Wikitravel

I had no idea Wikitravel existed. What a glorious way to learn about and virtually visit amazing places.

Happy travelling!

Romance Underground

What's under old cities can be just as intriguing as the history of its streets. I remember reading "The Dead Sea Scrolls" by Elizabeth Peters and marvelling at the thought of travelling underground, through forgotten thoroughfares and buildings, beneath the heart of Jerusalem.

The photo below is of El Jadida cistern, Morocco, but doesn't it capture the romance I'm talking about?



By Axel Rouvin from Bordeaux, France (El Jadida : Citerne portugaise) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Romance Round the Net

Jim Macdonald has guru status for me. He taught me so much about writing in his "Uncle Jim" thread over at Absolute Write. The other day I saw his post on Yog's Law at Making Light. Important point that even in self-publishing, money has to flow to the author. Sounds obvious, but I know in my own life enthusiasm can outweigh caution and leave me crying.

Over at Bookends, LLC Jessica makes the short, sweet and true point -- if you're on Twitter, be interesting. *sigh* for some of us (looking in mirror) that's a tough ask. And when writing a query, keep it brief.

Kaz at Fusion Dispatches has a necessary beware for tech dumbies like me and trusting our data to The Cloud.

Finally, from history (via Past Horizons) an article on the power of stories (ie propaganda) and Prince Rupert's dog.

Magic Carpet

by Victor Vasnetsov

I'm well aware that in this litigious age, no one could risk selling a magic carpet. Imagine if someone fell off! No guard rails, it actually flew above the ground, no seat belts. Horrors!

But imagine if we could get something that floated along, like a hovercraft but less temperamental. Imagine how it would change our lives, especially if it came with voice control and drove itself. Just imagine flying to work or home from a party. Do you think birds would start hitching rides on the carpets?

Writing Update

Fingers crossed, I'm going to get my steampunk novella in to Carina Press by the May 15 deadline for winter themed novellas. I've pushed it aside, hoping for enough distance that I can objectively revise it before then.

Meantime, promo posts for the release of Three Wishes on May 23 are going well. Once the buy link goes up on Carina's website, I should be able to get the posts out to the lovely people allowing me to visit their blogs. I'm aiming for May 1.

(and as a side note, I'm finding American style increasingly creeping into my writing. Look at me -- putting the day after the month)

Children's Encyclopedias

It was Dad's old set of Richards' Encyclopedias (complete with a monstrous squashed butterfly -- why?) that first taught me to value children's encyclopedias. They're a window into a world and world view long gone, an idealised world in many ways.

But they have fantastically clear and simple introductory explanations on a great many things that don't go out of date and best of all, they have stunning black and white photos. I have limited to non-existent artistic talent, but I enjoy drawing based on these old black and white images -- not that I've done so for ages.

A few years back I picked up an entire set co-edited by Enid Blyton. Sweet.

It makes me wonder how in 40 or 50 years time people will try to look back on today's kids' entertainment. How will they check into 2011's internet world?

Off to Kew

To wind up a week that somehow became very plant-oriented, I thought we'd visit Kew Gardens. Isn't the gingko-inspired jewellery gorgeous?



Rock Garden at Kew
by Istvánka (Transferred from Hungarian Wikipedia) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC-B

Carnivorous Plants

What could be weirder -- or more beautiful?



With thanks to Alan carnivorasland.com via Flickr. And I think it's a pitcher plant -- sounds innocuous, doesn't it?

Romance Round the Net

Late post this morning. I think I need the Easter long break. Not to do anything exciting, just to maybe do nothing. Oh, that sounds blissful. Perhaps find time to indulge in Lisa Shearin's latest, "Con and Conjure".

Anyhow, it's not the weekend yet, so ... here's the news:

I guess I'd call it a Writers' Collective, authors getting together to release digital books. I'm interested in Walk on the Wild Side Books, though they aren't the first to go this path. Will there be more collectives in the future?

Ilona Andrews explains best-seller lists, supporting favourite authors, and the bottomline ... buying the book (any time) is enough to make most of us euphoric :)

So you've all heard Amazon and Overdrive are getting together to do library lending via kindle (and please let this come to Australia!), but what are the details? How will it work? and how will it impact libraries? readers and authors? I think the Librarian in Black's discussion is a great place to start.

Thinking of self-publishing? Read Kathleen Dienne's experience so far. Tech challenges, lies and doing it for yourself!

I thoroughly enjoyed Sarah Allen's short post on Quintessence.

Maria Zannini throws open her blog to comments on Facebook's Pages. Do authors need an author page (as opposed to a personal profile like a normal person)? How do they use it? How do people like interacting with a page-person?

Steampunk Flowers

If I had photoshop and photoshop skills, I'd have included an image of a rose wearing brass goggles. Since I have neither, can you imagine it, please?

And after all that, I'm not even posting on intelligent roses (all perfume and thorns) taking over the world.

I have a steampunk idea (it's not original, just intriguing) of plant breeding -- hybrid plants that drug people with their perfume, produce strange food (like the breadplant being sweetened to produce bread and butter pudding fruits) and generally contribute to mayhem and good times.

The Victorians were adventurers and brought back exotic specimens. Anything could be possible.

It's an idea I dearly love (and I should admit a bias against genetically modified food, so the moral lesson implicit in these steampunk hybrids is clear). Unfortunately, it doesn't fit in my current steampunk novella, nor the one I'm contemplating writing. So, I've stuck the idea here, on Improbability Wednesday, to remind me.

Who knows what a cactus could be capable of?

Writing Update

Great news this week!

First, Deb (my wonderful editor) sent back Persian Flames with a "No, but..." and a fantastic critique, which means I have a chance to revise and resub, with the benefit of her expertise. Am I happy? You bet.

But before jumping back into my angel and djinni world, I have a steampunk novella to submit to Angela by May 15. How's that going you ask?

Beautifully. I finished the first draft Friday. I'd have danced with joy, but was too tired, it being Friday and all. So I settled for a quick trip to the library, which somehow grew to include a newsagent pit stop (must buy The Guardian Weekly) and as always, "just a few things" from the supermarket.

Third, Three Wishes (releases May 23) is already available for review at Netgalley. Some of my writing time this month will have to go to promo posts -- and I love writing them!

Hope y'all are having a brilliant week, too :)

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

A Short History of Nearly Everything is the first book by Bill Bryson I've ever read, and I'm enjoying it. Clear explanations (imagine the research!), great style, ... but is it a history book? I have two answers.

The first is that flat out, yes, it's a history book, a history of science.

The second answer is that it depends how you define history. Is it the story of beginnings (which is what I thought the title implied)? No. It's the story of how humanity (and by humanity, read scientists, varily defined) reached its understanding of the world, and what that understanding is. The actual history of the world is something very different (scientists may argue with me on this point).

For someone like me, unscientific, the book is a nice window on an unfamiliar world. And Bill Bryson has collected some mind-blowing stories, scattered them with effective personality sketches (remember the scientists) and written with style. He has a strong voice.

I've been reading the short history over the weekend and it's full of oh-my-goodness-not-really? moments. Taken out of context they probably don't have the same sort of impact as written into Bryson's narrative. He really is an effective writer. Take this fragment:

"fog is no more than a cloud that lacks the will to fly."

If you're looking for an enjoyable science book for non-scientists. This fits the bill (ha ha, made a pun! dearie me, really need my coffee this morning)

360 degree panoramas -- Venice!

I mentioned 360cities.net on Twitter a week or so ago, but honestly. How wonderful. And how generous of the photographers to share their experience. Here's Venice.

Giant rhubarb

Giant rhubarb at Giethoorn, with thanks to Elsa for sharing on Flicker :)

Romance Round the Net

So I've been talking (obsessing) about Steampunk, but have I defined it, shared the magic/appeal? No. Fortunately, there's a great article by Dru Pagliossotti that breaks it down into steam and punk -- gaslight fantastic tech and social critique. The suggestion is also out there that without the punk (the social critique) what a lot of people are writing -- and reading! -- is actually Steampulp. I've read some stuff I'd call Steampulp, and it's pretty good. No, I won't be naming names because some people think "pulp" is an insult. The thing is you don't always want to read sharp, insightful social critiques. Sometimes you just want a rollicking adventure.

I thoroughly enjoyed Sarah from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books "Overheard at RT". Read to the end. Romance writers really are wonderful people.

Numbats

Numbats -- think brown marsupial squirrel, but they eat termites.

Anyway, I was pondering, what if West Australian settlers never brought cats with them (which swiftly went feral and ate up the indigenous wildlife), but instead adopted numbats as pets.

How long does it take to domesticate a species? and do we want to change species' status from wild to pet?

What would you have as a pet if you could have any animal?

Me? A tiger.

Writing Update

The steampunk novella is so much fun. I love writing an Aussie Wild West with civilisation intruding and new inventions changing everything. Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of Steampunk is its optimism. The confidence of the Victorian era combined with modern sensibilities.

At the back of my mind I'm beginning to turn over ideas for a category romance. We'll see. The ideas can stew while I steampunk, and then, I'll see if they're worth pursuing. Do I want to write a hot, hot alpha male? Are you kidding? 'Course I do! The issue is will the story have enough conflict.

London. A Biography by Peter Ackroyd

London. The Biography was one of the rare books that exceeded my high expectations.

If you're into social history, you have to read it. If you write fantasy that involves historical detail, and simply how people live in cities, you have to read it. If you plan on visiting London ... well, this book will make your "must visit" list much vaster.

I was seduced by the enduring nature of London. It changes and yet remains timeless. It is made of stones and buried mammoth bones, of rotting timbers and waiting wildflower seeds. It's been burned, bombed, hated, loved and above all, lived in. This book brings alive the fact that a city is the people who live in it. Yes, the structural elements endure far beyond ephemeral human lives, but they are given meaning by those human lives.

Peter Ackroyd has created a social history so effortless and intriguing to read that you hardly notice just how much information is pouring from the pages. People's lives, their dreams, fights, failures. Religion, politics, health, wars, taxation, trade, architecture, revolution, ... you'll find everything in London.

Pedal Boats

One of the real joys of writing Steampunk is the combination of wild imagining and research, and inadvertent discoveries. I hadn't thought of pedal boats in years. Now I can't resist sharing this fantastic photo from Ross (via Wikimedia). I hope I've got the attribution correctly. It should be there if you click the photo.



Happy pedalling!

Maybe this isn't weird to anyone else...

but why the heck do people like garlic? Yuk.

And don't tell me it's good for me!

Romance Round the Net

A few months from now Harlequin will launch its second "So You Think You Can Write" program. If there's something you'd like included in it, check out their call for questions.

I recently joined the All Romance ebooks Cafe. It's such a lovely space. If you're over there, feel free to friend me. Otherwise I shall hunt you down and friend you anyway! :)

What else? Here Be Magic is plotting. No, we're not aiming to take over the world (although we'd make a damn fine job of it if we did -- Carina Press Co-dictators Unite!). A fantasy blog needs some fantastic events, so we're plotting. Stay tuned.

This is the first time I've seen a book directly inspiring a dress. I read "The Egg and I" years ago, and was delighted to stumble across the dress on Tumblr. (And yes, I have already tweeted about this, but I can't resist sharing it again)

Robot Hairdressers

Hairdressers -- we all have horror stories. People in charge of sharp instruments who are suddenly struck with selective deafness. 

"No, I did not say chop of eight inches. I said, trim the ends!"

In fact, given that I wear my hair long, I pretty much cut it myself. Any mistakes just get bundled back in a ponytail. 

But I used to be reliant on hairdressers. It was brilliant when they were a friend of a friend or you'd been going to the same salon for years. It was all so relaxing. Some easy gossip, a relaxing sense that they knew what to do with you hair better than you, time out.

But remember the horrors of a new hairdresser? The anxious scrutiny of every action in the mirror, while striving for the appearance of relaxed chattiness.

So I think this Improbability Wednesday I'll advocate for a robot hairdresser. Something like Edward Scissorhands, but automated. It measures your face and head shape visually and cuts the perfect hair style. No fuss, no conversation, and you don't even have to leave home.

Of course, I'm not sure what I'd do for the gossip part of the traditional haircut. Maybe I could Twitter while the robot hairdresser clipped? 

Writing Update

I am steampunking along. Talk about job satisfaction. Writing steampunk is so joyous it's probably illegal.

And I had a lovely surprise last week. Two of my poems published online at Every Day Poets are to be reprinted in their second anthology.

A short and sweet update, but that just means I'm hard at work. I hope you are, too!

Changes

A blog is a work in progress. Even a quiet one like mine evolves. I try new things. Some work, like having a posting framework of Tuesdays for writing updates, Thursdays for a round up of romance publishing news/advice, etc. Some don't, like Guest Author Mondays.

I love having guest authors visit and that won't change. But I'm no longer going to lock in Mondays. Guest authors will simply be a lovely surprise any day -- which releases Mondays to be a different sort of day in my posting framework. In fact, I'm thinking Mondays will be Book Day.

Yes, I post my two sentence reviews over at Goodreads and enjoy following group discussions there. But sometimes it's not really a review I want to share, just some rambly thoughts sparked by a particular book. So, from here on, Mondays are Book Day -- and we'll all see how that works!

And no, I'm not telling you what next week's book will be -- because I'm mean that way *grin*

Gold

For the history of gold in Australia, SBS has put together a great starting point. But I bet you haven't seen gold in quite the same way as the weird and wonderful collection of objects Money Choice put together -- they're not for sale, they're just mind boggling. I can't imagine sitting on a golden loo.

Gold Rush!

Sutter's Mill, California, via Wikimedia

This is where the California Goldrush started. According to the Wikimedia link, the carpenter building the mill found gold nuggets -- and the rest is history.