One thing that copy editors do is fact check. So not only is Mel (hi, Mel!) reading through drafts to make sure I know how to use a comma properly (I really don't), she's also checking all of the weird creatures I bring in, geographical data, etc. I still screw up, but those screw ups are all on me.
Today, as I was going through Mel's note...
2020-06-16 20:38:41 +0000 UTC View Post
Last week was a thing, right? And this week? It's been such a thing that we all forgot about Murder Hornets, haven't we? I hope you're all doing well and staying safe and taking care of each other.
If you missed it, and you're on FB, I recommend going to the page for The Brown Bookshelf. They hosted an online rally--Kid Lit Community...
2020-06-08 20:29:24 +0000 UTC View Post
First, you should know that I had to look through a lot of meat images to find one for this post, which is a tremendous sacrifice on my part as a long time vegetarian. (It's actually not. I've worked in kitchens and meat doesn't bother me, I just don't want to eat it.)
I hope you all enjoy this new chapter--thank you for waiting pati...
2020-05-28 23:42:13 +0000 UTC View Post
Today my sweet, giant child is 16. I’m not sure how that happened? I mean, I understand the inevitable march of time, but it still seems weird. How? How is this possible?
I’m grateful that he’s such a kind and mellow ki...
2020-05-26 19:02:21 +0000 UTC View Post
Chapter is up! Now with extra wolf! Hope you all like it.
Things are going well here in the Murder Shack. I have a fancy new office chair, which is good because I was using a dining room chair and it was super uncomfortable. I also got some new noise cancelling headphones. Our finances are always a little tight, so sometimes I have a hard ...
2020-05-20 04:58:48 +0000 UTC View PostHere is a note from Patreon telling you about having to charge sales tax. This will vary by place, so if you're concerned, they have a lot of information posted about it. Sorry for the hassle. --Lish
Hi everyone,
I wanted to give you an update on some changes that we’ll be seeing which may affect some of your pledges. Due to new la...
2020-05-20 04:47:04 +0000 UTC View Post
This picture has nothing to do with the chapter--it's my Mother's Day Present! Man Friend made it--the bones are gold leaf, and he made the frame and such, too. Also, lilacs are my favorite.
Right now I'm outside enjoying the spectacular weather, which is really odd. Seattle? In Spring? It should be pretty rainy. Instead we've had re...
2020-05-10 18:35:12 +0000 UTC View Post
When I say that my bookshelves are currently disorganized and that I do have more research books, this is what I’m talking about. I have a lot of books-it’s the joyous curse of being an author and a bookseller for years. Some of these shelves are actually stacked two books deep. They are only vaguely in order in some places. I dream of one d...
2020-05-02 22:01:34 +0000 UTC View Post
My friend, Stephen Blackmoore, joined Patreon recently. He writes the Eric Carter series, which is also about a necromancer, but it's a gritty noir style series. If you follow him at all on Twitter, you know that he also writes funny, tongue-in-cheek astrology posts. Stephen makes me laugh, I love his books, and he's been very supportive to me o...
2020-05-02 21:41:41 +0000 UTC View Post
So, first and foremost, I would like to say that the photo above is from an article in The Brown Daily Herald of the a Olneyville New York System hot wiener. (This is not my photo, I don't own it, I didn't take it, etc.) But I can't go to RI and take a photo, and I wanted you all to see what I was talking about. Thanks to several amazing and awe...
2020-05-02 21:23:24 +0000 UTC View Post
Mel asked, "Do you have a bookshelf of mythical creatures with images and descriptions?"
It was on the Q&A thread, but I thought I would give this one it's own space. First, Mel is my poor, abused copy editor. Mel has to look up and try to fact check and copy edit all of my weird beasties. I have been reading mythology-type books since...
2020-05-01 22:52:18 +0000 UTC View PostHi, team! How are you? I hope you're healthy and taking care of yourself out there.
I thought I'd open up a question thread in case any of you have questions about my books, my writing, or some third thing that I may or may not be an expert on. Fire away!
Lish
2020-04-23 23:46:43 +0000 UTC View Post
A new chapter! In which we get to see Grant use his magic! Hope you all like it. Stay safe and healthy out there!
-Lish
2020-04-21 04:28:33 +0000 UTC View PostFirst, a question! Yesterday I recorded me reading a short story from the collection Curses--a story that I wrote a long time ago. It's...long. Like, 40 mins, and almost all of that is me reading. My short stories tend to be long, which is great if you're reading, but not so much when you're listening maybe? Especially since I'm not a spectacula...
2020-04-07 20:26:49 +0000 UTC View Post
This is my friend, Abby. Abby is a badass. Seriously, we met in undergraduate and I basically decided she was going to be my friend and followed her around. She has a drive that I really admire. What I've always liked about Abby is her approach to poetry--she wants to make it accessible, the voice of the people, you know? A lot of writers take t...
2020-04-03 23:06:55 +0000 UTC View PostSo, I was going to post a video today doing another story time, but today has been really rough. My husband had to have two of his teeth extracted (he got an abscess this weekend, got it drained monday, and today had the teeth yanked), so there was some running around this morning, and I get stressed whenever I leave the house now because my lun...
2020-04-02 21:57:01 +0000 UTC View Post
So I made Heads Will Roll the image for this because we have a cameo from a character from that story (and Necromancing the Stone) and because I love this art so much I always want to share it. My editor actually bought me a copy of this print and framed it for me at the time, and since then I've bought several other pieces by the artist, Hannah...
2020-03-31 22:52:47 +0000 UTC View Post
You can now listen to the DULCET SOUNDS OF MY VOICE. (It is dulcet? I don't think so. But you can listen to me ramble and then read a story. Yay! Also, I look very Pacific North West here. Like I'm about to go fishing, go to a logging festival, and then drink pretentious coffee. Sorry about that?
Anyway, not only have a lot of you been rea...
2020-03-25 23:39:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Man Friend felt bad that I had nowhere to go and write since everyone was home. So he cleaned up his shop and made me a writing nook...complete with a meat hook, rusty hand scythes, and zombie heads. (All of those were already in there, but he added a diffuser to make it smell nice.) Basically, it looks like a murder shack. But let’s face it, ...
2020-03-22 18:25:10 +0000 UTC View Post
So first, I didn't take this picture--but apparently sometimes the Big Blue Bug in RI gets decorated? Also, look, I wrote words! Not a lot of them, but after two weeks of nothing, I'll take it!
Big thanks to all the people who filled me in on RI life. I want to go there now. Well, not now. You know, when people are less contagious in gener...
2020-03-18 01:14:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Forgive my gallows humor. I don't mean to be flippant about any of it, but I come from pragmatic, practical stock and we use humor to deal with stress. Humor is how we take power back from scary things. I'm just a hair north of Seattle, in Snohomish County. The kids are home for six weeks--minimum. Possibly longer, depending. Libraries are close...
2020-03-15 00:29:20 +0000 UTC View PostSo, you might have noticed I haven’t posted anything lately like I should have. Or maybe you didn’t -unless people comment or like things, I have no idea if any of you even look on here. But if you’ve been waiting, I’m sorry. This week has been a bit rough. My mom went into the hospital Thursday for surgery and was supposed to be release...
2020-03-06 20:52:56 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm trying to get some writing done and hit one somewhat expected road block (lots of hospital time) and one unexpected. For the expected--my mom had surgery yesterday. I'm the closest relation geographically, and so I of course was here all day. ALL. DAY. Between check-in, the surgery going long, recovery going long, etc, I was here from 11 AM ...
2020-02-28 22:26:57 +0000 UTC View Post
More words!
It's been really fun to work on something on the side like this--especially since I've been working on Curses, the book currently with my editor, for like four years. It's been a rough road. My editor liked my newest draft though, so now we're moving into editing! This is good, though of course I'm impatient and want to push ah...
2020-02-24 20:12:51 +0000 UTC View Post
This one is on the shorter side, so probably the first half of a chapter, but I wanted to keep the story going. Sometimes I don't know how long a chapter is going to be until I finish the scene, look at it, and then see if it's dragged on for 25+ pages or not.
Hope all of you are well out there and have survived the day of Obligatory Roman...
2020-02-15 23:38:44 +0000 UTC View Post
Next chapter is up! Mel, my wonderful friend who copyedits this stuff for me so that it's not a total mess, was sick, and took a few days to get better. I almost posted it anyway, but trust me when I say it's worth the wait. I'm fairly adept at editing other people's work, but my brain misses a lot of goofs in my own work.
No news on...
2020-02-10 21:20:42 +0000 UTC View Post
So, to give an update from my last post--my mom's dog, Peanut, is totally fine. She spent a few days sick and then bounced back. So no cancer, which is a relief. Meanwhile, the biopsy my mom got last week that I thought was no big deal actually is cancer, so that's a new and fun thing we're dealing with. Upside--they caught it early. My mom live...
2020-02-06 21:09:06 +0000 UTC View Post
So I actually got my copy edits on this back yesterday (Thanks, Mel!) but a migraine kept me from looking at a screen for very long. And the thing about copy edits is that it's also my chance to reread and make sure things make sense...and I don't want to do the when my brain is being eaten by a gremlin. It means I'll miss a heck of a lot more t...
2020-01-31 19:42:15 +0000 UTC View Post
Remember when I said I was hoping to get Curses done and then go back to Lena during my retreat? Well, I got Curses done...so I was half right? For those keeping score, this is draft #5 of that book. I usually do a lot of drafts, but they are revision drafts, not total rewrites. So far this book has been several partial rewrites, four full rewri...
2020-01-22 19:59:19 +0000 UTC View Post
The holidays ate my brain. It was a rough Christmas. Lots of colds-two of my nieces got strep. Smalls got some sort of puking thing and also ate bugs (these two things are not related). But seriously, my picky kid who cries when I try to get him to try Mac n’ cheese ate crickets and mealworms without a blink.
Also, I got this lovely teap...
2020-01-06 21:24:16 +0000 UTC View Post