Stuff and Nonsense

Okay, well, I'm a bit bummed about Vampire Lestat, but there you go. Nothing I can do about it.

James is doing OK in Denver, which is good news.

Let's see, we got an inquiry from Australia about the whole "mating" issue among the Sazi. So I worked up a summary, ran it by Cathy and here it goes:

Mating –

In the Sazi world mating is a magical and physical bond between Sazi. (Generally of the opposite sex, although there are some gay and lesbian Sazi.) These bonds grow stronger through sexual contact. There are two types.

Single-sided matings – this occurs when one person is mated to another, but the recipient does not return the bond. It is actually fairly common but can cause serious problems with obsessive behavior, stalking, etc. If the recipient does not wish to enter into a relationship the cure is to separate the couple. Eventually, with therapy and avoidance the bond fades (it never breaks). The more powerful alphas tend to “collect” people mating to them (this is a biological leftover as the strongest were the best breeding stock/survival of the fittest, etc.). The recipient of a single-sided mating can, in a crisis or deliberately, pull power from the person mated to them. Losing the mate to another has been known to cause madness in extreme cases. (See Jack Simpson).

Double-matings – these are relatively rare. This is when both sides of the couple mate to each other. It is a bond where awareness and powers can be shared mutually. It usually takes real effort for one person to shut the other out. However, there are situations that can interfere. (Sometimes major hormonal shifts, like pregnancy can cause real issues).

Some general notes regarding both types of mating:

1) It affects both males and females, but not equally. A female can still enjoy sexual contact with someone other than her mate. It is not “the same” but she will not be incapable.

2) A mated male who totally bonds with his female will relatively quickly become incapable of having intercourse with anyone else. His body will simply not react. While he can initiate and participate in other forms of sexual contact, it will be a less than satisfying experience.

3) There are those who desperately wish to be mated. (Like looking for a “soul mate.”) But for the most part, many males regard it with more than a touch of horror as it is irreversible and because of (2) above and (4) below.

4) If the mate dies, the surviving half of the couple generally dies too (particularly in wolves). They “pine,” and are unwilling and unable to eat or drink. It is a slow, painful death.


I had run into a snag on the newest book. Wound up going to bed to "sleep on it." I came up with what feels like the right solution. Today I'm trying to write it, and it's not going nearly as smoothly as it did in my head last night. It is, however, moving forward, toward the climax. WHOOO HOOO!!!


I swear, sometimes I just can't get over the fact that I'M WRITING BOOKS. REAL BOOKS, ON THE SHELVES AND EVERYTHING. WHOOO HOOO!!! Weird, having your dreams come true. Very good, but very weird.

Good News/Bad News

Good News -- Got back from Denver safe and sound. James got a job the first day, has been working since the second. He has a temporary place to stay, leads on roommates, a social life, bus passes and a cell phone. Things should (knock wood) be okay for him for a while.

I drove home and am exhausted. Pushed myself too hard and have caught a crud. Also book deadline is looming ominously. Between one thing and another I won't be able to go to Vampire Lestat after all, which has me seriously bummed. But I have to be realistic. If I continue to push myself too hard I will get so sick that I can't bounce back for weeks or even a couple months. I can't afford that. So, reluctantly, I'm staying home. This means I won't meet Jim for a while longer, or Suzi Q, or any number of other cool people. I'd also looked forward to the possibility of getting the chance to talk to Laurel and Jonathan again. Sigh.

Book is coming along nicely. Slower than I'd like (always), but it is coming together. Speaking of which, I'd better get back to it.

Everybody take care.

Cie

Overcommitted

I've overcommitted myself a bit in Denver. Who knew people would actually be glad to see me and still want to spend time together? It makes me happy. I've not had a chance to make many friends down in Texas--a few good ones, but not many. First, writing is solitary. Secondly, it's a small town. In my personal experience (note the caveat, remember the caveat) small towns the people grew up together, went to school together. It's a closed environment. So even if they like you things were fairly set (think concrete) before you ever got here. There are set "sides" and if you are friendly with one you may not be accepted by another. Sounds silly, but people frequently are silly.

Another issue is that my attitudes do not mesh well with conservative. (Are you shocked. I mean, I write about vampires and werewolves, why would that be a problem in a small town with like 32 churches (a church for every 186.5 people -- we will assume for the sake of statistics that there is one woman who is 4.5 months pregnant per church). When you consider that some people (GASP) actually don't hold with organized religion and go to church you end up with a WHOLE LOTTA churches for not that many people. I live in the buckle of the bible belt. This is not a bad thing. Most of the folks here are great. But some of them just don't cotton to my attitudes and worry about the state of my soul. I believe in church. I have one. I go. I believe in God. Most of our stories really are stories of good v. evil, and while it isn't always easy, the good guys generally win. We write about monsters, but we also write about tolerance and other issues. Of course, a lot of these folks won't ever find that out. The open minded ones will. The others--not so much.

AND THAT IS OKAY.

You heard me right friends and neighbors. They don't have to. We live in a country that (for the moment at least) still embraces free speech. That means they get to say things I don't like and I get to write things that they won't ever read. There isn't always one right answer. So open discussion can get things on track. I get very upset with people who say you can have free speach as long as you don't disagree with me.

Which leads us off topic onto the subject of the Dixie Chicks. I'm going to go see "Shut up and Sing." I think it is an amazing subject. Free speach to me means that you get to get up on stage and say things (even in a foreign country) that other people don't like. I have a very good friend who disagrees vehemently about this. She tells me that it shouldn't have been said in front of a foreign audience when we're involved in a war. I disagree.

[DELETED WHOLE RANT HERE BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO ARGUE POLITICS. LET'S JUST AGREE THAT WE ALL HAVE OPINIONS AND THAT MY ADMITTEDLY LIBERAL TENDENCIES DON'T NECESSARILY MESH WITH THE CONSERVATIVE TENDENCIES WHERE I CURRENTLY RESIDE AND/OR AGREE WITH THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.)

Well, that went somewhere unexpected. Surprise! I'm generally not political at all. (Drives my son crazy!) I'm a live and let live kinda gal. But I'm a big believer in the Bill of Rights and it scares me when I think my country may be moving away from that.

[DELTED MORE POLITICAL RANT. WOW, I GUESS I HAVE MORE POLITICAL OPINIONS THAN I THOUGHT -- AT LEAST EARLY IN THE MORNING WHEN I'M SUPPOSED TO BE GETTING READY FOR A TRIP.]

I think I'd better hush and get moving or I may be here all day, writing opinions with flaming passion, then deleting them. While it would be entertaining, I certainly wouldn't accomplish much. ANYWAY guys, I'd love for everybody to buy and love the books. I know it isn't going to happen, which is why I REALLY APPRECIATE the people who do. THANK YOU ALL.

Nervous Nellie

Hi Guys!

I'm getting ready to take James to Denver and I'm nervous as hell. Not a lot of reason for it really. He's an adult. He's capable. But, I'm scared. It's part of being a mom. First off, I'm going to miss him. Secondly, there are never any guarantees. But the house sitters and animal sitters are lined up. The car's been worked on. Most of the stuff is packed. It's going to happen whether I'm ready for it or not. Having a major computer crash and a book deadline at the same time didn't help, either. OY.

Just keep us in your thoughts and prayers. I want things to go well for him so very badly. Heck, I want things to go well for ME so badly too. And the animals, never forget the animals!

OY

OY! A transformer blew less than a block from my house. Now my refrigerator is iffy and it fried my computer enough that something got corrupted and I had to wipe the hard drive and reinstall everything. An entire day of installing, updating and trying to get things to function that didn't want to. It was enough to make me absolutely INSANE. Fortunately I didn't lose the manuscript or I'm not sure I would've been responsible for my actions! It doesn't help that I'm stressed out of my gourd getting ready to help my son move to Denver.

Once upon a time, when I was about 14 years old or so, I got hit by lightning. It has some very interesting lingering symptoms that kick up especially hard when I'm stressed.

Vampire Lestat is coming up. I haven't finalized my plans because I've been too caught up in trying to just get through writing this book in time for the deadline, getting James moved, dealing with all the power-related foofrau. Oh, and the daily stuff.

BUT WE WILL OVERCOME. RAWR!!!!!

Later kids.


Cie