Huzzah!

I just figured out how to fix a major plot point issue I was having in my screenplay. Huzzah!

Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays from the Dragon Lady and her Dragon Pup!

I haven’t posted in awhile, because the holiday season was crazy busy, but I will get back to normal book reviews and random ramblings soon.

NaNoWriMo 2010

Yup, it’s that time of year again: National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo. And I’m happy to say that so far I am doing MUCH better than last year. Witness:

This is my official word count as of the end of Day #5. You can also check my ongoing progress in the little NaNoWriMo graphic in the sidebar that updates automatically.

Exhaustion and Dragons

Well, the puppy has arrived. Actually she arrived about 2 weeks ago now, and she is just as cute as expected. Witness:

But, she is also exhausting. Combination being a puppy, separation from her playful dad, and not liking her kennel means she cries a lot, or is out loose and we have to keep an eye on her EVERY SECOND. And since Ian is off at work from about 7am to 7pm, that means I get to deal with that. All day. Egads. Hoping she adjust to new home and mellows out a bit. But she’s still so stinkin’ cute.

In book type news, for fans of Robin Hobb, definitely check out her latest series The Rain Wild Chronicles. I listened to book 1 (Dragon Keeper) as an audiobook on the drive to pick up the exhausting puppy, and just finished book 2 (Dragon Haven) this past weekend. SO GOOD. It helps if you’ve read her other Farseer universe stuff, but they’re plenty good on their own. It further cements her as on of my all-time favorite authors. She’s just so good at character. I’m eagerly awaiting book 3.

Puppy Incoming!

In non-book news, my boyfriend and I are getting a puppy in September, once it’s weaned. Behold, Sienna, soon to be cute addition to the household:

(oh, and since I don’t think I mentioned it, since this summer has been crazy, I moved at the end of June and am now living with my boyfriend, Ian. We celebrate our 1 year anniversary next week – woohoo! )

Book Review: Bridge of Birds

Bridge of Birds

By Barry Hughart

This was a surprising find. I’m not huge into Asian/Chinese-themed stories, so the subtitle ‘A Novel of an Ancient China that Never Was’ made me hesitate just a tad. I’m glad I ended up picking it up. This is a rollicking good tale. It’s got the flavor of a Chinese folktale, but told in a kind of tounge-in-cheek style that makes it fun to read, and rolls you right along with the adventure. I mean, you know it’s going to be a funny read when one of the main character constantly introduces himself thus: “My name is Kao Li, and I have a slight flaw in my character.” The other main character has the evocative nickname of Number Ten Ox. The story overall is like that: absurd, but it ends up making sense. In short, Bridge of Birds has everything a good adventure story should have: a seemingly impossible quest, romance, danger, charlatans, trickey, escapes, magic and myth.. and most importantly, a very satisfying ending. There’s a reason it won the World Fantasy Award back in 1985. Now I just need to find the sequels…

I give it 4.5/5 stars.

NaNoWriMo Update

If you’ve checked in on my official NaNoWriMo page at all, you know that I am FAR behind on my quota of 50,000 words by the end of this month. In my defense, I do have a great deal of the entire novel (which will likely be more than 50,000 words) outlined, I just haven’t actually written it out yet. This is due to several factors, summarized below.

I have determined that it is practically impossible to keep up with NaNoWriMo when:

1. You run your own small business and holiday season (aka. The Gauntlet) is starting.
2. You lose a week and a half by being out sick and then having to catch up on real work before you can devote time to writing.
3. Said real work leaves you stressed out and exhausted, and all you want to do with your limited free time is relax with good books or your boyfriend, instead of writing a novel about a topic that stresses you out and is occasionally sad.

The last point is admittedly the most controllable, as I could’ve just picked a different topic to write about. But writing a book is hard work no matter the topic or angle, and sometimes my day job just doesn’t leave me with the energy to tackle that.

I may do my own version of NaNoWriMo in a less hectic time of the year – perhaps May (MayNoWriMo?). Regardless, I do plan to keep plugging away at this novel in small chunks until then, and ultimately completing it, as it’s a story that I feel is important to see told.