Rabia Gale

alchemical fantasy

blogging

a list for wednesday

1. I have a guest post on atypical fantasy protagonists up at the Turtleduck Press blog. Come check it out!

2. Also,  you might’ve noticed I’m doing interviews and guest posts recently. This is my Low-Key Sorta Blog Tour for Rainbird’s release. I’m happy to do more of these, so if you have an open spot on your blog that you want to give me, feel free to ask. I’d appreciate it. 🙂

3. Remember that last week I shared the Peter Hollens and Lindsey Stirling version of the Game of Thrones theme music? Well, their Skyrim rendition is even better! I am hooked on this.

 

How’s your week going?

7 favorite books of 2012

A while ago I was given the Very Inspiring Blogger Award by Ellen Gregory and Tami Clayton–thank you, ladies! I’m supposed to share seven facts about myself but, like Ellen and Tami, I’m going to talk about books instead. Here, in no particular order, are my 7 favorite reads of the year so far.

1. Goblin Moon by Teresa Edgerton

Goblins, alchemy, and strange rituals abound in this seventeenth-century-inspired fantasy. Reissued by the author in e-format for a steal, this adventure features a dashing Scarlet Pimpernel and a practical young lady determined to save her cousin from a nasty plot.

2. Dark Life by Kat Falls

I usually find post-global warming settings far too grim to enjoy, but Kat Falls has created a fascinating world in which humans live in underwater settlements. This YA novel is a great adventure from start to finish–and the sequel is out, too!

3. The City in the Lake by Rachel Neumeier

 

Fairy tale-like story. Magical world. Lovely prose. An independent heroine and a deep, quiet romance. I’m a sucker for all these.

4. The Serpent Sea by Martha Wells

The sequel to The Cloud Roads shows Moon growing into his role as Jade’s consort as his clan returns to their ancestral home. Loved it.

5. Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines

This compelling story turned out to nothing like I expected: not quite alternate history or dystopia, not quite fantasy or contemporary YA. The book focuses more on family dynamics and societal commentary than on romance and revenge. In spite of a huge plot issue in the last third, I devoured it.

6. Herb Witch by Elizabeth McCoy

A well-written romantic fantasy, with a potions-based magical system, political intrigue and a courtship of convenience.

7. The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr

This book indirectly prompted my post on what the Internet is doing to my brain. A thought-provoking read. More on this topic in future posts.

 

And since I’ve already broken the rules for this award (I’m such a rebel), I’ll go ahead and break some more. If you want to play, post your seven favorite books of the year so far either on your blog or in the comments. Share the love!

this week on writer at play

Summer’s flying by.

In just over a week, we go back to school at home. Hard to believe it, but Sir I. is going into third grade, Miss M into first grade, and the Baron into pre-K. I’ve stockpiled my school supplies, got in a big box of curricula and workbooks, photocopied, printed, and hole-punched worksheets galore. Now I need to tackle the schoolroom!

This week also brings the first post in the 2012 edition of the Back To School For Writers blog series. For the next seven Wednesdays, a guest poster will share their knowledge and expertise on a subject that is too often shrouded in misconceptions or portrayed wrongly in fiction. I’m thrilled about the series and I expect to learn a lot. I hope you will enjoy it, too!

On Monday I talk about (maybe) finding my genre and on Friday I give you a sneak peek of my latest fiction project.

Stay tuned!

how the internet is changing my brain

I need to change my Internet habits.

I spend a lot of time online for both work and pleasure, and the line between the two often blurs. It’s easy for that to happen on the Internet. You get on to check reviews and samples for homeschooling curricula and, before you know it, you’re watching a video of dueling cellos while ogling pictures of steampunk-themed sand castles and it’s 1 am and five hours have gone by.

So this podcast by Michael Hyatt (via Jodi Lea Stewart) came at the right time for me. Navigating the Internet is like a balancing act and I fell off a long time ago

I’m not a scientist and I can’t discuss the latest research on how the Internet is changing our brains. But I do know that it’s had a negative impact on my brain in the following ways:

First, it’s turning me into a consumer rather than a creator. Guys, there is such a LOT of cool stuff on the Internet. Thoughtful and witty and entertaining blog posts. Gorgeous photos and awesome art. Funny memes, useful how-tos, amazing facts. I could spend hours immersing myself in other people’s words and images.

And quite frequently, I do.

But the thing is, if I’m consuming then I’m not giving myself the time or space or silence to create. And if I don’t create, if I don’t bring art from within me, I feel down and depressed.

Which leads me to another aspect of the Internet: it’s shortening my attention span. Ever notice how you surf the web? You read a short blog post, follow a link to a two-minute video, move on to a series of pictures with funny captions, then tweet or change  your FB status. You’re restless, constantly on the move, clicking links, opening and closing tabs.

If it doesn’t grab right away, if it’s not broken up with lots of white space and cute images, if it’s too difficult to get into, you move on.

And that’s filtering into other areas offline. Follow an argument through several pages of densely-written text? Phbbt. Reached a snag in my current story? I’ll just check my RSS feed for a few minutes. I wrote a paragraph? Hooray. Now I can go see if someone mentioned me on Twitter.

Uh. No. In order to write the kinds of stories I want to, I need to dig deep into myself. I need to burrow into my characters’ heads, wear their skins, feel the bite of the wind and the stench of sewage and the ache of muscle… and I can’t do that if I’m running off every ten minutes.

The Internet keeps me sedentary. I am my brain and my body (and my soul, but I’m not getting into that discussion right now). They feed each other. Ever notice how many ideas come to you when you’re doing a repetitive action, like washing dishes or sweeping the floor or–this is a big one for me–pacing a room? My muscles work, kickstart my brain, and boom! I unsnarl a plot point, a coy character starts talking, and I get a new story idea.

The Internet can cause unhealthy dependence on casual relationships. Online interactions are like a drug. Every comment on a blog post and every retweet can give a momentary high, leaving one craving more. My life, though, is not measured in blog subscribers, twitter followers or the opinions of perfect strangers. When those things take away from the real, important work of raising my children and investing in my close (on and offline) relationships, they’re taking a place that’s not meant for them.

And lastly, too much screen time makes me feel bad. If I spend too much time staring at the screen (and this includes TV and video games) I come away feeling jittery, anxious, sad, or down. And then it’s hard for me to reconnect with the world around me, with my family, with my own stories, with God.

And with that, it’s time for me to get off the computer and take my children outside to see what butterflies and dragonflies we can spot!

How is the Internet affecting your brain? What guidelines govern your Internet usage?