First-Person Narrator

HI GUYS

revena — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 00:29:03 GMT

Oh, dear internet friends! Hello! I have missed you! And it's all my own damn fault, but I'm determined to actually be around more now, and both of my kids are in school (WHAT) part of the day four days a week now, so I think it is actually possible this time. I've been pretty busy, guys! But Thorin starting school in August was pretty amazing, as it gave me some breathing space - and, like, thinking space - during the week that I haven't had for over four years, and all of a sudden I can Get Stuff Done. Or at least some stuff - it still took me until now to get on DW, after all. But, you know.

My non-mom life has been re-emerging after the fallow period that is The Diaper-Changing Years in fits and starts, but I lucked out around the time that my mental energy and creativity started recharging and found a great space where I can get writing done and my children can't get to me. Jameson is totally willing to be the "on call" parent so I can write, but if I'm in the actual house the kids will demand me anyway, so escape has been necessary if I want to be productive. I stumbled upon a co-working space that has been so, so perfect: Story Land. If you're ever a laptop user in the Tucson area who needs a place to get work done, I can't recommend it highly enough.

I've been working on some short stories and stuff there, but the biggest thing has been a co-written novel with karenhealey, which, and here's the awesome part, we have finished. It's a doorstopper-length high fantasy novel for adults with child protagonists, which makes it a tough sell in terms of marketing categories, but we really love it and want people to be able to read it, so we decided to go the self-publishing route on this one. We started a Kickstarter campaign last month to fund a professional cover and layout and all, which has been amazing. We met our goal within the first few days! Eeee! We have hit a couple of stretch goals already, too, and there's still time left, so I'm hoping we'll get enough backers to be able to afford to commission a map for the front of the book. But even if we don't, we can do the cover! It's gonna be great. I'm going to do a link here, in case you want to check it out:

Annnnd here are my ridiculously cute kids, all dressed up and fancy:

Look! A Baby!

revena — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 23:39:48 GMT

Sooo... Hi, y'all! Updates have been thin on the ground in recent months mostly because I have been so tired and full of hormones, and while I am somewhat less full of hormones I am now even more tired so I'm not sure when I'll get back to my usual chatty self, but -

I had a baby! This is him:

Kieran Hartley York, born 3/3/2013 at 3:15 am after way more labor than I was anticipating (over a day in the hospital before his arrival), weighing seven pounds 15 ounces and measuring about 21 inches long. He is wonderful.

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At Least the Characters Look Right

revena — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 05:31:04 GMT

Tonight at Target I saw a My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic board book. I flipped through it while Jameson hovered impatiently over my shoulder, then put it in my basket.

Jimmy made a disgusted face.

"What?" I said defensively. "We're planning on having a kid!"

"And this book will teach it wrong things!" he replied.

He turned to the page where Twilight Sparkle brings a cake to the party. "Why would Twilight Sparkle bring a cake? Pinkie Pie is the one who works in a bakery!"

He has a point. Maybe I can spin it as being an ice cream cake or something?

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Worst Part of Summer

revena — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 19:29:17 GMT

It is summer; therefore, ants. Omfg, so many ants.

The antsplosion kicked off last week when the little monsters found a pinhole in the bottom of the cat food bag and feasted mightily. I had an air-tight storage container for cat food, but I bought it waaaay back when Xerxes was just a tiny kitten and ate food that came in tiny kitten food bags, and so when we buy large bags of food, not all of it would fit. Up until this summer, amazingly, that hasn't been a problem, but I guess I always knew the food left in the bag was vulnerable. So, fine. It was frustrating that they got into that food, and I was not at all pleased with the RIVER OF ANTS in the kitchen, but we tossed the bag and I did some furious sweeping and no real harm was done.

And then they BREACHED THE SEAL ON THE STORAGE BIN.

Jameson opened the cat food bin last night to feed the mewing horde, and got bitten like three times while he stared in startled horror at the teeming mass of ants within. Auuuugh!

The good news is that the new storage bin is big enough to accommodate a large-sized bag of cat food.

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It's Oooover

revena — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 04:29:16 GMT

Jimmy and I finished our first run-through of Mass Effect 3. I am full of feelings, mostly of the "augh story in which I was very emotionally invested has now ended" variety. We only did one ending (I bet anyone who knows me can guess which one!), but I am totally open for SPOILERY DISCUSSION of any of them, if any of y'all have played and want to chat.

Now that I've finished, my very favorite things:

* The gratuitous checking out of Kaidan's ass when he rejoins the Normandy.

* HORRIBLE JOKES.

* "I'm Garrus Vakarian, and this is my favorite spot on the Citadel!"

* Tali drunk. Omg.

* Tali and Garrus pretending they weren't making out.

* All of the sweet near-the-end convos, plus bonus battlefield PDA.

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I Was JUST Talking About Galentine's Day

revena — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 03:20:01 GMT

Ooh, ooh!

Happy Galentine's Day
my thread

(I am sick and feeling sorry for myself, if that inspires anyone to extra lovingness. Just sayin'.)

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Sourdough Attempt The First

revena — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:01:57 GMT

So I made some bread today! The recipe indicated that it'd take up to fourteen hours for the first rise, and our sourdough culture laughed in the face of that estimate. Then I punched it down and made pan loaves, and then let it rise again, and then slashed (somewhat inexpertly, as you will see) and baked and...it is mediocre, alas. The texture is excellent, go me! The flavor is pretty bland. I can taste what will be a very nice sourness, when the culture is a bit older, but it's barely there. However, it will be good sandwich bread, or nice for toast with butter and jam, and I am content.

Behold, pictures!

Here is how it looked right after forty five minutes of epic kneading:

Seven-ish hours later:

In loaf form:

The lumpy foreground loaf was Jimmy's attempt - his first ever! - which smoothed out nicely after the second rise. Two hours later:

And then, after baking:

The hilariously over-tall and lopsided loaf is the one I shaped, which I think I did not slash thoroughly enough. I did Jimmy's deeper and more evenly, and it came out much less silly.

Anyway, adventure! Followed by edible results! Hooray!

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Con or Bust

revena — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:51:55 GMT

I suspect that some of you will be interested to know that Belle and Claire are getting the old band back together and offering up elements of the next Dorgian Galaxy novelette in the Con Or Bust auction this year. Bidding starts on the 11th!

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Hobbies of Several Kinds

revena — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:15:09 GMT

In accordance with my sort-of resolution thingy, I have been reading from my TBR collection. Go me! Also, not buying any new books. Go me some more!

I read (among other things) Primary Inversion by Catherine Asaro, which I liked very much indeed, though the copy I have on my e-reader is full of copy-editing-type errors. Extra or missing words, slight misspellings, etc. Boo. But I got it via the Baen Free Library, and the "free" aspect made it less frustrating than it could have been. When I am allowing myself to buy books again, I'll see about getting my hands on the sequel(s) and hope for better editing.

Another thing I've been doing the past little while is working on a few dolls. I finished two that are clothed in comic book panels - which was really fun to do, though also really sticky - and they're up in my Etsy shop if you want to take a look. Or, y'know, buy one. Please do share links to anything there if you think a friend would get a kick out of 'em, btw. I would love to sell some dolls, not so much for the money (though money is nice) but because I enjoy making them a lot, but I enjoy it even more when someone else gets to have one that makes them smile.

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Resolved

revena — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:45:53 GMT

I didn't make any resolutions for the new year, mostly because I never remember that that is a Thing that one might wish to do, but I have one as of today! It is this: I resolve to get through at least half of my freakishly huge TBR shelf, which includes not only multiple actual physical shelves but also a ton of space on my e-reader.

I'd say get through all of it, but I want to go with a goal that is, y'know, achievable. All would be nice, though! To that end, my supporting resolution is to not buy any new books for... Um... Let's say three months?

Oh god, I suddenly have such a strong book-buying urge. Stay strong, Robyn!

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Writing Meme

revena — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 04:41:52 GMT

I've seen this one going around, and haven't been able to answer anyone's yet (I'm thinking it over!), but I figured I'd repost it anyway, because the results promise to be entertaining:

"If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach." -- Alfred Hitchcock

If I wrote a story today, what would the readers immediately look for?

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Goats Have Creepy Eyes, Y'all

revena — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 07:22:08 GMT

karenhealey came for a quick visit this week, and we did many things. One of them was to go to the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch, which is probably worth visiting if you're ever near it. It was hella hot while we were there, and the donkeys and ostriches were all sluggish, but many of the fallow deer came right up to the fence and stuck their heads out as far as they could go to lick little pellets up off our palms, and the goats were downright aggressive in their eagerness to interact. One of them bit another to get access to a particular hole in the wall (the goat wall, omg. I can't even describe it. It's an amazing idea) and then stole my cup of pellets. I'm pretty sure it was the same white goat as in the picture on this page, and I would not get anywhere near as close to it as that woman is. The lorikeets were pretty, but also too hot to be very playful. A couple did come sit on my hand to drink, though.

Hooray for odd roadside attractions!

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We're Teaching Qwerty to Say "It's a Trap!"

revena — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 01:05:48 GMT

Me, when Jimmy came home this afternoon: I accidentally slept almost all day.

Jimmy: Well, it could be worse.

Me: Yeah?

Jimmy: You could have been on fire that whole time.

Me: *laughs, concedes the point*

Me, suddenly remembering: Oh, can you do me a favor?

Jimmy, looking horrified: You want me to set you on fire??

Me: ...I was gonna ask you to take out the recycling, actually.

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Unrelated Things Are Probably Not Related

revena — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 09:40:01 GMT

I saw the new Pirates movie with Mom and Jimmy today. I was expecting to actively dislike it, so I was pleasantly surprised that parts of it were quite fun/interesting/entertaining, and the rest was not generally as irritating as I had feared.

Then we came home, and I took a nap, during which I had an intense, narrative dream. I don't remember what it was about, but I do remember that it was all in rhyming couplets. Jimmy woke me up before the end of the story, and I demanded "twenty more minutes," because I needed to know what was going to happen next. I should have told him what it was about at the time, in hindsight. Alas.

Then he played Mass Effect 2 for me (I just can't do the fighting. At all. I can barely wander around the Normandy without slamming into bulkheads - taking cover is never going to happen) while I gave vague commands and ate cornbread for dinner. I never finished it when it first came out - Mass Effect 2, I mean, not the cornbread - not from lack of interest, but because my skillz are so unleet, and I had too much going on at the time to work out how Jimmy and I could coordinate playing time together. So I'm glad we're doing it now, because while I got spoiled on enough plot and watched enough of his playthrough and videos online and all to know the shape of things, that's no substitute for playing all the way through with my very own Shepard.

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MELTED.

revena — Sat, 28 May 2011 02:54:45 GMT

Tucson Chayon-Ryu is having a yard sale to raise money so that a couple of my students can go to Houston to test for their black belts. We started today, and did pretty well despite it being miserably hot out. I got sunburned on my forearms, which I always forget to protect (you'd think I'd learn), but I wore my hat all day and the rest of me is fine.

My calculator, however, MELTED.

Guys, it wasn't even in direct sunlight! It was in a little box under the table where we had all the books, in the shade.

I was pretty fond of that one, too. :(

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Unexpected Injuries

revena — Wed, 25 May 2011 08:24:16 GMT

So I've been having the insomnia pretty bad, as you may have heard. Which means I haven't been wearing my grind guard for as many hours at a time, because it starts to feel uncomfortable after an hour or so when I'm awake. But I think I must be clenching my jaw a lot even though I'm not sleeping much because OMG it hurts to open my mouth.

I did actually manage to fall asleep at night time and stay asleep for several hours last night, though! Maybe I can do it again...?

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Things I Wrote

revena — Tue, 24 May 2011 04:37:22 GMT

My second column for Strange Horizons is up: "Dice and D-Pads: Fannish Enthusiasm."

Also available for your reading pleasure is the latest in the Hathor Watch-Along series for Firefly, for "Safe." Again, I'm really pleased with the discussion. I'd hoped that doing this series would be both fun and thought-provoking, and so far it really has. Hooray!

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Things I Think About When I Should Be Asleep

revena — Mon, 23 May 2011 07:46:29 GMT

I have an irrational fear that someday I will be scratching an itch in my bellybutton, and I'll poke through into my, y'know, innards.

I know this is very unlikely! Very, very unlikely. But it's just one of those things that continues to make me nervous.

This entry brought to you by insomnia and dry skin!

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You Know You Want It

revena — Thu, 12 May 2011 02:52:31 GMT

Okay, so I just saw Thor.

I have Issues with the story structure, f'reals, but ehn, it was fun.

MORE IMPORTANTLY, who's got post-film-canon fic where Loki is redeemed by the love of a good woman?? LINKS PLS.

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Opinions?

revena — Sun, 08 May 2011 02:47:04 GMT

I think it's time for some further Adventures in Sewing. I've been wanting to try my hand at shirts of some kind for a while, because I would, y'know, like to have more shirts. Especially if they fit me and look nice.

So! I think this pattern is within my skillset and is cute and etc., but I have a concern. It is that back when I was small of chest, I found shelf bras uncomfortable and essentially useless, because I didn't need a bra at all, so I have long been in the habit of not buying anything with built-in support. And now that I am somewhat larger in that area, I have no idea if a shelf bra inside a top will actually be worth anything, support-wise, and haven't worn one in way too long to guess. Anyone in the C-D cup range want to weigh in on this?

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Dooooork

revena — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 06:40:35 GMT

So, I'm reading the Stargate Atlantis Legacy novelizations, which are sort of a season six. I feel sillier about admitting that I'm reading TV series tie-ins than about my romance novel habits, which is hilaaarious. I mean, what? Am I really that kind of snob?

EVIDENTLY.

Anyway, I am enjoying them, and I think I will be looking up the authors' original setting work, too. Because the stories are engaging, the writing is solid, and omfg you guys, these are TV series tie-ins that have excerpts from Edna St. Vincent Millay's poetry in the front.

*geeks out on multiple planes*

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Geeking it Up

revena — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 02:25:26 GMT

Hey guys, wanna watch Firefly together? I'm doing a thing at Hathor to discuss an episode every week. Come over and chat about the pilot with me: link!

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Stuff

revena — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 01:57:56 GMT

Does anyone local (Tucson) need any of the following:

* a rather shabby box spring, full size
* a metal bed frame designed for said box spring (it's just a rectangle, basically. Very bare-bones)
* a small vacuum (used to use it on concrete floor and it was fabulous; not so great on carpet)
* sheets, full size
* heated mattress pad, full size

?

If you want the box spring, you need to be able to pick it up yourself. Anything else, Jimmy or I can probably drop off somewheres. I know I'll be able to find places to donate or sell these things, but I thought I'd offer 'em here first.

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The Geek Writes Again

revena — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 04:59:28 GMT

So, I wrote a thing about gaming and fiction franchises. It is at Strange Horizons, here. Wooo!

So how many of y'all played and/or read some of the things I mention?

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Oh, Right!

revena — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 08:36:30 GMT

You guys, I totally forgot to point at my donated item for con_or_bust. Fail, Robyn! ANYWAY, I am offering a doll: details.

There is a great deal of other rad stuff on offer there, including naming rights for a probably-not-maimed character in Karen's next novel and a signed copy of janni's Bones of Faerie (which is awesome, y'all. I already have my very own signed copy, or I'd be bidding). The offers are well worth browsing through - you could bid on something very cool, and help send someone to WisCon. w00t!

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