Hello, ghouls and boys!
It is fall here in Madison, or so say the lovely yellow-leaved trees and few bare branches outside my window. Halloween in Madison is traditionally a pretty big deal, so there are plenty of ways to celebrate. I am still deciding how I will do it up this weekend, but I'm sure I'll have fun. I like to celebrate both the sacred and secular meanings of Halloween/All Soul's Day. The pagan name for Halloween is Samhain (pronounced "sow-en"), and typically that is when the veil between this world and the next thins. One Day of the Dead tradition involves leaving a trail of marigold petals to your door so that your beloved departed can find you. I tried that one last year, only to realize when I got home that I'd bought the wrong kind of flower. So it goes. I bet most of those I've loved and lost would rather have a trail of whiskey anyway.
Though I'm not publishing right and left (a few links below) right now, I think this is the most active writing life I've ever had. I have so many projects, including my first screenplay, and I want to work on them all, all the time. However, starting at midnight Halloween/November 1, most of my projects will take back burners on a really giant stove. That's right, I'm doing Nanowrimo again this year, and you should too. I did it back in 2004 and 2005. Both years, I was able to finish despite grad school responsibilities, so I'm not worried about finishing this year now that I have more time to spend on it. I do hope that I'm able to pull this off better than the others I tried, though. I'm not going to give too much away about it, except to say that it's dark fantasy and Pan's Labyrinth has been a big inspiration.
A new writing project that I'm excited to offer is poems by commission! For a donation of any amount (well, at least a dollar!), I'll write you a one of a kind poem on the topic of your choosing. You can also pick the tone (funny, sad, etc.) or leave that to me. Hopefully if you're reading this, you've read enough of my work to know that the chances of getting a mushy love poem are slim and your chances of getting something weird are high. Please just drop me an email if you'd like to sponsor a poem: erinlyndalmartin at gmail dot com is my address. As I writer living on disability, you have no idea how much every dollar I get means to me, so your generosity is appreciated. I also love to write for people and hopefully improve their worlds a bit, so I like to hope this is a win-win situation. :)
Finally, here's a round-up of stuff:
-Still reading for the Buffy-inspired poetry anthology. Email me at the address I just gave above if you have a submission.
-My Kickstarter to publish Pneumolalia! is still active: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1955099502/pneumolalia-a-play-in-verse
-New interviews with Jolie Holland, Over the Rhine, and Times New Viking at Pop Matters: My contributor page
-Review of Peter RIchards' Helsinki in the new Sink Review: Sink Review
-Poem at Ghost Ocean Magazine
-And, as always, tons of great music interviews at Euterpe's Notebook.
Thanks for reading, and hope you get the good candy when you trick-or-treat.
