I’ve been poking around the internet – as you do – and have found some articles that interested me enough to share.
First off a discussion at a convention about women in sensible armour.
Kirsten Stewart in Snow White and the Huntsman sprang to mind. The armour was very sensible but why didn’t she wear a helmet. Also, she had spent 10 years incarcerated in an 8 by 10 cell room so how did she build up the body strength required to use plate armour credibly? A chain mail bikini – though OMG how it would chafe – would be easier to adapt to. But the movie was, I assume, made for Twilight fans rather than the straight male gaze so it made sense for her to be kept covered up.
Why did I go and see it? For the laughs and for Chris Hemsworth in a light coating of grime.
Secondly a very nice piece in USA Today by Aleksandr Voinov about the frustrations of romance authors when faced with the prejudice of mainstream publishing and how you can quadruple it if you write anything at all featuring LGBT characters. Voinov knows what he’s talking about from both sides of the business having published mainstream works and LGBT themed fiction and co-started a publishing company – Riptide – to give a more inclusive opportunity for writers who don’t conform to the norm.
And finally Humble Bundle! This is a project where creative types get together to offer a bundle of goodies at whatever price you care to offer. The more you offer the more additional goodies you get. 84k bundles sold in 2 weeks, raising over a million dollars. That’s pretty good going.
Finally, theres another blog hop over this weekend with masses of prizes. Worth a look , y/n?
Elin Gregory 
Interesting selection – just enough to distract me from the writing I ought to be doing!! 🙂 xxx
LOL, naughty!
I’m hoping t be able to write this evening. I managed a whole hour on Monday morning before work, but haven’t had a chance since.
A friend and I watch Snow White and the Huntsman. I didn’t perk up with interest until the end credits, when Florence and the Machine’s Breath of Life played. I bought the soundtrack to get that song. Otherwise? Bleh. Kristen Stewart has to be one of the most boring actors ever. I keep waiting for her 15 minutes to be up.
I’ve wondered about going mainstream. Considered it several times, in fact, because the sales in my genre kind of suck. I’ve seen what’s considered bestsellers on Amazon, even read a few of them, and found the writing/editing often inadequate… yet they sell. It does give one pause.
As for blog hops… I don’t have the time and there are so many of them! Wouldn’t they be self-defeating after a while? I admit I don’t fully understand the mechanism though the purpose, of course, is to get reader awareness.
Kirsten Stewart has the most wooden features of any actress I know. the film was dismal, though I did enjoy Chris Hemsworth and it was good fun seeing a bunch of good English character actors earning a crust as the dwarfs.
I don’t actually do the blog hopping myself, unless there are friends or authors whose books I really like – I’ll comment to their posts – but each time I do one I get a few more follows on Fb or Twitter or my blog and I hope those people might stay with me. Sales – I dunno if it makes any difference but I haven’t got the sort of personality that sells itself well. Blog Hops are a comparatively easy way to get my name seen by a few more people and it’s fun doing a giveaway.
There’s actually a website out there dedicated to women in sensible armor (no strategic boob/organ revealing holes). While I’m at it, if you’ve never seen Jim C. Hines striking women’s fantasy poses, I’d recommend it. Be prepared for some hot insulin pump action.
Like this one? I think the art work is terrific.
Jim’s poses posts are hysterical. It’s a wonder he doesn’t put his back out!
Those topless pictures make me want to give him raspberries like some overgrown man child. I think he does put his back out.
And yes, exactly like that! Probably the site I was thinking of.
Some great links there. If I ever go back to writing SF or military fantasy, my characters will definitely be wearing sensible armour.