I’m late to our Sitzfleisch Poetry Hour today, but that’s okay: I’ll stay over 10 minutes. Jennifer Crow opened the silent Zoom room for everyone, but she was there alone for the first ten minutes anyway. Now we are THREE, and I’m trying to decide what to write.
I think I’m going to go with the ditties I scribbled for our GenCon Infernal Salon at the beginning of this month. We had over 40 people in the room, and everyone got a group draw (according to their birth months or something), as well as a single additional card that was just their own.
I think Carlos and I did individual pulls for each other, at the very end. My cards were:
YOU ARE MOSTLY HOLES. (Espacio)
GUTS MAKE THE FINEST MUSIC (Carne)
IS THAT THE CRY OF A DYING STAR (Rayo)
I thought to write three nursery-rhyme style bits, thinking about how we build worlds not just through blocks of text, not just through character and dialogue, but through scraps of poetry, song, art, adages, newscasts, radio blips, paper clippings, posters. Anyway. Here’s what I came up with, freshly typed up tonight.
I added the ending rhymes while I was typing them, because I’d let a few drop in the 30-minute squeeze of first-draft writing, and I wanted to see what was what. Bonus words tonight include “swine dame,” so I call that a win.
They’re all very silly, but what can you do with only 30 minutes and a small journal? (Answer: anything, really. One just… writes. SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS come of it! We have everything from poetry, to character sketches, to bits of novel, to whole short stories. People write plays. People draw pictures. People write reels! It’s AMAZING.)
But here is what I did last time, in 30 minutes.
1. PIG GOD RHYME
Here, piggy piggy A Mama’s made a bargain B Daddy’s marching far on B The reaches, past the hills C Mama’s gonna catch you D With her axe she’ll fetch you D Butcher you and dress you D Offer up the kill C
Here, piggy piggy A Look you at the god now B Entering the brown sow B Headless and aglow C Mama’s on her knees here D Keeping Daddy safe, dear D Offering her pleas clear D Any way or how C
Here, piggy piggy A Effigy of pigskin B Protector of the farmkin B From cottage to the pale C Wedded to the swine dame D Oink we in your great name D Thank thee, light the pigflame D God who will not fail C
2. Lullaby of the Void
Hush, my beloved Let silence descend Hear what this prophecy-darkness forfends Night is your guardian Her whispers, your friend Hush now, and sleep now And dream of the end
The dim stars are screaming A void for their song Be easy, you’re dreaming–you’ve done nothing wrong It’s only, our emptiness yearns to belong Hush now, and sleep now Till morning bell’s gong
3. Origins of the Moon
My father has two holes for eyes A cavern for a mouth An open pit of belly And an appetite uncouth
My mother’s head is riddled through With meteoric dents Her ribs are cracked and peeling And her thighs are ripped and rent
Is it any wonder, then That I, their lovely child Am hollowed-out and chasm-deep My innards all out-piled?
They gouged me from their excess And shaved me down to size And now I smile, craterous From o’er your midnight skies
*** I had some bonus time, so I wrote a ridiculous short play–just dialogue.
The scene:
Imagine two, immense, fleshy, golem-like caryatids, holding up a kitchen ceiling on their flayed shoulders, watching with peeled white eyes as a bevy of feral cooks work on their next meal.
They’re facing each other across a vastness, just chattin’.
Dramatis Personae LF = Left Face RF = Right Face
LF: They’re at it again. RF: They’re always eating what they shouldn’t. LF: So outré. RF: Disgusting. LF: Riveting. RF: Marvelous. LF: What’s on the menu today? RF: Rocks. LF: Rocks? RF: And tripes. LF: Tripes. RF: And rocks. LF: I was forgetting the rocks. RF: I think it cleans out their systems. LF: Roughage. RF: Sort of flushes it. LF: And tripes? RF: Protein. LF: We all need protein. RF: Not us. LF: Not anymore. RF: They ate us long ago. LF: Better this way. RF: Debatable. LF: More relaxing. RF: Tedious. LF: At times. RF: What are they eating now? LF: Maggots. RF: Suckers. LF: Better to be done with all that.
***
(That’s all I had time for.) (Like LF says, probably “better this way”–but I did enjoy diving back into an all-dialogue format for a hot second.)
Get you a reader who is an artist, a genius, a darling, who is so full of love and jeweled colors and divine radiance, that she makes you, over the course of a year, a cathedral window of your own gods.
Phoebe Leung Ashcroft, @phoe.ash on Instagram, is a visual artist bookstagrammer, who reviews ARCs by drawing illustrations for them, and creating a little write-up in the caption.
For my books, she has drawn Loreila Winter-Touched from Dark Breakers, Alizar Eleven-Eyes from The Twice-Drowned Saint, and Lanie from Saint Death’s Daughter.
But, wait. Phoebe, the aforementioned artist/genius/darling, has done EVEN MORE.
In addition to her three versions of Saint Death…
…she has made ALL THE REST OF THE GODS of Liriat and Quadiíb!!!
Phoebe’s third and latest depiction of Saint Death, the Doe-Her-Mother, is taken directly from the text of Saint Death’s Herald, of which she has had some special peeks.
I, um, made a LORE FOLDER for Phoebe and my buddy Anthony, who is a DM and sometimes plays around in my world.
Because when people draw you pictures and adapt your stories to D&D games, you want to make that as EASY AS POSSIBLE FOR THEM, because they are the AWESOMEST PEOPLE.
A little while back, I made a little video about the Twelve Gods and some of their attributes, which I included in that lore folder, in case you were interested. You can listen as I speak in one window, and admire Phoebe’s craftswomanship in the other!
Thank you forever, Phoebe. Now when I write, I am also always thinking of you.
I have written before about fan art, when I was on Substack for a hot second last year. I wonder if I should just copy/paste the material I made there last year to this blog, so that it shan’t be lost forever if I give up the platform entirely.
But for now, here’s a link to that blog about fan art, for you will see how bright this world is with wonders, and how awed I am to have provided some of the source material for these visions artists have.
LOL. Carlos and I released a backers-only update on Negocios Infernales today, and on it, we gifted them one of their rewards: a new web-based tool for our “Deck of Destiny” cards.
There’s a box to input your question, and then you get to pick 1-3 cards to draw to help interpret your fate. The tool randomly pulls them for you. Each card pull includes an explanation of the suit.
Right now, the tool is just for backers on a private link, but eventually we’ll migrate it over to Outland Entertainment, where it will live for ALL THE REST OF YOU to enjoy. (Although, naturally, you’ll want YOUR OWN DECK OF PHYSICAL CARDS.)
Anyway, I was testing the web tool out today, and I asked it: “How I can keep motivating myself to finish my edits on time?” I chose a 3-card draw.
My answer?
– “You are mostly holes” – LIKE MY MANUSCRIPT, AFTER I CUT IT UP!
– “Skin is a coward” – THAT QUILL IS BLEEDING! (Self-explanatory.)
– “The scavengers win every war” – after I SCAVENGE the SCRAPS remaining of my manuscript, I will WIN THIS NOVEL!
Yay!
So. Quite an optimistic reading, eh? (I particular love two Carne cards, especially that line in the suit-meaning: “the triumph of self-interest over community.” It is, after all, in my best self-interest to FINISH THIS NOVEL.)
The edit letter my editor David from Solaris sent me was incredibly warm and reassuring. What he wrote was in line with many of my thoughts.
The first thing I did was make a big 23,000 word cut, and set it aside. In my head, it might become a novelette that I will publish sometime, someplace. In lieu of Lanie as the main character, with Duantri at her side, it would feature Tanaliín and Duantri on a separate adventure years before they ever came to Liriat and met Lanie Stones.
With that in mind, I am (in the current iteration anyway) using some of those events, which I have cut from the book, to give Duantri some prior knowledge about a place she and Lanie must go to, and some of the dangers they might be facing.
Cutting out a large part of the middle necessitates me going through and snipping and stitching so that the rest of the book makes sense. I need to add some things back in, but in a different order. Much of the work is structural: order of operations stuff. Things need to happen in order for the plot to make sense. But how the information is conveyed, and by whom, and when… that is all fluid.
It is fascinating work. (Writing is so DELICIOUSLY WEIRD.) I just must make sure to keep progressing, and rather quicker than is perhaps my natural wont.
And then there’s the entirely pleasurable sentence-level draft work. I love me an adverb, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes a well-wrought metaphor can more precisely describe a gesture, expression or emotion. Alternately, my language has a tendency, sometimes, to jump the shark of “extra” into, um, n’extra (next-level extra?), and when language gets too too too fancy, all at once, all the time, the general splendor can be… hmn. Diluted.
My answer to this? Fart jokes.
Okay, fart jokes in iambic pentameter.
I don’t know. It’s all a big experiment, but with a deadline. But I love the work.
I’m so happy to be home after our summer of madcap and marvelous travels. I have fallen in love with my office again, and my little twinkle lights, and my beeswax candles, and my mug of tea. I made a little to-do list on a notebook with my fountain pen, then left the window open, and it got rained on. I kind of loved that too.
My friend Patty Templeton has been getting up very early in the morning, before dawn, to write before her work day. I’m two hours ahead of her, but it’s still earlier than when I’d normally rise on my own, but I’ve been waking in order to write with her on Google Meet. We wave blearily into the camera and then tap away. Carlos writes naturally early in the morning, but I can really only do it consistently with a body mirror. I’m so grateful for this time with her.
…and so, so grateful for Carlos, who is often just around the corner in the living room, finishing up the gorgeous work of poetry, philosophy, and humor that’s his current sci-fi novella (working title: “The Cyberpunk Microseason Pillow-Book”), the likes of which, by the way, the world has never seen.
We read to each other, all our little drafts, and polish the work in the air between us. Soon he will start his semester, and steal his writing time when he can, so he is working feverishly to wrap up this project for himself before he starts on Thig again.
My friend Kyle and I are back to a more normal schedule of late morning-early afternoon writing as well, most weekdays. He’s working on a screenplay as I work on my novel edits. We often start by chatting about goals, and it’s so useful to learn cinematic vocabulary, and all the iterations a screenplay takes–summary, outline, script, pitch deck–before it ever gets embodied in actors, much less makes it to the screen.
I’m so lucky Patty and Kyle and I all started establishing these habits earlier this year and last year, because now they feel familiar and fine, and being in the “office” with other working artists really puts me right into the worker’s groove.
***
I took a break from blurbing till August, which I realize… it now is. I’ve been trying to catch up on some romance, some fantasy, some science fiction–and I got to judge a poetry contest for F(r)iction Magazine, which was an absolute delight. All the poems were so wonderful—full of color and musicality, experiment and beauty.
I must go back to blurbing soon, for my friend Randee Dawn has a new book out soon from Arc Manor, The Only Song Worth Singing, and I must read it!!!
***
Some books I recommend.
Romance:
I read Penny Reid’s Bananapants, which I was really looking forward to. Not only did it not disappoint, it surprised me with its poignancy. I wrote, in two separate updates:
Penny Reid’s new rom-com Bananapants did so much important, gorgeous work, and with such exquisite care taken to the specific metaphors of each character, including those who were living with chronic illnesses. There was something so human and so endearing about this one particularly, and I’m already a huge fan of the author’s previous work.
and
I really loved [Bananapants]. There’s so much I want to say about it. Of course, I’m a huge Penny Reid fan, but I thought this was a level-up in terms of characters who are charming, funny, sexy, neurodiverse, and dealing with a chronic illness. There is such care and specificity in the writing, and such vigorous metaphors, always particular to that character’s own experience, without saying it’s the same for everyone. Also just totally great, as far as writing, romance, and action subplot. And of course, the cast of family and friends surrounding our young lovers is so lovable.
Because I subscribe to Penny Reid’s blog, on her recent recommendation I also just flew through the first two books in B. K. Borison’s Lovelight series. Super charmed. Also, they’re fast, so I can FEED MY BRAIN nice things while in frenetic revise-and-edit mode.
Mystery:
My order of Sherry Thomas’s newest Lady Sherlock book, A Ruse of Shadows, came in more than a week ago, but I haven’t even unboxed it yet! I already know I’ll recommend it though, because I have loved every. single. sherry. thomas. book. thus far–especially the Lady Sherlock books–and I cannot fathom a world wherein this one would be the EXCEPTION.
F&SF:
I have books to pick up at our local Indie Kew and Willow–including P. Djèlí Clark’s The Dead Cat Tail Assassins. I finally got to meet Phenderson at Readercon this year, and it was thrilling, because I am SUCH A FAN GIRL. We were autographing in the same hour slot, side-by-side, so we got to chat a bit. He’s so cool. I love everything I’ve read, so far, by him.
Meanwhile, I am a few stories into Ann Leckie’s wonderful collection Lake of Souls. I read a short story or two at night, a few nights a week.
I keep removing the “Slay the Spire” game app from my phone, so that I’ll read instead of play. Of course, then I keep re-installing it. >.>
Earlier this week, I read the first book in Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorn and Roses series, on a friend’s recommendation, but also because it is everywhere I look, and mentioned on panels, and just sort of… in the air right now. It has a few elements of the ballad of Tam Lin, and many elements of Beauty and the Beast–the fairy tale, the Disney movie, as well as both Robin McKinley versions, Beauty and RoseDaughter–but that feeling of familiarity could just be me bringing my own canon to the reading. I read Holly Black’s Folk of Air series earlier this year, and this book lives in something of that same sphere.
I might read the others in the Maas series someday, or a different series by her, but for now I just went and read all the synopses of the other books, to get the overview. I was plot-curious. I’m not someone who minds what other people call “spoilers.” (I call them “spicers.”) Knowing the outline of what will happen makes everything better for me: alleviates my plot anxiety, and lets me focus on what I like best, craft.
I’m excited to finish reading a friend’s book, one that they wrote in a very excitingIP, but I’m not sure I’m allowed to say that I’m reading it until it’s published. It’s out soon, in the fall, so…So… I’ll talk about that one later.
I have stacks and stacks to read, including our beloved ZigZag Claybourn’s Breath, Warmth, and Dream, which is getting all the loveliest kinds of reviews that it deserves.
***
What else? I am sad sometimes. I have difficult, imaginary conversations in my head that I’d rather speak aloud.
I am often very happy. I am so glad to be home. I am trying to walk more. Every time I walk, I fall in love with the world, and my thoughts are at their most… fabulouslyuseful, I guess you could say.
Also, after spending so much of the summer on the road, at hotel rooms and eating out, it is so good to cook. I love planning meals. I wake up, thinking about eating, and looking forward to a day of eating. A friend of mine once described her daughter as “food motivated, just like you,” which was the first I’d heard of it, but it wasn’t wrong.
Sometimes I cook even when I’m not hungry, just because I like the work. When I don’t want to, I don’t. There’s always plenty of leftovers to eat.
It feels good to blog again.
Now I need to re-establish our regular, monthly Sitzfleisch Poetry Hour now that I’m home, and get back in the habit of writing poetry.
I want to send more letters. See more theatre. Strengthen bonds with friends, new and old. What else is this life for?
In the meantime, Saint Death’s Herald is emerging from its newest chrysalis.
First of all, you want to see this show. Carlotta-B from 1593 is the stuff of dirty jazz and nightmare carnivals and poet clowns. You get this in your head, you won’t WANT anything else in it.
I was so lucky as to sweet-talk her into being a cast member of Ballads from a Distant Star, the SFF folk musical (SFFF?) written by myself, Carlos Hernandez, Caitlyn Paxson, and Amal El-Mohtar, with musical help from my brother Jeremy Cooney and Dr. Mary Crowell.
Ballads from a Distant Star at Arts on Site. Carla Kissane in the middle, me on the left, Amanda Baker on the right. Photo by Nelson Luna.
Follow the link to the blog I wrote about one of Carla’s previous Shakespearean Cabaret shows, Whores and Weeping Women, which was… AWESOME!
I also wrote this sonnet for Carla, back in the pandemic days, as she was creating her character “Carlotta-B from 1593” on a Brooklyn rooftop:
I like to think it was prophetic.
Friends, if you’re in the U.K., at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, PLEASE! GO SEE THIS SHOW! Then come back here and tell me ALL ABOUT IT in the COMMENTS!
Carlos and I are so excited to attend GenCon this year. GenCon runs from August 1-4th in Indianapolis. This is my third year going, although Carlos is a long-time fan, and it’s certainly a highlight of the summer. Though I gotta tell ya, friends… it’s like this summer has been ONE LONG HIGHLIGHT already!
Not only are we once more a part of the wonderful Writers Symposium that is GenCon’s writing track, but we get to run two games of Negocios Infernales, one on Friday and one on Saturday! As of right now, they are both sold out, but I’ll put the information here just in case someone drops out.
INFERNAL BARGAINS: THEY’RE NOT JUST FOR FAUSTIAN EGOMANIACS ANYMORE!
The Spanish Inquisition INTERRUPTED by aliens! You play wizards who bargain for weird powers from aliens you think are devils. Use your “magic” to save your country & if there’s time, your own soul!
The nation of Espada is about to begin something like Earth’s Spanish Inquisition. Some well-meaning aliens, however, arrive in time to stop Espada from going down the path of zealotry and religious persecution. Players play wizards who think they have sold their souls to the aliens in exchange for powers. The core of the game is the “Deck of Destiny” (“La Baraja del Destino”), a custom deck of 70 cards. Much like a fortune teller reads cards to tell the future, the players interpret the cards they draw to determine their magos’ successes, failures, and fates. Together, the magos quest on behalf of Reina Resoluta to save Espada—or, depending on the luck of the draw, just to save their own skins. Great for new roleplayers and old hands alike! Create, collaborate and laugh your heads off with us!
Join our panel of poets as they discuss genre (or speculative) poetry, what it is, and ways to experience it. Featuring: Brandon O’Brien, C. S. E. Cooney, Jordan Kurella, Linda D. Addison, Sandra Tayler
[Due to a gaming conflict, Carlos and I may not be able to make this entire event, but one or the other of us will try to be there for part of it.]
Join writers of the Gen Con Writers’ Symposium to say hello, get your existing books signed, or purchase new ones here). Tickets are nice but not required during this 3hr open-house event!
Many authors will have books for sale, and the GCWS USB drive will also be for sale. Featuring: Akis Linardos, Anthony W. Eichenlaub, Ava Kelly, Ben Riggs, Bradley P. Beaulieu, Brady McReynolds, Brandon Crilly, Brandon O’Brien, Bryan Young, C. S. E. Cooney, Carlos Hernandez, Cat Rambo, Kwame Mbalia, Danian Darrell Jerry, Daniel ‘Doc’ Myers, Dedren Snead, E.D.E. Bell, Erin M. Evans, Gabrielle Harbowy, Gregory A. Wilson, Howard Andrew Jones, James Farner, Jason Sanford, Jennifer Brozek, Jeremy Bernstein, Jerry Gordon, Jordan Jones-Brewster, Jordan Kurella, Khaldoun Khelil, Linda D. Addison, Marie Bilodeau, Michael R. Underwood, Monica Valentinelli, Richard Dansky, Sharang Biswas, Sheree Renée Thomas, Victor Raymond PhD, Will Sobel
Join our panel of experts as they discuss the aspects and considerations of starting to worldbuild for TTRPG environments. Featuring: Will Sobel, Brandon Crilly, Brian Duckwitz, C. S. E. Cooney, Richard Dansky
Book Signing and Meet and Greet: C. S. E. Cooney and Marie Bilodeau: Friday 3 PM EDT
Swing by the back of the Exhibit Hall to meet the panelists of the Writers’ Symposium and get your books signed. Or, buy a book or game – and get it signed on the spot. Or, just stop by and say hello!
Most panelists will have merchandise for sale, but you’re welcome to bring what you already own to get signed. You may stop by without a ticket and we’ll try and accommodate you, time permitting. Featuring: C. S. E. Cooney, Marie Bilodeau
An Infernal Salon: Workshop and Literary Salon: Saturday 12 PM EDT
2 hours
Join game designers and writers C. S. E. Cooney and Carlos Hernandez for an Infernal Salon, an interactive workshop for creatives at all stages of writing.
Need a little fuel for your creative engine? Enjoy a bit of macabre inspiration? Love the company of other writers? Join us for an Infernal Salon! First, we deal out writing prompts from our “Deck of Destiny,” a spooky deck of cards that is the core mechanic of our new TTPRG, “Negocios infernales.” Then we set a timer for 20 minutes. Every writer in the room creates something new, inspired by the card prompts: story, poem, song, play–anything! (Finishing a piece isn’t necessary or even likely! Everyone’s in the same boat.) At the end of twenty minutes, we use the rest of the time to share our new works with each other! Much revelry is had by all! Featuring: C. S. E. Cooney, Carlos Hernandez — #gcws #experience
Join our panel of experts as they explore writing scary or repulsive matter in attractive and beautiful ways within the complex realms of horror. Featuring: S.E. Lindberg, Akis Linardos, C. S. E. Cooney, Jason Ray Carney, Jeri “Red” Shepherd
Join our panel of experts as they discuss creating unique, fun, and meaningful monsters for your fiction. Why? Because monsters rule. Featuring: Sarah Hans, Brian Duckwitz, C. S. E. Cooney, Daniel ‘Doc’ Myers, Marie Bilodeau
Writing for Children and Young People: Thursday, 1 PM
Join our panel of writers as they discuss writing for children and young people: what to do, what not to do, and how to help young minds thrive in a world of storytelling.
Featuring: Kwame Mbalia, Carlos Hernandez, Mary Fan, Maurice Broaddus, Jerry Gordon
[Due to a gaming conflict, Carlos and I may not be able to make this entire event, but one or the other of us will try to be there for part of it.]
Invention! An Interview with Writers: Friday, 1 PM EDT
Writer and researcher Dr. James Ryan hosts a discussion with authors about their practices of invention, and getting to the root of personal theories of where ideas come from and how they work.
Hosted by Dr. James Ryan, Assistant Professor of Writing/Communications, University of Alaska, Southeast. Questions may include: Where do ideas come from? How do they pick the ones to work on? Where do they go when we feel uninspired? What gets them out of a funk and into the flow again? What stories do they have about their first encounter with an idea for a specific work? Featuring: James Ryan, Carlos Hernandez, Erin M. Evans, Jesse J. Holland, Linda D. Addison
An Infernal Salon: Workshop and Literary Salon: Saturday 12 PM EDT
2 hours
Join game designers and writers C. S. E. Cooney and Carlos Hernandez for an Infernal Salon, an interactive workshop for creatives at all stages of writing.
Need a little fuel for your creative engine? Enjoy a bit of macabre inspiration? Love the company of other writers? Join us for an Infernal Salon! First, we deal out writing prompts from our “Deck of Destiny,” a spooky deck of cards that is the core mechanic of our new TTPRG, “Negocios infernales.” Then we set a timer for 20 minutes. Every writer in the room creates something new, inspired by the card prompts: story, poem, song, play–anything! (Finishing a piece isn’t necessary or even likely! Everyone’s in the same boat.) At the end of twenty minutes, we use the rest of the time to share our new works with each other! Much revelry is had by all! Featuring: C. S. E. Cooney, Carlos Hernandez — #gcws #experience
To celebrate reading titles with queer representation all year round, Solaris Books is running a #StillProud eBook sale on their website from Friday 5th July to Sunday 14th July.
C.S.E. Cooney 