Tag: Surly Muse

Thieves at Heart, Tristan J. Tarwater and the Audiobook of DOOM

Some of you may recognize the name Tristan J. Tarwater. She is the author of The Valley of Ten Crescents Series: Thieves at Heart and the soon-to-be released Self-Made Scoundrel. She also recently released Botanica Blues, an homage to Lovecraft, as well as contributes regularly to Troll in the Corner.

You can read the excellent feature of her on Surlymuse.com. Follow her on Twitter (@backthatelfup).

Tristan is a self-described Dork Mom and Geek Dame. Plus, she has vertical hair.

She writes fantasy novels. More importantly, she writes GOOD fantasy novels. Her work is awesome and so I recently pushed her Kickstarter effort in its final hours. She raised over $1500 from 62 devoted fans (of which I was one), which is over double her goal!

On the Kickstarter page, she mentioned she was considering doing an audiobook for Thieves at Heart. On a whim, I read the first chapter of Thieves at Heart into my iPhone and sent it to her. She loved it and so, HERE IS THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT.

I will be recording the Thieves at Heart audiobook. 

*wild applause*

I’m am excited and honored to be part of this amazing project. It’s ambitious (54,000 words!), but I feel up to the challenge! More updates to come.

A Room of My Own: Daniel Swensen

Our third creative space in the “A Room of My Own” series on Yearning for Wonderland is Daniel Swensen, aka @Surlymuse.

His blog should become your new favorite source for writing advice; it is written in a snarky yet informative manner.

1) Please describe your space, describing any features that make it extra special to you.

This is my workspace, where I do both my freelance work and my writing. I use Ubuntu Linux as my operating system. My favorite software applications for work are Zim, Clementine, FocusWriter, and Write or Die. I have my Rory’s Story Cubes on the shelf below the right monitor. The Rubik’s Cubes are there to mix up and then solve when I need to clear my brain. Behind the monitors are several small boxes with paper clips, push pins, etc. The secondary desk on the right is usually piled high with my “to-read” books.

2) What is your favorite/most inspiring object in this room?
The picture of my wife (top shelf, second from left, right next to the Star Wars picture). She inspires me daily.

3) What rituals do you go thru when you want to write in this space?

I take my vitamins, which I keep on the shelf below the left monitor. I fire up some music, either with Pandora or the Clementine music player. I have a number of playlists, each catering to a certain mood or genre. Currently, my “blogging” music is heavy on The Glitch Mob and Pretty Lights.

The rest of my digital writing rituals can be found here: http://surlymuse.com/a-digital-room-of-ones-own/

4) Any other details you would like to share about your special room.

Over the years, all the drawers in my desk have broken. The bottom left drawer inexplicably locked shut and has never opened again. The middle drawer fell out one day and broke my toe. The top left drawer has become wobbly and unstable. That’s why everything’s on the surface of the desk.

Also, buried behind the stuff on the top shelf is the “Perseverance” Demotivator poster (http://www.despair.com/perseverance.html), which I wrote (and got paid for). Still one of my favorite writing “jobs” ever.

Thanks to Daniel for sharing his Room with us. Want to share your Room? Email me at annabbps AT gmail.com with a photo and answer the above questions.

Keep an eye on this space for more writers/artists and their inspirational spaces!

See the spaces of other creatives in “A Room of My Own”!

* Lillie McFerrin

* Angela Goff

* Angie Richmond

Awards of Versatility & the 15 Magnificent Bloggers

*TRUMPET FANFARE* 

Phew. I was nominated a short while ago for the Versatile Blogger Award by the talented Emmie Mears. Of course, the holidays made it next to impossible for me to adequately respond, but now that it is officially 2012 and – ACK – work is in an hour, it seems a fortuitous moment.

 Here are the rules as they stand, for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. In a post on your, blog, nominate 15 fellow bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award.
2. In the same post, Add the Versatile Blogger Award.
3. In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.
4. In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.
5. In the same post, include this set of rules.
6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs.

 Okay. Fifteen amazing bloggers whom I admire, along with their Twitter handles. Here we go:

1) Surly Muse: He’s only half-surly, really, but has some great guest bloggers and can turn a phrase with the best of them. @surlymuse

2) A Yankee’s Southern Exposure: Gordon McCleary is a Yankee trapped in the South, but his posts are good-natured, humorous observations on the peculiarities of both sides of the country. @asouthernyankee

3) Alisa Libby: Historical fiction author of “The Blood Confession” and “The King’s Rose”. She muses on writing, history and more in her blog.

4) Lia Keyes: I have dubbed her the Queen of Steam. If you enjoy steampunk as a genre, she posts great original content and has some of the best links around. @liakeyes

5) Cara Michaels: On her blog, Cara is running #WIP500, which is a fabulous writing marathon that runs 366 days this year (you heard me). All you need is 500 words a day; she does it all for the love of the writing community – go Cara! @caramichaels

6) Out of the Past: a Classic Film Blog: this classic film blog is run by @quellelove and a true must-visit for any who love iconic films and their stars.

7) Indie Jane: Devoted to Jane Austen and matters Regency, this blog is run by @_jessmelendez and it’s fun, informative -and- engaging.

8) Finding Wonderland: the YA Writing Weblog: One of the first blogs I started reading regularly. Offers some amazing YA lit recommendations, as well as wry comics by the talented @aquafortis, co-author.

9) Lupus in Flight: Whether writing prose or her lovely poetry, Shaista’s writing always sings and is well worth a regular visit. @lupusinflight

10) Marian Call’s Official Blog: This Alaskan singer-songwriter was one of my fantastic discoveries of 2011. Her song “Good Morning Moon” is one of my favorites of the year and she’s a geek girl too! @mariancall

11) Bullish Ink: Every post I have read on this blog is chock-full of writerly wisdom and that’s saying a great deal. An invaluable resource for those who write. @bullishink

12) Write Me Happy: One of the friendliest writers that I have met through Twitter, this blog documents Angie’s journey through the perilous straits of writerdom. @write_me_happy

13) The Insatiable Booksluts: Other than the pure awesomeness of their name, this site has thought-provoking analysis and will make you laugh at the same time. Really, can you ask for more than that?
@insatiablebooksluts

14) Dead White Guys: Much in the same vein of IB, DWG excels at snark, yet includes a streak of charming erudition. @deadwhiteguys

15) Dasia Has a Blog: This is the blog of @awkwardoptimist, who does a rockin’ air guitar and is another of my favorite snarkers on Twitter. Not only is she a good fiction writer, but reading her blog always cheers me up.

So you should visit all these amazing blogs, subscribe and (of course) follow them on Twitter.

Okay, seven random pieces of information about me:

Errr…

1) I grew up in a theatre, in a most literal sense. I had the most magical childhood, in that I was underfoot backstage and in the costume shop and in the orchestra pit. It gave me a very musical theatre way of looking at the world, which leads us to point 2…

The view of my childhood

2) Wherein I confess that I burst into song randomly. People say musical theatre isn’t realistic, isn’t very real life. It’s -my- real life. Periodically in our household, we would burst into refrains from Jesus Christ Superstar, Pirates of Penzance or Showboat. No fake, Jake. Extra-funny from my 6 feet tall brothers.

Me as Edith in Pirates of Penzance. “Too late! – ha ha! – Too late! – ho ho!”

3) I am a voracious reader. That’s true of most bloggers and writers, but I take it to a point where it annoys people. I usually need to read when I eat. I read the back of airline tickets and cereal boxes and anything I can get my hands on, really. My brain gets panicky if I can’t read, though luckily it is okay to listen to public radio in the car.

4) I have extremely high standards of expectations for myself, maybe because I’m an oldest child. Whenever I feel bad about what I have accomplished thus far, I remind myself that I have had two original full-length plays and two literary adaptations produced. And a short story published in an anthology. And starred in a goth opera, Veil & Subdue. And created a t-shirt brand, Super Secret Spy Girl. And made this blog, which you are reading. I am happy to meet you and hope you will comment and come visit us often.

5) I have big feet and a turned-up nose with freckles.

6) I studied Art History & English in college, two degrees guaranteed to require the learning of the phrase, “Would you like fries with that?” Yet I have always managed to avoid working fast food, no matter how poor I get.

Vermeer’s Muse Clio will -not- serve fries with that

7) I consider 7 a lucky number, though I’m not terribly superstitious. And I actually like red-penning my own work when I edit. There’s something about marking up all those pages that gives me a sense of accomplishment.

There you are, gentle reader. Please visit all those bloggers; they are all deeply deserving and add to the loveliness of the blogosphere – read them today!