The Storyrain Blog

Had a good, relaxing time in Malibu, beach walks, hot tub & pool, and talking/just being with my mom (also, having delicious healthy food cooked for me, such a luxury); then a lovely afternoon, evening, and morning visiting a friend in her new Culver City digs and talking a lot about writing and story in various forms. She cooked me a yummy dinner and we watched Red Riding Hood and while, yes, it fails--particularly in the matter of casting, egregious casting--it had some redeeming qualities, we thought, chiefly its art direction and in that it tried to do some weird, different things (it missed and fell on its face, but it tried, and the intentions and gestures of that effort were interesting).

Very tired and rather full of sad, for various reasons, on return. But all is well.

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There are only nine more days of the Clarion West Write-a-thon, only nine more days to sponsor me or some other lovely writer. (Also, eek there are only nine more days for me to finish this draft!)

Paws and Effect is raising dollars for Blind Cat Rescue, which rescues blind cats slated for death at shelters. Please consider giving a buck or two.

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I have given it quite a few chances, but I just don't like Stargate Universe. Everyone is dour, unpleasant, and unkind, the stories are murky, it has no real muscle, only pretend muscle. Whatever it's trying to do, it is not doing it for me. 

I do, however, like Justified, which is well written, interestingly shot, and puts Timothy Olyphant back into his Deadwood mode, with an Elmore Leonard update.

And Supernatural continues to be one of the best shows ever, (that most of you never watch).

ETA: also, In Plain Sight has more awesome older women featured on the show than any other single drama I can name. It almost seems more like a British than an American show. Plus all those women talk together about all kinds of stuff other than men. It's pretty awesome.

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Leaving, on a jet plane, tomorrow in the early, for to visit with my mom, who just turned 78. I think she's in better shape than I am. She swims every day; I just had a bad muscle spasm in my lower back. Wheee!

Regarding the refused ad for Crossed Genre's LGBTQ issue (I am late to mention, but I was on vacation!), tacithydra has an excellent round-up of links on the issue here. Personally (and shallowly) I don't see how anyone could reject an ad with such awesome art, which was, incidentally, the cover art for issue #7, which has my story "Our Lady of the Mantilla" in it. 
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Regarding that vacation, I will post some pics tonight-ish. But to sum up: beach, sun, cool breeze, sweet air, I saw baby whales!!!!, pelicans, rest, rest, rest, walking, swimming, hot tub, scrabble, good food, lots of love. Priceless. And extremely lovely and rejuvenating. I am full of yay and thank you.
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Regarding other things: rain! loft reassembled into liveable space! cooler mornings!

A few of the pictures from Malibu...more in the gallery. Beach, beach things, sunset, sunrise, and a few mammalian critters.

Okay, have been given the all-clear and am off to Malibu! Soon I will post of beaches and...whatever else goes on.

I direct you to carolineyoachim's post here, for a visual of one of the things my weekend included. A nice weekend, with lots of good (and healthy) eating, some socializing (I also saw Chad and baby Jake for lunch at Mr. Natural's), obligatory chores (have to empty the sink of dishes at least once a week ya know), and napping. There was some writing, too, though it's slow. All good, but man, I need a solid week at home without dayjobbage, just to be able to sink into writing and also feel properly human again. Weekends are seriously, seriously, too short. Like, I would have liked to go to a movie (Iron Man), as well, but there just wasn't enough weekend in the weekend. 

Non sequetorially, the crows in Malibu are freaking HUGE. 

On my way to Malibu for a mom-visit. At the last minute my sister decided to go, too, so yay! Plus, I’m going to get to visit with a friend I haven’t seen in 10 years, as she’ll be in Pasadena visiting her bro. Family visit, friend reunion, beach, hot tub, a trip to the Getty Museum, and work on Deep Terrain. Them’s my only ambitions.

Received my contrib copies of Otherworldly Maine yesterday. It’s beautiful. Sharing a toc with the likes of Stephen King, Edgar Pangborn, Gardner Dozios, Elizabeth Hand, Melanie Tem, and Mark Twain, among other very fine authors--I win! Ahem, I mean, I’m really honored. This looks like an awesome anthology.  

You can preorder your very own copy here. It's a trade paperback, and not expensive, and seriously, otherworldly Maine!

Into every vacation a little angst must fall, I guess; especially if your vacation is in reality a visit with family.

lalala

Anyway, beautiful day today, warmest yet, sunny in the morning, then a mist (or fog, I suppose) soft and cool in the air, heavy and grey in the canyons. Lovely when one is in the hot tub.

Watched Volver. Not my favorite Almodovar, but a good movie. And that Penelope Cruz. Hawt.

Tomorrow morning, homeward bound.

Watching the Pacific as I type. Seen on first beach walk this afternoon, sand pipers, gulls, a cormorant (I think), pelicans. Have hot tubbed once. The drive out here from Burbank, through Kanan Dume canyon, very lovely.

Can't seem to access Andy's wireless on my laptop, but he's very kindly letting me use his. However, expect my comments on posts to be spotty at best.

eta-yes, it was a cormorant, fishing in the waves. Also, none of us could remember at first what sand pipers were called and my mother said, it's the name of a film, about China...I quizzed her, an old film? Yes. It took me a while, but that did eventually retrieve it for me.

went something like this:

The ravens that seem to like to hang around mom and Andy’s place in particular made a lot of raven noise.

Up early every morning for hot tub, then swimming in the pool, the mist rising like smoke off the water in the light. As serious swimmers, my mother and sister both wear goggles and bathing caps, and I really meant to get a picture of them.

On the third day, time slowed, moments passing like quiet rain on a window, or honey, drop by drop.

Many walks on the beach were taken, early, late, and in between. Things seen:

one lone pelican skimming a handsbreadth from the sand along the beach, while large seagulls took the morning air on rocks bared by low-tide…

many terns (and they were the birds that flew around us that first afternoon, not gulls; the gulls here are much bigger birds)...

one big pelican flying with a group of terns...

alligator lizards slipping to higher rocks as tide comes in...

deep chested waves glittering and churning into the rocks...

doggies! on the beach! plus surfers and other strange life…

high tide instead of low tide for a change of pace: intense, high waves, much spume on the sea wall and rocks, exciting; we just sat and watched it for a long while, at the top edge of the beach on a little sand seat…
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Other activities engaged in:

scrabble with mom and cindy…three games, we each won one; puzzle of words…saline, quod, up up urn, oxen wane fez…

went out to a movie with everyone--the first time my mom’s gone out to a movie in years and years…so good to see her rallied and healthy; she looks good…

I was given an iPod for my birthday!  An iPod!!! Not only that, but it's a video iPod. I am spoiled. I watched a downloaded ep of a television show on the plane, then listened to music and was insanely pleased by my new ability to do so.

many walks during which many flowers were admired and the allysum growing up the hill below one of the condos filled the sea air with sweet scent...

more scrabble, more hot tub, sunset and fog watching, reading, and listening to the ocean ocean ocean…

my mom made many good meals, but the best one was the last night: roasted red pepper and cauliflower soup with corn bread custard and a big salad...

I took a lot of pictures and will post some soon.