Queer Fish 2 (goodreads giveaway), and Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe.

Another quick update:

Queer Fish 2 is out now. That anthology includes my story "Lost at Sea."

And the publisher is hosting a giveaway.
Enter to win a copy on goodreads!


It's opening night for Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe at Stuart's Opera House in Nelsonville, OH.

Here's an article, and some pictures

Tickets can be purchased here!


Also, NaNoWriMo started today. You can find my NaNo profile here.

I declare myself a bit crazy

So...I'm moving to Pennsylvania in early November, but that doesn't explain why I've been scarce in blog world. Let me explain in list form:

Well, I am packing up my current house, trying to sell it, and closing on the new house, and then physically moving. So there is that.

I'm helping with costumes and other projects as needed for the play Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe. On stage November 1st through 4th at Stuart's Opera House in Nelsonville, OH.

I've been interning with Musa: Erato. Follow them on Twitter, it's like following me part of the time. Also there's the Erato blog, and the main Musa blog. We're launching the Pan GLBT YA imprint on the 19th.

My story "Lost At Sea" will be in Queer Fish (Vol. 2) anthology from Pink Narcissus Press due out October 28th.

I'm helping organize a reading at Amethyst & Ivy as part of their Strange Days promotion (You can also shop online if you can't make it to the store).

I'm working on an article for the Columbus Creative Co-Op's Selfless project.

And Columbus Creative Co-Op has their 13 anthology submissions open until November 2nd. Not sure if I'll finish something to send to that, but I'll try.

Electricity, Gardening and Whims

My place didn't lose power as badly as expected. We were only in the dark for a few hours--and it started before the storm even rolled in...which means that it also happened as I was one page away from proofing a story I wrote and halfway through writing the submission cover letter...bah! Other than that I've been busy packing my house up and working on painting the office. I also don't remember when we finished putting the new flooring in the living room, but that room is finished now. I'll probably be ready to list the house for sale at the end of the week.

I've been working on emptying out the garden, too. I canned tomato sauce (3 quarts and 1 pint) and made salsa (7 pints) on Monday. I don't like salsa, but I also don't like wasting food. It apparently turned out good enough, @cielwilson took one jar and it appeared to be edible and smelled like salsa. It's also unfortunate that I'm not a big fan of raw tomatoes either because I picked about two dozen more tonight.

A couple days ago I purchased some boxed sets of books on a whim.I bought The Lord of the Rings set, complete with The Hobbit. I'm sometimes afraid of reading Tolkien for whatever reason, but I will read it now that I own it.
I also bought The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod based pretty much on the cover design alone. It's YA, so probably a quick read, and the cover design is so sleek and fun that I hope it is indicative of the interior contents. I also like vampire stories...most of the time.

So, it just rolled over to midnight and I have my August schedule planned. I'm so much happier when I'm busy...and, since the house-related projects are mostly settled, I can get caught up on editing photos.

Also, I'm involved with another play...
From the ABC Players--AUDITIONS for Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe will be held Saturday and Sunday, August 25 and 26 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Stuart's Opera House. 3 males, 1 female, 8-9 gender independent roles.  Please be familiar with Poe's “The Raven” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” and “The Tell Tale Heart”

Columbus Arts Festival Observations Part 1

I've been trying to catch up on sleep (which can be a full-time thing once an insomniac hits the wall of irrational annoyance/anger/frustration/brain no work good...crap), also doing the Insanity work out (Exactly as advertised), working on writing projects (Pinboards: A sunny romance with thieves and Story of an Unknown Title-- not their actual titles) and went to the Columbus Arts Festival over this past weekend. So, I've put together some commentary on things I overheard at the arts festival. This is Part 1:

Hipster girls-
"Oh, these are cute. Makes me want to sew"
"I have a sewing machine."
"Oh really? Does it work?"
"I think so."

They were looking at some very intricate Peruvian cloth projects (I can't find the artist's name in the listing or I would post it). I only remember the Peruvian part because I read the artist's information page at the booth, but still can't remember the name. The textile projects (can't think of a better way to describe them) looked like tiny figures and animals and objects sewn onto these scenes made from fabric. The figures and animals looked like they have a little batting in them so they stand out from the backgrounds like little pillows. It's all brightly colored and festive-looking, but you know, in the wild, it is the brightly colored creatures that will kill you.
So, the two girls are talking about making these things.
I like the idea of competition, even when I'm not really involved in it, so I took a close look at one of the pieces. I didn't see any construction stitches. The dolls all have their little details sewn onto them. It's so folksy, tiny and perfect like a kitten in lederhosen.
As I look at the fabric, I start to believe that I, too, could make such a thing. I've done my time sewing small details onto fabric projects...maybe not details this small, but definitely a tedious amount of sewing by hand.
I begin to imagine my future sewing projects...with their tiny little faces and perfect details that I would likely lose blood over. (I have sewn through my fingers with a sewing machine on a couple occasions, and have also fallen victim to my own hand sewing short-comings--one time, while sewing ivory lace onto a pastel-colored corset...of course. Don't worry, I just put tape on my finger and kept sewing. The corset was fine, and done on time.)
But a strange thing happened as I left that booth of fabric wonders.
I looked back.
And decided that there was no way in hell that I would make one of those things.

There must be Inca magic embroidered into them...

Style Grids

Apparently Blogger felt the urge to put a little padding around my grids, and I'm not sure how to make that go away right now, and I assume it was a default that I put into the design elements. Anyway, here are some style grids with links...hopefully links that all work. Under $25

Clad in Chrysanthemums Necklace † Framed Coin Ring † Marrakech Your Eye Earrings
Shimmer Flats † Velvet Burnout Maxi Skirt † True Love Will Find You In The End T-Shirt
Black Gold Glass Bangles † Point d'espirit cami † Crepuscule T-Shirt


Under $75

Vanessa Bruno Brooch † Corner Coffee Shop Cardigan † Style Tryst Metallic Feather Earrings
Black Widow Drop Earrings † Tea Leaves Dress † Vanilla Milk Top
J.R. Nites Tiered Skirt † Stylish Selection Skirt † Time and Lace Dress

ugh...Technical Difficulties

Well, the Ash Girl costumes are done except for the shirt the goes with the ballgown for Ruth. I wanted to show some pictures of the fabric and textures that ended up in the costumes, but somewhere between my camera and my computer the image files were corrupted, or some other issue, and it won't let me upload them even though it shows me a preview image. I may try again later, but currently I've got other projects to work on and it's going to be Trick or Treat this evening, so I have that as well.

Dark Cabaret Show, Car Trouble and the Ever-Exciting Costume Progress

Made a spur of the moment concert decision yesterday that almost didn't happen. I did however end up seeing Voltaire's Black Unicorn Cabaret and This Way to the Egress in Columbus last night despite my car breaking down in the Krogers parking lot again. Melanie had already agreed to drive. We missed Hellblinki Sextet, but I'm just glad I didn't spend the whole night waiting for a tow truck.

At the show I was really looking forward to hearing the title track from Voltaire's newest album--which is titled "Riding a Black Unicorn down the Side of an Erupting Volcano while Drinking from a Chalice Filled with the Laughter of Small Children"...yes


And the Twilight Version of "Vampire Club."




Here's the updated to-do list..also, along the way I finished writing my C.V., edited some work, and read Poppy Z. Brite's "Drawing Blood"...and I did more laundry.

The Sewing/Crafting List (bolded items are finished)

Ashgirl--
Black Bodice-
Remove extra fabric layer and finish edge

Floral Blouse-
remove buttons
figure out and sew the velcro to replace buttons for quick changes

Greedmonkey--
Jacket-
Figure out stencil--thinking some central thing on the back with negative space stars, green and gold paint
Spray paint the stencil onto jacket

Pridefly--
Coat-
Rip out seams on other side
Sew the first green shimmer insert
Insert green shimmer fabric on other side
Sew that side
Figure out how I will close up the two layers of lining
Collar(still determining how to add contrast fabric)

Fairy in the Mirror--
Coral-colored Slip-
Repair torn lace

Princess Zehra--
Underscarf/Tiara-
Find brown underscarf
Plan Tiara
Purchase bling
Bling it

Pink Abaya-
Hem it

Ruth--
Ballgown-
Design top (ivory, belted tunic to show off bling on the dress)
Drape or pattern the top
Sew it

Judith--
Skirt-
Needs a snap on the waistband
Trim the fraying on the bottom edge

What I'm Doing This Week and Next...Costuming Mostly

I love this picture...it's ridiculous, and I'd love to find an opportunity to actually use such an odd line on someone.


see more Very Demotivational

Anyway, here is the master list of sewing and crafting for The Ash Girl as I see it right now. I want to do a lot of of the minor projects tonight and I figure that I'll be adding more items to this list as they make themselves apparent. I'll be highlighting items as I finish them because I like to see myself making progress. That's why I make lists, and sometimes I put things on the lists that I've already done just so I can cross it off to remember that I already did something (and to feel accomplished).


The Sewing/Crafting List

Ashgirl--
Black Bodice-
Remove extra fabric layer and finish edge

Floral Blouse-
figure out and sew the velcro to replace buttons for quick changes

Greedmonkey--
Jacket-
Figure out stencil--thinking some central thing on the back with negative space stars, green and gold paint
Spray paint the stencil onto jacket

Pridefly--
Coat-
Rip out seams on other side
Insert green shimmer fabric on sides and sew
Figure out how I will close up the two layers of lining
Collar(still determining how to add contrast fabric)

Fairy in the Mirror--
Coral-colored Slip-
Repair torn lace

Princess Zehra--
Underscarf/Tiara-
Find brown underscarf
Plan Tiara
Purchase bling
Bling it

Pink Abaya-
Hem it

Ruth--
Ballgown-
Design top (ivory, belted tunic to show off bling on the dress)
Drape or pattern the top
Sew it

Judith--
Skirt-
Needs a snap on the waistband
Trim the fraying on the bottom edge

Costuming, and Drag, and Ann Arbor...and Angst!

Friday--
It was a day of costuming where I forgot to eat lunch until after 4pm. We organized the costumes for The Ash Girl and figured out how screwed we are....or, I mean, how much we have left to do. It's really not too bad, and I'll have a better to-do list posted tomorrow.

I went to a drag show at The Union in Athens that night. It was pretty good and benefited BRAVO--The Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization. My friend performed as Jack B. Nimble. Also, it was brought to my attention that this is a fucking hilarious song, but I can't remember the name of the king who performed it.



My favorite performance of the night was probably the Sarah Palin impersonator doing a strip tease and performing the Dixie Chicks' "Sin Wagon." I may have to get over my strange fear of watching Rent because "Light my Candle" is actually a good song. I don't want to like it because it seems cliche to like it...although I know that I probably will enjoy watching it. Don't try to figure it out. It was the same with Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Also thought about my characters getting into arguments with things that are not living things...this comic is a good representation of that concept.

see more After 12

Saturday--
Drove to Ann Arbor to visit my Nana who is recovering from surgery to remove bone cancer from her jaw. I gave her a copy of David Sedaris' book "Holidays on Ice" because I thought she could use some humor if she felt up to reading while she's stuck in the hospital and the rehabilitation center after that. She couldn't talk then, but was sitting up when I saw her. I talked to my Dad as well, which is odd since we hadn't really talked since November of last year, and then I called him on the day I gave birth to my son--which is when I found out about Nana's cancer, which everyone only found out about the day before that. Very sudden.

On the way back we stopped in Bowling Green so I could check out the campus because I want to apply there for grad school. We found the worst Chinese Buffet...and that is saying a lot. So, strike one against Bowling Green. They also have a Dunkin Donuts which is a place I'm usually fascinated with, but find to be ultimately disappointing. There is a cemetery on campus as well...which I guess would be a bonus since I like them in general.

Sunday--
It's the anniversary of Oscar Wilde's birth today, and the 16th is the original due date for my son who was born September 29th 2011. I wanted to be a nerd and celebrate the birthday this year, but I did name my son Dorian...so, that's probably good enough.
Today I felt angsty about another story rejection, was drinking wine at noon and got mostly caught up on laundry. I also made a Swiss cheese and onion quiche, and I plan on baking banana bread, pumpkin bread and a pumpkin pie tonight...while I work on editing and probably dealing with the remaining writing-related angst by submitting more pieces to different publishers.

Dorian Tobias Lannan born on September 29th at 11:06am, 8lbs 20 3/4 inches

He's a really chill baby, and likes to sleep a lot. He slept through bloodcurdling screams when we visited a rehearsal for The Ash Girl last week. He also slept through most of the drive to and from Ann Arbor as well.

Some more music

The Ridges...my exciting to-do list...also Vorarephilia, not really

We went to The Ridges in Athens over the weekend and I liked seeing that there were two buildings that have not really been repaired. I like disrepair. One building had an asbestos and lead warning posted on the outside, and I didn't see what warnings the other building had other than a "No Trespassing" sort of thing. I also noticed one of the numbered-stone cemeteries starting from back in the Athens Lunatic Asylum days (Opened in 1874, I think), but I didn't walk through it on this visit.
I like the Ridges because it's peaceful and beautiful, but it has such a past that I can't help but imagine everything that happened there over the years. The numbered stones have always bothered me. Maybe I have odd feelings about people who were forgotten and left anonymous in death. It's sad and unnerving because I place more stock in what happens in the here and now, rather than waiting for some prospect of an afterlife.
This web page has images and information about The Ridges.
I think I was around the age of 12 when my Dad first took me and my younger brother to wander around The Ridges, and I think that was in 1995. It was kind of run-down the first time I went out there, and of course just about everything was securely locked and boarded up. I remember that we parked up on the hill by the TB Ward, and the fence around the back of that building and the architecture itself was intimidating just due to the scale of the whole compound.
About six months ago I attended an art, poetry and prose event that was held in the upper levels of one building in The Ridges where the Art department's grad students have their studio space. The lower levels are cleaned up and look like any generic office-like building, but the basic structure of the upper level was left pretty much untouched with the addition of what projects were being worked on. I don't have any pictures of that event developed yet because James had one of his old film cameras with him that night, and I don't think he has processed any of the film from spring or summer. Lame.
Also lame on my part for not having any really good pictures of the buildings from this past weekend. Double disappointment.


An updated to-do list

For "The Ash Girl":
Pridefly's Coat--cut out accent pieces and ripped out half of the seams that I need to work with, might do an accent piece on the collar. Need to dirty it up with either paint, dye or belt sander...
Ruth's Dress for the Ball--working on design for a shirt or jacket to go over the dress (I didn't make the dress, but need to work with it)
Slothworm's Sleep Cap--I think someone else is doing that one
Judith's skirt--move the fastener so that it fits better

Other Things:
Edit and finish "Tribute"--Done and e-mailed out
Finish my C.V.
Review poetry portfolio--found the poems I had written on paper, need to type them out
Locate and print forms for the people writing my letters of recommendation
Prepare something to submit to Omnium Gatherum's Detritus anthology if possible
Deal with library fines so I can have the hold released from my account or else I can't get my transcripts...ugh



Interesting things I've come across while researching for some writing projects:

Voararephilia-- a sexual fetish for being eaten alive, eating someone else or observing the process...

Sitophilia- a sexual fetish including different forms of food play