My Bucket List

Sailing adventure options...

This is a short list of things I'd still like to do and haven't done. Some of them I could live without, but mostly I see these as things that I have to do at some point during my life. I left off my specific professional goals relating to books and speaking because I'd rather not publicize them at this point. I keep them on my mind daily, unlike these, which sort of simmer in the background.

So in no particular order, my current bucket list:

• Japan - more cultural less urban (Shinto temples especially)
• China - especially the Forbidden City and the Great Wall
• Go to a Steelers game (in Pittsburgh would be ideal, but I would cross it off at an away game).
• Italy - mostly for the high art areas (Venice, Florence, and Rome especially).
• Cosplay Khloe Alwell at a comic convention.
• France - mostly for high art, but local little known wine and artisan cheese pairings would be great.
• Ireland - because, my people.
• Greece - the Islands for fun as well as ancient sites for interest.
• The Explorer Club - just to tour, I don't need to join.
• Visit "the Farm" (Ina Mae's place)
• Montreal - because it's supposed to be fantastic.
• New Orleans - but not during Mardi Gras.
• Yellow Stone - because overwhelming natural beauty.
• Hawaii - same as above.
• Raise a garden successfully
• Own a successful small brick & mortar business
• Raise some animals successfully (chickens, rabbits, and or goats/sheep)
• Build an off-grid sustainable structure (work/studio, tiny house, and or main house).
• Start and run a non-profit - education, mediation, or arts based
• Go on a couple sailing trip - stopping in interesting ports.
• Cross continental train trip (for the stories)

 What's on your list? Leave a comment below!
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Looking for something fun to read? Check out Lela Markham! She has two different series that look really fun - one dystopian, another fantasy. Check them both out on her Amazon page and read her thoughts on her blog here!

An InLinkz Link-up

Drought (A Poem)

Wriggling toes on parched earth,
I look to Heaven.

Pollen flies loose
Go ahead. Blow, hot wind!

Your useless reprieve.

Seeking bees,
Beneath the surface I scratch at table tops
Yielding fruitless harvests.

Lick cracked lips.

Balance calls...

Bow!

Accept!
Own!
This is life's path!

But in the face of shining stone,
The human solution is death.

Writing Inspiration: Punk Fanboys, College, and Vinnie Pies

Pittsburgh, view from the incline

I get inspiration from everywhere. Things stick in the back of my mind - blaring neon signs begging to be shared. They bother me until I have to write them into a story. Sometimes it's unexpected. Sometimes it's conscious and intentional.

I have this love of those indie and punk rock fanboys. Really. They're my not-so-secret crush. You know the ones - the kind who wear band shirts and low slung dark jeans. They are so adamant about their views and on the turn of a dime ruthlessly mock themselves. The ones who sing you lullabies, kiss soft, and stare with such smoldering intensity you can't wait to tackle them in a broom closet, on the playground, and under the bleachers.

Ahem. That's how my character Laran came to be in the KHLOE ALWELL series.

Then there's the places that make you into who you are - colleges and universities - the ones where you party with your professors and the lines blur between mentor, employer, and friend. They live in small towns that bend around the space of the university, and everything stops in summer.It's something between UCSB, Penn State, Juniata, and Bard. That's where Alisa meets Dr. Pierce in BELOW THE BELT.

But inspiration can be more than a specific place - it can be a complete culture, including everything from the food people eat to the entertainment they enjoy.

For example, my dad's family is from Pittsburgh. Whenever we visit, we always go to Vincent's Pizza. I frickin love that place. People on the west coast do NOT understand about pizza. They don't. Anyone who claims they know what good pizza is and then talk about a national chain is stupidly limited in their exposure to good pizza.

There are several styles. There is the Chicago style, which has a time and place. There is Sicilian, also a time and place. Then there is New York, which kind of migrates from NYS down into Jersey, Philly, and west all the way to Pittsburgh. Seriously (I've been to these places and lived there - trust me on this.). These are the kinds of places that have crust so thin in the middle it falls apart when you pick it up. The sauce has simmered for days, because health codes can't get in the way of taste. The cheese is piled high. Once baked, the crust bubbles and the grease settles in the center, threatening a coronary.

So yeah, every Rollins boy loves Vinnie's pies. And he loves the Steelers. And the Pirates. And the Penguins. Because that's what it means to be from Pittsburgh, something that only people with ties to Pittsburgh understand.

And I wanted to share these things, because they were so important to my own formation. They marked my days and nights and built me into the woman I am today. How could I not write about them? About smoldering eyes, fun colleges, and delicious pizza?

These are the things I pull from reality to give readers a glimpse. They are the details that build believable books.

Starting from Scratch in Fantasy Cosplay

WonderCon 2011

I have a dream - a dream of fantastic costumes and hairstyles. Of Khloe Alwell made real.

When Kiddo was little, and unaware of everything beyond 12 inches from his face, I watched the SyFy channel religiously (I mean, those are my people). My favorite shows were the reality special effects shows, like Face Off, but I also found Heroes of Cosplay fascinating. I love how people transform into fantastic characters before my eyes. It scratches that part of my creative brain. But I've never done it myself.

I do not consider myself a hardcore fantasy/sci-fi nerd, by any stretch. I hardly count as a fan. Periodically I dabble. I mean, I've watched some anime. I've read Pern books. I grew up with Star Trek, Aliens, Labyrinth, and The Princess Bride, but I never really dove into the fan culture. I never owned comic books. I never played Magic or LARPed, or anything of the sort.

I comfortably straddled the fence between genre nerdom and popular culture.

So even though I also knew a lot about art, I didn't learn much about fabrication. I had no real impetus to learn. I didn't involve myself in drama, or in cosplay. I can barely work a sewing machine (mostly because I haven't practiced...at all).

And then I went to a comic convention. It scratched that part of my creative brain. I read about characters that I might cosplay, that Christian and I could cosplay together (we decided Thor and Sif were probably the most look-alike comic characters).

But... now that Khloe is finished as a series (read: shedding single tear), I really want people to fall in love with her the way I have (and everyone in the Otherworld does in the books). So Christian and I were talking about it, and an idea was born.

If I was a character in a graphic novel...

Christian: Alexis, why don't you cosplay as Khloe? I mean, are there any outfits that would work?
*I blush*
Christian: Did you just blush?
Me: Some of the outfits are...
Christian: Really?
Me: I mean, they're tasteful, but they are definitely...uh...
Christian: Hm.
Me: I mean, I would love to cosplay as Khloe. I love the clothes. I just don't know how I would make them look like they are in my head.
Christian: Do you know anyone who cosplays? Who might help you?

Ahem. So, that's where we are. Do I know anyone who cosplays? Who could help me fabricate this? Or who would want to fabricate it? These are involved outfits, some of which would be pretty intense projects, but also might put a person on the map (judging from the things people look for in the Heroes of Cosplay show).

Leave a comment below or message me: http://facebook.com/authoralexisdonkin or twitter @alexisdonkin

I'm so serious about this, so if this is a project you'd be interested in, please let me know!

THRIVE Launched, Now What?

I've got a lot further to go.

I've been struggling the last few weeks. In the wake of THRIVE's publication, total exhaustion set in. I want to get a whole bunch of things done. I want to work. I know there are things I should be doing. I know this.

I think part of me felt like I hit my milestone and that was that. The project was over and I could space out. And it was a lot of work. And some of it paid off, but mostly it was just the beginning of a larger lead up to more things....which mean the dividends haven't come in yet.

I've been reading a lot about this, especially through my author forums, which have proved invaluable (for which I thank Clara, as strategic a person in thought as I am in feeling). In these forums, muckety mucks slum around with us peons. And it is great for the peons, and gives perspective to the muckety mucks. We find out how much more we have to do, and they realize how much they've done.

I have to say, honestly, it can be disheartening. I am at a disadvantage with what I am able to do (limited primarily by resources). But there are also things that encourage me - such as the reminder that this process is never over. Books do not stop selling - and with the internet, they can always reach more readers. There is always someone else who has not heard of me (Okay, in my case, at this point there are probably around 7 billion, but even for the famous author, there are probably 2 or 3B.).

This is actually a good thing because it means I can always do more for a book - there is always more that could lead to sales. Also it is a bad thing, because, well, it is never done.

Right now, after the insane push I made with THRIVE, some part of me thought the momentum was already there. That I could sit back and enjoy THRIVE having a life of its own. But I'm not there yet. I've hardly begun. It feels like the week after mid-terms where the tests are done, but there's another half semester to go. The nights of studying are not over. The note-taking is hardly finished. And I have no energy. And I'm struggling to get FAMILY FRIEND OR FOE rewritten, which while turning into an excellent book, is going much slower than I'd like. I have until August 2nd to finish the manuscript and upload it to Smashwords (incidentally, you should preorder it to get the 20% off price before it goes live!).

And after that I need to work on ANDREW, and redo all the Rollins Pack covers, and revamp all those books, and finish proofing SIX DEGREES.

And while all this is going on, I need to continue working on speaking engagements about THRIVE, guest posts about everything, possibly blog hops, and remembering to eat and sleep... sometime.

When I do all that, not only will I feel damn accomplished, but I will have transformed my life. And that is incredibly exciting, but it is also a lot of work. And I need to keep reminding myself that it is worth it. I need to keep developing better systems for getting everything done that needs doing, that assures forward progress.

Here's to efficiency, effectiveness, encouragement, and energy! And crossing my fingers I get all four in hand...and soon!

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Transform your life and heal through my memoir and small steps for 32 days!

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