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A whirlwind year
2 min read
It's been many years. And this year has been incredibly weird, and that doesn't even begin to cover it. I won't go into detail about the non-art stuff, but having your personality completely change in an instant, half a dozen times, has been great and fascinating but also disorienting and alienating.
Last year I started recording hypnosis and meditation audios and more poetry for my YouTube channel, and those have received great feedback but alas, I got sicker and can't do that much any more. Earlier this year my beloved muse enticed me to start pencil drawing and I turned out to be pretty good at it (I thought I can't draw). I tried my hand at watercolors, which I always saw as an impossible medium, but turns out it's not. Alas, I again got sicker, as things tend to go, and have hardly been able to do any art for over six months.
I've written over 250 poems this year, thanks to both my muse and the massive cognitive overhaul I've experienced. It feels like after 30+ years of writing poetry, I finally found my voice - at least for the time being, I expect to again be a totally different person soon. I've had pieces accepted into 20 literary magazines in the last three months, one drabble and the rest is poetry.
I've had a total of 17 books published in Finland now, including eight novels and two poetry collections, but that was probably that, my illness has got permanently worse about 15 times since I was last able to write a novel. Hopefully my poetry collection Shitty Lighthouse sees the light in English in the future, however.
Oh and I've also started singing (mostly in Sanskrit) and calabash drumming (see clip of the latter). No, I'm not musical at all, but haven't let that stop me. Hopefully I'd get to do this for a while before I get worse again.
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Alive-ish
4 min read
It's been a while. A few years. Quite a few since I essentially stopped using DA because of the extremely abusive admins (my comment average is still 4.2 comments a day!). I'm not sure if anyone I know is still reading this. Lots of stuff has been happening, good and bad. The Netherlands is a wonderful place. When I got away from Finland life was great for a while. I could work 15-hour days despite the CFS/ME, thanks to LDN. I thought my nightmare was finally over. Until November 2011, when my pituitary was destroyed by sabotage. Hypopituitarism is one really shitty illness and has put me close to death more times than I can count. Also very expensive to treat - insurance covers most of my treatments currently I'm going to Belgium for growth hormone, which costs like 300 euros a month.
So last 2.5 years have mostly been hell, but luckily good stuff too. I've now had three novels and four non-fiction books (including three medical books) published in Finland by proper publishers. Not bad. (I got a cookbook deal in 2011, but because of the hypopituitarism it still isn't finished.) A publisher is now considering my children's book (my story, a professional artist's illustrations). My first play, based on my debut novel, premiered in March. Being published is awesome, but not as awesome as seeing your play on stage. (Photos here!) Hopefully one day I'll see my screenplay on the big screen as well, as I've started writing movie scripts too. Of course odds are overwhelmingly against it, but one can hope.
Currently I have one play (a dark comedy), my first screenplay and three poems in contests. Probably won't yield anything, but then I'll just have to enter more. I've recently been slacking on the short story front, but last year I was published twice in a Finnish speculative fiction/romance zine (M/F and F/F). Yep, I've started writing romance. I even wrote one piece of erotica which I'm very happy with, but the Finnish magazine I aimed it for went bust... I didn't write many poems for years, but now I'm trying to work towards a proper collection.
I've been writing for big magazines too, including most of Finland's top magazines. Last year I wrote my first piece for a women's magazine (the biggest in Finland), now I'm writing my first piece for a posh glossy. I have taken the photos for several of my articles, including one that was published in Suomen Kuvalehti, often called "the Newsweek of Finland".
As for visual art, I'm still drawing ASCII art (obviously), going on my 17th year, but just 1-3 pieces a year. Haven't done any other digital art for a few years (save for some book trailers). Photography, some but not much. I've been supposed to get back to collage and acrylic painting, I have very ambitious plans on that front. I've been going to lots of galleries and art museums lately which has been very inspiring. Now I just need to get my hormone deficiencies in better shape, so that I'll have the energy to actually carry out the plans. For a few years I've entertained the idea of baking fantasy cakes - I already have lots of equipment from fondant molds to food glitter - but have never really got to it because of lack of energy.
So, aside from having a second debilitating and life-threatening illness (on top of CFS/ME) and some other stuff, things are pretty good. I just feel a bit like I've hit a wall - it's very hard to get plays and screenplays produced and I'd need a bigger publisher for my novels. Translation rights would be the obvious next goal.
If you want to stay in touch, Twitter is probably the best place to reach me. I talk to a bunch of DA people there.
So last 2.5 years have mostly been hell, but luckily good stuff too. I've now had three novels and four non-fiction books (including three medical books) published in Finland by proper publishers. Not bad. (I got a cookbook deal in 2011, but because of the hypopituitarism it still isn't finished.) A publisher is now considering my children's book (my story, a professional artist's illustrations). My first play, based on my debut novel, premiered in March. Being published is awesome, but not as awesome as seeing your play on stage. (Photos here!) Hopefully one day I'll see my screenplay on the big screen as well, as I've started writing movie scripts too. Of course odds are overwhelmingly against it, but one can hope.
Currently I have one play (a dark comedy), my first screenplay and three poems in contests. Probably won't yield anything, but then I'll just have to enter more. I've recently been slacking on the short story front, but last year I was published twice in a Finnish speculative fiction/romance zine (M/F and F/F). Yep, I've started writing romance. I even wrote one piece of erotica which I'm very happy with, but the Finnish magazine I aimed it for went bust... I didn't write many poems for years, but now I'm trying to work towards a proper collection.
I've been writing for big magazines too, including most of Finland's top magazines. Last year I wrote my first piece for a women's magazine (the biggest in Finland), now I'm writing my first piece for a posh glossy. I have taken the photos for several of my articles, including one that was published in Suomen Kuvalehti, often called "the Newsweek of Finland".
As for visual art, I'm still drawing ASCII art (obviously), going on my 17th year, but just 1-3 pieces a year. Haven't done any other digital art for a few years (save for some book trailers). Photography, some but not much. I've been supposed to get back to collage and acrylic painting, I have very ambitious plans on that front. I've been going to lots of galleries and art museums lately which has been very inspiring. Now I just need to get my hormone deficiencies in better shape, so that I'll have the energy to actually carry out the plans. For a few years I've entertained the idea of baking fantasy cakes - I already have lots of equipment from fondant molds to food glitter - but have never really got to it because of lack of energy.
So, aside from having a second debilitating and life-threatening illness (on top of CFS/ME) and some other stuff, things are pretty good. I just feel a bit like I've hit a wall - it's very hard to get plays and screenplays produced and I'd need a bigger publisher for my novels. Translation rights would be the obvious next goal.
If you want to stay in touch, Twitter is probably the best place to reach me. I talk to a bunch of DA people there.
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Prose | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Poetry | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">ASCII art | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Pixel art | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Fractal art | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Vector art | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Digital paintings | Traditional art | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Photography | Artisan crafts | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Emoticons | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Wallpapers | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Contest entries | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Seamless textures | Designs |<a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Tutorials | DeviantART Related | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">The rest
Yep, my debut novel Marian ilmestyskirja (Maria's Book of Revelations) was supposed to come out in the spring, but due to various delays it has only been released now. It's in Finnish, but there is an info page in English, too, and a book trailer which is Finnish only, but very visual, so it's worth watching even if you don't know Finnish. It has gathered many positive, even glowing reviews and has been featured in several Finnish magazines, small ones, but still. I was also interviewed on DA.
I also got a grant for my next novel Häpeämätön (Shameless), the third (and probably last) novel of my cripfic trilogy, which I'm starting to write tomorrow for NaNoWriMo. A lovely surprise. I've applied for three grants in the last year and got two, the other for my new medical textbook, which will be out next month. If nothing else can be deduced from this, it is that I am good at writing grant applications - a very useful skill for someone who writes books for a living. I'd also like to see it as a signal that my work, writing both fiction and non-fiction about chronic illnesses, is seen as important.
Other than writing life has been pretty nice (but my life is mostly writing). It's nice not to have to be in Finland, and to have a doctor I don't have to advise and train any more. I'm on some new meds, like an antiviral drug (which isn't even sold in Finland) and some hormones. I haven't really had the time for visual art and my photography has mostly been focused on the food book that will be out next year. Not much time for poetry either, I'm afraid, but I have written some short fiction and several new stories are underway. When it comes to short fiction I almost exclusively write scifi and cripfic these days.
P.S. How is it possible, that every time I log on DA after a few months, it's even buggier than before? Besides breaking everything else, thanks for doing it to my header, too.
Current works
Works in progress
novel #8
four short stories
four haiku
some other poems
my sociomedical essay series
Works finished but not yet submitted
a haiku
three scifi drabbles
five pieces of 55-word fiction
four longer short stories
ten ASCII pictures
an acrylic painting
a digital painting
a whole bunch of photos
Works I wish to start in the near future
several poems
some crafts
henna tattooing
molding clay sculpture
Non-art/DA TODO (inconclusive)
promoting my novel
a food book
medical articles
studying Dutch
studying Spanish
an LDN brochure
some query letters and pitches
some guest blogs
content for my Finnish CFS/ME site
My preliminary schedule for the following months
15th October Occupy Amsterdam
21st October my novel's release date
31st October NaNoWriMo meeting
1st-30th November NaNoWriMo
3rd November dance show
7th November NaNoWriMo meeting
14th November NaNoWriMo meeting
21st November NaNoWriMo meeting
28th November NaNoWriMo meeting
1st December husband's birthday
I was interviewed by
, read the interview in <a href="radicalpuppy4.deviantart.com/j…">his journal.
wrote a poem dedicated to my ASCII art. It's quite good too!
I've set up a discussion thread for my sociomedical essay series on my forum, please read it and contribute if you have any opinions.
My stock diamondie-stock
Member of critiqueme fi
Supporting photo-class suture onewordatatime Lit-Source poeticks Reporters Activists ArtistsForCharity fotoFRIDAY WordCount LineCount litNEWS DisabilityArt fm-me-club
Website My CFS/ME/FM book Flickr YouTube Wishlist Articles on Suite 101 My novel: The Atlas Moth Vegventures food blog
Yep, my debut novel Marian ilmestyskirja (Maria's Book of Revelations) was supposed to come out in the spring, but due to various delays it has only been released now. It's in Finnish, but there is an info page in English, too, and a book trailer which is Finnish only, but very visual, so it's worth watching even if you don't know Finnish. It has gathered many positive, even glowing reviews and has been featured in several Finnish magazines, small ones, but still. I was also interviewed on DA.
I also got a grant for my next novel Häpeämätön (Shameless), the third (and probably last) novel of my cripfic trilogy, which I'm starting to write tomorrow for NaNoWriMo. A lovely surprise. I've applied for three grants in the last year and got two, the other for my new medical textbook, which will be out next month. If nothing else can be deduced from this, it is that I am good at writing grant applications - a very useful skill for someone who writes books for a living. I'd also like to see it as a signal that my work, writing both fiction and non-fiction about chronic illnesses, is seen as important.
Other than writing life has been pretty nice (but my life is mostly writing). It's nice not to have to be in Finland, and to have a doctor I don't have to advise and train any more. I'm on some new meds, like an antiviral drug (which isn't even sold in Finland) and some hormones. I haven't really had the time for visual art and my photography has mostly been focused on the food book that will be out next year. Not much time for poetry either, I'm afraid, but I have written some short fiction and several new stories are underway. When it comes to short fiction I almost exclusively write scifi and cripfic these days.
P.S. How is it possible, that every time I log on DA after a few months, it's even buggier than before? Besides breaking everything else, thanks for doing it to my header, too.
Current works
Works in progress
novel #8 four short stories four haiku some other poems my sociomedical essay seriesWorks finished but not yet submitted
a haiku three scifi drabbles five pieces of 55-word fiction four longer short stories ten ASCII pictures an acrylic painting a digital painting a whole bunch of photosWorks I wish to start in the near future
several poems some crafts henna tattooing molding clay sculptureNon-art/DA TODO (inconclusive)
promoting my novel a food book medical articles studying Dutch studying Spanish an LDN brochure some query letters and pitches some guest blogs content for my Finnish CFS/ME siteMy preliminary schedule for the following months
15th October Occupy Amsterdam
21st October my novel's release date
31st October NaNoWriMo meeting
1st-30th November NaNoWriMo
3rd November dance show
7th November NaNoWriMo meeting
14th November NaNoWriMo meeting
21st November NaNoWriMo meeting
28th November NaNoWriMo meeting
1st December husband's birthday
I was interviewed by
, read the interview in <a href="radicalpuppy4.deviantart.com/j…">his journal. wrote a poem dedicated to my ASCII art. It's quite good too!I've set up a discussion thread for my sociomedical essay series on my forum, please read it and contribute if you have any opinions.
My stock diamondie-stock
Member of critiqueme fi
Supporting photo-class suture onewordatatime Lit-Source poeticks Reporters Activists ArtistsForCharity fotoFRIDAY WordCount LineCount litNEWS DisabilityArt fm-me-club
Website
My CFS/ME/FM book Flickr YouTube Wishlist Articles on Suite 101 My novel: The Atlas Moth Vegventures food blog
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Release of my novel etc
8 min read
Prose | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Poetry | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">ASCII art | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Pixel art | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Fractal art | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Vector art | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Digital paintings | Traditional art | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Photography | Artisan crafts | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Emoticons | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Wallpapers | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Contest entries | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Seamless textures | Designs |<a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Tutorials | DeviantART Related | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">The rest
So my first novel Marian ilmestyskirja will be coming out from Muruja next month. The taboo-breaking cripfic has already got about 10 reviews in book blogs, including a few absolutely glowing ones (I couldn't have come up with better ones if I tried!). I made an English info page about the book which includes a sample. Still hoping to find an international publisher for it! Disabled people deserve a voice in fiction outside of Finland, too. The amazing cover artwork is by another Deviant, the amazingly talented anubis46. Thanks to the book I also scored a paid blogging gig at a Finnish disability magazine (I've done paid blogging before, as early as 2005, but never about a subject I feel so passionate about).
I have just finished writing my next novel, another cripfic titled Makuuhaavoja (Bedsores). It's a very different book - while Marian ilmestyskirja is quite shocking and many have said it left them speechless, this is a more subtle story playing more on nuances and especially with parallels/mirroring/contrast. It's a story about bedbound Kai whose imagination is spurred by his severe hyperacusis (sensitivity to sound) and a lot of it happens in his imagination.
I am working on my second medical textbook now, for which I got a grant. I never got the letter about it for some reason and hence assumed I didn't, but turns out I did. The book is about misunderstood chronic illnesses and should be out by the end of the year. I have been reading source material like crazy, still got more than a dozen books to read. I am also working on a food-related book, which will be published next year. Yeah, sadly both of these are in Finnish only. :-/
We have now been living in Amsterdam for almost seven months. To be honest, it's been better than I expected. The only real problems have involved doctors and getting medications I have already been on for four years, without which I cannot function at all. So far I have already made six doctor visits (in Finland I'd make 1-2 a year). I have had to make two seven-hour trips to see a doctor (which is pretty much the maximum amount of travel you can even make in a country of this size). Frustrating, but not entirely in vain, as he diagnosed me with whiplash (two misaligned vertebrae) which I may have had since childhood(!) and fixed it. It will take a few more months to fully heal, so only then will I know if it has helped.
The spring is well underway here (in Finland it's still very much winter). My birthday is on Sunday and and on Saturday we'll be going to Den Bosch for Sencity, a multi-sense techno party also visited by loads of deaf people. My first party in 1.5 years! I'm also hoping to attend some demoparties, still not sure about Easter party aka Revision, but at least Outline in June.
Not much time for short fiction/poetry/visual art recently, but now that my novel is done, hopefully I will get to focus on that, too. My first fiction publication (since it should be out before my novel) will the cripfic short story Timeless in the Breath & Shadow magazine in a few weeks.
Current works
Works in progress
six short stories
four haiku
some other poems
my sociomedical essay series
Works finished but not yet submitted
a haiku
three scifi drabbles
four pieces of 55-word fiction
four longer short stories
nine ASCII pictures
an acrylic painting
a digital painting
a whole bunch of photos
Works I wish to start in the near future
several poems
some crafts
henna tattooing
molding clay sculpture
Non-art/DA TODO (inconclusive)
promoting my novel
translation/transcription
a food-related article
a medical textbook
a food book
medical articles
studying Dutch
studying Spanish
an LDN brochure
some query letters and pitches
some guest blogs
content for my Finnish CFS/ME site
My preliminary schedule for the following months
15th April work deadline
16th April my book release party
22nd April friend's birthday party
22nd-25th April Revision demoparty
30th April Queen's day
1st-9th May friends visiting
5th May doctor visit
12th May CFS/ME awareness day
1st June-31st July blogging gig
2nd-5th June Outline demoparty
11th-12th June family visiting
I was interviewed by, read the interview in <a href="radicalpuppy4.deviantart.com/j…">his journal.
wrote a poem dedicated to my ASCII art. It's quite good too!
I've set up a discussion thread for my sociomedical essay series on my forum, please read it and contribute if you have any opinions.
My stock diamondie-stock
Member of critiqueme fi
Supporting photo-class suture onewordatatime Lit-Source poeticks Reporters Activists ArtistsForCharity fotoFRIDAY WordCount LineCount litNEWS DisabilityArt fm-me-club
Website My CFS/ME/FM book Flickr YouTube Wishlist Articles on Suite 101 My novel: The Atlas Moth Vegventures food blog
So my first novel Marian ilmestyskirja will be coming out from Muruja next month. The taboo-breaking cripfic has already got about 10 reviews in book blogs, including a few absolutely glowing ones (I couldn't have come up with better ones if I tried!). I made an English info page about the book which includes a sample. Still hoping to find an international publisher for it! Disabled people deserve a voice in fiction outside of Finland, too. The amazing cover artwork is by another Deviant, the amazingly talented anubis46. Thanks to the book I also scored a paid blogging gig at a Finnish disability magazine (I've done paid blogging before, as early as 2005, but never about a subject I feel so passionate about).
I have just finished writing my next novel, another cripfic titled Makuuhaavoja (Bedsores). It's a very different book - while Marian ilmestyskirja is quite shocking and many have said it left them speechless, this is a more subtle story playing more on nuances and especially with parallels/mirroring/contrast. It's a story about bedbound Kai whose imagination is spurred by his severe hyperacusis (sensitivity to sound) and a lot of it happens in his imagination.
I am working on my second medical textbook now, for which I got a grant. I never got the letter about it for some reason and hence assumed I didn't, but turns out I did. The book is about misunderstood chronic illnesses and should be out by the end of the year. I have been reading source material like crazy, still got more than a dozen books to read. I am also working on a food-related book, which will be published next year. Yeah, sadly both of these are in Finnish only. :-/
We have now been living in Amsterdam for almost seven months. To be honest, it's been better than I expected. The only real problems have involved doctors and getting medications I have already been on for four years, without which I cannot function at all. So far I have already made six doctor visits (in Finland I'd make 1-2 a year). I have had to make two seven-hour trips to see a doctor (which is pretty much the maximum amount of travel you can even make in a country of this size). Frustrating, but not entirely in vain, as he diagnosed me with whiplash (two misaligned vertebrae) which I may have had since childhood(!) and fixed it. It will take a few more months to fully heal, so only then will I know if it has helped.
The spring is well underway here (in Finland it's still very much winter). My birthday is on Sunday and and on Saturday we'll be going to Den Bosch for Sencity, a multi-sense techno party also visited by loads of deaf people. My first party in 1.5 years! I'm also hoping to attend some demoparties, still not sure about Easter party aka Revision, but at least Outline in June.
Not much time for short fiction/poetry/visual art recently, but now that my novel is done, hopefully I will get to focus on that, too. My first fiction publication (since it should be out before my novel) will the cripfic short story Timeless in the Breath & Shadow magazine in a few weeks.
Current works
Works in progress
six short stories four haiku some other poems my sociomedical essay seriesWorks finished but not yet submitted
a haiku three scifi drabbles four pieces of 55-word fiction four longer short stories nine ASCII pictures an acrylic painting a digital painting a whole bunch of photosWorks I wish to start in the near future
several poems some crafts henna tattooing molding clay sculptureNon-art/DA TODO (inconclusive)
promoting my novel translation/transcription a food-related article a medical textbook a food book medical articles studying Dutch studying Spanish an LDN brochure some query letters and pitches some guest blogs content for my Finnish CFS/ME siteMy preliminary schedule for the following months
16th April my book release party
22nd April friend's birthday party
22nd-25th April Revision demoparty
30th April Queen's day
1st-9th May friends visiting
5th May doctor visit
12th May CFS/ME awareness day
1st June-31st July blogging gig
2nd-5th June Outline demoparty
11th-12th June family visiting
I was interviewed by
, read the interview in <a href="radicalpuppy4.deviantart.com/j…">his journal. wrote a poem dedicated to my ASCII art. It's quite good too!I've set up a discussion thread for my sociomedical essay series on my forum, please read it and contribute if you have any opinions.
My stock diamondie-stock
Member of critiqueme fi
Supporting photo-class suture onewordatatime Lit-Source poeticks Reporters Activists ArtistsForCharity fotoFRIDAY WordCount LineCount litNEWS DisabilityArt fm-me-club
Website
My CFS/ME/FM book Flickr YouTube Wishlist Articles on Suite 101 My novel: The Atlas Moth Vegventures food blog
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Where did 2010 go?
11 min read
Prose | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Poetry | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">ASCII art | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Pixel art | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Fractal art | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Vector art | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Digital paintings | Traditional art | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Photography | Artisan crafts | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Emoticons | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Wallpapers | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Contest entries | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Seamless textures | Designs |<a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">Tutorials | DeviantART Related | <a href="diamondie.deviantart.com/galle…">The rest
2010 was an interesting and wonderful year, one of my best. I accomplished and experienced many things, both things I expected, things I only dreamed about and things I really didn't expect. The most important ones were of course moving to the Netherlands, and signing a contract for a novel, something I had been dreaming about for 21 years.
NaNoWriMo was both easier and harder, mostly easier, than the previous years, though the resulting manuscript was more rough than my previous ones. After some developmental editing it's now at my beta reader's (yikes).
Christmas went fairly uneventfully, at home with my husband. I cooked for several days to produce a delicious vegan feast. We opened presents on the 24th as Finns usually do. Besides loads of books I got a Lensbaby Composer from my husband! Quite unexpected, even though he knows I'm fond of them. Another lovely present that I actually concretely wished for was a bunch of colorful origami cranes from my little sister, for wall decoration.
I'm more looking forward to tomorrow, as my dad and little sister will come from Finland to visit for a few days. Planning to take my sister to Chinatown, Lapjesmarkt (outdoor market for fabrics on Mondays) and of course to eat rijsttafel.
2010 goals, status
[X] get the hell out of Finland (of #1 importance) done!
[X] finish my CFS/ME/FM book
[/] painting, doing other kinds of art finished one pop art piece
[X] write some non-drabble short stories I have written five longer (at least 300 words) short stories and started a new one this week
[X] set up my new blog actually started two new blogs, a food blog in English and a writing/book/disability/society blog in Finnish
[/] get on TV to talk about my book/Twitter I did get on national radio
[/] more articles published in print magazines one article in a health magazine
[/] have a paper published in a medical journal wrote an excellent review article on myofascial trigger points for a pain journal which had never had anything on trigger points, despite them being the most common cause of pain - they sat on it for months and then decided they can't publish it since I'm not a doctor
[X] speak at the LDN conference in Scotland ended up speaking at two LDN conferences
[_] write another medical textbook (and get it published) postponed to next year
[X] get novel #6 published contract signed
[X] write novel #7 (or at least the first draft) version 1.1 done
[X] learn more Dutch admittedly could have been more active on this front after the spring, but doing okay
[_] learn the basics of Spanish and perhaps French postponed to next year
[/] become a magazine/newspaper/web columnist have sent dozens of pitches, but no luck yet, will pitch more next year
Best things in 2010
moving to the Netherlands
getting a contract for novel #6
winning NaNoWriMo for the third time
finishing the Finnish versio of my CFS/ME/FM book and having it published
getting a contract for my next medical textbook
getting married
speaking at two LDN conferences
a lot of interesting new translation work and other great new clients
trips to our summer cabin
taking some utterly awesome photos
getting some glowing reviews/feedback of my medical textbook (two more ones, not necessarily glowing but at least positive ones, should be coming up very soon)
Worst things in 2010
hormonal problems again getting worse, resulting in e.g. massive weight gain and edema and barely sleeping for months (nothing can be done about that, except possibly for hormone replacement) and severe hypoglycemia is still a constant problem
some other traumatic health problems
hate crime exploding in Finland
not getting a grant I applied for (uncharacteristically for grants odds were definitely on my side)
Best novels I read in 2010
Nasim Marie Jafry: State of Me (a novel about CFS/ME, and a superb one at that!)
Margaret Atwood: The Year of the Flood
Albert Camus: The Plague
Plans for 2011
get my hormonal problems sorted out (or at least find a decent doctor)
get publicity for novel #6
finish novel #7 and get a contract for it
finish first draft of novel #8
write a new medical textbook
continue writing more short fiction and finish poetry
finally finish my sociomedical essay collection, in the works since 2004
learn the basics of Spanish, perhaps French
go to Spain, perhaps Germany (for a demoparty, I wouldn't go to Germany otherwise!) and Italy, visit several Dutch towns I haven't been to before
be invited to speak at the Helsinki book fair (I was promised chocolate for this...)
submit to more writing contests and several literary journals (I'm thinking at least Vestal Review, FuseLit and more stuff for Brain Harvest and Breath & Shadow)
stay alive the whole year
Happy new year to everyone and may your goals become reality and resolutions keep!
Current works
Works in progress
novel #7
a short story
four haiku
some other poems
my sociomedical essay series
Works finished but not yet submitted
a haiku
two scifi drabbles
four pieces of 55-word fiction
four longer short stories
nine ASCII pictures
an acrylic painting
a digital painting
a whole bunch of photos
Works I wish to start in the near future
some short stories
several poems
some crafts
henna tattooing
molding clay sculpture
Non-art/DA TODO (inconclusive)
a new medical textbook
medical articles
articles about consumer electronics
studying Dutch
an eBook
an LDN brochure
some query letters and pitches
content for my Finnish CFS/ME site
My preliminary schedule for the following months
1st-30th November NaNoWriMo
15th November NaNoWriMo meeting
22nd November work deadline
22nd November NaNoWriMo meeting
26th November work deadline
26th November doctor appointment
29th November NaNoWriMo meeting
1st December husband's birthday
3rd December work deadline
6th December NaNoWriMo meeting
8th December MRI scan
10th December work deadline
11th December NaNoWriMo finishing party
12th December Christmas market
17th December work deadline
19th December Christmas market
21st December work deadline
23rd December work deadline
23rd December Christmas parade
31st December writing contest deadline
24th December-4th January Christmas holiday
1st-4th January family visiting
4th January NaNoWriMo meeting
18th January doctor appointment
I was interviewed by, read the interview in <a href="radicalpuppy4.deviantart.com/j…">his journal.
wrote a poem dedicated to my ASCII art. It's quite good too!
I've set up a discussion thread for my sociomedical essay series on my forum, please read it and contribute if you have any opinions.
My stock diamondie-stock
Member of critiqueme fi
Supporting photo-class suture onewordatatime Lit-Source poeticks Reporters Activists ArtistsForCharity fotoFRIDAY WordCount LineCount litNEWS DisabilityArt fm-me-club
Website My CFS/ME/FM book Flickr YouTube Wishlist Articles on Suite 101 My novel: The Atlas Moth Vegventures food blog
2010 was an interesting and wonderful year, one of my best. I accomplished and experienced many things, both things I expected, things I only dreamed about and things I really didn't expect. The most important ones were of course moving to the Netherlands, and signing a contract for a novel, something I had been dreaming about for 21 years.
NaNoWriMo was both easier and harder, mostly easier, than the previous years, though the resulting manuscript was more rough than my previous ones. After some developmental editing it's now at my beta reader's (yikes).
Christmas went fairly uneventfully, at home with my husband. I cooked for several days to produce a delicious vegan feast. We opened presents on the 24th as Finns usually do. Besides loads of books I got a Lensbaby Composer from my husband! Quite unexpected, even though he knows I'm fond of them. Another lovely present that I actually concretely wished for was a bunch of colorful origami cranes from my little sister, for wall decoration.
I'm more looking forward to tomorrow, as my dad and little sister will come from Finland to visit for a few days. Planning to take my sister to Chinatown, Lapjesmarkt (outdoor market for fabrics on Mondays) and of course to eat rijsttafel.
2010 goals, status
[X] get the hell out of Finland (of #1 importance) done!
[X] finish my CFS/ME/FM book
[/] painting, doing other kinds of art finished one pop art piece
[X] write some non-drabble short stories I have written five longer (at least 300 words) short stories and started a new one this week
[X] set up my new blog actually started two new blogs, a food blog in English and a writing/book/disability/society blog in Finnish
[/] get on TV to talk about my book/Twitter I did get on national radio
[/] more articles published in print magazines one article in a health magazine
[/] have a paper published in a medical journal wrote an excellent review article on myofascial trigger points for a pain journal which had never had anything on trigger points, despite them being the most common cause of pain - they sat on it for months and then decided they can't publish it since I'm not a doctor
[X] speak at the LDN conference in Scotland ended up speaking at two LDN conferences
[_] write another medical textbook (and get it published) postponed to next year
[X] get novel #6 published contract signed
[X] write novel #7 (or at least the first draft) version 1.1 done
[X] learn more Dutch admittedly could have been more active on this front after the spring, but doing okay
[_] learn the basics of Spanish and perhaps French postponed to next year
[/] become a magazine/newspaper/web columnist have sent dozens of pitches, but no luck yet, will pitch more next year
Best things in 2010
moving to the Netherlands getting a contract for novel #6 winning NaNoWriMo for the third time finishing the Finnish versio of my CFS/ME/FM book and having it published getting a contract for my next medical textbook getting married speaking at two LDN conferences a lot of interesting new translation work and other great new clients trips to our summer cabin taking some utterly awesome photos getting some glowing reviews/feedback of my medical textbook (two more ones, not necessarily glowing but at least positive ones, should be coming up very soon)Worst things in 2010
hormonal problems again getting worse, resulting in e.g. massive weight gain and edema and barely sleeping for months (nothing can be done about that, except possibly for hormone replacement) and severe hypoglycemia is still a constant problem some other traumatic health problems hate crime exploding in Finland not getting a grant I applied for (uncharacteristically for grants odds were definitely on my side)Best novels I read in 2010
Nasim Marie Jafry: State of Me (a novel about CFS/ME, and a superb one at that!) Margaret Atwood: The Year of the Flood Albert Camus: The PlaguePlans for 2011
get my hormonal problems sorted out (or at least find a decent doctor) get publicity for novel #6 finish novel #7 and get a contract for it finish first draft of novel #8 write a new medical textbook continue writing more short fiction and finish poetry finally finish my sociomedical essay collection, in the works since 2004 learn the basics of Spanish, perhaps French go to Spain, perhaps Germany (for a demoparty, I wouldn't go to Germany otherwise!) and Italy, visit several Dutch towns I haven't been to before be invited to speak at the Helsinki book fair (I was promised chocolate for this...) submit to more writing contests and several literary journals (I'm thinking at least Vestal Review, FuseLit and more stuff for Brain Harvest and Breath & Shadow) stay alive the whole yearHappy new year to everyone and may your goals become reality and resolutions keep!
Current works
Works in progress
novel #7 a short story four haiku some other poems my sociomedical essay seriesWorks finished but not yet submitted
a haiku two scifi drabbles four pieces of 55-word fiction four longer short stories nine ASCII pictures an acrylic painting a digital painting a whole bunch of photosWorks I wish to start in the near future
some short stories several poems some crafts henna tattooing molding clay sculptureNon-art/DA TODO (inconclusive)
a new medical textbook medical articles studying Dutch an eBook an LDN brochure some query letters and pitches content for my Finnish CFS/ME siteMy preliminary schedule for the following months
15th November NaNoWriMo meeting
22nd November work deadline
22nd November NaNoWriMo meeting
26th November work deadline
26th November doctor appointment
29th November NaNoWriMo meeting
1st December husband's birthday
3rd December work deadline
6th December NaNoWriMo meeting
8th December MRI scan
10th December work deadline
11th December NaNoWriMo finishing party
12th December Christmas market
17th December work deadline
19th December Christmas market
21st December work deadline
23rd December work deadline
23rd December Christmas parade
31st December writing contest deadline
24th December-4th January Christmas holiday
1st-4th January family visiting
4th January NaNoWriMo meeting
18th January doctor appointment
I was interviewed by
, read the interview in <a href="radicalpuppy4.deviantart.com/j…">his journal. wrote a poem dedicated to my ASCII art. It's quite good too!I've set up a discussion thread for my sociomedical essay series on my forum, please read it and contribute if you have any opinions.
My stock diamondie-stock
Member of critiqueme fi
Supporting photo-class suture onewordatatime Lit-Source poeticks Reporters Activists ArtistsForCharity fotoFRIDAY WordCount LineCount litNEWS DisabilityArt fm-me-club
Website
My CFS/ME/FM book Flickr YouTube Wishlist Articles on Suite 101 My novel: The Atlas Moth Vegventures food blog
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