Posted in Holidays, Likes, tagged good news, snow, spring equinox, winter, yay on March 20, 2014| Leave a Comment »
It’s snowing, it’s too cold for the cat to go out, and my front steps are covered in a slurry of slush and ice but! I don’t care because today is the Spring Equinox!
March Equinox in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada was on
Thursday, March 20, 2014 at 12:57 PM EDT
That’s right, Google has a doodle, it’s the first day of Spring and day is (basically) as long as night. After a cold dark winter, that’s good news!
Look, kids, that big ball in the sky. Now do you believe in the Sun?
Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #AmtrakResidency, Amtrak, artists, creativity, Fiction, finishing, free, fun, train travel, work, working holiday, Writers, writing, yay on March 8, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Yes, after much social media back and forth, The Amtrak Residency for Writers Is Now Accepting Applications. Like the idea of riding the rails with nothing to do but be inspired by the scenery and write write write? I know I do:) Check out all the details at Amtrak’s site:
#AmtrakResidency was designed to allow creative professionals who are passionate about train travel and writing to work on their craft in an inspiring environment. Round-trip train travel will be provided on an Amtrak long-distance route. Each resident will be given a private sleeper car, equipped with a desk, a bed and a window to watch the American countryside roll by for inspiration. Routes will be determined based on availability.
A desk too? Heaven!
Posted in Likes, tagged animals, Australia, free pattern, knitting, oil spills, Penguin Foundation, penguins, Ravelry, rehabilitation, ridiculously cute, yay on March 6, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Another one for the “make change” column, this time for the knitters among us…
From a news piece in Australia today:
Knitters Wanted for Penguin Pullovers
The Penguin Foundation has a global callout for knitters to make pullovers for penguins in rehab. Penguins caught in oil spills need the little jumpers to keep warm and to stop them from trying to clean the toxic oil off with their beaks.
If you happen to be a Ravelry member there is a free pattern all ready to go. Extra sweaters are used for fundraising and educational purposes.
/because you can’t write all the time
Posted in Likes, tagged awesome, books, fantasy, Fiction, fight child labor, grassroots activism, harry potter, inequality, inspiration, life imitating art, writing, yay on March 4, 2014| 1 Comment »
8 Courageous Things Harry Potter Fans Did to Fight Real-Life Dark Forces by Katrina Rabeler.
If Harry Potter were a real person, he’d fight child labor, voter suppression, and poverty. Here are our favorite ways Harry’s fans have taken his values from the page to the real world.
For more details on what muggles can do when they put their minds to it, check out the full article at YES! Magazine.
Posted in Writing, tagged Australia, creativity, Fiction, finishing, free, genre fiction, sff, short stories, speculative fiction, SQ MAg, work, writing, yay on March 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »
I’m very pleased to tell you that my new story Catch of the Day is now out at SQ Mag, a delightful speculative fiction zine from Australia. This “tale of magical artefact smuggling, full of betrayal and twists and turns” is now freely available online. Enjoy!
Posted in Writing, tagged books, campbell award, free, genre fiction, inspiration, literature, science fiction, sff, short stories, speculative fiction, Stupefying Stories, Writers, writing, yay on February 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Another year, another free Campbellian download!
Stupefying Stories has just made available M. David Blake’s “The 2014 Campbellian Pre-Reading Anthology.” This collection contains more than 860,000 words of fiction by authors eligible for this John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer award. Fabulous fiction, and all free free free!
Limited time offer, get yours today!
Posted in Writing, tagged creativity, failure, inspiration, progress, quotes, Samuel Beckett, success, Thoughts, work, Writers, writing, yay on January 29, 2014| 1 Comment »
Some of you will have seen this poem, but I fielded a question about it recently and wanted to revisit what is a sometimes painful yet ultimately encouraging truth:
Ever tried.Ever failed.
No matter.
Try again.
Fail again.
Fail better.
—Samuel Beckett
Not “stop trying.” Not “don’t fail.” Fail better. It’s a sentiment close to the heart of many writers:)
Posted in Food and..., Likes, tagged baking, bribery, delicious, food, home, Motivation, recipes, yay on January 17, 2014| 2 Comments »
Just in time for the weekend, here is my favorite brownie recipe. It’s quick and delicious. It’s also in metric, because once you get a scale and get used to the routine, the weight method is indeed easier and more consistent. Making fewer dirty dishes is an added bonus. Also, cocoa powder means no waiting around to chop and melt chocolate bricks. I have a double boiler but yeah, no.
Brownies
You must be logged in to post a comment.