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Editing Rant: Effect vs. Affect

I hate AFFECT / EFFECT.
From Merriam-Webster:

Affect is usually a verb meaning “to produce an effect upon,” as in “the weather affected his mood.” Effect is usually a noun meaning “a change that results when something is done or happens,” as in “computers have had a huge effect on our lives.” There are exceptions, but if you think of affect as a verb and effect as a noun, you’ll be right a majority of the time.

The full article is here:

Merriam-Webster. ‘Affect’ vs. ‘Effect’ – How to pick the right one. https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/affect-vs-effect-usage-difference (last viewed 4/16/2022)

Book Review: Mexican Gothic

Amazon Cover

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON

IN DEVELOPMENT AS A HULU ORIGINAL LIMITED SERIES PRODUCED BY KELLY RIPA AND MARK CONSUELOS • WINNER OF THE LOCUS AWARD •  NOMINATED FOR THE BRAM STOKER AWARD

After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.   
 
Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.
 
Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness. 
 
And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.

 

MY REVIEW

All the classic tropes of the Gothic genre, all tied up into a piñata to be hit and spun with a Latino flavor until destroyed to reveal a treat-filled ending for those who love this type of horror. Set in the mid-1900s, the story centers on Noemi – a happy modern city-bred debutant – who must face an ancient house in the county to visit her newly wed cousin.

An unsettled quiet covers the community sunk beside the mountain-top manor, buildings and people left behind after the silver mines closed and finding themselves unable to relocate. Within the manor, Noemi discovers her cousin may be recovering from a fever illness, according to those that reside there, or her cousin may be been driven mad from the family secrets her groom had hid until marriage. And the longer Noemi stays, the more secrets she discovers about what happened to her cousin, the town, and the family. The question is how many secrets can Noemi discover before she knows too much to be allowed to leave.

Gothic glory-ness – Rich in the Mexican mountains and culture. Deep in the fame and faded fortunes of the failed sliver mines, Machismo culture of the mid-1900s strongly portrayed by the men and internalized by all the women in the book. And a house- oh, the house! Dark, dreadful.

I did find the beginning slow – but the final quarter of the book is worth the slow build. A typical pattern for gothic horror stories. The machismo grated on my nerves, but is appropriate to the time setting and culture.

I read this for my speculative fiction book club. They continue to push me into reads I didn’t know existed but expand my world. Call out to Maven of the Eventide and the rest of my group!

Magical Words: Writing Rituals

Photo by Valery Fedotov on Unsplash

Writing Rituals

Some people swear by performing a ritual before starting writing to get their mind separated from “everything that needs to be done while I at home” to “I’m working.” Separating Home-Work-Chores from Working-from-Home is necessary, as many people have found out over the last few pandemic years.

Rituals to compartmentalize the Home from the Work space in the head allows one to return from work to home. Otherwise, someone is either always at work (a horrible situation) or at home (with the related distractions and related stress). Writers have been facing this issue for years.

Some of my writing friends separate Work-and-Home physically instead of just mentally, by going to Starbucks or other location. Locally, a bar-coffee-shop welcomes writers during NaNoWritMo. Two mugs can get a long way into your word count.

Leaving my cozy cottage doesn’t work well for me. My brain considers that friend time or “other” work time. But having writing-work not being distinct from home makes me depressed over time. Fortunately about the time the depression has be crossing into unproductive, is about the time tax season kicks in.

I need to find a solution to separate the brain spaces better.

Finding the right ritual for me would help. 500 words per day worked for several months. Using a timer lasted about two alarms. Food hints – like a cup of herbal tea or just past lunch – those haven’t had any success for me. Smell is more related to a place separation for me; but incense in the house doesn’t work, as the scent the incense sticks around for days. Smell isn’t a good ritual divider for me, just a space identifier.

Coming back from other jobs and just sitting down and writing doesn’t give me the mind-set change I need to create. I need a break between the two efforts. But the break can’t take too long or be too distracting. For example, for many people, once the TV is on – it’s on for the night as one show passes into another and before you know it, you’ve binged for four hours. I can’t afford that if I want to produce saleable product.

I need an hour break after coming home. A mind-free time, then a ritual to get restarted.

Mindy Klasky gives a list of “Writing Rituals” which work for her in Magical Words 9/15/2011 posting. The comments include other writers goto choices:

Read it over for suggestions.

WRITING EXERCISE: Pick a ritual and try it for a week (or seven times, if you don’t write daily) to kick start your writing. Does it help get your head in the right space? Does it help you feel more relaxed and less stressed about your writing and the rest of your life?

I’m going to try and use the timer method again, but without the buzzer. I got a pretty hourglass which I will flip over. All I have to do is concentrate on writing while the sands are falling. Play a game of solitaire (and only one!) to turn off the mind from everything else in the house, open the door and curtains to let in even more light, and flip the hourglass. Wish me luck!

What ritual did you develop and how has it worked for you?

Gardening: Annexing the Neighbor

Between injuries and jobs, I haven’t really had time to work hard on my yard. At nearly a quarter acre (with a small house), I have a lot of plants – each with their own needs and ideas. Yes, their own ideas.

I’ve divided the various areas in my head to the lowland fens, the highlands, the front yard, the strip, the orchard, the back meadow, the pining angel, the dogwood, the backyard, and the jungle.

(Pictures taken 3/5/2023)

Welcome to my jungle.

Picture of backyard behind fence

Left to right are the weed trees, the thorns, the vines, and the bushes.

First the weed trees

These tree grow fast and are unstable. They need to go, but the vines … so many vines in the jungle, make them hard to get to. In addition, weed trees are hard to kill – they grow nearly as fast as I can cut them back.

Second are the thorns centered around the volunteer holly trees. Plural. And thorn vines, at least two types. I think the jungle has six different types of vines at this point – two types of thorns, the wisteria, the honeysuckle, and at least two more I don’t know other than die, die me-hardy vines.

In front of the holly trees are one of the many volunteer mimosas I’m trying to remove. Talk about weed tree volunteers. One is cracking cinder blocks near my foundation in the jungle area.

Third are the vines. Like I said, I got a lot of vines.

Last but not least is the bushes .. or bush. It’s really out of control. When I bought the house, the bush was a cute little ball in the corner of the fence.

It’s grown.

Part of me really loves the wildness of my jungle. It also hides my backyard, giving my corner house the only non-visible from the street area.

The problem is, it isn’t only “my” jungle. The jungle is actively trying to annex my neighbor’s yard. Here is a picture of the fenceline straight on, you can see all the bushes trying to come through. This is AFTER my neighbor hired a handyman to cut everything down and laid down some weedkiller. Two months later, it looks like this:

And the vines are in league with the oversized bush, running spies under and through the fence:

As I have time, I am attacking the jungle. This is my most recent pile … yes, the above pictures are after this pruning occurred.

One of my ongoing goals is removing my jungle and replacing the hill with azaleas, rock walks, and bulbs. Something maintainable, that won’t be trying to take over the world.

 

What the house looked like when I first moved in … needless to say, I got a long way to go.