Three stories almost ready

Okay, I will have three new stories ready to send out this weekend. Double check but it could be four.

Two are flash at 998 words each. That is one is mow. As I revise I've added a couple of words but I'll see if I can cut it back down. But it won't matter to Fantasy and Science Fiction or Strange Horizons. And another one I forget right now.

One is longer than I expected at 2,500 words but that one can go to Fantasy Magazine.

Hmm, need to do a SF tale. I have a couple half way or so done.

One of those stories I added to a while back but even though I was told I should add more of a story to it I decided to rip out what I had added and make it what it was. But I ended up turning it from third person to First and adding a touch to the story so we shall see how it does now. At least I think it's better but we shall see if anyone else things so. I still want to use what I ripped out and make another story with it. It will have the same setting as the new First person but different characters and plot.


And it looks like I am on my own with these stories. I hoped someone at hatrack would take a look at them but only got some suggestions on the opening

Getting tired

  I'm getting rather tired of getting told that the same technique that pros use is forbidden for beginners to use.  We're suppose to read to see how pros do it but half of the time they get away with stuff we can't. And it's not just one or two... it's like a dozen or more using the same technique.

Inspiration

I originally posted this on another blog but thought it might interest someone who reads this one/  Thanks To Those Who Follow Mine. 

Most of my ideas seem to come from pictures. Not all the time sometimes it’s; a line-song, other story-, an idea from a practice session-contest, a scene will just pop into my head or during a discussion about certain plots. The other day I got the beginning of an idea while reading what type of stories a certain market might want. One, a streampunk moon colony, just caught the attention of my muse. The part of me that comes up with ideas and stories etc. 

Oh one idea...a yechy one but I still may do it.. came from a discussion where someone mention the type of people who have sex with dead bodies. I have practically the whole story... a horror tale... in my head.   It's yechy enough so that I would use a different pen name on it. 

Shaking my finger  and saying "Bad Muse Bad."  

Music

A break from writing stuff here.

Finally got my credit card to work at iTunes. It had been so long since I bought anything they must have deleted my card. First time I tried to redo it they said the card was expired, same with the next one I tried. Oh,oh... turns out nothing wrong with the cards but it had me worried there. I might have put in the wrong month for the expiration date. Anyway it worked yesterday when I tried again... same card.



So today I wasted some time playing around...bad.. but I also procrastinated buying music. Got four of Rebo Rambo... love those horns-not to mention the songs. First time I checked on her music and they had it.  Want to go back and get more at another date. Plus I got five or six of Degarmo and Key.  They're my second favorite band that isn't together anymore. Great electric guitar in that group, good voices and songs too.

One died-Degarmo I think- so I will be able to see them this side of heaven. On a side issue I'm still praying that Petra will have a reunion tour here.  I saw a quarter concert with them once.  Should have went to their last tour even if it wasn't here... it was somewhat close.

So now I have some new music... a couple I never heard before and some I remember from years ago.

Writing stuff

I need to revise my story for the next quarter of WotF.

As well as revise a novel- I finished a couple of weeks ago-, finish another novel-"Angel Kin" yeah it's what the name implies, work on a third-New Mage- maybe even start a new one- and crit a couple of stories for critters.org and one chapter for hatrack. Seemed like there was something else. Don't think it's another crit.

That last could be to look over a couple of web sites so I can get my story on smashwords. I need some art for the cover image. I may have found a couple pics that could work. There are suppose to be some free ones some place though. 

Not to mention; do another story based on that cover image for Dean Wesley Smith's story... there's a link on another post... and do a different story based on another cover.   And There is another story to do also but can't think of it right now.

Love these writing vacations.

Reading another book

Still not finished with Eclipses but I started this one because it was the first book I bought with my Nook. Couldn't find the printed version but B&N has the E version.


"Spell Games" by T. A. Pratt.

  http://www.marlamason.net/misc.html#map

It's the fourth (I think) in a UF series about Marla Mason. Marla is the head sorcerer of a Felport. In other words she is the secret dictator of the city. She can be a real B... but only when attacked. She usually leaves her people alone and mostly minds her own business- she takes a small cut from most disputable businesses-unless she has to defend the city. She doesn't mind using dirty tricks or sneaking around if that is what it takes to win. Her passion is learning.

Not my favorite and may not even be in my second level but still a good read and an intriguing world.  Pratt came up with a well developed world and some unique methods of magic... most sorcerers  specializes even though Marla doesn't. In that sense this is very well done series. Good writing too. It's the story that places it on the lower level of my likes, more like medium or high-medium even. I still recommend the series.

Latest book I'm reading

I don't do near as many book reviews as I would like to but I decided to do this one:

"Late Eclipses" by Seanan McGuire. It's the latest in a series she is doing, I think the only one.   http://www.seananmcguire.com  
I love this series this series is my top number three or number four of all the UF books I read. Seanan better not decide to halt the series like two or three other writers have done. One of those was my number two top UF series. But there will be one more, at least, in this one. 

I've said this before but I still want to use Seanan's name as a character.

Anyway, I started reading this more because of circumstances but I kept reading it because it's hard to put down. I finally finish the last book I was reading, The Remy Chandler book by  Thomas E. Sniegoski... it wasn't bad at all except for two things I really wish the writer hadn't put in. One was back store but the other was placed of the ending. Still if you like darker and sometimes bloody stories try this series.

But back to "Late Eclipses" . Good story, GOOD Story. Funny thing was that after the first two or so chapters I ended up thinking "the writing isn't the best, but the storytelling is" Whoa, where did that come from? I can't point to why I think the writing isn't great. It's not bad, but it may have something to do with the opening. The MC is in a grocery store shopping. She just got paid big time and is looow on food so she, her room mate and a friend, are shopping. Not sure why the friend is there. He just shows up now and then. The room mate is... well you have to read the last book in the series and maybe the one before it. She is very unusual.

But I'm probably wrong about the writing, Seanan won the John W. Campbell award for best new writer. But I wasn't trying to say I thought the writing was bad or even mediocre but something made me think it wasn't the top writing. Still not sure what. 

One last thing for those who have read any of my Bright Lights novel, this is the inspiration for it. I changed a bunch: Daye has been a PI and a Knight for years- mine is just learning to be a hero, Daya was married once and has a grown daughter who so far isn't doing much in the stories.. .to my disappointment..., Mine has had bad romances and is maybe having one now,  Daye has a very powerful Fey Queen who doesn't like her much at all, she grew up with her mother who is now crazy... I'm still not sure what happened to her father but he isn't around at all.- mine has a dad who calls, and her mother is distracted but not crazy. There are other differences. I have someone sort of like the King of the Cats but you might not recognize him especially since there seems to be a romance growing between Daye and him, mine is a different relationship.   Plus Daye tends to be short on money, my character isn't.

The cover of "Late Eclipses" is great except I'm not sure about the expression on Daye's face. It's a very simple cover  but the artist knew what was in the book. And I just saw something in the background that makes it even better.

Highly recommend it but start the series from the beginning. 

Misc. Stuff

 Rats, they took off Thor. Only needed it to be on three more days. It looked like it was going to make it but nope.

Bought a Color Nook tonight... It's charging.  Thought I had a B&N account but evidently not so it's taking longer register it and finish the set up.


deanwesleysmith.com has a bunch of interesting posts. One is a link to a site talking about Borders' problems, Barnes and Noble's problems... so far not as bad as the other but it might get worse,  Amazon is coming out with a Tablet, they are having problems with spam books and copyrights, and a couple of other items.


And Dean has a link to some predictions that sound interesting and will be of interest to writers.

On vacation but no writing today. I have a book to start revising, two short stories to finish, four stories to crit, a novel to finish, a movie or two to see. All in two weeks Oh and finish revising my WotF entry for this quarter and send it in by the end of June.  

New idea

I had been kinda of thinking of doing a UF Elf story for a while. But thought there were too many of them but tonight I wondered about that. There are stories with elves but not usually as the Main Character. I remembered one series I hadn't thought about for quite some time maybe because I haven't seen any of the books in that series for a long while. But this series was around even before the Dresden Files. Other than that I'm not sure of any with the MC is one. I'm probably forgetting a couple or ten but right now I can't recall any.

So I spent a few minutes thinking about my idea. Maybe a half elf... halfies seem to be the in thing these days. But as I thought more maybe he's a quarter each of two types of elves. Or more than a quarter so he might end up being three fourths elf instead of half. But still two types.

So he's tall, skinny, kind of narrow faced and maybe handsome. Or very close to handsome. I was thinking of large pointed ears, almost to the tope of his head, but how would he hide them?

More on working

Started two new stories at work this past Friday. Both will be shorter, one will hopefully be a flash story--under 1,000 words. The flash is based on that story cover image I mentioned on my last note. I felt inpired to do two stories. The flash and one that might be 4 thousand to 8 thousand words. 

The other story I started is the one based on two of my wife's crafts. It will be shorter also but probably a bit over 1,000 words.

Plus I started working on my Kin to Angels book again. I worked on it a while back but just to get some of the ideas down but this time, unless I change my mind, I will work on it 'till it's done.  I might change my mind we shall see.

But it's just as well that I waited, I have more ideas for it... so far just the basic idea. So it might now be a 70,000 to 90,000 word novel instead of 30 to 40,000. 

Working

I have one that my wife inspired... no it's not a she monster story... its based on two of the crafts that she sells. 




And I have a shifter story idea plus a UF story both inspired by covers on recent Dean Wesley Smith's short stories. You will have to scroll down to story about romance books and love, has  a girl standing next to an open book.    deanwesleysmith.com. 


The shifter is based on another one with what looks like a naked woman sitting on a boulder in front of a wooden building. The thing is I don't do werewolf stories but there it was. Probably will take place in Alaska