I’ve mentioned on here before how much I enjoy Emilie Autumn’s music. Well, last week I managed to snag VIP tickets for her New York City show in February! I realized that I have been to a concert since I took my sister to see Trans Siberian Orchestra years ago — and that was more her thing than mine. The last concert I went to was Alanis Morissette — and that was several years ago, and I didn’t pay $75 for the ticket. In fact, there are very few artists I would pay any real sort of money to see. I love Bon Jovi. but I can’t bring myself to shill out a couple hundred bucks to get squished in a crowd. Somewhere, my teenage self weeps.

Here’s the kicker — I feel like I’m 18. I’m excited for this show! I’m not at all nervous about the meet and greet included with the ticket, I’m simply genuinely excited to meet an artist whom I admire and have been inspired by. Plus, I hear her shows are very theatrical, so it should be a lot of fun. Illness prevented me from seeing her during her previous NYC engagement, and I thought I would have to wait a lot longer to get another chance, so I’m totally stoked!

So, if you could see anyone in concert, or in a live performance, who would it be? And what would you do if given the chance to meet them?

I haven’t been around much. I wish I could say it was because I was running around Europe having a grand ole time, but it’s not. It’s because I’m on deadline with a book due Nov 1. It’s the second in my YA Steampunk series and it’s giving me a hard time. Plus, I’ve been sick as a dog, which has slowed me down. So, now have to accept that the book won’t be as polished as I like when I turn it in — unless I’m late.

Here’s the thing. I don’t like to be late, even if it means the book will be better. The hubby and I are often late to gatherings because we have to drive almost half an hour to get to most of our friends’ homes. It drives me nuts every time.

Thankfully, writers have the revision process to help ease this feeling of  ‘Oh no, I just turned in a crap book’. I don’t really think the book is garbage, it’s just not going to have the atmosphere I want it to have. I tend to vomit the book onto the page, laying the ground work and plot down fairly thickly and precisely. The stuff that I come back to do once that foundation is laid is mostly setting, ambiance, and making sure I don’t have six characters with spastic eyebrows, gazing at each too often.

Still, even though I know the plot will be strong when I pass this book in (and plot is one of the most important aspects), I wish the rest of of it could be as firm. Meanwhile, my darling hubby is concerned about me pushing myself too hard since I’m still under the weather (I’m one of those people who gets sick in stages, so it can take me a couple of weeks to get over a simple cold). But, the book has to be written. I gave my word that it would be done on time, and I really, really, really hate going back on my word.

So, as I crawl back under my rock and attempt to meet my page count — while battling a head cold — I ask that you all forgive my low profile. I promise I’ll be more attentive after Nov 1.  I will also go one step further and ask you to indulge me. Do you hate to be late? Or maybe there’s something else that drives you nuts? Maybe you have a code to which you hold yourself but not necessarily others?

When I was 8 years old, I dressed up like Darth Vader for Halloween. We were poor, so I had a cheap plastic mask and my mother cut about a foot off the legs of an old black polyester jumpsuit. I thought I was pretty hot stuff. When I arrived home from school my father informed that my grandmother had died. Then he got in the truck and drove away, leaving me rather dumbfounded in the drive.

It was October 31st and for some reason, it was decided that I should go out Trick or Treating. My sister and her boyfriend took me. My poor sister sobbed for most of the evening, and I made out like a bandit on sympathy candy. Needless to say, going around telling people Nanny was dead was a hoot — almost as fun as walking into the houses that already knew and felt sorry for me.

That experience turned me off Halloween for awhile. I am happy to say, however, that my lack of Halloween enthusiasm did not last. Over the last few years it has returned with a vengeance and I am counting down the days!

The last few years we’ve hosted a Halloween party at our house. It started out kind of low key, but has been getting progressively more of an event. This year I’ve been combing through Halloween catalogs and websites, shopping up a storm. I’ve even bought a book on spooky cupcakes. I am going to bake! And put up lights and fake webbing. I’ve got Martha-freaking-Stewart Halloween items. Obviously, I mean business. The evites went out last month and I’ve been inviting everyone I see. I hope we have enough chairs.

So, I want to know who else is excited about Halloween. Any traditions? Big plans?

Incidentally, I discovered several years ago that my hubby was also Darth Vader that year. Talk about soul mates!

So, it’s no secret that I love makeup, right? Well, I’m popping my head up from working on the next Kady Cross book to share my excitement over a recent batch of cosmetic making supplies I ordered. I thought to celebrate, I’d share with you all a very easy way to make your own lip gloss! Here are some things you’ll need:

Vaseline (or no name petroleum jelly)

bee’s wax (You can get this at a craft store)

castor oil (optional)

flavoring (dig out your baking supplies — although non clear flavors will darken the gloss)

colorant — micas, dyes (FDA approved!), kool aid, old lipstick…

containers (little pots or tubes, depending on consistency) You can get them, and other supplies HERE.

microwave safe container or double boiler

Before you begin, dampen a Q-tip with rubbing alcohol and use it to clean the inside of the pot you plan to pour your lip gloss into. If you’re using a wand and tube or pen style container, put a couple of drops of alcohol in it and swish around, then empty.

Okay, so the amount of ingredients you use depends on how solid or thin you want the gloss. If you want something that you put in a windup pen or squeeze tube, you’ll want to use more jelly and oil. If you want to put the gloss in tubs, you’ll want more wax.

So, for a nice normal lip gloss with a lot of shine and a little firmness — the kind I’d put in a pot, I want to use probably equal amounts of jelly and wax. I eyeball most of this, so I’ll say we’ll use half a tablespoon of wax and half a tablespoon of petroleum jelly to make the base. Put these in your microwave container or double boiler and melt with/over low heat until blended and liquid. Remove from heat.

As the mixture starts to cool, add your color. I have colorants I purchased from TKB Trading that have a little castor oil in them, so I don’t add oil to this recipe. If you use dry colorant, you might want to add oil, but it’s not necessary. Typically I’ll put in some colorant oil and then mica. BUT if you’re doing this for fun and don’t want to spend a lot of money, you can use an old lipstick. You know when you get to the bottom of a tube, there’s always a good amount left below that rim. Use a toothpick or something to scoop it out. Add it to your mixture when it’s still on the stove, or before you pop it in the microwave.

Stir the colored mixture until it begins to cool (you’ll see it start to thicken or harden on the sides of melt container), add a couple of drops of flavor of choice — I like cherry or vanilla — then pour it into your pot or alternate container. Pop the pot into the fridge or freezer to harden the gloss.

Wipe out melt container with paper towel while the stuff inside is still warm — it’s easier to clean that way!

This is just one way to make your own lipgloss. A web search will yield all kinds of different recipes, so don’t be afraid to experiment! Lots of places, such as TKB sell premixed bases so all you have to do is melt and add color. Shea butter and beeswax makes a great lip balm, or you can use petroleum jelly all by itself. It really can be as simple as petroleum jelly and Koolaid to as complex as several kinds of oils and waxes blended with specialty colorants and micas. It’s really up to you. Mica will make a much lighter color but give a little shimmer. For deeper hues, a colorant or dye is needed.

If you don’t like to play and see how things turn out, there are plenty of simple lip gloss recipes out there. Just do a web search and see which one works for you!

So that’s my lip gloss post. Anyone have their own recipes to share? Or is there another kind of makeup you’re interesting in trying to make but not sure where to start? Let me know and I’ll see what I can do!

In celebration of M.A.C. Cosmetics Venomous Villains line (makeup based on Disney villains!) which is being released this month, I thought I’d surface from my new book long enough to inquire as to what characters are some of your favorite dark-side dwellers. Movie, TV, song or book, I do not care. I just want to know who and why. Here are a few of mine:

1. Malificent from Sleeping Beauty. Why? Because she can turn into a dragon! And she is rotten to the core. Plus, she looks really cool. (And she’s one of the villains with M.A.C. makeup based on her! Yay!)

2. Pennywise from It by Stephen King. I’m not sure what was creepier, the book version or the TV movie version of this force of evil. I think it must have been TV, because that image of Tim Curry as a clown with razor sharp teeth haunts me to this day!

3. Lucifer from Supernatural. The show painted the fallen angel almost exactly as I see him/it in my head. To me Lucifer isn’t ugly, but beautiful and charming — tempting. And smart. The most terrifying thing in the world is that which can walk amongst us unnoticed!

4. Michelle Pfeifer in Stardust, based on the book by Neil Gaiman. She plays the alpha of a trio of witch sisters, hunting down a star so she might cut out the star’s heart and regain her youth. Beautiful, ruthless and without remorse, she is a terrible foe, defeating everyone who crosses her path — until she comes face to face with true love, of course.

That should get you started. Now, give me yours! I’m heading to the M.A.C. counter for some Malificent eyeshadow!

Fall’s coming and for me that sense of excitement is in the air. Even though it’s been longer than I care to admit since I was in school, I still love shopping for supplies. Ah, the excitement of a new binder or pencil! I also love to shop for new clothes, makeup… And I come up with a plan for reinventing or improving upon myself. Right now my goal is to work on improving my writing, so I thought I’d share with you a few authors who make me want to be better than I currently am, or who push me to pay attention to aspects of the craft I may not have focused on earlier.

As writers, we all have our strengths and weaknesses when it comes to getting the words on paper. I’ve always had trouble tooting my own horn because I figure there are always people willing to tell me I suck, but I will tell you all that I believe my strengths to be character and emotion. For the sake of my own ego I’m not going to delve into the plethora of weaknesses to which I subscribe, and will instead jump into my current list of faves:

Married With Zombies by Jesse Petersen. Can the Zombie Apocalypse save Sarah and David’s marriage? Does a zombie only want you for your mind? I had the privilege of reading an ARC of this fabulous book (Aug 31st) and I wish I could pace like Petersen does. The scenes progress at a clip that adds a level of anxiety to the reading, and you’re totally invested in the characters thanks to Sarah’s first person narrative. My characters tend to think too much, but the characters in this book *act*. Only afterward did I realize that there’s not a lot of description in the book — not of characters at any rate. And you know what? I didn’t miss it, because they’re so well set up and so real in their actions and dialogue, that I already have an idea of what they look like. That’s good writing.

Ilona Andrews is one of those authors who make it seem effortless. Her plots are smooth and manage to keep you guessing without jumping all over the place. Her characters are incredible, but it’s her world building that really makes me green with envy. She (Actually husband and wife team Gordon and Ilona) really knows her setting. I imagine it must be so incredibly real inside her head. But it’s not just setting, it’s what has happened to the world and how it affects characters as well. Genius.

Stacia Kane’s a relatively new author to me and already she’s inspired me to the place where I love how good she is and hate her for being so good! lol. She builds entirely real characters that are so full of flaws you shouldn’t cheer for them, but you do because they’re so completely and wonderfully human. Her world is strange and yet terribly familiar, her pacing a mix of languid moodiness and frenetic tension. This woman is the complete package, and reading her makes me want to be so much better myself.

These are just a small sampling of authors whom I hold up as examples of real story tellers. They suck you into their work and don’t let go until the end, leaving you with that good feeling of a satisfying ending, and the equally melancholy realization that it’s all over until the next book. They’re part of the yard stick upon which I measure myself. Now, I’m not trying to write like them, or beating myself up for what I perceive to be my own short-comings, but I think it’s healthy for authors to think there are those out there from whom we can learn and improve our own work.

So, who or what inspires you to do better?