Posted on January 4, 2012

It’s 13C today.

Normally, it’d be about -20C around these parts, but there’s some sort of Arctic fluctuation or something that’s messing up my snow days. Not that I mind. Being able to air out the house in January is a thing of beauty.

The balmy weather also encouraged me to go for a walk today, and in my school-induced stupor I’d forgotten how awesome my neighbourhood is. Within a 5 minute walk of my house there is:

• An Italian grocery, two Asian groceries, a Safeway and a Co-op
• A second hand bookstore (with a great selection, I might add)
• A climbing wall
• At least 3 pizza places
• Two art supply stores
• A theatre costume shop
• A freakin’ magic shop. A MAGIC shop. Seriously.

…and these are just the places I’ve visited. There are also a handful of beauty parlours, a pawn shop, a Starbucks, a restaurant supply store with adorable teapots, two florists, a Buddhist temple and about a kajillion restaurants. My neighbourhood rocks.

I get that living centrally isn’t for everyone, and that some people love the quiet of the suburbs. But I love not having to use a car. I love being able to walk to get just about anything I want. I love the funny little bungalows and skinny infill housing and yes, even those somewhat gauche new developments that are way oversized for their lots.

Sure, there are problems. There’s graffiti and litter, homelessness and panhandlers. But so far the police haven’t pulled a dude out from under my porch at 2am at gunpoint, with a snarling police dog for backup. (My old neighbourhood was interesting).

So, this new place? It’s not perfect, and it’s not for everyone, but it’s definitely for me.

And it’s 13C. Just sayin’.

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Posted on December 10, 2011

There’s no new argument here that someone who reads romance hasn’t heard before, but I like this lady’s style.

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Posted on December 8, 2011

How interesting is this? A witch’s cottage has been found in Lancashire, complete with mummified cat entombed in the walls. A horrific fate for the poor little beast, but the cottage is a facinating find in and of itself. My mind has been on witches and fairy tales latey, and an added dose of archaeology makes me one happy girl.

Witch’s Cottage Found in Lancashire

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Posted on November 27, 2011

Hello YES! participants!

The answer to this week’s question is found in the prologue to BLUEBEARD’S MACHINE, which can be found here.

(HINT – it’s right at the beginning)

BLUEBEARD’S MACHINE is a steampunk romance novella involving a secret lab, a heroine on the run, jellyfish, and a nerdy loner hero. I hope the combo tickles your fancy!

Thanks for playing! Good luck, and I hope you win something.

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Posted on November 23, 2011

I first read Anne’s books as a kid, the first science fiction I’d read, to be honest. I was attracted by the big gold dragon on the cover and as the series progressed, I was mildly disappointed to find out that the dragons I loved so much were genetically modified mutants made by spacemen. Scifi? Eeew.

But I still loved the books.

When I was a teenager, sixteen or seventeen or so, I read the Crystal Singer series, then I picked up the Ship Who Sang. It was glorious. It was heartbreaking. It opened me up to science fiction as a genre. Ann’s books taught me scifi wasn’t “dorkier as fantasy” (I actually had thought this – don’t ask me why!), that there were good character-driven scifi stories, and that I shouldn’t limit myself to the fantasy side of the science fiction/fantasy shelf.

Later, she helped teach me how to write. I joined a Pern RPG on the urging of a friend and spent several years writing my own dragons, having my own adventures. I met wonderful people there, some of whom I still keep in contact with.

RIP, Anne. You made a difference, and left the world as a little better of a place.

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Posted on November 10, 2011

Hallooooo YES! questioners! Welcome to my little space.

You can find the answer to the question by reading the blurb for BLUEBEARD’S MACHINE, conveniently placed under the “Books” tab at the top of the page. Or you can follow either of the two links to the aforementioned page.

Or you can make an educated guess by looking at the blog post below. It’s up to you.

Best of luck!

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Posted on November 6, 2011

I like to think of Ada and Isaac’s life together as something like this:

Actually, it’d be exactly like this, only with more smiling.

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Posted on November 3, 2011

Hello, and best of luck to you. Welcome to my little blog, which is mostly about whatever I can think of at the time I want to write a post. I also wrote Bluebeard’s Machine, one of three steampunk romance novellas in the Silk, Steel and Steam anthology from Samhain.

Welcome!

PS. Want to know what kind of candy bears like? I saw a black bear polish off an entire box of hot tamales once! Darned bear stole it right out of my camp, then had the gall to sit within sight of where I was to chow down. Bears. They’re such jerks.

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Posted on October 30, 2011

I’ve got a blog post over at the Samhain Blog today, and I’m talking the sexy-talk: scientific nomenclature!

Check it out!

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Posted on October 12, 2011

The Romance Reviews Year End Splash (YES!) party is coming up, and I’ll be giving away a few copies of BLUEBEARD’S MACHINE as well as a print copy of SILK, STEEL AND STEAM – stay tuned!

There are over 100 authors and publishers participating, so even if you’ve read my little novella, there’ll be plenty of other delicious fictions to win! Click on the poster for more details, and to practice a match-that-cover game that might win you a little something later on.

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