Closing January and Prepping for February

It is hard to believe we will be wrapping up January in just over a week! Because of the Jane Austen event in California, rehearsals and House of Rainbows and Awesome Sunday Madness wrapped this week. I am so impressed with how much we have done and how far we have come in less than a month! 

The dancers have powered through three choreography grind sessions, and for some this was their first time in the studio! On that, we welcome Sarah as a new dancer and returning pirate! We are thrilled to have her, and her kids, join us for all the adventures! She is doing an epic job catching on to dances and sword work as well! I am so impressed! I am equally impressed with how much more nuanced and practiced many of the returning dancers are. These ladies never cease to amaze me in their dedication and skill. If you are following along with the rehearsals, or interested in doing any of the dances, they are all available on YouTube, and in our choreography book on Kindle Vella. Patreon membersat the bint Hazine tier have even more access. In January we reviewed Angel Eyes, Waves of Danube, and Tango to Evora, so check out those playlists too.

Now that I have gushed about the dancers, I can rave about the stunt and sword crew! Again we have new additions to the team here! With Marcel’s triumphant return we are also proud to have his son, and his nephew join the action, and these kids are quick! Another new recruit, Bernard, has already proven to be a great mind for choreography, and a dedicated member of the crew. And Sophia continues to blow my mind with her skill and adaptability! The crew has been diligently reviewing the basic set of nines, as well as Blade Flurry, and Sparta.  

Also in the sword and stunt category we are thrilled to be assisting Molly and Hannah in their production of Macbeth! We will keep you updated on the progress and save the date the first week of April to see the show live! 

It’s not all action at the House of Rainbows and Awesome, as we are still taking time to connect with the tarot and the greater mysteries. I am thrilled to see that Bernard has begun working on his own tarot deck, and flattered to be featured as inspiration on one of the cards! The creativity of this group always astounds me! This week was an open questions session with space to chat about personal knowledge and experiences. 

As always if you wish to participate in any of the Sunday adventures you need only ask! And if you feel like starting slow, and dipping your toes in one class at a time, all classes at Rio Vista begin on Monday, January 22nd. If even that is a bit much, there will be plenty on Patreon at each tier and on YouTube and Vella to follow along and learn at your own pace. 

I am looking forward to February, but until then I will have more to share from our upcoming adventures in California. I’ll have dresses, dancing, and delights of the regency variety to share soon! 

Let creativity move you! 

Book Review: Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall

 I promised myself that I would do more book reviews, and more reading in 2024. The reviews are mostly because I still miss the Casing the Cover podcast but I know Mary and I are way too busy with so many other things, that it is unlikely we will return to the studio anytime soon. For those who are just starting to follow my madness and chaos, all the Casing the Cover episodes are available on YouTube and various audio platforms. 

So, what did I kickoff 2024 with? A Sapphic Regency romance, with magic, curses, and elder gods. 

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall was mostly what I expected it to be. It was a lighthearted romp of a tale, with a few unique characters and enough frustrating plot twists to keep me plodding through to the end without feeling like I already knew every beat. I will say the ending felt a bit rushed, and more than a little crammed with the final pieces of the story slamming together in a hurried wrap up. But then, I had pretty low expectations, so I still enjoyed the ride. 

I consumed the audiobook during my daily commutes and a few housework stints, and it certainly made the time pass. I wouldn’t put this in the deep and moving category, but it was fun, and for someone who is not a typical fan of romances in general I did find the plot and characters enjoyable, and I will likely seek out Alexis as an author in the future. 

This was also a great read to prime my muses for the fae and fantasy serial stories I will be working on in 2024. This seems to be the theme for the year, which tracks with my muses’ mood cycles. 

Next on my audio read list is Poor Things by Alastair Grey, mostly because I saw the trailer for the upcoming film adaptation and felt the need to get ahead of the trend and read the book first. So we shall see how that goes. 

In the print book category, I am finally picking up Nightmares and Stars by Kat Satava. It has only been sitting on my TBR shelf for almost a year, so that’s a pretty solid vintage at this point. 

Ebook slots are exclusively filled by Vella episodes, and of those I am most looking forward to catching up on all things Jen Sequel including Pandora’s Legacy. 

So yeah, between my own stories, and those of friends, I think I’ll stay pretty well booked for the year.

First Updates of 2024

Thank you for a wonderful first Sunday of the new year! I am in awe of how much we accomplished, and all we have in the works! 2024 is already looking like a bombastic and epic year for all our adventures! 

A massive thanks to the volunteers who rolled out of bed early this week to help with winemaking this morning. Rhea, Bernard, and Kim worked like a well oiled machine to cut up five dozen pears! Our first batch of wine for 2024 should be ready by the first week of February. All the helping hands this morning meant that we were able to finish the winemaking just in time to start the lesson for Tarot Cafe.

The focus for Tarot this week was a breakdown of the Justice card. If you check out the higher Patron levels on Patreon you can access the Flower of Life printout and all the connective modalities we discussed in Cafe today. I should also have the audio from the discussions available soon on YouTube and Patreon too. I will endeavor to have that up during the week. If you are planning to join us at any of the Cafes this month you are also welcome to bring items for the mood altar for the Justice card. I am always so impressed by the conversations and ideas that come up on Sundays. 

The weather was not as kind to us this first Sunday out, and the rain and cold kept the combat fighters away and the stage fighters were forced to share the studio with the dancers. We still managed to get some of our newest sword fighters up to speed on the basics of the nine points. We now have two youth fighters who I am excited to see on stage with us in 2024! 

Dancers focused on the basics of the skirt choreography that will likely be added to the stage productions for 2024. For some, it was the first time dancing to this new song and I am so impressed by the progress made! You gals make it look easy! I look forward to seeing how the song progresses in the coming weeks and to revealing it to the community soon.

Again a massive thanks to all who attended this week, and especially to those who helped with winemaking, and with leading the rehearsals as I ping ponged between the rooms. You are what make this all possible! 

Next week I’ll be handing the dancers off to Jane and Linda to lead us in another new-ish choreography. Those who have seen the last few shows of 2023 will remember the beautiful veil trio performed by Jane, Linda, and Karen. I am always honored to have students who grow to choreograph and teach their own dances! 

We are well and ready to prepare for another amazing year, and I hope many of you will join us in as much as you are able. Outside the swords, dance, and tarot, there is much writing happening as well. 

I will be offering so many more stories on Kindle Vella in 2024, and I am also trying my hand on Ream and Fictionate. As I final note, if you are still reading and have an interest; I happen to have nine codes for a free ebook copy of Cloud to Cloud. Let me know what manner of goblin trade you are willing to offer in exchange.

Until next time; carry on and let creativity move you!

Czep

Thank you 2023!

 

Top Story November 2023 - Across the Lines, Space and Time

Across the Lines, Space and Time 

Out of all my little Vellas you liked one more than all the rest! 

Thank you so much to everyone who made Across the Lines, Space and Time the top story for November! You are all so amazing! I love that you love this weird little nod to the Noir. 

AtLSaT is an amalgamation of the new and the old in more than just the setting and the themes. More than half the cast were created when I was still in elementary school. DJ and the gang were my first real characters. The original story centered around their adventures as rural kids in the early 1980's with only a small dip into the supernatural. 

It was only later that I came up with the idea for Detective Mackenzie Grabes. I wanted to try my hand one NaNoWriMo at a Noir. It quickly got out of hand when I realized that Mac's hometown was the same one DJ and her friends grew up in. That's when things got really strange. 

I knew Mac was going to have to face some strange and unusual "magic" items, as is typical of the Noir mythos. The object isn't always magical, but it may have some connection to secret societies, and ancient myths. I decided this was certainly more fun with some real magic tossed in. 

I don't want to give away too much for those who haven't started reading yet, but yes, there are all manner of lines to cross in this story, be they timelines, powerlines, or gridlines. Any way you twist its one strange storyline. 

New episodes will be coming in 2024, but for now I hope you take this time to catch up with DJ, Mac, and the whole gang! Thank you again so much! 

Daily Inspiration Sunday Special

Welcome to October! Halloween! Friday the 13th! My birthday month! And we are off to a great start with the cards today!

I love when the Seven of Cups appears. We are sure to have a day of wonder and magic with this card. There is so much hope and blessings tied to the meaning of the Seven of Cups. There is also some wariness to it, though. We can dream big and let our minds go wild with expectations, but also stay aware and grounded. 

Prompt: I was struck with an idea, finally, for NaNoWriMo. I was concerned I would be flying blind on November first. But true to form my muses delivered a fully packaged idea a month before the big game. So what does this have to do with the prompt? 

The Well: Talk about your dreams. Do you have an idea or plan that you want to make reality? Tell someone! Be brave and share that dream with as many people as you can. Remember, it is the Emperor who holds the power to bring that Seven of Cups energy into reality! Tell someone who you see as a powerful leader or master of manifestation about what you desire. Most likely, today, they will use their power to help you! 

Be brave and dream big!

Full Patreon Post 

Czep

Sunday Special Daily Inspiration

Daily Inspiration is available to the public every Sunday! I hope you enjoy this taste of the magic and mayhem available to $1 tier patrons all week long.

We have all the Cups in the cards today! The Page of Cups gives us some lovely surprises and unexpected happiness. This card always brings a smile when I see it in a reading. No matter what else is going on, this whimsical youth brings an offering of simple joys. Be on the lookout for small blessings today!

In addition to the Page, the blessings continue with the Nine of Cups. The Nine of Cups reminds us to be aware of our worth and value our purpose. The woman in this card knows how far she has come and where her boundaries stand. She is no longer willing to accept just anyone into her emotional circle, and she is aware of how her own emotions affect others. 

With so many Cups in a reading, I expect this to be a Sunday full of emotions and connections. And probably wine.

Prompt: We recently dealt with how to develop emotional impact in a scene, as well as how to portray those emotions in writing. There is a much more in-depth post on this topic at the Writer's tier, but I'll share a taste here today. 

The previous week, we focused on headhopping and POV. This prepared us for adding the emotion to our POV character and the characters she perceives. Consider what your POV character sees, hears, and experiences with her other physical senses when it comes to the characters she is interacting with. How does she know what her costar is feeling if she can't get in their head? This is how you, as a writer, will create a more powerful emotional impact. The reader will experience the world as the POV character, rather than being 'told' how the characters are feeling. 

Movement: Let's stick to those emotions in our movement section. On stage, we are telling a story, whether through action, dialogue, or dance. In my shows, we focus on the action and dance. Mostly because we are low budget and mics are expensive. 

The big movements and choreography carry the plot, but it is the smaller moves, favoal expressions, and hand gestures that convey the emotion of a dance or scene. A well-timed wink at the audience, a flick of the wrist, or lock in a move can lift the audience into the spirit of the performance. 

In the same way POV puts the reader in the shoes of the character, nuance in form and face show rather than tell the story on stage. Next time you watch a performance, pay attention to which characters hold your attention. My guess, they will be the ones who pull their feelings to their very fingertips. Use this on your own and watch how your performance elevates.

Whatever you do today, put your heart into it!

For Daily Inspiration just like this check our my Patreon! See you Monday!

Czep