I’ve done the farewell 2011, hello 2012 already. This is not that post. Today, I want to talk about moving ahead and paying it forward.

Despite the craziness of 2011, I’m still a lucky beyotch. I have advantages. I am privileged. I am educated. I have fabulous family and friends. I have many outlets for my creativity.

For others, that’s not always the case.

There’s a lot of hurting in our shared world today, from blasted economies, to natural disasters, to the freak show that is the Republican race for presidential candidacy and lots in between. I can’t fix these things, no matter how much I want to. I want people to have the chance at happiness, to not have to know where their next meal is coming from, to be able to get a job and support themselves. I want each and every person on this earth to know that s/he is worthwhile and that they are awesome and special. I want everyone who wants to be creative to be able to express that creativity.

I may not be poor, but I’m not rich, nor am I a supreme being. I can’t make the above happen for everyone in every way.

Frustrating? Yes, of course. But that doesn’t mean I can sit back in my comfy chair and simply bemoan the facts or be all emo.

Thanks to the Intarwebz, social media and the power of others (e.g., friends who pimp out their favorite worthy causes), I can always find ways to give my .02.

In 2011, I:

• helped fund various and sundry Kickstarter projects, including a couple for fellow writers, C.E. Murphy and Laura Anne Gilman
• donated money to women’s businesses via Kiva.org
• helped out The Trevor project
• gave money to Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders
• donated books for various charitable efforts for disaster relief.

They’re not all charities. Heck, I don’t even get to deduct my charitable donations, as I can’t itemize on my tax return. That’s not important. Being able to do this little bit, to lend a helping hand for something creative, something that can truly assist others reach their potential? That’s what matters. Even though my budget is tight, I can pay it forward.

It’s not all monetary, either.

Sometimes, it’s something small, such as listening to a friend or offering to read a fellow author’s short story. Making an introduction to someone else who can help, sending an email. Little gestures add up.

I’m far from saintly. I’m just me: someone who wants to do something to better the world I live in.

What can you do in 2012 to make a difference?

Boy, 2011 was a heck of a roller coaster year

• lots of new book releases
• the loss of my agent & publisher
• my first self-e-pubbed book
• my very first self-narrated audiobook
• weird health issues
• a fabulous nomination from RT Book Reviews
• a hurricane
• an earthquake
• fantastic trips

…did that all happen?

Read the rest of this entry »

Home for the holidays – doesn’t that just sound GRAND? I’m spending my long weekend (4 days) in the comfort of my lovely apartment with Kit: an introvert’s dream weekend.

For my holiday dinner, I’d thought to get a spiral cut ham, only they seem to come in size large, larger and ginormous! A wee bit too much for me alone. Instead, I visited several local area shops and picked up a smorgasbord of delightful treats. Serrano ham and a variety of cheeses from Cheesetique, lovely rosemary & olive boule from Harris Teeter and for dessert, eggnog frozen custard from the Dairy Godmother. No formal meal, just a bit of a lovely nosh. There’s also wine.

Other awesome things:

Matters of the Blood is now available for purchase as an audiobook! Narrated by yours truly, it’s available via Audible.com. I’d love for you all to spread the word, especially to those of your friends who love audiobooks.

My Agatha award nominated short story, The Butler Didn’t Do It will soon be live as an eBook for Kindle. It’s currently available at Barnes & Noble and on the iBookstore for a whopping $.99! It’s a bit of a twist on the English country house mystery and was nominated for Best Short Story.

Speaking of Malice Domestic, I’ll be attending Malice 24 next spring in Bethesda. I think this will be my 12th one? I definitely credit this con with getting me started in my writing career. I met tons of awesome people and have gotten to rub elbows with brilliant writers. If you are local, don’t miss this? If you’re not local, think about attending. It’s a really great conference.

2012 will be another quiet year. Not so much traveling. Not even the usual family trip as we’re planning a big trip in 2013 to the UK. Whisky & Wales! Looking forward to that.

Happy Holidays to all of you!! What are your plans for the balance of 2011?

Remember those dreaded words: research paper? How everyone in class groaned, kvetched, grumbled and bitched?

Thing is, even though I toed the party line (high school is the bastion of conformity!), when I first discovered/was taught how to do research on a topic, I knew I’d found my holy grail. No. Really. Even now, the thought of researching something has my wee heart all aquiver.

• Discovering new information? Check.
• Uncovering data? Check.
• Learning new things? Check.

Sure, not all research is equal. There’s a world of difference between poring over hundreds of lines of accounting journal entries in a contemporary office setting and reading a sixteenth century ship’s manifest. Though, I will admit, for some, the former makes them salivate. I’m good with that. For me, the latter is both cake AND pie with sprinkles of chocolatey goodness.

Whether researching for a school paper or for a novel or essay, it’s like the best kind of crack; the world’s biggest and most bewitching scavenger hunt. In school, I devoured the “how to”, learning about primary vs. secondary sources, learning to use the card catalog and deciphering the Dewey Decimal System. The library was Mecca in so many ways. Not just as a place for wonderful fiction, but a repository for all this gathered knowledge about us. About people: how the live(d)/work(ed)/play(ed)/exist(ed). How can that not be utterly fascinating?

I could lose myself for hours in the stacks as one research source led to another and another and yet another. Piles of musty volumes at my elbow as I uncovered correlations, relationships, cultural and socio-political intrigues.

Therein lies the bane: the absolute addiction of research compounded by the current ease of discovery with the Internet. How on earth am I able to come up for air? Frankly, it’s really, really difficult sometimes. When I’m immersed in reading, for example, about daily life in the Tudor Court, it takes every ounce of willpower I have not to let myself get dragged into sidelines like women’s medicine in sixteenth century England and how that affected fashion. It’s an ongoing puzzle that begs to be put together like a complex Lego design: bricks upon bricks of data, interwoven and creating a pattern of interlocking information that eventually paints a picture of life.

Because that’s what entrances me: the mundane day-to-day cultural and societal aspects of humanity. How we do things. How we get along. How our tribal groups are/were formed. Egads, I’m doing it now! Hijacking my own blog post to wax rhapsodic about my passion. Hee!

The good part is that world-building and character-building allows me to take this addiction and channel it into productivity. You can see why I write. I have to explore all the things. All the ways we (as humans) fit together in social groups and behaviors. It’s a never-ending range of possibilities and I, as a writer, get to explore how ever many of them I want to.

When I construct my characters, my worlds, even in a short story, there’s a lot that my readers never see. Small bits of knowledge that shape who they are, like what toothpaste they use or their reading habits. It’s part of my research lust: I need to create believable people who seem real, whether they are protagonist, antagonist or catalyst…even tertiary characters get this treatment.

It’s not always fully conscious. I’ve not actually sat down and created a character sheet or biography for everyone, but it’s all definitely in the back of my head, humming along as I write. It’s kind of the DVD commentary version of things.

A while back, I created a “20 Things” list based on an internet fandom meme (e.g., tell me 20 things about xxx character(s) that we don’t already know). This list is included in my recent eBook: Collected Works from an Unrepentant Writer and was written sometime around the third series book. I think it’s time to revisit this and show you a glimpse behind-the-scenes as it were. This time, I’ll borrow from the 4 Things About You meme. Instead of focusing on Keira, this time, it will be all about Tucker.

Tucker Kelly’s 4 Things:

Four jobs I’ve had in my life:

• Marauder
• Bodyguard
• Chef
• Translator

Four places I have lived:

• London
• Vancouver
• Reykjavic
• Swansea

Four places I have been:

• Giza Necropolis, Egypt
• Stonehenge
• Gullfoss Falls, Iceland
• Hôtel de Glace, Canada

Four of my favorite foods:

• Beef
• Venison
• Duck
• Sausage

Four of my favorite drinks:

• Wine
• Cider
• Mead
• Chimay

Four places I would rather be right now:

• In bed
• Sleeping
• With Niko
• Not sleeping with Niko

Four things that are very special in my life:

• Niko
• My sister, Keira
• My place in the family as Keira’s Protector
• My strength, so I can protect my sister

So what do you think? Tucker can sometimes have a bit of a one-track mind, si? ::g::

The Contest!

Readers, I’d like to hear some of the things that you know about my characters from reading the books and imagining. From your perspective, what’s something you’ve gleaned or thought about the gang? Do you know what kind of toothpaste Keira uses? Or perhaps what Adam’s favorite TV show is? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I’ll pick one commenter at random and send them a free copy of Collected Works from an Unrepentant Writer in PDF, .mobi or .epub format.

I had this awesome blog post planned for today. All about why I write and suchlike.

Only, yesterday was busy at the workplace, then when I finally got home after a miserable (though short) commute in a ridiculous storm, I ended up just doing a little TV watching and tried to go to bed early.

Operative word? Tried.

The insomnia fairy, may she rot in the deepest level of all the hells, paid an extra special visit to me last night and would not leave.

I tried all the tricks:

• calm music
• getting up and reading in my recliner
• pretending to sleep
• etc. etc. ad nauseum

Around 2:30 a.m., I knew it was futile, so I got up for good, went to the recliner and “window shopped” online.

I did buy some cute socks and finally ordered a pair of jeans (which I’d been meaning to do), but otherwise, I curbed any sudden, unreasonable impulse to purchase. Kudos to me.

Went back to bed around 4:30 and nodded off for a wee bit, just in time for the alarm to go off at 6:30.

Grr. Argh.

At least today is my Friday (in regards to my regular job). Tomorrow, I can sleep in and start my at-home work whenever I want to. It’ll be another recording day, as I’m plugging along on the audio narration for Blood Bargain. Hoping to get that done and uploaded by the end of the month.

Don’t forget, my eBook: Collected Works from an Unrepentant Writer is still only .99! The price is going to go up at the end of the week! Find out how to buy.