It’s kind of a fun way to get to know people, too. It’s like whenever I’m at someone’s house and I find myself next to a bookshelf, I gotta read what’s there just to see what kind of stuff the person’s interested in.

Right now, all I have are books that I’ve written whether solo or as Ashleigh Raine and about a quarter of the ones I can see over my computer screen. It’s the non-fiction section, but I suppose that does say a lot about my interests since I read more non-fiction than anything else. Mostly Medieval and Celtic, too… I couldn’t see all the ghost story books or the tarot and divination ones. Also, the books are double-deep. It’s gonna be awhile before I get everything posted.

I’m actually surprised how fun it was. I suppose as I dig through the mountain and realize just how monumental an undertaking it really is, I’ll change my mind on all that supposed fun. But hey, in the mean time, it brings me joy, so why not?

When you walk up to Publishing Island from Book Island, this is what you see:

Be like a ghost and walk through the castle wall, and you’re in a reasonably close replica of the Chronicle Room under the Ward Manor…where Tayna drinks tea and scours the Chronicles in Otherness: Rift.

Here’s a close-up of the shelves. I made a few things, bought a few things and got a few more for free. I’m still amazed that I built the crystal ball myself. It’s got a particle system in it. Jason helped me do some fine tuning on the object as a whole. All in all, for it being the first thing I created, now that I’ve been in-world working for awhile, I’ve discovered that I could’ve started with something a little less involved! Like the odd-shaped things in the middle of the top shelf. I like to think they’re crystals, but I know they aren’t. That’s one of the things I’m working on creating. I want to do a whole line of realistic-looking crystals and such.

And finally, here’s me–Twyla Briggs–sitting at Tayna’s table with the Rede, scrying in my crystal ball while enjoying tea like I always do in Second Life. I can’t drink it 24/7 in real life, so I might as well get my jollies in Second Life!

Feel free to IM me in-world. I’d love to hear from you!

Beyond the castle is Tayna’s Chronicle Room from Otherness: Rift. How nifty is it that anyone can write a book and then create its world in Second Life? And, like, walk around in that world? Good golly, the possibilities are endless and I look forward to doing Ashleigh Raine books there, too.

I had tons of fun scouring SL for props and scanning various things in my Real Life repertoire (aka stashes of precious junk) for correct textures. The castle image on the front of my booth is actually 3 photos from various vacations in England. Yay! For re-purposing vacation pictures!

My favorites from the whole experience were seeing the big ol’ book laying on Tayna’s table, Tayna’s tea cup and Twyla’s crystal ball.

In Otherness: Rift, the book is called the Rede. Right now, in SL, the Rede is just a simple object. I have much planned for it in the future. Much more than what’s in the novel I wrote…because, well, I can play with it more in Second Life!

While Tayna’s tea cup isn’t exactly like any of the ones she drinks out of in Otherness: Rift, it’s close. Plus, it was the first thing that was given to me (thank you, Weasel Gough), so to modify it was also kind of special. It started as a very simple, white cup of black tea. I transformed it into a celtic-patterned cup of green tea. Feel free to stop by my booth and copy one for yourself. I left the drinking script in it, so your avatar can enjoy!

And finally, Twyla’s crystal ball. Well, that’s a sort of funny thing. I’d gotten a box of miscellaneous lights that included some particle balls. None of them were quite right for my idea of the ball Tayna was using to scry in Otherness: Rift, so I opened up the script to see if I could figure out how to modify it. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I kept changing numbers until I got the right colors, the right movement and the right speed. My husband was so shocked, he helped me build a base for it from scratch. What a fantastic learning experience.

I look forward to many more builds and such in Second Life. Say hi if you see Twyla Briggs!!!!

~Annie, The Romance Studio

Wow! That’s not just a 5 to me, that’s a 500! Thank you!!!!!!!

~Bonnie Lass, Coffee Time Romance

This was my very first review and I will always cherish it… Not just because she gave Otherness: Rift a 5! Thank you!!!!!

~Annick, Euro-Reviews

Another great review! Thank you so much!!!!!!!!

~Cat, Two Lips Reviews

This series is really closest to my heart. It has been a long time coming, so I’m glad it’s finally here and being well received. Thank you!!!!!

Magic is only a small part of the real dangers lurking in a future of dark otherness.

It’s official. Otherness: Rift is now sitting on my coffee table. It just didn’t seem real until that moment. I dunno know why.

…And I just did a video for it. Oddly enough, I had to move my book in order to shoot some of the footage for the video, too!

What an experience this has been. From research, to writing, to rewriting, to editing, to rewriting, to release in ebook, to release in paperback and now doing this video. Wow. Life is insane, but very, very good.

This was the day that my best friend Eddie went with me to Hollywood to get an orange wig. Leeloo’s hair isn’t traffic cone orange and this was the only non-traffic-cone-orange wig on the Boulevard it seemed. No, I didn’t wear the peacock outfit to Hollywood, I bought it there, though. I love vintage shops…

Yeah, in this pic, the wig is too long to be Leeloo from the Fifth Element. My hairdresser did an awesome job hacking the wig into shape, but you’ll see her masterful handywork when I get the Leeloo pics up.

I’ve already got a set of sleeves lined up to put onto the peacock jumpsuit. Now, if I could just find the time to do it…

This last weekend was spent working on my car. Jason made the mistake of not believing me when I said, “Shit, I can take that intake off in about twenty minutes.” He didn’t challenge me to do it, but I still felt the need to prove that I could. I’ll be posting those pics as soon as I choose the better ones. And, yes, I did it in about twenty minutes. Neither of us had looked at the clock because it hadn’t been a real challenge, so I don’t know down to the second how long it took me.

I’m also still in shock.

I mean, when I was a little girl I said, “Some day, I wanna go to stunt driving school.” But I never thought I’d ever get to go.

And here I am, less than three weeks away and I’m still not sure if I really am going. I mean, it was a dream…something to give me hope, a goal to work toward. It wasn’t supposed to actually happen!

Now I just hope that the reality is even better than the dream!

(I’m bettin’ it will be. I love cars. I love driving and drifting. This is gonna be so friggin’ awesome!!!!!)

I guess I’ll let you know in early October…a few weeks before Otherness: Rift is released from Samhain Publishing.

Otherness: Rift comes out in less than two months and I’m beside myself with glee!

‘Course there’s also tons of work to be done in preparation for that big day, but one step at a time is all I can handle right now.

As I’ve blogged before, I’m currently producing a wine review video podcast website at www.wineass.com and good golly has that kept me busy in such an awesome way. I love to learn and much learning I have done. Perhaps there’s a novel or two in the experience as well.

And I’ve been sewing… Not just my Leeloo {from 5th Element}-Does-Cancan costume (still awaiting pictures ’cause we had a camera meltdown at WorldCon). I’m trying to shovel out my beautiful craft room and in order to do that, these projects new and old need to either be finished or tossed.

I’m votin’ for finished.

First up: A pair of jungle green satin pants with a royal blue lace overlay–complete with appliques. Sounds kinda bizarre, huh? It probably will be. I’m not far enough along to know for sure!

Pardon my little chuckle here, but I’m multi-tasking… I’m exporting a freshly edited video while blogging and while waiting for my iron to heat up. I feel like some odd combination of techno/textile geekage has come over me.

And I LOVE it!

This con is a very relaxed, fun one that I’ve done for two years in a row now and absolutely love it. Of my favorite moments, one of the best was discussing the future of writing with Jason, John DeChancie, George Van Wagner and Larry Niven. Had this been more of a writing conference, that would’ve made for a fantastic panel discussion with all of us having different ideas. Very fascinating stuff.

Here’s a shot of the panel I did with Jason. Special thanks to fellow Fictionado George Van Wagner for snapping this pic!

We’re seated at the head of the hall where all LASFS (Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society) meetings are held. Jason was probably talking about his short stories or the novel he just finished. Me, however, I’m listening intently, trying to think up another question to ask, but failing miserably. This con is so relaxing, it relaxed all the good questions out of my brain!

Okay, I can’t resist… I need to point out and explain a few things in the shot. Starting with the buttons on my shoulders. One’s the con nametag. The other is my geeky scrolling LED badge that I tried out for the first time this weekend. Definitely a worthwhile purchase. It’ll get loads of use at the Romantic Times Booklover Convention in a few weeks.

Also of odd note, the way I’m sitting… I had no idea that yoga has permeated into my regular habits. Also, of note are my shoes. Outside the panel, I was engaged in a conversation about them. They are real Victorian shoes and are super duper narrow and pointy. They might not be quite 1800s, but darn close to it. They aren’t copies, they’re the real deal. I can’t believe they’re in such great shape for their age, either. I love them to pieces, but can only wear them once or twice a year for fear of damaging them.

I’ll be getting to my bits of England soon. There are so many pics, I might just have to choose random shots from all of my trips there.

In other news not quite suitable to announce on my website because it isn’t really worth shouting about just yet, my new novel, _Otherness:Rift_, has a cover even though it won’t be coming out until this Fall. I’m so excited! I’ll share the artwork as soon as it’s officially finished.

About two hours before leaving for my trip to England, I got some fantastic news…

MY FIRST NOVEL IS UNDER CONTRACT!

It’s an urban fantasy entitled Otherness: Rift. It’s the first in my Otherness series and I’m absolutely thrilled to see that it will be published by Samhain Publishing in Fall of this year.

I still need to refine the ‘what it’s about’ blurb, but here’s the gist of the book:

Liz Spencer only wants to dump her boyfriend, not change her entire life. But a freak earthquake strikes her town, revealing that California’s rock solid history goes back much further than the Gold Rush–centuries earlier, in fact. And cursed magic still thrives today within Liz’s best friend, Tayna. She’d always been odd, but magic? Well…yes. And when Kyre, a powerful warlock, lures away Liz’s new roommate, Andrea, for his own sordid purposes, Liz and Tayna use magical spells with the help of a few ancient, forgotten curses to thwart him. A millennia-old family rivalry is ended by taming Kyre and rescuing Andrea. But magic is only a small part of the real dangers lurking in a future of dark otherness.

There’s a lot going on in this book and it’s really hard to sum up, but suffice it to say, I truly love this book. I’ve done a lot of research, even been to a few of the historical places where a lot of my ideas originated. This series is one of the main reasons I keep going back to England. The history is so rich and when night falls, the magic in the air is practically tangible.

As I get more news about Rift, I’ll share it here, of course. In the mean time, I’m going to enjoy a good cup of tea to celebrate.