From the Depths of the Writing Cave

It's a monstrous place where few dare to enter. Yellow ledger pads stack high against a wall of shelves. A treasure-trove of unwatched dvds sit to one side. Notebooks of gibberish lay scattered about. And, at center, the beast itself, with her machine of death.

I refer, of course, to myself and my laptop.

This is just a quick update to let you know how very sorry I am. Sorry for what, you may ask? Well, this is an apology in advance.

In the upcoming month or so, I need to work on over half a dozen new short stories, four novellas, a children's book, and a collaborative novella collection.

Then there's fanfiction. Poke fun of the fanfiction writers if you like, but Mercedes Lackey is on our team, as are several other established writers. For example, I recently discovered (thanks to Patricia ) that writer R.J. Anderson has been successfully published several times now. See, I remember Ms. Anderson from her Harry Potter fanfiction writing days. Hers were some of the first novel-length fanfiction I enjoyed. Suffice to say, I now plan on purchasing her books.

Back onto subject, yes, I intend to continue writing my fanfiction amongst all the crazy of July/August/September. Why? a.) I have too many readers. I just can't stand the thought of letting them down. b.) Writing ff keeps my mind on the game. It reminds me how to write for *characters* instead of two dimensional paper people. It keeps me focused on writing for an audience, as well. c.) It's fun. Yeah, I'm going to spend half my time daydreaming, anyhow. I might as well do something constructive with those random fandom thoughts, right?

So, in conclusion, I'm sorry. I'll probably be hiding from the world in my writing cave. Good news? I have Wi-Fi. Bad news? I probably will be an oily-haired, snarky hag by the time this write-a-thon is over and done.

Expect to receive this warning again in November, when National Novel Writing Month steals my remaining social life away.



Oh and this picture? (Disclaimer: it's not mine.) That's my inspiration for a minor character in one of my upcoming novella projects. See what I'm dealing with here?

A Midsummer Night's Influence

I actually meant to mention this in an earlier blog, but, alas, I was distracted.

You know Patricia Puckett, correct? No? Seriously? Well, as she's a best friend and all, you'll be seeing her name on this blog quite often. Other than being a fantastic friend and human being, she's also a great writer. She's also probably one of the main reasons I stayed with writing all through high school and college. So, if this all goes bottoms-up, we know who to blame, don't we?

This isn't just a mindless promotion of a good buddy, though.

The Pedestal Magazine has a great July issue still out, free to view. Their theme involves Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. It features Patricia's "The Captured Queens Go to Tea" as one of its fiction pieces.

Pedestal is a great zine with new monthly issues. And, for writers, they do indeed pay. Let's face it, it's hard for poets and literary writers to get a check, so we must applaud them.

So, if you have a bit of free time and you enjoy your Shakespeare, stop in and read this month's issue: http://www.thepedestalmagazine.com/gallery.php?item=18300

Or, for more on Patricia's publications, visit her Yola site: http://patriciapuckett.yolasite.com/

Novellas Own Me

I must really enjoy pain. Or else I certainly wouldn't have taken on so many projects at once.

Novellas. They are an under-appreciated breed of story, don't you think? However, with e-publishing, they seem to be a little easier to sell in e-book format. Recently, novellas have taken over my life. I'm currently working on a novella collection with a few of my fellow Guild of the Fantastic Quill members. I'm also desperately trying to complete two other novellas for upcoming contests. Then, there is, of course, the Wicked Bag challenge.

So, last year, I signed up to take part in a writing challenge with Wicked East Press and the result of the challenge was a great anthology called Wicked Bag of Horror Tales edited by Jessica A. Weiss and M.S. Gardner. My short story "Muerte in a Small Town" was included in the book. Basically, the challenge was to give a writing prompt and take one in return.

Well, the creative madness returned, and, yes, I signed up. The challenge this time around? Use a Suspense Prompt to write a novella. Despite the pile-up of novella projects, I'm actually pretty excited about this last one.

Now, I must say, this is going to be a dream come true for my mother. She has been dying for me to get more involved in the thriller/suspense/mystery genres. Here's to you, Mom.