Month: July 2012

I was going to call this a portmanteau post, and then a quick check of how to spell the term led me to Wikipedia, which reminded me that the term “portmanteau word” was coined by Lewis Carroll. I imagine if he’d survived to the 21st century he might have appreicated portmanteau posts too.

So, first thing: a reminder that Flux is free  through Monday.

Second, an announcement that my short story “Care and Rehabilitation” will appear in Dreamspinner’s Animal Magnetism anthology. The book comes out on August 13.

Third, I’m thrilled to announce that Dreamspinner will be publishing another of my novels! Brute will be released in December or January. Here’s the preliminary blurb:

Although Brute lives in a world where magic is commonplace, his lonely life is anything but magical. At seven and a half feet tall, with an ugly face, and with a thief and a whore as parents, Brute is expected to be nothing more than a laborer. But heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and often rise from humble beginnings. One day he is maimed while rescuing a prince, and Brute’s life changes abruptly. He is summoned to serve at the palace as guard for a single prisoner—a position that those before him have not been able to withstand for any length of time.

 The rumors say that the prisoner, Gray Leynham, is a witch and a traitor. What is certain is that he has spent years in misery: blind, chained, and rendered nearly incomprehensible by an extreme stutter. And he dreams people’s deaths—dreams that come true.

 As Brute gets to know his prisoner and the other residents of the palace, he begins to find his own worth as a friend and as a man. But what he learns about Gray Leynham teaches him that heroes frequently face very difficult decisions. Brute speaks of the crippling effects of bullying—and the power of love, friendship, and self-esteem to transform our lives.

And finally, a shout out to a craftsperson. Today my family visited the Portland (Oregon) Saturday Market. My younger daughter, who’s 9, was admiring some jewelry at this booth. The artist reached into a bag and gave my daughter a fancy metal headband. She said that when pieces don’t turn out exactly as she wants, she likes to give them to little girls who visit her booth. Needless to say, my daughter was thrilled to pieces. She admired herself in a mirror the whole way home. Also, I bought DD2 a brass bracelet from another vendor (whose name I didn’t catch) and that vendor patiently helped DD2 engrave her name on the jewelry, which was also a thrill.

One thing I love to do is place my stories in real places, with all the details of life in those places. As it happens, both Good Bones and Speechless are set in the Portland area. And one detail that’s mentioned in Good Bones and alluded to in Speechless is this place:

I get inspiration from all kinds of places. The farm in my novel Good Bones is an amalgam of two real Oregon farms, with a few embellishments thrown in. Here are a couple of photos from one of those farms.