Science of the Week: 2/27/15

And here we are at the end of another month already.

Here are some of the most interesting science news articles I read this week:

Reducing energy efficiency boosts calorie burning in muscle

Vision loss reversed in people with diabetic eye disease

Climate change driving brutal winter?

Higgs boson could explain matter's dominance over antimatter
(From what I understand, if the Higgs field was much stronger in the early universe and decreased over time, then it could have made the masses of matter and antimatter unequal [since today they are equal] and made the production of matter more likely)

Just like modern cities, ancient settlements became more productive as they grew

Can "three hots and a cot" stave off mental illness?
(Our inner clocks that govern when we eat and sleep are governed by neurotransmitters that also play a role in mental illness. A structured life may keep the neurotransmitters in balance.)

Ocean acidification threatens coastal communities across the U.S.

Long-acting HIV medicine in the works
(It can act as both a preventative and a treatment)

Two-father babies could soon be possible with no egg donor
(Gene manipulation could transform a man's germ cells into oocytes, which could then be fertilized by his partner's sperm. However, what's not discussed in the article is epigenetics, the different tagging of the genes in men and women. Scientists might have to alter the molecular tagging of the genes so they're regulated properly.)

U.S. Defense Dept: Come get wierd with us

Worldwide, the nitrogen cycle is off (and it's affecting the ability of legumes to fix nitrogen in the soil)


Antifreeze protein from ticks fights frostbite in mice (Warm-blooded animals don't make antifreeze proteins, but the proteins still do their job when introduced to mammalian tissue. I think we're all going to need antifreeze protein to make it through the rest of this winter!)


That's all for now. I'm going to take a blogging break for the next couple of weeks. I have a lot of things to catch up on for Broad Universe (I'm the Readings/Events Coordinator for BU), I need to preschedule more A-Z posts, I need to finish editing Scattered Seasons and get it ready for publication, and I'm still trying to draft the next book in the series, Chaos Season. Something's got to give before I do. Don't worry; I'll be back before A-Z kicks off. Take care, and talk to you later!

Increasing Visibilty of Women Authors

Well, it's a bit soon to discuss the 2015 A-Z Blogging Challenge, but I've decided to join it this year. I've been thinking more about visibility of authors, particularly women authors and indie authors. For example, this post, which was shared on the Broad Universe Facebook page, discusses the struggles of a traditionally published female SF/fantasy writer and how more difficult it is to gain attention and sales as a woman writer. That said, I don't think the solution is to adopt a male pseudonym. I am who I am, and I write about what moves me. It may not resonate with every single person in the world--not that that's possible--but I write to reach the people, however few or many, who can grok what I have to say. That can't happen if I hide a fundamental part of my identity. And why should women hide who we are? While I don't track author gender, I probably read more women authors than men, and there are some highly skilled women authors out there. Women create great aliens and worlds, come up with witty dialogue, rock their science and action scenes, and evoke emotion.  Some women writers are more well-known than others, but they all deserve an audience.

Accordingly, I will dedicate my blogging during the month of April 2015 to featuring women authors of science fiction and fantasy. I already have my schedule and list of names drawn up, and there's so much awesomeness out there I couldn't limit myself to twenty-six authors. As of now, I have nearly sixty authors on my schedule, though this may change between now and April. I just have to decide on the format for each author before I start preparing my posts.

In an ideal world, writers would be judged on their merits, not their identities. If this world will not come about from the top down, we must build it from the bottom up, author by author, book by book, reader by reader. Let's build it together.

A-Z: Zaniness

After a long month of blogging and commenting, I feel we all need something zany to celebrate completing this challenge. When it comes to zaniness, who can match the Marx Brothers? Here are a couple of scenes from A Night at the Opera. Enjoy!






Thanks to all who have visited my blog this month. I'm taking next week off from blogging to catch up on my myriad other obligations, but I'll still be reading other blogs and commenting when I can. I have some great things in store, so come back on May 7th to check them out!

A-Z: Your Sweet Summer

This is a villanelle I wrote either in high school or college. Even back then I was fond of semicolons. You can find this and some of my other poems here.


Your Sweet Summer

The sun has set too often in the sky
And banished now the days of burnished gold;
My love, even the sweet summer must die.

Once, passion burned me fiercer than July;
Beloved, your lack of heat left me cold.
The sun has set too often in the sky.

Having learned that my love was based on a lie
Has destroyed the small hope I tried to hold.
My love, even the sweet summer must die.

Heartbroken so long, without tears to cry
Out my pain, I cannot be brave and bold.
The sun has set too often in the sky.

To your cruel flirtations I cannot reply;
My rejected love was too often told,
“My love, even the sweet summer must die.”

Understand this, then, when too late you try
To win me back; I’m past those days of old.
Your sun has set too often in my sky;
My love, even your sweet summer must die.

A-Z: X Saves the World

I'm sure many A-Z bloggers have been dreading this day because we're on the letter X, but I'm not one of them, since it's my birthday. (Humm, perhaps I should start dreading it.) My birthday actually ties in with the letter X, since I'm a Gen Xer. That's why I read X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft But Can Still Keep Everything From Sucking last year.

I'm going from memory for this post. The author, Jeff Gordinier, spends much of the book discussing the baby boomer and millennial generations as well as Generation X. Unfortunately, all three generations are reduced to stereotypes. I don't consider myself a typical Generation Xer; I'm far more interested in the Beatles than Nirvana. In fact, I'm more familiar with Weird Al's "Smells Like Nirvana" than I am with "Smells Like Teen Spirit," so Gordinier's peans to Nirvana and Kurt Cobain don't resonate with me. (I hope I don't get expelled from my generation for admitting that!) However, this book did introduce me to the "Cooler King" moment from The Great Escape, an unorthodox way of seeking one's freedom.

Toward the end of the book, Gordinier discusses how Generation X can save the world, or at least parts of it. To quote,

On the surface, yeah, I suppose a proposition like “X saves the world” is preposterous. I like it because it’s preposterous. I think it makes a bizarre kind of sense—only a small and quiet and marginalized demographic has the will to preserve things that are small and quiet and marginalized in the world.

His proposal, as I understand it, boils down to individuals making their local environments better through various means and independents standing up to monoculture. I don't think this idea is unique to Generation X; however, what Generation X has done is taken the Internet and used it in ways to give the average individual opportunities he/she might not have otherwise. For example, Gen Xers came up with YouTube, a website that lets everyone make their own videos. Sure, some of them are very amateurish, but others are entertaining and/or informative, and sometimes a viral video makes an ordinary person an instant celebrity. Perhaps indie publishing is part of the Gen X spirit, then. If I do decide to go this route, I just hope my Cooler King moment doesn't end with a crash.

A-Z: Connie Willis

If you haven't read Connie Willis, you're missing a treat. She combines science fiction with screwball comedy. She's probably best known for her time travel series, which includes Doomsday Book, "Fire Watch," To Say Nothing of the Dog (my personal favorite), and last year's Blackout/All Clear. In these stories, time travelers from Oxford journey to various time periods, including the 14th century, the Victorian era, and World War II. (The stories are mostly set in England, although I think a few scenes in Blackout and All Clear were elsewhere.) However, the travelers don't always arrive when they expect to, and they're not always sure what their roles are.

In addition to the above books, she's written many other novels and short stories, discussing topics from remaking old movies to the significance of near-death experiences. She's won the Hugo and the Nebula multiple times for her work.

I saw Connie Willis at a panel at ChiCon 2000. I took a couple pictures of her, but I don't have them in digital format (sorry). I wasn't able to get her autograph either. Perhaps if I'm able to make it to ChiCon next year, I'll see her again.

A-Z: Vienna

Although I've been to Austria, I didn't have the chance to visit Vienna. It's one of the places that's on my bucket list. Instead, today I'd like to share with you a video for Billy Joel's "Vienna," as a reminder to everyone else out there juggling multiple roles that sometimes it's necessary to slow down and take care of yourself:

A-Z: Ulbrich

At last, the final week of the A-Z Challenge! How's everyone holding up?

My original post for the letter "U" was going to be about unicorns, but I figure my maiden name would be a unique topic.

In the 1990 U.S. Census, there were nearly 30,000 people in the country with the surname "Ulbrich." I haven't been able to find any statistics about how common the name is in Germany, even though it's a German name. I've seen variations such as "Ulrich" or "Ullrich." It can be used as both a first and last name, although I suspect that's more common in Germany than here.

I've heard different meanings for this name. When I was a teenager, I was told "Ulbrich" came from the words "Adel," meaning noble, and "Brecht," meaning brilliant. This baby name site lists different words for the origin, but the meaning is pretty close. There's more information about this history of the name at this coat-of-arms website, along with a picture of the crest. I'm told that a few generations back (perhaps in my great-grandfather's time, though I'm not certain), we used to have a "von" prefix, which indicates nobility. My uncle is older than my dad, so he would be the titled one if we were still considered noble. (I think he has the family crest on display at his house.) Since I'm adopted, I probably wouldn't be considered "noble," but I find the history of my name interesting anyway.

As I grew up, I encountered many mispellings of my name. Most often, people will try to spell it with an "O" instead of a "U." It's also hard to pronounce. I normally pronounce it something like "Ol-brich" with a long "o." The German way to say it is more like "ool-brich," where the "u" sounds like the double o in "pool." Even though my maiden name is hard to spell, hard to pronounce, and comes near the end of the alphabet, I'm still fond of it. That's why I kept it when I got married. (I just added my husband's surname to my name, so I have four names.) My short story was published under my maiden name, so I wonder sometimes if I should keep using that name for my writing or use something like "Sandra U. Almazan" instead. I think it would confuse readers if I used both surnames, but I could use a different variation of my name if I ever wanted to switch genres. Those of you who use both your maiden and married names, how do you handle it?

A-Z: Trains

My son (who turns four next month) is obsessed with trains. He wears striped overalls and a striped cap every single day. His favorite things to bring for show-and-tell are model train catalogs, and he gets upset if one of the other kids tears a page. At home, he likes to cut the engines and cars out of the catalogs and tape them all over the walls and furniture. (I finally took down the ones in the living room, but there are still some in his bedroom.) He knows the difference between steamies and diesels, and he also recognizes the various types of freight cars. As you might expect, he has a ton of Thomas the Train toys, and he's also showing interest in Chuggington. However, he prefers "trains with no faces," such as the G-gauge freight train set he got for Christmas. Luckily, we live near the Illinois Railway Museum and the Chicago Botanic Garden, so we take him to those places, hobby train shops, and train shows. Here are a few of the exhibits we saw last year:

Every year, the Chicago Botanic Garden sets up an outdoor model railroad exhibit featuring American landmarks. Here's one of the trains.












My son riding in the Zephyr at the Illinois Railway Museum last year.












Here he is posing with his favorite train at the Railway Museum, a Baldwin Steam Locomotive. It doesn't run, but Alex talks about fixing it when he's old enough. I wonder if he'll still be as much of a trainiac at twelve as he is now.















We're actually taking Alex to a live Thomas the Train show tonight, so I wonder how he'll like it. While he does watch the show occasionally, he's more into other shows like Curious George--especially episodes involving trains.

Although train fascination seems to be a boy thing, I have written about trains in my stories. The final volume of my Season Lords trilogy was supposed to include a train trip, although I don't think I got to that part. There's also a train ride in Twinned Universes.

Are there any other current or recovering trainiacs out there?

A-Z: Science

What does science mean to me?

Science is a way to study the world. It means not taking everything at face value, but questioning, observing, experimenting, and drawing conclusions based on evidence. The answer to one question can inspire more questions. It's a way of constructing a web of knowledge tying together everything in the universe. It's awe-inspiring to look at the night sky -- the universe writ large -- or a photograph of a molecule -- the universe writ small -- and think about how we can study both extremes. It's also amazing to consider something something such as the human body and peer into the various levels--organs, tissues, cells, organelles, molecules, and atoms -- that make it up.

I'd adopted. When I was a teenager, I studied genetics in the hope I might be able to learn about my biological parents. However, I soon became interested in the discipline for its own sake and planned to become a geneticist. Although that didn't work out, I still read about science. I've looked into joining some amateur science projects, but I don't have the time right now. Perhaps that's something I can do when I retire.

When you look at little children exploring the world, they experiment to figure out how things works. If we're all scientists when we're young, what happens when we grow up?

A-Z: The "R"s of Revision

1. Start with a Rough draft.
2. Relax for a while so the story can "Rest."
3. Return to the Rough draft and Reread it.
4. Remove the parts that don't work, including any Redundancies.
5. Retool the good parts until they glow like Rubies.
6. Recruit Reviewers and Receive their advice graciously.
7. Repeat until the story is Ready!

A-Z: Questions

Why are questions so important?

Could science advance without questions?

What about fiction?

Is it more important to answer every question--or question every answer?

What's your favorite question?

A-Z: Patricia McKillip

One of my favorite authors is Patricia McKillip, noted fantasy author. I just finished reading her latest book, The Bards of Bone Plain. I think I first discovered her with the Cygnet duology (The Sorceress and the Cygnet; The Cygnet and the Firebird), though it could have been The Forgotten Beasts of Eld too. I have several of her books in hardcover, which is a sign of how much I value her books. She was a guest of honor at WisCon a few years ago, and I not only got to hear her read but also have her autograph a copy of Harrowing the Dragon, her short story collection.

Why is she one of my favorites? Her writing is poetic, but that's not all I admire about her. Her plots are original, and her books still inspire a sense of wonder in me with the way they make magic feel truly magical and otherworldly. It's also impressive that her more recent books are all stand-alones. One of her books inspired me with an idea for a fantasy novel, but I'm still in the research phase and don't have a lot of details fleshed out yet. My style isn't anything like hers, and I don't think I could ever match it. But she's worthy of study. I recommend her work to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy.

A-Z Blog Chain: Off-the-Cuff Writing

Eric wants to know When was the last time you just sat down and started writing, with nothing but a whisper of an idea to guide you? Did you find it easy to do or did you find yourself struggling for a more organized story?

Let me call this off-the-cuff writing so I can combine the blog chain and the A-Z challenge again.

Sometimes I feel that many of my blog posts are off-the-cuff. Actually, thanks to my blog, I can figure out the last time I tried this with fiction: March 9. I came up with a short story idea while I was thinking about the topic, and I started writing it that night. Unfortunately, while the story opening was compelling enough to get me started, I wasn't sure where to take it, so I only wrote a page or less before faltering. The problem is I didn't give the story enough time to marinate in my mind to give me a solution or an ending. I haven't given up on it, and I'd like to get back to it when I finish my current revisions.

Other people on the blog chain have commented that the pantsing method requires many revisions, and I've found that to be my experience too. However, the key is being able to get through the first draft, no matter how messy it is. I've found for me that I need a beginning, an end, and a couple ideas of scenes along the way to get started. I've also found that while I can win NaNoWriMo, my momentum screeches to a halt on December 1st. Maybe I wear out my desire to finish the story by forcing myself to write at such a fast pace.

For more on off-the-cuff writing, check out Kat's and Kate's responses.

A-Z: The N Authors

My original topic for "N" was night, but I find myself uninspired by this topic. So instead I'll briefly discuss a few science fiction/fantasy authors with "N" surnames. They're all represented in my book collection.

Garth Nix: I've read his Old Kingdom series (Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen) and really enjoyed the setting. A new book in this series is supposed to come out next year.

Jody Lynn Nye: I met her up in Madison at a bookstore signing. She was very encouraging when I talked to her about writing.

Andre Norton: I remember reading Moon of Three Rings when I was a teenager and couldn't resist buying it years later. I haven't read anything in her Witch World series; I'm having problems finding the first book in the series.


What other "N" authors can you name?

A-Z: Madison

We're at the halfway point of the A-Z Challenge! Congrats to those who are still participating. For those who had to drop out for various reasons, I hope you can try again next year.

Ah Madison, Wisconsin, my home away from home. I fell in love with Madison at first sight, when I came up for State Forensics in spring of my sophomore year of high school. Since then, I've spent four years at UW-Madison; I returned in my mid-twenties for about eighteen months for my first post-grad-school job. I know that living in Madison isn't all Farmer's Markets at the Capitol Square and hanging out at the Memorial Union Terrace. I think it was my sophomore year when seventeen inches of snow fell in one day, leading to classes being canceled. Still, we go there about twice a year, in May for WisCon and in the fall for our annual Thanksgiving dinner/reunion with college friends. It would be nice if we could make it up there more often.

Here are some of Madison's attractions:

Vilas Park Zoo--it's free!














A Thai temple at the Olbrich Botanic Gardens.














A view of the Capitol building from the children's museum.



















There are many other favorite spots in Madison, like State Street or Picnic Point, that I haven't included because I either don't have digital photos or just can't find them. I still like to visit them when I have the opportunity.

I don't expect my son to attend the college there, but when he gets old enough to understand, Eugene and I will have to show him around campus and tell him how important the city is to us. After all, if we'd never met, Alex would never have been born.

A-Z: Lilacs, Lily of the Valley, and Lavender

Two of my favorite types of flowers are lilacs and lilies of the valley. I love their scents, and the fact that they only bloom around here for a few short weeks in the spring makes it imperative to seek out and enjoy beautiful new blossoms at every opportunity. That's why we drive out to Lilacia Park in Lombard every year and take pictures. My profile picture was taken there, as was this close-up:

Sometimes when we go to Madison (tomorrow's topic!) for WisCon, I'll buy a bunch of lily of the valley at the Farmer's Market and carry with me from panel to panel. It's a shame the flowers don't last very long once plucked. If we'd gotten married in the spring instead of fall, I would have included them in my bouquet.

Ironically, we don't have lilacs or lily of the valley in our yard, though perhaps this year might be the time to try introducing them.

Another "l" flower with a wonderful scent is lavender. I am actually growing them from seed for my garden; I started them a few weeks ago. I do have seedlings at this stage, but they wouldn't make an impressive picture.

Any other flower fanatics out there?

A-Z: Kathleen Massie-Ferch

I was originally going to blog about my Kindle for the letter K, but I've done so several times already and couldn't come up with a new angle. Even sharing the contents of my "To Be Read" collection didn't sound interesting, especially when there are twice as many titles as there were last time. Instead, I'm going to share with you a tribute I wrote to my writing mentor, Kathleen Massie-Ferch. She died of breast cancer in 2002, but she's still missed. This essay is taken directly from my website:

There are times when you read the subject of an e-mail message and already know what it will say -- and that it will be bad news.

Last night (July 20, 2002), I received a digest of e-mails from my BroadUniverse discussion group. Each digest lists the messages and their subject lines at the top, and the name of Kathleen Massie-Ferch, my writing mentor, caught my eye. I scrolled down to confirm what I immediately knew: she had lost her battle with breast cancer. She was only 47.

I first met Kathy in the fall of 1997, through a writing class conducted through the student union at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I'd been inspired the year before to start writing again and had actually managed to finish the first draft of a fantasy novel (Day of All Seasons), which I proudly hauled with me to class. Every Tuesday evening for four weeks, I drove up from Beloit, WI, where I worked; grabbed a quick dinner at home in Janesville; and drove another forty miles up to Madison for class. After a three-hour session, I had to drive another forty miles back again and then get ready for work the next day. It made for a long day, and before committing to something like that you'd want to be sure it would be worth it. I knew it would be, though, because the instructor's name sounded familiar. Some quick research revealed she was a published author and that I'd already read two anthologies she'd edited. Feeling reassured, off I went.

Kathy turned out to be a 40-something woman with long brown hair. I mentioned during the first class that I'd read her work, and she seemed pleased. We reviewed a lot of information in our four class sessions, everything from the difference between fantasy and science fiction to market guides for stories and other resources. Many of the things she taught us were points I'd already read about in writing books, but it seemed to make a difference being able to discuss them with a professional writer. The last class was a workshop where I and my other classmates shared chapters or stories for comment. Everyone had a chance to comment on all the drafts, but I remember Kathy suggesting to me that I slow down the opening a bit to introduce the characters and setting before plunging the reader into events. I not only took her advice, but I went on to completely rewrite that story. And in the process of rewriting that draft, my writing reached a new level. I'm sure Kathy's class helped me improve my writing, along with her comments. I also learned that she'd taught this class before and that several of her students had formed a workshop. Unfortunately, I decided the drive was too long and too late at night to commit to regularly.

Luckily, that wasn't the last time I saw Kathy, though. She recommended in class that we attend science fiction conventions, so the next year I took her advice and went to WisCon, a feminist science fiction convention held every Memorial Day weekend in Madison, Wisconsin. While I was there, I met Kathy again. She not only remembered me but was pleased to hear I'd kept up with the writing. We met several times at other WisCons and other conventions -- a couple of WindyCons in Schaumberg, Illinois; ChiCon 2000, the World Science Fiction convention held in Chicago two years ago; and OddCons in Madison. She was a panelist at all of these conventions and signed books at some of them. Whenever I saw her name in the programming, I'd try to attend at least one of her panels so I could talk to her afterwards. We also sat together when we attended other panels and had lunch/dinner together a few times. She introduced me to other people she knew, and I became friends with another writer when I learned he was also a former student of hers. At last year's WindyCon, she and her husband Tom treated me to lunch and said I could treat them when I sold my first book. I wish I'd been able to return the favor.

Kathy and I also e-mailed each other sporadically. I asked her advice about submitting my work to publishers and how to follow up when they didn't respond in a reasonable time. She cheered when I received good news from agents and when "Move Over Ms. L." earned an Honorable Mention in an international contest; she also offered comfort when I received rejections. You may have noticed that I've had a link to her site for a few months. Earlier this year, I suggested we meet for lunch, but sadly the cancer and chemo had already sapped a lot of her energy. She seemed especially tired when I saw her at OddCon in April, but she seemed to be doing a little better at this year's WisCon.

Kathy was involved in more than just writing and teaching writing. She had degrees in astromony, physics, and geology and geophysics; her primary profession was as a research geologist. She was also interested in ancient Egypt, and several of her short stories use that setting. (Her interest in geology also showed up in her work.) She was also the former first lady of Verona, Wisconsin and supported her husband's work with local government.

Kathy's legacy in science fiction and fantasy is larger than it might appear to be if you simply consider her work, though she sold several short stories in addition to her two anthologies. She taught her writing seminar for several years; I don't know how many students she had, but there must be a few dozen at least. But perhaps her most far-reaching and enduring legacy will be the one coming from a panel she was on at WisCon a few years ago, when the panelists wondered if women writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror could have a group to support them the way women writers of westerns and mysteries do. That panel led to the founding of BroadUniverse, a non-profit group dedicated to promoting fantasy, science fiction, and horror written by women. Today their online discussion group has over 200 members and makes appearances at major cons across the country. At WisCon this year, I bought a couple of buttons to support them and gave Kathy one. Perhaps it's fitting, then, that it was through BroadUniverse that I learned of her passing.

Although I say on my "Passing the Pen" page that I'm proud to consider Kathy a mentor, I don't think I ever told her directly. I hope she knew, though. I plan to dedicate my first published book to her .

Kathy, if you can somehow see this from wherever you are now, I'd like to thank you for your advice and friendship. I hope you'll be accepted into the membership of HeavenCon with wide open arms.

List of Kathleen Massie-Ferch's Work (Taken From Her Website)

Anthologies (Editor):

Ancient Enchantresses, DAW Books, 1995

Warrior Enchantresses, DAW Books, 1996

Short Fiction

"A Touch Through Time," Past Imperfect, DAW Books, 2001

"An Admiral's Obsession," Future Wars, DAW Books, 2002

"Traces," Far Frontiers, DAW Books, 2000

"Gifts of Wonder and Darkness," New Amazons, DAW Books, 2000

"Touched By Moonlight and Sunshine," Merlin, DAW Books, 1999

"Moon Hunters," Moonshots, DAW Books, 1999

"Nine Springs," Sword and Scorceress XVI, DAW Books, 1999

"Warrior of Ma-at," Warrior Princesses, DAW Books, 1998

"The Cast of Cards," New Altars, Angelus Press, 1997

"Ancient Enchantresses of War," Ancient Enchantresses, DAW Books, 1995

"United Powers," Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, Number 33.

"The Living Walls," Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, Number 6.

"Prayers on the Night Wind," Romance and Beyond, Summer 1998

"To Dance the Music," Romance and Beyond, Spring 2000

A-Z: John Lennon

I've blogged before about what makes John Lennon a compelling person, but I don't think I've discussed why he's my favorite Beatle.

I think I first bonded with John when I learned he was a writer. He wrote poems and short stories which were gathered into collections (In His Own Write, A Spaniard in the Works, and the posthumous Skywriting By Word of Mouth.) He often illustrated them with his own doodles. I have to admit that sometimes the only way I can follow his surreal puns is by tilting my mind sideways. Still, even if I can't always understand what John said, the fact that he wanted to write his ideas down too gives me common ground with him.

While my own childhood wasn't anything like John's, he felt different from anyone else around him--something I felt too. As I discussed in the post linked above, John had a complex, at times contradictory personality, which makes him a fascinating character study. John was also quite outspoken; I don't agree with everything he says, but often his words inspire further thought on a subject.

One of the things I've noticed during my years as a Beatle fan is that fans who have the same favorite Beatle often have similar traits in common. While I have friends who admire Paul and George (my husband says Ringo is his favorite), many of my fellow Beatle friends are also John fans. You can actually find Beatles personality tests online like this one, though results can vary.

Of course, I must post a video. This is "Dear Prudence," one of John's most beautiful songs:

A-Z: Indecision

After blogging about Hamlet on Saturday, it seems natural to discuss indecision. ;)

I don't consider myself an indecisive person. When I went shopping for my wedding dress, it only took me one session at one store to find it. I had gone there looking for a specific dress I saw in a magazine, but when I tried it on, it didn't suit me. After a few more dresses, the salesperson brought me a dress with light blue crystals that laced up the back, and I immediately knew that was the one. I tried it on, liked what I saw, and ordered it. I didn't regret giving up my first favorite dress, and I didn't second-guess myself by paging through more bridal magazines.

Trying to decide what route to take with my writing career is a more difficult choice. Twinned Universes is in the hands of two crit partners from the online workshop I belong to. I'm hoping they won't find too much to change, because I'm at the point where I've taken it as far as I can go on my own. I need to get it out of the door and move on to a new project. However, I've also written a novella-length prequel to Twinned Universes; I'm currently revising it to make sure they're consistent. I think that story is worth sharing too, but so far, I haven't found many potential markets for it. Even if I did sell it, I'm not sure how that would affect Twinned Universes. Would the audiences overlap? Should I just try to find an agent for my novel and then worry about the novella? Would it be worth using the novella as a teaser for the novel? Or should I self-publish both? Are they really ready for submission or publication?

Weighing the pros and cons of self-publishing versus traditional publishing could be a separate post in itself. With recent examples of authors who move from one format to the other, the two types of publishing are no longer mutually exclusive. (Of course, that may be more true for best-selling authors than mid-list ones.) Ultimately what the choice comes down to is deciding what I really want from my career and which path is most likely to get me there. I'd like to say that finding readers who appreciate my work is most important, but is that enough? It would be nice too to get some validation from the general speculative fiction community, and that's more likely to happen if I go with a traditional publisher. Each side has strengths and weaknesses, and I need to weigh them carefully before I can move forward with confidence.