For your Holiday Viewing Pleasure

... a bit of silliness brought to you by GWAIHIR the Valiant & Co. wishing you and yours lots of good food, friends and family, and safe travels as we dive into this holiday season.




Watch this space for news regarding upcoming sequels featuring GWAIHIR the Valiant.

* GWAIHIR The Valiant and the Tale of his Victory over the Medium-sized Orc

and

* GWAIHIR The Valiant and the Tale of his Victory over the Very Large Orc

(
* GWAIHIR The Valiant and the Tale of his Victory over Hoards of Orc is still under contract negotiation)

Telpe's Bling

...there's one in every barn.

This is Telpe being ... well, she's just being Telpe and I'm not sure there is much else to say about it except -- this is the horse your momma warned you about.

This is the kind of filly I warn buyers to look out for... now give me a minute to explain that. I've done a lot of match-making over the years and one thing I've tried to explain to new or first time horse owners is to look at a horse's scars. Most horses that have done anything at all are going to have something to show for it. That's not a big deal. But you have to understand that if three of four legs are criss-crossed, and there are marks on the chest, head and/or butt... you have to KNOW that this horse is an instigator.

Telpe has all that and more, from a ripped eye-lid to a fractured hind leg.

I'm certainly not saying not to buy a horse like that, they frequently have more drive and more personality and in many ways can make a better horse than one that's complacent. (They certainly are more fun for authors because of the conflict and chaos they create) But you have to understand what you're getting into. This is a horse that will actively seek out every hole in your fence; this is the horse that will stand at the gate and fiddle with the latch until they figure it out (yes, Telpe's gate has a clip on it that requires a thumb to open)((it's on the *outside* of the panel so she can't easily reach it)); this is the horse that will go through any gate or open door, just to see what's in there.

The reason Telpe is wearing a tire is a little complex. She normally stays with the herd in a 20 acre pasture, but she has been a little thin (she's 2yo and growing too fast too keep up with) so I brought her up to stay in the barn for awhile, treated her with an extra dose or wormer and have been 1) feeding her extra and 2) minimally restricting her exercise.

Over the course of a couple of months, her weight is coming up nicely, but we'd noticed that she was drinking a lot of water. Waaaaay a lot, like two to three times daily what a mature horse should be drinking. After consultation the vet, we decided it was likely a behavioral issue (boredom) and that in additional to several-times-weekly (light) work (which she was already getting) that she needed some extra toys.

What I usually do it wash out an empty milk jug and drop a handful of grain in it and toss it in the stall for them to throw around, but those don't last more than a day with her, so I hung up the tire for her to play with, and dropped a handful of grain (where she couldn't reach it -- I thought) in the inside of the tire. It took her less than 14 minutes to get to the grain, but she seemed very happy with her tire since her neighbors were, of course, quite jealous that she had a tire and they didn't.

Now, the problem didn't come until two days later when I put Miree's grain in Miree's nosebag and let Miree eat out of her nosebag. That's a problem because, up until getting the tire, Telpe had been eating out of Miree's nosebag.

SO I'm out at the barn, doing various chores, waiting for those that get morning feed to finish up when I notice it's suspiciously quiet in Telpe's corner. (Those of you who have toddlers or teenagers know what I'm talking about).

.... so I'm sitting here trying to describe the situtation and find I don't have any words that don't seem to overstate the obvious - so from this point, I'll just let the photo do the talking.

EEP!!!!!

*gasp*

*head desk*

This guy is awesome!

No, you can't see the words, they're admittedly .... we'll call them 'rough' for lack of a better (polite) term. But I did move an old opening along past a sticky point.

Leah's already blogged about it better than I could have so I won't repeat it all, but if you ever felt like you needed a little motivation to get past a tough point, this is a great program.

go!me

...just a quick update to the previous post!

My entry 'F' pulled ahead for a decisive victory!

It seemed funny, at the time, to see the world land in my yard, roll
forward and squash Marin.


Many thanks to LA for a fun little contest, and thanks to everyone who voted.

And, no, I'm not sure who Marin is or what he was doing in my yard when the world landed here. The WIP-'Ice' muse is being contrary so a short story may be in order.

Vote!

Oh no! not that again... it's ok - this one is just for fun.

Head over to LA's blog and vote for your favorite opening line to go with the posted photo.

http://la-mitchell.blogspot.com/

and no, I'm not telling you which one is mine - just go vote for fun. It's a cool photo.

Helping Zette

Holly Lisle has put out this plea: http://shop.hollylisle.com/pssst-help-zette.php

Lazette Gifford owns and runs the huge, free-for-everyone writing community Forward Motion. http://fmwriters.com/

She's always carried the cost of the site herself (and having done it myself for a bunch of years before she took over, I can attest that the costs are extensive). She gets occasional donations, but again, they are occasional, and they don't cover costs.She has been dedicated to keeping the site free, and as of right now 13796 writers are benefiting from that.

Now, however, she needs your help. She lives in Nebraska, where the first snows have already fallen this year. Her house has a leaky roof, no insulation, a non-working furnace, at least one broken water pipe, and the front porch is pulling away from the house. She needs to get a bunch of things fixed before Nebraska winter sets in in earnest.

Here's where you can help, and get something cool at the same time.

On the following writing courses and books, I have waived all commissions and the authors, if not Zette herself, have waived all payment. 100% of what you spend on these courses (minus PayPal fees) will go directly to Zette, from now through December 31st of 2008.

There's a reason for the rush---Nebraska gets bitterly cold in winter and stays cold for a very long time.

So here are the courses. Every item you buy will help. And every person you can point to this page who buys something will help.

100% of Your Payment after PayPal Fees Goes Directly to Zette for These Books:
Zette's Courses and Books:
The Zette Bundle
2-Year Novel, Year One
2-Year Novel, Year Two
Vision Writing Workshops
Silky Novel Pack
Silky
Silky II, Lord of the Land
Ruins
Muse

My Courses:
Create A Character Clinic
Create A Plot Clinic

Books by other HollyShop writers:
33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Mother Nature, Katherina Gerlach
33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Construction and Construction Workers, Pete Nix

So far, $822 $1704.27 has been sent to Zette from this effort. (As of
12:52 PM, Oct. 26, 2008)



A couple of the other 33 Mistakes books have been added to this list:

* Pete Nix's 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About
Construction & Construction Workers

* Tanya Drayton's 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Hunting

-- and I've send Holly a note adding my Mistakes about Horses to the group as well. So if you've been thinking about ordering, now is the time. It will go to a really good cause.

I don't know Zette personally, but I do know her work and I think, if you haven't read her before, you may find a new favorite author to add to your list.