Here’s more of Bill Cameron talking about character development in his novels Lost Dog, Chasing smoke and Day One.
Courtesy of Ashland Mystery.
Here are the non-words for February.
febrfy v. to reduce by 2/30ths. 1 Feb.
punxatognostication, n. (PUNK-suh-TOG-nos-TIK-a -SHUN) prediction made by a groundhog (Punxsutawney + prognostication). 2 Feb
epic-cure, n. behavior modification for those who overuse the adjective “epic”. 3 Feb
komenkazi, adj. crash-and-burn attack by one non-profit on another. 4 Feb
nosticate v. to assess your recovery from a cold by the color of your mucous. 5 Feb
nojo, n. the loss of one’s mojo or the lack of mojo altogether. 6 Feb
meanter, v. (ME-ant-er) to unintentionally use a word with a novel meaning, in other words, to malaprop. 7 Feb
kimpy, adj. even skimpier than skimpy, used of portions or apparel. 8 Feb
scurl, v. to make a vulgar remark about someone to damage their reputation (backformed from scurrilous). 9 Feb
wentness, n. condition of being present and then leaving at a break or intermission (“My wentness was unnoticed”). 10 Feb
defixes, n. prefixes or suffixes that become words, like ex, bi, ism, and ish. 11 Feb
cashugenah, n. (ka-SHUG-a-na) euphemism for buttocks, as in “a pain in the cashugena” (suggested by Mary Maher). 12 Feb
polyvalentine, n. (poly VAY len tine) the same “Be mine” card sent to two or more sweethearts. 13 Feb
valentingle, n. the pleasure you get from receiving a Valentine’s Day card or greeting. 14 Feb
whew!able, adj. (HWUUH-able) characterizing a close call, as in a whew!able drive. 15 Feb
soloria, n. the pleasant feeling inspired by sunshine (from “sol” plus “euphoria”), contributed by Lucia Hadella. 16 Feb
megajoyment n. expression or feeling of great pleasure or satisfaction (contributed by Rick Hardt). 17 Feb
venge, v. to avenge or get revenge (an ambiguous clipping), especially in a sporting contest. 18 Feb
testosterantics, n. the ridiculous things males do to attract female attention (suggested by Charlotte Hadella). 19 Feb
fratulence n. – A unique malodor associated with frat houses, dorm rooms, and gym bags (suggested by Leroy Fulwiler). 20 Feb
hypirically, adv. a claim that assumes that the evidence of its validity exists (from hypothetical + empirical). 21 Feb
velsh, n. onomatopoeic term for the sound of Velcro opening. 22 Feb
ensliden, v. to mention or cite a colleague on a PowerPoint slide. 23 Feb
fnast, n. the sound of nasal passages being cleared inward, an ingressive snort (from Old English fnastian). 24 Feb
preventertainment, n. school programs featuring local celebrities warning about gangs, drug use, sex, drinking, etc. 25 Feb
doubtcome, n. a close electoral result triggering an automatic recount or court challenge. Feb 26
lapture, n. the pleasant feeling you sometimes get in your groin driving over rumble bars or a sudden dip in the road. Feb 27
nomophophobia, n. (NO muh fuh FO bi uh) fear of being without a cell phone or cell phone signal. Feb 28
leapwork, n. the extra unpaid work you do when February 29 comes on a weekday (suggested by Brian Stonelake). Feb 29
Thanks to Rick Hardt, Charlotte Hadella, Lucia Hadella, Mary Maher, Leroy Fulwiler, and Brian Stonelake. Charlotte’s testosterantics came about when she found a word to match the definition suggested by the Phoenix High School writing group. I was glad for Leroy Fulwiler’s fratulence. I had been toying with fartulence for a while but couldn’t think of an interesting definition other than “malapropism of flatulence,” but I’m not sure about using malapropisms as definitions. Polyvalentine was my fallback when I learned that ambivalentine had already by used as the title of a poem. I was hoping to play a bit more with valence and valentine, but the results seemed too heavy handed. But I was happy to introduce a word with a bang (!) as a letter and was pleasantly surprised to learn that venge was not yet a word since allows for a non-word with an ambiguous etymology. Got a favorite non-word? Let me know.
On to March.
Whew. I’ve finally recovered from the cold that’s been going around. All the Nyquil, cough drops and humidifier stuff is put away. So now I’m looking forward to some upcoming literary events.
Today is the celebration of the Ashland Public Library and historian Joe Petersen will be talking about the controversial history of the Carnegie Library at 2 pm in the Gresham Room of the library. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
And on Wednesday, February 29, don’t miss the Southern Oregon Arts & Lecture Series featuring Hampton Sides on the art & craft of narrative non-fiction. Sides is the best-selling author of historical narratives including Americana, Blood and Thunder, Ghost Soldiers and Hellhound on his Trail. And he has written for National Geographic, The New Yorker, Esquire, Preservation and Men’s Journal. It’s at the South Medford High School Auditorium, 7:30 pm on Leapday.
On March 3, New York Times Best-seller, Robert Dugoni, will offer a day-long Writing Workshop, sponsored by Willamette Writer’s. It’s at the RCC/SOU Higher Education Center (Room 112R) from 9 am -4 pm. It’s $70 but students can attend for half price.
Local author and actor Clive Rosengren talks about his debut work, Murder Unscripted, at Bloomsbury Monday March 12 at 7 pm.
Eugene’s LJ Sellers, author of Secrets to Die For, Thrilled to Death, Passions of the Dead, Dying for Justice, Liars, Cheaters & Thieves, The Sex Club, The Baby Thief, The Gauntlet Assassin, and The Suicide Effect will read at Bookwagon, on Saturday, March 17 at 6 pm. And the next day, there is a free workshop on ePublishing Mystery and Crime Fiction at the Ashland Public Library, Sunday, March 18, from 12-4. Featured speakers are Tim Wohlforth, author of The Pink Tarantula, LJ Sellers, Midge Raymond and John Yunker of Ashland Creek Press,
Ken Lewis of Krill Press, and Michael Niemann, author of “Africa Always Needs guns,”
Both events are sponsored by Ashland Mystery.
And coming in April, Barry Lopez. More about that soon.
In this clip from Ashland Mystery, Portland’s Bill Cameron talks about the structure of his novel Day One and how he balanced two the critical moments in his story by using shifting the action back and forth in time.
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