Posts under Rejoice

6 (Impossible) Things Before Breakfast

Six things I loved this week:

1. The Fall. This show isn’t perfect but it’s damn fine, and it fits right into the triptych of my favorite serial killer shows, next to Hannibal and The Killing. First, I could watch Gillian Anderson in anything. In this, her character is a fierce, broken mess and I love her for it. Second, the nuanced, complicated handling of sexuality, feminism, BDSM, desire, and psychology is pretty brilliant. Nothing is simple–not gender roles, not love, not desire, not our past or present–and this show is willing to look at those incongruities straight in the face.

2. The crew that’s making the Numenera short film. Back during the original Numenera Kickstarter, we promised a short film if we hit $500,000. Of course, it was a dream goal. No way in hell did we we think that the Kickstarter was going to do that well. We should have trusted the backers, because they hit that goal and then some! Since then, we’ve been thinking about the film and who to collaborate with. No one seemed quite right. Either their skills weren’t the quality we wanted or they didn’t really get Numenera. So when Numenera fan and talented movie director Joan Manuel Valdes came to us and showed us sample of a film he was working on, we were blown away with how perfect it was. We’re paying for the film out of that original Kickstarter, and the crew is going to run a Kickstarter to raise money to make the film even more awesome. So excited about this!

3. My Fitbit Charge. Okay, I never thought I’d love this. I really didn’t. For years, I’ve used an old-style, simple pedometer to keep track of my miles. But I often forgot it when I went walking and then I’d just be like, “Fuck it. I don’t know how many steps/miles I walked so I’ll just not worry about it for today.” But with the Fitbit, it’s on my wrist all the time. Yeah, I know it’s another step toward being tracked and watched every moment of the day, but man, I am getting my miles in. And I know how much/well I’m sleeping, which is really interesting. I thought it was odd that I could be in bed for just 5 or 6 hours and feel rested, but Fitbit tells me that’s because my sleep efficiency is somewhere between 95-99%. Please don’t ask me how it knows when I’m asleep and when I’m not, because I don’t know and I’ve just decided that it’s a disciple of Santa Claus and so it just knows such things.

4. Sunless Sea, from Failbetter Games. The motto is: Lose Your Mind. Eat Your Crew. Die. Need I say more? From the brilliant minds behind Fallen London, this game is everything you want it to be. Or I think it will be if I could stop eating my crew and dying.

5. Letterforms erasable notebooks. I know I’ve mentioned these before, because they are absolutely one of my favorite possessions, but they’ve been out of stock for a while and now they’re back. So if you want one, get one. I use mine ALL THE TIME. Seriously. Here, for example, are my “notes” from last week’s roleplaying game (I think best when I’m doodling).

6. Your turn. What impossibly awesome things did you discover this week? Add your comment below —  I’ll do a drawing and send the winner an impossible thing that I love.

Kiss kiss bang bang, s.

6 (Impossible) Things Before Breakfast

This week’s six impossible things:

1. I rewatched two incredible movies this week: About Time and Edge of Tomorrow. Both about starting over/time travel (kind of?)/love. Both smart and beautiful and true. I highly recommend them.
2. The evolution of humanity is freaking crazy.
3. Scientists figured out how to create solid light. What?!
4. I’m working on this mature topics for gamers questionnaire. Want to help?
5. Black Horizons, a poem by Carl Sandburg.
6. Destiny is tons of fun to play. (If only it had couch co-op, I would love it all the more). But I’m still having a great time.
7. BONUS: I LOVE Kid Snippets. You probably already watch them, but if not, they get their kids to tell a story, and then the adults reenact them. Check out the Wand of Universal power. There are three parts — this is the first one, and they just get better and better.

What impossible things did you believe this week?

Kiss kiss bang bang, s.

6 (Impossible) Things Before Breakfast

Our new rescue dog, Ampersand, in case you haven’t already met her.

It’s been a long time since I did this, but it feels like time to return to the positive. So here are this week’s impossible things:

1. This short film blew me away: Abiogenesis by Richard Man
2. Who Rescued Who? This amazing program pairs prisoners with dogs in need of training and rescue
3. Why it’s important to be good to each other
4. My current song obsession: Take Me to Church, by Hozier.
5. I’ll be running Numenera online Sept. 27th. Come and watch. All are welcome.
6. Bound by Lust is out in audiobook this week and As Kinky As You Wanna Be comes out soon!
7. One extra today, because it’s been so long: I watched The Station Agent yesterday. What a beautiful movie.

What impossible things did you believe this week?

Kiss kiss bang bang, s.

Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

My novel, Leather Bound, showed up in a cool place on Amazon UK! 

Last week’s six impossible things:

1. The Numenera corebook went off to press. Holler. And breathe. And maybe celebrate. 
   
2. We showed off the Numenera cover!
3. I got some time off. I saw Man of Steel, read some books, played some RPGs and got killed in Don’t Starve.
4. This essay in the Rumpus by Liz Prato made my lungs expand into breathlessness.
5. This fucking dead-on beautiful piece by Amanda Palmer described my life and love in a way that no one ever has.
6. I love you all. Thank you for everything you give to me, every day.

What impossible things did you believe in this week?

Kiss kiss bang bang, s.

Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

These stockings make my bike rides better. Hell yes. 

Last week’s six impossible things:

1. The article on crowdfunding that was in Poets & Writers is now available online. A bunch of successful crowdfunders (including me) offer some fantastic advice on funding your project or book through crowdfunding projects.
2. Leather Bound got another wonderful review. I can’t say enough about how happy this makes me!
3. Salon did a piece on how ravenous the female libido is, while The New York Times did a piece on how unexcited women are about sex and how there’s now a pill to fix that.
4. Some workers played with power lines.
5. The gender controversy at SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) exploded all over here and here and here too. It’s complicated, but important to remember that assholes do asshole things and good people spend a shit-ton of time trying to recover from the things that assholes do (read: don’t give assholes the power to fuck up a good thing).
6. This issue of the Pedestal magazine is kind of amazing. Chosen and introduced by the talented Arlene Ang, it’s full of beautiful, startling poems.

What impossible things did you believe in this week?

Kiss kiss bang bang, s.

Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

This Numenera meme happened.

Last week’s six impossible things:

1. “That’s not cheating. That’s awesome.” — Join the meme fray and enter to win your choice of one of these books from DriveThruFiction—Kicking It: Successful Crowdfunding; Geek Love: An Anthology of Full-Frontal Nerdity; or Small Matters.
2. The Harder She Comes won the Independent Publisher’s Book Award Gold Medal for Erotica. It includes my story, “Pound.” Congrats to all of the authors, to Cleis Press, and to Dl King for putting together such an amazing collection!
3. We made it to the H. P. Lovecraft Film Fest where I got to spend some time with the likes of some wonderful people.
4. I am writing fiction this morning! This probably doesn’t seem like an impossible thing, but if you look at my schedule lately, you will see that it’s actually way beyond impossible. I have no idea how I’m doing it.
5. Read of the Week: Heaven Is, by the talented Myke Cole.
6. Read of the Week 2: You probably already know about this, but if you don’t: Girls With Slingshots has long been one of my favorite online comics. And it just keeps getting funnier.

What impossible things did you believe in this week?

Kiss kiss bang bang, s.

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Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

I made this. You can have it.

Last week’s six impossible things:

1. inXile, the company that is making the video game based on Numenera, presented a video of me talking a little bit about the setting of the Ninth World.
2. We are giving away a print copy of Geek Love today! I hope we sell another 25 — 22 now — ebooks so that we can give away another one!
3. I signed contracts for my story, “Enchanted,” which will appear in Charming, a fairy tale anthology from Circlet Press. “Enchanted” is a story of drugs, roses, stories, sex, cross-dressing, lust, pain and love. So, pretty much my usual fare.
4. I fell in love with Don’t Starve. Good thing I only allow myself to play this game on the treadmill, or I’d never get any work done.
5. Ann Friedman came up with the brilliant Disapproval Matrix.
6. Read of the Week: Stoya’s blog. If you don’t know Stoya, she’s a smart, sexy, sassy, beautiful and brilliant porn star.

What impossible things did you believe in this week?

Kiss kiss bang bang, s.

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Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Contributor copies!

Last week’s six impossible things:

1. I got a whole lot of contributor copies! Namely: Penthouse, Twice the Pleasure, How Geek Girls Will Rule the World, On the Dark Path: An Anthology of Fairy Tale Poetry, The Big Book of Bondage, and Fantastic Erotica: The Best of Circlet Press. Holy wow.    
2. We just need to sell eight more ebook copies of Geek Love in order to give away a print book! Spread the word! 
3. We’re listening to the Geek Love audio book this week. It’s work, I swear…
4. I loved this story: The Bacchae, by Elizabeth Hand
5. It was kind of a bad week all around, wasn’t it? The impossible bad things that happened are too numerous and too much on everyone’s mind. May we all have what we need around us to heal.
6. Today is a beautiful sunny day and I rode my bike here.

Kiss kiss bang bang, s.

PS — Oops! I forgot to say that my geeky-bookish-sexy novel, Leather Bound went on sale this week too!

Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

My slut walk-inspired story, “Walking the Walk” is in the May issue of Penthouse!

Last week’s six impossible things:

1.  We finished Numenera! Okay, that’s not true — there is still a TON to do, but the corebook has been written and gone through its first editing pass. And that feels pretty awesome.
2. I’m in Penthouse! Well, my story is. I think 41 is probably about 20 years too old to actually get into Penthouse. The story, “Walking the Walk,” originally appeared in Twice the Pleasure, edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel.
3. I got to show the cover for Leather Bound. It goes on sale on April 18th!
4. I had a whole day off. Like an entire 24 hours.
5. The documentary about The Shining (Room 237) wasn’t particularly good, in my opinion, but House of Cards is freaking amazing. Highly recommended
6. I read some books: Love Water Memory, by Jennie Shortridge was my favorite of the bunch.

Kiss kiss bang bang, s.

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