What dreams may come and your Monday Fortune Cookie, 2/3/14

Old dreams never die they just get filed away.

SNARKY RESPONSE: And my office is proof of that fact.

Old dreams never die they just get filed away.

The trick is to remember to go back through those files once in a while and see if anything has changed. Time passes, we change and those changes may give us more perspective, skills, or opportunity than we had when we opted to file that dream away. Sometimes we're just not ready to take that leap of faith. Sometimes we have too many irons in the fire already--one more would create a catastrophic meltdown. Sometimes we have to gain more experience, more knowledge, more skills before we can pursue that dream.

That's what I did in 2000 when I decided to find out if I could truly write something worth publishing. I set myself on the path to publication and have trod the path as best I could. There have been the inevitable quagmires, wrong turns, and darkest nights. There have been false starts, misleading middles, and abandoned endings. And there have been tremendous friendships, amazing guidance, and unexpected partnerships. Along with victories, big excitement, and enduring determination.


What about you? What dreams have you plucked out of the archives of your heart to pursue with your soul?

Two Poetic Twists on a Theme & Your Monday Fortune Cookie, 1/27/14

Cold hands -- warm heart (or poor circulation)

SNARKY REPONSE: So do cold feet -- hot buns?


At MarsCon, I attended a Poetry workshop where the moderator, Adele Gardner, invited us to write some poetry playing with the con's fairy tale theme. Here are what I came up with:

Point of Departure

Before stepping between, she pauses to breathe,

a golden girl in pinafore with eyes of tempest blue.

Fingers splayed to reach, to push, to pull,

she breaks the liminal boundary, icy as sorrow,

fleeting as fog on a wintry morning.

A step away from a world dark with memories,

a step forward into a vista of unknowns,

she arrives, safe but not sound, here and yet still there.

Beyond the looking glass, she begins to seek her ending.

Queen's Gambit

So simple, yet so right.

With dew drops lingering bright on crimson skin,

the unsuspected vessel of my assured victory.

A single bite is all that's required.

Tart sweetness to be relished until

the body learns what the eyes did not perceive.

Rose red lips will part to gasp,

to frame a question unasked,

release a final breath in a sigh.

Innocence once more felled by naivete,

How simple, yes, how right.

The fruit of innocence bears the seed of death.

If you'd like to share something of your own in the comments, I'd be thrilled to see and read it. If you'd like to share your thoughts about my words, I'll try to be equally thrilled to read them (depending on the tone LOL).

That thin line between vision and hallucinating AND Your Monday Fortune Cookie, 1/20/14

Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.

SNARKY RESPONSE: It's also called hallucinating, and you might want to keep it to yourself.

Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.

Well, unsuspecting guests walking into the Fort Magruder Hotel this past weekend probably thought they might be hallucinating, or stepped through the looking glass, when they walked into the midst of MarsCon's Twisted Fairy Tales.

Look in any given direction and you might see Dr. Who talking to a Klingon or a trio of giggling fairies pacing down the hall or members of the Manticorian Navy looking for recruits. This year's MarsCon theme was fully embraced by everyone, including enterprising science fiction costumers. This science fiction soldier added wings and became part of Project Flying Monkeys.

In celebration of all things Dr. Who, there were multiple daleks and a double seating of a Dr. Who themed tea.

Along with all the fantastic visuals, there were a regular plethora of panels covering everything science fiction and fantasy. My personal bent being writing, I was most involved with Jim C. Hines and Carrie Ryan as the writing Guest of Honors. I even sat on a panel with them to discuss Fairy Tales in literature.

I also sat on several panels relative to Erotic Romance and two spontaneous writing panels where panelists had to rewrite their chosen fairy tale including some random aspects from the audience. These aspects included an extra character, an object, a setting, an obstacle. Nothing like a little pressure, right? The first was an Over 18 Erotic Rewrite and the second a PG Rewrite.

There was plenty of music with, I believe, four or five musical performers, including Danny Birt. Here he is filking. What is filking? Well, my research reveals that it is rather free-form and basically indefinable, but resembles folk music with science fiction or fantasy lyrics, though there are also filkers who preform other musical styles and themes.

This was my first MarsCon and I was doubly honored and thrilled to attend as a panelist. It was enlightening, entertaining, and exhilarating. I'm looking forward to next year!

Beautiful mistakes? And your Monday Fortune Cookie, 1/12/14

How can you have a beautiful ending without making beautiful mistakes?

SNARKY RESPONSE: Well if we're talking orders of magnitude, then, my ending is going to be in 3D, surround-sound, techni-color.

How can you have a beautiful ending without making beautiful mistakes?

And a beautiful mistake is better than a regular mistake how?
Does it hurt less or more?
Is it less disappointing or worse?
Is it more instructive or destructive?


Is it just me or does this sound as if the Fortune Cookie Guru is saying "no pain, no gain" in a long and roundabout way? I can't decide if I'm impressed by the depth of this fortune or irritated by it's pompousness.

I guess it's that ol' "you appreciate it if you've earned it" mentality. If we've suffered for our goals, we'll be grateful. If we sacrifice for our happiness, we'll value it more. If we haven't seen the dark, we can't appreciate the light.

I seriously vote for achieving my beautiful ending without mistakes, beautiful or ugly. I think I'm able to appreciate the positive things that happen to me without having to be clobbered by a boatload of negatives first. What about you?

What the heart wants, vampires, and Your Monday Fortune Cookie, 1/6/14

The heart wants what it wants: an unending supply of human blood.

SNARK RESPONSE: First - EW! Second - and so do vampires. Third - you call THIS a fortune cookie fortune?

The heart wants what it wants: an unending supply of human blood.

The Originals on the CW

Been trying to catch up with The Originals on CW, so I've got vampires on the brain. Still in the first few episode, so please, folks, no spoilers. Certainly a very photogenic group of blood-suckers plus one witch. Or is she a werewolf? And a twisty dysfunctional family structure to boot. Still a little fuzzy about the who's who, but the setting, Nawlins, is always filled with promises of the bizarre and outre. Yep, definitely intrigued.

In fact, I'm thinking I may be doing some posts over at Tea & Strumpets for Myth Perceptions about the vampire myth and related tropes. So, consider this a little snark peek, er, sneak peak at vampires as seen through the eye of yours truly.

First, why oh why ARE they always so deliciously hunkadorable to look at? Of course, there is that whole seduction to obtain food thing. I suppose if someone less than fabulous wanted to nibble on your neck, you'd be more likely to think twice. And if you've got to live forever, it is preferable to do so in a body to die, or not die, for.

Second, if all  you can eat or drink is blood, talk about halitosis! How would you seduce someone if every breath smelled like an abattoir? I don't think Listerine would be completely up to the challenge, do you?

Well, I'd better stop now before all the vampire fans come after me with pointy objects. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy a good vampire story as much as the next one, and I'll be watching The Originals. For a while.

A good story can be a real killer & Your Monday Fortune Cookie, 12/30/13

What doesn't kill us usually makes for a good story.

SNARKY RESPONSE:  And afterwards, it's best told with copious amounts of alcohol.

What doesn't kill us usually makes for a good story.

Isn't it strange how often the sad stories, the difficult issues, and the painful episodes are the ones that we harken back to the most? Tragedies are infinitely more relatable than comedies. And, if you look closely at any comedy, you'll find the funniest things are built around a moment of pain, be it slapstick or satire, someone's hurting in there somewhere. The difference is that experiencing tragedies is more often private while comedies are public. We withdraw with sadness, but we fling ourselves outward with laughter. This is my observation and my experience.

As writers, we are lucky to be expected to break with that pattern and outwardly share both the sorrows and joys of our characters. Only if we convey the emotional depths properly can we hope to bring our readers the connection they need and desire in a good story. So, we hoard every experience, good or bad, recording the stimuli and response so we can remember it for the page. And what we don't or can't actually experience, we delve into our imaginations, building on the closest proximity, and creating the best facsimile we can.

So, writers and readers, take heart and this advice, when life hands you lemons, yes, you can make lemonade, but be sure that  you also take notes. Someone, somewhere, somewhen is gonna ask you how you did it. Trust me.

Wisdom? From Me? And your Monday Fortune Cookie 12/23/13

Wisdom is on her way to you.

SNARKY RESPONSE: I hope she's a lot more reliable than her cousin, Lady Luck! Marlon Brando immortalized that lady's unreliability in Guys & Dolls!

Wisdom is on her way to you.

Personally, I think Wisdom has opted to take the Grand Tour on her way to me. I get an occasional postcard in the form of a momentary burst of brilliance or personal fortitude, but mostly it's all kinda "wish you were here" from Lady Wisdom.

But I have learned this piece of wisdom - courtesy is never out of style.
Saying "thank you" is a simple two-word gift that you can give to anyone and everyone who offers you assistance and/or support.

Thank you, everyone, who has supported me in my writing endeavors - RichWriters, Writers Endeavor, James River Writers, Virginia Romance Writers, and especially all of the Strumpets of Tea & Strumpets! 

And thank you to my husband and family for everything they do every day to make my life more complete. Without you and your love, NOTHING would be possible. Love & thanks!