May 26
Yes, I have been delinquent, having missed two weeks posting, but I plead extenuating circumstances. It has been quite a month. We've been working hard on our next album release. We've finished tracking and are getting ready to dig in for the mixing process. We debuted several of the songs at Baycon this past weekend (I am even now suffering extreme sleep deprivation), with harmonizations from Vixy. Current plans are to release at OVFF in October.
Mystic Fig has just released Rubenesque and Masquerading As Human, the Duras Sisters' two CDs. These classic volumes have been remastered by Jeff and contain two bonus tracks each from live performances recorded at EmpireCon, Westercon 53 by Gerry Tyra.
AND if that isn't enough to excite filk fans everywhere, there are rumors of a Duras Sisters reunion concert. In fact, we started them. Convention concoms take note: YOURS could be the convention to host that concert. (Phoenix Westercon Concom, are you listening?)
We're getting excited about Duckon, the next stop on our convention itinerary. Plans are to take in a Cubs game our first day in town before going to the con.
In Maya's world ...
Maya's short story "Junkie" is in the new issue of ANALOG Science Fiction magazine. You can buy ANALOG at any major bookstore near you. (Better yet subscribe!)
May 7
Blogger/writer Jay Sherer has launched a series of blarticles on writing by Maya on Becoming a Professional Amateur at his blog spot, Constructing Stories. The series will run for seven weeks, taking on a different aspect of amateurism each week.
The online Catholic Writers Conference is running now! Maya has workshops on Plotting Through Writer's Block and Show Me, Don't Tell Me: Character and Dialogue. Registration is closed for this one, but MuseOnline will host its online writer's conference in October.
I LOVED THY CREATION, a collection of Maya's short speculative fiction, is scheduled for release next month from Juxta Media. These are stories that have appeared in such publications as Analog, Amazing Stories, Interzone and Century magazines.
On the music side of the aisle, the rereleases of the Duras Sisters' CDs -- Masquerading As Human and Rubenesque -- have been shipped off for production. Keep an eye out at SF and filk conventions for these two essential and classic filk CDs. These are remastered mixes of the original albums with the addition of bonus tracks from live performances at Westercon 53 recorded by the marvelous Gerry Tyra and mixed by studiomeister, Jeff Bohnhoff.
April 28
This past weekend we had a recording session party for Seanan McGuire's new Album, Roses and Dead Things. Maya is finishing the artwork for the rerelease (a little drumroll please) of the Duras Sisters' two CDs -- Masquerading As Human and Rubenesque. These are remastered mixes of the original albums with the addition of (more drumrolls, please) two bonus tracks per CD! The bonus tracks are from live performances at Westercon 53 recorded by the marvelous Gerry Tyra and mixed by studiomeister, Jeff Bohnhoff.
News on Mobius Street, the new Jeff & Maya album -- we have one more song to record, then the mixing process will begin. We are, alas, having to push the release date back (our apologies to the folks at Duckon -- we were hoping to release there.)
The online Catholic Writers Conference is coming up real soon. Maya has 12 noon (EST) workshops on Thursday May 8 (Plotting Through Writer's Block) and Friday May 9 (Show Me, Don't Tell Me: Character and Dialogue). So if you haven't already, sign up and join in! Other participants include editor extraordinaire Steve Saffel and (my hero) Tim Powers.
Also online at Jay Sherer's blog, Constructing Stories, Jay is starting a series of blarticles on writing by Maya on Becoming a Professional Amateur. Jay plans to beging the series on Saturday, May 2.
April 7th
The next Jeff & Maya album is well underway. We have fourteen tracks under construction with marvelous guest tracks by Vixy Dockery, bassists Tony Levin and Victor Gonzalez, saxophonist Chris French and keyboardist Mich Sampson. The album will include Mother of Exiles, a track that represents the first song Maya has written in about fifteen years! She's very excited.
She's also excited to have been invited to participate in the first ever online Catholic Writers Conference that will run from May 2nd through May 9th. Other participants include editor extraordinaire Steve Saffel and (my hero) Tim Powers. I'm giving two workshops -- one on Plotting Through Writer's Block and one on showing character through dialogue entitled Show Me, Don't Tell Me.
Some of you may note that I am not Catholic. This is true. But I had a story published last year in the Eppie Award winning anthology of stories about Catholic subjects, INFINITE SPACE, INFINITE GOD.
March 9th
Hey, fig fans! Check out the online interview with Maya on constructingstories.blogspot.com, which is the blog of one Jay Sherer another of the authors featured in the INFINITE SPACE, INFINITE GOD anthology from Twilight Times Books.
In other news, we missed Consonance for the first time since we started attending in 1996 because Jeff had a sudden attack of kidney stones the night before the con. Solace arrived in the form of friends with food. Indian food--the best kind. Plus Jeff got a get well card signed by half the convention.
So thanks to Seanan MacGuire for spear-heading the expedition. And apologies to Chaos and Selkit Savitzky-Stirling for missing their wedding. :-( Frowny Face.
Jeff is not in danger, by the way, but until the stone (ahem) exits the scene, he is occasionally in severe pain and must take nasty drugs. So now we wait...
February 18th
Well, we've been back for a couple of days now and I'm pleased to report I did not wake up at 4 AM this morning thinking I was somewhere over the Atlantic.
The con itself was fantabulous, though I had to fight taking on a British accent. (All the voices in my head are now English.) We met a score of filkers from the UK and Europe, made new friends and got to see old ones. I was ecstatic to see Stevie Mac and his lovely bride. And we got to renew acquaintances with Rika Koerte, as well. She and Her Band performed a dynamite set that Jeff and I were hard pressed to follow. Wow! They were amazing! The harmonies! The rock and roll! The sax and violins!
We had fortunately planned a rockish send off for our set ("Baba McDonalds" -- a filk of the Who's "Baba O'Riley"). And they liked us, they really liked us! We played for two hours -- effortlessly, because the audience was so wonderful. You should have heard them on "Knights in White Satin". The harmonies were note perfect.
After the con we spent the rest of our two week holiday with Martin and Andy Gordon-Kerr and their adorable little boy, Sam in Oakham, which was just down the road from Grantham. I can't say enough nice things about the GKs. They were the best hosts and the most fun and didn't seem to mind at all that we ate up all their Nutella, drank all their tea, and nearly broke their washing machine :=).
They not only were the hosts with the mosts, but they served as "native guides" as well, taking us to see Nottingham, Boston, Cambridge (where our daughter Kris shopped for colleges), York and Warwick Castle. Even little Amanda climbed the Boston Stump (a seriously over-tall church tower in that fair city). She was terrified at first and whimpered all the way down, then looked up at us and said: "Can we do that again?" She proceeded to climb every tower that presented itself thereafter except the one at York Minster, whch had an age limit. And in Cambridge Martin took us punting on the Cam. See?
I discovered that English restaurants serve my favorite comfort foods: scones, lapsang souchang tea, cottage pie, and chicken curry. And I also now know why the English are such determined warriors when it comes to defending their island. England gets into your head and heart so quickly you don' t know what hit you. I'd move there in a New York minute ... if only Apple would open a deep level support facility there...
Well, we have GAFilked. This was our first year at the Atlanta area filk convention, though we’ve longed to go for some time. It took a Guest of Honor spot to get us there, but I suspect we are now hooked.
We got to hang out all weekend with the most wonderful people, which included our dear friends the Tyras, who have been living in Texas, lo these many years. We are pleased to report that they are returning to California this spring and will be a mere five or six hours from us by car. Huzzah!
We also got to know a lot of filk folks much better, which was utterly terrific! Bill Sutton and I discovered a shared contempt for sunny cloudless skies (pitiless, empty bowls of blue) and poorly seasoned weather. Give us seasons, for the love of God! And Brenda Sutton and I discovered a common bond in freelance writing.
I got to sing in circle with Rand Bellavia (of Ookla the Mok), which was a hoot, and I got to sing onstage with char McKay who we bumped to during our layover in the Salt Lake, Utah airport.
We are leaving tomorrow for England and a GoH stint at 2T0nic where we will play and I will read and the girls (Avery and Amanda) will no doubt acquire British accents and imagine that they see big, blue police boxes everywhere.
