Well, I'm back and breathing.

 Hello, beautiful readers!
 

2023 has been, well, difficult. My beloved stepmother died in March, finally free from her dementia. I traveled to Ireland (hooray!) in May, where I promptly picked up pneumonia (boo). I spend all of June healing from that infection. I'm waiting (and waiting and waiting) to get to a surgeon to schedule my first of two needed knee replacements. I got Covid at end of August, and now, in the beginning of October, I have a cold.

So, a whole lot got put by the wayside, including you. While I've had this time to reflect, I realized that I want to make life more fun. And I thought - who doesn't like getting snail mail? I'm thinking of creating a proper, old-fashioned mail newsletter. Do you dig the idea? It would come out twice a year, interspersed with any small updates, probably sent on postcards. Tell me if you would like this!

Second, I wanted to update you on my writing. :) I'm working on two co-authored books. The first is with my long-term collaborator, Shea MacLeod, and is the fourth book in our fabulous Dream Factory series. My new co-author, April Aasheim, creates incredibly witchy novels, especially the Dark Root Series. We are working on a new series that follows her Dark Root Ancestry series. Wow! I'm so excited to work with such brilliant women.

Lastly, I'm brainstorming on a brand new book that will incorporate steampunk with my love of Middle Eastern history. It's still in the idea phase, so no firm updates yet.


Let me know if you would like to have a pretty newsletter show up in your meat-space mailbox.

Awesome Updates!

Hello, dolls!

All sorts of great things are happening over here.

• I don't know if I told you all, but I am part of a collection of short stories Called Itty Bitty Writing Space, edited by my friend Jason Brick. It's 104 short stories by 104 authors. My story is my homage to Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 450. Buy it here!

• Speaking of Jason Brick - he is offering a special deal on his Write Like Hell class. WLH is a one year course to get your writing (and writing life) where you want it to be. If you mention that you heard about it from me, you get $100/month off on the price. Jason is both generous and a smarty-pants who loves to see people write all they want. If you want to check it out, here is the link.

•  I have an Instagram! I will be using to let the world see my campaign of tiny love notes. I will be hiding these little pieces of art wherever I go. If you'd like to play, let me know. I will send you some small art and you can set the love free in the world too. Come visit me at: www.Instagram.com/linda_mercury    

• On Saturday, October 12, 2019, I will be part of the Self Publishing Divas panel at the Rose City Romance Writers meeting. Join me, Shea MacLeod, Jessa Slade, and Jasmine Silvara  at 11am at Portland Community College -Sylvania. Email me if you need directions. :)

 

• AND. From October 18-20, I will be in ATLANTA, GEORGIA! I will be part of the first Multiverse Con. I'll be doing improv (bites nails) and doing panels on plotting, writing female characters, sex-positive  gaming, and how to survive burnout. If you want to join me, register here.

 

• I'm planning my 2020 travel. If you want me to come to you for readings, book tours, or panels, email me! I love to visit my lovely people.

Melbourne, Australia, 2019

We saw the Terra Cotta Warriors.

I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we have gathered on today. I pay my respects to the Elders past, present and emerging, for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the nation.

Source: Welcome to Country & Acknowledgement of Country - Creative Spirits, retrieved from https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/spirituality/welcome-to-country-acknowledgement-of-country

I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we have gathered on today. I pay my respects to the Elders past, present and emerging, for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the nation.

Source: Welcome to Country & Acknowledgement of Country - Creative Spirits, retrieved from https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/spirituality/welcome-to-country-acknowledgement-of-country

 I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we have gathered on today. I pay my respects to the Elders past, present and emerging, for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the nation.

Source: Welcome to Country & Acknowledgement of Country - Creative Spirits, retrieved from https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/spirituality/welcome-to-country-acknowledgement-of-country

Before every event in Australia, they acknowledge the indigenous people of the country. I was nearly in tears after I heard it the first time. I find it appropriate for me to do this when I am showing things from Melbourne.

We visited the National Gallery of Victoria. Intertwined with the traditional art and grave goods, modern Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang's beautiful, gunpowder-painted pieces brought an even greater sense of wonder.

I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we have gathered on today. I pay my respects to the Elders past, present and emerging, for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the nation.

Source: Welcome to Country & Acknowledgement of Country - Creative Spirits, retrieved from https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/spirituality/welcome-to-country-acknowledgement-of-country

Cai Guo-Qiang's enormous silks, painted with exploded gunpowder.

Grave Guardian.

A Horse Lamp from the exhibit, Designing Women.

The laneways and arcades of Melbourne are *amazing*.

Inside one of the laneways.

How could I not take this store's picture?

Speaks for itself.

The Great Ocean Road.

And another brilliant costume from RWAus.

Hello, Melbourne!

I am already in love with Melbourne on the first day. Here are some pictures to show you this very cool city.

The Charming Man and I are spending a few days in the Central Businesses District before moving on to the conference hotel. This is what we have seen.

An adorable sculpture in the Statte Library of Victoria. 

This has to be the perfect comics crossover.

Prawns on tomato sauce. 

A great loss.

Photos do the stained glass no justice. It was awe-inspiring.

The Notre Dame cathedral in Paris is burning as I write this. I had the privilege of visiting the cathedral several years ago. It was a life-changing event for me. 

The church and grounds shone with devotion to beauty, faith, and architecture. I experienced transcendence when I looked at the stained glass and wandered the cool, dark interior.

I'm not Catholic, but I lit a candle for my mother.

The famous entrance and flying buttresses.

Exterior Gardens.

Side chapels.

Location, location, location

Radu (not in picture) loves Istanbul.

 Dracula Unleashed takes place all over the world. I've been lucky enough to travel to some of the locations I write about. Here we go, across the globe!

Amsterdam is the home of Luc Breton, the European leader.

More Amsterdam. So gorgeous!

The Hagia Sophia.

Once a cathedral and a mosque, the Hagia is a museum. Can you imagine worshipping here?

The Sultan's private rooms in the Topkapi Palace.

Valerie and her boys.

Travel pictures!

Crater Lake, Oregon

We had cocktails at the Grand Californian at Disneyland!

I've had a busy spring, including some fantastic trips down the West Coast.  Here are some pics!

The Guardians of the Galaxy ride. So  much fun!

Oregon wine country

Creating a Writing Life

Owner Maggie and her daughter, Jordan

The coffee shop/tea shop is a cliche for a reason. Writers go there not just for their caffeine fix, but for the warmth and the chance to be around other people working.

Like the also-popular library, a comfortable coffee shop is an essential place for your literary life. The synergy all those laptops and people reading is a shot in the arm for your own work.

So let's explore some wonderful places to write and refresh yourself. Especially The ClockWork Rose Tea Emporium. 

If this doesn't make you want to write a story of derring-do, nothing will.

C. Morgan Kennedy and I

My friend C. Morgan Kennedy, a steampunk fan, discovered this gorgeous place. The owners, Maggie and Harold, have lavished love, attention, and thoughtfulness all over their gorgeous space. All the little details in the tea shop inspire and encourage a writer (ok, *this* writer) to take care with all the small details that make a scene sing.

Look at those gears!

How can your writing not soar under pretty balloons?

Something about warm beverages and delicious, carefully made treats (seriously, try the scones) keeps people (ok, *this* person), alert and refreshed even during the most difficult writing tasks.

Seriously. Everything is delicious.

Harold, Maggie's Husband made nearly all their steampunk decor.

The awesome, tempting shop.

If you have to write, scout out a local coffee house or tea shop. Find a place with comfortable chairs, delicious baked goods, and excellent beverages. I promise, it will always lift you up and renew your enthusiasm for your projects.