Every closure is an awakening,
and every awakening settles something.
~John Dewey (Art as Experience)
quote-awakening June 13, 2016
So, whatcha writin’ in that NaNoWriMo thing, anyway? July 11, 2013
In November, when I was actually on track with my NaNo writing, I had a few gems that still make me happy. This book is now with the editor (who has gone to Europe for 2 weeks, and abandoned me!) Thought I’d share this with you, in the hopes that it will inspire today’s Camp NaNo efforts to get more than 500 words a day, which is all I’ve been managing so far! (Arg). Enjoy.
Thought you might like to see what’s coming along. Ben is now at University of Calgary with his friends Paul and Ryan. (Craigie Hall is the music building). Grace is living in the Shuswap with her Auntie Bright. If you’re new to the story, you should know that Grace and Ben are connected telepathically. Ben is the earthly realm form of the demi-god Orpheus. He’s narrating.
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I was walking down a corridor in Craigie Hall when a stab of pain crashed into my head. I staggered into the wall, and grabbed for support.
A girl rushed over to me, “Are you okay?”
I shook my head, gasping, and she guided me to a bench. I dropped my head between my knees. “I’ll be okay. It’s fine.” The pain wasn’t mine, it was reverberating from Grace. She didn’t know yet how to completely control her side of our connection. Her…
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saxy poem April 18, 2013
The bari-sax
is very sexy.
Those low
notes
go
down
to your soul
and grind around
in your groin.
I love
good
sax.
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This is culled from a bio piece about the Grace Awakening Myth character Ryan, who plays sax. You may have noticed that Ryan is a little obsessed with sex, as well.
Another Orpheus visit to the Other Realm November 27, 2012
Here’s a chunk from today’s NaNoWriMo scribblings. I confess that I have lost a bit of inspiration about what’s going on in Grace Awakening Destiny, (Book 4) I’ve decided that any novel writing counts, so long as it’s new writing. I have some holes I want to patch in Grace Awakening Myth, (Book 3) and here is a patch for your entertainment:
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“ARES! I shouted. “Get out here, you coward!” I stomped in a circle around a foggy clearing, trying to force it into something less ethereal.
“Shouting is so immature, Orpheus,” declared a bored feminine voice, manifesting a throne behind her.. “Aren’t you a little old for such theatrics?” She looked down her elegant nose and then added, “But of course, you’re all about the theatre, aren’t you?”
“Hera. Isn’t Ares a little old to be sending his mommy out to fight his battles?”
She smiled, but it was a dangerous thing, like the tantalizing blossom of a poisonous plant. “My son is busy right now. Unlike you, he has important things to do.”
“Your definition of important and mine are rather different. What is he doing? Is he fueling some holy war or training up Middle Eastern terrorists? Doesn’t the Earthly Realm deserve a break from war?”
“The humans don’t want a break from war, silly boy. Giving up war would mean giving up their quest for wealth and power. Humans are all about power. They all want to be in control. They get it by buying favour. They get it by killing little men, so they can crawl on their backs, to attain what the little men don’t even dare to dream about. Their glory is being trodden upon by those climbing over their pathetic lives. They’re just ants, Orpheus. And if Ares wants to play with his magnifying glass, why should anyone stop him? It’s all humans are good for, after all, entertaining us.” She shrugged, dismissing the entire human race with the slightest of movements of her shoulder.
“My wife isn’t an ant. My friends aren’t ants.” I said.
“Wife?” she laughed. “Now you imagine that she’s your wife? I seem to recall that she is the prize of whoever wins this challenge, and victory is very unlikely to be yours. She is not ever going to be your wife again.” She stepped closer to me, and stared with eyes of ice. “My son is a god of war, Orpheus,” she spat. “He is not one of your pathetic little musician friends. He is not a dancing girl like those Graces.” She curled her lips and snarled. “He is powerful, and you will not defeat him. Now go! Return to those pathetic creatures and their pathetic lives. You are not worthy to be in this realm.”
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NaNoWriMo Day 27 total: 4118 (November total 41,006)
Writing furiously this evening, after a raff of medical appointments today.
How’d it go at SIWC? October 25, 2012
Prior to SIWC this year, I kept focusing on the excitement of meeting Diana Gabaldon, and completely ignoring the fact that the MOST IMPORTANT thing at these conferences is pitching to agents and publishers!
Aside from my 15 minutes of blue pencil time with Diana discussing her suggestions and observations about Grace Beguiling, I did pitch Grace Awakening Myth to two agents: one from New York, and the other from Toronto. I met with the NY agent on Friday, and the TO agent on Sunday.
After the pitch, both agents quizzed me on various plot elements, character descriptions, conflict development, etc., and both requested the first 50 pages of the manuscript.
One thing I found quite interesting was that the New York agent was intrigued with the story, and offered no opinions with respect to the setting, but the Canadian editor asked me if I’d consider changing the Calgary setting to “an anonymous North American city.” Isn’t that ironic? The New York agent didn’t care, but the Toronto one wanted to remove the Canadian element?
At the moment I’m in recovery from my sleep deprivation, but in the next day or two (after my brain recharges), I’ll take another look at the beginning of the manuscript focusing on some of the things I learned in workshops, and on Diana Gabaldon’s observations with respect to the other manuscript (general observations to keep in mind), before I send Myth off to see whether it makes some new friends.
HELP! Which start is your favourite? October 7, 2012
I’m unhappy with the opening to Grace Awakening Myth. I need something strong , intriguing and compelling.
I’m brainstorming, and would appreciate some feedback from you! Here are six versions of the first 100 words or so. Version one is the original. Which do you think is the strongest option? Can you identify why it appeals to you? Would you mix components of a couple of the options? Please leave your observations in the comment section below. (Though I see many of you are using Facebook, and that’s all right as well). Thanks for your help!
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Version 6:
Aphrodite’s words exploded in my head like a missile shot from a catapult, leaving me dizzy and stunned.
I stared at her as the words ricocheted through my head, smashing through my consciousness, crushing my hopes, and destroying my future.
Finally, I sputtered, “What did you say?” It couldn’t be true. She couldn’t have said what I heard.
Aphrodite stood, her back to the temple columns, watching me solemnly. “Oh, Orpheus,” she sighed. “I said, ‘This is that girl’s last life time in the Earthly Realm. If you are to have her for eternity, she must choose you this time.’”
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Version 5:
Aphrodite’s words exploded in my head like the sound of crashing swords, leaving me dizzy and stunned.
Finally, I gasped, “What did you say?”
Aphrodite stood, her back to the templecolumns, watching me solemnly. “Oh, Orpheus,” she sighed. “I said, ‘This is that girl’s last life time in the Earthly Realm. If you are to have her for eternity, she must choose you this time.’”
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Version 4:
Aphrodite was watching me with a solemnly pitying expression as I came over the hill. She leaned languidly against a pillar, golden hair flowing around her in waves, waiting.
She made me nervous. I bowed low. “You wished to speak to me?”
She nodded, stepping forward and straightening into a formal posture. “I am to inform you, that this is the girl’s last life time in the Earthly Realm. If you are to have her for eternity, she must choose you this time.”
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Version 3.
Aphrodite leaned against the temple column and watched me warily. “Did you hear what I said, Orpheus?”
I bowed respectfully, shaking my head. I had heard, but I wished fervently that I hadn’t.
“I said, this is that girl’s last life time in the Earthly Realm. If you are to have her for eternity, she must choose you this time.”
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Version 2:
Aphrodite’s words sliced into me like a sword and I wheezed, feeling the blood rush from my face as the pain of them slashed through me. “What did you say?”
Aphrodite stood, her back to the templecolumns, watching me solemnly. “Oh, Orpheus,” she sighed. “I said, ‘This is that girl’s last life time in the Earthly Realm. If you are to have her for eternity, she must choose you this time.’”
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Version 1:
“Orpheus! Come here. I need to talk to you.” Aphrodite stood, her back to the templecolumns, watching me solemnly.
I didn’t like the expression on her face. I bowed respectfully, “Yes?”
“This is that girl’s last life time in the Earthly Realm. If you are to have her for eternity, she must choose you this time.”
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(FYI- this is what follows the above…)
That girl. She tossed the words like Grace was of no consequence. The girl I had followed through time, the girl who made my life complete, and gave me music. The girl who could save all that was good in the world. The girl I was waiting for. My heart started to pound. “Where is she?”
She shook her head. “I’m not allowed to say; you know that.”
“I was told Canada. In Calgary.”
Her eyes widened and she tilted her head, but she made no comment.
The eyes were enough confirmation. At least I didn’t have to scan the entire population of the planet. I only needed to find Grace among the million or so residents of Calgary. I’d come to the city a couple of years before on a tip, and had settled myself into high school there. My informant had assured me that Grace would show up there eventually, but I had reached my final year in high school without any sign of her. I’d begun to doubt, but Aphrodite’s alarmed surprise was enough evidence that I was in the right place. I would try to be patient.
unitards… September 30, 2012
It’s gratifying to go back through a manuscript completed ages ago, and find yourself giggling at scenes you’d completely forgotten about. As I’m editing Grace Awakening Myth this evening, I came across this scene, and I thought you might enjoy it, too.
Please note that this is a draft version, I can already see several things to fine tune! 🙂
Ben is backstage, preparing for a band concert. One of his friends took dance to meet a girl he likes, and he’s about to perform in a quartet dance number as part of the concert. Ben is narrating.
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I could sense Grace in the audience as we set up the stage for the band concert. She must have come early with Christie. The tenuous ribbons of connection between us floated invisibly in the air, but I could feel them. She had been ignoring me at school, but her mind had been busy thinking about me. She was opening possibility, and the awareness made my heart soar.
Her presence was calling to the music in me. Surely, the other players would be captivated by it as well. The concert was going to be a good one.
Ryan was shivering in a corner.
“What’s wrong?”
“I think I’m going to be sick.”
“It’s just nerves,” I said. “You’ve played concerts plenty of times. It’s always fine.”
He stared at me like I was a moron. “I’m wearing a spandex unitard under this band uniform.”
I laughed, and as the picture seered my brain, I laughed harder.
He sent me a withering look and the tears started. They stung my eyes and rolled down my cheeks, but I couldn’t stop laughing.
Paul came over. “What’s so funny?”
“Ryan,” I sputtered. “Spandex.”
Paul wrinkled his nose. “Ooh, nasty. Nothing is worth that, Bro. What were you thinking? On the other hand,” he glanced to the wings, “Georgia is looking mighty fine this evening.”
She was. Her hair tumbled loosely in waves almost to her waist. She was wearing a beige unitard that disappeared at a distance. Her curves were magnificent.
Ryan sighed. “It is sooooo worth it. Excuse me,” he muttered to us, and went to stand with her.
Her smile lit her face as he came near. It made my heart warm.
Paul looked around for Tanis, and saw her standing off to the side watching Ryan and Georgia. “Do you think she’s jealous?”
I shrugged, “Maybe a little. Don’t let it worry you. Have you seen J-Roy yet?”
He looked around, “There he is, at the back in black. Oh my. Is that the same thing Ryan is wearing?” He started to snicker.
I sucked back the guffaw that started to explode out of me. J-Roy was clad in a black unitard. A hood covered his trademark lion’s mane of tawny hair. The only skin that showed was on his hands, feet, and face. J-Roy is athletic. He stood tall, his body rippled with muscular definition. He looked fantastic. “Oh, poor Ryan,” I groaned.
Ryan’s slightly paunchy belly and sloped shoulders were not the optimal build for a unitard.
Paul smirked at me, “Maybe Ryan hopes the black will be slimming?”
I started to shake, pursing my lips tightly.
Misty floated by in a glowing euphoria, with frequent glances over to J-Roy. “Doesn’t he look like some kind of Greek god?” she murmured to me.
I pondered a lecture on over-generalization, but with another look to J-Roy I had to acknowledge that he did, in fact, bear a strong resemblance to some of my relatives.
Time takes care of all things September 8, 2012
“Time is a lot of the things people say that God is. There’s the always pre-existing, and having no end. There’s the notion of being all powerful–because nothing can stand against time, can it? Not mountains, not armies.
And time is, of course, all-healing. Give anything enough time, and everything is taken care of: all pain encompassed, all hardship erased, all loss subsumed.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Remember, man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.
And if Time is anything akin to God, I suppose that Memory must be the Devil.”
Diana Gabaldon in Breath of Snow and Ashes
I found this quote rather profound. Memory being the Devil ascribes evil to our past. Beyond haunting, it implies danger, cruelty and manipulation. Do our memories really do that?
Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory shows up in Grace Awakening Myth. She and Lethe, the goddess of forgetfulness, are working together on Ben to sculpt him just the right combination of memories to keep him optimistic. They work together to keep him whole, because he would not be able to bear contemplating the possibilities opened up by his more painful memories.
I wonder if our own memories often work the same way? If we are successful in burying the negative history, we are re-working our own memory. I suppose it must also work in reverse. We can ignore all our positive experiences and craft ourselves memories of a terrible childhood, and use that strange, inaccurate perspective to fuel our behaviour. We can view ourselves as down trodden over-comers, and use that to force ourselves to deal with current challenges.
Gabaldon’s quote is from Claire’s perspective. Claire has a lot of memories from life in the future and in the past. She has a complex web of memories that she might like to escape.
What do you think? Are your memories an inspiration to your future, or are they a challenge to overcome?
heat in the band room June 14, 2012
The latest snippet from Grace Awakening Myth
Things are heating up in the band room! (Ben is narrating).
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Ryan came in. “Did you see Tanis?” His eyes were wild.
“When?”
“Today. She’s wearing something.”
“I should hope so. Otherwise she’d be arrested.”
He shook his head, as if to shake out an image, “No, I mean, she’s wearing some…thing. Ahhh.” He shook harder, then hissed, “Look!”
Tanis sauntered in. She was definitely wearing ‘something,’ all right. Skin tight. Mini-dress. Black leather.
Ryan cast a frantic look over to Mr. J. Mr. J glanced back and raised an eye brow.
Paul came in, grinning.
Tanis glanced over her shoulder and then bent over.
Paul sucked in his breath.
Ryan gulped. Loudly. Like he had swallowed his tongue.
“Tanis,” Mr. J called. “I need to see you over here, please.”
She grinned at us, our jaws hovering somewhere around our navels, and gave a little shoulder wiggle as she passed us.
Mr. J spoke to her quietly.
She shrugged and left the room.
He came over to us. “For whose benefit was that display, gentlemen?”
“I…uh…well…” Ryan stuttered.
Paul twitched, but didn’t seem to have the capacity of speech anymore.
I inhaled. “It’s complicated, sir.”
Shawn L. Bird 
inspirational kids October 10, 2012
Tags: characters, Grace Awakening Myth, J-Roy, mixed martial arts, Roy, ucl
I’ve already told you that I occasionally use the names of my students (with their permission, of course) in my stories. The characters are not representations of their namesakes; they have their own adventures, conflicts, and personalities which are completely distinct. Still, sometimes the fictional and real have the odd thing in common.
For example, in Grace Awakening Myth there’s a character called J-Roy. You learned the other day that J-Roy dances, is athletic, and looks great in a unitard.
The real J-Roy is also pretty tough. Look who’s a head-liner in a local mixed martial arts fight? Uh huh. Ben desperately needs all the help he can get. I wonder if J. Roy will give him fighting lessons? 😉
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