My (er, Evey's) new e-book is out from Loose Id! If anyone would like a review copy of this or its predecessor, Capriole, just holler. Also, my good friend Jessica Freely (aka Anne Harris) is hosting me and Carrma over on her blog, and all you have to do is leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of both books.

Blurb:

Felipe’s world is shattered when he receives word his lover Lukas is dead, presumably swept away at sea. Grieving, he struggles to control the psychic gifts he was born with and trains to become a Warden—someone who hunts incubi and protects their sexually voracious half-human offspring. Despite erotic temptation and misadventure, Felipe never loses hope of reuniting with the man he truly loves.

Aided by Lukas’s herd of Lipizzans, Felipe learns that Lukas is alive and initiates a rescue. Their reunion does not go well. Lukas can’t remember Felipe nor can he answer questions about where he’s been. Despite Felipe’s repeated seduction attempts, Lukas’s condition deteriorates until he’s more horse than man.

Heartbroken, Felipe is afraid that unless Lukas can come to terms with the devastating truth of who—and what—he is their love will be lost forever.

Note: This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find objectionable: dubious consent, male/male sexual practices, violence. While this book is primarily male/male, there is some m/f sex.




Heh. I think that's the tamest warning I've ever gotten from them.

So. Publisher took Demon Story 2. Yay! And my editor just sent me a bunch of good notes on it, because it still needs some work story-wise. Sent in a proposal for Demon 3 and have to work on that one more too. And edits for the deer story should be here soon. Yikes. I'm feeling like a real writer now, what with all the juggling edits and deadlines and such. But this means three e-books out next year, two under one name, the deer story under Nica.

Orossy/Oroshi is. . .on hold. Meant to at least get an outline done for Nanowrimo. Got distracted by Demon 3. Ah, well. I'm still writing about Orossy everywhere but IN Orossy.

And, about three weeks ago, dancinghorse rescued the lovely Ms. Gabriella, who needed a home, like, ASAP, and she's Ephiny and Tia's mom and had been here before. So, behold, fabulous #9:



And, just 'cause I was out taking pics, here are a couple more favorites:

Two-legged Tia!



And, angles:



Gabriella and dancinghorse

First up, House of the Star by Caitlin Brennan, aka dancinghorse. I must admit I'm biased towards this book 'cause the cover pony, Pandora, is in my backyard. :>) And see the horse in the icon? Made that this morning in a horse-shaped pan from Ikea.

sartorias also wrote a lovely post about the book, Horse Girls and Magic.


And next:



My good friend Pearl North, aka annesible: The Boy from Ilysies, which is the sequel to Libyrinth.

Congrats to both! Y'all run out and buy them now!

Whee, am in the middle of horse camp with birdhousefrog and rstefoff, who is in town but not staying here. Yet. Bwa ha ha ha ha ha.

I am doing Nano. Sort of. Name is "orossy." Plan was to break through Orossy and get a solid plot and outline at the very least; not going for word count, per se. Then I got distracted by a short story. Which quite nicely fits a call Circlet Press has for erotic trickster stories, so yay. I have a place to send it.3300 words in two days, yay!

Had a bareback lesson on Carrma a couple days ago. Hellishly windy, but she is not a spooky horse, and she totally enjoyed herself. I heart my horsie.

We also did horse yoga.

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( And lookee, more gratuitous horse piccies!Collapse )

All right. I am lousy at updating.

Last week was Camp Lipizzan, with sartorias, rachelmanija and coraa. Much fun was had, along with good food.

One of the new additions was Yoga with Horses, which involved seven people hanging out in the arena with seven horses and doing a variety of stretching and breathing and ommmm-ing while the horses wandered in and out of the group. dancinghorse did a nice write-up of the experience here. Pics by yours truly. :>)

The next day we all had lessons, which was much enjoyed by both humans and horses. Carrma was quite pleased at being Trail Pony and Lesson Pony for rachelmanija, and enjoyed running her into the low-hanging tree branches, which she's NEVER done to me. -whistles innocently-

And we had the good fortune of having superb photographer Lynne Glazer come down and do author photos of the above visitors and janni. They turned out really, really well all around. For example, take a look at the one she just posted on Facebook of me and my girl Carrma. Everybody go awwwww!

Also, while Lynne was here we had a rain storm, which means lots of muddy, leaping Lipizzans. ( For example...Collapse )

Ummm. Writing-wise, still in the middle of several things. Turned in final edits for the e-book out January 17th. Woohoo! Should be getting a cover soon. Should be getting edits on the reprint of the Deer story soon. Am figuring out that I would be a good horror writer, and writing horror is fun, and am sort of experimenting with it on the prequel to the deer story (aka the ill-fated Raven story) which, since it involves demon possession, really is horror. :>p Orossy is kind of on hold. Again.

Heading off to World Fantasy next week with casacorona. Go team Tucson!

Hey lookee, here's me reading from Oroshi. :>p Shoulda got a wee bit closer to the mic. Oh well. But, hey, it turned out well.

And now back to packing. Whee. The books are moved. have another pile of boxes loaded in the car. Will have to move the furniture (everything is taken apart) and I should have a horse in my backyard early next week. :>)

Traci Castleberry, Writers' Retreat Fellow from Lambda Literary on Vimeo.

First woohoo: Hey, look, the Lambda Literary folks have my pic up along with those of all my classmates for the LGBT Emerging Writers Retreat. Two weeks. EEEEEEE! No, Orossy's not done. Nowhere near. I suppose I'm letting it sit now until I get there and hopefully something will click and I can move. Been working on edits for the Carina book, anyhow, and I have eleven stories to crit for the workshop. EEEEE!!!

Second woohoo: Hey, look what's out!



Evidently, it's an "LGBT Paranormal Urban Fantasy." You can buy it and read an excerpt here.

Amun, born with the gift of seeing the auras of other fae, is on a mission to aid his lover Loridan, the ailing fae prince. While there, Amun finds Shane, a young fae with gifts for both healing and sexuality who apparently has only one thought in his head: to get Amun naked and in his bed.

But Amun doesn’t have time for Shane despite his deep attraction. He’s busy searching for the madman who is corrupting nature by introducing fae gifts to humans and killing Loridan in the process. He’s also preoccupied with the knowledge that while Loridan won’t touch him anymore, the prince apparently has no problem inviting Shane into his bed.

Shane won’t give up on sleeping with Amun, but by the time Amun realizes how much he loves Shane, it’s too late. Amun must go on a desperate search to save both Shane and Loridan while struggling to accept the first rule of the fae: to be true to one’s own nature.

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Dubious consent, exhibitionism, male/male sexual practices, ménage (m/m/m), multiple partners, violence.

So, I had another lesson on Khepera yesterday. He wasn't giving me ANYTHING he didn't have to (or rather, what I didn't earn. Or something.) A bit mouthy and disinclined to stand still. Not to mention that lovely pile of wet hay that got dumped out of the water barrel. Food. Nom.

Lots of groundwork, getting him to use his whole body and walk with long strides. Trying to keep a circle which is a heck of a lot harder than it sounds. Moving him out into a bigger circle and back in, and trying to push him and use the whip to tap his butt and make him go at the same time. My arm got tired after a while. Anyway.

Did a bit of the same thing while on his back. Circles. Move him where I want him. Hands, hands, always hands. And again trying to hold the whip so I can tap his butt when needed. Then we moved on to trot, which is more adventure, because he likes to go at a nice clip and S and I don't really want him to go that fast. So, more butt in saddle to get him to slow down. He broke into a canter once, because he wanted to go, but he slowed down soon enough.

More trot. Aaaaand. . . SPOOK! Followed immediately by a bit of canter, which, um, I don't technically know how to do yet. But boy it felt nice.

From the saddle, it didn't feel like much worse than getting tossed around a bit when Carrma stumbled. And, actually, I wasn't scared, not like I was when Pandora ran off with me one night or Carrma did a couple of times. Maybe because I know more now, but I also trust Khep and know he didn't do it to be mean, and he figured out I was off balance right away and came up under me to fix it.

dancinghorse said he hopped about four feet off the ground. Um. Probably I'm glad I didn't see or realize that at the time.

Anyhoo. Most likely it was a spook/temper tantrum because he was getting frustrated, and this was his way of saying, "No, human, that's enough, do it THIS way!" And I did. Everything after that was much better. Nice, slow, controlled trots, and I figured out how to get him to stay at the same speed when he tried to go faster.

Anyway. Adventurous day, and I'm actually a wee bit sore from it. Khep was quite smug afterwards. Happy horse. He got his cookies. And the better news is that I've graduated to intermediate rider, YAY, and I can ride Khep outside of lessons now. YAY!

(Of course, Carrma still gets first priority, because she's Carrma.)

Alas, there are no pictures from yesterday, so I'll give you another sunrise from the parking lot pic.




(And I should go to bed now, but I finally got the Roku box up and working, and OH LOOK, it's a COWBOY CHANNEL! WOOHOO!!!!)

Here's me and my ridin' hoss, Khepera, courtesy of dancinghorse.

(I need to sit up straight. This bugs me. :>p )



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So I, like several of my writing buddies, I'm participating in the Clarion write-a-thon. I went to Clarion in 2005, the penultimate Michigan class, and what mattered the most to me (besides the people) was that it made me feel like a real writer and part of the SF/F community even though I didn't have anything published yet. If it weren't for Clarion, I'd probably still be wandering around writing stuff and wondering why no one wanted it.

My page is here. My overall goal is to get Orossy/Oroshi DONE. Six weeks? Yes I can! (at least, as long as the plot bunnies keep hopping.) And when my brain is fried from that I'm going to work on another e-book or three.

My prizes: $10 or more and I'll send you an e-book of your choice (this includes NATURE'S OWN, due out in a month). Three of my e-books were originally Clarion stories!

$30 or more and I'll send you an e-book of your choice AND a copy of LACE & BLADE 2 with my short story "Rent Girl" signed for you. :>) (I have six copies here.)

Judith Tarr, aka dancinghorse, is offering cool stuff and sez:

In other news, I am now officially participating in the Clarion Write-a-Thon, benefiting Clarion UCSD (the latest incarnation of "my" Clarion that I taught back along). My page is here. I've promised to write at least 500 words a day of new fiction, one way and another. More if I can. From July 27th-August 7th. Er, go team go?

Aaaaannnnd I've sweetened the pot. Donate at least $250 in my name and you're entered in a drawing for a free weekend (well, 3 days/2 nights, any time of the week) at Camp Lipizzan. If more than one person does this, the rest will get prizes: signed books, ARC's, a signed ms. if you ask really really reallllly nicely.

I think it will be fun. meep.

And idiomagic is offering nifty stuff and sez:

If any of you have a few ducats to spare for a great cause, I would be very grateful if you'd help Judy out. In fact, anyone who sends me a receipt saying they've donated, even if it's only a dollar, will get their choice of the following:

A custom poem written by me, any style any topic

A copy of Judith Tarr's novel Lord of the Two Lands about Alexander the Great and his journey into Egypt

An LJ post of at least 500 words on the topic of your choice

A three card tarot reading

If you sponsor Judy for more than $20, I will offer signed copies of Judy's books A Wind In Cairo and Alamut in a random drawing.

Also, anyone who reposts this will get a free one card tarot reading and a pony!

So, Horse Camp has been happening the past few days with coraa. Friday, we all had lessons; me on Khepera (above), coraa on Pandora, and dancinghorse on Camilla.

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Overall, it's been a really nice camp with much good food (yours truly made pizza last night, nom nom) and a good week. Sadly, it's over soon, and I'm off to the airport here shortly.

Pooka sez:



The Writing Mentor Has a Sale

Thanks to very helpful friends, we are working on a brand! new! updated! Mentoring and Camp page (and eventually website). I'm adding some services and updating some details. But because you are all awesome and because I have $700 worth of hay and shoer bills that really have got to get paid, I'm having a pre-update sale. Mention this entry and it's yours. Previous and current mentees can play. Details of the old/current services are here. The sale is: Book a four-hour package and get a fifth hour FREE. That's $160.00 for five hours of whatever you need: plot help, R&D, editorial services of all kinds from line edits to general critique.

AND, if what you need doesn't require five hours' worth of work, I've got a new service on offer: Spot-checking and fact-checking. For $50 I will check specific portions of your project, up to 30 pages'/one hour's worth. Additional hours can be negotiated on an individual basis. Areas of expertise include include horses and equestrian subjects in general, historical periods (especially ancient Greece/Rome, Egypt, and Western Middle Ages), American Southwest, New England, Latin (Classical and Medieval). Got something else you might like a look at? Email and see if I can help.

And if that's too big but you'd like your Latin checked, I'll do that on a custom basis; email for rates and estimates. I might even take payment in chocolate. Do ask. :)

Interested? My email is at gmail and my username is capriole.

Camp Lipizzan Is Booking For 2010/11

We're ending this season with two Camps in the next month, but bookings for October through April are fairly open. We have one in early January and one in late April so far. Interested in a 3-5-day writing retreat with horses? Not afraid of discovering that if you do it once, you're 90% likely to book another either before you leave or soon thereafter? Email and let me know when you'd like to come. First person to book a date gets dibs. One or two additional persons may join us for those dates. For a sampling of what we do, here's one Camper's photoblog. That was her second Camp. She's since booked a third. :)

Rates start at $350 for 3 days/2 nights, and include food, board, and hot and cold running Lipizzans. And lots and lots of lovely, peaceful writing time in a farmhouse in rural Arizona.

Original Entry Here.

**And of course, I'll be happy to take all sorts of pics of you and with the horses for momentos. :>)

So, rolled out of bed and down to DHF 'cause I haven't been there in a couple days 'cause of work.

Lookee, self-portrait of me with Carrma. :>)



And got some good Pooka pics, 'cause he was out in the arena and it was still light.





Lesson tomorrow. Somewhat "early" for me, he he he. Pandora will be kind enough to be lesson pony, since Carrma is still a bit gimpy. Doing better though, hanging out with the herd and all. Happy pony.

. . . my zoo love gave to me:

Twelve nifty beetles!

Once again taken at the Montreal Insectarium.



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Merry Christmas, happy holidays and all that, folks! I hope it's a good one.

. . . my zoo love gave to me:

Eleven little ducklings!

(the weird shape on the right is the shadow of someone else taking a pic . . . taken at the San Diego Zoo.)



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. . . my zoo love gave to me:

Ten funky flamingos!

(Yes, flamingos are inevitable because they come in large numbers. These are at the San Diego Zoo.)




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. . . my zoo love gave to me:
9 giant cave cockroaches!

Taken at the Montreal Insectarium. They had some at the San Diego zoo too.



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. . . my zoo love gave to me:

Eight lipizzaners!

Who just happen to be dancinghorse's dancing horses. :>) Pooka, Capria, Carrma, Pandora, Camilla, Khepera, Tia, and Ephiny.






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. . . my zoo love gave to me:

Seven silver fishies!

Taken at Sea World. I dunno what they are.


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. . . my zoo love gave to me:

Six dung beetles!

Taken at the San Diego Zoo in Elephant Odyssey.


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. . . my zoo love gave to me:

Five Montreal orchids!

Sorry, I know it's not animals, but I don't have an pics with five animals. :>( These were taken in the greenhouse at the Jardin Botanique in Montreal.



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Sorry for the delay, internet went out last night, so I will now return you to your regularly scheduled zoo pics.

. . . my zoo love gave to me:

Four unborn sharks! Taken at Sea World San Diego.




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. . . my zoo love gave to me:

Three Tiger Cubs,

(This is Menderu, Jin and Seri at the San Diego Zoo. Click the above link to find out more about them. Video, too!)



( Two Elephants, aaaaand. . .Collapse )

. . . my zoo love gave to me:

Two Elephants,

(These are Devi and Tembo at San Diego Zoo's Elephant Odyssey.)




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. . . my zoo love gave to me:

A peacock strutting in the street!



(Yes, folks, it's once again time for my annual twelve days of zoo pics. Had to get a little creative, as the zoo here is a wee bit short on large numbers of animals in one spot. And, as usual, these come with the caveat that I messed with the pics on purpose, and I only have one wimpy little photo program and not photoshop, so here ya go. Enjoy!)

My good friend dancinghorse is having all sorts of sales. The first one, of more interest to writerly folks, is a mentoring sale. Details here. Basically, this means for $150 she'll give you four hours of reading and critiquing your manuscript, story, query letter, whatever. And, having benefited from this service myself, I can highly recommend it. Pro author here, with lots of experience. Well worth the price!

The other sale is more for the horse folks. Namely, these two lipizzan ladies and lipizzan/arab gelding are looking for a good home. All of them are wonderful, lovely horses with awesome personalities. Please re-link or forward to anyone you know who's into horses.
More info here

Tia:


Khepera, the gelding:


Ephiny:

It's been a while since I took pictures of the horses, so, well, I made sure to take the camera down today. It worked out, because it was REALLY windy. Got the saddle on Carrma, got her out in the arena, and she made a beeline back for the barn. I agreed. But, hey! Pics! And, as always, click the pic to get to my flickr account. There are lots more horse pics there.

Carrma!



Tia!



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Meet Pip.



Pip is a juvenile king vulture. This is what he will look like when he grows up. These are his parents, who rolled the egg out of the nest and left Pip to be hand raised by the zoo staff.

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Went to the other half of Saguaro National Park yesterday, which is a ways out west. Pretty drive, nifty park, saguaro everywhere.



But there were also these:



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So, since it's my last week off before I have to go back to work, I decided to play Tourist today and headed off to Saguaro National Park. I drive by it nearly every day, so I figured it was high time to stop in.



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