Category Archives: Writing

Entries where I talk about my writing: stories, novels, general creativity.

Two new stories up

Webzines come and go, and stories published in them can be victims of domain expirations, site collapses, and so on. I’ve rescued two of my old published stories, and I am putting them online for your enjoyment.

The first is “The Unrevealed Tort, Revealed“. This story appears to be about two men, one of whom is on a horse, having an argument over fish. I’m not positive about that, though. You’ll have to read it for yourself. I can tell you, though, that this story has been favorably compared to Terry Pratchett and Monty Python. This story was published in a webzine called Sorcery and Science. The ‘zine is no longer being published, and the domain has expired, but I want this story to live on. So here it is.

The second story I’m putting online is “Who Remembers Molly“. This story was originally published online at The Harrow (a fine horror webzine which has, unfortunately, folded, and the site the victim of hackers), as well as in a collection of retold urban legends called Don’t Turn the Lights On (which you can purchase over at Amazon.com; the profits go to help the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah). Molly has shown up in a few of my stories, and this story is part of a cycle that I’m putting together called The Winds of Patwin County.

So. Enjoy!

The people have spoken

Yesterday I posted to here, to LiveJournal, to Facebook, Google Plus, and to Twitter the question, “What should I write next?”, and I offered three choices:

  • Code Monkey! Wherein a computer programmer embarks on strange and exciting adventures when he finally gets up the nerve to ask the pretty receptionist out on a date;
  • Padma Wherein a medical student has continuing visions of the end of the world (the research required for this one is daunting); and
  • Iron Horse Apocalypse Wherein dark wizardry and other shenanigans run amok aboard a runaway train.

And the results were… A tie. Yep, each one received the same number of votes. So I’m going to go with my gut and work on Iron Horse Apocalypse (hereinafter referred to as IHA). It currently exists as a zeroth-level draft, full of anachronisms and cliches, but with some judicious cutting and revising I think this one will be a lot of fun to write and to read.

Code Monkey! (the exclamation point is part of the title) needs a rest. I wrote the zeroth-level draft a couple of years ago, and while I’ve enjoyed working on it, I need to take a break to get some perspective on it. It will return, though.

And, finally, I plan to continue the research I’m working on for Padma. I currently know very little about Hindu mysticism, Indian mythology and folklore, cosmology, or what life is like as a medical student; and since all these topics play a role in this novel, I need to know at least a little bit about them.

Others “in the know” might point out that I’ve got another novel in the works, The Winds of Patwin County. But since that one is comprised of interlinked stories, of which “The X of Doom” (my pirate story, the one I’m working on now) is one, I feel just fine and guilt-free about excluding it from my list.

Thanks for your input, all who inputted. And now, off to the keyboard!

Dilemma

I find myself stuck between writing projects. I’m progressing just fine on my short story “The X of Doom” — it’s got pirates in it! — but I’m having a hard time deciding what my next novel project should be. Here are my options, and I’m leaving it up to you, my faithful readers, to help me decide:

  • Code Monkey! is the story of a computer programmer who gets embroiled in amazing adventures when he finally works up the nerve to ask out the pretty receptionist in his office. This one exists as a zeroth level draft already, but needs quite a bit of work.
  • Padma is about a young woman who has visions about the end of the world. I’ve written an outline and a couple of scenes, but the amount of research I would need to do to write this one is daunting.
  • Iron Horse Apocalypse is about dark wizardry on a runaway train. This one also exists as a zeroth level draft.

Which one of these sounds the most intriguing to you? They all sound intriguing to me, and I’m afraid my energy, so to speak, is drawn to each of them.

Your input, dear readers, would be much appreciated.

A Wee Writing Update

Apparently if you’re a knitter, like my wife, then the thing to say when you’re describing current projects is to say you’ve got them “on the needles”. When I ask my wife what knitting projects she’s working on, she’ll say, for example, “Oh, I’ve got a pair of socks and an afghan on the needles right now.” It’s a thing you say if you’re a knitter.

But what’s the equivalent phrase if you’re a writer? I’m going to suggest “on the platen”. It’s a typing thing. You remember typewriters, right? They were like word processors and printers, all combined into one device. They were pretty awesome.

So here’s what I’ve got on the platen right now:

  • “The X of Doom”, my short story about the Pirate Queen, was not finished by the end of January as I’d originally planned. On the other hand I’ve got a solid concept — part pirates, part Labyrinth — and strong characters. I just need to tighten the outline and get the writing started. I’m hoping to get the first draft written in the next two weeks. Also it’s getting more complicated the more I outline it, and it may end up being a novella rather than a short story. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but may complicate longer term plans for the story.
  • Also: Code Monkey!. This was my NaNoWriMo project for 2009, and I’ve been slowly but surely revising it for public consumption. I had fun writing it back then and the people who’ve read it seem to have enjoyed it. I’ve revised part one, but revisions for part two are going slowly. But getting the revisions done by March 8 is my goal.
  • And: Iron Horse Apocalypse. This is my “doomsday-on-a-train” novel, which I wrote for NaNoWriMo in 2008. Another novel that I had a blast writing, and one that I think is fun to read. It’s chock full of anachronisms and cliches, but that’s okay with me. I have plans to self publish this one over the summer, which means it’s in revision as well.
  • Aaaaaand finally: The Winds of Patwin County. This is more of a collection of intertwined short stories than a novel. Some of the stories (like “Who Remembers Molly?”) have already been published; most have not (and “The X of Doom” will be one of these stories). I’ve been working on the “Patwin County” mythos for decades, and it fiendishly extends into just about everything I write; I even created a large family tree reflecting all the characters in the various stories, and I have it on my wall in my office. I’m not sure what the ultimate fate of The Winds of Patwin County will be. But it will be published. Oh yes it will.

And that’s it. For now. Here’s hoping that putting these goals online will make me somewhat accountable.

Two Things…

First of all, I want to let you all know that my short story, “Trying to Stay Dead”, is now live on Psuedopod. You should check it out here. Enjoy!

Second, it’s that time of year again: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), when tens of thousands of people around the world spend the month frantically scribbling away, trying to get 50,000 words by November 30. And again, I’m one of those people. And again, my wife and I are raising funds for the Office of Letters and Light, a worthy organization that promotes creativity among adults and children via programs like National Novel Writing Month, the Young Writers Program, and so on. If we raise $1000, Jennifer and I promise to do an interpretive dance to “Also Sprach Zarathustra”, with our cats. To donate, go here.

Hm. I think that’s all, for now. Happy Halloween! Etc.!

Ways to Spend Money

I’m hoping that soon I will be able to present blog material that isn’t just self promotion… Unfortunately, for the time being, I seem to be utterly uninspired to blog.

So for now, in lieu of actual content, I present three ways that you can spend money. And, of course, they all have to do with my writing.


The first is The Undead That Saved Christmas, a lovely collection of Christmas tales featuring zombies and including my own story “Night of the Frozen Elf”. Honestly, how can you resist? You can purchase a paperback version here, or the Amazon Kindle version here. All proceeds from the sale of this holiday heart-warmer go to the Hugs Foster Family Agency, a great organization that needs money to purchase gifts for foster children.

The second is Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine: Best of Horror 2, which you can purchase here. This collection happily features my short story “A Most Heinous Man”, which was published in Issue #33 of this magazine.

Finally, there’s the Night of Writing Dangerously, a charity event that benefits the Young Writers Program and is presented by the Office of Letters and Light. Jennifer and I need to raise $300 to attend this event, so any donations you can make to the cause would be greatly appreciated. Plus, you can get jam, jelly, pickles, or even a pair of handknit socks! The Office of Letters and Light is a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit organization, so any donations you make are tax-deductible. You can donate with a credit card by clicking here. Donations of cash and checks are also welcome.

So that’s it for now. Go, spend money. And come back here soon. I promise that someday I will have some interesting content for you.

Just for fun

Just for fun, I’ve uploaded a PDF of the entire text of my 2008 NaNoWriMo novel, Iron Horse Apocalypse. No giant squid, but there’s Cthulhu. To download it, click on the picture of the train:

The City of San Augustin

High level critiques are welcome! It may be full of anachronisms and cliches (not to mention a contradiction or two), but this novel was a blast to write, and I hope it’s just as fun to read.

Enjoy!

Passing around the hat

EPIC FANTASY! WITH COWBOYS!

CowboyI’m not entirely sure what I’ll be writing for National Novel Writing Month this year. I have an idea that I want to write an epic fantasy (with cowboys) this year, which is very different from the sort of thing that I usually write. Last year I wrote Code Monkey: A Love Story with Occasional Monsters, which proved to be a big hit, and which I’ve been revising since December with the intention of actually bringing it to publication.

And last year Jennifer and I attended a great event called the Night of Writing Dangerously, an event where writers from all over the world (literally the world: I met people from Canada and Australia last year) get together in San Francisco for a night of epic writing and socializing. It was tremendous fun, but, more importantly, it raised nearly $50,000 for the Office of Letters and Light and its Young Writers Program. With this money, the Young Writers Program provided materials and inspiration to schoolchildren throughout the world to engage in their own works of creative abandon.

So once again we’re raising money for the Office of Letters and Light and their Young Writers Program. Our goal is $300, so that we can attend the Night of Writing Dangerously again. If you donate to my fund, in any amount, I’ll name a character in my novel after you (or someone else you might like to have honored in this way), and perhaps even incorporate a magical device of your choosing. It’s a fun challenge for me, and a great way to earn yourself a few milliseconds of fame in a web-accessible novel of dubious quality. Plus, I’ll be posting the novel online as I write it, so you can see your scene as it is written (I’ll be sure to drop you a line when it comes up).

But that’s not all!

This year, we’re offering SPECIAL GIFTS for donors! Just like NPR! How cool are we? Here’s what you can get:

  • The first six people who donate $25 get a 1/2 pint jar of homemade jam (your choice of strawberry, cinnamon peach, vanilla peach) or apple butter (requires extra time) or spiced plum (also requires some extra time). The apple butter and spiced plum jam take a little extra time because we have to make them.
  • The first six people who donate $50 get a pint jar of homemade pickles (your choice of dill spears, dill slices, sweet relish).
  • The first person who donates $100 gets a pair of handknit socks (color and size to be coordinated with Jennifer).

These aren’t cumulative. We’re not THAT cool.

So what do you say?

Help us out? And in doing so, help out the Office of Letters and Light and the great work that they do.

To donate, click here, then click on the button that says “Sponsor Us”.