A Tribute to Tom Grundner (Rest in Peace)

When I first arrived in Arizona, I had been searching for a "real" job for about two years. I knew that I wanted to get into publishing, that I needed to get a start on my childhood dream of having my own publishing company. I admit that Arizona seemed an unlikely place to accomplish this, but luck seemed to be on my side when I met Tom Grundner, founder of Fireship Press, at a writers' function during the first month I was here. I had an unusually strong feeling that he was a person I ought to get to know better, and -- this is a really big deal for me -- I punched through the barriers of my shyness and queried whether he would like any help with Fireship.

Tom has had a direct, strong influence on every one of my days in Arizona since. He quickly gained confidence in me, and after he bore witness to my editorial skills and we had a truly heart-to-heart conversation, he agreed to supply me the startup costs for my own Açedrex Publishing as well as the training I needed in the technical aspects. What an astounding gesture! I'm still speechless when I think of it.

My husband and I came to this state penniless, unwilling, and we were pretty unhappy, but because I met Tom, I can never say that my time in Arizona has been a washout.

I didn't know Tom for very long. I can't really speak about the facts of his life, but I know that he continues to be dearly loved by his family and friends and that he is a kind and true soul. I considered him to be my guardian angel in Arizona. We're trying to sort out how to continue Fireship as a noble legacy, and I hope we do. I know that any future success I have in publishing will owe a profound debt to a writer, a savvy businessman, and a friend.

See a thorough recounting of Tom's life at Historic Naval Fiction.

Our Second Wedding Anniversary

Two years. What a couple of years! In this photo, taken minutes before we said our vows, my husband is showing a tooth he recently lost to the aftereffects of a cracked crown. (I love him no matter how many teeth he has or doesn't have.)

I could describe the delirious feeling that led to the laughter captured here, but the photo says it all. Happy Anniversary, sweet love!

Non-Judgment Day

We were all affected by September 11, 2001 in some way. I was living and working in the most beautiful place there is to work, a library in Boston. As the official Hub of the Universe, we felt vulnerable that day, and as the news became clear that the planes that took down the World Trade Center flew from Logan Airport, I felt somehow guilty by association. Beyond all the images from TV and the internet, what I remember with the most sorrow is how deadly quiet the morning bus was on September 12. The silent, downturned mouths and searching, chastised eyes looked to me like a broken America.

On the eleventh, our boss sent us non-essential workers home. I went to my studio apartment, all alone, and started filling out applications for my PhD, even though it seemed like none of my chosen universities would even exist by the autumn of the following year. When it seemed as though the world were truly ending, my applications were a defiant gesture of optimism.

Those of us who are old enough to remember it, know that the world of September tenth is gone forever. But we've made it through September twelfth, and now I live in the world of September thirteenth, which is, for me and my husband, a day to symbolize boundless love.

We were all affected differently, and so on this tenth anniversary, it is right that we should all commemorate differently. The most appropriate group activity I've found that applies to the country at large is Non-Judgment Day. There's a Facebook event for it, but we can all participate simply by considering what we as humans have in common.

Probably the best thing we all share is hope.

Vacation for Sweet Saturday Sample

My husband has managed to wrangle a vacation out of his slave-driving place of work (for which we are eternally grateful in this economy). We're escaping Arizona for the least expensive hotel we could find near the ocean. The Pacific, the ocean that saw me grow up! I will get back to all of you on Sweet Saturday when I get back (which will be far too soon).

Here's a sample from a WIP, about a self-centered young lady who grew up in California, went to college in Rhode Island, and has a really special sister. I don't know if this is going to come to a conclusion soon, or if it will become a novella or an accidental novel. Most of it is as sweet as can be, but there is one disturbing image, which could push the whole thing to PG-13.

Here, Emily, the narrator, meets her love interest for the first time.

* * * 

I was leaving a final paper in my professor’s department mail box on the last day of December reading period when I saw one of the graduate students pinning up a flier with a picture of mounds of dirt and happy people smiling amid the muck.

“Hey, what’s that?” I said even as he was turning to leave, a stack of papers crammed into his backpack.

“What’s what?” he replied, wearily.

“That.” I pointed, as if I couldn’t go up and read it myself. It was my right as an undergrad to be taught by these people.

He put his arm against the wall to balance the weight of his backpack as well as underline what the flier said. “Field Studies in Africa. Make the most of your summer. Study archaeology in the field with respected experts while earning course credit!”

“Ooh,” I said, mirroring his half-sarcastic tone. He looked familiar. “Hey, didn’t you TA one of the archaeology classes?”

“Intro to Prehistory, section 4, and Field Arch, section 5.”

I looked into his exhausted green eyes and wanted to drown. I hadn’t taken either of those courses myself, but if I’d known he was the TA, I would’ve signed up.

“Are you going to do the field study?” I asked.

He nodded with as little effort as possible. “Herding all the undergrads, probably getting Professor Marsden his coffee.”

“See you next semester,” I called to him as he trudged away down the hall. No one else was in the room, so I took the tacks out of the flier and folded it carefully into my own backpack.

I hauled my bag downstairs from my dorm room all by myself. As I waited for the taxi to the airport, I clutched the folded flier with gloved fingers. It started the way he’d said:

Field Studies in Africa. Make the most of your summer. Study archaeology in the field with respected experts while earning course credit.

The Middle Awash of Ethiopia is the most persistently occupied place on Earth. Join some of the most important scholars in a unique field study where you can make a real contribution to the newest science being done right now. The fossils are eroding right out of the ground. You could discover an important six-million-year-old specimen yourself!

The photographic collage, arranged around the dustily happy people digging in the ground that had caught my eye at first, showed carefully reconstructed skeletons of Ardipithecus ramidus, Australopithecus, and Homo erectus as well as a scenic view of what, strangely, looked to be Victoria Falls, and for good measure a tribesman of the Afar Desert complete with red, black and white woven clothing and Adidas sneakers.

* * *  

Thanks for taking a look. Let me know what you think. I appreciate all constructive comments, so very much!

New Place to See Tree/House and Great New Writers

The Electronic Text and Literature Cloud is the place to go to find out about independent authors you might never have otherwise heard of. Each title is showcased on an understated, tasteful page full of links to more information and, of course, where to buy it. I've had the honor of Tree/House being the first featured text in the "Literary" genre. Check it out here!

And check back with eTLC often for buried treasure that deserves more attention!

Out Now: A Crazy Weird Anthology for Animal Lovers!

Housefire Press, the press that only solicits from authors they like and never reads slush piles, has just released their anthology Nouns of Assemblage. It's full of animals, although I haven't received my contributor copy yet, so I can't guarantee they're all sweet. More specifically, it's all about the names for animals in their natural groups, such as the famous "murder of crows."

There are over 60 stories in here, and one is mine! Guess which group noun I chose. Yep, a "Crash of Rhinoceroses." It's an even more micro version of my microfiction "A Business Venture in Glue," published this year by Stanley the Whale. But don't that deter you, as there are more than 59 other stories by "The Best Authors in Small Press Fiction." Who could resist plunking down a paltry sum for something with so much potential?

See the stop-motion trailer here. Look for me at :42!

More information (including purchasing) is here.

Thanks for taking a look and celebrating with me!

The Family Tree for the Seven Noble Knights of Lara

So you see, it's all very simple. These are the relationships between the characters who have been introduced so far.

I admit I've worried that the two most important male characters in the González family, the father and the youngest son, are both named Gonzalo, but for the first draft I'm hoping titles, diminutives, and nicknames will clarify who's doing what. If names persist as a problem, I will reconsider them for the second draft.