Jennifer Pelland

Raks Spooki - tonight!

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:18:48 GMT

If you're near Arlington (Massachusetts) and want to see some really cool gothic bellydance (and me), come to Raks Spooki tonight!

http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/4838934

It's 7:00 to 10:00 at the Regent Theater, and proceeds to go Women for Women.

My Nebula-eligible work

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:13:02 GMT

If I'm reading the new Nebula rules correctly, these stories of mine are eligible to be nominated in the short story category this year:

"The Kennel Club," Helix, issue 9, July 2008

"Minya's Astral Angels," The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volume Three, February 2009

"Organ Nell," Apex Magazine, December 2, 2008

"...That Has Such People in It," Apex Magazine, July 6, 2009

"'Til Death Do Us Part," Shock Totem, issue 1, July 2009

Not that I think any of them are particularly Nebula-worthy, but I figured I'd post the list in case people disagreed. I'll happily email a copy of "Minya's Astral Angels" to any SFWA voting members who are interested in reading it. "'Til Death Do Us Part" is a 100-word zombie story, so I see no point in offering to email that to anyone.

Stuff and things

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:03:30 GMT

I've been really bad about posting updates here. I've gotten used to the quick and lazy style of Facebook updates, alas. LiveJournal takes more effort. So here, in no particular order, are some updates.

-I'm currently 3/4 of the way through stealthmuffin's next novel MS. It's definitely a worthy successor to the first two books in the series, and it's been an incredibly quick read. I think I'll be able to finish it tomorrow, at which point, I'll be able to clear my head and switch back over to my own stuff. I really want to get this revision of Chameleon off of my plate, as hopeless as I think it is to try to sell it. Getting rid of it will be a huge weight off of my shoulders. And if my agent likes it and starts shopping it around, it'll be nice to have a piece in circulation that I'm not particularly attached to (unlike Machine, which every major SF publisher has already turned down, save one). Then I'll finally be able to turn to something else. Probably shorts, I think. I could really use a nice short or two under my belt. Hell, I might even try to revise the derivative piece of crap I had the writing group look at a couple of months ago.

- Speaking of shorts, I got a lovely piece of fan mail from Janis Ian today about "Captive Girl." Holy fucking shit -- a Grammy-winning singer/songwriter sent me fan mail. And speaking of writing new shorts, it's time to finally write a story that tops "Captive Girl," because as much as I appreciate all the attention that it's gotten and is still continuing to get, I'd really like to not feel like a lyric from "How Do You Sleep?" -- you know, the one that goes: "The only thing you done was yesterday, And since you're gone you're just another day." I can hear Lennon croon that line in my ear every time I get a new bit of praise for that old story.

- I've finally seen photos of my performance from the show up in Haverhill a couple of weekends ago, and I need to work on my game face. I thought I was projecting that I was feeling confident and pleased with myself, but in every picture, my expression is completely blank. Well, it's a step up from projecting fear, I suppose.

- In upcoming performance news, Kate and I are dancing this upcoming Sunday at Raks Spooki in Arlington. The line-up really kicks ass. I'm still flabbergasted we'll be up there alongside all those other amazing dancers. Kate and I taped our rehearsal on Sunday, and we're both very happy with how the dance is looking, so while I'm nervous for Sunday, I'm not anxious, if that makes any sense. I must remember the lesson of the game face for Sunday! Yes, we're allowed to look blank and haunted in our first dance, but damn it, I am going to project enjoyment for the second one!

- And we're also beginning to choreograph our dance for the December Za-Beth show. My hope is to be done with the rough draft choreo by this Saturday. It'll do us some good to do speed choreography, followed by speed-learning. We've tended to take months on choreo in the past, and if we're going to get anywhere as dancers, we really need to speed that up.

I think that's it.

New pretty shinies from Elise

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:55:47 GMT

Elise is having a sale on her lovely handmade jewelery:

http://elisem.livejournal.com/1528096.html

Go on, look! You know you want to.

That's it, Maine.

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:56:11 GMT

We're kicking you out of New England. Go on, shoo.

Rhode Island? We'll be reviewing your membership status next.

Another revision down

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:10:57 GMT

I've completed the first round of my post-agent-notes revision of Chameleon. I'm going to set it aside for a couple of days, then go back and search on all the [[bracketed notes]] I sprinkled throughout and start addressing them.

Mind you, I'm feeling precious little motivation to do so. My agent's getting no love for Machine, which is a vastly superior novel, so I doubt he'll be able to sell Chameleon. I'd say I'm more successful with short stories, but I seem to have hit the pinnacle of that part of my career back in 2005 when I wrote "Captive Girl," and if nothing else, the Nebula Awards Weekend drove home how that singular nomination earned me zero respect among the people who I'd hoped to be able to call my peers.

*sigh*

I'll finish Chameleon, see if my agent has any better luck with it, and if not, I'll thank him for trying, then buy a plot of land in the small press ghetto and settle down there for the rest of my life. Shooting for the stars is tiring, and I'm just plain worn out from the effort.

The Big Broadcast 1938

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:15:31 GMT

Last night, I saw the PMRP's "Big Broadcast 1938" show, and they've outdone themselves. A lot of effort has gone into their shows in the past, but this time, they really looked like professionals. The costumes, the staging, the lighting -- it all really came together this time. It was something to behold.

It's become the PMRP's signature to open with a comedy show and then end on something dramatic, so the show started with a recreation of "The Frank Cyrano Byfar Hour," which was appropriately silly. Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band played the show's house band, and they were also full participants in the jokes, as well. I was a little surprised when "Frank Cyrano" didn't end at the first intermission, but it all made sense when, in the second act, the comedy show was interrupted by news of strange events in Grover's Mill.

And what a second act. Listening to the destruction of Boston gave me chills. I would have quite literally been on the edge of my seat if I'd had the legroom to do so. They skillfully ramped up the tension right up to the final moment of the act, and when the house lights came back up, I found myself wondering just how they were going to get that tension back in act three.

I realize now that by wondering that, I unfairly set the bar too high. If I'd seen act three as a standalone act, I would have walked away perfectly happy, but since I saw it after the awe-inspiring second act, I felt let down, especially when they started threading in jokes. Perhaps they realized that they couldn't build intensity any further, so they decided to go for laughs. I suppose I can't blame them for that. It really would have been difficult to top act 2. But I would have liked to see them try.

What other things could I have wished for in the performance? There were some miking problems with principles not realizing they couldn't be heard above the backing actors. There was also pre-show improv going on that I wish had been miked, because I got the general idea of what was going on, but even in the fourth row, I couldn't hear any details. For instance, I only know someone was playing a gossip columnist because someone else told me. But these are fairly minor quibbles compared to the overall awesomeness of acts 1 and 2.

I have to say, I'm glad I didn't audition this year. There weren't a lot of women's roles, I wouldn't have been suited for any of the major ones, and I wouldn't have been interested in any of the minor ones. Of the three majors, one involved being matronly (which I probably could have pulled off, but the woman they cast was dead-on perfect for it), one involved being a young ditz with a good singing voice (nope), and one involved being an ingenue (nope). If Somerville weren't something of a PITA commute for me, I would have been happy playing one of the minors, but I've learned that I get really resentful when my driving/acting ratio is wildly off.

Anyhow, brava to the PMRP!

Monty Python: Almost the Truth (the Lawyer's Cut)

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:01:01 GMT

So I've watched (and enjoyed) the first two parts of this special on IFC, but one thing's really standing out for me. There's hardly any women on it. I get that the bulk of the people involved with the production of Python are men. That's history, that's how it was, that's okay. But in part two, they interview a couple dozen comedians about their love of Python, and there wasn't a single female comedian in the bunch. No Jennifer Saunders? No Dawn French? No Jo Brand? Or on this side of the pond, no Rosanne? No Andrea Martin? No (insert any woman who was a regular cast member on SNL)? It's a little surprising to me that they either *couldn't* find a female comedian who loved Python, or that they didn't *care* to find one. It's not like women haven't been hugely influential in the comedy world. I mean, really, is Seth Green that much more important than Tina Fey?

"Vampire Diaries" continued

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:40:30 GMT

The show is much more palatable when I fast forward past all the parts that don't contain the evil older brother. Plus, it's a major time-saver!

Also...

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:29:19 GMT

...thanks for all the lovely compliments on the new hair. I'm still startled every time I see myself in the mirror, but I'll get used to it soon, I'm sure.

Are we living in the 1950s?

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:26:41 GMT

I had to do some ironing today, so I set the ironing board up in front of the downstairs TV, and looked to see what was on the DVR. Oh look, I'd set a season pass for The Vampire Diaries and forgotten all about it. So I fired up episode three.

And discovered that all the female characters on the show were CHEERLEADERS and all their boyfriends were on the FOOTBALL TEAM.

*gagging*

Seriously, people, are we still feeding that tired old sexist trope to our teenagers? That shit was stale when I was in high school in the 80s, so either today's teens have regressed back to the 50s, or the people writing television and books for them have. Either way, I find it deeply troubling. It makes me want to take up writing for teenagers so I can create a series where our heroine is a track star and the boy she loves is in the drama club and their big rivalry is that they both are competing for the same fundraising dollars with their annual candy sale drives or something.

Bye bye hair!

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:30:40 GMT

As ~~promised~~ threatened, I whacked off my dye job entirely today. The result is shorter in back than I would have liked, but I'll see what I think of it as it grows out a bit:

My temples are now salt and pepper -- more pepper than salt, but a solid mix that will only get more salty over time. I tried to get a picture that showed that, but it didn't work. Needless to say, I now look my age, and I'm okay with that. I was starting to get sick of wondering if people were startled because of my looks, or because I was immature.

I think I'm gonna love this after I get about two month's worth of growth on it. I look better shaggy rather than neat. But it's always possible that I'll fall in love with keeping it this short. Time will tell.

Wha????

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:08:02 GMT

Excuse me, weather, but it's not supposed to snow before my birthday. Or did you not get the memo?

Plodding along in revisions

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:59:03 GMT

I think this "round" of revisions may end up being two-pronged. I'm doing what I can to address the issues my agent brought up that I agree with, but there are a fair amount of places that still need more work. So I've put little [[bracketed notes and questions]] in the scenes and chapters that I want to revisit. They tend to be showing up in places that need more thought or more distance. Yes, I'm having "precious word" syndrome in spots. Bleurgh.

My hope is to have this back in his hands by the end of the year. I think that's perfectly feasible.

Article on my sister-in-law in today's Boston Globe

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:04:16 GMT

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/10/13/women_find_inspiration_at_tufts_10k/

Excerpt:

Thirty-two-year-old Jessica Pelland struggles to walk. A stroke she suffered when she was 12 has made it difficult for her to control her right arm and leg.

But yesterday, on a postcard day filled with autumn sunshine, the teacher from Worcester ran and finished the Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women for the third year in a row.

“It’s sheer force of will’’ driving her, Pelland’s husband, Daniel, said yesterday.

And yes, Dan is my brother. Frankly, anyone who knows me would be able to figure out which of the two was the blood relative simply by looking at the height difference between the two in the photo ;)

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:08:53 GMT

Have you ever read a novel that's left you scowling at your own novel manuscripts and being angry at them for sucking so badly in comparison? The most recent example of this is that I've encountered is The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by N.K. Jemisin (nkjepiphany). It doesn't come out until next year, but since she used to be a member of my writing group, she gave us a galley to pass around. Oh my god, it's wonderful. The protagonist kicks ass while still being human and vulnerable, she's trapped in a complex web of betrayal, and wrapped in a richly-conceived world that has some pretty hot sex in it to boot.

I think I'm going to go scowl at Machine and Chameleon some more. Stupid sucky manuscripts. Hell, a small part of me is glad that no one wants to buy Machine, because at least that means it won't be out there competing against The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms for readers.

*ahem*

This is a wonderful book, and I predict this is only the beginning of what will become a long, glorious, and successful career for Nora. Well done!

My boobs got a write-up in the IROSF

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:54:02 GMT

http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10593

Seriously :)

An unexpected perk of being on Facebook

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:30:10 GMT

As my 40th birthday approaches, it's nice to go on Facebook, look at profile pictures of people who I went to high school with, and pat myself on the back for aging so much better than many of them. I credit my early adoption of the "tanning is evil" philosophy, which was considered deeply weird when I was in junior high and high school. Well, that and my fitness regimen.

Choreography and hyper-focus

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:04:53 GMT

Tonight, I was tasked with coming up with a full choreography for my solo on 11/1. It didn't have to be a good choreo, and it certainly didn't have to be my final one, but it needed to be complete. I succeeded, and have a full dance that is perfectly serviceable, but which I hope to improve upon between now and the show. It's always easier to edit than to create, so I'm pretty confident I'll pull it off.

I made a spreadsheet to keep track of my moves, dividing the song into its different beat components, and as I was sitting down to make a note at one point, I scratched one big toe with the nail of the other one. I winced, but didn't think anything of it, and ran through the dance a couple more times. When I was done, I sat down again to finalize my notes, and noticed a little blood on the top of one of my big toes. "I thought I'd hurt the other one," I thought as I swiped it clean.

Then I looked at the other one and saw all the blood.

Then I looked at the floor and saw more.

Ah.

Can you say "hyper-focus" boys and girls?

I've cleaned the floor, my toe, and the wound, and bandaged the puppy up. It's not bad, really, but you know how feet can bleed. I'm just grateful my costume is dark. I don't *think* I got blood on it, but if I did, it shouldn't be obvious. I'll try to remember to pull the costume pieces out when the sun is up so I can look at them in natural light.

So, I have suffered for my art tonight. I think that calls for a treat :)

Beginning to edit Chameleon...again

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:46:02 GMT

I've gone through my agent's notes one last time, shot him an email with all my responses, and am about to kill my prologue and start editing chapter 1. It's hard not to be dispirited when I look back at how many revisions this thing's been through. I'm beginning to despair of ever being able to complete a good draft of a novel in a reasonable amount of time. If I end up not being able to sell this one or Machine, I may just stick to being a short story writer. Well, maybe I'll attempt to finish Emasculata first, although again, I worry about how long it's been sitting around. Maybe after Chameleon, I should try to write a full novel, rough draft to saleable revision, in a year.

Well, the tone of this post sure changed quickly

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:14:32 GMT

I was all set to use my angry mail icon as I wrote a post reporting that "A Brother by Moonlight" had collected rejection #9, this one from Electric Velocipede, and that I was about to send it off to A Clockwork Phoenix 3. But then I looked through my morning email and discovered that the Close Encounters of the Urban Kind anthology decided to buy my story "Headlights," so I whipped out the happy mail icon.

Bouncing Baby Bursteins

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:38:04 GMT

I am happy to report that the Bursteinettes are as cute in 3D as they are in 2D. mabfan and gnomi, well done! And even though it's been a couple of years since I've had to employ my baby dandling skills, it turns out that I still have the ability to pacify infants and render them unconscious in ways that their parents find charming rather than alarming. When you're the oldest grandchild in an Irish Catholic family, it's a skill you can't help but develop.

Video from Sunday

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:31:29 GMT

For those who are interested:

Yes, we're teeny-weeny, but it's what we've got.

And if embedding still isn't working, just go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGXPpn7JAFU

A lovely mash-up

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:35:50 GMT

From roflrazzi.com, the celeb wing of the I Can Has Cheezburger? empire.

stART on the Street - tomorrow!

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:24:01 GMT

If you're near Worcester, and want to attend a free outdoor arts festival and maybe see someone you know bellydance (ahem), check out stART on the Street!

http://www.startonthestreet.org/start-street

The bellydance show starts at 3:45, and we're on the second stage, which is at 244 Park Avenue, across from the Bank of America parking lot.