Mini Update

Gearing up for a mini writing retreat starting tomorrow, and I'm getting so excited! It'll be amazing to escape the heat for a bit (and my has it been HOT!!) and surround myself with forest and books and writing and tea!

I have yet to finish Draft #3 of my East of the Sun retelling, but I've made it through the tricksy middle part and the end is in sight!! I'll definitely be able to finish over the weekend and hopefully be able to start something else as well. Torn between starting a brand new novel and working on a revision for an older novel that won't quite leave me alone…… We shall see what happens!

I've been re-reading Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea series over the last couple of weeks and those books are just SO BEAUTIFUL. Her skillful use of language and imagery and world building is mind-blowing. I adored re-reading The Tombs of Atuan especially, and kind of want to read it every day. It's so powerful and beautiful and pierced me deeply. I aspire to evoke that kind of emotion in my own writing. I'm also realizing why perhaps my characters have a penchant to philosophize on long journeys…… :-D

Okay. I must see to the laundry and peck away at my novel before popping off to teach six piano lessons… Until next time!

Phoenix Comic Con 2016!!

Walking from the parking garage.
Already toasty!

So I had a FANTASTIC time at the Phoenix Comic Con on Saturday, despite the fact that Phoenix was breaking heat records!! Lemme see if I can properly recap (can you tell I’m avoiding working on my book right now??):

So the first thing we did was to wait in line to get our pic with Billie! Line was long but moved really quickly—they REALLY shove you through the photo line FAST! I was getting soooooo nervous but I needn’t have worried. It went SO fast that there wasn’t even time for nervousness! We stepped up when it was our turn, and Billie looked at my shirt and was all “Let me have a look at this” and then she moved my hair (BILLIE PIPER TOUCHED MY HAIR) so she could read it (!!!) and was all “I love that!” and then we took our picture and I HAD MY ARM AROUND BILLIE PIPER (!!) and then it was over! But she was so lovely and kind and I can’t even imagine smiling like that for so long!!

Our picture with Billie Piper!!!!

Moisturize Me!

Exterminate!!

After that we wandered around the autograph/pictures room, which had some cool stuff to look at (they had a whole Doctor Who area with a TARDIS and it was super awesome), and then we went out to try and catch Billie’s panel. We barreeeelllly made it in but we DID and it was SO NICE to sit down for a while!

The panel was a fan Q&A session and Billie was SO LOVELY all throughout even though she seemed a little uncomfortable to be up there by herself at first.

Billie's Panel

The fans asked all kinds of questions, like what was her favorite Doctor Who episode (she said TOOTH AND CLAW and FATHER’S DAY), that she remembers every moment of filming DOOMSDAY, that she and David Tennant perfected kissing (haha!!), that she wants to see what’s happening with Rose and the meta-crises doctor (she imagines they argue a lot and they eventually split up and Rose gets together with the real Doctor!!), that sometimes at cons she gets marriage proposals and doesn’t know what to say so she just says yes (she said she’d had one earlier in the day!), that of all the characters she’s played she’s most like/most connects with Rose. There were a few kids that asked her questions and she was always like “Bye darling” when they finished and it was SO SO CUTE.

Billie was definitely the main highlight of the day!! I’d wanted to go to a YA/MG panel but didn’t make it in time, and the exhibition hall was SO CROWDED I might’ve had my fill of people for the next several years. But BILLIE WAS WORTH IT!!