Hey, here�s some neat…

Hey, here�s some neat news! I�ve been invited to have a character of mine featured in a Lee Moyer pin-up calendar, to benefit Clarion! Funfun. I don't know who the other featured characters will be -- it's a secret! But all SF/F, I'm pretty sure.

Did you know that I was once asked to pose for Playboy? It would have been a little sidebar piece, along with some of my erotica books, back when I was in my early 20s. I waffled and waffled before finally saying no. Given that they would have airbrushed me to glossy perfection, I think I may regret not having that pic when I�m 80. Ah well! Probably better not to have it out there now, though, given that it�d likely be disconcerting for my students to run across. I'll stick to character pin-ups instead.

Now, many of my characters are not the pin-up types. But there are a few who I think would find the entire thing distinctly amusing. I waffled for a while between them, but in the end, I really couldn�t resist the urge to ask Lee to draw my fierce warrior / hacker genius catwoman. By day, Kimsriyalani�s a nerdy compsci grad student; by night, she stalks the park looking for unsuspecting men to seduce. Okay, she only did that the one time, and she was having a really bad night and needed to work off some rage, but still. (Story here: �The Night Air� http://www.mamohanraj.com/nightair.html)

It�s all reminding me of the early days of the net, when I would hang out on FurryMuck, generally playing a human girl who looked a lot like me, but surrounded by sexy catpeople, dragonpeople, etc. Okay, they weren�t ALL sexy, but lots and lots of them were. This was also the era when I was reading a lot of Phil Foglio comics (XXXenophile) and Elfquest. At twenty, I would have killed to wake up in an Elfquest graphic novel.

Lee�s a terrific artist, and I�m really looking forward to seeing what he comes up with � we�ve have some great conversations about the design, and I think we�re aiming for a combination of playful and fierce. Kimsriyalani would be pleased. And I�m delighted to have a chance to help Clarion out. I loved teaching there, and just think it�s so great for the field. Can�t wait to see how the calendar turns out!

4 thoughts on “Hey, here�s some neat…”

  1. One male, eleven female? And this is the first time they’ve had even one? Is this really an initiative you want to support? OK I’m off my soapbox now.

  2. Mary Anne Mohanraj

    Personally, I like and enjoy pin-up calendars. So I’m just fine with supporting it. If you don’t like it, feel free not to buy it.

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