Monday, January 31, 2005

Spring 2005 Book Signing Schedule

With the temperature hovering around zero or barely creeping up to freezing, it's hard to imagine that spring is coming, but it is. I've already got my Spring signing schedule. It should be fun. I've never been to any of these places, so that will be a treat. And it'll be fun to go to Boston, Newport, and Plymouth in the spring. I don't get to those places very often, and certainly not this time of year.

If you're in the area, stop by and say hello. Even if you already have a book, stop by. It's good to see familiar faces or meet people who've read my books.




Saturday, March 5, 2005
2-6 PM

Gardenia's
399 Dorchester Street
Boston, Massachusetts

1-617-268-6600

http://www.mygardenias.com/main.html




Saturday, March 19, 2005
2-4 PM

Magick Dragon
365 Thames Street
Newport RI 02840

1-401-843-8558



Saturday, May 7, 2005
Noon - 5 PM

Book Signing at
Incantations' Psychic Fair

Incantations
36 Cordage Park Circle, Suite 119
Plymouth, MA 02360

1-508-746-8316

http://www.incantationsotw.com/




What I'm Reading Now...

  • Vampyrrhic by Simon Clark
  • A Voice in the Forest by Jimahl di Fiosa
  • The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style by Laurie E. Rozakis
  • Magic Spells and Incantations by Elizabeth Pepper




Copyright © 2005 Morven Westfield

Sunday, January 30, 2005

Writing Hurts

Writing hurts, and I'm not talking metaphorically. I'm talking back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain. And I'm not talking mild discomfort or background nagging pain -- that's par for the course -- I'm talking spams. Bad spasms that prevent you from straightening up, sitting down, standing, lying, anything. I'm talking interrupted sleep. Aggravation. And more.

Alright, I know I've got no real reason to complain. I know I can't even begin to fathom the sheer agony of a day hunched over picking crops in a hot, unyielding sun. Or being a town worker shoveling wet heavy snow away from fire hydrants in the freezing cold. Or being 8 1/2 months pregnant. Yup. I'm a wimp.

To try to tame the agony, I started yoga again. (Yeah, you were wondering about the link between yoga and horror writing, weren't you?) I take a class once a week from a fantastic instructor and a few Christmases ago I asked for the Yoga Zone 4-pack collection. It's a really good collection, once you get used to Alan Finger's voice. I find the "Conditioning and Stress Release" DVD really good for loosening up. In general, though, the sessions are too long. All of the DVDs run about 55 minutes and I find it hard to think about taking 55 minutes away from whatever I'm doing. Yeah, I know I could just start and stop when I have to, but I like following the sessions to the end.

So the following year, I asked for new DVDs, ones with shorter sessions. Most were from Yoga Zone. I love Rodney Yee's "AM/PM Yoga," though I find I just do the AM one most of the time, whether it's day or night. Very easy to do, even when you're having a Back Back Day. And when you're having a good day, it's still a nice, gentle stretch.

This year I asked for Rodney Yee's "Back Care Yoga for Beginners." I had read a few reviews that said it was too easy, and I thought to myself, "Perfect! I've been doing yoga for about 3 years now, so I'm at least a little flexible. This should be great for those days when I can't straighten up!" Well, not exactly. His rocking back and forth thing is too much for me even if I'm NOT having a bad back day. I can do the Bow Pose on a good day, but not a bad day. But I will admit the chair work is good. On a bad day, I can just barely do it. On a good day, I can do it easily and it allows me to "get deeper into the stretch" as they say.

It's funny, but when I was younger, I used to listen to my parents complain about the aches and pains caused by their physical jobs and think how fortunate I was to work in an office job. I probably am, regardless, but it's just not as pain-free as I would have imagined back then.

Namaste,
Morven




What I'm Reading Now...

  • Vampyrrhic by Simon Clark
  • A Voice in the Forest by Jimahl di Fiosa
  • The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style by Laurie E. Rozakis
  • Magic Spells and Incantations by Elizabeth Pepper




Copyright © 2005 Morven Westfield

Sunday, January 16, 2005

Do the Killers Sound Like the Cure?

This morning we watched "Saturday Night Live," recorded from the night before. To me, The Killers sound a little like The Cure and I could even see some Robert Smith mannerisms in the lead singer from time to time. My husband, who actually owns The Cure records & CDs that we have, doesn't see it. Maybe it's me. I often hear overtones of other riffs, other groups, when I listen to music.

I have this terrible urge to go out on Google to see if others see a similar similarity, but if I do that, I'll never get any writing done today.

Oh, well. Does it matter? I like what I heard, regardless.

In the meantime, I'll just try to write while "Well somebody told me/you had a boyfriend/who looks like a girlfriend..." plays an endless loop in my head.


What I'm Reading Now...
  • Vampyrrhic by Simon Clark
  • The White Room by A. J. Matthews
  • A Voice in the Forest by Jimahl di Fiosa
  • The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style by Laurie E. Rozakis



Copyright © 2005 Morven Westfield

Friday, January 14, 2005

Writing Again...

Sometime over the summer, life intervened, self-doubt paid a visit, and I stopped work on The Old Power Returns, the sequel to Darksome Thirst.

Even after I figured out what the problem was (sophomore slump) and had convinced myself to keep going, it wasn't until just after Christmas that I finally sat down and starting writing again. Well, re-writing. After four months, I didn't trust myself to remember what I had already written, so it made the most sense to start from the beginning, editing and embellishing as I went along.

When I left off in August, I had seven pretty-solid chapters written. I've now edited/rewritten to the end of Chapter 3. No, I'm not that slow, it's just that every once in a while I'll reach a point where I need to do some research on something and wham! -- I'm lost in Googleland for the evening.

But if I get up early and start writing the novel first thing in the morning, I tend to do well. Maybe it's because I'm too sleepy to remember the fears that my second novel will be worse than my first. Or maybe it's because I'm still in that half-world of dream and sleep and can concentrate before all my other obligations crowd in.

Last night I read an article by the now-deceased legendary horror author Richard Laymon and it gave me just the kick I need to get going again. In his "Laymon's Rules of Writing," Laymon says basically that there's no excuse not to write. Not life problems, not fears, not nuthin'. And on that note, I'm going to log off now -- and start writing.

Morven


Copyright © 2005 Morven Westfield