Welcome to Friday the 13th. Hope you’re all having a magical, rather than mundane, day.

What I Am Reading

Nearing the end of Elizabeth Bear’s All the Windwracked Stars, and so far it’s holding up well. I’m interested in seeing how she’s going to pull this all together in the end.

Just finished Public Affair, Secretly Expecting by Heidi Rice (part of a Harlequin reader reaction program I’m in). This one is from one of their “hotter” lines, which clearly plays a big part in the story, but at the same time, there’s a surprising complexity in the history of both main characters, affecting how Juno and Mac interact, and driving their interpretation of circumstances. I enjoyed this story a lot.

Life

Not sure where to place this one, but I wanted to share. It has suggestions for writing, for project management, and for a focus on success. Well worth the time to read this analysis of Pixar’s process:
http://www.copyblogger.com/pixar/
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What I Am Reading

I finished Demon Hunts by C.E. Murphy this week. It was everything I’ve come to expect of her writing and more. I’ll try to get my comments up next week.

I also finished the Irlen book. A lot to think about, but nothing that changed my mind about going forward with the lenses. If just having my monitor tinged green has helped my focus and online reading, how much more will having that ability all the time?

This has not been a heavy reading period for me because I’m writing a complex computer program that tends to grab what concentration I have, but I don’t last long without reading something .

Publishing

Tips on how to study the market for a manuscript:
http://chipmacgregor.typepad.com/main/2010/07/how-to-study-the-market.html
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What I’m Reading

I am still reading a non-fiction book called Reading by the Colors by Helen Irlen (ISBN: 0-399-53156-4), but I haven’t had much reading time, in part because of the focus I’ve achieved with my first steps in Irlen Syndrome correction. I’ll soon be jumping back on the reading bandwagon.

And I forgot to mention I read Winters Passage by Julie Kagawa as well, a novella set in between two of her YA books I haven’t read. It was interesting the hints at the greater picture and what has happened along with the troubles still to come. I’m not planning to pick up her full-length books at this point because I’m not really the target audience, but if these characters continue to linger in my back brain, I may change that plan.

Publishing

A look at the various avenues open to selling short fiction:
http://kristadball.com/blog/?p=125
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My mind is still over in Canada, and I haven’t gotten back into the swing of things, so the pickings are a bit sparse. That said, here’s some solid links for you, plus some compelling reading choices to try.

What I’m Reading:

An aftermath of my wonderful trip to Canada has been that I’m walking in the mornings again. However, unlike there, I lack a furry companion to keep me interested. I had put a number of audio short stories on my phone for a road trip where I wasn’t driving, but I didn’t have time to listen to most of them. Finally, I had the equivalent of a commute, and a short story is the perfect length. I’ve been enjoying a run of stories from Beneath Ceaseless Skies, though I’ve noticed other ezines are starting to offer audio versions as well.

The Manufactory by Dru Pagliassotti is one I didn’t expect to find in this magazine, and yet the feel of it denies its modern/futuristic elements. This is not a comfort story. It explores the choices that status brings and takes away in a creepy and powerful tale:
http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/story.php?s=64
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What I’m Reading

I managed to take in a bit of short fiction while waiting for my son to finish the book he’d borrowed, Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews (which I now have). There are a bunch of good reads out there for the enjoying.

The Dead Man’s Child by Jay Lake on Cosmos Online offers a lyrical narrative that builds on itself to resolution in the manner of the old teaching tales. It’s not rushed or focused on action or gore, and is compelling for that very fact. What did you think of it?
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/fiction/online/885/the-dead-mans-child?page=0%2C0

I listened to Father’s Kill by Christopher Green on Beneath Ceaseless Skies in audio form. I rarely have time for audio, so it’s not my favorite method of “reading,” but the BCS reader is quite good. I found the tale evocative and primarily mood focused. It does have a twist at the end that I didn’t anticipate, but is both well seeded and surprising too so nicely done.
http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/story.php?s=48
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I was at a restaurant with my husband last night and we started talking about social media, specifically the differences between Twitter and Facebook. Something clicked for me, and I thought I’d share what I figured out.

My parents are both retired Foreign Service officers which means that I spent much of my childhood surrounded by reams of fascinating adults. This included other diplomats, company folks stationed in the same country, ex-pats often from Ireland, or any number of other folks who had chosen to live outside their native country, or who were native to the country we were currently in. I learned quite young how to behave among them so I wasn’t sent to bed early, though before that I would hide under the dining room table so I could still listen. (more…)

I’m setting this to post in advance because as of tomorrow morning, I’m hitting the road. I’ll be at BayCon in San Jose, California from Friday through Monday. It’s a fun convention, and I look forward both to seeing familiar faces and making some new friends.

What I’m Reading

My husband recommended I read This Is Not A Game by Walter Jon Williams and so far it’s living up to the recommendation and the title. I must admit that I find the timing amusing considering one of the panels I’m on at BayCon this weekend is about violence in video games.

Life

Tips on how to turn a bad day around:
http://tawnafenske.blogspot.com/2010/05/when-life-hands-you-lemons-add-them-to.html
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What I Am Reading

This has been a crazy week, so I didn’t get much reading time, but I have finished Steamed: A Steampunk Romance by Katie MacAlister and will be posting my review next week.

Submitting

While I’d be cautious about some of the style tips at the very end, this process for constructing a synopsis is similar to what I taught in my synopsis class and can be quite effective:
http://www.writing-world.com/publish/synopsis.shtml
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What I Am Reading

I’m in the middle of Steamed: A Steampunk Romance by Katie MacAlister. It’s not quite what I expected, but I’m enjoying the ride so far. Ballsy characters in a neat setting make for a fun read.

The Last Stand of the Ant Maker by Paul Jessup on Apex Magazine is a bizarre almost prose poem. I skimmed the first few lines, thinking I wouldn’t like it, but ended up reading the whole thing, pulled in by its surreal nature. I wanted to know what was going on even though I could tell I never would be able to exactly.
http://www.apexbookcompany.com/apex-online/2010/05/short-story-the-last-stand-of-the-ant-maker

Writing

Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to create character conflict:
http://www.plottopunctuation.com/blog/show/77
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What I’m Reading

This week I finished Her Vampire Husband by Michele Hauf. This is not the first one of hers I’ve read, but this one surprised me on several levels. It was closer to an erotica than I’d expected, and was a little too detailed on vampire love making for my comfort, but what caught my attention the most was the overall story where two distinct culture groups with a lot of reasons to hate each other have to face up to their similarities and change. This is definitely worth a read.

I received an order I’ve been waiting on forever (stupidly put some prereleases in a B&N free shipping order) and have to make a tough decision as to what to read first. Changeless by Gail Carriger won and I’m devouring it already.

The Freedom by K.M. Lawrence is an odd story that doesn’t quite explain itself but at the same time gives enough to draw me in and keep me reading through to the end. I wonder if this is a glimpse at something bigger just because there’s so much not explained, but that’s not a problem for the story. It’s an amazing study in how to say almost nothing and yet reveal a whole lot. And besides, I enjoyed the story itself. http://www.strangehorizons.com/2010/20100426/freedom-f.shtml
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