2012

flax-golden tales: advanced security

advanced security

There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of magical cabinets kept within the vault. Since locks and spells can be broken, those who require more than the standard security measures are forced to be creative.

One of the most legendary cabinets is guarded by a passel of enchanted pigs.

Three of these pigs sing loudly and off-key when anyone approaches the cabinet. Another bites toes. Two pigs ask riddles that are mostly calculus-based, though each has both an obvious answer that is, in fact, wrong and a more complex correct solution. Pigs of the flying variety swoop down from the rafters like bats and strike with their hooves.

Were these individual challenges, they might be surmountable.

But all of the pigs attack simultaneously.

No one actually knows what obscure secrets or priceless treasures are kept within that particular cabinet, because its original owner is long dead and no one else has yet been able to overcome the pigs.


About flax-golden tales. Photo by Carey Farrell. Text by Erin Morgenstern.

By erin, ago

housecleaning

I have a small windowless office. Over the last few months it became more of a place to put things I didn’t want to deal with than a proper space to work in, so yesterday I made a lot of coffee and locked myself inside not quite with the goal of organizing, really, but in an attempt to clear out some of the mess and make it a more habitable space. I had aspirations of coziness. I put on my “Early Jazz” Pandora station for soundtrack purposes. It could still use some work and I need to go through all of my files and things, but I think as far as overall habitable/cozy I was fairly successful.

The floor was covered in piles of stuff, I really should have taken a “before” photo. Lights are both new to this room, I switched out the floor lamp that had been too bright for a lamp and a mirrored sconce and while it’s not hugely bright in here I’m usually at the computer anyway so I think it’s sufficient. It makes it more atmospheric. Almost everything on the walls was put up yesterday and there are still a few spots that need something but it’s a vast improvement.

The desk side of the room isn’t quite as cohesive yet, there’s also an oddly shaped nook behind it that really seems to want a tree or something. Maybe when I have time I’ll make a paper tree to loom in the corner.

So I am typing this from my much cozier yet still small and windowless office. Also, I think because it is windowless it stays toasty warm, I think it also gets heat from the hallway. Methinks I will be spending a lot of time in here while I’m at home this winter.

Also, this made me giggle delightedly:

Roswell in the circus! On the circus? Either way, I love it and you can click it and go read all the splendid stories that Kyle Cassidy’s blog readers came up with, circuses and clockwork and a truly splendid cat.

Am in housecleaning mode, both with the apartment and in my head. Getting ready to go out on my January mini-tour next week. This afternoon I took a walk in the snow and sunshine at the same time.

Now I am going to drink green tea and think thoughtful thoughts and possibly read.

By erin, ago

cephalopods & hats

Hello internet, I was avoiding you all week, please don’t take it personally and if anything exciting happened in my absence please let me know.

Exciting thing I already heard about despite not being on the internet (much): The Night Circus was nominated for a Kitschie award which is delightful regardless but made even more delightful by cephalopod-y-ness. More awards should involve tentacles, truly.

In non-internet news, I have a top hat!

This fabulous hat was sent to me by the marvelous booksellers at The Booksmith in San Francisco. I love it because it actually fits my gigantic head even though it is quite difficult to photograph properly, I had to resort to laptop webcam photo which is not terribly dapper but you get the general impression. I am not smiling as much as I should be because I had been trying to get a proper photo on three different cameras but it is difficult under the best circumstances to take a decent photo of one’s own self and extra difficult when one is wearing a very tall hat. But thank you thank you thank you to my Booksmith darlings, you are more wonderful than my photographic skills can convey.

In other news I am working on long sprawling blog posts about Stuff and I will be at Newtonville Books in Newton, MA tomorrow at 2pm. I will probably not be wearing the top hat.

By erin, ago

flax-golden tales: luck

luck

I don’t believe in luck anymore.

Bad or good.

I used to believe in pennies and four-leaf clovers and horseshoes and rabbit feet, spilt salt and broken mirrors and Friday the 13ths.

I even kept a jar of Luck on a shelf to save for a day when I needed it most, though in retrospect I probably should have found a bottle that distinguished itself as the good sort.

It worked, in a way, which was impressive considering how little I paid for it.

But I changed my mind.

It’s not that simple. It’s all tied up in choices and chances and paths taken regardless of what kinds of cats cross them. Luck can only get you so far, good or bad.

Though I still believe fortune favors the bold, no matter what they keep in their jars.


About flax-golden tales. Photo by Carey Farrell. Text by Erin Morgenstern.

By erin, ago

not really here.

I’m still on hiatus! Really! But I’m doing some blog housecleaning and I had things to share so you get a mini-post. Figures I post more than normal when I’m on hiatus.

Firstly, Kyle Cassidy is a splendid photographer and once upon a time he caused me to buy a fountain pen that was used to compose parts of the circus and because of that serendipitous pen incident you can now click this link and see a photo of his adorable cat Roswell wearing an adorably tiny bow tie and sitting with the book-shaped book, because pens are magic. (Also if you would like to write flash fanfic about said adorable cat you could can win an autographed copy.)

In other news, this is the best thing ever:

And then upon rewatching I spotted The Night Circus which delights me to no end. My book has way too much fun in Canada.

By erin, ago

half-birthday brownies & pseudo-hiatus

Today is my half birthday. I am 33 and a half. I usually say I should have half a cake, which we would sometimes have when I was growing up as my sister and I have nearly exactly six month apart birthdays (her proper, not-half birthday is on Tuesday) and that way there was less cake-based birthday jealousy.

I thought about just getting myself a cupcake but instead I made gluten-free brownies, added an extra egg to make them more cake-y and crumbled caramel-filled chocolates both mixed in and on top and then sprinkled the whole thing with sea salt for good measure.

So I have half-birthday chocolate salted caramel brownies and new Downton Abbey later and I am a fairly happy pumpkin, as 33-and-a-half year-old pumpkins go.

I am taking a pseudo internet hiatus this week so I can catch up on things and read noir novels and regroup and hopefully get some actual writing done. I’ll also be working on two long involved posts that will likely end up being a combined FAQ-esque thing. I’ll be checking personal email but little to no Twitter and no blogging save for Friday’s flax-golden (though I’ll be doing some blog-related housecleaning, still not sure where all the comments from the beginning of December went) and no wasting away my time in the wilds of the internet.

So I’ll be around but not as around as usual, I guess is the point. This is mostly to keep myself from wasting time watching cute cat videos and online shopping. (I will be making an exception for BPAL‘s impending Lupercalia update, though, of course.) I probably didn’t even need to tell you this as it won’t be all that obvious a hiatus but I wanted to share about the brownies and figured I’d mention it.

And now I’m babbling so I am going to go nibble on brownies and try not to feel old.

By erin, ago