Not that I'm complaining, you understand. At this particular moment in time, a little radio silence isn't a bad thing.
You see, Glynn and I are wrapping up our work on the One Bride for Seven Brothers sequel (it turns out, writing a sequel is fun), but the words are squeezing out a little more slowly than expected (it turns out, writing a good sequel is hard), and the whole thing has taken more time than we expected. It seems as if we don't have any hours to spare. Our respective brows are furrowed, our sleeves are rolled up, and we've vowed to push through until we're done.
NOTHING is going to break our focus. Or so I told the Good Witch, just a few weeks ago.
Shortly after I made this proclamation, I received a lovely email that shattered my concentration. Dear Anne Glynn, the email began, my brain, twisted as it is, has been urging me to give you a piece of art that is in my studio in hopes that it would inspire your writing.
I don't know about you, but I was hooked. There isn't a writer in the world who wouldn't take the time to read the rest of the message.
For me, this was a fairly noteworthy missive because (a) it didn't come from a deposed Shah, seeking my financial assistance; and (b) it did come from an amazing local artist, Brenda Diller. I've talked about Brenda Diller and her artwork before -- her The Magpie Lives in My Heart lives in our living room, thank you very much -- but I'd never had the opportunity to meet her in person. I'd never even had the opportunity to speak with her, and I didn't think I'd have a chance to own another of her works.
Much less a piece she wanted us to have; an artwork meant to inspire us.
As it happened, Brenda was displaying her art at The Raven Cafe in Prescott, Arizona (sharing the space with another artist, Cathy Gibbons, if you must know. Cathy, too, is a wonderful person), and we made arrangements to meet. We chatted for not nearly long enough before I brought home the gift she'd offered. The photo above isn't nearly adequate, and it shows only one of the pair of shoes, but it's the best I can do to show you the playful, fun, and not-quite-sane footwear that Brenda created.
I tell you now, I wanted to wear the shoes. But I behaved, placing them in our writing room, and both Glynn and I decided we wouldn't even talk about the gift until The 6th Brother was finished. A vow that lasted all the way until yesterday, when Glynn looked across the supper table and said, "I keep thinking about the Steampunk Shoes."
"They've given me a story idea," I told him.
"No, they've given me a story idea," he insisted, but we finally agreed that my idea was more intriguing, so we're going with that one. Once it's been written, it'll be a sci-fi/alternative dimension/romance tale that's all kinds of sexy. If it works out, it will be the first of three novellas and each one is going to be all kinds of sexy. These are definitely not tales intended for All Ages.
The problem is, I can envision the cover I want, and that cover includes Brenda's shoes. Oh, and a delicate piece of women's white underclothing. Glynn doesn't think an artist would let us use her creation as the center point of a story cover but Brenda Diller isn't any regular artist type. She's...well, you've seen the stuff she's done. Before I can ask her, we have to complete The 6th Brother, then The 5th Brother, then The 4th Brother....
There are a LOT of brothers.
Meanwhile, if you're cruising the roads of Northern AZ, Brenda and Cathy's show, Forces of Nature continues at The Raven through September 13th. It's well worth the stop.
You see, Glynn and I are wrapping up our work on the One Bride for Seven Brothers sequel (it turns out, writing a sequel is fun), but the words are squeezing out a little more slowly than expected (it turns out, writing a good sequel is hard), and the whole thing has taken more time than we expected. It seems as if we don't have any hours to spare. Our respective brows are furrowed, our sleeves are rolled up, and we've vowed to push through until we're done.
NOTHING is going to break our focus. Or so I told the Good Witch, just a few weeks ago.
Shortly after I made this proclamation, I received a lovely email that shattered my concentration. Dear Anne Glynn, the email began, my brain, twisted as it is, has been urging me to give you a piece of art that is in my studio in hopes that it would inspire your writing.
I don't know about you, but I was hooked. There isn't a writer in the world who wouldn't take the time to read the rest of the message.
For me, this was a fairly noteworthy missive because (a) it didn't come from a deposed Shah, seeking my financial assistance; and (b) it did come from an amazing local artist, Brenda Diller. I've talked about Brenda Diller and her artwork before -- her The Magpie Lives in My Heart lives in our living room, thank you very much -- but I'd never had the opportunity to meet her in person. I'd never even had the opportunity to speak with her, and I didn't think I'd have a chance to own another of her works.
Much less a piece she wanted us to have; an artwork meant to inspire us.
As it happened, Brenda was displaying her art at The Raven Cafe in Prescott, Arizona (sharing the space with another artist, Cathy Gibbons, if you must know. Cathy, too, is a wonderful person), and we made arrangements to meet. We chatted for not nearly long enough before I brought home the gift she'd offered. The photo above isn't nearly adequate, and it shows only one of the pair of shoes, but it's the best I can do to show you the playful, fun, and not-quite-sane footwear that Brenda created.
I tell you now, I wanted to wear the shoes. But I behaved, placing them in our writing room, and both Glynn and I decided we wouldn't even talk about the gift until The 6th Brother was finished. A vow that lasted all the way until yesterday, when Glynn looked across the supper table and said, "I keep thinking about the Steampunk Shoes."
"They've given me a story idea," I told him.
"No, they've given me a story idea," he insisted, but we finally agreed that my idea was more intriguing, so we're going with that one. Once it's been written, it'll be a sci-fi/alternative dimension/romance tale that's all kinds of sexy. If it works out, it will be the first of three novellas and each one is going to be all kinds of sexy. These are definitely not tales intended for All Ages.
The problem is, I can envision the cover I want, and that cover includes Brenda's shoes. Oh, and a delicate piece of women's white underclothing. Glynn doesn't think an artist would let us use her creation as the center point of a story cover but Brenda Diller isn't any regular artist type. She's...well, you've seen the stuff she's done. Before I can ask her, we have to complete The 6th Brother, then The 5th Brother, then The 4th Brother....
There are a LOT of brothers.
Meanwhile, if you're cruising the roads of Northern AZ, Brenda and Cathy's show, Forces of Nature continues at The Raven through September 13th. It's well worth the stop.
RSS Feed
