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The Jaws of Life

by | Nov 11, 2014 | Books, Freebies & Giveaways, Writing | 0 comments

Feeding Kate on AmazonSeveral years ago, I was part of a charity anthology. (You can still buy it on Amazon—Feeding Kate—the profits go to the Lupus Foundation of America. Click the picture at right to see all the fabulous authors who contributed!) The original intent of the anthology was to help a friend of the crime-writing community get jaw surgery she needed that was not being covered by insurance, so many of them were food-related.

The story I contributed was called the Jaws of Life. It’s not about food. But I’ve now put it up for free here on the site in case you are interested in checking it out. It’s right here: The Jaws of Life. Enjoy!

An Ocular Migraine in Four Panels

by | Oct 31, 2014 | Stuff! | 8 comments

Until 2011, I had no idea that ocular migraines had a name. I thought everyone had them. But one day while I was working in a cube farm, my neighbor sent me a file and asked me to look at it. “I will as soon as my eyes clear up,” I said. “I have that thing going on right now, you know, with the spiky rainbows where you can’t see?” Well, no. She didn’t know. Because not everyone does have ocular migraines. In case you were wondering what they look like, after mine tonight I thought I would draw it. I am NOT an artist, but here is my rendition, in four panels, of what I see behind my eyelids when I close my eyes during an ocular migraine (aka the scintillating scotoma—isn’t that an awesome phrase?).

drawing of an ocular migraine

The charcoal gray bits are what are black when my eyes are closed, the parts I can see when I open my eyes. The white is just that—white. Eyes open, eyes closed, it’s just a bright white almost fluorescent glow.

Stage 1: I first notice a floating bit of brightness, a tiny squiggle that interferes with sight.
Stage 2: The squiggle expands, becoming larger, brighter, more colorful and with many sharp points
Stage 3: The squiggle for me almost always takes on a curving shape. Not pictured here, because I don’t have the talent, is the fact that it pretty much looks like a misshapen spiral made out of dozens of tiny bright prisms.
Stage 4: Basic whiteout with the squiggle still there but the glow having expanded so I can see only bits and pieces of stuff around it.

The whole process almost never takes more than half an hour and it doesn’t hurt except for the pain you’d expect if someone shone an extremely bright light in your eyes for several minutes.

So there you are. An ocular migraine in four panels.

Regional Conferences Rule

by | Oct 22, 2014 | Books, Romance, Writing | 3 comments

New Jersey Romance Writers banner

Back when I was writing cozy mysteries, my favorite conferences were Sleuthfest and Crimebake. Since I became part of the romance community, however, I’ve attended chapter meetings (very local) and national conferences, with nothing in between. National conferences are so expensive that I really had a hard time justifying the financial outlay for anything else. But for a few years, I’d been hearing about the New Jersey Romance Writers “Put Your Heart in a Book” conference and I’d always intended to go when I could.

And then I got really lucky—I’d submitted a proposal for a workshop on branding and it was accepted! I didn’t have to pay the conference fee! I could go!

I live less than two hours away from Iselin, where the conference was held, and I am under deadline, so I decided to drive home rather than spending Saturday night, but I understand the party was hopping!

Anyway, with the national conference in 2015 being in New York, I have a feeling some people will say “why bother with NJ?” Well, having been to both, I figured I’d write a post on that now, while NJ is still fresh on my mind. Here are some reasons to think about NJ next year:

  • Cost: I’m not saying you should necessarily judge what conferences you attend based on price, but face it, most of us have to consider our finances!
  • Access: This has a couple of meanings. First, because the conference is just a train ride from NYC, you get access to some great agents and editors. I wasn’t looking for either myself, but I had a lovely conversation with a couple of Harlequin editors at lunch. Second, because the conference is slightly smaller, you have more access to the people who are there. I had a fabulous chat with Madeline Hunter, which I cannot imagine happening at nationals where everyone is running around like a lunatic.
  • Democracy: This is sort of related to “access”  I love Nationals, and I’ve said—repeatedly—that I think people should go to them if they can. However, huge conferences are often where authors who are friends online see each other for the one and only time all year. They are also places where people are somewhat desperate for networking (see my post on Conference Tiffs and the Polite Lie). Because there are fewer people, it’s easier to chat with people, especially those you might be nervous about approaching otherwise. (Like Madeline Hunter. OMG. Madeline Hunter.)
  • Accessibility: This is an odd thing to notice unless you’re trained to pay attention to it, but one of the things I can appreciate about the Renaissance Woodbridge, where the NJRW conference is held, is that it’s very accessible. There are guest bedrooms on the main floor, which makes it easier to get to a lot of the events if you have mobility issues. (Not all events are on the same floor, but most are on the main floor.) The hallways are wide, so even if the “goody area” has table set up on both sides for people to put their stuff, there’s still room to maneuver a wheelchair through. And most of the sessions were in rooms that had plenty of egress and aisle space (which are things I notice now that I’m married to a firefighter).
  • Talent Pool: one of the reasons I like going to conferences is that I come home re-energized to write and to put into practice all the stuff I’ve heard. Obviously, national conferences have even more people available to them, but I was very impressed with the level of workshop at NJRW. Possibly because the conference has been around a long time and it’s well-known and respected, so they get good speakers.
  • Book Fair. I don’t know too many other conferences that have this and make it available to self-published authors. Book fairs are real problems for those of us who already have way too many books, but I can’t ever resist them! Running around, seeing all the good stuff people have out, finding new authors…so much fun! Making friends with the people on either side of you if you’re selling books…priceless.
K.M. Jackson with her Golden Leaf Award

K.M. Jackson with her Golden Leaf Award

For myself, I really enjoyed meeting people after my own workshop and I appreciated that they took the time to come and talk to me and tell me their thoughts. There were a couple of panels I really wanted to get to but missed anyway (it always happens), but the ones I did get to were high quality. I got to spend time with people I’d met once or twice but never really sat down with, and met others who I hope I will be able to continue a relationship with in the future. I connected with one author who writes romantic suspense and we talked at length about doing some co-promotion. Again, something that doesn’t happen when people are frenetically rushing from one event to another.

Of course, I had an especially good time because my friend K.M. Jackson won the Golden Leaf award for her novel Bounce. Lots of joy and happy tears! That always makes a conference better.

All in all, I’d highly recommend this conference. Even if you’re planning on going to nationals in NYC. If at all possible, I’ll be at both!