Of Art and Things

The next release I have will be on October the 1st. A short story for eXtasy's Fantasy Garden series titled "The Cadet's Officer." I am so excited :-)

With my latest release "The Pauper's Prize" doing so well, and now the news of another release next month, I am in writing heaven...literally.

I don't have the cover for "The Cadet's Officer" as of yet, but I can share with you a little blurb. I am still madly doing the final edits--only a few weeks to go! Yikes :-)

Living on an exploration spaceship light years away from any civilization can get real lonely, even though there are thousands on board with you. Adam Wilkinson dreams of being with another man, and secretly he has a crush on the second in charge, Evan Cleary. But will the hunky, hard as nails officer want to be with Adam? Or more to the point, does the dreamy, absolutely perfect man even know Adam exists?

Also, today I went to see the Salvador Dali exhibition that's currently on at the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) The largest collection of his work ever presented in Australia. It was simply awesome! That man was a genius. There is no other word for it. To see what he could paint at 15, then move through his life to see such stunningly detailed surrealistic works blew me away. Even the tiny little ants looked life like! Leanne commented that when the man painted velvet, it looked like velvet! So true.


The other funny thing was, when we arrived a tour group was going through the gallery. A lovely elderly lady was the guide. It was hilarious listening to her say 'sexual' and 'genitals' many, many times over through the course of the tour she was giving. The best part was when she coined Dali's famous phrase: 'the great masturbator.' I couldn't help but chuckle! Classic! Also, to see his photographic work, his drawings and even the jewelry he did was amazing, let alone marvel at the paintings. Seeing them in a book does not do them justice. His paintings were alive!



I also got to see the famous lobster phone, too. The man had talent. Such an inspiration, especially as my work has lots of genitals and sexual content in it *grin*



So catch you all next week. Hopefully I can post an excerpt of The Cadet's Officer then...Have a chocolate filled week everyone :-)

Inspiration as the summer fades away...

As the last days of summer slide by, I'm trying to cram everything I can into a few days so my kids will remember the fun we all shared. We stay up late and watch movies, go to the zoo, the arboretum, the lake and today we're at a very cool coffee shop downtown. The little ones play with toys on the floor...hey, any place that makes a space for kids makes me smile....and my oldest daughter and I bring our laptops and books to read. Right now the kids are playing Mickey Mouse Uno as I type this blog.

It seems like yesterday I was a kid myself, walking to the public pool a few blocks away, kicking a horse apple all the way. Sometimes it makes me sad to see how fast time flies but that should comfort me since I'm a writer. It seems like we have to wait forever to hear back from editors, publishers and agents. Well, I just received the fastest rejection ever today. I queried an agent yesterday and today I received the email form letter that said my work sucks. Gotta love those little love letters we get. I hold them all so close to my heart.





Back to me and my kids going to the Arboretum. At the Dallas Arboretum, they have these storybook cottages for kids to walk inside. I just love them. Each cottage is a house from a book to promote literacy for children. My kids loved Alice and Wonderland's crazy cottage. They had a ship for Treasure Island and some fish in a house for Dr. Seuss's One Fish, Two Fish. It just makes me very happy to see the city promoting literacy in this way. What a gorgeous arboretum. I wish everyone could go. Right now, tickets are one dollar for the month of August...probably cause it's so damn hot, no one in their right mind would pay more than that in this heat..ha ha...but they have a frog fountain for the kids to play in and cool off.

Storybook Playhouses at The Dallas Arboretum





The storybook cottages inspired me. It was my young adult fantasy that was rejected yesterday. I've been told it's "too far out", "bizarre", "weird" and I've had some say, "Hey, what were you smoking?" Well, have you read Alice in Wonderland or any of Dr. Seuss? What about all the crazy names he came up with? The man was a genius in my book. I also sent my query to another agent yesterday. I'll continue to send my work out. I know we all go through tough times as writers. And I've been told I'm a bit odd because I write everything from erotica to YA but hey, I have a lot to write about.

I just want to remind all those wicked bloggers out there to write what you love and never give up. Don't listen to the negative comments. Believe in yourself, spend time with those you love and you'll find yourself inspired to forge ahead. Dream big!


~xxoo,
Alisha