In the Valley of the Devils, a Deviant Art Daily Deviation!

Completely chuffed to find my werewolf short, In the Valley of the Devils, is a featured Lit Daily Deviation for today on Deviant Art. This joins my other three DDs, including An October Birth, which you may enjoy if you like horror.

It's kind of funny that this happened today, as I was just sitting down to rework a story I started a few months ago, a space werewolves in Walt Disney World short. LOL, yes. Because, Why not? And also because I love all those things: WDW, space, and werewolves. So we'll see how that turns out. I have this idea for a series of interrelated books and short stories, all set in WDW but involving crazy stuff. For instance, each book would be set in a particular resort, and maybe aliens are living under the bridge at the Carribbean Beach Resort. Etc etc etc--cue wide-eyed skepticism and people backing slowly away :) I have most of the first book written, but it's a hot mess. I can say that it takes place at Fort Wilderness, and involves the Illuminati, or more precisely, the Disney Illuminati.

Make of that what you will. X-Files in WDW? YES PLEASE, I say.

Anyway, moving on, I just started a new job yesterday, working at my public library as a page! Yes! To say it's a whole new world for me would be an understatement. I'm slightly overwhelmed, but I'll sure I'll manage. It's exciting and nerve-wracking, both.

I hope everyone is having a good day, or has a good book in which to lose themselves if it's not :)

xo
RS

Werewolves by astaiir

The Fox is Black

It's been a while since I checked out The Fox is Black, except for following the occasional link via his Twitter account. First, I was bowled over by the redesign, and then I lost an hour, going through every post I've missed. Loves:

this lamp:

this (somewhat disturbing) photography -- check out the fourth one, esp. Double-exposures of nature and female models with an underlying beauty that is quite timely

and

this re-covered entry for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (but make sure to check out all the re-covered contests that TFIB runs; the Jane Eyre and Wizard of Oz contest were terrific)

Alice Donadoni really hit the nail on the head with an untraditional and unexpected entry that has old fashioned textbook appeal.


In particular, this cover of Arcade Fire's "Suburbs" by Mr. Little Jeans has been on repeat since I listened to it half an hour ago. Somewhat urgent despite the dreamy, gorgeous lyrical style, I just love it.

Suburbs by Mr Little Jeans

Listen, listen, listen.

If you haven't heard of TFIB before, seriously, go take a look around. Bobby Solomon loves design in all aspects of life, and it shows.

What? I should be writing? All right then...

For A: In the piney woods, the dream stag awaits

For A.



My girl, my girl, don't lie to me. Tell me where did you sleep last night?

Also, this:

 via

Is that not astounding. Do you not want the deer to dip its head and swathe you in its branches. You do. Because that is what we all want in our dreams. While we are stroking the soft ears and feeling the blood in its veins.

I have no gypsies for you, A. They prefer to wait, to watch beyond the stone wall. For you to come out alone. There is more dancing inside their wagons than you can know. It will be all right. They have slippers for you, already made, with your name. They are made of winter light. They will dissolve in summer, but not if you wear them in the shadows.

9 Days of Madness; Miniature Worlds

Time's almost up to submit your story to Chris Allinotte's Nine Days of Madness. If you've got something creepy, bizarro, or downright gruesome, send that flash fic his way! I think a few spots are still open. Last year's entries were wonderfully diseased imaginings, and the free e-book Chris created after the Madness garnered tons of downloads. Join in.

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Former labyrinth creator Takaido Aiba now creates heart-stopping miniature worlds, such as this bonsai treehouse:

When I'm in Disney, one of my favorite places to explore is the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. This sculpture by Aiba ignites my imagination in the same way. I wish I was tiny, so I could inhabit it for a day or two. Maybe stay there for a while and read miniature books.

microflash: Heiress; Metal Bird Sculpture

Heiress

She'd gone haring off across the southern counties again, the devil at her heels. Simon, pill bottle in the glove box, spun down dusty roads and called into the kudzu-soaked woods from his window: Felicia, Fe-licia. The fullness of shadows answered, reminding him of Georgian nights spent between her legs. No place for a conservator. Or a cousin, however distant.

At the crossroads of 53 and 164 he found her. Like a scarecrow, dangling crucified from the road marker. Hands purple with pokeberry juice. He convinced her to let go, pushed a pink pill into her cracked mouth.

Whispered, Felicia.

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Written for Lily's Friday Prediction. All welcome to participate.

Here

Lord, I want this.

Library brain; small stone for day twenty

This is how I picture my brain:

Via

And now, today's small stone for day twenty:

across three snow-topped garage roofs I spy

drifting puffs of wood smoke

telephone wires with squirrels

and a drooping apple tree, black spheres

yet clinging 

in spite of winter

Art and fic recs; Six Word Memoir

Via the super-awesome art rec blog, Eclectix, some shots from the current show running at the Bristol Museum, England.

My favorite:

Dark bride and groom on a stack of books, by Mike Stilkey.

I'm proud that I recognized quite a few artists featured. I wish, however, that I could see more art in person, rather than online. If I had a week in NYC or LA, I'd probably spend it all in museums.

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Science geek? Lit geek? Stoned out of your mind and yet still able to read and comprehend shit? Pruned's series of stories in which Chicago is re-imagined over and over is epic and yet tiny. Flash fic, each one, with an accompanying strange pic.

Magnets beneath the city that send beams to a machine that can dissolve cancer cells. One second in the machine can bankrupt a small nation. Or a subterranean system that goes for miles... and doesn't exist. Just like your kid.

Whoa. And can the sci-fi authors take a peek? This is fresh stuff.

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Today's stuff is pretty fucking amazing, wouldn't you say? These are things I look at and think, If the planet was destroyed tonight, look at what would be lost.

Gryff cat is love. That's you final thought for the day.

Wait. One more. It's my damn blog. ;)

Six Word Memoirs:

China berries, metal roller skates, hospital.

Hehe. Yeah, that about sums up my childhood.

Daily Deviation, Art, Clover

I'm truly honored: The Librarian's Assistant is today's Daily Deviation on Deviant Art.

I woke up to find an enormous amount of messages. I was so confused! I need caffeine before I can begin to process these things. :) But now I'm very, very happy.

I want to thank JS, who not only goes over my work with a keen editorial eye, but is so encouraging as well. In this case, I wrote this piece, sent it to her on a Sunday morning, and got back one of the best replies: that this had made a shitty day so much better. She loved this story, and I still recall her email vividly. It made my day.

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Upcoming: look for me next week at The Molotov Cocktail. I shall link when the issue goes up. The week after that, one of my pieces is the weekly story at A Minor Magazine. Linkage also forthcoming. Thanks to the editors at both zines.

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News about the chapbook coming soon. Just a little something to give you an idea of what it's about. I know, I'm such a tease. ;)

Thank you to everyone who reads my work. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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Last night, I went outside with my dogs to sit for a while and enjoy the evening. It was beautiful, not too hot any longer, and so quiet. I looked down and... there was a four-leaf clover! All my life, I've looked and never found one. In a yard full of clover, I hoped that someday, one would show up. And now one has!

It is lying here on postcards written between 1903 and 1912, from a Mr. Charles Pankhorst to a Miss Ida Sylvester. I will tell more about these postcards at a later date.

And for now, I have stuck the clover between the pages of a very old sheetmusic book to dry:



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And last, I've been experimenting with painting. I've done a lot of crafts, and I want to try my hand at this now. My first one, Birches No. 1 (how artsy does that sound?!), is just finished:

Acrylics on canvas, 11 x 14. I took this picture with my camera, so I'm a bit disappointed how it looks here. I love the way it looks in person. Some of the right side is cut off, too... Ah, well. Anyway, this was done after watching a show on tv about how to create your own art for your home. My first attempt was a homemade card for JS, and now I've gone bigger. Next up, the side of the garage. JK!

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That's all for now. Come back next week -- I'll have the link to The Molotov Cocktail piece, and to celebrate, I may be doing an art giveaway, in the tradition of many bloggers here. :)