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Grayrose

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Sticky note [Jul. 7th, 2019|03:22 pm]
 Welcome! I am Rose, a relatively new writer of SFF fiction and poetry. At this point in my life, I share very little in public - mostly writerly announcements- everything else is friends-locked.

I view LJ as my community, and I want to get to know my LJ friends better. So if you friend me and I don't know you, please comment on something, or just say hello in this entry :) 
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(no subject) [Nov. 30th, 2009|08:53 pm]
I thought this day couldn't get any worse, but when I came home I found a package of these, a gift from my mom:




These are Italian glass ornaments, they are paper-thin and old and beautiful... I'm going to put them up in honor of the Russian New Year.


ETA: well, the fun didn't last long - got a rejection. :(
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(no subject) [Nov. 3rd, 2009|06:22 pm]
Fantasist Catherynne Valente ([info]yuki_onna ) and her husband Dmitri ([info]justbeast)got stranded in Frankfurt on their way to a honeymoon in Russia, due to incompetence and lies of Expedia.com. Read the full story here.

Cat is not comfortable with setting up a tip jar, but a new chapter of Fairyland is up, and there is a paypal button at the bottom of the page. (Fairyland is well worth reading regardless of this situation).

Cat is a wonderful writer and poet, and she does not deserve this crap. Not to mention that this is not a regular trip that's being destroyed here, but a honeymoon. Please consider helping out!

P.S. My paypal account is now officially empty, so I fervently hope nothing else happens for a while. I need to sell more poems/stories, which means I need to submit them, and I've been letting them go due to depression, argh.

Hugs, all. Have a cozy November night.

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Puzzled [Oct. 21st, 2009|07:53 pm]
Whatever happened to The Fix?
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Three Poems about Bears [Oct. 20th, 2009|06:00 pm]
I wanted to post this as a quick reminder why we love speculative poetry.

Three poems about bears, from three wonderful speculative poets:

Bear-Clad, by Jennifer Crow ([info]kythiaranos ), Goblin Fruit, Autumn '07
        Putting on the bear
        was like going home

Ursine Conversation
, by Pam McNew ([info]pnew8 ), Lone Star Stories 20

       I, myself, crave a comb or two of honey, with an occasional bee,

      as a snack in the evening

The Bears are Working, by Shweta Narayan ([info]shweta_narayan ), Goblin Fruit, Winter '09
     
While you dream, the bears are working

 


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Luscious Goblin Fruitiness! [Oct. 12th, 2009|01:35 pm]

The Fall issue of Goblin Fruit is up, with my poem Godfather Death. Please check it out!
For some reason I love my long poems more than my short ones - probably because they are more work? Not sure. Maybe because they're just better.

Other deliciously dark goodies include one of my favorite poems of [info]shweta_narayan's, Triumph XII: Tapah; [info]time_shark's wonderful Reynard the Revenant, and two poems by [info]sovay. I am yet to read all poems in this issue :)
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Quick question for my SFPA member friends [Oct. 7th, 2009|09:14 pm]
 What was the last Star*line you received and when did you receive it?

(strange unexplicable things are happening with my membership).
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Happy birthday, Beez!!! [Sep. 22nd, 2009|07:19 pm]
Many happy returns to [info]scriitor , and here's to abundant sales!

:)

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(no subject) [Sep. 1st, 2009|01:39 am]
It took over four hours for this poem to pass through me.

It is a long one. I will have to redraft it,  but overall I love it at the moment.

It is the most Jewish poem I ever wrote.

It is titled Ramba"m's Thirteen Principles of Faith.

I am afraid to count how many lines it has.

ETA: I just checked and it has about 1,120 words. A poem. Yes, I am a bit shocked. On the other hand, I am not sure what I will redraft; it may be done. 
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(no subject) [Aug. 1st, 2009|05:59 pm]
Have been feeling physically horrible in the last couple of days. I am going to see my doctor as soon as it can be arranged, but meanwhile please don't be alarmed if go AWOL. Hugs all.
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This is made of awesome [Jul. 29th, 2009|08:03 pm]

A brilliant K.Tempest Bradford vs Harlan Ellison cartoon chez [info]vito_excalibur 

(via [info]netmouse )
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(no subject) [Jul. 28th, 2009|09:36 pm]

If you haven't yet, please vote in the SFPA inclusiveness poll.
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(no subject) [Jul. 27th, 2009|06:30 pm]
Just updated the SFPA debate digest. My head hurts horribly. Folks, if you haven't seen this on [info]spec_poetry  yet, please chime in regarding SFPAnet digesting. I will do it if there is interest, but because so many things there are heated, I need your moral support if I am to venture into that particular territory.

Also, if you are inclined to read something on the subject today and cannot deal with the whole digest, please read [info]tithenai 's entry on joining SFPA. Please.

Also, welcome to all the new folks who friended me. Thank you!!

Hugs,
Rose

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SFPA for the win [Jul. 26th, 2009|04:48 pm]
Although I am saddened by the break-up with Scott ([info]sa_kelly ), I have to say that I am very happy with how the SFPA discussion has been progressing. I was proud to see that it did not deteriorate into chaos so sadly familiar from other discussions. On the contrary: thoughtful and reasonable conversations happened in a variety of venues, including the [info]spec_poetry community and individual blogs (I have been compiling a digest here).

Contributions from Mike Allen ([info]time_shark ), Samantha Henderson ([info]samhenderson ), Deborah Kolodji ([info]dkolodji ), Joshua Gage ([info]hooks_and_books ) and many others helped clarify SFPA's history, scope, and aims. The historical discussions had been especially enlightening to me, since I was not aware of Suzette Haden Elgin's ([info]ozarque 's) decision to step down from SFPA presidentship because of a similar debate.

More than anything else I've been very happy to see so many members who, despite various disagreements, are committed to treat each other with courtesy and to promote SFPA as a diverse, exciting, welcoming and inclusive society. The name issue still remains open; however, no matter what the SFPA is going to be called in the future, I plan to remain a proud and productive member of this society.

Thank you, everyone. I am proud to know you.


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(no subject) [Jul. 25th, 2009|04:32 pm]
[info]sa_kelly  (Scott A. Kelly) is new to LJ. He is not new to SFPA, however, having been a publishing and voting member for over 20 years. He is also a person who encouraged me to submit my poetry rather than delete it. I like and appreciate him as a person.

That said, the reason for his appearance on LJ is this post, in which he strongly disagrees with [info]seajules . [info]sa_kelly  writes, among various other things:

 
Star*Line is and should remain a science and science fiction poetry magazine, if for no other reason than to respect its founder.  Same for the SFPA

If somebody wants to go start the mythic and folkloric-based poetry and horror poetry association (MAFBPAHPA), go for it.  Don't try to remake SFPA, or Star*Line, into something that it is not, nor was ever intended to be.
 
I respond to him extensively in comments, but I want to bring this to everybody's attention. This is a dissenting voice from the old guard, and I feel that it is very important to think and engage with a variety of voices, members, and opinions even if they differ significantly from what is normally heard and seen on LJ.

Personally, I think that splitting the society is a horrible idea. I want to write and read a variety of speculative production, and I do not see how that will be served by running to SFPA with my SF stuff and to S-Everything-Else-A with the rest of my stuff (not to mention the inherent problem with slipstream). I think that as members of an organization we all love (I think), we should work together to form an inclusive community in which a variety of voices and talents can blossom regardless of years spent submitting and paying dues.

(cross-posting this to [info]spec_poetry )
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Poetry Sale [Jul. 24th, 2009|02:32 pm]
Marge Simon accepted my humorous/surreal poem "Skinning the Slippery Stars" for the March 2010 issue of Star*line.
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First lines [Jul. 20th, 2009|01:21 pm]
[info]jongibbs  is encouraging writers to post first lines from their WIPS.
Here's mine, from "The Dybbuk Melody of Vishnevits."

"Mame's hands were large and rough like everyday rye rolls, but Yenkel's father had hands like the inside of the Friday night challah."

I've been working on this one for a while and still am just at the beginning. It wants to be what it wants to be.
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Self-Portrait with Two Souls [Jul. 8th, 2009|12:49 am]
Yesterday my computer crashed so I dug out my paints and produced a hand-painting. Today I searched in vain for a scanner, took a photo, photoshopped, and was attacked by the rabid poem.

I have no idea what to do with this, so I'm sticking it here for the moment. Thanks to[info]shweta_narayan  for photoshop help! Larger version here.


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A side note on writerly jealousy [Jul. 7th, 2009|02:58 pm]
 There have been a few intriguing discussions of writerly jealousy on LJ lately. Reading [info]jongibbs 's post , as well as others, sent me to thinking about writing, critiquing and jealousy. (ETA: I am not arguing with the point [info]jongibbs is making, but rather adding my 2c on the more general topic of criticism and jealousy).

In a comment, I argued that not all nitpicking of published novels is necessarily due to jealousy:

if I happen to read a book that I think fails on the level of plot, language, dialogue, characterization, representation of various groups, etc., I will surely discuss that with friends who read the same book. I think understanding where a writer fails in mechanics ultimately makes me a better writer. I also have a habit of dissecting the good bits of books with my friends. That does not, emphatically, mean I am jealous. That just means I am interested in the mechanics of writing.
 
Although there are jealous writers out there, I still think that a critical approach does not by itself make a writer jealous. Trouble begins when a writer starts feeling that he/she is  unpublished because of other people's allegedly undeserved success. There is no correlation between one's form rejection and another's acceptance. Maybe there isn't room for all of us on the pages of, say, F&SF, but certainly there is enough room for many good people to be published some of the time.

When something I love gets picked up by publishers and agents, I am happy. My friend Bryn just went on sub with her weird, intense, freaky book and yes, it makes me  very happy indeed (and here's to a quick sale!). When something I think is mediocre gets picked up by agents and publishers, oh well. I am not mad, resentful or jealous, but I am not insanely happy either. And yes, if I read it and dislike it, I will dissect it with friends. 

Thing is, you learn from people who write well, but you also learn to write from people who do it badly (in your opinion). Many people start writing because they've read something and think they can do better. Of course when you actually put your butt in chair, you discover that doing it better is not as easy as it seemed - but that's all part of the learning process.

Everything I say is, of course, just my opinion. :)
 
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Lopping it off [Jul. 5th, 2009|09:00 pm]
 Sometimes writerly bravery lies in lopping things off.

Say, you feel the story went astray and yet you've written three thousand words of this astray, some of them words you love, scenes that came out well - and yet it's not the story's truth. You cannot quite keep writing because the story doesn't form anymore in your mind. And yet - all those words!

So you put the whole thing aside, or you try to improve it, or try to look for an ending that will work for these stray words you wrote.

Honestly, just cut it out. Save it for posterity if you need to. And then go back to the story's truth.

Having performed this surgery on DMoV, I feel much better, even though I am left only with measly 600 words.
*sigh*



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