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.

Romance Writers of Australia, 2019

The fabulous Bec McMaster. Read her books!

 I am home from my visit to Melbourne, Australia for the Romance Writers of Australia Conference,  2019! Friday night, the Mercure/Pullman hotel hosted the annual cocktail party. The theme was Twisted Fairy Tales. Not all of us dressed up, but man, those who did looked AWESOME!

The party was the kick off of an amazing weekend full of workshops with brilliant women, talking writing, and of course, my presentation on Writing the Best Sex of Your Life. Australian romance writers are so gracious, intelligent, and friendly. I was beyond honored to be there.

A half-feral Belle.

 Various links of various people I met:

Davina Stone

Bec McMaster (OMG her books are so good)

Jacqui Greig, Editor of Blush Magazine

Nalini Singh A giant among romance writers, though she is petite and adorable.

Moses, telling us how to do it.

Me in front of the gorgeous rose wall.

Jacqui Greig, of Blush Magazine, and tall husband!

So many cool costumes.

All the criminals of the fairy tale world.

A hippy, happy Malificent!

More criminals!

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. 

Holding out for a heroine.

If you are the crazy sort like I am, storytelling is about symbolically integrating the full spectrum of one's personalities into a whole where even the more unpleasant aspects of one's self is understood. I use "Heroine" interchangeably with the term antagonist - the one who starts the action.

The heroine/main character/antagonist has a number of jobs in a story.

First, she is who the audience will identify with. She is the gateway into the story, the one whose motivations and feelings we can understand.

Her second task is to show growth and learning. The heroine is the one who learns the most in the course of the story.

Third, she drives the action, learning how to be in control of her destiny. She takes the most risk of anyone in the story.

She is willing to sacrifice in order to learn or protect. Sacrifice ties in with a death or a death experience. These are often misunderstood as facing a literal death (which is highly effective but can be overplayed). She might let go of cherished beliefs, unbreakable habits, and or a past that holds her back.

From here, you are only limited by your imagination on who this heroine is. She can be a loner, more social, an innocent, orphan, wanderer, waif, or whatever. Once you know her functions in the story, you can write with more passion and confidence.

Archetypes: The Sage.

Finally, we have reached the last Queen Archetype from the Mopop Queen Within exhibition! She is The Sage, and what a wonderful woman to finish with.

 She's the thinker, planner, risk-taker, and philosopher in all of us. She has wisdom, intelligence, and self-reflection and uses these powers to understand the world.

Her biggest fears are being ignored or tricked by others. This can lead to her weakness, which is the seductive lure of never-ending research.

The Sage cares about the environment and wants sustainable fabrics. Her clothing invites inquiry.

 What do you wear to invoke The Sage? What makes you feel wise and able to take risks?