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Sunday, February 29, 2004

So far, since Thursday, I've either done the yoga routine twice a day, or I've done it once in the morning and something else during the day. That something else can be anything that involves exercise.

Today Bekah and I went on a long walk around the block. It's soooo nice outside! I wish this kind of weather would stick around for a month or two; it's my favorite temperature.

Ebay reinstated all my accounts. Whee. That means I can be 'jennifer' again! Yay! (Took them long enough, though... sheesh.) Of course I don't need anything from ebay at the moment, so it's really a moot point. I'm debating whether or not to begin the storage clean-out now or wait. It would be nice to not to have to move all the stuff I don't want, but I really don't see myself going through everything before I move. We'll see.

Jennifer 5:52 PM

Visited Storage today, to take some stuff up and find two mixing bowls I got as a wedding present (from Pier 1.) The mixing bowls are going to house my yarn, now that I've freed up a shelf (I no longer have my pajamas on my bookshelf. They're in the bathroom in my 3-drawer drawers-with-wheels thingy.)

While there, I started to get some ideas for a series of essays/articles on Disorganization, which is, after all, the name of this blog. It might take me a little while to put it together, since I'll have pictures and all, but it will be coming. Just don't hold your breath.

I'm cleaning this afternoon, at least for a little while. I've already cleaned Hildy's cage and changed her litter box, so that's one thing done on my list. The rest is pickup stuff, not major cleaning. Oh, and rearranging the yarn yet again. I'd really like to be able to see my supplies easily, after all. Which only makes sense.

This has been a wonderful weekend. The weather is warm and sunny, and makes me hope for spring to arrive yet again. Did I mention that I ordered a cranberry bush from Parks Seeds last week? I think it would be fun to grow my own cranberries. And I had a coupon for $10 off my order, so it was nice.

And ebay just notified me that my account has been reinstated. Now I just have to go figure out which one has been reinstated. :)

Jennifer 1:17 PM

Saturday, February 28, 2004

Ok. If you click on the collage, you'll get the really big pictures, so be warned.

The two in the upper left hand corner (same rock) are of my interesting find. You can't see it very well in the picture, but there's a segmented something there. It's like a straight line with a banded edge that flares out a bit. Any fossil hunters around who might know what it is?

The big rock (I dug it out of the creekbed) was too heavy to carry back, so I left it there and just took pictures. Not sure what the donut thingys are, or even if they are donut thingys.

I liked the one with the cross on it, but my favorite is the banded rock. When I saw it for the first time, I thought it had been painted! It is so neat.

And the little tiny white things that look like sand dollars were in the big rock. I think they are some sort of coral or something.

Anyway, it was so nice outside I had to go get my hands dirty for a change. :)

Jennifer 6:20 PM

I took a walk in the woods today. The winter aconite is already blooming! And I found a cool fossil, but I don't know what it is. Of course the rock the fossils are in weighs about 25 lbs., so I was kind of hoping to identify the fossil before I carried it all the way back to the house (about 1/2 mile.) So far, no luck.

Jennifer 3:14 PM

Friday, February 27, 2004

64.136.26.227

I see you. I know who you are.

Go away.

Jennifer 9:53 PM

I read The Wee Free Men this evening. It was very good! Although there seem to be quite a few books out lately about kids getting taken by Faerie... if you know what I mean. Which could be a good thing, for Nine Lives. It's really interesting to read all the different versions of what is basically the same theme.

Going to do yoga in a bit here. Took a break after starting Monstrous Regiment. It looks promising, so that's a good thing too.

Wrote today at lunch. Things are moving. Had an epiphany about NS, so that's good as well. Now I know how Ella will come into her own... this will be a fun book to write, I think.

Not too much to report today. Other than the fact that it felt good to curl up on my bed with a good book (although my butt fell asleep) and I still haven't run the Dana's battery down.

Jennifer 9:39 PM

Thursday, February 26, 2004

Okay, so I just did the "Morning Cup of Yoga" routine. Wow! I can feel the results even after the first time! This is going to be a great routine. I am going to try to do it twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. And when it gets too easy, then I will start something else.

The nice thing is, it's only 15 minutes long. And it has an audio CD, no weird-o music, just the author putting you through the paces. You can read along in the book, even. :)

Yay!

Jennifer 8:28 PM

Because I wanted to do something for Lent, even if it wasn't another List of 40, I decided to try A Morning Cup of Yoga. Problem was, I had to order it, and Amazon said it wouldn't be shipped until the 28th.

Well, I got it today. As well as Monstrous Regiment and The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. I'm gearing up for WorldCon, you know. And he has many other books coming out that look interesting (including a sequel to TWFM) so I should be happy for a loooong time. :)

Good news: Other than the twitch, my eyes are ok. And I managed not to get eyestrain today. I also got a lot done at work. So I was very happy.

Jennifer 6:02 PM

I'm feeling better this morning. Not 100% up to par--I didn't sleep well last night, but I did have a dream:

I was in the new library. Which was interesting, because it seemed like it had been an old church at one point. In the middle of the foyer was an atrium of sorts, with a really old tree growing out of the ground.

Evidently, there had been a house on the site at one point, or else they had integrated the house in with the church to create the new library. Well, right past the tree was a row of bushes and a window, and there was a piece of history attached to the site that had something to do with “my” family. (I wasn’t myself in this dream.) Evidently, a long time ago there was a murder or something at the house.

I’m not sure who I was with, but I was there with two people, and it was dark. I’m not sure if we broke in, or had permission to hunt around for artifacts. But anyway, we scrounged around in the dirt and I found an old, rusted pistol. It was rusted, but still recognizable. And it had blue markings. (The handle part. Whatever that’s called.)

“I bet this is the gun,” I said. “I can see it-- _________ shot __________ while he was sitting on the couch and gently lowered the gun out the window and it was never found.”

“You would have thought they would have found it if he dropped it in the bushes,” one of my companions said.

I shrugged. “Let’s see what else we can find.”

So we dug deeper, and I “heard” an interesting story. (It was more like as we dug the story became known to me.) Evidently, there was a child involved, a child with my name (my name was Jennifer in the dream, but I wasn’t me) who was born about six months before me. And she vanished, and I was somehow put in her place.

An interracial child, one of my companions said.

We uncovered a slab of marble that had a rough-cut picture of an angel on it, and a name that escapes me now. We also unearthed a broken headstone, but I can’t remember what it said either.

I dug deeper. And finally, about three feet down, I uncovered the lid of a wax-covered cardboard box. Inside the box were three things: two broken porcelain dolls, and a cloth doll made of black cloth and dressed in bright colored ribbons.

The dolls were antiques, and each one had unusual marks—I showed my companions how to find the maker’s mark, etc. Each doll’s left ear and part of its face had been broken. Otherwise, they were intact.

The first doll has matted curly hair and almost a Bru face, but it was larger than the usual Brus with an open mouth, open eyes, and teeth. The second was a “baby” doll, and I think it was either blond or had no hair. This doll had writing on the inside of its broken head, like marks from the person who made it.

We also found a second gun, this one even more rusted than before.

Before we could explore the box further or dig deeper to where I thought the other Jennifer’s grave would be, we heard someone coming.

So we hid, and I readied the rusted pistol, intending to defend our site if necessary. Somehow, the scene had morphed to a shadowy living room (don’t ask me how) and I hid between a sheet-covered dining room table and a sheet-covered couch. It was almost as if we were in a storage room now. My companions hid in other places.

A skinny, dark haired man slipped into the room and went directly to where we had dug the hole. I think he picked up one of the dolls, and I was about to stand and confront him when I woke up.

Of course.

Any takers on interpretation?

Jennifer 10:16 AM

Wednesday, February 25, 2004

I had a long and interesting meeting at work today, but unfortunately chose to sit in the wrong place. By 2:30, I had major glare eyestrain going on, coupled with a raging headache. Not fun.

After I got home, I took a nap, but when my eyes were still twitching after an hour and a half of sleep, I decided to go hit CVS for some OTC artificial tears. (I don't cry enough?!) I read an article over the weekend that recommended those products for dry eyes, and that's part of my problem.

So I got TheraTears, which is really expensive ($13.00 for 20 single use packets) and figured if it worked, that was a good enough investment. Well, single-use must be for giants or something, because I've had to apply this stuff three times just to finish up one dose.

Does it help? Well... since I"ve been suffering all week long, I'll wait and see tomorrow, but I will say that it's much better than Visine. Visine was hurting my eyes at times. This stuff isn't, but I still have a half of a headache. (Although some of the headache might be from the sinus cold Ethan gave me.) The funny thing is, I can almost read print onscreen without my glasses.

So we'll see. It would be nice to have this go away. (Another piece of the problem is the dry air at work. It really messes with my sinuses and my eyes. Not fun.

Let's see. Anything else? Current wordcount on Nightshade is... something. I barely wrote yesterday and I'm probably not going to get much done tonight. And I've been trying to run down the Dana's battery since Saturday, as well. It's showing about 1/8 full, and hasn't budged for two days. Just in case it suddenly decides it's empty, I have been bringing my plug with me to work. But so far, no go.

This is a test to see how long it lasts. After all, I have a trip to Florida to think of in June...

Jennifer 7:56 PM

Tuesday, February 24, 2004

Went to Jessica's choir concert this evening after working all day. We had a late supper from Wendy's. There's a Wendy's in Bethel now. Did I mention that before?! :)

Jess & the choir sounded quite good, but the trumpets in the band, unfortunately, needed some extra practice. They did redeem themselves a bit on the last song when they came in flawlessly, but still. (I used to play trumpet, so I should know.)

Ethan, however, was entranced by the conductor, and kept mimicing his movements. It was quite amusing, especially when he yelled "CA!" when he saw Jess. (He calls Jess "Ca". Mom is "Ma." Dad is "Pa." (see a pattern here?) Bekah is "MaMa."

And I'm "Tea." Yes, he calls me by my choice of beverage. *g* This has a good explanation, though. The mug I use (all the time) is quite distinctive, and I used to ask him what I had in the mug. He'd say "Tea." Ergo, that's what he calls me.

Hey, it works. :) Better than Jen-Jen, by all means.

And I kind of like to be known as "Aunt Tea." Go ahead. Say it outloud. Get it? :)

Nicknames I've had throughout my life:

Jen (Always. Never Jenny. Jenni was my best friend in school. So was Jenny.)
Refinnej (I once spent an entire summer speaking mirror-language)
June (Bekah's)
Juniper (Bekah's)
Satan (Middle School mostly. Long story.)
St. Clair (Rarely used.)

And now... Tea

Works for me.

Jennifer 8:16 PM

Monday, February 23, 2004

Posting this here as well:

Someone on a list--can't remember which one, hence the cc's--said something about response times that got me to thinking, so I opened up the spreadsheet I keep my submissions in and did a couple of quick calculations.

Out of 13 submissions since July 02 (when I started to keep track of submissions):

3 have been withdrawn:

1 to Double Dragon Publishing (This one really makes me wonder. I got a response in September 02 saying they had it, and would reply soon, and then nothing. Multiple queries over the course of a year to the submission address received no reply. I finally pulled it last summer, because they were obviously not going to reply to any of my email queries. Needless to say, that's made me very hesitant to submit to them again, even though I have heard lots of good things about them. Anyone who may be able to shed some light on this, please email me privately.)

1 to Jintsu--market on hiatus.

1 to Meisha Merlin--overstocked.

------------
2 have been rejected:

1 by Ellora's Cave-- Response Time (RT) 3 weeks
1 by Realms of Fantasy--RT 1 1/2 months

-------------
4 have been accepted:

1 by Jintsu-- RT 2 weeks
1 by Writer's Exchange-- RT 1 month
1 by Twilight Times-- RT 2 1/2 weeks
1 by eXtasy Books-- RT (according to my email time) 1 1/2 hours

-------------
3 outstanding:

2 at Writers-Exchange (since July 03)
1 at Scrybe Press (since Jan. 10, 04)

--------------

Now, obviously, some of these are the same books or stories, resubmitted for whatever reason. But I thought my figures were interesting, especially the response times I've gotten. Which are really good, for the most part. Downright phenomenal in one respect!

Anyone else want to post theirs?

Jennifer 9:26 PM

In "let's surprise Jen" news, I found one of my best friends from HS today after having a dream about him last night/this morning. It was very cool to discover he's doing quite well. :)

I want to go somewhere, but I don't know where. Which is strange. Hmm. Might have to wait for the feeling to pass, and hope it returns in time for WorldCon this year. Maybe I've been talking about Ireland and Scotland too much. And Canada, which brings me to another point.

I think it's quite interesting that some of my favorite authors (Charles DeLint and Tanya Huff), my favorite bands/singers (Sarah McLachlan, Great Big Sea, Chic and Swell) and friends (Sarah, for example) are from Canada. Even one of my publishers is based in Canada. Canada seems to be echoing something in my life lately, which is really quite interesting. There's one more correlation I noticed lately Canada-wise, but I can't remember what it was offhand.

I am in the process of planning a trip to Toronto, probably in October for my 30th birthday. Yes, I will officially be OLD. :)

So. What does that have to do with the price of bread? Not much.

I'm aiming for 28k on Nightshade this evening. The dishes are done, so I really don't have any excuse. I introduced a character this afternoon. Her name is Jaime Duncan, and she's Queen. Or, at least that's what she calls herself.

I'm beginning to feel a bit sorry for poor Ella. (only a bit, mind you...)

Jennifer 7:50 PM

Sunday, February 22, 2004

Portability, or why I haven't bought a new computer yet...

I've had enough extra money in the savings account to buy a nice new computer for a month or so now, and yet I haven't made the plunge. I started to realize why a week ago when I realized I hadn't hotsynced my Dana in almost a month. And since I hadn't hotsynced, I hadn't turned on the computer upstairs for almost a month.

It seems kind of silly to buy a brand new computer if I'm not going to use it, no?

I mean... once I'm on my own, I will have to have a desktop hooked up to the internet. But now, it seems a bit silly to spend the money. And even though Dad's old computer is, well, old, it works just fine for what I need to do (the only time I use it is for graphic work.)

So I guess I'm going to wait a bit longer. And maybe buy myself one for Christmas--with a CD/R and DVD as well. Unless, of course, Dad's old computer dies, but it shows no sign of stopping. (Old Dells are workhorses!)

But anyway.

Nightshade is past 26k... I'm flying.

Jennifer 9:10 PM

Saturday, February 21, 2004

If you ever have a chance to hear Jenny Crusie speak, especially if you're a writer, go! It was a wonderful talk about revising novels. Absolutely great stuff. Very useful!

Of course now I'm exhausted, because it seems I've been running all day long. And it's only 5:30.

But at least I can sit down and write now.

Oh... and so I'm driving down main street in Williamsburg and I passed Windy's World, which is a store I've been in once or twice. Displayed in one of the front windows is a large sign that says "YARN" and a bunch of neat yarn hanging over a spinning wheel. Well, I had to stop in. I mean... did you really think I could pass up a sign like that?

So. I stopped in. And found a treasure trove of yarn. They even make their own! I ended up buying some hand spun black wool yarn that will look great as something (not sure yet, but I couldn't pass it up) and some other cool yarn.

And I had a nice conversation with the proprietress (sp?) and I will be back. It's so nice to find a local yarn store.

Jennifer 5:27 PM

The library program was great. Very good questions, and I had a blast. But I really think I need to get an endorsement from Alphasmart, because I was really pushing my Dana. :)

They aren't paying me, honest!

Now I'm going to see Jenny Crusie at another library program.

Jennifer 12:26 PM

Friday, February 20, 2004

You know, of all the pictures I've looked at from San Francisco this past week, this one is my favorite. 51 years!

Jennifer 9:31 PM

Just to let everyone know, anonymous comments will be devoweled* and anonymous posters will be banned on this blog.

*The term "devoweled" is borrowed from Making Light. It's a very satisfying exercise. I left some of the y's in because y is not always a vowel, right?

Jennifer 7:50 PM

I have a library program this Saturday:

Saturday with the Scribes - Amelia Branch
Saturday, 02/21/2004 , 10:00 a.m.
A question and answer session from local authors Alan Cupp, Kay Horning, and Jennifer St. Clair as they share their writing experiences.
Please visit the library or call (513) 752-5580 to register for this event.

Hope to see local people there!

Jennifer 9:27 AM

Thursday, February 19, 2004

Nightshade is now right under 23k. It's going well, so far. Especially after I ignored that little voice in the back of my head that told me I was writing dreck. :)

Jennifer 3:09 PM

Finally! From Jami...



>1. You wake up one morning and find that you feel sick, sicker than you
>have for a long time - your head hurts, light makes it worse, sound makes
>you want to hurl, the feel of anything on your skin is like being caressed
>by concrete. You make an appointment with your doctor, who confirms that
>you are sick - but isn't sure what exactly it is. He writes a referral to
>another professional whom he whole-heartedly endorses, but never really
>says what her specialty is... You drive off to the address he gives you,
>which turns out to be a non-descript building in a rather dingy part of
>town that you've never been in before. If you didn't feel so horrible,
>you would never consider leaving your car in this kind of neighborhood,
>but you've just felt worse and worse as the day went on. You hurry
>inside, hoping that the receptionist will move you through quickly, but
>you find that there isn't a receptionist, there isn't a waiting room,
>there isn't even an exam room - just a square room, no windows, one door,
>a table and two chairs. One of the chairs is occupied by a woman who
>looks remarkably like the Oracle in the Matrix movies. "Have a seat,
>dear," she tells you. You take the offered seat, not wanting to hurt her
>feelings and curious as to what all this is about. She explains that she
>knows your regular doctor sent you over to see her, and she even knows
>what your problem is. "It comes down to this," she tells you. "Your
>writing is taking over the part of your brain that controls your
>senses. You have to give up your writing forever, or give up your sense
>of sight. If that doesn't solve the problem, you'll have to give up
>another sense as well. That will definitely solve your issue. Just say
>the word, and I'll mix up the right compound to solve your problem
>forever." What would you choose to give up, your writing or your sight
>(although, I already know the answer to that one!). If needed, what other
>sense would you sacrifice, and why? What would you do to continue your
>writing without being able to see?
>

I think I could live without sight. I've actually thought about it before. If I had a choice which senses to lose, I'd pick hearing and sight, in that order.

I don't think I could give up writing "for my health." There are too many stories out there that need to be told. I guess I'm a storyteller at heart.

Good question! :)



>2. If you could go back ten years and have a heart-to-heart chat with
>your younger self, what would you say? Do you think that your younger
>self would listen?
>

If I could go back ten years... Okay. I would be 20. Let's see. Working at the library, not really happy with my life, but not able to find direction, either.

I had a dream like this once. I dreamed that my future self appeared to my present self in my bathroom mirror, and told me not to worry, that I would get published; that things would work out.

I would probably tell my younger self to keep her chin up and don't give up. I would tell her that she's stronger than she thinks, and that she's smarter than she thinks too.


>3. A new arts and crafts fair is coming to town, and you're invited by
>the director to reserve a vendor table - she's seen your teddy bears and
>knitting at other craft fairs and loves your work. She even knocks half
>the price off the charge for renting the table as extra incentive. You
>decide to take her up on her offer, and pack as much as you have to sell
>onto the table. Everything sells very quickly - by the time the fair is
>half over, you only have a few teddy bears left and not many more scarves
>and hats. With fifteen minutes remaining in the day, just one lone teddy
>bear is left sitting on your table. An old woman shuffles up to look at
>the teddy bear - you recognize her, she's been by the table a few times
>already today, but hasn't bought anything from you (or anyone else that
>you can see). "I have an offer for you for this teddy bear," she
>says. You're a little confused, since the price is right on the tag
>hanging from the bear's neck, but before you can say anything, she
>continues. "My great-great-grandaughter turns three tomorrow, and I know
>she would just love this teddy bear for a birthday present. I don't have
>any money to buy anything for her - but I have something else for
>trade." She pulls a little ball of matted yarn from her pocket. "This
>yarn will turn into any color you want it to be, any length you need it to
>be, any texture you want it to be. All you need to do is tell it what to
>become, 'purple-chenille-ten feet', for instance." You watch the yarn
>closely, but it doesn't look any different than the knotted dingy grey
>ball that she pulled out. "It only works when you're alone - it's a
>little shy. And it doesn't like scissors, so if you cut it, it loses it's
>powers. Will you accept it in trade for the teddy bear?" Do you believe
>her story about the yarn? Do you accept it in trade? What would you ask
>the yarn to become? What would you make with it if it DID turn into what
>you told it to?
>

I would accept the yarn, even if it wasn't real. Mostly because that's a good story, and I'm a sucker for good stories. And I can always make more teddy bears. :)

Let's see. What would I ask the yarn to become? Hmm. Probably 100% angora yarn in a blue to match my hat, because I can't get that yarn anymore. And at least enough to knit me up a sweater. Or chunky cashmere yarn (which as far as I can tell doesn't exist.)

>4. If you could be any kind of animal, what would you pick and why?
>

A book dragon. Why? Because I loved that book, and I really liked the idea behind it.

Failing that, a phoenix.


>5. In a surprise ending to the November '04 election, you have been
>elected to be the next President of the United States. Congress quickly
>passes an amendment to allow you to take office despite being younger than
>the minimum age to hold the office. What would your first actions in
>office be?
>

Oooooh. Hard question. Hmm. Hmm.

I would legalize the growing and production of hemp in the United States. Because there's just so much you can make out of hemp that is good for the environment.

Failing that, I'd pass a bill that says anyone of legal age can marry anyone they want without discrimination of sex, religion, etc., etc.


>RULES:
>1 - Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.
>2 - I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
>3 - You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.
>4 - You'll include this explanation.
>5 - You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.

Jennifer 8:17 AM

Wednesday, February 18, 2004

And a snippet:

Ella didn't want to get Ben in trouble for telling her what Robin's mother wanted him to do, so she played dumb. "That's horrible. Ben told me a little about the purebloods, before."

"There are two pureblood families," Robin said. "But you can't guarantee having children of compatible ages at any given time. We're all related, of course. According to the Rule, there can be no new blood added to our ranks." He cracked open his eyes. "Who is in charge?"

"Jaime Duncan," Scarlett said. "At least for the moment."

"Jaime Duncan was three years old... oh." Robin sighed. "Fifteen years later, of course."

"She declared herself the last pureblood," Scarlett said. "But her power isn't complete. Especially with Marcus still alive."

"And have we heard from dear Marcus?" Robin's lip curled. "He's not the type to stay hidden for long."

"Marcus isn't pureblood," Ben whispered to Ella. "But he wishes to be king."

She nodded. "Are purebloods more powerful than halfbloods?"

Robin heard her question and opened his eyes. "That's a good question. And I thought it made sense, but years of inbreeding crippled our ranks. Scarlett and Ben do not know this, but most of the pureblood children are born freaks--damaged in one way or another and utterly useless to my father's cause. Once or twice, my family has birthed a human. Which would cause the utmost of embarrassment if that truth be known."

"That explains a lot, actually," Scarlett said. "Especially the curious custom of not admitting to the pregnancy until the babe is born."

"What happens to those children?" Ella asked.

A strained silence descended as they all waited for Robin's reply. Ella heard a car pass on the street outside, the only indication of mundane life that she had heard for hours.

He sighed. "Again, Scarlett and Ben know none of this. And I am breaking so many rules and regulations to tell you."

"I can guess," Scarlett growled.

"And you'd guess right," Robin said. "They are killed, for the most part. My father has--had--designs to outdo Hitler in some respects."

"For the most part?" Ben asked the question that hovered in the forefront of Ella's mind.

"Some were... spared." Robin shifted position on the bed and stared at Scarlett. "You do realize that what I'm telling you here no one else knows?"

Scarlett spread her arms. "And do you realize that my coming here to help you has pretty much cemented my loyalty to your cause?"

copyright 2004 Jennifer St. Clair

Jennifer 6:05 PM

Re: Re: Good Lord!

>
> With Nightshades, the last thing I remember is Robin had had his bath and
> recovered a bit and was talking about raising an army.
> > >

Ok.

>
> Maybe, if he found a purpose, or he might have done it, thinking to use him
> against Robin.
>

Yes, true. Something to hold over Robin's head to make him behave.

> Oh my!
> >

Of course Aaron would want to be in the crowd when Robin arrives @ Nightshades.

>
> Oh boy! Would they hate each other on first sight or would they rush into
> each other's arms.
> >

I'm not sure.

Here's the deal, though...

Aaron was kin, not human. So it could be proposed that he didn't die right away because kin aren't fully human. (Does that makes sense?)

And perhaps someone found him and saved his life, but he never fully healed. And when Robin's father was overthrown, Aaron was found by the Hunters (probably) and turned over to Marcus.

Either:

a. Marcus already knew that Robin had a lover

or

b. Aaron was so out of it that he let it slip (more probable)

and Marcus made him into a vampire.

In this world, "Master" vampires (I hate to use that term, but it works for the time being) have certain powers over their "children", so to speak.

So Aaron wouldn't have a choice but to spy for Marcus. Although if he gets strong enough, he could try to break free, but that usually results in the death of one or more vampires. (Or something. Still a bit hazy on this point.)

It's so nice to have someone to hash out plot points with...

Jennifer 1:18 PM

Oh, this is weird. Can you imagine?

Jennifer 8:50 AM

There are livejournals on Mars!! Ha. I love it.

(shamelessly stolen from Jenny.)

Jennifer 8:05 AM

Tuesday, February 17, 2004

While lying in bed attempting to get rid of this headache/eyestrain/dry eyes problem and also attempting (at the same time, even) to reign in my temper after discovering someone (names will be withheld) had eaten all the strawberries (just bought yesterday. An entire box) I got a great idea for a short story.

*sigh*

Two handwritten pages later, I have a plot, characters, but no end yet. I'm going to let it simmer for a bit before I write it, though; I need to know the ending for this one, I think.

Or, rather, I do know the end, but I need to know how they get to the end first.

Jennifer 5:59 PM

A thought I had the other day:

Are there female "barbershop quartets"?

Jennifer 2:21 PM

Stephen King's acceptance speech. Good stuff!! Go read!

It made me cry. *sniff*

Jennifer 9:31 AM

Wow. I like every song on the CD. Some more than others, but none are stinkers. (Of course this makes me want to go buy more of her CDs.) And this is a first!

Nightshade is over 20k. I'm not doing as good as I was, but last week was a nightmare, what with Dad in the hospital and all. If I'm aiming for 90k, that means I'm still in the beginning, and it feels right to me so far. So we'll see.

I've been doing something different lately. Instead of crawling into bed right away and falling asleep while writing, I've been sitting at my desk (still using the Dana) and writing for at least an hour before bed. This makes me less likely to fall asleep, and it seems to be working. I got a lot done that way yesterday.

Of course, when Ethan's upstairs, he wants to sit at my desk and play with my pens and I have to sit on my bed and write. Oh, the sacrifice. :)

Jennifer 9:14 AM

Monday, February 16, 2004

I did something unusual (at least for me) today. I bought a CD. Now this might not be abnormal for anyone else, but I don't usually buy CDs. CDs aren't like books, although they can be compared to short story collections, I suppose. Very rarely have I bought a CD and liked all the songs on it. (Even with Loreena McKennit, whose music I love. There are songs on the tapes I have that I could definitely do without, and others I can listen to time after time again. Yes, most of what I have are tapes. I haven't upgraded in that department yet, and I honestly don't listen to that type of music much anymore.)

But anyway, so I bought a CD. (Actually, I bought two. I bought the Shrek soundtrack for Ethan so we don't have to watch the movie five times next weekend. He's in love with Hallelujah, (so am I) but even Shrek gets a bit old sometimes.)

What CD did I buy? Sarah McLachlan's new one: Afterglow. I love the song "Fallen", and but I've hesitated buying CDs from her for fear of being disappointed by the other songs. (I really like the one that came out years back... can't remember the title offhand.) So hopefully I won't be disappointed with this one...

(and stupid computer won't play it, damn it. Grrrrr. I'm going upstairs.)

Jennifer 8:21 PM

Sunday, February 15, 2004

I've been writing today. Sorrow, which is the prologue to Nightshade. It's going to be a short story, I hope, but we all know how well I do at short stories.
I think I'm past 3k at the moment, but I'm not sure. I haven't checked my wordcount for a while.

I'm getting the urge to knit again, so I might finish up the lacy shawl or the scarf I have in progress. Or else I'll just work on one or the other a bit.

At the moment, though, I'm stiff because I had a fight with our dumpster this evening while taking out the trash, and it did a number on my bad knee. Not good, although right now it's my lower back that hurts. I think I'll have a nice big bruise on my knee tomorrow, though.

Oh, and I just wanted to say:

Marriage is love.

Jennifer 9:41 PM

Saturday, February 14, 2004

My line will be: "Things don't line up on purpose, because my journal is called DisOrganization for a reason!" So there. :P

Website is done. Finit. Even the knitting/crocheting page. Although I need more pics. But that's ok, I can deal with that.

And I stopped with 27 pages according to my Website folder in my documents. Geez. That's close to ridiculous.

Off to write now, I think. I've fiddled with this enough.

Jennifer 9:24 PM

Dad is home, as well. Which is a GOOD THING!!

Jennifer 7:51 PM

Geez. My website has 23 pages. Wow. I hadn't realized it was getting so big until I started redoing the whole darn thing.

Knitting & Crochet is still not up, but everything else (except for the procrastination essay I have to find) is done as far as I know. I've clicked and clicked until I can't click anymore, so if I'm missing anything, let me know!

Jennifer 7:31 PM

Friday, February 13, 2004

Testing, testing... Let's see if this works!

Okay. Most of the webpage is now updated. I think I'll do the rest later, though; I'm tired.

Jennifer 10:46 PM

I'm updating my webpage. Go Look.

At the moment, I've done three or so pages with the new design. The rest are coming. The only inactive link is the knitting/crochet page.

Jennifer 8:46 PM

And then I wake up to this wonderful review of Nine Lives and Three Wishes from Green Man Review's own Grey Walker.

What a nice thing to wake up to. Almost made it worth going in to work. :)

Jennifer 8:34 AM

Thursday, February 12, 2004

Asking for prayers for my Dad who is in the hospital with pancreitis (sp?) He's been in there since Sunday evening, and he was doing better, but today the pain returned. (ouch.) So he's still there. So if anyone reading this can spare a good thought to send his way, you'd have my appreciation and thanks.

This week has been a blur. Long nights every week, it seems, except tonight so far. And I can't shut my muse up.

After work today, I drove to Georgetown to pick up some food the nice ladies Mom works with cooked for the family. I came home with the back of my car full of groceries, casseroles, and other good stuff. And I can't thank them enough. It was getting hard to feed whoever was actually here at any given time, and there's stuff Mom can take to the hospital with her to eat as well.

I took the scenic route to Georgetown. State Route 52 to 221. And boy, what a ride.

There are roads in this state where you just want to stop and stare and where you wonder if you're still in Ohio. A five mile long stone wall on one side, a sheer drop on the other, and a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside that took my breath away.

Although, I will admit I was very glad that it wasn't dark. 221 in the dark would have been... interesting.

Jennifer 7:47 PM

I started a short story yesterday detailing Scarlett and Robin's first meeting (from Nightshades) after it came up in the book. Interesting stuff. I like it, but then again, I'm a bit biased.

And I say short story, but I'm really not sure how long it will be. I'm thinking it spans the period of time when Scarlett and Robin first meet until he is captured by Ella's father and imprisoned. There's a murder in there as well (actually two murders, but one won't show up in the short story) so it should be fun.

It's going well. I seem to have set Scarecrows aside at the moment, but that's okay, 'cause I'm writing it for myself, after all, since the first book isn't sold yet. But that will only last until I finish NS.

I found two jobs in Clermont Cty. to apply for. Wish me luck. If I can get back with the county (less driving time too) I should be able to claim all my time and then I will be in a very good mood. :)

Basically, they are talking about moving our office. We're not sure where. It may end up downtown, and I don't want to drive downtown. And if I can get out from under the union's thumb, I will be better off. In both mind and spirit.

Jennifer 7:58 AM

Wednesday, February 11, 2004

Neil Gaiman writes:

I think for me the tipping point was when I was a very young man. It was late at night, and I was lying in bed, and I thought, as I often thought, "I could be a writer. It's what I want to be. I think it's what I am." And then I imagined myself in my eighties, possibly even on my deathbed, thinking that same thought, in a life when I'd never written anything. And I'd be an old man, with my life behind me, still telling myself I was really a writer -- and I would never know if I was kidding myself or not.

Yes. That's it exactly.

Jennifer 10:13 AM

The Chocolate & Romance program is definitely decadent. Whoa. There were 26 adult entries and 5 YA entries. And we had to taste them all.

There was no panel this time, which was kind of nice, because I got to talk to my fellow authors (Rosemary Laurey and Tina Morgan, among others) more this time. And I got to thank Rosemary for lighting the fire, so to speak--at our last program at that library, we had a conversation about naughty romances *g* and she lit the fire to pave the way to Counting the Stars. So it was nice to tell her that I'd sold it.

The winning entries were my favorites, and they were all delicious. I really want the recipes. So I guess that means I have to come back next year, if only for the recipes of this year's winners. Darn. :)

But I will say that I started out eating rather largish pieces (like a whole cookie for #1) and by the end I was taking the barest of sliver to taste. And I didn't want to look at chocolate by the end of the evening. Whew.

I got there early enough to eat at Der Dutchman, and that helped my headache a bit, but I was exhausted by the time I came home.

Jennifer 9:23 AM

Tuesday, February 10, 2004

I'm back. Exhausted. And I discovered that it is possible to eat too much chocolate. :)

Great time, though. Will post more tomorrow.

Jennifer 10:06 PM

I am bringing the entire prologue of Nightshade to the Chocolate and Romance program this evening (incentive for people to come! A work-in-progress!) as well as copies of The Tenth Ghost (although there's no romance in TTG...) Details are here, but note: they have my bio wrong. (The titles listed are actually reviews I did a long time ago for Rambles.)

Anyway, I will be in Waynesville tonight, judging chocolate. What fun!

Jennifer 9:10 AM

Monday, February 09, 2004

This is the coolest website I have ever seen in my life. And while you're at it, be sure to visit Shards 'o glass as well. Catch the commercial.

Jennifer 9:51 AM

Sunday, February 08, 2004

Rejection-o-rama

Evidently, there's a website devoted to rejection letters. It bills itself as "The writer's and artist's on-line source for misery, commiseration, and inspiration." And you can post your rejection letters there and comment on them.

Some of them are pretty... nasty. Some are quite baffling. And actually, I would be quite pleased to get this one, if only because causing nightmares would be cool...

This one just made me wince, and this one I would have loved to get when I was eleven...

But enough of that. There are more to read through if you're interested.

I haven't gotten a lot of rejection letters in my lifetime (yet), but I've gotten enough of them to not take it personally. And quite a few of these people are taking them personally.

It's like applying for a job, in truth. Only one person can get the job, and most of the time, even though your qualifications might be just as good as the next person, you might not even get an interview. Learn from it and move on.

I borrowed this from Making Light, and I really think everyone needs to read the comments on this particular post (even though there are now over 300 of them!!) because there's some great stuff in there.

Jennifer 8:27 PM

Saturday, February 07, 2004

Over 12k. Aiming for 14k tonight. We'll see. I'm also going to try to write a bit on SCR as well. I'm getting inklings of what will happen next, which is good. Good for me, that is. My characters won't be so pleased...

This is a very interesting world I'm writing in. I have set my 'rules' for the vampires, and it seems to be working. What will become interesting is how my main character, Ella, reacts to all of this. So far, she's doing okay. Not sure what she'll do when she gets in deeper, though. Which is all part of the fun. Especially when she finds out who the Nightshade actually is...

It's snowing. I think we have two inches (at least) by now, which is covering the ice that is left from before and making the driveway safe to walk on again. For now, at least.

Dad got home early, btw. They left around 8:30 last night and drove straight through.

Jennifer 7:20 PM

Got over 10k last night, and inching up towards 11k this morning.

I'm thinking about calling it Nightshade. What do you think? I don't recall reading any vampire books with that name... and there's a reason behind the name, too, of course... :)

Dad's due back from Florida today. Evidently, they left at 8:30 last night and drove straight through. So he should be home soon. Cool.

Jennifer 11:17 AM

Friday, February 06, 2004

Okay, that was weird... my blogger login wouldn't work for three hours. I was trying to login from www. blogger.com. But when I typed in just blogger.com, it worked. I don't get it.

AYU will be 10k before I go to bed tonight, I think. Which means... I'm averaging 2500 words a day. Not bad at all.

And I know who gets the next chapter of SCR now, I'm just not sure what will happen in it yet. Still thinking.

Jennifer 8:41 PM

AYU is getting there. I did manage to write about 1500 words yesterday.

Nothing on SCR yesterday, but I'm still trying to decide who gets the next chapter and what happens therein.

Jennifer 9:14 AM

I hate unions, I don't do office politics, and damn it, when I'm sick I'm calling in. That's why I have 72 1/2 days of sick time. I only call in when I'm sick, dammit.

I'm here today, not sick. But I really hate the office politic game, and I'm not going to be a player in this little drama.

Argh. But I am very irritated with the whining. It's like some people have nothing better to do with their time.

Hello?! I have a job to do, and if you'd stop whining at me about stuff I really don't care about, I could get that job done much faster. Sheesh, people. Get lives.

(This message brought to you by the Friday gossip fest that I would rather not be involved in.)

**Note, I didn't get yelled at or in trouble or anything, but some people are just too concerned about answering the phones around here. Grow up, people.

Jennifer 9:11 AM

Wednesday, February 04, 2004

Okay, I lied. AYU (As-yet-untitled) is close to 4k at the moment.

SCR is upwards of 37 or 38k, I think. Somewhere around there.

Anyone got a spare title for a dark urban fantasy? Here's a snippet of the prologue... (unedited, of course...)

Hours later, she awoke to a commotion outside. Screeching tires, men yelling… the sound of running footsteps on the gravel driveway. Ella slipped out of bed, grabbed her stuffed rabbit, and padded to the window. Her window looked out on the backyard, though, and she saw nothing out of place.

It took her a long moment to gather up enough courage to walk out of her room and down the hall. As she reached the top of the stairs, the front door slammed open, admitting two grim-faced men, her father, and… and someone else.

That someone else was a man as well, beaten and bloody, but thrashing in his captor’s arms like a wild animal caught in a trap. Ella stood very still, trying to understand what this man had to do with her mother’s death. Her Momma had died in a terrible, terrible accident as far as Ella knew. A terrible accident…

Her father looped a piece of rope around the man’s throat and twisted it together, choking him. The other two men held their captive down, getting blood and other icky stuff all over the rug.

Ella shivered and clutched her rabbit tighter. What were they going to do? She knew she should be safe in bed, and not standing at the top of the stairs where anyone could glance up and see her, but she could not move.

The struggle was silent now, broken only by gasping gurgles from the prisoner and soft curses from the two men. Ella’s father did not speak at all.

Finally, the man on the floor stopped struggling. He lay quiet, his eyes closed, as the two other men tied his hands with rope threaded with some sort of sparkly wire.

Ella’s father released his hold on the rope. It fell away from the man’s throat, and Ella couldn’t help but see the deep red indentation it had left behind. The man opened his eyes and licked his lips.

“If you say one word, I’ll cut out your tongue,” Ella’s father said. His tone of voice scared Ella so much that she squeaked.

It was only a little squeak. No one but the man on the floor noticed. And he raised his head, saw her, and tried to coax his cracked lips into a smile.

Ella’s father glanced up before she could slip away. His face grew darker when he saw her standing there, and he stood, ignoring his prisoner.

“Ella!” His voice shattered the ice that held her in place. “Get back to bed, girl!”

“You have a lovely daughter,” the man on the floor whispered. A trickle of blood leaked down one side of his face as he spoke. “How much does she know?” His skin was purpled with bruises, and blood darkened the rug beneath his body.

Ella couldn’t catch her breath. “D-Daddy?” Tears scoured her cheeks. “Daddy, what’s going on?”

“I told you it was a bad idea to bring him here, Eldon,” one of the other men said, wiping bloody hands on a white handkerchief. “Come on, girlie. Get back to bed.”

“Leave her be,” Ella’s father snapped. “Ella. Get to bed. This isn’t something a girl should see.” Belying his words, he drove the heel of his boot deep into his prisoner’s throat.

The man on the floor gagged and writhed on the floor. The other two men had a hard time keeping him down, even with the help of the ropes binding his wrists.

“Take him downstairs,” Ella’s father said. “I’ll… I”ll take care of my daughter.”

copyright 2004 Jennifer St. Clair

Jennifer 7:24 PM

Tuesday, February 03, 2004

Okay...

Nngh. Hate eyestrain headaches. Although it could have been workstrain... it actually feels better now. A cup of hot tea and some good email solved that problem, I guess...

My driveway is a sheet of ice, and so is most of the yard. Walking is an adventure, and getting to my car in one piece this morning was Very Interesting. I was almost done in by a cat.

I mean, this is ICE. Four inches of icy snow, then snow on top of that, and then rain to make it all nice and slick. You step down, pray your foot stays where it's supposed to stay, and then move your other foot. And repeat, until you reach your destination. If you make any sudden moves, like trying to nudge the cat away who seems to think it's quite cool to slide across the driveway, you're toast. Getting into the car involves quite a bit of calculation.

SCR is going well. And it looks like I have another WIP as well... as-yet-untitled. I'm not going to abbreviate it as AYU, though. I'm going to find a good title. Somewhere. It is a dark fantasy, and completely *cough* unrelated. I think. I wrote over 1500 words today, including the entire prologue. Yay. I think. I'm not quite sure I needed another WIP, but oh well.

And yes, it has vampires in it. :)

Jennifer 6:22 PM

Monday, February 02, 2004

AHHH! Terry Pratchett is going to be at WorldCon this year! Keri kindly pointed me towards it... and well... it's far enough into the future, it's long after Florida, and...

There's a Very Good possibility that I might actually be able to go. *swoon*

Okay, I'm not that bad, really. But I have always wanted to meet Terry Pratchett. He is, after all, my favorite author. :)

And did I mention it's in Boston? As in Massachusetts? Like, a place I've always wanted to visit?

Okay... very obviously, I would either have to fly or basically drive to Florida (14 hour trip, according to Yahoo...) Hmm. Although they do have direct flights from Cincinnati.

Jennifer 8:27 AM

Sunday, February 01, 2004

I've been reading HD in preparation to send it off in between bouts of doing other things on my list of things to do this weekend. Slowly crossing stuff off.

Haven't written yet, though... I left Michael still with the demon last night. It's quite interesting to read about him in HD, though, and see how much he has grown as a character since then.

Made chili today. I guess the family really likes my chili or something. We're about ready to eat. Yum again. Lunch tomorrow, even. :)

Jennifer 6:27 PM