Music

First off - this post has nothing to do with writing and probably does not belong on my business blog.

Now that I've got that off my chest ...

I've spent a lot of time listening to music of late. When I buy CDs, I don't rip the whole CD right away: I listen through it several times, absorbing the songs, and eventually only rip the ones I like. There's usually at least a few songs that I have no interest in, so I leave them off. I often don't bother to rip middling tunes, either.

So my latest ventures have included some old favorites, so revisits, and some new experiments ...

OLD FAVORITES:

Loreena McKennit -- An Ancient Muse: A traditional Celtic performer wandering progressively eastward over her last few albums. I love LMK's music - it's very pretty and easy to listen to. Even though she's a fantastic singer, her instrumental pieces are some of my favorites.
Best here: "Caravanserai" and "Penelope's Song" (a riif on the Odyssey from the POV of his long-suffering wife).

Sophie Ellis-Bextor -- Shoot From The Hip: Modern dance / disco style music with strong melody and lyrics from a lovely English alto. I just adore Ellis-Bextor's stuff - it's infectious and clever, and I've mentioned before that one of my favorite single lines from any lyric comes from one of her songs ("as if my luck and hope had found each other").
Best here: How do I choose? We'll go "Party In My Head" for some very entertaining / bizarre lyrics ("and all the guests mix brilliantly, 'cause I am them and they are me") and "The Walls Keep Saying Your Name" for an addictive and creepy, atmospheric sound.

Sissel -- My Heart: Classic-influenced pop music from one of the sweetest, most perfect voices out there. I love her sound - it's clean and pure without having that over-dramatic warble of a classically trained soprano. This music is a trifle tame for my listening tastes, but I could listen to The Song That Never Ends if Sissel sang it.
Best here: "Beyond Imagination." Gorgeous piece of music, a lot sweet, a little dark and with beautiful lyrics.

REVISITS:

These are artists I'm familiar with, but haven't paid much attention to lately and / or wouldn't call favorites ...

Alana Davis -- Fortune Cookies: Apart from "singer-songwriter," I have no idea quite how to classify Davis - a little rap, a little R&B, a bit of Reggae, and a really distinctive smoky voice that I wish would put itself to a stronger beat and clearer melodies. The first time I listened to this CD, I didn't care for most of it. This time, I found twice as many songs that I enjoyed, so added some to my saved collection.
Best here: "A Chance With You" - an unusual song about letting go.

Clannad - Landmarks: Neo-Celtic music with strong pop sensibilities. I was pleasantly surprised by this; it had sort of faded into the back of my brain as Celtic-knockoff, but it's very pleasant, with some genuine gems. I'd still say that the songs that are good are wonderful, but the ones that aren't sort of fade into the background.
Best here: "A Mhuirnin O" -- I'm not usually a fan of songs whose lyrics I can't understand (hey, I'm big on the lyrics), but the beat and melody here are awesome.

Sheena Easton - The Lover in Me / The Singles Collection: Eighties (or is it eighties inspired?) pop music from a sugary (but pleasant) singer. I enjoy a lot of her highlights / greatest hits, so I thought to try another CD by her. Not ... so much. Found only two tunes I wanted to rip. It's hard to explain what turns me off, but I don't find her fast stuff very melodic, and her slow tunes just don't have enough interest.
Best here: "Swear" -- this one cracks me up. Why did I not rip this before?

Medieval Babes - World's Blysse: Renaissance music / poetry with a hint of modern flair. So ... my last encounter with the Babes (it's actually "ae" with a funny combined symbol) pre-dates MP3s. I actually started with Undrentide ... then lost just the CD (I still have the case) right before I was going to rip it. Argh. This is great music - it helps that I have a real fondness for all things Renaissance, having recovered from the painful overload of my Faire days - but it's best taken in small doses.
Best here: "Erthe Upon Erthe," an infectious melody with lovely instrumentation, and "So Spricht das Laben" -- translated, a really neat argument between life and death over possession of the world.

New Experiments:

Lady Gaga -- The Fame: Heavy dance music of the electropop genre. This was a recommendation, and I was kind of knocked for a loop, because this is totally not what I usually listen to. At all. Yet it's infectious, and for all the similarity of the song structure, it gets into your brainpan and grooves around. So I'm divided whether I would buy a second album and I'm a little embarrassed to admit I like it, but there it is.
Best here: "The Fame." Yes, mark it for the one time in a blue moon my favorite song is the title track.

Leona Naess -- Thirteens: A reflective, contemplative singer-songwriter. This is lovely, thoughtful music, heartfelt but not always compelling.
Best here: "Ghosts in the Attic" - clever lyrics balanced with an earworm of a melody. "When Sharks Attack" is a close follow-up for similar reasons.

Leona Lewis -- Spirit (and) Echo: R&B / Soul-inspired pop music from another English singer. (What is it with me and Brits? Is it the trends in their music mesh more with my preferences? Or do I just like the accent?) The first CD was an accident - I was hunting at Half Price Books for Naess (above), saw "Spirit" and thought, "Wasn't I looking for a Leona?" Lewis took a bit of getting used to, and I still find I have to kind of turn my brain in a different direction to appreciate the groove, but it's very enjoyable.
Best here: "Forgive Me" (Spirit); "Brave" (Echo) - powerful song about not being able to open up to love; and what I will, for lack of title, refer to as "Stone Hearts and Hand Grenades" - a bonus song stuck on the end of the final track of Echo.

DJ Tiesto -- Kaleidoscope: Electronica / dance. Also a referral. I would definitely class this as sparser and music more for background that active listening, but I love the driving beat. Some of the voices are a little nasal, but they blend well with the instruments.
Best here: "Knock You Out" for attitude.

Bonnie Raitt -- Silver Lining: Erm. Country. You know, I don't listen to country music - which is a shame, because country voices (like Raitt's), I positively love. They seem to be much richer and fuller than most pop singers. Though I like some of the songs, this was definitely a "once and not again" purchase.
Best here: "Wounded Heart" - here I'm drawn to the portrait of resignation.

Solas -- The Turning Tide: Neo-Celtic with strong traditional roots. These are folks I feel are springing out of the evolving tradition, and the results are wonderful. Their dance tune sets do tend to start to sound alike, but any individual set - or the songs - is worth the listen.
Best here: "Girl In The War" and "Sorry" - worth the price of the album alone. The first is a wrenching slow ballad about - well, pick your interpretation. That's part of the beauty of it. The second is a driving attack on the idea of repentance. Seriously, if you've read this far, google "Sorry Karine Polwart lyrics" (the original author) and read them. Mairead's voice is powerful and pitch-perfect for both (very different) styles.

Glee -- Volume 1 (and) 2: Yes. I'm a Gleek. I love the blend of clever writing and rousing song-and-dance throughout ... and just the music on its own stands pretty well, too. It's very easy to listen to and belt along with. I'm not a rap fan, but I found the covers done here accessible and entertaining.
Best here: "Take A Bow," "Don't Stand So Close To Me / Young Girl," "True Colors" (the only song on which the singer who plays Tina features, and seriously - why not more?) and ... "My Life Would Suck Without You."

Goodreads Review: Memory

Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Where do you start with a book this fantastic - and so often praised by previous readers? All right, first off: what they said. Further ...

Bujold has an amazing ability to blend humor seamlessly with situation, creating genuinely funny moments in the middle of the chaos and adventure. The supporting cast really shine in this novel, from brief cameos to recurring presences. Miles may be larger than life, but his world is also far larger than he is, and I'm always impressed by the subtle sense of satellite stories going on around his personal crises.

This is one of the few books that has been able to make me genuinely emotional about the disaster a character faces. I had moments of wanting to reach in through the pages and change it forcibly ... but the wild ride that follows makes it all worth it.

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Thursday Thoughts

Recently, I've been fretting about the ratio in Scylla and Charybdis again. The two cultures depicted in the novel are meant to mirror each other, which means that I wanted to have both sections roughly the same length and weight. To briefly explain for those new to my rantings, if you break SaC down to its basic elements, you've got a female-dominated society and a male-dominated society. (Of course, it's more complex / granular than that.)

However - and somewhat to my surprise - I've found that I have spent slightly more time in the male-dominated civilization, and I won't be done with that until I finish the current segment. Considering that part of the exploration is showing how broken each side is, this kinda makes me feel guilty. ;-)

The imbalance isn't massive, and I can't put numbers to it, but it does exist. I've figured that I'm okay for the following reasons:

Of the pages I consider to "belong" to the MD sections, one episode occurs on a spaceship rather than in MD territory, so it's less fully immersed.
The start and end point is on Anaea's home turf ... which is a space station with no (that's zero, zip, nada) male presence.
There's also a section in the Sanctum that I haven't counted in the above, which is on FD ground.

Of course, all assessments are tentative until I've had a chance to study the whole draft and tear my hair out about it.

Anatomy of an Idea: Farewell to Flesh

Since this story is now available in Emerald Tales Issue #4 - Carnivale - I thought I would talk a little bit about how the concept came to be.

Most of you know by now that my love is secondary world fantasy - stories set on worlds not our own. When I saw that the theme for Emerald Tale's was Carnivale, I had two thoughts: a) "Very cool!" and b) "Hrm, that it makes it difficult for a secondary world writer ..."

Being contrary, I didn't stop there. It brewed on the back of my brain for a while. Then, somewhere in the grip of a nasty bout of insomnia, it snuck up on me.

Carnivale means "farewell to flesh." That just has endless possibilities for fantasy interpretation. But why would someone leave their body? I thought about inspiring music, like a muse. That's when the term "chord-dancer" came to me and ... well ... danced around my brain.

So I got up at something like 4am and sent an email inquiring if an interpretation of the term "Carnivale" would be potentially appropriate.

Then I went back to bed, still mulling over the story. Sometime past 7am, I finally fell asleep ...

So a night's sleep for a story idea - fair trade?

Goodreads review: The Book of Kings

The Book of Kings by Robert Gilliam


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I came into The Book of Kings with low expectations - I almost passed it by before I noticed it contained an Esther Friesner story - and was pleasantly surprised. This is definitely an above average anthology, well constructed, with fewer than the usual number of misses and several highly enjoyable stories. (Ironically, I felt that the story that the anthology was built around - Donaldson's story was the inspiration for it, and the editors set out to find similar "king" stories to include - was merely so-so. It was clever, but it left me cold.)

One of the special virtues of this collection is the inclusion of several much shorter pieces, providing a break in pace and tone. I thought the anthology was also nicely balanced between historical stories - and deft handling of the linked mythology - and those set in secondary worlds, though I would have liked to see a few stories with more developed settings.

But of course, not every story is satisfying, and a few left me annoyed. In general, I felt that the ones that failed didn't deliver on the premise, either because the action stopped abruptly or the conclusion was disconnected from the body.

My favorite story was definitely Judith Tarr's "In The Name of the King," an emotional and affecting portrait of a loyal scribe in the Egyptian afterlife and his relationship with his king. Worth honorable mention are Jane Yolen's "Journey in the Dark" (one of those very short stories mentioned earlier); Brad Linaweaver's "Blind Sceptre"; and Lawrence Watt Evans' "The Name of a King."

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Small Update

The official publication date for "Ostracized" is March 19. Will link when it's up. ;-)

Goodreads Review: Callander Square

Callander Square by Anne Perry


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
When the skeletons of two infants are found buried in fashionable Callander Square, it's up to three people to negotiate the labyrinth of social mores, scandal and deceit: Inspector Pitt, his intrepid wife Charlotte, and her redoubtable sister Emily ... who arguably is the real sleuth through much of the first half of the book.

Overall, this is an intriguing and often disturbing study of Victorian high society, but it suffers from the (also Victorian) attributes of being somewhat dry and reserved. There's not as much detection as you would expect, but plenty of mystery in unexpected places. For me, the real puzzle of the book - and the one left to the reader to solve - is the interactions between man and woman, social pretense and reality.

I had some trouble with this book, especially early on. The way the characters were introduced made it difficult for me to tell them apart, and I feel that even near the end of the book, there were a few I had to stop and consciously match up. There's also a distinct lack of tension to start - you don't get the clear sense that the babes were murdered, and so it's more a matter of truth-seeking than anything else. (This element extends a long way into the book, so it's arguable that the mystery isn't that important to the story until much later.)

Also, the book quickly branched into secondary points of view, including suspects ... so it sometimes became difficult to track what each character knew. On the other hand, this element provided most of the tension and the fascinating through-lines of Victorian life. The battle of the sexes has rarely been illustrated with more incisiveness - and viciousness, at times.

Final complaint: I reached the end, and I felt cheated by the conclusion. I felt as if pieces of information had been withheld, or the reader would simply assume something in its place. There were reasons to suspect the killer, but the motive was simply concealed until the very last. Not quite fair play, says I.

But it's quite fitting that the book doesn't end there, and the final conclusion says much about the courage and bravery of Victorian women. Perry truly gets inside the mind of the period. I'm up for another Pitt novel - the enjoyment goes beyond the mystery.

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Thursday Thoughts

So this week, I finished my second time travel story - a look at how Ishene (time mage and historian) and Kemel (fire mage and bodyguard) first met.

I found myself dealing far more than I wanted to with the messy elements of temporal paradox ... but I had to explain why they were stepping into the past to solve a mystery and not simply preventing the murder. I hope it didn't make the story unnecessarily muddy or come off as a plot device, because there are a couple points where paradox gets bent ... but in my original story (set 15 - 20 years after this one), paradox is still very much an unknown - and something you can't experiment with because the consequences of experimentation are potentially too great. (No one knows for sure. But you don't mess about when "the world stops working" is one of the options.)

Anyway, I did my best to convey there's theories and workarounds and ... without letting it take over the story. But to prevent that, there had to be an element of, "Just take my word for it," from Ishene. Hopefully it feels like there's a logic to it, even if it's not expounded upon - and even if the characters themselves haven't figured out its limits.

On lighter notes ... wow, I loved playing with these characters at a different age and point in their relationship. Besides the full story, I've written a starter for another, so I have a good feel for where they settle out and what they're like in their thirties. Conveying the same characters as twenty-somethings or teens (I didn't specify which), and establishing the easy dynamic they eventually have was a lot of fun. They certainly have rougher edges, but I hope they seem like the same people.

Dealing with the romantic question was entertaining for me. Cue a kiss and two characters scrambling not to be the first one to say, "Err, that did absolutely nothing for me." It's the start of a solid multi-decade career and friendship, and I much enjoyed examining it.

It's almost here ...

Sword and Sorceress 25 just showed up on Ralan. April. April IS the cruelest month ...

I so desperately want to make it into this anthology. Every year, I submit anywhere from two to four stories before one is shortlisted ... and every year, the story they hold for second consideration is rejected. And it stings like little else.

However, I have few stories that I would really consider sword and sorcery. A Flattering Likeness is my first option, though it pushes their upper word limit - it's written from a male POV, but the female protagonist is a force to be reckoned with. Speechless is another option, though I'm less sure about the merits of the story.

The combination of action, personal stakes and - perhaps most tellingly - the magic being in the hands of the enemy, not the heroes, is just not one I approach very often. Even AFL has magic wielded by the protagonist: he's a painter who uses magical paint to capture the true essence of his subjects (and the female MC saves his butt from an irate monarch).

If we ignore that proviso, I wonder if my time travelers would be considered sword and sorcery? Though sadly, their one adventure has pretty important stakes (they're looking for a cure to a pandemic) ...

Looking back at the Sword & Sorceress anthology I have, I see that not all the stories involve professional warriors, so I have options of my herbalist with ... wait for it ... nanny-magic (although that one has rather large stakes), or my merman / harpy halfbreed story, which is an action story but not a swashbuckler: she gets captured by the managers of a zoo. Does anyone who has read any of the previous anthologies have a feel for whether any of these would be acceptable?

I'm going to try and get my hands on a few more of the anthologies. I've read previous editions, so I'm not coming into it blind ... I just have a tremendous amount of trouble translating the niche of something I've read into the niche of something I've written.

Goodreads Review: Remnant Population

Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read this book years ago (well over a decade) and approached a reread with trepidation: could it possibly live up to my rosy memories of it? (In fact, I even recommended it for a science fiction literature course that I took.) Long story short: it did. Oh, it very much did. I love this book: it's sensual, emotional, humorous and intimate.

Ofelia is a delightful character, an atypical heroine sketched warts and all. Even her initial attitude is surly and even "bratty," it's easy to see where she's coming from ... and the book keeps you interested in her throughout her evolution. She changes and grows throughout, but so much of the story depends on her being herself.

Others have mentioned the old, uneducated narrator. It's not just window-dressing: the plot hinges on her unique perspective, how that causes her to deal with the aliens, and ... well. This IS a spoiler-free review.

Some of the atmospheric descriptions, particularly in the early portions of the book, are fantastic. They're evocative, especially with the senses that other authors neglect. It really puts the reader right inside Ofelia's skin.

I also just adored Ofelia's pragmatism - once she gets over the initial fear of being killed (and even before that), her primary reaction to the aliens is a sense of maternal exasperation. Priceless.

If I have any complaint, it's that I find a few portions of the book move a bit too ponderously, particularly the earliest section when Ofelia is on her own. But rare is the book that can make me tear up in the end, rare is the book that blends character, plot and theme so perfectly ... highly recommended.

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Anatomy of an Idea: Dreamweavers

My approach to poetry is formal: usually I latch onto a clear speculative concept - a burst of images / ideas - that I want to express and find a form that suits it. The pattern of the form creates the result.

In this case, I chose a terzanelle, a nineteen line poem - three line stanzas and a quatrain to finish. The middle line of each stanza repeats as a third line of the next stanza, with the closing quatrain incorporating lines 1 and 3 of the first stanza as well. (For more info, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terzanelle)

Though it works loosely as a non-speculative metaphor for dreaming, Dreamweavers is actually set in a specific world of mine. I wanted to write a novel there, but I always have about a half dozen ideas, and this is one that keeps falling off the list. Anyhow, the basic concept is that the world is slowly dissolving, and that these dreamfolks record the dreams of ordinary people and spin them into new landmasses. Ergo - dreamweavers are the craftspeople, dreamcatchers are the gatherers.

It's Up!

My poem at Every Day Poets is now up:

http://www.everydaypoets.com/dreamweavers-by-lindsey-duncan/

Thursday Thoughts

My output has taken a nosedive again. I've been working on the same flash fiction story since Tuesday. Arrrrr.

But I had some pleasant accomplishments this week: I finished my surrealism / hypnosis / unrequited love story. I finished my current editing pass of Journal of the Dead, as previously mentioned. (Yay!) It's just hard to be optimistic when the past couple days have been a bedraggled mess.

Looking ahead, have to finish this flash and then dive straight into February challenge for FWO. I'm writing another Ishene and Kemel story, my time traveling historian and her bodyguard. And yeah, it is telling how bad I am at titles that my few series are invariably named after the protagonists or the world.

Been playing around with writing another story in the same world as this (http://www.labyrinthinhabitant.com/?p=111), only in a different city. Which kind of implies that each city has its own localized underworld ... I could potentially do a whole series of them with characters ending up on the surface and then coming together, but I doubt I would have the patience. Pity, because it's a cool idea: all those short stories out there, serving as backdrop, and then a novel that starts once they've all joined.

Also, while Timur is all right as a character, I love Civine to pieces. I love a certain kind of precocious child ...

Ostracized

No, that's not a comment on my social life. Although ...

Instead, gladder tidings: my flash fiction story of this title was just sold to Everyday Fiction! Looking forward to it. (Probably will be pretty soon; their publication schedule is fast.)

Love Radials

In looking back at my novel-length fiction, I've noticed a trend that I seem to adopt with romantic subplots. (Sadly, this came about from looking at yet another novel and sighing, "I'd love to rewrite this." Blast my brain.)

I don't usually reach for love triangles, two men and one woman, but rather for a woman and three men ... which basically makes some kind of radial shape. It would be a pyramid if the men were also pursuing each other, I suppose.

Take Journal of the Dead, though there's no doubt even from early on that Rhiane is attached to Astennu, even though there's no possibility of the two ever being together physically (which is another trope I seem unduly fascinated with, the idea of lovers who can't ever consummate the relationship, but remain devoted). But there's a lot of interplay with both Gahir and Razentis, and the two couldn't be more different: the straight-laced, by-the-book guardsman, and the flippant, clever, vaguely irreverent diplomat.

The only thing they have in common is age: they're both significantly older than Rhiane. Now, the only character in Journal who has a specific age is the child, but you get a general feel for ranges from context. The main cue with Razentis is that when he interacts with Parashi (about a decade younger than Rhiane), there's no perceived impropriety due to the size of the age gap.

So I kind of have it in my head that Rhiane is on the cusp of thirty. Gahir is in his mid-forties. Razentis is in his early to mid-fifties.

Back to the love radial, I've been mulling over why the idea has such appeal. A small part of it is probably the rule of three ... that's always resonated really strongly with me, to the point where I've occasionally gotten dinked in short story writing for adhering so closely to it.

More importantly, though, is the dynamic of three versus two. When it's down to two people, there's no escaping that favoring one is slighting the other. It's not just about X, it's about not-Y. Adding a third participant reduces that element.

Even more significant, for me, is that love triangles seem to demand a certain amount of infidelity: you choose one, change your mind ... that's certainly the way far too many Hollywood love triangles play out. And this is just something that bothers / skeeves me. I don't care for emotional infidelity, either. Maybe it's down to philosophy - it almost cries for a thesis / antithesis / synthesis progression.

For me, it becomes less clear-cut with three. It's not an either / or, it's a multitude, infinitely more complex, and thus easier to stay back from the brink of making a promise and then breaking it. I'm not saying that these things can't be done for a triangle, but I'm not sure how successfully I can do them.

I've played the radial multiple different ways: there's no pattern as to who or how the female lead eventually ends up with. The only thing I haven't done is make my MC spoke rather than center ... which has obvious issues in a single POV scenario.

Goodreads Review: Devlin's Luck

Devlin's Luck by Patricia Bray


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Devlin's Luck is a solid, enjoyable fantasy novel - nothing particularly unique, but a good read set in a believable fantasy world. You do see the grit (in the "dirt" sense, not the "modern angst" sense) that would be realistic for the period in a way many other fantasy novels miss.

I understood those people who found the book hard to read. The prose is ponderous and workmanlike - it serves its purpose, but there are few flourishes and the emotional pitch remains fairly steady ... but to me, part of the latter makes sense, because in many ways, Devlin is a very repressed, controlled character. You don't expect him to burst out or break down. I would maybe have liked to see more of a change of tone for the scenes in Stephen's POV.

That brings me to a personal pet peeve: mixed in amongst the invented or more obscure names are names that are instantly recognizable either a) as contemporary Earth names or b) blatant mythology reference. This kind of thing drives me nuts.

I found the book entertaining - you know in advance that Devlin is going to resign himself to life and his position, but the progression is still well-done. Also of note is Stephen's journey from wide-eyed minstrel and general annoyance to maturing (if not quite "mature" yet), level-headed friend. (If other characters aren't as well-sketched, it's forgiveable in this kind of a book. To all appearances, it's heading towards a "war story" in sequels, more of an action feel.)

However, while the pacing of Devlin's evolution seems about right, to me it felt as if there was a huge jump in it. His gradual growth from deathseeker to solo hero is well-done; his somewhat more accelerated growth from reluctant commander to true leader is similarly well-executed ... but that step between, from hero to commander, gets summarized in maybe eight pages.

Overall, though, the book kept me coming back for more, and I will pick up the sequel if I get a chance.

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Lining Up For The Next Lap ...

Journal of the Dead first draft: 114,181 words
Journal of the Dead second draft: 111,992 words
Journal of the Dead third draft: 110,394 words

I just hit that fantastic final sentence again. Now it's time to let the whole thing set again, with the plan to look at it seriously for what I hope will be the final pass. I'm tentatively planning to start that on March 15th. Oh, yeah, that's ominous.

Going to take a little break before I think about having other eyes look at it, but that's probably on the horizon. Maybe. The sample chapter section for certain. I haven't had a beta reader since I was thirteen (or so), in case people are wondering why I'm so skittish about the idea.

Happy Award

(Okay, there is supposed to be an image, but I tried it six ways and it is making me UNhappy, so ... https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_fbONbWQnffDhI59-whOqk7pwTTZS1G8Xy4wnswYCHnZzyiuL8lslzZTqExreyc2xMH5nYjdbao6-j12pb3ss4AcNcVY14zo47KktjQlSewCz9YodQzHYVFAdNbTUaoi56j_og/s1600-h/Happy_Award.jpg)

I hope I managed to get the image in here ...

Aubrie Dionne sent me a Happy Award! ... which means I have to list ten things that make me happy. Curse you, Aubrie!

A lot of silly stuff, in absolutely no order:

1. The Puppy -- I have an adorable little ball of fluff with a penchant for lap-curling who never ceases to make me feel better.
2. Friends, Family ... and people who put up with me in general. Because wow, I can rant, and I'm always shocked when someone is crazy enough to listen. ;-)
3. Harp -- Even when some parts of the business make me want to bash my head in, I can always reach the place where I just cut loose and play.
4. Writing -- When it's flowing and feeling just right, or when I look back and am quite honestly stunned by how good it is. (Sadly, this has been all too rare an occasion these days.)
5. Good Food -- Oh, how I wish this weren't on this list, but there's nothing like a good meal (whether it be a dessert or just a bowl of soup) to boost the mood.
6. "Junk" Music -- For a Celtic musician, I listen to an awful lot of stuff I never play ... I've got mad love for artists like Kirsty MacColl and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
7. Sleeping In ... because!
8. Publications -- Is it terribly to be chipper because I've got a rash of stories coming out in March?
9. Bath and Bodyworks -- This is my guilty induglence.
10. Artwork and Knickknacks -- I love glasswork, fantasy figurines, cool images ... it's been a real effort not introducing mad clutter into my music studio, which is supposed to be a business space.

If anyone is following me and hasn't done this, please pick it up. ;-)

Thursday Thoughts

I may finish the current editing pass on Journal of the Dead today.

Yes. Today. It depends on whether I'm called into the other office (which would mean as many as six hours of bench work) or not, but if I have uninterrupted time, I may just get there.

It's a little mindboggling, even though the accomplishment isn't quite as major as the first edit - most of the changes this time were line tweaks and clarity on a micro level. (That is, I know what that sentence means, but it's not clear to anyone outside of my head ... or it's just overly formal and clumsy.)

But these last pages (seven in the manuscript, but I write in infinitesimal font) have a lot of sticky things I have to pay a lot of attention to. Make sure the climactic scene is crystal-clear; then there are three or four separate denouements that fall out from that as various aspects of the plot resolve. I have to make sure it plays out smoothly rather than feeling like I'm tacking scenes onto what would otherwise be a natural stopping point.

Either way, I'll probably finish before the weekend is over. Wish me luck.

Sleepwalking now available!

Want a great read? My story, Sleepwalking, is now up in the Winter issue of Alternative Coordinates! There's a sample available:

http://ac-mag.com/story.php?issue_id=6&story_id=31

The Sintellyn Medallion update

It's now been close to three days that The Sintellyn Medallion has been in the forefront of my brainpan, stewing, turning, as I try to decide if there are enough patches outside of the realm of common tropes that it's worth rewriting.

The character interplay and central emotional conflicts, I adore. One of my favorite facets is the fact that a significant aspect of the threat to Tieruko is psychological ... to deal with his antagonist, he also has to deal with a terror that was instilled from childhood, and that's almost more important than being able to face her on a level of raw strength.

As far as romantic subplots, it's a downbeat book. The only one that turns out happy is more of a friendship-with-hints-of-more that occurs between the ex-assassin and the very alien non-human being mentioned in the previous post, and that's just a weird interaction. There is one, "Yes, I love you, but my devotion to the goddess comes first," and two unrequited loves. Just to twist the knife in further, one of those gets to marry the source of her infatuation, but it's only to save her life: he's very honest that he can't love her.

The main thing that bothers me is I've used death / black magic as my backstory antagonist ... even though later antagonists are in more unusual areas. Unfortunately, this just can't be changed because Shaiyan's whole story pivots around it. Worse, I hate the idea of undead, zombies, etc. They make me roll my eyes.

One of the ways I've thought of combatting this is adding a black magic user (heh) as a protagonist - as Mikane's "inside man" in the mage council. It's easy to justify him as still an apprentice: I'd already established that if a mage dies without a successor, the two nearest aspects train one until they're satisfied, and well, no one's quite willing to trust black yet ... he's already got a name, even, bizarrely - Nacaer.

And to deal with the potential of having zombies? Make reanimation really difficult / power-consuming. Limit it to psychological warfare - the only real advantage to doing it over just creating / recruiting something else is to freak the heck out of an opponent who sees their loved one coming towards them on the field. This fits with Shaiyan's backstory: she was a person of importance, so having her "on display" is just kind of a cruel coup.

But good grief! Why am I thinking about this when I have two novels in process and I know just how far I am from completing the draft? Why am I thinking about this when I have at least four other ideas, three of which would be easier to sell? My brain is a mystery, and I never know if I should give it free rein or discipline it.

And btw, people: you REIN IN tendencies. You do not REIGN IN unless you live there. (No one in particular, just a pet peeve.)

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I'm a big Pratchett fan - in fact, flying with one of his books in hand has become a travel tradition (in an airplane, of course). Since hearing about his declining health, I've been saving them up ... but my copy of Going Postal being hardcover and too unwieldy to carry on, I finally picked it up and was very happy I did.

I can see why some people didn't like this book: especially early on, the absurdity and literal stretching of human foibles makes it difficult to suspend disbelief ... to the point where one is occasionally suspended above the story, not really able to connect or care about it.

Which is a shame, because Moist builds into a very complex, nuanced character, someone you want to empathize with. His growth and change - and sometimes, non-change - through the story is very well-done. And while some of the secondary characters are basically extended absurdist gags, others are fully fleshed and engaging in their own right. I particularly enjoyed the incorporation of golems here.

One of the things I've always loved about Pratchett is how he incorporates modern institutions and paradigms by applying a special brand of logic to a traditional (... sort of!) fantasy setting. Going Postal is particularly rife with examples of this.

I found the solution to the book's central problem got unnecessarily twisted / contradictory / muddy at the end, but getting there was a blast, and darned if a few things near the end didn't make me tear up. Highly recommended.

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Thursday Thoughts

Working on another short story, this from one from a first person male POV. This is unusual for me - I usually write from a female POV, and it's typically third person when I do a male character. However, I've noticed a disturbing trend to when I do choose a male POV: the story always seems to have a mysterious and powerful woman as a key element. They aren't necessarily the center, but they're always there. This strikes me as ... cheating, somehow.

This brought me around to the thought of rewriting The Sintellyn Medallion, which of my old novels is probably the one that had the strongest male POV character. There were two female characters to counterbalance that, but they had lesser weight, so the scenes typically went: Tieruko, Shaiyan, Tieruko, Mikane, Tieruko, Shaiyan ... etc.

My concern with the novel is in how many of its elements are cliche, including the titular McGuffin (which is a power focus - no specific abilities, but amplifies anyone who uses it), the fact that I used black (the magic is color-aspected) and death magic as the backstory villain, and a lost heir subplot.

But it's counterbalanced by aspects I simply loved: the novel is set several years after the black-aspected villain attempted to take over the world, the MC has already been the hero (a child hero, at that), and, psychologically scarred by the whole thing, is just trying to live his life in the aftermath. A race that would be viewed as "evil" by the average person is delved into in depth, and I had a lot of fun exploring a very alien, amoral perspective ... while making the character in question a sympathetic ally.

It also reverses aforesaid bad habit of mine: when Mikane meets Tieruko for the first time, she pretty much falls head over heels for him (a sentiment he never returns).

So this goes into my file of projects to consider after I finish Scylla and Charybdis. Which I am still about 30k (estimated) from doing ... and I would like to have Journal of the Dead finalized first, too. Could my brain please stop spooling off ideas while I'm working on the ones I have?

(Good Reads) Virtual Evil: Time Rovers #2

Virtual Evil: Time Rovers by Jana G. Oliver


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
While I thought Virtual Evil didn't quite live up to Sojourn, and while I found that it began rather slowly - it felt like a mid-book lull, paving the way before things explode - it slowly got its hooks into me and then got thoroughly under my skin. A tense, entertaining, enjoyable read.

In a lot of ways, I felt Virtual Evil was too obviously a Book #2. It picked up from the events of Sojourn with the sense that the reader should remember everything that happened in the first book. While I don't think everything needs to be recapped, I would preferred a few more refreshers. As aforementioned, it "hung" off the previous plot-points for a while without much forward motion.

Not related to sequel-ness, I also found some irritating technical issues: blatant info-dumpery and mid-scene head-hopping ... which is really a shame, because it undermined one of the best things about the book a little (see below). Until about two-thirds of the way through the book, the time travel element seemed largely incidental, though there were a few little references to it that were fantastic.

That is to say: one of Oliver's special virtues as a writer seems to be the ability to provide the reader with more information than any single character has, while effortlessly allowing you to keep track of who knows - or doesn't know - what, when ... and creating multiple layers of tension from wondering what's going to happen when X, Y or Z finds out about A, B, or C.

The Victorian period here is well-detailed and vivid, with an enjoyable interpolation of early forensics; the characters are intriguing ... the plot a labyrinth with cascading consequences that still continuously lead towards some logical (albiet, at the end of Virtual Evil, still somewhat veiled) conclusion.

As to those that mentioned the cliff-hanger: Y-E-S. I usually don't read a sequel right away, but I may actually break my habit here ... augh!

View all my reviews >>

Thursday Thoughts

When it comes to issues with clients at work, it is not always my fault, so I need to stop feeling guilty, even when I'm the one getting yelled at.

On to writing stuff ...

Journal of the Dead: 3/4ths of the way through and making slow headway. There are some odd pacing things in this manuscript that disturb me - the story pacing is fine, but occasionally, there are several really short scenes in a row, usually because of travel / preparation time during which most of the entries would logically be brief updates. I think it's a weakness of the format, and I think the overall impact is minor enough that it's not a concern.

Almost finished with the free-write I've been expanding into a full story. This one, I'm concerned that I made it unnecessarily complicated. Did I need to make the main character sunsick? It adds to the stakes and gets the MC into a better position for the finale, but it also adds another character (a healer) and just generally makes the thing longer. Hopefully, if I can finish it and put it away for a while, I'll be to give it an honest eye and decide.

Scylla and Charybdis - about the same point as last week. Had a brainstorm about what to do with secondary character Upala, whose long intro chapter I had been thinking was unnecessary fluff. Now I've found how I'm going to tie it together. Really, I need to stop questioning my brain and let it do its own thing. Nine times out of ten, the problem solves itself. It's really weird having this sensation of an interior collaborator who rarely communicates with me, but always knows what she wants.

Cosmic Cocktails

(My first Goodreads review, given 3 out of 5 stars)

Until I finished the last word of the introduction, I expected Cosmic Cocktails to have a more lighthearted, humorous, adventurous vein - a step away from space opera. For that reason, I was surprised when it started with a gritty, cynical tone ... darkly humorous, true, but the bar was not the friendly place I expected. The first story that really broke this mold was Favio deMarco, a little over a third of the way through.

Overall, I enjoyed this collection .. especially later on, it had a lot of heart and a lot of laughs, though there were several examples of lopsided pacing and somewhat confusing explanations.

A weakness in the anthology is that doesn't really seem to be in an ideal order. The first story is weak and sets a deceptive tone. The first several stories are all in first person. As previously mentioned, there's a lot of adventure and buoyancy that gets delayed until much later in the book. That said, "The Galaxy's Most Wanted" is a perfect closer.

A strength of the anthology is, with a few exceptions, every story felt as if it could have occurred in the same universe. Even if little details clashed, the stories seemed to create a cohesive big picture. (The stories that didn't still "felt right," they just had major setting details that contradicted the others.)

My personal favorites: On Unconfined Wings, I'm Not Ashamed and A Union Against All Odds.

Thursday Thoughts

Journal of the Dead current editing pass progress: over two thirds of the way through the manuscript (currently sitting open on page 82 / 121 waiting for my life to calm down enough to look it over). Working on the "scene of doom" and finding that it really doesn't read as being as long as it is ... thank goodness?

Had occasion to be surprised yesterday: arrived at a free write in a foul mood because I had an endless day, then lost power for just long enough to get cold, then couldn't get my internet back up and flurried in ten minutes late. Then I sat there and couldn't decide on how to interpret a theme ... which I myself had chosen.

With all that, you would think the resulting fragment would be complete garbage, but I actually came away with a very solid opening for a story. I'm satisfied and appreciative. Maybe my brain likes the pressure and just won't admit it ...

I've hit the point in Scylla and Charybdis where things start accelerating again. This subplot barrels straight forward into the full circle return to the station ... should be interesting. It occurs to me, though, if I'm trying to present an even-handed depiction of parallel societies, that one of the things I'm going to have to do is look at the length of each individual section and pare or expand as needed. Not that the word counts need to match exactly or that size (length) is all that matters, but a massive disparity is going to diminish the effect I'm going for.

Two Stories

As sort of a counter-thought, I thought I'd mention these two stories:

After the comments on the last post, I was reminded to catch up on Beneath Ceaseless Skies. It was sort of late, so I only had a chance to read one story: A Serpent in the Gears, from the latest issue.

This is an excellent story, balancing an inward journey with outward adventure. The setting is intriguing with lots of (good) decorative flourish - even though I confess myself to not being all that thrilled with steampunk (it doesn't really push my buttons), it's a stylish take on it.

The second story is from the Cosmic Cocktails anthology I'm reading. It's entitled I'm Not Ashamed, by Greg Beatty, and while it isn't even my favorite story so far, it's a good example of a ruminating, slice of life, low-to-no plot story that I DID enjoy. (Don't read the following paragraph if you want to come onto this story with an unvarnished eye.)

The basic premise of this story is that aliens have taken over the planet and made humans their servitors. They derive a nasty amount of pleasure making them grovel / perform / make fools of themselves. A lot of the story is devoted to the illustration of this setting. Our narrator plays along with this one evening, telling childhood stories for the amusement of a pair of aliens until things get out of control, and he stumbles out in terrible shape. Then the reader finds out what's being implied before: parts of the farce were created to gather little nuggets of information against the aliens, in the hope of some day telling the right people, some day breaking free.

To conclude this summary: it worked for me.

Carry on.

Style

I've been reading some recent fiction online, which is never a good thing for my state of mind.

Reading descriptions, I noticed a general predominance of contemporary fiction ... sometimes to the point where it was hard for me to even find a secondary world story to read. (Which I look for because it's more comparable to what I write, so gives me a better pulse on the market as I stand in relationship to it.) I don't understand the heavy skew. I enjoy both, but why is exploring the human state with cornflakes and corporate politics any more valid than exploring it through what happens (for instance) when a race of beings communicate telepathically?

The stories I read also had the characteristic that the story was diminished in favor of philosophical thought, extended metaphors and pure imagery. In one case, I simply found that the effect could have been much stronger if the story was shorter and more tightly focused on the core concepts. In another case, I found the lack of concrete details made the story something like an ice-sculpture: beautiful, but I didn't want to get too close to it.

Also ... what is the fascination with present tense? I realize that part of my reaction to it is personal: I spent a lot of time in online roleplaying games, where present tense is used pretty exclusively, so when I read present, my brain automatically goes "RPG session." But I generally find it has a distancing effect. I think if you're going to use it, it has to have purpose - for instance, the story needs to be told by the narrator AS it's happening. Or the narrator is an alien / child / otherwise has an unusual voice. Please don't just throw it on because it is trendy and cool. :-( I've only read a handful of stories where I felt the present tense added to a story, rather than detracted from it.

I see the craft in these stories, and I admire many of the turns of phrase. Believe me, I wish I could read one of these and go, "Wow, I want to write something just like this!" I suspect it would make my life easier. ;-)

But it scares me ... because I can't write like this. Because I pour my love into unfamiliar worlds, well-drawn characters and strong, driving plots (at least, I hope they are) created by the clash of the first two elements. Because I need momentum, I need an arc, to enjoy what I'm writing. I can't write stories that are events built around a musing.

If the things I keep reading are what fiction has become, then really, I'm a dinosaur. I just have to hope that I can sell to the novel market (where things tend to be more my speed) without major pro sales and then make my way into anthologies (also where things tend to be more my speed) by dint of that.

Quotes

I was paging through old quotes I had in my files to add to GoodReads and found these I particularly liked:

Those who hear not the music think the dancers mad. ~Anon
Life is like music: it must be composed by ear, feeling, and instinct, not by rule. ~Samuel Butler

Goodreads

I just got myself set up on Goodreads.com ... I found the site through someone's blog, and it kind of intrigued me. I figured, since I often do reviews on the books I'm reading anyway ... why not?

Of course, my first pick is an anthology, which makes for a difficult review ... but amusing to me, for an obscure anthology randomly picked off my shelf, someone else has it on their currently-reading. Huh.

I also went through and added all the books I'm in (that are available on their system). I was nearly sick with relief not to find any negative reviews. Yes, I am that dorky.

Dreamweavers

My poem with Every Day Poets has been assigned a release date: February 21. Believe me, I'll post a direct link when it's up. ;-)

Thursday Thoughts

Edit edit edit.

That's been my past week or so: lots of cleanup on the four pieces I finished recently and the short story I just sent out (see last week), with more planned.

Once the results for the F-W December challenge come out and I see how terribly I did, I'm going to tear back into my entry and edit heavily. Goals: punch up the humor (primary) so it sings instead of is squashed like a bug by me trying desperately NOT to be funny, and lay in a bit more foreshadowing as to the main character's change of heart.

I've found it bemusing how many people had a problem with the downer ending in this story. The vibe is a light, Hollywood romantic comedy (as one reviewer said), and I wanted to stand that on its head, but people really seemed to want Good Things (tm) for the MC and her fairy cohort. I do think playing up the humor so it's actively funny will make that pill easier to swallow, but I was surprised by the reactions.

Generally, I'm not an unhappy ending kind of girl. I tend to write longer stories, and I feel that all the blood, sweat and tears my characters expend ... they deserve the happy ending. It's often a bittersweet conclusion or a "Yes, but ..." conclusion, but I hate to go through a bunch of angst just to end on failure.

Interestingly enough, the short story I'm currently working on (my Jan challenge entry) also has an unhappy ending. I think I came to the realization it had to go that way as I was contemplating the main character's arc ... if you don't step up, if you take the easy way out, there are consequences. So yes, it was very necessary here.

I've done it a few times before, but most of the time, it's a surprise or an inversion ... the story seems to be moving along well, and then things go very bad. I guess there's just a limit to how much darkness I like as a writer ... but by contrast, Polestar - which starts bad and gets worse, leaving the MC on the wrong side of a no-win situation - is one of my favorite pieces. That one would be in circulation already, but I'm trying to sell its prequel first ...

Farewell to Flesh

This story just sold to the next edition of Emerald Tales! It was written specifically for the Carnivale theme, and an offbeat interpretation of said theme, so I'm doubly pleased ... I was a bit concerned that I would be told I was reaching. But it was one of those weird quasi-dream inspiration things ... I had probably my worst bout of insomnia in 2-3 years, and the idea fully formed in my head while I was trying to knock myself back out.

Thursday Thoughts

First post of 2010.

Didn't mean to be so quiet, but been kind of absorbed ... getting back into the work routine, had a New Year's Day wedding and a late-night gig the following evening. Wearing many hats. Looking forward to the resumption of my TV shows because there's nothing like mindless zoning out to help recharge the batteries.

Finished "Miles Errant" - an omnibus from Lois McMaster Bujold. Just fantastic. Now to get my hands on the next book ... it lies lonely and solo between this omnibus and the next.

Writing-wise, I spent most of this week working on what turned out to be a very long story - about 10k. I have the nagging feeling way too much of it is pure setup, though it's necessary to the course of events. I also realized that there are some things I'm just not comfortable writing ... I could feel myself twitching and turning my phrases to be as oblique as possible. I ended up setting the story in a world I'd used before - not a world I'd designed, but one that came up in writing the first story and seemed to fit this one pretty well.

Typed "Chapter Thirty" last night in Scylla and Charybdis. Anaea just got pinned as an imposter ... the story should take a wild leap forward from here.

Planning to edit my "worst day of work" short story for an anthology entitled "Music For Another World." Throw together a wedding that was a nightmare to prepare for and play with the idea of ghost brides and ... well, let's hope they'll buy it so people get to see. ;-)

Thursday Thoughts

Wow, this is (probably) my last post for 2009.

Writing-wise, it's been a good year. In some respects, I'm still treading water - though I'm proud of the sale to GUD and the fact that I'm getting more of my poetry out there - but where I've made progress is I think I've developed a better eye for self-editing. Several of the last few stories I submitted, I made significant changes before shipping them out, whereas previously, I basically did line-edits. (Or maybe they're just inferior stories, but I prefer to think it's a more keenly developed eye.) I've had a perfect record with having rewrite requests accepted in the past six months - every time I've tweaked, the market has accepted it.

I also learned I'm good at proofing and technical edits (grammar, punctuation, etc) for other folks ... and that I like doing it. A lot. The neurotic, picky part of my brain perks up and warbles an operetta. My first project was a highly technical non-fiction work in regards to businesses and healthcare. Approaching these fine details while making sure I understood the context they were in was challenging.

Other milestones ... Flow has received more requests for partials than any other manuscript I've submitted (though no further bites yet). I'm unsure as to whether this is because it's a better query than my previous attempts, or because urban fantasy is "in" and so agents tend to look at more of those proposals ... or both.

I received an "almost" for a story from a pro-level market. Frustrating as anything, but still a good page for my mental book.

I've come into reluctant touch with my experimental side. I'm not "literary" by nature, but after stories like Inside the Box (about what happens to Hope when Pandora fails to release her), Light Off Snow (a Vantage-Point-style story wherein the plot advances by showing the same scene from different perspectives), and the free-write I just finished (the all-dialogue piece), it's hard to deny that I enjoy doing whacky, off-the-wall stuff every now and again. But I don't force it ... it just happens.

And, of course, always reaching for new things - primarily the science fiction novel, which has been an amazing learning experience for me, and sometimes an example of, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." And I have a cyberpunk freewrite begging to be finished at some point ...

No goals - the only things I really want for 2010, I can't control directly. (That would be "a novel contract," yes.) But looking ahead eagerly. Maybe this is the year.

The charm?

Make that three stories in a row that are highly experimental with a short expected length. What was going through my head this last spring? Though this last one has to be blamed on the prompt, as it was to write a piece in "fourth person" ... I'm not even sure what I've got is a fantasy story, more like an anthropomorphic allegory.

Thursday Thoughts

Happy Christmas Eve!

Journal of the Dead - halfway mark. Oddly, both Journal and Scylla and Charybdis are in similar spots. The main character is dealing with the mundane politics of a society with complex superficial rules. In Journal, this is the center of the character's new world; in Scylla, it's just one stop along the way for Anaea. My love for fantastic intrigue and politicking definitely shows through in both, though.

Been working on turning my old free-writes into completed stories. Oddly, the first two I encountered were both pieces of what I knew would be fairly short works and experimental.

In the first, the narrator tells the story of what happened when she babysat for four young dragons ... backwards mostly, but also sideways, in the manner of someone who keeps forgetting she's left out chunks of the tale and scrambles to fill in the missing pieces.

In the second, the entire piece is written as non-quoted dialogue between two minds trapped in the same body. All description and action is implied or indicated in the conversation. I was worried about this being none too comprehensible, but everyone who read the original piece (about 600 words, I think) thought it was very easy to follow the two voices, so I'm going to go for finishing it in the same vein.

Once I'm done with the second story, it will have taken me through March - the next free write is dated to April.

Sleepwalking

This story has just sold to Alternative Coordinates (http://www.ac-mag.com/)! It's a fairly short adventure piece with a child protagonist and a city that never sleeps ...

Arcane Whispers Vol 2

Arcane Whispers, Vol 2, is now available from Wolfsinger Publications! It contains two stories of mine, both reprints from 2008 - Soul Siblings, a sword-and-sorcery style fantasy, and Apartment Tour, an urban / contemporary flash fiction.

Thursday Thoughts

Progress continues apace - finally slipped back into the warm embrace of Scylla and Charybdis. I've only written about a third of a chapter, but it's good to be back. I'm concerned this section is moving too slowly; I still haven't gotten to the crux of the matter. But the dangerous delicacy segment will be on this current page, and then quite soon after that, the hammer comes down on my poor main character ...

Otherwise, been working on my short stories. Have two of them, finished right in a row, that are way shorter than my usual wont - one is about 2500 words, the other about 3200 (I think - I'm away from my home computer right now).

Trying to decide where to go next: if I focus on editing until, well, January (when another challenge story comes up) or if I want to go to my backlog of unfinished hour writes and finish some of those up. I'd guess I have at least ten ... sheesh.

Every Genre

When you think about it, don't most books contain an element of every genre?

Romance - not universal, but many novels have romantic subplots or flickers of chemistry.
Mystery - it's hard to think of a book that doesn't have a hidden element of some kind that the reader might try to puzzle out in advance ... even if it's a fairly straightforward work and it's just a question of, "What next?" Fantasy settings have the puzzle of the world.
Science fiction / fantasy - let's face it, even the most mundane book isn't quite like the world as we know it, if only because it's framed and "tidied up" for readers.

I could go on: every book is a suspense; many books include some element of horror, at least in attempting to get the reader to fear for the main character; action is a popular component in other genre works.

Doesn't it come down to which element you choose to make the star?

Random theorizing over. Carry on.

Thursday Thoughts

Now about a third of the way through Journal of the Dead ... I'm surprised (and worried) that Oliun hasn't even appeared yet, considering his attack on Rhiane pretty much fuels the rest of the plot and its resolution. I don't think it's far away, though ... but as I've been editing, I keep being aware of the weight and flow of events, which often differs from the way I picture the timeline in my head. A third of the way and no Razentis, no Atsihl ... and these are characters I think of as central to the book.

Haven't touched Scylla and Charybdis since I last wrote. Been busy working on a pair of short stories, both of which are much shorter than my usual fare. The second one, I'm not too pleased with. The assignment was to take a comic subject and write it seriously, and in doing so, I think I made it somewhere between banal and deadpan. The latter I'll take; the former, not so much. Probably I will post it anyway (it's an F-W.org challenge), but ask if, for the purposes of it as a story, I should plug the humor back in. I so wanted to go there several times.

Balance of Power

This story has sold (sold!) to MindFlights, which used to be The Sword Review and purchased two of my prior stories. Publication date to be announced.

(If anyone's wondering about how I order my future publications, it's roughly chronological, with a vague estimate for anything that's TBA.)

And I just realized that my last three blog posts have been about sales. That's pretty nifty.

Dreamweavers

My terzanelle, Dreamweavers, will be appearing in Every Day Poets at a time to be determined. Haha, I inflict more scary form poetry on the world ... ahem.

Four Tests

This flash fiction story will be appearing in Moon Drenched Fables (http://www.capriciousquills.com/moondrenchedfables/) in March of 2010! I will let it speak for itself when it comes out. ;-)

Thursday Thoughts

I changed the length of my writing cycle again - we'll see what happens. Trying to do two pages at once, enough to get into the story, but not so much that if I get snowed in with real life that I am hopelessly stalled.

I've reached about the quarter mark with editing on Journal of the Dead. I somehow manage to be surprised by the scene in the river every time I read it. It's very tense and (if I do say so myself) quite well-written ... it's one of the few real action scenes in the book, and I love it. It's also a sneaky setup for Parik's story much later on, which I swear I didn't know at the time I originally wrote this scene. (Journal was originally a Nano novel - ironically, the first year (my third attempt) that I failed to hit the word count - so it wasn't heavily planned out and I didn't do a lot of groundwork while I was writing.)

I'm really glad I saved the original draft separately and am going to keep doing it as I pass through the book. I've found some unusual typos that I couldn't decipher from context, so back to the original manuscript. Grant I could look at the printed copy, but being able to compare the two could be useful.

Scylla and Charybdis, I'm approaching a scene I've been looking forward to, involving the consumption of a very dangerous local delicacy ... just crossed the 100k mark. I know, I should be wrapping it up now. It's going to be what it's going to be.

Thursday Thoughts

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Here's what I'm thankful for: four days with almost no work to do - and the stuff I do have is minimal or enjoyable. Seven movies loaded up to veg out in front of with my family. Food. Sage stuffing. (Yes, the sage stuffing deserves its own billing.)

To get on the usual TT topic, I'm also thankful that I finally hit upon a plotline for the next arc in Scylla and Charybdis. I'm a little concerned that I only found this nine thousand words in, but cutting is what editing is for - and I think the previous words give a very good flavor of matriarch society and what to expect, so they may be quite relevant. The big issue I'm struggling with is in-story timing. My characters are in situations where I'd like to jump to later in the day, but nothing that would happen in the intervening time is summarizable because it's all brand new to them ...

My other fictional attention has gone to editing. I'm working on an old story which I'm sorry to say is a clunky mess. The plot is (if I do say so my very biased self) awesome, but some of the writing is baroque and confusing. I wrote like this? Wow. It's a little stunning. I continue to chisel away at it.

Thursday Thoughts

Life-induced near-standstill.

The current scene of Scylla and Charybdis really has a fantasy court scene feeling, but it's unmistakably science-fiction. A nice blend. Not necessarily what I meant to do when I set out with the whole novel, but a pleasing result.

My hour-write yesterday surprised me and came out scifi, so I'll have at least one more story in that vein ... once I finish it.

Ill Met In Lankhmar

I just finished Ill Met In Lankhmar, a compilation of Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories - roughly the first half chronologically in-setting, I believe. It was certainly an entertaining ride.

The stories have an in-depth, leisurely descriptive style that lapses only during moments of high action - and sometimes not even then. It's a pleasure to read, though in some stories, it results in much of the story feeling like (very enjoyable) set-up with the resolution squeezed in the last couple pages.

An oddity of when they were written is the attitude towards female characters. It's not necessarily wholly negative, but it certainly comes off dated and a little limited - even when the female characters are strong in their own right.

There's a fair amount of headhopping, which is very nicely done because it moves smoothly back and forth between the two characters. That's definitely something you'd have most editors of action-style fantasy looking at you askance for nowadays, though.

There's an extent to which the characters are unsympathetic. I noticed this mostly in the earlier stories, the origins. Fafhrd in particular ranges between being a cad and an idiot and right back again in his first (chronological) story. Abandoning your pregnant girlfriend to chase after an actress ... and then sticking with said actress after she double-crosses you multiple times? Well, then. ;-)

The humor displays itself more in an attitude, most of the time, than in outright "funny bits." There's an underlying sense of the tongue in cheek, but best of all, it's a realistic tongue in cheek - it's laughing at recognizable human foibles (how they might appear in a fantastic setting, anyhow). So it never distances the reader from the story.

In any case, I have no grand conclusion, except I had a lot of fun reading this.

Done!

Finally ... finished ... Shadow Play.

A shade over 17,000 words.

Gasp gasp pant pant.

Even assuming it edits down 2-3k, that's still definitely a hardcore novella.

Surrender

Final mix CD for my driving: songs about letting go, diving in, being overwhelmed ... sort of like I'm doing with this blog and my music, but it only happens at infrequent intervals.

1. Surrender -- Gloria Estefan
Comments: Title track. Vintage Miami Sound Machine. I have great fondness in my heart for the earlier music; it's not as polished, but in some ways it's more fun.
2. 8th World Wonder -- Kimberley Locke
3. Titanic Days -- Kirsty MacColl
4. I Believe -- Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Comments: This song contains what I think is one of the single best lines in any love-song: "(I feel) as if my luck and hope had found each other."
5. It Happens All The Time -- Anne Murray
6. I Surrender -- Celine Dion
7. Dear Life -- Chantal Kreviazuk
8. Say You'll Be Mine -- Amy Grant
9. It's All Coming Back To Me Now -- Celine Dion
10. Love Changes Everything -- Sarah Brightman
Comments: This is an awesome arrangement of this song - it starts sparse and builds perfectly. It's definitely a belt-out-in-the-car arrangement.
11. Truthfully -- Lisa Loeb
12. Learning To Fall -- Martina McBride
13. I Want You -- Alana Davis
14. Free Me -- Emma Bunton
15. A Little Push -- Gloria Estefan
16. Emotion -- Helen Reddy
17. As Long As You're Mine -- Wicked soundtrack
18. I Was Made For Lovin' You -- Paulina Rubio
19. How Can We See That Far -- Amy Grant
Comments: A pensive sort of finale about the impossibility of predicting the future and somehow making good out of whatever comes. After you've surrendered, where do you go from there?

Thursday Thoughts

I set my goal for last week to finish Shadow Play. I haven't, but the day is young, and I don't have to leave the house for the rest of it (except perhaps to walk the dog). This has been because of positive developments that have eaten up my time and my decision to continue my round-table work on other projects, neither of which I would change - so it's all good.

I'm beginning to think the longer chunks system isn't working out for Scylla and Charybdis. I'm finding that I'm rushing to finish chapters. I can't do it by scene, because these vary: sometimes there's 2-3 scenes in a chapter, and other times, except for the chapter-break, a single scene continues for multiple chapters. This is because I've sometimes chosen to use summary / transition paragraphs rather than a simple break. (I may give this a second look in editing, but my gut instinct is that it isn't a problem.) Two pages, maybe? That's about 1500 words.

Or, again, it may simply be that I've had a heavy-crunch week, so I have less time to write and my project cycles are too long again.

I simply love the first part of the journal in Journal of the Dead. The back-to-life experience is beautifully described. It's a nice "bang" opening to the section. I'm concerned because Rhiane recaps some things the reader already knows, but the repeats are brief, and I think it's good to have it in her own words, as it were.

Guilty Pleasures

Music list the fifth: songs that I'm a little embarrassed to admit I listen to, whether because they're brainless, silly, in questionable taste, bizarre or some other reason to hang one's head ... and still groove to it.

1. The Little Voice -- Sahlene
Comments: Smutty, with a helping of shameless "na-na-na"s to top it off.
2. Get With You -- Dian Diaz
Comments: Brainless; there's really nothing to the words, but the beat is infectious.
3. It's Raining Men -- Geri Halliwell
Comments: Seriously, do I need to say anything here?
4. Can't Stop Killing You -- Kirsty MacColl
Comments: Epic levels of warped.
5. Mucho Money -- Gloria Estefan
Comments: Any song where the underlying theme is, "True love? Romantic gifts? Heck with that, give me money," deserves to be on this list. It's also got that distinctly eighties sort of beat to it.
6. Turn My Motor On -- Kirsty MacColl
Comments: This song is just cheesy, which is enhanced by the 60s girl-group orchestration. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it does enhance the cheddar.) All that aside, it would be on this list on the strength of this zinger alone: "Who wants your brain, your body's too much fun."
7. Once In A Lifetime -- Sarah Brightman
Comments: Those of you who know Brightman's pop songs will be familiar with their typical character - the soft, lyrical music sung with an angelic soprano. Now put this song in that setting ... the first time I actually stopped and parsed the words, my jaw dropped. I call it "The S&M song." Look them up if you don't believe me.
8. Naked -- Celine Dion
Comments: Title says it. Moving on.
9. Tic Toc -- LeAnn Rimes
Comments: Smutty.
10. X-Girlfriend -- Mariah Carey
Comments: Brainless - and it's Mariah Carey, for goodness' sakes. But it's catchy.
11. Sex In The 90s -- Gloria Estefan
Comments: I used to be sort of shy about listening to this song. Now I find it rather tame (and very funny), but it stays on the list for nostalgia's sake. It also amuses me to no end that this song is now about the past.
12. Lay Your Love On Me -- Emma Bunton
Comments: Smutty AND an ex-Spice Girl.
13. Here Comes That Man Again -- Kirsty MacColl
Comments: A very tongue-in-cheek song about cybersex, webcams, Monica Lewinsky (I think) and the EU. I couldn't make this up.
14. One By One -- Enya
Comments: I love this song - I think it's better than "Only Time," which was the runaway hit from this particular album - but really. It makes no sense. At all.
15. Fire -- Paulina Rubio
Comments: Mildly smutty and very predictable, but good for the Latin beat.
16. Darling, Let's Have Another Baby -- Kirsty MacColl
Comments: Hilariously dumb. Come on, isn't, "Darling, if you ever leave me, I'll cry a million tears. I'll go to the nearest boozer and drink ten pints of beer," the sweetest declaration of love you ever heard?
17. Strut -- Sheena Easton
Comments: On the face of it, a very suggestive song, but it's also fairly empowering in its own way - and hard to resist the rhythm (or the urge to belt out the chorus).
18. Love Toy -- Gloria Estefan
Comments: Completely mindless and silly. With vintage Miami Sound Machine accompaniment.
19. I'll Be Right Here -- Paulina Rubio
Comments: As for Fire, increased by fifty percent.
20. I Enjoy Being A Girl -- Flower Drum Song soundtrack
Comments: You could not get away with writing this song nowadays. Feminists would scream bloody murder. And yet it's so frothy and fun it's hard to care.

Eyes On Me

More music - the title taken from the Celine Dion song of same name, and dealing with the wandering eye. Differs from my previous Three's A Crowd stab in ... well, title, and the fact that the songs deal more directly with affairs.

1. Kirsty MacColl -- My Affair
2. Strong Enough -- Cher
3. Hotel Paper -- Michelle Branch
4. Blame It On Me -- Sahlene
5. Find a Way -- Amy Grant
6. Agony (Reprise) -- Into The Woods soundtrack
Comments: Taken out of context, this song is not so thematic ... until you hit the last line, "Ah well: back to my wife," that is. In context, the two Princes ("I was raised to be charming, not sincere.") are hysterical cads.
7. If Only She Knew -- Michelle Branch
8. Celestine -- Kirsty MacColl
Comments: The only song I know in which the "other woman" is the devil inside ...
9. Eyes On Me -- Celine Dion
10. The Last Goodbye -- Paulina Rubio
11. Words Get In The Way -- Gloria Estefan
12. Misbehavin' -- Thalia
13. Don't Think of Me -- Dido
14. Julia -- Chantal Kreviazuk
15. Heaven's What I Feel-- Gloria Estefan
16. Shadows -- Amy Grant
17. Always True To You In My Own Fashion -- Kiss Me Kate soundtrack
18. Let's Forget About It - Lisa Loeb
19. Caroline -- Kirsty MacColl
20. He Doesn't See Me -- Sarah Brightman
Comments: I often like to end on a "but" note. This is one such, the song of an unrequited love that can never threaten the beloved's relationship.

Ever After

My next CD compilation, this time with songs of happy endings.

1. Then You Look At Me - Celine Dion
2. The Second Element - Sarah Brightman
3. Now And Forever - Anne Murray
4. Wrapped - Gloria Estefan
Comments: This song, as aforementioned, would probably have been on the Best Of list if I hadn't actually created this list first.
5. Another Year Has Gone By - Celine Dion
6. Colour Everywhere - Dian Diaz
7. Now That I Know - Mariah Carey
8. Forever and for Always - Shania Twain
9. I Know What Love Is - Celine Dion
10. The Safest Place - LeAnn Rimes
Comments: There's some irony in this choice, as I always associate this song with an old novel project and one of the main characters - and when framed in that context, the "perfect love" described here is unrequited.
11. Oh, How The Years Go By - Amy Grant
Comments: ... and despite saying that I was choosing second favorites if the first was already "taken" -- here's the token accidental repeat for this group. Actually, "That's What Love Is For" should've gone on the Best list. Well, I'm not re-ripping the CD for one song, darnit. :-)
12. A Boat Like Gideon Brown - Great Big Sea
Comments: My boyfriend introduced me to this group. Sent me 3 - 4 MP3s. I listened, went, "This sounds too much like a pub band," and that was that, but I kept this one song.
13. I Belong - Cherie
14. Don't Look Back - Thalia
15. 1974 - Amy Grant
16. Thank Goodness - Wicked soundtrack
Comments: "Getting your dreams, strange as it seems, a little ... well ... complicated. There's a kind of a sort of a cost. There's a couple of things that get lost ..."
17. It's Your Love - Cherie
18. I Love You - Amy Grant
19. Ever After - Into The Woods soundtrack
Comments: Into The Woods is awesome. Here's an excerpt from this particular song:
Narrator: "There were constant -"
Chorus: "It's amazing -"
N: "- disillusions -"
C: "- that we did it."
N: "- but they never lost their nerve."
C: "Not a lot!"

Thursday Thoughts

Last night, I started my next edit of Journal of the Dead: a computer-only edit where I go over each chapter twice - once in-depth, the second time an overview - and compare it to the outline. I've considered doing it the other way around, but my brain immediately starts picking nits, so that's not really viable. I'm actually quite excited by what I've done, which always makes me nervous. I always feel as if that means I don't have a realistic take on the work.

Knocked off two chapters of SaC this week. I'm feeling kind of snarly about it because I'm almost ten thousand words further on than I intended to be at this point. On the bright side, Gwydion is back. I managed to play it out so you don't see he and Flick "on camera" at the same time, but they did interact, so to satisfy potential reader curiosity, I'll probably have Gwydion make a few comments about him. One thing I've avoided thus far and want to keep avoiding is any sense of one or the other being jealous - Flick's relationship with Anaea just isn't Like That, and I've loved setting up the platonic feeling of that. (Gwydion's, on the other hand ...)

Still working on Shadow Play. Set my goal to finish it this week. I'm having tremendous fun with the cultural more towards gloves because Jennis has none on during the opening of this scene. Gloves are really ingrained in the whole society as "polite dress." They're not worn in familiar company, so it's not akin to showing too much cleavage precisely, but there's something a little improper (naughty, if you will) about flashing bare hands around, and I've gotten a really cool "charge" just from the male lead watching her hands.

Review: The Dragon Quintet -- ed Marvin Kaye

Mmmm … a collection of novellas featuring dragons? Sign me up. I'm really appreciating the novella as a form these days: the extra space to explore without the time commitment of a full novel. I enjoyed the introduction and exploration into the origins of the word - entertaining but thoughtful. The stories are described briefly but not "pumped up" (something which tends to be a major turn-off for me).

First up is "In The Dragon's House" by Orson Scott Card, the story of an unusual dwelling with a deep and fiery secret, and the whimsical, theatrical family that lives there. This story proves that you can get away with an infodump opening if it's entertaining enough, though I did feel the backstory went on a bit long. Furthermore, the pace of the whole novella was slow. However, the people feel real and intriguing, and there are vivid descriptions of the house's warm place and the waking dreams Michael has there. Overall, an enjoyable read.

A slow start is also a feature of Elizabeth Moon's "Judgment," the story of what transpires when Ker and his soon-to-be father-in-law discover unusual rocks along the pathway. Once this story hits a certain point, however, the emotions and the stakes deepen. There is a fascinating world just under the surface of Moon's story, explored - played with - but not exhausted. Cultural aspects play a key role in the progression of the tale, which I particularly appreciated. I did find the conclusion a little disconnected from the rest, and it also took on some "the moral of the story" aspects that were mildly annoying … but overall, it continued to hold the attention right through.

I do have a quibble about the combination of stories here: both the first two stories involve dragon-inside-person plotlines, though with different contexts. Seems like they shouldn't be one after the other to me.

I had mixed feelings about Tanith Lee's "Love In A Time Of Dragons," a sometimes poetic, sometimes cruel story of a woman, a dragon, a champion and the love that develops from that familiar triangle. There are some beautiful, absorbing images throughout the story, and I was especially fond of the final chapter when everything comes together. In between, however, I questioned the main theme of the story. What I saw was not love, but physical obsession, something more primal and less spiritual. In addition, the point of view was such that, although at times I saw the main character's world with painful clarity, I was often left puzzled as to her inner workings - to the result that I felt one twist of the story was not fairly foreshadowed, and she sometimes came off as somewhat sociopathic or at least alien. I also found the raunchiness a bit of a turn-off.

I loved "Joust" from Mercedes Lackey, the story of Vetch, a young serf who gets the opportunity to escape the drudgery of his life … for the drudgery of caring for dragons. If the later events of the story are somewhat telegraphed by the unusual nature of Kashet, that is easily forgiveable for a tale that is tense, absorbing and emotional. The setting has nice details as well, a sense of history buried in this small land. This story is well constructed, with details appropriately placed and everything well-paced. Worth the read, though it ends with a beginning …

The final story, Michael Swanwick's "King Dragon," is an intriguing blend of fairy and technology, with a new approach to dragons as aerial weapons. Its narrator, Will, has the dubious honor of being chosen as the lieutenant of this dragon. Swanwick offers an exceptional setting, richly illustrated throughout the story and always promising more. I did find the ambiguity of the dragon somewhat unbalanced; it would have been more effective if it was more menacing earlier on. Sometimes, there's a slight distance from the characters that makes it hard to assess them - but this was definitely an absorbing read.

As a whole, I would say that four of the stories here - Lee's being the possible exception - were worth the read. They provide a solid story structure and make use of their length to explore the setting or characters in a way that is generally quite satisfying. The range of dragons here is somewhat biased towards mere animal - or are they? - but also encompasses the alien and the more than human. Recommended.

Best of Vol II

... continued!

This is the side of the list with a lot of country artists ... where my main exposure to them is from their only pop-rock album.

1. KIMBERLEY LOCKE: Wrong
2. KIRSTY MACCOLL: Soho Square
Comments: Best of Kirsty? Try best of anything. This is one of my top five favorite songs. It's beautiful, wistful, sad, sweet - and one of the few songs that can bring tears to my eyes.
3. LAURA POWERS: I Surrender All
4. LEANN RIMES: Suddenly
5. LISA LOEB: Wishing Heart
Comments: I found Lisa Loeb fairly recently after an encounter with a Lilith Fair CD. My reaction to her music has been pretty bipolar: I absolutely love a song or I absolutely hate it with little middle ground. She also has some musical quirks that irritate me. This song, though, is infectiously fun.
6. LOREENA MCKENNIT: The Old Ways
Comments: One of the oldest songs on this list as far as my familiarity with it. Also another tear-jerker.
7. MARIAH CAREY: Close My Eyes
8. MARTINA MCBRIDE: How Far
9. MICHELLE BRANCH: Breathe
10. OLDIES: Incense and Peppermints - Strawberry Alarm Clock
Comments: I'm not sure this song actually makes sense ...
11. PAULINA RUBIO: Border Girl
12. SARAH BRIGHTMAN: The Journey Home
Comments: This one was a tough decision and sort of surprised me (I go through phases with what I like best from Brightman) - but I thought about it and I've always had a soft spot for this song.
13. SELENA: God's Child (Baila Conmigo)
14. SHANIA TWAIN: I Ain't Going Down
15. SHEENA EASTON: Modern Girl
16. SISSEL: Carrier of a Secret
Comments: Sissel has possibly the most beautiful voice anywhere. It's clean and pure without being sugary.
17. SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR: If I Can't Dance
18. THALIA: Tu Y Yo (English Version)
19. VIENNA TENG: Whatever You Want
Comments: I have one Teng album. This song alone is worth the price of admission. Gorgeous, yet there is something so creepy about it - love it.
20. MUSICALS (#3) WICKED: What Is This Feeling?
Comments: Who would have thought a sugary, Disney-esque ensemble piece about how much two characters despise each other could be my most re-listened-to song for over a year? Fantastic - and not a bad finish to the set, either.