FALL

I’ve decided that it’s time for my internet version of me to start lining up a little bit more with the real me.

Wait, Rena, you LIED to us???

Oh, gosh, internet, how quickly we jump to conclusions. No. I haven’t lied. In fact, I’ve been super duper cautious to never lie on the interwebs (the Easiest to Fact-Check place ever). But, I have left certain things out. Like lots of things. I've spent a lot of my online existence trying not to "offend the wrong people" and I'm starting to realize, that's just silly. Who am I going to offend? My readers? My opinions are in my books! All writing, at some level is autobiographical, so it stands to reason many of my opinions have already been heaped on my readers. And many of my opinions are downright silly (Yes, I love Sailor Moon, and No, I don’t see a problem with how often she gets saved by Tuxedo Mask. She saves his buns a lot too. A LOT! That’s what we call partnership. Also, he’s never bummed out about being rescued by a girl, so in some ways, it’s pretty girl positive, but I digress).

To that end, I'm going to run a bit of a series this fall to get back into the swing of blogging. This series is going to be pretty simple: Things I love, enjoy, or am generally obsessed about. Expect a lot of book and movie reviews, lots of talk about painting and museums, and some pictures. 

I want to talk about the things that make me really excited, and right now, it’s Fall.

I LOVE FALL. It is easily my favorite time of year. I know people like the other seasons, but I’m all about Fall. I love turning leaves and grass getting green again (yeah, I live in California, and our wild grasses go blond for the summer, but with the coming rains of fall, they green up again). I love how the days can’t decide and start with frost that melts into day with skies blue like glacier, but a sun bright enough to cut your eyes. I love the stars of fall, turning overhead to the great lanterns of winter, guiding us (in my melodramatic feels) through the darkness.

I love Halloween, and only wish that we could celebrate it a little differently.

And yes, I even love pumpkin spice latte. I know, I’m a walking cliché, but there it is. I love Fall. (Spoiler alert, I also really dig Spring!)

Son of a Pitch Team Rainbow Dash!!!!

That's right, it's time for Son Of A Pitch!

Check out all the details at Katie's blog Team Princess Luna, Here. For those of you who don't know, entries are posted on the four host blogs:

Samantha, Team Fluttershy
Myself, Team Rainbow Dash
Elizabeth, Team Discord
Kathleen,  Team Rarity

The hosts will critique the entries on their blogs, and the guest critiquers will also offer crits on the entries. This contest gives some very in depth critiques, and from multiple points of view. It's such a great opportunity (I'm so excited).

This process really helps take queries and pages to the next level, and can really help people see their writing in a new light.

After the critique round is the showcase round where editors will be making requests from the ten lucky pitches.

With that, the fun will start Very Soon.

A few FAQs about PROM, MAGIC, AND OTHER MAN-MADE DISASTERS!

I am so very, very excited about the next book I have coming out (this fall, November 21st!)

Oh, but Rena, what will I get if I read your book?
You will get the standard agreement in a Rena Book Reading Contract: Laughs, Feels, Explosions, Fights (guns or swords, depending), and a chase or two.

Wait, do I need to read your other books to follow this one?
Nope! This book is a new entry point into the same world. After this, though, no guarantees!


Rena, does this book feature Allyson and all of her Half Dragon Glory?
No, this book has a new Main Character, and a different plot.

But Rena, this book's title sounds very similar to your first book, are they related?
Yes! They happen in the same world. So the rules are the same, but we get to see the world from a whole new perspective.

Wait a minute, are events that happen in this book going to change what happens in your Half Dragon series?
YES! Oh, I mean, maybe. Possibly? Okay, there's crossover of some minor characters, and major plot points definitely change what else happens in other books (You know, sort of like how world politics influences global policy making?)

Is it funny?
I think so.

Are there sword fights?
YES!


It's going to be fun, witty, adventurous, Magic, and--sword,fighting--what's not to like?


PROM, MAGIC, AND OTHER MAN-MADE DISASTERS is already listed on Goodreads, and is coming out November 21st, so mark your calendars!!!

FEARLESS WRITING: an Insecure Writer's Support Group Post

I quipped the other day that I was checking Twitter to see if we were in the midst of Nuclear War. I’m pretty sure that’s how I’ll find out. It’s how I found out about the bombings in Boston. I’m absolutely terrified of nukes. I’ve studied nukes, so I have highly accurate nightmares about them (it’s a branch of the field I studied). Needless to say, my constantly being on Twitter and Facebook has made for fertile grounds for my Nightmare Bunnies. My productivity has tanked.

And that’s sort of the point, isn’t it?

If the artists and the thinkers stop making the content that drives the minds of the next generation, then where are we? If we let our creativity die, then we won’t be able to move forward. The point of art is to make people think and feel, to understand others and bridge the gaps between us. If we let our art die, we burn the bridges between us. We become isolated. We become divided without art. And that’s how a people are conquered. That’s how a minority rules.

Right now, we’re once again flirting with nuclear action. I have to remind myself that the writing I’m doing is more important than me being glued to Twitter. It’s more important to create. Art is resistance. So I’m trying to task myself to write as though I’m not terrified of nukes. Maybe fearless writing isn’t the right term, but “Write because staring at twitter isn’t helping anyone and sure isn’t getting this book done any faster” doesn’t fit in title slot very well.

Anyone else having a hard time reconciling the news climate with getting stuff done?

Anyhow, as you can see, this is an odd IWSG entry, but it’s what I needed to tell myself. Don't forget to check out the Ninja captain, Alex, and this month's co-hosts, Tyrean Martinson,Tara Tyler, Raimey Gallant, and Beverly Stowe McClure.

When will it be Fall?

I know that it isn’t going to be fall for weeks yet. I know that we are still at summer’s mercy. I know that I shouldn’t complain, and all, but it’s just ridiculous. It’s hot and miserable, and I’m not a fan of either condition. Add to it the fact that my actual favorite season—fall—has a tendency to get lost in the holidays and craziness, and now it’s going to start being fall with 100 degree weather (if things don’t settle down quickly). It's like summer is expanding.

Going into this weekend, it is going to be abnormally hot every day for the big weekend. In most cases, it will be within a degree or two of record breaking.

Meanwhile, in Texas, Honduras, and Nepal, they’re having record setting floods. These are, undoubtedly horrible disasters, and their magnitude far eclipses my inconveniencing (though we'll be in the danger zone) heatwave. 

I'm just ready for fall. 

Conclusion: When it comes to weather, record setting should not be a thing.