Impossible Spaces Blog Tour- Guest Post

Wow wasn't that a quick update? Wasn't the last one something like...an hour and a half ago? Well, isn't this a good start?

Well, this was a guest post I did for Hic Dragones' blog tour for Impossible Spaces- in which my short story "Skin" (my third in-print publication) appears.  This actually went up in August, but as I was really struggling at that point, I failed to join in with the publicity properly.  Well, better late than never I suppose.  Hope you enjoy!

http://hannahkate.net/guest-post-laura-brown/

Impossible Spaces Blog Tour- Interview with Angeline Trevena

Hello everyone! How are you all?  I'm feeling pretty dandy myself, and also very excited because tomorrow Impossible Spaces comes out! Yay!  What with me going on about it every few minutes, I'm sure you're all aware that my short story "Skin" features!  

At the weekend, I had my very first author interview go live- now I would have posted this sooner, but I've been away on a mini holiday for the last few days (and the short amount of time I was home, I was being a good bunny and writing), so I just haven't had a chance.  However, I will post a link now- my very good friend and fellow writer (and something of a mentor of mine) Angeline Trevena was ever so kind to interview me for the Impossible Spaces Blog Tour- thank you so much, Angeline!  Here is the link:

http://angelinetrevena.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/writer-interview-laura-e-brown.html

I hope you all enjoy it!  It was a delightfully odd experience- I have interviewed a fair few people for EGL Magazine, so I'm the one used to asking all the questions!

Can't wait for tomorrow! Thank you all! x

July Blog Post! Summer Greetings!

Summer greetings! I can scarcely believe we are already in July (you know, apart from the part that I'm utterly MELTING!).  Its quite scary how quickly the months go by.

Well, as you may have noticed, there was no June blog post, as I was taking a break for stress and health issues.  A quick update on that; I have seen the doctor and been placed on medication (which in turn seems to have freaked out my bosses enough at work to stop putting me into overly stressful situations), and I am doing much, much better.  Now, I still have issues to face and there's still plenty more to be dealt with, but I feel like I have the help I need, that the last few weeks have been much more relaxed, so I no longer feel like I'm at the very edge of losing my mind.  Which in turn, makes for a much happier Laura-bunny.

So, now that part's out of the way, moving onto news and things coming up soon!

Impossible Spaces and "Skin"

The time I've been waiting for so excitedly is nearly here- the release date of Hic Dragones' anthology Impossible Spaces, featuring my science-fiction short story "Skin".  The release date will be July 19th (only days away now!), and I'm ever so excited.  Skin is a story that means a lot to me, and so its very special to know this one will be in print.  I'll be providing links at the bottom of this post, but here is a sneaky peak of the front cover!

Relating to this, I am currently finishing off an interview with my good friend Angeline Trevena, who will be interviewing me about "Skin" very shortly.  I have to say, as someone who usually writes the questions, it feels a little bit odd to be the one interviewed this time around! (But then again, as it was lovely Angeline who taught me about interview techniques in the first place, interviewing her a couple of months back for Fifty Shades of Decay felt slightly odd also! But great fun!).  So please keep your eyes peeled for that too!

Changes in Art

I recently made the decision to stop pursuing artist work within tattoo studios.  Without naming the studio (as I actually still get on with everyone there!), I was recently let down by the place when they expected me to be available whenever they needed, and passed on the position to a younger lad without getting to see the (if I may say so) lovely tattoo design I had drawn up for them.  However, I do not make this decision grimly or with hard-feelings.  Sadly, for people in my position, tattoo-careers simply aren't viable.  You simply cannot have a "day" job and work within a tattoo environment at the same time.  So I'm passing up the notion of that career path now.  Having said that, I am still more than happy to design tattoos as commissions, and have not turned my back on the industry! (Oh hells no, despite all that, I'm sure I'll be back in that same studio later this year for my Wayfinder tattoo ;) ).

Career Progressions and Ambitions

As I mentioned a few weeks back, regarding my near-mental-breakdown, I was assaulted by a customer while I was at work.  A few days after that, one customer was so offended by the fact I didn't laugh at his awful joke (that I hear multiple times daily) that he phoned one of the managers to make a complaint.  So as you can imagine, I've been job-hunting weekly to find a non-retail job.  In my first week, I managed to find 2 jobs, but as I haven't heard back from them, I can only assume I didn't make the cut, which is a real shame.  Then at least 2 weeks  went by where I found nothing (apart from retail).  I was also flat-out refused by an agency, and I was left feeling pretty worthless.  Sadly, at 26, despite the fact I have been in work consistently since the age of 15, my lack of "experience" in other fields of work mean that I'm not even given the time of day, despite the fact I am well-educated and have a broad skill set.

So talking things over with my mum (because mums always know best), we decided that writing now has to become work, not a pastime that I do with the intention of getting published.  I'm now going to be adding 2 and half hours a day on top of my working hours (to make that a full working day), just to write.  Trying to turn the negative into a positive :) Its something I really need to take off- sadly in retail, full-time jobs are extremely rare, so its obscenely difficult to support oneself in such work (hence why I currently live at home).  Not only do I want writing to be my career, but now it looks like I will need to also, especially if I have any hope of moving out in the next 2 years.

So lets see if I can be disciplined enough to make this work! Wish me luck!

Other Things

Not too much else to report, but in the last month, I have gotten a new phone that actually works (yay!), bought my very first bikini (*blush*), celebrated the Summer Solstice (summer greetings to you all x), got to spend a lot of lovely time with my lovely friends (<3) and also recently gotten addicted to Dungeons and Dragons (I'm a dhampir cleric :3 ).  Coming up over the next few weeks, I have more social gatherings, holiday, birthdays and next month I will actually get to meet my literary hero Neil Gaiman!!! Getting to meet Voltaire and Neil in one year?  This year has been a pretty awesome one!

Reflection (Spiritual)

This is just something soppy and spiritual I wanted to add at the end of this blog post (feel free to skip if you wish!), but it was something that occurred to me during our Summer Solstice ceremony (which was an unusually sombre affair due to recent mournings in the community).  This year so far has been hard, incredibly so in some ways, yet has also been full of immense joy and happiness for me.  Its hard to think of chaos as a negative force in the world, when sometimes bad things simply have to happen so good things can happen to.  These bad times really make me love and appreciate the friends closest to me <3

So thats pretty much it till next time.  Stay turned for updates and THINGS!

http://www.hic-dragones.co.uk/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Impossible-Spaces-Hannah-Kate/dp/0957029284/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373214763&sr=1-1&keywords=impossible+spaces

March Blog Post- Bereavements, Difficulties and Developments...

Hello everyone! So we've made it to March!

I want to start by thanking those of you who have left me messages of condolence regarding the passing of my beloved cat, Puffin.  Its been a hugely difficult week, made worse by other factors, and I'm sure there are many more tears to be shed yet. However, the kindness of so many has genuinely been appreciated, and has made this hard time a little more bearable.  So thank you.

Despite the fact I was singing February's praises, it turned out to be a real sucky one in the end after all! March so far is determined to carry on in that vein! Oh well!  It hasn't all been bad, and I have a lot of developments and projects to report!  And while I certainly needed some days to veg, I have found that sometimes, keeping busy and getting on with work is a great way to battle through struggles and hard times.  So here I go!

Science Fiction
Ok, so I've actually already ventured into the realm of science fiction before with my soon-to-be-published short story, "Skin", but I recently submitted another sci-fi short!  Its a very futuristic twist on the fairytale classic, Sleeping Beauty.  I don't know if this submission will be picked, but I don't think it was a bad effort, and it was certainly good fun to write.  I absolutely love twists on old fairy tales (Neil Gaiman's short story, "Snow, Glass, Apples," is one of my favourites!), and I love the creativity involved in picking back through a classic and finding little twists and openings to reinterpret.  I'm actually working on another right now (not sci-fi this time) based on Red Riding Hood.  While I'm a big fan of The Company of Wolves, I am trying to steer clear of that sort of angle.

Amusingly enough, I was cutting it very fine on the deadline! I have improved in this, but sometimes you just still run out of time!  But what was funny was that while I was finishing the story, my dad and I were watching Iron Maiden, Live at Long Beach 1985...and I submitted the piece at 2 minutes to midnight! ;)

(Cookies, if you get that.  If you don't, you really need to get Edward the Great and brush up on some 'Maiden ;) ).

Other Fiction Projects
I'm working on two other short stories at the moment, with the intention of submitting them at the end of this month.  One is the aforementioned reinterpretation of Red Riding Hood, as I mentioned.  The other is an "urban mythic" submission I'm working on.  I think I may have a very different idea going, but one of the fun parts of it is that I get to do one of my favourite things- brush up on my world mythology!  Mythology of various cultures is a subject I love, and never get bored of.  I'm really into a strange mix of Egyptian, Mesopotamian/Sumerian and Norse at the moment, but my research leads me into other pantheons also.  I think I'm going to really enjoy this particular piece!

On a slightly unrelated note, I'm going to an alternative/fetish club event at the end of the month dressed as the Goddess Inanna ;) (theme is angels and demons, gods and comic book heroes).

Art Projects
I have various art projects ongoing, or about to begin presently.  One is a cute little idea I'm pursuing as a present for a friend- I've managed to get her hooked onto my own guilty pleasure, Monster High, and am currently rendering our group of friends as freaky-fabulous monster dolls! XD  Another thing I'm working on is a tattoo design; I have been itching for more ink for months, and it just seemed natural to me that, with Puffin's passing, I should have her portrait tattooed on my skin.  So I'm currently sifting through various old photos of my old dear, and also drafting up a design which also incorporates an ankh, and the Egyptian cat goddess, Bast.

I'm also going to work on a full-colour piece very soon...its a bit embarrassing to admit, but one of my favourite musicians is coming to the UK in May, and I'm going to one of his gigs, and I thought it might be nice, very fan-girly and not at ALL creepy to bring him a present :3 Its going to be a drawing of three belly dancers, inspired by one of his musical pieces.

(Speaking of belly-dance, I really need to get back into that this week...)

Other Developments and Upcoming Stuff!
Very soon, I shall be hosting my very first blog-post interview, so please stay tuned! I am also currently working on an interview for EGL Magazine.  I feel have neglected my work for EGL in recent months so I need to devote a little more attention to that.  I am also considering setting up an artist/writer's page on Facebook (one separate from my personal account), although I may put that off for a month or two.  I'm currently having some social-media issues that maybe affected by it, so I figure I might just put that back.  But it should make it easier for people to keep up to date with new projects etc, and spread da word!  Not to mention, I can share artwork a little more easily.  I may, possibly, think about reviving my old, abandoned DeviantArt account also.

Its been a hard couple of weeks, but its not been all bad.  I'm determined to knuckle down with more work at the moment.  Sometimes the distraction is a good thing, when times are tough.  My current mantra has been "haters gonna hate, bunnies gonna bun" XD.  But yes, things have been tough, but I have been surrounded by some amazingly lovely people, at home, in my social life and even in my working life, and it has made me very grateful, and helped me to cope.  I now hope that throwing myself into work will help me get myself back to...reality.

Right, back to work, still have loads to do.  But stay tuned, things are a-happening!
(And I will be back for April's IWSG.)

Thank you everyone for your continued support- wish you all well :)

In loving memory of Puffin