zondrrrah and I have been working on something together that plays on the legends of the Taltos. We're working in the 800-1900 AD time frame, and the major antagonist is the Church. Our protagonists are all Taltos, a splinter cult who believe some entirely heretical things about Mary and Jesus.

At the end of the first book, a former nun named Hannah pens a short litany that becomes the basis for a set of laws as the Taltos become more organized. I like it well enough to share. I was raised Presbyterian, and in a pinch I have an absolute treasure hoard of Biblical knowledge and various litanies and verses rattling around in my head. I used that here.

Cut for length and the fact that probably only I and Storm are interested. :)

( The Litany of the Taltos )

I finally processed my pictures from Cannon Beach. I have *got* to go get my camera and lenses professionally cleaned, I spent a lot of time clearing up dust spots.

Just finished plotting a nine book series.

Of course, said nine book series is going to be a while before I get to it, but the plotting is done. :)

Summary: I liked this game. Really, really liked it. I don't like Bioware's SF-setting games (I gave up on Mass Effect after I couldn't make it through the first battle--I died about five times and decided it wasn't worth it), but I invariably adore their fantasy games.

( After this, there be spoilers! Do not read if you're planning to play it and don't want parts of the story revealed! )

I write better/more quickly when I have an audience. That's why I've released books as serials for years--if I kinow I have an audience of people who are waiting for the next chapter of the story I'm writing, I write more, and more quickly.

Problem: this is a form of self-publishing, and it really limits future publishability of the work. I would love to post the Newfoundland book rough draft as I finish chapters, but I honestly think that book has publication potential once I finish it. Of course, the problem is...will I finish it if I don't have that immediate feedback?

I don't know. I'm considering writing a couple of things that will just be online serials--a few other people are doing that, and actually making some money off of it.

Thoughts, anyone?

I'm in the last week of the Small Business training course that an organization here called Washington CASH holds. The last couple of weeks, I've had the opportunity to do a little bit of talking about Web stuff--the basic stuff about how to think about what you want out of a Web site (and how to measure whether you're meeting your goals), what sort of content search engines like, etc. I've lived and breathed this stuff for so long that I assumed everyone knows about it.

Not so much. I had an entire class full of people staring at me as if I'd just started spouting Ancient Wisdom. And, you know, it was awesome.

I thought I was tired of Web stuff; evidently not. I'm going to see if I can arrange to teach some classes, because I am definitely qualified.

We had our usual Halloween party last night...and as usual, it was awesome.



( more pictures this way.... )

The vet's given them a clean bill of health, barring any complications that may arise. They're both sore and stiff after the attack, but with some anti-inflammatories and some time they'll be fine. We got lucky, and I will never just put on slip on shoes to walk them again, even if I'm about to run out the door to go to an event.

I groomed both dogs today--Boone needed his hocks trimmed, and both dogs needed to be brushed and the hair on their paws trimmed so it doesn't cover the pads. Winter is coming, and trimmed feet don't track in quite so much mud. Boone got a good brushing, and was a pretty good boy for most of it. (Pip loves being brushed, so she just lays there blissed out while being brushed. The only problem with her is getting her to stand up so her pantaloons can be brushed.)

Once they were done, I had a little while before I had to leave, so I decided to take them for a quick walk. I was walking on a street near our house, when I came upon a house where three large huskies were being loaded into the back of a truck. Boone, as usual, decided to be a butt and fuss at the dogs he could see. I saw one of the huskies pause and stare thoughtfully at Boone.

The first warning was that the husky didn't bark. Dogs usually vocalize warning to strangers on their territory. Instead, the dog loped forward, followed by his two packmates. They covered twenty feet in hardly a blink, paused to size up my dogs, and promptly attacked. This was not dominance or guarding territory--there was no threat-response pattern. This was a hunt.

The huskies grabbed both of my dogs--one of them got his mouth around Boone's hip and actually tossed him into the air. The owner of the huskies was nearby and together we got the dogs separated, but man that was scary. None of the dogs were leashed, and I'm guessing that this wasn't the first time these dogs had packed up to hunt. The dogs, though small, are large enough that they're not easily mistaken for prey, though Boone has a bit of a communication problem because of his ears and tail.

I checked them over briefly, not wanting to make a huge fuss over them--no blood or open wounds, no immediate limping--and we resumed our walk. On checking them over more thoroughly when we got home, Boone certainly has some bruising on his spine and one hip, and Pip seems pretty stiff as well. (Going to the vet tomorrow!) I had to drop Pip's leash to get Boone away from the huskies, and fortunately she didn't decide to take off for the hills and came right back when I called. So, you know, good puppies.

But, man. LEASH YOUR DOGS, people. The owner was appropriately concerned and apologetic, which was good. But still, prevention! Had these dogs been under control, it wouldn't have happened.

The reason my Starbucks card was deactivated is because they were sending me a new one. So, yay Starbucks!

Things continue apace.

Still looking for a job--had an interview last week, but though I haven't recieved official word, I don't think it panned out. I wasn't what they were looking for, which is probably all to the good, to be honest. I have a bunch of stories out and I'm not hearing back on any of those either. I recovered from the intestinal Doom only to surge right into menstrual Doom, which with the application of painkillers and chocolate is beginning to resolve. I'm working on the photography business, where "working" = making lists of things that need to be done. As much as I hate to do it, I need to get a PO Box to use as a business address due to the bylaws of our neighborhood association. I finished a short story rewrite last week, but I now fear I was on crack when I wrote it. Doing research on Newfoundland.

I had a Starbucks Gold card (the lovely card that gives you a discount on stuff), but I dropped it when I was in Bellevue last week, I think, and now it's been deactivated. So I'm slightly cranky about that, except for the fact that I've not really been going to Starbucks at all, so there's not much to be cranky about. I was going to have to renew soon, anyway.

Halloween is coming, the weather has turned, and my life is filled with a sense of waiting. Something's bound to change, soon.


Edit: And, with some more research, I've discovered a couple of other things that make the idea of running my photography as a small business pretty much infeasible. Lovely. I'll chat with the teacher of my class next week, but I think I'd best stick with "serious hobbyist" for the moment.

Yesterday was my last trip out to zondrrrah and tieyah ’s house to take care of the kitties, since they return today. I took West Valley down instead of 167, because I was in the mood for a bit of puddling around, and despite the fact that it was only 2pm, there was already traffic heading south. I’d seen the sign for a cemetery on a previous trip, and I was curious about it.

West Valley, appropriately, hugs the west side of the valley. Turning right off of it, the road went from “oh, look, funeral home” to “OMG so beautiful” in about thirty seconds as it climbed the side of the valley.. It was raining intermittently—the first real fall weather system we’ve had this year—and everything was wet and green, the trees making a tunnel for the road.

The cemetery itself was a disappointment; I was hoping for something with monuments. Alas, it’s a modern cemetery with mostly flat headstones and not a monument to be seen. The drive up to it was well worth it, though, and I noticed that there is a viewpoint park right across the street from the cemetery.

So, well worth the trip.

I took a few pictures while I was out at the house, among them this one of a lovely little Pacific Tree Frog in the sage.

I need to learn how to at least mat pictures. (Learning how to frame is optional, since I don't have the space for the required materials.) None of the local craft stores or continuing education places offer classes in it as far as I can tell; the closest one is in Gig Harbor, which is way too far away.

Any suggestions?

Took my camera down to visit the cats I'm catsitting today. This is Wolf. He weighs somewhere around 18 pounds. BIG kitty.

Go to my Flickr stream for more. Start here.

There was a small Flash animation in the bottom of my last post that I didn't put there. I deleted it and changed my LJ password, but that was just weird.

Keep in mind that I generally feel free to cheerfully ignore the resuls of my polls. :) Also, there's a Yuki-onna book in the works, but I need to wait for winter to write it, I'm in a completely hopeless frame of mind for it right now.

Poll #1461246 what next?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 33

I always have to be working on something new. So, the question is, what next?

I'm going to have to say that the first draft of Spot and Whisk is done. Yay!

(Please don't ask what the heck I'm going to do with a 13k-word kid's talking animals book written in my normal voice. That's too long for a short story and too short for anything except maybe a chapter book. And a chapter book this is most definitely not--too much vocabulary and I'm up to my usual tricks with sentence structure.

But! It's done and now I have to decide what book to write next. Perhaps I will do a poll.)

We popped down to Portland this weekend, for no good reason other than we wanted to do a road trip. We took the dogs with us, and made reservations at a dog-friendly hotel in downtown Portland.



There were a surprising number of dogs at all the rest stops. Pip and Boone alternately looked out the window and napped all the way there. They were happy once they got to the hotel, which was very nice--it had elevators, which they absolutely love. Little dogs like the high life! Pip thought that being on the fifth floor was awesome. "It's a BIG cul-de-sac!" she said.



The only less-than-good thing about the hotel was that the nearest place to potty them was a block away, and they're used to going out first thing in the morning. Fortunately, the novelty of sleeping on the bed with the humans meant that they weren't hugely excited about getting up, which gave me a chance to put on some clothes before taking them out. We were awakened by cheering; the Run for the Cure route went right by our hotel. Getting across the street so little dogs could potty was...interesting, to say the least.

Then we hung out for a bit and packed up, left our leggage with the front desk and went to the Saturday Market (which also runs on Sundays). I was very impressed by how well both dogs did, especially Boone. He stuck right by me in the crowds, paid attention to me, and even when we passed other dogs he didn't do much other than whine. He was so happy to be walking with his pack, and he behaved himself in a mostly exemplary fashion. Didn't even grumble much at the many small children he encountered (and fortunately, none of them tried to pet him).

And then it was back on the road for us and home. It was a lovely weekend!

Finished the story former known as "Sybilla" today. It is...short. And I'm not sure if it's any good. And it's currently titled "Debt" which is not going to be it's final title. But, you know, done enough to bake for a little bit and figure out how to put in some layers in this thing.

Also got about 4200 words into Spot and Whisk; four more days like today and I'd probably be done with it. I have a feeling I'm going to need to knock down the vocabulary a bit on it when I'm done. And now I am gtoing to go to an otientation for a small business class. We'll see how that goes.

We went with Pip to an agility demo for our training center last night. This picture is of the setup time--Pip was on stay, and waited patiently for Laura to finish setting up and come back. This was a good 10-minute stay.

Pip loved doing the demo. She adored the fair ("Crowds? They must all be here to see ME!") and she was super-happy when it was time to get into the ring. The preceding two hours, she was not terribly fond of. Impatient puppies want to get out there and perform!

New blog post: caught with a paintbrush in my hand: I've been trying to finish my rewrite on the s.. http://bit.ly/lIeAl

I had opened the front blinds so I could vacuum; we usually leave them closed as Pip likes to let us know whenever there is anyone in the cul de sac, which she thinks of as Hers. She'll sit on the back of the couch and watch out the window all day long if we let her. A few minutes ago, this happened:

Pip: Someone's in the street! Bark bark BARK!
Boone: Pip is barking, must relay the message! *goes into a paroxysm of barking that quickly resolves into actual howling*
Me: Hilarious, dogs. Shut it. *gets up*
Boone: *shuts it*
Pip: *fails to shut it*
Me: *goes downstairs*
Pip, the moment she sees me: Bark? Errrr.
Me: You just lost window privileges, dog.
Pip: *rolls over on back, looks cute* That was...Some Other Dog! Not me! I'm cute and sweet and I would never bark like a mad thing!
Me: So where is this Some Other Dog?
Pip: ...invisible?
Me: Good try. *closes shades*
Pip: *follows me up the stairs and throws herself at my feet, sighing* I am SO DEPRIVED.

My Clarion West classmate Emily Skaftun's story "My Only Sunshine" is available for your reading delight in FLURB! I read this one during the workshop, and I thought it was delightful. Click and read!

This little one lives at the Cougar Mountain Zoo. Look at those paws!

Yay! A picture of mine can be seen here. It's a Pike/Pine picture I took last year during a photowalk.

New blog post: Outer Alliance Day! (and a bonus scene!):

As is blazingly obvious to pretty muc.. http://bit.ly/5H6SP

New blog post: “And how’s that work anyway? You’re a bicycle.”: August has been…interesting in a l.. http://bit.ly/HDfpz

Tried to go for a run this morning; I'm getting back into my routines at last, and getting out on a regular basis. Unfortunately, Spotty Dog was fully awake by the time I started putting my clothes on, and he started making eyes at me when he saw me get out my running shoes. "Pleeeeeaase, lady, can I go with you? Please? Please? I want a walk!" I relented and decided to take him out for a run with me. One of Red Dog's superpowers is to be able to tell whenever anyone takes a leash out of the cupboard, and she appeared just as I was finishing putting on Boone's harness.

Okay, okay, obviously it's going to be a dog workout this morning.

I was going to do a short run anyway, and when we got out to the trail Spotty Dog said that he was a bit sore this morning and he'd like to walk instead of run, thank you. So we went for a mile, and then I turned the dogs loose in the dog park so Red Dog could run and Spotty Dog could stick close to me and occasionally worry a bit about the other dogs in the park. Came back, did some work with them on weave poles and the booja board while Laura dealt with the city inspector for our new furnace installation, went and got coffee for Laura.

I'm getting ready for a wedding shoot this weekend and working on another edit pass on Shadows and Silk (aka "magic ninjas"). I've dealt with one major problem (it needed a new beginning scene) and I have a couple more major problems to deal with. One is a bunch of little cultural details that add up to one large problem, and the other one is that the fantasy element still doesn't come in until the middle of the third chapter, and I really need to find a way to introduce it in the first few pages. It's kind of rough because of how the plot is structured, but I think I can work in some background information that will clue the reader in that there is stuff going on that my protagonist doesn't necessarily know about yet.

Oh, yes, and I have catrambo's Eyes Like Sky and Coal and Midnight on the desk next to me and I am putting off some reading that ought to be done in favor of this book, which is what I really want to read right now. Take that, responsibility! *sticks out tongue*

We went to the Renton dog park yesterday; we had a high overcast, so the light was really quite prime. I got a few good pictures, including this one of a super-friendly golden retriever pup. Click through to see the others, or go to the set.

Me and my camera went to Sequim yesterday for a road trip and visit to the ocean. Click the pretty bumblebee for pictures!