biancadarc.com Blog

New Year

All in all, 2009 was a good year… at least at first. I got my first “NY” contract for the zombie series, the first book of which was just released (HALF PAST DEAD). Getting that contract was a milestone and I’m so thankful that my Mom was there through every exciting turn of that time in April/May when it was all coming together.

I’m also thankful for the incredible cross-country trip I took with my Mom and Dad in June. She loved road trips and seeing the country with her was so incredibly special. SHE was incredibly special. Definitely a one-in-a-million person that I will always miss.

Which brings us to the latter part of 2009, which absolutely sucked. My Mom discovered something was wrong in late August/early September. The doctors dithered for about a month before giving her the diagnosis of cancer in early October. From there it was all downhill until she passed away on December 23rd from a hospital infection.

I never even contemplated planning her funeral or figuring out what she was going to wear for eternity. This has, without doubt, been the worst time in my life. My beloved Mom – my best friend – has been gone a little over a week now and I don’t know how I’ll ever get used to it.

All I can hope is that 2010 is better. With any luck, my Dad and I will find a new path for our lives. I’ll also be watching the sales numbers of my first NY books closely to see if they’re doing well. Future contracts are riding on the success of these books, so sales on them are a lot more “important” than normal, if I can say it that way.

I hope we all have a healthy, happier 2010. I can’t thank you all enough for the support you’ve given me over the past three months. It really helped me feel less alone and got me through a lot of really tough times. Thanks for being there for me. I hope I can repay the kindness someday and know that you all continue to be in my prayers.

Happy New Year.

4th of July

Midsummer Night

Today is the Summer Solstice. The perfect occasion for me to post this lovely painting by Waterhouse, which is one of my all time favorite images.

Whatever you do this Midsummers Night, remember the fey folk and drink a toast to them!

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Mother’s Day!

To all the moms out there, I hope you’re having a lovely day!

Happy Easter!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Here’s to the memory of St. Valentine – a priest who married Roman soldiers in secret because it was forbidden for them to marry. Seems the emperor thought unattached soldiers made better fighters. Silly emperor.

Happy New Year!

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Merry Christmas!

Winter Solstice

The shortest day of the year… The longest night of the year… The turning of the season from Autumn to Winter…

All that and more happens today. Almost every ancient culture had a tradition associated with this event, marking the slow progression of more light every day until the Vernal Equinox marked the beginning of Spring.

The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, which according to Wiki, was: “Originally celebrated by the ancient Greeks as Kronia, the festival of Chronos, Saturnalia was the feast at which the Romans commemorated the dedication of the temple of Saturn…Saturnalia became one of the most popular Roman festivals which led to more tomfoolery, marked chiefly by having masters and slaves ostensibly switch places, temporarily reversing the social order.”

In the modern world, we’re used to the Solstice falling sometime around the 21st or 22nd, but I found it interesting to note that it was once assigned to the 25th – our traditional day for Christmas. Wiki has the following explanation:

“Since 45 BC, when the 25th was established in the Julian calendar as the winter solstice of Europe, the difference between the calendar year (365.2500 days) and the tropical year (365.2422 days) moved the day associated with the actual astronomical solstice forward approximately three days every four centuries until 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII changed the calendar bringing the northern winter solstice to around December 21. Yearly, in the Gregorian calendar the solstice still moves around a bit, but in the long term, only about one day per 3000 years.”

I never realized that Chirstmas was originally set to be on the Winter Solstice but because of math and some rotational difficulties, it wound up being a few days after for us modern-type folks. You learn something new every day.

Happy Solstice to all and welcome back the light that will be increasing each day from here forward!