Freedom and Hope

"Plastic"
©2013 A. Catherine Noon, All Rights Reserved

Joyous Lughnasad to you!  As we head from July into August, I know the theme of freedom was last month's but felt compelled to talk about it again, as well as its companion, hope.  I am in the midst of extricating myself from a toxic work situation and am struggling with the idea of freedom.  "Do I have to put up with this?" "Is this harassment?"  These questions make us doubt our sanity and wonder if we're being drama queens, or if the situation we're in is really that crazy.

What worked for me today was to take a long walk.  I brought my camera with me and took some shots of my walk, until my battery died and I just walked and existed with the trail.  There is a Latin phrase, "Solvitur ambulando," which means "It is solved by walking."  Many writers before me belonged to the peripatetic school, as Julia Cameron so poetically calls it.  Today, I put that to the test and, to my surprise, it worked.

Take a look (you can click on the picture to see it in a larger view):

This is deadly nightshade, Atropa belladonna, which is a commonly-growing weed in the Chicagoland area. It can cause contact dermatitis and is poisonous. It is a relative of the tomato family.
©2013 A. Catherine Noon, All Rights Reserved

I love the appearance of nightshade, but I'm allergic to it.  I get contact dermatitis, which is a fancy way of saying my skin turns red and is itchy and burns.  Yuck.  But they're sure pretty, huh?  All sorts of colors that look yummy.  DON'T.  They aren't yummy at all.

Hmm.  Metaphor, anyone?

I don't know what this is, but I love that there are two kinds of fruits/berries.
©2013 A. Catherine Noon, All Rights Reserved

This one caught my eye and I have no idea what it is.  I love the textures and want to create them in yarn.

It didn't rain on me, either.  My walk today has a quality of magic to it, a soft and Zen kind of magic that is subtle yet profound.

In closing, I'll leave you with a Zen Koan (a teaching story):

Chou-Chu fell down in the snow and yelled, "Help me up!  Help me up!"  A Zen monk came and laid down beside him.  Chou-Chu got up and went away.

--
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
- E.E. Cummings

The Chicagoland Shifters series:
Book 1 BURNING BRIGHT, available from Samhain Publishing.
Book 2 TIGER TIGER, available from Samhain Publishing. An All Romance eBooks Bestseller!

The Persis Cycle:Check out EMERALD FIRE, available from Torquere Books.

Watch for "Seeking Hearts", coming soon from Torquere Books.

Check out "Taking a Chance", available from Torquere Books.

Check out COOK LIKE A WRITER , available from Barnes and Noble.

My links: Blog | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | LinkedIn | Pandora
Knoontime Knitting: Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Ravelry
Noon and Wilder links: Blog | Website | Facebook
The Writer Zen Garden: The Writers Retreat Blog | Forum | Facebook | Twitter
Team Blogs: Nightlight | Nightlight FB Page | Beyond the Veil | BtV FB Page | LGBT Fantasy Fans and Writers | LGBTFFW FB Page
Publishers: Samhain Publishing | Torquere Press

Catch a Tiger by the Tale

Catch a Tiger by the Tale Blog Tour

TT | 07 | 2K13 | 01

Welcome to the first blog post of the Catch a Tiger by the Tale Blog Tour, celebrating the release on Tuesday, July 23rd, of our second book the Chicagoland Shifters series, TIGER TIGER.  We're excited about the chance to continue the series and we wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of our readers and writing friends for the support and guidance during the process of brining this book to completion.

One of the hardest things about writing a novel, I've found, is sustaining the creative output for the long haul.  It's a little like weight loss or, I've heard, training for a marathon (I've participated in weight loss efforts but haven't run a marathon).  Each day brings its challenges in the form of one's day job, family responsibilities, and plain and simple exhaustion.  Time management skills that one learned in school suddenly become all-important because without it, we can lose entire weeks watching television or farting around on the internet with no word count to show for it.

If I were to pick one of my favorite tools, it would be the "30/30" method.  Here's how it works:

You need a digital timer, ideally.  If you don't have one, you can purchase one at retailers like Target in the kitchen section.  If you have a smart phone, you can use the alarm function on it.

Set the timer for 30 minutes and, during that time, brainstorm all the things that you want to get done - whether or not they'll fit into your day, regardless of whether you want to do them - just get everything in one place to start.  And don't worry - you can add and delete stuff on this master task list as you need to.

When the timer dings, or rings, or sings at you, or buzzes, or any of a hundred other alerts, stop.  Step back and get yourself some coffee, tea, or ice water and relax.  Set the timer for another 30 minutes and this is your "Off" time - time for you to fart around online or play video games or whatever other relaxing task you enjoy (try knitting).

When the timer dings, focus on one thing on your list.  The idea here is to pick the most important - "important" as in, time-sensitive or something you don't get to focus on or, worse, procrastinate over (i.e., your writing).  Don't worry about doing more than 30 minutes.  All we're after right now is a focused 30 minutes - that's easy, right?  You don't have to write the whole novel in one sitting; just write what will fit in 30 minutes.

Ding!  Turn the timer off and relax for 30.  Have a snack.  Read a book.  Do something rewarding.  In this way, you can while away an entire weekend day and at the end of it, have a lot to show for it!

What's your favorite productivity tool?

And, so you're not dying with suspense, here is the blurb for TIGER TIGER for you to enjoy.  We hope you like reading it as much as we did writing it!

Chicagoland Shifters, Book 2

Veterinary trauma surgeon and animal empath Sasha Soskoff has found everything he ever wanted with his new partners Neal, Steve and Carlos. Life feels as safe and secure as it can be among a group of ex-Marine tiger shifters. Until a homeless man is found, gruesomely mauled and murdered, near Neal’s BDSM club.

When it’s determined a rogue tiger did the deed, the jaguars’ accusing eyes turn toward Sasha’s lovers. The precarious balance of peace tips dangerously toward war.

Neal knows damned well none of his tigers committed the crime. Someone must be in Chicago without his knowledge or permission, and they’d better find him fast before uncertainty and conflict rip the tight-knit band apart from the inside.

As Sasha struggles to heal the stress fractures forming among his tiger family, he begins to wonder if his dreams of a home, and love, were too good to be true. And it’s precisely that moment the killer strikes at the heart of the tiger clan—Sasha himself.

TIGER TIGER, available from Samhain Publishing July 23rd.

Some Like It Hot: What Makes A Love Scene Hot?

I think this is an interesting question because there's no one answer.  What makes a scene hot depends on what the viewer finds hot.  To a logophile, a well-crafted iambic pentameter might be just the thing.  To a BDSM fan, maybe it's a St. Andrews Cross.  To a cat fan, maybe it's a Siamese peach-point.

For me, the heat comes from the relationships and not necessarily the sex scene.  I've read sex scenes that are all about the sex and nothing about the people and I don't find them hot.  There's no investment in the payoff.

One of the hottest scenes I've read is in Zodiac by Neal Stephenson.  There isn't even any sex in it.  (Well, the sex comes next.)  The two characters are trying to figure out why the car died, and they get oil on their fingers.  Then they look at each other and realize the lubricant is sexy and slippery and...

What do you find hot?  If you like M/M romance, or are interested in giving it a try, I have a new book coming out on July 23rd.  Called TIGER TIGER, it's the sequel to BURNING BRIGHT.  It's about a veterinarian and animal empath who falls in love with weretigers.  It seems natural, within the flow of the story, and we worked hard to make the sex scenes part of the story.  They move the plot forward.

What do you find hot?



--

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
- E.E. Cummings

My links: Blog | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | LinkedIn | Pandora
Knoontime Knitting: Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Ravelry
Noon and Wilder links: Blog | Website | Facebook
The Writer Zen Garden: The Writers Retreat Blog | Forum | Facebook | Twitter
Team Blogs: Nightlight | Nightlight FB Page | Beyond the Veil | BtV FB Page | LGBT Fantasy Fans and Writers | LGBTFFW FB Page
Publishers: Samhain Publishing | Torquere Press

Check out BURNING BRIGHT, available from Samhain Publishing.
Check out EMERALD FIRE, available from Torquere Books.
Check out "Taking a Chance", available from Torquere Books.
Check out COOK LIKE A WRITER , available from Barnes and Noble.
Watch for TIGER TIGER, coming July, 2013, from Samhain Publishing.