When You're Old

Hi ho, old things! On May 30th, I celebrated my birthday! Overall, it was a pretty quiet day, but someone remembered...

This little guy with the birthday hat is the Wii Fit Balance Board. He's very lively and cute. Mostly I step on him while exercising. I love the birthday hat and confetti - quite a wonderful thing to see before beginning the day's workout.

If you're a writer, you know that getting work done means putting your butt in a chair in front of a computer. The only body parts burning calories are your brain and your fingers... and that's not enough to stave off the packet of Oreos you ate after dinner. One my post-graduation goals has been to lose what I call my MFA weight: the weight I gained, especially in my last year of grad school, chained to my revision notes and grading.

Persistence. I have the same attitude exercising as I do with my writing. Obviously, haha. Long dormant muscles are emerging. I'm feeling great.

After a delicious lunch of fruit and homemade tamagoyaki (sweet, grilled egg), I took a break from my daily writing to watch some shows, read, and enjoy the fleeting sunny sky before the usual afternoon rain came crashing through the clouds.

Using my time wisely (of course, haha), I've been able to make a dent in my Netflix list (and watching PBS). Three shows have gotten my complete and utter attention: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Keeping Up Appearances, and Waiting For God. I highly recommend all three, especially if you love wit.

Keeping Up Appearances: Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced "Bouquet") reminds me of at least two of my family members. She's obsessed with manners, so Hyacinth is hilariously at odds with her embarrassing sisters.

I watched this show a lot as a kid, so it's been great to see it again now. It's even more funny.

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries: Brand-new show. I started watching it on PBS after my mom said, "Hey, there's a 1920s mystery show on Friday nights." And then I collapsed in a fit of startled excitement. Watching this show makes me want to forget my other writing projects and start the second book set in my nautical 20s fantasy world (the first of which was my thesis). I don't know which aspect catches my breath more: Miss Fisher's outfits or Detective Inspector John and Constable Hugh. The price suddenly dropped dramatically on Amazon, so I'm now the proud owner of Season 1.

Waiting For God: I love, love, love this show. The dialogue is sharp, witty, and smart. The show follows Diana and Tom, two troublesome residents of the Bayview Retirement Home. I have an unhealthy fascination with "the idiot" Harvey Bains. Never have I seen such a well-developed villainous-yet-likable guy.

This was another show I watched as a kid. This time, of course, I'm happily drowning in all five seasons, soaking up as much as I can. I'm determined to use as many phrases and snide remarks from the show as possible (Hence, the greeting I gave you on this post - it's something Tom says to Diana all the time, haha).


Annnnnnnnd Figment News!

My flash fiction piece, "Here Is A Heart," won Figment's "Find Your Inner Strength: The Sweetest Dark Flash Contest!" Yesterday, my story, along with the runner-ups, were featured on the front page.

To me, the most exciting thing about the contest was that it was judged by Shana Abé, author of The Sweetest Dark. I've read her books since junior high, so it was an incredible opportunity to have her read my story.

I'm working on catching up with everyone's amazing comments on my stories! June is certainly bursting with surprises, haha!

Give Me Couches or Give Me Writer's Block

Between catching up with old friends and making a dent in my reading list, I've been writing everyday. I think I've become a bit more simplistic with what I need in order to write these days...

1. New glasses. My prescription hasn't changed, but I splurged on a new pair of glasses to change my look. I needed a bit of refreshing, considering that I had my old pair for five years. So I got giant hipster glasses that I'm madly in love with (pictured above). Totally makes me want to write... even though I'm getting used to that extra weight balancing on my nose, haha!

2. Netbook. I'm entirely dependent on Spell Check and Google while writing, so I couldn't possibly write without my trusty netbook in my lap! Yes, that is a Rarity sticker. Mr. Daydream is there too, reminding me to write weird stuff.

3. Couch. Maybe I haven't met a chair I liked, but I write best when I'm sitting on a comfy couch.

4. Notes. Even though I don't write my projects on paper, I do take a lot of notes. I carry little notebooks with me wherever I go. Whether I collect my notes on paper or on my netbook, it usually consists of snippets - things my characters will say, plot twists, backstories, etc.


Music and snacks tend to vary per project. I don't actually eat while writing, but if I'm stuck and I pace around the house, I may reach for Cherry Twizzlers Bites. I've been listening to a lot of show theme's (Sherlock, Downton Abbey, Doctor Who) and Sea Wolf albums while writing.


What do you need in order to write? Have your habits changed recently? 

Deathless Press: Spring 2013 Review

Allow me to introduce you to a neat little press. Deathless Press is in the business of publishing fairy tale chapbooks. Now, it's already pretty cool that the focus is on fairy tales, but what I also love is that all the chapbooks are prose.

Until recently, chapbooks have been ruled by poetry. Perhaps it's because poetry is made for the chapbook format: small, bite-sized delights on every page. Prose can't possibly compete... right?

Wrong.

Short fiction, in its various forms, is becoming popular. There are literary journals out there dedicated to publishing nothing but flash fiction, some pieces as small as under 150 words. Figment.com has writing contests that rarely go over 1k. And these short stories are collected, bound, and reaching readers near and far.

Deathless Press's first round of books share the feel of springtime; mysterious woods, flowers blooming in their cases, sweet nothings whispered between girl and frog. I ordered the bundle pack and devoured all three books. I'm happy to share my thoughts about them, so that you may also discover these stories.


The Frog Prince by Evan Perriello

When the bus running between Phoenix and LA stalls, the passengers have no choice but to deal with the suffocating heat until the technician arrives. The narrator's grandfather falls into conversation with with the man sitting next to him - a handsome old man who confesses that he has once been a frog. The initial scene works as a framing device; the handsome old man tells his story in the middle, and at the end, we're back on the stalled bus as the heat becomes unbearable.

Once the handsome old man begins his story, I couldn't put the book down. He has such a strong voice, inviting you to feel sympathetic for both him and his "princess," Emma. The dark ending, full of regret and inevitable heartache, was the perfect way to finish.


The Bouquet by Kate McIntyre 

A finicky bride-to-be seeks out a famous florist to find the perfect bouquet for her wedding. Instead of meeting a trendy, young florist, the bride-to-be is faced with a peculiar old woman with hair that "stuck out like a thistle." While the story is told in third person, the bride-to-be's perspective is so strong that you feel like you're trapped in her head - and I say trapped, because her thinking is so stilted and kind of sad, in a humorous way.

At the end of the story, the bride-to-be gets her bouquet... but you can't help but feel that she's been royally tricked by the crafty florist. It's wonderful. I only wish that this story was a lot longer - I enjoyed the McIntyre's writing style very much!


The House of Zabka by Marcus Slease 

Carrie is the daughter of a pig butcher; she loves her father, even when he throws pig's blood on her when she misbehaves. She decides to take her sausage dog with her on a trip through the woods, running into such odd characters as pigs and wolves, elves, and Dog Woman.

I was excited about reading The House of Zabka when I read Slease's blog post about it; he mentioned that he wrote this book in a style similar to Aimee Bender and Shane Jones. I love both those authors and, as you've heard many times, Jones' Light Boxes rocked by world in terms of structure. Slease's book has some delightfully weird moments, like Carrie's sausage dog (I mentally pictured Hot Dog Princess from Adventure Time) and the plastic dragon that breathes fire when you sent it a text message.

But, sadly, those awesome characters only appeared once in the whole book; they faded into the background while other characters took the spotlight. I had trouble following the plot - one minute we're with Carrie in the woods, and then we're with Marek, the pig butcher, as he goes through a strange operation. The shift was a bit jarring, especially when Carrie seemed to be the main character up until that point, and the ending leaves me wondering if any of it actually happened - though, honestly, I can't tell you what happened. I suppose this book was just too surreal for me.


You can purchase your own copies of these Deathless Press books over at the etsy shop, HERE.

Graduation: A Post in GIFs

Here's the moment you've all been waiting for: I'm officially done with grad school. I've been yammering about this for such a long time already, so now that the time has come, I find myself speechless and utterly unable to express what it's like to be finished with a shiny MFA degree in my hands (well, hypothetically. It'll be mailed in a few weeks).

Strange to think that this blog started in my first semester of graduate school.... so there's never been a not-in-school moment for I Wear Milk Crowns until now.

1) My initial reaction to the end of grad school:

2) What I said to students who had asked me why academia still looks down on genre fiction:

3) Cleaning out my office and turning in the key:

4) Finishing April's CampNaNoWriMo at 15k - and proud (even if I was off by 5k from my goal):

5) Kicking off the summer by watching all of Sherlock:

So, yes, lots of feels going on. I'm still trying to process everything that's happened, but I'm looking forward to what the future brings! What's going on with your end of the semester? 

Do Me a Flavor and Finish My CampNaNo Project

April is good. April is fantastic. This is a month of magic, when transformations occur as flowers yawn themselves into blooming.

Sometimes it's hard to remember, but I'm going to do it.

Here are five *new* wonderful things about this rainy month.




1. Boba Tea

Despite being told my reputable sources about how awesome boba tea is, I've finally had one. And, of course, my friends don't lie.

A brand-new coffee shop opened up nearby called Brew House - so new that they didn't have all their cupcakes in the display case... and they don't have a website yet. It's a little out of the way, so my mom and I made sure to include it in our errand run this morning. The shop is cute, with plenty of room for writing novels on napkins or staring at the new hospital across the street. The girl working there was very friendly and gave us an explanation (and samples!) of what boba is. Basically, boba are little round jelly balls filled with fruit juice. It's like biting into a grape. A strong splash of flavor hits you when you eat one and the combination with sweet tea works.

I ordered mango iced tea with strawberry boba pearls. Brew House didn't have all the flavors yet, so I'll have to come back to try their lychee flavor! As you can see from the third picture, I wasn't very good at evenly eating the pearls and drinking - but having so many at the bottom of my cup was a treat!


2. Used Books

Nothing's better than finding good books - books that have had many lives, with bent pages and wounded spines. I came home with four news books that I never would have been able to resist. I love anything about the World's Fair, so Ticket for Tomorrow by Carol Cox sounded exciting.

I almost rubbed my eyes in disbelief when I stumbled upon A Swiftly Tilting Planet because it has a gorgeous cover, one of the new reprints I've gawked at in the bookstore plenty of times. My other L'Engle books date back to the 1960s, with super cheesy, yet appealing covers.

Getting another Neil Gaiman book was, well, totally great because I have not read enough of his work (Neverwhere, Coraline, Stardust, the Sandman comics, and a handful of his short stories. I need more!).


3. Misty

My doggie. She threw out her back last month. In the past week or so, she's returned to her usual spunk and I'm so thankful to see her back in action!


4. Voting in the Lays Do Us a Flavor Contest

Ever since this darn choose-the-next-Lays-flavor contest started, I've had a hard time finding all three flavors to try, let alone deciding on where to cast my vote. Apparently, Florida is apathetic about the contest, so I hadn't been able to find the chips until recently, thanks to my friends.

I've also delayed writing my verdict because it was so hard to figure out which one was my favorite. Thus, I'm happy that I finally figured it out in April, haha!

Chicken & Waffles: I really wanted to like this flavor because it was weird. But it doesn't work for me. I tasted way too much grease and not enough, well, chicken. Or waffle. I dunno. I've never had chicken and waffles, so maybe, if I'd eaten it before, I would have acquired that taste and fully enjoyed the chip version.

Sriracha: Not a fan of spicy flavors, especially not chips. I don't like the idea of having to carry water with me when eating such a casual snack. However, if you ignore the burn, the flavor's actually quite tasty!

Cheesy Garlic Bread: After much deliberation, I have to say that the garlic bread flavor was my favorite out of the three. It's the only one I can eat without feeling sick afterward (that's a good sign, right?). It's not the most creative flavor out of the three, but you can taste the varying flavors of the cheese and garlic, making it different from the garlic-based chips already out.

Thank you Jenn and Allison for sending me chips. Without you, I'd still be dithering over not getting to cast my vote and suffering from unsatisfied curiosity (ugh, can you imagine? O_O).

But in all honesty, I would have really loved prawn-flavored chips. When I studied abroad in England, I tried so many different kinds and they were all delicious. A much better flavor than these three, gotta say.


5. Progressing in My CampNaNo Project

Yep. That's happening. Just as I hoped, my sea legs are coming back in terms of writing. I've been typing away, sometimes so focused that only the screeching beep of the washer / dryer can wake me from my stupor.

I've been getting to know the characters in Stella quite well, but it improves every day. I'll be driving to school and suddenly, after stopping at a light, I'll think, "Oh my gosh! I know what Wyatt's secret is!"

And then I'll dash to my office and write it down on the scrap of an old newsletter.

The character I'm most comfortable with is Layla. I've been enjoying working with her because, in a lot of ways, we're going through the same struggles. However, she's so much snappier than me - it's an utter delight to write her sparring matches with the other characters.

One of the least developed areas of my project had been the fireplace world (coming up in the next chapter officially, I believe). It was kind of hazy in my mind. I wasn't sure if I was going to take the reader there or not. But it's been building steadily. The chimney-palace is being built, brick by brick, and the forests are twisting with endless lanterns. And after finally getting around to watching Bryan Fuller's Hannibal, I now have a mental image of the fireplace king - and boy, does that put some puzzle pieces together.

I can't wait to go there in the story. I'm typing at a brisk pace, knowing that the ending is approaching, no matter how many miles away. It's a good feeling.


6. BONUS. Imminent Graduation!