Thursday, December 28, 2006

Multiblogs

OK, I'm still new at all the MySpace stuff. BUT, I have a name now. I am listed under CTAdams (no spaces, no punctuation). Cathy is going to come over in a day or so and we will try to get me to make friends. We'll see how that goes. Maybe I'll be better at it than I think.

ANYWAY, Howling Moon is now available to order. It is officially out January 2. BUY THIS BOOK. (LOL).

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Please check it out!

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog&pop=1&indicate=1

MySpace

OK, I'm here, but I'm also there. Very schizoid of me, I'm sure.

I've always liked Blogger, BUT Myspace is considered a huge marketing tool. So I'm trying it. Which means that I've uploaded pictures, got a blog there, etc. SO, I am asking y'all to stop by there. PLEASE. PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE?

THANKS!

Cie

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Hello Again

OK, have you ever just been really good at annoying people? Sometimes I just piss people off. Usually it is when I'm seriously stressed. I am (THANKFULLY) getting over this right now, but for a few weeks there everything I said or did got misconstrued, misquoted, or generally caused havoc and annoyance. I AM SO VERY VERY GLAD things are getting back on track!!

ANYWAY, guys, I mean well. REALLY.

I screw up. I'm human. But I really do try hard. So please cut me some slack. If there's a good way to take something, and a bad way, PICK the good way. Assume the best, give the benefit of the doubt. PLEASE.

Thank you!


Cie

Friday, December 08, 2006

Stuff

Greetings and salutations.

Let's see. I know it's been a while, but I don't have a lot of time, so I'll try (Laugh) to be brief.

Life was hard in November and early December. It is getting better.

James is doing well! WHOO HOO!!!!

The puppy is being a demanding pain in the patootie.

We have finished the books for this contract except for edits which are proceeding apace. Until we have another contract there is time to work on something new. I am giving myself until the end of January to do the first draft of the first book in an entirely new world. I hadn't realized how much I missed world building. Things like creating geopolitics, religion(s), criminal justice systems (or lack thereof), geography of both the actual landscape and the cities. It's so flipping cool. The book is going to be extremely dark sci fi/fantasy with some romantic elements.

I am drafting a MySpace space for Cathy and I. Since I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing it should be interesting to say the least. Still, what the heck. I'll give it a shot.

My computer is still not behaving properly. This is a pain in the patootie as well. I'm managing, but finding it very frustrating.

I haven't been visiting websites because I've been sleeping more and worldbuilding. (Some worldbuilding is actually done best with eyes closed. Aw darn!) It has also been cold. I get sore and stiff and consequently grumpy when I am cold. I am, however, not going to whine too much. I am, after all, in SOOOOOOOO much better shape than the folks in the midwest who had the ice storm and lost power for who knows how long. Nope. Life is pretty darn good thank you very much.

I want to see Yo's blog. I want to hear from Jim. I want to get the silly book written.

Oh, and today is the first holy day of obligation this year that I've actually remembered early enough to go to mass. I mean, it's only mid-December, why rush this sort of thing. (Cie pounds head into imaginary wall).

Oh, back to world-building. Someone wanted to know how you do it. I can't speak for everyone. Cathy and I do it by thinking of things, asking questions of each other and ourselves. Things like:

Society -- is it rural or urban? Mixed? What's the level of technology? (Are we talking rocks, swords or lightsabers?) Transportation? Multiracial or monoracial? Trade? At war or at peace? With whom and why?

Religion--do they have one, more than one? State sponsored? State banned? Is it monotheistic or polytheistic? Basic tenets?

Anyway, you get the drift.

Oh, and minor annoyance of the day. I needed an aerial photo of the Pentagon because my cities in this Empire were all built to a standard form as the empire expanded. It is a pentagon with concentric "rings" that are zoned for particular uses. But since 9/11 it's difficult to get good aerial photos of the Pentagon. YES I can draw one, but it wound up being amateurish and a pain. I realize that there are security concerns. But JEESH. I'll check in the old physical encyclopedia and make some photocopies. But I was trying not to have to go to the library because it's FLIPPING COLD TODAY.

Well, I need to get ready for church. Since I DID actually remember in time, I really should go.

Hasta manana. (I hope).

Cie

Friday, December 01, 2006

OOPS UPDATE

Oh, a last minute reprieve was given the secondary character who was going to die during the edits. Just FYI.

Ahhhhh

Alas, as soon as I complained that Howling didn't appear, it did, making me look foolish.

I, however, and more than capable of looking foolish without technological help. My life, in case most of you haven't noticed, is frequently an "I Love Lucy" episode in some ways.

Today, the dog ate my cell phone. Actually not ate. All pieces were accounted for. They were, however, in PIECES. Well mangled and chewed pieces.

I feel like one of those little kids giving an excuse to the teacher. But no, really, It was freaking freezing outside last night (Besides which, the dog always sleeps inside anyway. What is the good of having a watch dog who isn't watching?) Apparently she got cross because she was restless and didn't get a walk. Or perhaps she was bored. Or it may be that she's just a puppy and they chew things. But sure enough, I forgot my cell phone. It was in reach, and. . . well, the rest (at least the cell phone) is history.

So I got to have everything changed over to a new phone and then have them keep the old number, transfer the minutes and do all that foo frau. UGH. But it is now done.

Also done and sent are the revisions to Timeless Moon. This is the last book for the contract so we are actually (TAH DAH!!!) caught up for the moment. Which means that I need to get cranking so we'are actually AHEAD OF THE GAME instead of rushing around in crisis mode.

WHOOO HOOO.

I also hope that sometime this weekend I will clean and decorate the house. Oh, and get all the other stuff done that has been on the back burner. Wish me luck!

But now I am out of time. I have a society to plan. I have the religion. I have the city maps. I even have a vague idea of the politics (need to work that out more). Also need to work on more character backgrounds. This is more a fantasy with a romantic subplot than the other way around. We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!


Cie