Day 30 #blogflash2012 - Winning (Giveaway!)

What better way to celebrate winning than with a giveaway! :) My first novella, Blue Moon House is releasing in just TWO days! On that same day my publisher is releasing the third installment of the Campus Sexploits anthologies, including a short story by yours truly. How about that?! Would you like to win one? Would you like to win both?! Sorry, you can't win both, but you can win a copy of Blue Moon House AND get a coupon for Campus Sexploits 3. In fact, everyone can have one of those! All you have to do is leave a comment with your email address. I'll pass that on. And two lucky comments will get a free copy, one of Blue Moon House and one of CS3. Sound like a good idea? I think so. And just to whet your appetite, here a couple links to excerpts from BMH and a teaser from The Highest Bidder, included in Campus Sexploits 3.

Please, leave me some love.

Update: Due to the slow responses, I'll keep this contest open until the end of Sept. 1, my release day.

Day 29 #blogflash2012 - Masquerade

Well, this one seems obvious. Let me remove this mask as I have a few times before and let you see the face behind.

That's me, with my husband and daughter (aren't we cute!?). I am not the girl with flowers on her back, though I might wish I was. I'm the woman with ample curves who could stand to lose a few pounds (forty?) and has found her first grey hairs.

Does my family know I write erotica? Yep. My husband loves it. My mother hasn't said a lot, but is supportive. Y'know, I don't think my Dad ever said anything about it? My in-laws haven't talked about it either, but I won't be surprised if they never read any of it. That might be more embarrassing actually!

Okay, you know what, forget this, I'm putting the mask back on. This is me: Angelica dawsonii is a native plant of Alberta. And now you know how I got my name. I'm a botany babe.

Day 28 #blogflash2012 - Frog

With great trepidation, she picked up the green animal. He had shiny skin, but wasn't slimy as she had expected. Rather he had cool skin, smooth. She ran her thumb between his eyes and down his back, expecting him to jump away as other frogs did.

He closed his eyes and gave a long, slow croak from deep in his throat.

Take me with you, his eyes said. It was also what the old witch had told her.

"When you go home, on the path, you will find a frog. If you would cure your infertility, take him with you, put him in your bed while your husband is still away. When he returns, you will find you are able to conceive."

Day 27 #blogflash2012 - History

These are a pair of excerpts from Blue Moon House and one of its prequels. The prequel is set in the 1900s and each subsequent prequel will be a little earlier. Enjoy!

Day 26 #blogflash2012 - Seeing

This week of camping, culminating in a wedding, has allowed us to spend some time with relatives we don't get to see very often. They are all my in-laws, but some are simply the coolest people around. Some have just been too busy to keep in touch. The only problem with a gathering like this is that you get so little time with each person. Yes, the reception will probably last for 5 hours, but if we have 10 relatives to visit, they only get 30 minutes each. I have this problem when my family gets together at Thanksgiving. Inevitably, there some aunts and uncles I don't really spend any time with.

Seeing people is something I don't do very often. I'm not social and I don't feel I have a lot of exciting news (this year, with book contracts is an exception!) to share. I prefer meeting face to face. When I was young, I could gab on the phone for hours, but as I've gotten older, I find I just don't get as much from a phone call as sitting over a cup of tea. There's something in actually seeing that other person, their mannerisms, their pauses, where their eye wanders, that tells me more than just their voice can. I've almost given up answering the phone. I let my husband get it. I don't really want to talk to them anyway. I want to see them. 

Day 25 #BlogFlash2012 - Blue

Blue is the colour I see most often outside. It is how I feel when I can't see it. The sky over Alberta is clear most days, a beautiful azure. We get an inordinate amount of sunlight, one reason why homes can be run on solar panels, greenhouses are lucrative, and we all have red necks. Almost every day I can look out and see blue from horizon to horizon, interrupted only by the occasional fluffy white cloud. It's a blessing.

I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), so when we have a week of grey, wet, dreary weather, it hits me hard. I don't feel like getting out of bed. I have no desire to do anything. It seems nothing can make me happy. It strikes in the winter when although there is still a brilliant blue sky, it's only there for a few hours a day.

Blue, in a sense, runs my world.

Day 24 #blogflash2012 - In The Woods (Publishing analogy)

Oh sure, in the woods on the day I finally come out of the woods. I guess I'll have to talk about the urban jungle instead. No, wait, Grande Prairie is only barely classified as urban.

If being in the woods is used as euphemism for being in the dark, out of one's element, overwhelmed, then in many senses, I am still in the woods, particularly with regards to publishing.

The publishing forest is wild right now. It's like the mixed woods here where the Aspen grows high and dominates until they become to old. As they fall the Spruce and Pine grow up and take over. The evergreens were always there, growing slowly, waiting for their turn. Likewise the Aspen don't all fall at once. There become pockets dominated by the conifers, until you run into the next stretch of aspen. Wow, this a really good analogy! The traditional publishers are dominant. As long as they can stay alive, they will remain dominant, but already the small press and self-published have dominated a few very niche markets.

So here I am, a seed, which unlike normal seeds, gets to choose what it wants to be. Should I be another aspen, growing faster and taller through the traditional channels or do I want to be a spruce, building myself more slowly (not always true) but hoping to capture some extra sunlight as one of the big aspens fall. To date, I have always chosen spruce. They have the best chance in my market (erotica). However, my non-erotic fiction has always been less obvious. Particularly for the YA market, the aspen still rule. I haven't had any luck 'becoming' an aspen. I haven't managed to get any agents to look at me, and they are the only way into the big 6 now. That said, my spruce is growing very slowly, but very steadily, and as the mixed woods show, I can survive here. I can wait. I can grow.

Yes, I am very much still in the woods.

Day 23 #blogflash2012 - Cooking

I touched on this very briefly in my last post. Cooking while camping is a little more complicated and time consuming than cooking at home. That said, I've never been afraid to make something on a camp stove that I make at home. I just find it more fun to have specific specials for campsites. Here are a few of the favourites:

Green onion cake
Yes, I could make this at home, but there's something about the smoke that make it even better when camping. I make a biscuit style dough, add some green onions and fry it up. Delish. (note: no real recipe. Flour, water, a touch of baking powder and salt, oil in the pan and green onions)



S'mores

Everyone knows s'mores can only be made when camping. The only twist I have is using the really good 80% dark chocolate. Mmmm

Oatmeal
Yeah, I make this at home in the winter, but in the summer, when you wake up after a rather cool night, it's great for warming you up. Plus it doesn't require milk, which will spoil when you don't have a fridge.

Trail Mix
I don't make my own (I could and should, but that would be done at home prior to camping anyway). We don't buy it much during the rest of the year, but take it for our hiking snack. Great for tossing back while walking.

There are a few of the obvious. Corn on the cob comes to mind. Lots of fresh fruit is a must. When I get back, I will have no doubt made and thought of others. I'll let you know. However, I am now indulging in a real shower in a hotel room. One can only camp so long, especially when one must prepare for a wedding on the weekend!

Day 22 #blogflash2012 - Holiday

This post was written in advance. Currently, I am at a campsite near Wembly, which is near Grande Prairie, which is many miles northwest of Edmonton (and that still assumes you have any idea where Edmonton is). Technically, I have internet. There is cell service, so I can check my mail periodically, but well, I'm tenting. So I don't have a power outlet and my devices are, in general, left off.

This is my idea of a holiday.

We are roughing it. Living out of our tiny Echo and a tent. We might move to backpacking one day, but car camping is working for us. We scoff at the giant RVs that surround us. We don't have a satellite dish. We have a propane stove, a fire, a clothesline, a washtub. This is actually my idea of fun. It take a little extra planning, a little extra effort to make each meal and clean up after, but, well, there's nothing else we need to do. We go on walk of exploration, swim in the lake and come back to cook ourselves something for lunch, then we head out and do it again.

The perk this time, is that we are near my husband's family. One afternoon, we can leave our tent with all our gear inside and drive into town to visit, get something actually cold to drink, and then return just as things cool off for the evening.

This is a great holiday.

Day 21 #BlogFlash2012 - Night

There is something magical about the night. It's the same magic that surrounds winter. The cycle of death and rebirth. The sun has died for the day. We, in turn, bury ourselves beneath covers, behind heavy curtains, and put ourselves to a small death of hours. Every night, however, leads to a new sunrise and rebirth. There is a reason night is when the zombies and vampires and werewolves come out. It is a time for death.

However, for many creatures, night is the time for life. As soon as the sun sets, they start moving, singing, hunting. There is magic in the lack of light, or the moonlight. When things are unclear, out of focus, magic can happen. Magic that would be obvious and trite in the light of day. Magic that can raise the dead.

Good night, my friends. I will rise again.

Day 19 #blogflash2012 - Fireworks

Hmm, think perhaps my mind is going to go somewhere dirty? Well, you're right! Fireworks are what I see behind my eyes when my husband really hits the mark. Fireworks are what fill my mind when I read just the right sex scene at just the right time. Fireworks make me lick my lips and beg for more.

Have I ever written fireworks? For myself, yes, but if you read the same piece, will it resonate for you? It's so hard to tell. It's one of the reasons I was somewhat tentative in this genre. I'd written fanfiction erotica, but as will all fanfiction, that was primarily for me (and it worked!). To publish a piece, I'm relying on it hitting the same mark with at least a portion of readers.

I'm not sure Blue Moon House will do that. Some of the sex is over the top. Some of it just isn't appealing to average people. However, I hope the story behind the sex will help a reader through the hurdles and onto the scenes that are more likely to appeal. I hope some of the sex will get readers going. I hope the emotions and motivation will make the scene have more impact. I hope following Julia will have you peaking when she does and collapsing at the end.

And if it doesn't, well, I'm sure I have another box of fireworks around here somewhere that will suit.

Day 18 #blogflash 2012 - Wild At Heart

No wonder really, I see wild at heart and think sex and romance!

The way I see it, there are two types of erotic fiction: stories about sex and stories that include sex. This post is not intended to be a condemnation in any way! Each has its pros and cons. Just like in real life, sometimes you want to make love and sometimes you just want to fuck. One isn't better than the other, they're just different and each has its place.

I think it's helpful for the reader to know when they crack the spine (or open the file) what they are getting. Blue Moon House is a story about sex. The plot is driven by sex. There is still a good story in there, but it can't be told without the sex.

I recently reviews the first book of the Resistance, The Arrangement, on Good Reads. That was a story with sex. Although sex did drive part of the plot, with a lot of work and the magic of 'fade to black' it could be told at a PG rating. I'm glad it's not! Like I said, not judging here. The sex was great, it enlightened us on the characters and their relationship, and well, it was just damn hot. The story would have been less without it, but it would still be complete.

In my opinion, there has been an increased focus on stories about sex thanks to the popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey. Remember, I also wrote a story about sex, so I am definitely riding this wave. Yet, I wanted to remind readers and writers alike that there is ample shelf space and interest in a good story that includes well written sex. If my next novel or novella isn't another Blue Moon story, it will be a story with sex rather than a story about sex. I, for one, need both to balance my diet. My wild side is definitely an omnivore!

Day 17 #blogflash2012 - Graveyard

Where all the incomplete, unrealized, uncooperative, intangible ideas go to die. The trash file. I have one. It's a folder that contains a few pieces that went awry, that never quite blossomed, that just didn't work. Sometimes, I go dumpster diving and flip through some of those ideas, seeing if there are any organs for harvesting. (No, I'm not above literary cannibalism or zombie tendencies. The dead can definitely feed the living!)

My trash folder is appropriately named 'Scrap.' It's not crap. It's not recycling. It's not on hold. It's not actual trash. It's the scraps. It's perfect for rummaging through, picking and choosing, trimming the edges from... all those things. Many things in there have taken on a bad odour, and will likely never see the light of day. But occasionally, when I'm hitting a stumbling block, a few minutes in the Scraps can turn up just the right bit of trim to tie one thing to another. 

The Scrap isn't where pieces go to die. It's not really a graveyard. Unless we make it a zombie riddled one!

Day 16 #blogflash2012 - Different World

If I'm reading my calendar right, today I am in Fort McMurray again. Perhaps you have seen the boreal forest, a trip to Alaska, a camping trip to the north... It's a pretty huge biome stretching around globe. Fort McMurray is surrounded by boreal forest, or it used to be.

The mining of the oil sands has segmented and decimated huge tracts of land. Not football fields, not city blocks. CITIES. The entire area disturbed is the size of some of the smaller states.

This is a different world. When the sand blows across the empty stretches, in front of refinery and other man-made structures, you could easily convince yourself that you are on another planet, in a sci fi novel.

This world is changing again. I'm part of that. I'm helping research plants and methods that will, I pray, lead to jump starting the boreal forest into taking hold here again. It's a lofty goal and one I don't really expect to see in my working career. But then again, maybe.

I come from many different worlds and watch them change from one into another. In the end, I hope we find the best one for everyone.

Day 15 #blogflash2012 - Books

As Angelica I have never published a book. I have two contracts, for a novella and a short story, that will hopefully be published in the next few months (longer for the anthology). Both will only be available in electronic form. So... is an ebook, especially a ten or fifteen page story, still a book? I notice the prompt photo on Terri Long's site is of a stack of hard books. If you search book in Google images, that's what you see as well. Is there anyone, when hearing book without an e, doesn't think of pages bound together? Will our children? The media is changing. We still buy hard books for our kids, but we are also letting them read on our Kindles and IPads. Which will they give their children? Will the collective image coming to mind at the word 'book' ever change? 

My real name has written a post-apocalyptic renaissance based on a future where it did change. In her world, the reason they have floundered and returned to a dark age level of technology is that no one had hard books anymore. When the power went out, no one could access information any more. It's a scary idea, but one I don't believe is unrealistic. It is a future I hope I don't live to see. Although I love my Kobo and will probably sell more files than pages in the long run, I hope there will always be a place for a bookshelf in a home.

What do you think? Will the definition of book change? Will we always keep a few relics to remind us of the old days? Will the tide turn back to printed books?

Day 14 #blogflash2012 - Children

My daughter is five. She has lost two teeth and will be starting Grade 1 in a few weeks. In some ways, she is just like all the other kids her age. She can run circles around her dad and me. She quickly forgets everything she did at school today. She makes friends in a flash. In some ways, though, she isn't like other kids. She was able to read at age 2 and still reads chapter books. She likes to read over my shoulder, and if you've seen my teasers, you know what a bad things THAT could be. She plays adult board games and likes to hang out with my husband and our friends. In some ways, she's five, in others she might be thirty. This is exactly what my mother-in-law says about my husband. "He was born thirty." I don't mind. It means she's also my best friend. Just like the sign says.

Day 12&13 #blogflash2012 - Celebration and Forest

I'm on my way to a forest right now. In fact, as you read this, I may be driving through a forest, or picking berries from the forest floor, or standing on a reclaimed site where a forest is being born. Living in northern Alberta makes forests a common sight. My favourite, however, has to be my urban forest. Looking down on Edmonton from the top of a high rise, you see all the roofs and chimneys peeping out from between trees that seem to close the entire city under a canopy. It turns golden and red in the fall and bright green in the spring with deep, dark evergreen patches year round.

Compare it to our rival city Calgary and you'll see why the forest is the most beautiful part of my home. I hope, if you ever come to Canada, you not only visit our mountains and prairies, but also come see the forest, where I live.






As far as Celebrating, that's me recovering from When Words Collide. I sold nothing except myself, but I believe I sold myself very well. I think I portrayed myself as knowledgeable, helpful, friendly, and generally as someone to get to know. I am celebrating all the new people I met (Jessica and Constantine stick out for me) and the things I learned (duotropes.com  How to present myself at signings and events) I also won the CRWA twister! Woo! That's worth celebrating. It was a fabulous weekend that I hope to enjoy next year as well.

Day 11 #blogflash2012 - Greed

I am needy. I can never get enough praise, enough support, enough sunshine. Inevitably a slump comes and I'm not good enough, the grey outside fuels my sadness, and I want to give up. Is it greedy to want a hug, a review, a book sale, a pat on the back? Maybe. Definitely the book sale. Probably the review. The other two I have in ample supply, thank goodness. My greed comes from my need for validation. I need to know that I'm good enough, or I will assume I'm not. This is why I'm so anxious for Blue Moon House to release. Until it does, I don't feel like I have an offering, like I'm good enough, like I belong. Maybe it's not greed in the traditional sense, but it is a driving force to be sure.

Day 9 #blogflash2012 - Journey

I am preparing for a trip. Tomorrow I will fly not home, but to Calgary. It's not far from home and it's somewhere I have been countless times. However, this time, I will be arriving for When Words Collide, where I will present myself as an author. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to be on panels like: Sex in fiction, Flash fiction, and Dos and Donts of Self-promotion. I can't tell you how excited I am to be on a panel at all. I was floored when Randy asked me at the Surrey International Writers Conference last October. I didn't quite believe him. But here I am, on my way. I feel like the hero starting her journey. I know it's going to be different and that I'm going to change. I won't come back the same way I left. I expect, like most heroes, I'll be better for it!

Day 7 #BlogFlash2012 - Sunset

The heat of the day weighs heavy, humidity settling on me like a thick blanket I long to toss off. There isn't a breath of breeze to be found outside, but I stay on the patio anyway, longing for the fans on the other side of the screen door. It's late. I've been up since four, when the baby woke. I was able to see the pink of sunrise just before the giant ball cleared the horizon. I should be in bed, but I'm waiting, watching the horizon at eleven for that same pink, that beautiful stretch of pastels across the bottom of the hazy clouds.

Summer days are long, but that just makes the sunset more precious.

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I'm not far enough north for there to be NO night, but it's definitely brief.