make sure they give you an e-mail if they want to be contacted. I have two folks who didn't.

--Take notes. Keep track of how many people you talked to. At our library, the book signing actually counts as a meeting and affects their funding. By giving them the number of folks who "attended" (had extended conversations with us), we were able to help them.

--Bring tape, straight pins (to pin things to the tablecloth) and extra pens. And a cushion. Library benches can get hard on the fanny.

--If you have a laptop, make a little video scrapbook to play on it. You might include your book trailer, read some of your reviews, give tidbits. Don't make it too long, but keep it interesting. If you're going to have sound, ask first--esp. at the library.

--Bring a camera and get a photo!

--If you're working on your next book, bring the manuscript to work on. I've got a couple of folks who are interested in my fantasy novel. Plus, it gave me something to do, so I didn't feel so pitiful.

--Meet and thank the staff. Because of timing, I didn't get much chance to do this, but these are the folks who will market your book for you after the sale. Go early and introduce yourself, bring a treat, donate a copy of the book, and give them a thank-you note. Offer to write a compliment, and give them the stats of your signing--number of folks contacted, number who showed interest, number of books you know you sold.

Done a book signing? Have extra tips? Leave them below!