Are my scuba diving lessons tax deductible?

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Here's my thinking on this, folks. The Secret of the Sea Witch is about a mermaid whose brother is kidnapped by (spoiler! spoiler! spoiler!). Of course, it turns out that there's MUCH more going on than that. At any rate, Marisa, our heroine, embarks on an epic voyage to find her brother. Trials. Magic. Scrying shells. Enchanted sailfish. Complicity. Pomeranians. (I LOVE Poms...had to get one in there!)

At any rate, in order to think like a mermaid and feel like a mermaid I am taking scuba lessons. Sort of cinéma vérité without the cinema. Or perhaps a better comparison is method acting...without the acting. Whatever. My point is (there's a POINT to this?) that I feel the need to do and see certain things in order to write authentically. World building is one thing. Inspiration for fantasy world building often comes from the real world (Hogwart's modeled after British boarding schools, for example. Berger's electronic inspiration boards = real images to inspire vampire fantasies.)

So...I am breathing underwater (pretty cool), moving underwater (cool...but not as easy as Jacques Cousteau made it look), and generally learning what life is like "Under the Sea" (and, with that, we can all break out into a rousing chorus of Disney songs and go to bed.) And, of course, this is because I am planning on writing the second book in the trilogy!

So? Whaddya think, folks? Are my scuba lessons tax deductible?

Submission Accomplished!

I worked on revising A Warrior Born last night until 3am and submitted it by email to Sword and Sorceress for their 24th anthology. Around 8pm tonight I got a note from the editor say she's holding it for consideration. This is good. It means the editor liked the story. But there are many reasons an editor chooses or rejects a story for publication. For example, if a famous author (someone whose inclusion in the book would mean sales) submits a long story and yours is also long, guess whose will get chosen? Or if your story touches upon a theme that they already have a story for and the other fits the editors space requirements (it's shorter/longer and they need shorter/longer) you get the idea. I tried to keep the word count down on this one because they did say that shorter stories are easier for them to publish. We shall see.

Now....in case you're wondering....

A Warrior Born is about Brin Torren, a girl with no talent for magic who lives in a world where magic is the norm. She is a misfit who prefers the Old Ways of the sword and is cast out from her home when her mother catches her sneaking around to practice the discipline. A huge and terrible beast (is there any other kind?), who exists by voraciously consuming the power of magic, appears in the southern regions of her world. Is this time for Brin to prove herself? (Oh, for pete's sakes, of COURSE it is!) But, can one young girl who has never even had a sparring partner succeed against such incredible odds?

I hope I've handled the requisite formula in a unique, professional, and interesting enough manner to join some of my published colleagues. Some of the mags that take sci-fi/fantasy are a very far reach for me. S and S was just a little stretch but one I felt I might be able to achieve. If nothing else, it's good practice to leave your comfort zone!

ANOTHER one? (Is she talking about stories or adventures?)

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"A Warrior Born", my latest opus, was completed last night. Another marathon "write in" where I did not leave my laptop except to answer nature's calls or pay the pizza delivery boy when he arrived with dinner. This was a short story and I managed to complete it and revise it in a day. It joins the other works on my flash drive, waiting for summer and the time to write query letters to agents so that someone besides my son, my friends, and my writers' group might share the adventures of all these people living inside me.

Speaking of adventures....this summer I go to visit an area that Marisa (the main character in my mermaid novel) might easily call home. THE FIJI ISLANDS! Yes, seven days on a liveaboard, three-masted sailboat, sea kayaking, zip lining, snorkeling, scuba diving, and god knows what else they've got planned for my "adventure cruise". I'm very excited. Bali H'ai here I come! My mother thinks I'm crazy but she doesn't realize this is ALL HER FAULT for making me watch the 1958 version of South Pacific with Rossano Brazzi and Mitzi Gaynor multiple times on television when I was a kid. (Okay! I admit it! I LOVED it. I also ADORED the play on Broadway this year. I cried like a BABY when Paul Szot sang "This Nearly Was Mine".) I've always wanted to go to the South Pacific...this summer, my dream comes true!

You liiike?

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