Today the Dragon Wins

"Today the Dragon Wins" offers information from Fantasy Author and Professional Editor Sandy Lender. You'll also find dragons, wizards, sorcerers, and other fantasy elements necessary for a fabulous story, if you know where to look...

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Location: Misbehaving in Candlelight

Sandy Lender is the editor of an international trade publication and the author of the fantasy novels Choices Meant for Gods and Choices Meant for Kings, available from ArcheBooks Publishing, and the series-supporting chapbook, What Choices We Made.

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Monday, April 30, 2007

Word of the Day
Monday, April 30, 2007
Encaustic (adjective) – A painting process where beeswax (colored) is applied to a canvas or other medium and fixed with heat (from Greek enkaustikos) (I wish I’d thought of this one during the week we had Megan Kissinger here at The Dragon!)

Word in a Sentence: In Sandy Lender’s novel Choices Meant for Gods, the paintings adorning the walls in Arcana and in The Master’s temple could be completed with the encaustic practice because beeswax would be easy enough to come by in their society.

Your turn! Any artistic sentences coming to mind today?

“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”

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Sunday, April 29, 2007

Joining My Hometown in a Moment Tonight
Or...you can take The Dragon out of St. Louis...

To #32 Josh Morgan Hancock
4/11/1978 to 4/29/2007

I just wanted to thank you for the incredible role you played in getting us to the World Series last year, my friend. And in taking it all the way... Tell DK all us fans said "hey."


For more information about the up-and-coming relief pitcher Josh was turning into for the St. Louis Cardinals organization, visit http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=407820. For information about his untimely call home this morning, you can talk to anyone from St. Louis, Missouri, or you can visit http://www.570news.com/news/sports/article.jsp?content=s042926A.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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Word of the Day
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Arcane (adjective) – Esoteric; understood only by the members of a group that have a secret or special knowledge of the subject (from Latin arcanus with a long sound on the second a)

Word in a Sentence: In Sandy Lender’s novel Choices Meant for Gods, Chariss is already familiar with the arcane culture of the Ungol when she and Master Rothahn get to Tiurlang.

Your turn! This word sometimes gets a bad rap; people say it like it has a negative connotation, when, in fact, it’s just misunderstood. :) What secret, special sentences can you share to clear it today?

“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”

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Saturday, April 28, 2007


Quick Shameless Plug
Or...how to buy Choices Meant for Gods

Hey! I don't think I've mentioned this for...oh...at least a day or two. Copies of the fantasy novel CMFG are still available at my publisher's website in bulk. (Yes, you're allowed to laugh, I'm joking.) (But, you know, if you wanted to buy gifts for friends...)

You can get a copy at Amazon. And there's a new review up to read! Thank you to C. Nuttmann. Yes, dear, we should all want to be Chariss. If for no other reason than to get Nigel Taiman. Ow. Click here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1595071652/sr=8-1/qid=1175821346/ref=olp_product_details/104-9089752-5140754?ie=UTF8&qid=1175821346&sr=8-1&seller I'm pretty excited about the fact that another distributor picked it up to sell. That's nice. Pay no mind to the fact that there are only five copies left - Amazon will get more.

Or you can get a copy at ArcheBooks (my publisher). They'll never run out. (And notice the level of confidence with which I wrote THAT sentence. ***insert maniacal laughter here***) Click here: http://www.archebooks.com/BookIDX/Indexes/Fantasy/CMG/CMGDesc.htm

Or you can get a copy at Barnes and Noble online if you have one of their membership cards that you want to use. I haven't been pushing that site very hard because I don't have one of their membership cards. It expired while I was unemployed, you see, and the $25 to reinstate it wasn't a luxury I was going to forego groceries to deal with. Starving artists don't have membership cards to anything. Click here: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9781595071651&itm=1

That's all for the shameless promotion today! Sorry to hit you with it so hard. Word of the Day is next for all you writer and I-want-to-learn-something types. And it's a good word!

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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Word of the Day
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Emulate (transitive verb) – To strive to equal something or someone; to try to excel someone’s example, especially through imitation (There is also a meaning that’s less pious or “good”: to compete with someone or rival successfully. I prefer the first that I’ve offered because it feels better to wish to emulate someone by striving to mimic and learn from their goodness rather than trying to “one-up” someone.)

I’ve chosen this word today because I want visitors to The Dragon to stop and think about good, positive, mentor-like people who have influenced them. There are many people that I wish to emulate. Maya Angelou, Margaret Thatcher, Charlotte Bronte, Scott Rolen, etc. (Those would be the famous people.) And there are people I know in my life who have shown me positive, Christian teaching, whether they realize it or not, that I would like to emulate. When I’m faced with a difficult decision or a career crisis or a moment of “should I kill my husband or merely let this trespass go?”, I think of one or more of these people and the way one or more of them would either handle the situation or react to my professional/emotional handling of the situation. It’s good to have people like that roaming about the halls of one’s brain. In deference to how embarrassed each might be at being named on a public forum, I’ll use first names only: Lavinia, Jim, John (no, not the bass player), Judy, the other Judy, Mike, Blake, Roy, Karen…I know there are more that just aren’t popping into my head right now, which is odd. And I know my niece McKenna is going to be one of those I wish to emulate as she grows up into a bright and kind young lady. So to you folks, both famous and regular heroes and heroines, thank you for being such positive influences for me to watch. I hope I’m learning from you.

Word in a Sentence: In Sandy Lender’s novel Choices Meant for Gods, Chariss wishes to emulate her guardian and mentor, Hrazon, so she can be a kind and compassionate teacher for the pupils put in her charge.

Your turn! What positive and heartwarming sentences do you all have to share at The Dragon today?

“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”

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Friday, April 27, 2007

Introducing Linda Rucker to The Dragon's Visitors
Or...at last

I had some technical difficulties this morning, but now I've got it together and I'd like to introduce a friend of mine, Author Linda Rucker, who has published a couple of fiction novels, including the current thriller available from Page Free, Dark Ridge. As Linda says, she was born without the patience gene, so she wasn't waiting around for the traditional publishing industry to get this book on shelves; she went the self-publishing route, but did so the smart way. The title is being distributed through Ingrams and Baker & Taylor, which means you can walk into your local book store and order it - no sweat. Without further ado, let's see what Linda has to say about this murderous mystery tale...

The Dragon: Your teaser for Dark Ridge states it is a tale of lies, betrayal, violence, madness, and murder. So, first off, what age group do you think will enjoy this novel?

Linda Rucker: Hmmm, have to be careful with this. Age wise, I think it is more intended for mature audiences. Although most of the R-rated material is more innuendo than actual hit-you-in-the-face openness, the book does strongly hint at incest, child and spousal abuse. People tend to get squeamish about those things, but it was necessary to advance the story.

The Dragon: What sort of experiences or stories from your childhood did you draw on to pull this kind of plot together?

Linda Rucker: A bit of Dark Ridge was actually taken from my Granny's life, and the stories she told us about her life growing up in rural Alabama. Back then a man's wife and children were his property to do with as he pleased, and the consequences were often brutal and sadistic.

The Dragon: How did you embellish the anecdotes from the stories you heard 'around the kitchen table' so-to-speak to create the main plot?

Linda Rucker: A lot of the stuff came from my mother-in-law and father-in-law and the stories they told of the small S.E. Kentucky town they were born and raised in. Like a lot of towns that were basically cut off from the rest of the world, crime and passion was an everyday occurrence. Those tales helped to create the world of Maylorsville and Dark Ridge.

The Dragon: The story develops as America is recovering from the war with Japan and Germany. How do you let the effects of war and characters returning from battle influence the way other characters think and react to one another? Was it difficult, as a woman who had not been to war, to give characters those types of reactions and how did you do your research?

Linda Rucker: Actually, the town Maylorsville is modeled after was fairly isolated. The allusion to WWll and Henry's homecoming basically served to present a timeline, without coming out and saying that Dark Ridge takes place just a few years after the war. As for the research, I am in the process of writing a fictionalized account of Phenix City, Ala., during the war years. It is to be a tribute to my mother and father and their love story. Phenix City is the only city in the United States to ever have been placed under martial law. A lot of the research for that book came from the stories my mom and dad told me, other relatives and from some very in depth books written about Phenix City. It also helps that I used to live there. But the research for Dark Ridge was mostly listening to the stories my father-in-law told me. He is a font of information about the Cumberland Mountains and that area and time.

The Dragon: You're working with a mutual friend on a community project called Just Say WHAT to raise funds for AIDS research, and 40 percent of the proceeds from the sale of each copy of Dark Ridge go toward that project. Could you tell visitors to The Dragon how you met theauthormike and how you guys came up with the idea of Just Say WHAT?

Linda Rucker: Now you're talking! And you might well be sorry you asked, because I could go on forever about this!

Mike Morris is not only a fellow author, but he is a dear, dear friend. I adore him, and so do you, I believe! Actually, the idea for W.H.A.T. was born from an Oprah show one day when Bono was on there talking about the AIDS epidemic in Africa. You know how you get one of those, "How can I help?" moments? Well, watching that show was my "How can I help?" moment. Actually, to be honest with you, I figured I could more or less kill two birds with one stone. I could draw attention to the plight of those infected with HIV/AIDS and to my book at the same time, but I had to figure out how to tie the two together. Then it hit me. Why not offer a percentage of the royalties from the sale of Dark Ridge to HIV/AIDS research and education?

People react to others who are willing to put themselves out there and offer assistance however they can. As a writer yourself, you know that we actually make very little percentage-wise from the sale of our books. So, I figured I better be generous and contribute as much as I can to the cause. I decided to donate 40 percent of my royalties to HIV/AIDS research and education. Then, I had to figure out how to get the ball rolling. Mike was the only answer that made any sense. He is not only a darling, darling man, but he is warm, compassionate, highly intelligent and he is personally connected to this disease. So who better to hook up with than him? We put our heads together and Mikey came up with Just Say W.H.A.T. That stands for Writers Helping with AIDS Treatment. Mikey set up a website and has been tirelessly promoting the idea for months. Very soon we will be accepting submissions for an ebook. Every dime from the sale of that ebook will be donated to HIV/AIDS research and education.

It's a slow process and it is not as easy to interest people in helping with this most worthy of causes, but Mike's tireless efforts are beginning to apy off. Honestly, without Mike, I doubt my idea would have gained much attention, but with his genius and determination, it's beginning to look like it will after all.

The Dragon: My next question is about the ebook and submissions. The site Mike created at http://www.freewebs.com/justsaywhat mentions the proceeds will go completely to help with AIDS research funding, a first submission deadline, etc. Do you feel you have enough submissions yet that you could print the collection of short stories as a chapbook if someone donated the funds to do so?

Linda Rucker: Actually, Mike is in charge of the submissions, so I'll defer that answer to him. But, I think we did well with the submissions. It is an opportunity for would-be writers to have their work in print and to draw attention to W.H.A.T. We are hoping to get enough submissions to create several ebooks and we're hoping that a publisher out there with a heart will take a chance and publish the books in hard copy. As far as chapbooks go, that's a good idea, if we can find someone willing to help us out.

The Dragon: What else would you like visitors to The Dragon to know about the Just Say WHAT project?

Linda Rucker: Only that it is a worthwhile project and with your readers' help it can donate a lot of help to those who suffer from this deadly virus. Every one of us out there either know someone, or know someone who knows someone who has this virus or they have it themselves. It's not as farfetched as you might imagine, and for those of you who think it can't happen to you, read the statistics. This disease is growing faster than anyone wants to admit, and burying your head in the sand isn't the way to go about stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS. It is only through research and education that we will be able to defeat, and eventually eradicate this disease.

The Dragon: Linda, it's been a joy to have you stop by The Dragon today, and I wish you much success, not just with Dark Ridge, but with the Just Say WHAT project as well. I hope visitors to The Dragon can stop by www.lindarucker.com to check out more information about your book and www.amazon.com/darkridgeandmoreoftheaddressifyoutellmewhatitis to pick up a copy!

Linda Rucker: Thanks for having me, Sandy, and I wish you all the best with Choices Meant for Gods. I am so excited for you and anxious to receive my autographed copy from you!

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Today at The Dragon
Or...once I get my act together

Later today, we'll have author Linda Rucker for everyone to visit with. I believe we still have an interview with me at http://www.thewriterslife.blogspot.com and there's yesterday's incredible marketing push by Jamieson Wolf at www.jamiesonwolf.blogspot.com that I recommend everyone go marvel over.

The day is getting away from me already so I really must go, but I'll update the blog in a few hours.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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Word of the Day
Friday, April 27, 2007
Bodhisattva (noun) – This is a Buddhist concept, actually; One who gives up the chance to achieve nirvana to save others – the person does this out of compassion (from Sanskrit)

Word in a Sentence: In Sandy Lender’s novel Choices Meant for Gods, the god Hrothmund gives up his life, and thus his chance at his seat in Paradise, mimicking the concept of Bodhisattva, to end the Second War and save the people of the continent of Onweald.

Your turn! Zen, anyone?

“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”

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Thursday, April 26, 2007

Holy Cow
Or...The Dragon got a surprise

Everybody...Jamieson Wolf has posted something...just fabulous...fabulous...today. Check out www.jamiesonwolf.blogspot.com. I'm speechless.

That's marketing.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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We Celebrate an Influential Birthday at The Dragon Today
Or...one of my Duran boys gets another year older

It's no secret that I'm a huge Duran Duran fan. Titles and lyrics from Duran Duran songs influence some scenery and imagery in Choices Meant for Gods. After 23 years, it can't be helped. I think I've mentioned on this blog, and I know I've mentioned in interviews, that the Arcadia album, So Red the Rose, in particular, was a source of inspiration. (Ummm...the name of the Taiman estate is Hleo-Arcana...come on.) Anyway, it will come as no surprise then, that today I am in ultra-celebration mode over Roger Fabulous-Arms Taylor, the drummer for Duran Duran. It is his birthday, and I'd like to send out all those happy wishes to him. No, he won't see this, but, hey, some of his fans will. Some of them are calling me today, because, as all of you crazed Duranies know, it's what we do...

Have a great Thursday, everyone. And listen to some Duran tunes. I highly recommend the Rio album for a spring-almost-summer day like today (remember, I'm in Florida). I would also recommend the Liberty album, but Roger didn't play on that one, so, you know...

Happy Birthday, Roger, and thank you for the good imagery! (Honey, it is so good to have you back in the band...)

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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Word of the Day
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Happy Birthday Froggie Barnacle!

Barnacle (noun) – A marine crustacean that forms a hard shell as an adult and latches onto a submerged surface, such as the hull of a boat or a sea turtle’s back (from Middle English bernak)

Word in a Sentence: In Sandy Lender’s novel Choices Meant for Gods, we aren’t told if there are any barnacles attached to Henry Bakerson’s ships as he and Nigel set sail for Bellan because it’s a totally irrelevant point.

Your turn! I gave you a weak sentence because today’s word is just contrived to please the Duranies among us. But I bet the rest of you can come up with a good crustacean word for us. Share!

“Some days, I just want the drummer to win.”

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Wednesday, April 25, 2007


What's Up With The Dragon
Or...just a quick roundup of stuff
Linda Rucker, author of Dark Ridge, will stop by The Dragon Friday, so you'll have an opportunity to chat with her. I'll give you some info on her and her writing "schtuff" tomorrow so you have a heads-up.
The first wave of my marketing materials arrived so I have these two huge boxes of cloth bags that people can use instead of the environmentally naughty plastic bags when they go shopping. I just have to find a way to distribute them. Anyone interested in a contest here at The Dragon? Nigel is impatient to have his business cards arrive in the next wave...
I think that's enough roundup for now. I have a grammar guide to prepare for tomorrow.
"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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Word of the Day
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Talion (noun) - A punishment equal to the offense; a punishment worthy of the crime (from Middle English talioun and Latin talio - long sounds on the a and o)

Word in a Sentence: In Sandy Lender's novel Choices Meant for Gods, Sorne's father receives a just talion when Nigel snaps his neck. (Violent, eh? I love that scene... It's probably one of the reasons I ended up with a PG rating. Doggonit.)

Your turn! Have any "Law & Order" sentences for me today? (See, there I go with the Sam Waterson thing again...it must be an underlying obsession that I'm not aware of.)

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Word of the Day
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Restraining Order (noun) -- A document issued by the court to prevent an individual from approaching, within a certain distance, or contacting another individual (I thought of this one around 1 a.m. as I fired off a couple of e-mails to friends of mine who are probably sick and tired of me contacting them for information, advice, other contact names/numbers, etc. It occurred to me that waking to yet another e-mail from Sandy, short as the message may be, could make said people go "what on earth?" So I shut down the computer and passed out for a few hours, thinking, I'll receive restraining orders soon. What a great word of the day for tomorrow. Here ya go.) (Oh, yeah, restrain comes from the Middle English restreynen)

Word in a Sentence: In Sandy Lender's novel Choices Meant for Gods, the government of Onweald doesn't issue restraining orders, but the council of ofersey'n did suggest Lord Jamieson Drake not come within two leagues of Amanda Chariss and her guardian Hrazon - a suggestion he promptly ignored when he attempted to murder them both.

Your turn! Look, today's word of the day is used in a tongue-in-cheek and light-hearted way in the definition. Go with it. Give me something fun and not serious or horrible. Let's bring a smile to each other's faces for the day!

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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Monday, April 23, 2007

Pet Food Recipes
Or…here’s what The Dragon can offer writers’ pets today

As I mentioned Friday, recipes are alluded to in Choices Meant for Gods because the characters don’t live in a society where you can pick up a pizza on the way home from work. So my interest in cooking for the furry and feathered friends in my household isn’t totally foreign to my mind. When the pet food recall started up, I looked around at the food my pets were eating and thought, “Darn, I have to cook a lot of non-human food all of a sudden.”

The recipes I offered Friday were cat-oriented because the furry animal in my household is a cat (not mine). But I have friends with dogs, so I did some research on dog food recipes this weekend. Here’s what I came up with. You guys don’t have to work any harder than cat owners, but the stuff you get to make doesn’t seem like it would smell as bad as cat food…less stinky fish. (Hey, try making Squid Squares for water turtles sometime! That stuff is vile. You have to make it when you have a full day of open-window time, let me tell you.)

So here are a few sites that seemed better than others for dog food recipes.

www.i-love-dogs.com/dog-food-recipes.html

www.naturaldogfood.com (Click on the “Emergency Foods” link on the left side of the page. The gal appears to have a book… She shares some basic information on portion sizes based on the animal’s weight and what types of foods are best as protein sources versus roughage, etc. She also lists foods to avoid—like the usual chocolate and alcohol and honey, but also onions, raisins and grapes, and nuts. And if you have a pet bird, that grape avoidance is a good idea for Polly, too. Ask me about a terrible story I read that keeps me from feeding Petri anything grown south of the border.)

www.cooksrecipes.com/category/pet-recipes.html (This site offers both cat and dog food recipes.)

The www.aspca.org site offers some good information as well, but the lists of good recipes seem concentrated on the three I’ve listed above. Just be sure you’re checking the ingredients you put in your pet’s food for good growing practices. Things cultivated with pesticides and crazy amounts of fertilizer aren’t good for humans—imagine what they’ll do to your pet’s unsuspecting digestive system.

I wish you the best in caring for your furry (or feathered or scaled) friends in your households. I know how dear a pet is and I wish each of us to experience long, lasting friendships with our animal family members. While we wait for the all-clear message from the pet food industry, that may mean a lot of time in the kitchen baking and mixing stinky fish for them, but, in the long run, it’s worth it.

“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”

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Word of the Day
Monday, April 23, 2007
Outlandish (adjective) – Unfamiliar, bizarre, foreign, extremely unconventional, absurd (from Old English utlandisc)

Word in a Sentence: In Sandy Lender’s novel Choices Meant for Gods, Master Rothahn’s outlandish training practices with Chariss send Hrazon into a fit of rage.

Your turn! What extremely unconventional sentences can you come up with for me today?

“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”

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Sunday, April 22, 2007


Pet Food Post Update

I've got some sites and some dog food recipes!
So those of you after the dog food info...I'll post it this evening (after I find the notes where I wrote it all down.)
In the meantime, enjoy the earth day posts below!

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

Where Writers Can Find Environmentally Friendly Inspiration While Vacationing
Or...getting the high-power executive to chill out, help out, and write out his or her thoughts

Deep topic, eh? But it seemed appropriate as we finished up the celebration of Earth Day to suggest some nifty ways writers can find inspiration while vacationing. See, something sad is taking place in Corporate America. I hear a lot of folks return from their vacations saying "I need a vacation to recover from my vacation." Half the reason for businessmen to say such a thing is to impress their secretaries and the other ties around the boardroom table Monday morning, but there is a propensity to over-schedule the vacation itinerary much the way we do our work weeks. So moms and dads drag Suzie and Jimmy from activity to activity upon collecting a slew of black overstuffed suitcases at baggage claim and they probably only give four or five seconds of debate to the concept of whether their sluggishness the next morning is a result of jetlag or MacDonalds with a Dairy Queen chaser.

But who can blame Mr. High Power Executive for trying to get the most out of the five to ten days Corporate America says he gets to spend nurturing his marriage and family this year? Carnival Cruise Line and Disney World are offering as many planned activities as they can to help him out.

Or...The Dragon could offer Mr. High Power Executive and the rest of his (or her) family some fabulous journal entries. Are you aware of how much less fuel you use and carbon emissions you release into the environment if you pack the family into the car instead of a jetliner to get to this year's destination? This gives you more family together-time, too. If you route correctly, you can plan your pit stops at some calm and scenic American Revolution or Civil War battlefields, effectively turning the vacation into an opportunity to get some fresh air and educate the kids at the same time. I've even got some good Girl Scout campfire songs embedded somewhere in my brain that I could offer for those family drives. (Of course, this suggestion eats into the time you get to spend at the destination, but the point of the family vacation is to spend quality time together. How is that happening in the security or ticket lines at the airport? Airline travel is not stress-free, and reports today at Yahoo News show airline execs expecting summer travel delays.)

Next tip: Why go to an expensive hotel where you have to worry about Junior breaking something? Do some research online to find hotels that are set up to "make a difference." For example, before I moved to Florida, I took a vacation to the Keys and stayed at a hotel called The Sea Turtle Hospital on Marathon. All the proceeds of my stay went to care for and feed injured and baby sea turtles. The hotel's pool had been converted into a huge turtle tank where recovering pookies swam around and begged for food. (try resisting an endangered species begging for squid - oh my God) This place was a far cry from the Ritz, but that was fine by me. I would have been cranky if there had been any fancy "luxuries" in the room - my money was being spent for turtles, not foofey soaps or mints on my pillow.

Other vacations that let you build good writing fodder while doing good deeds for the world include a trip to Wassaw Island during sea turtle nesting and hatching season (May to October). The Caretta Research Project there welcomes a limited number of volunteers per week to tag and measure the turtles who come up on the Georgia Barrier Islands to nest. You can get info at www.carettaresearchproject.org.

St. Lawrence Gulf in Canada offers a unique whale-conservation opportunity. Earth Day weekend is as good a time as any for me to point out that about 1,000 minke whales are murdered by poachers every year, even though there are international laws protecting whales. (Some entity like the impotent United Nations might want to alert Norway and Japan...) The "vacation" to the research station probably isn't something for the younger members of the family - it's a research-heavy program - but you can check it out through www.ores.ch.

One I'm dying to do someday involves spray painting newborn harp seals in Canada so the greedy fur industry moguls will have no interest in their pelts, thus will let them live to see their third or fourth week of life on the ice. I'm disgusted by what the Canadian government refuses to acknowledge as barbaric every spring. One of these days I'll find myself standing between some guy with a club and some cute, bleating seal pup. I'm sure I'll have a can of spray paint in one hand. Hopefully merely mace will populate the other hand, eh? This isn't an organized vacation scheme that any environmental group does...just an idea that I need to put into practice.

The vacations I've suggested above tend toward the ocean, I've noticed, because that's my passion, but there are land-oriented volunteer vacations where families can help clean up parks or track birds (I guess that would be "air") or help with homeless shelters or any number of positive, healthy, character-building activities. You don't have to just fly to some crowded theme park and watch your kid turn green on some device that flings him or her around for five minutes after standing in a line for an hour. I can't imagine that would spark a writer's creativity. Instead, you can do something that involves the entire family working together to help the planet recover slightly from what we do to it everyday...and the experience just might inspire you to write.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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What a Writer Can do for Earth Day
Or…this is a reiteration of your assignment from The Dragon

We celebrated International Earth Day March 20-21 this year. This weekend, we celebrate regular ol' Earth Day in the United States. Because the tradition started the year I was born, I feel particularly obligated to participate. (That and I truly dig helping the animals.)

Here’s what I’d like to do. I’d like to get writers to do what they do best and do it for the creatures on our planet who can’t write. I encourage you to write a letter on behalf of the animals. (Come on, it’s a blog devoted to writing.) Here are the topics I’ve selected for you to choose from, but you’re certainly welcome to choose one that’s nearer and dearer to your heart.

1) Stop illegal poaching/collection (emphasis on sea turtles such as the Hawksbill would be nice, but don’t forget the tigers, elephants, parrots, etc. overseas)
2) Clean up pollution of our waterways and oceans (emphasis on trash killing marine life)
3) Stop global warming (emphasis on sea turtle nest site loss and bleaching of coral reefs)
4) End the Canadian harp seal hunt (which began last month—in other words, while you’re sitting here debating whether or not it’s convenient to write a letter expressing your opinion to someone, like Canadian Prime Minister Harper, baby seals are being beat in the head by ruthless men who feel the need to support their families by killing two-week-old animals—and this year, the Canadian government is suppressing documentation of the hunt (gee, why can’t we see the hunting practices if there’s nothing wrong with it?) by keeping anyone with a videocamera from coming within 20 meters of a seal—but, by all means, let the guy with a club or gun walk right up to the bleating creature)


Now, to take away excuses:
If you feel that you can’t get a letter completed this weekend for Earth Day even though I gave you a heads up about it last month, well, never fear. Start working on your letter now; do your research; send me a note so I can help you if you wish (remember, I’m an editor!); and just send it as soon as you can. Animals are exploited all year round.

Next: Here are some sites to use to find your representatives’ addresses. Printing the letter and mailing it is more effective than e-mail. Kinda like sending a Hallmark card—it says you really care.

This first site will give you windows to cut and paste your letter in for e-mailing. Again, I don’t like that concept, but it’s one option for the ultra-busy environmentalist out there.
http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Here’s a site that will help you draft a concise, coherent letter with proper formatting of the salutation and everything:
http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa020199.htm
The site also gives links for the physical addresses for your reps, and THAT’s a good thing.

You could also get some information/begin research on the seal hunt travesty at:
http://www.stopthesealhunt.com/site/apps/ka/ct/contactcustom.asp?c=hmKYJeNVJtF&b=412891
I don’t recommend merely “signing” the internet petition, though, as I’ve had a representative in the United States share with me what happens to such mindless pieces of mail. But you could begin your education/research with the points in this petition and draft a letter of your own for Prime Minister Harper.

This should get you started, shouldn’t it?

Save the Earth—it’s the only planet with chocolate!

“Some days, I want all the dragons to win.”

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Word of the Day
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Echolocation (noun) – Emitting high-frequency sounds to orient oneself by using the reflected sound waves; the ability of some animals to use reflected sound waves for orientation (whales, dolphins, bats)

Word in a Sentence: You know, nobody does this in Choices Meant for Gods, so we’re not even going to try for that. In the episode of Stargate Atlantis Friday night, the whales warning the humans of danger from the solar pulse above used echolocation to guide themselves to the city of Atlantis. (stretch…)

Your turn! Any good animal sentences on this Earth Day weekend?

“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”

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Saturday, April 21, 2007


The Women in the Attic of Choices Meant for Gods
Or...how Charlotte Bronte influenced my fantasy novel

Yes, I will openly admit that there are allusions to Jane Eyre in Choices Meant for Gods. Now, I didn't lift any text -- no plagiarism for me. (I went in and fixed that moment of insanity during editing. Yeah, believe it or not, I had a scene almost verbatim from the garden when Rochester proposes. Can you imagine? I was horrified when I figured out what I'd done.) Anyway, on this, the birthday of Charlotte Bronte, I wanted to pay homage to her and do my daily marketing for my fantasy novel.

A couple of weeks ago, I shared some of the Old English and Anglo-Saxon themes and concepts that influenced Choices Meant for Gods. Today, I'll tell you a few of the Jane Eyre themes and concepts that influenced the novel. The funny thing is that I purposefully sought out ways to incorporate the Old English devices in the plots of CMG. The kennings and littotes and use of alliteration that few people will catch are in there by design. The allusions to mead halls and weregild and scaly monsters from fens - it's all contrived like a Duranie using a well-known Duran word in conversation. But my Jane Eyre references surprised me. I didn't realize I put them in until it was editing and marketing time. I was writing up some text to put on a bookmark and used the word "orphan" to describe Amanda Chariss and said to myself, "wait a minute." And things started tumbling into place.

Okay, yes, I had purposefully included a scene where Nigel tells Chariss she's his "lifeline" and there's a "string" tied to his heart between them. Oh, how very "Rochester" of him. But I didn't realize as I wrote his lines that I lifted the entire scene between Rochester and Jane in the garden and nearly got myself sued by some estate (probably the Bronte Society of which I'm a member!).

So there I sat stupefied by the fact that Charlotte's subconscious influence had directed much of the novel without my knowledge. I started seeing similarities. The Taiman Estate, Arcana, bears many similarities to Thornfield Hall, complete with passageways no one's allowed to go into for which only the master keeps a key. Loetha could be Mrs. Fairfax (if she were straight). The family keeps a variety of secrets. Chariss arrives as an orphan with a troubled past. The master of the house falls in love with her but the reader is led to suspect a reason she cannot return the sentiment, despite an ardent desire to. The family takes in another orphan, Sorne, whom I see as a variant of Adele Varens in this list. And the list could go on... It's insane. I had no idea

So, for Book II, I just gave in and named a character General John Riverson. Blatant. You'll hate him instantly because of it.

Now, as for the "women in the attic," if you've already read the novel, you've already met Abigail Farrier. Hmm. She's not living in the attic, literally, but over on the continent of Bellan. Her appearance irritated one of my test readers and one of my early testimonial folks. In fact, the person offering the testimonial asked me to kill her off. Interesting. There should be a study on how the "women in the attic" affect readers of novels... But Abigail Farrier is not Bertha Mason Rochester...as far as I know.

Exploring the ways Choices Meant for Gods was influenced by Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre was an interesting exercise for me. Interesting and fun because I adore Charlotte, and I had no idea I was letting her characters and her themes manipulate me. After you've read Choices, you'll have to let me know what other similarities or influences you noticed.

And for a nice post on Charlotte herself, read the article below!

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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Celebrating Charlotte Bronte
Or...The Dragon recognizes the best writer to grace our literary world on her birthday

Something miraculous happened April 21, 1816. The author of Jane Eyre was born. I believe that is the greatest book, other than the King James version of the Holy Bible, that has ever been penned. It cannot be beat. Charlotte wrote a number of other pieces over her tragically short, and tragic, lifetime, but Jane Eyre is, in my humble opinion, her crowning achievement. There are passages that stun me even today, after I've read the novel more times than I can count.

It always surprises me when someone says they've not heard of Charlotte or they've not read any of her works. I wonder why our school systems bother teaching the kids to read if they're not going to hand them fine literature to cut their teeth on. But this post isn't meant to be a diatribe on society's failings or lack of school funding. This is going to be a "Charlotte Bronte is Great" post. Let us proceed.

How many of you have read Jane Eyre? Show of hands... Hmm. That's not many. I could give you a synopsis but the plot twist about half-way through the book is so very clever and so very infuriating that I hate to give it away in a synopsis. And the fact that Charlotte proceeds to take the reader off to another plot development, stranding the one you've grown to love...well...I just can't sit here and offer you the story. You have to read it for yourself (unless you've seen the movie -- and several have been made with another due out from England any day now) and see if you don't throw the book across the room in a rage. Lucky for Charlotte she's not here to get the angry e-mails and phone calls from fans demanding quick answers, eh?

But Charlotte wrote some other works that are just as fine. She has this spate of juvenilia that foreshadows Jane Eyre, Shirley, Villette, and The Professor (oh, and am I allowed to state in a public forum that I empathize with her on The Professor?). She has a stash of essays she wrote while studying in Brussels that boggle the mind and a collection of poetry from both her "everyday" life and her juvenilia that I recommend for rainy days. Now, she's not the poet that her sisters Emily and Anne were, but some of her verse is soothing and offers insight to this amazing young woman.

Then there are her letters. Charlotte Bronte is my kinda gal. I wish I could have met her because she and I could have been pen pals. I'm almost jealous of Mary Taylor and Elizabeth Gaskell and, above all, Ellen Nussey, who got to correspond with Charlotte on such a regular basis. There's one letter in particular that I want to post today so all you visitors to The Dragon can see how fun and vivacious Charlotte was "in person." I'm copying this from Juliet Barker's The Brontes A Life in Letters, 1997. This is Charlotte writing to her friend Ellen on May 15, 1840. (I wish I'd read it 14 years ago.)

"Do not be over-persuaded to marry a man you can never respect - I do not say love, because, I think, if you can respect a person before marriage, moderate love at least will come after; and as to intense passion, I am convinced that that is no desirable feeling. In the first place, it seldom or never meets with a requital; and, in the second place, if it did, the feeling would be only temporary: it would last the honeymoon, and then, perhaps, give place to disgust, or imdifference, worse perhaps than disgust. Certainly this would be the case on the man's part; and on the woman's - God help her, if she is left to love passionately and alone."

Now those of you who have already read Choices Meant for Gods can see where Amanda Chariss gets some of her notions from, eh? Don't think my main character developed out of thin air... No, I have a great admiration for Charlotte, and I'm very much looking forward to sitting down to tea with her when I get to Heaven someday.

In the meantime, happy birthday to Charlotte Bronte, the greatest writer we ever had on loan from Heaven.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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Word of the Day
Saturday, April 21, 2007
I'm still celebrating Earth Day with our Word of the Day selections.
Ecosystem (noun) – A unit that consists of an ecological community and its physical environment (for instance, the area of coral reef off the coast of Hawaii that President Bush signed a law to protect this past year is an ecosystem larger than Yellowstone)

Word in a Sentence: In Sandy Lender’s novel Choices Meant for Gods, the underground world of Tiurlang where Master Rothahn and Chariss go to read the Elder Edda is an ecosystem unto itself.

Your turn! Any Earth Day sentences for me? Bonus points if you include sea turtles!

“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”

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Friday, April 20, 2007

Have Confidence in Your Pet Food - Make it Yourself
Or...your writing assignment is to share recipes

Today's post was difficult to morph into the theme of The Dragon. I wanted to give visitors to The Dragon something very useful because animals are (obviously) near and dear to my heart. But what do animals and their food have to do with writing and grammar, eh? Here we go!

In my novel Choices Meant for Gods, Loetha and Lahs, the couple that works side by side at the Taiman estate to keep the place running smoothly (and the couple that will probably get me in trouble with all the right-wing conservative entities that take umbrage with same-sex marriage in this country - ah well - what can you do?) cook up fabulous meals from scratch for the family. They have to. It's a society akin to medieval society. They can't just pop a Stouffer's Lean Cuisine in the microwave. So I have allusions to recipes in the book. A friend of mine suggested I come out with a (no, my Freudian Slip isn't showing - everyone relax) book of definitions/glossary terms for the novel and recipes that Loetha and Lahs have made. Excellent marketing idea, thought I. (And Choices Meant for Gods is still available at www.amazon.com.)

In the meantime, it's spurred me to think that I should post a couple pet food recipes here at The Dragon for my visitors who might be concerned about the pet food scare that's still plaguing us in "real life." I'm stunned by the inability of the pet food manufacturers' public relations officials to get this under control. They should be working hand in hand with their product development departments to contain and fix this issue. The public has no confidence in the pet food industry right now, and that isn't going to change any time soon with the way this has been handled.

I can't fix it with one post at The Dragon, but I can share with you two recipes that I've used for my significant other's cat. (No, not my cat. Yes, I baked for it. Christmas present, you see...)

This thing takes some effort, but, hey, if you love your pet, it's worth it. I've had the recipe for years so I don't remember where it came from.

Catnip Cookies (oh, yeah, drug the animal, right?)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup soy flour
1 teaspoon catnip
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons wheat germ
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons wheat germ
1/3 cup powdered milk
1 tablespoon unsulfured molasses
2 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil (and use the butter with no gluten, just to be good to kitty's insides)

heat oven to 350; mix all the dry stuff; add the egg, molasses, butter & milk; roll the dough flat on a greased cookie sheet and cut it in little pieces (or, if you're like me and hate the rolling business, just shmoosh the dough into little bite-size pieces like cookies onto the cookie sheet - they're cats - they don't care what it looks like); bake for 20 minutes; store the cookies in a sealed container

Here's one called Tuna Patties, but, folks, I am totally against the commercial fishing industry so please request farm-raised tuna at the fish counter.
Tuna Patties
6 ounces of tuna (Preferably fresh - even the dolphin-safe cans are a result of netting practices that include waste and bycatch that harm other sea creatures like sea turtles! Only the dolphins are helped out of the nets and that's only because Greenpeace is watching.)
1/2 cup boiled rice
1/4 cup liver (this is what makes it smell so gross - puree the liver so it's liquidy and vile)
2 or 3 sprigs of some nice green herb that's safe for cats - like parsley (good calcium source)

mix everything together and roll into 7 or 8 little balls that you pat out like a hamburger; store in a tight container in the fridge and serve raw (gross)

I'll find some more online this weekend and post them in honor of protecting animals for Earth Day. There are some dog food recipes out there, I'm sure! As your writing assignment for The Dragon today, post a pet food recipe to share.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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Word of the Day
Friday, April 20, 2007
Extinct (adjective) - Void; no longer existing in living form; having died out; inactive; in honor of Earth Day this weekend, I wanted us to contemplate a familiar word for Word of the Day (from Latin ex(s)tinguere to extinguish)

Word in a Sentence: In Sandy Lender's novel Choices Meant for Gods, the eventual extinction of mankind is implied in the shortage of marriable and childbearing-age women in the world of Onweald.

Your turn! What though-provoking sentences can you share with us with our Word of the Day today?

"Some days, I just want the dragons to all stay alive."

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Thursday, April 19, 2007

There's a Brat at The Dragon
Or...The Dragon welcomes Marilyn Morris to talk about her latest book

When I joined the online writers group thewriterslife@yahoogroups.com last summer, I met people in various phases of completion with their works in progress. Marilyn Morris had Once a Brat, her memoir of life as a military family child published with PublishAmerica out and about, and she is conducting a blog tour to support it right now. Today, she graces The Dragon with some information about her writing process for this book. Those of you stopping by, here are some answers concerning memoir writing from someone who has already succeeded.

The Dragon: Obviously the experiences of being a military child influenced your novel Once a Brat, but could you tell visitors to The Dragon how you came up with the name of your book and how such a whimsical name does or doesn't portray the stories and events included in the book?

Marilyn Morris: Actually, the name came out of an experience I had in the summer of 1995. My daughter and I went to Europe and she wanted to see where I had lived as a kid in Linz, Austria. Okay, when I was a kid, we were told never to cross the Danube River, as that was the Russian Zone of Occupation, and it would have caused an International Incident. So, although the Danube flowed at the end of our back yard, and I could see across it, it was absolutely off limits to Americans. Flash forward to when my daughter and I were driving around Linz, looking at my old school which hadn't changed one bit, and then we took a wrong turn and I looked up to see we were on the bridge, crossing the Danube! My immediate, knee-jerk reaction was a loud: "Stop! We can't cross the Danube." My daughter and her friend looked at me like I was crazy. "Well," I said, somewhat embarrassed at my outburst, "When I was living here, we couldn't go across the river because that was the Russian Zone." They nodded, as if humoring an old lady, and then I added, "Once a Brat, Always a Brat." And there was the title for my book.

The Dragon: Is this a memoir or a fictional novel based on "life" events?

Marilyn Morris: Once a Brat is a memoir, all right, but it has a niche market - other military brats.

The Dragon: Could you share with Dragon visitors how you came to the decision to write a memoir? In the publishing industry, it's pretty difficult to find someone willing to take on a memoir these days, so you added another layer of hardship to the publishing path for yourself. I'd like to have you share with the writers who visit this site how that aspect influenced your decision, as well.

Marilyn Morris: Once a Brat describes part of our history, too, as I was one of the first American dependents to be sent overseas to join my father in the U.S. Occupation after WWII. Those days are fading from our collective memories. Our fathers are dying at the rate of 1,000 a day, and their kids aren't getting any younger, either. So I put it down on paper, sent it to the president of the American Overseas Schools Historical Society in Wichita, Kan., to be placed in the archives for historians and researchers of the future. When Dr. Drysdale read it, he e-mailed me, saying, "You need to publish this." So I did.

The Dragon: What's your most moving anecdote or story from the book and why does it resonate with you after all these years?

Marilyn Morris: I suppose it had to be the time I was with my family in Paris, on 30 day leave, and we were on top of the Eiffel Tower. Dad picked up a copy of The New York Times (English version) and gasped at the headline: "North Korea Invades South Korea." First, we still had some American dependents there; we were to learn later they all escaped safely; and second, if the Russians were behind the invasion of South Korea, could this be the start of a war in Europe, too? I won't say we were scared, but apprehensive. Dad phoned his headquarters in Austria and asked if he needed to come back to duty. The answer was, "Not just yet. You have a few days left on your leave, just check in with us daily." I would have hated to have made that judgment call; evidently the person on the other end of the line didn't feel like the Russians were going to do anything stupid in Europe just then, so we finished our travels, but I was sure glad to get back to Dad's base.

And you know, when 9/11 happened, I was working in an office where we all stopped to watch the events unfolding on television. When the Pentagon was burning, I turned to my colleagues and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are at war." They looked at me in awe and shock, but I knew in my soul we had been attacked.

The Dragon: As you were writing the book, what anecdote did you find most difficult to share with the readers/public and why? See, I think it would be difficult to write about my teenage years (all of them), yet my childhood is full of humorous stuff that I'd have no trouble sharing with the world at large. Did you find some stories flowed out easily to share with people while others were heart-wrenching or embarrassing or brought up feelings of anger that you felt compelled to resolve?

Marilyn Morris: I found it difficult to write the scene where I came home from school in Lawton, Okla., and my mother announced that my dad had left for overseas. I suppose they had decided to spare me the sense of loss, but they were wrong. I was so shocked and sad, I went into my parents' bedroom and took my dad's portrait from the shelf and cried all over it. Then I saw my tears had streaked the photograph, so I wiped at them and smeared it even more. At that moment, my mother, bless her, became my enemy, and I sassed her every chance I got, until we arrived in Korea. Dad heard me sass my mother and the next thing I knew I was sprawled across the aisle of the train taking us into Seoul, and my dad was saying, "You will not sass your mother." And I didn't. Ever. At least, not while my dad was around.

Another revelation was when my father died of cancer in 1995. I had expected him to be laid out in his army uniform, but Mom had him in a regular suit. I was so astonished, I asked my mom why? And she said, "Well, your father was a civilian much longer than he was in the army." Then it clicked. For my childhood, 20 years of it, Dad was a soldier. It wasn't even the same for my little brothers as it had been for me. They missed out on the experiences I wrote about.

The Dragon: Did you seek out any persons, such as your mother, from the past to make reparations with as a result of your writing, and would you recommend memoir or journal writing as a method of finding resolution and forgiveness with people from the past?

Marilyn Morris: Oh, sure. I asked my mother a lot of questions, but sometimes failed to ask her questions that ended up in error in the book. For instance, I thought we had been stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas, but my mother said, no. We had talked about it being a possibility at one point, but it never materialized. Yet it's on the back book cover, along with a listing of other military posts. I did feel some pain during some parts of the book, a sense of loss, but that was actually good for me to face the reality of the life I had led. I thought when we went to Germany, we would be met by a butler in a chauffeured car, and driven to our castle. The reality was, a young GI in a jeep met our train in the middle of the night, and we were unceremoniously dumped at the Linzerhof Hotel in downtown Linz, to stay there until suitable quarters could be found for us. And we all came down with diarrhea. And the bathroom was waaaaay down the hall.

I totally endorse the idea of keeping a journal. That's how I worked out my anger, grief, and thoughts of suicide while I was searching for answers for the unrelenting pain that turned out to be lupus.

The Dragon: My father was also in the military when I came kicking into the world -- I was born on an airforce base -- so I feel a bit of a connection to you with this book. What can you tell the writers who are visiting The Dragon today about the state of unrest or imbalance moving from base to base and town to town, particularly as it applies to your writing style or your source of writing inspiration?

Marilyn Morris: I can remember getting dressed for my first day of classes in yet another school. Should I use my Girl Scout smile? Or should I look "mysterious?" Is my Peter Pan collar okay for this school, or do the girls wear something else. It must have been that I possessed a "brat radar" that allowed me to zero in on exactly the right clique, the good girls, the leaders, etc. And by the time I reached high school, I was readily accepted by five local girls who took me in, and we are all still friends after all these years. I suppose I go by the thought that, "You are my friend until you do something harmful to me." And when I'm done with a relationship, I'm done. I think many of my experiences are woven into my writings, not necessarily just for the Once a Brat book.

The Dragon: Finally, this question is kind of out of the blue, but how did you come up with the idea to have a site full of Once a Brat merchandise? Holy cow.

Marilyn Morris: Actually, you can blame or praise Dorothy Thompson for that idea. After she put my merchandise up on the CafePress site (www.cafepress.com/onceabrat), my daughter bought a tote to carry all her wedding preparations with her when she goes down to Southern California to meet with her wedding planner. She loves it. I love the idea of maybe making a dollar or two off that merchandise, too. Oh, think how cool it would be for you to put some Dragon stuff on there? A morning cup of coffee with a Dragon on it? That would express my mood without a word, let me tell you.

The Dragon: Hey, Choices Meant for Gods bags are being delivered Saturday... Marilyn, it has been a joy to host you at The Dragon today. I'm glad you were able to stop by to share your thoughts with our visitors and we all wish you the best in marketing and promoting Once a Brat and in your future writing endeavors!

Marilyn Morris: And thank you, Sandy. I'm proud of you. Keep writing.

Once a Brat is available now at online stores like www.barnesandnoble.com and http://www.amazon.com/Once-Brat-Marilyn-Celeste-Morris/dp/1591292522/ref=sr_1_1/104-9089752-5140754?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176984071&sr=8-1. You can get more information about the book at www.onceabrat.blogspot.com.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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Writer's Guide
Sweet Dreams Are Made of This
Or…what dreams have inspired your writing sessions as of late?

Are you a passive writer who just sits down at the keyboard once in a while, when the mood strikes you? Or do you keep a journal by the bed? See, I’ve got these notebooks everywhere. And pens…don’t get me started…there are pens everywhere. I keep at least two on the night stand because I just can’t afford to have one run out of ink if it’s 4 a.m. and I’m jotting down whatever dream I woke myself out of laughing in my sleep. (Yeah, I actually wake myself up laughing or crying or whatever. It’s probably a sign of dementia.)

But this post is to stimulate the writing muse in you visitors. Your dreams offer excellent fodder for creative writing or stream-of-consciousness sessions. Don’t lose them. I actually had a dream once that – hmmm, I suddenly wonder if I should admit this in a public forum – Neil Diamond was singing “Love on the Rocks” to my pet turtle, Josh. A number of oddities jump out of that, eh? But the point I want to get to is a dream like that can spark a cute little children’s story that you get printed in the high school literary magazine. Nowadays, I look back at that and think, “What insanity possessed me to let anyone print that with my name attached?” I guess it was okay for a 16-year-old writing something for 6-year-olds about a turtle stuck upside-down in the mud.

My little turtle-listening-with-rapt-attention-to-Neil-Diamond story offers a lesson to you visitors, though. Just because you take a bizarre dream and use it as inspiration for the day’s writing session doesn’t mean you have to let anyone publish the result. In fact, it might be best that you not let anyone publish the result, just in case you have a real publishing house release a fantasy novel with your name on it 20 years later and you want a flawless record for marketing purposes.
And to further those shameless marketing efforts, Choices Meant for Gods, pictured in all her fabulous glory above, is available at http://www.amazon.com/Choices-Meant-Gods-Sandy-Lender/dp/1595071652/ref=dp_return_1/104-9089752-5140754?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&qid=1175821346&sr=8-1.

Now, I admitted to one of my embarrassing dreams. What are you visitors/writers willing to share with the group? How has one of your dreams influenced your writing?

“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”

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Word of the Day
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Conservancy (noun) – The conservation of something, especially of natural resources (from Middle English conserven and Latin conservare)

Word in a Sentence: In Sandy Lender’s novel Choices Meant for Gods, the people of Onweald will be forced into conservancy when they figure out what Lord Drake has done to the forests on the west coast of the continent.

Your turn! With Earth Day coming up this weekend (and have you been working on your letters?), you should be already in a good mindset to come up with some fantastic conservative sentences to share. Give us whatchu got.

“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”

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Wednesday, April 18, 2007


Navigating The Dragon
Or...a welcome for our new visitors

For those of you visiting The Dragon for the first time, welcome to a site devoted to helping writers improve their business letters, term papers, short stories, novels, marketing efforts, inspired writing sessions, etc. The site also shamelessly promotes the fabulous fantasy novel Choices Meant for Gods, written and sweated by Sandy Lender.

If you've found us today after reading the article in the Naples Sun Times, then please join me in thanking Phil Jason of the Naples Press Club for a lovely article about my process developing Choices Meant for Gods. If you've just stumbled upon the blog because you like fantasy and dragons and wizards, then please join me in honing our writing craft together. It's been a great journey so far...and we're not to the end yet.

Thank goodness.

If you're not one of those folks who travels to the book store, you can grab a copy of Choices Meant for Gods online at my publisher's site at http://www.archebooks.com/BookIDX/Indexes/Fantasy/CMG/CMGDesc.htm or at http://www.amazon.com/Choices-Meant-Gods-Sandy-Lender/dp/1595071652/ref=dp_return_1/104-9089752-5140754?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&qid=1175821346&sr=8-1. Barnesandnoble.com also has it...

I hope you enjoy the story as much as the reviewers have been enjoying it! And I hope you enjoy the articles here at The Dragon. Search the archives for Grammar Guides, Writers' Guides and any number of writing-related inspirational pieces. We have Word of the Day everyday...just scroll for today's.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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The Dragon Hosts Author Marilyn Morris Tomorrow
Or...stay tuned for military memoir

My friend Marilyn Morris joins us tomorrow to discuss her memoir Once a Brat, which is available from PublishAmerica at sites like Amazon.com and at local book stores. What's intriguing about Morris is she's made the leap from fiction to non-fiction in what looks like seamless fashion. Now, all of us writers know this takes oodles of effort, but check out this credential: Morris's second book is titled Diagnosis: Lupus The Intimate Journal of a Lupus Patient and it's endorsed by the Lupus Foundation of America. This nod from the top of her industry came after her first novel was a supernatural murder mystery titled Sabbath's Room, which takes place in the Texas hill country.

We'll talk to Morris about her military memoir and writing style tomorrow! Please join us and bring your questions to the interview.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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Choices Meant for Gods Testimonial for Today
Or...quick plug for the book before Word of the Day

I have several of these and can't remember if we've posted the one from Ginny McMorrow or not. I know Nigel's got it on his blog over at http://sandylender.blogspot.com...

"When the gods interfere with mortals, chaos ensues. Caught in a web of greed and betrayal, the likeable heroine uses integrity, intelligence - and a fair bit of humor - to discover her unknown potential, unravel secrets within secrets, delight in an unexpected romance, and face difficult choices." - Virginia McMorrow, author of Mage Confusion

(Ginny has her own fantasy novel coming out shortly, the second in the Firewing series, a young adult venture.)

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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Word of the Day
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Courage (noun) - Valor; being in a state or quality of spirit that allows or enables one to face danger with confidence and aplomb; to face danger or hardship with self-possession; bravery (from the Middle English corage and Latin cor meaning heart)

It may seem a "simple" word that I've selected for today, but I selected it because I was reminded of something while watching the news last night, and I wanted to offer this small tribute to a man I don't know. You see, I realized there was a 76-year-old holocaust survivor in Virginia whom God brought through an enormously difficult trial about 65 years ago.

And that survivor had an amazing strength down inside him.
And that survivor had an amazing spirit down inside him.
And that survivor had the ability and the courage and the conviction to move toward danger Monday morning and to put his body in harm's way and to block a door against the enemy, if even for a few minutes, so that he might give his students as much time as possible to flee the enemy.

And that survivor may have left a widow who mourns what she has lost, but that survivor has left a legacy that I heard in his students' voices. We haven't heard from his widow yet, but I would imagine she's from the same stock, and I would imagine she's mourning the loss of a husband, but celebrating the life of a hero.

I don't know him, but I'm proud of him.

Typically here at The Dragon, during Word of the Day, I use the word in a sentence from my novel Choices Meant for Gods, and then I offer visitors the chance to respond with the word in a sentence of their own. If you all would like to come up with some sentences for courage today, I'd like to read them, but I think I'm okay with the one I've got above for now.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Welcome to The Dragon
Or...just welcoming new visitors

As we gear up to welcome author Marilyn Morris to The Dragon Friday, I wanted to take a moment to welcome all the readers and writers who are stopping in to check things out. You'll see quite a lot of promotion for my novel, Choices Meant for Gods, which is to be expected when you consider how excited I am about its release and the five-star reviews it's getting on Amazon.com right now, but you'll also see me getting back in gear with the grammar and writing tips. I think it's been about a week since I posted a Grammar Guide. (You regulars are certainly allowed to call me on it when I lapse on those, you know...)

To all the visitors to The Dragon, welcome, and take a look around. The archives are full of grammar, vocabulary and writing tips for all age brackets and writing types (from high school term paper writers to journalists and novelists like me). And, every once in a while, we have a story about life in the swamps of Southwest Florida to spur the writing muse.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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It's Loose in My Den
Or...I wonder what it's like to awaken to the sound of me screaming...

So I'm in my den this morning, preparing to post the word of the day for all you visitors when I see movement across the room from me. Large movement. Now, considering the cat is low to the ground, the height on the wall at which I see this movement is distressing, at best.

It's one of those fist-size wolf spiders. And it stops to look back at me. I think it snarled.

My reaction brought a flurry of blanket and half-comatose "wha? wha? wha's going on?" from the couch in the room just outside my den. (For those of you who have heard the "panther-at-the-window" story, this part is a repeat.) Anyway, my significant other had to do the honors of chasing said spider around my den with the various flat objects and can-o-Raid because I made a beeline for the farthest corner of the house (my bathroom sink) where I sat shivering in abject terror considering how nice it was for him to deal with this.

He failed.

Now, I have to give him props for trying, but, dudes, now I'm in here watching the walls...I expect the thing to slip out from behind the bookshelf (where it is supposedly plotting my doom) at any moment, sprint across the ceiling, drop onto me, and suck the life out of my head or something. Good God! It could happen! And it would suck!

I had a native Floridian (my artist, Megan Kissinger, actually) tell me once that wolf spiders don't bite; they just jump and flee and scare the crap out of you. But I also had a native Floridian tell me the scorpions around here were harmless...prior to one stinging me (and it hurt) and causing my arm to swell up like a Florida orange. But, you know, I survived. I'll probably survive the demon stalking me, too, but I'm totally freaked out by it. I have to go to work now, which means I'm going to lose track of it all day. It's probably going to sneak into my bed and wait for me...

Eight-legged demon freak...

I don't know how to turn this into a writing-related column for you guys. I'm supposed to always post about Choices Meant for Gods or something writing-related, but, I'm sorry, I'm just too freaked out by the thought of something vile and hairy running across the keyboard...or my foot...or stopping on the keyboard...or my foot...Ugh. So how about those of you who read this post think of the thing that scares you most in life and respond in the comment field. Write (there we go: write) what freaks you out or scares you and share it with the other visitors. I've just shared mine!

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

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