princesscburris

danacea @ 9:58am: Bwa-hahahahahaaaa!
This morning, some lovely PR person (nameless obviously) has sent out a talent interview offer to her entire contacts list.

Lovely lady that she is, she had left that contacts list visible.

Hoooooooo boy - it's Christmas eleven months early :D

ljspotlight, posting in lj_spotlight @ 2:38pm: Homepage Spotlight 1/04/10
2amtomorning
If you find yourself at the crossroads of insomnia and insanity, this is the place to channel those demons that keep you sleepless. Vivid pictures, poetry, ruminations, and confessions from the nether hours between dusk and dawn. Originally formed to celebrate the city at night, there's a strong urban theme.

ljspotlight, posting in lj_spotlight @ 2:37pm: Homepage Spotlight 1/04/10
green_future
Dedicated to promoting global sustainability, this community offers a forum for discussing current environmental news, research, and issues with tips on how to make positive, pro-active changes to reduce carbon impact. You'll also find information on how to get involved in eco-activism and learn about events near you (i.e., act local; think global). Offering a wealth of data on earth-friendly products and practices, you'll be inspired to don an organic bamboo cape and save the planet.

ljspotlight, posting in lj_spotlight @ 2:35pm: Homepage Spotlight 1/04/10
wtf_sexism
Self-described as "a little community with a lot of rage," you can soak up impassioned vibes and read blistering exposes detailing sexist attitudes in the news, pop culture, and science! A must-join community if you are, or love, a feminist. (NB: the topic of whether a "man" can be a feminist is outside the scope of this spotlight, but will probably wind up on the Writer's Block.)

wowomom, posting in dachshunds @ 9:00am: Puppy Calendar
Is anyone here interested in a free 2010 Dachshund Puppies Mini Wall Calendar?  My husband bought it for me to use at work but I'm just not a "puppy calendar" type of girl.

If you want it I'll mail it to you.  Shoot me an email at emma_s_mail at yahoo dot com.  First come first serve!


EDIT:
The Calendar has been claimed.   Thanks!

danacea @ 9:38am: The Best Days of Our Lives
Were in the heyday of the shared house at Sigismund Road, 1991 - where we spent rather too much time playing R. Talsorian's CyberPunk.

My first character was a heavy-duty Apone-style ex-Sergeant, rather creatively named 'Panther' due to her colour and the tat on her back.

While she never owned one of the below (I believe she entered the game on a Honda CBR 500), it still made me laugh my arse off.

After all, 2013 isn't that far away...

Panther-Shaped Motorcycle

lmbh, posting in dachshunds @ 12:30am: Going back to the ER for the 2nd time tonight


We think he fell down the stairs, he has been really weird lately- not walking up/down stairs just sleeping/ clearly in pain.... My dad gave him ibuprofen WITHOUT asking me, he threw up, so we went to the ER where he was treated for an overdose and back pain and we got home and he threw up again... I am so scared. Just keep him in your prayers.

danacea @ 2:10pm: Win-Win: How To Sign An Ebook (repost)
It’s so simple, it’s genius.

Removable, collectable vinyl covers – plain, a selection of colours, maybe they can be stylised by your favourite art toy designer – but ultimately, they’re there to collect signatures. Take one to a Convention, keep it on you, it protects your Kindle, it looks cool – and you get to show off all the autographs/sketches you’ve collected.

It’s a talking point in the bar – a great way to chat up fanboys/girls and a lovely excuse to approach your favourite writer. Plus the authors get to keep up with their public appearances – hell, if this is marketed right and catches on, it could be a new and different lease of eventing life… bigger multi-author signings will surely become more popular, and (we’re back to this again) everybody wins.


And how can you lose?

• People love to collect stuff – toys, stickers, hardware.
• People love to show stuff off – particularly in this industry.
• How many geeks have covers for their laptops – collect a year’s worth of stickers then change for a new one?
• How many fans have signing books – a new page for every author and/or artist they’ve met?
• How many people collect art toys, blind-boxed or otherwise?

As my boss would say, this fucking writes itself.


Art toys have invaded every level of the geek lifestyle – from iPhones to USB keys to every kind of ‘streetgeek’ fashion… the MonQee was a groundbreaker – the first cross-over of art toy and speculative fiction.

He proved that it works.

Let’s do this again – focused and saleable, an industry revolution. Vinyl designers to produce signable, collectable covers for eBooks. Don’t even get me started on rare versions and limited editions and yadda yadda…

It’s so simple, it’s genius.



So - who's going to manufacture me a prototype?

danacea @ 9:24pm: So That Was 2009?

And so.

Sitting here in the quiet, child in bed (got to stay up late and watch the Doctor regenerate), other half – now fiancé – on his way to Brisbane for the first leg of his tour.

The number 2010 isn’t real – it’s too CyberPunk. I should have mirrorshades, blades beneath my nails and a sports bike like an oversized predator. Instead I have a mortgage, a child just started school and a very yowly cat currently sleeping here on the chair.

Where did 2009 go, anyway?

I’ve written a book, started a second, got engaged, walked my son to the school gates, made creative headway on behalf of my place of employment, found new friends and re-connected with old ones. I’ve been on two glorious holidays; I’ve said goodbye to my little Ayesha cat (she is much missed, though her sister seems to be thriving) and hello to a significantly drier liver.

Mostly, it’s been a year about discovery – what I can do, what I can’t. Discovering people like your fiction is one thing, posting a chapter on Google Pages every-so-often-when-you-have-the-time is all well and good… but there’s a paradigm shift that occurs when you make yourself face chapter plans, schedules, daily wordcounts. It becomes a completely different beast – no more indulgence, fucking focus dammit.

Not an easy thing when this house and quiet/order/routine are completely mutually exclusive. Being able to snatch-write – 40 minutes here, 50 minutes there, sometimes days apart – is a hard thing to master.

And an easy thing to lose.

Knowing you can finish a book is great… until you discover you can’t start the next one. I learned a lot from the sheer experience of writing the first… certainly enough to lay out critical path and chapter plan and all that stuff…

But then the partner was out of work – with all the fun that brings. And our son went to school. And I’m back in the office five days a week – commuting three hours to work four and a half. And one week became two became four – and that snap ability to jump into the fictional world, characters, speech-patterns, plotlines, for intense 40-minute bursts just got swamped by the background noise.

(And it’s astounding how much and how suddenly a child changes when they go to school).



By the time I finally got some quiet – in the second of the year’s beautiful log cabins – I faced the cold page and it faced me straight back. And sneered.

The worst bit about that is: when you’re surrounded by published/author friends, you can’t quit. They didn’t. If you even hint at ‘but I don’t have time’ you’ll get variations on a slap round the head. Best get on with it then. Right.

The year has closed with the second book finally and properly underway – nothing like the wordcount I wanted to have done as it’s been such a painful and (mostly) passionless grind, but I’ve broken the skin, the words are again in motion.

And now, the fiancé has departed, taking his quintessential Chaos with him – meaning I can establish those all-important mini-routines. I don’t really like writing in the evenings, but it’s a fuck of a lot easier when there’s just me (and a sleeping Cub) to worry about. And I have family and friends that will happily Cub-nap him at weekends, giving me that (allelujah-gold-dust) day to myself.

Uninterrupted.

Roll on, 2010. I may not manage the mirrorshades, but I’m not ready for a floral housecoat just yet J

danacea @ 8:55am: Ommwriter
I'm not sure I'll ever use this - it's a bit too tranquil for me *grins*.

But it is REALLY pretty.

Free Mac download for the poets among you...

http://www.ommwriter.com

madtomedreamer, posting in dachshunds @ 6:29pm: My Little Harley!!!

danacea @ 6:36pm: Time I Had Some Time Alone
The other half (guess I should get used to calling him 'The Fiance') has been out of work since the middle of August. With the exception of the ten or so days he spent building the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, he's been in my face and under my feet for four MONTHS.

Don't get me wrong, I love my family.

But team this with being back in the office five days (I'm home just in time to pick up my son from school at 3pm) and I've had no time to myself in FAR TOO LONG.

It plays merry fucking hell with both finances and wordcount - almost to the extent where I fear I've lost my grip on both. Not to mention my sanity.

This afternoon, I've had five hours pure, uninterrupted writing time.

At 3,000k down, I figure I've still got it.

Bloody good thing too!

ljspotlight, posting in lj_spotlight @ 10:42am: Homepage Spotlight 12/28/09
renaissance2010
Turning to photography as a creative outlet during a valiant fight with breast cancer at age 34, renaissance10 survived and set up a photo contest to help raise funds for the Lavender Trust, a nonprofit that provides information and support to younger women with breast cancer. In the first two years, the competition brought in over £65,000 (that's $107,260.73 U.S.!), with entries from 130 countries last year. Renaissance10 recently joined LiveJournal to meet other passionate photographers and find supportive friends.

ljspotlight, posting in lj_spotlight @ 10:39am: Homepage Spotlight 12/28/09
curiouscupcakes
Holy buttercream frosting! If you have a sweet tooth for sugary goodness or a wandering eye for whimsical confection, this is pure ecstasy iced in deliciousness. Hailing the beloved cupcake as the artisinal canvas of choice, you'll enjoy recipes, photos, and bountiful tips to bake up a batch, whether your taste leans toward French classics or funky and flavorful.

ljspotlight, posting in lj_spotlight @ 10:37am: Homepage Spotlight 12/28/09
mission101
With New Years in the offing, it's an ideal time to reflect on past accomplishments, make peace with disappointments, and refocus the lens on future goals. This community welcomes you to create a bucket list of 101 things you plan to accomplish in the next 1,001 days. Offering support, guidance, and inspiration, this is a great way to jumpstart those pesky resolutions.

danacea @ 12:40pm: PURGE!!
I have spent the morning purging my books - six BAGS (the big ego-beasties that supermarkets are so find of) are now sitting in the hallway waiting for me to work out how the fuck I get them as far as the British Heart Foundation on the High Street.

So many memories. If I stop to actually think about what I'm doing, it's pretty scary.

But this is a small house, already packed to the gunnels with an overload of stuff... and my son will insist on getting oodles of new toys for Christmas.

I know the memories are still there - it's only their triggers that will be missing - but rummaging through your own past is always a very odd thing to do.

Besides, the British Heart Foundation won't take my son, I've already asked.

danacea @ 2:17pm: Why We're Skipping New Year
And lo it has been decreed in the household of Stanfield-Ware...

...we're skipping New Year completely this year.

On Friday January 1st, Captain Chaos flies to Brisbane for the next leg of the tour of Le Grand Cirque - and I'm back to being Working (Writing) Single Mom for three months. He'll be back for a brief stint at the end of Jan, then the tour moves to the States - and off he'll go again.

Hence, we're not giving up our son and getting caned on New Year's Eve. Not this time!

We may have agreed to give Auld Lang Syne a miss, but I *have* to make resolutions this year - or I'm never going to be able to be commuting worker, single mom and struggling novelist - all at the same smegging time.

These have to come down to physical training in the house (as I can't really get to the gym) and to writing in the evenings (which I absolutely confess to not being very good at).

Oh, and then there's that pesky detox thing. Starting today (why wait?)

It's a good thing a like my independence

Current Mood: contemplative

cainle_bean, posting in dachshunds @ 8:40am: Mathilde
( pic here )

Mathilde was watching my mom decorate the Christmas tree last week.  She was sitting so still, I finally got a picture of her where she was NOT in someone's lap.

wikkedmickey, posting in dachshunds @ 2:46am: Happy Holidays everyone!
Merry CHRISmas from me and my furbabies. Chris, Savannah, James and i wish everyone a safe and happy holiday and happy new year!

On a sidenote, the guy who plays santa every year owns and rescues doxies and all proceeds from the pics went to local animal shelters. I thought it was really cool when i found out he did that.


( heaux heaux heaux )

theljstaff, posting in news @ 11:37am: LiveJournal Major Notes: Get your holiday fix!

Holiday debuggery

We know there were a few kinks with the holiday promotion. We've been working very hard to get them ironed out. If you have a paid/permanent account, keep on sending those coupons. Here's an update:

• If you were unable to send out multiple coupons at a time, please perform a hard refresh, and you should be good to go.
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• If you tried to redeem a holiday coupon and had trouble using a gift certificate to cover the balance of an annual paid account, we identified the root problem. If this happened to you, you can now use your holiday coupon together with your gift certificate.
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Tweaks

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Give a little extra!

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Celebrate with holiday vGifts!

Stop by the Virtual Gift Shop and share some holiday magic with your LiveJournal friends.

Photos of the week

We're back with more dazzling pictures from around the world. Congrats to marlenemcc, who has been awarded a virtual blue ribbon as the winner of our fourth photo contest. We hope you'll click over to LJ_Photophile poll and tell us your picks in pics!

For more fantastic user content, we'll meet you under the cut. ( Read more... )

Curtains

Thanks, again, for reading. Here's wishing you the very merriest of holidays. We'll see you next year!