Talk in the Shadows

Otter on the Move

otterdance — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 18:52:16 GMT

Hi y'all I have simply too many blogs going. I know many of you loathe Face Book and I'm not happy with some things about it myself. So I'm leaving LJ and will be posting the same sorts of things (and hopefully more often) on my website's blog. Hope to see you there!

http://www.flewelling.net/blog/

Website

otterdance — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 16:02:07 GMT

I have finally found time to work on my long neglected new website. The blog now works! Come see me!

http://www.flewelling.net

Signed Books

otterdance — Mon, 12 May 2014 15:27:49 GMT

Dear Friends,
Sorry to be so slow in sending out the books. I've had a very strange emotional energy around the end of the series, compounded by Life in General.

Here are the contest winners who have LJ messaged me their address.
Grand Prize: alarisiel333
Jaolynn
aycolen
enedven

I am packing them today. Really.

Signed books now available!

otterdance — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 21:21:01 GMT

I had a really nice signing at Mysterious Galaxy/a> yesterday and they now have a whole stack of signed books ready for shipping! If you sent in a request for a special inscription before the signing, I also signed those as requested. :)

Book Day!

otterdance — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 15:04:50 GMT

Lucky #7 Nightrunner book is out!

New Author Website!

otterdance — Sun, 30 Mar 2014 18:26:27 GMT

I've finally been able to replace my poor mangy old website! http://www.flewelling.net

Author's Copies in My Mail Today!

otterdance — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 20:41:35 GMT

Note: If you were announced as a winner of a book or the grand prize, please respond to this thread, and message me your address. I haven't heard from most of you. If you already sent me the info, please send again. That is all. You may now gaze and enjoy. ;)

Fairy Tales

otterdance — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 22:57:55 GMT

Over the holidays I watched Disney's Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. The message in both that I got was: Fairies, no matter how well-intentioned, are disempowering and princes are pretty much useless.

In the Brother's Grimm versions Cinderella/Ashenputtel made her own magic with her great virtue. And Sleeping Beauty/Aurora/The Princess was a passive airhead and the prince didn't have to fight his way to her because he just happened to show up at the right time when the spell broke and the briar hedge receded on its own. In this case, I have to say I liked the Disney version better. Excellent evil fairy/dragon! But let's face it, the female fairies were the real heroes.

Nightrunner Lunch

otterdance — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 19:27:31 GMT

I'm in the midst of doing the final edit on the page proofs of Shards, which involves reading it closely from beginning to end. Just now I was reading of what someone was eating and it being lunch time, I decided it was time to eat. We just happened to have some sausage, Humbolt Fog cheese, carrots, and some really nice olives left over from Christmas. Voila! A lunch such as my characters might enjoy.

otterdance — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 23:20:29 GMT

Alec: THE DAY OF THE GREAT CONTEST HAS ARRIVED!

Seregil: We've catalogued each entry and put each word in separate hats for drawing.

Micum: And a damn lot of cutting into strips it was!

Alec, impatiently: Thero, what is the lucky word?

Thero holds a delicate glass walnut on the palm of his left hand. Inside is a tightly rolled slip of parchment sealed with a tiny drop of green wax and the letter "A", for Adzriel, who chose and sent the word. He waves his crystal wand over it once, twice, thrice and the little container splits open. He picks out the rolled of parchment and places it in Alec's hand. The younger man eagerly breaks the seal and unrolls it.

Seregil: Well, talí? What is it?

Alec, laughing: The lucky word is . . . . Haba!

Seregil: You're joking.

Alec: Here, see for yourself, Haba!

Micum: So, here's the hat with the names of the folks who chose that word. Who will draw?

Seregil: Alec, you do the honors. Will each winner message Lynn your mailing address as soon as possible? Ready, boys?

Micum holds the hat high and Alec reaches up, feels about, and pulls out a strip of parchment. "And our grand prize winner, who will receive the complete signed set of the Nightrunner Series, including SHARDS OF TIME is . . .

!!! alarisiel333 !!!

Micum: And our six runners up, who will receive a signed copy of the book this spring, as soon as it is available to Lynn (which should be a bit earlier than it will be on the shelves!) are:

jaolynn
enedven
aycolen
OoMelyannaoO
ext_2101704
aislinarchives

Seregil: Thanks to everyone who played with us! It was a pleasure hearing your thoughts. Please send Lynn your mailing address at: lbflewelling@roadrunner.com with the subject line: LJ CONTEST WINNER 2013

Alec: The happiest of holidays to you all, whatever you celebrate. We're getting ready to put out all the fires here in Rhiminee and attend the Mourning Night ceremony. Then? Well, games in the dark!

Shards Snippet

otterdance — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 18:23:08 GMT

Tomorrow I'll be announcing the contest winners, so here's your Christmas snippet a little early. :) Enjoy.

A warder answered. The man was huge, tall and wide and a solid wall of muscle, Seregil judged. He shuddered inwardly at the thought of being at this fellow’s mercy.
The smell inside the madhouse was appalling, reeking of filth and human misery. He and Thero both pulled out handkerchiefs and covered their mouth and nose.
The lower floor was divided into two large, barred cells, one filled with a horrific assortment of men in all stages of decline, some naked, and some clearly starving to death. The other held an equally pitiful collection of women dressed in dingy, shapeless shifts. Most of them were asleep but those awake raised an outcry at Thero and Seregil’s approach and instantly the whole place was in an uproar. The inmates screamed, roared, sobbed. Dirty hands clawed at them through the bars on both sides.

Seregil exchanged a disturbed look with the wizard as the warder hurried them toward a stone stairway at the far end of the gauntlet; they’d been in less disturbing charnel houses. It was an unsettling reminder that Illior, the patron Immortal of wizards and nightrunners, also held sway over these mad wretches.
“Come on, then,” the warder shouted above the wailing and screaming. “The one you want’s upstairs.”
It was marginally better there, more like a prison, and quieter. Heavy black doors with tiny grates lined the long corridor. They were barred, rather than locked.
“How can such a small island produce so many lunatics?” asked Thero, cautiously taking his handkerchief away from his face.
“Most were shipped over from the Plenimaran mainland,” the warder replied. “It’s unlucky, you know, to hear or see the mad.”
“Where does that leave you?” Seregil asked.
The man grunted. It might have been a laugh. “Where you see me, my lord. There’s your man, third cell on the left.” He jerked a grimy thumb in that direction. “I’ll have to shut you in.”
“Is he violent?” asked Seregil.
“Now and then, my lord. I’d be real careful, if I was you.” He took a lamp from a niche in the wall and gave it to Seregil, then heaved the thick bar from the brackets and let them in to a tiny, airless cell that reeked of piss and fear.
A narrow stone shelf served as a bed, and a wild-eyed, unshaven man cowered there, clutching a blanket to his chest as he stared at them in terror. He was of middle years, muscular and bearded, but fear had clearly unmanned him. Seregil found a niche high in the wall next to him and set the lamp there. By its flickering light, he saw that the only other things in the room were a wooden pitcher and a large tin chamber pot.
Thero exchanged a look with Seregil; the wretched man before them didn’t look capable of violence.
“You have nothing to fear, Captain Sedge,” Thero said gently, remaining just inside the door.
Sedge blinked at him. “Captain?”
“Captain Sedge of the Governor’s Guard. That’s you. My name is Thero, a wizard from Skala, and this is my friend Baron Seregil. We’d like to help you, if we can.”
Sedge shrank back as if he wanted the stone wall to swallow him. “A wizard? Why have they sent a wizard? Oh please, no more sorcery!”
Signaling for Thero to remain by the door, Seregil slowly crossed the tiny cell and sat down on the end of the bed shelf, hands folded in his lap. “Did someone use sorcery on you?”
“No one believes me!” The man was trembling so hard Seregil could hear his teeth clicking together. “Lieutenant Phania was pulled—pulled—”
He choked and his eyes rolled up into his head as a sudden spasm took him. He tumbled off the bed and began flailing, back arched, spittle foaming between his lips as he beat the back of his head against the stone floor.
“Your belt, quickly!” Thero cried, springing forward to hold the man down.
Seregil pulled off his belt and pried the man’s jaws open to place the leather end between Sedge’s teeth to keep him from biting off his own tongue. “Is he an epileptic?”
“Who knows? Hold him down!”
Seregil threw himself across the man, and Thero gripped Sedge’s head between his hands to stop him from hurting himself any further. The man continued to buck and thrash, screaming hoarsely through clenched teeth. Thero gripped Sedge by the hair and managed to trace a hasty sigil on the man’s brow with his thumb, murmuring some spell under his breath. The mark writhed like a tiny eel, then disappeared in a little puff of malodorous steam.
“That’s not good, is it?” asked Seregil. “Put him to sleep, will you?”
Thero managed to grip the man’s head again, one hand pressed over his eyes and commanded, “Sleep.”
Sedge screamed and thrashed harder, throwing both the wizard and Seregil off.
Seregil grabbed Thero by the arm and pulled him back toward the door. “I think we’re only making things worse,” he shouted over the stricken man’s screams. “What did the smelly sigil mean?”
“That he’s probably not mad. Some sort of curse has been placed on him. Inside, he’s screaming for help.” Thero extended a hand in the frothing man’s direction and held his other out to Seregil. “Would you like to see what he sees?”
Seregil clasped Thero’s hand and was immediately surrounded by blood. It was smeared across the walls, dripped from the edge of the bed, and covered Sedge’s hands and face. Flies were thick in the room, crawling in the blood and over the man’s eyes and mouth. He and Thero looked hulking and demonic to him, with slitted pupils and blackened lips.
“Illior’s Light!” Seregil pulled his hand away. “That’s what he sees all the time?”
“Yes.” Thero looked down at the tormented man with pity in his pale eyes.

Desolation of Smaug

otterdance — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 15:46:28 GMT

So, we saw Desolation of Smaug last night. I can certainly see why there are mixed reactions. I don't want to do any spoilers so I won't give details but will share my son Matt's summation: half WOW, half outraged declaration of "Jackson is writing his own fan fiction!" I have to agree. But the cast? WOW! Smaug? WOW!!!! As many others have said: Best dragon ever. The visuals? Definite WOW! The parts of the book that actually made it to the screen? Double WOW! The rest? Meh. But Martin Freeman makes it all worthwhile.

Hmm. Who could it be?

otterdance — Sun, 22 Dec 2013 22:13:43 GMT

Apartfrom the scruff and eyebrows, this looks quite a lot like a certain friend of ours.

Oh, and just two days until the contest winner is revealed!

Christmas Cuteness

otterdance — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 16:45:06 GMT

I've always wanted a bonsai, but am not sure I could keep one alive. This one, however, with tiny red twinkle sights, is rather tempting.

Yuletide thoughts

otterdance — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 16:35:21 GMT

For some reason I'm looking forward to Christmas more than usual. Yes, I'm Buddhist and I still celebrate Christmas, the most materialistic of holidays. But it's not about the material, but about the legacy of love that has always been associated with it in my family. Christmas was always a time of peace and fun in my household when I was growing up. Christmas dinner was not marred by anger or resentful silences, grandparents came for rare overnight visits with a station wagon full of gifts from the downstate relatives, and once we even got a puppy (who later turned out to be one of the most annoying dogs ever (Rusty), but it was magical at the time), snow, the Santa myth prolonged as long as possible with sled tracks in the yard and bites from cookies, then reinterpreted into a lesson in love and generosity. I consider myself very fortunate. So yes, I still practice it, and not in the least to honor my root teacher, Jesus, who taught that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Today's Buddhist Thought

otterdance — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 15:52:23 GMT

Don’t worry if you feel you can only do one tiny good thing in one small corner of the cosmos. Just be a Buddha body in that one place.

~ Thích Nhất Hạnh

Literary Meme

otterdance — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 17:55:58 GMT

Today's meme seems to be: List ten books that mean a great deal to you. Here goes:
The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes by AC Doyle
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
Salem's Lot by Stephen King
Ghost Story by Peter Straub
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Moon of Three Rings by Andre Norton
The Persian Boy by Mary Renault
I Claudius by Robert Graves.

What are yours?

How Emma Stays Golden Brown

otterdance — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 17:34:39 GMT

She toasts herself like a marshmallow. She's so happy it's fireplace season again!

In other doggie news Zoe has been granted a reprieve. She must have sensed our displeasure, because she's been much nicer to Emma. Jack is a worried and paranoid as ever, but also a big friendly goof to those he loves, including our frequent guests. He is not a willing photography subject. Every time I try to snap a picture he comes over and sits on my feet.

Zoe would not stay still long enough.

Just a little Flewelling Clan Update

otterdance — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 17:14:28 GMT

It's been awhile since I posted family stuff. On Thanksgiving Doug was with his mom in Maine, so Matt, Tim, and Tim's almost fiancee Ari and I drove out to Joshua Tree Nat'l Park for a picnic and hike. Here are my 'kids' and our 'it looked better in person' feast, featuring a fold out paper turkey centerpiece and matching paper plates. From left to right: Ari Haro, Tim Flewelling, Matt Flewelling.

Deep Relaxation

otterdance — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 16:28:07 GMT

The holidays can be so stressful. I thought I would share my current practice in calming and breathing.

Winter in SoCal

otterdance — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 23:12:52 GMT

Winter? Fall? Who cares, it's gorgeous and chilly!

Tropical Bird of Paradise by my driveway.

The giant Liquid Amber tree in my front yard.

It's Winter!

otterdance — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 23:57:01 GMT

Even here in California, it feels like winter. Suddenly I really believe that it's only 3 weeks until Christmas. It must be, because my Christmas cactus is in glorious bloom.

Almost done Fall quarter at Pacifica Graduate Institute. In my second year!! How did that happen so quickly? Things are a little saner than they were for the last few weeks. Finished up the last on campus session for the quarter, including handing in many papers, including my thesis proposal. Now just a few papers and thesis outline to get in by the end of the month. I am doing my thesis on transgender issues, inquiring into the process of change as acts of individuation and soul making. If you have any transgender friends (or you) who would be willing to correspond with me, please let me know. I am not doing quantitative research, just gathering narratives. One of the options at Pacifica is a production thesis, for which you produce some form of art based on a theoretical framework and write about it. I am considering a novel.

I haven't been writing any fiction since I finished Shards last year, but recently I wrote a short story for the A Knight in the Silk Purse anthology, which is the sequel to Tales of the Emerald Serpent. My character, Shay Gatewell, has quite a nice reappearance! It felt so good to slip into a fantasy world and wander around. I like academic writing, but there's nothing like fiction. Don't worry, I couldn't stop writing if I wanted to!

And look at that: only 16 days until the contest winner is announced!

More SHARDS OF TIME goodies!

otterdance — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 20:52:41 GMT

The first two chapters of SHARDS are now available at my website! http://www.sff.net/people/Lynn.Flewelling/

Shards of Time Teaser

otterdance — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 17:52:43 GMT

Dr D and I put this together this morning. It will, of course, be professionally rendered by the publisher. This is just a sketch.

SHARDS OF TIME cover art print now available!

otterdance — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 17:58:16 GMT

Michael Komarck, who has created the last four, wonderful Nightrunner covers, now has SoT prints available for purchase at his site! Www.komarckart.com