Wednesday, February 29, 2012

J is for Joanne and K is for Kathleen



Yes, of course, I mean that Joanne Kathleen.  AKA, JKR.

Rejoice, Potterheads! JK Rowling has another book coming out--for grown-ups.  She will be publishing this one through Little, Brown and not the HP series publisher, Bloomsbury.

Jo's seven Harry Potter novels have sold more than 450 million copies worldwide.  Completely awesome.

Regardless of what you think of her writing style and how it might translate into adult fiction, you must admit that those are miiii-iighty fine stats.


She has reached gazillions of young readers through HP, and I see no reason why she can't reach those kids again as they get older.  Or, as adults just plain get older than they used to be.  As will be the case for those of us that devoured all seven HP's running as twenty-somethings.  *Ahem*.

I am, to quote Emily Kribs from The Rocky Mountain Collegian, "hellaciously pumped."

Go, JK!




(That yellow book up there is the official release picture.  It looks large, no?)

(Interestingly, Joanne has no middle name, according to Wikipedia.  She took on her maternal grandmother's first name, Kathleen, as her middle initial after the first HP book.    She used Joanne Kathleen Rowling to give evidence in the Leveson Inquiry, which is an ongoing public inquiry of the British Press after the phone hacking bizzo.)





Saturday, February 25, 2012

I is for Ingenious

Morning!

How do you use the word 'ingenious'?

When I thought of the words 'ingenious' and 'the blog', some images that were floating about in the netethos last year came to mind.  Do you remember the one where someone was leaving sculptures in thanks in library, with little verses attached?  They were something like this:

http://schoollibrarybeyondsurvival.wordpress.com/2011/03/12/the-creator-deserves-credit/

http://art-website-creative.com/2011/06/07/turning-old-books-into-fantastic-art/

http://molempire.com/2010/08/13/when-books-come-to-life-10-amazing-book-sculptures/

I thought they were ingenious creations.

Now, it turns out that you use ingenious like this:

Definition of INGENIOUS

1
obsolete : showing or calling for intelligence, aptitude, ordiscernment
2
: having or showing an unusual aptitude for discovering, inventing, or contriving ingenious detective;
3
: marked by originality, resourcefulness, and cleverness in conception or execution ingenious contraption;
— in·ge·nious·ly adverb
— in·ge·nious·ness noun

Examples of INGENIOUS

  1. The book has an ingenious plot.
  2. She was ingenious at finding ways to work more quickly.
  3. It was ingenious of him to arrange the schedule so precisely.
  4. How many dog-size bathrobes (an ingenious device) are out there? —David Colman, Vogue, April 2001

Origin of INGENIOUS

Middle English ingenyous, from Middle French ingenieus,from Latin ingeniosus, from ingenium natural capacity — more at engine
First Known Use: 15th century
From: 'Ingenious' www.merriam-webster.com

Phew.  It would seem I have the usage correct.  God forbid I would use an obsolete word.

I am currently lobbying to get netethos recognised by the Oxford Dictionary, so I can use that in good conscience as well.  Actually, that is a fib, but do have a look back to a post I did a while back about other words that the OD made legit in 2010.  You can see, a legal netethos can't be far away.


PS Just finished VENGEANCE BORN, by Kylie Griffin, that featured in my F is for Fabulous post.  It's a ripper!  Loved it.  Gave it 4.5 stars out of five on Goodreads.   Completely mesmerising world building, a hero to die for, a gorgeous blend of paranormal/fantasy with a smack of epicness (there I go again) about it.  I very rarely give five stars (the perfect book?), and the only glitch for me had to do with the heroine (I would have liked to have seen her a little more kick-ass, given her heritage) , but all in all I loved it.  Kylie Griffin is a new auto-buy for me, and I look forward to (with maybe a little bit of drooling involved) to ALLIANCE FORGED, coming out in about 128 days and 13 hours, according to the widget on Kylie's Blog.  :)

Sunday, February 19, 2012

H is for HOWZAT! New web addresses!

HOWZAT!

Doing a little Hon Peter Garrett AM MP dance here (for no other reason than I am not much of a dancer.  Pete & I  have that in common), because I have, rather to my surprise, successfully attached a dot com to this blog!

Yay!  *Dance* *Arms and Legs* *Convulsion*

Of course, find me now at www.emmelinelock.com

Just to prove it wasn't a fluke, there's also a new web address for SARA - South Australian Romance Authors.  Find us at www.romancesa.com


Just in case you were wondering who Peter Garrett is - he's one of our federal pollies.  But the most interesting thing about him (aside from his activism) was that he fronted one of our iconic Aussie bands, Midnight Oil, from '73 to 2003.  Are you ready for the dancing?


Saturday, February 18, 2012

G is for gleeful

Let me give you a bit of background before I launch.

Before I wrote, I was a Reader.  I was always a Reader.  I read LORD OF THE RINGS better at eleven than I could now.  So, before high school, I was a Reader.  Nothing much has changed there.

I could always hold a note, had played a little piano and guitar, but wasn't especially impressive.  Then, I was cast in a musical at school, and spent many months rehearsing.  I LOVED it.  As I rehearsed, I improved every day.  Even my dancing became passable.  We performed, and it was great.  The following year, I was cast as the lead in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN.  I could still hit notes, but I was much LOUDER.  I had more control over my voice.

I was suddenly a vocalist.  Or, maybe less pretentiously, a Singer.

I still am.  I sing at home, I sing in the car, I sing with the offspring.  I've even been known to sing in churches for weddings and memorials, and other events.  I sing with choirs and solo.  I love show tunes, jazz, R&B and your general popular stuff.  I sing a lot.

One thing I don't do much of is watch television.  Too BUSY, dudes.

So I completely missed the onset of Glee.

Who wants to watch a show where the kids are in high school and dealing with angst and teenage ick?  Been there...  I glossed over it, without even meaning to.

Had no idea what it was.  Then, one of the kids asked me to put 'Don't Stop Believin'' on her ipod.  I listened, I bought a few albums.

As I listened, I wondered about the characters, who was singing what.  I'd seen the covers, but never put an actor with a voice.  I bought season one, and the rest is, as they say, old news.

Yes, there is teenage angst, but it's rarely belaboured and the shows move so quickly that you're never mired.  It's whimsical, and not intended to be real.  There are cute little romantic pairings that aren't saccharine, and are handled like we probably did in high school.  The relationship between the staff and students is interesting, and possibly a little TGTBT.  (I'll help:  Too Good...).  The storylines deal with issues ranging from coming out to weight problems, from problem solving to peer pressure, from drug use to blended families. They should be supremely awesome, but the rest of the school insists on giving the Glee club members a daily slushie facial.

I love Sue Sylvesters' character.  Awesome, cutting, witty one liners.  I wish I was her.

I ADORE the music.  I love their Mash-Up of It's My Life/My Confession, and they do a better (IMHO) rendition of PokerFace than Ms Gaga does.  They are all Very Talented Vocalists.  Some are Very Talented Dancers.

They are all gorgeous, or course. Which is why there are gazillions of fan vids on You Tube that must be trawled through to find the shiny gold bits.

In Cory Monteith, who plays Finn, I've also found my latest hero (in his younger years):



Are you seeing why this nearly thirty-year old has been cast as a teenager?

You should hear him sing.  It's not pretty and polished, but I swear my skin moves.

Makes me gleeful.



With the sad passing of Whitney Houston this week, check out this Glee Youtube vid featuring Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley) singing 'I Will Always Love You.'








Saturday, February 11, 2012

F is for, "Far out, that's Fabulous!"

You know how I'm a member of Darkside DownUnder?  That zany bunch of Australians and New Zealanders who write speculative fiction and are members of Romance Writers of Australia?  Well, they are the BOMB.

It's been true all along, but I thought I would reiterate that there are some very cool authors coming out of Oz, and a very special cavalcade from DSDU.

Never read Keri Arthur and don't mind a bit of hot paranomal romance?  Get thee to a bookstore!  How about Tracey O'hara?  Ditto!  Same goes for Erica Hayes, Denise Rossetti...  I could go on.  And on.

BUT, the reason for this Fabulous post is a brand-new book by a brand-new author.  I've got a brand-new copy on my iPad and I can't wait to get into it.  

It's Kylie Griffin's VENGEANCE BORN, A Novel of the Light Blade, Book 1. 

Isn't it pretty?  


There is no mercy in the demon realm. No escape. In this place of desperation and conflict, anyone who is not pure bred is virtually powerless. Until an unlikely champion is born…
Annika, half-blood daughter of the Na’Reish King, longs for more than her tormented life among her father’s people. Conceived in hatred and bred as a tool of retribution, she’s gifted with a special talent that can heal as well as destroy.
With the Na’Reish vastly outnumbering them, Kalan, a Light Blade warrior, knows the future of humankind depends on him alone. Incursions into human territory and raids for blood-slaves by the Na’Reish Horde have increased. As Chosen-leader, he faces the task of stopping the demons—and convincing the Council of aging Light Blade warriors that change is necessary for survival.
When Annika learns Kalan is a prisoner in her father’s dungeon, her dream of escape seems within reach. She agrees to free him in exchange for his protection once they reach human territory. Now, marked for death for helping him, Annika must learn to trust Kalan as they face not only the perilous journey to the border but enemies within the Council—and discover a shocking truth that could throw the human race into civil war…


One would think that this gorgeous boon from the cover gods would be enough to make one run out and purchase this new release.

I had been slack, and had not done it.  

Then, I was trawling through my google reader, and found That's What I'm Talking About review of VENGEANCE BORN.  I subscribe to Twimom's reviews to look for new books--she reads what I read, and I find some great reads there.

The Five-Star, A+ review tipped me over the edge and I raced out and uploaded Kylie's book.

I've never met Kylie, but she is a frequent participant in the Oz romance scene, she's a teacher and a volunteer for a number of rescue services in her rural area.  On top of this, she blogs many times a week, points the rest of us to cool places on the net and is a font of information.  She is a giver.  She also writes GREAT BOOKS, if Gikany and Una are to be believed. 

And I believe them.  

If you are unconvinced, and I don't believe for a second that you are, go to Kylie's blog for more reviews.  VENGEANCE BORN got five stars/top pick from Night Owl Reviews as well.  Very difficult to argue with that.  

Once you read it and are DYING for more, you don't have long to wait for book two--it's out in July.  *SWOONANDDROOL*


Go forth and discover the Light Blade!  

It promises to be fabulous.  

Thursday, February 9, 2012

E is for Ecdysiast

I get a bit excited about certain words.  For example, I like the word MINION. It's a good word.

I thought I could put some of my favourite words into my A-Z blog.

So, today we have: ECDYSIAST

Brace yourselves - here's the Wiktionary definition:

ecdysiast (plural ecdysiasts) 
Noun 
An erotic dancer who removes their clothes as a form of entertainment; a stripper.   


Etymology 
From Ancient Greek ἔκδυσις (ekdusis, “stripping”), from ἐκδύω (ekduō, “I take off”), from ἐκ (ek, “out”) + δύω (duō, “I get in”) 


Synonyms 
(dancer who removes their clothes): exotic dancer, stripper 
 Related terms
ecdysis
ecdysone
striptease

What I found fascinating was the related terms:
ecdysis (plural ecdyses) 
Noun 
The shedding of an outer layer of skin in snakes, crustaceans and insects; moulting.

And this:
ecdysone (plural ecdysones) 
Noun
A hormone in insects and other arthropods that promotes molting.

Ah.  So that's what it is.   :)

How it came about, from Wikipedia:
H. L. Mencken is credited with coining the word "ecdysiast" – from "ecdysis", meaning "to molt" – in response to a request from Gypsy Rose Lee for a "more dignified" way to refer to her profession.

Are you ready for the accompanying picture of ecdysis?  



:)

Sunday, February 5, 2012

D is for Demotivated

You'd be forgiven for thinking that it is ME who is demotivated.

While many hours of the day, this is true, today, I'm talking about that gem of the internet: verydemotivational.com.  From what I understand, civilians can upload photos and attach witty captions.

Now, there is some trawling involved, and if you have a weak heart or an overdeveloped sense of righteousness, you might like to forget you ever came here and go watch some Bewitched re-runs.

If you are without scruple, come join the party!

Here are some I picked up this morning (swallow your coffee before reading):









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