The Pearly Droplets ~ November 2012

AVISO: GRINELDA MARKOWITZ, THE AUTHOR OF THIS NEWSLETTER, WRITES EROTICA. THEREFORE, NOT ALL CONTENT OR CONTENT LINKED TO HEREIN IS PG-13. ‘NUFF SAID.

Hi there! Welcome to the first issue of “The Pearly Droplets.” The regular features of this periodical include: a character spotlight from one of my books, a morsel of background info for a completed work or a work in progress, a micro article, links to recent posts in my WordPress blog,and starting in December 2013, guest author interviews and guest blogs, a tidbit about me as author. Of course, I’ll try to surprise you with something unexpected in each issue.

If you’d like to be a guest writer featured in this newsletter, please email me at grinelda.markowitz (at) gmail.com with the words “Grinnie’s Featured Author” in the subject line (you may want to copy/paste this into the subject line to facilitate proper filtering). You have the option to be interviewed or provide a guest blog post. Please include which option you’d like in the body of the email. When I receive your email I’ll send you further information. The first featured artist will appear in the December issue of this newsletter.

The Kalaydan Chronicles: Book I ~ The Moon-kissed Chi:

Where on earth is Kalaydan?

Kalaydan is located on the world of Hëhrth. Ages ago a being whose skin glittered like crushed crystal, a seed planter, stepped down from the lesser moon and placed the egg of what would become The Great Cod on the floor of Hëhrth’s great waters.

After the passage of a great expanse of time, the egg hatched and The Great Cod came into being. Rooting around on the ocean’s floor as it matured, it soon began its journey to the surface of the world where its great work would begin. The vast caverns, deep ravines and bottomless pits of the oceans floor were left behind in its wake.

Upon reaching the surface, The Great Cod spent several decades tunneling to the core of the world. The passageways beneath the surface are the result of the Cod’s efforts. Upon reaching the core, The Great Cod spewed the essence which became the Gaichi.

The inhabitants of the world were yet primitive, many legends of The Great Cod are retold over and over. It also figures greatly in their fertility rites and pantheonic structure.

Next time, I’ll talk about the Gaichi.

Introducing Muntaën

Muntaën comes on the scene in the latter part of book one. He says little, feels deeply, and has been in love with Gayadnae (Gaya) since his aunt, Grayt, had showed him a tidbit of what may have been the future. Not only would he become Gaya’s Kallish (sworn bed mate of a ruling woman), but both Gayadnae and he would have a special connection to the Gaichi once their bonding was sealed on the Chamber floor.

When Gayadnae first lays eyes on Muntaën, she is taken by his quiet nature and dark curly hair and feral yellow eyes. She experiences a stillness within that she’d never experienced before. Though Muntaën is Kalaydan in most of his appearance, the eyes, and his alabaster skin suggest otherwise. He stands a hand shorter than Gayadnae’s father, Bezhyanya, but is broader in the shoulders. Lean muscled, and more graceful than a dancer, he proves to be her match on the fighting floor.

Next time, I’d like to introduce you to Arrinay.

Tricks to getting over the hump and writing:

Recent Morning Posts to my blog have been about writing, getting the writing done, and other writerly topics. I thought I’d share a few things I do to get on task and stay there.

1. Minor tasks which need doing and will annoy the heck out of me if left undone are a priority. I unload the dishwasher when I take breaks from writing, adding a few more dishes here and there. Pretty soon it’s full and I can run it.

2. I take breaks of about five to ten minutes every 45 to 75 minutes. I keep a snackie on the table so I can stave off hunger until I take a meal break. On these breaks, I also multitask. Take a few minutes to stroll to the post box, sort a small pile of papers, jot things on my to-do list, etc. These are all tasks which don’t take more than a five to ten minutes.

3. Sometimes, I need a timer. I set the timer for 45 minutes or longer, and push myself to get as much done as I can until the timer sounds. I reward myself in some way when I get more done than goofing off.

4. The Morning post is a morning post for a reason. It’s the first thing I do of a morning when I intend to get one done. Sometimes I may draft it the night before, but I do the final work in the morning. Anything I need to get done for sure, goes on my first-thing list for the morning. I then prioritize whatever is on that list.

5. When I arrive at a point in writing that I have to think about things that are going on in the work in progress, then I pace and perform nitnoi tasks like getting things into the laundry basket that need to get there, minor tidying, updating the things-to-do list, etc. These permitted distractions are valid writing activities because they free up my mind to unknot whatever it is at which I find myself stuck.

I came across this blog post as I was tooling around getting this newsletter ready. I decided to share it here. Being a little old lady isn’t so bad. I’m not in my seventies, but am of an age that there’s no getting around my not being young any more. What I found most inspiring about this article is the reminder that there have always been women who were and are go-getters. They don’t sit around and confine themselves to the constraints society creates for them, no matter what age. So, whether a college graduate in an age when there were few women college graduates, or a fighter pilot during the war where men were dominant in the field, or even a woman starting out as a writer in her prime of life, the sky’s the limit for women, and men too. All they have to do is get into the cockpit and start the engine.

Please take a moment to visit Bookwitch’s WordPress post, Old Ladies.

Blowing my own horn:

One thing I don’t do well is talk about myself. Really, and more particularly my work. Grinelda is my nom de plume for writing erotica. Not sure exactly why that name popped into my head, but well, it did. In my spare time I work to put bread on the table, do pottery work, read (not as often as I’d like) and write. I also support the local symphony and and arts community. Writing has always been an interest, but it was only recently that I found an outlet which didn’t involve endless mailouts to potential publishers. I like my writing to be fun for me and fun for the reader. I have the following works in progress:

* A Ghostly Tale or Two
* Johnny B. Goode
* The Moon-kissed Chi: Book II ~ The Training
* Ailbhe and Ciara

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