Midnight at Moonville

I was too wiped last night to blog about what I did but before I do now belated Happy Birthday to mamculuna. Hope it was a good day.

So.....you can find out a bit about Moonville's legend and history here & here Oh and the brakeman legend has been disproven but there was a murder at the tunnel. So it's the first annual Moonville Fest and it said 'parking at Lake Hope.' It's in Zaleski forest and not exactly easy to get to. My GPS tried to murder me twice by insisting I could go down these dirt goat paths (Gareth, dear, I don't know what vehicle you THINK you're in but it's really a Civic, not made for off roading). I finally get to this lodge I didn't know existed (and now must go back to eat at, or so said EB and her friend D).

Well parking wasn't there and I find out from the gift shop lady that they had only decided a day before the event where it would be. WTF? You've been advertizing this for months! I already felt doomed. It got worse when I found this farm house and was made to park in a barely mowed field filled with bind weed that nearly killed me. EB met me at the car and rode with me to the parking spot then we joined D in line....and HUGE line. I whipped out my cane and quieted people bitching about me 'cutting line.' (i.e. they STFU once they realized I was handicapped and not because I threatened them). EB and D had been there for nearly an hour because the shuttle was a 6 passenger van. Are you KIDDING me? Some people had already started walking the 2 miles to the tunnel but that made it worse because they couldn't step off the road or end up over a cliff and no one could get around them.

Our friend TH got there very late and EB tried to bring him with us and there was a near riot. TH (who had been coming back from a conference in Cleveland) chose to just leave (and boy did he dodge a bullet). We finally got there and we all got the bacon wrapped hot dogs for dinner but that was it, expecting more food. There was just ONE other vendor.

And here is where it all went sideways. They thought they'd get about 300 people. There were over 3000! (it was a free event). The police were ranting saying they can not do it this way next year. The whole thing was a lawsuit waiting to happen with those people walking (including three people in motorized wheelchairs! Now that's just foolish), and people climbing all over the tunnel like goats...really stupid goats.

Trying to have a good time, we checked out the vendors. THere were some good ones including 2 creepy doll makers, someone who made wood rings and another who made canes. My friends were there selling their ghosthunting books (the ones who threw the halloween party the weekend before). There were at least three paranormal investigator groups, an apple cider maker and Naturalists with Raccoon State Park and then a bunch of junky vendors.

They had a couple bands and a story teller and my friend (mentioned above with the books) was doing two speeches about the history and ghost legends.

It COULD have been a relative fun time and some of it wasn't bad but it was spoiled by their sheer lack of planning. There were far too many people. (sell tickets next time or something) jammed into a relatively tight space. I could barely hear PQ's talk. We wanted to go on the horse drawn carriage to the abandoned cemetery BUT there were so many people in line for that it would have taken hours.

So we went back, listened to music, heard PQ talk, photographed some of the cooler graffiti and then TRIED to leave. It took TWO HOURS to get out of there and they were STILL bringing people onto the site in spite of the fact that the vendors wrapped up at 9 pm. It ended at midnight and at 11:30 they were still bringing people. The shuttle people were frantic since they were to be gone by midnight (so why even transport newcomers), they ran out of food. Eventually the horse carriage gave up on the cemetery and started hauling people to their cars.

I got back to my car and it looked like a fog shrouded moor but luckily I got out of there and managed to hit every roadway perfectly in spite of it being midnight AND foggy as hell (except one but that was because of the tailgater with his high beams blinding me. I couldn't see the sign). I got home at a quarter til one. I told mom this morning about it and she said what we did 'next year there will be only 300 because they pissed us all off.' I doubt I'll go back (maybe if PQ needs help with the books and I can get in as a vendor).

So what should have been fun was a back and leg aching lesson in impatience and frustration.

I did learn that the brakeman legend isn't real (I already knew that part) but there WAS a murder there. Baldy the bully liked to bully the townspeople and his favorite game was at the bar, picking fights and bear hugging people into unconsciousness. One day he never returned home. He was found stabbed several times and thrown in front of a train. The newspaper and other records prove that and that no investigation was ever carried out (like no one cared). He likes to throw stones at people. Lavender is also a proven story. A young woman who wore a strong lavender perfume whose dress caught on the tracks as she ran across and didn't quite make it. Her perfume can be smelled and no lavender grows in the area.

I would like to go back in the daylight to see the cemetery and record at the tunnel (impossible with all the people) and maybe see the ruins of the houses in the woods. I'll have to see if PQ will go out there with me and MKF.

There's definitely a story in this.

I will have to work on my tunnel pictures to see if I can lighten them up.

The forest

Inside tunnel

Lavender getting hit




My doll. I call him Cecil. A few of you might get why.

Write Every day - Day Sixteen

Drop your Day Sixteen accomplishments here. (and late day fifteens if you'd like).


It's less that I'm blocked and more I have no time.


And for a writing prompt - steal this plot


Day fifteen- Those who have written!

bay115
tinhutlady
auroracloud -
zippitgood

XXX
avon
plaid_slytherin
trobadora -
esteliel -
afrozenflower-
navaan -



and for those who want to tally their word counts
cornerofmadness - I wrote a lecture, barely counts but had to be done
fan_girlishness - 32 words and editing
kiramaru7 - 1099 words
evil_little_dog -

Day one accomplishments here // Day two accomplishments here // Day three accomplishments here // Day four accomplishments here // Day five accomplishments here // Day six accomplishments here // Day seven accomplishments here // Day Eight accomplishments here // Day Nine accomplishments here // Day Ten accomplishments here. // Day Eleven accomplishments here. // Day Twelve accomplishments here.// Day thirteen accomplishments here. // Day Fourteen accomplishments here. // Day fifteen accomplishments here.

Writerly Ways

Today it'll be about the business end of things (and short because the tendonitis in my hand is so bad right now I can barely stand it).

1. I did hear from the publisher that I sent both Cassadaga Nights & Modified & Sacred too. She's having health issues and has put everything on hiatus. I believe I will leave Modified with them until January at least I think so since I have no other anthology to send it to at the moment. I will ask for Cassadaga back. No sense in letting it in limbo for months as it's a novella and I can market it various places.

2. I got back the rights to one of my short stories. I can do what I want with it BUT the fine print says I can only use the original story not any of their edits. I understand that to a point but on the other hand, to not use a better version? Hmmm I haven't done anything with these, not even put them on my webpage. I'm not even sure I have the original versions.

3. I'm reading the Tao of book marketing or something like that and she mentioned that many venues/radios/interviewers etc dont' care about the book. They want to know about the author. If they're interesting or 'expert' they'll promo them. Am I in a minority but I don't WANT to know about the authors. I don't want to know their politics or what they had for breakfast etc. I guess maybe in one way I do. I've stopped buying from the right wing homophobes for example (looking at you Orson Scott Card) or are anti-semitic (hello there Mel Gibson) but on the other hand I can remember the moment I realized Anne Rice had become self deluded (no one was going to edit her, dammit). I didn't want to know Rowling put Harry and Ginny together instead of him and Hermoinie because she was in a bad place and wanted to screw over the fan base.


Have some links: book marketing pod cast

pitch writing

narrative distance

successful author mindset podcast