Beth Alvarez - Author of Epic Fantasy

  • Disposable Bodies

    “What about this one?” I turned so he could see me, but he didn’t seem interested. I couldn’t be angry; I was picking my new body for me, not for him. It didn’t bother me that he didn’t look. I turned back to the mirror, examining this body’s hips one more time.

    I came here often of late, perhaps every few weeks. Countless bodies lay draped in chairs behind me, discarded after trying them on. My room would have looked much the same if not for this boutique’s trade-in policies. I looked to the salesman’s reflection while the thought was in my head. “What do you do with all the old bodies people trade in?”

    “We destroy them,” he said. “What else would we do?”

    Of course they destroyed them. There were second-hand shops, though they were often of ill repute. Besides, I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want an old body. I nodded in satisfaction and resumed my twisting and turning. I’d chosen a female body again. Not because my boyfriend liked it, but because they were more fun to dress. I’d had all sorts of bodies before, slender and curvy, athletic and apathetic, male and female. I didn’t care if he found them attractive. If I wanted him to touch me, I’d have just slipped on his old favorite, the slim and bronze-skinned form I kept in the closet at home. It was my only backup, I didn’t care to keep as many as most. There were some I knew who changed bodies every three weeks to avoid the part of having a female body nobody liked. That was the way it worked; you picked a body, used it up, then switched it for something new.

    The bell on the door rang. The salesman looked toward it. “Do you want to take that one?” It was his polite way of saying he needed to attend whoever just came in.

    “I’m not sure. You go ahead.”

    He skittered across the room like a dry leaf. It was none of my business what other people visited the boutique for, but when I saw her reflected in my mirror, my new eyebrows climbed my forehead.

    “I want to return this body,” she said, already scanning the racks for a new skin to wear. “It’s defective.”

    The salesman worried his hands. “Whatever is the matter with it? You’ve only had it a week!”

    “It’s too finicky about food. It becomes shaky, weakened and cold if I don’t eat right on time.” A curious problem, one I’d never heard of. There was a time when people existed who could fix problems like those. Doctors, I think they were called. But that was before people could change their bodies as easily as changing clothes.

    “Oh dear, oh dear.” The salesman twisted his hands harder. Out of concern for his business’s reputation more than his client’s experience, I’m sure. “Come along, we’ll fetch you a new one straight away!”

    I watched them move toward the newest bodies, tucked away in their glass cases, and bemoaned my poor luck. She had it. The perfect body, the one I wanted. The one I was too late for. I reevaluate my opinion on second-hand bodies before I catch myself. It was defective. Useless, no good.

    But what if it isn’t? The thought nagged at me without relent. What if she’s wrong? And even if it is defective, what if it can be fixed? My brows crumpled together as I watched the salesman pull a new body from its case to show her the fine shape of its fingernails.

    What did people do when their favorite body broke? How could you keep it from breaking? The thought came like a hammer blow. I could almost hear the ringing fall of glass as my fragile perception shattered. Maybe they weren’t meant to be broken. Maybe what we declared broken or wrong was fixable or misunderstood.

    I was told once of women who kept their worn and used-up bodies after having children. I never understood why they might. Yet here I was, looking at a body that was used, broken and imperfect, and wanting it more than anything in the world. I understood now.

    “I’ll take it,” I said, stepping down from the mirror.

    The salesman blinked. “The body you have on?”

    “No.” I lifted my hand and, as my finger marked her in front of me, even my boyfriend looked up. “Hers.”

  • Making a couch for dolls (and small children)

    Making a couch for dolls (and small children)

    I tried to draw a picture a while ago that just didn’t turn out as I wanted. Though it had its shortcomings, it became the inspiration for a different sort of creative project — building a miniature sofa.

    It’s hard to find scale props for dolls the size of mine, and it gets expensive fast. So the idea was making something that looks decent for a minimal amount of money. I’d never tried to make furniture before, so I decided to start simple, taking inspiration from IKEA and basing my project off the Karlstad loveseat. The first step was the hardest part for me: math.

    Since I wanted everything to be in scale for my largest doll, I knew it needed to be a little larger than 1:3. One-third scale dolls (typically referred to as SD sized dolls) are usually about 60cm tall, which meant that by comparison, my largest doll would appear to be around 6’8″. Unusually tall, and a little too tall for my characters, as well. Rune is supposed to be 6’3″, so I started by working out the size difference. In the end, the numbers said that to make the loveseat appear proportionally correct and make him look the right height, I’d need to build it 8% larger than 1:3 scale.  After I worked out the size increase, I went digging in the shed for wood I could use.

    I was able to find some pieces of a 1×4 board, as well as a good sized sheet of scrap plywood. I purchased another 8 foot 1×4 and an 8 foot 2×2 to use for the rest, spending a total of $6.
    After we got it home, I measured and marked everything and my husband helped me cut the wood. Which is to say, he cut it while I watched the baby, so she wouldn’t be underfoot.

    Once the boards were cut, I glued the pieces of 1×4 together to create the back and sides of the couch, letting them cure overnight. While I was at it, I used some clear Minwax Polycrylic sealant I had left over from another project to seal the legs cut for the couch. We used the 2×2 to create the legs, and also to make a frame for the plywood to sit on top of. If this were just for dolls, the sort of stability I planned for this thing would be major overkill, but I also wanted to make sure it was stable enough to support a child, since I knew she’d want to be on it too!

    I nailed the 2×2 frame together and screwed the back and sides together, checking to make sure they still fit together after I was done. The 2×2 was pretty warped, but in a project so small, it didn’t really matter.

    Then I put the plywood in between, screwing it first to the sides and back, then screwing it down onto the frame and adding the legs.

    The next step was adding a little padding to the outside, and a lot to the inside. I had some great foam saved from boxes that came from the local Apple store, which I hot glued to the inside of the back and sides, then glued scrap fleece to the outside for just a little cushion. I also created removable seat cushions by layering the foam pieces together.

    Once I was happy with the thickness, I cut the cushion blocks to size and created removable cushions for the back, as well. Then came time for upholstering.
    I knew I wanted the look and feel of canvas duck, but canvas would have been way too stiff. Instead I purchased a yard and a half of black cotton linen, since the texture was similar but the fabric was much softer. I also purchased black felt to put underneath the cushions, as it would add more friction and keep the cushions in place. I spent $13 on fabric and felt, bringing the project cost up to $19.

    Using a roll of Swedish tracing paper (which every seamstress should have!) I created a pattern for the upholstery and fitted the cut fabric to the couch. I pinned everywhere I’d need to put a seam, then sewed the whole thing together by machine. It was just enough fabric to cover everything I needed it to, since the space under the seat cushions was covered in felt and the bottoms of the seat cushions were a slightly stretchy scrap fabric I had on hand, making it easier to slide the cushions in. The cushions for the back of the couch were all black linen and harder to put on. The cushion covers were sewn shut by hand, using a hidden stitch.  Once the fabric for the body of the couch was sewn, I pulled it on, nice and snug, and folded it under to glue to the bottom of the 2×2 frame.
    All in all, for my first furniture project, I think it turned out great!

    It works beautifully with my very large EID doll…

    …and it works great for my 2-year-old, too.

    Not bad for $19!

  • Teavana’s Pineapple Kona Pop

    Teavana’s Pineapple Kona Pop

    While I’m still working my way through the huge number of samples I got from Persimmon Tree Tea, I had an itch for something really fruity that those teas just couldn’t scratch. I recalled the bag of Pineapple Kona Pop I got for my husband (that he never drank) on a trip to Teavana, and decided to give it a try.

    An herbal blend made with candied pineapple, bits of apples and just a bit of orange, it was definitely fruity, but I expected something sweet. Yikes!

    This blend was very tart. The orange blossoms provided just a hint of citrus, but the primary flavor is pineapple, with the rest of the mix creating a taste similar to passion fruit. There’s hibiscus in there somewhere, but the other flavors are so bold that you can’t really taste it.

    I added a half teaspoon of rock sugar, which took the edge off the tartness so I wasn’t puckering quite so much. Even sweetened, this brew didn’t do much for me, but my 2-year-old was a big fan. She gulped down all of her share and asked for more, then finished what was left in my cup after she was done with her refill. I’ve decided this one will be a good treat to keep on hand for her, especially since as an herbal blend, it’s caffeine free. Also, after I described the flavor to my husband, he seemed more interested in drinking it. So this one might not be for me, but it’s definitely not going to go to waste.

    In my opinion, this was better sweetened and mixed with the Blueberry Bliss, like the sample offered in the store.

  • Decoden sweets as BJD props

    Decoden sweets as BJD props

    In early March, I earned an Etsy gift card by participating in a survey. I was delighted, but it was surprisingly hard to find something to buy. There were dozens of things I wanted, but most places didn’t accept Etsy gift cards as payment. After considering for a while, I decided to take a gamble with my free money and get some decoden supplies I’d been eyeing as potential ball-jointed doll props.

    They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, so I spent an afternoon looking and decided to buy from a shop called HappyKawaiiSupplies. It took me a while to pick what I wanted, but I’m happy with most of my choices. Here’s a full shot of what I got:

    The two big splurges were the decoden cream, silicone mold and the colored hot glue sticks. I also got some eye screws for other projects, which aren’t pictured here. Though I’ve heard you can use caulk as decorating cream for decoden, it doesn’t smell the greatest. Since I do all my crafting around a toddler, I decided the $5 for non-toxic simulated cream was worth it. The mold is the blue thing to the right. It’s just the right shape for making the bases of pies for very small dolls or tarts for very large dolls. Everything you see here doesn’t come cheap, though – It’ll set you back a solid $50. And I bought it on sale. So what works and what doesn’t?

    I bought a few things hoping they’d work for my biggest dolls. Since they’re EID, SID and Feeple65 sizes, it can be tough to find props in a decent scale.  The parfait cups work great, as does the raspberry dessert. To the right, you can see them in my EID’s hands.

    The parfait cups weren’t my first choice, but they were the largest available in the shop and I didn’t think the smaller ones would work for such big dolls, though they’d be great for MSD or YoSD. The raspberry tart would be laughably big for any smaller sizes, though.

    The cake slice is also a great size for the big dolls, though the ice cream dishes are pitifully small. EIDs have large hands, but they were tiny even in my F65’s grasp. They did, however, work well for my YoSD-sized Littlefee, so I don’t feel like that purchase was a waste. I keep all sorts of dishes on hand that are my baby’s size, so why wouldn’t Lulu have dishes her size too?

    Without a doubt, the orange slices are my favorite. They’re a great size for both my large dolls and my Littlefee.

    The detail on the slices is great and unlike many of the pieces I got, they’re detailed on both sides. As a result, I think I’ll be keeping them loose instead of putting them on top of the cake slice like I originally planned. They’re actually very pretty to look at, beautifully translucent. They look like normal orange slices in a YoSD’s hand, and look like mandarin slices in the grasp of my larger dolls, like my F65 below.

    I got quite a few bagel / unfinished donut pieces thinking they’d work well for the big dolls, but they were a bit smaller than I expected. They’ll still work in a pinch, but they aren’t scaled as well as I hoped. Mini donuts, maybe? The fudge stripe cookies, on the other hand, are spot-on! I kind of wish I’d gotten a few more.

    Everything else was laughably too small for the large dolls, though a number of things worked nicely for my Littlefee. The ice cream dishes and the pudding pieces make a nice dessert that’s just her size. Unfortunately, the pudding pieces are the one thing I was disappointed with, as 5 out of 6 have very visible bubbles in the top. It’d be okay for using as actual decoden embellishments, but not so great for doll props.

    But Lulu has plenty of other delightful desserts that are a perfect size for her, like the white donuts and these adorable cupcakes:

    That couldn’t be scaled more perfectly! The donut is almost as good. The fudge stripe cookies are a bit on the big side, but I find them acceptable for her specifically, as she’s supposed to be a small toddler in comparison to my other dolls. Some of the very small cakes look like snack cakes in her hands, too, meaning Lulu has a lot of options for treats in her photoshoot future. I particularly love how they look in her hands, so here’s a few shots of those:

    Most of the small cakes are meant for Lillibelle’s bakery, though. While the raspberry dessert is hilariously almost as large as she is, the little cakes suit her beautifully. I chose a few favorites this time, but definitely plan to go back and order more to stock the shelves of her little bakery, which sits beside my workshop table most of the time.

    The cupcake is just a little too big, and looks sort of like those “mile high pies” I see advertised on billboards along the interstate. It won’t look out of place in her bakery, I don’t think, but a scale cupcake would be maybe half that size. Still, it’s better than the white donut, which is as big as her whole face, and the orange slices, which are bigger than her dainty little hands. The little cakes are best:

    The pudding is an okay dessert for her, though the ice cream tray looks more like a serving platter. Not bad, as I have two–it just means I have one for Lilli’s bakery displays and one for Lulu’s snacks.

    Last of all is the set of polymer fruit canes I got thinking to use as embellishments for PukiPuki-sized desserts I want to try making in the future. The orange canes aren’t as attractive as the others, but they’re better than I could do and scaled beautifully for use with Lillibelle.

    On the whole, I’m happy with the order, though I can only recommend use of decoden cabochons as props for YoSD and smaller BJDs. The others are just too tough to match, though I was lucky to get as close as I did.  If I had it to do over, I’d get fewer of the unfinished donuts and white donuts, skip the puddings and ice cream dishes, and get more tiny cakes for my PukiPuki instead.

  • The Liebster Award

    I was nominated for this by my dear friend Megan Cutler! Thinking of facts about me is always a challenge, since I like to keep things fresh. Eventually I’ll run out of things to tell, but maybe there will be a few things in here that surprise you!

    Step 1: Post 11 random facts about yourself

    1. As a kid, I was one of the least girly girls I knew. I always got along better with guys, because they talked about video games while the girls talked about shoes. But now that I’m an adult, I like dresses, jewelry, the color pink, teacups, lace, and even collect dolls. I still like video games, though.

    2. I got myself ostracized from my Girl Scout troupe after a girl brought her Ouija board and wanted everyone to play with it. I wasn’t interested and thought it was dumb. Besides, EVERYONE who was actually looking could see Emily was moving it. But after that, none of the girls ever wanted to talk to or play with me. Maybe the spirits told them I was boring after I called Emily out on her crap.

    3. I’ve always liked my middle name better than my first name. I think my middle name is beautiful. But my attempts to get people to call me by my middle name in my teenage years never took root, so I eventually gave up. I’m okay with being Beth, but I don’t like my full first name and always cringe a little when people use it.

    4. I dream really strange, vivid dreams on a regular basis. In the vast majority of my dreams, I’m someone else. Never someone I know, but a fictional person who isn’t me. I never thought this was unusual until I mentioned it to my husband and he said he’s only ever had dreams of himself in different situations. Most of my stories end up coming from these dreams, so I’m chalking it up to being a writer thing.

    5. I never attended public school and for the most part, I set my own pace with  my homeschooling. I did well with my studies, but I’ve always been secretly afraid that I’m really stupid. Even attending college, scoring the highest in all of my classes, and being offered a scholarship hasn’t changed that. Maybe I’m still actually stupid and I just don’t even know.

    6. I’m allergic to peppers, which is terrible for my Mexican husband. What stumps me is that I wasn’t allergic to them when I was a kid and used to eat them in my childhood. Then one day in my teenage years, I was helping Mom slice bell peppers for a veggie tray before we had company and my arms broke out in hives all the way to my shoulders!

    7. I believe in ghosts because I grew up in a haunted house. The previous owner of the home was murdered in the house and then dismembered in the basement. I remember seeing the gouges in the concrete from the screwdriver and claw hammer the killer used, but I never knew that was the place until two years ago. I used to play with Hot Wheels cars over that exact spot.

    8. My husband and I met on the internet when I was 14. We started talking because of video games and exchanged email addresses because of Pokémon. Seven years later, we got married with Final Fantasy wedding rings. Video games still play a big role in our lives and are one of our favorite ways to spend time together.

    9. For about a decade my go-to internet name was (and still is, in some circles) Myuu. The vast majority of people can’t figure out how to pronounce it and say it wrong. It’s the Japanese spelling of my favorite Pokémon, Mew, and is pronounced the same way as its English name. These days I mostly go by Lomilmalinde, which is strangely easier for people to spell and pronounce correctly.

    10. I picked out my daughter’s name when I was a child. I’d never met anyone with the name or even heard of anyone knowing someone with the name, outside the occasional person saying that was their deceased grandmother or great aunt’s name. The year she was born, it was in the top 50 girl’s names for the first time in an eternity, climbing even higher on the list immediately after. How does that even happen?

    11. While I can do a wide variety of things and am a sort of jack-of-all-trades, I don’t consider myself particularly skilled at anything I do. There’s a few things I do (such as writing) that I think I do well, but I don’t think I’m remarkable at them. I often feel I could improve if I dropped my other hobbies to focus on one point of interest, but I can’t seem to do that, even though I’ve tried several times. Despite my feelings on the matter, I’ve been told many times (by both friends and strangers) that they think I’m amazing at everything I do, and they’re surprised by how many things I manage to do at once. I think my feelings on this may be somehow related to #5, but I’m not sure.

    Step 2: Answer 11 questions from your nominator

    1. What is one thing you have done that you never thought you’d do?
    Went to a hotel alone to meet a stranger I met on the internet. But we ended up getting married a year later, so it’s all good! It’s probably simultaneously the best and worst thing I’ve ever done.

    2. What is your favourite book or series of books?
    The Lord of the Rings was the first series that really swallowed me whole, so I think it will always be my favorite. But the early Dragonriders of Pern books hold a special place in my heart, too. I always think it’s unfair when someone asks what my favorite book is, there are just so many I love!

    3. If money were no object and you could live anywhere, where would you choose?
    If money were no object, honestly, I’d want to live right here in Tennessee. Maybe a little closer to Nashville, maybe in a larger and newer house, but here. There are a thousand places I’d like to see, but I wouldn’t want to stay there forever. I’d rather have a comfortable home base in a place I’m familiar with and then use that non-object magical money to travel to all those locations instead.

    4. If you could meet any person, living or dead, who would it be and why?
    This probably seems like an obvious answer, but Jesus of Nazareth. Imagine the amount of wisdom and comforting companionship you could glean from just a few minutes with such a remarkable historical figure.

    5. How do you find motivation on your off days?
    My go-to for bad days where I can’t seem to get things going is to take a shower. Then I have a snack or a cup of good quality tea and put on some music that inspires me. One song that always helps me find peace on days that aren’t going well is Winds of Change by Kutless. It’s one of my go-to “I can do better than this” songs and almost always helps.

    6. What is your favourite type of music and/or band/performer?
    I find it hard to pick just one favorite type of music. I listen to a really diverse assortment of music and it seems to grow more diverse all the time! For example, right now I’m really into Asian Underground music, especially artists like Karsh Kale and Talvin Singh. It’s great music to write to. But at the end of the day, I go back to industrial rock and alternative rock. My favorite band is The Dreaming, and I finally get to see them for the first time this summer. I’m so excited!

    7. If a genie were to grant you one wish, what would you wish for?
    I’m assuming wishing for more wishes is out of the question! I’m kind of torn between wishing for five million dollars and agent representation for my epic fantasy books. Epic fantasy is hard to get people to look at and it certainly feels like I need a genie to make it happen, sometimes. But five million dollars would take care of all the rest of my desires!

    8. What is your favourite way to spend your free time?
    Another question where I’m hard pressed to pick one favorite. I have a ton of hobbies and not a lot of free time! But when I have a few minutes to myself, I gravitate to the same few things. Drawing, sewing, photography, reading, writing, playing video games, or–if the weather is nice–going out to the huge park only a mile away from here and walking the bike trails through the forest.

    9. Who is your favourite fictional character and why?
    I spent days thinking over this question and, while I have a lot of fictional characters I love, I think I finally concluded that I don’t have a favorite that stands out above all the others. I honestly couldn’t tell you why. If I’m given more limited parameters, such as asking what my favorite character within a series is, I can answer that. But I don’t have a general, all-purpose favorite.

    10. What one thing are you most proud of?
    Completing the book I started with. It took me around 13 years to finish the first one I began with the intent to write seriously, but I’ve gotten much better at it. I’ve finished 3 books in the past 4 years, two of them quite large. It doesn’t often seem like a great accomplishment to me because I spend so much time surrounded by other authors, some who’ve written (and had published) ten or more. I try to remind myself that it’s not a common accomplishment, just that my social circle skews the numbers to make it seem commonplace. I know many more people who say they want to write a book but never do, so it should be something for me to be very proud of.

    11. What is your favourite piece of advice either that you have received or that you wish to pass on?
    You will never have time to do the things you want to do with your life unless you make the time. I wish I’d learned this so much sooner. I’m always hearing people talking about the things they want to do “when they have time” or that they’re looking for jobs that give them time for their interests. No one can give you time but you. Make it, or you’ll never have it.

    Step 3: Nominate 11 bloggers to do the same

    Okay, I’m going to have to break the rules on this one. I don’t even know 11 bloggers, and most of the people I would tag aren’t keeping blogs any more! So instead, how about this? All my questions are for YOU, the people reading this! Feel free to answer it on your blog if you have one, or drop the replies in a comment here. I want to know more about you! So here’s a list of questions.

    Step 4: Provide 11 questions for your nominees to answer

    1. What is the most valuable thing you’ve ever lost?

    2. What’s the most frightening thing you’ve ever had to face?

    3. If you could travel to just one place with all expenses paid, where would you go?

    4. If you could change one thing in your life, what change would you make?

    5. Conversely, what is the one thing you love most about your current life?

    6. What did you want to be when you grew up?

    7. Did you make it happen or did your plan change along the way? If so, why?

    8. If you could do any one thing that was not considered socially acceptable, but not get in trouble or face repercussions for it, what would it be?

    9. What is one dream you’ve already accomplished?

    10. What favor is asked of you most often?

    11. How do you deal with your self-doubts and how do you overcome them?

    Step 5: Notify your nominees

    This one is easy for me, since I’m tagging all of you. 😉 Hop to it!

  • Replacing a zipper in doll boots

    Replacing a zipper in doll boots

    I was excited to get a pair of older doll boots second-hand. They were cheap and worked for one of my harder-to-fit girls. Unfortunately, the mail carrier was not kind to the padded envelope.

    While the broken heel was no biggie, easy to glue, there was other damage as well. I only paid ten bucks, so it wasn’t the end of the world if they weren’t perfect, but I did need to be able to unzip them. That, I’m afraid, was impossible.

    The zipper was crushed on the damaged boot, the slider mashed shut. Not only that, it had cut through the fabric of the zipper. It couldn’t be opened or removed, and the cut meant the whole zipper needed to be replaced. There was no way to sew it in, so I decided to experiment.

    First things first, I had to get rid of the old zipper. I cut it out with an X-acto knife and pulled the fabric remnants out of the seam in the back of the boot.

    These are Dollmore boots, pretty big, so I used an 8 inch zipper from my sewing stash as a replacement. I unzipped the zipper, turned the tops down, and added a liberal amount of E-6000 glue.

    Clothespins helped keep the zipper in place, and didn’t adhere to the glue that seeped though the cloth part of the zipper. I pinned it on both sides, making sure the sides of the zipper were well aligned. The way I had to turn the top of the zipper down kept it from going all the way to the top of the boot, but it was close.

    The last thing to do was repair the sole. I glued it to the bottom of the boot and the new zipper, then used painter’s tape to hold them together as tight as I could get it. There was still some gapping, so once it was dry, I mixed some heavy body acrylic paint to match and dabbed it into the gap, as well as using it to hide some places where the vinyl coating on the heel tore when the heel broke off. After a full day to dry, they were almost as good as new from the outside.

    I learned a new trick with things I had on hand, and my doll got cheap boots after all!

  • Grooming your story

    As an insomniac, I spend a lot of time snuggled under my blankets and staring at the ceiling in the dark. Sometimes it’s nice to just lay there and think, though I’d admittedly rather be sleeping. Sometimes I have great ideas while I’m staring at the ceiling. And other times, I think of things that are either brilliant or ridiculous. I’m going to share one of those things with you today:
    Editing your writing is just like grooming a horse.

    Like most little girls, I was in love with horses. I took riding lessons as a preteen, and one of the first things I learned was that if you’re going to ride a horse, you’re responsible for making the animal fit to ride. This meant the first 15 minutes of each lesson started with grooming. If a horse isn’t groomed right before riding, it’ll cause sores under the saddle or even throw off its ability to perform.
    Your writing is the same way.

    Grooming begins with a hoof pick.
    Grab one and pick up your story’s feet. Now get rid of all the dung.
    It’s an unpleasant comparison, but it’s true. Books travel a long way to reach completion, and by the time they get there, they’ve picked up all sorts of crud that keeps your story from standing comfortably on its own. So scrape out the manure. Your steed will be much better off without it.

    Once that’s done, grab the curry.
    Curry combs are often rubber, but particularly rough patches of your mount’s coat might call for a metal curry. The curry comb is used by vigorously rubbing circles over your horse’s coat, freeing loose hair, dirt, mud, and other unpleasant things that might be hiding there. In terms of writing, this is standard editing. You’ve already cut the bad parts, now you’re focusing on smaller problems. Removing unnecessary fluff and things that don’t actually help the story.

    Next comes the stiff-bristled brush.
    The hardest parts are over, but now you’ve got to sweep away all the junk you loosened with the curry. The stiff brush removes the chunks of dirt and clumps of hair, leaving your horse–or your story–showing the first glimpses of that quality coat underneath. These are your copy editing standards. Fixing tenses, cutting unnecessary words, splitting long sentences in half. You’re smoothing out the bumps now that the problem areas have been worked through.

    Then the soft-bristled brush.
    After the last step, your ride is clean, but you aren’t finished quite yet. The soft brush helps remove the dust left from the last step, leaving your horse’s coat smooth and shiny. This is where you polish your writing, trimming out unnecessary words and cutting commas, making sure you’re ready for the most exciting (and often scariest) part.

    Saddle up and ride.
    Depending on how showy you’re going to get, you might want to add a couple swipes with a polishing cloth for just a little extra shine. But this is fine for most purposes. Your story is groomed and ready to go, so it’s time to mount up and see where it might take you. The ride is rarely smooth and can often have unexpected hurdles, but it’s just part of the experience.

    Just remember that if you want to ride, you’re going to get bucked off. More than once. You’ll be bruised, sore and scared, but get back on. Always get back on.

  • Persimmon Tree Tea’s Biodynamic Darjeeling tea

    Persimmon Tree Tea’s Biodynamic Darjeeling tea

    The name of this tea made me curious. The description sounded pretty good, speaking of floral notes and an apple-like character. Teas like this are what samples are made for.

    I’ve shared three teas I really enjoyed, some that were good but not amazing, and quite a few teas that I was indifferent about. This is the first one I straight up disliked.

    The fragrance was pleasant, but the flavor was altogether too earthy for me. The first taste is like having a sudden mouthful of warm wood, followed by a hint of sweetness. Then the middle notes hit, flattening any sweet flavor and finishing the sip out with a distinct aftertaste that is remarkably similar to the smell of fresh mulch. Don’t get me wrong, I love gardening and I love the smell of mulch, but I prefer for my tea to taste like tea, not like my freshly spruced-up garden.

    Sweetening it didn’t do much, either, but I did find the flavor much more tolerable once my abandoned cup of tea had gone cold. Without the warmth, the apple-wood flavor is a little more distinct, making me think this would make a nice iced tea for autumn days of middling weather where it’s not quite cool enough for hot tea. But since I prefer my iced teas plain, this one is a pass for me.

  • Goth

    Goth

    When I was a teenager, my mother was embarrassed of me.
    I guess the norm is for teenagers to be embarrassed by their parents, but for me, it was the other way around. My mom used to grimace or give me a look whenever I came into the room. Especially if we were due to have company. I didn’t really get what was so embarrassing. I was only goth.

    I always kind of gravitated toward it. When I was a kid, the definitive of cool in my eyes was spiked leather jackets and black leather pants. It was a look associated with bikers and bad boys and girls, illustrated gorgeously in that Michael Jackson wore exactly that sort of thing in his video for Bad. Coincidentally, that song is from the year I was born.

    But goths in the 80s and early 90s were a quiet niche, hidden away, out of view in places like The Cure concerts. I had no idea it was a thing, though as I grew up, I naturally began incorporating things like too many belts, spiked collars and fishnets into drawings and character concepts. (Yeah, I was a weird kid.) I didn’t have a name or label for this look I liked so much. And aside from old VHS tapes with music videos on them, I had no exposure to the sort of people who wore all black. But everything hit a turning point when I was a newly vinted teenager, when my great-grandmother accidentally made a horrible mistake at Christmas.
    The outfit she gave me was all black.

    I never took it off.
    I somehow obtained a tube of dark purple lipstick, too, and the mark of the millennium rolled around with me all in black and my mother cringing in dismay. We lived in a small town full of gossipy people. She didn’t want our family to be talked about, which is understandable, but people like that find reasons to talk anyway. The thing was, she was worried about how my family and I would be perceived by people who looked at me.
    I wasn’t.

    I got my share of weird looks and people cracking jokes about my frequent visits to Hot Topic, but for the most part, they only amused me. I wore my all-black outfits and black lipstick to church. Old ladies hugged me and told me I looked “like a lovely dark princess.”
    Trends changed.
    I didn’t.

    But the funny thing is, as I’ve gotten older and haven’t “grown out of it,” I find that people look at me strangely or comment on my black lipstick less and less.
    Now I’m an adult. 28 years old, a mother and a professional, still wearing the Tripp pants with dangling chains and burning through a stick of eyeliner every month. The biggest difference is that while I’m wearing my mesh and boots and custom-made spiked collar, I walk alongside a 2-year-old dressed to the nines in layers of pink and Hello Kitty.

    For a birthday present to myself this year, I cut my hair and dyed the ends hot pink. It looks great with my black outfits, especially the ones with pink accents. And despite her reservations  about my unusual appearance in my teen years, my mom encouraged me to do it. She’s grown accustomed to my particular eccentricities, and instead of worrying about how I’m viewed or what people say, she embraces that I’m just being myself.

    People still look at me, but they look at me and smile. People were spooked enough by goths prior to 2005 that I’m not unusual enough to be disturbing any more, and not trendy enough to make people roll their eyes. I’m an adult that knows who I am and what I want to be. I’m not afraid of fashions once labeled “edgy” or of the idea someone might not approve. I don’t need their approval. I gave myself approval long ago.

  • Cover reveal: Crossroads of Frozen Eternity

    This time last year, I was part of an exciting project. Not only did I get to be one of the early readers for a book, I was given the chance to do the cover artwork, as well.
    It wasn’t my first time designing a cover for someone else’s book, but it was different from my usual art ventures–simplistic with crisp colors, inspired by vector illustrations. Though I did plenty of vector work in college, I hadn’t revisited it since then, so it was a great opportunity to do something fresh.

    Now I’m delighted to say I get to show you the second installment: Crossroads of Frozen Eternity!
    Here’s some words from one of the lovely authors, Megan Cutler:

    Just shy of a year ago, I announced the publication of my first novel Island of Lost Forevers. Real life has presented some real challenges since then (such as moving across an ocean and a continent), but I’m finally ready to share my novel’s sequel with you. In fact, the book’s release will coincide with my original cover reveal; how’s that for synergy? Without further ado, I’m pleased to introduce:

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    It’s been eight years since Damian struck Sentomoru dead. The island flourishes under Catilen’s rule, but Damian can’t escape the former lord’s shadow. It taints the rivers, trees and flowers. It haunts him keenest in the form of Catilen’s seven-year-old daughter, Morulin. Damian wants desperately to be a part of her life, but fears rejection when she learns the truth about her father’s death. Catilen dismisses Damian’s anxieties, claiming the dead can cause no harm. But when both she and her daughter admit to dreaming of Sentomoru’s presence, Damian’s fears resurge. Neither he, nor his wife, can claim complete knowledge of the complex magic governing their island home. However irrational, he can’t shake the fear his struggle against Kenjiro Sentomoru is far from over. Once again it was co-written by James Abendroth of Blackguard Press, and receives its fabulous cover from the lovely Beth Alvarez! Crossroads of Frozen Eternity will be available on as many e-book platforms as possible on Tuesday April 21st!

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    If you’re interested in being notified when the book goes live, please sign up for my Newsletter. In the meantime, you can check out Island of Lost Forevers. Or read the first three chapters free on Wattpad.

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