Author Archives: Dayle

Holiday Reading

During the holiday season, as I decorate and make Grinch kebabs and Chex mix and sing holiday songs at the top of my lungs, I also have the tradition of reading certain books. Almost always, The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper is one of them—if not the entire series. Some years I go to comfort books, often YA such as Narnia or A Wrinkle in Time, or to mythic fiction, such as books written by Pamela Dean and Terri Windling.

This year, I decided to finally read the entire Harry Potter series. Most of which I haven’t read before.

I imagine you’re shocked. I’ve seen all the movies, but I’ve read only a book and a half so far. In fact, I bought The Philosopher’s Stone when I lived in Wales, and the cover notes that it won the Triple Smarties Gold Award. (Smarties are roughly the British equivalent of M&Ms. No idea why they give book prizes.) Kinda before the whole mania happened. (And Philospher’s Stone is the only title as far as I’m concerned, because I don’t think Americans are too stupid to deal with it.)

Aaaanyway, back then I read it, and got halfway through The Chamber of Secrets before I…kept setting the book down and forgetting to pick it up again. This happened several times. It wasn’t a conscious action. Finally I figured out that there was a scene that annoyed me: Dumbledore asks Harry what’s going on and tells Harry that he can trust him, and Harry lies and says nothing’s wrong. Because if he told Dumbledore, the plot and book would end. Some friends have noted that Harry doesn’t trust adults because of his past, and I get that, but that’s not in the text. So my subconscious has always gone “Eh” and I’ve put the book down.

Interestingly, the scene didn’t bother me as much in the movie, but then I’m more trapped when watching a movie, and it wasn’t enough to make me throw up my hands and leave.

So I’ll power through, and continue on. Honestly? I’m really looking forward to it!

What do you like to read during the holidays? Any traditions?


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Orycon schedule!

I’ll be at Orycon this weekend, and if you want to track me down (not in a creepy way), here’s where I”ll be!

Friday, November 9

7:00pm
Writer Retreats
Bob Brown • Brenda Cooper • Dayle A. Dermatis • Diana Pharaoh Francis

8:00pm
Self-Publishing 101
EM Prazeman • Blythe Ayne • Dayle A. Dermatis • Shawna Reppert • S. B. Sebrick

Saturday, November 10

6:00pm
Sex and the modern market
Dayle A. Dermatis • Audiobook Narrator • Theresa Reed • Anna Snyder

8:00pm
Indie Publishing Tools are getting easy
Jennifer Willis • Dayle A. Dermatis • Sienna Saint-Cyr • S. B. Sebrick • Dale Ivan Smith

Sunday, November 11

12:00pm
Autograph Session: Sunday Noon
Jennifer Brozek • Dayle A. Dermatis • David D. Levine

1:00pm
Tropes, Memes, and literary devices
Dayle A. Dermatis • Frog Jones • Seanan McGuire • EM Prazeman • Cat Rambo


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Where’s Dayle?

Or, more correctly, where’s Dayle gonna be so I can get an autographed book?

Urban Fantasy Showcase
August 25, 11 am – 1 pm
Reader’s Guide bookstore, Salem, OR

I’m one of four authors (and friends!) who will be there with books to sell and sign.

Rose City Comic Con
September 7–9
Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR

I’m part of a bookstore collective, and we have a sweet corner booth to display our wares! There will be signings every day, too.

I believe we’ll be in the program as Knotted Road Press, because the person who handled the signups is the publisher. But it’s a bookstore with tons of books, trust me!

(Note: It costs to attend the con.)

Pagan Pride
September 16, 1–5 pm
Oaks Amusement Park, Portland, OR

Another book signing with two other authors. This one will be a lot more low-key than Rose City Comic Con, for sure!

Hope to see you at one of these! xo


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Scary boxes

I’ve had a box of office stuff in my writing office since we moved in. I knew it wasn’t crucial stuff, so it sort of sat in front of the antique wardrobe, getting shoved around as we needed to get to the window to put in or take out the AC, etc. The other day, I finally threw up my hands and took everything out of it. We’ve put a small bookcase in the wardrobe (eventually I’d like to have removable shelves that run the whole width), so I figured I could off-load stuff into there.

What I found was rather…interesting. Including…

  • An astonishing number of Post-It notes (various sizes, colors, etc.). I know I have a problem when it comes to office supplies, but seriously, I thought I’d unpacked all of these. Turns out, not even close.
  • A calculator. (Got one of those on my phone. Into the Goodwill box it goes.)
  • Amanda Palmer’s The Art of Asking. I thought I’d lost it. Hurrah!
  • Barbara Hambly’s Darwath Trilogy. Horrifyingly, I hadn’t noticed they were missing. Someone must have returned them after we packed the rest of the books to move.
  • An acorn front door knocker. I…can’t explain why it was in here. (Also, I’m not sure what to do with it. I don’t want to put it on the front door because then people will use it rather than the doorbell, and we can’t hear a knocker in the back of the house or upstairs. Hm…maybe on the door to my writing room?)
  • The hooks, etc., from the peg board we had in the kitchen of our last house.
  • The cardboard backdrop to our Narnia bookends. I confess I forgot about our Narnia bookends, because they still must be packed away somewhere. As the lodger and I are currently rewatching The Magicians, my need to find the Narnia bookends has now become a consuming flame in my soul.
  • A plastic envelope of magnets, decorative postcards, and other ephemera. I don’t even gave the energy to go through all that yet.

This is making me nervous about some of the other boxes we haven’t yet gone through….

What’s the strangest mix of items you’ve found in a box after you’ve moved?


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Farewell, sweet Max

When we adopted Max last year, we knew he had renal disease. He was estimated to be about six years old, and we’d had previous cats with renal disease who lived to ripe old ages, so we weren’t terribly concerned. Then our vet noticed a heart murmur. Again, we’d had a cat with renal disease and a heart murmur.

But a little over a month ago, when I took him to a feline cardiologist, we got bad news: it was full-on heart disease, and his left ventricle was quite enlarged. (In some ways, maybe not a surprise—we knew had had a big heart.) The problem with heart disease and renal disease is that the treatments contradict each other. Unless it was a dire emergency, we couldn’t even have him anaesthetized (which meant no teeth cleaning, despite his stinky breath).

Around the same time, he got more finicky about food, eating less and less until, despite being excited about the prospect of food, he’d just sit in front of the bowls. Last week, I took him to the vet, who said perhaps it was the renal supplement (which is a powder mixed with his food), plus the renal diet, which is particularly bland. He chowed down on a different food at the vet, so we picked some of that up.

We were out of town for five days (helping my mom move into her temporary condo), and came home Monday to realize Max was in bad shape. Because our cat sitter had said he was still turning his nose up at food (although she’d tempted him successfully with some tuna, bless her, because she was worried, too), I’d already made another appointment for him.

Yesterday, they did blood tests, and the news was shattering. His renal levels, which were only slightly elevated in December, were now through the roof. Giving him fluids would put him into heart failure. There was only one option.

I brought him home, cuddled him as best I could with him feeling the way he did. He napped a little with his head resting on my hand. He purred a tiny bit. I told him how handsome he was, how sweet he was. I praised him for always coming to see what was wrong when Clara miaowed, for being his deaf friend’s protector (even when she clearly could hold her own). I thanked him for his purrs, for making biscuits on my belly.

Ken came home, and we took our darling boy back to the vet, and we said goodbye.

Farewell, sweet Maximus Cattius, Maxamillion Purrs, you of the giant heed and the tiny peeps and the magnificent ruff and proud fluffy pennant of a tail. I know the gods have ushered you on your way, and you’re playing and purring and have probably found another companion to protect. You’re in our hearts forever and ever.

Have some music with your ghosts

I don’t make playlists for all my novels. Some just don’t seem to need them. Or I just find myself wanting to listen to one song, which gets me in the mood for a particular novel or story.

Other novels demand them. Once while listening to Florence + the Machine’s Ceremonials, I thought, Woah, this song perfectly fits that gothic I’m planning to write! Wait, this one does too. And this one! In the end, I realized the album is the soundtrack to the novel (along with some Welsh music and a few other songs). (That novel, With Soft Whispers Laden, is on the To Do list, but not before Shaded and Spectered, the next two Nikki Ashburn books.)

But I’m here to talk about music and Ghosted.

Ghosted is set in Hollywood and nearby environs, an area saturated in music throughout its history. Recording studios, concert venues, the sunset over the gleaming blue Pacific providing inspiration…. So the playlist for the novel is full of California songs, as well as ghost songs and…well, just check it out. Maybe listen to some of the songs while you’re reading the book?

And if Ghosted makes you think of any other songs, let me know!

Ghosted Playlist

California Dreamin’ – Shaw/Blades
Caroline – Concrete Blonde
Celluloid Heroes – Blackmore’s Night
City of the Angels – Gowan
Come To Be My Friend – Shaw/Blades
Estonia – Marillion
Free Fallin’ – Tom Petty
Going to California – Led Zeppelin
Haunted – Evanescence
Hello (Turn Your Radio On) – Shakespear’s Sister
Lonely in Your Nightmare – Duran Duran
Nothing Compares 2 U – Sinéad O’Connor
Our Farewell – Within Temptation
Relax – Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Road to Dead – Paula Cole
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye – Soft Cell
The Smile Has Left Your Eyes – Asia
Stay – Shakespear’s Sister
Ventura Highway – America
Walking on Broken Glass – Annie Lennox
Watching You Without Me – Kate Bush
Welcome to the Jungle – Guns N’ Roses
Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses – U2
Why – Annie Lennox

And a reminder: if you’ve been waffling about getting the Sorcery & Steam bundle containing Ghosted and nine more fantasy books by amazing women writers, the offer is ending very soon. Help our project go out with a bang, and while you’re at it, help support our charity, AbleGamers.

Click here for more info!


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Sorcery, steampunk, ghosts, and magic

My new urban fantasy novel Ghosted is not yet available in stores, but it is available in this amazing bundle! I’m overwhelmed to be included in a bundle with these incredible authors.

Here’s the deal: You pay how much you want for the first four books. If you pay $15 or more, you get a bonus of six more books, including mine. That’s a steal.

You can also choose how much goes to the authors and how much to a wonderful charity, AbleGamers.

From Curator Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Sorcery. Steam. Ghosts. A touch of romance. Mythic creatures. Some truly violent bad guys. And one little black cat.

We have everything in this bundle that a fantasy reader could want.

Including magic.

We have magic in all forms, from the magic that gods use when they come to Earth to magic that a familiar inspires when she helps a man with limited ability keep his spells fresh. We have vampires and werewolves. We have parasols and tea and lovely chocolates. We have FBI agents facing killers and assassins who can kill with a blink.

A fantastic story for every mood, and steampunk. Not enough to call this a steampunk bundle, but enough that we could add “steam” to our subtitle. (We can also add “steam” for another reason. One or two of these books have steamy scenes, that have nothing to do with engines and everything to do with heat between humans.)

We also have new releases in this bundle. Usually writers contribute the first books in a series or a book that fits the theme but has been published for a long time. Four writers—Dayle A. Dermatis, Catherine Banks, Michelle Fox, and me—decided to put their most recent book in the bundle. In fact, Catherine and Michelle have contributed books exclusive to StoryBundle. You can’t get those books anywhere else!

(Note: This bundle offer ends on March 15, so you have a limited time to grab it.)

The Books and Authors

  • Alchemy and Steam (anthology)
  • Blood and Magic, Ann Gimpel
  • Poison or Protect, Gail Carriger
  • Familiarity, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
  • Rare Stakes, Michelle Fox
  • For Love or Vengeance, Caridad Pineiro
  • Ghosted, Dayle A. Dermatis
  • Specters in the Storm, Pauline Baird Jones
  • Valkyrie’s Vengeance & Hunger Moon (Ragnarok: Doom of the Gods 1-2), Melissa Snark
  • Alys of Asgard, Catherine Banks

How do you get your mitts on all these ebooks. Click right here to go directly to the bundle’s page!

About Ghosted

After former party girl Nikki Ashburne accidentally overdoses and briefly died, she wakes up able to see ghosts.

A good thing, because she lost all her other friends in the process. Now she runs ghosts tours of Los Angeles with her spirit-friends’ help.

So when someone starts exorcising the ghosts of Hollywood, Nikki scrambles to find the perpetrator before her livelihood—and her only friends—vanish forever.

Come for the ghosts. Stay for the snark.

Just keep your mitts off Nikki’s friends.


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Synchronicity and my Word for the Year

I believe in synchronicity. No, not the song by The Police (although it’s a great song). I mean the universe whupping you upside the head enough times that you finally take notice. That the signs are there if you just pay attention, if you open your eyes and be open to the message.

Sometimes it’s hearing a concept phrased a different way, and suddenly that concept makes more sense or just clicks.

Sometimes it’s hearing a piece of advice or information the third time, but you’re finally in the right place to really understand it.

It’s that hallelujah moment. That chorus of angelic voices. Or maybe just a chill up your spine, and for a moment the world fades away, and all you can hear is yourself breathing, “Ohhh…”

Or, ya know, it’s the whiplash of the cosmic two-by-four smacking you across the back of your head.

Those of you who’ve been following along with me for a while know that every year, I choose a Word for the Year. Something I want to bring into my life. I’ve been doing it for about 10 years, I think? Past words have included Dare, Trust, Joy, Create, Focus. I’m forgetting some. Hopefully they burrowed into my subconscious.

The last few years, I get my word at the annual Publishing Master Class on the Oregon Coast, in October. That would give me a couple of months to roll it around on my tongue, roll it around in my brain, refine it.

This year, that didn’t happen. And as the year drew to an end, I found myself feeling edgy, nervous. Where was my Word? A few times I thought I had it, but a day or two later, I would have forgotten it—which meant it wasn’t my Word after all. On top of that, November and December were full of stress and health issues, and not a lot of writing. Usually I’d be looking forward to starting the year with my Word, and not having it added to the stress, which in turn made the Word harder to find, I think.

On New Year’s Day I went to a part at my friend Thorn’s house. Every year (I assume; I’ve only been to two) she and her partners host a Divination Party. Get a Tarot or rune reading, or give one, and eat good food and spend time with smart, creative, inspiring people.

Long story short, I got a Tarot reading. It was a curiously uneven reading, suggesting I’d be dealing with bad as well as good in the coming year. There would be separation. Figuring shit out. But on the other side, positive things. When I explained the reading to Ken, my Word finally flew into my head and heart:

Release

This is my year of letting things go. Shit I don’t need. Habits or practices or stuff that isn’t serving me anymore. Because when you do that, you open up room for new things. Better habits. A fresh outlook. More space to breathe.

Around the same time, I came to recognize, finally, something that’s been holding me back. It’s something I internalized so long ago that I hadn’t realized it was deep down there. It’s not something I’m going to talk about publicly; it’s just something I have to unpack, pick apart, and…let go of. Release.

I mentioned synchronicity above. Figuring out my Word allowed other things to snap into place. First, three books I started reading.

You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life
Jen Sincero

What this book is about should be fairly obvious from the title. No idea where I heard about it, but I’d checked it out of the library earlier in the year but didn’t finish it, so in December, when we introduced my mother to the wondrous mecca that is Powell’s Books, I picked up a copy.

I love the energy and attitude in this book—I can feel the author shouting “Boo-yah!” and high-fiving me. I plan to buy this book for a few of my friends who I think could use the boost.

Also, one of the core messages is to love yourself. How can that be bad?

Love yourself. Read the book.

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

This one was recommended at the Master Class (which I attend every year, because whoo boy the publishing climate is changing so rapidly). I’m afraid I don’t remember who brought it up, but several people mentioned the concept of 20% of your effort produces 80% of your results, which is a major point of the book.

It’s also about how multitasking doesn’t work, not if you’re focused on a bigger goal. You have to figure out the ONE thing that leads you directly to your goal, and do that ONE thing above everything else.

There’s a lot, lot, lot more than that, and I’m still working my way through. Highly recommended.

Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person
Shonda Rhimes

My above-mentioned friend Thorn recommended this one, when the ebook was $1.99 (sadly, the sale is over). The first couple chapters, she said, was worth it for writers. I considered just downloading the sample, which would have covered those chapters, but then I released being miserly about two-freaking-dollars and just bought it.

Several of my friends have had A Year of Yes in the past, and I confess the concept made me twitch. Promising the universe that you’ll say “yes” to everything sounded like a recipe for disaster. I’ve read waaaay too much mythology and whatnot to know when you put something out there—like when you give your three wishes to that genie you’ve coaxed out of his bottle—you’ve gotta be super-specific.

Thankfully, Shonda explains early on that it was about saying yes to things that scare her—which makes a lot more sense to me. And later, she has a chapter about saying yes to saying “No,” and that killed any lingering objections I still had.

I love Shonda’s voice in this; it’s a quick, almost breathless read. I plowed through it in a couple of days, but I plan to go back and revisit some of the salient points.

Right. So, synchronicity.

Batching

Powerhouse author and marketer Joanna Penn of the Creative Penn (aka JF Penn for fiction) was one of the speakers at the Master Class. Just after the new year, she wrote a blog post about batching, and once again, a little explosion went off in my brain.

The concept of batching is that rather than dividing your day into two hours of A, two hours of B, three hours of C, and so on, you spend one day doing all of the A you need to do for the month, then two days of B, leaving you free to focus on C…and so on. However it works best for your job.

For example, instead of doing two hours max of freelance work each day, why don’t I set Mondays and Tuesdays to do it, and then have the rest of the week for writing?schedule

Astute readers will note this ties back into The ONE Thing. (Boom, crash, pow. Synchronicity.)

So that’s where my head is right now. Release. With a soupçon of synchronicity.

Looking ahead? I’m gearing up for the Anthology Workshop, and hoping that our recent (and gorgeous) snowfall hinders my drive through the mountain pass to the coast. I’m behind on my reading for the workshop, but what else is new?

I’m also working on Shaded, the sequel to Ghosted, and revamping my newsletter, and reading for the Fantasy Workshop in April, and…well, that all probably warrants another blog post.

(Finally, a confession: I lied. The Police’s “Synchronicity” really does cover what I’m talking about here. And it’s awesome.)


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Let’s take a ghostly Ghosted tour!

I thought it would be fun to pull together some information about a few of the locations in Ghosted. Enjoy!

Views of tombs in Hollywood Memorial Park in Los Angeles.

Hollywood Forever Cemetery

I love old cemeteries, and even though the Hollywood Forever isn’t the moss-encroached, ancient graveyards of Britain (where I’ve spent much happy times wandering about), it’s got a rich history and is wonderfully quirky. Not to mention being one of the most iconic cemeteries in the world, with a star-studded cast of permanent residents.

I mean, I’m writing a series about a woman who sees ghosts, and where are ghosts but at a cemetery? Except, maybe not in the way you think. Aaron Schwabach, for example. He’s not nearly famous enough to be buried there…

Los Altos Hotel

Fans of Buffy and Angel will recognize this as Angel’s Hyperion Hotel, which was featured in many episodes. I’ve never been inside (it’s an apartment building now), but there’s a wonderful courtyard just outside the front door, with a rectangular fountain that’s featured in the book.

Built in 1925, it was the home to many famous people of the time. It fell into disrepair, then was revived in the 1980s. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. A place with a history like that just has to be haunted, doesn’t it? With ghosts from various decades? That’s why it became my model for the Ballington Hotel in Ghosted.

Roosevelt Hotel

The Roosevelt Hotel is one of the surviving Art Deco hotels in Los Angeles, and although it’s not much to look at from the outside, the interior is gorgeous, especially the Spanish Colonial-style lobby. I’ve attended a couple of shows in the Cinegrill bar, where part of The Fabulous Baker Boys was filmed. You know, that scene with Michelle Pfeiffer on the piano.

Allegedly, the ghost of Marilyn Monroe haunts the Roosevelt. Or is it Marilyn…? You’ll have to read Ghosted to find out what my answer is.

Santa Monica Pier

When I lived in Southern California, the best route to LAX from home was down PCH—Pacific Coast Highway, aka Highway 1. It’s an amazingly gorgeous drive, and one I’ve spotted in commercials and TV shows. Once, was delayed because they were filming something along the stretch near Mugu Rock in Ventura County. Speaking of Mugu Rock, I can’t remember which Iron Man movie it was in, but Tony Stark leaves his mansion in Malibu intending to head into LA, and then we see him blasting north past Mugu Rock. I fell out of my seat in the theater laughing. Um, no…that’s a hell of a useless detour!

Anyway. Driving to LAX, it was always a thrill to see the Santa Monica Pier, which has been featured in movies, TV shows, music videos…. In Ghosted, Nikki rides the iconic roller coaster. Ever wonder why there’s always one seat nobody sits in? Nikki knows.

I lived in Southern California for about 20 years, and other sites in Ghosted (and Nikki short stories, and future books) are ones I’ve visited, wandered about in, and experienced. If you have questions about other places in the book, let me know!

Aaaand remember, if you haven’t picked up the Sorcery & Steam bundle that contains Ghosted, it’s around only until March 15. $15 for 10 books, including two exclusive to the bundle. I’m overwhelmed to be in the company of these authors!


(Photo sources: Hollywood Forever, © Alessandro Campagnolo | Bigstock; Los Altos Hotel, Wikimedia Commons; Roosevelt Hotel, Jason Chang via Wikimedia Commons; Santa Monica Pier, Evasion Photography via Wikimedia Commons)

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Heart’s Kiss magazine has revamped!

And it’s better than ever!

After a year of Heart’s Kiss (six issues), the folks behind it decided to revamp a bit, and I’m behind them every step of the way. The original was great, but I think the new version builds on that to become a publication that really speaks to the modern woman (and man).

I’m chuffed that the new editorial team asked me to continue writing for them, including under my Andrea Dale name. Issue #7, which just released, has one of those stories, “House Full of Dreams,” about an older couple facing an empty nest. It’s also got an excerpt from a new novel by Jayne Ann Krentz as well as an interview with the world-class author.

Here’s what the editors, Lezli Robyn and Tina Smith, say in part:

With change comes opportunity. And through our brainstorming we decided to go BIG. We talked about the kind of romance fiction we’d like to see. We wanted to skirt the edges of the genre and syphon out the essence of the best part of it. We wanted to explore the boundaries of relationships and delve deep into what it means to get that first tingle of interest to falling into lust and love.

Check out the new Heart’s Kiss, and let me know what you think!

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