2009 December » Lauren's Tales

Something Completely Different: Knitting

Dec 242009

I haven’t got much knitting done this year. It aggravates my RSI issues, and I had to sort of re-learn how to hold the needles after my finger got broke in the car accident. However, cold weather is a big impetus to knit. I’m working on an Aran-style cabled sweater. Here are some pictures. As usual the formatting will probably get screwed up on LJ, but the pics should still be visible. The three pictures are, in order, one sleeve, an annoying mistake in the OXO cable pattern, which I will have to fix, and the beginning of the body. The sweater is being knit on size nine circulars. The yarn is KnitPicks Comfy Bulky Yarn.

sweater arm

sweater mistake

sweater body

Up for Grabs gets a nod

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Dec 202009

Up for Grabs

The genderqueer anthology I edited earlier this year, Up for Grabs, got a mention at gather.com:

“If your reading tastes are a bit quirky, if you’re an open-minded reader, and if you enjoy the premise of “What if?”…then Up For Grabs, edited by Lauren P. Burka (Circlet Press) is just the book for you. In these five delicious tales, gender is up for grabs, and science pushes the boundaries between male and female, natural and unnatural.”

Review of Wired Hard 4

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Dec 102009

Click to buy me

In other news, today we got a very nice review of Wired Hard 4.

As big a fan of explicit depictions of gay male sex as I am, an anthology of straight-up porn with no other major elements to it would probably not sustain my interest from cover to cover. Did I mention that I read this whole thing in one sitting, from start to finish? I did, and it was because each of these stories are beautifully told and packed with ideas. .

The further adventures of “The Ontological Engine”

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Dec 102009

Click to buy me

People who have read my recent ebook anthology Up for Grabs have noticed that there is one story that is not really about transsexuality, though it contains some amazing transformations. It’s a steampunk tale that remains fresh and vivid even now that some of us are growing weary of steampunk. It has mad scientists, orgasm machines, and scandalous behavior set in a realm of Victorian manners. I’ve been asked by everyone including the author why I chose this anthology for The Ontological Engine. The full answer to this question is difficult to convey.

Let’s start with the Circlet Press slush pile. There is a certain type of manuscript that arrives with a cover letter stating “We hope you will enjoy this story, or at least find it funny.” This statement is the sign of doom. You could argue coincidence, or you could point out that these stories seem to be written by people who are so nervous writing about sex that they can only pull it off if the sex is so stupid that it can’t be threatening, or that there’s rarely anything funny about a story that tries too hard. These are stories that we anticipate reading with absolute dread.

“The Ontological Engine” is–not to put too fine a point on it–funny. And hot. Stories that make you laugh so hard that you have to loosen your clothes and so hot that you have to loosen them more are not easy to pull off. How could I not make room for this rauchy little number?

Since the original publication we’ve put an mp3 of this story up for sale (first part is free). We are beginning work on an entire collection of stories set in this world for 2010. I can hardly wait to get to work on cover art for this one. And today, just to bring another smile to my face, we have a lovely buff from the author of ErosBlog. Please enjoy the review, download the free first part of the mp3, pour yourself a nice cup of tea, and enjoy yourself.

The Last Word (?) on the Car

Away from the computer No Responses »

Dec 082009

I’m sorry I don’t have any gorgeous man-nipples to show you today. However, I do have news about the car. After the Honda dealer ripped out the carpet and the sodden and mildewed jute beneath and started taking stuff apart, they found the leak source. There was a manufacturing defect where three panels were supposed to be welded together. The weld had failed. They put it back together and tested it with a power washer, then replaced the jute and the carpet, which had been sent out for cleaning at a specialty shop.

We had a very interesting conversation with the head of service about the whole thing. Many apologies were tendered.

Meanwhile, I haven’t driven in about two years. I’d been having trouble with driving somewhere and getting a migraine so miserable that I couldn’t drive home. I’ve taken the new car out twice, once with the spouse along, then later on a short trip where I could leave the car and walk home if my head blew up.

While the car is a remarkably plain white Civic, some people have asked for pics. I’ll get those soon when the weather improves and I remember to take the pictures before the sun sets.

Woot! “The Marketplace” is coming back!

Editing, Writing No Responses »

Dec 062009

For years the The Marketplace by Sara Adamson (aka Laura Antoniou) has been out of print. Now Circlet Press will be bringing it back as an ebook. I’ll be prepping the manuscript. Woot!

Cover Art

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Dec 042009

Kneel to Me

Recently I got the cover art back for a novel I wrote, and I was not pleased. However, bad cover art stories are boring little cliches, so I didn’t post about it.

Today, however, I finalized with Circlet the cover art for my next anthology. Because of our low budget and tricky requirements, Circlet is pretty much stuck with making something out of stock art. It’s tough to find one image that gets across what a book is about, especially if it’s an anthology. Distributors won’t take art with visible female nipples. There’s a lot of information about what covers work best to sell a book, and some of it’s even right.

That said, it came out rather nice, don’t you think?