Well Blog Me!

Gerald the racing snail makes a brief appearance over the blog room's open ceiling, dipping a little to drop off a surprised Fire Frog. There's a re-run of Burke's Backyard on tonight and he's hanging out to see another Mini Beasts instalment.

The frog lands squashily on the lime green floor, bouncing up and over to the podium with undiminished glee. (I know - last post I called it the sound system, but I'm gonna call it the podium now. That's just the giggly, devil may care type of girl/frog/muse/anthropomorphic personification I am.)

The manic blue eyes of a Fairy Frog stare out at the Internet from over the rim of the floating keyboard. /Oh yeah!/ She squints down and the magic soapbox is created by sparks from her Fairy antennae.

Up she stomps, the sticky toes hanging over the side wiggling in anticipation. Snuggling up to the microphone she gives a breathy 'bebebe, bobobo'. Feedback slams through the room like razor wire on speed.

Fire Frog is pleased.
***
What shall I tell you about 'Demon Spawn II'? Shall I tell you about the long and arduous publishing nightmare, the last minute changes, the late submissions, the broken fax machine? No.

I had nothing to do with the publishing, author wrangling, last minute changes, other people's submissions. Or the fax. I definitely had nothing to do with the fax. Just because my fax couldn't speak to their fax says nothing about me, or my international dialling technique. I'm sure I did it right. Their fax must have been broken. I had nothing to do with any of it. At all.

So what did I do? I wrote some stories. Three stories, to be precise. Well, four, the first one was done as a two-parter. I didn't actually write them in that order, either, but when put together the way they were by the clever and talented editor they ended up making a half-decent story line.

Which was a bit of a bugger really, as it made the last story, which was a stand-alone (as all the others had been - but this one in particular was a one off) a bit of a gut punch of an ending.

See, normally Fire Frog writes happy happy joy joy endings. But for some reason this fandom has lured me into the darker side of story writing. And surprise, surprise - I'm quite good at it. Heh.

WOG, the Writers Of Geraldton authors club I belong to now believe I write strait from hell. Not too hard to accomplish, these squeamish folk had a walk out over one of my stories that had the words (single use of each I think) 'nude', 'breasts' and 'sextoys' in it.

Permanent future censorship was averted by one vote (I brought my mum along - all's fair in love and committees), but the main complainer walked out never to return. Wow. So, I'm the evil incarnate writer for the group, something I take very seriously, and it is all DUG's fault!

Evil little DUG.

Anyhow, lets go over the stories one at a time and explore the creative influences. What, you don't want to? Rack off then, this is an author's blog bozo, I'm exploring my inner muse in order to sound sophisticated and fool you into buying the book (or more of the book - why not buy more, just in case the first one gets lost or damaged in an unexplainable land tsunami. And if you order an even number you can stand on them and look taller in photo's.)

DUG, better than breakfast.

Story One - Have You Ever Noticed.
Part One, the apartment.
Joe is trapped with Simon, but in a way, Simon is trapped with Joe too. He has to stop and explain what is a natural part of his world order, a task that irritates him, but that he also hopes helps bring Joe closer.

And I liked exploring again the original movies storyline of humanity being every bit as evil as Simon is, waiting in ambush to take their prey. Only this time the hunters hunt the other more advanced hunter, and things go worse for them!

And Joe can't deal with that, doesn't want to deal with that. Wants the world to be a better place, where criminals get caught and shown the error of their ways - and 'learn' from those errors!
Joe is the man who stands between chaos and the inevitable ruin of everything the hunters girlfriend ends up with. He would have rescued her if he could. Ironic then that Simon is the one to track her down.

What happens next is the result of Simon being trapped with Joe. Of arguing with him about things he'd taken for granted for years, of the reverse side of trying to change a healer into what he isn't and ending up changed himself.

No wonder Simon ends up so terrified!

What was the hardest bit to write about in this story? The apartment(s) and the railway station
that I eventually, after some research, decided to go minimalist on to avoid inevitable Australian/American stuff ups. (Why not call a faucet a tap anyway? Faucet's are used to deliver babies with for crying out loud! And don't talk to me about bonnets and hoods, 'kay?)

Story One - Have You Ever Noticed.
Part Two, the small town.
Simon is gone and Joe isn't taking this well.

Joe was going to end up with Simon eventually. If Simon has to use every trick in the book this will happen. In time he will explore most of the possibilities, persuasion, romance, seduction, bullying and even logic.

So Joe decides to explore some of the logical arguments the vampire might use. Just to play Devils Advocate. Not to try and justify his change in feelings or anything. Nope, no way. Um.

And how better to shine a gentler light on the spooky dark haired blood sucker than to look at some examples of nature that were far more brutal and uncaring than him.

A lot of people do tend to love their kitties while wilfully ignoring the carnage they perform as one of the two true carnivores in the mammal kingdom (the other is some of the bear family ie the polar bear.)

Those that do clearly see the killers that cats are, often hate them - without first finding out why it is that they kill that way. Once you understand that a cat is both the loving loyal companion that comforts you in the dark times and 'inherently' a cold blooded killer, most people can learn to love them anyway.

Joe begins to lend the cat's beloved 'killer by the house fire' reputation, and the sympathy owed to wolves etc, to his killer in the hardware store. Aww!

All very self indulgent and just a way to force feed the healer and the hunters relationship in the time I had without sneaking up on love, letting it grow with the trust and empathy etc etc etc....

So Simon is off having his epiphany, he needs Joe. He wants to be a 'nicer' person and only Joe can help him find that wellspring of caring hidden deep in his broken and wall ringed soul.

Yadda yadda - beauty from destruction - yadda yadda.

And in the big final we have Simon do the unthinkable - he tells Joe everything he's been thinking, the truth, and puts himself in Joe's hands.

Big risk, but Joe is in the right place to take Simon on, and hell - having control for once isn't hurting one bit. So with out even trying Simon has found the switch to Joe's instant high regard. Possessiveness.

Where will Joe's macho foibles and Simon's newly awaken humanity take them? I'm thinking naked dancing and drumming round a fire, but I'm weird that way....

Once again, it wasn't the plot or characterisation that had me sleepless on this one - it was the black truffles with charred lobster dish mentioned in the beginning. You see, I had to find something sophisticated enough that Joe wouldn't have tried it before.

As global commerce advances more and more, many of the 'hard to get and very pricey' food items are becoming common place. Take caviar, or mangoes out of season, for instance.

But truffles and shellfish are still quite rare, I think. They were darned hard to find on the Internet, anyhow. All my other choices popped up in great long lists, there were only four for black truffles with charred lobster. Yay!

That and making sure the animal references I used were what I remembered them being took the time, everything else just showed up ready made and typed itself onto the page.

As an aside - I rescued thirty baby caterpillars today. Life finds a way.

Days of Fun

Happy Birthday, Jenny! You should schedule 30 days to celebrate. Each 'Day of Fun' should be a little present to yourself. Busy people need at least a moment just to themselves. I indulge in having a special dessert or a manicure or an evening of reading and the like for a whole month. I've done this since my 40th birthday ( I won't say how long ago that was) and I found some of the habits stuck. It's given me a bit of sanity.

So, indulge. I'm certain you've earned it!

Birthday silliness

Yesterday was my birthday. I usually treat myself to a "day off" to soften the edge of pain in aging (imagine dinosaur stamping foot angrily), but my muse wouldn't leave me alone -- and I actually ended up writing more yesterday than I usually do on the days I'm supposed to be working.

At least I escaped for a lovely dinner at my favourite Chinese buffet. The maître'd was confused by the fact that I'd arrived at the restaurant without a coat on (we've been have a grumble-grumble-grumble censored cold spell). He had no clue that there are apartment buildings attached directly to the shopping mall that hooks into the underground passages that connect to the subway station that exits into the block-long office building where the restaurant is located at the far end... I love where I live!

Laura, my sympathies on the tatooes. I want to do tatoo eye-liner, but I'm too chicken.

Jenny

Medicine Head

I don't know how writers wrote under the influence of a substance. I keep losing my train of thought with my allergy meds and wime makes me want to line dance. I tend yo write when my mind is most active -- like at work when I'm supposed to be working. Today, I have that woozy fuzzy feeling from antihistimines. So, all I can really do is surf the net. I still have a pile of e-mails to return from anthology submsissions and I have half a novel done. But my muse keeps going 'huh?'

This is going to be a strange year for me writing wise. It will be the first year that I haven't written fanfic in over ten years. It's scary and cool at the same time. I'm re-tooling my romance novel because of some changes for the sequel. And because of the adaptation we did of 'Dorian Gray,' I'm thinking of doing a script about Hemingway and Fitzgerald. I miss being involved in fandom sometimes, but I'm very excited about all the doors that have opened recently with the film and publishing businesses. We're being read by some very big actors (one of them is a beautiful man whose been a wildly succesful triolgy and has two big films coming out this year). And it rocks to have big agents willing to take your calls. So there is some good with leaving fandom.

tattooes

I'm sitting here in pain three hours after having my lips tattooed for the second time. Yes, I am too stupid for words. The first agonizing, torturous, bordering-on-illegally-painful episode wasn't enough for me, I had to get my money's worth and return for the second treatment. I swore after the first time I would get drunk before I'd go back, but the month waiting period between treatment tends to dull the memory. If it didn't, these tattoo artists would never have a repeat customer in their life. I feel like I kiss a sizzling hot iron. My lips burn, throb and they are swollen to twice their size. I look like a nightmare.

When I picked up my 6 year old from school his reaction was "Oh, no! Not again. Didn't you learn anything last time?" And he pretends he never listens to me. His classmates were aghast. One little boy wanted to know if I got my lips cut off again. (He asked the same question last time. I see that as sign his mother needs to keep sharp things away from him.) Several of the girls gathered around me and stared and stared. The teacher just tried to pretend my lips weren't doing a Mick Jagger impression. Lordy, the things we women suffer in the name of convinence and beauty.

Well, I'm being summed by the men in the household. They must be hungry. I'll cook, but it's not fair. Food won't touch these lips until tomorrow!

Night all,

LauraB

I blame my publishing partner, Marie for this. But I do take the blame for continuing to watch. Go to the page and click on Innocent Escapes. Silliness will commence.

http://www.brawnyman.com/products/ads.html

Cannes Silliness

Most of it is my own doing. The bags are packed and I'm waiting for the luggage company to come and take them away. There are little paper dots all over the livingroom from the mishap with the three hole punch. I'll vacuum after the luggage leaves. I've sent my Star Wars Episode three inquire to the people who are promoting 'A History of Violence' and vice versa. Fortunately, the PR people seem to have a good sense of humor. They even answered my questions

Meanwhile, I'm getting solicitations from production companies that seem to think we have deep pockets. The first letter gave me a belly laugh like I haven't had in a long time. Garett really snorted over those. Somehow, I gave a reply that set them straight and didn't insult. We're meeting with these film makers to compare strategies and vent -- and most likely drink. But that's not the really silly part (aside from me). I've slao set up with companies that pre-sell foreign rights to films prior to them being produced. This is how a lot of low budget pics are made. I'm delighted to get solicited by these guys. The silly thing is that the two we have meetings with so far are based in Burbank. I'm going half a world away to meet with people who are a half hour away. Geesh. But the food and scenery is great.

The luggage just left. They swear all will be fine. Here's hoping. We had such a struggle getting there and back the last time with our seven bags and golf clubs which the Orly Airport police were determeined to blow up, I had to think of something easier.

I'm glad Laura's taking her script(s). There are so many opportunities everywhere to schmooze, she may sell something. She's not shy, so she should do well.

Jenny, you take care. All that juggling will make you crazy. Look at me.

Dreaming...

This little blogger is only dreaming of going to Paris. Right now just getting nine straight hours of sleep would feel like a vacation for me. I was up last night working on "Nevermore" (my AU DUG story for the next issue of "Horizontal Mosaic") until 7:00 a.m. When the muse speaks, c'est la vie...

Now, back to the Blackfly Press salt mines before my RL employer catches up with me. Let's see: three stories to edit, one to re-write, consolidate feedback from the other editors on 15 stories, work on illustrations for four new zines to debut at Media*West, post updates to the Blackfly Press Yahoo!Groups zine progress report sites, prepare overview for Blackfly meeting tonight, reply to questions from four authors and two artists... oh, yeah, and find time to write!

Jenny

Present and Accounted for

Greeting from the last of the Demon Spawn2 authors. Last, but hopefully not least. I've been busy writing, (surprise, surprise!) The trip to Cannes WAS going otbe all about fun (for me), but recent events have changed that. My first screenplay plced third in a writing contest earlier this month and this week I found out it won and international TV screenwriting contest for Best Telefilm. SO, I'm spending this week sprucing up the old rag to take with me to Cannes, along with a comedy about nurses in an ED I wrote last year for the Bravo contest. The comedy is a departure from my usual obsession with beautiful hunky men involved romanitically with other beautiful hunky men. You'd never know I wrote it if my name wasn't on the title page! LOL!

Anyway, I'm pleased to be here and hope to be able to share some of my interesting moment in life with you all. I'd write more, but I have to go get my boys. The six year old gets picked up everyday from first grade because the bus drivers insist. Those old men have no sense of humor at all.

Welcome everyone and thanks for having me here.

LauraB

The Tardy Founder

Greetings Everyone,
I'm so sorry to join the party I started late, but I'm under duress with getting ready for the trip to Cannes. We're shipping our luggage out today, so we had to have everything ironed and folded for that. As I am the anal retentive traveler, I must also agonize over my lists over and over. We also had to have new press kits printed with all the new stuff. We haven even started the Sybpress catalogue. But that's for Paris, so we have another week.

You see, illustrious authors and readers, we're putting together a catalogue specifically to take to Shakespear & Co Booksellers, the very place that launched Hemingway and Joyce. They may not order a thing from us, but we want to make a go of it. Then, I plan to have drinks at Hemingway's watering holes -- a few still stand.

I also plan to work on a story about Joe and Simon in Paris. Basically, it's a tale where Simon is surprised at how much he enjoys Paris through Joe's eyes -- especially his daylight adventures. It will be a factor to their relationship that the vampire had not expected and it will give him pause about trying to turn Joe.

More on Cannes later today. This is turning into an adventure and we haven't even left.

Let's get Bloggo!

Fire Frog materialises in a ball of orange flames. She dismounts from Gerald her racing snail, dripping sparks as she moves into the chamber. It looked like the room the vampire Simon Molinar was kept it in the movie 'Demon Under Glass'.

The equipment is gone, the vampire holding container is gone, but the observation window remains. Through its mirror like reflection the serious electrical storm that is the Internet stream writhes like tortured lightning.

Fire Frog nods, her antenna twitching with satisfaction, wings shivering sparks onto the floor. With a mild slurrup of high spirits Gerald the racing snail throoms off into the hyperbole of street tales, trailing the scent of ozone and ice.

Hopping over to the back wall Fire Frog inspects it, placing her hands behind her back and putting her face up close, one eye at a time. Mmm, yes, nice and smooth, they will wash off easily. But the colour is wrong.

Squinting thoughtfully she places long sticky fingers on the wall and colour blooms under them like blood seeping into water. Soon all the walls are a cloudy burgundy and Fire Frog is pleased.
She taps a toe on the floor and peers at it suspiciously. Firm enough for a residence in Cyberspace, she supposes. Closing one eye she slaps her foot and the floor turns a cheery lime colour. Perfect.

Next she eyes the ceiling. Like the original vampire prison the roof can be opened and she cracks it apart with a lightning bolt from her antenna, to reveal a fabulous night sky. It is full of glittering stars and one ponderously swimming turtle.

Fire Frog spreads her fairy wings and does a quick victory flight around her new blog studio. She only bounces off the walls twice, which means her flight skills are improving!

But enough of that. She can bring in the brass sculptures and pot plants later. Now she turns to the large viewing window and clicks her fingers. With a wet snap a dark key board with wide buttons appears floating in mid air. Above it a microphone bobs, its old fashioned brass surface studded with tiny red garnets.

Fire Frog approaches the sound system and discovers that she has materialised the bloody thing too high. She does a little hop and bumps her nose on the microphone. Owch.

Clasping the damaged area she cocks an antenna and a stream of sparks shoot out to form the outline of a square. The square fills itself in and a soap box is magically revealed.

Pleased, Fire Frog takes her place, long webbed toes flopping over the boxes edge and gripping it tightly. She places her fingers on the key board and peers out at the data stream, grinning widely and showing all seventeen of her sharp pointy teeth.

Reconsidering she scales the smile back to show just seven pointy teeth and adopts a look of dopey anticipation. Its show time....

***

Okay, I was a fan of the actors first. So sue me. Handsome men wind my clock, kick start my motor, screw my .... well, you get the picture.

I'd seen Jason Carter playing Marcus Cole in 'Babylon 5', and Garett Maggart playing Blair Sandburg in 'The Sentinel'. I and legions like me have been idolising the two for years.

And then I heard that these guys were in a movie together. I squealed like a fan girl, as you do in these kind of situations.

Then I went hunting.

I found the official movie site pretty fast, then hopped over to the Yahoo!groups page and joined up even faster. Oh, I also followed a link and ordered the video.

Video arrives. Major squealing results. Wow! Hook, line and sinker baby, I'm a vampire chick convert. So I order the novel available from Amazon - 'Demon Under Glass', and behold - I become even more of a fan.

And being the sort of fan that I am (the buzz-saw fluoro kinetic free standing extra large kind with the optional can opener attachment) I just had to write about it. Fan fiction - it's a way of life, not a hobby!

I like writing in DUG's world. It's an adult sort of place, where you have to think about things, not just have it slosh into your brain, couch potato style. The story gives you eye candy and smelling salts at the same time. Delicious.

Part of the fun of being a fan is sharing your obsessions with others. That's what goes on at the Yahoo!group, stories are told, mania is shared. How great was it to have some of our stories picked up by the original author of 'Demon Under Glass' for inclusion in Demon Spawn II. It was greatness indeed!

Enough of a ramble for now, I'll have a fist-full of words to say about where my stories came from later on, but this will do for an intro.

I am Fire Frog, I am Australian and I love DUG!

The Dinsaur Emerges

Okay, I've finally agreed to join the modern world and start blogging. I'd rather spend my time writing new fiction; but I must admit that now that I'm "officially" a writer (thanks to Sybpress for buying two of my stories for Demon Spawn II), I'm feeling the urge to explore the writing process with others. It's scary having my writing out in public now, where anyone can read it and not just other like-minded fans, so it's nice to know that there's this community for it.

Jenny