I have previously confessed my obsession interest in The Vampire Diaries. I saw the first promotional poster while I was in Chicago last summer and was immediately intrigued. It looked like something I might like.
Of course, at the time I had no idea it was based on yet another teen vampire book series. I haven’t read Twilight and didn’t care for the first movie (though I love the fact that Fairy Tale Lust was mentioned in an article about the teen series and the increasing popularity of fairy tales).
I loved Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire series but have been turned off to HBO’s True Blood series-- maybe because it’s lacking the internal monologue of the books, as well as the humor. Plus, the accent grates on my nerves. (Sam Merlotte is my favorite character from the show, even though he’s a wolf, not a vampire. He also doesn’t have the ridiculous accent of most of the characters. But he belongs to Alana.)
So, I gave The Vampire Diaries a chance and now I’m hooked, despite the fact that the female protagonist is in high school and one of the vampire brothers is posing as a high school student. At least there’s sex-- and it’s not awkward teen sex. It’s also not graphic HBO sex, but c’est la vie. And there are the cool flashbacks to the 1800’s, when the female vampire who turned the brothers (and coincidentally looks exactly like the current-day female protagonist) was involved with both brothers. Oh… yum!
And this doesn’t look like a promotional poster for a teen paranormal drama, does it?
I might just be watching The Vampire Diaries for more than the vampires. But you already knew that.
I’m posting these a bit late. Patrick went for his two month pediatric appointment (and first round of vaccines) on February 5. He handled it like a champ. In fact, he was all smiles and curiosity right up until the vaccines…
Now that I have a part-time babysitter for Patrick, I am finding it frustrating trying to figure out how to best utilize the free time I have. And by “free” I mean, baby-free, since I’m very much paying for this time. (And after two months of non-stop, 24/7 baby care with maybe 10 hours away from him total, it is money very much well-spent.) Ideally, I would spend every single minute of my babysitting time writing. But that doesn’t allow for those other things I need to do which are better done without a baby in tow. Errands are so much easier when I can run in and out alone instead of having to heft baby and carseat (or snap baby and carseat into the stroller frame, since baby is now weighing close to 14 pounds and the carseat isn’t light, either). Even when Patrick is sleeping or awake and quiet, it makes for a longer trip that’s harder on my back.
So far, a balance between errands and writing seems to be working out, though I yearn for more time for both. I’d like to squeeze in a little adult social time, too, but that’s secondary to the things that must be done. Today’s five-hour block of babysitting time included picking up prescriptions at Target, a trip to Old Navy and writing. Five hours should be enough time for all of that, but… the wait at the Target pharmacy was 20 minutes. I spent half an hour in Old Navy (I’m in desperate need of some cool-weather clothing, but I seemed to have missed the end-of-season bargains because all that was left was crap) and walked out with two baby outfits and a pair of yoga pants for myself (to inspire me to do Pilates). I then went to Barnes & Noble, figuring a change of writing venue would be nice, but everyone seemed to have the same idea because the bookstore cafe was packed. I gave up on that idea and headed to my usual Starbucks, where I am now. I wrote some e-mail (writing related, mostly), chatted with Jay via Skype and have been writing (and blogging) since noon. I need to leave in ten minutes to be home by 3.
Half of my time today has been spent on writing stuff, the other half on errands and driving time. The driving time is annoying, but that’s life in the suburbs. I could stay home for my five hours and spend the entire time writing, but I already try to squeeze in some writing time at home while Patrick naps and I like being able to leave the house (alone). Plus, I think hearing him fuss or cry would be distracting (and likely send me downstairs to make sure things were okay-- not because the babysitter can’t handle it, but because I’d feel bad). I might still spend some days at home-- especially close to deadline times-- but I don’t want that to be the norm. So, it seems that grouping my errands together might be the best way to maximize my time. Perhaps dedicating one block of babysitting a week to errands would make me less frustrated because I could spend all of my time (less driving time) writing on the other days.
The other problem I need to work through-- and I’m trying!-- is actually leaving the house when the babysitter arrives. I have been spending 20-30 minutes (45 on Monday) chatting with her and/or finishing getting ready and gathering my stuff. Ideally, I would be ready to walk out the door when she arrived, but that’s not always possible with Patrick’s schedule. This morning, however, there really was no excuse. Patrick was napping and I was packing up my laptop when the babysitter arrived at 10, but I still didn’t walk out the door until 10:25. Oops. I will get better, though.
It’s lovely to have the time to write and run errands and know that Patrick is being well cared for and will be a happy (or napping) baby when I get home. To be honest, it’s still difficult to be away from him and I don’t think having more babysitting hours would make me happier. I would just miss him more. Instead, I just need to make sure I’m making the most of the hours I have.
On that note, I’m out of here and headed home.
Submissions, that is. I’m still hammering out the details of my next anthology (paranormal!) for Cleis Press, but in the meantime, here are some current writing opportunities that might interest you:
Rachel Kramer Bussel’s deadline for Passionate: Romantic Erotica is fast approaching! Get your erotic romance stories (by women, for women) in by March 15. All of Rachel’s calls for submissions can be found in one place now. Be sure to check out the guidelines for her other anthologies, Best Bondage Erotica 2011 and Best Sex Writing 2011. I love the Best Sex Writing series and wish it was getting the attention it deserves.
F-Stop: Expose the Naked I is a new website run by three of my favorite authors: Shanna Germain, Donna George Storey and Neve Black.
We’d like to extend an open invitation to all artists, writers, photographers and creative people of every stripe to be part of our new blog, F Stop: Expose the Naked I. Our goal is to create a space for erotic artists working in a variety of media to reveal themselves and promote their work in a sensually and intellectually stimulating way.
Shanna Germain’s inaugural piece for the site is breathtaking. Do read Naked Truths: A Narrative and consider submitting your own work.
Maxim Jakubowski is seeking stories for the next edition of Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica. I love selling a story a second time. Not only does it often find a new (and larger) audience, it also brings in a second paycheck. Plus, there is no writing involved! If you sold even one story in 2009, it’s worth submitting to Mammoth.
For those of you who don’t write erotica (or want to try your hand at something new), consider submitting a story to The Way of the Wizard, edited by John Joseph Adams. Deadline is March 31. (I’m adding his collection Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse to my list of books to read this year. I seem to have a renewed interest in all things apocalyptic.)
Samhain Publishing is looking for steampunk romance. Not sure what steampunk is?
Welcome to the world of clockwork pendants and steam locomotives, corsets and lace, dirigibles and difference engines. Yes, we’re talking about steampunk, where fantasy, history, technology and romance mix to create a glorious genre that looks at Victorian and Edwardian Era England and the American wild west through brass goggles.
Think League of Extraordinary Gentleman and The Wild, Wild West. Even Joss Whedon’s Firefly and Serenity have steampunk elements transported into space. For more information about steampunk, you can check out the entry on Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk.
I’m going to start periodically posting calls for submissions that interest me, in part to remind myself to write and submit, but also to share the information. And, of course, I’ll be posting my own new call for submissions soon!
Patrick talks to his father every day. Technology is an amazing thing.
What’s it all about?
Life. Love. Writing. Editing. Sex. Books. Romance. Movies. Friendship. Photography. Teaching. Coffee. (Lots of coffee.) Travel. Feminism. Academia. Insomnia. Memories. Experiences. Rants. Raves. Reviews. Chocolate. Mmm… chocolate. Musings of an insomniac writer. Want to know more?
