rushthatspeaks: (Default)
rushthatspeaks ([personal profile] rushthatspeaks) wrote2005-09-08 11:23 pm

Contributor's copy squee! and a lot of other things

I got my contributor's copy of Not One of Us #34 in the mail today, along with my check. Yay! It's my first published prose fiction, and the second time I've been paid for writing. (Mind you, I'm in the odd position of knowing that I could be being paid for my writing more often if I wrote more reviews, but I'm finding it very difficult to review stuff at the moment after having received an ARC of something a while ago that was so bad that I not only found myself unable to review it but gave it to a cab driver I happened to run into; as soon as I can manage to properly document this trauma I'll get back to reviewing. Still, getting paid yay! /tangent.) It's kind of gratifying to see this particularly story of mine, 'The Crying Queen', in print, since it's the first thing I wrote that I ever stared at and said, that's publishable. Upon reread, I'd tighten up the beginning, but overall I think it's got some good stuff in it. If you're interested in getting Not One of Us, which contains, in addition to my story, fiction and poetry by [livejournal.com profile] sovay, Mike Allen, Patricia Russo and others, and is edited by [livejournal.com profile] lesser_celery, you can get it at your local fine science fiction bookstore (I know Pandemonium in Cambridge stocks it) or by ordering it (I forget how; bother [livejournal.com profile] lesser_celery). Retail price $4.50, and you get a particularly nice cover illo this go-round, too, called 'Nyarlathotep Pachinko'.

... I want my computer fixed so I can get back to the six things stuck in progress on my perfectly fine but presently inaccessible hard drive. Mrowr.

Speaking of copies of other things entirely, I recently received in the mail my copy of Maria Nutick's poetry chapbook Wicked Fairy Apologist, her first collection. Mia's put it out under her own Spiderwise Press imprint, and it's well worth a look-see, especially since each chapbook is individually decorated by the writer. My copy has lovely and intricate rubber-stamped illustrations that complement and play off the text in a really gorgeous manner, and is great to have around as an art object.

As far as the poetry goes, it's quite enjoyable, but has a vague feel to it of 'first collection', which I can't quite pin down; I think this may be because the strength of the individual poems is extremely variable. None of them are bad, but there are a couple I don't find very memorable, interspersed with the stronger ones. The stronger poems are very strong indeed, though, notable for subtly rhythmic language and extremely enjoyable concepts. I find 'Inheritance' particularly noteworthy, a perfectly phrased deviant take on a children's classic, and also 'Beholden', a devastating aftermath and consequences for a Frog Prince; but I think my favorite poem in the collection is 'In the Night Desert', which I'm going to excerpt here. Trickster says to the narrator:

You know, it might not be such a bad thing
giving away your heart piece by piece.
Sooner or later you'll stop having trouble
with those bothersome heartbeats.


This is fine writing, wry, clear, colloquial but still melodic, and not as straightforward as it is initially; the meter is hidden but not absent. It goes coyote-wise. I look forward to more of Mia, after this strong a beginning.

You can find Wicked Fairy Apologist through Spiderwise Press, here, for twenty dollars plus shipping.



So [livejournal.com profile] weirdquark and I have finished testing our first batch of imps-- I'll be finishing writing up the reviews presently-- and have come to our decisions, meaning that we now have a swap pile. Here's the brief rundown on how things came out in this order, so that people can make suggestions and come up with things to trade.

Keepers (the two of us are splitting bottles): Bliss (pure milk chocolate), White Rabbit (black tea, milk, white pepper, ginger, honey, vanilla, linen)

Keeping the imp, but no bottle: Hellcat (hazelnut, buttercream, honey mead, rum, sweet almond)-- imp goes to [livejournal.com profile] gaudior, who likes the sweetness; Nyarlathotep (hell if I know, but lots and lots of incense)-- imp goes to [livejournal.com profile] midnite_phoenix, whether he likes it or not, because it suits him; Eclipse (bitter almond, heliotrope, cinnamon, vanilla, frankincense)-- imp is [livejournal.com profile] weirdquark's.

Swap pile: The Red Queen (mahogany, other woods, black cherry, currant, OH GODS GET IT OUT OF HERE), Bordello (plum, amaretto, burgundy, black currant). Titania (white peach, white grape, pear, musk rose, sweet pea, moonflower, snapdragon) would be up for swap if the vial hadn't gone and broken.

Note that the only things that really worked on me were the things for which we are getting bottles. I'm okay with the ones we're keeping in imp form, but don't expect to wear them except under very specific circumstances. Also, I am now avoiding fruit notes where possible, and have no intention of ever going anywhere near cherry or currant ever ever ever again (though I may try other fruits on a controlled basis).

Wishlist:: This is the stuff we intend to order next go-round, so if you can swap for any of it you will make us very happy. I'm listing the perfume, the notes in it, and then the reason we're getting it, so if you have something we didn't specifically mention that's along the same general ideas, please feel free to comment and offer it.

Highwayman (vetiver, rose, cinnamon, leather, gardenia): Weirdquark likes cinnamon. I like rose. We both want to know if we can wear a leather scent.

O (amber, honey, vanilla): Two notes from the worked-really-well-on-us White Rabbit, and a chance to test amber.

Kumiho (white tea, ginger): Again, notes from White Rabbit, but a different tea.

Two, Five and Seven (roses, roses, roses, green grass): I check to see whether I can actually *wear* rose, or if I just like it around.

Dorian (lots of musks, vanilla tea): A note we know works and a chance to test musk, plus a chance to ambush the boy with cologne, which I enjoy doing waaaaay too much.

Yggdrasil (according to the forums, a lot of woods): Cool name, plus, you guessed it, a chance to test out a different major note category. *g*

Feel free to offer other suggestions; mostly we're note-testing in fairly broad categories, but we're pretty open to swap offers.

And I promise to finish writing up the reviews Real Soon Now, because some of them are fairly entertaining.

This is a really good hobby.

[identity profile] yhlee.livejournal.com 2005-09-09 06:20 am (UTC)(link)
Are you still interested in The Hanging Gardens and Endymion? I think y'all were the ones I was holding these for, but I can't remember.

I adore The Red Queen and Bordello and would love the imps--see, currants and cherries on me? Yum. And for various reasons I no longer have my imps of those, and haven't ordered bottles yet.

What I have for trade:

Bottles: Carnaval Noir's Carnivale, Fire Eater; Springtime in Arkham's Mi-Go Brain Canister

Bewitched
Danse Macabre
Envy
Gomorrah
House of Night
Jailbait
Juke Joint
Languor
Lust
Neo-Tokyo
Phantasm
Rosalind
Sacrred Whore of Babylon
Santa Eularia des Riu
Santa Muerte
Serpent's Kiss
Severin
Skuld
Spellbound (decant)
Wrath

--almost all of these are basically full (I test with a tiny dab) but a few are from previous swaps. If you're curious, just inquire.

[identity profile] rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com 2005-09-11 04:24 am (UTC)(link)
After considering for probably way too long, [livejournal.com profile] weirdquark and I find ourselves in the following indecisive position: we would be willing to swap both imps, Red Queen and Bordello, for: the bottle of Mi-Go Brain Canister OR the imps of Lust and Wrath (looks both way for Fullmetal Alchemist jokes) OR (and yes, this made us laugh but it was based on notes not names) the imps of The Hanging Gardens and Sacred Whore of Babylon.

Depending on what you'd like to get rid of the most.

[livejournal.com profile] weirdquark would slightly prefer either of the two imp sets to the bottle, but I am a mad Lovecraft fiend, so it's really up to you.

[identity profile] yhlee.livejournal.com 2005-09-11 04:32 am (UTC)(link)
It would be no hardship to send 'em all your way. They're not doing me any good sitting here looking sadly scenty. I'll speak up if there's a future imp you don't care for that sounds interesting. Truly, truly. I say this with no regret in my heart, and a song of gladness.

Really, I am all for giving scents good homes. I doubt yours would be an ungood home!

[identity profile] yhlee.livejournal.com 2005-09-13 07:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay, I've boxed all of 'em up for y'all. They won't go out today because we ran out of packaging tape. Again. *cough* I'm sorry for the delay--but you get more stuff! So I hope that's okay.
eredien: Dancing Dragon (Default)

[personal profile] eredien 2005-09-09 11:02 am (UTC)(link)
When do you all test these? Because I so want to come over and try them too.

[identity profile] telophase.livejournal.com 2005-09-09 12:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Apparently Dorian contains musk, vanilla tea, and CRACK because everyone loves it. I did a post a couple of weeks ago on [livejournal.com profile] alchemylab with the notes that seemed to work on me and those that didn't, and despite me saying MUSK OH GOD NO NO GET IT OFF ME NOW, everyone recommended Dorian. I'll probably test it if an imp comes my way, but I'm not going to seek it out.

I got a bottle of Bordello, but it doesn't seem to be working on me as much as the imp did - I think it probably needs aging, and I'll try it again in a couple of months. I've got O coming to me in a swap this week, and I can't wait. :)
larryhammer: floral print origami penguin, facing left (Default)

[personal profile] larryhammer 2005-09-09 02:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Yay contributor's copy! (I still keep a copy of my issue of MZBFM in my desk drawer, to remind me of that feeling.)

---L.
sovay: (Default)

[personal profile] sovay 2005-09-09 08:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Yay, Not One of Us, contributor's copies, and actually being paid! I am at the moment waiting for my own package of printstuff to arrive, but that doesn't mean I don't still formally owe you some kind of drink as from this point on. For your first published piece of fiction. Name drink of preference and the next time we are actually in the same area, you get it.

[identity profile] mixedborder.livejournal.com 2005-09-10 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
Congratulations!!