Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
A Memorial Day Reflection
Memorial Day is an American holiday that falls on the last Monday of May. It is a day to pay respects to the fallen soldiers that have defended our country. It is also a day to reflect on those that you have lost in your own personal life.
A few weeks ago I heard a song by the group WAR that I’d never heard before. It dredged up so many painful emotions that I literally wept for hours. Even now as I post it to the blog I feel the emotion behind the song so deeply. The losses that we all face in our lives are devastating and heartfelt, but the losses that we face due to death can create so many painful feelings that are difficult to face, at least that is the case for me.
This being The Memorial Day Weekend, I decided to face some of my own grief (privately—not on the blog). Sometimes, it seems so much easier to bury it, try to forget it, ignore it…but in the end pain finds its way out. So I decided to look at today as a celebration of beautiful memories instead of blocking them away. I expect I’ll cry a lot but I think that’s why we have a three day weekend…
Saturday, May 28, 2011
UNTITLED corrected.
I'm not sure exactly what is going on with blogger but chapter two of Untitled only showed a portion of the chapter. It's nearly three times as long so I reposted it. So lets do this all over again. Sorry for the inconvenience but please go back and check out chapter 1 and chapter 2. Working on chapter 3 now.
UNTITLED chapter 1
UNTITLED chapter 2
UNTITLED chapter 3
UNTITLED chapter 1
UNTITLED chapter 2
UNTITLED chapter 3
Untitled chp 2
I re-formatted chapter 1. I realize that the formatting problems are a distraction from the story. There are still some minor font problems but it shouldn't be quite so distracting. Also, I realize that I'm not quite sure where I ended chapter 1. *blush*
So...you might want to take a quick look at it again. Thanks and sorry for any confusion.
UNTITLED chapter 2
So...you might want to take a quick look at it again. Thanks and sorry for any confusion.
UNTITLED chapter 2
Friday, May 27, 2011
A new novel...but no title
I decided to write a short story back in February. Somehow that has transformed into something much bigger than I had ever anticipated. At this point, I just have to go with the fact that I now have a novel on my hands...with no title.
I always thought that thinking of titles for stories would be the easiest thing. You can tell by some of the titles that I've chosen that this is not the case. Stranded, Beast, MILF, Juicy...On the other hand, Angel over my shoulder, Wheels of Steel and Miscegenist Sabishii were pretty good ones (in my humble opinion).
The story I'm currently at the tail end of is 162K words (and it is not even complete). The average novel starts at 180K. A novella is approximately 160K. I'm not sure how I end up writing myself into a sticky corner but here is my dilemma, other than not having a title.
There is no sex in it yet.
Obviously this is not an erotic story. Second problem;
It has a lot to do with religion and faith and frankly, it doesn't always come out in the best light.
I mean, I'm working against a lot here. I love tackling hard subjects but not sure why I can't just seem to write something easy...
I've only shared this story with one other person and he likes it a great deal, as do I. And in some ways--me liking it is the important thing. Generally if I like it then you guys have liked it as well. I remember when I was writing WOS before anyone ever saw it, I said to HO-Z that no one would get the story. It was going to be too long and the subject matter was very controversial. HO-Z just said fuck what anybody thinks and just write it. So I did. WOS turned out to be maybe my most popular novel.
But if I break WOS down to it's most basic description it is about an angry white guy with cerebral palsy, stricken with daily seizures and a bad attitude that falls in love with his black assistant that is plagued by panic attacks, debilitating shyness, and ulcers. That was just not the formula for the average love story. And yet it worked.
In this story a young black girl is raised in a convent since surviving the Rowanda genocide as a child. She is suddenly thrust into a 'world' that she is poorly equipped for. She falls back on faith, her romantic idealism, and poetic notions when trying to grapple with the world. At the same time there is an older white man that she goes to work for. He is bitter and filled with loss but he also has compassion where she is concerned.
I suppose that the answer to my question (I know I didn't ask one but it is there peeking out of me) is that a story is a journey into each character. If I do my job well then you will experience their highs and lows and therefore, even if there is not any 'action scenes', that is what keeps it going.
But there is only way way to tell if I've succeeded. And that is to post it. So here goes Chapter 1 of
UNTITLED
I always thought that thinking of titles for stories would be the easiest thing. You can tell by some of the titles that I've chosen that this is not the case. Stranded, Beast, MILF, Juicy...On the other hand, Angel over my shoulder, Wheels of Steel and Miscegenist Sabishii were pretty good ones (in my humble opinion).
The story I'm currently at the tail end of is 162K words (and it is not even complete). The average novel starts at 180K. A novella is approximately 160K. I'm not sure how I end up writing myself into a sticky corner but here is my dilemma, other than not having a title.
There is no sex in it yet.
Obviously this is not an erotic story. Second problem;
It has a lot to do with religion and faith and frankly, it doesn't always come out in the best light.
I mean, I'm working against a lot here. I love tackling hard subjects but not sure why I can't just seem to write something easy...
I've only shared this story with one other person and he likes it a great deal, as do I. And in some ways--me liking it is the important thing. Generally if I like it then you guys have liked it as well. I remember when I was writing WOS before anyone ever saw it, I said to HO-Z that no one would get the story. It was going to be too long and the subject matter was very controversial. HO-Z just said fuck what anybody thinks and just write it. So I did. WOS turned out to be maybe my most popular novel.
But if I break WOS down to it's most basic description it is about an angry white guy with cerebral palsy, stricken with daily seizures and a bad attitude that falls in love with his black assistant that is plagued by panic attacks, debilitating shyness, and ulcers. That was just not the formula for the average love story. And yet it worked.
In this story a young black girl is raised in a convent since surviving the Rowanda genocide as a child. She is suddenly thrust into a 'world' that she is poorly equipped for. She falls back on faith, her romantic idealism, and poetic notions when trying to grapple with the world. At the same time there is an older white man that she goes to work for. He is bitter and filled with loss but he also has compassion where she is concerned.
I suppose that the answer to my question (I know I didn't ask one but it is there peeking out of me) is that a story is a journey into each character. If I do my job well then you will experience their highs and lows and therefore, even if there is not any 'action scenes', that is what keeps it going.
But there is only way way to tell if I've succeeded. And that is to post it. So here goes Chapter 1 of
UNTITLED
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Introducing Vampiric Charms
Readers wanted!
You may not know that I have a huge love of writing in RP (role-play) with other people. Writing becomes unpredictable when you throw...say 5 other elite writers into the mix. But it's also gloriously fun! And the result can sometimes be a masterpiece of writing.
I believe that me and my friends in Vampiric Charms have achieved that. We have a masterpiece...but no one to read it. We've been writing this story for over a year with no readers, and it's never really bothered us because we write for the love of writing. But hell, here is a perfect venue to share our story. If you're interested we'd sure appreciate your feedback and if you would joint the Vampiric Charms blog.
THE PLOT
The story centers around two characters; a black young woman named Miika, and a white young countryboy named Tyr. Their love story goes against society; not because of the racial issue but because Miika is human and Tyr is a werewolf. What further muddies the waters is that Miika had been severly maimed by a werewolf attack as a child. This left the beautiful young girl with ugly scars and a crippled body.
Tyr, a rebellious, lone wolf finds beauty in her and she, in turns, soothes his savage beat. Tyr is broken in many ways himself. He unfortunately has 3 distinct components to his personality; in other words from all outward appearance Tyr has a split personality...
Carlisle is Miika's brother and a sworn enemy of all Inderlanders (non-humans). He is also in a secret vigilante group brought together for the sole purpose of evening out the odds in a very pro human way. No one in their close knit family knows Carlisle's deadly secrets.
Layla is Miika's best friend. Layla also happens to be a witch. Witches are born this way, not turned and she is as mild, strong, and loyal as any person could ever hope to find in a friend. She also has a crush on Carlisle. Unfortunate since Carlisle's pure hatred of Inderlanders (and tolerance of her)
Bridget is Tyr's little sister. She sweeps into town as a whirlwind, unbalancing things along the way, but loyal to her brother and family...a danger to her enemies...
VAMPIRIC CHARMS
Miika was hurrying to Piscary’s Pizza trying to get there before the sun went down. Human’s frequented the upscale gourmet pizza shop during the day, but at sundown it was almost exclusively an Innlander hangout. Only the bravest of humans, or vampire bait were caught there after sunset. And though the sun was turning dusky in the sky, Miika couldn’t ignore her craving for the Piscary’s Tuscan special; covered in slices of roma tomatoes and with four types of cheese. Four. And no pepperoni grease to muck it up; just the spicy tomato sauce covered in asiago, mozzarella, provolone and aged parmesan, then topped with the succulent tomatoes.
Miika had quickly parked her car and was hurrying into the restaurant as a human couple was leaving. The woman called out to her.
“Honey the sun is almost down-“
“I’m not going to be long!” She hurried quicker, barely using her cane, her need for pizza apparently out weighing her need for safety.
“A Tuscan special!” Miika called out before she even reached the bar where you placed your carryout orders. The bartender was a witch that knew her as one of the few humans who would be caught with tomato pizza. She wasn’t easy to forget; pretty face, dark eyes, caramel skinned and with an ugly hump, a clawed hand and a freakish limp.
The bartender was kind enough to put a rush on her order. Still it would be full dark before she left with it…Miika sat back in her barstool and tried to relax while she ignored the curious looks of a table of Vampires. She knew they were trying to figure out if she was there for the thrill of being bitten, but she figured that if she ignored them, they in turn would ignore her.
A blonde man sat at the end of the bar. He was drinking a beer and minding his own business. She noticed him because he was a huge man; werewolf she figured, and wearing nice tight jeans…
A rowdy group of vampires came in and Miika tried not to tense. Vampires smelled that and it was considered an aphrodisiac. They ignored her after a cursory glance. It was widely known that to start any trouble with any humans on the premises would bring the wrath of the vampire owner. You had to have a special license to serve humans and Innlanders in one establishment and one infraction would cause him to loose that license. No Innlander wanted to be on the receiving end of his wrath should that happen.
Miika noticed the Vampires eyeing the werewolf. As they passed him one young vamp bumped into him roughly causing the Werewolves beer to spill. After that things happened very fast. The blonde man stood, looking even more scrumptious then he was sitting. His long blonde hair was tied at the nape of his neck and he had a neat beard a shade darker then the hair on his head.
It was obvious that he was giving the Vamp an opportunity to apologize but the younger man snickered to the rest of his group. He made the mistake of taking his eyes from the blonde man whose fist came out impossibly fast to connect to the vamp’s nose.
Damn, werewolves moved fast! She’d never seen one in action. The bartender came running out from behind the bar, his eyes like saucers. “Miss you better leave.” He was trying to take hold of her arm but Miika was frozen to the spot.
The vampires surrounded the angry blonde man. “Do something.” Miika cried out to the bartender. Those Vamps would kill him…
But movements that were like blurs to Miika’s human eyes showed quite the contrary. The blonde man’s fists kept landing and vampires kept flying; soaring through the air like they were being pulled by invisible wire.
Read more at Vampiric Charms! This is a role-play group based on the works of Kim Harrison and her Hollows series.
You may not know that I have a huge love of writing in RP (role-play) with other people. Writing becomes unpredictable when you throw...say 5 other elite writers into the mix. But it's also gloriously fun! And the result can sometimes be a masterpiece of writing.
I believe that me and my friends in Vampiric Charms have achieved that. We have a masterpiece...but no one to read it. We've been writing this story for over a year with no readers, and it's never really bothered us because we write for the love of writing. But hell, here is a perfect venue to share our story. If you're interested we'd sure appreciate your feedback and if you would joint the Vampiric Charms blog.
THE PLOT
The story centers around two characters; a black young woman named Miika, and a white young countryboy named Tyr. Their love story goes against society; not because of the racial issue but because Miika is human and Tyr is a werewolf. What further muddies the waters is that Miika had been severly maimed by a werewolf attack as a child. This left the beautiful young girl with ugly scars and a crippled body.
Tyr, a rebellious, lone wolf finds beauty in her and she, in turns, soothes his savage beat. Tyr is broken in many ways himself. He unfortunately has 3 distinct components to his personality; in other words from all outward appearance Tyr has a split personality...
Carlisle is Miika's brother and a sworn enemy of all Inderlanders (non-humans). He is also in a secret vigilante group brought together for the sole purpose of evening out the odds in a very pro human way. No one in their close knit family knows Carlisle's deadly secrets.
Layla is Miika's best friend. Layla also happens to be a witch. Witches are born this way, not turned and she is as mild, strong, and loyal as any person could ever hope to find in a friend. She also has a crush on Carlisle. Unfortunate since Carlisle's pure hatred of Inderlanders (and tolerance of her)
Bridget is Tyr's little sister. She sweeps into town as a whirlwind, unbalancing things along the way, but loyal to her brother and family...a danger to her enemies...
VAMPIRIC CHARMS
Miika was hurrying to Piscary’s Pizza trying to get there before the sun went down. Human’s frequented the upscale gourmet pizza shop during the day, but at sundown it was almost exclusively an Innlander hangout. Only the bravest of humans, or vampire bait were caught there after sunset. And though the sun was turning dusky in the sky, Miika couldn’t ignore her craving for the Piscary’s Tuscan special; covered in slices of roma tomatoes and with four types of cheese. Four. And no pepperoni grease to muck it up; just the spicy tomato sauce covered in asiago, mozzarella, provolone and aged parmesan, then topped with the succulent tomatoes.
Miika had quickly parked her car and was hurrying into the restaurant as a human couple was leaving. The woman called out to her.
“Honey the sun is almost down-“
“I’m not going to be long!” She hurried quicker, barely using her cane, her need for pizza apparently out weighing her need for safety.
“A Tuscan special!” Miika called out before she even reached the bar where you placed your carryout orders. The bartender was a witch that knew her as one of the few humans who would be caught with tomato pizza. She wasn’t easy to forget; pretty face, dark eyes, caramel skinned and with an ugly hump, a clawed hand and a freakish limp.
The bartender was kind enough to put a rush on her order. Still it would be full dark before she left with it…Miika sat back in her barstool and tried to relax while she ignored the curious looks of a table of Vampires. She knew they were trying to figure out if she was there for the thrill of being bitten, but she figured that if she ignored them, they in turn would ignore her.
A blonde man sat at the end of the bar. He was drinking a beer and minding his own business. She noticed him because he was a huge man; werewolf she figured, and wearing nice tight jeans…
A rowdy group of vampires came in and Miika tried not to tense. Vampires smelled that and it was considered an aphrodisiac. They ignored her after a cursory glance. It was widely known that to start any trouble with any humans on the premises would bring the wrath of the vampire owner. You had to have a special license to serve humans and Innlanders in one establishment and one infraction would cause him to loose that license. No Innlander wanted to be on the receiving end of his wrath should that happen.
Miika noticed the Vampires eyeing the werewolf. As they passed him one young vamp bumped into him roughly causing the Werewolves beer to spill. After that things happened very fast. The blonde man stood, looking even more scrumptious then he was sitting. His long blonde hair was tied at the nape of his neck and he had a neat beard a shade darker then the hair on his head.
It was obvious that he was giving the Vamp an opportunity to apologize but the younger man snickered to the rest of his group. He made the mistake of taking his eyes from the blonde man whose fist came out impossibly fast to connect to the vamp’s nose.
Damn, werewolves moved fast! She’d never seen one in action. The bartender came running out from behind the bar, his eyes like saucers. “Miss you better leave.” He was trying to take hold of her arm but Miika was frozen to the spot.
The vampires surrounded the angry blonde man. “Do something.” Miika cried out to the bartender. Those Vamps would kill him…
But movements that were like blurs to Miika’s human eyes showed quite the contrary. The blonde man’s fists kept landing and vampires kept flying; soaring through the air like they were being pulled by invisible wire.
Read more at Vampiric Charms! This is a role-play group based on the works of Kim Harrison and her Hollows series.
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