Friday, February 25, 2011

Wishful Thinking

I have a title for book three. Drum roll...

No, wait I already announced it. It's at the top of this blog. The title is...

WISHFUL THINKING.


(Love, love, love it)

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn (still--heck it's only been a day since I last posted.)

Thursday, February 24, 2011

KnickKnacks


I have always loved trinkets. I have a collection of David Winter cottages, I used to collect parrots (ceramic, plates, wooden; not the real ones), I collect plates with folk art, and since my latest book came out, I have all sorts of figurines depicting magical beings. I have a copy of a medieval goblet from England, a lizard from the Grand Canyon, and all kinds tins, especially holiday ones that used to hold candy.

I'm a junk junkie.

I absolutely hate shopping, clothes or grocery. The minute I step into a mall or supermarket, I start to yawn (I'm not kidding). But get me in a knickknack store and I could spend hours gazing at every little thing (Book stores too). I love things that catch the light, collect dust, and serve no real purpose on this planet but to look sweet.

But not too sweet. I don't like the cutesy things. No teddy bears or kids with big eyes. Although my daughter has some Pocket Dragons (I should put a trademark here, but, oh well) that I find adorable (My poor daughter inherited my junk gene, but her tastes run toward dragons--of which I have a few myself).


So stay tuned. I will be posting soon about a contest I am running where the winner can receive a wand. Details are forthcoming, I promise. And it's a cool wand. One I would like to have.

Because you can never have too much fun stuff.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now;
Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn

Saturday, February 12, 2011

A Word about Truth and Honesty

Recently I was giving a talk on Theme, and I realized that AS YOU WISH, my April 2011 release, has truth and honesty as a major topic in the novel. Haven’t we all heard that lying is bad? Isn’t honesty the best policy? Well, I’m here to say the subject isn’t that black and white. I honestly believe that lies have an important place in this world.

Of course, I believe that honesty is necessary in a relationship, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Nothing irritates me more than a story where the hero believes he must always tell the truth when a good lie would let him get away from the villain. That’s just stupidity. Huck Finn lies throughout his story, yet we admire him because his lies are good lies. He lies to protect himself, to protect Jim, and to survive. I have nothing but admiration for someone who does that. (Yes, I am currently teaching the novel so it’s kind of in my head right now)

So does that mean you can’t trust me? Far from it. I am totally honest with friends and family, but if you ask me if your butt looks big in your jeans, unless you are my bosom buddy, I’m not going to tell you that you look awful. I will point out if you have spinach in your teeth, because that’s an easy fix and I’d hope someone would tell me if I did.

So I can understand lying, if the motive is there. I tell my students that I will always tell them the truth (at least as I see it), but that doesn’t mean I won’t lie to them. That leaves them scratching their heads for a while. But sometimes a lie is important and necessary.

And that’s the truth.

--Gabi

Books I’m reading now:
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

The First Review

The first review for As You Wish is in.

Thanks, Felicia, the Geeky Blogger. :)
--Gabi
Books I'm Reading Now:
Midnight Crystal by Jayne Castle