The Fear Behind the Smiles

Behind the Scenes at Second-hand Sarah

The little blog that could. I sit here putting together playlists of old jazz while listening to old Bauhaus songs ('All We Ever Wanted Was Everything', for those keeping score) and sorting through literally HUNDREDS of pictures from the actual home renovation we did here over the last few years.

Now when I walk around the neighborhood I bring my phone so I can take pics that will ultimately be incorporated into the Second-hand Sarah blog at a later date. It's a bit like playing chess in that I have to plan the posts in advance and keep track of where they should go in the long run. Eyes on the prize and what-not.

I'm trying to keep it as close to relatively realistic as possible, right down to the weather in Maine at this very moment. High of 73 today, current temp of 68. Tomorrow going up near 80.

It's a bit like writing The Lazarus Stone (Conspiracy Edit) all over again, but with a happier ending, I would imagine. No apocalypse in Sarah-land, after all. I mean that statement in the respect that I need to 1) research the hell out of the facts, such as the differences between Victorian houses and Colonial (which is what we renovated), 2) little things like local weather (can't say how hot it is in Maine today when it only got into the 70's, meanwhile here in central PA it's 90+), 3) put on my Sarah mask and write AS Sarah would. It's a trick I use when writing my characters in general, but I've never channeled a character on a long-term basis.

I also have to remember not to post all the blog posts at once and to make notes in the actual journal of how many days have passed in Sarah-land, and what date each post will be going live so I can keep track.

No. Easy. Task.

I'm thinking of creating a Pandora station based on Sarah's taste in music so folks can listen while they're reading. Now if only the internet would let me insert smells so the visitors to Sarah's house can smell that old wood and salty air and the lingering ghost of a pot of strong coffee. Someday... :)

Second-Hand Sarah: A Blog of Quirky Optimism and Explorations of an Old House

If you're wondering about my pseudo-radio silence of late, rest assured, I've been busy. If you haven't already checked out the new blog (special note: it's NON horror!), feel free to do so now.

It's called Second-Hand Sarah, and it's a bunch of fiction with some fact thrown in for anecdotal purposes.

Pictured to the left is the actual journal I've been writing in for the blog entries. Little notes, jots, pics to include, etc.

It's a strange process, this new blog. It's almost acting, almost writing, and a lot of making stuff up, scouring old pictures to use on the blog and digging through my own roomfuls of antiques and general clutter to find things that might have been 'discovered' during a renovation.

It's a fun process. Typically I write pretty early in the morning or during lunch, and I dress the part, which makes me laugh at myself. I put on jewelry or clothes and think 'No, that's not right, Sarah wouldn't wear that.' and change.

Likewise, music. Typical playlist for a Sarah blog includes new age, old jazz, classic rock, and sometimes even pop. Little to no industrial or goth (The Cure... where do they fall - pop or goth? I guess both.).

I'm playing a part with the blog, and discovering some things about myself while I do it. 1) I'm not bad at this optimistic writing thing. Not quite chick lit, it's much more empowering and uplifting but without going the gamut to religious zealotry or militant feminism, 2) the research is just as much fun as the writing, and 3) I genuinely like Sarah.

I also really like where the story will be going. Lots of hidden elements to the house, lots of secrets and histories, and just an absolute adventure as soon as the first explorations are made. I have to admit, I'm as excited about writing it all down as I would be if I were exploring an old mansion and finding all this crazy stuff myself.

Without further ado, enjoy Second-Hand Sarah's blog.

Here's Your Chance to Win A Signed Copy of 'The Demon's Tale' or 'The Lazarus Stone (Conspiracy Edit)'

I'm trying out my first ever book giveaway. If a signed print copy of my work isn't your thing, you can still download the electronic versions from my Amazon Author Page. They're cheap, and they help me feed my ego for one more day.

Rules:

1. You MUST have hit the 'Like' button on my Facebook page (and hopefully actually do like my novels).
2. You should follow my blog to keep up to date with book-stuffs and happenings.
3. If you win a copy, you will need to leave a review on Amazon for the book you win. 
4. You will need to message me your address so I can mail you the book. If you've got an issue sending me your address, please do NOT enter to win the giveaway.
5. If you don't like horror, please don't try to win a copy.
6. If you win a copy, it will be signed to you, so please plan on keeping it.
7. Please be sure to enter before midnight on July 15th, 2011 if you would like a chance to win.

Four winners will be chosen at random from the folks who respond to this blog entry on the Facebook Suzi M page.

Only those who have responded on the fan page will have a chance to win.

Feel free to spread the word and repost/retweet, etc.

Giveaway will end at midnight on July 15th, 2011 and winners will be announced on the Suzi M Facebook fan page..

Has Anyone Seen My Post? I Know It's Around Here Somewhere...

Work on The Lazarus Stone (Conspiracy Edit) has stalled for now. It's almost finished, and it will be released this summer. The devil's in the details, and in this case the 'details' would be editing.

I'm blaming sunburn, but really it's just laziness on my part. I set a goal, and it was a smidge too high for my half-assed leap. A lot of things have slid by the wayside in the wake of my picking up books to read instead of write for a change. I forgot just how much I really enjoy reading a good story.

Recently finished The Colorado Kid by Stephen King. Great story, as always. I'll admit I picked it up because I really dig the TV show based on it and I wanted to find out what it was all about. I was hoping to solve the mysteries before the show laid it all out, you see, in case the show got cancelled as so many awesome shows with plot and depth often do these days. I was bamboozled, however, and I'm glad. The story is only marginally in keeping with the TV show in that they find a John Doe on the beach, and he's dubbed 'The Colorado Kid'. There's two old gents who work the newspaper, too, and they're basically the same on the page and on the screen. And that's where the similarities end, but in a good way. It's like coming to a fork in the road and taking first one way and finding where it goes. Later on, a month or so, you come back to that same fork and decide to take the other way to find out where that one goes. Same destinations, you find, but a different way of getting there.

But I digress. We were talking about the apocalypse, right?

Mini-Hiatus... Kinda

Took a brief mini-break from the interwebs this past weekend. I did things like go outside, catch up on much-needed rest, and.... read a BOOK. Not an electronic book, but an actual printed page book. Mr. Pants, my house panther, was all about this break from electronic bondage and decided he would help me in my efforts by pinning me to the couch. He also inspected every bite of food I ate... you know, in case it was poisoned.

My trusty sidekick and I even took long walks through the backyard where he got his fill of watching the hell out of birds and squirrels.

It made me realize something.... I need a break.

While I will be on email and such daily (it can't be helped), starting tonight I will be taking a bit of a hiatus from the electric leech.

Expect new stories and shop updates upon my official return, but in the meantime, feel free to browse my previous posts and read the stories I've written.

Enjoy them all with a good cup of coffee or tea, prefereably outside or near a window where you can get some sunshine or some moonlight.

Bon nuit, mes amis electronique.

~ Suzi M

Suzi M's Amazon Author Page - All Published Suzi M works available

 

Widgeting and such

Here's a widget I'm trying out from CraftCult.com. Seeing how it looks. Feel free to play.

More Ho-Ho-Ho's

Today's holiday euphiction comes from N. Pendleton. Check it out at http://www.coverstoriesbook.com and thank me later. *grin*

The Story Behind "Home for X-Mas"

When Derek Handley initially contacted us of the Cover Stories gang to write a holiday euphiction I admit that I considered claiming flu-like symptoms and hiding under the bed til the holiday season had passed. I'm not big on holidays unless it's Halloween.

The thing is, I like Derek. I consider him a pretty close electric friend, in fact. He has this way about him that just makes you want to say 'yes' to his ideas and then make them happen 150%. So I said yes, and I gave it 150%. My first ever holiday piece.

Being that I'm me, the Hallmark special based on my story 'Home for X-Mas' will most likely not happen anywhere in the future. For the record, it ended much happier for Saint Nick than my initial story concept.

The idea came as many of my ideas come: late at night, and usually when I'm just about to fall asleep. I could see the end of the story, and it was bleak. Very clearly I could see a cozy living room, very Donna Reed decor. Everything was perfect in this Norman Rockwell living room. Too perfect. It was unsettling, and the old  Victrola was playing a warped record with the song 'I'll Be Home for Christmas' playing over and over again in a scratchy but endearingly hair-raising kind of way. On initial inspection I couldn't see a damned thing wrong with the room. The kids wore their footie pajamas and set out a picture perfect plate of cookies while mom sat on dad's lap and they kissed under a held sprig of mistletoe. Picture. Perfect.

It struck me as sad that I distrusted this happy family and scene so much instead of embracing it as an ideal to aspire to, but again there was something wrong. I just hadn't figured out what it was yet.

That's when I looked in the fireplace. Amidst the happily crackling flames that the children played near I made out the charred remains of red fabric spread over the logs. Gaping holes dotted the back of the garment where flames had burned their way through, and the white trim was blackened in the embers. All that was left of the belt was the smoke-damaged glint of a buckle attached to what looked like a mummified snake.

I glanced up at the family in a sort of horrified daze. The kids were oblivious to the implications of that charred red suit. Perhaps they hadn't even noticed it. The parents... they smirked knowingly at me, and the father raised a snifter of brandy as if toasting my detective work.

The pen couldn't write fast enough to get it all down as the story unfolded around me. I could see this very dark tale of horror, and then I stopped writing. I stared at the pages and
hated myself. How could I kill Santa Claus? Even worse, how could I kill off Santa knowing full well that my mother still believes in him?

I put the pen back to the page and began to cross out certain things, add certain other things, and created a much more light-hearted story than what I had started.

And now, for your reading pleasure, I present to you.....

Home for X-Mas: A Holiday Tale of Dysfunction 

Writing by the Light of a MacBook and Candles

The pic at the right has nothing to do with the obsession du cette nuit, but I thought I would share, nonetheless. It was my avatar's Halloween costume at the virtual night club I run in Second Life called The Hanging Cages. This year I went as Lilith from my own novels. And yeah, it was a lot of fun.

Tonight found me in the throes of a writing binge. Rather than force it away with mindless Facebooking or random surfing, I buckled down and did what any goth gal would do: I lit a ton of candles and put the band Rome on a loop. I got so caught up in the yummy scented candles and atmosphere that I kind of forgot to write. I jotted down something instead that looks much more like Enochian angelic script. I have no idea what it means, but I'm assured that it'll be a hit. Somewhere. Someday.

Tonight found me working partially on the latest project: The Nemesis Diary (a working title that I may end up changing after finding out there's a show with a name that's close to it, and I don't want the two confused for one another).

I posted some of it to my Facebook page (feel free to friend me: suzi.m.author).

News and Such.... aka Condoms Are Not Condiments

Floating in the etherverse, there's always a few interesting videos that occasionally make me giggle. One such video played like a latex-clad sex ed science class and featured a condom on a corn dog. Awesomesauce. High school was never that entertaining for me.

Other than stumbling across various YouTube insanity and my borderline Hulu and Adult Swim addictions, I've been jumping back on the writing horse. Pictured here is the stuff of my research (yes, even when writing something as trivial as a horror novel, I do actually do some research - be it to visit the places/live in the places I write about or research the history of places for setting and ambiance).

Note the cup of coffee and small stack of books. While gathering research I came across a book titled Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. How could I go wrong with that? I thought to myself. I was not disappointed. If you dig history, it's a great book. The vampires are more peripheral causes of the action, rather than main characters, which was refreshing.

I also finished reading The Amityville Horror and Nice Girls Don't Live Forever. Broke down and bought a Kindle to spare my poor sagging bookshelves. My plan is to buy antique books and first edition prints from now on, and all the rest can be electronic unless I adore them enough to want to sniff the pages.

Taking a break from the horror/vampire kick I returned to another genre love: noir detective story. The Silent Hour by Michael Koryta is an awesome read so far. Mystery, murder, and mobsters. Sounds catchy, right? And just to keep one foot planted squarely in my stereotype, I'm also reading Death Masks (aka Book 5 of The Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher. LOVE that series. Can't wait for the new book in April or the collection of stories due out around Halloween.

In music land, I've been digging Dixieland, old jazz, and a band called Rome (the gothic folk band, not the rap one if browsing iTunes). A few tried and true fave bands have released some new albums, so have Frontline Assembly, SITD, and Combichrist on a loop.

For 2011, I'm working on some humor projects. Dark humor, but humor nonetheless. Also working on the historical project, too. And.... if all goes according to plan, there may even be a graphic novel in the works. Stay tuned....