AletheaKontis.com

According to the York Dispatch, this month’s “Girl’s Night Out” First Friday was a rip-roaring success. Hooray!

Check back for an upcoming Genre Chick interview with local PA poetess Barbara Decesar! (Hint: If you go to her website, click on the stars below the quotes for more information. If you try to click on the bee, you’ll just sit there forever. Guess how I know.)

It all started when Dickie told Della that he’d buy her a bottle of Kraken Rum (you should totally check out their website) if she shot Joe in the butt with a dart…

That’s my girl.

Sneak Peek!

Pages from A is for Alice — the picture book Janet (J.K.) Lee and I have been working on:

A is for Alice
Alice indeed was a curious girl
Who fell rather far through a hole in the world
She followed a clock-watching rabbit, you see,
To a land full of wonder…and madness…and tea.

M is for Mad Hatter
Mad Hatter, savior, so carefree
Turns our water into tea
Ever knowing there and thence
Much madness is divinest sense.

O is for Off:
Red Roses aren’t things to dread
Unless they’re white and you are dead.
No justice done, no tears to shed
The judgment’s in: Off with her head!

Want to see more? Click on over to Janet’s interview with Jules at Seven Impossible Things. There are more gorgeous pages and fun verses from A is for Alice, as well as scenes from Janet and Jim McCann’s new steampunk fairytale comic Return of the Dapper Men.

Tux welcomes Spring to the Emerald City…by sleeping through it.

Yes, Mom, technically you and Dad are my biggest fans. Going into Books-a-Million and B&N and causing scenes when you discover that AlphaOops is sold out and toting signed copies to your class reunions ranks you right up there.

But Griffin Hall totally floored me.

Greg over at Funky Werepig told me during our infamous two-hour-long Valentine’s Day interview that his son Griffin LOVED the book I signed for him back at Horrorfind, so much so that he asked if he could donate another copy to his school library. He also announced that I was one of his Top Three Girlfriends. I was immensely flattered. When I mentioned Friday’s reading at The York Emporium, Greg told me that he was going to bring Griffin to meet me. I was very excited, but then, I’m always excited to meet the fabulous children of my fabulous friends — wouldn’t *you* be curious to know who’s going to take over the world?

But nothing prepared me for the dashing, wide-eyed gentleman in the bright orange jacket who bowed politely and said quite formally, “My good Princess, I am Prince Griffin.”

What does one do to that but blush and curtsy? So I did. “It is an honor to meet you, Prince Griffin. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“I would like to present you with my autograph.” He handed me a fabulous picture of himself, with AlphaOops, at his school library. He bade me turn it over and on the back, he had inscribed a personal message to me.

All you girls reading this take note: It is one thing to be called a Princess — it’s quite another to be treated like one.

Right then and there Griffin Hall stole my heart — though can a thing be stolen if wrapped in pretty bows and given freely? Griffin gave me confidence and made me smile all through my reading…and interview…and subsequent reading…and interview…that was televised and will be running on Channel 16 (? I think it’s 16. I’ll post more details when I have them). The picture of Griffin and me that Jim took has been on the front page of the York Daily Record site for three days now.

I felt fabulous and famous and cherished and special long after the event was over and all my friends and family (I love you Aunt Theda & Uncle Dave & Cousin Alex!) had parted ways for the evening.

This Princess thanks you again, Prince Griffin, for deigning to attend my humble gathering on Friday night, and for making me feel welcome…and wonderful. It is an honor to be one of your Top Three Girlfriends. I wish you lots of love & hugs & happiness.

And you be careful with that Charm. Remember to always use your powers for GOOD.

It was at a Mo*Con that I was first formally given the title of Princess by the Indiana Horror Writers.

Our beloeved Maurice was recently interviewed by Jeff Vandermeer about Dark Faith – what started out as a Mo*Con anthology and became something much, much more. I give you leave to click here and check it out.

After all, I started out as “a little girl with a little curl” and look where I am now!

(To preorder Dark Faith, I give you leave to click this link too.)

Tensions in the Emerald City were high this morning…and it had nothing to do with cat barf. No, what brought us to verging on fisticuffs this morning was over who knew the “correct” version of the “One of These Things Is Not Like The Other” song from Seame Street.

There was:

One of these things is not like the others /  one of these things just doesn’t belong…

and

One of these things is not like the others / three of these things are kind of the same…

Thanks to iPhones and the magic of Google, we discovered that we were *both* right. (Though yes, technically the first one is righter, but shhh.) And thank goodness, too. No one wants  to threaten Global Thermonuclear War before 8:00 in the morning.

So…which version of the song do you know?

A featured guest in my Year of Steves, Steven Saus is a writer, non-traditional student, nuclear medicine technologist, and fairly snazzy guy. He has a story in the Timeshares anthology out from DAW this week, so I put on my Genre Chick hat and poked him to see if he wouldn’t mind answering a few questions about what he’s been up to.

Alethea Kontis: What’s the theme of this antho?

Steven Saus: Timeshares starts with a simple premise:  Where – no, when – would you go if you could go on vacation anywhen in time?

Like most people, I’ve been exposed to lots of time travel stories.  The 19 stories all imagine the time-vacation agency in slightly different ways, which keeps each story in this anthology fresh.  Some stories are action-packed, some are mysteries, and some center on character and emotion.

AK: What’s your story about?

SS: My story, “Memories of Light and Sound” is about a couple on their honeymoon to New York City in the 1920’s.  Anthony hasn’t told his wife everything about why he chose that time, and the impact it will have on his family.

AK: How did you come to be involved in Timeshares?

SS: Jean Rabe invited me to become involved after hearing me read a rough version of “Kicking the Habit” (since published in the anthology Hungry for Your Love) during a Read & Critique session at GenCon.  I left the meeting afterward, holed up with my laptop and some gin, and pounded out the rough draft in about three hours.

AK: Who are some other folks in the book?

SS: There’s many fine authors in this anthology, like Chris Pearson, Kevin J. Anderson, Donald J. Bingle, Robert Vardeman, Mike Stackpole, and Kelly Swails.

AK: What do you like best about anthologies?

SS: I’ve always liked anthologies because at their best – as in Timeshares and Hungry for Your Love–they let authors explore a single theme from a variety of ways.  It’s fascinating to see the ideas and expectations you have to be twisted in fun and interesting ways.  As a reader, I also like them because I can easily devote the time for a short story in my busy life – but a full novel takes a time commitment I can’t always give.

AK: Do you have a favorite anthology?

SS: One of my recent favorites (not counting ones that I’m in) is the anthology Gamer Fantastic.  From Chris Pearson’s powerful opening story “Escapism” to Don Bingle’s funny “Gaming Circle” and Jim C Hines’ “Mightier Than The Sword” all the way through Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s “Game Testing”, it’s a solid anthology with hardly any weak points. Definitely a must-buy for anyone involved with any type of gaming.  That said, I’m also looking forward to A Girl’s Guide to Guns and Monsters, which I haven’t had a chance to get into yet.

AK: If you could be any superhero, who would you be & why?

SS: I’m not sure he counts as a “superhero”, but I identify most with Destruction from The Sandman.  Except that in real life, I’m much more like Dante from Clerks (or the sequel), or Leonard from The Big Bang Theory.  Go figure.

If anyone knows where I can get a vest like Destruction’s in Brief Lives, I would be much indebted.

(Note: Hungry for Your Love is currently in e-book format from Ravenous Romance;  a print version will be available from St. Martin’s press this Halloween.)

After seeing my recent post about Soteria & Charles, my mother was quick to drop me a line and remind me that my sister and I came by our cuteness honestly.

Ladies & gentlemen: George & Marcy Kontis — a.k.a Mom & Dad.

From their dance class Christmas party.

Back in the Ivory Tower, roller skating was my poison–no, not poison…it was the rapunzel I cultivated in my garden until it flourished green and tempting to naive passersby.

But the tower crumbled–as towers do when self-rescuing princesses have access to dynamite–and I made my journey Over the Rainbow. I spent some time healing in Munchkinland before I put on my Big Girl shoes and danced my way here: The Emerald City.

Green always *has* been my favorite color.

There are teenagers here aplenty, but we fly our zombie turtle flag and paint macaroni and raid books out of car trunks. I’ve hung up my purple rollers and pom-poms and tagged along with my tall misfit crew to Dart League Night.

I’m not on the team, of course, but I get to cheer, and give shoulder massages, and play a few games during practice. It’s been a long time since Dave Buchert’s basement but I don’t suck too badly…not like they’d suddenly stop liking me even if I did.

The music’s not as loud here as it is at the rink, and I’ve made some new friends, which is nice. Heck, I almost feel like a grown up! (she said, as she propped her slippers up under the bar table and sipped her Diet Coke full of cherries…)

I think I like this new City. I may stick around for a while…