The interim and Firestorm
This blog went silent for several days, my apologies.
Things have been a little crazy around here in a way that has absolutely nothing to do with writing. I picked up a contract job (as I do when the opportunity arises) because a little extra cash is always useful. When I heard the details of this job I had the feeling it wouldn’t work out well, and really I should have gone with my instincts but I took it anyways. I had the feeling when the problem was first presented to me that I wouldn’t be able to do much, and stated that up front, but the client really wanted me to look into. So I looked into it, and the research (and tech support) glutinously devoured my time. In the end, I was correct with my first assessment. Since I couldn’t technically do anything, I have to decide what to bill the client that both my conscious and my pocketbook can agree with.
Urgh… I hate money.
I explained the situation to my ‘boss’ (who really just passes me clients who he feels wouldn’t be profitable enough to work with himself) and asked him to bill the client for me. It’s the no rocks approach. If it were up to just me, I wouldn’t charge anything. Of course, I’ve never felt I’m as valuable as he contracts me out for. He is a fair guy though, so I know he will come up with something everyone can live with.
In other news, I finished Firestorm the other day. Rachel Caine is an evil genius. If you haven’t picked up the Weather Warden books, go, stop reading this and read them. This a wonderful series, but the amazingly evil writer always always leaves off with a killer cliffhanger. So now I have to wait until July for the next one. *grumbles*
Firestorm is the fifth book in the series, and I won’t tell you anything about it in case you have not yet run off and read the first four, but I guess I can tell you about the series itself. It’s urban fantasy, and though the genre usually arouses connotations of vampires and werewolves, this series has neither. Unknown to the general populous, a group of individuals called Wardens, who possess control over the elements, are the only thing standing between sentient storms, angry fires, and other major disasters and humanity. They are assisted by a highly magical race known as Djinn, (think genie in the bottle without the three wish limit) but no one said the Djinn want to be controlled. Oh yeah, throw in some demons too. The books are fast paced and the main character, Joanne, is sassy and kick ass. Read it, and suffer my pain of wanting more.
Here’s a random observation… urban fantasy females tend to know a lot about cars. Joanne loves fast cars and I have learned more about the motors in top end sports cars from the Weather Warden books than the boys in high school. Then there is Mercy in Moon Called. She works on cars as her day job, so more car talk in books. And the main character in Urban Shaman (also a Joanne) is an auto mechanic working for the police. I’m sure there are others, but those three come to mind. Anyone else notice the car savvy females in UF?
Things have been a little crazy around here in a way that has absolutely nothing to do with writing. I picked up a contract job (as I do when the opportunity arises) because a little extra cash is always useful. When I heard the details of this job I had the feeling it wouldn’t work out well, and really I should have gone with my instincts but I took it anyways. I had the feeling when the problem was first presented to me that I wouldn’t be able to do much, and stated that up front, but the client really wanted me to look into. So I looked into it, and the research (and tech support) glutinously devoured my time. In the end, I was correct with my first assessment. Since I couldn’t technically do anything, I have to decide what to bill the client that both my conscious and my pocketbook can agree with.
Urgh… I hate money.
I explained the situation to my ‘boss’ (who really just passes me clients who he feels wouldn’t be profitable enough to work with himself) and asked him to bill the client for me. It’s the no rocks approach. If it were up to just me, I wouldn’t charge anything. Of course, I’ve never felt I’m as valuable as he contracts me out for. He is a fair guy though, so I know he will come up with something everyone can live with.
In other news, I finished Firestorm the other day. Rachel Caine is an evil genius. If you haven’t picked up the Weather Warden books, go, stop reading this and read them. This a wonderful series, but the amazingly evil writer always always leaves off with a killer cliffhanger. So now I have to wait until July for the next one. *grumbles*
Firestorm is the fifth book in the series, and I won’t tell you anything about it in case you have not yet run off and read the first four, but I guess I can tell you about the series itself. It’s urban fantasy, and though the genre usually arouses connotations of vampires and werewolves, this series has neither. Unknown to the general populous, a group of individuals called Wardens, who possess control over the elements, are the only thing standing between sentient storms, angry fires, and other major disasters and humanity. They are assisted by a highly magical race known as Djinn, (think genie in the bottle without the three wish limit) but no one said the Djinn want to be controlled. Oh yeah, throw in some demons too. The books are fast paced and the main character, Joanne, is sassy and kick ass. Read it, and suffer my pain of wanting more.
Here’s a random observation… urban fantasy females tend to know a lot about cars. Joanne loves fast cars and I have learned more about the motors in top end sports cars from the Weather Warden books than the boys in high school. Then there is Mercy in Moon Called. She works on cars as her day job, so more car talk in books. And the main character in Urban Shaman (also a Joanne) is an auto mechanic working for the police. I’m sure there are others, but those three come to mind. Anyone else notice the car savvy females in UF?
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