I'M BORED by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

A while ago I did a feature on the very talented author/illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi.  And now I am very happy to share that the book she illustrated, I'M BORED, has made its way into the world and it's awesome, full of wit and charm . . . and a potato.

But don't just believe me.  Here's what the New York Times has to say about it:

"Black is a comedian and actor (“Stella,” “The State”) when not writing children’s books (“A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea”), and he tells his story in sprightly fashion. The illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi convincingly draws a child full of life, a potato full of — well, potatotude, and computer drawings that look just like good old-fashioned linocuts. Her smart cartoony artwork matches Black’s perfect comic timing, making for a fun ride that should leave you amused, perhaps pensive, and no longer bored." - David Small, The New York Times Sunday Book Review


In any event, here's a synopsis, and if you are interested in more information please visit Debbie's page on her website about it which has links galore!

I'M BORED

 

Written by Michael Ian Black
Illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

There is NOTHING boring about being a kid, but one little girl is going to have to prove it in this anything-but-boring picture book from comedian Michael Ian Black.

Just when a little girl thinks she couldn’t possibly be more bored, she stumbles upon a potato who turns the tables on her by declaring that children are boring. But this girl isn’t going to let a vegetable tell her what’s what, so she sets out to show the unimpressed potato all the amazing things kids can do. Too bad the potato is anything but interested.
This tongue-in-cheek twist on a familiar topic is sure to entertain anyone who’s ever been bored—or had to hear about someone else being bored—and is filled with comedian Michael Ian Black’s trademark dry wit, accompanied by charismatic illustrations from newcomer Debbie Ridpath Ohi.

Steampunk Tuesday - SF/Fantasy

Author J.M Frey (left) and Me as Rorschach and Laurie from WATCHMEN

Last week I discussed my number six, that is to say number one, reason why I love Steampunk (from the list I made here).  And so this week it seemed on right to carry on to number five, number two:

I love SF/Fantasy.

Now some of you who read my Fake Geek Girl blog post will know that I'd never really defined myself as a geek.  Nor really as an SF/Fantasy fan.  It wasn't until I took stock of the kinds of entertainment I enjoyed that I realised, "Oh wait, yeah I really do love that stuff!"

I think the thing for me was that I like a lot of stuff.  And a lot of genres.  I'll pretty much watch any film/read any book so long as it isn't scary.  But there is something about the SF/Fantasy genre that I think is just wonderful.  And that's what I'm going to talk about today.


ESCAPISM

I think most genre fans come to it as a means of escape.  I think most people come to media in general for that reason.  I know that it was definitely the case for me.  As a young teenager, I spent several summers feeling very alone and very much outside of the "cool group" (I was fine during the school year, I went to an arts school where people understood and accepted my personality).  When I would return home after a long frustrating day, I would go up to my parents' room, turn on their computer and write.

Now I had tried writing many different things over the course of my young life, many attempts at the middle school/high school experience type stories.  But the one I wound up sticking with, that really helped me, was a pirate adventure story.  Because as it turns out, I didn't want to write about my life.  My life was kind of sucky in that moment.  I wanted to write about an exciting other world.  With pirates, and adventure, and drama oh my!  It made me happy, I got to leave my existence for a time. 

And I think that's why a lot of people love to escape into genre.  We don't have to interact with the mundane real world.  We can experience cool futuristic technology, or go back to a time where everyone rode horses, or play with magic, fight with swords.  Be a hero, a wizard, a warrior, a thief ('cause thieves, like pirates, in genre, are way cooler than in real life).  I think too that's why people love portal stories so much (see a little book series called Harry Potter . . .).  You get to experience the mundane and then travel into the fantastic.  You get to pretend there is a viable way to enter that wonderland.


IDEALISM

For me, and not necessarily for all fans of genre, I like that there is a place for idealistic characters.  For good guys to win and bad guys to get their due.  This is not to say there isn't something wonderful in the grey.  I also love books where the bad guys win, and the good guys aren't necessarily that good (big fan of WATCHMEN for example - see pic above).  But it's definitely the notion that good guys don't finish last in SF/Fantasy that draws me to it. 

I know it's cool to be a fan of Batman.  The dark anti-hero.  And I do really enjoy him - though I prefer the villains :) .  More on that in a moment.  But Superman will always be my hero of choice.  I like that he was noble.  That he had no reason for doing good except for the fact that he had powers and could do good.  He made the decision, when he didn't need to, to be a hero.  In a time when so many people feel a need to point out, "I'm no role model", I like to see someone step up and take on that responsibility. 

I like too that good guys can and do win.  That if you fight with right and justice on your side, you are victorious. 

And this certainly is not always the case in real life.



VILLAINY

So after all that upbeat talk, I gotta say, I love a good villain.  And SF/Fantasy really allows you to enjoy villains without feeling too guilty about it.  When you have villains who give themselves personas and names - ie: The Riddler - when their goals are things like WORLD DOMINATION, or DESTROY THE BATMAN, when it's so clearly not something real, you can really enjoy them.  You can even root for them.  You don't have to sit back and think, "Actually, that's quite horrible."  It's so big, so much, so clearly not real, you can divorce yourself from the horror, and just have fun with it.  And boy can it be fun, from their awesome lairs, to their ridiculous plans, to their fantastic one-liners.  Villains get some of the coolest toys.  And often they get to be quite funny, which is not something heroes are always allowed to be.


ISSUES

Because of the distance that the clearly fictional universes of SF/Fantasy provide, writers and other artists are able to address real world issues in a manner that isn't always possible with non-genre works.  For one thing it makes morality tales seem less, for want of a better word, cheesy.  You can explore very basic ideas behind racism say, without the usual eye rolling, when the colours are pink and orange.  The original Star Trek is wonderful for that.  Each episode sets up a clear moral dilemma, but packages it in fun and camp.  Of course there are some wonderfully serious moments as well.  But it's the colorful fantasy of the show that makes the overt morality much more palatable.

But you can also get into far more complex conversations about issues as well.  It need not stay too broad.  You can really get into the nitty gritty of the debate over, say, science vs religion, without, at the same time, offending people.  When the religion isn't a real one, and the situation has never happened before, people can enjoy the what if, without feeling like they are being personally attacked.  So, for example, we have Deep Space Nine, where the captain becomes a god.  Or does he?  Is he communicating with a pantheon or are they aliens? 

To bring this around to Steampunk, it's why I chose science fiction as the genre in which to tell my particular story about girls and self actualisation (with a small dose of class structures and racism thrown into the mix).  I absolutely could have set the book in the real 1900 and told a similar story.  But without the restrictions of staying 100% true to what existed at the time, I was able to go even further.  I was also able to create a metaphor - girls becoming actual superheroes, while also becoming the heroes in their own lives. 


Now I have highlighted the main reasons for my love of SF/Fantasy - there are certainly other lesser ones for me as well, ie: it looks really cool.  And I am sure you guys have your own different reasons too!  So now, like usual, it's time to share!  What drew you to SF/Fantasy??

Word on the Street 2012

Yesterday was the Toronto Word on the Street, a book festival that has been running in our fair city for . . . well as long as I can remember.  It's pretty fantastic.  All the publishers and literary publications set up booths (some authors do too, and this year there were several theatres who were there as well), there are tents where panels and readings are held.  There's also a stage for performances for kids. 

Setting up for Word on the Street the day before.

It's always very well attended, and this year since I don't have a book out until December and thus couldn't really read or sign, I was invited by Penguin to moderate their Women of YA panel at The Penguin Pavilion.:

So my day . . .

The delightful Lesley Livingston and I planned to meet up at said Penguin Pavilion at around 12:30pm.  We'd had a rather late evening the night before (involving a very loud pub) so we thought that that would be reasonable. 

The Penguin Pavilion - lovely setup, but, that's a poster, not an actually wall of books :)

I arrived, and said hello to the Penguin people, including my publicist Vimala (a total rockstar).  I noticed that they were giving away some swag, and asked what was going on.

"Oh we're giving away swag for following us on Twitter, if you would like anything -"
"A mug."

I might have jumped the gun slightly on that.  But let me explain.  When I was living in London, UK, I and my housemates had purchased a couple Penguin mugs.  Why?  BECAUSE THEY ARE AWESOME.  They have the classic Penguin covers on them, and come in a variety of colours and titles.  But when I moved back home to Toronto, I couldn't bring the mugs with me.  It was just too much to bring something so breakable along with three years worth of things.  Since then I've been longing to acquire said mugs once again, but aside from online I haven't been able to find them anywhere.

So when I noticed they were giving away said mugs yesterday . .  .

"A mug."

And I got a mug!!!!!!

I used it for the first time at breakfast this morning.  Yay!

Shortly after the mug incident, Lesley found me and shortly after that moment a host of delightful blogettes found us as well, totally by accident.  One such blogette - Wendy - had evidently at that moment been speculating if I would be signing at Word on the Street (I wasn't), and then poof!  I appeared!  I'm like Voldemort that way, you say my name and I show up.  And I'm evil.  And don't have a nose.

At any rate it was awesome, because she had an ARC of TFS, and I signed it.  And I just happened to have a HERO button on my so I gave it to her as well. 

Courtesy of Wendy's instagram

Then we all became Lesley's posse and followed her to the This is Not the Shakespeare Stage, where she and authors Mariko Tamaki, Deborah Kerbel and Natalie Walschots were reading:

Note: up until this point it had been relatively warm and sunny.

Then.

Deborah mentions her gratitude it is nice and sunny and not stormy.

Lesley starts to read a scene involving a huge storm.

AND THE HEAVENS OPENED WIDE

Seriously, it started to pour.  We were under the tent, so we were okay, but still.  It was pouring.  It also was freezing.  And by the end of the hour I, the lovely blogettes, and the authors on stage were shaking. 

Lesley signed some stock, and then we quickly wound our way to the VIP room for food and hot beverages. So cold were we, we just kind of sat there wondering what the heck had just happened.

Then, we had to go to the Women in YA panel.  Which I was moderating, and which Lesley, Mariko and Alyxandra Harvey were panelists on.  It went very well, was very well attended, and I think some very good conversation was had.

Earlier that day: me moderating Lesley.

Our glorious audience.  Which got even fuller when it started to rain.  AGAIN.

Lesley, Mariko and Alyxandra

 After that I parted ways with Lesley, said hi to my parents who had come to watch, and my aunt and uncle.  And a neighbour.  Yeah.  I have a very supportive group of people behind me.  I'm kind of really lucky :) .

And my friend, Lisa.  With whom I then wandered through the rest of the event (where we saw the Polkaroo - and as any good Canadian knows, a Polkaroo sighting is a most special thing indeed), before running away to a coffee shop to warm up again.

The Polkaroo!!  He DOES exist!

That was the day!  It was wonderful, and I think The Penguin Pavilion was such a brilliant idea (it was their first year having their own tent for panels), and seemed to be quite successful.   In all, despite the cold, it was a lovely day.  I'm already looking forward to next year :) .

A story . . . an idiom brought to life.

So when I was a teen I worked as a theatre technician during summers at The Georgian Theatre Festival.

One evening I was sitting in the hall backstage before any of the actors etc had shown up.  It was just us techies doing pre-show set up.  I was watching my fellow techie Lauren ironing some costumes.  She had set up the ironing board in the musicians' dressing room.  We were chatting.  Just chillaxing.

Now in theatre the word "strike" is used as "remove".  So one strikes a set, for example, at the end of the show.  If there's a chair where it shouldn't be someone might call out, "Hey, could someone strike that chair?"

That kind of thing.

With that in mind:

The technical director came around the corner, up to us.  It was getting close to when the actors etc would be arriving.

"Hey Lauren," he said.  "Could you strike the iron and board and stuff?  The musicians are on their way up."

"Okay," she replied.

He walked away and she unplugged the iron and picked it up, accidentally touching the bottom.

"Ow, that's hot!" she said.

And I sat there, having observed all this, with my jaw on the floor.

"OMG, Lauren," I said, "do you realise what you are doing?"

She just looked at me.

"You're striking while the iron is hot."



Now unfortunately she had never heard that idiom before, so I had to wait to go home and tell my English teacher parents about it in order to have someone to share the awe of the moment.  But I'll never forget it.  It's not just that she was literally striking while the iron was hot.  It was also that the technical director had said "strike" and she had actually said "hot".  It was . . . perfect.

And yes, this is the kind of thing that just makes my life.

So what about you guys?  Have any of you witnessed an idiom/saying/metaphor come real? 

Some FRIDAY SOCIETY updates

Okay! So I thought I should share some FRIDAY SOCIETY updates as, you know, there are some.



* First and most importantly, for anyone seeking to read an excerpt - chapter one is now available online here! Yay!


* Second I will be appearing at Word on the Street, 4pm on Sunday September 23 at the Penguin Pavilion moderating the Women of YA panel.


* Third . . . here is what the jacket is going to look like!  I believe the proper term for this is "squee".  This is so beyond exciting for me.  The cover is printed on pearlescent paper so it has this sheen to it, and the title/my name/three girls are embossed.  I also really like the section they quoted on the back cover - and check out the silhouette!  How Charlie's Angels is that :) .  I also love how the flaps continue with the pinwheel design, and have these little decorative features in the corners.

Unfortunately despite numerous attempts, my pictures are slightly out of focus :P .  But I think you get a decent sense of what it looks like:

Zee jacket

Zee shiny

Zee reverse side - where you can see the embossing

* Last but not least I am very honoured to share with you a blurb from science fiction and fantasy author, Ms. Julie Czerneda. She's an all around amazing woman, very talented, and extremely generous. You should buy all her books now. Though she is also quite prolific so it might make a slight dent in your wallet.

And so . . .

“THE FRIDAY SOCIETY is what I’ve been waiting for, a dashing adventure bursting with atmosphere and originality, where the day shall be saved by women of brilliance and character. Keep writing, Kress! I must have more! Most highly recommended.”

- Julie E. Czerneda, author of A TURN OF LIGHT


And . . . that's it for now!  Further bulletins as events warrant!  (<-- a sentence I learned when I was a child from Calvin and Hobbes):

 

Steampunk Tuesday - Anachronisms or You can DO that??

Steampunk laptop:  You can DO that???

First off, I have to say, I love the word "anachronism".  By which I mean, not just, "Dude, that's a sweet word with an awesome definition."  I mean I love the word.  I love saying it. Say it out loud to yourself, right now. It's a fantastically chewy word. One where you really have to enunciate each syllable or you run the risk of tripping over yourself.

Yeah. I really like saying that word.

Second.

You may recall a while ago I finally broached the subject of why I, Adrienne Kress (yes, I am Adrienne Kress) love Steampunk. I had a nice list. Said list is here.

And the first, or rather sixth but technically it was meant to mean first, reason why I love Steampunk is Douglas Adams. That is to say my love of absurdity.  That is to say my love of mixing things together that never could possibly actually be mixed together in real life.  That is to say my love of, "You can DO that??"

So today I thought I'd elaborate on my number one, or rather number six, reason why I love Steampunk. And that's when we get to say, come on, all together now:

Anachronism.

If I was in highschool the next thing I'd say is:

The Webster's Dictionary defines Anachronism as:

1: an error in chronology; especially : a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other 

2: a person or a thing that is chronologically out of place

Now if that isn't Steampunk I don't know what is.

The idea that one can set a story in the past but include all manner of things that never existed back then is just so totally mind-blowingly amazing to me.  You see, it's fiction.  It's all fake.  So . . . why not?  Why not just play with what does and doesn't belong in stories? 

I just love that.  I love the person who first thought outside the box like that.  It makes so much sense to me.  And it's also totally ridiculous.  Which makes it all the more amazing.

I love also seeing the problem solving involved in it.  The creativity, e.g.: how do I invent a means to travel to the moon using the technology of the time?  Scott Westerfeld is utterly brilliant at the how.  I love the humour, reading a description and then realising that what the author is sharing with us as seeming so foreign is actually working towards the reveal that what is being described is, say, a cell phone.  

I love how a society that shouldn't have any relationship with futuristic technology can be so laissez-faire about it: "So tomorrow morning I shall be taking the dirigible to Cambridge, that is, of course, unless you need it."  

I also like how one can be not only anachronistic with props and costumes and set pieces, one can be anachronistic in attitudes and behaviour.  One can explore race and gender issues, bring them to the surface with far more ease than in a purely historical novel.  Play with what ifs, not be constrained by what happened in the historical timeline but speculate how the timeline might have been different.

And then there's voice.  I mean the voice in which the novel itself is written.  And something that I have wanted to write about for a while: my own process at finding the voice for THE FRIDAY SOCIETY,  which I think is perfect for this subject because the voice I chose is inherently anachronistic.

So . . .

Aside from all of the above, I decided to play with with the voice of the book itself.  Now this hadn't always been my intention.  In the beginning I wrote my proposal for TFS in a lovely oldy-timey voice.  But it just wasn't working.  My editor Nancy and I were going back and forth trying to figure out why that was, and I was getting kind of frustrated. So in a rebellious mood I just re-wrote the scene in an entirely contemporary voice. And then I read it over. And I kind of liked it. And then . . . then I had a thought: "Maybe I'm approaching this wrong. Maybe the voice doesn't need to be constrained by the time period."

And then I had a nice montage flash through my brain ("This is a montage!") of works of fiction that had given me "You can DO that??" moments when it came to voice. I'm talking Sofia Coppola's MARIE ANTOINETTE, and even A KNIGHT'S TALE (which I felt didn't 100% work, but not due to the voice, so I still use it as an example). Even DEADWOOD, which seems on the surface like it stayed true to period, doesn't entirely.  The writers realised they couldn't use the swear words of the day because they sounded too cheesy and so stuck with the tried and tested F word (not that that word didn't exist back then, but it wasn't used in the same way as we use it now. It really did mean what it meant, it wasn't just used as an expression of frustration).

There was also a translation of CYRANO DE BERGERAC I had seen staged once that modernised some of the slang and swearing (while still keeping the heightened language) that I loved so much, I bought the play.

These were films/television/plays set in the past but with a contemporary flare. The attempt was to demonstrate a relatability, I think, to show that things back then in some ways could be considered similar to now. Marie Antoinette was akin to Paris Hilton. Only you know, with bigger dresses and more beheading.

I remembered too the first time I encountered it and had a good think about it. How, I realised, while we have some examples of casual everyday speech from the past, and delightful lists of slang, most of the source material we average non-linguistics major Joes use to create conversations set in the past is the literature or theatre of the past. And that that language is a heightened form of writing. It isn't actually representative of how people necessarily spoke every day (though I'm sure some people did, Oscar Wilde for example). It's like people saying that people today all speak like Aaron Sorkin screenplays, or the Gilmore Girls.

So when we emulate the literature of the past in our own, we aren't emulating how people actually spoke. We are emulating how the writers of the past represented how people of the past spoke.

Basically my realisation was: it's not verisimilitude. Despite that period's interest in verisimilitude (can you tell I was a theatre major and studied WAY too much about the history and development of that subject, oy . . . ). Now this isn't to say I don't enjoy a good period piece. I in fact adore a good period piece. And that I don't enjoy the voice myself. Anyone who has read my short story in CORSETS & CLOCKWORK will see that I really do.  It's just it made sense with TFS to write it in a contemporary voice.  It seemed more true to the story I was telling.  It suited the fun, cheeky and, to borrow a word from my back cover copy, irreverent tone of the book.

But that's not all.

Say it with me now . . .

Anachronism.

YES! It all comes back to "You can DO that??" Because why not?  If I'm writing a book that already isn't true to period, with little anachronistic details like jet packs and steam carriages and crazy weaponry, why can't the medium itself be anachronistic?  Why not write a book set in the past, but with a contemporary voice? The whole darn book itself is steampunk! Dude! Woah!

So that's how the voice came to be.


Wow, that was a bit longer than I anticipated.  But I think it demonstrates how much I enjoy anachronisms.  And I guess not just saying the word.  But the definition itself.

But I still also really do love saying that word.

Anachronism. :)


And thus begins my series on Adrienne's Detailed Analysis of Why She Loves Steampunk.  Next week I shall move onto the number two, by which I mean five, reason I like Steampunk:  My love of SF/Fantasy.

But until then . . .  I ask all my lovely Steampunkers, what are some the coolest anachronistic moments you've seen or read in a Steampunk creation?  

The month and a bit that was . . .

Well now that was a whirlwind is what that was.

August came and went and left this temping actress writer in more than just a little daze.

However I'm back now, and I'm going to return to regular blogging. Especially my Steampunk Tuesdays as I've come up with some new topics about which I am rather excited to write. But I thought I'd start things off with a little summary of what I've been up to in this crazy month.

First: The Temp. Not glamorous at all I realise, but necessary, and actually quite enjoyable. I really do like meeting new people, and seeing how various businesses run their . . . business. Also sometimes you temp places with cool views:








Second: The Actress. I got a small role in a film. I haven't actually filmed my day yet, but there has been a table read and getting to know the cast and crew, and it's been all kinds of awesome. More details as I am allowed to reveal them.

I was also cast in a TV pilot called PARANORMAL INVESTIGATORS - a parody of those supernatural investigating shows. It was a lot of fun to do, with a lot of very talented people both in front and behind the camera. The actual weekend of that shoot was crazy though: by day I was the actress and by night . . .

Third: The Writer. . . . I had to drive an hour and a half outside of the city to participate in an author event in Orillia with fellow authors Julie Czerneda, Anne Bishop and Mark Leslie. I arrived just in time for the readings to begin, and they were awesome. Truly. Everyone read so well - which as people who attend author readings often can tell you, doesn't always happen. Then we crossed the parking lot to the Stephen Leacock house for the cocktail party.  It was his cottage once upon a time and I've decided it is pretty much my dream cottage:



 

Biggest pool table ever.

I had a fantastic time touring around and chatting with folk. Then I stayed overnight in a hotel and first thing the next morning drove back to be . . .


The Actress again, shooting day two of PI. Here are some pics from the two days!

The gang watching back some footage.

Take six!

The DOP: Bob.

Me and the possessed kid we investigated: Jayden. He has assured me that when I am cast in his movie, I get to wear comfortable shoes. Score!

L to R: Scott Leaver, Shawn Ahmed, Patrick McKenna, Me, Nicole Smith

Back to The Writer: This was also the month of FanExpo - the big SF/Fantasy convention here in Toronto. I attended all four days (with a brief escape to be Actress again and do an audition), and did one panel - on Steampunk writing of course, with my usual cohorts: J.M. Frey and Rob St. Martin. It was . . . for want of a better word exhausting. But it was also a great deal of fun. Hanging out with fellow author buddies like Lesley Livingston and Violette Malan; seeing Doc and the DeLorean reunited; and watching people stand in line for two hours to see Gillian Anderson.

Yup that totally is Doc (Christopher Lloyd) sitting on the DeLorean.

Me and Lesley Livingston.

Me and Gandalf. He didn't talk much. Or move. Or breathe.

The lead up to FanExpo was also exhausting as I had to prep a lot of stuff to bring with me. Most of all these buttons, which I designed and made myself (well made as in on Photoshop, the physical product was put together by the amazing people over at SixCentPress.com):



I am most proud of my Michiko button. You may notice I had to give her a neck (Cora's arm covers it in the original image). They were quite the success I must say, with "Hero" coming in as most popular, and "Be Your Own Hero" a close second.


Last but not least, my book was included as swag in the Bask-It-Style gift bag for TIFF (the Toronto International Film Festival - which just ended yesterday) - a bag that gets delivered to the visiting celebs. They host a media day so the press can come in and see all the goodies the celebs are getting. It's a long day, talking about the book to a bunch of people touring through. But it's also very fun and you meet some cool people. Here are some pics of said day!

The books being given away.

(photo by Todd Williamson)
Me and singer Fefe Dobson. And yes, she is wearing my Steampunk hat. Because she's awesome that way.

The view from the penthouse we were situated in. Did you know Toronto had islands?
We totally do, baby!

And that's it! Well that's not really it. I also spent time with friends and family. And explored the city, which I think one should always do in one's own hometown. I visited High Park, Riverdale Farm (for the first time). Even went to The Ex and had deep fried butter! Would you believe it isn't nearly as disgusting as it sounds? Though I did walk home (over an hour's walk) after . . .


It was a good month and a bit, and things are only just starting to rev up. Kind of crazy that December and the launch of TFS is still months away, but there is still so much happening in between! I'm really going to try to be good and keep you all posted this fall. But I also highly recommend, if you are desperate to know what I am up to (and really, who wouldn't be), to check me out on Twitter where I do tweet pretty regularly: @AdrienneKress

I hope you all have also had a lovely month and a bit. And now that I'm done this bit of show and tell, it's your turn! What did you guys all get up to this August??

On being considered a Fake Geek Girl

I have never really considered myself a geek. But, to be fair, I have never really considered myself anything, not jock, not giftie.  Not even drama geek, which of all labels I think would be most apt. 

There is what I do for a living: act/write/produce/direct.

There are my interests: movies, TV, theatre, food, Shakespeare, Steampunk, cute cat pictures, photoshop, working out, singing etc.

There is my background: only child, from Toronto, Canada, half Danish.

There are the people I hang out with: too many to name and all beyond awesome.

But who I am? 

That would be Adrienne.

I have never really labeled myself.  I have never had just one particular group that I associated best with.  In highschool and beyond I hung out with everyone.  With jocks, with artsy people, with the gifties, etc etc and so forth.

This isn't to say that I look down on people labeling themselves.  On the contrary, I fully understand why humans seek out groups, a place to fit in, a place to find people who support them and want to share their passions.  And I have been welcomed by many different groups and have been very moved to have their support and to count myself amongst their ranks.  But to say I am all one thing or all another just doesn't work for me.  For me.  And what works for me, won't work for someone else. 

I am also aware there are many others like me.  Just as there are many others who are not.

I needed to preface this blog post with the above, because I think it is very important in explaining how I approach the geek world.  As I do with everything else that interests me, with respect and excitement, but not as immersively as others might.


So:  My Geek History

When Jonathan Llyr started HardcoreNerdity.com and asked me to participate, my response to him was, "But . . . I'm not really a nerd."  He gave me this look, then said, "The way you go on about Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, trust me, you are."

And I thought that was cool.  I hadn't said what I had to protest, simply because I thought it wasn't true.  But as he pointed it out, I thought more on it.  Okay, I didn't read comics or play video games, but I loved movies and TV.   And I loved geek movies and geek TV (as I also enjoyed not geek movies and not geek TV).  I am a fan of the original Star Trek, and think DS9 is the best of all the subsequent Star Trek series. 

Heck, I even have a very small part in shaping the SF/Fantasy culture in that I am author in said genre. 

Okay, sure, I have geekish tendencies.  This can work.  :)

My first con was a literary one, Ad Astra to be precise.  I spend time with other authors.  It felt perfectly natural.  Then I attended FanExpo with HcN.  And wow, THAT was different.  That was like the cons I'd seen on TV, people in costume, thousands of fans, amazing stalls selling stuff you wouldn't see anywhere else.  And actors that I had a great deal of respect for.  I felt like a fish out of water, but a very happy fish. 

I have since been to many more cons, and have become more involved with the Steampunk community as well due to my latest book.  And it's all been a really lovely time.  I enjoy the people, I love doing panels, and I really love how supportive in general people are of each other.


But I am still on the fringes.  Not fully integrated into the culture.  Again not because I think there's anything remotely wrong with being so, but because I also want to spend time with my other passions that interest me as much as (not more) my geek pursuits do. 

What's my point with all this?

This is my point:  I really really resent anyone in any group, but in this case geekdom, presuming to place me or any other person with similar interests as lesser.  As a fraud.  As someone who doesn't belong and should get out.  I am referring of course to some recent articles that have been going around the net about Fake Geek Girls.  And I know I know.  Evidently these girls who are seeking attention really do exist (to which I say, so what?  Let them do what they want to do, how do they harm you?), though I have never met one. 

But see here's my question: how do you know?  How do you know who is a "real" geek and who isn't?  How on earth can you tell just from looking? 

Now people will say, "Well Adrienne this doesn't apply to you, we get it, we know you belong in your own way."

And I will say, "Oh yeah?"

Because I've had people look at me and tell me I didn't.


Case in point:

So there are some online saying that they find it super annoying that some girl will just buy a geek T Shirt and wear it to a con: "Well what about those girls who just buy a geek T-Shirt so they can fit in??" they asked full of righteous indignation. 

You know what?  I was one of those girls.  Not because I didn't feel I belonged, but because until I bought a T-Shirt no one ELSE thought I belonged.  I remember it distinctly.  I was at FanExpo with HcN, again, let me reiterate this was a geek website I helped found, and was passing out cards and advertising it.  I was in my normal clothes.  A skirt and a tank top.  I'd thought, "Well I'm not the kind of person who wears geek T Shirts, in fact I don't own any, so why should I pretend otherwise?  I still share interests with the people there." 

Every person I gave a card to (male and female) and explained about the site looked at me funny.  Some even said, "But not you, you aren't actually part of the site right?"  Finally I got so tired of being treated with such skepticism that I passed my cards over to someone else, stormed over to the T Shirt area, and bought a Harry Potter T Shirt.  From that moment on, no one doubted I belonged.  It was then that I realised that in a place where I am supposed to just be myself, I actually couldn't be. 

But I wasn't too upset by it.  After all, I like Harry Potter.  I also got a Family Guy shirt.  But I never wear them except to cons.  Does that make me a fraud? 



Another experience:

I was at Anime North this year and had an AMAZING time.  I was terrified to go, the crowds daunted me.  But I was there as an author guest so had a nice schedule that helped me contend with the awesome crazy, and the panels I sat on were fantastic. Each of them sparked some wonderful back and forth between the panelists and the audience.  I was riding high. 

Now I was dressed in my Steampunk-lite outfit.  I have a couple, and I rather like them.  I'm not interested in cosplaying myself, though I do adore seeing the creations of others (there was this dragon puppet there that was AWESOME), and this is my attempt to do a bit of cool Steampunk without it being too huge an effort for me.  My author friend JM Frey (who was not cosplaying that day, but is a cosplayer herself) and I were walking towards the main convention centre when some kids attending the con yelled out at us something to the effect of, "Hi normals!"  It was said pleasantly, it was them enjoying being all dressed up and being not normal.  But they clearly thought we weren't part of the event and wanted to drive that point home.

And immediately I didn't feel a part of the experience.  Again.  Because I wasn't wearing the correct uniform.  Even though I was technically dressed up and proud of my outfit (let's not address the time someone once said to me, "Next time you'll try harder" about an outfit I was super excited I had managed to put together).

Again, not too upsetting.  I know I belong.  I don't need validation.  But still, a demonstration of being judged.  And I've got a good healthy ego.  Not every person out there does.  What if the person you dissed really tried hard, was really scared to go to a con but finally got the courage, and was worried what if no one likes my costume, and then . . . she's dissed.  You think that's going to make her want to come out next year?  I know of people who have stopped cosplaying because they couldn't handle the way people would tear into them for not doing it properly.  Nice work people, nice work.


So it's all well and good to make a sweeping claim that there are women who attend cons who are just doing it for attention and that for some reason this is a bad thing (because men never do the same thing, btw, it's just women).  But exactly what do you want to accomplish in making this statement is my question?  What are you trying to do?  Shame those women into not coming?  Well, that's kind of mean I think, maybe they weren't there for the reasons you wanted them to be there, but they were there.  They were having fun.  They also paid to be there, so contributed to the profit made by the con, heck maybe they even bought some stuff, even if it was just more tight leather bustiers or something (you think the sellers minded their presence?). 

I guess that's my ultimate point.  I really don't get what you are doing.  All I see you doing is perpetuating hate.  Making more misguided souls who share your attitude feel justified in making people like me feel unwelcome.  Making women, who are there dressed how they want to, feel like they don't belong because they aren't behaving to your standards.  Quite frankly it's just another example of men dictating how women should behave and what they should wear.

THEY AREN'T TALKING ABOUT YOU ADRIENNE! THESE ARTICLES ARE ABOUT THE FAKE GIRLS! - I can hear some of you cry out again.

And yet I've been thought to be a fake girl.  So yes, those articles are talking about me. There is nothing actually fake about me, but I suffer as a direct result of articles like these.  My friends suffer too.  In fact I'd venture to say most women suffer from articles like these because it perpetuates the stereotype that ultimately women are still the other, even at cons. 


I get it.  You're annoyed.  By . . . something . . . that doesn't really have a direct effect on you at all.  Aside from making you annoyed.  So you're in turn going to write something that has a direct result in making me feel unwelcome.  Sweet.  Thanks for that. 

Not nice, man, not nice.

You Are Not A Fraud

...unless you steal people's identities as a hobby, or are living undercover, or actually a hologram.  Then I guess you are a fraud.

But I assume that the lion's share of my blog readers are none of the above.  I also assume that many of my readers are writers - whether published, whether just starting out, whether a hobbyist. . . 

And even you aren't . . .

I still think this post speaks to most of us, no matter what our profession and passion.

And what it is saying is . . .


You are not a fraud.


Just take that in.

You aren't.  I swear.  You're doing just fine, you are following your path, and you are working the way that you need to.  Maybe you need to reevaluate how you've been going about doing things, maybe some things aren't working, but that still doesn't mean you're a fraud.  You are a real whatever it is you do. 

Um . . . Adrienne?  You okay?  What are you going on about exactly?

This:

I've written in the past how important it is not to compare your personal journey to anyone else's.  Why?  Well for one thing it's something I really need to remind myself of on a constant basis.  And when I need to remind myself of something, I tend to think there might other people out there who share my delightful thought patterns and so why not blog about it.  For another thing, it is very much true, comparing oneself to others is pointless and often detrimental.  It's not worth it.

But I do, on occasion, compare.  I see the writing habits of another author, the marketing habits etc.  And I see that I don't do the same thing.  And I wonder, even now, with a third book coming out . . . am I not a real writer?  I don't do what they do, and he/she is very clearly a real writer . . . OMG, that can only mean one thing!  I'm a fraud!!!!

Only I'm not.

I'm a writer.  I know it.  I also know that the way I approach writing and all that other fun stuff is the way I approach it.  I am not Author X anymore than Author X is me.  And that's okay.  I'm doin' my own thing and it's cool man, it's cool.

And all this should be super obvious except it isn't.  Not when you look online and see the barrage of advice being offered by people who each have their own methods of working and they somehow think that this is the ultimate and only way authors should work.

You have people insisting (just examples here)...

... you HAVE to write every day.
...you HAVE to write short stories before you write a novel.
...you HAVE to spend specifically X amount of time marketing.
...you HAVE to angst.


And if you aren't doing those things?  Uh oh.  I'M A FRAUD!!!!!!

But zis?  Zis ist a lie!

There is only one thing you have to do.  Figure out what works best for you.  That's all.  Experiment, try different HAVE TOs and find the one that makes the difference.

That's the thing about the arts.  There is no one right way to do it.  That's why people can get so overwhelmed because there isn't an easy how-to book, "If you do this that and the other thing you'll write a bestselling novel!"  And while most people who engage in the arts know this, and stay away from such evil absolutes as I posted above (evil only in that they are absolutes, the advice they offer can be useful if it works for you, maybe angst is right up your alley), there will always be those few rotten eggs who insist that their way is the ONLY way.  And for some reason, that minority manages to make a lot more noise than the sane reasonable majority.

So we feel self doubt.

And I am here to tell you, don't.  Don't doubt.  Don't waste time and energy on worrying you aren't doing it right.  Just do.  For that is the only way to find out what works for you: doing.  Make mistakes.  Learn from them.  And guess what, even if you make a mistake (which you will, we all do), you're STILL not a fraud.

Find your method and embrace it because it's yours. 

And that's it.  That's my point. But I'll say it one more time . . .

You are not a fraud.

Unless your last name is Fraud.

Then you are.

A Story About Ted

Several years ago I was flying to a friend's wedding and waiting at a counter in the airport to speak with someone about some flight issue or something.

Embedded in the counter was a TV and on it was a sort of screensaver.  I was flying United, and their cheaper airline is called Ted.  So they had two airplanes on the TV, one with the United logo, one with the Ted logo.  One plane was facing one direction and was close up, the other was facing the other direction and was in the distance.  Then they would zoom off in their respective directions and then reappear in each other's spot.  Etc.

Basically it was meant to look like the planes were flying in a circle.

A little boy was also watching the screensaver.

Eventually, because I was still waiting and a little bored and the kid was cute, I did what I tend to do around kids. Engage them in conversation.

"They're flying in a circle," I said.

"No."

"Yes, they are.  See there's Ted," I pointed to the Ted plane in the background.  The planes whooshed off the screen.  I think, but I am not 100% sure, that I made a whooshing sound when this happened.  "And now there's Ted!"  I pointed to Ted now in the foreground.

The kid was silent.  Just watching the screen.

So I kept talking and pointing:  "There's Ted. . . and there's Ted!  There's Ted again, and there's Ted! . . ."  And you pretty much get the point.

And still the boy said nothing, just stared at the screen.

Eventually the woman at the counter was ready to help me, so we started talking and then, loudly, totally unexpectedly a little voice from beside me:

"And there's Steve!"




This moment makes me laugh every time I think about it.  Maybe it was the boy's dad's reaction - he had been silently observing our interaction the whole time - just sort of bewildered and amused saying, "Steve?"

Maybe it's the sheer absurdity of where the heck did he get Steve from.

But for whatever reason, it was one of those little moments that happen in life that I am very grateful for. :) 

What are some of your Ted stories??

THE FRIDAY SOCIETY ARCS!

I get back from my trip to London, England, and I find the most glorious welcome home present EVER waiting for me!

Yes, THE FRIDAY SOCIETY ARCs have arrived, and they is soooo pretty!

They made me burst out into song.

For those of you familiar with ALEX AND THE IRONIC GENTLEMAN, said song was "Jack", which as you know is one of the more complex and nuanced of the songs in that book.  Of course, wherever there was a "Jack", I replaced it with "ARC".  Thus:

ARC, ARC, ARC, ARC,
ARC, ARC, ARC, ARC,
ARC, ARC, ARC, ARC,
ARC, ARC, ARC, ARC.

And so on.


I call this new song: ARC.



And now, of course, it's time for show and tell!

Just so you get a sense once again of Greg Stadnyk's fabulous design work, here is the front, spine and back cover for the ARC as seen as one full image:

Isn't it just amazing??  I'm not sure how he managed to compile so many different elements on one cover and not make it look too overwhelmed or busy, but . . . he did.


Next.

Here are all the ARCs together.  You will notice they were tied in a pretty blue ribbon.  Because a pretty blue ribbon makes everything that much more special:

Now here is the back.

And here is the spine.

And here is a peek at the inside . . . Part 1 to be precise. 

 See all those pages???  That's a hefty book my friend.  A hefty book indeed.

Oh are you oh so excited???  Because I am!!!  I use triple question marks AND exclamation marks!!!

As always I have to thank everyone at Dial for their enthusiasm and general awesome-ness in putting together such a gorgeous object with such lovely attention to detail.  Specifically, as ever, my editor Nancy Conescu who just plain rocks.

Also...

YAY!!!!!!!!!

Revealing THE FRIDAY SOICETY cover reveal contest winner!

Okay, I thought at first I'd go through the comments, find one that really stood out to me and choose that one for the winner.

But after going through all your amazing comments, filled with such kind words and wonderful enthusiasm, I just knew this wasn't going to be easy.

So I went with blind luck.

I texted my fabulous fellow actor friend Heather (for those of you who have read ALEX, yes she inspired THAT Heather), and asked her to pick a number between 1 - 47.  Then I made sure not to count my comment in the thread and . . . ta-da!  She magically chose the winning commenter.

And now, without further ado . . . drum roll please . . .

. . .

Okay stop with the drum roll now, it's getting annoying . . .

THE WINNER IS:

Kelly!

Congratulations! You have won yourself a one of a kind Steampunk necklace inspired by
THE FRIDAY SOCIETY designed/made by Lady Lilleigh!

Also, I wanted to take the moment to address two comments from the comments section:

Jonathan C. Dietrich asked how scary the book is.  This is a tough question to answer because of course "scary" is subjective (I for one find even horror spoof movies scary).  There is some violence, murder, and dismembered body parts.  But none of it is dwelt on in any kind of gory detail, and all of it is treated with a sense of humour.  Some of the death moments are kind of sad though.

Hope this helps!


Also.

Ray Dean's comment began with "Three Girl Fridays" - and I just wanted to say YES! That's it exactly! :) 

Cover Reveal for THE FRIDAY SOCIETY (!!!!!!)

Today is a very exciting day for me, as it is for most authors.  Today I get to reveal to you all (FINALLY) the cover for THE FRIDAY SOCIETY!

But first, I thought, you should know my game plan for this blog post.

1. I shall reveal the cover!
2. I shall reveal details of an amazing contest to win a one of a kind Steampunk necklace inspired by THE FRIDAY SOCIETY.
3. I shall write at length about what I adore about this cover and anything else that comes to my mind on the subject.

But first I want to thank some amazing blogs who are helping me in this glorious reveal:

The Story Siren
The Book Smugglers
These are two of my favourite YA book blogs, the ladies that run these sites are enthusiastic, know their stuff and have a great sense of humour - seriously go check them out.  Immediately.  No, WAIT!  Wait, check out my cover first, THEN check them out.  At any rate, I am totally honoured that they agreed to help me out today.  Thank you, ladies, again so much.

That Cover Girl
You guys have heard me go on about this blog before.  I just love how this lady dissects book covers, she's got a fantastic eye.  And I am thrilled for my cover to be dissected by her (and a little nervous).

The Steampunk Scholar
I have also mentioned this fellow a few times, as well as linked to lists of his top Steampunk books and his post about Steampunk as an aesthetic.  A true class act, and again, thrilled that my Steampunk cover is gracing his insanely fabulous Steampunk blog.





And finally . . . drum roll please . . .



THE COVER (and blurb) -

Be Your Own Hero . . .

Set in London at the turn of the last century, the novel follows the stories of three intelligent and very talented young women, all of whom are assistants to very powerful men: Cora, lab assistant to a member of parliament; Michiko, Japanese fight assistant to a martial arts guru; and Nellie, a magician's assistant. The three young women’s lives become inexorably intertwined after a chance meeting at a ball that ends with the discovery of a murdered mystery man.

It’s up to these three, in their own charming but bold way, to solve the murder—and the crimes they believe may be connected to it‐‐without calling too much attention to themselves.

Told with Adrienne Kress's sharp wit and a great deal of irreverence, this Steampunk whodunit introduces three unforgettable and very ladylike--well, relatively ladylike--heroines poised for more dangerous adventures.


 Find THE FRIDAY SOCIETY on Goodreads.


THE CONTEST

Here's your chance to win an amazing one of a kind Steampunk THE FRIDAY SOCIETY inspired necklace designed by Steampunk jewelry maker Lady Lilleigh.

It's really very simple, leave a comment below and I shall choose the winner by April 13th (yes that is Friday the 13th :) ).

And now a little bit about the prize:

Suspended from a 24 inch antiqued brass chain, this tribute piece to The Friday Society boasts elements inspired by the main characters: a 1 inch silver bullet for Cora; a black feather for Nellie; and brass 'throwing star' gears for Michiko. But the true appeal of this pendant is what brings it all together, three alluring ivory ladies on a small tarnished brass tone cameo. The cameo measures 0.75 inches long and the steel pendant base measures just under 1.5 inches in diameter. 

THE LONGWINDED BLOG POST

Okay.  So.  Can I just say.  I love this cover.

I mean . . . seriously.

Love.

Possibly even lurv.

Is that going a bit too far?

No, I don't think so.

First I have to obviously thank Dial, Penguin for their amazing amazingness, and then I must signal out a few people.  Obviously the first is my editor Nancy Conescu who is marvelously patient with all my neuroses.  She is also the one who kept me up to speed on every step of the cover designing process. And the next are of course the photographer and designer of the cover: Michael Frost and Greg Stadnyk. Gentlemen, I bow in your general direction.

Truly I have been beyond thrilled at how up to date Penguin has kept me with the progress of this cover.  As some of you may know, I am quite obsessed with covers, I even designed one for my fabulous author friend Danielle Younge-Ullman's novel FALLING UNDER.  So I adored being kept in the loop.

I was sent headshots of the models before they did the photoshoot - and I knew right then that Penguin was on the right track.  The girls they chose to portray my girls are spot on.  What I love best about them is that they look like real people.  They are very pretty of course, but they look . . . real, like individuals with distinct personalities.  Of this I rather approve.

And then I was sent the first relatively quick mock-up of the cover.  It was shocking how quickly the turnaround happened from the photoshoot to the mock-up, and how they seemingly threw it together sans effort.  Of course I say "seemingly" because it is clear a lot of work went into it.  I saw it, and I was immediately all, "Can I share it can I share it!"

And Penguin was all, "Silly rabbit, we aren't done yet!"

"We aren't?"

And so a few weeks later I was sent another one.  Small changes had been made that made big differences (an example I can offer you is they added the blueish glow to Cora's goggles).  And again, I was all . . ."Can I can I?"

And they were all, "No."

Finally, and finally, we get what we have here today.

And I said, "Can I!"

And they said, "Yes." :)

And such love, my friends, such love.


That isn't the end of this blog post though, in case you thought you could move on now.  No.  Now we must dissect what Adrienne loves about this cover.  Because the wonder of blog posting is that there is no word limit.  So dangerous when it comes to me.

What I love about this cover:

1.  The three girls.  Let's meet them shall we?  From left to right - Nellie Harrison (magician's assistant), Cora Bell (personal assistant/lab assistant to a member of Parliament), Michiko Takeda (fight assistant to a self defense guru).

I've already talked about what I like about how the girls look (though I should add I also adore their outfits . . . and weapons).  What's also fantastic about them, is the way they are posing.  They look tough.  They look like they have agency, that they can take care of themselves. Which is good.  Because they do and can. :)


2. The pinwheel effect.  Okay, note to self, adding a pinwheel automatically makes stuff look awesome.  It's subtle, but present.  It both draws the eye into the middle of the page, and explodes out in fantastic fun times.  It adds a wonderful sense of energy.  Love it.


3. The London skyline.  Because it's the London skyline.


4. The grainy effect.  Look up close, the picture has been made to look slightly weathered. Cool?  Yes, yes it is.


5. The font(s).  Font, to me, is often far more important than any other element on a cover.  It can make the difference between whether a cover is seen as professional or not.  And it can dictate the intended audience for the book.  I love both the fonts on this cover.  I love the title, I love how strong it looks, how cool, both contemporary and classic.  And I love my name.  I mean, I love seeing my name on a cover of a book in any font really (it's kind of overwhelming every time when you do see it - and maybe just maybe I got choked up seeing it on this cover for the first time), but this font is also just plain cool. I don't know why, but I love that the A isn't pointy.  Yeah, I know, but I do.


6. The border.  Now I have had the honour of being bordered by many a great object.  With ALEX we had octopus tentacles.  TIMOTHY we had a dragon:

And this time, well this time we get a supremely kick-ass Steampunk mechanical piece.

That border might be just about my favourite part of the cover.  Not quite my fav, we'll get to that at 7.  But still.  Yes it is all kinds of Steampunk amazing, but what I love about it the most is that it really looks mechanical, like a real machine where one piece influences the other, and not just like there are some random gears hanging out together 'cause, you know, they're gears and they've got that in common.  I also love how the border makes the whole cover have a kind of movie poster vibe.  And as a fan of movies, you can understand why this would make me happy.

Lastly I love the accidental continuity.  That I get to be border girl!  All my books have borders (despite being published by different publishers and being different genres), and I love borders, and I love my books.  So it's like such a love fest man.


7.  And my number 1 (which I guess is number 7 for some reason) thing I love about this cover is . . . wait for it . . .

This:

??

This is a screw.

There are four of them, one in each corner of the cover.  Making the cover look like it's been screwed onto the book.  It might not be grand, it might hardly be noticeable at first glance, but it's this kind of small detail I absolutely adore.  It demonstrates care, and I think wit as well.  The cherry on top of the sundae. 



So there you go.  I've likely gone on long enough.  But, guys, seriously, I am beyond excited.  Every step along the way makes this all so much more real.  And it's been a while since I've had the pleasure of doing a cover reveal, and it's all kind of an emotional mess for me.  I am so excited, so grateful, and so . . . okay I'll be honest . . . terrified (in a good way of course :) ).

I remember blogging about the book deal a year and a half ago.  And now it has a cover.  That's pretty darn cool.  Pretty darn cool indeed.



(don't forget to enter the contest!!)