Hi, all–Thanks to Sandra for the “thankful” list! Hope everyone is feeling groovy.

Okay, first things first, and in case y’all care: I’m doing a book signing (marking the release of The Ties that Bind at the Seattle Mystery Bookshop in downtown Seattle.(um…yeah. The name probably gave that away.) So if you’re in that area and you have some time on Saturday December 5th at noon, it’d be neat if you came by. Joan Opyr will also be in attendance, so I’m sure hijinks will ensue. If you want to know more about Ties and the other stuff I write, click here. That’ll take you to the “Books” page of my website, where you can also read excerpts from each.

All right. And now, let’s talk about thinking beyond your general reading niche, something I’m pretty big on, if you hadn’t already guessed.

I was thinking the other day about Jove’s recent post with regard to her fave books and I was also thinking about coloring books (don’t worry–you’ll see the connection in a minute!). When I was a kid, I would use really wild-ass colors in those. Or rather, unexpected colors. Blue skin, green hair, red skies. My parents never told me that was wrong. But other kids did. They’d tell me that skin wasn’t supposed to be that color, that the sky wasn’t red, that green hair was stupid. And I’d just shrug and keep on with my own vision because in MY mind, there were places where those things could exist and who were they to say they couldn’t? Sort of like the unicorn principle. Just because you haven’t seen one doesn’t mean they don’t exist. This is, after all, an amazing planet and an even more amazing galaxy.

So as a kid, I read widely, because I was interested in what sorts of things existed beyond my own boxes and because my parents read widely and encouraged that habit in me and my sister. My parents’ house was full of books, and we’d supplement those with trips to the library. I read historical fiction at an early age–Thomas Costain’s The Black Rose was a stunning epic adventure (that involved travel–keep that in mind) that I still remember. I also read Louisa May Alcott (and promptly crushed out on Jo–why the heck did she hook up with what’s-his-name?), the Brontës, Dickens, and I practically devoured everything Edgar Rice Burroughs ever wrote, fully aware that he was a man of his historical context, so his stories did exhibit sexism, racism, and pro-colonial views (he was writing in the early part of the 20th century). What fascinated me about him were the amazing characters and creatures that inhabited his mind. Life on Mars, the Moon, Venus, and Pellucidar (the center of the Earth) and I figured Burroughs probably drew pictures as a kid in which people had blue skin, green hair, and lived beneath a red sky (which is also a song by The Fixx, for you 80s aficianados/survivors).

I thus read lots of sci fi as a kid, teenager, and college student, because these stories took me beyond my boundaries and forced me to consider possibility outside and beyond the every day. I then tapped into my macabre streak and started reading mysteries. Yes, I had read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys as a kid, as well as Encyclopedia Brown, but as a college student majoring in anthropology, I branched out into forensics and from there, criminalistics and police procedure. Which then opened up lots of nonfiction historical takes on crime, investigation, and social structures in which criminals operate. People, places, and what they do with things has provided me endless fodder for my imagination.

Which brings me to my point (I do usually have one). As a graduate student, and when I started traveling a lot, I developed a taste for travel writing and I’ve been a long-time subscriber to Outside Magazine, which I think has some of the best travel writing (and writing) around. The folks (mostly guys, and I hope the mag is working on that) who write for Outside incorporate a lot of the adventure of travel in their work, but they also reveal the politics of various places on the planet. It’s like “All Things Considered” in a magazine. Don’t believe me? Check this piece on Afghanistan out by Mark Jenkins, written in 2005. Or how about this 2007 piece on the Philippines, by John Falk? Want to know about volcanoes and the Philippines? Try “Joe Blow,” by Kevin Krajick. Here’s how it starts:

ON A HOT APRIL MORNING IN THE PHILIPPINES, Alan Nuñez and five of his friends and relatives and I hiked up a dry creek bed toward Mayon, the country’s most active volcano. It’s a near-perfect cone, with a steam-plumed crater that towers 8,000 feet above a vast, sloping plain. Mayon has erupted 51 times since the 1600s, killing thousands.

The author goes on to describe a more recent eruption, and the subsequent pyroclastic flow and what it can do to the human body. Which makes ME wonder, at least, what can the human body survive? Well, read this piece, tales of survival, from 2004. Or check out this haunting piece about the Burma Cyclone, and the way the Burmese military government wielded politics that increased suffering and became an international scandal (2008). Here’s Patrick Symmes’ description of Rangoon from that piece:

LIKE AN ASIAN HAVANA, Rangoon is filled with rounded and rusting cars older than I am, and billboards denouncing foreigners. It is a low, humid dump, more Shanghai than Shanghai, stained with mold, clouded overhead by knots of electrical wires, and stuttering and sputtering from the private generators crowded everywhere. (The electric grid can black out half a dozen times a day.) Bicycle rickshaws are loaded up like SUVs, monks and palm readers rule the streets, and laborers sweat all day for pennies. Authenticity is in oversupply here. It’s Asia before the microchip.

Mmm. Yeah. I can totally see that. At any rate, my point is, push your reading boundaries. Most really good writers will tell writers just starting out to read widely, and to not confine yourself to one particular genre. That way, you’re exposed to many different styles of writing, and you’ll begin to see what makes good writing–what captures your attention, how words are put together for maximum effect, and how a narrative is constructed. And if you don’t write, read widely anyway. Stimulate your mind and your imagination so that you can tell that kid who uses weird-ass colors on his or her drawings that it’s pretty neat, how they can see beyond their own horizons, and imagine things that others might not.

All right, friends. I’ll try to post from Seattle next week, but I’m traveling on Friday, so I’m not sure I’ll get it posted before Saturday. In the meantime, hope you have a great weekend and week!

peace!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here’s my:

Top Ten Things to be Thankful for in the Lesbian Fiction World:

10 – Dedicated Lesfic Organizations – Lambda Literary Foundation – For their GLBT book reviews, writer retreat, the Lammies, and in general, evangalizing queer fiction, andGCLS for their Goldies

9 - Lesbian books in the library – They’re there, they’re queer, and thanks to interlibrary loans, I can get them shipped to my local library!

8 –  Just About Write – Which is a whole lot more than just writing. Bimonthly book reviews, author interviews and a whole lot more.

7 – Lesfic Forums and groups – for lively discussions in the Lesbian Fiction Forum (for those like me who love forms ) and Lesfic Unbound (in yahoo group style) amongst many others!

6 – List of Publishers - Print, ebooks, big, small, it has ‘em all for lesfic books!

5 – Dedicated lesfic online bookstores – SCP in the US and DivasDirect (formerly Libertas) in the UK. But don’t forget your favorite publisher websites, for direct purchase and more ebooks.

4 – Website for Lesbian Science Fiction books – So much to read, so little time!

3 – Lesfic Books turned into Movies  – Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith!

2 – Yearlylesfic  events – Womens Week in Provincetown, MA  and York Lesbian Arts Festival, in York, England

 and lastly…

The #1 think I’m thankful for – A four-day weekend to read read read and READ!

What are you thankful for this thanksgiving? Got any other links to share on lesfic resources?

Not long ago I wrote the blog Trusting the Difficult Child about my soon-to-be-published novel “Spanking New” and all the tribulations it has put me through. The journey of writing it to getting it published has turned me into a nervous wreck, causing me to doubt its success. So bear with me as I flaunt this first advanced review. It’s written by Anita Kelly, the LGBT Coordinator at Muhlenberg College.

“Clifford Henderson has written a masterpiece in ‘Spanking New’. She explores the serious issues of our day such as heteronormativity, heterosexism, homophobia and pro-choice in a humorous and non-threatening manner. The author’s use of the unborn as the story teller generates an air of awe, wonder and hope regarding these important topics. Henderson’s clever exploration of her protagonists’ feelings leads the reader into a world where gender and identity are fluid. “Spanking New” should be a required reading for all gender and queer study courses.

“While the author addresses serious issues, her book is fun, fun, fun! The playfulness, curiosity and fresh naivety as portrayed through the eyes of the storyteller is refreshing and often humorous. It is pure genius on Henderson’s part to write from this perspective. The protagonists are endearing and very human as you follow their struggles to navigate through life. The reader is able to sympathize with the antagonist’s feelings as well, in this richly developed exploration of human being’s struggles to make sense of their worlds.”

After looking up the word heteronormativity,  I felt like yelling Sally Field’s famous, “They like me! They really like me!” And I’m still gloating.

So, thanks for sharing this moment with me. And, if reading this compels you to buy an advanced copy of “Spanking New”, please avoid the evil Amazon and go straight to the publisher, http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/forthcoming.html#FEBRUARY. In the end it’s better for all of us.

I used to be a literature snob, bragging that I preferred writers who died before the 20th century ever rolled around. There were few exceptions, most notably Willa Cather and Harper Lee. Recently, I’ve found myself craving a different kind of story. Rather than life lessons, I read for distraction. An uncomplicated girl meets girl romance is a recipe for a successful, cozy afternoon/evening.

Taking it to a whole new level, I’ve recently developed a disturbing addiction to fanfic. Specifically Buffy/Faith fanfic, from the wonderful world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The writer in me feels the need to justify my obsession with the chosen two. I mentally catalogue the benefits of reading/writing fanfic. For example, it’s a great study in character development. These characters are established and well known. If the writer gets it right, she can put them into uncharacteristic situations that become believable because the reader believes the character. That takes some pretty impressive manipulation of character traits to make that happen.

I don’t see myself ever delving into fanfic (never say never), but I bet the exercise would be beneficial. Am I good enough to take someone else’s character and get it right? Hell, I have to fight to get my own characters right. I’d mangle the crap out of someone else’s.

On this fine Monday morning, I leave you with some recommendations for my all time favorites.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Harper Lee’s classic novel of a lawyer in the deep south defending a black man charged with the rape of a white girl

One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has earned many distinctions since its original publication in 1960. It won the Pulitzer Prize, has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, and been made into an enormously popular movie. Most recently, librarians across the country gave the book the highest of honors by voting it the best novel of the twentieth century.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

Set in a small Alabama train stop town in the 1930s, this gem of a book almost could have been shelved as just another light romantic comedy. Various women’s voices tell anecdotes of Whistle Stop, as the chapters jump back and forth through time. We hear from Mrs. Threadgoode, reminiscing fondly from her nursing home in the 1980s, and the chatty Dot Weems, editor of the gossipy town newsletter (1929-1969), and then listen in on spirited dialogue set in the town of Whistle Stop itself. The storytellers never find use for the label “lesbian,” nor do they see fit to take us behind closed doors, but this is nevertheless the irresistible story of a fierce and true love between two women, Idgie and Ruth. After Idgie saves Ruth from an abusive marriage, these two friends become partners in running the Whistle Stop Cafe, where no one, “not even hobos and colored,” is turned away for inability to pay. Readers are set down in the corner booth to eavesdrop on the comings and goings of an array of eccentric, ragtag characters who drop in for buttermilk biscuits, Big George’s barbecue, and, eventually, news about their own hometown murder mystery. Among revelations big and small, Fannie Flagg mixes direct and empowering confrontations with racism, sexism, and ageism with the colorful and endearing language of the depression-era South and the cafe’s recipes for grits, collard greens, and, of course, fried green tomatoes.

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

“The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman,” writesWilla Cather in O Pioneers! The country is America; the woman is Alexandra Bergson, a fiercely independent young Swedish immigrant girl who inherits her father’s farm in Nebraska. A model of emotional strength, courage, and resolve, Alexandra fights long and hard to transformher father’s patch of raw, wind-blasted prairie into a highly profitable business. 

A gripping saga of love, murder, greed, failure, and triumph, O Pioneers! vividly portrays the hardships of prairie life. Above all, it champions the belief that hard work is the surest road to personal fulfillment. Described upon publication in The New York Times as “American in the best sense of the word,” O Pioneers!celebrates the men and women who struggled to build a nation that is both compelling and contradictory. 

Broken Wings by L-J Baker

In a magical world where being different is the norm, why must Rye Woods fear for her life if the truth about her hidden identity is revealed?

When Rye Woods, a fairy, meets the beautiful dryad Flora Withe, her libido, as squashed and hidden as her wings, reawakens along with her heart. But Rye is a poor builder’s labourer with a teenage sister to raise, while Flora is a wealthy artist-celebrity with a tree-top condominium and a sporty, late-model flying carpet. If those aren’t obstacles enough to the scorching attraction that rapidly develops, Rye lives under the pall of a dark secret that has made her a fugitive in the very land where she sought freedom. The more Rye reveals to Flora, the more vulnerable she is to her past catching up with her. Can she and Flora find their way to loving one another in the face of their social and cultural differences while struggling with the dark forces that threaten Rye?

Mine by Georgia Beers

What happens when you’ve already given your heart and love finds you again?

Three years after Courtney McAllister loses her partner in a car accident, she’s finally trying to move forward. She’s even dated halheartedly over the past year, but no one is able to penetrate her emotional barricades until she meets aggressive real estate broker Rachel Hart. Despite Rachel’s cool façade, Courtney is drawn to her—when she isn’t furious with her. Still, despite an undeniable attraction, Courtney has given her heart once and doesn’t have room for that kind of love in her life again. Rachel isn’t looking for love, especially not with a woman who belongs to someone else, and taking second place has never been her long suit.

Maybe Next Time by Karin Kallmaker

Sabrina Starling always believed in maybe next time . . . until now.

Sabrina doesn’t need love. She has fame as a brilliant violinist and unlimited options for female company. Nothing can shake her — except the memory of her very first love. Knowing that neither the teenaged nor adult Jorie will ever return her feelings, Sabrina has escaped into her music and the arms of other women.

When injury leaves her temporarily unable to perform, Sabrina finally finds the one woman who could free her forever from the memory of those stolen Hawaiian nights with Jorie. There’s one problem. The object of Sabrina’s desire, Diana, is deeply in love with Pam, the woman who has shared her life for the past eighteen years.

A family funeral calls Sabrina home to find that Jorie may want her, after all these years. But now the painful memory of Diana has left Sabrina certain that next time won’t be any different.

And the list wouldn’t be complete without  links to my favorite fanfic sites: http://buffynfaith.net/fanfictions/index.php

http://www.oralfxatn.com/updates.htm
Happy reading, folks!

Hi, kids! I think the apocalypse should happen on a Saturday. That way, on the Friday before, you can party like it’s 1999.

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about an apocalypse these days, which is not entirely unusual for me, given that I sort of grew up in a milieu that supported those sorts of ruminations: “well, when the s*** hits the fan, we’re going to be living off the grid and growing our own food!” said family members. So I was steeped in that sort of thinking way before I went to grad school and ended up researching a topic for my doctorate that did, in fact, incorporate apocalypticism.

Where/when is she going? Go see!

The apocalypse itself is something that many different cultures envision–the so-called “end of time” and/or “collapse of civilizations” and/or “complete and utter freak-out” and/or [insert your vision of the apocalypse here]. You’ll find different perceptions of it, whether religious or secular, and therefore different views of what’s going to happen.

What I’ve noticed during my life and research is that apocalypticism–the kind that finds its way into public discourse and media–tends to increase when people are unsure about the future. Especially when economic times are hard, there’s crap going on overseas that’s affecting us here at home, and the general order of things is upset. The US currently is experiencing all of these. The economy sucks unless you’re a corrupt Wall Street banker (sort of redundant, these days, to say “corrupt Wall Street banker”); the US is engaged in military action in Afghanistan and Iraq; Barack Obama as president has garnered a lot of freak-out from folks who have issues with that, for whatever reasons.

Anyway, in the midst of all this weirdness, are you noticing anything with regard to, say, books and movies? I am. I’m seeing a lot of interest in paranormal and “urban fantasy” plotlines–vampires, werewolves, changelings, demons, zombies, soulcatchers. Stuff like this is flying out of major houses as well as out of smaller, independent houses. Dark tales, science fiction invasions, antiheros, and an all-around nihilism that seems to be finding more and more expression in TV, movies, and books. Stuff like that sort of lends an escape from the real world, but it also incorporates a dark edge–a reflection of how folks might be feeling.

Think of TV shows like Fringe, “V”, Heroes. Remember Jericho? That just ended last year. How about the Vampire Diaries? Or True Blood? Stephanie Meyers‘ Twilight series?

And how about Zombieland, just released last month? The US is overrun with zombies and a few survivors band together. Dark humor, violence, and zombie mayhem. How about Legion (2009), whose premise seems to be that God is pissed at humanity and has sent exterminators, basically, in the form of demons and angels. But one angel is sent to protect a few humans, one of whom is a woman who’s pregnant with the next Important Person (a boy–have you heard this story? Hmmm.). And just out, 2012, starring John Cusack, in which every conceivable heinous natural disaster besieges the earth. The year 2012 is receiving a lot of attention at the moment because it allegedly marks the end of time according to the Mayan calendar.

Yep. Another bit of apocalypticism to throw onto the fire.

Anyway, apocalyptic sensibilities, I think, tap into primal insecurities that we as a species seem to share worldwide. No matter how you envision the end of the world, many different incarnations of it are finding expression in popular culture and genre fiction. So, yeah. Thinking about the end of the world is kinda sucky. But if you’re able to write it, and get it turned into a movie…definitely not so sucky! So go on. Party like it’s 1999 and then write that down.

Happy weekend!

Best Lesbian Erotica 2011

Editor: Kathleen Warnock Publisher: Cleis Press

Payment: Honorarium of $100

Deadline: April 1, 2010

Kathleen Warnock is now accepting submissions for Best Lesbian Erotica 2011, to be published by Cleis Press in Fall 2010.

Submission Guidelines:

- Submit short stories, self-contained novel excerpts, other prose

- Unpublished material will be considered

- Previously published material will also be considered, provided it was or will be published between 9/1/2009 and 12/31/2010

- Submit two hard copies of each submission

- Include a cover page with: Author’s Name, Pen Name (if applicable) Title of Submission(s), Address, Phone, and Email Address

- All submissions must be typed and double-spaced; number the pages.

- Each submission should be a maximum of 5,000 words (list word count on title page). You may print double-sided.

- You may submit up to 2 different pieces of work

- No email submissions will be accepted, except in the circumstances detailed below; you can email queries to Kwarnockble (at) gmail.com

- Manuscripts will not be returned

- VERY IMPORTANT: Any submission that is being simultaneously submitted to another annual erotica anthology (for example, The Ultimate Lesbian Erotica, Best Women’s Erotica, etc.) will not be accepted. We will consider stories that have been published in other themed anthologies.

E-mail submissions: You may submit your story via email (as a Word document or PDF) under the following conditions:

You live outside of North America or Europe

The cost of postage would be prohibitive from your home country

The content of your submission may be illegal to send via postal mail in your home country Submission

Deadline: Submissions will be accepted throughout the year. The final (postmark) deadline is April 1, 2010. All submissions will be responded to by the end of September. Early submissions are encouraged.

Send all submissions to: Kathleen Warnock 31-64 21st St., #319 Long Island City, NY 11106 Attn: BLE2011

If mailing from the US, First Class mail is fine. If you require a confirmation other than the USPS Delivery Confirmation, please included a self-addressed stamped postcard (not an envelope). If mailing from Canada, Airmail or XpressPost USA are recommended.

Please note: April 1, 2010 is a postmark date. You don’t need to overnight it as long as it is postmarked by then. If you are unable to make the postmark date, please email Kathleen to discuss the possibility of an extension.

So I’m thinking of making this it’s own blog category, the story that can’t be written, or at least tagging it with something original.  Anyway, my latest crazy story came to me this morning. It’s probably too far out there to write, but here goes:

Imagine a world where our prehistoric hominid relatives DIDN’T die off.  Neanderthals? still around.  Homo Erectus (get your mind outa the gutter!) – still around.  What would the world look like?

In my crazy story, Neanderthals are alot like us. They have full speech, creativity, governmental structures, etc.  In most ways, just as humans as humans.  That doesn’t mean there isn’t a PILE-LOAD of prejudice against them though. Let’s face it, if we can have tremendous bile and hatred against people just because of their skin color or religious beliefs, imagine how much MORE there would be if there was an entire sentient species sharing this globe with us.

Then, just to make it more interesting, we’d have the Homo Erectus (lovingly called the grunts). They’d have reduced faculties over modern people, limited verbal communications (Andi will pipe in I’m sure if that’s not accurate for them in the real world!). And they’d be the workers of the world.  Think a cross between slavery and domesticated animals.  Most grunts would be owned the same way farm animals are owned today. As an added twist, escaped grunts would go feral, forming groups in the wilds (and I’m sure creating a bit of havoc now and then).

Oh, and for kicks, most of Europe would be Neanderthals.  And for more kicks, there would be a far higher percentage homosexuality than in modern humans. That would keep their population numbers lower, and just add a fun kick to the whole story.

So the MC would be a kickass Neanderthal woman – broad shouldered, strong-willed, and advocate for the grunts, whom she thinks are sentient and deserving of fair treatment by the two dominant species. I’m thinking a love-story w/ a grunt is taking it too far, but bi-species offspring might be fun to toss in as well.

So, what do you think? Crazy? Do I need to get my head out of the Archaeology books for a while?

What crazy, potentially unwriteable story ideas have you had?

Howdy folks. It’s my first day to blog on the new Women and Words site and I’m pretty excited. I hope you guys are enjoying the new look as much as I am; there’s really a lot here, including some great tips from some terrific writers. I’m proud to be a part of it all.

I’ve been off the grid for a while, so I want to take this opportunity to jump back on, thank you for hanging in there and staying in touch, and let you know what’s going on with me, writing-wise. By the time my turn rolls around again, I’ll be back in full writing swing and maybe I’ll even have something useful to pass along. For now, I’m going to copy Jove and give you an update on my work/life/mind. Bear with me.

As many of you know, Bonnie and I have just moved into our new home after six months of living with my 90-year-old grandmother. We’ve been hauling, unpacking, arranging, rearranging, and cleaning. The good news is that for the first time in the fifteen years I’ve been with Bonnie, we have a three-bedroom house, which means one bedroom is all mine specifically for my writing. I couldn’t be more psyched (go look at my last blog about space and you’ll understand why…though my goal is to one day have a studio like Cliffi!).

So, I sit here typing to you from my brand new (to me) office, complete with a sweet little leaded glass window, stacks of boxes yet to be unpacked, piles of books on the floor, and a wet spot on the carpet where Finley decided he should leave a big pile of poop today just to show how annoyed he is at being left home alone after six months with Grandma. Ah, home.

I have a lot coming down the pipe as far as writing goes, and maybe that’s why I’ve been feeling the itch lately. Whatever the reason, that itch is always a very welcome thing and I tend to panic when I’m not feeling it. Outsiders has been very well-received. (It’s a collection of five novellas from Susan Smith, Lynn Ames, JD Glass, SX Meagher, and moi.) I’ve gotten several e-mails, lots of them asking if there’s going to be a sequel to “Balance.” The answer to that is simply, I don’t know yet. It’s not definite and it’s not out of the realm of possibility. And hey, if you’re in the Upstate New York area, come and see us. We’re having a sort of New York State book tour, hitting Buffalo on Friday night at Rust Belt Books, reading and signing at 7pm. Then on Saturday, we’re at the Midtown Tap & Tea Room in Albany at 8pm. Yes, lots of driving happening this weekend, but that’s okay. I love to hob-knob with my readers. It’s always a great time and you guys are so generous and sweet.

Starting from Scratch is only two months away from release! (Hmm…maybe I ought to get that final copy off to my publisher sometime this month, huh?) God, I feel like I’ve been waiting for it to be published for over a year. Oh, wait. That’s because I have. It will have been nineteen months since my last novel and I’m ready to give you guys something new. You’ve been so patient and kind to me and I want to say thanks. It’s a good novel that I’m very proud of and I hope it’s been worth the wait for you. I’m excited to hear what you think.

Now, I’m off to tend to that itch…new idea are a-brewin’! Thank god.

Happy Monday, folks!

Just a quick writerly update from me this morning and then you can return to your regularly scheduled program.

First, Chaps is due out from BSB next month (December 2009). It’s been over a year since I’ve had a book out, so it’s about time, yeah? Chaps takes place primarily in southern Idaho where I grew up. It was interesting writing it and realizing how much I’ve forgotten about the local culture, how much I never knew to begin with, and how much my brain had willingly romanticized. Amazing how much research I had to do to learn about my childhood home.

Check out the awesome cover Sheri put together for me. I’m kinda in love with it.

Second, the anthology Skulls and Crossbones will include a story written by…yep, you guessed it! Me! The anthology should be available January 2010 from Bedazzled Ink, and Andi Marquette and R.G. Emanuelle are the editors behind the collection.

My story is called The Gallows. It’s a bit of a departure from my normal writing. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking, but it’s written in second person (from the ‘you’ perspective). It was kind of a challenge to myself (hmmm…I wonder if I could pull this off…) to see if I could convincingly tell a story from that pov. Have to tell you, it was an enormous pain in the ass. There were several times that I wanted to throw it against the wall and just walk away. When I sent it in, I was absolutely certain I would get a “Thanks, but no…” for the answer. Imagine my surprise when I got an email saying it was accepted. Yay!

Third, Sacchi Green has a new anthology coming out summer 2010 from Cleis called Lesbian Lust: Red Hot Erotica. It’s impossible for me to resist a call from Sacchi, so of course I sent in a submission called Love and Devotion. It has been accepted…sort of. The editor (Sacchi) has made her selections, contracts have been issued, but as always, Cleis has veto rights. They haven’t approved it yet, but I’m still counting it as a victory.

Finally, my current manuscript, Indelible, is almost done. Couple of scenes to work through then I’ll send it back to my editor.

Okay, that’s it for now. Take care and I hope Monday treats y’all well.

Hi, folks! Andi here with her Friday installment of various things writing/reading related.

First–don’t forget about Sacchi Green’s book giveaway! Click here for the details!

Okay. Today, I want to chit-chat a bit about description. Not just as a writer–that’s something all writers deal with, actually–but as a reader. I read a lot. I read across genres, and I read lots of nonfiction. I love travel writing, books about history, anthropology, and forensics, and I totally dig books that deal with historical effects of weather. Yeah. I know. Total geek. But a couple of really good writers along my path have both told me that in order to be a better writer, read. Read everything. Don’t just read one genre or one type of literature or nonfiction. Read as many different kinds as you can, and many different authors, from many different eras. Read award-winning books to see what kinds of things judges look for when gauging literature or nonfiction. Doing so will provide you a foundation for building good instincts about what “sounds” good when you’re reading and writing.

I say that here because I’m one of those readers who will stop at a passage–usually a description–that grabs me by the throat and makes me think: DAMN I want to write like that! So not only am I reading as a reader and (hopefully) getting immersed in the story, but I’m also reading as a writer, and trying to figure out how to make my work stronger and hopefully, better.

I found one of those writers recently. So keep on if you want to know who it is.

I’m currently working my way through Laura Lippman’s stuff. My mom turned me on to her, and for those of you not familiar with her work, she’s won practically every award there is to win in mystery. She writes the character Tess Monaghan, who lives and works in Baltimore. Tess was a newspaper reporter before she got canned and kind of fell into private investigating. She’s a wonderful character–acerbic, immature, cranky, competent, incompetent, quirky. One of those people you’d love to have as a friend because she will not let you down, but someone you probably don’t want as a lover because she’ll drive you right up a wall.

Lippman also incorporates gay and lesbian characters in her books, and they’re multi-dimensional. In most of her books thus far, she deals with the uneasy relationships sometimes between men and women, Tess’s issues about that and with self-image, and she addresses issues that affect many women, like eating disorders (The Sugar House, 2000), domestic violence and stalking (The Last Place, 2002), and homophobia against a backdrop of Edgar Allen Poe, who’s buried in Baltimore (In a Strange City, 2001).

Lippman’s stories are often gritty and painful, as we both want to kick Tess’s ass for doing or saying something stupid and we want to root for her to pull her head out. Most importantly, we see ourselves in her flaws and mistakes, which makes her so realistic that you’d think Lippman was writing about someone who does, in fact, exist (who knows? Maybe she does…).

Anyway, Lippman’s dialogue and characterization are excellent, but it’s her descriptions that really grab me, both as a reader and a writer. How about this, from In a Strange City:
Jerold Ensor was a tall, cadaverous man with bloodhound-droopy features. His face was so sad Tess wondered if she had missed the news about some large-scale tragedy–an assassination, a war, a natural disaster, the imminent departure of the Orioles for Washington. With that face, Ensor should have been an undertaker or at least a professional pallbearer. But the effect was undercut by his voice, a high tenor popping with Baltimore vowel sounds that he couldn’t quite suppress, although he seemed to be trying. (p. 151)

This, from In Big Trouble (1999):
Mrs. Conyer’s hair was set in stiff, careful waves, and her makeup was expertly thorough. Not just a little lipstick and mascara, but the whole deal, from foundation to eyebrow pencil. For all that, she was a woman better described as handsome rather than pretty, with blunt features that looked like a hasty first draft for a face. (p. 85)

And how about this, from The Last Place:
The Old Thurmont Highway was not easy to find, but Troy Plunkett was. Tess overshot the unmarked road at least twice and drove so far out of her way that she almost hit Camp David. It turned out there was a Thurmont Highway, an Old Thurmont Highway, and this narrow stretch of falling-apart farmhouses, which might have been called the Older-Still Thurmont Highway. Tess didn’t see any signs of life in the littered yards, most of which were posted with NO TRESPASSING signs. She did see the name Plunkett lettered on several of the old mailboxes, however, and at the end of the road she discovered the No-Name [bar]. A concrete rectangle on the edge of a cornfield, it looked like a good place to sit out a nuclear war. (p. 65)

And Mr. Plunkett? Here:
Troy Plunkett was a small man, with the bristling belligerence peculiar to runts. He wore cowboy boots beneath his tight grimy jeans, and the heels were hooked on the lowest rung of the chrome stool. If there had been no rung, his legs would have swung free, several inches above the floor. (p. 67)

I love her place descriptions, too:
Her neighborhood was plain, verging on desperate, block after block of boxy wood-frame houses. Rentals, by the looks of the yards, which were shaved closer than a new marine’s skull. (The Last Place, p. 76)

Southwest Baltimore was an object lesson in what can happen when a neighborhood’s ballyhooed renaissance falls short of the mark. Dingy and defeated, it reminded Tess of someone who jumps from one rooftop to the next, only to dangle by his fingernails from the downspout. (The Sugar House, pp. 82-83)

Good descriptions give you an image without propping themselves up with clichés and reliance on passive voice. They paint pictures for you rather than just saying something like “Southwest Baltimore tried to gentrify once but wasn’t successful.” Descriptions serve as anchors in narratives, pulling a reader into a place/era/mood, and they are often characters themselves. So if you haven’t read Laura Lippman, give her a try and see what happens when everything craft-wise works: characters, dialogue, descriptions, setting, pacing, plot arcs. It’s quite a treat and only makes me want to try harder to achieve that.

All right, all. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading!