12/12/12

I made *every* excuse today to write that date as much as I could.

12/12/12  It's so much fun when numbers do amusing things.

For once, there was no confusion possible about how the month, day and year were ordered.

Growing Dark

This is a very difficult time of year in terms of hours of daylight.

I quite like winter.  The beautiful snow, the crisp air, the clear skies.  But I'm not a huge fan of the darkness.  Sunset was something like 4:12 today, and it was growing grey and dark well before that. 

I miss the sunflowers and bumblebees, and the long evenings of nearly eternal night, until finally you realize how late it is and fling yourself into bed. 


I've also been finding that even when I am home, with some time on my hands, that writing does not come easily to me in the darkness.  I don't quite know why, but it feels much more difficult to compose my thoughts with all that black lurking outside my windows.

Gone Viewing

Today I was able to get to the top of a mountain and see the beautiful view out across the valleys.  The weather could have been a little better, as the clouds obscured some of it.  But it was still very nice.

Being Grateful

There are many things I'm grateful for.  At this time of the year, we all spend a little more time thinking about them.

I'm thankful for my family, who are wonderful and awesome.  They make me laugh, and they hold me up on their shoulders so I can stand tall.  They walk beside me, and they run ahead.  I'm so proud of what they accomplish, and of how much I enjoy when we all get together.

I'm thankful for my friends.  They make every day enjoyable.  There are jokes that last for years, and they're there when I'm feeling down. 

I'm thankful for my health.  I've been through some small wringers and made it to the other side. In many things I am so lucky, and hope I continue to be.

I'm thankful for the act of exercise.  I don't know that I love jogging, but I enjoy accomplishing it.  I like being on the other end of a work out and knowing that I did well.

I'm thankful for writing.  Sometimes it is hard and sometimes it comes much easier, but in general, it is always a process that I enjoy. 

Exciting! A review of my story The Mercy of Gulls

I became aware that my story, The Mercy of Gulls, had a review!

Of course, authors are generally always concerned about reviews--just like everybody else, we like to hear good things about our hard work and effort.  But sometimes hearing about how things didn't work is a way to make one think and become better.

But overall, I'm *so* pleased.

The review is here, so you can see for yourselves:
http://briefencountersreviews.com/2012/10/31/the-mercy-of-gulls-by-tray-ellis/

I am seriously thinking about the issue of 'horror stories', because while my story is a romance, on one level, it is also certainly a horror story on another.  I suppose horror can be exceedingly tricky--what is frightening to one person isn't at all to another.

More Exercising

There's a local group that runs on Saturdays.  I've been able to join them off and on for a while now.  My jogging is really starting to get where I want it to be, and it is so much nicer to have others to run with.

Halloween

I had the cutest Halloween ever.  My residence is amongst a dense residential location, and there were little ghosts and ghouls out everywhere this year!  The weather held tight, and while it was brisk, it was about to be expected for the location, and it wasn't raining.

I had a bowl full of candy ready to go, and a candle outside in a holder, and my porch-light on to show I was a friendly house.

I had TCM on in the background, complete with moody black and white zombie and vampire movies going, too.

I can't wait for next year!  I had a pumpkin this year, but couldn't bear to carve it, as they don't last once they are cut into.  But I'll get extra pumpkins next year and do some carving. 

Now Available! The Mercy of Gulls

Torquere Press has released the Halloween Sips and The Mercy of Gulls is now available!

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=96&products_id=3726

It's a bit of a heart-breaker, and melancholy, and utterly eerie.

4,200 words.

The Mercy of Gulls

I've got a Halloween Sip that is going to be published later this month by Torquere Press!  The title is The Mercy of Gulls, and it is a lovely, creepy tale about a man's broken heart, and the lengths he goes to gain total freedom.  There's wild magic in the air, and nothing ever stays the same.

It's set at the edge of a lake, and oh, boy, do I remember so many times where the sun was setting and it grew cold.  There's really nothing quite like that cold, fresh air. 

A Rainy Weekend

It was too rainy to do much this weekend. 

Sometimes I think the heavy melancholy that comes on weekends such as these are good respites for writers. It seems to be something like a recharging of the battery--gloomy days sort of seep into your skin, giving the brain all sorts of ideas about ghosts and goblins.

On the (not really) boring things in life

So much of writing is a balance between imagination and experience.  Sometimes you have to really stretch your imagination because you need to write about things that don't exist, or exist only in theory, or at a level that is too small or too grand in scale for a person to deal with.  Sometimes, however, you can call upon the most mundane details of real life and bring them into a story. 

I spent a good portion of today cleaning and sealing a deck--something I hadn't done before.  I don't know who, where, why, or when yet, but I'm sure some character sometime is going to suffer this fate!

Actually, it isn't much to complain about.  The weather was particularly fine today, and it was lovely to have a reason to be outside, and to be productive.

Writer and sometime athlete

Hello!

Here I am with my first post, so I thought I would give a quick synopsis of myself.

I grew up with two brothers, and a fun succession of lovable dogs and cats.  My parents are wonderful, lovely people who made sure there was time for all the great things in childhood: camping, swimming, skiing, fishing, softball, track and field, life guarding, and more. I'm definitely a tomboy, and probably more comfortable unhooking a fish than I am getting dressed up and going to a party, but then again, I also think an afternoon tea party with scones and clotted cream is just divine!

I started out writing the adventures of my classmates when I was in middle school, and just kept writing.  Writing is a constantly evolving process, and so of course, each year, I learn a little more and get a little better.  I think I'm finally just coming into my own.  There are many brilliant young writers out there, but I'm built better by practice, practice, practice.

In my free time, of which there is certainly never enough, I love to exercise.  I like jogging and swimming, as well as hiking.  There is just something so perfect about a quiet walk up a mountain, and the views at the top are often spectacular. 

I like writing about the fun side of supernatural activities and playing with mythological themes but I know enough about science to know that I'm bending all the rules. I think that's a huge part of the fun, though, and I love it.

Thank you for coming by, and I hope you visit again!