Join me today at one of my team blogs, LGBT Fantasy Fans and Writers. I share some thoughts about our novel Emerald Fire and accidental gender stratification. Oops! 🙂
Gender Stratification and Worldbuilding, Oh My!
I’m excited to report that Burning Bright is now available as a print book, not just an ebook! In celebration of our print release, I’m blogging at Samhain today. Join me for “Reality and Fiction – M/M and BDSM“.
I’m excited to report that Burning Bright is now available as a print book, not just an ebook! In celebration of our print release, I’m blogging at Samhain today. Join me for “Reality and Fiction – M/M and BDSM“.
Join Me for a Chat with J. M. Cartwright
Join me today at Knoontime Knitting for a chat with author and gardener J. M. Cartwright. She talks with me about her passion for green things and how it informs her writing process.
Join Me for a Chat with J. M. Cartwright
Join me today at Knoontime Knitting for a chat with author and gardener J. M. Cartwright. She talks with me about her passion for green things and how it informs her writing process.
Saturday Showcase – In the Garden with J. M. Cartwright
After I did the call for authors who craft, J. M. Cartwright contact me and mentioned she loves to garden. Given all the work that goes into creating a garden, I absolutely consider it a craft as much as knitting or woodworking are. I asked J. M. some interview questions and here are her thoughts on life, the universe, and dirt:
K.K. Tell me a little more about what crafts you do. What do you like to make?
J.M.C. My craft is gardening, which is a fairly unforgiving craft, since we depend on sunlight and water and good soil to be successful. Oh, and a boatload of elbow grease. Uh-huh.
K.K. When did you learn to do crafts?
J.M.C. Hah. Gardening is a learn-by-doing exercise in frustration. The gardens continue to evolve because the product is a growing one. Literally. I’ve learned from other gardeners and from a fabulous magazine, Fine Gardening. It helps to see what others are doing, learn from their mistakes and copying their successes – though I do tend to add my own touches to things. I like to take an idea and twist it, bend it, enlarge it, make it my own.
It struck me this season that my gardens are ten years old this year. Whoa. I look around at the beds around my home and I’m amazed. When I moved to this home in 2002, there were some good foundation shrubs and a bounty of beautiful deciduous trees, plus two gorgeous blue spruces. Most of the trees are probably as old as my home (55 years), so the shade, the shape, the impact they have on my home are substantial. My airconditioning doesn’t have to work as hard as the systems in other homes, which is mighty nice. So I’ve been actively gardening with ground gardens and pots for these ten years. Prior to that, it was baskets and pots on decks and balconies. However, I’ve been an indoor plant person for a lot longer than that.
K.K. Have you ever given a craft to a character? How did you go about it? What research did it require?
J.M.C. Absolutely! One of my first books, A Change Of Scenery, had MC Stephen owning and operating a gardening shop in a small city in West Virginia. I used my work experience of dealing with landscapers (designers and installers), plus my own personal experience of being a consumer. Lots of consuming going on there, let me tell you.
K.K. What effect does your writing have on your crafting and vice-versa? Does one fall off when the other is stronger, or do they synergize?
J.M.C. It’s definitely synergy. How can it not be? The more I do it, the better I can write about it. The more I write about it, the more I want to do it – and have my characters enjoy doing it, too.
K.K. What do you dream of making when you have the time or skills?
J.M.C. I’d love to have several acres where I could expand my gardens. Currently I have two distinct gardens, one full shade and one full sun. The other beds are a mix. So having more land to work with would allow me to create individual spaces that speak to the different loves I have for growing things. I’d create some outdoor rooms, which is what these spaces are now called. They bringing seating, tables, hardscape into the garden, allowing people to experience the gardens while performing life activities.
K.K. Where do you get ideas for your crafts?
J.M.C. Magazines, other gardens, my imagination!
K.K. Any other questions you want me to ask that I haven’t yet? 😉
J.M.C. In the last two decades, I’ve noticed a substantial increase in the number of people who garden. A garden can be three or four containers on a balcony or it can be several acres in size. The point I’m making is that more people are recognizing what a difference it makes, whether we live in urban, suburban or rural settings, to have beauty surround us. It softens our hearts, eases our souls, brings out the joy and kindness in us. We need more of that in our lives, not less.
So I say, grow, baby, grow!
Biography
A little bit of info…
I’ve been a mix of a dreamer and a doer for pretty much my whole life. The doer part is usually in charge. But I think it’s the dreamer that adds the spice, the panache and the zest.
My stories come from both sides – the doer helps me get the damned things done while the dreamer lets me express my creative, artistic side. My day job of running a small business appreciates both parts and I’ve learned to be more patient, more thoughtful as I go through the day-to-day tasks and interact with people. I’ve learned to appreciate a lot more things about my life since I started seriously writing, and I’ve had an entire world opened up to me from the day I was brave enough to click send and submit my manuscript.
Saturday Showcase – In the Garden with J. M. Cartwright
After I did the call for authors who craft, J. M. Cartwright contact me and mentioned she loves to garden. Given all the work that goes into creating a garden, I absolutely consider it a craft as much as knitting or woodworking are. I asked J. M. some interview questions and here are her thoughts on life, the universe, and dirt:
K.K. Tell me a little more about what crafts you do. What do you like to make?
J.M.C. My craft is gardening, which is a fairly unforgiving craft, since we depend on sunlight and water and good soil to be successful. Oh, and a boatload of elbow grease. Uh-huh.
K.K. When did you learn to do crafts?
J.M.C. Hah. Gardening is a learn-by-doing exercise in frustration. The gardens continue to evolve because the product is a growing one. Literally. I’ve learned from other gardeners and from a fabulous magazine, Fine Gardening. It helps to see what others are doing, learn from their mistakes and copying their successes – though I do tend to add my own touches to things. I like to take an idea and twist it, bend it, enlarge it, make it my own.
It struck me this season that my gardens are ten years old this year. Whoa. I look around at the beds around my home and I’m amazed. When I moved to this home in 2002, there were some good foundation shrubs and a bounty of beautiful deciduous trees, plus two gorgeous blue spruces. Most of the trees are probably as old as my home (55 years), so the shade, the shape, the impact they have on my home are substantial. My airconditioning doesn’t have to work as hard as the systems in other homes, which is mighty nice. So I’ve been actively gardening with ground gardens and pots for these ten years. Prior to that, it was baskets and pots on decks and balconies. However, I’ve been an indoor plant person for a lot longer than that.
K.K. Have you ever given a craft to a character? How did you go about it? What research did it require?
J.M.C. Absolutely! One of my first books, A Change Of Scenery, had MC Stephen owning and operating a gardening shop in a small city in West Virginia. I used my work experience of dealing with landscapers (designers and installers), plus my own personal experience of being a consumer. Lots of consuming going on there, let me tell you.
K.K. What effect does your writing have on your crafting and vice-versa? Does one fall off when the other is stronger, or do they synergize?
J.M.C. It’s definitely synergy. How can it not be? The more I do it, the better I can write about it. The more I write about it, the more I want to do it – and have my characters enjoy doing it, too.
K.K. What do you dream of making when you have the time or skills?
J.M.C. I’d love to have several acres where I could expand my gardens. Currently I have two distinct gardens, one full shade and one full sun. The other beds are a mix. So having more land to work with would allow me to create individual spaces that speak to the different loves I have for growing things. I’d create some outdoor rooms, which is what these spaces are now called. They bringing seating, tables, hardscape into the garden, allowing people to experience the gardens while performing life activities.
K.K. Where do you get ideas for your crafts?
J.M.C. Magazines, other gardens, my imagination!
K.K. Any other questions you want me to ask that I haven’t yet? 😉
J.M.C. In the last two decades, I’ve noticed a substantial increase in the number of people who garden. A garden can be three or four containers on a balcony or it can be several acres in size. The point I’m making is that more people are recognizing what a difference it makes, whether we live in urban, suburban or rural settings, to have beauty surround us. It softens our hearts, eases our souls, brings out the joy and kindness in us. We need more of that in our lives, not less.
So I say, grow, baby, grow!
Biography
A little bit of info…
I’ve been a mix of a dreamer and a doer for pretty much my whole life. The doer part is usually in charge. But I think it’s the dreamer that adds the spice, the panache and the zest.
My stories come from both sides – the doer helps me get the damned things done while the dreamer lets me express my creative, artistic side. My day job of running a small business appreciates both parts and I’ve learned to be more patient, more thoughtful as I go through the day-to-day tasks and interact with people. I’ve learned to appreciate a lot more things about my life since I started seriously writing, and I’ve had an entire world opened up to me from the day I was brave enough to click send and submit my manuscript.
Beneath the Surface
Welcome to the Life’s a Beach Blog Hop! I hope you’re enjoying your time here. Today, I’m sharing something I wrote in response to a prompt about an unexpected spring. Even though it’s not exactly a beach, it involves water. Check it out:
“Holy cow, Monte! What the hell?” My voice carried, bouncing off the side of Monte’s house and sounding louder than it really was. “Hey! Monte!” I yelled and waved my arms.
“Hey, Louise,” he called back and cut the power to the jackhammer. “What’s wrong?”
“Look!” I pointed.
“What the…” He laid the jackhammer on its side and walked over. “When did that pop up?”
“Monte, you must’ve hit the water main or something!”
“Can’t’ve. It’s over there.” He waived an imprecise hand toward the other side of the yard. “No idea what this is.”
I edged closer. Water, brown with the stirred-up silt from Monte’s labors, swirled up from a crack in the fence’s foundation pole.
“Monte, it’s rising.”
He knelt on the other side of the fence and I could see his fingers poking around under the fence slats. “Shit.”
“What?”
He didn’t say anything right away. “It’s salty.”
I stared down at the water. “That’s impossible!” I poked a cautious finger into it and tasted. Sure enough, it was salty. “Monte, there’s no ocean around here!”
“They always did say California was going to break off.”
“That’s not funny!” I snapped. “I’m serious, here! How is there salt water in our back yard?”
His knees popped as he stood. I rose and met his serious brown eyes. “I don’t know, Louise. I really don’t. Maybe we’d better call the city?”
“What do we say? ‘Hi, there’s an ocean in the desert?’”
He shrugged. “We have to report it.” He glanced down. “Your shoes are about to get wet.”
I stepped back, amazed. “Monte, what if it doesn’t stop? It’ll flood our houses!”
“We’re on a hill, Louise. Calm down. It’ll flood downtown first.”
I had visions of a wall of water sweeping down the Las Vegas Strip and almost laughed. He smirked. I realized with a slight shock he was trying to cheer me up. “Thanks, Monte.”
He smiled, his teeth very white. “No prob. I’ll call my guy at the Water District. Let’s see what he says. Maybe it’s a pipe or something.”
“A pipe.”
He shrugged. “What do you want me to say?” He looked calculating. “You got anymore of that meatloaf?”
I laughed out loud. “You need a wife,” I said without thinking.
He looked intense suddenly and then turned to his equipment. “Yeah, that’s what my mom keeps saying,” he said over his shoulder.
For some reason, my heart was pounding and I felt hot. “I’ll go make us some lunch while you call.”
He waved at me without turning around. I walked back inside to the air-conditioned hush and got out the meatloaf. Truth was, I had made it for him. But not to flirt, I just knew he liked meatloaf. At least, that’s what he always told me. What if there was more to it?
This was silly. I hit the lights half-angrily and set about making a salad and sandwiches. I set everything up on plates, got down my tray and the pitcher for tea, and made sweet tea. I glanced outside and saw him pacing back and forth by the fence, his portable house phone glued to one ear. He didn’t look happy.
I walked out and set out the tray on the table. He saw me and walked through the gate between our properties and sat down.
“Thanks, Mal. I’ll let you know.” He hung up and met my gaze. “They’ll come tomorrow at ten,” he informed me. “He thinks I’m crazy, but he owes me for some work I did on his pool last fall.”
I looked over at the water. “What if we are crazy?”
“We’re not,” he mumbled through an enormous bite of sandwich. “It’s still rising. See the trickle? There, on my side of the fence?”
I craned my neck. Sure enough, there was a little brook forming, trundling along the fence toward our neighbors down the hill. “What if it floods?” I asked, afraid again. “You know how fast flash floods happen, Monte!”
He shrugged. “What do you want me to do? Sandbag it?”
He had a point. What could we do? I ate some more sandwich and worried.
“Louise. Stop worrying. It’s going to be fine.”
I heard a splash. Monte froze, and I could see the hairs on his neck wave a little bit. Weird. ‘Hairs rising on the back of your neck’ was actually visible.
“Crap!” he blurted, spraying bread crumbs. “Did you see that?”
Truthfully, I had been staring at his neck. “No, what?”
He glanced at me, irritated, and then focused on the bubbling water. I looked over too, wondering what could capture his attention so fully.
A black tailfin peeked up out of the water and then disappeared.
I was on my feet so fast I didn’t remember moving. “Monte…” My voice sounded breathy and weird.
He joined me a second later as another ripple disturbed the water. “Get in the house, Louise. You got your keys?”
“Right here,” I said, patting my pocket. Another fin, black and pointy, emerged slowly. By the time the eyebrow ridge appeared, we were cowering behind my kitchen curtains.
“Where’s your phone?” Monte whispered hoarsely.
“You calling the police?”
“No, the paper!”
We had a brief wrestling match over the phone, which he won. He flipped it open and thumbed the camera button. He snapped two shots of the glossy black head as the thing climbed out of the hole. It was bipedal, covered in scales, and had dark purple eyes covered with some kind of web. It blinked vertically, opposite of a human, and stood about as tall as Monte.
We watched it walk down the hill, following the water trail.
“No one is ever going to believe this,” Monte murmured.
It was then that I realized we were holding hands. Monte didn’t seem inclined to let go, so I didn’t either. I watched the black creature disappear as the sun set over Sin City.
Beneath the Surface
Welcome to the Life’s a Beach Blog Hop! I hope you’re enjoying your time here. Today, I’m sharing something I wrote in response to a prompt about an unexpected spring. Even though it’s not exactly a beach, it involves water. Check it out:
“Holy cow, Monte! What the hell?” My voice carried, bouncing off the side of Monte’s house and sounding louder than it really was. “Hey! Monte!” I yelled and waved my arms.
“Hey, Louise,” he called back and cut the power to the jackhammer. “What’s wrong?”
“Look!” I pointed.
“What the…” He laid the jackhammer on its side and walked over. “When did that pop up?”
“Monte, you must’ve hit the water main or something!”
“Can’t’ve. It’s over there.” He waived an imprecise hand toward the other side of the yard. “No idea what this is.”
I edged closer. Water, brown with the stirred-up silt from Monte’s labors, swirled up from a crack in the fence’s foundation pole.
“Monte, it’s rising.”
He knelt on the other side of the fence and I could see his fingers poking around under the fence slats. “Shit.”
“What?”
He didn’t say anything right away. “It’s salty.”
I stared down at the water. “That’s impossible!” I poked a cautious finger into it and tasted. Sure enough, it was salty. “Monte, there’s no ocean around here!”
“They always did say California was going to break off.”
“That’s not funny!” I snapped. “I’m serious, here! How is there salt water in our back yard?”
His knees popped as he stood. I rose and met his serious brown eyes. “I don’t know, Louise. I really don’t. Maybe we’d better call the city?”
“What do we say? ‘Hi, there’s an ocean in the desert?’”
He shrugged. “We have to report it.” He glanced down. “Your shoes are about to get wet.”
I stepped back, amazed. “Monte, what if it doesn’t stop? It’ll flood our houses!”
“We’re on a hill, Louise. Calm down. It’ll flood downtown first.”
I had visions of a wall of water sweeping down the Las Vegas Strip and almost laughed. He smirked. I realized with a slight shock he was trying to cheer me up. “Thanks, Monte.”
He smiled, his teeth very white. “No prob. I’ll call my guy at the Water District. Let’s see what he says. Maybe it’s a pipe or something.”
“A pipe.”
He shrugged. “What do you want me to say?” He looked calculating. “You got anymore of that meatloaf?”
I laughed out loud. “You need a wife,” I said without thinking.
He looked intense suddenly and then turned to his equipment. “Yeah, that’s what my mom keeps saying,” he said over his shoulder.
For some reason, my heart was pounding and I felt hot. “I’ll go make us some lunch while you call.”
He waved at me without turning around. I walked back inside to the air-conditioned hush and got out the meatloaf. Truth was, I had made it for him. But not to flirt, I just knew he liked meatloaf. At least, that’s what he always told me. What if there was more to it?
This was silly. I hit the lights half-angrily and set about making a salad and sandwiches. I set everything up on plates, got down my tray and the pitcher for tea, and made sweet tea. I glanced outside and saw him pacing back and forth by the fence, his portable house phone glued to one ear. He didn’t look happy.
I walked out and set out the tray on the table. He saw me and walked through the gate between our properties and sat down.
“Thanks, Mal. I’ll let you know.” He hung up and met my gaze. “They’ll come tomorrow at ten,” he informed me. “He thinks I’m crazy, but he owes me for some work I did on his pool last fall.”
I looked over at the water. “What if we are crazy?”
“We’re not,” he mumbled through an enormous bite of sandwich. “It’s still rising. See the trickle? There, on my side of the fence?”
I craned my neck. Sure enough, there was a little brook forming, trundling along the fence toward our neighbors down the hill. “What if it floods?” I asked, afraid again. “You know how fast flash floods happen, Monte!”
He shrugged. “What do you want me to do? Sandbag it?”
He had a point. What could we do? I ate some more sandwich and worried.
“Louise. Stop worrying. It’s going to be fine.”
I heard a splash. Monte froze, and I could see the hairs on his neck wave a little bit. Weird. ‘Hairs rising on the back of your neck’ was actually visible.
“Crap!” he blurted, spraying bread crumbs. “Did you see that?”
Truthfully, I had been staring at his neck. “No, what?”
He glanced at me, irritated, and then focused on the bubbling water. I looked over too, wondering what could capture his attention so fully.
A black tailfin peeked up out of the water and then disappeared.
I was on my feet so fast I didn’t remember moving. “Monte…” My voice sounded breathy and weird.
He joined me a second later as another ripple disturbed the water. “Get in the house, Louise. You got your keys?”
“Right here,” I said, patting my pocket. Another fin, black and pointy, emerged slowly. By the time the eyebrow ridge appeared, we were cowering behind my kitchen curtains.
“Where’s your phone?” Monte whispered hoarsely.
“You calling the police?”
“No, the paper!”
We had a brief wrestling match over the phone, which he won. He flipped it open and thumbed the camera button. He snapped two shots of the glossy black head as the thing climbed out of the hole. It was bipedal, covered in scales, and had dark purple eyes covered with some kind of web. It blinked vertically, opposite of a human, and stood about as tall as Monte.
We watched it walk down the hill, following the water trail.
“No one is ever going to believe this,” Monte murmured.
It was then that I realized we were holding hands. Monte didn’t seem inclined to let go, so I didn’t either. I watched the black creature disappear as the sun set over Sin City.
Thursday 13: A Writer In Her Library, Chapter Six
I have done a few posts about my favorite books in the past, Chapter One, Two, Three, Four, and Five. I’ve purged my library twice in the past, and cut too close to the bone. I’ve gotten rid of things I’ve later regretted. Now, if I keep a book and it goes into my library, I don’t get rid of it. I cherish it. I made special bookplates that can be printed on Avery labels, since buying bookplates would get way too expensive. I also started keeping an index.
The index has helped me identify which books and topics I like, as well as publishers I might like to target. I keep my list in Excel because it’s easy to sort and search, and in this way I can track my purchases and collection.
Today I share 13 more of my favorite craft books for you, along with pictures of their covers. These books inspire me and I turn to them again and again, to look at the pictures and read the patterns. Awesome!
Without further delay, then, let us wander the shelves.
1. Wildspur, by Louisa Harding, Steffprint, England, 2008.
I seriously love this catalog of patterns. Click on the picture and it will take you to Ms. Harding’s U.S. distributor, and they have a list of all the patterns – complete with pictures. I love Laidlaw and want to make it one of these days.
2. Decorative Knitting, by Kate Haxell and Luise Roberts, Trafalgar Square Publishing, North Pomfret, VA, 2005.
There are different covers for this, depending on your geographic location, but this is the version I have in my library and is the one she says on her website is for the U.S. version.
The book is filled with different decorative ideas, from patterns and laces to beading and other embellishments. If you like to play with your knitting, this book is for you.
3. Hoverson, Joelle, Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, Stewart Tabori and Chang, New York, 2004.
I love, love, love this book. I’ve made a bunch of things out of here, and what I love about it is the philosophy. It restores control to the hands of the knitter as we think about what projects we’d like to make for our friends and family.
Seriously, check out the stuffed animals. LOFF!
Bonus: She’s got a great collection of patterns available on her Ravelry page, here.
4. Knitting Mochimochi: 20 Super-Cute Strange Designs for Knitted Amigurumi, by Anna Hrachovec; Watson-Guptill Publications; Crown Publishing Group; Division of Random House, Inc.; New York; 2010.
OMG. Srsly. OMG! Mochimochi Land is the online home of author and designer, Anna Hrachovec. Her patterns are adorable! Her book breaks down exactly how to make these little knitted designs, similar to the Japanese hobby of amigurumi, which typically are crochet.
I totally want to make the alligators in this book. I also love the moose. It’s awesome. Complete with little birdies. LOFF!
5. Christmas Stockings: 18 Holiday Treasures to Knit; Interweave Press; Loveland, CO; 2001.
This one is a lot of fun. Not only does it give patterns, but also generic stocking patterns for different yarn gauges. If you are curious about making holiday stockings, this book is for you. Lots and lots of design options and good instruction for taking the design process beyond the patterns provided.
6. 25 Bags to Knit: Beautiful Bags in Stylish Colors, by Emma King; Trafalgar Square Publishing, North Pomfret, VA; 2004.
I’ve had this one for a while; I think I bought it in the year it came out. I have a friend in Alabama who LOVES handbags, and this book makes me think of her.
The patterns are simple and easy to understand, and have front AND back pictures of the designs – which is helpful for someone learning to knit. This is a great book for beginners.
7. Knitters (Magazine); Jackets for Work and Play; XRX Books; Sioux Falls, SD; 2006
I love the designs in this book, including a Chanel-style jacket. The designs have an English flavor in the tight, clean lines, and they’re good for work and other similar occasions. I’m looking forward to making some of these, and routinely bring the book to the bathtub to wander through the patterns.
8. Weekend Afghans, by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss; Sterling Publishing Company; New York; 1987
and
9. 7-Day Afghans, by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss; Sterling Publishing Company; New York; 2004
Authors Leinhauser and Weiss share designs and writing processes, as well as their website. I have made one of the afghans in the 7-Day Afghans book many times, varying the colors, as it’s a simple but pretty design and perfect for baby showers and other similar gifts. I like Weekend Afghans, even though it’s older, because it gives interesting designs and colors.
10. Men in Knits: Sweaters to Knit that He Will Wear; Tara Jon Manning; Interweave Press; Loveland, CO; 2003.
The thing I like about this book is that it teaches you the philosophy of knitting. I’ve discussed the ideas in it with male friends and, later, my husband. They confirm the central philosophy in the book, which includes things like include your recipient in the design and don’t just hand him a fait accompli.
The designs live up to the reputation of Interweave Knits, known for publishing high-quality, well-written designs. I found Ms. Manning’s approach easy to follow, her designs well-conceived, and the patterns inventive. Highly recommended if you have men in your knitting universe.
11. Saturday Sweaters: Easy to Knit, Easy to Wear; Marquart, Doreen L.; Martingale & Company, Woodinville, WA; 2005
I got to meet Ms. Marquart at her shop, Needles ‘n Pins Yarn Shoppe in rural Delavan, WI. Her shop is beautiful and has many different yarns and books to look through. I selected a new book and got the yarn to make one of the sweaters, and the clerk asked me if I’d like to have the book signed. I’m grateful to her friendliness to a new-at-the-time knitter and wish her every success. Her book of Saturday Sweaters will have you knitting sweaters in no time.
She has a neat page on Ravelry, too, where she shares her designs.
12. Knitting Lingerie Style, by Joan McGowan-Michael; Stewart Tabori and Chang; New York, 2007.
Ms. McGowan-Michael is one of my favorite designers out there. She has amazing, beautiful stuff. Her website (possibly not NSFW; no outright nudity but lingerie) is a treat of scrumptious designs.
Her book on lingerie breaks down a mystifying subject and explains how garments are constructed, from simple to complex pieces. She’s even got a knitted garter belt. Lovely!
13. Unexpected Knitting, by Debbie New; Schoolhouse Press; Pittsville, WI; 2003.
This is an incredible and unusual book, truly worthy of the title “Unexpected.” I can’t even do it justice by describing it, other than to say it’s worth checking out. I mean, knitted china pattern teacups and saucers? Awesome. Well worth a look.
There’s an interesting website created by Philosopher’s Wool. It has a very nice summary of her work, and the site has a lot of personality.