Hi! I'm Shira. I write stuff. Here's info on some of it.

Stuff you can read now!
* "Wool and Silk and Wood" in Electric Velocipede #15/16, November 2008
* "Unruly Harvest" in Polu Texni, December 2008
* "The Angel of Fremont Street" in ChiZine, January 2009
* "About a Girl" is a poem and a perfume; check it out at Violette Market!
* "When Her Eyes Open" in Lone Star Stories, February 2009; it was reprinted in the 2009 Eaton Science Fiction Conference's speculative poetry sampler.
* "Twelve" in Cabinet des Fees, March 2009
* "Fortune" in Ravens in the Library: Magic in the Bard's Name, the s00j benefit anthology
* "Tea with Nanahuatl" in Everyday Weirdness

Upcoming in Dead-Tree or Pixel Format
* "Flying Lessons", a webcomic with Charity Larrison, July 2009
* "Valentines" in Interfictions 2, November 2009

Also!

Shayara
Is an urban fantasy illuminated manuscript (as it's not 100% illustrated, I don't know that you can call it a webcomic). It is in process, and will resume posting when I have a decent backlog. Stay tuned! Look for a bunch of goodies scattered around the site as the story progresses. (Add Shayara as an LJ interest, read Shayara posts, and join shayara!)

Wind Tunnel Dreams
Is a loosely interconnected community-funded story system. Every so often, I do a week or a month of daily flash fiction or a five-day short story, often inspired by sponsors' prompts. This is my day job. Please throw in a few dollars if you like the stories! I love getting prompts, and I love getting fanart.

WTD is currently locked. 2007-2008 sponsors get a free .PDF of all of the Wind Tunnel Dreams. You can order it in handy trade paperback form now!

And Many More
Places You Haunt is the Vegas fiction, and Walking on Water is the Vegas autobiography. Seizure Lass is the medical memoir. Questions about anything else? Ask!

Conventions
* Cons I've done panels at this year: Arisia & Wiscon
* Cons I just hung out at: Boskone
* I plan to attend ReaderCon, but don't know if I'll be doing actual programming there yet. I will be doing panels at Pi-Con.

Special Projects
* There will be a story-by-subscription in 2009. Details forthcoming.
* I have several collaborations coming up with kythryne of Wyrding Studios!
* Blogathon 2009: Like last year, but saner!
* Shayara jewelry with upstart_crow and azhure!
* Shayara soundtrack with s00j and lrstrobel!

If you want to contribute art to any project, or have an idea for a collaboration, e-mail me at shadesong AT gmail.com!

Where Else am I?
You can find me at Facebook. You can be my fan there, too. I'm on Twitter, but only rarely use it. Not on MySpace. :)

What
Blogathon! I post every half hour for 24 hours, to raise money for the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center.

When
July 25-26, 9am-9am EST.

Where
Right here on my LJ.

Why
Because I believe in doing good.

Why BARCC?
Because BARCC is an amazing organization committed to helping survivors of rape and sexual assault and effecting social change to dismantle rape culture.

I've been a survivor speaker for BARCC for two years. I don't just give my survivor speech - though that's powerful in itself! The survivor speech is followed by a Q&A which is often the first time people in the audience have felt able to ask questions of a rape survivor. This can be tremendously valuable not just for the audiences of high school or college kids, but for audiences like police, emergency physicians, nurses, first responders - people who see the survivor in those first raw horrible hours and need to know how best to do their jobs, and have questions that can often only be answered by us. The Survivor Speakers Bureau kicks ass. We are fearsomely brave women who eviscerate ourselves so that others can learn, and can help others.

But I also love love love my work in community education and prevention. I love manning a table at street fairs and getting people to talk about a subject that's so often taboo. I love helping people make their Clothesline Project shirts. I love running workshops on building and maintaining healthy boundaries, and dissecting why high schoolers do and say the things they do, and how *they* can help change our culture. (I love the high school workshops; the kids talk to me with my middle-school height and my Docs and silly t-shirts.)

This is such important work.

You have heard the statistics. Per a Department of Justice survey in 2000, 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men reported experiencing an attempted or completed rape at some time in their lives. In Massachusetts alone, 4,418 adolescents and adults are sexually assaulted each year - that’s 12 people each day and one every two hours. BARCC covers the biggest population center of Massachusetts, and its coverage area stretches quite a bit - is why it's the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center.

So 12 people a day. And if they call a rape crisis center - we're who they call.

If you call BARCC after a sexual assault, we will have someone meet you at the hospital and stay with you through your exam, through talking to the police. We will give you up to a dozen sessions of in-person counseling, free of charge. We can get you into group therapy. We can talk you through the night. We are deeply, deeply committed to being there for you, and for your loved ones - because this doesn't occur in a vacuum, and we know it. We have resources for your partner, your roommate, your mom.

We are on the street, helping communities develop their own programs. We're in your schools. We're everywhere. We are ~100 fiercely committed volunteers, working with a staff of dozens to change our world.

These programs, dear reader, cost money. BARCC is fortunate in its volunteers! But all of the materials we give out at those street fairs cost money. It costs money to run the office itself. You know this.

We're doing amazing work. We kick ass.

We need your help.

Why now more than ever?
The state has cut funding across the board, for BARCC and all of the organizations like it. About 30%. *wince* Keep in mind that rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence rates go up dramatically in times of economic crisis. We have less funding to help more people. And it's not just that those rates go up - it's that we community education volunteers are damn good at our jobs, and therefore BARCC's visibility is going up all the time. More people are aware of us, so more people are calling.

What can I do?
I know times are hard for everyone; I know I can't count on a lot of big donations here. But - maybe think about how much you spend at Starbucks in any given week, or what you'd spend at the movies. And donate that. Because trust me, it all adds up. There are over a thousand of you reading me - what if each of you gave $10?

And yeah, I know that won't happen. *laugh* But - give what you can. Every dollar counts. Every sponsorship has an impact.

Are you doing auctions this year?
Why, yes, I am. Check out blogforbarcc!

And flash fiction?
Not on the spot - but I'm posting fiction and poetry every half hour, yes.

Do I get sponsor goodies?
Probably, but I haven't sorted out what yet. You get entered into a drawing for Fabulous Prizes, though.

I'm sold! How do I sponsor you?
I'm glad you asked!

SPONSOR ME!

Current total: $483.34
Goal: $3,000.00

http://community.livejournal.com/blogforbarcc/

Go shopping!

And even if you can't afford to bid or sponsor - PLEASE pass that link around! Tell your friends! Item donors, tell your fans!

I am tired now. *laugh*

Administration
Hello to new readers bardofevermore, moonstone_fae, and shadowpoet89!

Medical
Hangin' in. Sleeping okay. Got an allergist appointment on Friday; hopefully we can figure out why I get these lovely hives when I apply just about any moisturizer. Still seizure-free and mostly pain-free. *crosses fingers*

Blogathon
Still at $483.34. Sponsor me!

Auctions go up *today*. Soon as I get back from my walk. *cracks knuckles* For sneak peeks, look here and here. (Other pics are scattered among donors' websites.)

"My Empire for Ashes"
Got some good notes from beta readers so far; I need to clarify a few things, maybe cut back on the framing device, and add a few more scenes, but I should be able to get it done this week. I'd like to use it and its soundtrack as a Blogathon sponsor incentive, but I won't commit til it's Done. (I am always late on incentives, and I don't like that.)

ReaderCon
Two bit of breaking news:
* Eric Van has attempted to blackmail yuki_onna.
* rosefox is on the programming committee now - so don't give up on ReaderCon as an entity.
But do insist that they distance themselves from Van. He's now listed simply as an advisor, but that's still too much for my taste. I will not support the abuse of power. Cut him off.

Elayna at Explo
Second session starts today! Her regular courses are Improvisational Acting and Molecular Gastronomy; Wednesday workshops are Japanese cooking/language/culture and Hip-Hop Dancing. My girl is branching out. :)

Link Soup
* Fed up with bulk mail? Mail them a brick.
* Walled cities! This is relevant to my interests.
* Ink calendar. Works by capillary action. Nifty!

Daily Science
Best press release title ever: Company Denies its Robots Feed on the Dead.

Plans
Today is pretty much going to be all Blogathon auctions. This will indeed take hours. Also need to get to the post office to mail BPAL; may send Adam to do that.

Okay, I'm trying to photograph jewelry for the Blogathon auctons, and I can't get a non-blurry shot. ARGH. I'm using a Canon PhotoShot A630. Any advice?

And this is also to say: people donating items to Blogathon actions, I must have pictures and/or descriptions today.

If you're knitting something custom, send me the link to the pattern. If your item is in-process, send in-process photos.

But I've got to have a description to post. I can't just say "bracelet by X." No one will bid without some idea of what that bracelet looks like.

And please be as detailed as reasonably possible, especially with items that may contain allergens.

Thank you!

Elayna and alyveritya are back from Explo, eating Chinese food and watching RENT. I am doing my best not to sing along, because nobody wants that. *grin*

So! Her favorite course this session was Found Object Art. :) She enjoyed guitar/songwriting, but it wasn't very social; the kids mostly hunkered down and learned chords. We need to dig her guitar out of her closet!

She got to play Sandy in a scene from Grease in musical theater - which is especially keen because that's the play her high school is putting on next year. :) And she developed a special love for the cha-cha and swing dancing. And just had a great time in general. :)

Next session starts Monday. In the meantime, I have my kidlet for the weekend, and I am well pleased.

Interesting how body language works itself in. How Katrina looks away, looks down; how Alexander presses his hands against things when nervous, to hide any trembling.

Interesting how language shifts - the story is third-person from Alexander's POV, and he is concise, precise, sparse, correct in his language. But Katrina's an empath - and when her emotions are spilling over onto him, the writing shifts; the sentences are longer, swirling, not as controlled. Had not noticed that when I was writing it.

Altogether, I don't think I have to add much. There are a few awkward sentences, and some words I repeat overmuch... one continuity error, and one scene that needs to be moved up a bit. Otherwise, I do rather like it. That's a relief!

Next step, after fixing those things? Sending it to some beta readers to see if it makes sense and hangs together the way I want it to. Because the biggest problem I have here is that I know this whole story intimately, and therefore I could be flat-out forgetting to communicate things to you, the people outside my head.

So I accidentally got spoiled (thanks, io9, for revealing major plot points before this airs in the US; you're a freakin' peach) for Torchwood: Children of Earth. And I have a question for those of you who've seen it.

( SPOILERS UNDER HERE, I assure you. Do not click this cut-tag unless you've already seen it or actively want spoilers! )

Administration
Happy birthday to brigidsblest and ojouchan!

Happy early birthday to ragingamazon, who advances a year over the weekend!

Hello to new reader crotchetyoldfan!

Medical
Finally got a halfway-decent night's sleep last night. Hopefully energy levels will be up today.

Blogathon
AUCTIONS GO UP ON MONDAY. If you're donating an item, I need pictures and a description by the end of the day Sunday; I expect setting this up to take much, if not all, of Monday.

If your item isn't done, but will be, please send me in-progress pics and, if available, pics of what it will look like; if not pics, a description.

If your item isn't done and won't be done, I need to know ASAP, because I need to make stuff or beg for stuff to cover any shortfall, and time is short.

I think you guys are going to be blown away on Monday. We have a tremendous variety of really nifty stuff! And the whole things goes to benefit the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. :)

Click here to sponsor me!

Random
My favorite bagpiper totally friended me on Facebook.

Link Soup
* You should buy wirealking's chapbook and upstart_crow's book.
* The secret history of knitters for NASA.
* New Kij Johnson story!
* New blog discovery! Craftastrophe. Like Cake Wrecks, but for crafts.
* Roman fort in Siberia?

Link Soup: Daily Science Edition
* It may sound like something from a highly stylized science-fiction film but imagine a soldier who could detect threats by seeing in all directions at once. A group of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have taken the first step to turning this futuristic vision into reality with a new imaging technique that involves light-detecting fibres that could be woven into a flexible web or even a soldier’s uniform.

* Research by a group of Montreal scientists calls into question one of the most basic assumptions of human genetics: that when it comes to DNA, every cell in the body is essentially identical to every other cell.

* Discovered 13 years ago, and officially added to the periodic table just weeks ago, element 112 finally has a name. (Copernicium.)

* Gooey hairy...thing in the ocean near Alaska.

Friday Memage!
Wearing: Cobalt blue swirly skirt, BPAL Phoenix Steamworks tee.
Reading: New Space Opera 2 and Stays Crunchy in Milk.
Writing: I think "Happy Hour at the Tooth and Claw" is up next; it's been gestating for a bit, and I have pretty clear visuals on it. I do also need to work on "Maxfield Parrish Blue(s)", but it feels like "Happy Hour"'s nudging my brain more actively. And I need to edit "My Empire for Ashes". Hate editing. I think part of my problem with it is that all three stories I've sold have been first drafts (I put two additional paragraphs in "Angel", but that's all), so part of my writerbrain shoves things off to the side if they scan as needing work.
Planning: I really do need to get on that writing and editing today, and the last-ditch plea to Blogathon auction item donors who I've yet to hear back from. Tomorrow's ArtBeat! I don't think we have any active plans for Sunday... perhaps we'll go see Harry Potter. Elayna's home this weekend, between Explo sessions.

You?