More reviews

I just found another review of Shimmer's October 2005 issue, including "A Convocation of Clowns," here (scroll down).

"Last, "A Convocation of Clowns" by Mel Cameron will appeal to the clown-haters out there (which is probably most people.)"

Currently, I have two other stories submitted to markets, "Howard's Proposal" and "The Toppled Towers." They've both received very favorable comments from my fellow writers, so hopefully they will find a home soon.

It seems like every story idea I've been coming up with lately will require a novel to fully explore it. This is very strange to me, because I've had the most success with writing very short fiction. The most I've ever written was 5,000 words on my failed NaNoWriMo attempt, and most of that was garbage. The longest decent story I've written was around 3,100 words, but it needs some more work before I can send it out again.

The trigger for the current short story challenge at Liberty Hall has spawned yet another novel concept, but at least this time I think that the first section of the story would be an ok stand-alone. So my goal is to write at least that much by the time the story is due (Feb 1, I think). I'm hoping that it will be around 10,000 words.

Phew. I'd better get writing.

"A Convocation of Clowns" reviewed

Tangent Short Fiction Review has reviewed the October issue of Shimmer Magazine. The reviewer commented on all of the stories in the issue, including mine, "A Convocation of Clowns." Here is the relevant bit:

"'A Convocation of Clowns' by Mel Cameron confirms every fear I’ve ever had about the circus devils in a short scene where a tiny car of clowns arrives in a line of traffic. All seems fine, if a bit weird, as the clowns offer balloon animals to drivers. But then they pop them. This story was scary to read and worse to imagine. 'A Convocation of Clowns' should not be read before heading off to the fair."

It was also briefly mentioned in this review, by the Internet Review of Science Fiction.

"This is characteristic of the other material in Shimmerzine: contemporary fantasy with a dark edge, from capering death clowns to predators among sheep-like shoppers. The lightest piece here is a fun little take on the rapture."

Fame and fortune are sure to follow.

Scrapbooking Madness

I spent the days after Christmas scrapbooking like a madwoman. It had been about a month since I'd done any work, so I was raring to go. My first project was Tiger's first Christmas (last year) for her baby scrapbook. I decided to design a series of photo frames that were shaped like Christmas decorations or toys. I spent nearly all of the first day drawing designs on cardstock, coloring them in, and cutting them out. It was exhausting, but I'm really proud of the final results.


My second project was Tiger's first birthday. This went much faster, because I had a set of really cute stickers that caused the page to practically design itself. All I had to do was cut mats for the photos and arrange everything. My mother was quite impressed by how all the colors went together (yellow, pink, and purple on the page, and the pink in Tiger's outfit). Then I told her that I had bought the paper and stickers before her birthday and I had chosen her outfit to complement them. I think she was slightly disturbed by that level of planning and foresight.


The final page that I did was for a hike we had gone on in October. It was a very simple layout, but I took the opportunity to play with some different lettering styles.


All of these pages are for Tiger's baby book. I decided that events from the first year, plus each birthday after that, will go in each child's personal scrapbook. Other events will go into family scrapbooks.

All in all, it was a productive two days of scrapbooking.

Antique Shopping In Yuma, or, Two Birds in the Hand

While I was in Yuma, my mom suggested that we go look at an antiques store in downtown Yuma. She had been there with her sister last month, and noticed that there was a section filled with Asian antiques. I'm very interested in Chinese language and culture, so she knew I would enjoy looking at the selection.

A lot of the stuff there was gaudy junk: cheap looking vases and plates. There were a few interesting pieces, though. There was a lovely mahogany tea cabinet that smelled wonderful. Unfortunately, it was $200--a little out of my price range.

On a shelf, surrounded by ugly vases, there was a pair of bronze birds. They were cranes standing upon turtles, and they caught my eye almost immediately. Only $35, and I could see myself actually using them as decoration. I left them there while I looked at the other offerings.

I found a very pretty photo album, which the tag said was from the Korean War. I liked it a lot, but I wasn't sure what I would do with it, so I left it alone.

After closely studying everything that had caught my eye, I still wasn't sure if I was going to buy anything or not. I happened to glance at the top of the shelf in front of me (it was about six feet tall) and I saw something I immediately wanted. It was a small bonsai pot on a ceramic stand. I have tried bonsai in the past, but was never able to find decent pots. This pot is only large enough for a miniature bonsai, but I still like it a lot. It cost $8.


Back to the birds. The more I thought about it, the more I liked them. They had a certain grace, and $35 wasn't really that much. So I decided to buy them.





It's clear that they are a pair, because they are mirror images of each other, not identical. One of the cranes is missing part of one toe, but otherwise they appear to be in perfect condition.

When I got back to Tucson, I showed them to Corvus. He was noncommittal: he knew I liked them, so he said they were nice. Later that night, he went to a meeting and I decided to see what I could find out about them online.

I learned that the figure of a crane standing on the back of a turtle was a symbol of longetivity, and it was used often in Buddhist temples. Often the crane would hold a lotus flower in its beak, and the stem of the flower would curve up to form a candle holder.

Finally, I found this site. This crane is nearly identical to the ones that I bought. The main difference is that it has something (an incense holder?) in its beak. Careful observation of my figures showed me that there might have been something in their beaks at some time. Also, the details of the feathers and the turtle's scales are slightly different.

I was stunned at how high the asking price was. $350 for a single, damaged crane-on-turtle figure? If that is a realistic price, and mine are authentic, then that means they are probably worth $700-$800! Wow. I think I did good.

Unfortunately, I could find no other listings for bronze cranes that were identical to mine. The others were more ornate, with the crane holding a lotus or the turtle wearing a dragon's head. They were all selling in the $350-$400 range, though.

When Corvus got home he saw the websites open on the computer, so he asked me how much my birds were worth. I told him, and he got a panicked look on his face as he asked, "How much did you pay for them?" Once I reassured him, he became very impressed with them.

Perhaps now he'll let me decorate the house in an Asian theme.

A New Year

In lieu of celebrating New Year's Eve, I decided to actually get a full night's sleep for the first time in several weeks. Normally we would get some tasty snacks, like brie and summer sausage, and play a game or watch a movie until midnight. However, this year Corvus was scheduled for closing shift and I didn't really feel like celebrating alone. So I went to bed with a good book and got some reading done.

Tiger got lots of neat gifts for Christmas. Among them were a set of wooden blocks, which she loves. She's learned how to stack them into a tower. So far, she's gotten it four blocks high. Every time she tries to add the fifth block it falls over.

She also learned how to wave goodbye. She did this for the first time when we were getting ready to leave Yuma and were saying goodbye to Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Gaby.

Speaking of Jeremy, he took an absolutely gorgeous picture of Tiger a few months ago. I just got the print last week, and I have to show it off.