Having a short story in this anthology fulfills a goal of mine for the year. I told myself I'd publish six short stories in 2009, one every two months on average. I've been writing hard to make this happen!

If you're looking for a book of holiday superhero fun, this is your best bet. It has stories both funny and serious.

The editor, Nathan Crowder is the author of several novels that take place in a crazy metropolis called Cobalt City where superheroes and supervillains run rampant. The main crime-fighting unit is called the Protectorate, but other groups exist as well, less savory ones.

I love Nathan's writing, and this world really tweaked my imagination, so when he said he was doing an anthology for the holidays, I wanted to try my hand at writing a story for it.

The combination of the holidays and superheroes turned out to be ripe with creative potential. I immediately decided to create a new hero, named Nutcracker. He's a foul-mouthed, bad-tempered asshole with big teeth, who is mourning his true love, the late superhero Ballerina.

The book is available for purchase now! It would make a great stocking stuffer for the superhero fans in your life.

I'm a total dork, and you get to witness it. I have to save this image for posterity. It's a screenshot from Amazon.com.

I was looking at a Michael Oliveri book, and there in the right column, was my name alongside authors I admire. Dang. I'm having one of those moments.

Dork moments. LOL.

At first, I was like, "Oh look! There's my name!" And then, I was like, "Oh. There's Joe Hill. And Tom Piccirilli. And Cody Goodfellow. And Brian Keene. And Tim Curran. And... well, you get my point!

I'm like the slow kid who somehow ended up on the bus with the cool kids. Maybe if I sit really really still, they won't notice that I'm not one of them.

Pssst. I'm the 4th one down on the right side of the bus.

Hee. I tried this with several of the kittens, and they did it! Not all as perfectly as this kitten does, but they did it.

Original Youtube video









And here's Minuit doing it, though a bit less elegantly because I had to hold the camera with one of my hands!

It’s nearing time for the kittens to go to their families, and I wanted to put together a tips article for getting along great with your kitten. This is a work-in-progress, and I welcome all your thoughts on what else should be included. :)

• Isolation: Give the kitten his own room for a few days, at least, when he first arrives. Preferably, the room you're most likely to be in as well. A smaller space will make the kitten feel safer. Open his new world to him gradually as he seems comfortable with it. You'll be able to tell.
  
  If there’s another cat in the house, isolate them from each other at first. Let them smell each other under doors. This means you’ll want a separate litter box for your kitten at first. A disposable aluminum baking dish works nicely for that.
  
  
• Hazards!: Look around for anything that might be dangerous to them. They’re climbing and crawling under whatever they can find. They so curious! You’ll be amazed where they can get and what they’ll knock over onto themselves and onto the floor. Hehe. Block off access to the back of the fridge, washer/dryer, etc. until they're big enough that they won't fit.
  
  
• Electrical Cords: They’re at the age where they’re chewing cords, electrical cords. The best way to stop them from doing this (other than removing the cords from their reach) is to put a little hot sauce (Tapatio or tabasco works best for me) on the cord, especially if you catch them chewing it. Just smear a little hot sauce on there (not thickly, just thinly). They will be turned off by the smell, and if they do try to bite again, they’ll hate the taste. The hot sauce is far less dangerous to them than being electrocuted. (Some sauces may stain carpets or curtains, etc., so be aware of that.)
  
  
• Discipline: Mr. Squirt Bottle is your friend! If a kitty is doing something you don’t want him to do, squirt him with a water pistol or water bottle. They hate that. It’s a great way to discipline without violence.
  
  
• Furniture Scratching: If you have furniture you don’t want them to claw, buy some cat trees and scratching boards. In the early days, when you first begin to see this behavior, it’s a good idea to show them how it’s done. Pretend you’re a kitty and scratch in the right place. They learn by imitating. Also, if you put tin foil on the ends of your couches and armchairs, they won’t learn to scratch there. If all else fails, remember Mr. Squirt Bottle.
  
  
• Ow! Ow!: The kitties are climbing, biting and scratching everything. They love toes. They’re learning how to play without hurting, but they do have to learn it. The best way to teach them is to cry out sharply if they hurt you. Make a high-pitched squeak like a cat would when hurt. They know what this means, and they don’t want to hurt you. They’ll learn how far they can go and eventually, they’ll be gentle when playing with you.
  
  In the meantime, you may want to wear long pants around them for awhile. Jeans are best. They still think people are trees. If they climb you, just cry out and gently help them back to the floor.
  
  Go right now and buy some first aid cream or triple antibiotic ointment. Cat scratches, while not deep, can take longer to heal because those kitty claws are not the most sanitary things in your home. :)
  
  
• Disentangling: The kitties don’t have a lot of control over their claws yet, so be careful when disengaging the claws from fabric. Don’t assume they can easily do it themselves. Don’t pull outward, push the paw upward so the claws come free in the direction they curve.
  
  
• Toys!: Indoor kitties especially need lots of play time. If you provide them with lots of toys, they’ll stay occupied and happy. My kitties LOVE a particular mouse toy that I get from Mud Bay. We call it Sassy Mouse in our household. It’s a fuzzy gray mouse on a wire, attached to a rod. Every kitty I’ve known has loved this toy and never tires of it. I go through them and have to keep buying them. I buy two or three at a time. It's called "Cat Catcher," by Go Cat. You can order them on Amazon, so consider buying one next time you're trying to get your total up to the free shipping limit.
  
  
• Cat Trees: If you can, get a cat tree for your kitties. They love to climb, and the cat tree gives them a place to scratch that isn’t your furniture. I have both hip-height and 6’ tall ones in my house. If you can put one next to a window, even better. Kitties love “Kitty TV.” They watch the birds and squirrels outside, and it entertains them for hours. It’s more important that a cat tree be well-designed and stable than attractive. Give it a shake to make sure it won’t tip over.
  
  • Kitties LOVE this U-shaped type of perch. They sleep on it and it cradles them.
    
    
  • Look closely at the layout of a tree. I bought one that the kitties couldn’t use because two of the layers were directly on top of each other. Kitties can’t jump down that way. They need things to be stepped.
  
  
• Litterbox: Best litterbox is one with a lid. This keeps the kitties from kicking the litter all over the floor surrounding the box. I have this one. Kitties like the privacy too.
  
  • The kitties have been using the box, but make sure they can get in and out of the one you have for them. They’re also not used to a lid, since their boxes haven’t had them. You may need to start them out with the lid off, then put on the lid once they’re using it regularly.
    
    
  • Rug: Even with the lid, your kitty will track litter outside the box, so it’s a good idea to put a plush rug (like a fuzzy bathroom rug) in front of the litter box. Choose one that you can toss in the washer.
  
  
• Scoopable litter: Highly recommended. The fastest way to make your cat start peeing on your dirty laundry is to leave their box dirty. I scoop every day with one cat. It takes 30 seconds. With all those kittens, I scoop twice a day. The cat would much rather go potty in a clean litter box than on your clothes or shoes or backpack. Just think about how much you would like having to walk around in your own poo/pee to go to the bathroom, and you'll get a feeling for how your cat feels. Seriously.
  
  Every night before bed, I scoop into a small bag-lined garbage can, like a bathroom can. I use plastic grocery bags to line the can. I may scoop two or three days worth into the can before taking it out to the outdoor garbage can. It's better to leave the dirty stuff in a garbage can inside than in the litter box itself, if you just don't have time to take it out to the curb.
  
  I also sprinkle baking soda into the garbage can. It's a base, and the pee is acidic. It helps eliminate the smell for a short while.
  
  Make scooping a habit. Your cat and your dirty laundry will thank you.
  
  
• Feeding: I have been feeding the kitties Pet Promise cat/kitten food. It’s expensive, but worth it if you can afford it. Not all stores carry it. Greenwood Market at 85th and 3rd NW does. You may want to get it for a short while and transition into whatever you prefer to feed them. Sudden changes in diet can cause diarrhea and other problems.
  
  • Portions: I get both the hard food and the soft in the can. I give each kitten about a quarter of a can of soft food in the morning, and fill their bowl with hard food so they have something to nibble on all day long. Kitties will self-regulate their intake so long as there’s always food there for them.
    
    
  • I then give them another quarter can of the soft food when I get home at night and I make sure they have a full bowl of hard food. Especially when they’re young, they use lots of energy, so they need lots of calories to keep them going.
  
  
• C'mere, Kitty!: I’ve been training them that when I make the “kittykittykittykitty” call, it’s time to eat yummy soft food. It’s a really good idea to keep up this training, even if you change your call to something different. You may need to call your kitty to you one day for their safety, and you want them to actually come. Be sure to reward them with something yummy whenever they come when called.
  
  
• Water Challenges: The kitties were tipping over the bowl of water I set out for them, so I have started putting their water in a square baking dish. It’s heavy and low enough that they can’t tip it over. They’re still clumsy enough that they put their weight on the edge of the dish. I recommend an 8x8 glass baking dish (2” deep) or something similar.

Most important!

• You’re the most entertaining thing your kitty sees all day. They love it when you play with them, talk to them and cuddle them.
  
  
• Listen to your kitties. They can't talk back, but they do understand you. They do try to communicate with you. Stay present with them and listen to what they’re trying to tell you.

Some great links:

• Mud Bay, an awesome pet store where I get Sassy Mouse.
  
  
• Humane Society tips on cat care
  
  
• About.com tips on caring for a new kitten

Help! Order these in the order of which is funniest. I'm working on a story and need your help! An old man is dying. He says:

1) I'm Joan Rivers without the facelifts.
2) I'm King Tut without the embalming.
3) I'm Dick Clark without the pact with Satan.

Or,

4) None of them are funny.

Okay, I've reached the age where gigolos stalk me on the internet. I received the following via MySpace, and I have to admit, this guy isn't the first, just the most... poetic.

Wow i wish i can kiss you with this pretty smile of your's cause you
look like an angel, your beauty is a gift by God from heaven and no one
can change it.sorry i need to introduce myself,i am [name removed],a Professional Model..I love
swimming,camping,hiking,dancing,going to beach's reading and written poems
whenever i am lonely at home, i am a christian and i don't do racism
cause i belief we are all created by One God almighty who see's us all
every minute of our lives no matter where we are, i don't mind your age
cause i belief its just a number which we can count from time to time i will stop here and await
to hear from you sweetie.

I remember a time when I was stalked by perverts because I was young and innocent, then stalked by horn dogs because I was ripe and single. All that has apparently passed, and while I'm not complaining about that, why does it have to be replaced by men who "don't mind your age."

Dang. Hehe.

Right around this time of year, an odd phenomenon starts to happen. Authors from all over begin talking up their Bram Stoker and Nebula-eligible work. The reason is that members of the appropriate organization nominate stories, then the membership votes on them.

Members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) vote for the Nebulas.

Members of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) vote for the Bram Stokers.

These awards are among the most coveted by writers because they're awarded by their peers.

If the org's members don't know that you have a piece that is eligible, they're less than likely to read it, much less nominate it or vote for it.

So, in the interest of service to the SFWA -- Okay, no. In blatant self-interest and self-promotion (hehe), I'm adding my list to the bevy of lists currently hitting the web on authors' blogs.

This year, I have four publications that qualify for awards.

FANTASY

• "Pipsqueak" -- a short urban fantasy story published in the Ravens in the Library anthology. This anthology is now sold out.

HORROR

• "Coquettrice" -- a short horror story published in the Vile Things: Extreme Deviations of Horror anthology. It has definite fantastic elements.
  
• "The Last Zombie" -- a short apocalyptic story published in Revenant Magazine, Issue #0.
  
• "Ardie Sue" -- a short horror story published in Sinister Tales, Volume 4.2.
  

My heart literally stopped this morning. I came into the kitchen and found a kitten lying still on the floor outside the enclosed kitten area. It was limp.

I picked it up very carefully, and after a moment, it started waking up.

I'm pretty sure I know what happened. I have boxes set around the enclosed area. This kitten climbed up on the box and either jumped or fell off the other side onto the hard tile. It must have hit its head and knocked itself out.

Scared the crap out of me!

Thank god it was okay. I watched it for a long while. It sat quietly for about a minute, then went back to playing like normal. I felt its little head for bumps, but I didn't feel any, and there was nothing leaking out anywhere.

After awhile, she joined the others at the nipple bar.

Needless to say, I doubled the height of the box, so she can't do that again!

I have a new understanding of the expression: "Curiosity killed the cat."

I still feel a little sick about it and can't get the sight of that kitten lying there limp on the tile out of my mind.

Writertopia

I think all these Nanowrimo people are sapping my novel-writing juice. I haven't been able to work on it for a long while. Finally, today, I'm back to it, and making progress again. Woot!

There is no pain like the pain of back spasms. I know this from personal experience... again. Back in the early '90s, I had a herniated disk removed. They cut into my back to the spine and removed the disk.

In the intervening years, I've rehabilitated myself to the point where I practiced aikido (all the way to 2nd kyu), and karate (green belt), and yoga.

But, I've been stupid. Since being diagnosed with breast cancer, I haven't had any heart for doing anything physical. I've been completely focused on writing. Completely.

So, the bad back fairy paid me a visit. The bitch. I've been in bed for the past few days, fighting not to pass out every time I had to drag myself to the bathroom and back. I had forgotten I could hurt that bad. Pain to the point of wooziness, sweating, and nausea.

Today, I'm able to sit up and walk about, but I have to take it in small doses.

The upshot of this is: Hello, Angel. Wake up call. Get your ass moving again or you'll calcify, petrify and die.

Sound overly dramatic? You wouldn't say so if you had been through what I've been through the past couple days.

Fortunately, I've been through it before. That time ended in surgery. This time won't. This time, I'll be smarter, and I'll get back to exercising, stretching and core toning.

I've been so out of it, I couldn't even write. So, neglecting the body is not a fair exchange for more writing. It just doesn't work that way.

Ow. Ow. Ow.

Friday, October 30, 8-10pm: Wayward Coffeehouse presents their annual Halloween horror reading, this time with two authors, to lead you twice as far into the dark.

ANGEL LEIGH McCOY (http://www.angelleigh.com/) is a game reviewer, game designer, and the head editor for the Wily Writers Speculative Fiction Downloads site. Her fiction has appeared in the anthologies "Ravens in the Library" and "Vile Things."

MICHAEL MONTOURE (http://www.bloodletters.com/) is the author of "Counting from Ten and Other Stories," available from Stone Pine Press. His fiction has also appeared in "Doctor Who: How the Doctor Changed My Life." "Montoure's spare, striking prose outlines characters in deliciously twisted predicaments ..." -- Seattle Weekly

Michael Montoure, my co-conspirator for the Wayward Halloween Halloween Reading, has put together this awesome image for us to advertise it. He's obviously multi-talented! Thanks, Michael!

Mark your calendars. I'll be doing a reading of my short horror fiction at the Wayward Coffeehouse in Seattle on Friday, October 30th.

I'd love it if you could all come out and cheer me on.

Another writer, Michael Montoure, will also be reading selections from his horror work.

I'm already nervous!

This guy is so awesome to work with, sharp as a whip, and nicer than your sweet, ol' grandad. Here he is, giving you insight into what Guild Wars 2 will be like:

Short fiction writer Ripley Patton has an interview up at The Book Bundle. Here's a gorgeous excerpt for you. These words sing to me. If you're a spec fic writer, they'll undoubtedly resonate with you as well.

I think of myth and magic as the hieroglyphics of the human psyche. They are a special language that circumvents conscious thought and goes straight to the subconscious.

Non-fiction uses the medium of information. It tells us what we need to know.

Science fiction primarily uses the medium of physics and mathematics. It tells us how things work, or could work.

Horror taps into the darker imagery of the psychology, telling us what we should fear.

Fantasy, magic and myth, however, tap into the spiritual potential of the human life. Their medium is symbolism, truth made manifest in word pictures, and they tell us what things mean on a deep, internal level. I have always been a meaning-maker. I have always been someone who strives to make sense of everything and perhaps that is where my life as a storyteller first began. Life doesn't always make sense, but story must. And so I write stories, and the world comes right again.

Writertopia

I spent the whole last week home sick and didn't work on the novel once. I couldn't. My brain was too foggy, and I felt like poop. All I wanted to do was sleep, so I did lots of that. I'm behind schedule on the novel as a result, so I'll have to play a little catch-up over the next few months. My goal is still to get the first draft done by the end of the year. Sooner, if possible.

It's New Zealand Spec Fic Blogging Week.

New Zealand - a land of mystery, magic, and moas. When I sat down to find a topic for my contribution to New Zealand Spec Fic Blogging Week, I was flummoxed.

What do I know of New Zealand? Very little. A few strange factoids--mostly urban legend--have stuck in my mind over the years, but I kept choking on the cliche. So, I looked around the web at pictures of New Zealand. Wow. The more you look, the more you realize what a fertile land this is for speculative fiction.

Speculative fiction deals with the strange, the unnatural and the abnormal. Where better to be a spec fic writer than in a country that has so much of the above!

And then, I stumbled on the topic of my article: the moa. You've heard of the emu, the ostrich and the kiwi, but are you familiar with the moa?


Every Guild Wars fan knows the moa. But, did you know that it is an actual extinct bird from New Zealand? I didn't know. I figured the moa came from the imagination of previous GW game designers (before my time). Nope.

The moa is a species of flightless bird that is endemic to New Zealand. It died off around 1500 A.D. They find its bones, its nests, and preserved footprints all over the islands.

Ladies, the female moa stood 150% taller than the male and weighed 280% heavier. No evidence exists to suggest that she killed and ate him after satisfactory (or unsatisfactory) copulation, but those hens definitely ruled the roost!

Scientists figured this out using ancient DNA from bones.

The moa reached full maturity at ten years of age. Scientists consider this a long time for most animals. They also had a relatively low birth rate. This, along with unhindered hunting, contributed to their extinction. Moa eggs were primarily white, although one special moa type is known to have had blue-green eggs. The largest eggs recovered at dig sites measure a little over 9" in length and 7" in width.

So cool! They found some soft tissue preserved in dry caves where a dry wind blew constantly enough that it kept the tissue from desiccating. The picture above is one such piece. Click on it to see it larger. It's amazingly well-preserved. Check out those claws and the pads on its feet.


In many Polynesian languages, the word "moa" means chicken or fowl.



In the fantasy game Guild Wars, the moa is both a herd animal and a dangerous wild creature. There are strider moas, black moas (and the black moa chick), white moas, Wintersday moas, and even sickened moas. The images below show some of the ways it appears in the game.

They're one of the iconic animals of the game. You encounter them first in Pre-Searing Ascalon. Later, you can charm one to be your pet.

From now on, whenever I write text related to moas, I'll think of New Zealand and those dry caves in which the giant females nested. How rich!




P.S. If you're now jonesing for a little taste of a New Zealand accent (sexy!), go listen to "The Salt Line" by NZ author Grant Stone, read to you (yes, you) by kiwi Tim Jones. It'll curl your toes, much like in that picture of the moa toes up there.

Writertopia

Halfway through the first draft! Final-fucking-ly. God. Of course, halfway through the first draft is more like 3/4 of the way through the entire project because I've gone over the first 17 chapters more than once, done rewrites of many sections, done a lot of character development, and have set myself up to cruise through the second half.

It's been a long road to get here, but it's a monumental landmark.

This is so cool! The magazine, Rue Morgue, has a review of the Vile Things anthology in this issue. The review, written by Jessa Sobczuk, approves of the book. She even mentioned me and my story by name, although only because I'm the only female author in the collection. Hehe. Here are a couple excerpts (typos are mine):

The most striking fiction is often rooted directly in reality, and this is especially true for the stories found in Vile Things. Most of these tales, collected by editor Cheryl Mullenax, begin with plausible, everyday situations and then darken quickly to trap the reader in twisted supernatural plotlines that teem with the imagination's most repulsive creations, including parasitic mutations, a spate of festering fungal rashes and many other rancid and, well, vile things.

But dismembered members aside, there are no cheap gross-outs here; even though the focus is clearly on the vile and unpalatable these don't feel like stories that were written with the sole purpose of being labeled "extreme horror" or to merely revel in their graphic, gory descriptions. Simply put, Vile Things is every deviant horror fan's wet dream.

Writertopia

I didn't quite hit my goal of 50% by the end of day today, but I'm close. This weekend turned out to be much busier than I'd expected, what with PAX and babysitting a dog princess.