June 1 and all is well
It’s been a while since I’ve spent much time here. Since my last entry, I’ve come and gone to a BreakOut Novel Intensive (BONI) featuring Donald Maass. I’ve corresponded with a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on audiology and made changes to one of my species based on her feedback. And, I’m working with an artist to get some visuals down for the four species of the worlds.
The open submissions period for the second Unidentified Funny Objects anthology brought a few hundred stories to read. Fortunately, the editor is sending out all the rejection notices, so I am spared that loathsome task. Beyond that, I’ve written new reviews for both Tangent Online and the SF Site.
Voice-overs have been appealing to me since I’m told that I read aloud well. Attended an online voice-over evaluation class and learned that I’m “naturally articulate,” with a delivery style that is “current, enthusiastic, and intelligent,” and I “naturally sound like a brother and buddy.” To top it off, the reviewer felt that my marketable vocal age range is “25 to 35.” Those of you who know me can appreciate why this feedback made me chuckle more than a little bit. Next up will be some face-to-face classes. We’ll see what those instructors have to say.
A newly revised chapter is on its way to my critique group. Meanwhile, I’m working on loglines, pitches, hooks, and synopses. To that end, a new addition to the library is Jordan Smith’s, Finding the Core of Your Story. It’s a nice little book that is both humorous and informative. And, joining the twenty-first century, I got it in an electronic edition that looks good on my 7″ reader. I didn’t go the Kindle route because I want to use the device for more than reading. However, it does run a Kindle app just fine. And a Nook app, and a Kobo app, and a few others. My favorites at the moment are the skymap apps, one of which will try to identify exactly what heavenly bodies I’m looking at if I hold the device up to the sky.
I’ve been too busy with my own writing to do any editing work, and that’s being okay with me. Spent most of the day giving the web site a facelift. Now it’s time for some more writing.
Unidentified Funny Objects (UFO) 2
Unidentified Funny Objects 2 is a 2nd annual anthology of humorous SF/F. Robert Silverberg, Mike Resnick, Ken Liu, Esther Friesner, Tim Pratt, and Jody Lynn Nye are contributing stories to this volume. The submission window is open until May 31, 2013.
Click here for detailed submission guidelines.
Denser and Tighter
The primary protagonists’ names have been changed so that they no longer rhyme. Monosyllabic, strong names suit these characters well. Am working on consistency in character speech patterns and sequencing. Moving content around so that it makes sense, and answers questions before readers have a chance to ask the questions. So much of “writing” is really REwriting.
How Beer Saved the World
The official reading period for the new anthology from Sky Warrior Books, How Beer Saved the World, is now open until February 1, 2013, looking at an early summer publication in e-book format.
How Beer Saved the World: a new anthology to be edited by Phyllis Irene Radford.
Ten writers went camping together and came out with an anthology idea:
Fermented grains have been a mainstay of the human diet almost as long as we have been human. Increasing barley production for beer triggered the agricultural revolution and turned hunter-gathers into farmers. Dividing fields created a need for mathematics. Recording beer production and distribution brought about writing. The need to transport beer brought the wheel into play. Ancient Egyptians fed the pyramid builders one gallon of beer a day in place of bread. Pasteur’s investigation of why beer spoiled led to the discovery of germ theory and a revolution in medicine. The need to brew lager cold created the need for refrigeration. Large scale production of beer brought about the modern factory at least a decade before Henry Ford.
This list of how beer saved the world goes on and on.
Each item deserves a story and so an anthology was born.
Beer must be a plot element that solves the story arc problem in every story. SF/F and mundane worlds are fine. Which world is saved is not specified. I will only accept 1 Frat party story and 1 variation of Scotty getting the deadly alien drunk. Historical and contemporary as well as futuristic or exotic locations are welcome. Beer for these purposes is defined as fermented but not distilled grains.
Submissions should be 2-6 K words (if longer query) to skywarrior3@gmail.com in RTF format.
Black Gate Online, September 30, 2012
Story reviewed in this issue is:
“The Duelist” by Jason E. Thummel
Nightmare #1, October 2012
Stories reviewed in this issue are:
“Property Condemned: A Story of Pine Deep” by Jonathan Maberry
“Frontier Death Song” by Laird Barron
“Good Fences” by Genevieve Valentine
“Afterlife” by Sarah Langan
October is LGBT History Month!
LGBT History Month celebrates the achievements of 31 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Icons. Each day in October, a new LGBT Icon is featured with a video, bio, bibliography, downloadable images and other resources.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies #104, September 20, 2012
Stories reviewed in this issue are:
“The Ascent of Unreason” by Marie Brennan
“Worth of Crows” by Seth Dickinson
Lightspeed #29, October 2012
Stories reviewed in this issue are:
“Bear and Shifty” by Benjamin Parzybok
“Spindles” by L.B. Gale
“The Suicide’s Guide to the Absinthe of Perdition” by Megan Arkenberg
“Flowing Unimpeded to the Enlightenment” by Robert Reed
About the Worlds
The Worlds of the Bound (WotB) are a creation of the author’s mind. In those xenofictional worlds, there are no humans, no Earth, and no Milky Way. Rather, the four space-faring worlds in this galaxy are populated by Iysh, Mengans, Aers, and Thurls.
Originally begun in 1999 as fan fiction for a popular science fiction television series, WotB has evolved into an internally consistent, epic tale that is an original work in its own right. It no longer has any association with any outside creations.