From The Next BIg Thing To The End of The World

For me, the week that was supposed to conclude with the end of the world began with The Next Big Thing. I'm featured on Tracie McBride's blog, which she calls Exquisite Corpse. Fitting in a cosmic sort of way.  I'm a fantasy writer so them ghosts, zombies and vamps don't scare me none. An apocalypse is just another opportunity for a story. 

If it really does occur, nothing will matter anyway. Nothing. Not how many stories you've written or if you are traditionally or self-published. Or if the novel is done or it isn't. But my belief is you have to keep moving forward because, as the tragic events of last week point out, you never know when your number is going to come up and some lunatic is going to turn your workplace into just another live violent video game. For the families and friends of the victims of all of this year's senseless tragedies, the world came to an end  a long before today.

I live on the edge, always too busy, too stressed, and too close to neighborhoods where gun and gang violence is so routine the shooting at one NYC Public High School last week didn't even make the news because no one died. Even though none of those I know and love in Newtown were hurt, my Christmas spirit is near death.

Last Wednesday, a rare sunny day, the fact I got to go to the bathroom and eat lunch at work, and that I avoided all measure of parking and traffic gridlock nightmares lulled me into a sense of  hope. I began this post in Starbucks on East 9th Street in Greenwich Village, sipping a tall skinny vanilla latte, nibbling a tomato and mozzarella panini, before heading to Fantastic Fiction at the KGB Bar.

I should have gone home to do homework, and paid for it with two almost all-nighters to hand in my assignments due before the world ended. There is a lot of holiday work still to be done but it seems a waste of energy to bake cookies and wrap all those gifts (bought online and still in the boxes) if no one will be in any condition to eat them or open them

The future seems grim, well with massacres every couple of months, catastrophic flooding on a regular basis, blizzarding in October and pouring rain in December, and people still arguing that violent images and games have nothing to do with this and climate change is a myth. So why should I not enjoy Mary Robinette Kowal reading and puppeteering? 

I don't scare easy. So, if the end does come it will have to be absent my older son since I don't want to die in traffic going to pick him up from school in the middle of yet another flooding rain and windstorm. Getting the Noah's Arc analogy yet? My middle son got home early, not wanting to met the end of the world on a Megabus speeding along the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Like in Pompeii, if it happens in NYC today, those Amazon boxes piled in a corner will be mini time capsules of a civilization who ignored the warnings and blissfully bought new iPads and iPods, and paper books, and pretty clothes for their little daughters instead of repenting or running for their lives.. Depending on the time of day disaster strikes, I might die doing my life's work-- taking care of kids in a New York City public high school with scanners and metal detectors and an average of three ambulance calls a day. Because most of the kids are great and appreciate the care and service and maybe I've left my imprint in time by helping a few out along the way. Would like to think so. But I'd rather be with my husband and pretty daughter and son # 2--if he's not out celebrating the apocalypse with his friends.

  

If we're all still here Saturday, we'll go food shopping, get the last few gifts, bake those cookies, make the gingerbread house, wrap the presents, and put up the tree.

Apocalypse or not there isn't anything you can do, nowhere you can run. Just gotta keep moving forward. In the end, if it comes in one big bang, a shower of bullets, an accident, or simply dying of "natural causes" how much money you have or how many fancy toys or baubles you possess won't mean a thing. Nothing but what you did with your life, no matter how long or short, will ever matter. Nothing else. Nothing..

The Next Big Thing

Thanks to Rayne Hall  for inviting me to participate in The Next Big Thing. This week, I'm swapping with Tracie McBride, a fellow Ten Tales author. 

Welcome, Tracie!

I must confess, I’ve done this before, but with a focus on a different WIP, and on my own blog. Speaking of which, thanks also  for kindly offering to host me on your blog. I look forward to returning the favour.

What is the working title of your next story?

In my “Under Construction” file, it’s called “Into Darkness”. I promise to come up with something more interesting for the final version.

Where did the idea for the story come from?

The inspiration for this story came from the Maori myth of Hine-nui-te-po, the Maori goddess of night and death.

What genre does your story fall under?

Dark urban fantasy shading into horror.  Or perhaps it’s the other way around.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Johnny Depp for The Husband (‘cos, you know, he’s Johnny Depp).  It would probably be someone relatively unknown for The Wife. I’m thinking a young and innocent Morticia Addams.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of the story?

Love, sex and death; that’s all there is, all there was, all there ever will be. (OK, I know, that’s not so much a synopsis as an oblique teaser.)

Will your story be self-published or represented by an agency?

This story has been solicited by Crystal Lake Publishing for inclusion in their debut anthology, “For the Night is Dark.”

http://www.crystallakepub.com/

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your masterpiece?

Still working on it. Impossible for me to say what the actual time spent on it will be. Some stories take a day, some a week, some a month, or some, like this one, might percolate for half a year.

What other stories would you compare this story to within your genre?

I’ll tell you when I’m finished it! ;-)

What else about your story might pique the reader's interest?

It’s going to be in fine company in “For the Night is Dark”, alongside stories by fellow Australian authors G.N. Braun and Daniel I. Russell, respected British authors Gary McMahon and William Meikle, king of bizarro Jeremy C. Shipp, and a whole heap of other great horror writers.

Who’s next to answer to be interviewed?

It would only make sense if I invited the aforementioned authors –

G.N. Braun

Daniel I. Russell

Gary McMahon

William Meikle

Jeremy C. Shipp

And a bonus invitee, Joe Myrnhardt, who is the head honcho at Crystal Lake.

* * * *

Tracie McBride is a New Zealander who lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and three children.  Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in over 80 print and electronic publications, including Horror Library Vols 4 and 5, Dead Red Heart, Phobophobia and Horror for Good. Her debut collection Ghosts Can Bleed contains much of the work that earned her a Sir Julius Vogel Award in 2008.  She helps to wrangle slush for Dark Moon Digest and is the vice president of Dark Continents Publishing.  She welcomes visitors to her blog at http://traciemcbridewriter.wordpress.com/

These Books Make Great Holiday Gifts for Everyone on Your List

Signed copies of all my new and re-releases are available for holiday gifts. Contact me for personalization and details about which anthology would best suit your intended recipient. I can also gift bag any combination of the books and send them directly if you'd like.

Grandma might not like Not Your Mother's Book: On Being a Woman, but then again, maybe she would. It's gotten five star reviews on Amazon as hysterical and a great present for all your (girl) friends.

"A Catholic Schoolgirl's Primer" is an excerpt of my memoir Someday I'm Going to Write a Book: Diary of an Urban Missionary.

For the less intrepid, a tribute to my dear Grandma Clo, who died on November 18, 1999, appears in A Quilt of Holidays, an anthology of sweet, inspirational stories. This one, along with other excerpts of Someday in Thanksgiving to Christmas and This Path, are work and family safe.


My new fiction: PG-13 urban fantasy stories set in the world of my novels, featured in the Ten Tales Series Anthologies edited by Rayne Hall, are very easy to gift since they are ebooks in all formats. And I can send you personalized gift cards.

Breakwater Beach

The Dhampir's Kiss

Mishmash Magick

Artichokes

'Tis the Season

The Dance Class
Endless Possibilities

A Catholic Schoolgirls Primer

Follow Your Conscience To The Polls

Thanks to all my friends and followers getting in touch to see how I'm doing. Everyone in my extended family is fine, and I now have power, heat, Internet, cable and phone. Plenty of food, but no gas. Give me a few days to catch up on correspondance or ping me back if I havent responded because a lot of email, texts, and phone calls got waylaid over the last seven days.

I've been posting little updates on Twitter and Facebook so you can hop over their for the gritty details. Here are some telling pictures from The New York Times

I try to keep politics and writing separate, but before you go the polls on November 6, please read this. 

Paranormal Activities

And on the seventh day she "rests"....

Just coming up for air at the beginning of Week Eight of my first semester as a doctoral student. Haven't pulled late nighters like this since grad school days, but so far I'm only behind on about fifty pages of reading before the new assignments kick in tomorrow. One more major paper due in two weeks, and then I will be "free" for a few weeks until starting all over again in January.

This week I'll be discussing my latest paranormal activities on Debbie Chistiana's blog. Hint: East Meets West. Click on over for a chance to win free copies of Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft.

Here is the official press release for my latest publications. Publishing Syndicate is planning a book tour for authors featured in the debut book in the Not Your Mother's Book Series.  I don't have details as yet, but will let you know where and when I will be reading and signing.

"A Catholic Schoolgirl's Primer" is an excerpt of my memoir Someday I'm Going to Write a Book: Diary of an Urban Missionary.  It appears in Not Your Mother's Book: On Being a Woman, which was released on October 9 and already has five star reviews on Amazon. Not for the easily offended, this book will make you laugh out loud and is a great gift for like minded girlfriends--and guys who really want to understand the down and dirty details of what being a woman is all about.

For the less intrepid, a tribute to my dear Grandma Clo, who died on November 18, 1999, appears in A Quilt of Holidays, an anthology of sweet, inspirational stories. This one is work and family safe.

The press release below has links to my new fiction: urban fantasy stories set in the world of my novels, featured in the Ten Tales Series Anthologies edited by Rayne Hall.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Rayne, editor and teacher par excellence,  for keeping all the Ten Tales writers writing. And Deborah Blake, whose wonderful books and classes help writers portray the essence of witchcraft in a respectful, accurate manner.

The nonfiction books make great gifts for family and friends (honestly) so if you'd like signed copes please contact me at caroleATcaroleannmoletiDOTcom for details.

Press Release:

Carole Ann Moleti is a nurse-midwife in New York City, thus explaining her fascination with paranormal and urban fantasy that infuses everything she writes. Her newest fiction is featured in Beltane: Ten Tales of Magic. Excerpts of Carole's memoir, Someday I'm Going to Write a Book: Diary of an Urban Missionary range from the sweet and inspirational in A Quilt of Holidays to the edgy and irreverent in Not Your Mother's Book: On Being a Woman.

My Life Is A Three Ring Circus

In the First Ring:  Fiction. In the Middle:  Non Fiction. In the Third Ring: Doctoral Program. And I'm juggling the full time job, the per diem job,  one husband  three kids, a dog, a cat, and a garden.

Publicity tours, readings, signings-it's great to be famous.  Seriously, I love meeting readers and other writers. World Con rocked. So did the "Ghosts and the Afterlife" Panel in Portsmouth, N. H.  with Renee Mallet, Chelsea Cameron, hostess Terri Bruce, and Me.

Got to visit Salem gearing up for Halloween and Samhain.  (all right pay back was finishing and submitting my Philosophy paper with free in room Internet  at 1 am in the Courtyard by Marriott, Andover but you only live once).

So far, I'm keeping up. Staying up, too. Average bedtime is midnight with the outliers being 10 pm and 2 am. Wake up is 5:30 am, except for one Sunday in the last three weeks that I slept until 8.

Lost five pounds. That's good. Lot of aches and pains--all stres related. Not so good. Trying to schedule in some yoga and dance classes to limber up and lighten up the mood.

What am I reading? Ha! About 150 pages of peer reviewed research and academic articles a week, plus writing at least one major paper a week.  Sometimes two. In APA format. In third person, passive voice. In a scholarly voice. (The last one is the hardest)

New electronic medical records at work+ Lots of training sessions=Decreased productivity=Angry bosses+Cranky, tired  midwife who doesn't get lunch or go to the bathroom all day.

How am I doing it? Not sure. But since I got a lot of writing done over the summer, most of my creative writing has been editing. And when I get the chance to write fiction, like the short story I polished yesterday called "Dance With the Devil," it's a relief rather than a burden.

There are three new releases out or coming out, and one in the pipeline. Here's the line up:

Kudos and Thanks to Rayne Hall for putting together yet another great anthology. My story "Mishmash Magick" is an excerpt of Boulevard of Bad Spells and Broken Dreams adapted to a short story format (as is "The Dhampir's Kiss" in Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires).  All Ten Tales books are PG13 and in most electronic formats.

Buy it here

Very suitable for all audiences, these gentle anthologies contain stories about life. This Path features two of my favorite excerpts of Someday I'm Going to Write a Book, including "The Dance Class" and "Endless Possibilities."
It was published a few years ago but just re-released as an ebook

A Quilt of Holidays contains "Artichokes," a tribute to my grandmother and family memories.

I have signed copies. Contact me for details.









And finally, on October 9, "A Catholic School Gir's Primer" will
be published in Not Your Mother's Book: On Being a Woman
Warning, this book, and my true life account about "becoming a
woman" is not for the easily offended.
But it's all true, edgy, and funny--if you have a sense of humor.

Stay tuned for details. There is a huge publicity tour in the works for this, one of the first in PS Publishing's Not Your Mother's Book Series.

And I'll catch you, and catch you up when I can!

Ghosts, Spirits, and The Afterlife: A Panel Discussion and Reading

I've survived going back to work--and back to school. All of this weeks reading is done, one assignment complete and submitted and the second one well on its way. I have to admit I'm enjoying the scholarly environment--a lot more since I figured out a way for MS Word to put all my references into APA style and import them into my documents. Even the footnotes need to be footnoted.

I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon, but humor me. This weekend will be devoted to writing fiction. Next will be dedicated to meeting and greeting and discussing metaphysics--coincidentaly or not so coincidently, a subject in many of the research papers I've been reading.

You all know I do believe in ghosts, and write about them. And that witches are real. If you're in the Northeast, consider stopping by (or sending your friends) to this discussion at the Portsmouth, New Hampshire Library.

I may not be a New England author at present, but I did my residency on the North Shore of Massachusetts, very close to Salem (and Portsmouth). Another synchronicity, I suppose. So I've lived  and worked in that very special corridor of lovely towns with interesting history, interesting places to visit, and very interesting people.

Pass the word along! 

Here's the official press release. Permission to forward granted and encouraged.

Join four New England authors for an informative and fun panel discussion of the challenges and opportunities of writing about ghosts, both real and imagined. We’ll explore a variety of approaches, beliefs, and customs ranging from the lighthearted to the downright scary, from real-life encounters to those that are completely fictitious.

The presentation will be followed by a book signing and informal reception in which audience members will have a chance to chat with the authors. Light refreshments will be served. RSVP to tbruce@terribruce.net

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Presentation: 11 am – 1 pm

Reception and Book Signing: 1 pm – 3 pm

Portsmouth Public Library,

165 Parrott Avenue, Portsmouth, NH

More information:http://www.cityofportsmouth.com/library/ 

Terri Bruce (terribruce.net) has been making up adventure stories for as long as she can remember. Like Anne Shirley, she prefers to make people cry rather than laugh, but is happy if she can do either. She produces fantasy and adventure stories from a haunted house in New England where she lives with her husband and three cats. Her debut novel, Hereafter, is about a woman stuck on earth as a ghost, searching for a way to cross over to the afterlife.

Chelsea M. Cameron (leftandwrite.com) is a YA/NA writer from Maine. Lover of things random and ridiculous, Jane Austen/Charlotte and Emily Bronte Fangirl, red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, vegetarian, former cheerleader and world's worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, singing in the car and tweeting. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn out to be just as weird as she is. Her latest novel, Whisper, is about a girl who can communicate with ghosts.

Renee Mallett (reneemallet.com) is the author of several non-fiction books about folklore and the paranormal. She has written a series of books about New Hampshire’s local legends and haunted history, including Strange New Hampshire and Haunted Portsmouth. She has appeared on Fearnet.com’s Streets of Fear series and on radio programs across the country to talk about ghostly phenomena and the power of myth. Much of Renee Mallett’s work is influenced by her love of nature, mythology, and history. You can visit this author on the web or in person at her workspace in Western Ave Studios in Lowell, MA the first Saturday of every month during Open Studios.

Carole Ann Moleti (caroleannmoleti.com) lives and works as a nurse-midwife in New York City, thus explaining her fascination with all things paranormal, urban fantasy, and space opera. Though she's never seen any, ghosts swirl around her all the time--and she has incorporated those experiences into her Cape Cod paranormal romance novels as well as her award winning non-fiction. Her work has appeared in a variety of speculative fiction venues including Lightspeed, The Internet Review of Science Fiction, Tangent Online, The Portal, and The Fix. Her short stories set in the world of her novels are featured in Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts and Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires and Beltane:Ten Tales of Magic.