![\"promo](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/Story+Hour+2-11-26.jpg\")
This event has now passed! Here's a recording of the 11 February 2026 Story Hour featuring Somto Ihezue and Gordon B. White.
\n\n\n
\nI'm hosting Story Hour again! This weekly reading of speculative fiction is regularly hosted by authors Daniel Marcus and Laura Blackwell, but occassionally, they can use a break and fresh voice for the MC duties. That'll be me on Wednesday, 2/11!
\nStory Hour focuses on the short form, preferring speculative fiction stories that can be read in full during each author's half of the show. The readers for this session will be Somto Ihezue and Gordon B. White!
\n
Somto Ihezue is an MFA fellow in Creative Writing at the University of Maryland. His writing has appeared in Clarkesworld, Poetry Magazine, Uncanny Magazine, Strange Horizons, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Flash Fiction Online, and others. His work has received residencies and fellowships from the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Tin House, Clarion West, Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, Sundress Academy for the Arts, and more. He was assistant editor of the Publishing Taught Me Anthology (SFWA & NEA) and co-editor of Will This Be a Problem? The Anthology.
\nGordon B. White is a Seattle-based author of horror and weird fiction. His fiction has been nominated for the Shirley Jackson and Bram Stoker Awards, and his stories, reviews, and interviews have appeared in dozens and dozens of venues. With multiple short story collections and novellas, his most recent book is the short story collection Gordon B. White is creating Haunting Weird Horror(s). You can find him online at www.gordonbwhite.com and on most social media as @GordonBWhite.
\nI hope to see you Wednesday at 7pm PT! You can join Story Hour either through Zoom or through Youtube Live. Links to both are here at their website.
\n", "date_published": "2026-02-11T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2025-11-14-loscon-51/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2025-11-14-loscon-51/", "title": "Loscon 51", "content_html": "Thanksgiving weekend, I’ll be taking part in Loscon 51, in Los Angeles, CA! Guests of honor include fellow former North Carolinian Ursula Vernon, aka T. Kingfisher; artist Benton Jew; musician Lynn Gold; and fan Tadao Tomomatsu.
\n![\"loscon](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/loscon-51.png\")
I have never attended a Loscon before, so I’m excited to see what science fiction and fantasy fandom looks like in SoCal, where all of my Gomez family is located. Of course, this means I have an excuse to spend a week in Los Angeles to see friends and family as well! But I am not sure how much time I’ll have to make new friends at Loscon, as they have me working hard with this schedule:
\n11:30 AM, November 28
\nAutograph Session, Dealer's Room
4:00 PM, November 28
\nPanel: Building Reader Empathy for Your Characters, Newport C
10:00 AM, November 29
\nPanel Moderator: Writing Book 2, Newport A
11:30 AM, November 29
\nWorkshop: Destroy all Cling-Ons, Century A
1:00 PM, November 29
\nPanel: Different Paths into Writing Careers, Newport A
10:00 AM, November 30
\nPanel: Publishing Short Stories, Catalina D
1:00 PM, November 30
\nPanel: Climate Change Storytelling, La Jolla
2:30 PM, November 30
\nSpirituality In SFF, Catalina B
Friday will be my lightest day of the weekend, as both Saturday and Sunday have me on three sessions a day! I CAN DO IT! In fact, I’m psyched to do it, especially to share my “Destroy All Cling-ons” workshop again, which I haven’t run in several years. If you’re planning to attend that, you’ll learn all about my method for giving manuscripts a final polish before submission.
\nHow do you attend? Purchase a registration at loscon.org by 11/20 for the $75 price. If you decide to attend after that, registrations are available for $85 at the door. Are my panels and events not enough to entice you? 😉The full lineup can be viewed here.
\n![\"rebecca](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/Untitled-3.png\")
See some of you there!
\n", "date_published": "2025-11-14T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2025-09-12-hayward-library-author-festival/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2025-09-12-hayward-library-author-festival/", "title": "2025 Hayward Local Authors Festival", "content_html": "If you’ve been waiting to get my signature on your copy of the Wings Rising duology, your chance is coming soon!
\n![\"hayward](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/2025-hayward-library-author-festival+(4).jpg\")
I’m one of over 20 authors on the guest list at the Hayward Library’s Local Author Festival! This event takes place on Saturday, October 4, 2025, from 1 to 3pm. Here’s the library’s description:
\n\n\nCelebrate the literary talent in our community! Join us on Saturday, October 4 from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM for the Local Author Festival, a special event featuring dozens of local authors from across genres. Authors will be on-site to meet readers, sell their books, and connect with fellow writers.
\nThis event is open to kids, teens, and adults — a great opportunity for readers of all ages to explore new voices and support local creativity.
\nThe event is free to attend and no registration is required. Come browse, chat, and discover your next great read!
\n
Here’s the link to their events calendar.
\nThe event will be held at the main Hayward Library at 888 C Street, Hayward, CA, 94541. There is plenty of parking in downtown Hayward, all free, whether on the streets or in a lot.
\nI’m refreshing my sales pitches for Wings Unseen and Wings Unfurled so I can be ready to gab about these works of adult epic fantasy filled with mysterious mythical creatures, ghostly wizards, human strife, and ravenous moons with potential new readers and you! I’ll also have short story collections available for purchase that feature a few of my shorter works.
\nI’m looking forward to meeting more of my fellow authors, too! I only know a few in our southwestern corner of Alameda County, and making new friends is always a plus of these events. Here’s the full list of participating authors:
\n![\"hayward](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/2025-hayward-library-author-festival+(5).jpg\")
Let me know if I can look forward to seeing you at the social media platform of your choice (Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram) or via email at becca@gomezfarrell.com.
\n", "date_published": "2025-09-12T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2025-05-15-cwc-south-bay/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2025-05-15-cwc-south-bay/", "title": "South Bay Writers", "content_html": "I'm excited to be speaking at the June meeting of the South Bay Writers! The South Bay Writers Club is a branch of the California Writers Club, one of the oldest writers organizations in the USA. I've visited the Berkeley and Newark branches before, but this will be my first time with the South Bay crew. I look forward to it!
\n![\"south](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/SBW-Logo.jpg\"){kind=logo}
I'll be speaking on the topic of writer critique groups, which I'm well familiar with after nearly twenty years of attending and organizing them! I'll likely touch on common ways to structure them, the pros and cons of sharing different lengths and pre-reading manuscripts or reading them aloud at the time, and the types of criticism that become more and less helpful over time as your career progresses.
\nIf you'd like to join us, head to the community room at the San Jose Library's Rose Garden branch. It's at 1580 Naglee Avenue, San Jose, CA. The June meeting begins at 10:30am Pacific Time.
\n", "date_published": "2025-05-15T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2025-03-12-story-hour-hosting/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2025-03-12-story-hour-hosting/", "title": "Story Hour on 3/12", "content_html": "This event has passed! But you can watch a recording right here from Youtube:
\n \nI'm hosting Story Hour again! This weekly reading of speculative fiction is regularly hosted by authors Daniel Marcus and Laura Blackwell, but occassionally, they can use a break and fresh voice for the MC duties. That'll be me on Wednesday, 3/12!
\nStory Hour focuses on the short form, preferring speculative fiction stories that can be read in full during each author's half of the show. The readers for this session will be L.E. Daniels and Pamela Jeffs.
\n![\"l.e.](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/le+daniels.jpg\")
A 2023 Bram Stoker Award® nominee for short fiction, L.E. Daniels is an American author, poet, and editor of over 130 titles living in Australia. Her novel Serpent’s Wake: A Tale for the Bitten (Interactive Publications) is a Notable Work with the Horror Writers Association’s Mental Health Initiative. With Christa Carmen, Lauren edited the 2022 Aurealis finalist, We Are Providence: Tales of Horror from the Ocean State (Weird House Press) and the follow-up, Monsters in the Mills (Interactive Publications) which launched at Necronomicon Providence in 2024. Recent publications include “Silk” in Hush, Don’t Wake the Monster (Twisted Wing Productions) and “Hangman’s Coming” in Where the Silent Ones Watch (Hippocampus Press). Her poem “Night Terrors” in the HWA's Of Horror and Hope was a finalist for the 2022 Australasian Shadows Award. Lauren directs Brisbane Writers Workshop.
\nPamela Jeffs is an award-winning Australian speculative fiction author of six short story collections including her Australasian Shadows Award nominated collection Precarious Waters and Other Dark Tales. Her most recent work is the young adult fantasy novella Wilder. Pamela won the 2023 Aurealis Award for Best Horror Short Story and in previous years shortlisted for numerous other awards including an additional eleven Aurealis Awards, three Ditmar Awards, and two Australasian Shadow Awards.
\n![\"pamela](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/pamela+jeffs.jpg\")
I hope to see you Wednesday at 7pm PT! You can join Story Hour either through Zoom or through Facebook Live. Links to both are here at their website.
\n", "date_published": "2025-03-12T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2025-02-16-aauw/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2025-02-16-aauw/", "title": "AAUW-Alameda Membership Luncheon", "content_html": "In March, I'll be appearing at the Alameda Authors' Day for the American Association of University Women (AAUW). This will be the second time I'm a guest for this organization, and it's flattering to be asked back! The AAUW is composed of women with university degrees who advocate for equity and education for women.
\n![\"aauw](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/aauwca.png\")
Not only did I get to share a nice long reading with the audience at my first AAUW-Alameda event, I also made a new and lasting romance-writer friend, Lea Kirk, who was my co-guest that day. Lea has released a ton of awesome works in her romance series that star middle-aged and older science fiction—and usually, alien—characters.
\nI'll be happy if March's event turns out anywhere near as awesome as that first one! This upcoming event will take place at the "Crow's Nest" room at the Alameda Naval Air Museum, 2151 Ferry Point, Building #77. My co-guest this time will be author Janet Dawson.
\nAs more information becomes available, I'll update this page! For now, save the date.
\n", "date_published": "2025-03-08T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2025-02-20-aauw/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2025-02-20-aauw/", "title": "AAUW-Alameda Membership Luncheon", "content_html": "I can now share updated information on what to expect if you join me for the Alameda Authors' Day for the American Association of University Women (AAUW) on March 8, 2025!
\n
The AAUW prioritizes increasing equity, education, health, fair pay, and careers for women and girls through nonpartisan lobbying for legislation, breaking down research barriers that women and girls face and collaborating with other organizations.
\nI am happy to share that I will be speaking with this great group of motivated advocates about the work that Woman Who Submit Lit does to encourage women and nonbinary writers to submit their work out for publication. I organized one of the Bay Area chapters of Women Who Submit Lit for several years, and it holds a special place in my writer-community-loving heart. Expect to learn about its origins and how you can take part in one of our motivating submission parties!
\nOf course, I will also be reading from Wings Unfurled, Book #2 in my Wings Rising duology.
\n![\"wings](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/Wings-Unfurled.png\")
There will be time for book purchases and autographs after the membership luncheon as well. The meeting begins at 1:30pm with a social reception, then the author talks around 2:00pm after a welcome from the current AAUW-Alameda president. Following that, we'll do a Q&A session with the audience. Who is we? Well, I'll be joined by mystery writer Janet Dawson! Here's her bio:
\nJanet Dawson’s life of crime began with her long-running series featuring Oakland PI Jeri Howard and the award-winning first novel, Kindred Crimes. Jeri has sleuthed her way through 14 books, including the latest, The Things We Keep. Along the writing way, Janet branched out to books featuring crime-solving characters Jill McLeod, working on the California Zephyr trains, and Kay Dexter, a geriatric care manager. Janet has also written a standalone suspense novel, What You Wish For, a novella, \"But Not Forgotten,\" and twelve short stories, including Macavity winner \"Voice Mail.\" She is a longtime member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She blogs the first Monday of every month at Ladies of Mystery.\n
Would you like to join us? This event is open to the public and members of the AAUW-Alameda! Simply RSVP at the form linked here. There is no charge, but donations are accepted at the door.
\nThe March AAUW-Alameda Membership Meeting will take place at the "Crow's Nest" room at the Alameda Naval Air Museum, 2151 Ferry Point, Building #77.
\n", "date_published": "2025-02-20T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2025-01-22-story-hour-hosting/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2025-01-22-story-hour-hosting/", "title": "Story Hour on 1/22!", "content_html": "This event has passed! Here's a recording:
\n \nI'm hosting Story Hour again! This weekly reading of speculative fiction is regularly hosted by authors Daniel Marcus and Laura Blackwell, but occassionally, they can use a break and fresh voice for the MC duties. That'll be me on Wednesday, 1/22!
\nStory Hour focuses on the short form, preferring speculative fiction stories that can be read in full during each author's half of the show. The readers for this session will be Karl Dandenell and Elad Haber. I'll add their author bios to this page once I have them.
\nI hope to see you Wednesday, 1/22. at 7pm PT! You can join Story Hour either through Zoom or through Facebook Live. Links to both are here at their website.
\n", "date_published": "2025-01-22T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2024-12-01-local-lit/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2024-12-01-local-lit/", "title": "Local Lit & Critique Clinic", "content_html": "If you're in the South Bay or willing to travel, join me Saturday, 12/7, at the King San Jose Public Library for Local Lit!
\n![\"flyer](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/2024+-+LocalLit%2C+Flyer.jpg\")
Local Lit is an author fair with panels, publishing questions, book signings, and more! I'll be one of 10+ local authors taking part. Full info at this link here.
\nI'm appearing at the Writers' Critique Clinic, starting at 1pm, and the Local Lit author fair, starting at 2pm and running until 4:30. All are free!
\n![\"flyer](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/Writers+Critique+Clinic+Flyer.jpg\")
No registration needed for Local Lit, but if you'd like to take part in the Writers' Critique Clinic, you'll need to click to register here. It'll be like speed dating for critiques with writing pros like me. You can choose from me, Alessandra Harris, Brooke L. French, or R.L. King!
\nThanks to Eboni Harris for organizing the Critique Clinic, and to the San Jose Libraries and San Jose State University King Library for hosting the whole shindig. It's always great to make more connections in the Bay. If you want my signature and/or books, they'll be available at the fair.
\n![\"book](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/WingsUnseen.png\")
\n ![\"book](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/RebeccaGomezFarrell-Wingus+Unfurled.png\")
\nOr you can always check out a copy from either of my two Wings Rising books at the library while you're there. 😉
\n", "date_published": "2024-12-01T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2024-07-23-my-glasgow-foodie-to-do-list/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2024-07-23-my-glasgow-foodie-to-do-list/", "title": "My Glasgow Foodie To-Do List: Updated!", "content_html": "I am excited to head to my third-ever Worldcon, this time in Glasgow, in just a couple weeks! That excitement comes from knowing I’ll see so many great writer friends I’ve made over the years, that I’ll learn a ton about Scotland’s science fiction and fantasy storytelling history, and that I’ll get to tour some of region. But of course, I’m MOSTLY excited to seek out Glasgow’s foodie treasures!
\nI’m sharing a few lists of what I’m hoping to hit up in Glasgow, knowing full well that it’ll be impossible to try it all. But try I will! I’ll start out with the spots where I’m most likely to hit classic Scottish foods, though not necessarily in classic presentations. I have yet to find a spot that mentions serving cock-a-leekie (roast chicken & leeks), but I’m keeping my hopes up I’ll find them.
\nI've updated the list with a few more recommendations from friends! And I've removed Where the Monkey Sleeps. It's out of business. (31 July 2024)
\nDoubtless, one of those options above will also introduce me to Irn-Bru sodas and cranachan (raspberry & oats parfait) desserts – I can’t wait! But there are some finer dining options also on my list, for enjoying a tasty afternoon or evening out:
\nOf course, in Scotland, one must also drink whisky! And maybe tour a distillery while we’re at it, though there are not many in Glasgow proper. You should also note that tons of bars also have a food menu!
\nYou’ll note that a full Scottish breakfast has NOT appeared yet on my lists. That’s because I am NOT a fan. I don’t like beans, period, and especially not on my breakfast plate! Plus, I prefer my eggs scrambled or poached to fried and my breakfast items generally all mixed together rather than presented individually. Which is why the following cafes and breakfast spots look more appealing to me. They offer many of those tradition full breakfast items in different ways:
\nNow that I’ve identified a doughnut option, I’ll finish this foodie compendium with more sweet things! I’m always on the hunt for at least one great dessert on vacation. Some of these spots are a bit farther afield than the rest, but likely worth the diversion.
\nMost of the options mentioned in my list above are within a 15-minute walk or transit trip of the Scottish Events Center, in the Kelvinhaugh, Finnieston, or Central Glasgow areas of the city. Most of them also take reservations, which is a plus! Here’s a map with all the spots marked:
\n\nPlease feel free to share this list with other Worldcon attendees! And if you’d like to meet up with me for a drink or meal, shoot me an email to becca@gomezfarrell.com. I’ll try to work something out! But I am also totally happy to just run into folks at Worldcon’s own socializing spaces and the hotel bar. Making plans can be difficult with full convention schedules, which I understand.
\nHope to see you there!
\n", "date_published": "2024-07-23T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2024-06-19-story-hour-host/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2024-06-19-story-hour-host/", "title": "Story Hour Hosting", "content_html": "Last June, I was delighted to host Story Hour, a weekly reading of speculative fiction regularly hosted by authors Daniel Marcus and Laura Blackwell. I've appeared as a guest on Story Hour a few times in the past, and I'm glad I could give Laura and Daniel a bit of a break this time--a weekly reading is a huge undertaking!
\nStory Hour focuses on the short form, preferring that stories shared can be read in full during each author's half of the show. The readers for this session were Cynthia Gómez and Nadine Aurora Tabing. Let me tell you, the works they shared blew me away! Both were incredibly impactful while using beautiful language.
\nWatch the episode here:
\n \nCynthia Gómez is a writer and researcher. She writes horror and other types of speculative fiction, set primarily in Oakland, where she makes her home. Her work has appeared in Fantasy Magazine, Strange Horizons, Tree and Stone, and several anthologies. Her collection, The Nightmare Box and Other Stories, a collection of very ACAB and Latine fiction, will be out from Dread Stone Press in summer 2024. She loves to write dark and frightening things while cuddling with her shadow, aka her adorable little dog. You can find more of her work at https://linktr.ee/cynthiasaysboo.
\nNadine Aurora Tabing is a writer, designer, and shiba inu enthusiast who lives in the Pacific Northwest. Her writing has appeared in Strange Horizons, Reckoning, Flash Fiction Online, Worlds of Possibility, and others. Her writing has been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award and Pushcart Prize. You can find her online at suchnadine.com.
\n", "date_published": "2024-06-19T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2023-04-21-join-me-for-the-hayward-lit-hop/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2023-04-21-join-me-for-the-hayward-lit-hop/", "title": "Hayward Lit Hop!", "content_html": "Hi Friends! Tomorrow is Hayward Lit Hop 2023!
\nI'll be hosting two groups of readers for this event:
\n- Women Who Submit: Bay Area Chapter at The Dirty Bird Lounge at 5:00pm with readers Dera R Jones Williams, Karma Bennett, and Joyce E. Young
\n- East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers at The Bistro at 6:00pm with readers Vanessa MacLaren-Wray, Author, Sibyl Saint, Caitlin Dwyer, and Sophie Green
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/21221529/HLH2023-Social-Wide.png\")
Hayward Lit Hop occurs Saturday, April 22nd from 2-8pm on Earth Day and National Poetry Month. Conceived and organized by volunteer community members, Hayward Lit Hop is free for all ages. The Hayward Lit Hop celebrates our active and dedicated literary scene.
The event begins at 2 pm at Heritage Plaza Park, across the street from the Downtown Hayward Public Library, with a welcome from Hayward local civic and literary leaders and a musical performance from the East Bay Symphonic Band. At 3pm, Hayward-area Poet Laureates' read with East Bay teens. As it's Earth Day, the reading will have a nature and ecology theme. Local environmental organizations will set up tables in the Plaza to promote their work, as well.
\nFrom 4-7 pm, we'll hop to different venues up and down and near B Street to with spoken word performances including the AfroSurreal Writers Association, students from Chabot College, a bilingual Spanish/English reading, the Queer Writers, local Horror Writers' and Mystery Writers' Association chapters, the Peer Writers' Group, Women Who Submit Lit, the East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers, the California Writers' Club, and students from CSUEB and Hayward Unified School District K-12 students.
\nReadings will occur at local venues including Aranea's Craft Studio, the Sun Gallery, the Odd Fellows Lodge, The Bistro, Dirty Bird Lounge, the Pizza House, The World Famous Turf Club, Yoga Sociale. Hayward Lit Hop concludes with an afterparty at the Sun Gallery where there will be music, food and drinks. The gallery features a climate art exhibit.
\nThis event showcases local businesses, celebrates Hayward's diverse cultural scene, and allows people to meet their neighbors and hear and see each other's talents. We’re here to help people with an interest in writing or art find local groups to support and foster their talents.
\nA detailed schedule will be posted at this website. Hope to see you there! I'm looking forward to hanging out in our fun downtown all day long.
\n", "date_published": "2023-04-21T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2023-04-05-brooklyn-rooftop-reading-series-april-2023/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2023-04-05-brooklyn-rooftop-reading-series-april-2023/", "title": "Brooklyn Books & Booze", "content_html": "![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/01061626/rooftop-readings-logo-crop.png\"){kind=logo}
I am super excited to be reading at Barrow's Intense Tasting Room in Brooklyn on April 18 at 7pm! The Rooftop Readings series—renamed to Brooklyn Books & Booze in 2024—is the brainchild of the super awesome debut novelist and super-talented entertainment journalist Randee Dawn. This reading will also feature Nadia Uddin, Richie Narvaez, and Katharine Duckett!
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/01062537/Rooftop-Readings-Authors-April-2023-2-3.jpg\")
Barrow's is at 86th 34th Street, Brooklyn, NY (D train to 36th Avenue, then about a 5 minute walk). You DO NOT NEED TO PURCHASE A TICKET to attend, but if you'd like a drink while you're listening, please make sure to snap one up for $10 at Eventbrite. Which honestly? A cocktail in Brooklyn for $10? What a deal! Nevermind the entertainment! Purchase a ticket here: https://buff.ly/3G9ZVEZ and learn more about the Rooftop Reading Series here: https://buff.ly/3Mq63wT
\nYes, this is basically my springtime promo blog tour for Wings Unfurled, and I cannot wait to share this sequel with East Coast epic fantasy fans! SF in SF went great, and now NYC will get its own taste of this book. And I'll get to taste Barrow's Intense Ginger Liquor, and honestly, I'm probably just as excited for that.
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/01062817/barrows-intense-ginger.png\")
I'm looking forward to raising a glass with you, Brooklynites!
\n", "date_published": "2023-04-05T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2023-04-01-pondering-the-orb-features-wings-unseen/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2023-04-01-pondering-the-orb-features-wings-unseen/", "title": "Pondering the Orb", "content_html": "I am delighted that the Wings Rising series appears on the current episode of Pondering the Orb, a vidcast from fantasy author Jay Requard. In the episode, Jay reads the first chapter of Wings Unseen, Book 1 in the duology. This is where we first meet Vesperi Sellywn and the story gets going with a bang--or more fittingly, a poof.
\nWatch it here:
\n\nThe episode also features a conversation between Jay and Sam Montgomery-Blinn, who's actually the reason that Jay and I met in the first place! Sam invited us both to read for an NC Speculative Fiction Night in 2013, which was also celebrating the launch of Bull Spec #5, which Sam edited and in which my "Bother," my first SFF pro sale, appeared. I actually still have video of my reading that night!
\n\nUnfortunately, I think Jay stays just out of the frame, but Sam introduces me at the pedestal. That one night was the first time I met so many great authors local to the RTP area, some who'd become critique partners, some Game of Thrones TV night buddies, and others support in all the ways that we authors need each other to continue in this career.
\nThanks, Jay, for sharing Wings Unseen on Pondering the Orb and for reminding me of those wonderful memories. Sure, some writers are known for their drama, but in my experience? Writers are just plain awesome and supportive people. You should get to know a few. 😉
\n", "date_published": "2023-04-01T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2023-03-25-sf-in-sf-with-mia-tsai-and-me-sunday-march-26/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2023-03-25-sf-in-sf-with-mia-tsai-and-me-sunday-march-26/", "title": "SF in SF with Mia Tsai and Me! Sunday, March 26", "content_html": "Don't forgot! Tomorrow, I appear at SF in SF for the second time, to celebrate Wings Unfurled! This reading series takes place on Sunday, March 26, at 6:30pm at the American Bookbinders Museum in San Francisco. There's a $10 entry fee, but no one is turned away for lack of funds.
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/03/25205438/SF-in-SF-March-26.png\")
After our readings, Cliff Winning will interview me and fellow guest, Mia Tsai, who's promoting her paranormal debut Bitter Medicine. We’ll be taking questions from the audience as well, and Soma FM will be recording the event for their station. Come grab a seat and ask me whatever you’d like. Even what my characters would pick as their favorite cocktails. 🍹 All proceeds from the $10 entry fee and the cash bar are donated to the American Bookbinders Museum.
\nSee you there!
\n", "date_published": "2023-03-26T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2023-03-18-strong-women-strange-worlds/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2023-03-18-strong-women-strange-worlds/", "title": "Strong Women, Strange Worlds Book Fair", "content_html": "I'll be appearing at a few events in the Bay Area, coming up this week and next. Here's the deets on one of them:
\nStrong Women • Strange Worlds Birthday Book Fair
\nI’ll be taking part on Facebook in Strong Women • Strange Worlds’ Birthday Celebration Book Fair on Saturday, March 18, from 12pm to 1pm PT!
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/03/15031743/bookfairs3-18-23.jpg\")
This event intimidates me, to be honest. Why? Because it’s not a reading but twenty minutes of time for me to just talk about my books, my writing process, the publishing industry, and maybe even how my foodie ways influence my fiction. I’m afraid of being a rambling mess....but if you’d be entertained by a rambling Rebecca Gomez Farrell, check it out! SWSW’s birthday festivities will be going on all day, but you should be able to tune in here on Facebook at 12:00pm to find me. Sumiko Saulson and KC Grifant will also be authors on display during that Book Fair hour.
\n", "date_published": "2023-03-18T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2023-03-17-wizards-homecoming/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2023-03-17-wizards-homecoming/", "title": "The Wizard's Homecoming Book Launch", "content_html": "I'll be appearing at a few events in the Bay Area, coming up this week and next. Here's the deets on the next one:
\nThe Wizard's Homecoming Book Launch
\nI am thrilled to celebrate my friend, the talented Elwin Cotman, and his new speculative poetry collection, The Wizard’s Homecoming, this coming Friday, March 17, at 7:00pm Pacific Time! I'm also thrilled that he asked me to read as part of the celebration.
\n![\"elwin](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/03/15030531/cotman-wizards-homecoming.jpg\")
The book launch takes place at Hasta Muerte Coffee in Oakland, and Elwin will also be hosting comic artist Dan McCloskey for the evening. Come on out! More Info.
\n", "date_published": "2023-03-17T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-16-wings-unfurled-review-at-big-indie-books/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-16-wings-unfurled-review-at-big-indie-books/", "title": "Wings Unfurled Review at Big Indie Books!", "content_html": "We have arrrived at the final stop of the Wings Unfurled Blog Tour. And we're ending with a doozy—a wonderful review from the folks at Big Indie Books!
\n![\"Cover](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/11/03023406/WingsUnfurledPreOrderImage.jpg\")
My head is spinning with delight! Here's my favorite part:
\n\n\nWritten from multiple points of view, including that of a Moon, Esye, the writer seems to have really hit her stride with this second offering. The book nicely ties up the overall story and the reader will appreciate the resolution of the various relationships we learned about in Wings Unseen, and that come full circle in Wings Unfurled.
\n
The whole review is thoughtful, and I appreciate the amount of time and effort it takes to review books. Each and every one means so much! Especially because they aren't intended for writers, but to help readers find the works that they'll most connect with. I hope you'll consider connecting with the Wings Rising duology! Be sure to read the full review at Big Indie Books!
\nOnly two days left to enter the $50 giftcard drawing from Meerkat Press to celebrate the Wings Unfurled Blog Tour! Don't miss your chance to profit off my success. 😉 And now for today’s contextless quote from Wings Unfurled...
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2022-12-16T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-15-questions-to-consider-when-writing-a-series-at-writingforums-com/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-15-questions-to-consider-when-writing-a-series-at-writingforums-com/", "title": "Questions to Consider When Writing A Series", "content_html": "“The flame must fly to be found again. That’s what my father said, remember?”
\n
Today at WritingForums.com, I shared questions that writers should consider when writing a series.
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/12/15224656/writingforumsbooktour.jpg\")
These are questions I had to wrestle with while writing Wings Unfurled, and they may be slightly different questions than writers who intend from the get-go to write a series might consider. That's because Wings Unseen was writtten as a standalone novel, so the writing process for a second book in the same world was a different one. But many of the questions are likely useful either way.
\nWritingForums.Com is quite a useful forum, too, and I was excited when they joined the Wings Unfurled blog tour. They often come up when I'm searching for information on the industry or craft advice. I'm looking forward to finally starting an account with them and poking around. They do also organize manuscript critiques, which I point out because folks are ALWAYS asking for where to find critique.
\nI hope you pick up some tips from the post! Don't forget to also visit the Meerkat Press Wings Unfurled Blog Tour masterpost to enter our $50 giftcard prize drawing! And now for today’s contextless quote from Wings Unfurled.
\nAnd now, for today's context-free quote from the book:
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2022-12-15T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-14-wings-unfurled-book-review-at-montys-book-reviews/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-14-wings-unfurled-book-review-at-montys-book-reviews/", "title": "Monty's Book Reviews!", "content_html": "“Listen to your father,” the specter said, billowing like a sheet of pressed metal in decay.
\n
Today's Blog Tour review of Wings Unfurled is glowing! Thanks to Monty's Book Reviews for sharing their thoughts. Here's a snippet:
\n\n\n"An enthralling story told from three separate viewpoints which are skillfully woven into a free flowing narrative that keeps the reader's interest throughout. The characters are both interesting and flawed which endears them to you as the story progresses and ensures that a vested interest in their future is maintained. "
\n
Read the full review at their website and find an excerpt from Chapter 3, the silver moon's first POV chapter! Have you entered the Meerkat Press Wings Unfurled prize drawing yet? Only four days left to enter....
\n
And here's today's contextless quote from Wings Unfurled:
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2022-12-14T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-13-worst-writing-advice-ive-ever-received/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-13-worst-writing-advice-ive-ever-received/", "title": "Worst Writing Advice I've Ever Received", "content_html": "He wilted, a vine in the sun. Alive, but with too much taken from him.
\n
Today, on the Wings Unfurled Blog Tour, you can visit Ali Lucia Sky's blog, where I answer "What’s The Worst Writing Advice You’ve Ever Received?" It's a claim I've heard many times, from many writers, but one that lacks the nuance that newer writers need to hear, in my humble opinion.
\nYou'll also find an excerpt of Chapter 1 in the book! This comes from Serra's point-of-view, and she's at Castle Callyn for the first time in quite a while....and for reasons she needs to report to King Dever right away.
\nDon't forget to also visit the Meerkat Press masterpost to enter our $50 giftcard prize drawing! And now for today's contextless quote from Wings Unfurled:
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2022-12-13T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-11-hosting-the-sfwa-weekly-writing-date/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-11-hosting-the-sfwa-weekly-writing-date/", "title": "The SFWA Weekly Writing Date", "content_html": "“I heard the Green Lady was building a new glass house, so I came with my hammer and thought to help.”
\n
In slightly under an hour, I'll be hosting SFWA's Weekly Writing Date!
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/12/11211311/Rebecca-Gomez-Farrell-WWD-Dec-2022.png\")
These writing dates are one of the primary ways that a core group of SFWA members and Nebula Conference attendees have kept in touch over the past pandemic years, providing community while taking part in writing sprints together. I've only been able to join a few times, and I'm delighted to host the week of Wings Unfurled's release!
\nI'm also excited to dive into some freewriting - my skills are rusty these days, and writing dates are a wonderful way to exercise them. For me, freewrites really loosen my imagination, so I can better grasp the stories my psyche wants to tell.
\nIf you're a SFWA member or Nebula Conference participant, come join me from 2pm to 4pm! Details here.
\nAnd here's a contextless quote from Wings Unfurled for release week!
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2022-12-11T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-08-psychoanalyze-this-please-is-our-next-wings-unfurled-blog-tour-stop/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-08-psychoanalyze-this-please-is-our-next-wings-unfurled-blog-tour-stop/", "title": "Psychoanalyze This! Please?", "content_html": "Vesperi rarely spoke of her brother, and when she did, it came coupled with a curse.
\n
Today's Wings Unfurled Book Tour Blog Stop is at TKentWrites.com! I'd like to think them for hosting my short post on "Psychoanalyze This! Please?" in which I talk about my dislike of the idea that all authors' work are autobiographical in some form . . . while also wondering if maybe some of the symbols and images that fascinate me do have deeper meaning for my life and I just don't know it! Read it here:
\nhttp://www.tkentwrites.com/psychoanalyze-this-please-by-rebecca-gomez-farrell/
\nAlso be sure to swing by Meerkat Press's Wings Unfurled Blog Tour masterpost to enter their $50 giftcard prize drawing! There are not quite 100 entries yet, so now's a great time to get your name in there. Good luck!
\n
As promised, here is a line from Wings Unfurled, with no context. I'm sharing one each day we have a new blog tour post to feature.
\n\n\n“I wasn’t sure I wanted to come help you folks, but that was a jolly good time.”
\n
See you for tomorrow's blog post feature!
\n", "date_published": "2022-12-08T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-07-wings-unseen-release-day-launch-party-invite/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-07-wings-unseen-release-day-launch-party-invite/", "title": "Wings Unseen Release Day & Launch Party Invite!", "content_html": "Release Day is here! Or rather, release day has already come and is almost gone and I'm just now getting to a post on my own blog to mark it—it's been busy, y'all! Busy in a good way.
\n\nI am thrilled to report that whatever snafu Amazon had going on is now resolved, and you can order both paperback and ebook copies of Wings Unfurled through them again. But of course, they are also availabile at all the usual suspects of online vendors! Here are your options:
\nBookshop.org
\nBarnes & Noble
\nMeerkat Press
\nAmazon
\nApple Books
\nKobo
And I believe it may be on Google Books now as well. As the author, it does not make a difference to me which one you order from, but ordering straight from my publisher, Meerkat Press, is best for supporting this awardwinning, quality small press!
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/12/06042806/wu-blogtour-instagram-otheroption1.jpg\")
I would also love to invite you all to my Wings Unfurled Book Launch Party on Sunday, December 18, at 4:30pm Pacific Time! This will be a Zoom-based event, and my husband will present me with AI "art" he has generated from passages in the book, which will be a fun show-and-tell. I'll also be giving away two sets of the Wings Rising duology, so if you do not have Wings Unseen already, this is a great chance to get signed copies of both books for free! After the prize drawing, it'll be a casual hangout time for friends and friendly readers. Register here to join.
\nOf course, there is also a new port of call on the Wings Unfurled Book Blog Tour today! Head by the Speculative Fiction Showcase to read Chapter 3, the first one from a brand-new character's perspective: Esye, the silver moon. Don't forget to enter the $50 giftcard prize drawing at the end of the piece!
\nAs promised, I'll leave you with a line from the book:
\n\n\n“I’ll be right back, or someone else will, okay, Izzy? Don’t go far.” “Okay,” she said. How far could she go during a right back, she wondered.
\n
And here's how I celebrated Wings Unfurled's publication, with one of my favorite things...a crab roll!
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/12/07042336/crab-roll.jpg\")
May your successes be as tasty! I look forward to sharing more exciting Wings Unfurled news with you tomorrow.
\n", "date_published": "2022-12-07T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-05-reading-at-the-story-hour-on-12-7/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-05-reading-at-the-story-hour-on-12-7/", "title": "Story Hour", "content_html": "Join me on Wednesday, when I’ll be appearing at Story Hour, for the third time! Story Hour is a weekly speculative fiction reading hosted by authors Daniel Marcus and Laura Blackwell. I'll be reading with Barbara A. Barnett.
\nStory Hour focuses on the short form, preferring that stories be read in full during each author’s half of the show. This means that I will not be reading from my new book, Wings Unfurled. But I will be sharing a humorous science fiction tale, "Garbage," that was published a few years back. This story's about a pair of immature teenagers playing a prank on the neighbor, but it's also about opinions on immigration and assimilation.
\nI hope to see you Wednesday, 12/7/2022, at 7pm PT! You can join Story Hour either through Zoom or through Facebook Live. Links to both are here at their website.
\nPost-Event Recording Info:
\nI shared "Garbage," a humorous, but as host Laura Blackwell described it, "funny and disturbing," science fiction story. I read with Barbara A. Barnett, who graces the first half hour with a short, sad read and then a longer, funny tale that'll make you think twice before your next bite of salad.
\n\nMy half starts about 25:00 minutes into the Story Hour. I hope you enjoy the listen!
\n", "date_published": "2022-12-07T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-06-wings-unfurled-blog-tour/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-06-wings-unfurled-blog-tour/", "title": "Wings Unfurled Blog Tour & Prize!", "content_html": "Along with a new book publication comes a new blog book tour!
\n![\"Promo](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/12/06042806/wu-blogtour-horizontal-banner.jpg\")
I invite you to take a tour of a number of different book-based blogs over the next two works for interviews with me, excerpts from Wings Unfurled, posts on various writerly topics, and book reviews! A new blog will post a new piece each day from now until December 16! And what's more....
\nMeerkat Press is giving away a $50 gift card at the end of the tour! At any of the featured blog posts or at Meerkat's master schedule of the blog tour, you can find the giveaway form to complete. So far, we only have 26 entries, so your chances are high!
\nToday's book tour blog post features more book recommendations from me!
\n![\"Book](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/12/06044016/Big-Indie-Books-listicle.jpg\")
Check out "Five Book Series Where Women Wield the Power" at BigIndieBooks.com for recommendations of more recent book series I've read that explore the power of women in the narrative, just like I do in the Wings Rising series. And....enter that $50 gift card raffle while you're there!
\nI'm going to share a teaser quote from the book with each new post on my own blog these next two weeks. Here's today's:
\n\n\nOnce before in her life, Vesperi had felt this thoroughly at sea, when she’d held her father’s corpse, drained of all life and matter.
\n
When I wake tomorrow, I will be the author of two published books! Life goals achieved! I hope you enjoy following Vesperi, Serra, and Janto as they pursue they own in this next stage of our Lansera adventure.
\n", "date_published": "2022-12-06T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-10-wings-unfurled-release-week-new-readings-to-watch/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-10-wings-unfurled-release-week-new-readings-to-watch/", "title": "Strong Women, Strange Worlds", "content_html": "Week 1 of the Wings Unfurled Blog Tour is almost over!
\n
There are no new stops on the tour scheduled over the weekend, but I still have new content for you! But first, don't forget to swing by the Meerkat Press masterpost to enter our $50 giftcard prize drawing! Not quite 100 folks have signed up yet, so you have a nearly 1/100 chance at the moment—that's actually really great for an online prize drawing.
\nNew content? Yes! You can now watch video of me reading the prologue to Wings Unfurled! This was recorded as part of the Strong Women, Strange Worlds reading series, which I appeared in this past November. Head here to YouTube to watch!
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/12/10222202/StrongWomenNov4.jpg\")
On the same YouTube page, you can watch the full video of that First Friday Quick Reads session with Strong Women, Strange Worlds. Six authors in total read, each of us for just 8 minutes, to give you a quick sip of our work. Featured authors beside myself: Sandra Barrett, Ellen Booraem, Jennie Goloboy, Angela Yuriko, and Sylvia Woodham.
\nI also appeared on Story Hour this past Wednesday, which is a lovely readings series that began with the pandemic and has been running strong weekly ever since. Story Hour focuses on short stories, so I did not read from Wings Unfurled. Instead, I shared "Garbage," a humorous, but as host Laura Blackwell described it, "funny and disturbing," science fiction story. I read with Barbara A. Barnett, who graces the first half hour with a short, sad read and then a longer, funny tale that'll make you think twice before your next bite of salad.
\n\nMy half starts about 25:00 minutes into the Story Hour. I hope you enjoy the listen!
\nAnd let me leave you with another contextless sentence from Wings Unfurled. Place your order by clicking on the vendor of your choice in that right sidebar over there ↗↗↗
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2022-12-04T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-04-shepherd-book-list-the-best-speculative-fiction-books-with-lyrical-prose/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-04-shepherd-book-list-the-best-speculative-fiction-books-with-lyrical-prose/", "title": "BookDNA Book List: The Best Speculative Fiction Books with Lyrical Prose", "content_html": "“What does the mama snake say to the baby snake?” “Ssssnuggles, ssssnakelet!”
\n
NOTE: 22 June 2026: The Shepherd website is changing their name to BookDNA, so I am updating the links below as appropropriate. But you may still see Shepherd appear in some spots on this website.
\nOver at BookDNA, which is a newish website to help shepherd readers toward their next favorite books, I compiled a list of books that impress me with their sometimes poetic, sometimes beautifully figurative, prose: The Best Speculative Fiction Books with Lyrical Prose.
\nMy choices:
\n![\"Book](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/12/04013707/ShepherdBookList.jpg\")
This list is heavily informed by my love of African American literature (this was my Modern Literature focus in college) and my willingness to follow gorgeous imagery anywhere, anytime. Feel free to ask me more about any of my choices; I'm happy to gush.
\nI also mention in the article that I'm preceded by THREE GENERATIONS(!) of poets on my mother's side. Thanks to my mom, my grandfather William Parker, and my great-grandfather William Lee Popham for that legacy!
\nWishing you some great new lyrical prose favorites! If you like my work, you may also want to check out the BookDNA list of Ominously Atmospheric Stories for Winter's Night for suggestons, as Wings Unfurled does have a good share of its own haunting. Also take a gander at their new Magicians (Fantasy) shelf on their bookshelves.
\n", "date_published": "2022-12-04T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-04-interview-at-the-speculative-fiction-showcase/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-12-04-interview-at-the-speculative-fiction-showcase/", "title": "The Speculative Fiction Showcase", "content_html": "At the Speculative Fiction Showcase blog, Jessica Rydill shares a nice interview with me on a number of topics, many of them related to Wings Unfurled.
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/12/04203845/Speculative-Fiction-Showcase.jpg\")
I love when interviews actually focus on the books themselves - most folks want to know more about the writing process than the story, so it was refreshing to take a deeper dive into the world on the page. Learn what headspaces the characters are in at the beginning of the work, my future writing plans, and even why my replicator order is "Absinthe verte, one cube."
\nBe sure to read it here! Thanks to Jessica for the opportunity.
\n", "date_published": "2022-11-25T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-11-03-preorder-wings-unfurled/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-11-03-preorder-wings-unfurled/", "title": "Preorder Wings Unfurled!", "content_html": "I am delighted to share that you can now pre-order Wings Unfurled. Officially Book 2 of the Wings Rising series, Wings Unfurled releases on December 6, just a little over a month from now. Just in time for those holiday gifts, right? *wink wink nudge nudge*
\n
The print version is $18.95 and the ebook is $8.95.
\nAt the Meerkat Press listing page for the book, you can see all the ordering options. But if there’s one thing authors know, it’s that we should give you direct ordering links to your favorite service whenever possible! So here they are:
\n\nYou can also order it from your fave local bookstore!
\nNow, the first question you’re going to ask me is which vendor should you buy it from so that I get the most royalties? The answer is honestly that I get the same royalties no matter where you buy it from. But if you’d like to support my publisher, then ordering directly from Meerkat Press is best.
\nThe second question is “So, what's it about, Becca?” Well, here’s the backcover blurb!
\n\n\nThe vicious claren that used to plague the reunited countries of Medua and Lansera are long gone. So what are the new dark patches appearing in Lady Serra's second sight?
\nShe rushes to King Albrecht to report the danger, only to discover that he's ailing and Vesperi, Prince Janto's wife, has fled far to the north to grieve her disappeared daughter.
\nVesperi still wields the silver flame, possesses all the authority she's ever wanted, but nothing can heal the wound of a missing child. When the silver moon Esye begins to fade, a gnawing fear preys on her for the first time since she escaped her father's cold rule.
\nOminous creatures once thought mythical are now rampaging through the countryside. Janto sends Serra to investigate. But without her friendship and Vesperi's love, he fears he cannot slay this challenge. He failed to find his own daughter, after all.
\nTo save the Lanserim, the legendary bird with three heads must fly again. Will Janto, Vesperi, and Serra find the strength to raise it? Or will this menace, with the might to drain a moon, devour them first?
\n
I hope that gets you excited to read about the new adventures and challenges Vesperi, Janto, and Serra face, six years after the events of Wings Unseen. I also shared a geeky writer note on book structure with my newsletter subscribers this past weekend, so I'm going ot share it with everyone now: I didn’t know that Wings Unfurled’s organization would so closely follow Wing Unseen’s when I started writing it, but I’m delighted that it worked out that way. Wings Unseen is laid out in two parts: The Breeding Season and The Culling. Wings Unfurled also has two parts: Moonfall and Moonrise. Two stanzas of prophetic prophesy are also very important to both plots! Here’s a teaser of the first two lines of the new prophecy from Wings Unfurled:
\n\n\nWhen leaps the mighty cantalere the dark brother drains his foes.
\n
Uncover the rest of that prophecy and what it portends for the Lanserim by preordering now!
\n", "date_published": "2022-11-03T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-07-25-wings-unfurled-cover-art-reveal/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2022-07-25-wings-unfurled-cover-art-reveal/", "title": "Cover Reveal for Wings Unfurled!", "content_html": "Last week, Meerkat Press revealed the cover art for Wings Unfurled, the sequel to my epic fantasy novel Wings Unseen!
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/25060236/image001.png\")
There it is! I especially love how beautiful the silver stag is and the vivid color scheme. It's quite a different style of fantasy cover from Wings Unseen, and that's because we're embracing the fact that my writing style is more adult epic fantasy than it is YA. As Wings Unfurled takes place six years after the events of Wings Unseen, Serra, Janto, and Vesperi are all firmly now into adulthood as well. Thus, the cover art has been redesigned with more of a mass market fantasy appeal.
\nObviously, the silver stag is familiar iconography for fans of the first book, but there are other aspects of the cover, especially when you compare it with the new cover art for Wings Unfurled, that'll gain more resonance as you read the story.
\nWhat's that? New cover art for Wings Unseen, too? That's right!
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/25060846/image002.png\")
Branding is an important part of book sales, so to keep the brand recognition strong between Wings Unseen and Wings Unfurled, Meerkat Press has redesigned the cover for Book 1 as well. I do miss the little claren bugs dotting the font, but I think the two new designs go smashingly together. And now, I have two editions of the same book—that's honestly a really fun thing as a writer. But if you still want to pick up the first edition of Wings Unseen with the original cover, act fast!
\n![\"wings](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/01/9781946154002-WingsUnseen-CoverFINAL_03-692x1024.jpg\")
For the time being, you can still purchase Wings Unseen with this cover from Amazon, Meerkat Press, and Bookshop. The change will be made closer to Wings Unfurled release date of December 5, 2022, when the Wings Rising series takes to the sky!
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/25061453/Wings-Unfurled-cover-release.jpg\")
This is publishing in the time of COVID, so there is always a chance that date may change, but I should have pre-order details available next month. 🤞And with its publication, I'll officially be the proud creator of a published series! Will it become a trilogy? The faintest of ideas are jangling around in my head, but I do have some other manuscripts for other series that I've been meaning to shape up for a while...
\nI hope you like the cover art for both books! Want me to explain what the other significant differences are in the covers between the books? TOO BAD. You'll have to read it to figure it out in full. 😉
\n", "date_published": "2022-07-25T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2021-07-21-she-could-be-me-bards-sages-quarterly/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2021-07-21-she-could-be-me-bards-sages-quarterly/", "title": ""She Could Be Me" Reappears at Bards And Sages Quarterly!", "content_html": ""She Could Be Me" was one of my very first short stories published, back in 2010. Sadly, its original publisher, the e-zine Flashes in the Dark, no longer exists. But I'm delighted to announce that Bards And Sages Quarterly has rescued "She Could Be Me" from obscurity!
\n![\"bards](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/21210941/Bards-April-2021-She-Could-Be-Me.jpg\")
This issue of the magazine came out in April 2021 — yes, I'm behind in sharing publication news, AGAIN. You can pick up the e-book for $3 or the print version for $9. I quite like Editor Julie Ann Dawson's short description of my story, in this collection of eight short stories in all:
\n\n\nA peculiar phone call from her husband is only the first in a strange series of events that upends a woman’s well-manicured life in "She Could Be Me."
\n
I hope you'll pick up a copy of the April 2021 Bards And Sages Quarterly and give it a read! Our new kitty, Bemo, did. ;)
\n![\"bards](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/21212155/bemo-bards-3-768x768.jpg\")
I'm quite proud of "Fresh Catch of the Day." This fantasy story appears in A Quiet Afternoon 2, the second volume of an anthology series of low-fi speculative fiction from Grace&Victory Publications.
\n![\"a](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/21222521/GV_AQA2_cover.jpg\")
Low-fi spec fic aims "for a peaceful break from a stressful world." Volume 1 contained my "An Inconvenient Quest", and I'm delighted that the G&V team thought "Fresh Catch of the Day" would make a great addition to Volume 2.
\nOften, when I'm writing a new short story, I'm doing it with a challenge in mind. For "Fresh Catch of the Day," that challenge was writing a short story with a solid plot contained within 1,000 words. Oh, I've written plenty stories of that length before! But those have all tended more toward the poetic prose side of my writing, generating atmosphere and character more vividly than the plot.
\nEnter Jiàn, an older woman with a middling magical gift compared to everyone else in her world. Hearing about a special seafood catch at the local market leads her to make a perhaps hasty decision to pursue it with a single-minded focus.
\nYou'll have to order A Quiet Afternoon 2 to see if she pulls it off! I ultimately pulled off the story at just over 1,100 words. Like Jiàn, I know sometimes you have to push yourself past your limits to get the job done. ;)
\nA Quiet Afternoon 2 contains 27 low-fi tales. It's available in ebook formats from Grace&Victory directly at Payhip. The anthology is $9 CAD, so a little over $8 in USD.
\nI do hope you enjoy it! Here are the first few lines of "A Fresh Catch of the Day" to whet your appetite.
\n\n\nJiàn, seventy-one but as spry as sixty-three, pondered which vendor she’d like to barter with to use her water-spouting skills for lunch. A spark of light about as bright and fast-fizzling as a firecracker caught her eye. Ah, the light-weavers are at work.
\n
And a photograph to set the mood:
\n![\"oysters,](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/21222655/NZWine-14-768x1024.jpg\")
An oyster chef at work.
I hope you enjoy "Fresh Catch of the Day!"
\n", "date_published": "2021-07-21T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2021-03-30-wings-unfurled-meerkat-press-2022/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2021-03-30-wings-unfurled-meerkat-press-2022/", "title": "Wings Unfurled Flies in 2022!", "content_html": "I am so delighted to announce that Wings Unfurled, the sequel to my epic fantasy novel Wings Unseen, will be coming out in 2022! Meerkat Press will publish the sequel, just as they did Wings Unseen. Here’s their official announcement of the upcoming publication.
\n![\"\"](\"https://mcusercontent.com/93d9e5c66fa0eb63dc1bfcee9/images/d766fc11-73d6-413d-ba32-2b87e08a1f65.jpg\")
Some of you may remember that I wrote Wings Unseen as a standalone novel. Or rather, I first dreamed of it as a trilogy in the early 2000s, but by the time I seriously started writing it, in 2009, the going advice was that a first-time novelist couldn’t get a multi-book deal. So I shifted gears, focusing on writing the full story in one book instead. That made for a much tighter narrative, but by the time I began shopping the manuscript around, the collective wisdom in speculative fiction was back to recommending series of books as the best bet for a writer, first-time or established!
\nLuckily, Meerkat Press took the risk on Wings Unseen as a standalone book, and I’ve always been happy that I could tell people that the story is complete in and of itself.
\n Such a shiny, pretty debut novel!
But after its release, my publisher, Tricia Meeks, the driving force behind Meerkat, mentioned that she’d be interested in a second book. So of course the wheels of a new story for Janto, Vesperi, and Serra began turning!
\nMy wheels don’t turn very fast. Wings Unseen was published in 2017, and I didn’t begin writing Wings Unfurled in earnest until October 2019. Yet somehow, I managed to send off the manuscript’s third draft for consideration by Meerkat in March 2020, and they purchased it! That’s the fastest I have ever written a book, for sure – faster than I’ve written most short stories, to be honest. I’m definitely someone who puts manuscripts aside for a while, letting time do the solving of plot puzzles before coming back with fresh eyes.
\nSo what’s Wings Unfurled about? Well, I’m not going to spoil it, but it begins about six years after Janto, Vesperi, and Serra have rid Lansera and its formerly Meduan lands of the invisible plague of claren and the thrall of the Guj. I won’t tell you more than that for now – except to tease that there’s a fourth, and briefly a fifth, new point-of-view character in the book. Not a pigeon this time! But rest assured, there are plenty of feathers left to lash in Lansera.
\nI'll be dropping hints about Wings Unfurled along the way to its publication, leaving you a tasty trail to follow until then. Maybe I'll even share a recipe for the lemon cakes that Janto, and another family member, so loves! Waits are always easier to endure when there's a snack.
\n![\"grandview](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/03/30210959/Screenshot-2021-03-30-140929-1024x1017.jpg\")
That image is of Pittsburgh's Grandview Bakery's almond cupcakes - NOT Mar Pina's lemon cakes in Lansera, but not far off from what I imagine...
\n", "date_published": "2021-03-30T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2021-07-07-video-she-could-be-me-and-fresh-catch-of-the-day-at-story-hour/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2021-07-07-video-she-could-be-me-and-fresh-catch-of-the-day-at-story-hour/", "title": "Story Hour!", "content_html": "In March, I was delighted to appear on Story Hour, a weekly speculative fiction reading. Audiences can join the Zoom recording directly or they can watch live or in replays on Facebook. This is the second time I've read for Story Hour, and I have to say, it's great fun that a reading exists that so appreciates the short story form. I read two short stories, "She Could Be Me" and "Fresh Catch of the Day," during my half of the episode. At the time, they were upcoming publications (or re-publication, in the case of "She Could Be Me"), but as life has continued the untimely delay of my posting updates here, both have since come out!
\nI'll have posts very soon announcing where you can find the stories. In the meantime, enjoy my Story Hour reading! It takes place in the first half of the episode, and I was delighted to read with Edward Austin Hall, who reads in the second half of the hour. Do note that Edward's excerpts are on the graphic side of horror, should that be a concern for you. Mine are both fairly lightweight this time around, one Twilight Zonesque horror short and one low-fi fantasy tale.
\n\nThanks so much to Daniel Marcus and Laura Blackwell, who host Story Hour, for the invite back!
\n", "date_published": "2021-03-17T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2021-02-19-submission-caws-audio-centropic-oracle/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2021-02-19-submission-caws-audio-centropic-oracle/", "title": "Listen to "Submission Caws" at the Centropic Oracle!", "content_html": "In the madness of moving, I haven't had time to share this news: "Submission Caws" received an audio production by the Centropic Oracle!
\n![\"centropic](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/01/28221958/centropic-oracle.jpg\")
The recording was released on January 29, which was the day we were originally scheduled for escrow to close. The release of "Submission Caws" stayed on schedule, though our escrow took a few days longer...
\n...but that's another story! This story is a fictional rant about the process of submitting manuscripts out for publication. It is funny and silly, particularly if you are also a writer undertaking this process on a regular basis. It's a fantasy take on the concept, with recipes for magic spells subbed in for manuscripts themselves. It ends with a dare that the editors at the Centropic Oracle took, just like Defenestration did before them when the story was first published in 2019.
\nJill Raymond performed the audio version, and I quite enjoy her take on the story—the character of Betty, a bubbly and annoyingly successful composer of magical recipes, comes through loud and clear. To listen to or read "Submission Caws," head to Youtube here:
\n\nOr of course, you can read "Submission Caws" at its original home at Defenestration, right here.
\nThe first few lines to entice you onward:
\n\n\nA black crow swoops onto the open window ledge, and yearning gushes from deep within me. I tamp down the emotion swifter than the crow can deliver its charge: a rolled parchment that bangs against the bookshelves as it flips toward the floor. The crow musses its feathers and launches into the air, off to retrieve its next assignment. Soon, someone else will receive fresh misery. I retrieve the parchment, find it quaint that the Gate Keepers use it for correspondence when they could just place a call by sandspelling. The parchment’s seal displays a sentinel guarding a mountain of scrolls piled behind an ornate, locked gate.
\n
And some photographic inspiration:
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/01/28225042/Screenshot_2020-01-28-When-Should-You-Form-Gate-Your-Content-.png\")
It's award nomination season in the speculative fiction world, which means it's time for me to roll out my annual review of my publications for the previous year! And by annual, I mean, I haven't done one since...2018? Oh wait, 2018 was the only year I've ever done one? Um...oops? But I am recently inspired by Rosemary Claire Smith's "Reason to Publicize Your Award-Eligible Works" article to to give it a go. So here goes!
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/02/02065500/My-Post.jpg\")
Yes, I had seven publications to my name in the last year! That's my highest total yet in terms of sheer numbers—I'm around a 15% acceptance rate at the moment, which is pretty gosh-darn good. Writing is a rejection grind, so anytime my acceptance rate is above 10% for stories I've sent out to be considered for publication, I'm feeling darn good. And I do feel good about the quality of my work published in 2020! Unfortunately, of those seven publications, only a couple are actually eligible for nomination for the Nebula, Hugo, Locus, or other awards of your nominating choice. Those are....
\nSo I guess those first two stories really are the only ones I have eligible for nominations this awards season despite my great publishing year. With seven publications added to my grand total of thirty-one, I'm not at all upset about that. If you read either "It's Only Vampire" or "An Inconvenient Quest" and liked them enough to give them a nomination, then you have my thanks.
\nAnd if not...more Stories by Rebecca Gomez Farrell are certainly coming your way in 2021. In fact, a new recording of my "Submission Caws" is up now at the Centropic Oracle (learn more)! One of my earliest stories, "She Could be Me," will make its way into Bards & Sages Quarterly in the spring. My brand-new "Fresh Catch of the Day" is coming out in A Quiet Afternoon 2 as well. And more new things that I can't quite speak about yet...but soon, very soon.
\nThat's it for my second-ever awards eligibility post! Maybe next year, I'll have three pieces that'll qualify. Fingers crossed, or rather, poised over the keyboard, ready to write.
\n", "date_published": "2021-02-02T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2021-01-27-its-only-vampire-fark-in-the-time-of-covid-2020-fark-fiction-anthology/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2021-01-27-its-only-vampire-fark-in-the-time-of-covid-2020-fark-fiction-anthology/", "title": "It's Only Vampire Published in FARK in the Time of COVID: The 2020 Fark Fiction Anthology!", "content_html": "I am pleased to announce that my humorous horror tale, "It's Only Vampire," appears in FARK in the Time of COVID: The 2020 Fark Fiction Anthology! The anthology was released in December 2020.
\n![\"fark](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/01/26235304/Screenshot_2020-12-24-Fark-in-the-Time-of-Covid-The-2020-Fark-Fiction-Anthology-Kindle-edition-by-Community-Fark-Angel...-335x500.jpg\")
I have a soft spot for the main characters in "It's Only Vampire." Vlad and Ji, a pair of old-timer vampires who live in a brave new world of vampire liberation, decades after vampires rose from the shadows to conquer the Earth. You see, vampires come into existence when humans write about them. After a fan fiction-based population boom, they finally had enough numbers to take their place as the dominant predator on the planet.
\nBut ancient, sophisticated vampires like Vlad and Ji, still have a few concerns. Avoiding sunlight and garlic cloves, certainly. But also getting along with the newer generations of bloodsuckers. Some disagreements are only human—er, vampire—in nature.
\nHere are the first few lines of "It's Only Vampire" to entice your purchase:
\n\n\nBy the time Vlad's paper-thin skin was sizzling in the sunshine as he sped down the zipline, I knew the sixth day of my nine hundred and ninety-fourth year had gone horribly wrong. Had the humans felt the same when we stepped from the shadows a decade ago to reveal our existence? We took charge before the mortals had the chance to form a resistance.
\nIt started in late twilight with the piquant aroma of coffee brewing. Not the vampire takeover of Earth, but the sequence of events leading to Vlad's unfortunate circumstance. Desire for my daily cuppa had uncreaked my old joints as Vlad and I waited for the steeping coffee on a café's mahogany bench. Mahogany is a sign of exceptional taste—it makes quite elegant caskets.
\n
![\"it's](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/01/27000920/Only-Vampire-pg-1-379x500.jpg\")
This is my second time having a short story appear in the annual Fark.com fiction anthologies - the first was "Garbage" in 2017. Like its predecessors, FARK in the Time of COVID: The 2020 Fark Fiction Anthology, donates its proceeds to a children's charity chosen by Fark.com posters. You can order it on Amazon as a paperback or read the ebook via Kindle Unlimited.
\n![\"it's](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/01/27000915/RGF-and-Its-Only-Vampire-768x714.jpg\")
Obligatory author & book photo
What is Fark.com? Why, it's one of the oldest, and most irreverent, news aggregator websites still around. Fark.com first came into existence in 1999. I'm mostly a lurker on their message boards, but I've always been a fan of the site and its humorous news headlines and epic discussion threads. Oh, and their taste in fiction. ;) I'm a fan of that, too. The annual anthology was born from Fark's weekly discussion thread for writers.
\nI wouldn't leave you without a little photographic inspiration for "It's Only Vampire" to get your imaginations churning.
\n![\"Ben](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/01/27000349/Canopy-tour-010-500x375.jpg\")
By far, my most successful short story to date has been "Thlush-A-Lum," a horror tale. It follows the coming of age of Markella, a young woman who's always been especially attuned to sound and to the way her parents keep her at a distance. Perhaps they've had good reason, she learns.
\nI'm excited to share that "Thlush-A-Lum" was reprinted for a third time this past fall. It appears in It Calls From the Sky, an anthology of horror short stories on the title's theme.
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/01/26221707/It-Call-From.gif\")
It's published by Eerie River and edited by A. Robertson-Webb and M. River. It Calls From the Sky can be purchased in hardcover, paperback, or e-book versions from Amazon here. Reviews have been great for the collection, and it includes 20+ short stories in all! I'm happy that "Thlush-A-Lum" has found such a great fourth home.
\n![\"rebecca](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/01/26222040/RGF-and-It-Calls-From-The-Sky-768x768.jpg\")
A full publication history for "Thlush-A-Lum" can be found here.
\n", "date_published": "2021-01-26T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2020-09-15-hobgoblin-whigmaleeries-wives-tales-anthology/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2020-09-15-hobgoblin-whigmaleeries-wives-tales-anthology/", "title": ""Hobgoblin" Now Available in the Whigmaleeries & Wives' Tales anthology!", "content_html": "I'm excited to announce that "Hobgoblin," my flash fiction take on an old fairy tale trope, appears in Whigmaleeries & Wives' Tales from Jayhenge Publishing! This anthology, which just released last week, is a collection of over 400 pages of new fairy tale takes - or retellings of lost knowledge, if you'd like. 😉 You can purchase it here at Amazon, in ebook or paperback formats. Here's the backcover blurb, and a little bit of the introduction, which I quite like:
\n\n\nSuperstitions, Legends, Folklore and Old Wives' Tales--where do they come from? How did they get started? What's the "real" reason we throw spilled salt over our shoulder or avoid stepping on a crack? What were the old women really afraid of when someone broke a mirror? Delve into the imagination and enjoy our theories!
\nKnowledge once, was tough to come by. Like anything of value, various entities have tried to control it, hoard it, keep the rabble from using said knowledge, whether it was how to splint a broken leg or how to best take care of the crops. When writing was developed, keeping knowledge bound became harder in some ways, but humans have been around far longer than the written word. Before the written word, knowledge had to be passed through memory by the spoken word. And few things retain knowledge like stories. Wives’ tales, folklore, mythology; all of these make up the first FAQ of humanity, a knowledge base that didn’t respond to search terms or limiters, but characters and plot...
\n
![\"whigmaleeries,](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/09/14234925/temp_pb_cover-1024x740.jpg\")
Its appearance in the Whigmaleeries & Wives' Tales anthology is "Hobgoblin's" second printing—the story was a runner-up for the Fall 2017 WOW! Women on Writing Flash Fiction contest, and it was published by WOW! Women on Writing in February 2018. Here are "Hobgoblin's" first few lines to entice you to make a purchase:
\n\n\nHobgoblin, they name me. The word’s consonance fills me with venom. If squeezed together on the page, the letters would ooze disgust: hob. . . gob . . . lin. It’s a corruption of my time-honored service and an insult to my squat and sturdy frame. To call me that and wonder why I torment them? I feel the evidence is plain.
\n
And some photographic mood-setting for the tale...
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/01/28215906/hobgoblin-curious-fictions-1024x683.jpg\")
I was inspired to write "Hobgoblin" for a prompt for Saturday Night Special, an ongoing open mic series. The prompt was "heroes and villains," and this poetic, somewhat nostalgic hobgoblin character came to mind. I went for a hobgoblin because they provide a rougher canvas than most fae creatures, not being quite as well-established in our communal zeitgeist. I knew I wanted to play with a character that did not consider itself a villain, but found that it could not endure the unkindess of others without giving in to their perceptions.
\nI hope you will read and enjoy "Hobgoblin" in Whigmaleeries & Wives' Tales! I'm looking forward to this anthology greatly myself, as I love the topic. Plus, I need to figure out what a whigmaleerie is...
\n", "date_published": "2020-09-15T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2020-08-04-wws-submission-conference/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2020-08-04-wws-submission-conference/", "title": "Empowering your Community: A Talk with WWS Chapter Leads", "content_html": "The WWS Submission Conference is a one day, online event on Saturday, August 8, 2020, beginning at 10 am PT. I'll be appearing on the panel entitled "Empowering your Community: A Talk with WWS Chapter Leads" at 2:15 pm.
\nThis is a topic near and dear to me, as I'm a strong supporter in the importance of writer communities for keeping up motivation and perseverance in a writer's career. To that end, I have been a chapter lead with Women Who Submit (WWS) for the past few years, running one of their Bay Area chapters.
\nWhat's WWS? Well, they are the hosts of this conference and a national organization devoted to empowering women and nonbinary writers by creating physical and virtual spaces for sharing information, supporting and encouraging submissions to literary journals, and clarifying the submission and publication process.
\n![\"women](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/08/04030631/WWS-conference.jpg\")
If you fit those criteria: a writer who identifies as a woman and/or nonbinary, you are welcome to attend this free conference! Tickets will be limited to 100 participants, and registration closes on Thursday. You can register by completing this Google form. Here's the schedule for the conference!
\nI am so excited for this conference! I love watching WWS expand its outreach, as it has done over the last several years. The more of us getting our worked published, the better! And supporting each other through the often disheartening submission process is one way to do that.
\n", "date_published": "2020-08-08T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2020-07-20-story-hour-reading/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2020-07-20-story-hour-reading/", "title": "Story Hour on 7/22!", "content_html": "Here's a recording of the event described below!
\n\nThis coming Wednesday, I'll be appearing at Story Hour, a weekly reading of speculative fiction hosted by authors Daniel Marcus and Laura Blackwell. Story Hour has only been in existence since April, but already, this reading series has included a ton of great authors in our field, and I am delighted to join their ranks. I'll be reading with Laura Davy, who's a friend and a lovely person and author.
\nStory Hour focuses on the short form, preferring that stories can be read in full during each author's half of the show. Luckily, I already have a handful of short stories recently published to share! Definitely, "An Inconvenient Quest" from the A Quiet Afternoon anthology will make an appearance. Likely, my 100-word non-fiction tale, "Some Who Wander," will round out my reading. And perhaps I'll have time to fit in another story that'll be reprinted soon...
\nI hope to see you Wednesday at 7pm PT! You can join Story Hour either through Zoom or through Facebook Live. Links to both are here at their website.
\n", "date_published": "2020-07-22T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2020-06-30-some-who-wander-now-published-by-intrinsick/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2020-06-30-some-who-wander-now-published-by-intrinsick/", "title": ""Some Who Wander" now published by Intrinsick!", "content_html": ""Some Who Wander" is a short, but not sweet, piece of micro-nonfiction that appears at Instrinsick magazine.
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/06/30024139/intrinsick.png\")
What does micro-nonfiction mean? It means this creative work is less than a hundred words long, and it is an account of one of my many adventures while taking a walk. It turned out slightly better than the time I fell into a blackberry thicket and ended up with poison oak for weeks . . .
\nBecause this tale is so swift, I'm not going to share a lead-in quote. Instead, I'll explain the story's title.
\n\n\nAll that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
\nJRR Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
\n
Now, Tolkien is writing about Strider here, a ranger in Middle Earth who wanders purposefully through the wilds. Strider, of course, will soon be revealed to be Aragon, the rightful king of Gondor. It is one of my favorite bits from the Lord of the Rings series. But while "not all who wander are lost," my title, "Some Who Wander," is meant to imply that some who wander are, indeed, quite lost, as you'll learn when you read what happened to me.
\nI will also give you some photographic inspiration to set the mood:
\n![\"rebecca](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/06/30025802/Ireland-2019-581-683x1024.jpg\")
You can read "Some Who Wander" here.
\n", "date_published": "2020-06-30T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2020-06-30-an-inconvenient-quest-quiet-afternoon/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2020-06-30-an-inconvenient-quest-quiet-afternoon/", "title": ""An Inconvenient Quest" published in A Quiet Afternoon anthology!", "content_html": "My short story, "An Inconvenient Quest," appears in A Quiet Afternoon, an anthology of Low-Fi speculative fiction from Grace&Victory Publications. The anthology is due out on July 1, 2020.
\n![\"a](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/06/30030601/A-quiet-afternoon.jpg\")
What's Low-Fi speculative fiction? Foreward writer Laura DeHaan describes it as "The stakes are low. The expectations are reasonable. The resolutions are quietly satisfactory. Problems are solved with words, not violence. And sometimes, not much happens. There might not even be an appreciable amount of fantasy or science fiction. Still, it’s Low-Fi. It feels cosy. It reads easy. It enjoys the little victories."
\nMy "An Inconvenient Quest" fits right in with that billing, though for the main character, a funny-smelling sprite named Levolin, the stakes are rather high indeed - the sprite queen is sick! Levolin must wield what he's always viewed as a fault to save the queen, who's never found any fault in him. Here are the beginning lines of the story:
\n\n\nRaindrop-sized jellyfish skittered out of Levolin’s reach, a familiar reaction to his presence. The sprite’s people had skittered away from him since his youth, once his unique pheromone sequence had matured into a less-than-pleasing blend. Most sprites enjoyed each other’s scents. Every feeling, person, and experience had its own redolent signature: roasted cacao beans, or rain on warm asphalt, or perhaps, peacefulness. Levolin’s just happened to be unappealing.
\n
I do hope you'll follow Levolin on his aromatic journey into purposeful mischief and heroism. A Quiet Afternoon will be available in e-book formats on its page at the Grace&Victory website on July 1, 2020.
\nHere is some photographic inspiration as you read the story. Just imagine yourself as a tiny sprite, drawn in by an irresistible smell . . .
\n![\"rebecca](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/06/30033308/IMG_20200618_141331_766-819x1024.jpg\")
I hope you enjoy "An Inconvenient Quest" and all the stories in A Quiet Afternoon.
Tomorrow afternoon, at 3:30pm PDT, I'll be moderating and participating in the "Forming and Sustaining a Successful Writing or Critique Group" panel at the 2020 SFWA Nebula Conference, which of course, is taking place online.
\n![\"SFWA,](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/30212142/Nebulas-Twitter-2-1024x512.jpg\")
The panel topic is one that's dear to my heart, both in terms of becoming a better writer and in terms of building writer communities that can support us through this often challenging career:
\n\n\nWriting is often a solitary endeavor–and with the current pandemic, it has become even more so. Writing and critique groups don’t eliminate the aspects of writing that can only be done solo, but a good group can serve as both a social support net as well as providing trusted feedback. Panelists will discuss the factors that go into building a successful group, both online and in-person, and what they’ve learned about keeping one going.
\n
My fellow panelists include A. T. Greenblatt, A.C. Wise, Vylar Kaftan, and Curtis C. Chen, which makes the majority of them finalists for this year's Nebula Awards, the ceremony for which takes place tonight at 5pm PDT. Regardless of whether they win or lose, they are sure to contribute valuable insight to this topic.
\nIf you are an attendee of #Nebulas2020, you can join us at the link below tomorrow. The panel will only be available to attendees of the conference at this time.
\n(https://events.sfwa.org/events/forming-and-sustaining-a-successful-writing-or-critique-group/)
\nI hope to "see" you there!
\n", "date_published": "2020-05-31T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2020-04-07-wishing-for-more-helios-quarterly/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2020-04-07-wishing-for-more-helios-quarterly/", "title": "Wishing for More Now Available in Helios Quarterly!", "content_html": "I am thrilled that my romantic urban fantasy tale, "Wishing for More," appears in Helios Quarterly Magazine 4.4, which came out in December 2019 (why yes, I am behind on promo).
\n![\"helios](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/05070059/Helios-739x1024.jpg\")
In "Wishing for More," a dastardly magical plant outwits stubborn Jewls, forcing her to accept rescue from her childhood friend Cesar. Both newly graduated from Jinn School, Jewls and Cesar set out for a night of adventure, foraging for more mystical plants Jewls can sell to pay the bills and avoid disappointing the Jinn Cadre. Will she use up all her wishing power before she realizes what she wishes for most?
\nThe first lines:
\n\n\nJust a little bit more.
\nJewls placed her hand on the guardrail meant to stop people from doing exactly what she was about to: hang over the edge of a desolate ocean cliff. An alep’s hound plant grew about five feet down the cliff’s rockface, its cornucopia of dagger-shaped leaves folded tightly in a nautilus spiral. Jewls had parked her car by the highway and made her way down an abandoned lighthouse’s access road, on a night blowing icy mist, to harvest it.
\nShe shuffled on her stomach over the rim, reaching with her free hand, but the alep’s hound darted left and right, avoiding her straining fingers. A wave crashed against the jagged boulders, sending up a high plume of seawater that drenched her. Brrr. She tried not to ponder those depths, focused on the plant, leaning farther—
\n
Helios Quarterly 4.4 contains four other short stories in addition to "Wishing for More." Get your copy now!
\nAnd here's a photo inspiration to set the story's mood:
\n![\"c-shell](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/04/07200316/wishing-for-more-photo-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo copyright C-Shell Photo
I'm so thrilled that "What Scattered in the Wind" is reprinted in the Accolades anthology from Women Who Submit Lit. The anthology launches today at the AWP conference in San Antonio.
\n![\"accolades,](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/05070057/accolades-690x1024.jpg\")
"What Scattered in the Wind" first appeared in Little Letters on the Skin, a chapbook/anthology (more info here). It's a flash fiction horror tale of an older woman who wakes to find unwanted, and long forgotten, visitors to her isolated desert mesa.
\nWhat makes this reprint so special is that Accolades is a celebration of the submissions, acceptances, and publications of members of the national Women Who Submit Lit organization, of which I run a local chapter.
\n![\"women](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/05073208/WWS-FINAL-LOGO-500x462.jpg\"){kind=logo}
Every other month, I spend two hours submitting out my work for publication and encouraging other writers to do the same. Accolades is proof of how effective that support and time investment is, as all the works featured within it are reprints of writing WWSL members have had published elsewhere—all that perseverance pays off!
\nAccolades is available in print from Amazon for $15. Here are the leading lines into "What Scattered in the Wind":
\n\n\nHollow rasps of laughter pestered her to wakefulness. Any noise would have done the same, though she clamped her eyelids together in protest. For years, Ruth had heard nothing but the teakettle’s hiss or the slow scrape of her cane against the camper’s floor panels. The creaking sound of her voice rarely interrupted the silence. Unlike the other wayfarers, Ruth had never developed the habit of talking to herself. She didn’t care to hear what she’d have to say.
\n“Hee-hee, hee-he-heee!“
\n
And a photo to set the mood:
\n![\"what](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/07/ProsserWA-010-500x333.jpg\")
Starting Friday, I'll be attending FOGcon (website) in Walnut Creek, which is a local convention for speculative fiction writers and enthusiasts. It runs March 6-8 this year, and yes, it is still on despite the coronavirus threat. As I am not in a high-risk population, I plan to attend.
\n![\"fogcon,](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/05070530/fogcon2020.jpg\")
You can buy a membership for a full day's events at FOGcon whether you come Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or all of the above. It's a small con, but that's part of the reason why I enjoy going so much--there's so much opportunity to check in with other writers and fans that live locally.
These are the panels and readings I'll be appearing at:
\n-Food in Genre Fiction, panelist, Fri, 3:00–4:15 pm. Inspired by Mary Anne Mohanraj's latest publication being a cookbook, let's think about food and its place in genre fiction! In stories where a stranger visits a new culture, we often hear about their food choices (Becky Chambers's "Record of a Spaceborn Few" comes to mind). Food can be a marker of similarity or difference between people, and ultimately, it is a necessity. When our worlds change, what happens to the food in them?
\n-Choosing Your Own Adventures, panelist, Sat, 10:30–11:45 am. For many of us, the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books were an early exposure to speculative fiction—and we remember them with fondness. They are also experiencing a pop-culture resurgence. Panelists will discuss some of their favorite examples, what is different about the books (both the experience of writing and reading them), and their influence on the wider culture.
\n-People Aren't Food: Cliches in Description, panelist, Sun, 10:30–11:45 am. Her heart-shaped face. His chiseled jaw. He's ruggedly handsome. Her rose-colored complexion. The women are stunningly beautiful or haggardly ugly. Her cinnamon visage, his coffee-colored arms. He stared stonily. Women sob. Men weep. What are better ways to describe actual people and what they do, without falling into gendered and racialized tropes?
\n-Reading #10, Sun, 1:30–2:45 pm, reading with Elwin Cotwin, Jr., and Andrea Stewart. During this event, I'll giving away a copy of Wings Unseen, and Andrea will also have a few books for audience members to hopefully win! Enticements for coming to the last reading of a convention are always appreciated.
\n![\"fogcon](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/05205808/FOGcon-2020-reading-1024x711.jpg\")
And you can often find me hanging out in the lobby bar. Come say hi! Wings Unseen will be available in the vendor's room (or ask me if they run out!).
\n", "date_published": "2020-03-05T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2020-01-31-treasure-reprinted-in-best-indie-speculative-fiction-2019/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2020-01-31-treasure-reprinted-in-best-indie-speculative-fiction-2019/", "title": ""Treasure" Reprinted in Best Indie Speculative Fiction 2019!", "content_html": "Great news! "Treasure" has been reprinted in the Best Indie Speculative Fiction 2019 anthology from Bards & Sages! As Bards & Sages describes it, "This collection is our annual celebration of the small press and independent publishing community."
\nBest Indie Speculative Fiction 2019 features twelve short stories of fantasy, science fiction, and horror that have been published over the past two years, and it came out in November 2019. Currently, it's available from Amazon here.
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/01/28231107/Screenshot_2020-01-28-Best-Indie-Speculative-Fiction-November-2019-Darin-Hlavaz-Sarah-Gribble-Liam-Hogan-Henry-Gasko-Em....png\")
“Treasure,” a fantasy fable, was originally published in the Dark Luminous Wings anthology from Pole to Pole Publishing. Here are the first few lines:
\n\n\nWind thundered past the slats of the storage cabin. Hidden within a barrel of fish guts, the stowaway braced herself for lurching. But when the ship pitched sharply sternside, Enkid knew it was no ordinary squall. A storm this bad would force the captain out of his quarters despite his usual drunken stupor, creating an opportunity to filch the beveled, green-glass vial he wore around his neck. It held hemlock tincture, a rare poison that would come in handy for someone in Enkid’s line of work.
\n
And here is a photo I took during a Paperhand Puppet Intervention show, which may, or may not have, influenced a certain element of this tale. Enjoy!
\n![\"city](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/07/cityoffrogs29-500x333.jpg\")
Starting 8/14, I'll be in Dublin, Ireland, for Worldcon 77, or Worldcon 2019, if you prefer. Whatever number you affix, Worldcon is the annual meeting of the World Science Fiction Convention, the longest running fan convention in, well, the world. This year, I am a program participant, meaning I will be very, very busy moderating and being on panels, signing books, et cetera, and so on. I will post that schedule soon. But when my presence is not required at Worldcon itself, you can bet I will be checking out every foodie wonder in Dublin that I can get to--and not just the hotel bar.
\nMy hit list:
\n1. The Guinness Storehouse: This is where the famed stout is made! I'm not much of a beer drinker, but I can't be in Dublin without checking this world wonder out.
\n2. Caramelized Brown Bread Ice Cream at Murphy's: There are many other flavors at this Dublin ice cream hot spot, such as apple balsamic and Irish cream. But I have to try that classic Irish bread in ice cream form - it is my destiny.
\n3. Cockles and Mussels at the Winding Stair: The iconic cockles and mussels that old Molly Malone sang about are a must for my list, yet many of the Irish restaurants renowned for them have only mussels on the menu. Not at the Winding Stair! This Dublin landmark is also renowned for being a popular meeting place for creative types throughout its years as a bookshop and cafe. Now it's a bookshop and restaurant instead, but it looks just as happening! Reservations will likely be made.
\n4. Dublin coddle, Gurr cake, and other traditional Irish baked goods at the Bakehouse: This eatery in downtown Dublin serves up the most highly respected versions of Irish classics - you can bet I'll pick up some soda bread, too, when I stop by the counter. Or maybe dine in at lunch for eggs & soldiers or a pottage?
\n5. Whiskey tastings at the Dingle Whiskey Bar: Located in downtown Dublin, this bar is made of reclaimed wood from whiskey barrels...and looks like you're inside one too! Offers flights or a five-page-long list of whiskeys and cocktails.May make a reservation depending on interest.
\nI already have high tea plans at the Shelbourne Hotel on the books, so I think that's enough of a hit list for a seven-day trip...though there are plenty of other options tempting me, like cocktails at Delahunt and dinner at the Vintage Kitchen. Care to join me for any of them? Let me know! But be forewarned--per my Worldcon schedule, I'll mostly be available in the evenings.
\n", "date_published": "2019-08-14T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2019-08-13-worldcon-2019/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2019-08-13-worldcon-2019/", "title": "Worldcon 2019 Appearances", "content_html": "I'm leaving in just a few hours to join my writer and fan compatriots at Worldcon 77! Also known as Worldcon Dublin. Also known as Worldcon 2019. We like options. ;)
\n![\"dublin](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/08/13172735/Dublin-2019-500x375.jpg\")
I will be busy while attending Worldcon, and not just sightseeing! I'm a program participant this year, for the first time ever. I'll have four panels, one reading, one autograph session, and one kaffeklatsch. Here's a graphic summarizing my schedule at a quick glance.
\n![\"dublin](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/08/13172739/WorldconSched-1024x615.jpg\")
And here's a more detailed list, should you be attending and want to join me for any of them! I'll, of course, be conquering my Dublin Foodie Hit List in my off-time. But I'll also be at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America table Saturday morning, at the Hugos, and variously wandering the halls of the Dublin Convention Centre. Don't hesitate to say hi!
\nPanelist, 12:00 - 12:50, Wicklow Room-1
\nIn 2015 the gaming industry was abuzz with the potential of both virtual and augmented reality. However, the expected explosive growth of these technologies did not happen. This panel will discuss the potential of these exciting technologies and whether or not they will ever achieve the potential people believed they would have a few short years ago.
\nModerator, 15:00 - 15:50, Wicklow Room-4
\nEnglish is the current lingua franca, making it easy to forget that a lot of genre fiction is translated from other languages. Who are the best authors of translated SFF? Are particular languages more likely to be translated than others? The panel will discuss the status of translated works in the wider context of SFF and which non-English books we should be reading.
\nReader, 17:00 - 17:50, Liffey Room-3
\nBroad Universe is an international organization for women and female-identifying authors of science fiction, fantasy and horror, working together to promote women's works in the genres! Our signature event, the Rapid Fire Reading, gives each author a few minutes to read from their work. It's like a living anthology of women writers.
\n![\"broad](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/08/13180047/Worldcon-RFR-2019-Flyer-768x994.jpg\")
Author, 13:00 - 13:50, Level 3 Foyer
\nA Kaffeeklatsch is a unique opportunity at some conventions to meet up with a writer in a casual setting--in this case, right by one of Worldcon's onsite cafes--and spend time shooting the breeze on whatever topic floats everyone's boats. The cutoff is usually around 10 or so people--I'm not sure what it'll be for Dublin, but I doubt it'll get too high. And I'll be thrilled if anyone comes!
\nSign up for my kaffeeklatsch at the Infodesk if you want to talk about my writing, about our shared love of good food and drink, about the writing business from a small press author's perspective, about favorite SF/F shows and movies and books this year, or about...cats! I'm planning to give away at least one book during this session as well.
\nModerator, 14:00 - 14:50, Wicklow Room-4
\nCreators often use a character’s musical choices to show us their inner thoughts and hidden motivations: in Guardians of the Galaxy the music Peter plays is a link to his lost mother, in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Miles’s favourite song places him as a member of Generation Z, and Alex’s callous rendition of ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ in A Clockwork Orange has gone down in infamy. Join our panellists for a walk through our favourite characters’ musical memories.
\nModerator, 13:00 - 13:50, Wicklow Room-1
\nInnovations on the Internet transformed the ability to have global conversations about politics but also heightened capacities for censorship & control. Have these affected the Internet's original doctrine? Do they provide greater transparency or muddy the water? We’ll discuss the evolution of the idea behind censorship and control as applied to the Internet in terms of law and modern society.
\nSigning, 15:00 - 15:50, Level 4 Foyer
\nThe authors signing for this session include myself, Pat Cadigan, Derwin Mak, RJ Barker, Kathryn Sullivan, and Jim Doty, PhD.
\nAnd that's if for my official schedule! And it's enough, let me tell you. ;) But I think I'll actually feel prepared by the time I step on that plane...soon, very soon.
\n", "date_published": "2019-08-13T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2019-05-14-nebulas-2019/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2019-05-14-nebulas-2019/", "title": "Join me at the Nebulas Mass Autographing on 5/19!", "content_html": "Friends, family, and readers in LA!
\nSaturday afternoon, come find me at the mass autographing event at the 2019 SFWA Nebula Conference, free and open to the public (that means you!).
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/05/14215025/SFWAcolor-1024x598.jpg\")
Copies of Wings Unseen will be available for purchase, but you can also bring your already purchased copies, and I will *finally* sign them for those of you I haven't met up with yet. I'll also have bookmarks....and some time to hang about 3:30 to 5:30 at the Village across the street...
\nSaturday, May 18th from 1:00PM — 3:00PM
\nWarner Center Marriott Woodland Hills – Grand Ballroom
\n21850 W Oxnard St, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
\nFeaturing over 100 Authors! (I'm starring the most well-known ones I know)
\n*John Joseph Adams
\nMichael Anderle
\nMarie Andreas
\nLiz Argall
\nBarbara Barnett
\nGregory Benford
\nTJ Berry
\nLaura Blackwell
\nBrooke Bolander
\nJoseph Brassey
\n*Jonathan Brazee
\nRhett C. Bruno
\nRob Buckman
\nMichael Cassutt
\nMike Chen
\nCurtis C. Chen
\nGwendolyn Clare
\nP. Djèlí Clark
\n*Neil Clarke
\n*Tina Connolly
\nJohn Peyton Cooke
\nDan Cray
\nS.B. Divya
\n* Cory Doctorow
\nMeghan Ciana Doidge
\nA.K. DuBoff
\nAndy Duncan
\n*Scott Edelman
\nEva L. Elasigue
\n* Meg Elison
\nIsaac R. Fellman
\nSheila Finch
\nSusan Forest
\nRichard Fox
\nLaura Frankos
\n* Sarah Gailey
\n* William Gibson
\nLaura Anne Gilman
\nRebecca Gomez Farrell
\nW. L. Goodwater
\nA. T. Greenblatt
\nSally Wiener Grotta
\nA. J. Hackwith
\n*Joe Haldeman
\nRachel Hartman
\nErin M. Hartshorn
\nKate Heartfield
\nAlyc Helms
\nBarbara E. Hill
\nJosé Pablo Iriarte
\nXia Jia
\nL.S. Johnson
\nJames Patrick Kelly
\n* Jeffe Kennedy
\nScott King
\n* Mary Robinette Kowal
\n* R.F. Kuang
\nDerek Künsken
\n* David D. Levine
\nHenry Lien
\nJenn Lyons
\nTerry Madden
\nPJ Manney
\n* Lee Martindale
\nAlastair Mayer
\n* Sam J. Miller
\nMary Anne Mohanraj
\nTina LeCount Myers
\nLarry Niven
\nKaren Osborne
\nChrome Oxide
\nDouglas Phillips
\nPalmer Pickering
\n* Sarah Pinsker
\nC.L. Polk
\nDaniel Potter
\n* Lettie Prell
\n* Cat Rambo
\n* Rebecca Roanhorse
\n* Kelly Robson
\n* Lawrence M. Schoen
\nCaitlin Seal
\nPeng Shepherd
\nElsa Sjunneson-Henry
\n* Dave Smeds
\nRosemary Claire Smith
\n* Melinda M. Snodgrass
\nCaitlin Starling
\nShanna Swendson
\n* Rachel Swirsky
\nChristine Taylor-Butler
\nLauren C. Teffeau
\nR J Theodore
\nNatalia Theodoridou
\n* Harry Turtledove
\nNicole Valentine
\nGreg van Eekhout
\nR.R. Virdi
\nJuliette Wade
\nE.D. Walker
\nWren Wallis
\nM. Darusha Wehm
\nYudhanjaya Wijeratne
\n* Fran Wilde
\n* Connie Willis
\nGwendolyn Womack
\nWilliam F. Wu
\nChristie Yant
\nCaroline M. Yoachim
\nJoe Zieja
\nAnd more! See you there. Full details here: https://nebulas.sfwa.org/nebula-mass-autographing-announced/
\n", "date_published": "2019-05-18T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2019-04-03-join-me-for-a-panel-on-debut-authors/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2019-04-03-join-me-for-a-panel-on-debut-authors/", "title": "Litquake Panel: Debut Authors--Fame and Fortune in Five Easy Steps", "content_html": "I am thrilled to be sharing my experience as a debut author with the Litquake and greater Bay Area literary community at this panel. It takes place on Sunday, 4/14, at 2:15 pm, at Z Space in the Mission.
\n"Debut Authors: Fame and Fortune in Five Easy Steps" will feature myself and fellow debut authors, Lauren Markham and Huda Al-Marashi ,as we discuss just how we made it to our debut years and what we learned after our first books came out. Sarita Cannon, associate professor of English at San Francisco State University, will be our moderator to guide us through sharing the sometimes exhilarating, sometimes mystifying experience of getting to this point in our careers.
\nWith the code LITQ20, you can save 25%—Hooray! Our panel is part of the Litquake Writers Weekend at Z Space.
\n![\"litquake\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/03205226/litquake.jpg\")
Day 1 (4/13) is on the art of writing, with panels devoted to discussing flash fiction, short story, and novel writing techniques. Day 2 is on the Pursuit of Publishing, which includes our debut author panel and discussions on traditional publishing and its continuing relevance and on how to draw in readership for your works. Each panel costs $20 for admittance and each one will provide a wealth of valuable information for writers looking to polish their craft or get to the next stage of publication.
\nAnd yes, Wings Unseen will be available for purchase and signing at the event! Hope to see you there!
\n", "date_published": "2019-04-03T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2019-04-03-im-reading-at-the-inaugural-parallel-lit-4-12/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2019-04-03-im-reading-at-the-inaugural-parallel-lit-4-12/", "title": "The Inaugural Parallel Lit", "content_html": "Please join me at Parallel Lit on Friday, 4/12 at 8:30 pm at Paulista Kitchen in Oakland!
\n![\"parallel](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/03195649/Parallel-Lit.jpg\")
The awesome and amazing Meg Elison, author of the Road to Nowhere post-apocalyptic series, is founding and hosting this reading series that will celebrate speculative fiction in the East Bay. You can get tickets here at Eventbrite, but you can also pay at the door--$10 is not a bad price at all to hear this crew read our fiction and talk about our work! Plus, Paulista Kitchen is a fantastic cafe and restaurant featuring Brazilian cuisine with California influences and the delicious cashew milk ice cream of Mr. Dewie's.
\n![\"cashew](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/03202355/Paulista-Cashew-Ice-Cream-746x1024.jpeg\")
Yeah, Mr. Dewie's is that good. Mmm.
No, I am not above bribing you with food photos. It's my superpower. Meg and I will be joined by (and eating ice cream with) three other badass local spec fic authors: Tim Pratt, Juliette Wade, and Caroline Ratajski. Come join us in welcoming the birth of Parallel Lit!
\n", "date_published": "2019-04-03T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2019-03-07-fogcon-2019/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2019-03-07-fogcon-2019/", "title": "Where I'll be at Fogcon 2019", "content_html": "Fogcon 2019 starts tomorrow!
\n![\"fogcon,](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/03/07195049/Screenshot_2019-02-22-FOGcon-Science-Fiction-and-Fantasy-Convention-in-the-SF-Bay-Area.png\")
As per usual, I don't feel ready, but do I ever for conventions? This year, I'll be at Fogcon all weekend. Here is my schedule, should you care to join me at any point:
\nFriday, 4:30 pm, Salon A/B: It's Dangerous to Go Alone! Take This--Writer Support Networks in the Bay Area. Panelist.
\n\n\nScene: The writer types alone, perhaps with a bottle of bourbon for companionship and a cat on the lap. The writing lifestyle is often portrayed as solitary, but as with all careers, writers need support to improve and to get their work seen by the wider world. Come learn what resources are available for speculative fiction writers in the Bay Area, from critique groups, to marketing, to writing classes, to kicking back and talking writer shop with others going through the creative struggle of the written word.
\n
Saturday, 10:00 am, Salon F: Discovering Short Fiction. Panelist.
\n\n\nWe live in golden age for short SFF, but there’s so much out there and relatively few reviews and recommendations compared to novels. How are people finding short fiction? What are some techniques the panelist can suggest for those looking to read more short stories? And what can the community do to help showcase the awesome short fiction happening now?
\n
Saturday, noon, Lobby Bar: East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Meetup Group Craft Klatsch. Host.
\n\n\nJoin my East Bay critique group for SF/F writers during Saturday's lunch hour in Fogcon's lobby bar to unwind from the con so far and catch up on what's been great and what folks are looking forward to next.
\n
Saturday, 8:00 pm, Salon F: Small Houses, Big Futures--Publishing SF with Small Presses. Moderator.
\n\n\nWhile many of us dream of a Big 5 deal, there are numerous Small Press publishers that are taking risks the larger publishers can't, giving more writers access to the market. But that access comes with smaller (or no) advances and a larger proportion of labor on the author. What's different about publishing with a Small Press vs. a big publishing house? How is the experience different, for the editor and for the writer?
\n
Sunday, 1:30 pm, Santa Rosa room: Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading. Host and Reader.
\n\n\nBroad Universe is one of the oldest organizations supporting female writers of speculative fiction. At conventions nationwide, Broad Universe hosts Rapid Fire Readings to highlight the amazing work of our members. Several members of the group take part by sharing short bursts of fiction that keep the reading lively and exciting.
\n
![\"fogcon,](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/03/07200706/Fogcon-2019-RFR.jpg\")
And from there...home! Is it wrong that I'm looking forward to that last part already?
\n", "date_published": "2019-03-08T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2019-01-27-come-to-the-alameda-author-series-on-2-25/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2019-01-27-come-to-the-alameda-author-series-on-2-25/", "title": "The Alameda Author Series", "content_html": "I would love to have you join me in Alameda for this author event. As I'm the only author on the agenda, I am a bit nervous about having a turnout...this is why I usually invite more authors to read with me. 😉 RSVP through Eventbrite right here, and yes, it's free. I will have copies of Wings Unseen available for sale.
\n![\"aauw,](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/01/27200952/aauw-snip.jpg\")
Host Kevis Brownson and I will have a conversation about my writing and the organizations I'm involved with, then I'll do a reading, then there will be audience Q&A, and then a signing and reception to wrap up the evening. 6 pm is early! So don't worry about sliding in a bit late.
\nHere's the series description: For the third year, the AAUW Alameda presents a spring series of talks featuring authors who live and write in Alameda and nearby, now co-sponsored by the Friends of the Alameda Free Library. Our February author Rebecca Gomez Farrell will discuss her novel Wings Unseen and her current writing projects.
\nHope to see you there!
\n", "date_published": "2019-01-27T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2018-10-11-it-takes-a-village-pursuit-of-publishing-panel-at-litquake/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2018-10-11-it-takes-a-village-pursuit-of-publishing-panel-at-litquake/", "title": "It Takes a Village: Pursuit of Publishing Panel at Litquake!", "content_html": "This Sunday, 10/14, at 3:30 pm, I'll be on the "Pursuit of Publishing: It Takes a Village" panel at Litquake!
\n![\"litquake](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/10/LQ-2018-horiz.png\")
This is my first ever Litquake appearance, and I'm excited to participate. Panel description: What does it take to create and sustain a writing community? CCA's Leslie Roberts discusses strength in numbers with Mary Volmer (Hedgebrook), Scott James (Castro Writers Coop), Casey Bennett (Lit Events for the Lit-Minded), and . . . me! I'll be sharing about my work co-helming the East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Meetup, a San Francisco chapter of Women Who Submit Lit, and two closed Facebook groups for female writers, one for speculative fiction writers across the globe and one for writers of all stripes in the Bay Area.
\nSome tickets will be available at the door, but a few tickets are still online for $25. That price includes three earlier panels on the same day, all designed to aid writers on their path to publication. All four Pursuit of Publishing panels will take place at the Timken Auditorium of the California College of the Arts at 1111 Eight Street in San Francisco.
\nJoin us!
\n", "date_published": "2018-10-14T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2018-08-13-my-worldcon-76-schedule/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2018-08-13-my-worldcon-76-schedule/", "title": "My Worldcon 76 Schedule!", "content_html": "Worldcon 76 starts on Thursday, and I am excited!
\n![\"Screenshot_2018-08-08](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/08/Screenshot_2018-08-08-Worldcon-76-500x149.png\")
And also slightly overwhelmed, so I'm glad I'm not appearing on much programming myself—it's not often that you hear a writer admit that. 😁 But I will be appearing on a little of it, and I'll definitely be around all weekend, so please do come say hi anytime! You can purchase Wings Unseen at Borderlands Books' vendor booth, and I'm happy to sign copies. Here's where I know I'll be:
\nTuesday, 8/14
\nThursday, 8/16
\nFriday, 8/17
\nSaturday, 8/18
\n![\"BU](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/08/BU-worldcon-flyer-correct-500x333.jpg\")
Sunday, 8/19
\nMonday, 8/20
\nWhew! That schedule is only of events I *know* I'll be attending, though a good many of my days are full with potential plans already. Always feel free to tweet at, Facebook message, or email me to try and find a time to get together. Or a drink at barcons, as it goes. Cheers to that!
\n![\"shark](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/08/shark-drink-334x500.jpg\")
This Saturday afternoon at 4 pm, I'll be reading at the first ever Women Who Submit Lit Reading! What is Women Who Submit Lit (WWS)? Founded in 2011, WWS seeks to empower women writers by creating physical and virtual spaces for sharing information, supporting and encouraging literary submissions, and clarifying the submission and publication process.
\nI helm one chapter of WWS in the Bay Area and primarily organize submission parties, where we get together and encourage each other to submit our work out for publication. Dominica Phetteplace, who passed that duty on to me last year, decided it would be fun to have a reading for our chapter and thus, this reading was born!
\nWomen Who Submit Lit Reading
\n![\"Women](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/08/wwsw-cover-500x281.jpg\")
When: Saturday, August 11, 4 pm.
\nWhere: The Octopus Literary Salon, 2101 Webster St., Oakland
\nRSVP: Facebook Event
\nWho: Me, Dominica, Jennifer Ng, MK Chavez, and Simmi Aujli! Bios below.We're all regular members of this WWS chapter, except MK, who's starting her own chapter in Fruitvale very soon. Come for more details on that.
\nAnd just come! There may be an after party...
\nBecca Gomez Farrell's debut epic fantasy novel, Wings Unseen, was published in August 2017 by Meerkat Press. Her speculative short fiction can be read in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, the Future Fire, and Dark Luminous Wings. Becca also blogs about food, drink, and travel at theGourmez.com.
\nJennifer Ng is a writer in San Francisco. She recently published a nonfiction book, Ice Cream Travel Guide, and is working on a novel based on her grandparents' lives in China, Peru, and the United States. Her work has appeared in Arkana, Havik, Cold Creek Review, Shut Up and Write! Zine, and Airplane Reading. In her writing, she explores identity and relationships. If she was asked about her favorite hobby at the age of 8, she would have answered “observing”, which is still a joy and an inspiration for storytelling. Read more at jennism.com or follow her on twitter: @jennism.
\nSimmi Aujla is an Indian-American speculative fiction writer based in the Bay Area. She is an alum of the VONA / Voices of Our Nation workshop, where she studied genre fiction. A 2018 fellow at the San Francisco Writers' Grotto, in the fall she will attend an interdisciplinary arts residency at Marble House Project. Simmi is a Brown alum and former journalist, with experience at Politico, the Wall Street Journal, and the Associated Press. Keep up with her at www.simmiaujla.com.
\nOakland based Latinx writer Mk Chavez is the author of Mothermorphosis and Dear Animal, (Nomadic Press.) She is a recipient of a 2017 Pen Oakland Josephine Miles Award and her poem The New Whitehouse, Finding Myself Among the Ruins was selected by Eileen Myles for the Cosmonauts Avenue 2017 Poetry Award. She is a co-founder/curator of the reading series Lyrics & Dirges and co-director of the Berkeley Poetry Festival, a fellow with CantoMundo, a writer in residence at Alley Cat Books, and this fall she will be the guest curator of the reading series at UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.
\nDominica Phetteplace is a math tutor who writes literary and science fiction. Her work has appeared in Analog, Asimov’s, Clarkesworld and F&SF. She has won a Pushcart Prize, a Rona Jaffe Award, a Barbara Deming Award and fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, I-Park, and Marble House Project.
\n", "date_published": "2018-08-11T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2018-07-18-r-dub-love-rolling-writers-reading-728/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2018-07-18-r-dub-love-rolling-writers-reading-728/", "title": "R-Dub Love Rolling Writers Reading", "content_html": "I have three readings in the Bay Area in the next few weeks, and I'd love to see you in the audience at any of them - I will, of course, have copies of Wings Unseen with me for purchase at the events. But that doesn't mean I'll be reading from my book! In fact, at the first one coming up, I definitely won't be...
\n![\"\"](\"https://gallery.mailchimp.com/93d9e5c66fa0eb63dc1bfcee9/images/21987d00-6461-4fe3-8ef2-1d8b3f997044.jpg\")
For R-Dub Love, I'll be sharing a story straight out of my crazy dating life in church youth group! Believe me, I have plenty of those tales...Here are the deets:
\nWhen: Saturday, July 28, at 6 pm.
\nWhere: Rolling-Out Cafe, 1722 Taraval Street, San Francisco
\nWhat: It's R-Dub Love, Rolling Writers’ evening of lit and music on romantic love. Featuring these romantics:
That's a whole lotta love. More info and/or RSVP at the Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/235822340339209/?active_tab=about
\nHope to see you there! Here's some lovin'...from my sandwich maker at Hive Coffeehouse.
\n![\"Panini](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/07/IMG_20180129_134304-375x500.jpg\")
Now in its third year, the Dragon Awards are held during Dragon Con, the legendary convention in Atlanta that brings the city to a halt by bringing together tens of thousands of fans of speculative fictions novels, movies, comics, games, and more.
\n![\"dragon](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/07/dragon-con.png\")
I...have never been to Dragon Con, but that will not stop me from lobbying for your vote! You also do not need to go to Dragon Con to nominate my eligible fantasy novel, Wings Unseen, for a Dragon Award. These awards are entirely voted on by fans, and all that needs to be done to nominate is to register and confirm your email address then fill in your nominations - and you don't even need to give a nomination for every category. But you can! Categories include not only best novels and comic books but best games and movies from multiple platforms.
\n![\"Don't](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/07/Dragon_Award-221x300.jpg\")
Don't you want me to have one of these bright, shiny trophies?
If you deem Wings Unseen worthy, go ahead and give it a nod. It'll just take a few minutes to complete the form here. I suggest the Best Fantasy Novel category vs Best Young Adult Novel category, but use whichever one you feel the book most fits. And thanks for your support!
\n", "date_published": "2018-07-18T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2018-05-30-literary-speakeasy-speak-easy-with-me-on-531/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2018-05-30-literary-speakeasy-speak-easy-with-me-on-531/", "title": "Literary Speakeasy", "content_html": "Tomorrow night (5/31) at 7 pm, I'm reading at the Literary Speakeasy, an awesome collection of writers from many genres, curated by James J. Siegel, a San Francisco-based poet and all-around great guy. Here's the Facebook invitation.
\n![\"literary](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/05/literary-speakeasy-1024x576.jpg\")
The Literary Speakeasy takes place at Martuni's, everybody's favorite bar for karaoke and fruity, high ABV cocktails on the corner of Valencia and Market in San Francisco. Head straight toward the back room to find us. James always makes sure the energy is warm and welcoming, and I'll make sure to read you some stories that'll entertain. My fellow readers this evening will be Rohan DaCosta, Bud Gundy, Chad Koch, and Riss Rosado. There will also be a raffle!
\nCome take in the unexpected journey through five writers' minds, with a cocktail as your compass. See you tomorrow!
\n", "date_published": "2018-05-31T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2018-05-15-nebulas-weekend-2018-where-to-find-me/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2018-05-15-nebulas-weekend-2018-where-to-find-me/", "title": "Nebulas Weekend 2018!", "content_html": "It's the Nebulas Weekend! Rejoice!
\n![\"nebula](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/05/nebulas-logo.png\"){kind=logo}
I leave tomorrow for Pittsburgh, and though it'll be raining for the whole conference, I am excited to spend these next five days in the company of my fellow Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Last year, I hit up a bunch of cons to aid in promoting my first book, Wings Unseen, and the Nebulas Weekend was absolutely the most beneficial to me. It's essentially a professional development conference for speculative fiction authors, though the public is welcome to attend as well.
\nLast year, I just took in all that the Nebulas Weekend had to offer. This year, I'm dipping my toe into programming--not paneling yet, but I'll be available for consulting on what I've learned this past year, and over my several years of fiction writing and critiquing, and for the Mass Autograph Session that closes the weekend. You can access my list of events here: (CLICK ME!)
\nThe quick overview is that I'll be holding Office Hours twice during the conference:
\nDuring those sessions, I'll be available for any conference attendee to drop in for advice on my areas of expertise:
\nAnd one area of expertise I forgot to add to my description...
\nPlease drop by! I'm sure it'll be a little lonely in there...actually, I'm not so sure! Because the Nebulas Weekend is great networking for writers, no matter whether at a session or over the hotel bar.
\nI will also take part in the Mass Autographing Session for the first time, as this is the first time I have a novel available for signing.
\n![\"sfwa,](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/05/SFWA-Autographing-flyer-8_5x11-2018-e1525368773107-807x1024-807x1024.jpg\")
I believe that image has all the info you may want on the Mass Autographing Session. Wings Unseen should be fully stocked in the onsite bookstore, though you can bring already purchased books-- so feel free to bring a copy of Dark Luminous Wings or Through A Scanner Farkly as well, the two anthologies that published my short stories last year.
\n![\"dark](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/05/DLW_eCover_Final_72dpi-333x500.jpg\")
![\"through](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/05/through-a-scanner-farkly.jpg\")
I'll be ready and waiting to sign a copy for you. This session is open to the public, and it's a great opportunity to hobnob with a huge number of SFWA authors in one place.
\nOff I go to finish my last bit of packing! Will I see you there?
\n", "date_published": "2018-05-17T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2018-03-12-moshin-vineyards-reading/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2018-03-12-moshin-vineyards-reading/", "title": "Moshin Vineyards Salon Series Reading!", "content_html": "![\"moshin](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/03/moshin.jpg\")
Live in wine country? Come check out the Reading Between the Vines Salon Series at Moshin Vineyards in Healdsburg! On Monday, March 19, 2018 at 6 pm, I'll be reading in Moshin's tasting room as part of this unique literary series (Full info here).
\nReading Between the Vines celebrates the writers in residence for the Writing Between the Vines fellowship, for which I was a runner up last year. Writing Between the Vines is an organization that offers yearly retreats for writers, sponsoring their lodging at the host wineries. Can you imagine the freedom to write unfettered with a beautiful winery for your scenery? Talk about a dream...I really need to re-apply this year!
\nI do hope you'll join me if you live in the area. I'll be sharing wine-soaked selections from my fantasy and horror fiction. Also appearing will be Rick Bailey, a winner of the fellowship:
\n\n\nRick Bailey grew up in Freeland, Michigan, on the banks of the Tittabawassee River. In college he studied English language and literature. He then moved to Detroit and taught writing for 38 years at Henry Ford College. Sometime after finishing his doctorate, he wrote textbooks for McGraw-Hill: The Creative Writer’s Craft (2009), On the Go (2011), and Going Places (2011). A Midwesterner long married to an Italian immigrant, he has learned the language and food of Italy. University of Nebraska Press published his memoir in essays, American English, Italian Chocolate. And he is currently preparing a second collection of essays, tentatively titled When the Wine God Speaks. http://rick-bailey.com/
\n
Sounds like Rick's work will have us salivating! See you at Moshin next Monday.
\n", "date_published": "2018-03-19T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2018-03-07-fogcon/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2018-03-07-fogcon/", "title": "FogCon Appearances 2018!", "content_html": "Find me at FogCon this coming weekend! I'll be moderating, sitting on panels, and giving a reading during this jam-packed three days of speculative fiction lovers and writers coming together in Walnut Creek.
\n![\"fogCon](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/03/cropped-FOGcon-8-masthead.gif\")
The Borderlands vendor table will have copies of Wings Unseen for sale, should you be looking to pick up a copy. And I'll have a pen for signing, of course. Don't be shy, just come up and ask for that signature!
\nHere's my schedule during the con:
\n\n\nAmong many other qualities, Shakespeare was a master of using plays within his plays to amplify his themes and plot arcs. This technique of self-reference has been used for dramatic and comedic effect in many works. Orson Scott Card had Ender Wiggin playing through a story game that ultimately tied into and reflected his "real life" story; P.C. Hodgell has traditional stories in her novels that shadow the main action; Stephen King pulled the ultimate coup and wrote himself into his Dark Tower series as a character, incorporating his struggles with substance abuse into the decay of the universe; Michael Ende's novel The Neverending Story famously loops in on itself. Is this an effective tool for writers to use? What makes it work and when does it fall flat? Let's analyze the phenomena!
\n
\n\nAs scientists learn more and more about our astonishing universe, from the macro to the micro, does science begin to awe and inspire, as religion can? Does religion fall away, or evolve? How does science affect our mood, our hope, and our outlook on life? What might religion look like in "the future" (very scientifically advanced societies, such as in Ada Palmer's Terra Ignota series)?
\n
And immediately after that, I'll be participating in the Broad Universe: Rapid Fire Reading at 9:30 pm. This is the second year we've done a rapid fire reading at FogCon. They are a fun way to liven up a reading, cycling through the authors two times, reading short selections rather than a longer work. The variety never stops! Broad Universe is an organization that supports the work of female speculative fiction writers. ![\"Broad](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/03/bu-rfr-2018-2-385x500.jpg\")
On Saturday, 3/10, my final panel will be Wilderness in SFF at 10:30 am. Description:
\n\n\nWilderness is an interstitial space, existing between cities, roads and settlements. People have held many different views of wilderness form a place to be tamed, to a place to be preserved. Yet the idea of “untouched” wildlands remands problematic. Recent scholars such as William Cronon have questioned if wilderness even exists. How have works such as Lord of the Rings, Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor & Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley engaged with these ideas? How will our changing ideas about wilderness effect new and future work?
\n
Interested in attending FogCon? More info here. Let me know if you're coming! Though I will not be on the agenda after the Wilderness Panel, I will definitely be at FogCon for the rest of Saturday and likely Sunday, too.
\n", "date_published": "2018-03-09T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2018-01-21-first-ever-terra-incognita-reading-on-thursday/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2018-01-21-first-ever-terra-incognita-reading-on-thursday/", "title": "Catch me at the first ever Terra Incognita Reading on Thursday!", "content_html": "Join me on Thursday, 1/25/18 at 7 pm at the Octopus Literary Salon for a brand-new Bay Area reading series: Terra Incognita! ![\"terra](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/01/terra-incognita-500x432.jpg\")
Sponsored by the Escapery, a Bay Area organization offering adventures for artists and writers of all levels, Terra Incognita is a genre fiction-based reading series that showcases Bay Area authors. Each month, a different genre or hybrid genre will be represented, ideally including a range of authors of varying skills and publication history. And the first month's theme is Speculative Fiction!
That, of course, is fortunate for me, being a speculative fiction writer. I've met Terra Incognita's host, Haldane King, a few times, and I'm thrilled to be a part of his new reading series, especially as genre fiction is underrepresented on the literary scene at large. Though I must say, I've always been warmly welcomed when reading horror, fantasy, or science fiction anywhere I've gone in the East Bay and San Francisco. Thus, I'm mostly excited we'll have one more outlet of creative genre expression for us all.
\nNick Mamatas, J Curtis, Jackie Haudek, Samuel Walsh, and myself will be the inaugural Terra Incognita readers. Enticements include a free drawing for Nomadic Press poetry chapbooks, and the great refreshments at the Octopus. Donations are welcome, and I'll have copies of Wings Unseen for sale.
\nIf you'd like, sign up at the Facebook event. Or just show up! I hope to see you there.
\n![\"octopus](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/01/Octopus-Launch-25-500x375.jpg\")
Last time I read at the Octopus Literary Salon.
It's award nomination season among science fiction and fantasy writers! As is the custom, I'm offering a list of my short stories and novel publications from 2017 that are eligible for nomination--yes, that includes nearly all my 2017 publications. Qualifying isn't that difficult. ;)
\nIf you are a member of SFWA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America professional guild, then you may nominate works until February 15, 2018 for the Nebula Awards. Here's how to vote. If you attended WorldCon 75 and/or registered as a supporting or attending member of WorldCons 76 or 77 by January 1, 2018, keep your eyes on this page, as nominations are bound to open soon and will likely run through March. WorldCon awards the Hugos every year.
\nI'm planning to attend both conferences, and gosh, it'd be awfully sweet to have an extra special reason to go. ;) But seriously, the Nebula Weekend is a fantastic professional conference for speculative fiction writers, and well worth your time and money--and you do not need to be a member of SFWA or even a writer to attend. I have never been to WorldCon before, but I am hoping to get on paneling or in a reading session for this one, and I think it'll be great fun.
\nThank you for considering my 2017 published works for nomination!
\nHere they are:
\n![\"wings](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/01/9781946154002-WingsUnseen-CoverFINAL_03-338x500.jpg\")
Wings Unseen is a YA classic epic fantasy told with modern sensibilities. To fight an invisible foe, three young adults must first fight through their own expectations, beliefs, and shattered dreams to save their shared world. For full information and accolades, head to its page at Meerkat Press.
\n\n![\"dark](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/01/dark-luminous-wings-e1538375632747.jpg\")
"Treasure" appears in the Dark Luminous Wings anthology from Pole to Pole Publishing, published October 2017. It's a fantasy fable that features a thief thrust into a culture very different from her own, so different she has a difficult time believing such a culture is real.... and is under threat of a flying sea monster and the lure of a rock pillar that manifests jewels. More info here.
\n\n![\"through](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/01/through-a-scanner-farkly.jpg\")
“Garbage” is a humorous sci-fi tale about crazy old ladies, immature teenagers, and aliens with an unusual appetite. It has a fair bit to say about what it means to be native and how that shifts over time and with new waves of immigration. “Garbage” appeared in Through A Scanner Farkly: The 2017 Fark Fiction Anthology, which was published in July 2017. More info here.
\n\n![\"holiday](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/01/BHM-Holiday-Hell.png\")
I've barely had to the chance to tell folks this flash fiction series even exists since its publication in the Holiday Hell issue of Black Heart Magazine. Exist it does, and I'm proud of these one-shot explorations of what a holiday invasion might mean in three very different situations: a morning full of death and poinsettia, a Thankgiving dinner of new dishes and newly embodied relations, and the chaos of Christmas day for one very anxious, superpowered mom. More info here.
\nFinally,
\n![\"little](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/01/little-letters-on-the-skin.jpg\")
This piece of horror flash fiction, done in a poetic prose style, tells of a woman struggling with her biggest regret in life and sentenced to forever re-remember it. It appears in the August 2017 chapbook collection, Little Letters on the Skin, from Cleave: Bay Area Writers and the Liminal Center. More info here.
\n\nBest of luck to all the authors out there with eligible work for 2017! May the best of our work get on those ballots.
\n", "date_published": "2018-01-17T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-12-06-get-your-autographed-copies-of-wings-unseen-here/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-12-06-get-your-autographed-copies-of-wings-unseen-here/", "title": "Order Your Autographed Gifts of Wings Unseen by 12/16!", "content_html": "We're only 20 days out from Christmas, and thus the time for gift giving is upon us! For $15, you can send a signed, personalized copy of my epic fantasy, Wings Unseen, to anyone you love—heck, it's cool if you send it to someone you only kind of like, too. ;)
\n![\"wings](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/12/Octopus-Launch-15.jpg\")
My friends, Paul and Ann, whom I kind of like, I guess, getting their signed copies at my book launch.
$15 includes the book, and my signature and a personal message, filled out from your instructions on whom I should address that message too. It also includes shipping costs! What is Wings Unseen? Here's my full page on it.
\nThis price is only available until 12/16. After that, I won't be able to ship via media mail in time for Christmas. But I am happy to use a more expensive shipping option to get it to your loved one for opening under the tree!
\n![\"wings](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/12/Loki-Wings-Unseen-2-500x375.jpg\")
Loki guaranteed for good cuddling.
How to order? You can contact me via direct message on Facebook, or or Instagram or just email me at becca@thegourmez.com. We'll discuss payment and shipping methods - either Paypal, Square, or Venmo will work, and I am amenable to other shipping options, but the price will reflect those other options.
\nOr you can just order Wings Unseen off Amazon! It's only $12 currently, which is a deal! But that doesn't include author signature...
\nHappy holidays, dear readers, friends, and family!
\n", "date_published": "2017-12-06T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-10-24-literally-reading-flywheel-press/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-10-24-literally-reading-flywheel-press/", "title": "Flywheel Press's Literally Series", "content_html": "Woosh! That was my schedule zooming by too fast for me to keep up with it. Thus, I haven't had time to give my next reading much promotion, but there's still time! Barely.
\n![\"literally,](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/10/Literally-500x188.png\")
Tomorrow night, Tuesday 10/24, I'll be reading at the Literally series at the Shop at Flywheel Press in San Mateo at 7:00 pm along with author Peter Carroll. Flywheel Press is an art and design center in San Mateo that has fostered a unique creative space in many different forms: as a letterpress studio, a co-working space for artists, a First Fridays destination, an art gallery, and a provider of classes for kids and adults.
\nIf you'd like to share your own work, there will be an open mic afterward, too! And of course, I'll have Wings Unseen available for purchase, should you like a signed copy. ;)
\nI hope you'll join me!
\n", "date_published": "2017-10-24T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-10-18-speculative-fiction-cantina/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-10-18-speculative-fiction-cantina/", "title": "The Speculative Fiction Cantina Livestream", "content_html": "I'm going to be busy this Friday promoting my fiction, through two different mediums! You, of course, are invited to join in.
\nFirst, S. Evan Townsend will interview me at 3 pm PST for the Speculative Fiction Cantina Livestream and Podcast show.
\n![\"speculative](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/10/cropped-Speculative_Fiction_Cantina_2.png\")
This show takes place weekly and includes a reading, so I'll be sharing a selection from Wings Unseen. It'll be a chance for my "radio voice" to come out, which people have told me I have for most of my life. I'll be appearing along with author Brian James, and based on past shows, it should be a fun, casual time of speculative fiction appreciation. You can tune in here on Friday at 3 pm PST: (no longer available)
\n", "date_published": "2017-10-18T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-10-18-at-the-inkwell/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-10-18-at-the-inkwell/", "title": "At the Inkwell Reading", "content_html": "I'm going to be busy this Friday promoting my fiction, through two different mediums! You, of course, are invited to join in.
\nI'll be reading for the At the Inkwell Flash Fiction Night, which takes place at Alley Cat Books in San Francisco at 7 pm.
\n![\"at](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/10/at-the-inkwell.jpg\")
This is the second time I'll have read with At the Inkwell, which is a national organization dedicated to helping writers get more exposure through reviews and reading series. The Alley Cat Books space is one of the best I've been to for literary readings, and I'm excited for flash fiction to be the chosen topic - it'll give me a break from reading book excerpts! I'll likely be sharing "What Scattered in the Wind,", which is published in Little Letters on the Skin, and some Halloween-themed micro-fiction I've been working on. If there's time, perhaps "Hobgoblin" will also make an appearance at the mic. More info on the event is here: LINKY LINK.
\nI would love to see you at Alley Cat Books or know you've tuned in to the Speculative Fiction Cantina this Friday!
\n", "date_published": "2017-10-18T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-10-16-dark-luminous-wings-pre-sale-for-2-99/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-10-16-dark-luminous-wings-pre-sale-for-2-99/", "title": "Dark Luminous Wings Pre-sale for $2.99!", "content_html": "My next short story will appear in the forthcoming Dark Luminous Wings anthology—and I mean forthcoming soon! Dark Luminous Wings will be released on 10/21, this next Saturday.
\n![\"dark](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/dark-luminous-wings.jpg\")
Synopsis:
\n\n\nFrom Icarus to Da Vinci to tomorrow's astronauts, humans have dreamt of flight. Feathered wings. Mechanical wings. Leathery wings. Steel wings. Stories of winged creatures set in graveyards and churches, bustling cities, fantastical worlds, alternate histories, and outer spacet reveal the shifting nature of Dark Luminous Wings...Dark Luminous Wings will set your imagination soaring—but watch out for sharp beaks, piercing talons, and gravity.
\n
Folks who pre-order this anthology of 17 speculative fiction short stories will get a discount on the price! The e-book is currently available for $2.99, which will go up to $4.99 on release day. Dark Luminous Wings will also be available in print for $14.99, which is a pretty good deal on its own for that much fiction. Get either one on Amazon by clicking right here:
\nMy short story in the collection, "Treasure," in one of the first short stories I wrote when I began my career. Don't worry - I've revised it since then. 😆 I do think it's one of my best now, though it took a while to find a good home (9 personal rejections, 7 form rejections, 1 withdrawal, 1 acceptance). I think you'll agree once you read it that Dark Luminous Wings is a great fit.
\n"Treasure" features a female thief thrust into a culture very different from her own, so different she has a difficult time believing such a culture is real. Can someone raised to distrust everyone around her accept grace and love when freely given it? Is it truly given freely? You’ll have to read “Treasure” to find out what Enkid, the story’s protagonist, makes of these questions…under threat of a flying sea monster and the lure of a rock pillar that manifests jewels.
\nThe first few lines:
\n\n\nWind thundered past the slats of the storage cabin. Hidden within a barrel of fish guts, the stowaway braced herself for lurching. But when the ship pitched sharply sternside, Enkid knew it was no ordinary squall. A storm this bad would force the captain out of his quarters despite his usual drunken stupor, creating an opportunity to filch the beveled, green-glass vial he wore around his neck. It held hemlock tincture, a rare poison that would come in handy for someone in Enkid’s line of work.
\n
May your dreams be free of dark wings, but your mind prepared to tangle with them.I hope you enjoy the fantasy fable of "Treasure"!
\n![\"city](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/10/cityoffrogs29-500x333.jpg\")
This coming weekend, I'm attending Con-Volution 2017, a sci-fi and fantasy convention with a strong focus on all things crafty in the genre.
\n![\"convolution3\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/10/convolution3-500x190.png\")
(con-volution, convolution, 2017, redshirts, sidekicks, minions, lee moyer)
While I will not pretend I can crochet a light saber coozy or program a light board for that perfect ET finger glow, I will share insight into my own craft: writing! Sunday, 10/8, at 12 Noon, I am teaching Destroy All Cling-Ons! This writing workshop is designed to help writers polish their work for publication. Attendees will learn the common phrases, words, and sentence constructions that may be the undoing of an otherwise solid story. Bring in a printed excerpt of your own work or work from my sample, and together, we'll mercilessly cut out stage directions, prepositions, passive writing, and filler words in accordance with current speculative fiction preferred styles.
\nWhat makes me qualified to teach Destroy All Cling-Ons? In addition to the publication of nearly a dozen speculative fiction short stories, a contemporary romance novel, and a YA fantasy novel through traditional routes, I have also copyedited academic and fiction writing for eight years. I co-lead the East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Meetup group, a Women Who Submit Writing - San Francisco chapter, and a few Facebook groups dedicated to helping the careers of female writers grow.
\nIf you'd like to join me for this workshop, you'll need to purchase a membership to Con-Volution at the registration tables at the San Ramon Marriott) when you arrive. You can opt for just a Sunday membership (I believe it'll be $30), but if you want to join in the fun all weekend, the way to go is the full weekend pass for $70. Con-Volution begins with an opening ceremony at 3 pm on 8/6, and closing ceremonies are at 3 pm on 8/8.
\nI assure you, there will be lots to see and do at this con! But if you want more time with me, I'll also be leading a discussion group on 8/6 at 4 pm: The Companion as Hero - From Samwise Gamgee to Bill Potts. Join me in discussing the heroic roles that companions have played in genre fiction. Doctor Who, Samwise Gamgee, Chewbacca, and the Buffy Scooby Gang are just a few possible angles. Who is your most memorably heroic sidekick?
\nI hope you'll tell me there!
\n![\"con-volution,](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/10/convolution4-500x190.jpg\")
I lived in Durham, NC, for eight years, and it's where my writing career got its start. So I am glad to be able to share such a wonderful career milestone with my NC community of friends and fellow writers. And there is plenty of opportunity to join us and to check out some of the great voices living in this great area of the South.
\nAn Afternoon of YA Fantasy
\nSaturday, 9/23, 2 pm
\nBarnes & Noble
\nCary
![\"tony](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/09/Cary-BN2-500x281.jpg\")
Join me, with a reading from Janto's POV, and Tony Daniel, the author of the Wulf's Saga series from Baen Books, for an afternoon of YA fantasy storytelling and book signing. This event is part of the B-Fest celebration of Teen Books at Barnes & Noble nationwide! More details: Facebook event.
\nI hope to see you at any one of these events next week, Triangulars! I'm looking forward to celebrating Wings Unseen's release with the East Coast and all the wonderful folks and friends I met while living there. There will be more events coming up in October for me in the Bay Area—including a workshop and panel discussion at ConVolution!—and I'll be sharing information on all of those opportunities to meet up soon.
\n", "date_published": "2017-09-23T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-09-18-rgf-and-friends/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-09-18-rgf-and-friends/", "title": "Becca Gomez Farrell & Friends", "content_html": "I lived in Durham, NC, for eight years, and it's where my writing career got its start. So I am glad to be able to share such a wonderful career milestone with my NC community of friends and fellow writers. And there is plenty of opportunity to join us and to check out some of the great voices living in this great area of the South.
\nBecca Gomez Farrell and Friends
\nWednesday, 9/20, 7 pm
\nFlyleaf Books
\nChapel Hill
![\"natania](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/09/Flyleaf-FB-500x188.jpg\")
At this event, I'll be reading from Serra's point-of-view, and fellow authors Margaret S. McGraw and Natania Barron will be sharing stories from their own Weird West and early 1900s paranormal tales of adventure. More details: Facebook event or the Flyleaf Books website.
\nI hope to see you at any one of these events next week, Triangulars! I'm looking forward to celebrating Wings Unseen's release with the East Coast and all the wonderful folks and friends I met while living there. There will be more events coming up in October for me in the Bay Area - including a workshop and panel discussion at ConVolution! - and I'll be sharing information on all of those opportunities to meet up soon.
\n", "date_published": "2017-09-20T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-09-18-nc-spec-fic-night/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-09-18-nc-spec-fic-night/", "title": "Nc Speculative Fiction Night", "content_html": "I lived in Durham, NC, for eight years, and it's where my writing career got its start. So I am glad to be able to share such a wonderful career milestone with my NC community of friends and fellow writers. And there is plenty of opportunity to join us and to check out some of the great voices living in this great area of the South.
\nNC Speculative Fiction Night
\nTuesday, 9/19, 7 pm
\nThe Regulator
\nDurham
![\"james](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/09/Regulator-FB-500x188.jpg\")
Join me (and Vesperi!) and local NC authors Mur Lafferty (John W. Campbell award winner, author of the Shambling Guides 1&2) and James Maxey (author of the Dragon Apocalypse novels and much more!) in reading from our works. From dragons to invisible flesh-eaters to murder mysteries in space, our trio offers a little bit of everything sci-fi and fantasy. More details: Facebook or the Regulator website.
\nI hope to see you at any one of these events next week, Triangulars! I'm looking forward to celebrating Wings Unseen's release with the East Coast and all the wonderful folks and friends I met while living there. There will be more events coming up in October for me in the Bay Area - including a workshop and panel discussion at ConVolution! - and I'll be sharing information on all of those opportunities to meet up soon.
\n", "date_published": "2017-09-19T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-09-18-the-nc-leg-of-the-wings-unseen-book-tour-is-taking-flight/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-09-18-the-nc-leg-of-the-wings-unseen-book-tour-is-taking-flight/", "title": "The NC Leg of the Wings Unseen Book Tour", "content_html": "Today, I'll be travelling from Los Angeles to the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina for the final leg of my Wings Unseen book tour. Hooray! Here I am getting a little relaxation and cold recovery in at my sister's before taking off:
\n\n\n
I lived in Durham, NC, for eight years, and it's where my writing career got its start. So I am glad to be able to share such a wonderful career milestone with my NC community of friends and fellow writers. And there is plenty of opportunity to join us and to check out some of the great voices living in this great area of the South.
\nNC Speculative Fiction Night, Tuesday, 9/19, 7 pm The Regulator,, Durham
\n
Join me (and Vesperi!) and local NC authors Mur Lafferty (John W. Campbell award winner, author of the Shambling Guides 1&2) and James Maxey (author of the Dragon Apocalypse novels and much more!) in reading from our works. From dragons to invisible flesh-eaters to murder mysteries in space, our trio offers a little bit of everything sci-fi and fantasy. More details: Facebook or the Regulator website.
\nBecca Gomez Farrell and Friends, Wednesday, 9/20, 7 pm Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill
\n
At this event, I'll be reading from Serra's point-of-view, and fellow authors Margaret S. McGraw and Natania Barron will be sharing stories from their own Weird West and early 1900s paranormal tales of adventure. More details: Facebook event.
\nAn Afternoon of YA Fantasy, Saturday, 9/23, 2 pm Barnes & Noble, Cary
\n
Join myself (and a reading from Janto's POV) and Tony Daniel, author of the Wulf's Saga series from Baen Books for an afternoon of YA fantasy storytelling and book signing. This event is part of the B-Fest celebration of Teen Books at Barnes & Noble nationwide! More details: Facebook event.
\nI hope to see you at any one of these events next week, Triangulars! I'm looking forward to celebrating Wings Unseen's release with the East Coast and all the wonderful folks and friends I met while living there. There will be more events coming up in October for me in the Bay Area - including a workshop and panel discussion at ConVolution! - and I'll be sharing information on all of those opportunities to meet up soon.
\n", "date_published": "2017-09-18T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-09-13-reading-at-shades-shadows-in-los-angeles-916/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-09-13-reading-at-shades-shadows-in-los-angeles-916/", "title": "Reading at Shades & Shadows in Los Angeles 9/16!", "content_html": "This coming Saturday evening, I am thrilled (or is it chilled?) to participate in Shades & Shadows, Los Angeles's only dark fiction reading series:
\n![\"shades](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/09/Shades-Shadows.jpg\")
Details:
\n8:30 pm, doors open at 8
\n$10 entry fee. Tickets here.
\nTHERE WILL BE CAKE at the Mystic Museum
\n3204 Magnolia Blvd
\nBurbank, CA
Click here if you'd like to RSVP at the Facebook event!
\nDark fiction, you ask? But isn't your fantasy novel YA? Well, as many of the reviews can tell you, Wings Unseen is quite a bit darker than some readers expect for YA! I did pitch it as having elements of horror, for both the creatures contained within it and the horrific power struggle in Medua. Believe me, there is plenty of darkness to draw from in the worlds of Lansera and Medua. Now will I go dark horror, dark magic, or darkened halls for my selection? You'll have to come to find out! This is my one and only SoCal stop on my book tour, so I do hope you'll make it. If not, stay tuned for the podcast release of the evening's festivities....which may take a while—the Shades & Shadows crew is about a year behind in podcast production. So you're best bet is to show up! I hope to see you there.
\n", "date_published": "2017-09-13T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-09-01-SF-in-SF/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-09-01-SF-in-SF/", "title": "SF in SF", "content_html": "Where: American Bookbinders Museum, San Francisco
\nWhen: 9/10 at 6:30 pm
![\"sf](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/sf-in-sf-logo-square.jpg\"){kind=logo}
What: Join SF in SF as they present authors DARYL GREGORY and REBECCA GOMEZ FARRELL! Each author will read a selection from their work, followed by audience Q & A moderated by Terry Bisson. Booksigning and schmoozing follows - both authors' books will be available for sale, courtesy of Borderlands Books (feel free to bring books from home as well!). Doors and cash donation bar open at 6PM - and, it's DEBUT NOVEL DRINK NIGHT! Help us raise even more money for the Bookbinders Museum by imbibing a little bit :) $10 at door - no one turned away for lack of funds All proceeds benefit the American Bookbinders Museum.
\nMore Information: https://www.facebook.com/events/117232002272576
\nI hope to see you at either, or both, events! More info coming on LA and NC stops soon....
\n", "date_published": "2017-09-10T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-09-01-East-Bay-SFF-Meetup/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-09-01-East-Bay-SFF-Meetup/", "title": "A Reading of the East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Meetup Group", "content_html": "Where: Mad Monk's Center for Anachronistic Media, Berkeley
\nWhen: 9/2 at 1 pm
What: The East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Meetup Group has been going strong since 2011! This critique group for speculative fiction writers of all adult ages and career stages has provided input for a great number of talented writers over the years. A great collection of talent has come through this group, and we thought it'd be nice to spotlight a few of them finding success as featured readers while also giving current members the chance to read their works in a supportive setting for perhaps the first time in the form of an open mic. We will have three featured readers: Rebecca Gomez Farrell, Andrew Roberts, and Tantra Bensko. Afterward, the reading will transition to an open mic for authors of speculative fiction to share excerpts of their works of up to 600 words, or 5 minutes of reading time.
\nMore Information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1384209081676428
\n", "date_published": "2017-09-02T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-08-24-a-trilogy-of-shivers/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-08-24-a-trilogy-of-shivers/", "title": "A Trilogy of Shivers", "content_html": "8/27 @ 3 pm
\nA Trilogy of Shivers, Adventures, and Fantasy
\nBorderlands Books
\nSan Francisco, CA
Gather round the summer fire for tales sure to tempt your sense of adventure but make you wonder if it's safer to stay by the flame. A trio of Bay Area authors will share readings from their works, field questions from the aliens—er, audience—and hold a signing in the celebrated other world called Borderlands, a place where speculative fiction books reign.
\n![\"\"](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/trilogy-shivers.jpg\")
The fearsome threesome:\nMEGAN E. O'KEEFE just won the Morningstar Trophy for the first book in her "The Scorched Continent" series. Book #3, Inherit the Flame, came out in April from Angry Robot books. Megan was raised amongst journalists, and as soon as she was able joined them by crafting a newsletter which chronicled the daily adventures of the local cat population. She has worked in both arts management and graphic design, and spends her free time tinkering with anything she can get her hands on. Megan lives in the Bay Area of California and makes soap for a living. It's only a little like Fight Club. She is a first place winner in the Writers of the Future competition.
\nLAURA BLACKWELL's fiction appears in various publications, including the World Fantasy Award-winning anthology She Walks in Shadows. Future publications include Pseudopod and the upcoming Strange California anthology. She is Shimmer’s copy editor. You can follow her on Twitter at @pronouncedlahra and visit her website at pronouncedlahra.com.
\nIn all but one career aptitude test REBECCA GOMEZ FARRELL has taken, writer has been the #1 result. But when she tastes the salty air and hears the sea lions bark, she wonders if maybe sea captain was the right choice after all. Currently marooned in Oakland, CA, Becca's debut fantasy novel, Wings Unseen, will be published by Meerkat Press on 8/22. Look for her new short stories in the Dark Luminous Wings and Through A Scanner Farkly anthologies this fall or in magazines such as Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Bull Spec. She also blogs about food, drink, and travel at theGourmez.com.
\nEvents with more information available online are linked - I'll be adding links as I get more details ironed out as well! I would love to see you in the crowd, and of course, to sign your book! I think I'll also be posting some musings about the process of book publication once I get the chance to breath...which may not be until October. 😅
\nThank you for your support, dear readers, and I hope to see you in the world of Lansera soon!
\n![\"wings](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/08/MAP-Final-500x316.jpg\")
Wings Unseen, my debut epic fantasy novel, is now available at bookstores and libraries and everywhere online! Here's a perspective you don't see of the cover often, the full front and back:
\n![\"wings](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/08/FINAL-9781946154002-WingsUnseen-Cover-FLATTENED-CMYK_03-500x348.jpg\")
If you'd like to see it in paperback near you, request to have Wings Unseen ordered at your favorite store. Such requests are much appreciated! And so are online orders. Visit the book info page for links to where you can purchase it.
\nI would absolutely love it if you would rate and/or review the book after reading as well - ratings are life for authors! We all know we are swayed by them. ;) So a big virtual hug from Mazu for those of you able to do so.
\n![\"mazu](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/08/mazu-hug-500x500.jpg\")
To celebrate the release of Wings Unseen yesterday, I thought I'd do a reading on Facebook Live...but I have a ton of Wings Unseen readings coming up, so I thought it'd be more fun to share some of my earliest short stories instead. And by early, I meant second to fifth grade. You can watch the video by clicking through to Facebook or click the video to play below:
\nAh, elementary school storytelling. I was so precocious. You can also follow the Wings Unseen Blog Tour--full of interviews, guest posts, excerpts, and reviews of Wings Unseen from book blogs--over the next three weeks! Find the full schedule of tour stops here at the Xpresso Books tour page.
\nUpcoming Readings and Appearances To promote and celebrate the publication of Wings Unseen, I'll be reading at or participating in several events over the next few months, and hopefully, one of those will be near you! Here's the list of where you can find me coming up, including 4 Bay Area appearances in the next two weeks:
\nEvents with more information available online are linked - I'll be adding links as I get more details ironed out as well! I would love to see you in the crowd, and of course, to sign your book! I think I'll also be posting some musings about the process of book publication once I get the chance to breath...which may not be until October. 😅
\nThank you for your support, dear readers, and I hope to see you in the world of Lansera soon!
\n
To celebrate the release of Wings Unseen yesterday, I thought I'd do a reading on Facebook Live...but I have a ton of Wings Unseen readings coming up, so I thought it'd be more fun to share some of my earliest short stories instead. And by early, I meant second to fifth grade. You can watch the video by clicking through to Facebook or click the video to play below:
\nAh, elementary school storytelling. I was so precocious. You can also follow the Wings Unseen Blog Tour—full of interviews, guest posts, excerpts, and reviews of Wings Unseen from book blogs—over the next three weeks! Find the full schedule of tour stops here at the Xpresso Books tour page.
\nUpcoming Readings and Appearances To promote and celebrate the publication of Wings Unseen, I'll be reading at or participating in several events over the next few months, and hopefully, one of those will be near you! Here's info on tonight's book launch:
\n8/26 @ 4 pm
\nWings Unseen Book Launch
\nThe Octopus Literary Salon
\nOakland, CA
Come join us to celebrate the release of Rebecca Gomez Farrell's first book! Wings Unseen, an epic fantasy, will be out on 8/22 from Meerkat Press--read the full summary in the discussion! You can purchase it at the Octopus Literary Salon the day of the event or pre-order on Amazon now. A few words from other authors in the sci-fi genre:
\n"Wings Unseen is an enthralling female-driven fantasy debut. The world, magic system, and terrific characters – with two complex, multi-layered heroines along with the male protagonist – drew me in and kept me rapt... Compelling, entertaining, and enlightening, Wings Unseen is a fantastic read!"\n– Jeffe Kennedy, award-winning author of The Twelve Kingdoms series
\n"With a talon-like hook, Wings Unseen will grab you and not let you go."\n– Mur Lafferty, award-winning author of The Shambling Guide to New York City
\n"Wings Unseen marries intrigue, unique worldbuilding, and political machination in a fast-paced story that will surely appeal to high fantasy and historical fantasy readers."\n– Jaym Gates, author of Shattered Queen
\nRebecca will be joined by authors Loren Rhoads and Dan Potter! Loren is the author of The Dangerous Type, Kill By Numbers, and No More Heroes, a space opera trilogy set in a galaxy where humans are a minority. Her newest book — 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die — will be out in October.
\nDan Potter is the author of the Freelance Familiars series. Full bio coming...\nAll three authors will be available for signing after reading selections from their work, and we will celebrate this milestone for Becca with the great food, drink, and community offered at the Octopus Literary Salon!\nHope to see you there!
\n", "date_published": "2017-08-24T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-08-24-feminist-spec-fic/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-08-24-feminist-spec-fic/", "title": "Feminist Spec Fic Night", "content_html": "8/25 @ 8 pm
\nFeminist Spec Fic night
\nThe Liminal Center
\nOakland, CA
![\"\"](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/feminist-spec.jpg\")
Women have been writing speculative fiction since its invention...by a woman! Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is credited with creating the science fiction genre, and the women of scifi, horror, and fantasy haven't stopped since 1818. Perhaps we CANNOT be stopped? What unearthly power COMPELs us? Maybe coming out for this reading will help us investigate that matter...
\nA fantastic slate of female speculative fiction writers will be reading this night at the Liminal Center in Oakland. The Liminal Center is a creative space that fosters the artistic voices of female and female-identifying artists and writers. Our works will be available for purchase and signing after the event, and Liminal offers refreshments for donations.
\nHere are the truly Fantastic Five Feminists reading this night:
\nDANA FREDSTI is an ex B-movie actress with a background in theatrical combat (a skill she utilized in Army of Darkness as a sword-fighting Deadite and fight captain). She is the author of the Ashley Parker series, touted as Buffy meets The Walking Dead, as well as what might be the first example of zombie noir, A Man’s Gotta Eat What a Man’s Gotta Eat, first published in Mondo Zombie. She also wrote the cozy noir mystery Murder for Hire: the Peruvian Pigeon (Fox Spirit Books), is co-author of What Women Really Want in Bed, and has written several spicy genre romances under the pen name Inara LaVey. Additionally, Dana has a new urban fantasy series, Spawn of Lilith, with Titan Books, the first coming out June 2017. She also has a story coming out in V-Wars 4: Shockwaves, and a story, “Crash Course,” in the upcoming anthology Joe Ledger: Unstoppable.
\nShe lives in San Francisco with her husband and fellow author David Fitzgerald, with whom she’s co-writing Time Shards, a science fiction trilogy for Titan Books. They share their house with their dog Pogeen, and a small horde of felines.
\nAUDREY T. WILLIAMS is an Oakland-based writer and an MFA Candidate in the Writing program at California College of the Arts. She is working on her first speculative fiction novel, as well as personal essays about her multi-racial family life. Audrey is a child of the '80s who grew up on the North Carolina coast near Camp LeJeune. Her fondest memories of youth include: watching Star Trek with her father and learning to make lemon pickle and mango chutney with her mother. She has been deeply exploring her cultural and racial identity formation, as well as healing via ancestral memories and spiritual gifts. (http://www.imaginingfutures.org)
\nREBECCA GOMEZ FARRELL conjures up short and long speculative fiction stories from her home in Oakland, CA, where she resides with her tech wizard husband and two trickster cats. Her debut epic fantasy novel, Wings Unseen, comes out August 22 from Meerkat Press. Her shorter works can be read in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, the Future Fire, and Bull Spec among other magazines. She also blogs about food, drink, and travel at theGourmez.com, and yes, she has opinions about candied bacon.
\nL. S. JOHNSON was born in New York and now lives in Northern California, where she feeds her cats by writing book indexes. Her stories have appeared in such venues as Strange Horizons, Interzone, Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History, and Year's Best Weird Fiction. Vacui Magia: Stories, her first collection, won the 2nd Annual North Street Book Prize and was just nominated for a World Fantasy Award. Her novella Harkworth Hall was published this summer. To find out more, visit her website at (http://traversingz.com/).
\nEFFIE SEIBERG is a fantasy and science fiction writer living in San Francisco. Her stories can be found in the "Women Destroy Science Fiction!" special edition of Lightspeed Magazine (winner of the 2015 British Fantasy Award for Best Anthology), Galaxy's Edge, Analog, Fireside Fiction, and PodCastle, amongst others. Her stories have been a finalist in the AnLab Awards 2016, received honorable mentions in the Year's Best YA Speculative Fiction 2015 and in Writers of the Future contest, and have been in the Tangent 2016 recommended reading list. She is a graduate of Taos Toolbox 2013, and a member of SFWA and Codex. She likes to make sculpted cakes and bad puns. Follow her at (http://effieseiberg.com/).
\n", "date_published": "2017-08-24T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-08-10-little-letters-on-the-skin-reading-friday-811/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-08-10-little-letters-on-the-skin-reading-friday-811/", "title": "Little Letters on the Skin Reading", "content_html": "This is essentially a repost of info from when this reading was originally scheduled, but it was moved to do publication issues. Well...it's happening tomorrow! Time has flown by, and I am very excited to finally share "What Scattered in the Wind" tomorrow night in person and into posterity for anyone who orders this chapbook! Please come celebrate the launch for the anthology/chapbook it will appear in: Little Letters on the Skin.
\n![\"little](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/08/little-letters-on-the-skin.jpg\")
What? The Cleave: Bay Area Women Writers and the Liminal Center Release of the Little Letters on the Skin
\nWhen? Friday, June 9, 2017 Friday, August 11, 2017
\nWhere? The Octopus Literary Salon, 2101 Webster St, Oakland.
\nTime? 7 pm.
\nEight other writers and myself, who have been involved with Oakland's amazing creative space for feminists and womanists, the Liminal Center, will be taking part in the reading and small group Q & A afterward. The anthology will be available for purchase, with all profits going to help support the work of the Liminal Center, which I've written about before here and here. I will also bring along a few copies to sell of Typehouse Literary Magazine #9, which featured my humorous sci-fi story, "Mixed Signals, or, Learning How to Speak," last September.
\n"What Scattered in the Wind" is not humorous sci-fi, that's for sure. Rather, it's horror flash fiction done in a poetic prose style, and it's the first story I wrote upon moving to the Bay Area. I love the mood of it, and the angst within it, that of a woman struggling with her biggest regret in life and sentenced to forever re-remember it. The first lines?
\n\n\nHollow rasps of laughter pestered her to wakefulness. Any noise would have done the same, though she clamped her eyelids together in protest. For years, Ruth had heard nothing but the teakettle's hiss or the slow scrape of her cane against the camper's floor panels. The creaking sound of her voice rarely interrupted the silence. Unlike the other wayfarers, Ruth had never developed the habit of talking to herself. She didn't care to hear what she'd have to say.
\n"Hee-hee, hee-he-heee!"
\n
What I am most excited about for this event, however, is the exceptional list of fellow writers reading with me, at least half of whom I've read with before and they are STELLAR:
\n\n\nChristine No is a writer, filmmaker and pitbull enthusiast based in Oakland, CA. She is a Pushcart Prize Nominee and the 2016 First Place Poetry Winner of the Litquake Writing Contest. Say hello at www.christineno.com
\nGina Goldblatt is the founder of Liminal, a writing center for women, in Oakland California. She is a writer, an educator and an aerialist.
\nHannah Rubin is a writer and artist based in Oakland, CA.
\nHeather Schubert is a published author, visual artist, teacher, Priestess and mother of four.
\nJasmine Wade is obsessed with the tumultuous, hilarious, heartbreaking, and never-ending process of growing up. Find a list of her short stories at www.jasminehwade.com.
\nJeneé Darden is an award-winning journalist, public speaker, mental health advocate and proud Oakland native. Visit her podcast and blog CocoaFly.com where she covers issues related to women, race, wellness and sex.
\nNorma Smith was born in Detroit, grew up in Fresno, California, and has lived and worked in Oakland since the late 1960s. In support of her writing, she has worked as a ward clerk in hospitals, as a radio producer, as a translator and interpreter, as an educator, and as an editor and writing coach.
\nRebecca Gomez Farrell writes all the speculative fiction genres she can conjure up. Find a list of her published shorter works at RebeccaGomezFarrell.com, and find her debut fantasy novel, Wings Unseen, in August 2017 from Meerkat Press.
\nRuth Crossman was born and raised in Berkeley and currently lives in Oakland. She is a poet and a songwriter who teaches ESL to support her writing habit.
\n
Additionally, the anthology is edited by Dr. Raina J. León, who's an associate professor at Saint Mary's College and the founder of the Cleave reading series along with numerous other accolades. That's a stellar line-up that I'm glad to be a part of! I do hope you'll come out and join us, celebrating what women are doing in the literary arts in Oakland. Here's the Facebook event page, if you'd like to RSVP. I always like to know what friendly faces I'll see in the crowd!
\n", "date_published": "2017-08-11T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-08-03-the-map-for-wings-unseen-is-released/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-08-03-the-map-for-wings-unseen-is-released/", "title": "The Map for Wings Unseen is Released!", "content_html": "The first time Wings Unseen, my debut epic fantasy novel, got a map was out of desperation. I simply could not keep my own world-building straight without a visual to look at, and my artistic abilities are HORRIBLE, so I forced my husband to draw me one. Ben is a software developer and designer, so he can sneeze and create something pleasing to look at - the closest I can get is taking snapshots of artwork already in existence.
\nSo I knew early on that this book would need a map, and what self-respecting fantasy book doesn't have one, anyway? I am pleased to share with you the final map that will appear in the final book, which Meerkat Press revealed on Monday:
\n![\"wings](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/08/MAP-Final-1024x648.jpg\")
I love it! The main shape of the land remains the same from that day that I forced Ben to craft it for me, but we've added terrain, made the fonts used for countries, regions, cities, and points of interest uniform, and see that smashing compass top right? Yep, it incorporates the three-headed bird featured on the cover of the book! It'll be a helpful resource for readers, as I do, or my characters, rather, cover a LOT of ground in Wings Unseen. One of my biggest regrets is actually how many cities remain unexplored in the book, which I may be addressing in my early plotting of a sequel...
\nWant to dive into that map? Pre-order Wings Unseen today! Less than three weeks until it's out!
\n", "date_published": "2017-08-03T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-07-17-treasure-to-appear-in-dark-luminous-wings/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-07-17-treasure-to-appear-in-dark-luminous-wings/", "title": ""Treasure" to appear in Dark Luminous Wings", "content_html": "For the first time ever, I will have a short story included in an anthology! In fact, I will have *two* stories in anthologies in the coming months, in addition, of course, to the publication and book tour for Wings Unseen, my first novel. "Treasure," a fantasy fable appearing in Dark Luminous Wings from Pole to Pole Publishing, shares quite a lot in common with Wings Unseen, actually. Here's the early anthology cover art that co-editor Vonnie Winslow Crist revealed in May:
\n
"Treasure" is one of my oldest short stories—I began Draft #1 in 2007, and my filename at that time was "black and white." That name reflects what I wanted to accomplish in writing this story—I wanted to play with the idea of a female thief being thrust into a culture very different from the more violent, selfish one in which she'd been raised, so different that she has a difficult time believing such a culture is real. Can someone raised to distrust everyone around her accept grace and love when freely given it? Is it truly given freely? You'll have to read "Treasure" to find out what Enkid, the story's protoganist, makes of these questions...under threat of a flying sea monster called the Laklor and the lure of a rock pillar that manifests jewels and....
\nAnd, I think that's enough info on "Treasure" for now. ;) If you've read an early ARC of Wings Unseen already, then you know those same questions are ones that factor heavily into Vesperi's point of view in the book, though I might argue that figuring out how to deal with a culture so foreign to one's own is also a hurdle for Janto and Serra, the two other main POV characters. Challenging our perspectives of how the world works can be one of the hardest quests there is. Obviously, the concept was strongly on my mind then; I began writing W__ings Unseen in earnest around the same time I drafted "Treasure." Both tales also heavily feature creatures with menacing wings. So does my horror short "Thlush-A-Lum" now that I think of it...
\n I guess I have a thing for spooky wings.
Before Pole to Pole's acceptance of "Treasure," I submitted it out a total of 18 times, resulting in 1 author withdrawal, 7 form rejections, and 9 personal rejections, including 2 from pro-level speculative fiction markets that got THISCLOSE to publishing the story—and I mean that! The editors of both mags told me they held onto it for so long because they'd been hoping to find a place for it but ultimately could not. I also significantly rewrote the story at least twice in the six years since I first sent it out. After all that, I think Dark Luminous Wings is truly where this story was destined to go as I can't imagine a more perfect fit for it than what their call for submissions detailed:
\n\n\nThe volume draws inspiration from Richard Henry Stoddard’s poem, Mors et Vita, particularly stanza two:
\nUnder the awful wings Which brood over land and sea, And whose shadows nor lift nor flee— This is the order of things, And hath been from of old: First production, And last destruction; So the pendulum swings, While cradles are rocked and bells are tolled.
\nSend us your stories about angels and demons, dragons and fairies, airplanes and ornathopters—and more. Let your imaginations soar, but let your stories be found in the darkest of places.
\n
Late October is Dark Luminous Wings' planned publication date, and I'll let you know where to order once I have that information. Until then, may your dreams be free of dark wings, but your mind prepared to tangle with them.
\n![\"A](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/07/2012_Dec_Nola_259-500x333.jpg\")
Catching up on appearances I've made over the past couple of years for food and fiction, and lo and behold! I never promoted my episode of the Swirl Suite podcast from last year! I love this group, or "squad" as they call themselves, of female wine and spirit professionals of color, based mainly in the DC area. Last year, they did a series, "Get to Know a Wine Blogger," and I was thrilled to be asked to take part. Surprisingly, the only subject that's out of date is that my fantasy novel, Wings Unseen, is no longer coming out but has been out for a year. Oh, and we're a year past that Wine Bloggers Conference in Santa Rosa as well. Details, details. Otherwise, it's a pretty fun interview!
\n![\"swirl](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/11/13225810/Swirl-Suite-1024x1021.jpg\")
In this 42-minute episode, you'll first listen to Sarita Vine Me Up, Glynis Vino Noire, Leslie Vino 301, Tanisha Girl Meets Glass, and Melissa the Liquor Lady talking about summertime humidity, Juneteenth, and Oz restaurant's Happy Hour in Arlington, VA. About eight and a half minutes, the ladies start chatting up myself and Tivon of Von Vino.
\nTivon and I talk about how we got into wine blogging, how drinking it got us into wanting to record it and learn more about it. Then we all talk about the wineries we visited most recently and I say "like" way too often, as per usual. I'm a California Valley Girl - I can't help it. Great tips follow for advice to wine bloggers just starting out, our favorite happy hours (shoutout to the Libertine!), we play a word association game, and a surprising truth is revealed—very few of us keep cases of wine at the ready! I also share some of my fiction writing process, which I'm in the depths of on two different books right now.
\nThat direct Soundcloud link is right here. Or check out the show below on Youtube, which I queued up to right before my and Tivon's introductions. Thanks for tuning in! And thanks to the Swirl Suite Squad for having me.
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-07-01T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-05-31-goodreads-giveaway-of-wings-unseen/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-05-31-goodreads-giveaway-of-wings-unseen/", "title": "Goodreads Giveaway of Wings Unseen through June 24!", "content_html": "The LibraryThings giveaway of Wings Unseen is now complete! But do not lose hope, dear readers. There are other ways to get your hands on an early copy of my book....
\n...Like on Goodreads!
\n![\"goodreads_f\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/07/goodreads_f-500x218.png\")
Through June 24, you can enter to win one of five print copies of Wings Unseen through Goodreads. Yes, that's right! I said print! How exciting is that?! They are advanced reading copies, which means some important details have not yet made it into the book design, like that dedication and acknowledgment I still need to write....but the story is all there and the book is 90% what it will be in the final version.
\nThe odds are not as much in your favor this time around, with 235 people already entered in the giveaway, but you should totally try. Why? Because I'm proud of this book and I hope you will be proud of it too, enough to leave a review and rating after you get a sneak peek at it.
\n![\"Wings](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/07/34649841.jpg\" "\\"Wings")
Giveaway ends June 24, 2017.
\nSee the giveaway details at Goodreads.
\n\nTo enter, you can either click the link in that widget right above this or head to the website to enter directly there - the result will be the same either way! And you may be among the first to hold a copy of Wings Unseen in your hands! Heck, I haven't done that yet.
\nTo encourage you to enter the Goodreads giveaway, I am giving away a sneak peak myself of one of the four character sigils that Meerkat Press has commissioned for the book! These sigils appear on the chapter title pages for each of my point-of-view characters - or at least the four of them that matter most. The first one is...
\n![\"wings](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/07/ICONS-grapes-forbecca-500x405.jpg\"){kind=icon}
Serra is the daughter of Midra and Goning Gavenstone, the liege-lords of Meditlan, a land of spices and wine - thus the grapevines of her sigil. Both her parents tragically drowned when Serrra was a child. As the book opens, her older brother, Agler, is on a quest for the Ravens, the spies of her home country, Lansera. Serra is engaged to Janto Albrecht, the prince of Lansera, and will wed him in a month. Being a part of the Albrecht family and the someday queen of Lansera is all that Serra has ever wanted, since she moved into their home after her parents' death. But at 18, Serra has much to learn of wants and what the future holds.
\nGet your chance to follow Serra's journey to her own future with an ARC of Wings Unseen from Goodreads! Enter here.
\n", "date_published": "2017-05-31T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-05-30-what-scattered-in-the-wind/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-05-30-what-scattered-in-the-wind/", "title": "My Next Reading & Story: "What Scattered in the Wind"", "content_html": "Update! This reading and publication has been postponed until 8/11. All other details remain the same. Join me in August instead!
\nMy next short story publication is coming up soon! And I will soon be taking part in a reading to celebrate the launch for the anthology/chapbook it will appear in: Little Letters on the Skin. I do hope you'll join me.
\n
What? The Cleave: Bay Area Women Writers and the Liminal Center Release of the Little Letters on the Skin
\nWhen? Friday, June 9, 2017 Friday, August 11, 2017
\nWhere? The Octopus Literary Salon, 2101 Webster St, Oakland.
\nTime? 7 pm.
\nEight other writers and myself, who have been involved with Oakland's amazing creative space for feminists and womanists, the Liminal Center, will be taking part in the reading and small group Q & A afterward. The anthology will be available for purchase, with all profits going to help support the work of the Liminal Center, which I've written about before here and here. I will also bring along a few copies to sell of Typehouse Literary Magazine #9, which featured my humorous sci-fi story, "Mixed Signals, or, Learning How to Speak," last September.
\n"What Scattered in the Wind" is not humorous sci-fi, that's for sure. Rather, it's horror flash fiction done in a poetic prose style, and it's the first story I wrote upon moving to the Bay Area. I love the mood of it, and the angst within it, that of a woman struggling with her biggest regret in life and sentenced to forever re-remember it. The first lines?
\n\n\nHollow rasps of laughter pestered her to wakefulness. Any noise would have done the same, though she clamped her eyelids together in protest. For years, Ruth had heard nothing but the teakettle's hiss or the slow scrape of her cane against the camper's floor panels. The creaking sound of her voice rarely interrupted the silence. Unlike the other wayfarers, Ruth had never developed the habit of talking to herself. She didn't care to hear what she'd have to say.
\n"Hee-hee, hee-he-heee!"
\n
What I am most excited about for this event, however, is the exceptional list of fellow writers reading with me, at least half of whom I've read with before and they are STELLAR:
\n\n\nChristine No is a writer, filmmaker and pitbull enthusiast based in Oakland, CA. She is a Pushcart Prize Nominee and the 2016 First Place Poetry Winner of the Litquake Writing Contest. Say hello at www.christineno.com
\nGina Goldblatt is the founder of Liminal, a writing center for women, in Oakland California. She is a writer, an educator and an aerialist.
\nHannah Rubin is a writer and artist based in Oakland, CA.
\nHeather Schubert is a published author, visual artist, teacher, Priestess and mother of four.
\nJasmine Wade is obsessed with the tumultuous, hilarious, heartbreaking, and never-ending process of growing up. Find a list of her short stories at www.jasminehwade.com.
\nJeneé Darden is an award-winning journalist, public speaker, mental health advocate and proud Oakland native. Visit her podcast and blog CocoaFly.com where she covers issues related to women, race, wellness and sex.
\nNorma Smith was born in Detroit, grew up in Fresno, California, and has lived and worked in Oakland since the late 1960s. In support of her writing, she has worked as a ward clerk in hospitals, as a radio producer, as a translator and interpreter, as an educator, and as an editor and writing coach.
\nRebecca Gomez Farrell writes all the speculative fiction genres she can conjure up. Find a list of her published shorter works at RebeccaGomezFarrell.com, and find her debut fantasy novel, Wings Unseen, in August 2017 from Meerkat Press.
\nRuth Crossman was born and raised in Berkeley and currently lives in Oakland. She is a poet and a songwriter who teaches ESL to support her writing habit.
\n
Additionally, the anthology is edited by Dr. Raina J. León, who's an associate professor at Saint Mary's College and the founder of the Cleave reading series along with numerous other accolades. That's a stellar line-up that I'm glad to be a part of! I do hope you'll come out and join us, celebrating what women are doing in the literary arts in Oakland. Here's the Facebook event page, if you'd like to RSVP. I always like to know what friendly faces I'll see in the crowd!
\n", "date_published": "2017-05-30T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-05-27-win-wings-unseen-through-librarything/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-05-27-win-wings-unseen-through-librarything/", "title": "3 Days Left to Win Wings Unseen Through LibraryThing!", "content_html": "Folks, we are nearing the end of May and nearing the time when the first batch of readers will be getting their hands on ARCs (advanced reading copies) of my book! I am excited and nervous and probably mostly overwhelmed with the whirlwind coming as Wings Unseen gets closer and closer to publication.
\n![\"This'll](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/05/me-nervous-319x500.jpg\")
This'll help, right?
And you can be one of the first people to have it in your hands if you sign up for the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program and request my book! 100 review copies of Wings Unseen are flying out from there soon, absolutely free. So far, only 160 members have requested a copy, so your odds are pretty good at getting one! But you only have 3 more days to request it, so get going! Here's the link again (click here). The giveaway ends on May 29, 2017.
\nYou will find Wings Unseen about two-thirds of the way down that list of books for May. So after signing up for the program, or if you are already a member, you can CTRL + F to find Wings Unseen on the page or keep your eyes peeled for the cover.
\nThere is another giveaway also underway, which I'll be posting on soon. But for now, one last time, here's the link for the LibraryThing Early Reviewers request page! Click the link here.
\n", "date_published": "2017-05-27T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-05-16-wings-unseen-available-for-pre-order/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-05-16-wings-unseen-available-for-pre-order/", "title": "Wings Unseen available for Pre-Order!!", "content_html": "Sound the horns!
\n![\"bucci](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/05/2014_Barcelona_594-500x300.jpg\")
Ooh, maybe not that one. That looks dangerous. Regardless, it's time to celebrate because my YA/New Adult epic fantasy, Wings Unseen, is now available for pre-order!
\nThe official release date is August 22, 2017! Did I not mention that before? *browses website* Wow, I really did not mention that before. Apparently, getting your tonsils removed puts you off your promotional game. Luckily, Meerkat Press is continuing to be a phenomenal small press, so word is getting out about this book, and ARCs go out this month. So exciting! Stay tuned for giveaway info, but also go ahead and click on one of those pre-order links if you can...what, you want more enticement? How about an excerpt from the book? Here's one of my photos to conjure your imagination:
\n![\"raw](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/RSB-Oktoberfest-04.jpg\")
And here's the excerpt. In it, Vesperi, a main point-of-view character who lives on the Meduan side of the mountains, where a highly questionable moral code reigns, makes a visit to an herbalist:
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2017-05-16T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-03-09-my-fogcon-friday-frenzy-of-events/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-03-09-my-fogcon-friday-frenzy-of-events/", "title": "FogCon Appearances", "content_html": ""Vesperi Sellwyn! It has been ages since I saw you last. You have been too busy with those fancy lordlings to come visit old Graw." His voice scratched like the black scruff on his chin. "Though I have noticed fewer coteries riding through of late." He cocked his head. "Did those suitors find the merchandise too used?"
\nShe glared. "None of them were suited to my needs."
\n"Oh, I am certain I have something that would suit your needs." He grabbed at the sagging bulge beneath his belt.
\nShe ignored him. "You do, actually. I have need of fallowent. Do you know of it?"
\n"Fallowent, aye, I may have some of that, though it's scarce these days. The plants grow best by the river, and they disappear as fast as the Sell's waters." His face lit up as he spoke, confirming what Vesperi had pieced together years ago—this man loved his craft more than his pleasures. He was harmless, as far as men went.
\nEach hobbled step he took drew forth a curse. After some shuffling and banging, he returned with a pot in hand. Cloying scents of honey and musk rose up as he lifted the lid. She dipped a finger and it came out coated in black, sticky seeds no bigger than a flea.
\n"I will need more of it." She had no idea how long it would last. "So you had best figure out how to get some or my father will hear of it."
\nHis face paled. "I will. There is no need to tell your father. I will have the guards take me foraging tomorrow."
\n"Good. I will return for more next week."
\nHe raised his elbows as she made to leave but stopped her at the door. "You were right—"
\nShe narrowed her eyes.
\n"—about those men, your suitors? To reject them."
\nVesperi had little patience for stammering, but this was an unexpected compliment.
\n"I know you are a woman and Saeth teaches that women are prized only for their cunts and the kitchens, but fallowent won't do anything to make that brother of yours a man. He would let us all fall into the hands of Durn, or Saeth forbid, the cow lords of Yarowen."
\nGraw shuddered, and Vesperi gave him a brilliant smile, encouraging him to continue. "I would—I would rather you take over than him someday, and you can't do that if you get married. I am very attached to my store, you see—" he petted the padded arm of his chair, "—and I would prefer things stay this way."
\n"If we are lucky, my father will live many more years."
\n"Of course," he said hurriedly. "I did not mean to suggest—"
\n"You didn't," she assured him. "And Saeth may yet give my mother another son Lord Sellwyn can be proud of. We must pray for that."
\nHe nodded, eyes downcast. But his head lifted when she placed an extra pile of souzers on the table.
\n"Your loyalty is noted by House Sellwyn." It was all she could say safely. She exited without another word, but the hood did not feel quite as binding when she pulled it over her head.
\n
This Friday is Day 1 of FogCon, a literary-themed, genre fiction convention that takes place in Walnut Creek every year. But for me, Friday is Day Everything! That's because I have three--3!--events going on that day, and I would love for you to join if you're attending the festivities.
\nFirst up is the Social Media for Writers and Authors panel, taking place 3:00-4:15 pm in Salon A/B. I thought my food blogging background might yield a different perspective on this topic, the description for which is "Join our panelists for a nuts and bolts discussion from personal experiences in the brave new world of Social Media as Writer and/or Author. What platforms work, and for what? How do you get followers/fans? What is the most effective way to reach people who will buy my books, not just other writers? How do you keep these people engaged and interacting on your networks?"
\nImmediately thereafter, I'll be hosting and reading in the Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading session in the Santa Rosa room, 4:30-5:45 pm.
\n![\"FogCon](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/03/FogCon-RFR-poster2-1024x791.jpg\")
Broad Universe is an organization of female writers and their supporters of all genders that work together to raise the profile of women in the industry. Our Rapid Fire Readings are a mainstay at many science fiction conventions around the nation, and this one will consist of two rounds of 8-minute readings from four authors...and we may have a special guest author as well! The slate is myself, Loren Rhoads, L.S. Johnson, and Sarah Grey.
\nThen, I get to eat dinner! And get more of a break before my second panel, How Did You Survive the Election? We will be tasked with tackling this terrifying topic in Salon A/B at 9:30-10:45 pm. Ah, such a sweet way to send us to slumber...The full panel description is "The 2015-2016 election season drove many of us to desperation, drink, or other distractions. Some of us turned into political denialists, some of us became political junkies, some of us amassed gigabytes of cute cat videos. How did you survive the campaigns, the stresses, the misrepresentations, coping with relatives who didn't understand/were partisans for the wrong side, and so on? Panelists and audience share their experiences with this tectonic election, as well as tips for surviving the stresses of political campaigns, political work, and dealing with the political news." I'll be approaching the topic from a viewpoint of ways to become an activist without breaking down relationships with those close to you whom have a different political persuasion.
\nAnd after that...I'm off the hook! Well, almost! Saturday and Sunday, you may often find me at the hotel's lobby bar when I'm taking a break from checking out someone else's reading or panel. But you will for sure find me there on Saturday during the lunch block, 12:00-1:15 pm, when I'll be the point person for members of the East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer's Meetup to, well, meet up! If you're interested in meeting other East Bay genre writers, that'll be a great time to swing by. But whenever you see me, I'm generally always down for a chat!
\nHope to see you through the Fog this weekend!
\n![\"Rebecca](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/03/agent-carter-becca-400x500.jpg\")
Due to rain and potential flooding, this event has been cancelled. Hopefully, I will be able to read at Moshin in March or April instead! I'll keep you updated.
\nMy next reading will be in the midst of wine country! On February 20, from 5:30 pm to 7 pm, Moshin Vineyards will host a writer's salon to welcome their next Writing Between the Vines author.
\n![\"writing](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/02/writing-between-the-vines.jpeg\")
What is Writing Between the Vines? It's a writing retreat that pairs writers with vineyards willing to host them with "a space to work, a place to create—surrounded by the beauty and majesty of vineyards in locations around the world," per the website. Interested authors apply in the fall and the winning applicants spend 4 to 6 days at the wineries.....writing. Just writing. How lovely that sounds!
\nWhy am I invited to read? Beyond the wine connection from my food blog, of course, I came in as a runner-up for the retreat at Moshin Vineyards.
\n![\"moshin](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/02/moshin-vineyards.jpg\")
Thus, I was asked to come in for the salon that kicks off the retreat. I am excited to share an important scene from my upcoming book, Wings Unseen, that features a treasured family wine.
\n![\"wings](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/02/wingsunseen.jpg\")
Time allowing, I will also read "Thlush-A-Lum," my horror story published in PULP Literature, which also draws on wine imagery.
\n![\"Pulp](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/Pulp-Literature-5.JPG\")
But I am nearly as excited to try Moshin's wines for the first time. The thrill of discovery is always galvanizing! The reading will take place at Moshin Vineyard's tasting room in Healdsburg. Full details are available here. I hope to see you there!
\n", "date_published": "2017-02-09T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-01-20-wings-unseen-coming-from-meerkat-press-in-august-2017/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2017-01-20-wings-unseen-coming-from-meerkat-press-in-august-2017/", "title": "Wings Unseen coming from Meerkat Press in August 2017!", "content_html": "Wow. I signed a contract to publish my first book, Wings Unseen, an epic fantasy. With a traditional press. And a print run. And an advance. Folks, I’m still amazed this is happening, and five months in, and I am so happy with my choice to entrust Meerkat Press with this book.
\n
And there it is. The cover reveal officially went down today at 7pm/4pm at the Meerkat Press website. And I LOVE it. I especially love the more modern style, which is one of the reasons I trust this publisher.
\n![\"How](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/01/meerkatpress.jpg\")
How could you not trust this logo? <3
We looked at a traditional fantasy design, but it didn’t feel right at all. This design stands out to me -- the artist rocked it! A three-headed bird stares straight at you, claiming you, perhaps inspiring you to flip the pages. And when you peer closer, something else comes into focus: other winged creatures fluttering around the title letters, blinking into your sight, and giving you an instinctual shiver.
\nAnd then there’s the color blue behind it all. I don’t know if Meerkat Press chose blue with intention, but no other color would fit quite as well for this book. Beneath much of Wing Unseen’s action is a force whose presence is signified by blue, so it’s beautifully appropriate that blue is the background for the cover as well. That it is there is enough, quietly holding together what can be more obviously seen.
\nIt’ll be out in August! *leaps for joy*
\nI’ve talked with friends many times about how I’m one of those writers who achieve something on their goal list then immediately feel as though I’m not a real writer yet, that there is a higher hurdle to jump and only when that happens will I feel I can say it. Place in a contest – nope, not good enough. Have short stories published—nope, doesn’t count until I get paid for one. Have a novella published—well, it’s not a whole book, is it? Sell enough pro-level short stories to join SFWA – but an associate doesn't count as much as a full member. Sign a traditional book contract – well, I certainly never expected to clear that hurdle before achieving the full SFWA membership goal! Yet here I am, and I’m pretty sure I can call myself a real writer now.
\n![\"rebecca](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/01/me-and-zu-281x500.jpg\")
The cat obsession probably qualified me on its own years ago. ;) I look forward to the next few months of the whirlwind that is publishing, and I’m going to share that experience here with you. For now, here’s the first paragraph of my Wings Unseen query that earned me two separate contract offers after three years of submitting the manuscript out:
\n\n\nThe Meduan and Lanserim ways of life are as compatible as oil and water. But when an invisible threat consumes both countries, leaving husks of human skin in its wake, Lansera’s Prince Janto and his fiancé, Serra, must learn to work together with Vesperi, a Meduan who possesses the only weapon that can save them.
\n
And I’m off to stare at my cover dreamily for the rest of the night….or actually, to share in a virtual wine tasting at Wine Antics, starting at 9 EST/6 PST! This real writer keeps herself busy juggling her spheres of writing influence! Fiction writer mode on SLEEP. Food blogger mode: ENGAGE!
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-20T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-10-31-good-genes-published-at-the-future-fire/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-10-31-good-genes-published-at-the-future-fire/", "title": "Good Genes published at the Future Fire!", "content_html": ""Good Genes," is now available to read at the Future Fire as part of their 38th issue, or Issue 2016.38 in the magazine's parlance.
\n![\"the](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/10/f38cover.jpg\")
I am super glad it was published just in time for Halloween as it's a spooky story, and a bit of an epic one, combining a modern-day tale with a narrative from the Wild West stage of American history. Sometimes, a place a refuge may bring more horror than the past left behind...
\n![\"Good](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/10/pn-goodgenes1.jpg\")
Artwork by Pear Nuallak
The illustration posted above is one of two that accompany "Good Genes" in the Future Fire. Both are done by Pear Nuallak, and I love when my stories get a little pictorial boost! Read the magazine online to see the second one! Here's the link directly to the story. And here's a new teaser for you:
\n\n\nThe noise of the carnival had died down as the ceremonial hour approached and the townspeople made their way to the gathering place in a trickle. Clumps of dry needles covered brittle pine cones hanging from a handful of trees. The great lawn was a patchwork of mud-filled trenches, struggling green grasses, and yellowed squares that had given up the fight. A faded wicker pavilion rose up at the park’s eastern edge, in front of a free-standing wall of cement—handball courts? Two banners strung across the stage declared “Heritage Festival” and “May Our Founders Live Forever."
\n
There are other great reasons to tune in to Issue 2016.38—free short stories by authors Ola Al-Fateh, Petra Kuppers, Kelly Rose Pflug-Back, and Damien Krsteski, and poetry by F. J. Bergmann! I look forward to reading them all. As Editor Djibril al-Ayad describes the collection:
\n\n\n"Not everything is what it seems—sometimes unseen terrors lurk in every shadow, around every corner, beneath an unassuming countenance or behind unthreatening doors. We might be pleasantly surprised by the resilience of a people we expected to collapse in defeat, and we could be equally shocked by the creeping bigotry and xenophobia of our smiling neighbors. Surprises are at the heart of dramatic tension, and hidden depths and dark secrets are a recurring theme in the stories in this month’s issue."
\n
Feel free to leave me your reactions to "Good Genes" or comment on it at the Future Fire blog. Whatever you do, try not to take your next next cough too seriously...
\n", "date_published": "2016-10-31T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-10-24-catch-the-hydra-and-me-reading-tomorrow/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-10-24-catch-the-hydra-and-me-reading-tomorrow/", "title": "The Hydra Reading", "content_html": "Last week, I was invited to join the Hydra literary series for their spooky Halloween reading, and of course, I said yes. Read my horror? I look forward to any spine-chilling I can cause!
\nWhat: The Hydra #7 Reading Series!
\nWhere: Woods Bar & Brewery
\n1701 Telegraph
\nDowntown Oakland
\nWhen: 7 pm
More details at the Facebook event page!
\nThe Hydra is hosted by the Association of Black and Brown Writers, an affliate of Oakland's own Nomadic Press. The series is inspired by the six-headed creature of myth, woken from beneath Mt. Diablo as the Bay Area burst into the poetry scene! Knighted keeper of the beast, Ursula K. Le Guin, declared "With the popularity of poetry readings in the Bay Area, the heads of the beast are growing back at an alarming rate, and the only thing that will slow down the beast is the inclusion of more fiction in the literary scene. We need stories of mythical beasts stronger than the Hydra. We need stories of worlds that is not the world it remembers, or maybe stories of lands the Hydra knows all too well. We need stories of heroes that can destroy it, and villians greater than it. We need experimental stories, we need short stories, we need fiction. Fiction is the only thing that will down the beast for once and for all. Counteract the poetry that is making the beast grow, and do it now.”
\nI am happy to do my part in this battle against the Hydra and will be reading at least two short stories as my weapons. And if we can get it right this time, Ben will Facebook Live it as well. ;)
\nBut an in-person audience is always best! Hope to see you there.
\n![\"cat](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/10/mazu-333x500-333x500.jpg\")
Mazu gives away the ending of one of my tales...
Announcements of upcoming short story publications don't normally take me right up until they're available, but ... I've been busy, y'all. Busy in the greatest of ways, career-wise, which is a wonderful feeling but also means I don't keep my various websites as updated as I'd like with the most current information. So forgive me for posting this announcement just a couple of weeks before the story itself will be available...
\n![\"The](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/10/f37cover.jpg\")
Issue #37
...that said, I am so excited that "Good Genes" has found a home in upcoming Issue #38 of the Future Fire! This magazine has been running strong since 2005, making it quite long-lived among electronic fiction magazines, no matter the genre. "Good Genes" is one of my favorite short stories, though it's had a bit of a struggle to find the right publisher as, at 10,000 words, it's much longer that many magazines are willing to publish. I am excited that The Future Fire has no fear of lengthier short stories, and I hope you all will enjoy this horror and Weird West mash-up tale in which a modern-day family and a group of 1850s settlers find out that a chosen place of refuge is sometimes scarier than the danger left behind.
\nHere are your teaser first few lines:
\n\n\n$450. 2 BR, 1 BA, 800 sq. ft. Available now. Enos. 555-987-0342.
\nRockie halted her clicking of the refresh button, the advertisement text cutting her free from the train tracks. Her cellphone's touchscreen confounded her shaky fingers, but after three tries she pressed the right keys. Ten minutes later, grateful the landlord had asked as few questions as she had, Rockie refreshed the webpage. The text disappeared from the screen and her frantic packing resumed.
\n
I will also tell you that this short story was inspired by an experience the parents of one of my best friends in high school had, driving along a very small town very late at night to find many of its residents strangely standing outside in their front yards as they passed. Let's just say I am never going to pass that way myself. Here also are a pair of photographs to set the mood.
\n![\"Yosemite](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/10/yosemite026-500x333.jpg\")
![\"Winston-Salem](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/10/DCP_2034-500x333.jpg\")
I'll let you know as soon as I do once "Good Genes" goes live at the Future Fire, along with a handful of what's sure to be exciting stories from other speculative fiction authors. Stay tuned!
\n", "date_published": "2016-10-03T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-09-21-september-appearances/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-09-21-september-appearances/", "title": "Liminal Writers-in-Residence Reading", "content_html": "The last week of September will be a busy one for me! I will be participating in two groups readings, and I'd love if you came out to support me and the great slates of other authors sharing their work at these series.
\n![\"Rebecca](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/09/12783620_967119543341966_4790320726063661752_o-375x500.jpg\")
Me, reading last spring at Alley Cat Books for the At the Inkwell literary series.
I will read excerpts from my short stories released this fall, though I'm not sure which one I'll do on which night quite yet. Those stories are "Mixed Signals, or, Learning How to Speak," a humurous sci-fi tale that is available now in Issue #9 of Typehouse Literary Magazine (info on how to get it here, and "Good Genes," a horror/Weird West story that will appear in the Future Fire's Issue #38, publication set for mid-October.
\nEach of these readings is a regularly occurring literary series in the Bay Area. You'll get to hear from talented authors who write a range of genres, which is always a treat for me, as I think literary and genre fiction share more in common than in divergence. Here are the details:
\n\n\nWhat: Literary Speakeasy (link goes to Facebook Event page, where you can RSVP) Where: Martuni's, in the piano room Address: 4 Valencia Street, San Francisco When: 9/29 at 7:00 pm
\n
There's no event page yet for the Liminal reading, so just let me know below if I will find your smiling faces in the audience! I look forward to seeing you.
\n\n\nWhat: Writers-in-Residence Reading and Art Closing for Affordable Art Prints Where: Liminal Address: 3037 38th Avenue, Oakland When: 9/30 at 7:00 pm
\n
I will also be attending Con-Volution in Burlingame on 10/1 & 10/2, so I would love to meet you there as well! Let me know, and we'll figure out how to make our paths cross during the Con.
\n", "date_published": "2016-09-30T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-09-21-literary-speakeasy/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-09-21-literary-speakeasy/", "title": "Literary Speakeasy", "content_html": "The last week of September will be a busy one for me! I will be participating in two groups readings, and I'd love if you came out to support me and the great slates of other authors sharing their work at these series.
\nI will read excerpts from my short stories released this fall, though I'm not sure which one I'll do on which night quite yet. Those stories are "Mixed Signals, or, Learning How to Speak," a humurous sci-fi tale that is available now in Issue #9 of Typehouse Literary Magazine (info on how to get it here, and "Good Genes," a horror/Weird West story that will appear in the Future Fire's Issue #38, publication set for mid-October.
\nEach of these readings is a regularly occurring literary series in the Bay Area. You'll get to hear from talented authors who write a range of genres, which is always a treat for me, as I think literary and genre fiction share more in common than in divergence. Here are the details:
\n\n\nWhat: Literary Speakeasy (link goes to Facebook Event page, where you can RSVP) Where: Martuni's, in the piano room Address: 4 Valencia Street, San Francisco When: 9/29 at 7:00 pm
\n
There's no event page yet for the Liminal reading, so just let me know below if I will find your smiling faces in the audience! I look forward to seeing you.
\nI will also be attending Con-Volution in Burlingame on 10/1 & 10/2, so I would love to meet you there as well! Let me know, and we'll figure out how to make our paths cross during the Con.
\n", "date_published": "2016-09-29T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-09-09-liminal-workshops-writing/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-09-09-liminal-workshops-writing/", "title": "Fall Workshops at Liminal", "content_html": "I concluded my writer-in-residency at the Liminal Center in June, but I am still fully in support of this awesome, communal, feminist space for women in the creative arts to come together to learn and grow our talents together.
\n![\"Liminal](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/09/12800307_436089926598346_4619321248534335334_n.jpg\")
One of Liminal's primary purposes is to provide hands-on writing workshops for writers who identify as female. These six-week sessions provide valuable instruction from experienced writers and instructors in small groups, and they are starting soon! Sign up before these classes begin on 9/18.
\nMay I recommend Origin & LIMINALITY: Experimental Writing with Gina Goldblatt? It's one of two workshops Gina is leading, and as the founder of Liminal, you'll get a great view into the heart of this organization. Learn to write subversively while exposing truth through fiction.
\nLiminal stalwarts Terrilynn Cantlon and Brenda Usher-Carpino are both at the helms of workshops as well. Terrilynn will be Silencing the Critic Within, an essential dragon to tame for anyone seriously venturing into the creative arts. Brenda will delve into the Art of Dramatic Dialogue for character development in the dramatic arts.
\nThe Liminal Fall Workshops are offered on a sliding scale of $200-$320—Pay what you can afford to support this awesome literary organization! Liminal also reserves two spots in its workshops for participants who can't pay at all. Contact Gina at gina@theliminalcenter.com if that's your situation.
\nFor the first time, Liminal is offering one-day writing seminars, which I personally think is a great idea as that's the commitment level I can handle. The first one is happening tomorrow, September 10th, and it's not too late if you'd like to Get Into the Writing Groove with Jenee Darden.
\nThere is a great set of one-day classes on the agenda throughout the fall, including how to Write Characters of Social Action with Jasmine Wade, creating the heroes we need to see in fiction these days. Jasmine is also teaching the Wonderland of Myth: Writing into the Past and Present, which I would love to take if I were in town that day. *cry* Sessions on grief writing, healing from trauma through writing, and writing about negative experiences are also on the agenda.
\nPricing for the one-day intensive sessions depends on the length of the course, whether a couple of hours or a full day. Whatever course or workshop you choose, Liminal will greet you with welcoming, supportive arms. Or at least that was my experience co-working at Liminal with these lovely women this last spring.
\n![\"Liminal](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/09/liminal-coworking-500x281.jpg\")
Coworking at Liminal with Aqueila and Terrilyn!
"Mixed Signals, or Learning How to Speak," a short story I wrote last summer, is now available in PDF or print as part of Typehouse Literary Magazine's Issue 9. You can head to their webpage to download the PDF for FREE—ABSOLUTELY FREE—and it's chockful of what's sure to be an amazing mix of literary and genre fiction, poetry, and photography. Just click on the cover image below (yeah, sorry about that, but clicking is now disabled as their webzine has moved elsewhere).
\n![\"Typehouse](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/09/CoverSept2016Big-325x500.png\")
The print version of the magazine is not free, but at only $8 for 150 pages of brand-new fiction and poetry, it's a pretty good deal. Order it directly from CreateSpace here or from Amazon here. I'll be picking up a couple copies myself!
\n"Mixed Signals" is a humorous sci-fi tale about someone down on their luck, romantically and economically. He soon discovers he has a whole lot more he should be concerned about when a crosswalk signal sends him on a convoluted scavenger hunt through the city. Yes, a crosswalk signal.
\n![\"Miami](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/09/crosswalk-sign-better-347x500.jpg\")
I borrowed that photo from Miami University—surprisingly, even though I'm writing stories about them, I do not have a photo of a crosswalk signal on hand! The short story hinges on a speech from which I took inspiration from that television masterpiece, Mork and Mindy. I, indeed, was revising that particular scene around the time of Robin Williams' death, and that encouraged me to go all in, embracing the potentially cheesy, but ideally moving, moment. Here's the first paragraph:
\n\n\nKa-kink. Ka-kink. Ka-kink.
\nSome guy’s hand flew to the crosswalk button as though a magnetic force drew him, a few feet from where I sat at a sidewalk café table. Dressed like a hippie and smelling like it too, he spit out the words, “Callin’ in, Cap’n. Callin’ in.” The syncopated rapidity interfered with the vibe of melancholic freedom I’d been cultivating. That morning, Alvarado Construction had pink-slipped me. Three weeks earlier, my girlfriend, Jolanda, had broken up with me, screamed me out of her place with complaints I didn’t understand her love language, and no, she didn’t mean Spanish.
\nBut I was over it. Completely.
\n
Go read! And please share with me your thoughts on the story. Or better yet, review Typehouse Literary Magazine Issue #9 on Goodreads or Amazon!
\n"Mixed Signals," while I hope it entertains all you lovely readers, is not all I have coming up the pipeline for you. Stay tuned for more announcements throughout September! In the meantime, have another picture of an important piece of the "Mixed Signals" narrative.
\n![\"Image](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/09/whistle-500x400.jpg\")
Image from the World Scout Shop
This Friday night, you can catch me reading as part of the final reading session for the Spring group of Liminal Writers in Residence!
\nWhat: FINAL Reading - Spring Writers in Residence and Workshop Attendees
\nWhere: Liminal, 3037 38th Avenue, Oakland
\nWhen: Friday, 7/8, at 7:00 pm
I will be reading from "Garbage," a humorous sci-fi tale that I've been chipping away at for quite a few years, including during the last two months at Liminal. It never fails to draw laughs from readers, so I'm pretty sure an audience will react the same! I'll be going on right at 7:30 pm, when the actual readings start, but I'll be sticking around throughout the night's program, as listening to this diverse and talented group of writers is always a worthwhile evening.
\nHere's the Facebook event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1761472000741686/
\nI will not be continuing with the Liminal Writers in Residence co-working program after this, as I am shifting my focus to the speculative fiction community in the Bay Area, but I will make sure to come out and support Liminal's events whenever possible. There's always something happening at that great space for female writers of every stripe and background.
\n![\"Liminal](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/07/12800307_436089926598346_4619321248534335334_n.jpg\")
Hope to see you Friday!
\n", "date_published": "2016-07-05T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-06-02-new-short-story-publication-forthcoming/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-06-02-new-short-story-publication-forthcoming/", "title": "New Short Story Publication Forthcoming!", "content_html": "I am thrilled to announce that my next science fiction short story will be published my Typehouse Literary Magazine! Typehouse is put out by the People's Ink, a writers' community based in Portland, Oregon, and it's been published three times a year since 2014.
\n![\"Typehouse](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/06/CoverIssue8-381x500.jpg\")
The short story that Typehouse accepted is "Mixed Signals, or, Learning How to Speak," which is a humorous but poignant tale that first dawned in my imagination from years of observing all the different ways in which people approach crosswalk signals. Yep, you read that right. Crosswalk signals.
\nHere are the first few lines:
\n\n\nKa-kink. Ka-kink. Ka-kink.
\nSome guy’s hand flew to the crosswalk button as though a magnetic force drew him, a few feet from where I sat at a sidewalk café table. Dressed like a hippie and smelling like it too, he spit out the words, “Callin’ in, Cap’n. Callin’ in.” The syncopated rapidity interfered with the vibe of melancholic freedom I’d been cultivating...
\n
I will, of course, update this post when publication information is available, which won't be until close to September. In the meantime, let me leave you with a photo to stimulate your own imagination as to what this short story may contain:
\n![\"Mixed](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/06/2013_San_Francisco_025-500x333.jpg\")
Tonight at Liminal, a feminist and womanist space for writers in East Oakland, I'll be reading the Salvation of Soup, a personal essay I'm working on. Since mid-April, I have been a Writer-in-Residence during Liminal's new co-working hours, and you can continue to find me there through June from 1 pm to 5 pm on Wednesdays! If you identify as a woman and you're interested in checking out a supportive co-working space, Liminal is a great option. First time drop-ins are free, and monthly memberships are available at very reasonable rates.
\nAs for tonight's reading, which yes, I should have posted about earlier, it's an evening of Liminal's Writers In Residence sharing works that we've been pecking at for the past few weeks. I wrote the first draft of the Salvation of Soup last spring, and I've been slowly gleaning out the filler—I originally wrote it for a submission call that asked for 1,000 words more than I really thought this essay should be. So I think I'm getting closer to my original intention!
\nIn addition to hearing our WIPs, tonight is also the closing for Sheri Park's art exhibition Wear & Tear: Living Woman. Art response pieces to her work and an art journaling station will be ongoing. Doors at 7, readings begin at 8! Come out and buy some art and lend me your ear!
\nFull details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1707493082822085/
\n", "date_published": "2016-05-27T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-02-23-reading-leap-year-inkwell/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-02-23-reading-leap-year-inkwell/", "title": "At the Inkwell's Leap Year Reading", "content_html": "![\"\"](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/at-the-inkwell.jpg\")
I am excited to announce that I’ll be participating in a literary reading in one week with At the Inkwell! Giving readings is one of my favorite parts of being a writer, though I also get just a little bit of stage fright before it’s my turn at the mike, so familiar faces in the crowd are always helpful. I am one of five authors reading on 2/29 at Alley Cat Books (3036 24th Street, San Francisco) from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
\nI’ll be sharing “No Crossing,” the prologue to what will eventually become my third book. The theme of the reading, appropriately, is Leap Year. I considered writing a personal essay for it, seeing where inspiration led. But then I remembered "No Crossing" patiently waiting in my virtual manuscript shelf for me to write the rest of the book. It'll have to keep waiting for that narrative, but the prologue ties in wonderfully to the Leap Year theme, with a giant canyon to surmount and the shattered and re-building faith of a young girl learning that adults don't always tell the full story. Regina takes a leap at the end into what will someday be her own story ... when I write that part. ;)
\nFull information on the reading, along with my bio and those of the other authors, can be found here. Let me know if you plan to come!
\n", "date_published": "2016-02-23T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-02-15-the-one-word-story-project-free-fiction/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-02-15-the-one-word-story-project-free-fiction/", "title": "The One Word Story Project: Free Fiction!", "content_html": "So the One Word Story Project didn't quite come together this year. But that doesn't mean that its participants didn't write great fiction! So here are links to two more of the short stories written for the project, hosted on their authors' websites for free. Like I did, they wanted to release these one-word-inspired stories out into the world!
\n![\"One](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/02/one-word-story-graphic-banner-500x73.jpg\")
First, Anya Davis's "the Kindness of Kingfishers" uses halcyon as the inspiration for a love story, one perhaps doomed from the start but blessed with a beautiful use of language to tell it.
\nSecond, Darci Cole gives us "Boys, Baseball, and Biology," all subjects that often appear obfuscated to me. There's plenty of adolescent miscommunication in this one...and plenty of cute, adolescent hormones as well. Yes, I just called hormones cute.
\nFinally, you can read four stories published on Team Hellions for the project, all in one place! Of them, Eve Jacob's "Akasha" stood out for her entertaining duo of space-faring sisters on the hunt for a book on an ancient Earth religion. Rob Kristoffersen's "Home is Where the Haunting Is" also painted a haunting portrait of the lingering effects of divorce.
\nEnjoy!
\n", "date_published": "2016-02-15T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-01-23-review-of-the-novel-foxs-anthology-i/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-01-23-review-of-the-novel-foxs-anthology-i/", "title": "Review of the Novel Fox's Anthology I", "content_html": "![\"Logo](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/02/Logo-01-150x150.png\"){kind=logo}
The Novel Fox is a small press, founded in 2014, that specializes in bridging the divide between talented authors and the new world of digital publishing. They have three branches, and Anthology I is the first collection released under their Shorts imprint.
\nThe description in the press release sounded interesting to me, so I agreed to review the book (Obligatory disclaimer: It was provided for free). The release reads, “With stories ranging from ‘Paying Old Debts,’ about a thoughtful sex robot assassin, to ‘A Wand's Tale,’ chronicling the short life of a sentient magic wand, to ‘Subsidence,’ which includes a horrific golf hazard, the stories of Anthology I are riveting from beginning to end.” Those concepts sounded entertaining enough for this speculative short fiction author! I’m an easy sell.
\nAlthough the Novel Fox has a digital focus, I was pleased to receive a print copy of the book. And I was even more pleased by its high production values!
\n![\"Anthology_I_cover_web\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/02/Anthology_I_cover_web-333x500.jpg\")
The cover artwork is smart graphic design. The size is squarer than a standard paperback, which felt easier to handle. The nicely spaced, easily readable font also pleased me, and I loved the simple artwork at the beginning of each story—it set the mood quite well. I did worry the cover’s thick, black ink would rub off on my fingers as it felt oversaturated, but I have no smudges to report on.
\nAesthetics are important in publishing, but content even more so. The anthology contains eight short stories, equally divided between science fiction and the fantastic. Interestingly, the short stories mentioned in the press release aren’t the ones I enjoyed most, though they all have redeeming qualities. Of them, “Subsidence” by Peter White is the most intriguing, employing the Lilliputian concept in a more horrific manner than I’ve seen in a while. Neil Marshall is a typical, middle-aged, wealthy male whose friend goes missing on a golf course. Moral of the story? Don’t chase after that delicious barbecue smell!
\n\nMy favorite selection was the most terrifying because it doesn’t feel so far off from today. “The Shadowless,” by Rati Mehrotra, does a great job synthesizing concerns about religion, patriarchy, and the omnipresence of technology without coming across as dismissive of any of those elements. In a future Marrakech, Nissa is constantly under surveillance by the public, her family, and the government. Even her lifelong companion, a robotic bird named Juju, tracks her movements and conversations. Nissa seeks a different life, and the depths of how little control she has in this too-familiar society is exposed. Excellent pacing, characterization, and world-building.
\nThe collection’s lead piece, “Washout” by Dominic Dulley, did an impressive job capturing the heightened emotional state of adolescence through an unconventional break-up: one between a spaceship’s user interface and Nix, a teenage girl who’s been trained to control the ship through a complete integration of mind and body. Something goes wrong, and Nix’s anguish at the separation reminded me of every teenage boyfriend I once fought bitterly to get back to, certain they had been “the one.”
\nThe collection’s remaining five stories are entertaining but didn’t particularly resonant with me. Ernesto Pavan’s “A Wand’s Tale,” uses beautiful emotional imagery but ultimately came across as derivative—maybe I’ve watched the Harry Potter films too recently. Noir fans may love Gerri Deen’s “Paying Old Debts,” but discounting Veronica Mars, I’ve never been a fan of the genre, in human or android form. I’m sure other readers will find them all more satisfying.
\nRegardless, I think Anthology I is a collection worth the read and a couple of bucks! Click here to order it from Amazon.
\n", "date_published": "2016-01-23T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-01-12-the-one-word-story-project/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2016-01-12-the-one-word-story-project/", "title": "The One Word Story Project", "content_html": "In November, I stumbled across Rob Kristoffersen's (@kristoffrable) One Word Story Project while browsing my Twitter feed. A group of authors writing stories each inspired by one word? Sounded like a lot of fun!
\n
I'd been looking for ways to share my fiction more often, as I had limited myself to publishing stories only with professionally rated Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America outlets, and I wasn't feeling satisfied by the awesome, yet limited, opportunities they provide. So Rob's project seemed perfect! As he's a contributor at Team Hellions, a geek website covering a wide range of fandoms (even wrestling!), the stories will be hosted there.
\nAnd the first one is up today! Fittingly, the series begins with Rob's story, "The Home is Where the Haunting Is," which is inspired by the word epicedium: a funeral dirge. Click on over to read this tale, which, like my own, is a haunting story with marriage at its forefront. Rob's tale is an affecting look into the aftermath of divorce, and it ends especially strong.
\nThere will be a new One Word Story up at Team Hellions every weekday for a month, through 2/11/2016. My own is inspired by misogamy: a hatred of marriage, and I'll tell you when it's up, of course! But I'll also point you over to the site whenever I especially enjoy the other writers' stories.
\n", "date_published": "2016-01-12T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-12-15-need-gift-ideas-give-the-gift-of-my-fiction/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-12-15-need-gift-ideas-give-the-gift-of-my-fiction/", "title": "Need Gift Ideas? Give the gift of (my) fiction!", "content_html": "Hey, it's not a holiday season without an obligatory "Buy My Work!" post from an author. I swear it's in the contracts we sign in blood with our publishers...somewhere...I seem to have misplaced them.
\n![\"Oh,](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/12/stocks-500x500.jpg\")
Oh, I think I remember where...
In 2015, I added two new opportunities to purchase my work, which is one way of saying some very lovely people agreed to include me in their collections—some even paid me for it! One is a short story in a magazine and one is a contribution to a cookbook...a cookbook with quite illustrious co-contributors from the Speculative Fiction galaxy. Being a member of a professional organization comes with some perks, just sayin'.
\nConsider this my purchasable compendium, reverse chronological order! Collect all five! And come this time next year, there will be a novel to add to this list, one way or another...
\n1. Ad Astra: The 50th Anniversary SFWA Cookbook
\n![\"sfwa](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/Ad+Astra+Cover.jpg\")
Fran Wilde and Cat Rambo edited this collection of 150+ recipes from speculative fiction authors of the past, present, and maybe even future. In it, you can find my Seared Peaches with Prosciutto and Basil; it comes with high acclaim from the NC Research Triangle area spec fic community. Purchase the cookbook from the SFWA website here or from Amazon.
\n2. "Thlush-A-Lum" in PULP Literature Issue #5
\n
"Thlush-A-Lum" is pure horror that would qualify as flash fiction in most markets. The story came about when I challenged myself to write something more focused on the sense of sound than the other four I more commonly use in my writing. Many of those sounds are inspired by what I could hear from my own Southern bedroom window…and a few sounds that I swear I’ve been able to hear no matter where I’ve lived.
\nPurchase Issue #5 from the PULP Literature website or from Amazon.
\n3. "Blow 'Em Down" from Beneath Ceaseless Skies Double Anniversary Issue #131
\n![\"beneath](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/12/beneath-ceaseless-skies.jpg\")
"Blow 'Em Down" is the story I describe as a steampunk retelling of the Battle of Jericho with a jazzy feel circa Harlem Renaissance. It's been taught in a college class and brought me some of my highest compliments, so I certainly think it's worth the read. Beneath Ceaseless Skies is not available in print, but the e-magazine can be purchased through Weightless Books or on Amazon.
\n4. "Bother" in Bull Spec #5
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/12/bullspec-05-page001-800x1024.jpg\")
"Bother" was the cover story for Bull Spec #5, and I'm honored to this day that the highly regarded Richard Case chose to illustrate it. It's urban fantasy about how a couple survives, or doesn't, when a dragon comes to roost on their city block. Luckily, there appears to still be back issues of Bull Spec available, although the magazine has shifted to a web-only presence. Order Issue #5 here or an e-version from Weightless Books here.
\n5. Maya's Vacation
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/12/Mayas-Vacation-300-x-450.jpg\")
The contemporary romance novella I never expected write, Maya's Vacation came to be in a dream about frying chicken, and I fleshed that dream out into the story of a woman in her fifties rediscovering herself after a divorce and relearning what she used to love through food, paint, and an old flame returned. Maya's Vacation, published by Clean Reads, is available on Amazon. Warning: No sex scenes in this romance! Just unrequited longing. Or is it requited? I'll never tell.
\nI may also mention that anything you buy that features my work is a gift to me as well—word of tongue can only spread after eyes on the page have done their business. Of course, I also have plenty of fiction free to read online as well—just click over here to find it. Thank you for your support, and I hope to keep entertaining you in the future. I'm pretty sure I'll have some snippets to share by the end of next week as well...
\n![\"Happy](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/12/holiday-pic-333x500.jpg\")
Happy holidays, from me and Ben!
![\"amelie\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/09/amelie.jpg\")
Friday night, I attended a performance of Amélie: A New Musical at the Berkeley Rep. This was my first time attending a show at that theater—I’ve only lived in Oakland 6 months, y’all. And my biggest takeaway from the performance is that I will absolutely never buy an obstructed-view seat at the Roda stage again. Honestly, I could only see two-thirds of the stage at any given time from the loge. Don’t do it. Pay full price.
\nEspecially pay full price for a show as charming as this one. Before I go on, you need to know that I’ve never seen the Amélie movie, and my knowledge of it was limited to knowing it’s a quirky indie flick starring Audrey Tautou. You should also know this review contains plenty of spoilers—I want to talk about what worked and what didn’t, and it’s hard to do that without specifics. Lastly, I have only one song title, unfortunately, because the program did not include a scene list, which makes absolutely no sense to me unless they still wanted the freedom to change things up during this first run.
\nSo What Worked?
\nThe Whimsy. From the off-kilter set design to the choreography, props, and performances, Amélie’s (modern-day, Samantha Barks; young, Savvy Crawford) imagination comes through without it being an over-the-top hammer hit of “LOVE ME AND MY QUIRKS!” It’s subdued whimsy, if you will. One of my favorite scenes was the simple staging of Amélie skipping stones: quickly raised pom-poms streaming with blue were all that was needed for the image to come across. Special kudos go to the hearts that magically appear during the scenes when Amélie and her love interest, Nino (Adam Chanler-Berat), spy on each other in the subway station. The show would undoubtedly be a lesser being without the travelling gnome number as well. The postcard puns were a sheer delight on their own, and David Andino’s enthusiastic performance made it a highlight of the show.
\nThe Songs. A good 90% of this show is songs rather than dialogue, with music by Daniel Messé and lyrics by Messé and Nathan Tysen. The performances and the score had airy, breezy qualities that made the songs easy to understand and able to show off the tonality of the singers’ voices well. Nino’s solo, “Thin Air,” and Nino and Amélie’s shared song around the doorframe at the climax of the romantic plot were plusses for me. To be fair, I’m a sucker for the tried and true romance device of lovers separated by a door. I must say, however, that my favorite musical moments were when the company rises up in harmony, which occurs in several numbers. These songs won’t wear you out, they’ll just guide you effortlessly through the plot. And frankly, an easy-to-follow plot is a win for a musical.
\n\nThe Choreography. The first scene that takes place in the Two Windmills Café is a fantastic number. Simple percussive beats made by slamming cups or various other objects made it engaging and a great introduction to the characters that inhabit the modern-day portion of the narrative. The first song of Amélie’s childhood—it involved a giant goldfish puppet performed by Paul Whitty, who also plays Joseph—also kept the energy and fun level high. Sometimes, simplicity truly is best, and that also came through in how the company was choreographed.
\nThe Company. I’m not just talking about the engaging performances the cast gave here, though I’ll go ahead and single out the fruit-loving grocer Lucien (Perry Sherman) and Amélie’s father (John Hickok) as vivid characters I wish had more focus. What I’m talking about, really, is how the company acts as a momentum-building force within the show. It’s not the same as a Greek chorus; rather, you get the sense that the presence of each of these characters is essential—the story could not have happened in this time, at this moment without them. Amélie’s journey toward emotional vulnerability would be changed, different in some small way if any one of the characters had not been there. Which leads me to the last strength of the show….
\nAmélie’s Emotional Journey: The characterization of the show’s main character is somewhat of a gamble. The narrative begins with Amélie in childhood and skips to her rote daily life in what I’d guess are her late 20s to early 30s. Modern-day Amélie is a void. With a repressed childhood and her mother’s (Alison Cimmet, who also plays Philomene) early death, it makes sense she’d be afraid of making connections with others. And indeed, Bank’s hunched-over portrayal of Amélie’s body language is her most significant feature. Until the plot point of Princess Diana’s death and the subsequent hilarious hallucination of Elton John (Randy Blair, who also plays Hipoloto) in a song as close to an Elton John melody the composer could get without infringing on copyright—a feat unto itself. The song inspires Amélie to seek meaning for her life through brightening others’ days. It’s only then that Amélie awakens as a person in her own right, and that’s about a third of the way into the show already. Like I said, a gamble!
\nEven then, Amélie’s hesitant, not so sure her new quest is one for which she’s well-suited and I liked that a lot. She’s uncomfortable taking this step into the world and that makes sense for her. That uncomfortableness continues as we gain more insight into why she’s so crippled by fear of meeting Nino in person, to the point that she must come up with fanciful ways of putting off their inevitable coming together until she’s emotionally ready for it. It’s honest, but having the lead character so inaccessible for so long is hard. That choice worked for me; it could easily not work for people who haven’t had similar experiences. Which brings me to….
\nRoom for Improvement:
\nThe Opening Number. I assume it’s a carryover from the film, but why is this song focused on a fruit fly? The performers sing it well, and that powerful forward push of the company is effectively set-up right from the first note. But I couldn’t stop thinking that anything but a fruit fly would be a more powerful focus of the song. Why not a butterfly? Too many syllables?
\nThe Passage of Time. The chronology is perfectly fine until Amélie starts doing her good deeds…and then the whole rest of the show could have taken place over a week as far as I could tell. During Amélie’s fight with her neighbor, the glass man Dufayel (Tony Sheldon), I got the impression she had been working on her quest and finding safe ways to risk connection over several months. But I’m still not sure I was supposed to assume that, and if I was, I should have known that earlier. Some sort of passage of time notice would have done wonders for me to (a) buy into the romance, though in entertainment I must accept that romances are always whirlwind; and (b) be willing to accept she’d made a significant impact on people’s lives through her anonymous gestures. As it was, I felt Amélie had barely emotionally progressed to the point of participating in others’ lives before I was told she’d been using that as a crutch to stop living her own.
\nThe Half-Way Boat Song. It’s a song that gives us great insight into why Amélie’s afraid of connecting with others in that she’s taken to heart her mother’s instruction that distances are never broached, only ever divided by half. But I got that message within the first few lines of the chorus—I didn’t need to watch Amélie’s mother give the lesson, young Amélie try to make it clear, and modern-day Amélie try to complete the walk to Nino and then retreat in fear. There just wasn’t enough movement on the stage for the number, so it felt like dead air to me. The boat and math equation projections are fine, but they aren’t exactly lively on their own. It was one of the moments when I wondered if my obstructed view was making me miss some background action.
\nDufayel’s Final Painting. How great would it have been to see Amélie painted as the Mona Lisa or some equally well-known object d’art? Why didn’t we? Was this another obstructed view problem? I felt ripped off to learn Dufayel had moved passed his artistic block but not see the results of that progress.
\nThat’s about it. The positives far surpassed the negatives for me. Amélie: A New Musical has oodles of potential that are by and large fulfilled. I hope it does get another incarnation that extends its life beyond its Berkeley Rep run.
\nAttended 18 September 2015.
\n", "date_published": "2015-09-20T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-08-25-attractive-unattractive-americans-how-the-world-sees-america/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-08-25-attractive-unattractive-americans-how-the-world-sees-america/", "title": "Attractive Unattractive Americans: How the World Sees America", "content_html": "I was contacted to do a review for Attractive Unattractive Americans: How the World Sees America, a book written by René Zografos, an award-winning Norwegian-Greek journalist. It is published under his own imprint, Renessanse Publishing.
\n![\"Aua_cover\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/08/Aua_cover-313x500.jpg\")
I don’t do many book reviews, but this one’s subject matter caught my eye. “Almost every human being on the planet today knows something – and feels something – about America…But what does a world that contains seven billion people really think about the most talked about – and controversial – nation on earth?” reads the press materials, and frankly, I’m a sucker for every article I come across that tries to answer that question. Even in our modern connected world, we live such a myopic experience in the USA, tangled up in our own affairs in part because of how large of a country we are geographically and in part because rugged individualism is in the American DNA. We think we know how foreigners see America—the use of ‘Murrica! is now common parlance as is the notion we’re supposed to be world saviors yet are viewed as world manipulators. But are these conundrums what most people outside the USA ponder about us on the whole?
\nZografos tackled that question through seven years of collecting anecdotes from and interviewing travelers and locals throughout the world, from Malaysia to the United Arab Emirates to Costa Rica. He has a direct, honest, and contemplative writing style.
\n![\"René](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/08/head_300dpi-333x500.jpg\")
René Zografos, photo provided by Smith Publicity.
The book is organized as a series of essays, some by Zografos and others by invited writers, on different topics related to the American identity. Interspersed with the essays are short quotes from interviewees in different geographical locales. Through this structural backbone, common themes arise that sometimes seem in direct conflict with each other. For instance, an admiration for American manners and our optimistic, you-can-do-it! attitudes comes through just as strongly as a disdain for American superficiality and lack of authenticity in our friendships. I found the comments about superficiality especially intriguing being as I come from the region of the USA that Americans themselves have deemed the most superficial: Southern California. So it was especially interesting to see so many travelers say Americans in general don’t have genuine friendships or make real connections with other people. I’m still chewing the cud on that one. Do people in other countries use that expression?
\n\nAnother common theme was a general disavowal of American cuisine—the portion sizes, the sugar, fat content, et cetera. They are right on all counts, but what do we make of having our diets scorned while simultaneously being praised for the invention of the hamburger? This irony of being praised for the same things that generate the harshest critiques is, of course, exemplified in the book title itself.
\nThere’s a lot of fodder for discussion and contemplation in Attractive Unattractive Americans that made it well worth the read for me. I have only two critiques, both of which likely stem from my perspective as an American. The first is the “Jailhouse Blues” chapter that recounts crazy state laws. While that might prove interesting to foreign readers, American audiences are well familiar with these ridiculous codes, so it serves no purpose other than shutting down the interesting discussion Zografos has going for a few pages.
\nMy second critique is that the final quarter of the book reads like a series of advice letters to Americans, all written by Zografos, that sometimes draws on discussion that came before it and sometimes doesn’t. Part of this book’s strengths are the many different perspectives it provides, so to end with only one person’s voice, however well-intentioned the conclusions may be, was not as successful for me as the preceding chapters, and majority, of the book. In particular, I bristled at Zografos’ assertion that the America he first visited is not as nice as the America of today, and he lays that charge at our youth. I always scoff at the notion of there being a grand old yesterday of American history in light of how much progress human rights have made into the here and now of today, not to mention our fallen crime rates. But it’s more that I simply disagree that young Americans are responsible for rising xenophobia in the wake of 9-11 or that we (I’m speaking as an elder Millennial) are more pessimistic than our forebears. I think it’s quite the opposite, actually, as I’m very optimistic about what our open-minded and creative generation is doing to move this country forward.
\nRegardless of my disagreement with those theories, Attractive Unattractive Americans was enlightening, surprising, and both a skewering of American culture and a celebration of its merits. That’s not an easy feat to pull off, and I applaud Zografos for seeking genuine opinions rather than knee-jerk ones and taking the time to present the material in a manner that allows us to mull it over for ourselves.
\nIf you’re interested in the answers Zografos gathered to that age-old question, order Attractive Unattractive Americans below! It’s now available on Amazon in paperback and ebook formats.
\n\nNot ready to commit? You can get more of an idea of the book by visiting its Tumblr page.
\nObligatory disclaimer: I was provided with a review copy of the book.
\n", "date_published": "2015-08-25T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-08-06-nonfiction-bragging-guest-blogging-for-localwise/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-08-06-nonfiction-bragging-guest-blogging-for-localwise/", "title": "Nonfiction Bragging: Guest Blogging for Localwise!", "content_html": "About two weeks ago, my first guest blog for Localwise went up! Localwise, you say? What's that?
\n![\"localwise](\"http://s3.amazonaws.com/thegourmez-wpmedia/2015/08/localwise-logo.png\"){kind=logo}
Well, my friends, it's a Berkeley-based start-up that's essentially a classifieds board for local jobs. They began with listings in Berkeley and Oakland only, but after six months of operation, they've expanded to Alameda, Emeryville, and San Francisco with more Bay Area locations in the works. The site is easy to navigate and a much preferred alternative for local businesses and applicants over that other free classifieds site. You know the one.
\nThat's great, Becca! But what does that have to do with you? You write about food, drink, and travel, not job hunting!
\nSo true. But one of the most appealing aspects of Localwise is their commitment to building community in the Bay Area, because knowing your neighbor and neighborhood business owner generally tends to improve everyone's quality of life. As part of that goal, Localwise runs a blog that highlights local businesses, job profiles, and the food & drink scene. Why that last item? Because food industry positions make up around 2/3 of Localwise's job listings at any given time. That's right--2/3! We like to eat here, folks. We like to eat a lot.
\n![\"the](\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/thegourmez-wpmedia/2015/08/becca-barcelona-500x309.jpg\")
And drink. Definitely drink too.
Perhaps you can see where I come in now? Along with a few other Bay Area food & drink bloggers, I'll be contributing short articles to the blog on at least a monthly basis. My first one touched on three of the newest food joints in Oakland's Temescal neighborhood.
\n![\"\"](\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/thegourmez-wpmedia/2015/08/IMG_5055-500x334.jpg\")
The chicken-cherry sausage at Rosamunde Sausage Grill.
It started like this....
\n\n\nOakland’s Temescal neighborhood has no shortage of restaurant options, and in the last six months, it’s added three more to its roster. Two of them are brand-new locations, and one is reimagined, but all three are worthy of your gastral attention. Ranked from fastest out the door to least likely to kick you there, here are Temescal’s newest eateries:
\n
And you can read the rest of that article over at Localwise. I'll let you know at the Gourmez when the next one goes up!
\n", "date_published": "2015-08-06T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-08-06-ad-astra-the-50th-anniversary-sfwa-cookbook-for-sale/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-08-06-ad-astra-the-50th-anniversary-sfwa-cookbook-for-sale/", "title": "Ad Astra: The 50th Anniversary SFWA Cookbook for Sale!", "content_html": "What's that? I share a contributor credit with such famous speculative fiction writers as Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi, Chuck Wendig, Mary Robinette Kowal, Alaya Dawn Johnson, and Jim C. Hines?
\n
You bet I do! The Ad Astra 50th Anniversary SFWA Cookbook came to be when a few fellow illustrious Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America members decided it was high past time for another cookbook to come forth from our midst. Cat Rambo and Fran Wilde volunteered for editing duties and managed to gather up 150+ recipes along with some bonus specialties with ingredients that may be hard to find...
\nI'll let the Foreword speak for itself to give you a better idea of what this cookbook entails:
\n\n\nWithin the science fiction and fantasy community, writers work wherever they can find a table, often among friends, virtual and face to face. It's a blend of friendship and business, of celebration and craft. It's messy sometimes. It's beautiful.
\nIn celebration of fifty years of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Ad Astra: The 50th Anniversary SFWA Cookbook has collected recipes old and new from writers across the span of its membership. But this is more than just a cookbook. What you hold in your hands is a historical document. You'll find a history of SF/F entertaining that goes back more than fifty years. Some of it is funny; some (like the bash cake/Mars colony cake), is itself a historical document; some of it is conversations between multiple writers. Some of it is written in fanciful, or ... colorful language.
\nHere be Dragons.
\nNot everyone we wished to include are within these pages. But many are. We hope many more are to come in the future cookbooks.
\n
The introduction to my Seared Peaches with Prosciutto and Basil definitely qualifies as one of those fanciful entries. It is a tribute to the speculative fiction writers and fans of the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina, which is where I began my fiction-writing career and where I developed wonderful friends and support from among many talented fellow key-pounders.
\nYou can get your hands on this very unique, and very fun collector's item of a cookbook straight from the SFWA website here. Click to order through Paypal. Spiral-bound print is $19.95 and e-book is $9.99. I'd recommend the print myself.
\nAd Astra is available for the same prices from Amazon as well.
\nAll proceeds from the book are going directly to the SFWA Legal Fund, which is used to help SFWA members with court costs when the need for writing-related legal action is necessary--most of us don't make much in this gig, so the legal fund can be a career saver when our work needs to be protected.
\nEnjoy this fun collaboration, and I'll enjoy my moment of glory being among this fantastic group of recipe contributors.
\n", "date_published": "2015-08-06T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-07-07-still-seeking-validity-or-self-worth-struggles-for-bread-eaters/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-07-07-still-seeking-validity-or-self-worth-struggles-for-bread-eaters/", "title": "Still Seeking Validity, or, Self-Worth Struggles for Bread-Eaters", "content_html": "“I’m a writer,” I say proudly, adding on the descriptor of fiction, entertainment, or food and drink depending on the company. “But I don’t support myself or anything.”
\nAh, there it is. My caveat. Why am I compelled to add it in? Something within me thinks it’s important for people to know, although it isn’t. It’s none of their business how much money I make in my career, but somehow, after six years at this gig, I still view my financial contributions to the household as an essential part of my identity. Other bread-eaters I know have had to deal with judgments as to how they spend their days from other people, and I wouldn’t hesitate to rise to their defense, raise my voice and yell, “How dare you try to devalue this person’s work?!” whether that work be a career, raising children, keeping up a household, or a combination of all of the above. Yet I do it to myself all the time.
\nI’m ridiculous. You’d think I’d know better by now. Way back in 2009 when I left my last day job to pursue fiction writing fulltime, I wrote a post on how I was struggling with financial dependency—nay, not just being financially dependent on someone else, but choosing it. That was before I could call myself a professional writer or a published author. I now have a nice long list of accomplishments, and I know I spend the same amount of time on my career as most people do in their workplaces. But my primary emotional battle remains the same: accepting, again and again, that my self-worth does not need to be connected to my financial contribution. You’d think I’d have an easier time with that seeing as our income has risen every year since. But I still get hung up on it.
\nI’m proud, you see. Proud that I put myself through college. Proud that I could fully support myself until the age of 29. Taking pride in my financial acumen, in the independence that it provided, was a key aspect of my identity until I took that jump into writing fulltime. It provided me with validation that I now have to find elsewhere. And inevitably, that elsewhere starts as a side writing project that eventually overpowers my passion project—writing fiction—because fiction brings in nominal income even when I do sell a story or get royalties. So I devalue it and slowly but surely reprioritize the projects that bring in significant funds. My first few years, that was copy editing dissertations and manuscripts until I realized I was no longer working on my fiction. In the last two years, that’s been writing for an entertainment website until I had the wake-up call that maybe, maybe, the reason I couldn’t get the motivation to work on my second novel was because of the 5K of polished words I’d churned out on articles over 2 days.
\nHow do I realize I’ve done it again? A growing sense of dissatisfaction with my work develops, and I eventually have that aha! moment of realizing it’s because I’m not engaging my creative side. Which isn’t to say nonfiction isn’t creative, of course, but it doesn’t feed my soul in the same way. After I make that realization? The downward spiral commences: I must convince myself, yet again, that it’s okay if I don’t contribute funds to our income, and that I, Becca Gomez Farrell, somehow deserve this amazing opportunity to pursue my dreams when so many other people can’t. What right do I have to live this privileged life? And yes, I mean “privileged” with all its social justice connotations. Why is it okay for me to take advantage of this opportunity; what did I do to deserve it other than picking a great husband? It feels selfish of me to even consider spending my days spinning yarns in light of what other people face.
\n\nSee how good I am at self-defeatism? I should have earned a black belt in it by now. And funnily enough, whenever I do surmount that hurdle and really dig into my fiction, I do pretty well at it. Imagine that! Those are the periods in which my short stories or novels progress, when I’m able to see the larger picture and not let so much time go between edits that I forget what wall I even hung it on. It’s when the gatekeepers of my industry—magazine editors, small press publishers, et cetera—seem to like what they see and decide to go ahead and publish my work because I’ve put in the time required, honed my craft enough to put out good, entertaining stories.
\nPublication gives me validation, and it’s a validation at least equal to the financial type. When I get an acceptance email or kind words from a reader, I’m reminded that maybe, just maybe, this writing thing is what I’m best at and maybe, just maybe, pleasing readers is a worthwhile use of my time. Lord knows how important being entertained—by novels, short stories, films, television, performances—has been to my own life. You’d think I wouldn’t forget it so easily.
\nAn interesting point that just occurred to me is that the validation I receive from publication is validation from others for my work, and that’s one of the reasons I’ve clung so hard to pursuing traditional routes of publishing; if I were to self-publish, I wouldn’t get that sense of validation, and that probably says more about my hang-ups than it does about self-publishing. Perhaps I need to do a better job at valuing my own work outside of receiving other people’s “permission” to view it as worthy. Hmm, I fear I’ve opened a whole other can of worms to consume…
\nAnother way in which I seek validation, but that is ultimately detrimental to me, is through my household roles. My husband doesn’t ask anything of me relating to them, because he somehow gets it, on a more basic level than I do, that my work is valuable and a worthwhile use of my time—I am not expected to shoulder more of a household burden just because I’m not commuting to an office. Yet I still try to find validation in my household roles for myself. Were I a mother, no doubt I would count taking care of the children as a significant contribution. But for me, not having children is one less excuse for not being more productive, more successful, more fill-in-the-blank than I am. I do manage our finances and I do most of the cleaning, though Ben does the laundry most of the time, which guess what? I feel guilty about. I cook a few nights a week, though I feel like I should be cooking more often because I’m just staying at home, right? Not doing something of value like bringing in income.
\nI even have trouble counting essential parts of my job as work because reading should be for recreation, right? And critiquing other people’s work is just something extra I do, not an essential part of honing my craft? (Hint: It is absolutely an essential part of honing my craft.) Heck, I don’t even consider generating invoices when I’m on a project to be actual work because it’s not billable work.
\nTo sum up: I’m ridiculous. If I do ever get that best-selling novel, it will throw these validation struggles out the window once and for all, right? Doubtful. Chances are it won’t and that I’ll need to keep proving to myself, over and over again, that what I’m doing is a real gig—more than that, that what I’m doing is a valuable use of my time and a valuable part of who I am.
\nSix years in, and I love this fiction-writing life yet struggle with it daily. Here’s hoping that I’ll someday give loving it the immeasurable value that it deserves. Couple that with brightening a few other people’s days with my words and images, and that would indeed make for a great job.
\nWhat say ye, bread-eaters? How do you find validation in your lives outside of breadwinning? How do you counter arguments from others, or yourself, that your chosen life somehow doesn’t measure up to one where you’re taking home a dependable paycheck or that the time you dedicate to your career/work/duties is somehow lesser than the time someone spends in the workforce? And have you been able to battle any of these self-defeating thoughts and leave them in the past, once and for all? Because I want your secrets, and I want them now.
\n", "date_published": "2015-07-07T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-06-09-food-drink-travel-blogging-has-moved/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-06-09-food-drink-travel-blogging-has-moved/", "title": "Food, Drink, & Travel Blogging Has Moved!", "content_html": "What happened to the delicious posts on this site? They've gone back home to the Gourmez! In August 2013, when we moved to the Bay Area, I combined all my writing pursuits into the site you're viewing now. At the time, housing them together made the most sense for my sanity--too many sites to manage was too much in the midst of such a huge life change. But nearly two years later, and a recent transition from Hayward to Oakland where my reviews are suddenly in higher demand, meant it was time to give the Gourmez its proper focus again. And thus, that new-old site has been reborn!
\nMy fiction and entertainment publication news and life updates will continue to be housed right here. But if your stomach starts growling or your wanderlust kicks in, the Gourmez is there for you. In fact, if you click on the menu items above for food, drink, & travel, you'll find yourself transported to that website instead. Don't panic! Tastiness is only a mouse click away.
\nMeanwhile, I'll be doing more personal writing on this site--writing related to the writing life, that is. I've had a few requests to share my own struggles with searching for validation in a career where that rarely equals an income, so I'll dig into that topic soon. But mainly, I'm planning to re-focus my writing time and get more fiction under my belt. I'm currently shopping around two longish short stories and one fantasy novel. My second novel, a post-apocalyptic romance, is about two-thirds of the way through its first draft, and I have at least four other short stories in various stages of editing and initial plotting. Here's hoping they all find a home in time!
\n", "date_published": "2015-06-09T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-05-19-wiscon-39-appearances/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-05-19-wiscon-39-appearances/", "title": "WisCon 39 Appearances!", "content_html": "![\"wiscon39\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/05/wiscon39.jpg\")
Tomorrow, I fly out for my first WisCon experience.
I'm super excited because I've heard so many great things about this conference from other writers. It has a heavy concentration on the craft of writing, which is the #1 reason I'm choosing it as my first con in years. I love the speculative fiction genre, but I love writing it more than I love the fannish activities that go along with it. Nothing wrong with going wild, Fandom! It's just not how I engage with the works that spark my passion.
\nAnd I am thrilled that I will get to share some of my passion with you! I am one-third of the superpowered trio in the Triple the Strength! Triple the Power! reading with fellow writers Sally Wiener Grotta and Laura Lis Scott on Sunday at 1:00 pm in Conference Room 2 at the main hotel.
\n![\"Flyer](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/05/Flyer-for-our-reading-small.jpg\")
Thanks to Sally for our flyer! Unfortunately, Laura won't be with us in the flesh, but I'm delighted to read a selection from her novella, Half the Sky, on her behalf. I'll also be reading "Thlush-A-Lum", my most recently published horror short story, and if time allows (it should), the first chapter of my epic fantasy novel, Wings Unseen.
\nBut that's not all! On Monday morning, in the waning hours of WisCon, I'll be on the Worldbuilding Through Food panel in Senate B at 10:00 am. Writing about food has been a huge part of my career over the past six years, and food has always been an honored guest in my fiction as well, so this panel's topic spoke to me on many levels. Ty Blauersouth is our moderator, and my fellow panelists will be Nino Cipri and Amy Thomson. The official description:
\n\n\nThe food crops and domestic animals an author uses in a fictional world shape underlying presumptions about where and when a story is set…or "not set," in the case of not-quite-our-world-but-just-barely worlds. Medievaloid Europeish taverns with potatoes and tomatoes in their stew. Cultures that spice heavily, or lightly, or eat a wide range of animals; even if crops and livestock are all named with new words they often trace back to our-Earth models. How can one thoughtfully use food in your worldbuilding in ways that support themes and characters, without falling into shallow sloppiness? What SFF authors do food description particularly well? What's good about it?
\n
I'm especially excited to talk about how food choices can reveal character and ways food can be more central to the plot than just a lush description of a feasting table. Turkish delight, anyone?
\nOf course, I'll be out and about all over the place during the rest of WisCon 39, but I haven't had the chance to pick which sessions I'll attend just yet. I'll update you all on those plans as I make the decisions! Meanwhile, I always love meeting new people, so if you'd like to join me for coffee or a cocktail or a meal, just drop me a line at becca at thegourmez dot com or through Twitter @thegourmez. I arrive Wednesday evening and leave Monday afternoon.
\nSee you soon, Wisconsin! It'll be lovely to make your acquaintance.
\n", "date_published": "2015-05-19T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-01-13-my-last-day-without-you/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-01-13-my-last-day-without-you/", "title": "My Last Day Without You", "content_html": "![\"MLDWY_PosterNew\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/01/MLDWY_PosterNew-341x500.jpg\")
Last month, in advance of its December release on DVD and VOD, I screened a little indie flick from 2011 starring Nicole Beharie of Sleepy Hollow fame. Beharie's smiles are magical on Sleepy Hollow, so I welcomed the opportunity to see more of them in this Brooklyn tale of musician Leticia (Beharie) striking out on her own and German businessman Niklas Hank (Ken Duken) vowing to seduce her on his one day in town.
\nThat sounds like the set-up for a bigscreen whirlwind romance that I rarely buy into, but My Last Day Without You resists taking the predictable paths toward superficial love connections. Leticia is no manic pixie girl, and Niklas is not a floundering manchild. Rather, he's a corporate hatchet man in the vein of George Clooney's character in Up in the Air, and he shows little compunction when confronted by the people whose jobs he's just ended.
\n![\"KenDuken-OpeningShot\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/01/KenDuken-OpeningShot-500x281.jpg\")
During one of many shots beautifully framed through windows, Niklas meets Leticia, who offers him one of those smiles and a sample of her CD.
\n![\"NicoleBeharie-KenDuken-cafe2\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/01/NicoleBeharie-KenDuken-cafe2-500x281.png\")
Niklas is entranced by this charismatic woman. With the encouragement of his chauffer, an avowed romantic played with relish by Robert Clohessy, Nik vows to seek Leticia out as a distraction until his flight back home that evening.
\n\nUnbeknownst to them all, Leticia is a casualty of Niklas's company's downsizing. That job had been the means by which she could finally move out from under her father's loving, but controlling, thumb. Her father, Lester Johnson (Reg. E. Cathey) is the pastor of a church in Brooklyn, the setting for his own unexpected but thoroughly delightful romance with faithful congregant Luz (Marlene Forte). Their love story is a mirror of Leticia and Niklas's. Whereas the main couple has just met and are testing how far to take their instant attraction, Lester and Luz have been friends for many years and must now decide if companionship and matching emotional baggage are enough to bring an attraction about. The awkward scene in which Luz lays down her case for them to date is a highlight of the film. Lester is blindsided, but as his later actions show, why waste time when you already know a person through and through?
\nIt's that getting to know a person part that guides much of the action for Leticia and Niklas. Leticia quickly figures out that Niklas is the three-martini-lunch type of guy, and that is not her MO. Although her anger over her job loss propels her to test the waters, she's still a good Christian girl who remains true to herself throughout the film.
\n![\"KenNicole-Bed\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/01/KenNicole-Bed-500x281.jpg\")
Yet she's intrigued to know more about this insistent stranger. The audience pieces together Niklas's background at the same pace as she does. My expectation as a conditioned movie viewer was that I should root for Niklas to grow as a person, but neither I nor Leticia were sure that's something Niklas was capable of or even wanted to do. Thankfully, this is a film wherein Niklas ultimately has to work that out for himself, and the audience cannot be sure of the outcome.
\nThe moment when I realized I could trust these filmmakers to do the unexpected came after Niklas believes he has undergone a transformation. But when he tries to press money into Leticia's hands to pay for borrowing a pair of her father's shoes, I shook my head right along hers, knowing as she did that Niklas just didn't get it. Sharing that connection with Leticia gave me the release I needed as a cynical viewer to buy into the movie's final scenes.
\nWith a script that smartly delays a foregone conclusion, a set of engaging side characters, and plenty of spark between the two leads, I found My Last Day Without You to be a delightful, believable tale of love that might be.
\nIt was directed by Stefan Schaefer and produced by Christoph Silber. The story is loosely based on the events of Silber's own chance encounter with love. The pair co-wrote the film as well as much of its original music. Turns out Beharie can sing!
\n![\"NicoleBeharie17-sings\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/01/NicoleBeharie17-sings-500x281.jpg\")
The soundtrack is available on iTunes and Amazon, and the film has now been released through DVD or streaming at Amazon, Vimeo, and most anywhere else you can purchase movies online. You can also access it directly from the film's website, here. Amazon buy links follow.
\n", "date_published": "2015-01-13T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-01-02-thlush-a-lum-is-available-now/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2015-01-02-thlush-a-lum-is-available-now/", "title": ""Thlush-A-Lum" is Available Now!", "content_html": "I am happy to announce that PULP Literature Issue #5 has officially launched, which means my horror short story, "Thlush-A-Lum", is now available for purchase as part of the issue!
\n![\"Thlush](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/01/Thlush-a-lum-pages-1-375x500.jpg\")
![\"thlush](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/01/thlush-a-lum-pages-2-375x500.jpg\")
You can buy Issue #5 straight from the PULP Literature website\nhere.
\nJust click on the image to be taken to the ordering page. A print issue is $15 and an e-issue is $5. Lest that seem like a lot to you, I can confirm that I was impressed by how thick the magazine was when I received my author copy in the mail. I'm looking forward to reading all of these stories from my issue mates as described on the order page:
\n\n\nWe dare you to be held captive by Eileen Kernaghan’s ‘The Robber Maiden’s Story’, and then try to escape alongside the intrepid Stella Ryman as she attempts a jailbreak in The Four Digit Puzzle by Mel Anastasiou.
\n
\n\nNext, travel by boat and by bus to places you’d rather not go, with the fantastical ‘Polycarp on the Sea’ by Stephen Case and the gritty detective Finley in ‘The Pledge’ by Donald Dewey.
\n
\n\nThree pulp poems by Mark J Mitchell will prepare you for the cruel transformations of ‘Thlush-a-lum’ by Rebecca Gomez Farrell and ‘Some Say the World Will End in Fire’ by R Daniel Lester.
\n
\n\nThese are followed by a few stories of wishing for more, in ‘A Discussion of Keats’s Negative Capability’ by Susan Pieters and Margaret Kingsbury’s ‘The Longing is Green when Branches are Trees’.
\n
\n\nA treat lies in store as we publish the winners of the first annual Hummingbird Prize for Flash Fiction, followed by the short, sharp horror cartoon ‘Bait’ by Kris Sayer.
\n
\n\nFor dessert, we hope you’ve saved room for the next installment of Allaigna’s Song. It’s the perfect way to round out a good family feast.
\n
\n\nAll this beneath a beautiful new cover entitled “Fondly Remembered Magic” by our first cover artist Melissa Mary Duncan.
\n
For those of you who contributed to PULP Literature's Kickstarter campaign last month, thank you so much! I believe you should have received your Issue #5 already.
\nAnd for those of you who didn't, here's a little teaser of "Thlush-A-Lum's" first few paragraphs:
\n\n\nMarkella’s earliest memories are of the sounds outside her window. At hours when no men moved, rustling branches and shuffling grass woke her. A beating pulse like slower, fleshier helicopter blades banished sleep: thlush-a-lum thlush-a-lum. In summers, the heat in her attic bedroom hot enough to incubate, Markella pushed the window open and dozed to the endless static drone of cicadas. In winters, choking radiator warmth wrapped tight around her, she cracked the window and the low, deep hoots of an owl drifted in with the freezing breeze.
\nThe sounds crept in no matter the season.
\n
And a photograph to set the mood...
\n![\"thlush](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/01/thlush-a-lum-wine-500x500.jpg\")
I hope you enjoy "Thlush-A-Lum"...and you remember to keep an eye on those bedroom windows.
\n", "date_published": "2015-01-02T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2014-12-01-last-day-for-the-pulp-literature-kickstarter-and-an-interview-with-thlush-a-lums-markella/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2014-12-01-last-day-for-the-pulp-literature-kickstarter-and-an-interview-with-thlush-a-lums-markella/", "title": "Last Day for the PULP Literature Kickstarter! And an interview with Thlush-A-Lum's Markella", "content_html": "The countdown clock is ticking! There are only 22 hours left in _PULP Literature'_s Year 2 Kickstarter campaign, and the magazine's at 89% of its goal. That's so close! Please consider boosting it up over the edge. By doing so, you'll be supporting fiction writers as PULP Literature pays professional rates. Which means you'll be supporting me as my "Thlush-A-Lum" will be published in the next few weeks in PULP Literature Issue #5. Just click that little image below, and you can reserve your $5 e-copy or $15 print copy of Issue #5 now. Do it. Do it!
\nAdditionally, "Thlush-A-Lum's" main character, Markella, gave PULP Literature an interview last week. What did this young woman have to say about her family, the noises that seek her out, and what she thinks of herself? Find out here.
\nMissed my teaser earlier? Here's "Thlush-A-Lum"s first few lines:
\n\n\nMarkella’s earliest memories are of the sounds outside her window. At hours when no men moved, rustling branches and shuffling grass woke her. A beating pulse like slower, fleshier helicopter blades banished sleep: thlush-a-lum thlush-a-lum. In summers, the heat in her attic bedroom hot enough to incubate, Markella pushed the window open and dozed to the endless static drone of cicadas. In winters, choking radiator warmth wrapped tight around her, she cracked the window and the low, deep hoots of an owl drifted in with the freezing breeze.
\nThe sounds crept in no matter the season.
\n
And look out for PULP Literature Issue #5 coming your way soon!
\n
It's been a while since I've shared a bragging post. This one is courtesy of my being quoted in a recent Bloomberg Businessweek article on the origins and staying power of RumChata. You may recall that I reviewed RumChata back in 2012, and you can read that review by clicking on the picture.
\n![\"RumChata01\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2014/11/RumChata01-200x300.jpg\")
What did I have to say about RumChata for Bloomberg Businessweek? It's just a quick quote on its versatility:
\n\n\nThe drink also simplifies home cocktail making, says Eden Laurin, managing partner of the Violet Hour, a cocktail bar in Chicago’s hip Wicker Park neighborhood. Drinks with more than three ingredients are confusing to make, Laurin says, so having one spirit with several flavors is appealing. “It cuts out a step by already having cream, spice, and rum combined in pleasant ratios,” says Rebecca Gomez Farrell, a food and drink blogger in California.
\n
Swing by the article to learn more about this unique--and fast-selling--cream liquor.
\n", "date_published": "2014-11-20T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2014-10-14-pulp-literature-issue-5-preview-and-kickstarter-campaign/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2014-10-14-pulp-literature-issue-5-preview-and-kickstarter-campaign/", "title": "PULP Literature Issue #5 Preview *and* Kickstarter Campaign", "content_html": "As I announced a few weeks ago, my next short story will be appearing in Issue #5 of PULP Literature Magazine, which is a print and e-book label fully funded through subscriptions and Kickstarter campaigns. Well...Issue #5 has a cover!
\n
And yes, that's my beautiful little byline on it. Seeing my name on a cover is always such a thrill. So is the reminder of PULP Literature's tagline: "Good books for the price of a beer." I love that! You can get the full description of Issue #5 right here.
\nShowing you the issue cover would be reason enough for this post, but I'm also writing to encourage you to go ahead and claim your copies of the issue now. Why? Because PULP Literature just launched their second -year Kickstarter campaign last week. Issue #5 is slated for publication at the end of 2014, so why not pay for it now and support both me and this great new addition to the genre literary scene? Need the video to sell you? Keep your eyes peeled for my name scrolling by!
\nWant the ebook of my issue? $5. How about the print one? $15. Maybe you want to go ahead and take a plunge, subscribing to the full year of stories? $25 for ebook and $40 for print. That's a deal for curated literature delivered right to your fingertips!
\nPlus, for my fellow writers, the editorial team at PULP Literature also has rewards offering short story and novel critiques and writing workshops--valuable, valuable tools that any writer should take advantage of.
\nGo ahead. Pledge. I'll still be here when you get back. I can't make the same promise for "Thlush-A-Lum's" protagonist, however...
\n", "date_published": "2014-10-14T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2014-09-05-thlush-a-lum-to-be-published-in-pulp-literature/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2014-09-05-thlush-a-lum-to-be-published-in-pulp-literature/", "title": ""Thlush-a-lum" to be published in PULP Literature!", "content_html": "I've been sitting on this news all summer! But that's my own fault, because I insist on signing a contract before I announce any of my fiction publications. Which means the contract is signed, and I have a new short story coming out at the end of the year!
\n"Thlush-a-lum" will be published in the Winter 2015 issue of PULP Literature, a newish speculative fiction magazine that came to be through a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2013.
\n
Issue #5 will be released electronically and in paperback form, and you bet I'll update you once buy links become available. In addition to four yearly issues of the magazine, PULP Literature runs a number of contests that often feature publication as a prize. Their editors' blog is also a fount of useful information for writers. Peruse away!
\nWhat's "Thlush-a-lum" about, you wonder? It's pure horror that would qualify as flash fiction in most markets. The story came about when I challenged myself to write something more focused on the sense of sound than the other four I more commonly use in my writing. Many of those sounds are inspired by what I could hear from my own Southern bedroom window...and a few sounds that I swear I've been able to hear no matter where I've lived.
\nThe first few lines? Certainly.
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2014-09-05T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2014-08-27-the-general-hospital-fan-club-weekend-2014-available-now/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2014-08-27-the-general-hospital-fan-club-weekend-2014-available-now/", "title": "The General Hospital Fan Club Weekend - 2014, Available now!", "content_html": "Markella's earliest memories are of the sounds outside her window. At hours when no men moved, rustling branches and shuffling grass woke her. A beating pulse like slower, fleshier helicopter blades banished sleep: thlush-a-lum thlush-a-lum. In summers, the heat in her attic bedroom hot enough to incubate, Markella pushed the window open and dozed to the endless static drone of cicadas. In winters, choking radiator warmth wrapped tight around her, she cracked the window and the low, deep hoots of an owl drifted in with the freezing breeze.
\nThe sounds crept in no matter the season.
\n
Another photography credit for me, another chance for the unabashed soap opera lovers among us to pick up a nifty photobook! Once again, Katrina Rasbold, my fearless leader at All My Writers for the last, oh, almost decade, has released a Yearbook of this year's General Hospital Fan Club Weekend. She writes the reports; I take the photos.
\nThis 180-page book is jam-packed with full-color photos of General Hospital's past and present-day stars from 4 days of events. There's plenty of behind-the-scenes gossip to boot. What'll you learn about in the Yearbook? As Katrina writes,
\n\n\nNew couples, new babies, famous spouses, Hollywood royalty, a bit of a smack-down from Executive Producer, Frank Valentini, a “Blast From the Past” actor with some very unconventional claims and advice to fans, two Rabbis, plenty of selfies, a double-helping of Michael Corinthos, a male heart-throb who broke all of our hearts on screen, a current GH couple who ditched us, graphic novels straight from ComiCon, impossible schedules, careers made and broken, dogs and cats living together... this year had it all!
\n
Our print copies of last year's yearbook sold out as soon as the doors to the main cast event opened, so you know these are beautiful keepsakes for the GH fans among us. Both full-color and black and white paperback versions are available from Amazon.
\nI couldn't leave you without sharing my favorite photos from the 2014 event, could I? I was so delighted to see Scott Clifton at the Past Cast Event. Him and Michael Sutton appearing made my weekend.
\n![\"GHFCW14_Past_Cast_085\"](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/GHFCW14_Past_Cast_085.JPG\")
![\"GHFCW14_Past_Cast_173\"](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/GHFCW14_Past_Cast_173.JPG\")
I hope you enjoy the 2014 Yearbook!
\n", "date_published": "2014-08-27T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2014-08-27-the-general-hospital-fan-club-weekend-2013/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2014-08-27-the-general-hospital-fan-club-weekend-2013/", "title": "The General Hospital Fan Club Weekend Yearbook 2013", "content_html": "For the past three years, I've been photographing the General Hospital Fan Club Weekend as part of my press duties with All My Writers. This last year, we released a yearbook of 2013's happenings! It's 210 pages of full-color photographs and all the gossip author Katrina Rasbold could wrangle into the book.
\nAs 2013 marked the 50th Anniversary of General Hospital and the first Past Cast event put on by the fan club, you can bet there was plenty of that gossip! 50 years' worth of it! Mostly, though, the past actors who attended were so warm and appreciative of the fans, as were the present-day cast at the previous day's luncheon.
\nAs a 34-year fan myself (from the womb!), it's my pleasure to photograph these events, and I hope you enjoy this up-close access as much as I have.
\nBecause the 2014 Yearbook has already been released, you can now get the 2013 full-color, paperback for nearly half off it's original price! Go ahead and order it. No GH fan would regret owning this memorabilia.
\nAnd finally, my favorite picture from the 2013 GHFCW. If you ever doubted it, rest assured that John J. York is a sweetheart.
\n![\"john](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/2013_Main_Event243.JPG\")
Just a quick reminder that you can now check out the responses of the three writers I tagged in my post last week on my writing processes. The three lovely authors who agreed to be next in my chain are as follows:
\nThanks, ladies, for participating, and I'm diving in to read what you've said now!
\n", "date_published": "2014-05-19T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2014-05-12-blog-hopping-today/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2014-05-12-blog-hopping-today/", "title": "Blog Hopping today!", "content_html": "My regular readers know I don't actually talk about the craft of writing much on this blog, but it can be fun to participate in the occasional blog hop! So today's post will be your rare chance to peek into my writing window--heck, it's the rare chance for me to do the same. I'm not talking about food and drink today, but the world of speculative fiction.
\nThis blog hop is taking place to promote Sucker Literary Vol. III, which looks to be a fun collection of paranormal YA short stories edited by Hannah Goodman.
\n![\"1-FINALBookCoverPreviewLiterary](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/sucker-literary.jpg\")
Per its Goodreads page, it's "Eleven stories that delve into the depths of our experience—driven by fierce and untouched love that makes us seek, lose, fear, desire, long, reflect, survive, steal, protect, fall, and confess." You can check out the full summary on that page.
\nI was invited to participate in this blog hop by a new critique partner, Blanca Florido, who gives great feedback and is sloshing her way through her final round of edits on the first book in her YA fantasy Faerie Tales trilogy. As Blanca wrote me,
\n\n\nShe has written three musicals and is currently working on a political thriller. Blanca has written a sci-fi children’s cartoon and is planning a picture book for young children. At one time, she thought that was quite a lot writing to do but has recently become intoxicated with the power of a new software package that keeps track of ideas. Imagine her surprise when she discovered she had no less than seven additional ideas for novels she’d like to write, eight screenplays, two more musicals, three short stories, three TV shows, and a partridge in a pear tree! Exhausted at merely listing them, she’s napping now.
\n
Thanks for the invite, Blanca! You can read her answers to the blog hop questions here. Now to answer those questions on my own writing...
\n1. What am I working on?
\nWell, I'm glad you ask, because I'm never quite sure from one minute to the next. I have two novels that I'm fleshing out and writing first drafts for, which takes me quite a long time. One novel is post-apocalyptic, but it's not about the wastelands we typically associate with such fare. Instead, it follows Eloise, a search-and-rescue agent, as she negotiates life and love through the constant barrage of natural disasters that Earth's climate has become. The second is a YA novel about a pair of fairytale-monster bounty hunters.
\nBut that's not all! I always have several short stories running through my head. In addition to a few resting cozily in slush piles at various magazines, I'm nearly done with the most recent versions of Treasure, a fantasy fable, and Good Genes, a modern-day horror story. Of course, I also have one page written on that carnival idea I thought up last month...
\n2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
\nAs I've had several writing friends tell me recently, so I suppose there must be truth to it, I take a unique perspective on typical speculative fiction plots. For instance, Bother, my urban fantasy short published in Bull Spec, is less about the dragon terrorizing city streets and more about the domestic issues facing a young couple and the futility of fighting when you can't win.
\n![\""Bother"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/bullspec-05-page001.jpg\")
"Bother" made the cover of Bull Spec #5.
Some people love that; others wish there was more dragon.
\nMy horror is more of a throwback to the Twilight Zone style than it is modern-day gore or anti-heroes. I hope my fantasy novel, currently seeking publication, does a good job of injecting social theory and feminism into what could be a traditional quest and chosen-one tale. Well, if the chosen one were actually a chosen three in which one of them had murdered another one's brother...oh, and they're being chased by a spiritual menance that can eat people from the inside-out. Did I not mention that part already?
\n3. Why do I write what I do?
\nI've always been a storyteller--I have the giant, handwritten, marker-colored whale storybook to prove it.
\n![\"becca](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2014/05/becca-whale-story-500x375.jpg\")
Fantasy captured me young, with C.S. Lewis of course, but even before Narnia, the picture book the Runaway Fairy had my affections. Escapism fiction serves a wonderful, and needed, purpose in our society, and I am happy to contribute to it. I have always thought speculative fiction to be some of the finest writing out there on the human condition. I saw myself in Polly Plummer who looked in the White Witch's pools and I always will.
\nI won't lie, though, I also write speculative fiction because there's less pressure to get the exact details right--which is why my fantasy is other world, but my science fiction is less about space travel and more about aliens in your own backyard. I hate research. I do it only under duress, by which I mean when the stories refuse to progress without it.
\n4. How does my writing process work?
\nNot by listening to music! Learning that other writers often have soundtracks for their work was an interesting discovery for me when I first started doing blog hops to promote my romance novella, Maya's Vacation. I prefer silence to let my thoughts flow.
\n![\"Maya's](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2014/05/Mayas-Vacation-300-x-450-200x300.jpg\")
*Maya's Vacation, published by Astraea Press.*
More to the point, however, I am 99% pantser. I try to outline, but I don't have the whole story in mind when I begin writing. Most of the time, I have images from an actual dream or a lost train of thought that start my process. Often, those images are the beginning, end, or climax of the story, but I don't know yet how I'll get to them through plot. I'll try to get those images down in scene forms, and then I'll discover my main character--or a few main characters, depending on the story. The character's journey is far more important to me than the actual plot, which is both my strength and my biggest flaw.
\nAs I write, more ideas for the plot jump to mind, and I keep track of those through handwritten lists, a blackboard, or Word documents, whatever is handiest. Once I have a lot of scenes written, I think about how to connect them in the plot that's taking shape, and eventually, that's a whole short story or a book. Or in the case of my novel currently seeking publication, it's two books I had to cut down to one! I spend a lot of time editing as I go through my first draft, a big no-no that I blatantly ignore, and then do what needs doing to make the next and subsequent drafts strengthened in plot, finesse, action, etc.
\nIt's not the most efficient writing method, but I don't know how a story's going to go until I write it. And god forbid I do any research ahead of time to make it go faster.
\nDone! I hope my answers have entertained you. Mainly, I realized I haven't had a vivid dream that inspired a story in a while...but I shouldn't be complaining. I have too many half-written already!
\nNext Monday, this blog hop is leaping over to writers Krysten Hager, Margaret S. McGraw, and Katrina Rasbold. Krysten is one of Astraea Press's newest authors, and I'm happy to welcome her into our fold of clean romance writers. Her YA romance debuts in July. Here's her biography:
\n\n\nKrysten Lindsay Hager is an author and book addict who has never met a bookstore she didn't like. She’s worked as a journalist and also writes middle grade, YA, humor essays, and adult fiction. Her debut novel, TRUE COLORS, will be out June 17th from Astraea Press. She is originally from Michigan and has lived in South Dakota, Portugal, and currently resides in Southern Ohio where you can find her reading and writing when she’s not catching up on her favorite shows.
\n
And a link so you can check out her blog on 5/17.
\nMargaret S. McGraw is a writing critique partner of mine. We may have exchanged a few words--or a few novels' worth of them--over how to stop head-hopping while I was in Durham. Her bio:
\n\n\nMargaret S. McGraw’s imagination draws on her lifelong love of science fiction, fantasy, and anthropology. Her education and experience range from anthropology and communication through web design and IT management. Margaret lives in North Carolina with her daughter and an array of cats, dogs, Macs, and PCs, and too many unfinished craft projects. Her writing includes a daily blog, several short stories currently in circulation for publication, and two novels in progress: Mira's Children is a YA science fiction adventure, and OceanSong is a fantasy begun in the NaNoWriMo 2012 challenge.
\n
For more details on her writing and to see her answer these questions on 5/19, visit her daily blog at margaretsmcgraw.blogspot.com.
\nAnd finally, Katrina Rasbold is one of the fastest and most engaging writers I know. She's written over twenty books in the amount of time I've written a third of one, so you can bet hearing about her writing process will be interesting! Here's her bio:
\n\n\nKatrina Rasbold is a prolific writer in many different genres. She is the author of the popular Seven Sisters of Avalon fiction series, Spiritual Childbirth, Get Your Book Published, Leaving Kentucky in the Broad Daylight, An Insider's Guide to the General Hospital Fan Club Weekend, several fictional novelettes, and a large number of metaphysical instructional books. Her book Energy Magic held the #1 position in the category of Paganism on Amazon.com for many weeks in 2013 and 2014.
\nKatrina is a professional life coach with a Ph.D in Religion and a minor in psychology. She is happily married and has six children, to whom she personally gave birth. She lives on a remote mountain top in California with her husband, two of those six children (the rest are grown), three dogs, a turtle named God, several chickens that are all named Helen, and Elvis, a slightly neurotic shih tzu.
\n
You can find Katrina's blog here.
\nCan't wait to see what they have to share!
\n", "date_published": "2014-05-12T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2014-01-27-have-you-read-blow-em-down-yet/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2014-01-27-have-you-read-blow-em-down-yet/", "title": "Have you read "Blow 'Em Down" yet?", "content_html": "Just a reminder, dear readers, that my most recently published short story is available for free online at Beneath Ceaseless Skies. It's comes up in conversation several times lately, so I thought a reminder was due. "Blow 'Em Down" is a steampunk retelling of the battle of Jericho from the perspective of a brass band pressed to take part in the effort to break the city's glass dome. For me, it's about how past wounds can blind us to the ways we dehumanize others and how faith doesn't count until you make it your own. Here are the first three paragraphs:
\n\n\nFrom our brass band’s vantage point at the Gilgal plains, the glass dome was impenetrable. An immense central copper tube supported it, using a full city block for its foundation and generating energy for the whole town by absorbing the sun rays trapped within the glass. One skygate operated through the top of the dome, opening only to let merchant airships and their escorts in and out. The ships floated by so high, we could barely make out what was seared into their taut material: giant brands bearing profiles of the cityscape. The same image, embossed in a black pattern, circumnavigated the dome’s bottom edge. A single word in bold typeset appeared above each repetition: Jericho.
\nThey never sent so much as a volley our way. Who could blame them? We looked a sorry mess after forty years spent crossing the desert, but we were many. Forty days our parents had been told, but as it turned out, solar-powered chariots don’t work so well in the desert. The salt from the Red Sea air had rusted most of their steel frames within days of the crossing, leaving us with only a handful, and those were barely powerful enough to raise one person off the sand at a time. Then there was the pillar of smoke blocking out half the sky. Little sun meant less energy for our solar cells to regenerate. When the pillar lit up like a fireball that forgot to fly at night, we tried to mine the heat, but we never could get the calibrations right.
\n“The pillar will lead us into the Promised Land. It is Yahweh’s own guide.” That’s how Moses had explained it when it first appeared, before I was ever born. The old geezer had keeled over about a month ago. Paps laughed out loud when he heard, but his heart burst mid-guffaw, and he keeled over, too. Three days later, we crossed the Jordan.
\n
Read the rest of the story here
\nIf any of you happen to be Hugo voters (last day to sign up to become one is this Friday), I would love you to read "Blow 'Em Down" to consider it for a nomination. It is eligible for this year's award season, and nominations are open until March 31. I will refer you to this great post at Beneath Ceaseless Skies that details everything involved if you would like to become a voter or you need to know how to go about making nominations.
\n", "date_published": "2014-01-27T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2013-12-16-warm-your-heart-christmas-blog-tour-from-astraea-press-and-prizes/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2013-12-16-warm-your-heart-christmas-blog-tour-from-astraea-press-and-prizes/", "title": ""Warm Your Heart" Christmas Blog Tour from Astraea Press (and prizes!)", "content_html": "Hello readers, I have a guest post for you today. Astraea Press, publisher of my romance novella, Maya's Vacation, is having a blog tour to promote all of their winter holidays books. Today, I'm playing host! So read on for a message from Astraea Press and a synopsis of a pair of Astraea's holiday books. You'll also find out how to into to win a free $50 giftcard from Astraea and a free Astraea book of your choice!
\nMerry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Astraea Press! We love this time of year!Is it the cooler weather? The fires in the fireplace? Family gatherings? Or our sweethearts under the mistletoe.... We do love mistletoe ;)
\nWhatever the cause, we want to celebrate Christmas and this holiday season with you. This is one of the many stops on a two-week tour. Check out the rafflecopter at our website or the end of this post for a chance to win a free Astraea Press Christmas book of YOUR choice (eep!). There is also a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card!
\nI want to thank Rebecca and all the other blogs who have offered to help. All of their facebook pages and/or twitter are on the rafflecopter. I hope you get a chance to visit them all.
\nSo... MERRY CHRISTMAS from Astraea Press and our authors. Thanks for a great year.
\n~Kelly from AP
\nHere is a Christmas book from bestselling author Patricia Kiyono:
\n![\"The](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/christmas-phoenix.jpg\")
The Christmas Phoenix by Patricia Kiyono
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2013-12-16T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2013-12-09-nonfiction-bragging-an-insiders-guide-to-the-general-hospital-fan-club-weekend/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2013-12-09-nonfiction-bragging-an-insiders-guide-to-the-general-hospital-fan-club-weekend/", "title": "Nonfiction Bragging - An Insider's Guide to the General Hospital Fan Club Weekend", "content_html": "Jess Tate is trying to make a life for herself and her teenage son after her husband's sudden death. Running the family’s struggling landscape business in Northern Michigan has been hard work, and her son hasn’t been much help. She’s managed to get by, learning to run the big equipment herself, but between snowplowing early in the mornings and working her daytime job in town, she often wonders if there will ever be more to life than endless work.
\n
A few months ago, I got to add a second item to my list of professional photography credits for this amazing book for lovers of General Hospital, but somehow, I forgot to announce it here!
\n![\"gh](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/insiders-guide-fcw.jpg\")
The book is written by Katrina Rasbold, my talented boss over at All My Writers, and I can guarantee she'll crack you up with her Southern dame prose. As the description reads,
\n\n\nA must have for all fans of the iconic soap opera, General Hospital! This book provides one-of-a-kind photos and stories from behind the scenes of the premier GH event of the year.... [Katrina] gives you smart tips on how to navigate this complex and intense fan event to get the most bang for your buck and for your time....Who crashed the party at the 2013 Main Cast Luncheon? What GH beauty from the past arrived at the Main Cast Luncheon to announce that she is now on the current cast? Who was the breakout star of the weekend who had hearts throbbing on Sunday?...She shares insider stories from her years working the event, plus includes over 450 photographs from her own personal collection, more than 300 of which are from the most recent 2013 General Hospital Fan Club Weekend!
\n
You can purchase this tome through Amazon as an e-book or through CreateSpace as a print book in either black and white or color. It would make a great Christmas gift for fans of the show, which I can say because I've been one since the womb! The book definitely prepares folks to attend the fan club weekend, but it's chock-full of insider stories that any GH viewer would love to hear.
\nHere are what readers have to say so far:
\n\n\n"It's a delightful book, quite helpful to the person who is off to such a fan weekend. I am sure that much of the travel and packing advice is applicable to any such event in a hot climate. Written by a woman who has been there, done that, I would listen to her words and follow them in order to best enjoy the event. Best of all, you can add this book to your Kindle and carry it with you for a handy reference! As far as I'm concerned, it's a must-have for anyone who plans on going to any fan event."
\n"I remember watching General Hospital when it was in black and white (at least at my house) and featured stories about Steve and Audrey Hardy and the nurses at GH. I've never been to a GH event (wrong side of a very big country) but after reading this book, I feel as though I've been there. Insider tidbits about the participating actors, sure, but also the very necessary information about packing, hotels, where to go, when to go there, and the protocol for any GH event. A fun read even if you never make it to an event, and an indispensable one if you do plan to attend this yearly event."
\n"Katrina captures the experience of the General Hospital Fan Club Weekend with unabridged honesty, humorous, truthful tales of unbelievable and unforgettable moments that positively and lovingly spotlights both the graciousness of the actors and the enthusiasm of the fans. The collection of personal anecdotes, hundreds of photos, and insider information about how to prepare" to attend this four-day extravaganza is a MUST HAVE for not only those fans who wish to attend, but also ANY fan who has loved this 50 year young daytime icon!"
\n
I can't leave you without a picture of me at the event, now can I? Enjoy!
\n Me with John J. York
I've been wanting to promote some friends with new books and blogs out for a while now...so long of a while that I'm not sure I can classify them as new! Two of these friends are from All My Writers, the entertainment website where I write columns on General Hospital, Glee, and currently, trying out the slate of Fall TV show premieres.
\nLet's start with Katrina Rasbold, webmistress of All My Writers and writer of many new books she's published to Amazon this summer. One of them is a guide to the General Hospital Fan Club Weekend featuring photography by me, but I'll post a separate entry promoting that. The rest of Katrina's books range from instructions on making candles with a spiritual intent—
\n![\"candles](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/11/candles-soap-312x500.jpg\")
—to discussing the principles of Energy Magic for those of you attracted to that practice—
\n![\"energy](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/11/energy-magic-400x500.jpg\")
—to a memoir about her life growing up in Kentucky that's on my must-read list.
\n![\"leaving](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/11/leaving-kentucky-312x500.jpg\")
She's adding Arthurian romance to her collection soon. I've read Katrina's blog posts for about a decade, and her style of writing is always entertaining and full of a woman who's determined to live life to its fullest, whatever that may mean at that time. You can buy all of her work here.
\n\nCarolyn Ridder Aspenson is another writer from All My Writers, and I've read her scathing, hilarious commentary on soap operas for years as well. Carolyn jumped into the waters of chick lit last year by publishing _Unfinished Business: An Angela Panther Nove_l about a woman who sees her mother's ghost and then can't stop seeing ghosts everywhere.
\n![\"unfinished](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/11/unfinished-business.jpg\")
Carolyn's been in a whirlwind of writing since that publication, and she has a Chrismas novella also available at Amazon called Santa's Gift and a diet guide, which anyone who's ever known Carolyn can vouch for—the woman knows her fitness.
\n![\"quick](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/11/quick-start-guide-312x500.jpg\")
Additionally, Carolyn is participating in _Merry Chick Lit: Celebrating the Season with Six Sassy Short_s, which is a collection of holiday-themed novellas that will beneft Rocking the Road for a Cure, a breast cancer charity this holiday season.
\n![\"merry](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/11/merry-chick-lit-353x500.jpg\")
You can contact Carolyn directly at craspen at comcast dot net to pre-order that treat. The rest of Carolyn's work is available for purchase here.
\nFinally, it's time for me to brag about Samantha Rosasco and her new blogs. Sam is one of my best college friends, and I've lived her with her for a year and a summer, spent a year living next door to her, and spent a year practically living with her when she shared an apartment in Santa Cruz with another of my best college friends. So I know what I'm talking about when I say that Sam is one of the most talented cooks, crafters, and exercisers I know. She now has a separate blog for all three areas of interest, and I'm impressed with what I've read! She describes her craft blog, Clearing Out My Craft Closet, thusly:
\n\n\nEvery crafter has a box, cabinet, or closet filled with the dreaded unfinished objects, UFOs, projects that you meant to get to, might have started, but just never quite finished. In an attempt to complete my projects, I've started this blog to get me over the hump and try to finish all those pesky projects that keep hanging around the house or finally start projects that I intended to make.
\n
Samantha Experiments With Food is
\n\n\nA tasty experiment. Modify, create or replicate recipes to enjoy. As with all experiments, good notes help to make sure the results are repeatable in the future and in turn will help to fine tune the flavorful results.
\n
And 30 Days to Improve is an exercise and fitness blog about
\n\n\nTaking action to improve 30 days at a time. I am just one woman trying to improve myself 30 days at a time.
\n
And because I can't do anything without including a picture, here I am with Sam and my friend Devon at Capitola Beach a few years back.
\n![\"catrip192\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/11/catrip192.jpg\")
Whew! That was a lot of bragging! I can't complain about having such amazing friends to brag about. Before you ask, yes, I hope to do bragging posts to promote my speculative fiction author friends as well, but they are publishing so much so often, I'm not sure when I'll get to it! But don't hesitate to send me info on your books, and I'll be happy to send a tweet out at the very least.
\n", "date_published": "2013-11-13T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2013-10-18-review-of-homeward-bound/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2013-10-18-review-of-homeward-bound/", "title": "Review of Homeward Bound", "content_html": "![\"homeward](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/homeward-bound.jpg\")
Emily Matchar, a journalist and writer based in Chapel Hill for at least part of the year, published a book, Homeward Bound, on the movement toward reclaiming the domestic arts for women among twenty- and thirtysomethings, which she coins as "the New Domesticity." When she sought reviewers (meaning my copy was free), I jumped at the chance because I've been fascinated by the do-it-yourself attitude of our generation: chicken raising, canning everything, and covering every body part in some form of cable knit. I often feel like I'm the only person I know who doesn't want to sew her own dresses or make radish pickles. I admit to being amused at the misadventures my friends have trying to keep chickens alive. I get the appeal of gardening and the pride of wearing something you've made yourself, but it all takes so much work. And time. And I manage to fill up all my time with work as it is. Why would I want to add more?
\nWhich is what Matcher's books asks: Why are more and more people spending their time making their own vinegar or sewing their own cloth diapers? Is this a trend backward or forward? What are its roots? Matchar interviewed many women, and some men, who are partaking in the more extreme ends of this movement by taking themselves off the grid, committing to attachment parenting, and/or blogging all about the experience and making careers out of making homes. There's no judgment in the book, and Matchar deftly handles the irony of a generation of people returning to what their feminist forbears fought to get away from. In fact, many of the women in the book frame reclaiming the domestic arts as an act of feminism, as having the right to choose whether to have a career or a life in the home and to relearn the skills that were taken from them due to being deemed oppressive.
\nThe motivations discussed in the book for making such a big change in lifestyle range from workplace dissatisfaction to resenting absentee parents to distrust of government's ability to make foods safe. This is where Matchar's analysis shines strongest, cutting to why, in increasing numbers, people are reinventing their lives with a focus on domesticity and family. She makes clear that the tasks of domesticity aren't a problem and are often admirable work, but the underlying reasons some people have chosen to devote themselves to them are. And she doesn't refrain from pointing out the chinks in the armor of this revolution, either. New Domestics, by and large, can afford to withdraw from the consumer culture in the first place, even if they pinch every penny from a single income household after. Women who put aside workplace skills can end up in a bad spot if the supporting partner leaves—and nearly all the couples involved had at least one of them still employed in a traditional workplace. And of course, prioritizing parental instincts over the realities of scientific study lead to things like the anti-vaccine movement and the resulting increase of diseases that had been nearly eradicated in the USA. Most importantly to me, it shows a declining faith in solving problems as a society rather than as individuals.\nMatchar also highlights very interesting similarities in language in the ways people talk about their commitment to New Domesticity from both progressive and conservative standpoints. Progressive women who feel drawn to relearn what Grandma used to know talk about doing what comes naturally to them. Replace natural with God, and the arguments are identical to those of women who became homemakers for religious reasons.
\nI would have liked a little more exploration of how simple rebellion may play a role in the origins of the New Domesticity as well. If our mothers rejected the home because they didn't want the same lives as their mothers, then maybe we've taken up those tasks and focuses as hobbies or a lifestyle for the same reason—because our mothers didn't. Regardless, "Homeward Bound" is a needed book that does a great job examining the trend, its origins, the motivations of those who devote themselves to it, and the societal problems its existence exposes. It's well-worth the read.
\nHomeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing the New Domesticity
\nBy Emily Matchar
\nSimon and Schuster
\n288 pages
\nBuy Here
I am thrilled to announce that you can now read my steampunk retelling of the Battle of Jericho, "Blow 'Em Down," in Beneath Ceaseless Skies Special 5th Anniversary Double Issue #151!
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/10/36491-cover-200x266.jpg\")
The full text of the story is now available on BCS's website for free, along with the rest of the fantastic stories in the issue. On that page, you will find download links for all e-reader types that you can also use to acquire the issue for free.
\nOf course, I would encourage you to purchase the issue for your e-readers because I think it's worthwhile to support good art, and I hope you will think "Blow 'Em Down" qualifies as good art. If you agree, you can make that wallet-busting $0.99 purchase at Amazon or at Weightless Books.
\nAnd now for your teaser,
\n\n\nFrom our brass band’s vantage point at the Gilgal plains, the glass dome was impenetrable. An immense central copper tube supported it, using a full city block for its foundation and generating energy for the whole town by absorbing the sun rays trapped within the glass. One skygate operated through the top of the dome, opening only to let merchant airships and their escorts in and out. The ships floated by so high, we could barely make out what was seared into their taut material: giant brands bearing profiles of the cityscape. The same image, embossed in a black pattern, circumnavigated the dome’s bottom edge. A single word in bold typeset appeared above each repetition: Jericho.
\nThey never sent so much as a volley our way. Who could blame them? We looked a sorry mess after forty years spent crossing the desert, but we were many. Forty days our parents had been told, but as it turned out, solar-powered chariots don’t work so well in the desert. The salt from the Red Sea air had rusted most of their steel frames within days of the crossing, leaving us with only a handful, and those were barely powerful enough to raise one person off the sand at a time. Then there was the pillar of smoke blocking out half the sky. Little sun meant less energy for our solar cells to regenerate. When the pillar lit up like a fireball that forgot to fly at night, we tried to mine the heat, but we never could get the calibrations right.
\n
Again, you can read the rest of "Blow 'Em Down" right here.
\n", "date_published": "2013-10-10T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2013-09-30-an-insiders-guide-to-the-general-hospital-fan-club-weekend/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2013-09-30-an-insiders-guide-to-the-general-hospital-fan-club-weekend/", "title": "An Insider's Guide to the General Hospital Fan Club Weekend", "content_html": "I have photography credit on these treats for General Hospital fans.
\nThe books are written by Katrina Rasbold, my talented boss for many years over at the now defunct All My Writers. I can guarantee she'll crack you up with her Southern dame prose. As the description reads,
\n\n\nA must have for all fans of the iconic soap opera, General Hospital! This book provides one-of-a-kind photos and stories from behind the scenes of the premier GH event of the year.... [Katrina] gives you smart tips on how to navigate this complex and intense fan event to get the most bang for your buck and for your time....Who crashed the party at the 2013 Main Cast Luncheon? What GH beauty from the past arrived at the Main Cast Luncheon to announce that she is now on the current cast? Who was the breakout star of the weekend who had hearts throbbing on Sunday?...She shares insider stories from her years working the event, plus includes over 450 photographs from her own personal collection, more than 300 of which are from the most recent 2013 General Hospital Fan Club Weekend!
\n
You can purchase this tome from 2013 and 2014 through Amazon as or through CreateSpace as a print book in either black & white or print versions.
\nHere are what readers have to say:
\n\n\n"It's a delightful book, quite helpful to the person who is off to such a fan weekend. I am sure that much of the travel and packing advice is applicable to any such event in a hot climate. Written by a woman who has been there, done that, I would listen to her words and follow them in order to best enjoy the event. Best of all, you can add this book to your Kindle and carry it with you for a handy reference! As far as I'm concerned, it's a must-have for anyone who plans on going to any fan event."
\n"I remember watching General Hospital when it was in black and white (at least at my house) and featured stories about Steve and Audrey Hardy and the nurses at GH. I've never been to a GH event (wrong side of a very big country) but after reading this book, I feel as though I've been there. Insider tidbits about the participating actors, sure, but also the very necessary information about packing, hotels, where to go, when to go there, and the protocol for any GH event. A fun read even if you never make it to an event, and an indispensable one if you do plan to attend this yearly event."
\n"Katrina captures the experience of the General Hospital Fan Club Weekend with unabridged honesty, humorous, truthful tales of unbelievable and unforgettable moments that postively and lovingly spotlights both the graciousness of the actors and the enthusiasm of the fans. The collection of personal anecdotes, hundreds of photos, and insider information about how to prepare" to attend this four-day extravaganza is a MUST HAVE for not only those fans who wish to attend, but also ANY fan who has loved this 50 year young daytime icon!"
\n
And I can't leave you without a picture of me at the event, now can I?
\n Me and Michael Sutton (ex-Stone)
A few weeks back, I recorded my aha moment. How does one record an aha moment? Funny you should ask, because I didn't know either until the aha moment team asked me to come in and do a little video session with them for their national campaign. The "they" in all this is Mutual of Omaha, and "my aha moment" is an ad campaign they've been running for the past couple of years. It's a clever way to do promotions--a team of videographers tours the country and invites locals to come into their Airstream and share the aha moments that have set them down whatever path they are pursuing, whether charity work or a career.
\n![\"aha](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/aha-moment.jpg\")
Borrowed from the "my aha moment" Facebook page.
You can peruse all the videos and commericals they've produced at their website. I participated at their Raleigh, NC, stop and shared about my writing and the moment when I realized I was a writer for real...at the tender age of 9 (maybe 10). Watch my aha moment below!
\n\nI think it turned out pretty well! But what didn't make it onto the reel was my dramatic reading of the poem I composed that day in Monterey. I can still picture the light blue paper I was finally able to jot it down on once we returned to the hotel in the evening, but alas, I no longer have the sheet of paper. I do still have the poem, however. And here I am, reading it in all it's fourth-grade glory.
\nNow I hadn't read that poem in years, and I surprisingly realized that (1) I was writing curveball horror twists in the 4th grade! Genre fiction is definitely for me; (2) I was already concerned about sustainable food! I honed right in on how overfishing had destroyed Cannery Row's sardine trade, no doubt having heard it from a tour guide or read it in the tourbook on the way to Monterey; and (3) I managed to capture a sense of place for Cannery Row, which is something I always try to do in my travel posts. It's hilarious to me that my writing interests have not shifted much since that time.
\nI hope you enjoyed my aha moment and "Sardines." I may make a series out of reading my elementary-school short stories and poems. Any guess as to what's going on with this picture?
\n![\"becca](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/07/becca-whale-story-500x375.jpg\")
If you answered the cover page for a short story that involves a haunted house under water, then you'd be right! And yes, that's a giant blue whale with rainbows and clouds on its skin. Oh yes, it's a winner, my friends. Think Lightspeed would be interested?
\n", "date_published": "2013-07-10T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2013-06-07-food-writing-bragging-new-post-at-wral/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2013-06-07-food-writing-bragging-new-post-at-wral/", "title": "Food Writing Bragging: New Post at WRAL", "content_html": "If you were on vacation last week, you may have missed my newest post at WRAL's Out and About blog. I was, and I almost missed it myself! This one is on all the amazing foodstuffs you can find within a block of what I call Durham's Bermuda Triangle for foodies, also known as the intersection of Mangum and Parrish streets.
\n![\"\"](\"http://wwwcache.wral.com/asset/entertainment/out_and_about/2013/05/17/12458409/17311-Parrish_Street_12-500x333.jpg\")
Pain aux pistaches at Loaf.
\n\nTake a food tour through the South's Tastiest Town #
\nBy Rebecca Gomez Farrell
\nPosted: May 27 Updated: May 29
\nDurham, N.C. — For foodies, the intersection of Magnum and Parrish streets in downtown Durham is a Bermuda Triangle they may never want to escape. Within one block of it, in any direction, is a plethora of eateries, bakeries, and bars that prize local ingredients, quality products, and creativity. Consider this your guide to a perfect food lover’s day in Durham without doing more than crossing the street.
\nStop 1: Breakfast at Monuts Donuts (110 East Parrish St.). This donut and bagel shop used to operate out of a tricycle. Cake and yeast donuts come in flavors like chocolate chai and the delicious maple bacon bourbon I sampled. Bagels are also a hot commodity and can be topped with eggs, cheese, and … maple sriracha? Counter Culture iced coffee should help with that morning headache....
\n
Read on for all the stops on my foodie tour...and to see just how many times I can manage to misspell Mangum in one article. Find the rest of it here, along with a pretty awesome slide show of the tour, if I do say so myself.
\n", "date_published": "2013-06-07T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2013-04-24-fiction-bragging-reminder-last-week-to-get-bother-for-free/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2013-04-24-fiction-bragging-reminder-last-week-to-get-bother-for-free/", "title": "Fiction Bragging Reminder: Last Week to get "Bother" for Free!", "content_html": "In February, I let you all know about the opportunity to get your hands on one of my short stories for free for a limited time. And now that time is almost at an end! "Bother," along with many other fantastic stories collected by M. David Blake for the 2013 Campbellian Pre-Reading Anthology, will only be available until 4/30. So what are you waiting for? Click your browsers on over to Stupefying Stories and get your copy! And be sure to give Durham author Mur Lafferty your congratulations on being nominated for the Campbell Award for the second straight year. Some of her work is also available in the anthology. You can find her at the Murverse.
\n![\"Campbellian](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/04/Campbellian-Anthology-2013-cover-682x1024.jpg\")
Here's what I posted to explain the anthology in February:
\nPublished by Stupefying Stories, the 2013 Campbellian Pre-Reading Anthology is now available for free—that's right, free!—for anyone interested in perusing the works of authors eligible for Campbell award nominations this year. What's that? As M. David Blake, editor of Stupefying Stories explained,
\n\n\nNamed for John W. Campbell, Jr., whose 34 years at the helm of Astounding Science Fiction (later renamed Analog) defined the "Golden Age" of the genre and launched the careers of dozens of famous writers, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer is presented annually at WorldCon to an outstanding author whose first professional work of science fiction or fantasy was published within the previous two years.
\n
What does this have to do with me? Well, with my sale of "Bother" to Bull Spec nearing on two years ago now, I became eligible for the Campbell Award. I have absolutely no expectations of being nominated, especially because I haven't had other speculative fiction published since then—I've been working on my first fantasy novel instead of sending out my short stories. But "Bother" has been reprinted in the anthology, and now's your chance to read it for free along with other worthy works by a large list of fantastic speculative fiction authors. All for free until the Hugo nominees, including for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, are announced at the end of April.
\nTo take advantage of this amazing access to these stories, just click here and chose the e-format you prefer at the end of the publication announcement post. And if you do read "Bother," please let me know what you thought! Us writers do thrive on feedback.
\n", "date_published": "2013-04-24T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2013-04-15-review-bragging-new-wral-post/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2013-04-15-review-bragging-new-wral-post/", "title": "Review Bragging - New WRAL Post", "content_html": "I'm a little (a lot) behind on the times in that I'm just now posting this teaser here, and it was published about a month ago at WRAL's Out and About blog. Oops! My time from reviewing a spot/drink to posting about it is on a month lag right now, so that's par for the course! Oh well. Someday, I'll get back to more of a 1--2 week lag.
\nBut enough of my behind-the-scenes issues. Here's a teaser of my review of Sarah's Empanadas:
\n\n\nDurham, N.C. — Sarah’s Empanadas is one of those lunch locations the RTP crowd keeps close to their vests. I’ve spied it many times when heading to dinner at Papa Mojo’s or Thai Lanna, but it’s only open at midday, so getting there during operating hours was a challenge—a challenge now conquered!
\nThe Company: A pair of women whom I meet up with every month to try a new-to-us lunch location, which was quite convenient for this purpose.
\nThe Location: A nondescript strip mall exterior hides a cozy restaurant. Inside, Sarah’s Empanadas is adorned with tropical bird decorations, creamy mint walls, and a giant, colorful mural. It’s also likely to be packed with diners and a long line of patrons paying at the register. Never fear, the cashier is speedy and has amazing credit-card-sliding reflexes....
\n
Want to know more about the Bolivian empanada wonderland? Read on here. And I wouldn't leave you without some food porn. Here's the chicken and cheese empanada.
\n![\"Sarahs](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/04/Sarahs-Empanadas-06.jpg\")
I'm a little slow this time in letting you all know I have another review up at WRAL's Out and About. Forgive me? This one was on Village Burgers, the hamburger joint inside the University Mall in Chapel Hill. Was it worth reviewing? You bet your brioche bun. Here's your teaser:
\n\n\nCHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The mall is rarely my choice when I’m craving a burger, but one of our local chefs, Giorgios Bakatsias, opened a joint in Chapel Hill’s University Mall that is likely to change my tune. The Giorgios Group owns a string of fine-dining restaurants in the area, including Bin 54 and Parizade, so I was intrigued to see what would happen when this upscale, internationally trained chef took on the quintessential American meal...
\n
You can read the rest of that review at WRAL here. And because a photo makes everything more exciting, here you go.
\n![\"Village_Burgers03\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/02/Village_Burgers03.jpg\")
Published by Stupefying Stories, the 2013 Campbellian Pre-Reading Anthology is now available for free—that's right, free!—for anyone interested in perusing the works of authors eligible for Campbell award nominations this year. What's that? As M. David Blake, editor of Stupefying Stories explained,
\n\n\nNamed for John W. Campbell, Jr., whose 34 years at the helm of Astounding Science Fiction (later renamed Analog) defined the "Golden Age" of the genre and launched the careers of dozens of famous writers, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer is presented annually at WorldCon to an outstanding author whose first professional work of science fiction or fantasy was published within the previous two years.
\n
Note made 15 February 2025: The John W. Campbell, Jr. Award has been known as the Astounding Award since 2020.
\nWhat does this have to do with me? Well, with my sale of "Bother" to Bull Spec nearing on two years ago now, I became eligible for the Campbell Award. I have absolutely no expectations of being nominated, especially because I haven't had other speculative fiction published since then—I've been working on my first fantasy novel instead of sending out my short stories. But "Bother" has been reprinted in the anthology, and now's your chance to read it for free along with other worthy works by a large list of fantastic speculative fiction authors. All for free until the Hugo nominees, including for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, are announced at the end of April.
\nTo take advantage of this amazing access to these stories, just click here and chose the e-format you prefer at the end of the publication announcement post. And if you do read "Bother," please let me know what you thought! Us writers do thrive on feedback.
\n", "date_published": "2013-02-11T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2013-01-14-winter-tales-the-readings/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2013-01-14-winter-tales-the-readings/", "title": "Winter Tales: The Readings", "content_html": "About a month ago, I took part in Winter Tales, a reading of holiday-themed works by local authors that was hosted by the Orange County Public Library in Hillsborough. Poems, essays, stories, and songs were all shared that evening, and now we have video of each reading! I'm embedding them all here so you can enjoy the event as we did.
\nFirst, because this is my blog, I'm sharing my reading of a personal essay, "Treasures in Cardboard Boxes." It's a reflection on losing a mixtape of Christmas carols and on growing up a little different from your family.
\n\nNext is "Winter Sonnet," a poem by James Maxey, the organizer of the event. It is a quick, sweet listen about celebrating winter with his wife.
\n\nAlso from James is a personal essay, "Christmas Dismemberment," about receiving presents you don't really want as a child.
\n\nThe evening began with a reading of a drabble, a 100-word short stories, by Mur Lafferty, the first of which was "Zuzu's Bell" about Lucifer on his birthday.
\n\nMur's second reading was "750,000 of Your Friends Like This," a futuristic, cynical, yet fun take on the Christmas Carol revisions in the future. Sorry it's a bit lower quality than the rest of the excerpts.
\n\nAlex Granados gave less of a reading and more of a storytelling, sharing an adventure with in-laws called "Death By Big Screen TV." It's a great portrayal of his father-in-law and his can-do-anything attitude.
\n\nLast, but not least, are two songs from Gray Rinehart. The first was inspired by his time in Greenland and is titled "Winter Simplifies the World."
\n\nThe second song is light-hearted and FILK, meaning it's a play on science fiction or fantasy works. This is "Tauntauns to Glory," a fun tribute to the majestic tauntauns of Star Wars.
\n\nAnd thus concludes these Winter Tales. Hopefully, they brightened yours, wherever it may be.
\n", "date_published": "2013-01-14T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-12-17-frostys-chocolate-orange-martinin-washington-duke/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-12-17-frostys-chocolate-orange-martinin-washington-duke/", "title": "Nonfiction Bragging: My Winning Cocktail, the Frosty's Chocolate Orange Martini at the Washington Duke Inn", "content_html": "Frosty's Chocolate Orange Martini at the Washington Duke Inn
\nFor the month of December, you can order a cocktail of my very own creation at the Washington Duke Inn’s Fairview Dining Room and Bull Durham Bar. I won first place in their Blog Nog cocktail competition for my riff on a Terry’s chocolate orange. It’s that magical stocking stuffer we’ve all had on many Christmas mornings. Give it a whack, and the ball breaks into a million perfect slices of orange-flavored chocolate. My trivia team, Wrong Answers are Sexy, gets the credit for coming up with the theme of chocolate orange, and Tara Skelly in particular gets honors for being my taster.
\nThe night of the winner unveiling, Durham Magazine posted a brief piece on my victory, from which I’m stealing this picture.
\n![\"durhammagphoto\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/12/durhammagphoto.jpg\")
You can also watch the following video of bar manager Chris Thomas mixing up the concoction.
\n\nBut if that’s too much work for you, then here’s my recipe with the tweaks the bartending team came up with to make it better—mainly, they perfected the rimming steps. The drink naming was a team effort led by Don Ball, the director of food and beverage at Washington Duke Inn, from among the fellow competitors and food bloggers who came by for the unveiling.
\nFrosty’s Chocolate Orange Martini
\n2 shots orange juice
\n1 shot Stoli Vanil
\n2/3 shot white crème de cacao
\n1/3 shot Grand Marnier
\n1 shot cardamom-infused simple syrup
\nFinely grated Terry’s White Chocolate Orange
\nGranulated sugar
\nSlices of Terry’s Milk Chocolate Orange
Directions: Chill a martini glass. Rim the glass with extra cardamom syrup, then duck it in a mixture of the ground chocolate orange and sugar. Shake up the first 5 ingredients. Pour into the martini glass. Garnish with a slice of chocolate orange on the side.
\nBetter yet, give the drink a try straight from the expert hands of Washington Duke’s bartenders! It’s $10, and you’ll find these cute little table toppers there.
\n![\"Untitled-6\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/12/Frosty-Martini-WDI-Final-682x1024.jpg\")
Enjoy! And tell me what you think.
\n", "date_published": "2012-12-17T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-12-10-winter-tales-reading-come-listen-to-me-read/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-12-10-winter-tales-reading-come-listen-to-me-read/", "title": "Winter Tales Reading", "content_html": "Winter Tales Reading: Come listen to me read!
\nThis coming Thursday, I will be one of five speculative fiction writers participating in a reading on the topic of winter tales at the Orange County Public Library in Hillsborough (137 W. Margaret Lane) at 6 pm.
\n![\"WinterTales2\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/10/WinterTales2.png\")
Personally, I’m most intrigued to see what a pack of sci-fi writers comes up with for holiday-themed readings! I am opting for a personal essay, and I know at least one of the other authors is writing a song or three. I’m honestly expecting this to be a lot of fun. Here are brief bios of the other participants. By brief, I mean this is how I am most familiar with them:
\nPlease come on out on Thursday at 6 pm and join us for the merriment! It will continue all evening for me, because I have a date with the Hobbit at midnight that night!
\nOfficial invitation is here.
\n", "date_published": "2012-12-10T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-09-20-nonfiction-bragging-wral-review-of-munchez-durham/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-09-20-nonfiction-bragging-wral-review-of-munchez-durham/", "title": "Nonfiction Bragging - WRAL Review of Munchez (Durham) *CLOSED*", "content_html": "It's been a while since I posted a bragging entry--I still have much to share! I haven't even gotten to my Bull Spec story, Bother. But life gets busy, and when it does, the bragging falls off my list of to-dos. Today, though, I have a new WRAL review to share with you! Published on Monday, here is my take on the newest food incarnation in that catchy little orange building by the 147 and Fayetteville overpass. Here's your teaser:
\n\n\nMunchëz is located in a little stand that switches owners and cuisines faster than new signs can be produced. I’m still in mourning for the charbroiled chicken tacos from its last incarnation called Pollos La Carbonera. But now, it has been reborn as a sandwich, burger, salad, wings and hot dog joint. Thus, a new visit was in order.
\nThe Location: Munchëz is in an orange and yellow hut that looms up right before the I-147 on-ramp driving up Fayetteville Road into downtown Durham. You can walk up and order at the front window or drive through, but it does take longer than fast food. My meal took about 15 minutes, which they apologized for as lengthy.
\n
And you can read the rest at WRAL Out and About here. Want a photo to further entice you to click their way? Sure thing.
\n![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/09/munchez06.jpg\")
After the publication of Maya's Vacation, I took part in the first Feature Friday story for Astraea Press. Feature Friday is a collaboration among a bunch of Astraea Press authors to write an ongoing story with three words as a starting point. Each Friday, a different author tackled the next leg of the story, taking it in whatever direction they wanted to. As you might imagine, my contribution managed to veer the story into the paranormal, just a little bit. The words that prompted us were llama, dating, and waterfall.
\n![\"llama-obey\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/07/llama-obey.jpg\")
Our story mascot.
You can start the story from the beginning here, or you can just jump in for my contribution. Here's your teaser of the story's beginning, written by Cheryl Grey:
\n\n\nThe house looked like half of a bleached orange, placed juicy side down in the shadow of a long, sloping hill. Detective Elleanor Sharpe slammed the door of her rental car, leaned against its hot metal, and kept staring. A geodesic dome, the guy at the gas station had called it as he’d given her directions, his chest thrust out as if proud he’d mastered the term. She’d caught him reading a Scooby Doo comic book, so he hadn’t mastered much else.
\nGrasslands and cacti faded into the distance in all directions, sliced through by the state road and caliche driveway, punctuated by lazy pump jacks, and weathered, leaning shacks. To the west, looming mesas shimmered in the heat haze. Behind the dome, a flock of sheep hid in the fold of a ravine, the hillside shading them from the afternoon sun. The sky was too dry and washed-out for even the wispiest of clouds.
\n
Here is a snippet from my contribution, the fourth part in a five-part story:
\n\n\nEllea felt like a vise had cinched her throat. The Natural Assembly was here . . . in Pecos?
\nBack in Dallas, she’d worked a case on the secretive church and its leader, Reverend Peter Staff. He—it was always a man who led these cults—was in his midfifties with brown hair so gelled a tornado couldn’t move a strand of it. She’d taken an instant disliking to him from the moment she offered her hand in greeting and he held it like a dead fish. The station had called her in to question him after an embezzling charge was leveled against the Natural Assembly by a disgruntled former parishioner. There were also complaints about beheaded chickens, but sacrificing animals was not against the law. Apparently, the church had moved to a smaller pond, perhaps to draw less attention, but they’d also moved on to bigger animals.
\n
You can read the rest of mine here. And because convenience is important to us Americans, here is the entire story together in one post.
\n", "date_published": "2012-07-12T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-06-07-review-and-award-bragging-carpe-durham-and-wral-out-and-about-bandidos/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-06-07-review-and-award-bragging-carpe-durham-and-wral-out-and-about-bandidos/", "title": "Review of Bandido's and Award Bragging—Carpe Durham and WRAL Out and About", "content_html": "It's that time of the week again! This time, I have two food blogging items to brag about, both recent developments. First, Carpe Durham, one of the blogs I contribute to, was a finalist for the third year in a row in the Best Blog category in the Independent Weekly's Best of the Triangle awards.
\n![\"indybestof\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/06/indybestof.jpg\")
I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to be part of a website with passionate readers who vote for us year after year. Thank you so much!
\nSecond, I have another review up at WRAL's Out and About. This one is of the newly added brunch menu at the Durham and Hillsborough Bandidos locations. Here's your teaser:
\n\n\nBandidos is located a hop, skip and jump from my house, so you can bet my husband and I are regular customers. They serve Mexican food in the American style: rice, beans and whatever combination of meat, cheese, sour cream, lettuce and tortilla you want. It’s not street tacos, but it’s comfort food to me. Their salsa is my favorite in the area, and their house margaritas are impressively tasty and strong for the price. Don’t miss Margarita Mondays when they are $1.99 per mug!
\n\n
You can read the rest of that post here. See you next week for more of my food-blogging bragging. We'll get back to fiction eventually. ,)
\n", "date_published": "2012-06-07T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-05-31-interview-bragging-durham-magazine/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-05-31-interview-bragging-durham-magazine/", "title": "Interview Bragging—Durham Magazine", "content_html": "After spending a month in Maya's Vacation promotions, I'm switching gears to highlight some of my mentions and interviews for this very blog, the Gourmez, and the connections I've made with the wealth of amazing people in our food and drink industry in the Triangle. Today's brag comes by way of my Carpe Durham connection, which is a food blog that has twice been a finalist for Independent Weekly's annual Best Blog award. In addition to my posts here, I also cross-post to Carpe Durham any Durham reviews that haven't already been posted by one of the other fabulous CD bloggers.
\n![\"Final](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/05/cdlogo.jpg\")
Back in 2010, Matt Dees, the hardworking and food-appreciating editor of Durham Magazine, contacted me and the other Carpe Durham bloggers about doing a piece in their first annual Foodie issue. Of course I said yes, and along with Carpe Durham's amazing primary blogger, DID, we did a little photoshoot for the piece. We were interviewed, too, and the piece primarily discusses the origins of the website with its creators, RPP and YAR.
\n![\"eatbloglove\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/05/eatbloglove.jpg\")
Now, it's been two years since the articles, so I think I can post the scans without fear of dipping into Durham Magazine's profits for the issue (What can I say? I support writers getting income for their work!). Matt, you let me know if you want it removed, mmkay? Here is the PDF of the article.
\n\nI hope you enjoy learning about the history of Carpe Durham!
\n", "date_published": "2012-05-31T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-05-24-interview-bragging-promoting-mayas-vacation/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-05-24-interview-bragging-promoting-mayas-vacation/", "title": "Interview Bragging—Promoting Maya's Vacation", "content_html": "It has come. This is the last week I'm spending on bragging about Maya's Vacation, my romance novella about a woman who has to decide if she wants to chance her heart on an old flame all while painting and eating her vacation away. This week, I'm sharing a few snippets of interviews I've done to promote Maya's Vacation. I was interviewed at a couple of romance book and author sites. If you've ever wanted to learn a bit more about me or my romance novella, you should swing by them!
\n![\"readerbutton1\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/05/readerbutton1.jpg\")
First up is I Am A Reader, Not A Writer from last June. Here is your teaser:
\n\nWhat is one book everyone should read?
\nThe Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. It is a beautiful book that blends religious striving, human suffering, cultural understanding, and language into a narrative about learning to live with aliens on another planet and learning to live with ourselves.
\nWhat is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
\nViennese Cafe Waltz—it was a specialty flavor done by Safeway Groceries’ store brand for a few years: chocolate covered hazelnuts in a cinnamon, vanilla, and mocha ice cream.
\nWhat is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
\nEggs Goldenrod—cheese sauce over toast with sliced and grated hard-boiled eggs. Calories for the win!
\nNight owl or early bird?
\nVery much a night owl. I get a lot of eye rolls when I say I wake up around 10 am...until I remind them that means I’m in bed around 3 am.
\nSkittles or M&Ms?
\nM&Ms, especially those new coconut ones. If they made those in dark chocolate, I’d be in heaven.
\n
![\"astraealogo\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/05/astraealogo.jpg\")
Next on the agenda is Astraea Press's blog, where I did an interview the day of Maya's Vacation's release.
A random fact about your story.
\n\n\nScrabble is not a recommended matchmaking method.A random fact about you as an author.
\nI’ve been writing stories since I mastered handwriting—though whether I’ve ever actually mastered cursive is up for debate. My first stories involved the La Brea Tar Pit and taking a ride on a unicorn with She-Ra. It was horror and fantasy from an early age.
\nFavorite line in the story (can be funny, romantic, etc).
\nMy favorite line in the story is actually the very last one, which I dreamed—or rather, I dreamed a version of it that needed some editing. But I can’t share that one! Instead, I’ll pick this: Maya thought that interesting, but Dean’s soothing voice, like jazz spilling out of a sidewalk café, distracted her from giving it any further consideration.
\n
![\"jvaughn\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/05/jvaughn.jpeg\")
Since three is such a beautiful number in writing, I'll end the interview bragging post with this snippet from Fridays Off the Wall at Joselyn Vaughn's blog last year.
\n\nJoselyn: Who would you cast as the main characters in a movie of your latest book?
\nRebecca: In Maya’s Vacation, the main character, Maya, is a woman in her early 50s. She has a salt-and-pepper bob and an intuition that guides her strongly. I could see Kathy Najimy playing her. Dean, the main romantic interest, is an artist of the same age, lanky, and has a mop of curly blonde hair. Richard Gere with long hair would be a fun choice and would get that emotional angst just right, but I’d love Viggo Mortenson also. Danny Devito would be a perfect actor for Maya’s bustling friend, John. Naomi and Wynona Judd would have great fun playing Opal and Esther Donnelly, a pair of randy widows, as long as they don’t mind dying their hair pink.
\nJoselyn: I love the idea of a not 20-something heroine. We can find love at any age. What is your favorite line for your most recent book?
\nThis is not from a book but from my short story, Apocalypse, published recently at Yesteryear Fiction. It is about a woman—a diviner, actually—who is noticed by someone else for the first time in her life, which makes her realize that she’s worth noticing: His face is alight with the reflection of something dazzling, something she has never seen but always been. From the novel, I can only give my second favorite line—my first is the last line of the book, and I don’t want to give that away! My second favorite is Maya thought that interesting, but Dean’s soothing voice, like jazz spilling out of a sidewalk café, distracted her from giving it any further consideration.
\nJoselyn: That is really nice imagery. Do you have any characters who keep bugging you for their own book? Will you give them one?
\nRebecca: I assure you, both John and Opal from Maya’s Vacation are quite confident they are worthy of their own books, largely because they find themselves infinitely entertaining and think they are great catches to anyone of the opposite sex. The fact that I have no plans to do so simply mystifies them. Obviously, I’m not paying due attention to their charms, and they may be forced to try harder.
\n
I hope you enjoyed those little tidbits on why I wrote Maya's Vacation and just plain learning more about me. I can't leave you without showing off that cover one more time:
\n![\"Maya's](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/05/Mayas-Vacation-300-x-450.jpg\")
We are still on my first published book, Maya's Vacation, in this week's fiction bragging post, and we will be for a few more weeks—I did a number of interviews promoting it when it came out last March, so I plan to point you toward one each week. But this first one is not an interview with me. Instead, it's an interview I did with the main character in Maya's Vacation, Maya Holden. Perhaps she can interest you in her story.
\n
\n\nMe: Maya, you seem like such a down-to-Earth woman, but tell me, how did you end up with a litter of ferrets?
\nMaya: Oh, that. [She waves it away with a giggle]. My husband — ex-husband, now, of course, but he was my husband then — he never let me live that one down. What happened was that Meredith Viera one day on the Today Show had these long, furry animals I’d never seen before. They were so cute, I just had to get one. So I headed to the pet store that very afternoon, and what did I find but a mother ferret with a new litter of four babies! They were all so cute, no longer than my index finger, and I just couldn’t separate them. It felt like the right thing to do, taking them all home! Chuck turned bright red when he saw them, but he never did complain, not really. He’d been married to me too long! You might say I’m a creature of instinct.
\n\nMe: That’s hilarious, and don’t tell my husband, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I did something like that one day! Animals are hard to resist. Speaking of things that are hard to resist, what did you say about your first boyfriend recently? Something about how kissing him was like a great glass of tempranillo?
\nMaya: Honey, if I were kissing Dean again, I’d drain the bottle. He was — he was something else. It was so long ago when we were together, and I was probably just giddy with first love, you know how that goes, but I can still remember how he made me feel every time we — well, you know. [She blushes]. But you can’t keep that sort of relationship forever. We’ve all got to grow up sometime.
\nMe: Do you really think so? Don’t some people manage to capture the magic forever?
\nMaya: I suppose I believe that. But don’t you think that sort of connection is scary? I mean, I loved Dean, I loved him so much that I moved from home at 18 to live with him in a rundown flat by the beach that I thought was heaven. We were going to be painters together, but he left and then . . . I couldn’t wait forever, could I? [She wipes a tear from her eye and breathes deeply, straightening up]. But how did we get to this topic? Let’s talk about something more fun.
\nMe: I can certainly do that! What’s your favorite dish, Maya? What food would you want on a deserted island?
\nMaya: I’ll take that bottle of tempranillo, for starters! But to help wash it down, I’d go for comfort food like chicken and dumplings—it might get a little lonely out on that island. I can’t help but dress up a recipe, though, so I’d stir some gruyere into the dumpling batter and probably roast the chicken first with tarragon and oregano.
\nMe: That sounds delightful! Thank you for your time, Maya.
\nMaya: A pleasure!
\n
If that little peak into Maya's life makes you want to learn what the future may hold for her, then pick up Maya's Vacation today! It's available in all e-book formats, including PDF, at Astraea Press, Amazon, or Barnes and Nobles.
\n", "date_published": "2012-05-17T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-05-10-review-bragging-and-winners-of-mayas-vacation/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-05-10-review-bragging-and-winners-of-mayas-vacation/", "title": "Review Bragging and Winners of Maya's Vacation!", "content_html": "Hello everyone! For my bragging series this week, I am going to share a couple of the nicest reviews I've received so far for Maya's Vacation. But most importantly, I am revealing the winners of the free copies of Maya's Vacation! There were six entrants and I had five free copies, but I couldn't bring myself to leave only one person a loser, so I scrounged up another one. Thus, everyone's a winner! That's right, free books for Rachel, Angie, Heidi, Angel, Lu Ann, and Lisa! Thank you so much for signing up, ladies, and I hope you enjoy Maya's Vacation. I'll send you instructions on how to get your free book.
\nNow for those reviews. Here are just a few of my favorites, though there are plenty more out there with nice things to say about Maya's Vacation. The most recent one comes first, from just this February. Emma Rae from Romancing the Book had this to say:
\n\n\nDefinitely worth the buck or so for this little novella. Go ahead and judge the book by the cover. The two characters are both painters, and so is Rebecca Farrell. I’m not putting a “favorite quote” because I want you to discover the beautiful imagery in this book for yourself. I’m not usually big on descriptions or scenery, and this story doesn’t overdo it, but what is there is superbly written. Calibre tagged this novella as “Christian” when I added it. It’s not, but it’s perfectly clean with just the right amount of chemistry.
\nThe story is mostly from Maya’s point of view, and has an excellent supporting cast. You just know Chuck is a slimy user trying to wiggle his way back into Maya’s life, and he wouldn’t be good for her at all. Dean hasn’t been pining for thirty years, and brings his own hurts to the woods. I wish we’d had some more from Dean’s point of view. I like that nothing is perfect and smooth and clear-cut. There’s regret and sadness, but it’s not the focus of the story and that’s fresh. It’s nice to know romance is still alive at fifty, and there’s always room for second chances.
\n
At Amazon, fellow Astraea Press author J. Gunnar Gray has the following review:
\n\n\nThis is a remarkably fun story of a woman caught between two love interests, and I honestly didn't know how she's choose until the very last pages. Becca Farrell writes with subtlety and imagination, building Maya's character with artistic brushstrokes and showing how she's tugged between doing what's smart and comfortable, and doing what she really wants. This little novella isn't getting nearly the attention it deserves.
\n
And an anonymous review over at Barnes and Nobles:
\n\n\nIf you like food, art, romance or any combination of the three than you will thoroughly enjoy Maya's Vacation! The characters are likable and the plot moves at the perfect pace. There are cute analogies and moments the author describes that are laugh out loud funny. The story starts out with Maya taking a brief escape from her current day to day life—and that is exactly what this story offers the reader: A sweet escape from the everyday. If you'd like a short read that will give you a break from your own reality, then look no further than Maya's Vacation.
\n
Hooray! And looking for these reviews reminded me that I really need to keep a list of all the reviews the book has received, because I've forgotten already! If only I were a better organized writer...someday!
\n", "date_published": "2012-05-10T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-05-03-fiction-bragging-win-a-copy-of-mayas-vacation-bonus-listen-to-me-read-from-it/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-05-03-fiction-bragging-win-a-copy-of-mayas-vacation-bonus-listen-to-me-read-from-it/", "title": "Fiction Bragging - Win a copy of Maya's Vacation! Bonus: Listen to Me Read From It!", "content_html": "For this installment of my Thursday bragging series, I'm giving away 5 copies of my e-book, Maya's Vacation! What's that? You like to win things? Well, entering to win is easy. Just leave a comment on this post by next Wednesday, 5/9, and I'll reveal the winners on Thursday. Not familiar with Maya's Vacation? We can fix that easily!
\n\nTwenty-year-old Maya knew, as she watched Dean walk away from her front door, distraught at her silence and her father’s threats, that she would never love anyone with the intensity that she loved him. He was her painter, her artist, her soul mate and being apart from him hurt too much. She tucked those feelings away, determined to enjoy the safe and secure life her parents approved of: business school and a marriage to Chuck, a successful real estate agent.
\nThirty years later, Chuck has cheated on and divorced her. But when he comes back, begging for reconciliation, Maya follows her intuition and takes a vacation to think it over. Her love of art, food, and wine combine at this retreat in the woods, and she prepares for a week of making new friends, tasting exquisite wines, and learning to paint again. What she hasn’t prepared for is the familiar voice she hears the first morning at camp . . . a voice that makes her skin tingle and brings back memories of who she used to be before Chuck. Has Maya buried her passion too deep to find love with Dean again.
\n
You can also listen to me read from Maya's Vacation, so if you're interested in an excerpt, what better way to get one than by listening to the author speak for her characters? Each clip is about 3 and 1/2 minutes long, and you do need javascript enabled for the clips to work.
\n[audio:/audio/mvexcerpt1.mp3]
\n[audio:/audio/mvexcerpt2.mp3]
\nDon't want to wait to see if you won the contest? You can purchase Maya's Vacation now in any e-book form direct from Astraea Press (direct from the publisher is where I get the biggest cut, hint hint), Amazon, and Barnes and Nobles.
\nNext week, along with the contest winners, I'll share some of my favorite reviews of Maya's Vacation. There are some great ones out there!
\n", "date_published": "2012-05-03T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-04-26-fiction-bragging-mayas-vacation/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-04-26-fiction-bragging-mayas-vacation/", "title": "Fiction Bragging - Maya's Vacation", "content_html": "My bragging series has finally brought us to the publication of my first book, Maya's Vacation!
\n
It is a romance novella, reaching just about 50 pages in all, and it was published by Astraea Press in March of last year. The whole process of having a book published was so exciting, from perusing the editor's suggestions, seeing cover art for the first time, and watching as the reviews come in. Maya's Vacation is available in e-book only, but you can get it for your kindle, nook, or in basic PDF form—however you want it! The novella will cost you a whopping $1.99. And if that's too much, I'll be giving away 5 $0.01 copies in next Thursday's post!
\nWe'll be on Maya's Vacation in the bragging series for a while, because it brought me much to brag about! I plan to repost the recordings of myself reading from the book, highlight a few of the reviews, and highlight a few of the interviews at other author blogs to promote its publication in the next few weeks on Thursdays. For this first post on my book, I'm including an excerpt from it. I hope you find your romantic leanings intrigued!
\n\n\nAt 4:45, the three of them made their way out of the cabin. Opal led them on the trail to the dining hall. The smell of sap on the pine trees made Maya smile, and she wondered if anyone had ever made a sap-based paint. It would be dreadfully hard to work with, but the smell would be so much better than oil ones. Dean used to smell of nothing but oil paints and sweat.
\nIt was strange how being here made her think of him when she hadn’t in ages. He had come back those many years ago, but it was a year after she’d accepted her parents’ check, and by then she was already engaged to Chuck with their blessing. Dean had found her at her parents' home in New Rockford. She didn’t know how he found the house — she’d never mentioned which development they lived in — but she wasn’t surprised when she saw him striding up the walkway, holding a large, polished conch shell that must have been for her. Maya wanted to run to him then, everything within her screamed to go, but she’d made her decision months ago.
\nShe’d wept in her bedroom, behind the curtain sheer, as he rang the bell. Her father opened the door then stepped outside and closed it behind him. Dean’s hopeful expression dissolved into one of shock as she heard her dad say, “. . . engaged . . . her life’s on track now . . .” in an increasingly louder voice. Somehow, Dean knew which room was hers, and she could feel him staring at her window, his blue eyes pleading silently with her through the pulled sheer.
\n“I came back for you, Maya,” he called out in the voice that used to inspire her to paint the sun cresting over a sand dune. She stood and ran toward the front door but stopped short when she heard her father threaten to call the cops.
\nDean left.
\nHer father came back in a few minutes later and threw the shell in the kitchen trash. Maya wiped away her tears and forced her thoughts toward floral arrangements for the reception. Later, when her parents were asleep, she fished the shell out of the garbage. Painted on its pink lip was a miniature portrait of herself in profile, with a slight smile on her lips. It doesn’t look like me, she had thought, at least not anymore.
\n“You okay?” Esther whispered as the three women reached the dining hall. It was roughly four times the size of their Downy Woodpecker cabin. “You look pale.”
\n“I’m fine,” Maya answered, though she felt a little shaky. Odd how thinking of Dean could still affect her after all these years. “I was daydreaming a little. The fresh air feels good, you know?”
\nOpal opened the door to the Toucan, as the sign above it read. Maya was amazed by the set up inside. She’d been imagining the summer camp cafeterias of her adolescence, long plywood tables and a stainless steel buffet of indiscernible foods in the center of a large, colorless room. This was much more intimate. The left half of the cabin was filled with a cozy, open kitchen, and the other side held a few scattered, high pub tables and a larger table of polished cherry wood that could seat at least ten. The windows were floor length, exposing a view of the tops of pine trees and storm clouds gathering along the mountainous horizon. It was gorgeous. A handful of people stood around, chatting.
\n“I'd forgotten how lovely that view is!” Esther gushed. Maya nodded in agreement as she watched an older woman in coveralls pull a tray out from the oven and place it to cool on the counter. The woman caught sight of them and clapped her hands together.
\n“Oh, more guests!” She scuttled over and exclaimed, “Opal and Esther! You both look wonderful.” She gave them each a warm hug. Then she introduced herself to Maya. “I’m Catelyn, Cliff’s wife. We are so excited to have you here.” Her gray hair was in a loose bun. She gestured toward the pub tables. “Please take a seat!”
\nOpal and Esther sauntered off, and Maya offered to help with dinner. Cooking had been a passion of hers ever since she and Chuck had moved into their first home. Its kitchen was almost completely enclosed, and she had loved how the different spices lingered in it, making her feel like she entered another world every time she stepped inside, one that she wanted to contribute to each day with fresh flavors and experiments. Catelyn set her to pouring flights of wines for the guests, eighteen total counting her and Ranger, though one of the men wasn’t due until tomorrow morning.
\n“He’s a bit of a strange one,” Catelyn whispered to her. “Just called yesterday, hoping we could squeeze him in and sounding all flustered, too, like he couldn’t explain why he was coming. Now, who would act so weird about coming to a retreat?”
\n“I don’t know,” Maya laughed. “Sounds like a head case! Guess we’ll see tomorrow, huh?” She recorked the bottle of zinfandel and took a seat at an empty table. Opal was chatting with a skinny man wearing a bowtie the next table over. She gave Maya a wink.
\nRanger came in with a few stragglers, a young-looking couple and a short man with a smile so large, it looked like he’d swallowed an orange.
\n“The wine's all poured? Well, get out of town,” Ranger exclaimed. “Time to take a seat then, everyone. Let's get this show on the road.”
\nBy the time she'd finished her slice of mocha cheesecake and drank her port at the end of the meal, Maya had made fast friends with John, the short man. He'd taken the empty barstool next to her and spent the evening charming her with stories about his granddaughter and her new puppy. When he found out Maya was contemplating a reunion with her ex, he let out a low whistle and cried, “That's a damn shame! If I’d have known that earlier, I wouldn’t have wasted the last two hours on you.”
\n“Am I the only person who came here to paint?” Maya replied with a laugh.
\n“Yes,” John answered then whispered, “but don't tell Ranger Cliff.”
\n
Consider this a potential glimpse into Catelyn's kitchen.
\n![\"bullcityspirits08\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/07/bullcityspirits08.jpg\")
It's been a few weeks since the last installment in my Thursday Bragging series. We are now almost caught up to a year ago in my published works. This one is a fantasy flash fiction piece that happens to be one of my favorites, likely because it stems from my love of poetic prose and abstract plots. Enjoy the first few lines of "Apocalypse," published at Yesteryear Fiction.
\n\n\nCorena sits on a bench in a field of marigolds and cement. She sits and watches the people walk past her in the same direction, which is away. They tread on the endless sidewalks lying between the rows of marigold planter boxes. Their expressions are serene as they stare ahead, wearing shapeless clothes the color of corn silk. Some of the people turn and look at her; they turn their heads but don’t stop walking. Most continue onward, focused on the path that is the future. Corena sits. She records the sky’s markings in her notebook. There are many clouds, dark and light grays swirled together like mixing paint. They give her comfort, though the wind is strong today. She fears the time is near, but she hopes the clouds will stay.
\n
Because I've developed a habit for adding a possibly scene-setting photograph, here is a potential view of Corena's bench as she waits for the world to end.
\n![\"savannah065\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/04/savannah0651.jpg\")
And here might be the sky on this fate-filled day.
\n![\"london175"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/04/london175.jpg\")
Enjoy!
\n", "date_published": "2012-04-19T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-03-15-nonfiction-bragging-wral-out-about-review-of-southern-rail/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-03-15-nonfiction-bragging-wral-out-about-review-of-southern-rail/", "title": "Nonfiction Bragging: WRAL Out & About Review of Southern Rail", "content_html": "You may have missed it last week---I know I did---but my second review for WRAL's Out and About was published. This time, I visited Southern Rail in Carrboro to check out their dining scene, knowing full well that the drinking scene is worthwhile! Here are the results:
\n\n\nSouthern Rail is a nightlife and dining complex in downtown Carrboro. The Station, their main bar, is housed in a refurbished train station, and the dining takes place in vintage railroad cars. They also have a large beer garden space and two more bars housed inside the facilities. On a warm night with a DJ or band playing outside, Southern Rail and the Station are happening.
\nI hadn’t tried the food since they first opened five years ago, so I decided to remedy that and investigate whether Southern Rail offered good options for a bite between drinks.
\n
You can read the rest of the post and check out the pictures at Out and About.
\n", "date_published": "2012-03-15T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-02-23-nonfiction-bragging-the-trickster/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-02-23-nonfiction-bragging-the-trickster/", "title": "Nonfiction Bragging—The Trickster", "content_html": "My bragging series or "How I Attempted to Embrace Self-Promotion" continues with an entry from my nonfiction creative writing, published online in 2010. This one is a short piece on the disappearance and recovery of Loki, our orange tabby cat who went missing for 8 months back when he was a year and a half old. Here are the first few lines:
\n\n\nLoki is the Norse god of trickery and mischief. He's a shape-shifter, and I'm pretty sure our tomcat is one of his chosen forms. We picked out the name Loki before we went to the shelter, and yet it fit him perfectly.
\nI wanted an orange tabby because I'd always heard they were the friendliest cats. At the shelter, I was drawn to the loudest meower, a runt of a kitten with a deafening purr even from behind cage bars. He was the only orange tabby there. It was fated that we'd take him home, and he worked his charms to ensure it.
\nHe proved to be a mischief maker just like his namesake. He claimed all of Woodcroft as his domain. Loki was well fed and well loved, but he still fooled many unwitting humans into thinking his easy purr and plaintive meows were signs of hunger. The neighborhood became his personal 24-hour buffet.
\n\n
"The Trickster" is no longer available online.
\nInterestingly, my initial blog post here when Loki first went missing has always been one of my most popular entries. Plenty of people have swung by it when they've also lost a cat, and I'd like to think they found some hope they'd find their pets again from it. Not quite as popular, but much more hopeful, was my post on finding Loki again, and the injuries he suffered and recovered from, getting back to the same crazy animal he always has been with a lessened sense of wanderlust, luckily.
\nOf course, all this is really an excuse to post a more recent picture of Loki---the cat, the monster, the trickster. This is him with his sisters on either side during a rainy January day.
\n![\"lokiontop\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/02/lokiontop.jpg\")
Time for the next entry in my self-promotion series! She Could Be Me is a short story published by Flashes in the Dark back in May of 2010. And it's available online for free! It's a horror story with a Twilight Zone feel to it. Interested? Here are the first few lines:
\n\n\n“I’m delayed,” Tom said over the phone. Celia could barely hear him with the thunder on her end of the line and the airport loudspeaker playing an endless stream of announcements in Spanish, a language she didn’t understand, on his. The announcer’s voice sounded ethereal and discordant at the same time, like a slightly off-tune harp being plucked.
\n“I’ll be home tomorrow,” he continued. “Don’t get bent out of shape, okay?”
\nWhat was a strange thing to say. She never complained when Tom was delayed.
\n
You can read the rest at Flashes in the Dark here. Perhaps these photos will help you with the atmosphere for enjoying She Could Be Me.
\nThe walk toward Chez Mer:
\n![\"minneapolis,](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/pages/minneapolis014-684x1024.jpg\")
Imagine a bus stop, just out of sight...
Celia's drink at Chez Mer:
\n![\"pink](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/pages/not-a-cosmo-she-could-be-me-1024x975.png\")
Now that those pesky recent publications have stopped getting in the way (yes, yes, I wish I could complain about more of them!), I can return to my pattern of posting oldest to newest credits in this self-promotion series. Next up is a short little guest blog post I did back in the fall of 2009 on the Muffin Blog. It was written as a way to vent my frustration after losing years of creative writing due to a hard drive failure.More importantly, it was an ode to all the characters I lost from the crash. Here's your lead-in:
\n\n\nI lost six years of my life. Okay, I’m being a tad dramatic. I lost six years’ worth of word processor documents. They’re gone. They left for the great recycling bin icon in the sky and some jerk emptied it. I’m the jerk.
\nA few years ago, I decided the old college laptop had to go. It had been wacky since my roommate borrowed it for a night of feverish essay typing and spilled a mug of coffee on it. The keys sank down like molasses when you pressed them and came up 1. . . 2 . . .3 seconds later with a loud click. The down arrow key would possess the cursor, sending it on a race down the monitor, which no control-alt-delete combination could halt.
\n
If your interest is peaked, read the rest at the Muffin Blog! And for your visual pleasure, I give you kitten Verdandi expressing the same rage at dirty laundry as I felt when I realized the files were gone forever.
\n![\"ferociousrage\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/02/ferociousrage.jpg\")
Would you like to know how good of a year 2012 has been so far? This is the second time I've had to replace one of my planned bragging posts with a just published one instead! Let's hope this is a trend that continues.
\nThis week, I'm directing you to an essay I wrote for our local independent newspaper, sensibly named the Independent Weekly, or the Indy if you're a local. The Front Porch column is open to readers to send in 500-word essays on any topic, and it's often a great place to get a sense of what others in the community are thinking about or just taste a little slice of someone's life. This week, it's my life you can dig into, or at least my opinions on the running craze and the constant fundraisers around us. Here is your teaser:
\n\n\nOn Facebook, I complete the circle of life every day by reading the status updates of friends and acquaintances. Births, weddings, deaths, more births: They're all there on display. Lately, it seems, there's a new element of living that I'd previously neglected. I'm talking about races, the running kind—anything that ends in "-athlon," "-K" or red-faced racers clutching their stomachs as they breathlessly pass a finish line.
\nOstensibly, it's both the method of choice to raise money for every known charity and the trendiest way to announce a transition from out-of-shape blob to exercise hound. Watching from the sidelines, it's a little bewildering . . .
\n
For the rest of the Front Porch, either pick up a free copy of the Indy at pretty much any coffee shop and many local businesses or head over to the web version. Thanks for reading!
\n", "date_published": "2012-01-26T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-01-13-interview-bragging-wow-women-on-writing/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-01-13-interview-bragging-wow-women-on-writing/", "title": "Interview Bragging: WOW! Women on Writing!", "content_html": "Two weeks ago, I posted the first in my series of self-promotional blogs on Thursdays, titled the Bragging series, because I always feel less self-conscious about anything if I just embrace it fully. This week, I'm pointing you toward the interview I did with WOW! Women on Writing as part of placing third with the story I shared two weeks ago, Last Complaint. Here's a little snippet from the interview where I describe what some of my thoughts were in forming the main character:
\n\n\nWOW: That's so true. Creating a hook that keeps readers invested is the goal. Your creation of the main character is brilliant. She's self-centered, lonely, demanding, and vulnerable. That's a powerful combination. What does her attitude say about the state of humanity?
\nRebecca: Since she spent her life not taking other people's feelings into consideration, she essentially removed herself from humanity and they no longer wish to consider her feelings, either. Through rejecting the simple human connection that comes from things as basic as treating the people around you with respect, she has essentially lost the right to that same treatment herself. Not that I want people to read about a murder and cheer on her death, per se, but I do like that it's a bit of a comeuppance for her and the way she's lived her life.
\n
Read the rest of the interview here. If you do, you'll learn about my other motivations for writing Last Complaint (hint: they aren't that deep), why I started this blog in the first place, and my long and sordid history with General Hospital. This was the first interview I did regarding writing, and it's still one of my favorites, even if I gave the dreaded "Write, write, write" answer for what advice to give new writers. I still hang my head in shame when I remember it.
\n", "date_published": "2012-01-13T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-01-12-nonfiction-bragging-604-west-morgan-review-for-wral-out-and-about/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-01-12-nonfiction-bragging-604-west-morgan-review-for-wral-out-and-about/", "title": "Nonfiction Bragging: 604 West Morgan Review for WRAL Out and About", "content_html": "Last Thursday, my first post for WRAL's Out and About--their blog on the Triangle's entertainment, food, and nightlife--went live, and I didn't even realize it! If I had, you can bet I'd have let you all know about it then. I'll be contributing a couple more pieces for WRAL during the course of the year, and I look forward to it! This first one is on 604 West Morgan, a fancy and delicious Italian restaurant hidden in downtown Durham's warehouse district. Here is your teaser:
\n\n\nI have a compulsion when dining out in the Triangle – I must try a new place every time! We are spoiled with amazing options, and I’m lucky enough to have friends just as excited to try them all as I am.
\nMy dining companions on this particular evening all work in the American Tobacco District in downtown Durham, so we wanted somewhere nearby. The usual suspects like Revolution, Rue Cler and Dos Perros were quickly eliminated – we’d all been to them before!
\nWhere we hadn’t been is an Italian restaurant just half a mile away in the redeveloped West Village warehouses. Unless you happened to glance into the courtyard between the Flowers Warehouse and Cooper Shop buildings as you walked down Fernway or Morgan streets, you wouldn’t know 604 West Morgan was tucked away inside.
\n
For the rest of the review, and pictures, head to the post!
\n", "date_published": "2012-01-12T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-01-05-fiction-bragging-last-complaint/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2012-01-05-fiction-bragging-last-complaint/", "title": "Fiction Bragging--Last Complaint", "content_html": "I wouldn't call it a resolution, but I am attempting to do a better job of that self-promotion part of writing. I hate self-promotion. I want people to magically find all my published work, become instant dedicated fans, and beg me to create more stories for them. Funny enough, that doesn't happen on its own! Or at least not at this stage in my career. But this stage in my career is actually pretty awesome, because I've been published several times now, and that's a huge building block in terms of ego and confidence to keep going.
\nHere's my plan: I'm going to point you all to my published pieces one by one in case you missed them the first time they were published. I'll report links to my interviews on other blogs as well, maybe revel in that time---ok, two times now---that Durham magazine interviewed me on the Triangle dining scene or those times---ok, two times now---that the Independent Weekly mentioned my name. Eventually, I'll even tell you all about how I'm writing the occasional post for WRAL Out and About, the first of which will be coming out soon. Yes, I've known that for weeks, submitted my first review last week, and I still haven't told the interwebs about it---I really am that bad at self-promotion, folks.
\nConsider this the first installment in my bragging series, to be posted at least every other Thursday. Our first installment is Last Complaint, a horror short story that won me third place in WOW! Women on Writing's Flash Fiction contest back in 2009. In it, a grumpy old woman finds out that airing her grievances isn't always the wisest plan. Here are the first few paragraphs:
\n\n\nShe parks her station wagon under the "No Vacancy" sign. This is the first inn she's passed since dinner at that horrible truck stop diner. Her bowl of clam chowder had been lukewarm and the waitress had the gall to try and make her pay for it. She doubts she'll be treated any better at this place, but she can feel her eyelids drooping.
\n"Bellboy!" she yells into the dark lot. No one comes. She sighs, then pulls out her suitcase and wheels it towards the small front office that glows with a pale green fluorescence.
\n"Can I help you?" grunts the middle-aged man wearing a stained gray uniform at the desk. He flips the channel on an old television set that's perched on the countertop behind him.
\n"I need a room," she says. "How much?"
\n"We're full up. No vacancy," he gestures towards the sign outside then stares at her, his mouth hanging open.
\n"That's ridiculous," she insists. "I have a nephew who manages a Hyatt." She waits for this to affect him but his expression does not change. She continues, unperturbed, "There are always extra rooms available, that's what he told me. Even at the Hyatt."
\n
To continue reading, head here, and scroll down the page about halfway. You'll find my picture and the rest of Last Complaint there. This picture was not taken with the story in mind, but it captures the mood of the latter half of the story, stumbling through a dark hallway half asleep.
\n![\"lastcomplaintstumble\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/01/lastcomplaintstumble.jpg\")
Enjoy! And let me know what you thought.
\n", "date_published": "2012-01-05T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-12-27-mayas-vacation-on-sale-for-99-cents/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-12-27-mayas-vacation-on-sale-for-99-cents/", "title": "Maya's Vacation on sale for 99 cents!", "content_html": "Would you look at that? My romance novella, Maya's Vacation, is on sale for 99 cents until New Year's day. This sale is only happening at Amazon, so click here to purchase it. Forgotten about this story? Well, listen to me read two excerpts from it here or here or read the synopsis:
\n\n\nTwenty-year-old Maya knew, as she watched Dean walk away from her front door, distraught at her silence and her father’s threats, that she would never love anyone with the intensity that she loved him. He was her painter, her artist, her soul mate and being apart from him hurt too much. She tucked those feelings away, determined to enjoy the safe and secure life her parents approved of: business school and a marriage to Chuck, a successful real estate agent.
\nThirty years later, Chuck has cheated on and divorced her. But when he comes back, begging for reconciliation, Maya follows her intuition and takes a vacation to think it over. Her love of art, food, and wine combine at this retreat in the woods, and she prepares for a week of making new friends, tasting exquisite wines, and learning to paint again. What she hasn’t prepared for is the familiar voice she hears the first morning at camp . . . a voice that makes her skin tingle and brings back memories of who she used to be before Chuck. Has Maya buried her passion too deep to find love with Dean again?
\n
I hope you love it, and if you do, please leave a review!
\n", "date_published": "2011-12-27T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-09-25-six-sentence-sunday-8/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-09-25-six-sentence-sunday-8/", "title": "Six Sentence Sunday", "content_html": "I'm joining in with Six Sentence Sunday this week, giving my fiction fans six sentences from one of my works to see if it entices you. Six Sentence Sunday is mainly perused by romance authors and readers, so when I participate, I try to include something a bit similar to that genre. This six comes from my short story, Treasure, that I'll soon be submitting to a speculative fiction magazine.
\n\n\n\nBy now, she knew such things were repulsive here, that killing another human was anathema to his race, yet she was amazed he could focus on anything but her curves in the morning light.
\n“Get dressed,” she commanded, “or don’t you plan to work today?”
\nHe gazed at her for a moment, groaned, and then rose. With both hands, he pulled her face toward his, kissed her, then whispered in her ear, “You’re safe with me, Filor.”
\nHer cheeks colored, both with flattery and shame. She could not trust him with her real name—did the shame mean she wanted to?
\n
Hope you enjoyed it!
\n", "date_published": "2011-09-25T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-08-21-six-sentence-sunday-7/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-08-21-six-sentence-sunday-7/", "title": "Six Sentence Sunday", "content_html": "It's been awhile since I've been able to play! Here are my six for the week, from my romance novella, Maya's Vacation.
\n\n\nDean stopped in front of a cherry-red jeep and put his suitcase down. She could see three or four more of his canvases peeking over the top of the seats. He leaned against the passenger door and pulled her around to look at him. His eyes glistened with tears; when had he started crying?
\n“Maya—” He choked up at her name. “Are you—are you coming with me?”
\n
If you're intrigued, make sure you scoot on over to Astraea Press to give it a whirl for $2.99!
\n", "date_published": "2011-08-21T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-07-17-six-sentence-sunday-6/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-07-17-six-sentence-sunday-6/", "title": "Six Sentence Sunday", "content_html": "Time for another Six Sentence Sunday post—it's been great fun participating and getting your feedback on such short snippets! Here's another one from my romance novella, Maya's Vacation. I'm out of town this week, so I many not be speedy on responding to comments, but please don't let that discourage you from reading them!
\n\n\nBy the time she'd finished her slice of mocha cheesecake and drank her port at the end of the meal, Maya had made fast friends with John, the short man. He'd taken the empty barstool next to her and spent the evening charming her with stories about his granddaughter and her new puppy. When he found out Maya was contemplating a reunion with her ex, he let out a low whistle and cried, “That's a damn shame! If I’d have known that earlier, I wouldn’t have wasted the last two hours on you.”
\n“Am I the only person who came here to paint?” Maya replied with a laugh.
\n“Yes,” John answered. Then he whispered, “but don't tell Ranger Cliff.”
\n\n
The synopsis and buy links for Maya's Vacation are over at my Published Works page, so swing by if you're interested in more on this romance tale of old flames reuniting!
\n", "date_published": "2011-07-17T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-06-26-six-sentence-sunday-5/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-06-26-six-sentence-sunday-5/", "title": "Six Sentence Sunday", "content_html": "For this week's Six Sentence Sunday, I'm sharing the very first six lines from my work-in-progess, an epic fantasy novel. I'll be spending all of August working hard on this book--I'm really hoping I finish it this year. Feedback on if this first paragraph grabs your interest is definitely welcome.
\n\n\nHe was an enticing prospect, especially the way the candlelight accentuated the curves of muscle seeping through the black sleeves of his tunic. He’d taken off his cloak, hot from the ride, and was holding it hooked around his pointer finger. Vesperi stifled a giggle at its vivid hue, the bright purple of the Meduan sunset on a cloudy night. Illa wasn’t trained in subtlety. Anyone wearing a cloak that bold was practically announcing his ambition the moment he rode through a town square. Maybe that was the point; her father was a man drawn to power like a priest to intrigue.
\n
Thanks for reading! Be sure to browse my other works available for purchase or for free. Also, I have a giveaway of my romance novella, Maya's Vacation, over at I am a Reader, Not a Writer. Leave a comment there to be entered to win an e-copy of it!
\n", "date_published": "2011-06-26T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-06-19-six-sentence-sunday-4/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-06-19-six-sentence-sunday-4/", "title": "Six Sentence Sunday", "content_html": "Time for another Six Sentence Sunday post--it's been great fun participating and getting your feedback on such short snippets! Here's another one from my romance novella, Maya's Vacation.
\n\n\n“Where are we going?” she asked after a few minutes of silent walking. She stopped to catch her breath, not knowing if the pace, the wine, or the proximity of Dean were responsible for her short‑windedness.
\n“Just a little spot I saw earlier today--itʹs on the other side of the bed cabins, and I think youʹll love it.”
\n“Okay, but slow down a little? Iʹm not exactly nineteen anymore.”
\n“No,” he agreed while lessening his speed, “youʹre better.”
\n
Synposis of Maya's Vacation:
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2011-06-19T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-06-12-six-sentence-sunday-3/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-06-12-six-sentence-sunday-3/", "title": "Six Sentence Sunday", "content_html": "Twenty-year-old Maya knew, as she watched Dean walk away from her front door, distraught at her silence and her father’s threats, that she would never love anyone with the intensity that she loved him. He was her painter, her artist, her soul mate and being apart from him hurt too much. She tucked those feelings away, determined to enjoy the safe and secure life her parents approved of: business school and a marriage to Chuck, a successful real estate agent.
\nThirty years later, Chuck has cheated on and divorced her. But when he comes back, begging for reconciliation, Maya follows her intuition and takes a vacation to think it over. Her love of art, food, and wine combine at this retreat in the woods, and she prepares for a week of making new friends, tasting exquisite wines, and learning to paint again. What she hasn’t prepared for is the familiar voice she hears the first morning at camp . . . a voice that makes her skin tingle and brings back memories of who she used to be before Chuck. Has Maya buried her passion too deep to find love with Dean again?
\n
For Six Sentence Sunday this week, I'm venturing into my recently published urban fantasy short story called Bother. Let's just dive right in, shall we?
\n\n\nThe sound of crunching bones came next, like nuts cracking but louder, so much louder. It went on for what seemed like ages, but it could only have been a few minutes. She knew it didn't take the beast long to finish a meal. The shaking died down, and the smell of sulfur grew weaker, but the creature had to be nearby. She would have to risk it; she had to get up, to go see for herself. She had to know.
\n
Intrigued? Here's a synopsis of Bother:
\n\n\nThe apartment is taking dingy to a new level. Air quality is suffering. Trees keep falling down, and there are piles of refuse all over the neighborhood. Yet Jonah's more concerned about his awesome day at work than he is about the dragon that's taken up residence outside his home. His wife, Susan, isn't so apathetic; she spends every waking moment with a vigilante force, trying to rid the district of the dreaded creature. Can they figure out what's worth fighting for together, or will this couple be yet another casualty of the dragon.
\n
Bother, along with a bunch of other wonderful fantasy and sci fi short stories, is available in Bull Spec, Issue #5.
\n
You can purchase a year's subscription to Bull Spec here for $15 + shipping and handling, or you can order Issue #5 on its own in either print or PDF forms. Or head over to my blog on its release for a full listing of stores you can find it at.
\nThanks for dropping by!
\n", "date_published": "2011-06-12T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-05-29-six-sentence-sunday-2/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-05-29-six-sentence-sunday-2/", "title": "Six Sentence Sunday", "content_html": "It's time for my second Six Sentence Sunday post! Six Sentence Sunday is a challenge to authors to put out six sentences from any of their works, published or not, that should excite readers to read more, and it is organized by the fine folks over at the Six Sentence Sunday blog. I thought I'd continue with Maya's Vacation for now, though I may include my fantasy work in the future! Here are my six:
\n\nHe pulled away. “But you shouldn't be. You know that, don't you? He left you, Maya! How could anyone ever leave you willingly?” His voice was raspy now, how it used to sound if he'd stayed up all night, unable to stop painting.
\n
Maya's Vacation is sweet, contemporary romance published by Astraea Press and available at their website (and Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and Smashwords) in all e-book formats.
\n", "date_published": "2011-05-29T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-05-22-six-sentence-sunday/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-05-22-six-sentence-sunday/", "title": "Six Sentence Sunday", "content_html": "I'm participating in something new today! It's called Six Sentence Sunday, which is organized by the fine folks over at the Six Sentence Sunday blog. As you may be able to guess, Six Sentence Sunday is a challenge to authors to put out six sentences from any of their works, published or not, that should excite readers to read more. These six sentences are from my romance novella, Maya's Vacation, which is published by Astraea Press. Here we go:
\n\n\n“Dean Mitchell. Nice to meet you too, Cliff.” He spoke fast and with a nervous catch in his voice, but each syllable cracked her concentration until it shattered like a boulder hitting a car windshield. She went to look, and her heart nearly stopped. It was him.
\nIt was him.
\n
Here's the cover art for Maya's Vacation.
\n
Thanks for stopping by!
\n", "date_published": "2011-05-22T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-05-01-character-interview-scavenger-hunt/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-05-01-character-interview-scavenger-hunt/", "title": "Character Interview Scavenger Hunt!", "content_html": "This special Sunday blog is coming to you courtesy of the Character Interview Scavenger Hunt! What's that, you ask? Why it's a great excuse to discover the websites of a bunch of intriguing authors from Astraea Press, Whimsical Publications, and Purple Sword. Basically, you need to find the character interview on each site and answer a question based on each interview at some point during the month of May. There will be three winners pulled at random from the pool of participants who submit the correct answers to each question. Each winner will receive a different prize basket of goodies from us authors—what's a scavenger hunt without prizes? All you need to do is have fun browsing some new blogs! There are 18 blogs to visit, but you have all month to do it—just make sure you have your answers in before the end of the month. To participate, e-mail Robyn at promorobyn@gmail.com to let her know you want in. She'll send you the list of questions to answer and the links to the blogs.
\nAnd now, here's my interview of Maya Holden, the main character in my novelette, Maya's Vacation.
\n
Me: Maya, you seem like such a down-to-Earth woman, but tell me, how did you end up with a litter of ferrets?
\nMaya: Oh, that. [She waves it away with a giggle]. My husband — ex-husband, now, of course, but he was my husband then — he never let me live that one down. What happened was that Meredith Viera one day on the Today Show had these long, furry animals I’d never seen before. They were so cute, I just had to get one. So I headed to the pet store that very afternoon, and what did I find but a mother ferret with a new litter of four babies! They were all so cute, no longer than my index finger, and I just couldn’t separate them. It felt like the right thing to do, taking them all home! Chuck turned bright red when he saw them, but he never did complain, not really. He’d been married to me too long! You might say I’m a creature of instinct.
\n\nMe: That’s hilarious, and don’t tell my husband, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I did something like that one day! Animals are hard to resist. Speaking of things that are hard to resist, what did you say about your first boyfriend recently? Something about how kissing him was like a great glass of tempranillo?
\nMaya: Honey, if I were kissing Dean again, I’d drain the bottle. He was—he was something else. It was so long ago when we were together, and I was probably just giddy with first love, you know how that goes, but I can still remember how he made me feel every time we—well, you know. [She blushes]. But you can’t keep that sort of relationship forever. We’ve all got to grow up sometime.
\nMe: Do you really think so? Don’t some people manage to capture the magic forever?
\nMaya: I suppose I believe that. But don’t you think that sort of connection is scary? I mean, I loved Dean, I loved him so much that I moved from home at 18 to live with him in a rundown flat by the beach that I thought was heaven. We were going to be painters together, but he left and then . . . I couldn’t wait forever, could I? [She wipes a tear from her eye and breathes deeply, straightening up]. But how did we get to this topic? Let’s talk about something more fun.
\nMe: I can certainly do that! What’s your favorite dish, Maya? What food would you want on a deserted island?
\nMaya: I’ll take that bottle of tempranillo, for starters! But to help wash it down, I’d go for comfort food like chicken and dumplings—it might get a little lonely out on that island. I can’t help but dress up a recipe, though, so I’d stir some gruyere into the dumpling batter and probably roast the chicken first with tarragon and oregano.
\nMe: That sounds delightful! Thank you for your time, Maya.
\nMaya: A pleasure!
\n\nNow, if you want in on that scavenger hunt, don't forget to e-mail Robyn at promorobyn@gmail.com. If you're interested in what Maya's future holds for her, then pick up Maya's Vacation! It's available in all e-book formats, including PDF, at Astraea Press, or Amazon,.
\n", "date_published": "2011-05-01T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-04-21-watch-me-read-from-bother/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-04-21-watch-me-read-from-bother/", "title": "Watch me read from Bother!", "content_html": "Hello there, fine blog readers! Last week, I did my first reading as part of Bull Spec's Issue #5 launch. My short story, Bother, is featured on the cover, and I got the pimp spot of the evening--by which I mean, I read after 7 other fabulous speculative fiction writers and editors did their things that I wish I had recorded to share with you, too! I didn't expect a recording at all, but that dastardly husband of mine pulled out his cell phone camera and . . . it wasn't that bad! So I'm sharing it with you today, and I hope you enjoy hearing the first few pages of the story. If you do, pick up a copy of Bull Spec now! If you're local, it's at the Regulator and both Durham Barnes & Nobles this week and will be expanding to the locations listed below the video in the next few weeks. If you're not, then order it here (no longer available).
\n\nTips for polishing up my reading presentation are very welcome. Hope you enjoyed it!
\nLocations where Bull Spec #5 is or soon will be available:
\nThe Regulator Bookshop (Durham, 9th Street)
\nSci-Fi Genre Comics & Games (Durham, 3215 Old Chapel Hill Rd between University Dr and MLK Blvd)
\nQuail Ridge Books & Music (Raleigh, 3522 Wade Ave at Ridge Rd)
\nInternationalist Books & Community Center (Chapel Hill, 405 W Franklin St)
\nChapel Hill Comics (Chapel Hill, 316 W Franklin St)
\nFoundation's Edge (Raleigh, 2526 Hillsborough St)
\nStoryteller's Books (Wake Forest, 100 E. Roosevelt Ave)
\nCapitol Comics (Raleigh, 3027 Hillsborough St)
\nFlyleaf Books (Chapel Hill, 752 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd)
\nAll Fun & Games (Apex, 958 US Highway 64),
\nUltimate Comics (Durham: 9th St; Chapel Hill: Farrington Rd)
\nBarnes & Noble of Cary (760 SE Maynard, Cary Commons)
\nBarnes & Noble of Durham - The Streets at Southpoint (8030 Renaissance Parkway)
\nBarnes & Noble of Durham - New Hope Commons (5400 New Hope Commons)
\nAll Booked Up (Apex, 104-B North Salem St)
\nNorthgate Books (Durham: Northgate Mall) North Carolina:
\nBarnes & Noble of Greenville, NC (3040 Evans Street)
\nNew York: Forbidden Planet NYC (NYC, NY)
\nPennsylvania: Golden Eagle Comics (Reading, PA)
\n", "date_published": "2011-04-21T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-04-13-bull-spec-5-launch-and-nc-speculative-fiction-night/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-04-13-bull-spec-5-launch-and-nc-speculative-fiction-night/", "title": "Bull Spec #5 Launch and NC Speculative Fiction Night", "content_html": "My short story, Bother, is now available online! Bull Spec's PDF version is up, a couple of days before the official publication of issue #5 on Friday, 4/15. You can find the full contents list and order a print or PDF version [here](no longer available). I may be biased, but I think you'll want the print version because of this gorgeous cover.
\n The artwork is by Richard Case, a Hillsborough resident and comic book artist who's done a lot of work for the DC label. He picked Bother to illustrate for the cover, and I love how it came out! I think it captures the feel of it quite well, and---it must be said---there be dragons! Okay, just one dragon, but it's a beauty!
If you can't wait to get a copy in your hands to read any of the fabulous fiction within its pages (including Absinthe Fish by M. David Blake, which just received a Recommended from Lois Tilton, the Locus Magazine short fiction reviewer!) then join us at Quail Ridge Books , 3522 Wade Avenue, Raleigh, on Friday night (4/15)! At 7:30, a bunch of North Carolinian speculative fiction authors and industry folks, including me, will be convening for readings, probable panel discussions, and more. Bull Spec #5 will be hot off the presses and available for purchase then. They will likely be an after party at Crowley's also. . .
\nLet me know if you're planning to go so I can say hello!
\nAnd Bull Spec's publisher just referred me to his list of where you can find the magazine locally, and in a few other states, too, though they likely won't be on the shelves until sometime next week.
\nThe Regulator Bookshop (Durham, 9th Street)
\nSci-Fi Genre Comics & Games (Durham, 3215 Old Chapel Hill Rd between University Dr and MLK Blvd)
\nQuail Ridge Books & Music (Raleigh, 3522 Wade Ave at Ridge Rd)
\nInternationalist Books & Community Center (Chapel Hill, 405 W Franklin St)
\nChapel Hill Comics (Chapel Hill, 316 W Franklin St)
\nFoundation's Edge (Raleigh, 2526 Hillsborough St)
\nStoryteller's Books (Wake Forest, 100 E. Roosevelt Ave)
\nCapitol Comics (Raleigh, 3027 Hillsborough St)
\nFlyleaf Books (Chapel Hill, 752 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd)
\nAll Fun & Games (Apex, 958 US Highway 64),
\nUltimate Comics (Durham: 9th St; Chapel Hill: Farrington Rd)
\nBarnes & Noble of Cary (760 SE Maynard, Cary Commons)
\nBarnes & Noble of Durham - The Streets at Southpoint (8030 Renaissance Parkway)
\nBarnes & Noble of Durham - New Hope Commons (5400 New Hope Commons)
\nAll Booked Up (Apex, 104-B North Salem St)
\nNorthgate Books (Durham: Northgate Mall) North Carolina:
\nBarnes & Noble of Greenville, NC (3040 Evans Street)
\nNew York: Forbidden Planet NYC (NYC, NY)
\nPennsylvania: Golden Eagle Comics (Reading, PA)
\n", "date_published": "2011-04-13T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-04-05-stellarcon-2011-and-high-point-nc/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-04-05-stellarcon-2011-and-high-point-nc/", "title": "Stellarcon 2011 and High Point, NC", "content_html": "![\"stellarcon22\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon22.jpg\")
I am way behind on all my travel posts, but I’m hoping to get that taken care of in the next few weeks. Here’s one on a trip the husband and I took to High Point, NC, for the 35th Stellarcon. “Now old enough to run for president!” was the unofficial slogan. This was my third speculative fiction convention, and Ben’s first.
\nWhat did I think? It was fun! Stellarcon convinced me to sign up in large part because I was amazed that such a small conference offered so much programming. As an author, I’m most drawn to the panels on writing-related aspects that I need more guidance on, but I also really enjoyed the fan-based panels, though I only attended two. One was on love for New Who and the other was a celebration of that glorious genre called B-movies.
\nA sci-fi/fantasy convention, you say? Where are the crazy pictures? Well, since you asked . . .
\nKlingon Karaoke!
\n![\"stellarcon01\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon01.jpg\")
Apparently, this is a Stellarcon tradition, with a Klingon and an Enterprise crewwoman hosting the event. I sang a little No Doubt—pretty badly since I didn’t remember the verses to Spiderwebs. Sigh. Other singers had more success.
\n![\"stellarcon06\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon06.jpg\")
![\"stellarcon08\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon08.jpg\")
The esteemed Klingon MC singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
![\"stellarcon05\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon05.jpg\")
On Day 2, Ben and I went for a walk around High Point, as I’d never been there beyond stopping to take a picture there during the Giant Furniture Adventure.
\n![\"giant](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/P1010030.JPG\")
I was surprised by many of the awesome buildings High Point has that are definitely worthy of a shot or two.
\n![\"stellarcon09\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon09.jpg\")
The Convention Center.
![\"stellarcon10\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon10.jpg\")
A nice, new-looking bus station.
![\"stellarcon13\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon13.jpg\")
The Forbidden City . . . in High Point?!
![\"stellarcon15\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon15.jpg\")
![\"stellarcon16\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon16.jpg\")
A nice statue of John Coltrane. There’s a plaque nearby that plays excerpts from several of his works.
![\"stellarcon19\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon19.jpg\")
Loved this ship-shaped building.
![\"stellarcon21\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon21.jpg\")
![\"stellarcon24\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon24.jpg\")
This is a familiar NC sight.
That evening, we headed to the costume competition, which is always a highlight for me of these events. Here were my favorite costumed competitors.
\n![\"stellarcon36\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon36.jpg\")
I don’t know who this was supposed to be, but you have to love a wizard with a clawed wand..
![\"stellarcon40\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon40.jpg\")
Oh, Arthur Dent. Who doesn’t love you?
![\"stellarcon42\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon42.jpg\")
A Dharma worker—don’t let him know you’re looking!
![\"stellarcon45\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon45.jpg\")
A lovely Star Wars costume.
![\"stellarcon48\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon48.jpg\")
I couldn't leave out the creepy clown from New Who.
![\"stellarcon50\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/04/stellarcon50.jpg\")
And yes, that’s Raven again, looking like the smashing steampunk character he is.
I’ll post some more pictures on our photo site eventually, but I’m even farther behind updating there. Oh, the torment of sharing too much personal information over the interwebs—my digital life can never keep up with my real one.
\n", "date_published": "2011-04-05T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-03-29-mayas-vacation-reading-2/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-03-29-mayas-vacation-reading-2/", "title": "Maya's Vacation Reading #2", "content_html": "Here’s the second clip! This one takes place later that same evening, after Dean and Maya have spent the afternoon and evening reconnecting.
\n[audio:/audio/mvexcerpt2.mp3]
\nMaya's Vacation is available for purchase (e-books only) at Astraea Press, Amazon, and Barnes and Nobles.
\nDon’t forget to head out to my book launch party at City Beverage tonight if you’re local! I’ll just be chilling from 6:30 to 8:30 with a pile of bookmarks, family, friends, and libations. Come by and say hello, and you might be one of 5 people to win a free download of the book!
\nI also have two interviews posted on other blogs today about Maya's Vacation. Take a stroll over to the Astraea Press blog and Kim Bowman's blog to read my answers to questions about my writing style and the book. What inspired the book? Who would I cast as the main characters? Take a gander!
\n![\"MVBanner\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/03/MVBanner1.jpg\")
That’s right, folks. The day has finally arrived, and I am now a published book author! I can’t thank you all enough for your support over these last few crazy weeks. I hope you’ll pick up, by which I mean download, a copy of Maya’s Vacation soon. It’s available as an e-book only, but you can get it in whatever format you want: PDF, Nook, and Kindle files are all supported. Purchase it directly from my publisher, Astraea Press, or from Amazon or Barnes and Nobles. It’s only $2.99 for 50 pages worth of romance, food, wine, and a relaxing, quick read.
\nTo celebrate, I’ve recorded two excerpts from the book for your listening pleasure. Each clip is about 3 minutes and 30 seconds, enough to give you a glimpse of the artsy retreat Maya attends, the delicious food Catelyn makes for all the campers, and the long-absent connection she rediscovers with a certain surprise guest . . .
\nHere’s the first clip! The second one will be available later this afternoon.
\n[audio:/audio/mvexcerpt1.mp3]
\nDon’t forget to head out to my book launch party at City Beverage tonight if you’re local! I’ll just be chilling from 6:30 to 8:30 with a pile of bookmarks, family, friends, and libations. Come by and say hello, and you might be one of 5 people to win a free download of the book!
\nI also have an interview posted on the cover art for Maya's Vacation today. Take a stroll over to Kim Bowman's blog. What inspired the cover art? Who would I cast as the main characters? Take a gander!
\n
It's only 7 days until the launch of my first book, Maya's Vacation, and I'm getting quite excited!
\n
As many of you have asked, yes, I am holding a book launch party to celebrate! This is not an organized shindig so much as it is an excuse to have drinks with friends. The wonderful Johanna, the Durham Foodie, arranged for me to stake out a spot at City Beverage in Durham from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm on 3/29, the date the book launches. If you are a blog reader, friend, whomever, you are more than welcome to come. My plan is simply to chill in the Lava Lounge (the purple room) the whole time. I will be armed with bookmarks for Maya's Vacation, and I'll be giving away a few free downloads of it. I'll also have some flyers printed promoting my short story and reading with Bull Spec on 4/15. Swing on by anytime between 6:30 and 8:30 and say hello! Please let me know if you can come!
\nI'll also be doing book readings on this blog that Tuesday, probably two recorded readings from the book to whet your appetites for the $2.99 download. It will be available in all e-book formats at Astraea Press on 3/29—buy one, buy two, buy five and send them around to anyone you know who doesn't mind a little romance mixed in with food and wine descriptions sure to make you hungry. It's a book about reigniting passions, whether they be joy in cooking, creating, or accepting what Fate throws your way.
\n", "date_published": "2011-03-22T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-03-14-check-out-apocalypse/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-03-14-check-out-apocalypse/", "title": "Check out Apocalypse", "content_html": "Yes, folks, it's time for more shameless self-promotion! On Saturday, I had a short story published over at Yesteryear Fiction.
\nIt's a free daily Webzine that publishes flash fiction fantasy of all stripes, whether they be paranormal, epic, urban, or poetry. This particular piece, Apocalypse, is poetic prose that takes place in an alternate world--unless you'd prefer to read it as an extended metaphor. Here are the first three lines:
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2011-03-14T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-02-28-upcoming-publications/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2011-02-28-upcoming-publications/", "title": "Upcoming Publications!", "content_html": "Corena sits on a bench in a field of marigolds and cement. She sits and watches the people walk past her in the same direction, which is away. They tread on the endless sidewalks lying between the rows of marigold planter boxes.
\n
Today, I have an update on my writing ventures, specifically, on two writing ventures that are coming up in the next two months! At the end of March, my romance novelette, Maya's Vacation, will be released by Astraea Press! It will be available in e-book formats only, but Astraea hopes to add print-on-demand to their repertoire in the future. Regardless, I'm super excited to have signed with them and to have Maya's Vacation out in the world soon.
\n
I'm posting the synopsis in a moment, but I think this novelette will be great reading if you're a fan of this blog---my years of writing and pondering food and wine play a huge role in the story's concept. If you enjoy how I describe a dish or beverage, I hope you'll buy a copy and delve in! It'll be a fast read and safe for anyone who enjoys passionate characters without the busom-busting to go along with them. Astraea only publishes nonerotic fiction, which is one of the many reasons they and Maya's Vacation are a great fit. Here's that synopsis.
\n\n\nTwenty-year-old Maya knew, as she watched Dean walk away from her front door, distraught at her silence and her father’s threats, that she would never love anyone with the intensity that she loved him. He was her painter, her artist, her soul mate and being apart from him hurt too much. She tucked those feelings away, determined to enjoy the safe and secure life her parents approved of: business school and a marriage to Chuck, a successful real estate agent.
\nThirty years later, Chuck has cheated on and divorced her. But when he comes back, begging for reconciliation, Maya follows her intuition and takes a vacation to think it over. Her love of art, food, and wine combine at this retreat in the woods, and she prepares for a week of making new friends, tasting exquisite wines, and learning to paint again. What she hasn’t prepared for is the familiar voice she hears the first morning at camp . . . a voice that makes her skin tingle and brings back memories of who she used to be before Chuck. Has Maya buried her passion too deep to find love with Dean again?
\n
In other news, the fifth issue of Bull Spec is set to to appear on April 15, with my short story, Bother, in the fiction section. Woo hoo! The release party for Issue #5 will be at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh on the same date.
\n![\"bullspec-04-flyer-v2-screen\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/02/bullspec-04-flyer-v2-screen.jpg\")
As part of the festivities, I'll be reading from Bother. Be prepared for urban marital angst and dragons! If you don't want to miss my short story or you're just a fan of speculative fiction, you should definitely subscribe to Bull Spec now. It's a gorgeous print magazine, but if you prefer reading online, e-subscriptions are available too.
\nDon't worry, I'll be posting reminders as the dates draw near, and I will definitely keep you posted on any release night plans I come up with for Maya's Vacation. My family will be in town, so dinner out, at the very least, will be in order!
\n", "date_published": "2011-02-28T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2010-08-13-im-in-durham-magazine/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2010-08-13-im-in-durham-magazine/", "title": "I'm in Durham Magazine!", "content_html": "More specifically, one of the websites I blog for is in Durham Magazine, a local publication that talks all things Durham-related. Here's the announcement I posted on Carpe Durham about the article, since I'm just not going to think of something new and exciting to say in its place here:
\n\n\nOur website has been profiled in the new issue of Durham Magazine, the Foodie issue!
\n\n
Pick up a copy, and you will learn the history of how RPP and YAR started Carpe Durham (including their and some of our real names–ooh, ahh!), the basic premise behind how a restaurant gets written up (it’s not complicated, folks), and how you—the active, opinionated, and fantastic readers and commentators here—have made this site a success.
\nIn addition to some of our regular bloggers’ thoughts, comments by Lysistrata, 9/9, and burgeoningfoodie on past posts have also been printed to showcase those lively debates we have.
\nBesides the article on Carpe Durham, you really should pick up this issue of Durham Magazine. There are wonderful pictures of many favorite dishes at local restaurants that an amateur photographer like myself could only dream of taking, an article on the supper clubs cropping up around Durham, and profiles on beloved restaurant staff.
\nDurham Magazine is $4 and available at Parker & Otis, The Regulator Bookshop, Barnes & Noble at Southpoint and New Hope Commons, Sweets and News at Northgate Mall, Gurley Pharmacy, Whole Foods, and Sam’s Quik Shop.
\n
So if you live locally, pick it up!
\n", "date_published": "2010-08-13T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2010-06-01-she-could-be-me-published-at-flashes-in-the-dark/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2010-06-01-she-could-be-me-published-at-flashes-in-the-dark/", "title": "She Could Be Me published at Flashes in the Dark", "content_html": "Yesterday, I had a flash fiction, horror story published at Flashes in the Dark, an ezine that puts up a new, short, horror story everyday. "She Could Be Me," my story, is a Twilight-Zone-esque piece about a woman having an off day. No blood or guts, just mental confusion.
\nStop by, read it, leave a comment if you'd like! (no longer available)
\n", "date_published": "2010-06-01T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2010-05-11-thesis-fiction/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2010-05-11-thesis-fiction/", "title": "Thesis Fiction", "content_html": "First off, I'm short on reviews right now. I haven't made it to a lot of new places or tried a lot of wines or cocktails in the past couple of weeks. I've got a couple in mind for this week, but it'll be a few days before I go, review, and write things up anyhow. Apologies for the shift in content, but I'd rather keep posting than not!
\nSecondly, I don't read about writing a lot. There are lots of writers out there who've read every book on the subject. It's also extremely popular blogging material. From what I can tell, writing about writing seems to generate a huge amount of interest. I think it's bizarre, and just something I can't get into. I can't watch musicals or movies that are about a musical or movie (yes, nearly all of the musicals-movies of the 30s through 50s, you fit this bill), either. Call it one of my quirks, if you will. But today, I'm blogging about writing.
\nDon't get worried that I'm going to start doing this regularly (unless you'd rather I did; then you should probably just scurry along to another blog, one of the gazillion out there on the subject). This post is an exception. It's not even about writing, really; it's about a style of writing that I hate but is increasingly showing up everywhere I look. I call it Thesis Fiction. Thesis Fiction is when a writer decides to pepper their work with obvious references to other literary, pop cultural, or historical figures and ideas to show the world that they are good at synthesizing information, that they understand how everything is interconnected, and gosh darn it, they are so smart to be able to put it all together and make a narrative of it. Here is how I would write a sentence of Thesis Fiction:
\n\n\nWith a resignation more fierce than Kilgore Trout's, he opens his arms to the rain and yells, "Posterity!" thus completing the ritual he's been trying to avoid ever since he first set foot in that Dionysian pit of a liquor store and released the hounds of Hades with the opening of a Fanta can; must all men come to this once their Arwens start losing the sheen of their immortality?
\n
Or in other words, like any episode of Lost. Okay, that's not fair; Lost, at least, treats these references as Easter eggs and doesn't force people to understand them to grasp the plotline. I'm not talking about merely throwing in the occasional reference to real people, brands, or places, either. That can help establish time and place effectively in modern or historical fiction. What I'm talking about is writing in a way that your narrative, plot, or characters' actions are obviously drawing on past books, theories, or people, so obviously that you directly reference what you are drawing on to create your own work.
\nNow, I'm not saying that everything we write needs to be an utterly pure, new work that does not draw on past thoughts and masterpieces---that would be impossible. I'm a firm believer that there is no new thing under the sun. What I'm saying is that it's possible to draw on other works without explicitly saying so in your own. Without treating your fictional narrative as if it were the culmination of twenty years of education, and you won't get your degree unless you show your superior grasp of the theoretical material in ways that will get you brownie points from the dissertation committee. Your readers are not a panel of professors looking to make sure you hit all the right notes. I guess what I'm calling for is more subtlety.
\nMy rant, however, doesn't hold much merit as I know this style of writing is very popular with a lot of readers and viewers. Heck, people get insanely excited when a movie like 500 Days of Summer references the Smiths or someone's actions are likened to Boom Boom from Welcome Back, Kotter. So you'd really only be putting me off by continuing to write your Thesis Fiction, and you can afford to lose my $10.50. What I'm really saying is that I need to put down the book I'm reading and step away, but gosh darn it, I always have to finish the ones I start. It's a curse. You know, like in Harry Potter, with those horcruxes?
\n", "date_published": "2010-05-11T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2009-12-29-interview-at-the-muffin-blog-and-new-years-blog-resolutions/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2009-12-29-interview-at-the-muffin-blog-and-new-years-blog-resolutions/", "title": "Interview at The Muffin Blog and New Year's Blog Resolutions", "content_html": "Last week, as part of winning 3rd place in Women on Writing's Summer '09 Flash Fiction contest, I was interviewed on The Muffin Blog. We covered my inspiration for Last Complaint, how and why the character came to be the selfish yet somehow human character that she is, my food/wine/cocktail reviews, my lifelong obsession with General Hospital, for which I write a weekly column at Eye on Soaps, and my fantasy novel. So if you'd like to read more about any of the above, wander on over! I'd love to hear your comments on it, either over there or over here.
\n\nSwitching gears, I'm mulling over any blog-related resolutions I might want to make this year. In the past year, I've gone from the occasional post to nearly daily ones, increased my traffic around 100%, and added in other blogger's thoughts on wines, in addition to some smaller changes. I think that what I'm missing is more communication with other blogs! But how to fit that in with a schedule where I really don't just plain write as much as I should? Hmm. Must think it over. If you have a blog that you don't think I visit, though, please leave the link in the comments and I will add it to my roster!
\nOn my fiction/creative nonfiction goals, I plan to submit at least one piece a week to either a contest or magazine/journal, as long as I have finished ones ready to go. That shouldn't be too hard to do, right?
\n", "date_published": "2009-12-29T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2009-11-23-the-hunt-for-the-mantress/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2009-11-23-the-hunt-for-the-mantress/", "title": "The Hunt for the Mantress", "content_html": "Lately, I've been on a kick to find good words to use as slurs against men, such as bitch, cunt, whore, slut, etc. Specifically, I wanted terms that don't stem from female roots, such as son of a bitch or douche bag, but carry the same weight, mainly to satisfy my curiosity about how many words exist that don't also demean women in the same breath that they are used to insult men.
\nName calling generates a lot of interest on Facebook and Twitter, apparently, because I was supplied with a number of good options, most notably jerk and asshole. I'm still not sure that these are quite as cutting of a name as the female options I listed above, but they do serve the purpose.
\nFriday, on NPR, I listened to an interview with a woman who chronically has affairs. It struck me, as she referred to herself as a mistress, that she hadn't actually called the men with whom she cheated anything equivalent to that word (both parties were often married). The fourth definition of mistress, which is how I am exploring the word, as found in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate 11, is a woman other than his wife with whom a married man has a continuing sexual relationship. So I asked my friends and tweeps if they knew of a word for a man other than her husband with whom a married woman has a continuing sexual relationship. And you gave me plenty of suggestions but I'm still not sure if any of them capture quite the same thing as mistress:
\nThere were also some great joke options:
\nMy sister also pointed me to this article on Daily Writing Tips that discusses the same subject and offers gigolo as a possibility but like kept man, that word doesn't imply adultery in the same way that mistress does, in my opinion. I'm not sure myself, but I'm thinking kept man is probably the closest option of these. What do you think, dear reader? Are any of these good male approximations of mistress? Do you have something else to add to the list?
\n", "date_published": "2009-11-23T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2009-09-13-north-carolina-literary-festival/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2009-09-13-north-carolina-literary-festival/", "title": "North Carolina Literary Festival", "content_html": "My weekend was what some would call a writer's paradise. I spent it attending various authors' sessions at the North Carolina Literary Festival held at UNC Chapel Hill, which happened to be free! Yay! I would say, however, that a writer's paradise would be to sit on the other side of the table from where I sat, as an author with published works. Someday, someday.
\nAnyhow, I had a great time at the sessions I attended, which featured a mix of well-known and newly published authors, almost all with some sort of connection to the state. The first I went to was "The World of Sci-Fi and Fantasy," which featured John Kessel, Warren Rochelle, and Mur Lafferty. I enjoyed the readings, Lafferty's especially, and will likely buy Playing for Keeps soon, which is her superhero novel about a woman who has something both the jock-like superheroes and nice guy villains want. Lafferty is a friend of a friend and also runs a writing resource website called I Should Be Writing.
\n\nNext up, I planned to go to Rick Bragg's reading and discussion on writing about real people in real life situations, as it would likely have been beneficial for me as a writer. But in my heart of hearts, I really wanted to screw that sentiment and go see RL Stine instead. Luckily for me, Rick Bragg's reading was cancelled so I was able to see Stine guilt-free, whom I have fond memories of from my speed-reading days in elementary school. Fear Street rocks, yo. He's mainly famous for the younger-skewing Goosebumps series these days, and did a great job of keeping the youngins interested by telling a story with audience participation. I'm glad I got to see him as those page-turners probably deserve some credit for both my desire to write and my genre preferences.
\nCarrie Ryan, author of the young adult novel The Forest of Hands and Teeth, gave a great session after that. She's but a few years older than me, which always gives me hope that I could also get published, and is writing a post-zombie-apocalypse series. Her readings definitely had me intrigued-another book to add to the "to read" list. As a fellow lover of horror, discussions of how it and other genre fiction can be so well used for social commentary always keeps me engaged.
\nThen Elizabeth Strout, Pulitzer prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge, read from that book and answered questions at Memorial Hall. It was great to see her in person. If you have not read Olive Kitteridge and you like literary, modern American fiction, then you need to.
\nI ended my NC Lit Fest adventure by checking out the "Chefs of the Triangle" session on Sunday afternoon. Chefs Bill Smith (Crook's Corner) and Bret Jennings (Elaine's on Franklin) were on hand as they are featured in Ann Prospero's book of the same name as the session that took shape first on her blog, Prospero's Kitchen. Obviously, for an aspiring foodie and reviewer like myself, the book will be required reading. Add another one to the list! She read a few snippets about a bunch of different Triangle-based chefs and also gave us some background on the whos and whats of our fantastic dining scene. Ann gives much credit to three chefs; Bill Neal, Scott Howell, and Ben Barker, for drawing talent to our area and helping create the chef-farmer relationships we benefit from. When asked about how his own personal scene as a chef has changed over the years, Smith replied that he's "older and more tired" and because of that, he's learned that "simplicity can be as good as complexity" in making a dish, with which I completely agree. He also attested that part of the benefits of having so many talented chefs here is that he is "influenced to keep up the good work."
\nOn the farmer and chef relationship, Jennings feels that the "farmers here are as imaginative and creative as the chefs," and loves that they experiment with new ingredients that he then will experiment with in the restaurant. He also commented in response to a question, that the dining clientele has become smarter about food and that children are influencing their parents in making good choices on where to eat, both of which can be at least partially credited to the locavore movement. There were samples from the chefs available after the session but I did not stick around to try them. Shameful, I know.
\nTo sum up, I was very impressed with the NC Literary Festival and glad I managed to get myself on out to several sessions. Now, does anyone know if any local bookshops carry Playing for Keeps, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, or Chefs of the Triangle?
\n", "date_published": "2009-09-13T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2009-08-07-american-idol-concert/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2009-08-07-american-idol-concert/", "title": "American Idol Concert", "content_html": "I may give off an artsy, sophisticated air but as all those who know me can testify, I'm really a soul-sucked television glutton at heart. I've had many obsessions stem from the world of the glowing screen including Sonny & Brenda (General Hospital), Spike (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer), and most recently, Adam Lambert (American Idol but soon...the world!). My fascination with The Glittery Alien from Planet Fierce, as dubbed by his own brother, reached great heights this summer. So much so that I did something I thought I never would. I bought a ticket to the American Idol concert in Greensboro. Not only that, but I suckered three friends into going with me.
\n![\"Me](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2009/08/julyaugust-037.jpg\")
Me and three of the girls.
Now, I still try to maintain some sort of dignity, so I don't watch American Idol until the performances start getting meaty, around when the Top 10 perform. This year, Matt Giraud's save was the first episode I watched so I had never heard the first two performers of the night before except for a duet on the finale.
\n\nMatt Sarver was really quite good.
\n![\"julyaugust](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2009/08/julyaugust-082.jpg\")
He was soulful with a Southern twang and his two-song set definitely felt too short.
\nMegan Joy, on the other hand, was a hot mess. I didn't get any good pictures of her but girl looked like a kinky Barbie doll in her pink tight dress and Marilyn Monroe curls. The Halloween cocktail waitress outfit that came out during the group sing was not an improvement. I wanted to find her unique voice exciting but it was too brassy for me. Paired with the outfits, I just didn't get her at all.
\nScott was next up and I quickly discovered that the piano's glare was a problem for my photography so I don't have good solo shots of him, either. But here's one of him tickling the ivories with Matt Giraud from the group sing.
\n![\"julyaugust](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2009/08/julyaugust-079.jpg\")
He was very comfortable onstage and gave a warm performance. This was when my friend Kim first started musing how much better the show might be with a little more going on than just the singers singing. I completely agree. Back-up dancers would have been nice and a few of performers would have benefited from more help with staging. It was a pretty bare bones concert for the most part.
\nNext up was Lil Rounds, whose voice sounded rather generic to me on the show. She had lots of energy and her set was full of fun, hip songs.
\n![\"julyaugust](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2009/08/julyaugust-055.jpg\")
Stripping down to a Beyonce-style bodysuit was not a good idea, though-I barely like how Beyonce looks in one. Lil Rounds sang it well but it seemed to go on too long. After two of her songs, I wanted to hear more. After three, I was done.
\nAnoop came out next and of course, received a hearty welcome from the hometown crowd.
\n![\"julyaugust](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2009/08/julyaugust-066.jpg\")
I love that he is a man who embraces both his geekiness and his preppiness and I must say, I dug the outfit. He's got a rich, smooth voice that's just plain pleasant to hear.
\nNext up was Matt Giraud, the Justin Timberlake look-a-like.
\n![\"julyaugust](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2009/08/julyaugust-067.jpg\")
He doesn't look like Justin anymore with that new mohawk! His punk Old West bartender look, a description supplied by my friend Sarah, was great. This boy can sing well and play up a storm on the piano. I liked him best when voice and keys were exercised together rather than when he simply sang. He had fun, though, and that's always infectious.
\nA forgettable group sing was next, then a totally unnecessary 20-minute break. I was getting antsy by the time the second half started but luckily, it was much more dynamic than the first, largely due to all four performers displaying great showmanship. Allison led off and she can definitely pose well on stage.
\n![\"julyaugust](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2009/08/julyaugust-087.jpg\")
I liked her style but she sings too hard for me, both while on American Idol and at this performance. I want to appreciate her great, ragged voice but it kind of ends up sounding like distortion to me, a little too loud and run together. I would love her if she just dialed it down about three notches in volume while keeping her performance energy at the same self-assured level she had tonight.
\nDanny totally surprised me.
\n![\"julyaugust](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2009/08/julyaugust-103.jpg\")
On the show, I only liked one song he sang, which was during Rat Pack week. He sounded much, much better live and the raspy quality of his voice didn't grate on me for once. I thought his Latin number was definitely the best of the set with some fun, flirty salsa moves and would have been completely satisfied if he had left out the little inspirational moment. Heck, Danny did two Rascal Flat songs and I didn't hate them! That's impressive.
\nAnd then there was Adam.
\n![\"julyaugust](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2009/08/julyaugust-137.jpg\")
I am way too obsessed with this man. He's so gosh darn comfortable in his skin. His "Whole Lotta Love" was a pelvis thrusting, microphone straddling, sexy entrance that he quickly mellowed out with "Starlight." I think that song might be my favorite of his tour performances, though I also really enjoyed the Bowie medley. He and Allison also had loads of fun doing Slow Ride-it was my favorite performance of hers of the night.
\n![\"julyaugust](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2009/08/julyaugust-130.jpg\")
Adam has such a great stage presence and that voice is just plain beautiful. I know many can't stand his higher register but I really enjoy a good rock wail so that just adds to his overwhelming appeal for me. He better become a superstar!
\nKris performed very well, also. He's got the singer/songwriter charm down pat and infused it with plenty of rock grit.
\n![\"julyaugust](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2009/08/julyaugust-148.jpg\")
I didn't like his Killers cover in the video I'd seen previously but in person, I was singing along heartily. "Bright Lights" was too low energy for me but the rest of the set was great and the curtain drop was nicely done during "Ain't No Sunshine." He's adorable and I'm sure his album will be, too. It's an automatic buy for me along with Adam's.
\nThe whole slew of Idols finished out the night with "Don't Stop Believing" and I left the show with it happily stuck in my head. I was much more impressed with a lot of the performers than I expected to be. But most of us agreed that a more full production would have been nice, by which I mean the addition of dancers and better staging and lighting. For those who already knew how to work a stage or have learned fast, their sets were riveting but for the others, they needed a little more help to completely hold our attention. Regardless, I had a fantastic time. Sadly, my obsession of the summer has only gotten worse. At least I have pretty pictures to stare at. What, you want to look at them too? Go ahead!
\n", "date_published": "2009-08-07T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2009-04-10-30-threads-blogger-bash/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2009-04-10-30-threads-blogger-bash/", "title": "30 Threads Blogger Bash", "content_html": "Last night, I dragged my husband with me to the 30 Threads Blogger Bash at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC). For those of you unfamiliar with 30 Threads, it's a website run by Ginny Skalski, a journalist based in Raleigh, and exists to help us get the goods on which Triangle area websites and blogs are worth a click. As a subscriber to the site, I was already planning to attend this bash and take advantage of the chance to meet bloggers whose sites I've enjoyed reading and drum up some more readers for my own. You know, that whole networking thing people talk about. But then, I actually got a nod on 30 Threads this past week, so I was even more excited to go. Being profiled is fun!
\n\nThe event was held on the stage of DPAC and it was a thrill to stop and take a look at the 2,800 seats in front of and above us. DPAC also graciously provided some yummy quesadillas, deviled eggs, and cheese and fruit to feed the hungry bloggers. A cash bar beckoned but I was able to resist going back for more than one glass of wine. Tours of the new facilities were available but I bailed on mine two minutes in, more interested in getting to know the people hobnobbing at the tables. There was also a free drawing with tickets for Legally Blonde the Musical, Kathy Griffith, and the new Cirque show premiering here in the fall. Alas, Ben and I did not have a winning number, which was a real shame for the two drawings that included money for Revolution and Pilgrim (I think), two downtown restaurants with quite a reputation.
\nIt was lovely meeting Lenore, who blogs at Eclectic Glob of Tangential Verbosity. Her posts are full of great descriptions of meals out, especially desserts, and equally mouth-watering photos. I also met Ken, the man behind the Duke Performances Twitter account who also maintains a blog that documents how Durham has the worst roads in the world. I, of course, maintained that he must never have been to Boston then, but a review of his blog reveals that it's more about the vast number of potholes and declining pavement than just the difficulty of getting around. So Ken, you're safe. I also enjoyed talking with a duo whose names I didn't catch, that had just completed the first stop of a countrywide tour in Greensboro with the goal of making a complete film in every location using only the power of social media to get people and resources together. Awesome, no? Tampa, they are coming to you next!
\nOf course, there were a great deal more people I met and I have yet to make it through the pile of cards with websites and usernames, so I look forward to checking out more of the writing talents of our community. Count me in for the next bash! Oh, and if you are reading this and met me, please do jot me an email or leave a comment so I can check out your sites, too. My memory for names is horrible.
\n", "date_published": "2009-04-10T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2009-03-23-religion-is-making-a-televised-comeback/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2009-03-23-religion-is-making-a-televised-comeback/", "title": "Religion is Making a Televised Comeback", "content_html": "One thing you should know about me, if you don't yet, is that I take my television seriously. Not so seriously that I've actually rewatched DVD sets over and over, Buffy the Vampire Slayer's musical episode excepted, but enough that I spend lots of time reading other people's opinions on what it all means. Too much time? Absolutely. But being able to watch shows that delve into our inner selves and explore the spiritual questions we all ask is a simple pleasure for me.
\n\nAs a religious person, I am grateful for the bounty of shows of late that have been unafraid to explore a realm beyond our here and now. I just said goodbye to Battlestar Galactica, a show that mixed Greek, Christian, mono and polytheism all within one program with a heapful of prophecy, doubt, faith, messianic figures, and angels thrown in for good measure. It could have taken itself to a place where all that belief comes to naught, where people have just been deluding themselves for years, centuries, or millennia in the case of the Final Five, to a place where no one had a plan. I was afraid that it would after a half season full of dark, depressing humanity. But in the end, Battlestar didn't take that road. Instead, it embraced its spiritual themes and allowed the divine, whatever form it took in their world, to intervene and guide its people to their home.
\nLost is another show that caught me with its religious undertones. Sure, polar bears on tropical islands and monsters made of smoke are intriguing enough, but those details weren't what hooked me on the show. No, that was John Locke, the man of faith, who we've discovered over time has indeed been in the right to believe. Not necessarily everything he has believed has been right but the fact that he has been willing to keep his faith despite knowing that he hasn't always followed the correct path, continues to make him a compelling figure. His nearly unwavering belief in the miraculous nature of the island has provided a witness so compelling that the man of science has begun to believe him after all. Like my own, John's faith comes with both respect for that which is beyond my understanding and a healthy fear of what it may be and can do. Jacob and Christian don't exactly strike me as types you want to spend a leisurely evening with, if you know what I mean.
\nThere is a new series that is ready and waiting to take on my religious musings. Out with Battlestar Galactica and in with Kings. This one is directly derived from the Old Testament, with plenty of liberties taken to reimagine the rise of King David in a modern society. It is beautifully shot, well acted and chockfull of juicy portents. The character of Reverend (Prophet) Samuels has made me sit up and take notice in his every scene thus far, from smearing motor oil on David's head to encouraging him to read and interpret the signs around him. I'm looking forward to all the drama that is inherent in this story as well as the inspiration and questions it will stir. When you live in a time and place when the existence of god is not questioned but simply IS, then what happens when you fall out of its favor? Is there room for doubt in that reality? And is the miraculous recognized as such more easily?
\nThank you television, for bringing me shows that allow me to explore religion and all its mysteries. I may protest when you crank out crime procedural after crime procedural, but for these, I am grateful.
\n", "date_published": "2009-03-23T00:00:00Z" } , { "id": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2009-03-01-the-receptionist-manbites-dog-theater-company/", "url": "https://rebeccagomezfarrell.com/posts/2009-03-01-the-receptionist-manbites-dog-theater-company/", "title": "The Receptionist", "content_html": "The Receptionist by Adam Bock
\nManbites Dog Theater Company
\nDowntown Durham
\n2/12–2/28/09
\nYes, you already missed it.
I received the flyer for The Receptionist about 2 months ago and was instantly intrigued by the woman at the desk with pens, phones, and staplers at her command. I felt a kinship with her as most of my post-college career has been in similar positions. So I asked Ben, "Can we go?" He said, "Fine" but qualified it with a loud sigh. Undeterred, I bought tickets and we went Friday night.
\nThe acting was fantastic. All the main actors were masters of facial expressions and while I still have no idea why the audience found his opening monologue about fly fishing hilarious, Carl Martin, who played Mr. Raymond, did just fine though he was not quite as appealing as the other three. Marcia Edmundson, who played the receptionist, Beverly, definitely was the star of the evening. Her little "hmms" and other noises were essential for conveying the judgmental, yet good-natured character. She maintained a believable aura of ignorance until the very end, even as she found herself in the harsh light of the central office.
\n\nThe play itself came across as a riff on that poem attributed to Reverend Martin Niemoller in 1946, which begins with "First they came for the socialists but I did not speak out..." and that has infiltrated the web repeatedly, attaining its own meme-dom in comments and articles everywhere. In other words, I found the play to be about plausible deniability, in the setting of working for a company without considering just what that company does or how much it may cost you to work there. It begins as a very simple office piece, with a likable camaraderie between Beverly and Lorraine, the only other employees except for Mr. Raymond, who is out. Mr. Dart, a very creepy and randy individual comes from the central office to meet with Mr. Raymond and spends most of a morning making small talk with the women. At the end of the first act, the audience learns that this company tortures people and follows a protocol that must never be wavered from. Mr. Raymond violates the protocol for a "client" and thus the central office has come to take him away.
\nIn the second act, Lorraine's exit is done very well. She repeatedly emphasizes to Beverly a few details that make this a very unusual morning and then makes her escape, with Beverly either none the wiser or just too deeply wrapped up in the notion that this is a normal job. She never seems to consider that something unusual could happen thus buying herself a one-way ticket to the central office.
\nTo sum up, if the Receptionist comes to a theater company near you, check it out. I enjoyed it; it was simple, yet quite suspenseful and the actors made a play that could fall flat fly with their stellar energy instead.
\n![\"3](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2009/03/rating_avocado1.gif\" "\\"rating_avocado1\\"")
3 stars
Caution, for those not up-to-date with Battlestar Galactica, you may not want to read this.
\n![\"\"](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/Battlestar.jpg\")
I've been browsing through my copy of Writer's Market, marking the listings for magazines that might be a good fit for my work so I can research them to find out. A good number of the magazines that publish fiction stress the importance of well-formed characters. Of course, any creative writing instructor will tell you that and I have been instructed in a number of techniques for creating characters in the past, mostly doing free writes on their background or conducting an interview with the character in your head. I've even forced groups of junior and upper high schoolers to complete character free writes and questionnaires while prepping for drama group practices back in the day.
\n\nSo I am definitely aware how important characters are to creating readable, connectable fiction. But I occasionally lose sight of that while working on my fantasy novel because, well, establishing a sense of place is very important to do in this genre. I think I may be getting slightly bogged down in those details, though I know full well that the imagined world can function as a character. Heck, anyone who watches Lost knows that the setting can be one of the most important and fascinating characters of a work.
\nYet I find myself, after having watched the most recent BSG episode, not lingering on how the ship is failing to pieces or processing all the information we learned about the overarching mythos of the piece. No, instead I keep going back to the expression on Felix Gaeta's face as he looked at those waiting to execute him at the end of the previous episode. There's no question whether or not he deserved it-you can't preside over a blood-filled coup and not expect death when you let it fail. But Gaeta didn't seem to have any illusions that he might be granted amnesty or even that he wanted to be after the coup turned into something different than what his idealistic view had imagined. He greeted his death with such a look of peace that I couldn't help but be sad for him and happy that he had stayed true to what he thought was right through it all. More than learning that the final five created the skinjob cylons, more than wondering just how many more jumps the Battlestar will survive, more than any of those details, I cared about the story of Felix Gaeta.
\nThis connection to Felix reminds me that, while I should place value on the setting and mythos of my novel, I should never forget that the human characters are the core of the work. An interesting world might draw people in but it's those they can connect with that will keep them reading until the last page. Thanks, BSG. Now, back to swords and campfire conversations among enemies.
\n", "date_published": "2009-02-16T00:00:00Z" } ] }![\"\"](\"https://d2ypg8o05lff0b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/06/bandidosbrunchRGF04.jpg\")
![\"cover](\"https://d602mxa74hbsi.cloudfront.net/eatbloglove.jpg\")