Carey Burns

I've got the worries. MRI for my neck is scheduled for Thursday and I fear a) surgery is the only option and b) even surgery won't help. Um, my neck hurts. See above. I've got a wicked case of the "Everything I Write Is a Steaming Pile of Poo." Is there a cure for this? *awaits answer* I brought the wrong flashdrive. That's it in a nutshell. Now for a walk to clear my head.

I have to take time here to get mushy. Last night after a particularly frustrating day of work, I came home to the most epic gift I have ever received: a Halloween 'advent calendar' in the form of a bookshelf. The hubby started working on this epic gift in January and kept his secret VERY well! He told me how he hollowed out each book, painted some of the spines, found images to glue, sanded and painted a bookshelf...all for little old me. I opened the first book last night to discover an adorable jack o' lantern ornament from Arkansas and today's book contained a framed piece he made out of some of the lines of the books he cut up and the image of a *cringe* spider. This man gets me. I try to say it often, and sometimes in strange voices...I love this man.

So when I came up with the notion to self-publish a collection of my own short stories, I knew right away what the title would be (Hair Baby and Other Weird Tales) and what the cover would be. Easy peasy. Until I searched images online for book covers that have cat eyes on them. Holy heck, three looked EXACTLY like the cover I worked so hard on and then, a writer friend posted a link to one of his covers on Facebook and of course...cat eyes. That scrapped the eerie-green-cat-eyes-on-a-black-background idea. Now what to do, what to do? I tried a blood-red misty fog over a picture of the real Zoey (the cat in "Hair Baby") but it just looks ridiculous.  Then I tried blood spatters and smears which looked even worse.  I'm struggling not only with the concept, but also the program to create it.  I give massive, massive props to cover artists near and far, of every genre.  Your job ain't easy.  Next time you see a cover that knocks your socks off, take a moment to s...

Today, I present to you an interview with the amazing Jill Hejl, the illustrator of my book Haiku Horror Stories . CB:  Thank you for letting me interview you! You know I've been following your progress in your 365 challenge. How do you keep yourself on-task to art each day? JH:  Well, it's hard! It's a commitment that I made to myself that I wanted to honor, but probably announcing it publicly made the possibility of letting a day slide by impossible! ha! I think to myself, you HAVE to get it done! The weekends aren't as bad, but during the week when I work full-time, and don't get a chance to start until 8 p.m. or later, it is sheer force of will that says, I've GOT to go paint or draw a picture. CB:  Do you remember the first piece of art you sold? What feelings and thoughts were going on inside your head and heart? JH:  I think the first large sale I had was a huge, oversized planter and it's accompanying dish that I painted and sold at a lo...

Oh August, you went by so quickly.  My day job sapped quite a bit of my time, energy, and enthusiasm but I'm back now and have my feet planted on the floor and my head is in writer mode. Except for when I have to be in crafter mode.  Or teacher mode.  Let's see what's new, I've signed up for a festival and will be selling my jewelry along with some neato aluminum or copper wall art.  I'm even venturing into the realm of hair accessories, so that should be interesting.  This is one of the pendants I'll be selling.  (if I can bear to part with it) I was a very good girl and turned my contract and class handouts in incredibly early and I even have been putting together the kits for the steampunk-inspired necklace class I'm teaching in November.  Yes.  November.  Can I NaNoWriMo and teach a class in November?  I hope so.  Every year, I declare that I will win and this year is no exception.  I want to say "I finished!" The...

Well, last we spoke, I was taking all of July off to get stuff done and I'm pretty proud of how well I did.  Yes, Facebook lured me back as did Twitter, but I wasn't spending every waking moment posting or scrolling, so hey, that's progress.  Several of my "must-do" items did get completed and I've begun one that's been lingering for years on a shelf...the dreaded pile of story ideas scrawled on a napkin, the first page of a genius story that has been abandoned to time and forgetfulness, handwritten stories complete but in need of a red pen.  Who knew I had so much backlog?  (and that so much of that backlog was utter crap?) July was a sad, strange, entertaining month.  I lost a couple family members, discovered strange health issues, and I ended the month going full Indiana Jones into the dense woods and not finding a lost military fort, but a mess of poison ivy.  *cue the violins*  And now in August, I sit with steroid-induced "moon face," re...

I'm writing with tired, dried-up eyes caused by the Arctic Breeze that whips through my office all day...every day.  One of these days, I'll learn NOT to wear contacts to work.  I've been squirting eye drops in to no avail and here's hoping I can remove them tonight without causing permanent damage to my eyes.  Although, I do have two eye patches, so I'm prepared. With my impending July Challenge , I'm anxious and excited to avoid social media for an entire month.  I'm sure I'll miss birthdays and adorable cat photos and the endearing rant or two, but for the most part, I think it'll be freeing and less negative.  To help stay away, I've even decided to write solely on paper or on my mini because the battery drains way too fast if I have an internet browser open.  Sneaky girl. Before I go, let me mention a review I left on Amazon for Michael S. Gardner's Ruination: A Short Story .  This story is so very good and so VERY gory (beware if yo...