One New Thing: July 2012 - Graveyard Spit

I know what your thinking. Graveyard spit? What the hell? Is she spitting on graves now? How incredibly rude. Actually, no. Today we’re talking about spit as in the land formation. Per dictionary.com: a narrow point of land projecting into the water. Simple enough.

The main spit is actually Dungeness Spit. Graveyard is the fork that shoots off to the right before the lighthouse at the end (yes, the white spec in the distance is a lighthouse). I didn’t use Dungeness Spit in the title, however, because Graveyard Spit sounded more interesting and ominous. To be honest though, I didn’t set foot on Graveyard Spit or make it anywhere near the lighthouse

because I rolled my ankle the friday before this hike (dancing swing, which is apparently quite dangerous) and walking on the sand was a challenge.

Now for some facts and history on this gorgeous spit (that just sounds wrong).

Dungeness Spit is the longest natural sand spit in the United States. Extending 5 miles into the Strait of Juan De Fuca, Dungeness Spit has grown about 15 feet per year for the past 120 years. (Information from the Washington Department of Ecology site.)

Since 1915, this area has been part of a 756 acre wildlife refuge visited by over 250 species of birds.

Graveyard spit also has a bit of history that explains its name.

Just before dawn on September 21, 1868, a band of 26 S’Klallam Indians conducted a raid on a party of 18 Tsimshian Indians camped on New Dungeness Spit waiting for daylight and good weather before making the 22-mile journey north, across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Vancouver Island. During the attack, 17 Tsimshians were killed and one, a pregnant woman, was wounded and left for dead. The injured woman managed to make it to the lighthouse, where the Blakes gave her refuge. Later, Henry Blake took the woman to the home of Benjamin Rainey, whose wife was from the Tsimshian tribe.

The Tsimshian murder victims were buried on a branch of the spit that became known as Graveyard Spit.

Visit HistoryLink.org to read more about it.

Despite the deaths here, it's clearly a happy place.

And these birds were quite happy, waiting for the dead seal at the edge of the beach to finish washing in.

This scene reminded me a little of the seagulls in Finding Nemo.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNiR5ZTb_MA]

And just to prove that I actually did go here, this is me posing with some of the spectacular driftwood piled along the middle of the spit.

While we didn’t get far on this hike due to my injury, I’m hoping to come back with the kayaks and explore the area from the water soon. True to the great northwest, this area was breathtakingly beautiful and worth a trip, or maybe several.

Happy Adventuring!

An Agent and Geeky Goodness.

Last Monday, I am happy to say, I accepted an offer of representation from Emily Keyes at L. Perkins Agency. There are many great things about this, not the least of which is the time I can now spend writing that I previously spent researching and submitting to agents and editors. There were also the excellent announcements on Twitter.

and

I've already gained some unexpected perks from this relationship. Thanks to this tweet by my agent

I discovered QMx and now I have this on my desk

and this on my living room mantle.

(Yes, the wall is unfinished. My life is a work in progress. Did you really expect the house to be any different?)

The statue of Wash led to this brief and excellent twitter exchange.

I don't know yet how Emily will work out as my agent. We haven't been working together long enough to say. I can tell you that she is pretty awesome as a person and I look forward to working with her.

In the words of the lovely Kristen Lamb, We Are Not Alone, and that, my friends, is pretty cool.

Happy living!

Any Firefly fans out there? Any closet geeks? I would love to hear from you!

Basking in the Sunshine

This has been a crazy month. I’ve been traveling with family and have suffered from a heinous cold turned sinus infection, but I’ll get into that more later in my One New Thing post for June. I’ve also picked up a literary agent, but I’ll go into that more in my upcoming post about how I got a literary agent. This post is just a little fluffy one about my nomination for the Sunshine Award from the wonderful writer Fabio Bueno, an award that is rather appropriate for this month so far in spite of the nasty illness. Thanks Fabio!

Here are the rules:

  • Include the award logo in the post.
  • Link back and thank those that nominated me.
  • Answer 10 random questions about myself and/or tell seven random facts.
  • Nominate 10 other bloggers and link them to the award in their comments section.

So here goes. More random information about me that you probably weren’t holding your breath for:

1. What’s one of your favorite books from childhood? Tailchaser’s Song by Tad Williams. To be honest, it’s been so long since I read it that I don’t even remember why I love this book. I just know that it’s one of those books I itch to read again every time I think about it.

2. What are you reading? I’m reading Fullmetal Alchemist book one by Hiromu Arakawa in Japanese. I loved the Fullmetal Alchemist anime series so I figured the manga would be a good first step into reading a book in Japanese. I’m also reading A Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi.

3. Which do you prefer, Facebook or Twitter? I’m honestly more of a twitter fan. I can get and give more information faster there, but I tend to interact more with my close friends on Facebook, so it's something of a draw.

4. Favorite thing to do in your free time? Video games or kayaking or horse riding or… well, lots of things.

5. Favorite season? I like most seasons for various reasons (how poetic), but living in Seattle predisposes me to summer because there is a bit less rain.

6. Favorite magazine? I don’t really read magazines much.

7. What is your favorite animal? Snow leopard. I'm a long-time supporter of the Snow Leopard Trust.

8. Favorite teacher (and why)? I had a number of great teachers, but I’d have to say that my sixth grade teacher, Mr. Johnson, was probably the best simply because he was the first to encourage me in my book writing.

9. What is your favorite number? Can I have three? I really like 3, 7, and 13.

10. Do you prefer reading short stories or novels? Novels. I pick up a short story now and then, but I like something longer that I can become deeply immersed in.

This time I’m going to break the rules and just say that I would love to hear from all of you. What is your favorite season, teacher, etc.? If you haven’t received the Sunshine Award and would like to, say so in the comments and I slip in a list with you on it.

Happy sunshine!

One New Thing: May 2012 - Visiting Diablo

For the game geeks out there, I'm not talking about the newly released Diablo III, but I will admit that a chunk of Memorial Day weekend was dedicated to that worthy pursuit. Sadly, my first hardcore character died at level 7. (Cue mournful violin music.)

Anyway, on to the one new thing. May was a rather crazy month (a theme that seems to be bleeding into June), so finding time to squeeze in a new experience was a challenge. However, my kayak was up to the task.

Yeah, that gorgeous thing in the foreground is my kayak. Because I name everything (not much of an exaggeration, actually), I have given my kayak the name Umi Tonbo (海蜻蛉) or Sea Dragonfly for those not versed in Japanese.

Umi and I and our partner in crime...

embarked on an exploration of Diablo Lake, a much underused and remarkably beautiful lake in the spectacular North Cascades. Unfortunately, everything went perfectly, which doesn't make for much of a story. No one capsized in the jade colored glacial waters and the weather was so fantastic we were able to play in the paddle-thru boat wash.

The full trip tallied up to almost 10 miles of paddling out to the dam (or as far as they would let us go)

and around other parts of the lake with a stop off at an island for lunch. All around, it was a fabulous way to kick off the Memorial Day weekend. What adventures have you had lately?

Grokking the Me Complex

Just the other day I was at a writing meeting where an author whose books and stories are often categorized as erotica was going to speak and share her publishing experiences with us. The author seemed a little nervous (which passingly made me wonder if speaking to a group ever gets easy). There was a new woman in the group who, upon learning what the author’s genre was, became agitated and expressed how inappropriate she felt the topic was both in words and, more powerfully, with her tone and expression. I understand that we all have our differences and this woman was deeply religious so erotica was a poor fit. However, she also seemed either oblivious to or unconcerned by the effect her words were having on the author who had poured her heart and soul into the work now being publicly condemned and was looking on with a vaguely mortified expression. I found it hard to believe that someone could be so completely self-absorbed.

It got me to thinking about how we interact with people.

Thou Art God

This isn't a new idea and I borrow the phrase specifically from Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. I think there is truth to this phrase in a sense. Thou Art God, as I choose to grok it, refers to a very basic fact of life. That is that you can only ever truly perceive the world around you through the filter of your own unique personal experiences. In that respect, each of us is the god of our world. We are the center of our own universe.

funny cat pictures - *DID YOU THINK YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE?*

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

If not for the internet, I wouldn't have know that this was originally a quote from Voltaire, but I don’t mind in the least if you happen to remember it from Uncle Ben in Spiderman as I do. Regardless of its origin, the quote makes an important point that I think applies here. If we are the gods of our individual universes, then we each have a responsibility to that universe. At the very least, we should try to be aware of the effect our actions have on the people around us (and the rest of the world, but this isn't that conversation).

Don't get me wrong. I don't think we should tiptoe around each other (seriously folks, I think we’ve taken political correctness way too far). Offend people. Argue with people. Just be aware of the situation and don't be pointlessly cruel.

Now, let’s look at the original situation again. You go to a writers meeting. There is a guest speaker whose work delves into human sexuality. This goes against your personal morals. Do you:

    1. Scathingly express your disapproval of the subject with no regard for how your words might stab into the heart of the author (who was expressly invited to speak at the meeting) and then leave?
    2. Politely state that you aren’t comfortable with the subject and dismiss yourself?

I know, obviously A because I just told you that it’s your universe, right?

This is the primary reason I have a problem with zealots of any kind, religious, political, whatever. There simply isn’t room in their universe for people who think differently. They don’t allow for the uniqueness of each person’s life experiences and how those experiences have shaped them. They believe their way is the only way. I could be wrong, but I suspect they miss out on many great things because of this narrow view just as the woman at that meeting missed out on a chance to learn from the author's experiences and get to know someone who turned out to be quite a fantastic lady.

Interacting with Your Minions

Admittedly, you probably shouldn’t think of the other people in your world as minions, but it made me giggle so there it is.

funny pictures of cats with captions

Our differences are part of what makes human interaction so fun and interesting. We aren’t a bunch of robots with the same programming. If we were, it’d be a damned boring place (and author's would have little to write about). It doesn't take a lot of effort, however, to think before we speak. With a little awareness, we can determine if the venue is right and if what we are going to say is merely going to offend someone or if it might honestly hurt them.

I haven't got a problem with the woman being religious in this scenario. When I meet someone, I don't care about their race, religion, sexual orientation, or shoe size (though sometimes really tall people make me nervous). What I'm interested in is their attitude and how they interact with other people. If you're willing to talk down someone's life work in front of a group without having ever spoken to that person or seen their work, then I might use you as a character study for an antagonist in one of my novels, but I won't be asking you out for coffee.

In the end, it's rather simple. If you don't like someones views, don't hang with them. Alternatively, you could challenge them to a gentleman's bike joust and sell tickets, because that’d be pretty awesome.

How would you have handled the situation in the meeting? What similar situations have you been in or observed?

Spiders, the Versatile Blogger Award and Stupid Birds

Before I get into the Versatile Blogger Award, I want to clarify another rule for spiders overlooked in Talking with Spiders: The House Rules. This one applies to all of you, regardless of type. If you drop in on me while I am driving, you get what's coming to you. This is not as funny as you seem to think it is. Now to a different set of rules, because these awards always come with rules.

1. Thank the person who nominated me.

Thanks, Mike!

2. Include a link to his/her blog.

You can learn about Mike and read all his wonderful blog posts at Realms of Perilous Wonder.

3. Nominate fifteen blogs I enjoy and follow.

Fifteen! Really? *sigh* I suspect many of you will have already received this nomination, but here goes...

  1. Simon Poore
  2. The Baffled King Composing
  3. Cora Ramos Blog
  4. Sonia G Medeiros
  5. Wordbitches
  6. Tami Clayton
  7. Margaret Miller's Blog
  8. Gabriel Rumbaut's Blog
  9. Sharkbait Writes
  10. Neither Here nor There
  11. Dr. Shay Fabbro
  12. Elizabeth Fais
  13. Two Gallants
  14. Liv Rancourt
  15. Patricia Caviglia

And 4. Tell you seven things about myself.

I know, how exciting is that? I can sense your electric anticipation now.

1. Started writing my first book in the 6th grade after reading Birth of the Firebringer by Meredith Ann Pierce. It rambled and bounced all over the place. You couldn't dig out a cohesive plot if you read until your eyes bled, but it was delightfully creative. I still have it in one of my five briefcases full of hand written books and book ideas that sit in the corner of the loft.

2. I hate zucchini. My mom tried to make me eat it when I was little. I threw up on the table. I think that was the last time she tried to make me eat something I didn't like.

3. Last Halloween we had our second Steampunk themed Halloween party. The decorations are still up. This is not procrastination. This is a cunning plan to make it much easier to set up for the third one.

4. I've fought with a sword in heavy armor. Being hit in the head with a sword while wearing a metal helmet is not painful, but does seem to slow one down for a few seconds. The battle ended when I stepped back on the hem of my dress and fell flat on my back. I couldn't get up because the helmet was too heavy (and I was laughing too hard). Lessons learned:

    1. Just because the man on the other end of that sword claims to love you, it doesn't mean he won't try to beat the crap out of you.
    2. Don't wear a dress to a duel.

5. One place in life that I feel at peace is hanging on a rope in a cave above some long drop. Swallowed by darkness and listening to the drip of water or the occasional shift of rock as someone below or above waits. There is a sense of complete detachment from the rest of the world that is both humbling and revitalizing. I have found lesser degrees of this same peace sitting in my kayak on the ocean, riding my horse when we are working in harmony, and practicing iaido.

6. I am a music whore. I know, that doesn't sound very nice, but it's true. I love music. I can't get enough and I love discovering new music regardless of genre or language. I even have soundtracks in my dreams. It's like a thrilling big-screen movie every night in my head, only typically weirder.

7. I stole my mom’s socks. When I was unpacking from my visit, I found a pair of white socks in my suitcase. Since I forgot to pack socks, it was immediately apparent that these were not mine. Sorry, Mom. Unlike the good tweezers I stole when I first moved out of the house, I do actually intend to give the socks back when next I see you.

Lastly, a quick note to the bird that just ran into the picture window. That was the second stupidest thing you could do around here. The stupidest would be landing in the cat garden. I hope the impact didn't make you dumber because I hate finding bird parts in my house. Sleep it off and try a different trajectory next time.

Have any fun facts about yourself to share? I would love to hear them in the comments.

Happy living!

Talking with Spiders: The House Rules

Arachnophobes beware. Here be spiders.

As the weather warms up and I see more and more of you eight-legged critters roaming the property, I am inclined to share the house rules with you here (although fully aware that you may not follow my blog even though you should). These rules are roughly broken up by spider type.

Jumping Spiders:

I’m sorry, but you are stinking cute as hell. Look at you with your fuzz and your oversized front legs. You look like tiny little body-builders and you have an attitude to boot. You may live wherever you please. However, if you live in the house, there are a few places off limits. Primarily, in my bed, on my bed, or above my bed. If I find you in one of these locations, I will relocate you to another place in the house or outside depending on the severity of the infraction, my mood, and the weather. (Apparently, showing up on someone’s face is also not an acceptable location.)

Crab Spiders:

Again, it's about attitude. You are a small spider with enough chutzpa to face me, brandishing those long forelegs at me in defense of your chosen rhododendron leaf as if you could somehow hope to take me down. Bravo. You are fierce little creatures. How could I not like you? That said, you look best outside in the gardens and, if found in the house, will be relocated to the nearest suitable bush.

Comb-footed or Cobweb Spiders:

I don’t want to see you. I grew up in Southern Oregon where the Black Widow is common. You are shaped like the Black Widow and, even though you are not poisonous and are often of a different color, you remind me of them. One of them bit my mom when I was younger so it's personal. I will probably ignore you outside. Inside, I might relocate you outside if I am in a particularly good mood, but you might also find yourself swirling down the whirlpool of death in the toilet. Best if you stay outside.

Funnel-Web and Wolf Spiders (and most other spiders not mentioned separately):

If you choose to enter the house, you either will meet the whirlpool of death or be thrown outside. What I do with you is dependent on many factors.

1. How aggressive you are. I will match your aggression. I am not willing to be bitten by you. You have been warned.

2. Where you show up. If you drop in from above, show up on my towel as I’m trying to dry off after a shower, or appear on the couch/bed, likely you won’t live to reach the whirlpool of death.

3. Your willingness to be captured in a cup. I will do this for you as a kindness to move you outside, but if you run from me, my generosity will wane and the whirlpool of death will start calling me.

If you are really huge and living in my barn, I will ignore you so long as you don’t come within range and act aggressive. If you are living on the ceiling of my barn, I will probably stare at you nervously as I clean the stalls, but you are out of reach. I advise you to stay there or, better yet, move to someone else’s barn.

Any Spider or Arachnid Referred to as Daddy Long-Legs (including Harvestmen):

You creep me out. Why? Because you look like little walking eight-legged skeletons. The walking dead of the spider world. Harmless though you may be, I beseech you, don’t come into the house. Just looking at you gives me the shivers. The whirlpool of death hungers for your undead flesh. Stay away.

Final Warning:

Be aware that there are cats in this house. They haven’t shown any distinct proclivity for arachnid flesh, but they are drawn to things that move about in tantalizing ways. You move in tantalizing ways. Their rules trump mine.

Happy crawling!

One New Thing: April 2012

Here we are again. It’s time to share my new experience for April. I got through most of the month without a real plan for this. Fortunately, I live in an amazing place full of adventures waiting to be had and my mom was in town, ready to be dragged around the countryside. A short ferry ride, can take you to any number of fantastic new places. This one took us to Orcas Island, one of the beautiful San Juan Islands that we hadn’t yet visited. From above, Orcas Island looks a bit like a clump of floating detritus that got wrapped around a tree (or two).

Since the ferry landing is on the bottom of the large left lobe, it is clearly necessary to drive around to the end of the large right lobe in order to maximize ones experience. 

Upon arriving on the island, we drove around to the city of Eastsound in the narrow middle section where the spotting of a bookstore inspired us to stop and have a look around. (Because that’s why you go to beautiful islands, isn’t it? To visit the little bookstores). In addition to the bookstore, there were a number of fun little art galleries and a nice place to pick up lunch by the water.

We continued around through Moran State Park toward Obstruction Pass and hunted down a beach, which is what you do when you’re surrounded on all sides by salt water. A nice rocky beach is great for strolling, poking at creepy looking dead crabs, and viewing gatherings of starfish.

Wet sand and pebbles are not the best, it turns out, for practicing iaido, but how could I resist. Since I'm used to doing this on hard floor with a bokken, trying to look smooth and flowing on the beach with a poorly balanced, waterlogged branch was a challenge, but I’ll swallow my pride and let you chuckle at my efforts. (For more on what iaido is, visit my One New Thing: March 2012 post.)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL6hHhKr2LM&w=560&h=315]

From there, we turned back and revisited Moran State Park, taking a side trip up to the top of Mt. Constitution where we discovered this lovely somewhat medieval looking Mt. Constitution Tower and some amazing views.

Happy adventuring!

 

Who Wants to Live Forever?

Immortality in Fiction:

I write a lot of Science Fiction and Fantasy, so the subject of immortality comes up on occasion. I've never been a fan of the truly invincible immortal because, really, that kind of takes all the fun out of conflict, doesn't it. If you want to build real tension, you have to give them some kind of weakness (say Kryptonite or a wooden stake through the heart), but then, technically, didn't you just prove that they weren't invincible.

funny pictures - FLUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

I much prefer the 'immune to disease and the effects of age, but if you take a fatal injury you’re pushing up daisies with the rest of us' brand of immortal because that provides a lot more tension. However, that's not immortality, at least not according to the first definition at Dictionary.com that defines it as: not mortal; not liable or subject to death; undying.

I have a race in my current novel that is more of the elven extremely long-lived if they don't get themselves killed type. I like this option because it does allow for more tension and gives the characters the brackets of a life expectancy, even if it is a very long one, in which to live, love, and experience their world(s). It takes more courage to face down a foe when you have the promise of a long life that can be taken away.

Immortality and Reality:

Let’s take this hypothetical invincible immortality and apply it to real life. You are going to live forever. That's pretty cool. Remember all those things you wanted to do and see and learn, but didn't think you’d have time for? Now you have all the time in the world.

Only, there are some drawbacks. We'll assume that you can't die from starvation. Great! No need to go grocery shopping. You'll probably want clothing though, and a place or two to live, and transportation and...

Well, that settles that. Unless you're one heck of a smooth talker, you need a job. If you never die, you probably can't afford to retire because you'll need to maintain that car and shelter and replace clothing when it wears out. If your friends and family don’t share your condition, you'll have to watch them die. After three or four hundred years, the whole situation might get depressing and perhaps a touch tedious.

Bring in option number two, immortal with caveats. This might make a story more exciting, but will all the problems of the invincible immortal and the ability to be injured/killed there isn't much appeal to this option in real life.

Personally, I'd be all for a few hundred years in which to experience life. This would be especially nice if aging either stopped at the right time or was drastically slowed. Imagine how many books I could write. :) Immortality Fail

Alas, this isn't something I'm counting on becoming an option in the next few days. Don’t give up hope though. Many things can help you live longer. With the obvious healthy living options aside, I’ve heard it said that cats help you live longer. I have three. I'm wondering if this is an all of the time benefit of cats or if it only works when they are purring on your lap. Are they still helping you live longer when they puke on the floor, leave a rodent corpse in your shoe, or need an emergency trip to the vet? And exactly who decided that they helped you live longer anyway?

So now, who wants to live forever?

 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L8-FTvSVxs]