Mint tea and questions

I'm sitting at the computer while a cup of mint tea steeps. I've been trying to have a cup of mint tea all day and never seemed to manage it. I did manage to do twelve pages on A LICK OF FROST. Before I sit down to sip my tea I'm going to try answering a question or two from the board.

Why hasn't Anita healed Asher's scars? Anita has only healed fresh wounds on vampires and shapeshifters. She has never healed an old scar or anything that was less than fresh on anyone. Zombies are more like making clay figures in away, then healing. I mean the zombie is already dead so if something isn't quite right, it's not a problem, they're going back in the grave anyway. For Anita to have a shot at trying to fix Asher, he'd have to cut, or be willing to let someone else cut off flesh until they got to undamaged tissue. Probably it would need to be a silver knife, so the damage might be a new scar. But once he was cut, then Anita would have to see if she could heal him. Maybe she could, but how deep would the cuts have to be, and where would you risk the first cut. I just don't think it has occurred to anyone that there is even a remote chance that Anita's healing could heal wounds so very old. She's also never tried to heal fire damage which seems to be a major no-heal zone for both lycanthropes and vampires, or heck, zombies. I'm just not sure that metaphysics can heal fire damage at all.

Will we be seeing the Bouviers from BLOODY BONES in another Anita book? For those who don't remember them they were minor/major characters in this one book. They were descend ts from the Unseelie court whose family had immigrated to America long ago. It's a very different back story for the fey in America than in Merry's world. So, no, sorry but now that I'm doing Merry no fey in Anita land. But the rule works both ways, no vampires in Merry's world either. One; the more extensive research I've done for Merry makes me want to change things that I've already put in print in Anita's world in BLOODY BONES, so I'm just leaving it alone. Two; I wrote Merry so I could get an occasional break from Anita and her world, so cross pollination of the two series would sort of defeat that purpose.

Writing, orchids, music

I took yesterday off. I've found that I need one day on the weekend to rest my mind so I can sit down on Monday eager to work rather than dreading it. I used to work seven days a week to help me stay in the book. But I was burning out, so I tried to force myself to take the whole two days off. That drove me crazy, and hurt the momentum of the current book. I can take a day off and come back to the current project without loosing ground, but two days is too much. I loose track, and it can take me two or even five days to get back to the rhythm I had before the break. This little peculiarity of mine when I'm working on a book is one of the reasons that touring is so difficult for me. It doesn't just break my rhythm, it destroys it.

But I don't have to tour anytime soon. I just have to write A LICK OF FROST, and keep working on the afternoon project. I can't even tell you what it is, yet. As soon as I can give you guys details, I will. But until then, let's just say that if I get my four pages or more done in the morning then there's something different in the afternoon. If I don't get my four pages, then I get back to that after lunch. Extra projects can only be worked on if the main book that is due next doesn't loose ground. I am about 170 pages into A LICK OF FROST. So, good progress.

I have one of the orchids from the conservatory up here in my office. When the orchids bloom we set them around the house so they can be seen. This one has two double spikes in this wonderful shade of purple/pink veined throughout the flower. It's spectacular. It reminds me why I wanted the conservatory in the first place. It's always good to be reminded of why you did something that turned out to be harder than you thought it would be. If you've ever built onto your house, you know what I mean. Sometimes you need to remember why a task was worth all the effort. The orchid reminds me. I guess, in a way, that the new office reminds me every day that the writing is worth it. That even on my darkest day of work, there is nothing I'd rather do. Now I get to do it in this amazing room that I helped design. The only thing that would make the view more amazing would be to put the ocean or a good sized lake outside to look at, but that's a little too ambitious even for my landscaper. Okay, I'm told the skyline of Paris is pretty nifty too, but I'm not getting that view either. You can't have everything. Frankly, I never dreamed I'd get to stare out at the tops of trees from my own little aerie.

I've actually worked two days on the new computer at my main desk. I'm still doing most of the work at my secondary computer at the smaller desk, but it's a start. Today, I worked on the smaller computer, but I'm blogging from the big computer. This is actually the second blog I've done from the new computer, too. I've been blogging from the computer in the kitchen, because I had to get used to the new tech, I guess. But hey, it's progress.

For those who keep asking what music I'm working to, today was AUDIOSLAVE with a little SEETHER at the beginning of the work session. Usually these are both Anita music, but for some reason it just worked for Merry today. I've learned not to question why my muse wants one kind of music or the other. When a lady is happy, don't question it, just remember what music put her in the mood. And buy more of it.

Gur Reaserch Redux

So, anyway, Laurell is off at a Writer's Group meeting and asked me to post some more information on the Gun Research. Mostly it is about the new toys for Edward.

We checked out the FN PS90 and the FN Five-seveN. The PS90 is a futuristic looking carbine that you may have seen on Stargate, or perhaps Gunslinger Girl, in its P90, military capacity. If you want to know more about it, the 'net is full of information. The Five-seveN is its companion pistol that uses the same ammunition as the P90. Not a common occurrence, but not as uncommon as one would think. Edward probably got it because of the ammunition was designed to defeat most light body armor. Of course the civilian loads are less capable that the military rounds. Another plus for this system is that it is extremely light weight. That with its large ammunition capacity (50 rounds in the P90 magazine, and 20 per magazine in the Five-seveN. ) makes it a formidable system for when Edward needs to get in close to his prey.

Not that that is done, I can go back to movie night with the kiddo. Cinderella 3 and Stormbreaker to be exact.

A quickie for the night

I'm tired tonight, guys. It's been a very productive day. I even managed 30 minutes on the treadmill, and a bath. I'll have Jon help me do the Edward gun research blog later. I find when I'm tired the dyslexia hits harder. I can't seem to remember the numbers and letters for the guns in the right order. So, heck with it.

One cool thing for the day, we got to see Custard in the comic book for the first time. There's lots of other cool stuff, but I'm not sure what I'm allowed to say and what I'm not, so I've been erring on the side of caution, and saying very little about the comic. It's cool, and getting cooler, and that's all I can say for now. And one of the reasons you aren't getting as many blogs is blogger's change to google. Sometimes even small changes can cause me to just give up on tech. Jon is still working on finding the blog a new home where we can control the tech a little more.

Thank You

I'm hoping to put up the follow up gun research blog tomorrow, but for tonight a quick thanks.
Thanks to all the board members who made me the lovely Valentine's Day scrapbook. To all you who just wrote your thoughts, thanks. To all who wrote poems, thank you. To all who shared quotes from others, some of which I wasn't familiar with, thank you. To everyone who sent artwork, thanks. It was all wonderful. Thank you for all the time and effort you guys put into it. Just wanted to let you know it was appreciated.

Gun research

Yesterday proved once again that some things take hands on research. I do a lot research via books, magazines, and even the web. (Though caution there. Some websites don't check their facts much. One exaggeration on one website sometimes gets re posted as fact on another site.) The copy edits of THE HARLEQUIN have come and gone. There will be one more chance to change things when the manuscript returns to us. So, before that happens we went gun shopping. The we included Charles, because ex-military, whose actually seen combat, and ex-cop, is always a good background to have with you when looking at weapons.

I'd actually settled on a new gun for Anita to carry, retiring the Browning Hi-Power. I'd chosen the Heckler & Koch P2000. But the only H & K handgun I've been able to shoot so far, the USP, didn't please anyone that was shooting with me. Admittedly, it was a gun at a range that a lot of people had used before us. It shot high and to the right, no matter which of us shot with it. When we questioned the attendant at the range, he said I flinched. I didn't argue with him, but I pointed out that for all four of us to flinch, and have the exact same problem, was highly unlikely. All of us had shot guns before, but even if we did loose our cool and flinch that badly, the gun shouldn't do the exact same thing for all of us. Our height ranged from 6' 4" or so, to my own modest height. I've since talked to other people more familiar with the USP, and they all said that the sights probably needed adjusting. A small problem, but sadly, it left both Jon and I with a bad impression of what I'm sure is a fine gun. It also just simply didn't feel right in my hand. Guns are strangely sensual. When all other things are equal, it is how a gun feels in your hand that is often the deciding factor.

But I let myself be swayed by good press, and both articles and web stuff about the P2000. I reasoned I'd get a chance to be more up close and personal with the gun before final edits. Sadly, no, I would have to have my local gun shop buy the gun, and only then would I be able to put it in my hand. I was almost ready to do that, then we went shopping.

One of the things I've never been completely happy with for Anita, since she does so much concealed carry, is the Browning Hi-Power's bits and pieces that stick off of it. It is not a smooth silhouette. For concealed carry smoother is usually better. But yesterday, I picked up the Browning BDM, and fell in love all over again. I just flat like the feel of most of the Browning's in my hand. The BDM can be both single and double shot. It has a smoother silhouette than the Hi-Power, but has many of the same features so the learning curve is quicker. Familiarity is what makes you good with a gun. I'm not sure it's the last word for concealed carry for Anita, but I'm certainly enamoured of it.

The Firestar on the other hand needs to be replaced. I have not personally had the stove piping problems that other's have had. (Stove piping is when the cartridge of the bullet, the metal casing, gets stuck in the firing mechanism, jamming your gun.) I have read article after article, review after review, and talked personally to people who have had serious stove piping problems with the Firestar. None of the serious gun people I've spoken with would want it as their back-up piece. Your back-up piece can be just a secondary gun, but most police treat the back-up gun as the gun of last resort. When you're pulling the smaller gun out, then something has gone seriously wrong, and your life, and the lives of others, depend on the gun working. Sadly, the Firestar just hasn't had enough happy reviews, so it is definitely retired.

I'm quite happy with it's replacement so far. It's a Kahr CW9. If I like it as much as I think I will once I get it to the range, I may go back and get the Kahr P9. I looked at one of their even smaller guns, but it hurt my hand to even wrap around it. I won't mention what type of Kahr it was because I'm sure it was a fine gun, it was my bad arm that made it not work for me. The injury to my hand that causes me to have to limit the number of books I sign per person, and sometimes ice my arm during the signings, also means that some of the very small hideaway guns are too painful to use. Literally, simply holding the gun in my right hand, hurt, instantly. Not good. So I'm actually limited to slightly larger guns than I might want for Anita to use as a back-up. I will continue to search for her to have a hideaway gun, that I can use. I am also beginning to learn to shoot left handed. If I get better at it, then perhaps I can widen the type of guns I can look at for Anita to use.

This blog is actually taking longer than I thought it would. Since I still owe myself four pages today, I need to get to that. I'll try tomorrow to finish up about some of the other nifty guns we saw. We got to look at some stuff that Edward might use. Until tomorrow.

A Valentine Day question answered

Happy Valentine's Day! Or as Jon and I toasted at lunch; Happy day we celebrate when St. Valentine was stoned, shot with arrows, then finally beheaded. How romantic, eh? Jon's toast, "Happy day that Al Capone rubbed out his competition." I guess everyone celebrates in their own special way.

In honor of Valentine's Day, I've decided to answer a special question from the board. One of the fans asked if Anita was multi-orgasmic because of the arduer? The answer is no, not because of the arduer. the arduer takes the place of a lot of good foreplay. The vast majority of women are capable of being multi-orgasmic. We're designed to enjoy orgasm after orgasm, if the prep is good. Foreplay will make or break the whole multi-orgasm thing. What do I mean by good foreplay? Let me recommend some books. This also answers a research question that was asked. How do you research this sort of stuff?

Here are some books not exactly in order: SHE COMES FIRST by Ian Kerner, Ph. D. The book is about what it sounds like it's about. It's about female orgasm, emphasizing oral and clitoral stimulation. I had Jon read it, too, and we both liked it. Kerner has now put out a second book, called HE COMES SECOND. Haven't read that one, yet, but I'm sure it will be as well researched as the last one.

QUIVERING JELLO, How to Have Mind-Blowing, Toe curling, Orgasms by Sue "Sex with Sue" McGarvie. She has her own talk radio show about sex, and now she has a book. It's a slim little volume, but well worth the read.

SATISFACTION: The Art of the Female Orgasm by Kim Cattrall and Mark Levinson. A lot of books out there show sexual positions, but this was the only one I found that had drawings that were designed so that the man and woman could see penis position inside the woman. Sex is not an automatically wonderful thing, and men are often just as lost as women as to what to do, and how to do it. Jon and I both agreed that the diagrams were very useful and would help a man reached that magic spot. I also found Ms. Cattrall and her husband, Mr. Levinson to be very courageous to talk so openly about their relationship, and her own earlier disappointments in other relationships.

One thing you need for these books to be helpful is a committed relationship. To get good at sex with someone, you have to know that person. Know their mind as well as their body. I'm told you can have good sex with a stranger ( I wouldn't know, I don't do strangers. You never know where they've been), but to practice until techniques are giving you amazing orgasms takes practice. Practice takes having the same person in your bed time after time, so that you know how their body reacts to this touch, that caress. Everyone is different, and anyone who says otherwise is be sleeping with the wrong people, or is not nearly as good at sex as they think they are.

Jon and I are very lucky to have found each other. We both see sex as a skill. Something you spend time and effort on, so you'll get better at it. Neither of us is satisfied to simply achieve success in this arena, because there's always something new to learn. I've had fans tell me that sex can't be as good as what I'm writing. Sorry, but it can. (Okay not the whole glowing and magic lights that Merry gets, but the rest of it, yes.) With the right kind of foreplay and the right kind of attitude, it's all doable. Now, every one's body is different. How they react to certain simulations is different. These books will help you understand that we are all individuals, and just because you have the same parts doesn't mean they all work exactly the same way.

Though one thing that you need in the bedroom, to get really good at sex, is a sense of humor. I don't mean pointing and laughing, none of that. But you have to be willing to look silly, and not to be graceful at all to get good at some of this. You have to be willing to fall off the end of the bed, and know that the person still in the bed loves you anyway, and often loves you because you tried. If you don't try, you can't succeed. It's my motto in damn near everything.

Two questions answered

In answer to the question are Edward and Donna still a couple; yes. They are still a couple. Still engaged.

I'm not sure I understand everyone's problem with Nathaniel getting special time to himself. Maybe the reason Nathaniel seems to get more out of Anita as a compromise is the way he approaches her. Too many dominant personalities in any relationship can be very taxing. Sometimes a little topping from the bottom will sneak past a dominant personality a lot quicker than a direct confrontation. And sometimes the dominant personality doesn't even realize until too late that manipulation from the bottom up is still manipulation. Am I speaking from experience? Maybe. I know that I have more trouble dealing with people who seem to be submissive, but are really topping from the bottom. Oh, in case topping from the bottom isn't clear here's what it means. Topping is a term for someone in the bondage scene to be dominant, to be in charge, to top the scene or relationship. People who top from the bottom are submissives, but they still manage to control the situation, to top it, even though they're supposed to be on the bottom of the power structure.

Where are Mrs. Pringle and Custard?

I had this long blog in mind, but I realized that if I make this short Jon and I can go to bed. It's been a long week. A good week, but long. I actually took today off; cheeky bastard that I am. We didn't work on the comic, and I never stepped foot in my office. I'm hoping the time off will help me greet tomorrow's work with a more relaxed attitude. We had Trinity this weekend which contributed to the wanting to take at least a day off.

I'll answer one quick question. Where have Mrs. Pringle and Custard gone? I have had two ideas that involve them, but had to push them back. One is discarded completely because you don't need a Pomeranian to wake you to bad guys surrounding the house when you're living with two wereleopards? We might still try and do it, but I just can't decide how much different, or better the dog's senses are than the wereleopards. I know from my experience with one of my pugs that, not all dogs are watch dogs. In fact some of them will happily snooze through the emergency. The other plot that remains has lost some of it's amusement factor for me, because I hate to bring on Mrs. Pringle and have something horrible happen to her.

Questions and answers

Okay, first off, Jon's foot is almost better. It's definitely not broken. Yea!

Second, I'll try to answer a question from the board.

Okay, guys I am about to risk answering a movie related question. Let me be very, very clear about this. There is no movie deal in the works as of me typing this. That could change, God knows, but to the best of my ability at this moment there is no, repeat no, movie deal. Someone asked about the movie script. Jon and I are taking a run at that script, or will be soon. That doesn't mean there is a movie deal. Okay? That just means that Jon and I are taking a run at the script when we have a spair moment or two. The comic book scripts are actually good practice for this. In fact the whole comic book project has made me watch movies differently. I've had the interesting experience of having movies fall apart in front of my eyes, into story boards. I'm watching the movie, but I'm seeing what the storyboard for the movie might have looked like. It's made me 'see' camera angles, choices of where to put people, how to move things around visually. Movies, like books, are starting to fall apart into their pieces, so that I can see how they are put together. How they are made.

I've only had this experience a handful of times. As I said, reading books in college, they began to fall apart, as if the words drew back like a curtain and I could 'see' how the stories were constructed. I had a similar experience a time or two in Judo, also in college. I just suddenly saw what the way everyone would fall, how to move to make sure I pinned them. On writing, I practiced so that I kept a permanent memory of how the process worked. Judo, I didn't stay with, maybe if I had I would know it as intimately and as well as I know words. Chess, also, had moments when the board fell away, and I could simply see moves, know where to go, and what the other person would do. After you become very intimate with your art, whatever it is, you can have trouble turning off the 'seeing'. I went through a period where it was difficult to read other people's writings because I could see the structure so clearly that it was looking at buildings and all I could see was the scaffolding and blueprints. I learned to turn it off so I could read again with pleasure, and now I usually have to turn it on, on purpose, to see the building blocks of a book.

Now, thanks to the comic work, I can see the storyboard like a skeleton behind the movie. I wonder if directors and actors 'see' a movie in other ways. Does it fall apart in their heads to camera angles, or delivery of a line? Do they 'see' the structure of a movie from the perspective of their talent? Does a lawyer have a case fall apart in his head, and he suddenly sees how it will work, how to win the case? Do all hobbies and occupations have those moments when it falls into place and they see all the angles, all the parts and pieces?

A blog with no name

I was going to answer some of the questions from the board tonight, but it will have to wait until another day. I am done. As in stick a fork in me honey, done. The dragon not only won today, but it stole my armor, sword, and horse, and is having a garage sale of used knight parts.

We spent over two hours in the emergency room yesterday. Jon's foot isn't broken; they don't think. But we'll probably be getting another x-ray tomorrow now that the swelling has gone down. Don't ask us how he hurt the foot, because we don't know. He's following in his mother's footsteps. I guess his family just has weak feet. Infantry men, they are not. He's clumping around the house in one of those strap-on boot things. He's using the cane that we got when he first blew his knee out sixish years ago. I promised him then if he'd do his physical therapy and get better I'd take him to England and we'd climb the Tor in Glastonbury together. He did his part, and we climbed the Tor as a family. He's got a medallion of Glastonbury on his cane. While we were waiting for him to see a doctor, he asked, "Well, what do I get for this one?"

We haven't come up with a mountain, or a hill, we want to climb that badly, yet. But the foot is getting better. He was actually pretty spry today. I'm going to throw snow boots and a coat over my jammies and take the dogs out. Jon will not be on yard duty for the duration. Maybe I'll throw some sweats on over the jammies. It's cold here. G'night folks. I'm hoping for a better day tomorrow.

New Blog

Okay, it's like a theme. First I have to give up my old computer, because it's gone the way of all things tech. Now Blogger has changed on me. For those who are not tech phobic, this would be no big deal. But for those of us who have come only reluctantly into the computer age, it's stressful. My level of unhappiness at blogger is hard to explain. Let's just say that I really, really need people to leave my tech alone. Sigh.

The blog I was trying to put up last night, I'll try to do today.

First, a gentleman from special forces asked why all the special forces guys we meet are crazy or bad guys. I'm not sure Edward qualifies as these things, but of course he is still an assassin and that's not exactly a good guy occupation. First, I didn't realize I had a theme going with the special forces guys. Second, I don't have a plot yet where Anita would be called in to meet active special forces, and help them. They're special forces, Anita's help isn't usually the kind of help they need. Anita is only likely to deal with ex-special forces. People who left, or were asked to leave, not people who are happily doing their job in the highly specialized world of special ops. Anita works with active duty police on a regular basis, but she just doesn't have much opportunity to see active duty special ops that are good guys and just doing their job. She's more likely to run in to people that were trained and didn't stay exactly good guys. I've never stated that everyone she runs into was trained as regular soldiers. I've only stated, from her perspective, that they are special force trained, not that they were ever legitimate soldiers. Edward, Olaf, and Bernardo are ex-military, but some of the people we run into are trained by military, or ex-military, but that doesn't make them military. It gives them the skills sometimes, but not always the discipline or the mind set that needs to go with it.

Your idea that the armed forces would welcome lycanthropes into special forces with open arms, well . . . You've been, or currently are in special ops so you would know more than I. But in talking to ex-special ops, and military and police, the feeling I've gotten is that lycanthropy in Anita's world would be an automatic medical discharge. Early stage lycanthropy has it all, as far as medical and psych discharges go. For months, you are a danger to yourself and others. You fall down, have worse than grand mal seizures, and shift to an animal form. For God's sake the military doesn't even like you to look differently from everyone else, fur, I think that would go against the dress code. But the big thing for me is that lycanthropy is treated by the government and much of the population like AIDS. I think for the military lycanthropes would be like a combination of AIDS and gay for a solider. Maybe I'm wrong. But talking to people who have left the military for being different, I just can't see the government embracing the furry. Also, remember even if you could get a furry into special ops, their super strength and super everything is highly contagious in animal or half animal form. So if the enemy was attacked, but not killed, you'd end up giving the enemy your super weapons come next full moon.

The military is a wonderful organization but it moves slow. There are still states in Anita's world where you can kill a werewolf on sight under varmint laws, and if the blood test comes back positive, you don't see a trial. In a world where your soldiers can be killed in the wrong state for simply being furry, I don't see the military jumping onto he band wagon just yet. The military has had women in it's ranks since WWI, or earlier, but in the current conflict in Iraq they have continually stationed women in forward areas but failed to requisition feminine hygiene products. Speaking as a woman, that's a big oversight. Not to mention that the American military is still using many tactics that haven't been successful since WWII. The military changes, it does, but it's slow to seep down to all the edges. Maybe someday lycanthropy will be treated differently in Anita's world, but in the book I just finished writing, THE HARLEQUIN, we have one young man facing the fact that if he tests positive for lycanthropy he will kiss any sport's career or military career good-bye. The sport's world treats lycanthropy like drugs to enhance. The military treats it like a communicable disease. Maybe I haven't made it plan enough that Anita's attitude is not the common attitude. That the people who come to the clubs are the exception and not the rule. You've actually made me think I need to show it more on stage how the common people feel about the lunarly challenged. Anita is okay with the monsters, but a lot of people aren't. I guess I haven't made that clear enough. Sorry about that. I'll work on it. We also speculate on a rumor in THE HARLEQUIN about what the goverment might be doing with all those lycanthropes in the goverment "safe houses" where once you check in, you don't check out. But that again would put the goverment and the special team as a bad guy thing. Sorry about that.

end of an era

This is the dawning of a new era for the blog. Blogger has discontinued its old engine, and is forcing account holders to switch over to the new engine. Needless to say, this is not a welcome change here at LKH Central. I have a new engine picked out, and once I have the time in the schedule I'll implement it. until then, Laurell will be using my log in for her posts.

Later
Jon