Wiscon was great fun and, as usual, I met a load of people. I’m currently staying one night longer than I had planned because there are storms in the midwest. I had a choice of being stranded in at the airport or staying an extra night.

Clearly, hanging out in Madison is preferable.

While, normally I do try to avoid discussing my undergarments, I thought, given yesterday’s adventures, that you’d like to know that I did go shopping and am equipped for getting through the weekend. Although still finding the experience creepy, the story of it amuses me. You know what I mean about the difference between the two?

Besides getting to see boatloads of friends, I also specifically got to hang out with Genevieve Valentine, who helped me get the underpinnings of my Regency dress situated correctly. With all the layers, I’d been having some trouble having too much bulk at the shoulders. The secret, it turned out, was to wear the chemise and bodiced petticoat slightly off-the shoulder. Problem = solved.

However, I also realize that I will absolutely have to have a dresser to help with tying of bows and the like. All I have to say is that in Regency trysts there was no such thing as “putting the clothes back on quickly to avoid discovery.”

Oh, and I did decide that I’ll wear the Regency dress at the Tea/Dessert Salon on Sunday.

I also got to hang out with my friend Rob Kimbro, who I worked with on Tempest back at McCarter Theater. He’s awesome and just happened to be in town at the same time. We caught up on the past and talked about the Secret Project we are working on.

I have just arrived in Madison after taking a red-eye here involving stopping in Detroit and Cincinnati. The flight out of Portland was overbooked and they had to check some carry-on bags through to the final destination. Mine was one of them.

Tired and grungy, I took a shower when I got here and discovered that my underwear has been removed from my bag.

Let me repeat that in other words. My feminine unmentionables are no longer in my bag.

I’m quite sure I packed them because I ran a load of laundry right before leaving in order to have enough to get me through the weekend so they were the last thing in the bag. I checked with Rob and, no, I didn’t forget to pack them. There was no TSA flyer in the bag, either.

I’ve pulled everything out of the bag and shaken it to be sure. The ONLY pair that’s left was tucked in the bottom under my socks and wasn’t one of the ones that was in that load of laundry.

I’m on the hold with the airline right now. So far I’ve already been passed from customer service to baggage.

Ah. I’m now talking to a representative who is doing a missing file claim for me. She agrees that it is creepy. I have to fill out a Damage/Pilferage Form, turn in my receipts and then wait up to 10 weeks for the corporate offices to make a decision.

Have I mentioned that this is really creepy?

I’ve had two people suggest that I should take my Regency dress to Wiscon. I’m packing now and am torn, so it’s time for a survey!

[polldaddy poll=3261437]

If you answer yes, then tell me when I’ll have a chance to wear it while there.

Edited to add: I’ve been reminded of the fancy dress event on Sunday. So, I’m packing both dresses and will see if I can convince someone to wear the other.

Today is my brother’s birthday. You remember Steve, right? He’s the one who commissioned the Elvis Garden Gnome for his girlfriend’s birthday.

My brother is a generally good guy, but does have a bit of an evil streak in him. He also is fond of beers and has a deep knowledge of different types and brewing methods.

So for his birthday, I designed a beer stein for him.  Care to take a guess about what’s on the other side of that mug…

Blue Suede Brews

Mwahahaha! The evil, did I mention that it runs in the family?

I’m flying out on a redeye tonight to Wiscon which looks like it will have a fun blend of people present.  Hope to see you there.

Saturday

Juvenilia
10:00 – 11:15AM
Caucus

Moderator: Jennifer D. B. Lackey. Carol F. Emshwiller, Mary Robinette Kowal, Kelly McCullough

Established authors are invited to read from their earliest works. It’s inspirational to discover that no one is very good when they’re 14. Come and laugh, and join in the discussion of growth and craft.

Sunday

Readings from Chicks Dig Time Lords
10:00 – 11:15AM
Michelangelos

K. Tempest Bradford, Mary Robinette Kowal, Kathryn Sullivan, Lynne M. Thomas

A reading from the anthology Chicks Dig Time Lords, which explores women’s reactions to the British TV series Doctor Who.

Is Science Fiction Keeping Up with Science?
4:00 – 5:15PM
Conference 4

Moderator: Liz L. Gorinsky, Eleanor A. Arnason, Joyce Frohn, Mary Robinette Kowal

Are we as Science Fiction writers keeping up with science or are we only following older models of science fiction? Can we have space travel without instant FTL?

Monday

The SignOut
11:30AM – 12:45PM
Capitol/Wisconsin

Come and sign your works, come and get things signed, come and hang out and wind down before you leave. I’m just there because it’s a good chance to catch everyone in one room.

John Joseph Adams, Alma Alexander, Eleanor A. Arnason, F. J. Bergmann, Kat Beyer, Terry Bisson, Alex Bledsoe, Suzy Charnas, Richard Chwedyk, Rick Dakan, Alan John DeNiro, Lori Devoti, Moondancer Drake, Timmi Duchamp, Carol F. Emshwiller, James Frenkel, Greer Gilman, Hiromi Goto, Anna Black, Eileen Gunn, Andrea D. Hairston, Karen Elizabeth Healey, N. K. Jemisin, Ellen Klages, Mary Robinette Kowal, Claire Light, Kimberley Long-Ewing, Kelly McCullough, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Sarah Monette, Nancy Jane Moore, Pat Murphy, Nnedi Okorafor, Sarah B. Prineas, Madeleine Robins, Benjamin Rosenbaum, Patrick James Rothfuss, Catherine M. Schaff-Stump, Fred Schepartz, David J. Schwartz, Nisi Shawl, Jennifer K. Stevenson, Caroline Stevermer, Cecilia Tan, Lynne M. Thomas, JoSelle Vanderhooft

I have a serious disadvantage as an author. Back in college, I was an art major and still do the occasional book design gig. Why is this a disadvantage? Because that part of my brain doesn’t get to play with the cover of my book but it thinks it knows what it is doing.

It’s wrong.

Look, every person who thinks they can design is going to have ideas of how to do something. The thing is, that though I’ve done book design, I’m too close to my novel to be able to do anything intelligent with it. When I needed a logo for my puppetry company, I hired someone else to design it for me.

The cover isn’t about how I see Shades of Milk and Honey, it’s about how we want other people to see it so that they’ll pick it up.

So, let me talk about the way I interact with a cover.  I have three possible brains that I can use here. The designer brain, the author brain, and the reader brain. Of those, the only one that’s appropriate for me to use when looking is the reader brain.

Why?  Because my designer brain is too darn close to the story to be able to back away and see the big picture and the market. I didn’t ever doodle any images or even try to imagine what the cover would look like so that my designer brain wouldn’t think it got a say. There are people who design books full time and are very good.

My author brain? That would have been caught up with trying to find people who looked like the main character, which doesn’t matter. The cover’s job is to get you to pick it up.  It also needs to give you a sense of what the story inside will be like so that you don’t feel lied to when you start reading, but first and foremost it needs to get you to pick the book up.

The only question I need to ask my reader brain is, “Would I pick this book up?”  The answer is, yes. Yes, I would.   It promises that if I buy it, I’ll be reading Jane Austen, with magic.

Now, if the answer had been “no, I wouldn’t pick this up” or “no, this feels like a completely different novel” then I could use the other two brains to phrase my communication with my editor but otherwise, they don’t really serve a useful function.

As it happens, both my designer brain and my author brain are also very happy with the cover. I think that Terry Rohrbach, the designer of the Shades of Milk and Honey cover, did a beautiful job here.

I am fatigued.  

We did this today.

There’s my beloved, manning the camera in his role as director. I limited my input to art direction and occasionally movement coach.

Interesting factoid… the table that the vase and flowers is sitting on is not a real table, although the vase and flowers are real.

It’s a music stand.

Well, a music stand with some strategically placed cut paper to change the silhouette into something more appropriate for the Regency.

What actually turned out to be a bonus was that we could change the height of the table depending on what we were filming at the time.  Also, I was able to raise the “feet” of the table above the bottom edge of the shadow screen so it was visible.

Because the light beam widens as it travels from the projector to the screen, even if you are only an inch away from the screen there’s a little well of shadow, that clips the bottom off of images. In this case it was pronounced because we also had a roll of paper on the ground as part of the screen.

Being able to tape the “feet” to the stand  gave me the ability to get over that dark area.

There’s still a load of work to do on the Shades of Milk and Honey trailer, but it’s all in Rob’s camp now. Me? I’m going to bed.

This is badly keyed because I’m shooting the camera at an angle to the wall, but this is one of the shadowmasks we’ll be using when we film the Shades of Milk and Honey trailer tomorrow.

Once I survive that, I’ll show you how they are made. For now, though, I need to make sure that all the props are in the box and ready to go to the space tomorrow.

Whee!

The random spotting on her face, by the way, is the concrete wall. The actual screen will be a roll of white photographer’s paper.

This is very funny and painful and my big fear.

So, um, there’s a list of dates of my book tour, plus other sightings, over in the left sidebar. Come see me?

Also, I am totally going to see Parnell Hall the next time he’s on tour.

Today at 8:00 pm EDT I’ll be participating in Coyote Con, representing SFWA.  Coyote con is a 31 day virtual convention covering a variety of aspects of reading and writing Speculative Fiction. It’s a pretty nifty thing with some interesting programming.

So swing by Loki and join the discussion or ask questions about SFWA.

One of the things that is wonderful about fandom is the way people reach out to help total strangers.  Today and tomorrow, you have a chance to help, too.

debsliverlovers is a fandom auction to benefit Deb Mensinger and her wife, Laurie J. Marks (author of the Elemental Logic series, the Children of the Triad series, The Watcher’s Mask, and Dancing Jack, and guest of honor at WisCon 31). Bidding begins on Saturday, May 1, 2010, at 12:01 am Eastern Daylight Savings Time, and closes on Sunday, May 23, 2010, 11:59 pm Eastern DST. Bidding is currently OPEN!

What’s the cause?

This auction is to raise money for the medical and incidental expenses related to Deb Mensinger’s liver transplant. Deb and Laurie will have a number of expenses that are not covered by insurance, including the costs related to getting the potential live donor to Massachusetts for testing and, if all goes well, the surgery.

Deb has been disabled for several years by a genetic form of porphyria. Over time, porphyria destroys the liver, and Deb has now reached a point where she requires a liver transplant to survive.

We all know how difficult it is to get an organ transplant, and how long the lists are. However, there is a spot of hope in this: Deb's brother is willing to be a live donor. If he passes all the tests, genetic and otherwise, the hope is that the two of them would go into surgery simultaneously, and surgeons would remove a lobe of his liver and transplant it to Deb. In 6-8 weeks, both livers would regenerate into full, functioning livers, and Deb will never have porphyria again.

If you’d like to know more about the auction visit debsliverlovers – Community Profile.

You may also donate directly.

Today in the mail I got a parcel from Historika, the modiste who has been making my Regency ensemble in the U.K.  In it were two packages done up in tissue paper and pink ribbon. You know, it’s funny how a little touch like that can make a girl feel special.

And of course, I had to run out the door to a meeting. You may imagine my impatience.

When I came home, I donned them with the mockup of the short stays that Jill’s Corsets is making for me.  Then, because I knew you would be curious, I took a series of photos. One with the chemise, short stays, bodiced petticoat, and the dress. One with no undergarments, save a slip. (The dress is quite sheer.) And one with modern undergarments.

Now we’ll play a game and you may guess which is which. Continue reading The importance of underpinnings in creating a period silhouette

There’s this thing people do called a book trailer which may or may not be helpful in selling books.  I’m a visual person, and both Rob and I work in film and television so I figured, why not.  There are a lot of elements that go into the making of the Shades of Milk and Honey, but I thought I’d show you just this quick series of things for one of the shots.

We’re doing the entire trailer using various forms of shadows puppetry as a nod to the popularity of silhouettes during the Regency.  Interestingly, at this point in England silhouettes were called Shades.  So you could say that the trailer is shades of Shades of Milk and Honey.

This year marks my 20th year as a professional puppeteer and the more I write, the more I realize how beautifully puppetry works as a metaphor for describing the writing process.

There are four basic principles of puppetry and they all tie in fairly neatly to writing, or at least to how I approach writing.

• Focus
• Breath or rythym
• Muscle
• Meaningful Movement

One of the first things we talk about with puppetry is focus. Focus indicates thought. What the puppet is thinking about is what it is looking at. The same is true when you’re writing.  What you are having the character focus on tells the audience what the character is thinking about.

And it’s the same for what the character is looking at, or feeling or smelling for that matter.

In addition to what the character is looking at, the writer has control over what the reader is looking at.  Because as a writer, you can only show the audience one thing at a time. You have to rely on their imagination to build that picture based on that one thing at a time you can show them. So the order in which you show things also becomes important.

There’s this form of puppetry called overt puppetry which is where the puppeteer is in full view. Within about five minutes you stop noticing the puppeteer because they are using focus to direct your gaze. Humans are trained to look at what someone else is looking at. Like if I’m talking to you and I keep looking over your left shoulder, you are eventually going to turn around to see what the heck I’m looking at.

So as a puppeteer, what I’m looking at is what I want the audience to look at. I am controlling what I want them to look at by what I am focusing on. I am also, as the puppeteer, controlling what I am saying about what my character is thinking about by what my character is looking at.

As a writer, I can take that same principal and direct your attention by what I show you on the page and the order in which I show it to you.