Mortaine’s Blog

Last night I dreamed that I met Matthew Perry at a NaNoWriMo TGIO party and started dating him (no sex, though we got kind of close a few times). It was very, very cool, especially because I was not married in the dream.
Yesterday was the post-NaNoWriMo gathering to decide where we go from here. Thursdays are write-ins. Every other Sunday starting in January are the critique workshops.

I had finished my writing exercise (it’s not very good– I don’t think it actually has an ending), and brought it with, but we didn’t do anything with them, so okay. At least I did it. I managed to get the funeral parlor and plumber in there. If I had a real ending, there might be greed involved. If I really expanded it, I could have a shepherd (I am not having an astronaut for an arche-type). If I go for some sort of weird subtlety or extraneous description, I can slip in a magnifying glass.

At the get-together, I gave a copy of “Hunter” to Lynn to read. For those who don’t know, “Hunter” is the most erotic piece of writing I have ever done. It is also the most graphic in terms of violence. The sex and violence are separated by just paragraphs, so it plays on the borderline of what many would consider “too far.” I.e., it crosses the delicate line between sexy and sick. It’s a long story, too– 9,000 words, and that’s after I trimmed out the last 3-4 pages. It weighs in at 39 pages. It has been rejected by one anthology, though I don’t actually have a record of the rejection. I figured Lynn would be a good person to have read it, since she actually knows something about the market and the genre that this fits into (vampire sex stories?) and could maybe help me make it more marketable, or give some suggestions for markets to aim for.

BTW: If you ever want to know your own personal boundary for “too far” in terms of erotica, read “The Story of O.” For me, it doesn’t get sick until O permanently mutilates herself– that seems to be my boundary. For others, I suspect it’s much earlier: somewhere around page 5. For still others, it’ll be later, when minors are involved. Remember: erotica doesn’t have any rules about what is and isn’t illegal– Lolita is a classic novel, yet Lolita is supposed to be about 14 years old. That’s the beauty of Freedom of the Press: you can write anything you want.

So, I went holiday shopping yesterday. I will not detail what I got for whom, since this is a public entry and I don’t want to ruin anyone’s holiday. If anyone is shopping for my husband John, please talk to me as I have purchased many items on his wish list.

I bought a small something for my sister. I bought her kids’ holiday presents. I need to get Elizabeth’s birthday present. I also need to get Christmas for Jenny & Steve, birthday for Jenny, Christmas for Mom. I have ideas for Mom– she wants Popcorn Factory sugar free caramel corn. I am blank when it comes to Steve & within my budget, and I am comfortably blank when it comes to Jenny– I usually find the right thing for her eventually, if I don’t stress out about it.

Bob & Casey: I draw a blank, but again, it’s the kind of thing I think I’ll find eventually. Mike & Barb: I’ve got an idea, but haven’t bought the gift yet. Gordon: tough one, especially because I don’t want to give him more clutter or something he won’t want, so probably something silly with a groundhog. These are all family members who have shown me real hospitality this fall, and I want to be sure to share the love with them.

Damn– I almost forgot to add Holly and Becky to my list. Becky also gave me hospitality back in October, and I need to be better about keeping up with Holly.

I gave Andrea a 2-month paid subscription to LJ for Hanukah already.

Dad & Kim: Not sure yet, but I’m working on it.

Grandma C: Again, not sure. She’ll be 90 in January. Tell me: why the hell would you throw a surprise party for a 90 year old woman? And yet, they’re going to do it. Sigh. Anyway, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it for that or not, but it would make a nice holiday present (waaaay over my budget).

The real stumper for me is Carl– I have no idea what to get this man for the holidays. None. I am just– blank. And not comfortably so, either. Argh. I’ll think of something or get him a gift certificate or something. I don’t want to add to his clutter, and I suspect that he’s read most of the books that I think he would be interested in.

Oh, and everyone at work is getting home-made cookies and as many origami penguins as I can make without RSI flare-ups. If sends me her snail-mail address, she’ll get origami penguins as well. . . . I can also make origami bunnies, if or any support folks are interested and want to email their snail-mail addys. . . . .