The holidays and I have had a hardcore love/hate relationship for many years, so I tend to stay low-key from All Hallow's Eve through the beginning of the year. Sometimes it strikes an ennui in me that causes a creative lag. Not this time.
It seems I've surrounded myself with enough protective energy and positive thoughts to ward off the worst of it.
This beauty here is part of that! No, I didn't even wait until Yule to open my present, either. (Rhi must really learn to turn the date-stamp off on the camera so that it's easier to falsify improprieties such as this.)
It's always a struggle for me to find pieces of jewelry I'll willingly wear. Naturally, this means the probability of finding things I don't ever want to take off is virtually negligible.
Yeah well...I'm totally besotted. Meet my new beau; the dragonscale is inextricably adhered to my wrist. I'm even sleeping with it on.
I've always preferred silver over gold, but have recently found that copper and bronze resonate even more strongly with me. I was rather curious as to why this instinctual skewing was taking place... so I went digging and found some intriguing information about copper, and as an alloy offshoot, bronze:
On a physiological level, copper promotes the absorption of iron, a deficiency I struggle with constantly. My I Ching coin bracelet left a fist-sized bruise on my inner forearm not so long ago, for instance... because I slept on it wrong, I'm guessing. So you can imagine that this benefit alone would drive a subliminal craving to have copper against my skin. But the influence of this metal goes beyond that: it increases dream activity, develops creative imagination and dissolves confusion. It creates neutrality and balances moods, promotes free emotional expression.
Tin controls the sense of taste and harmonizes the nervous system; this latter is an aspect I find especially important since the contrast of my day job and moonlighting as a writer means I have to switch gears from left brain to right brain on a regular basis multiple times a day. It helps transform emotions into concrete form, and also has inspiring effects--encouraging the development of inner talents and abilities. [I found all this, and some other interesting reading, here.]
So, yep, my copper and bronze bracelets and cuff just became a permanent fixture on my body. As though they haven't been for the past few weeks, already.
In other happy announcements with which to ring in the Year of the Snake (unofficially, since the Chinese New Year isn't until February 10th) my boys are slotted for release on February 18th. What a way to ring in the official new year, and a celebratory birthday present from me to all of you! Yep, Hamm and Marc are coming your way! (Gratuitous cover art under the cut, along with a run-down on plans for the rest of the year, bloody fuck I'm rambling again...)
My Writing Desk is crammed so full of WIP activity already that I can't control the clutter. The Trunked Novel Overhaul (TTNO) project is slotted for completion before spring; finally, finally, after months and months of scrambling and screaming and assaulting various punching bags (all done quite silently, mind you, in the back of my mind), the plot arc for the last portion of the story has fallen into place. It feels like I can breathe again. As though moving past the Longest Night this winter solstice was as much a figurative transition as a natural phenomenon of the seasons.
A number of other WIPs hanging along the fringes for later in the year, including a planned wrap-up of "Fang & Fire" and tackling the offshoot novel I have tenuously plotted in the DEoH universe that involves an alien-chimera Alliance assassin as the main character. Yes, also "Blood Red"... once TTNO is done, that's my major project.
The Year of the Water Snake is going to be a busy one around Haus of Rhi!
It seems I've surrounded myself with enough protective energy and positive thoughts to ward off the worst of it.
This beauty here is part of that! No, I didn't even wait until Yule to open my present, either. (Rhi must really learn to turn the date-stamp off on the camera so that it's easier to falsify improprieties such as this.)
 |
| Bronze Dragonscale |
Yeah well...I'm totally besotted. Meet my new beau; the dragonscale is inextricably adhered to my wrist. I'm even sleeping with it on.
I've always preferred silver over gold, but have recently found that copper and bronze resonate even more strongly with me. I was rather curious as to why this instinctual skewing was taking place... so I went digging and found some intriguing information about copper, and as an alloy offshoot, bronze:
On a physiological level, copper promotes the absorption of iron, a deficiency I struggle with constantly. My I Ching coin bracelet left a fist-sized bruise on my inner forearm not so long ago, for instance... because I slept on it wrong, I'm guessing. So you can imagine that this benefit alone would drive a subliminal craving to have copper against my skin. But the influence of this metal goes beyond that: it increases dream activity, develops creative imagination and dissolves confusion. It creates neutrality and balances moods, promotes free emotional expression.
Tin controls the sense of taste and harmonizes the nervous system; this latter is an aspect I find especially important since the contrast of my day job and moonlighting as a writer means I have to switch gears from left brain to right brain on a regular basis multiple times a day. It helps transform emotions into concrete form, and also has inspiring effects--encouraging the development of inner talents and abilities. [I found all this, and some other interesting reading, here.]
So, yep, my copper and bronze bracelets and cuff just became a permanent fixture on my body. As though they haven't been for the past few weeks, already.
In other happy announcements with which to ring in the Year of the Snake (unofficially, since the Chinese New Year isn't until February 10th) my boys are slotted for release on February 18th. What a way to ring in the official new year, and a celebratory birthday present from me to all of you! Yep, Hamm and Marc are coming your way! (Gratuitous cover art under the cut, along with a run-down on plans for the rest of the year, bloody fuck I'm rambling again...)
 |
| Marc's looking a bit uncertain there... |
A number of other WIPs hanging along the fringes for later in the year, including a planned wrap-up of "Fang & Fire" and tackling the offshoot novel I have tenuously plotted in the DEoH universe that involves an alien-chimera Alliance assassin as the main character. Yes, also "Blood Red"... once TTNO is done, that's my major project.
The Year of the Water Snake is going to be a busy one around Haus of Rhi!
Heeeey. Nice cuff!
ReplyDeleteAlso... lol you're sleeping in your shiny? Sillyrhi.
More also... loveLoveLOVE the new cover!!! A new Rhi book is coming. YAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Amara Yes I sleep with it on. It fits that comfortably. And yes I'm silly. We knew this.
ReplyDeleteI should have a notebook design to tease you with soon, for DC. Still working on it though. And distracted by writing.
...And distracted by writing.
ReplyDeleteI like that better than being teased w/notebooks ;)
*chants* write, write, write, write! :D