Author: Shara

Culture Consumption: October 2014

~ Shara ~ 10 Comments

September’s list might have been late, but I’m making sure October is RIGHT ON TIME.

Books

34) Perdition by Ann Aguirre
35) Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris
36) Motherless Child by Glen Hirshberg
37) Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
38) Unexpected Stories by Octavia E. Butler
39) Zombie Baseball Beatdown by Paolo Bacigalupi

Short Fiction

39) Hunting Monsters by S.L. Huang
40) In Her Head, In Her Eyes by Yukimi Ogawa
41) Midway Relics and Dying Breeds by Seanan McGuire
42) The Curious Case of the Werewolf That Wasn’t, The Mummy That Was, and the Cat in the Jar by Gail Carriger

Comics

Individual Issues:

American Vampire: Second Cycle #5
Batgirl #35
Black Widow #11
Caliban #7
Coffin Hill #11
Copperhead #2
Lazarus #11
Ms. Marvel #9
Sleepy Hollow #1
The Massive #27
Thor #1
Unwritten: Apocalypse #9
The Walking Dead #132
The Walking Dead #133

Movies

Gone Girl
Occulus

That’s it from me! Also, feel free to share whatever 2014 stats you’ve got! How many books? How many movies? What were your favorites? Lay them on me!

Cheers!

NaNoWriMo 2014

~ Shara ~ Leave a comment

I’ve never done this before. When I first heard of NaNoWriMo, I scoffed at it. A mere 50k words make a novel? Please! But over the years, I’ve let go of my writing snobbery, and I’ve begun to recognize NaNoWriMo for what it really is: a chance for writers of all types to sit down and really get the words out, just to prove they can, or maybe to get a jumpstart on a project that would languish otherwise.

But most of all, it’s to have fun.

I’m a competitive sort, and when a friend of mine mentioned she was seriously considering NaNoWriMo this year, I started thinking about it. When she started egging me on, I looked at my project that I started earlier this year, that I got fantastic feedback for earlier this month, and realized this might be the jumpstart I need. It’s not a normal novel for me: it’s not science fiction, it’s not fantasy. It’s the here and now. It’s about my backyard, geographically speaking. It’s about the mountains and music and madness.

And I have to say, I’m looking forward to discovering it.

Participant-2014-Web-BannerIf you’re on the site, feel free to add me and follow my progress, cheer me on, and let me cheer YOU on if you are also embarking on this crazy journey! While Ghostcatcher is not my first novel, it is the first one I’ve attempted to write for NaNoWriMo. It’s also the first novel I’ve attempted to write on a laptop. So let’s just say I’m feeling very, very green.

November’s almost here! If you’re participating in NaNoWriMo, are you ready? Feel free to send me links to your pages, and tell me about your projects!

But in the meantime, Happy Halloween!

Culture Consumption: September 2014

~ Shara ~ 7 Comments

Well, this is late. Due to the lateness, and the fact that frankly, September was a great reading month, I’m not going to post reactions to anything I read or watched; however, if you have questions, I’m happy to discuss in the comments.

Books

27) Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
28) Maplecroft by Cherie Priest
29) If I Stay by Gayle Forman
30) Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
31) WWW: Wake by Robert Sawyer (DNF)
32) House of Leaves by Mark C. Danielewski (DNF)
33) A Stranger in Olondaria by Sofia Samatar (DNF)

I should note: these DNF titles were simply because other books grabbed my interest and by time I thought about going back to the titles I’d set aside, I was no longer in the mood. The Danielewski is one I’ll have to start over anyway, and I’ll need a new plan of attack for reading it. I also see myself giving the Samatar another go at a later time. I should also note that the DNF titles are ones that have been waiting patiently for months and months, but September was when I finally threw in the towel. 🙂

Comics

Individual Issues:

Batgirl: Future’s End #1
Batman #34
Batman Eternal #20
Batman Eternal #21
Batman Eternal #22
Batman Eternal #23
Batwoman #34
Black Widow #10
Caliban #6
Coffin Hill #9
Coffin Hill #10
Copperhead #1
Fairest #28
Low #2
Ms. Marvel #8
Papa Midnite #1
Papa Midnite #2
Papa Midnite #3
Papa Midnite #4
Papa Midnite #5
Saga #22
Sex Criminals #7
Supreme Blue Rose #2
The Fade Out #1
The Manhattan Projects #23
The Massive #26
The Unwritten: Apocalypse #7
The Unwritten: Apocalypse #8
The Walking Dead #131

Movies

Killer Legends
Room in Rome

Television Shows

Homeland: seasons 2 & 3

That’s it from me! Also, feel free to share whatever 2014 stats you’ve got! How many books? How many movies? What were your favorites? Lay them on me!

Cheers!

A New Way to Chronicle Life

~ Shara ~ 4 Comments

Later this month, I’ll be spending An Evening with David Sedaris. I’ve been a fan of his thanks to his segments and stories on This American Life, and when I heard he was coming to town, I decided this was something I really, really wanted to see in person. But I haven’t read any of his books, and after learning how personable he is and how it’s likely I might get a chance for him to sign something before or after the show, I decided to pick up a few titles and brush up.

I’m almost finished with Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls: Essays, Etc.. I started with that over Me Talk Pretty One Day because, let’s face it, with a title like Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, how can I not start there? I’ve been wanting to buy this book for the title alone for years. Well, months really. The book only came out last year.

The point of all this babbling was this little gem: in the essay titled, “Day In, Day Out,” Sedaris talks about how he became a frequent diarist: it starts out with a small notebook that’s always with him, where he writes various observations and notes about his day, and then either at the end of the day or the next morning (I wasn’t sure which), he compiles said observations and notes into a diary, one that he keeps electronically, something private. He talks about how a very small percent of his diaries end up as part of his books, or part of his shows, but that despite it all, keeping this diary, which he’s done for years, is something that’s a part of him. He can’t imagine life without it.

What struck me was the comments about the little notebook. I’m bad about having notes and observations of things I’d like to share or write about, scribbling them on sticky notes, and letting those sticky notes pile into stacks of potential confetti. And this little notebook idea… it’s appealing. Not because I want to sit down each and every night and write up my day. That would take a lot of dedicated time, and I’m by and large a fiction writer, not an essayist. That being said, some of my own observations would make for some, in my mind, interesting posts. Short posts, I would hope, and it could be something that could finally get the fuel going into posting regularly on this blog. Something I’ve been wanting to do since I’ve opened it, and I’ve tried to do with little success, but gotten bored with/distracted from/name your excuse.

But short, sweet, random observations about my day? Embracing the way I view the world in all its randomness? May not be a bad way to go.

I’m not going to sit here and say I’ll definitely do it. I will sit here, however, and say, don’t be surprised if I do.

Let’s go find a notebook.

Aventures In Traveling

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On Friday, I hit the road for a workshop weekend, and I just returned home today. It was, in short, a fantastic trip, and I’ve got some very reflective thoughts to share some day, but today is not that day.

Today is the day where I will amuse, amaze, and bewilder you:

1) My very first pit stop on Friday was at a rest area. I was about an hour and a half into driving when nature called, and I debated pulling off the interstate, thinking I could hold it for another 30-40 miles. I decided not to be cruel to my bladder, and did what I had to do. However, it was while answering nature’s call that I received a VERY IMPORTANT PHONE CALL from work. It was of the good news variety, but I’m also, yanno, indisposed. In the process of trying to figure out a way to keep background noise from leaking through the call, I manage to hang up on this very important person and couldn’t call back because it’s not a direct line. Fortunately, the very important person called back, and at this point, I was in far better shape to receive a call.

2) My second pit stop was at a Subway, and of course, in addition to eating, I also had to use the bathroom (I promise, not all of these are about the bathroom). Before I get up to toss the trash, a group of kids (young men, tall and skinny, probably high school/college-aged soccer players or cross-country runners) come in and line up at the counter. A smaller group of the guys head straight back to the bathroom, and when I went to the ladies room, the door unlocked right before I got there and a guy walked out. I figure, why not? Subway only has one toilet for men, one for women, and when you gotta go, you gotta go. However, my rather relaxed attitude evaporated when I saw the guy hadn’t flushed. I seriously, and honestly, do not understand why people don’t flush toilets, men or women. Is it because they’re the product of helicopter parents who do everything for them? If that’s the case, it’s a wonder this guy knew to wipe.

3) First night in the hotel, I decided to try out the heater, simply because I was alone in the room and I could make it as toasty as I wanted. Based on the burnt-toast smell coming from said heater, it was the first time it’d been turned on for the season. I wasn’t worried, because I knew that would go away, so I crawled back under the covers, just in time to hear the smoke alarm shriek bloody murder. At midnight. It’s a wonder the whole hotel didn’t wake up. The good news is I burned nothing down, got the heater fixed, and slept nice and toasty during my stay.

4) On my way home, I stopped at a Chick-Fil-A for lunch. I’ve yet to have bad customer service at this franchise, and today was above and beyond the call of good customer service. It’d just started to rain when I arrived, but while I was eating, the rain decided to level up to monsoon levels. Lots of wind, lots of hard rain. I wait for it to let up, pull up my hood and prepare myself for the sprint to my car, when one of the employees gestures to a stack of umbrellas by the door and offers to walk me to my car. And after determining the offer was indeed genuine, he did. I still got a bit wet (it’s really hard to stay dry when the wind makes the rain sideways), but I was a lot dyer than I would’ve been otherwise. Thanks, Chick-Fil-A!

And those are my random adventures from traveling this weekend, preserved here in the interwebs in case I ever forget.

Reading: Perdition by Ann Aguirre
Watching: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Gotham, Sleepy Hollow

Culture Consumption: August 2014

~ Shara ~ 8 Comments

It’s that time again! Amazing how fast the time flies, but once more, it’s time for another Culture Consumption. As always, I’ll post a list of what I’ve read/watched over the past month, and in some cases, provide some commentary. If there’s anything you’re interested in or curious about, don’t hesitate to ask me in the comments, and I’ll be happy to talk further!

August was actually quite productive. Some of it is due to vacation, and the time I spent in the airport and on the plane reading, but I also spent a few weekends where I said f*** it to the dishes and sat down and read like a fiend. Also, good shows too!

Continue reading →

Music Monday: Thirty Seconds to Mars, “Do or Die”

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If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you know I’ve already featured Thirty Seconds to Mars, but long before I ever conceived of the Music Monday feature. Hands down, they’re one of my favorite bands. Author Karin Lowachee unintentionally unleashed their music on me with the “Beautiful Lie” video, and I’ve been absolutely hooked and enthralled ever since.

There’s two reasons I’m sharing this particular song today. The first is that this video gets to me. I mean, really gets to me. Maybe it’s because of the head-space I’ve been in this year, but I listen to this song and I watch this video and I get choked up, every time. All of the band’s videos are very cinematic, a production of sorts, but this one isn’t telling a story: it’s testimonials from the fanbase intercut with footage from concerts around the world. And it gets me EVERY. TIME. The music preceding the concert footage and after the concert footage isn’t part of the song itself, but it is part of the album LOVE LUST FAITH + DREAMS.

The other reason you get this song today, that you get to hear this band? Because tomorrow I get to see them perform live for the very first time, and I absolutely cannot wait. I traveled miles and miles and miles to see them perform. And while there are so many songs that I absolutely adore by this band (indeed, don’t be surprised if I continue to inflict their music on you), this song has become something of an anthem for me this year.

Enjoy.

Like it? Love it? Hate it? Sound off below!

Reminder: Music Monday is about the music, not the videos. Videos are just the medium I’m using to share the music, and some videos aren’t actually videos at all. Enjoy the songs, but if YouTube forces you to watch some sort of advertisement before you can get to the music, please be patient.

Music Monday: The Devin Townsend Project, “Numbered!”

~ Shara ~ 1 Comment

Devin Townsend, the singer, is bizarre and prolific and utterly talented. Talents ranging from the real heavy metal of Strapping Young Lad to the weirdly comical concept album Ziltoid the Omniscient to this operatic, progressive rock that utilizes not just Townsend’s impressive vocals, but also female singer Anneke van Giersbergen. This particular album, Addicted!, is a favorite of mine, but this song in particular features everything I love about it in one song.

I should also note, as an aside: I had the luck*** of seeing The Devin Townsend Project perform live a few years ago, and I’ve never been to a concert where the front man comes out on stage during the sound check, tinkers around, interacts with fans in the theatre, and then when the lights go down and the concert starts? It was like someone flipped a freaking switch: this man was on, the kind of on that makes you understand what makes someone a performer at heart, and Devin Townsend? Is a fantastic performer (and musician, because seriously, the breadth of his stuff and his range and his talent is amazing to me. Music Literature professors of the future should take note of him. He’s that kind of impressive).

So here’s “Numbered!” I promise, for this coming off of a progressive rock album, it’s not that hard. Believe me, once you get to the chorus, you’ll know what I mean. Oh, and this isn’t a video, just a still, so you can push play and listen while you do something else. 🙂

Like it? Love it? Hate it? Sound off below!

Reminder: Music Monday is about the music, not the videos. Videos are just the medium I’m using to share the music, and some videos aren’t actually videos at all. Enjoy the songs, but if YouTube forces you to watch some sort of advertisement before you can get to the music, please be patient.

*** = I say luck because I’m still shocked he actually performed within driving distance for me.

Fiction Friday: “Dear Owner of This 1972 Ford Crew Cab Pickup” by Desirina Boskovich

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For this week, I decided to do something a little different. Partially because Hugo voting is over, and partially because I haven’t had time to read any new shorts in a while (everything you’ve been reading the last month has been scheduled out weeks in advance). But fortunately for me and this column, author Lane Robins shared the below story on her Facebook, so I took a few moments to read it and get appropriately chilled and creeped out.

“Dear Owner of This 1972 Ford Crew Cab Pickup” by Desirina Boskovich was published in the August 2014 issue of Nightmare Magazine and you can read it in its entirety for free on their site. I’ve never read Boskovich before, and honestly, I don’t follow the horror genre all that closely, but after reading this story, I realize I should be paying more attention to this site! Click the link to read this story at Nightmare and see if you don’t agree with me!

Click here to read DEAR OWNER OF THIS 1972 FOR CREW CAB PICKUP for free

Cover Art by Reiko Murakami
Cover Art by Reiko Murakami

Like it? Love it? Hate it? Sound off below!

Robin Williams: 1951-2014

~ Shara ~ Leave a comment

My first R-rated movie in the theater was The Birdcage. The very first movie my husband and I saw together for a movie date was Patch Adams. We always think there’s something immortal about celebrities, especially those who play a part in our most prominent memories, and it’s terrifying to see them gone. It means that they’re only human, they’re fallible, and that one day they will fade. And it’s a terrible analogy to our own lives, on a host of levels. I know some people don’t get why there’s an outpouring of grief for one comedian when there’s so many terrible things happening in the world, but celebrities can represent so many parts of ourselves, and the good ones leave an indelible mark. Whatever Robin Williams meant to you in your life, in your memories, in your day-to-day, remember the most important lesson of all: Carpe diem. If he taught us anything, it’s that.

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