Heat

So some poor guy has been found in the Phoenix area, dead from heatstroke.

I'm sorry.

Look, guys. Anyone that doesn't live in Arizona and is planning to come visit, listen good. We have four or five deaths every year-tourists, usually, that didn't realize how hot it can get here. Let me tell you something right now, it gets Damn Hot. You know what it was in Tucson today? 107 degrees.

Ouch.

Phoenix is usually a bit hotter.

So please, take my advice. Please. If you come down here, drink plenty of water. Don't hang out in the sun for too long. You can die very quickly from the heat. I see you rolling your eyes-they always do. Just listen to me, guys. I live here. I know. (Anyone else who lives here can back me up.)

Take precautions. Be careful. Shorts and a t-shirt and one little water bottle are not enough.

That was...depressing. The next update will be back to normal, I promise.

-Lalla

You Gotta Have Pink Hair

Yes.

Really.

Layne has pink hair. Not naturally pink, and for a while there he had dye stains on his shirt because he sucked at doing it, but yes.

And a lot of people, upon hearing this, give me a look and ask, 'Why?'

Honestly? I don't know. Layne and Alice can-canned into my head while I was editing Color Blind and Layne had pink hair. I didn't know he dyed it until later. All I know is that one of the set-in-stone characteristics was the pink hair.

I could tell you what I told my symbolism-seeking writing teacher (who was actually very cool apart from that): 'well, um...he wants to seem otherworldly without glowing, so this is the best he could do.' (Don't look at me like that, I was put on the spot, and he wasn't the type to take 'I dunno' for an answer.)

But...really...no idea. He just does.

But damn, it works so well.

-Lalla

Release Date

I am very predictable person. I like things to be just so, I won't deny that.

So, in keeping with this predictableness, the release date for The Muse will be...

Are you ready?

How about now?

You're still reading this, right?

Okay, if you're sure...

AUGUST 22nd, 2014.

This is gonna be good.

-Lalla

Be Afraid

I am a 'fear junkie'. Not dangerously-I don't go playing in traffic or anything silly like that-but I love the feeling of reading a horror novel and being so...on edge. I love it.

Unfortunately, I have a tolerance now. It takes WORK to get that fear response. But there are two things-one book and one film-that work so well. So anyone out there seeking that perfect scare, listen close.

FILM

The Silence of the Lambs. We've all heard of it. Hannibal the Cannibal, Buffalo Bill, 'hello, Clarice'...

I didn't see it for several years. I knew of it, and it didn't sound that scary. A bit of background information-my mother managed a Halloween store, and one of the props we sold was a life-size Hannibal Lecter. It was neat-he had a straitjacket and his mouthpiece and he said things, and sometimes the mouth piece would come down. But he wasn't that SCARY. I thought, 'pfft. This can't be that good if the giant prop isn't that scary.'

Never have I been so wrong.

I settled down with some popcorn and the lights off and hit play one rainy night a few Octobers ago. I wasn't expecting much. I've read crime thrillers. They didn't scare me.

Then...then there was Hannibal's dinner. And the ending, when Clarice and Buffalo Bill...well, those of you who have seen it will know.

I didn't sleep for two days. It was amazing.

THE BOOK

Stephen King scares me. He's good at it. (Obviously, that's his job.) But there's one thing of his that does it more than anything else. Not The Shining, not Salem's Lot. No.

Pet Sematary.

My god.

I made the mistake of reading it while I was home alone. My parents were having a 'date night' and I was bored. So I'm reading it, and I come across the words Oz, the gweat and tewwible.

And then the back door swings shut because of the wind. I'll admit it, I freaked out.

I didn't sleep that night. And on and off for the next few days the words Oz, the gweat and tewwible popped randomly into my head and I'd get this little shiver of dread.

So. Anyone looking for a good scare should check those out.

-Lalla

Characters

I actually spaced on this. I do that more than I like to admit. I'm sorry. Forgiveness?

Great. Anyways, I can't draw, but I can sew! So I made these. If Layne and Alice were rag dolls, they would look like this.

 

Layne is the one with pink hair. Don't even ask. I don't know. He's always had pink hair. *shrugs*

 

 

-Lalla

Banning Books

Yesterday, I read an article about the top ten 'frequently challenged' books of last year. (Must have been a slow news day-books? In the news? Don't they need to be covering Justin Beiber? Get on that, internet!)

Sarcasm aside, I had to laugh at the whole idea. You see, I think banning books is just ridiculous. You know what it does, don't you? It makes people want to read them even more. Really, if you think something is objectionable, there is only one solution.

Don't read/listen to/watch it! It's just that simple.

It bugs me a little, though, when they go for the kid's books. I'm willing to bet that most people complaining haven't read the book they're complaining about. Take Captain Underpants, for instance. Potty humor? Bucketloads. The main character is a rotund, bald guy flying around in his underwear, for heaven's sake! (But admit it, that was hilarious. Rotund, bald guys flying around in their underwear are always hilarious.)

If you don't like it, that's okay. But you don't get to make decisions for other people. It goes into the same category as those people who knock on your door and try to convert you. I'm sorry. I have my views, and you have yours, and let's just accept that and have cookies.

That's not to say you have to like everything. I am...less than a fan of Twilight. Really. But you're entitled to like it. You're totally allowed to have a crush on the sparkling vampire. (It's okay. I used to have a crush on the Scarecrow. Must've been the psychotic nerdy-ness.) Just...don't tell me what I can and can't read, okay?

-Lalla

Editing

I LIVE!

I'm so, so sorry for the long delay. I could feed you a whole bunch of excuses, but I won't. Just tell yourself I was trapped on an island with no Wi-Fi.

You know what the worst part of writing is? Editing. I loathe the editing stage. You have to slice and reword and reread until you absolutely hate it and want to just delete the whole file.

But the best part? (Well, second-best. I'm sorry. I just love that feeling of writing the first draft, of not knowing anything about the story yet.) The best part...is sharing. So.

Sometime in August. I think the world will be prepared for Layne's antics by then.

-Lalla