Categories
writing

Fanfic: Hobbits, She Wrote

Inspired by this tweet from The Library Owl with a structure cribbed from this post on Murder, She Wrote, please enjoy a quiet hobbity mystery.

https://twitter.com/SketchesbyBoze/status/1243294155872317441?s=20

HOBBITS, SHE WROTE

Sully Mackinjay – middle-age. Cabbage farmer.
Genty Mackinjay- youth. Sully’s daughter.
Jim Balmcorn – middle-age. Cabbage farmer.
Vera Broadfence – middle-age. Museum curator.
Glamm Whitlow – middle-age. Well-to-do friend of Vera’s.
Shirriff Birch – Getting old. Local law enforcement.


SCENE ONE
A SHIRE FARM

SULLY and GENTY are at work in their cabbage field. SULLY smokes constantly. JIM walks by their fence and stops to say hello, also smoking.


JIM: Sully Mackinjay! Were I a ranger I could track you from a mile away and upwind, what with that pipeweed you smoke.
GENTY: I try to tell him, Mister Balmcorn.
SULLY: Aye, you and everyone else, daughter.
GENTY: It reeks, it does!
SULLY: If a hobbit can’t smoke what he likes in his own fields, well then I can’t rightly say what the Shire has come to. At least the cabbages don’t complain.
JIM: And some fine cabbages they are, Sully. Every person of sense from here to North Farthing says Mackinjay cabbages taste the best, raw or cooked.
SULLY: That they may, that they may. But Jim Balmcorn’s are as large as a rich hobbit’s holiday pudding, everyone knows that.
GENTY: Ours are a bit on the smallish side, eh Father? Mister Balmcorn, how do you grow yours so big, begging your pardon.
SULLY: Genty! And beg his pardon you might, lass! You can’t be asking a farmer his secrets! Forgive me, Jim; her manners are sight worse than even mine.
JIM: [slightly taken aback] Tis a small matter, Sully. Nothing, really. Miss Genty, you recall the river that runs by my farm?
GENTY: Aye, sir. Balm Brook. A bit mucky, it is.
JIM: Even so. There is a tough grass that grows along it, closer to a yellow color than green.
SULLY: Catchtoe? A bit sticky to the touch?
JIM: That’s right. An armful of catchtoe boiled and spread around the field in the evening has always done right by my crops. It’s no secret, in truth. Anyone walking along the riverside path might see me and mine gathering it.
SULLY: Well, it’s fine of you to tell us about it anyways, Jim. You’ll be in the square for the market in a few days, won’t ye? Whike you’re down there, stop in at the Silvery Swan, there’ll be an ale or two waiting for you, courtesy of us Mackinjays.
JIM: I wouldn’t want to drink it alone, Sully! I hope to see you there, and we can toast our fine crops.
SULLY: Aye, Jim. That we will.
JIM: Now, I best be getting along. Wouldn’t want to be late for dinner. We just bought a jar of young Applecheek’s fresh lavender honey!
SULLY: Good day to ye, Jim!
GENTY: Good day, Mr. Balmcorn!
JIM: Good day! At the Swan, Sully!
(JIM EXITS)
GENTY: Cabbages as tasty as ours and as big as Balmcorns? I can get us some catchtoe, father. Easy as spitting.
SULLY: That may be a very fine way to spend your afternoon, my dearie. A very fine way indeed!


SCENE TWO
WHITWELL, A HOBBIT HOLE

VERA and GLAMM are finishing a meal at the very fine dining table of Whitwell, the ancestral home of GLAMM WHITLOW


VERA: These berries! The sweetest I’ve had this season.
GLAMM: One of the benefits of leaving town once in a while, Vera. Here in the country we enjoy the fruits of the land much closer to their original state.
VERA: Mr. Whitlow, Michel Delving is no more than a day’s cart ride. I doubt the berries lose that much flavor due to the travel.
GLAMM: Perhaps not, but do they like it in town? Have you thought of that, Professor? [both laugh]
VERA: Well, I certainly hope these alleged Blue Mountain spoons of yours like town quite a bit.
GLAMM: Ah, down to business. I would be lying if I were to tell you I’m not quite curious to know what you think of them. [GLAMM goes to a shelf and brings a small box to the table] I can’t thank you enough for coming down to see them. It might be unblushingly bold of me to say I’ve often thought they would look quite good in the museum’s section on…
VERA: Let us not get too far ahead of ourselves, Mr. Whitlow. While the Mathom-house is always happy to house and display donated items of items of historic, artistic, or cultural significance, the curation of its collections is best left… [examining the contents of the box] Glamm, how long have these been in your family?
GLAMM: I’ve never been able to tell, honestly. My thrice-great-grandmother owned them, that I know for sure. Before that, well the truth is lost to the winds of time and famly folklore. Are they valuable?
VERA: If these spoons are what I think they may be — may be, mind you — then I wouldn’t insult them by putting a monetary value on them.
GLAMM: [struggling to keep composure] I see. Well, do take your time in your assessment. Whitwell’s rooms are open to you as long as you require. I’ll have them set you up in the library.
VERA: Very kind, Glamm. Very kind.
GLAMM: You’ll stay through market day at least, I hope? It’s hardly a visit if it’s only two days.
VERA: I brought some texts related to… did I remember the Pili-Yarrow transcript? I did. Yes! Yes, a few days would be sufficient. Lovely, I mean. Quite lovely. Thank you, Mr. Whitlow.
GLAMM: Anything for an old friend, Professor Broadfence. Anything at all. Now, I’ve a few lovely carrots to tide us over ’til tea. Such good vegetables we’ve had this year. If you stay past market day, you can settle a bet for me.
VERA: I do not gamble, Mr. Whitlow.
GLAMM: It’s a just a question, Vera. There’s a local debate as to which of two farmers has the better cabbages. Your city palate may not be as sophisticated as that of we rustics, but adding your opinion to the fracas would only add to the fun.
VERA: [distracted] Inlaid with… what? So little of it left….


SCENE THREE
THE FARM, EVENING

GENTY and SULLY are at work fertilizing their fields with the catchtoe. SULLY smoking throughout.

SULLY: Not the best smell, but easy enough to work with.
GENTY: Better than that pipe….
SULLY: Southlinch pipeweed calms the nerves.
GENTY: Your nerves? What’s wrong?
SULLY: This whole business seemed like a fine idea, but a mood’s on me now.
GENTY: It’s still a fine idea. You’ll see. We’ll try some catchtoe on these two rows and compare with the regular. See if your friend’s secret method is anything more than country gossip, eh?
SULLY: You’re right girl, you’re right. Can’t always stick to the old ways, can ye? Got to try new things. Can’t become all complacent and lazy. An active mind, girl. That’s what being a good cabbage farmer takes. An active mind and a sharp eye. Perhaps a bit of jamcake after we’re done here?

The sun sets, and a crunching sound comes from the field….

SCENE FOUR
THE FARM, MORNING

VERA and GLAMM are walking along the road by the Mackinjay farm. They come upon an argument between SULLY, GENTY and JIM. SHIRRIFF BIRCH is there. SULLY is smoking fiercely.


GLAMM: You see? There’s the crossroads up ahead. Not much of a walk at all, really.
VERA: A walk rarely hurt anyone, Mr. Whitlow. And it’s not as if we don’t have a destination.Indeed, walking to one’s cousin’s is one of the few situations in which a walk is entirely appropriate.
GLAMM: Quite right, quite right.
VERA: Unlike whatever we’re walking up on here.
BIRCH: Let’s put this aside for bit, boys. Sully, why don’t you have us in for a muffin and milk and we can talk it through?
SULLY: I’ll hang up my workgloves before I let a Balmcorn into my home after this.
JIM: No kin of mine will grace this farm again, that I tell you for certain.
BIRCH: There’s no need for making oaths right this moment, lads, nor speaking for all generations to come. Jim, I’ll be seeing your aunt day after tomorrow down at the town hole for the market-day meeting. What would she say if she heard you making claims for all Balmcorns for all eternity?
JIM: If my dear aunt were to hear a Mackinjay besmirching our good name, the name we have built century upon century, she’d have words more harsh than those.
GENTY: You killed our cabbages, Balmcorn! Jealous of the Mackinjay arts, you are!
GLAMM: Shirriff Birch, a fine day to be out on the road, do you not say so?
BIRCH: Mr. Whitlow, always my sincere pleasure.
GLAMM: This is Professor Broadfence, curator of the Mathom-house.
JIM: [to GENTY] That’s the museum in Michel Delving, Genty.
GENTY: I know what it is!
GLAMM: You’ve caught us on a walk to Cran Hill to see my cousin’s library.
BIRCH: A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Professor. Mathom-house is a pillar of the farthing’s community.
VERA: You are very generous, Shirriff. I serve the common good as I can, though maybe not as directly as you do. I apologize for interrupting you in the provision of your duty.
BIRCH: Nonsense, if you’ll forgive me saying so, Professor. No duty being provided. These here are old friends, Jim Balmcorn and Sully and Genty Mackinjay.
JIM: Pleasure.
SULLY: How do ye do?
GENTY: It is a distinct pleasure to make your acquaintance, Professor.
VERA: Ah, the cabbage farmers.
GENTY: Yes, ma’am.
VERA: Tell me, why do these two rows look different from the rest?
SULLY: You can ask Mr. Balmcorn. It was his doing.
BIRCH: Sully….
SULLY: It was then, wasn’t it? He comes up yesterday, who knows where he was coming from, and recommends we take some river rushes, boil ’em like potatoes and throw ’em on our crop. Now look!
BIRCH: You can’t blame him for trying to help, Sully.
JIM: And yet that is precisely what he has done. Accused me of poisoning his crops. As if I had any reason.
GENTY: You said yourself ours were better!
[All silent. After an uncomfortable moment, SULLY relights his pipe.]
GENTY: He did.
BIRCH: Nothing here to bother you folks. I hope to see you again, Professor. Mr Whitlow, please tell young Cranny I’m still expecting him to paint the town hole door after that little prank of his last month.
GLAMM: I’ll do better than that, Shirriff: I’ll tell his father.

GLAMM and VERA continue on.
GLAMM: Don’t see much of that in the Delving, I’d wager.
VERA: What, cabbage blight?
GLAMM: Arguments over fertilizer.
VERA: Not fertilizer necessarily, but folk find all manner of things to fight over. It would be shame if two old families started a grudge over something like this. Hobbits have long memories.
GLAMM: And they know how to tend to their own crops. Taking advice from another farmer? Who knew old Sully’s pride would allow it.
VERA: This from the hobbit who has to borrow his cousin’s books? [both chuckle]
GLAMM: Never mind the library, wait until you see the larder!

SCENE 5
WHITWELL


VERA: Oh, no more tea for me. You are too kind, but I’ll never sleep and it’s so late.
GLAMM: Tea makes one’s labors go quickly. And the more quickly you’re done, the sooner we get to simply enjoy our visit.
VERA: And the sooner we know if a Whitlow family heirloom makes into the Mathom-house. I must say, Glamm, I honestly hope it does. The Whitlows have always been supportive of cultural matters here in South Farthing.
GLAMM: Supportive enough to pick where you display my magnificent old spoons? Right across from that narrow window in the wing on….
VERA: Leave an old friend her pleasures. Selecting locations is my favorite part of the job.
GLAMM: Like decorating, I imagine. Some things blend well and some don’t.
VERA: A little like that, I suppose.
GLAMM: Is it really your favorite? Not the research, the… what do you do, polish things?
VERA: I love the research, certainly. The bookwork, that is. I have heard it said that there is much one can learn by going out in the field and seeing with one’s own eyes, but this is foolishness. A good and proper book on the subject, well-researched and well-illustrated, does quite well, thank you. Take for example this book from Cran Hill. Lovely library, by the way. I don’t need to go to the Blue Mountains to learn about the alloy used for these spoons. The book is quite clear on the chemistry of it — some things blend well and some don’t…. Glamm, what pipeweed do you smoke?
GLAMM:: I don’t take pipeweed half as much I should, but I’ve always favored the local: Old Toby.
VERA: Can you have them bring me some?
GLAMM: Of course.
VERA: And put on your coat. We need a walk.
GLAMM: A walk! At this hour? I’ll bring the wine, at least. Shall I bring some cakes for us to nibble on the way?
VERA: Mr. Whitlow, it may be best for you to bring hard-boiled eggs and cold rasher of bacon for breakfast. We’ll be at the market before the farmers arrive.

SCENE SIX
THE MARKET

SULLY and GENTY are setting up their tent.


GENTY: That old fox better not try to set up near us.
SULLY: He won’t. He wouldn’t dare. He and his flavorless cabbages. No one would look at them twice if they got a whiff of ours.

Enter JIM and BIRCH
JIM: Did I not say so, Shirriff? Did I not say they would try to sneak in early?
BIRCH: You did, Jim. You did.
GENTY: Set up early? There must be a dozen people setting up!
JIM: The rule is an hour before breakfast and no sooner.
GENTY: That’s no rule I’ve ever heard.
SULLY: Oh, it’s the rule, make no mistake. One that no one cares about and no one has ever enforced, not since old Batchcook moved out and stopped complaining about being woken up. And that’s old old Batchcook. A century past! And now along comes Mr. Balmcorn trying to use the Shirriff to do what his lies couldn’t.
BIRCH: There’s no need for that. There’s no need for any of this.

Enter VERA and GLAMM
VERA: I couldn’t agree more, Shirriff Birch.
BIRCH: Good morning, Professor. Welcome to Marketday. I would recommend some of the sausage pies.
VERA: Mr. Mackinjay. Miss Mackinjay. Mr. Balmcorn. I have something I would like to show you.
GLAMM: Aye, and I ruined my favorite field trousers getting it, so listen sharp.
VERA: Mr. Mackinjay, may I see your pipe?
SULLY: Another complaint? Lots of folk like Southlinch.
VERA: I’m sure. But in the heart of Old Toby country? You must be something of a rarity to have developed a taste for it. It’s grown in Breeland, is it not?
SULLY: Aye.
VERA: [pulling a handful of grass from her pocket] And these reeds. Catchtoe, yes Mr. Balmcorn?
JIM: Even so.
VERA: Now watch what happens when I take a bit of catchtoe, put it in a puddle, and toss in a bit of Southlinch ash.
GENTY: I don’t see any… wait, what are those?
SULLY: Worms! Wortworms. Nasty beggars.
VERA: And, forgive my lack of knowledge, but a row of cabbages inflicted with wortworms would soon be destroyed, would it not?
JIM: It certainly would. I was taught that the catchtoe keeps them away.
VERA: I’m sure it does, in most cases. But when mixed with a foreign element, with the odoriferous ash of a pipeweed from Bree, a chemical reaction takes place. And this one, it seems, attracts the wortworms instead of keeping them away.
GENTY: Like how some people like a smelly cheese and some don’t.
VERA: A little like that, I suppose. Mr. Mackinjay, your friend did not try to poison your crops. Indeed, if you were not so dedicated to the Southlinch, it would have worked just as well as it does for Mr. Balmcorn.
SULLY: My twice-great-grandfather smoked it, you know, Jim. Picked up the habit when he did a stint as a Bounder down Bucklebury way. Remember him?
JIM: I surely do, Sully. You old goat.
GENTY: Well, I feel a fool. We thank you, Professor Broadfence. You’ve done us a great service.
GLAMM: We’re all quite glad. Now, when precisely do the sausage pies arrive?


SCENE SEVEN
THE MATHOM-HOUSE

VERA enters in traveling clothes and grabs a bite of something from a small cabinet. As she eats, she takes the two dwarven spoons and brings them into a room filled with household items, mainly from the lands of Men. She places them in a display case across from the narrow oval window, but decides against it and puts them in a room of dwarven pieces.

A bit later, she is sitting by a fire reading a book and dozing off.

Categories
publishing writing

Interview with Lesley Conner, Managing Editor of Apex Magazine

Apex Magazine is doing mad good work. (You may have noticed one of their novelettes in the latest Hugo finalists, for a recent example). They are currently running their 2017 subscription drive, which you should check.

So, how does the magic happen? Who are these diligent humans who spin slush into gold?

One of them is Lesley Conner, who was kind enough to answer a few of my more pressing questions.  What follows, Dear Reader, is a tale of horror, social reading, bees, Michigan, and the mind-bending term “goldendoodle”. You will not be the same at the end as you are now, at the blameless start.

Let us begin with Lesley’s bio, which I tore from the Apex site like Marty McFly with a  phonebook.

Lesley Conner is a writer, social media editor and marketing leader for Apex Publications, and Managing Editor for Apex Magazine. She spends her days pestering book reviewers, proofreading, wrangling slush, doling out contracts, and chatting about books, writing, and anything else that crosses her mind on the @ApexBookCompany Twitter account. Most of her nights are spent with a good book and a glass of wine. Her alternative history horror novel, The Weight of Chains, was recently published by Sinister Grin Press. To find out all her secrets, you can follow her on Twitter at @LesleyConner.

Now that we have all been introduced, the interview:

Tell me about the release of your first novel in 2015. How did it go? What did you and the publisher do to get the word out? Did you have a launch party? Were there cupcakes?

Lesley – The release of my first novel The Weight of Chains … was odd. You’d think that I’d be use to novel releases—Apex releases several books a year and I’m involved with each and every one—but with my own novel I was a mess! I was simultaneously afraid people would read it AND afraid no one would ever read it. So weird! Or maybe that’s how every author feels and I’m just used to seeing things from the editor perspective.

As for what I did to get the word out, I treated The Weight of Chains much the same way I do every Apex release. I reached out to reviewers and bloggers that I would with for Apex’s releases and humbly asked if they’d be willing to look at my novel. Since I already had a working relationship with many of them, I was able to set up a good numbers of reviews—many of which said something to the effect of “Lesley seems so nice … Where the hell did this novel come from!?!”

It’s funny that you ask about cupcakes. Have you read The Weight of Chains? Cake plays a very nefarious role in the story. When I sign copies I typically write “Welcome to the castle of my imagination. Enjoy your stay, but don’t eat the cake!” I didn’t have a launch party, but I really wanted to … and serve cupcakes that I’m then warning people not to eat. Yeah, it’s possible I’m slightly evil. LOL!

 

Is your dog named after the character from Buffy?

Lesley – Haha! Yes, my mini goldendoodle puppy Oz is named after Seth Green’s character in Buffy. I recently introduced my 14 year old and 9 year old daughters to the series and they love it as much as I do. When we brought home the fuzzy-faced puppy, naming him after the werewolf seemed like a perfect fit.

Of course, shortly after that the girls started saying we needed a second dog so we could have a Willow. I am not ready to have another dog yet so they’re going to have to hold off on that for now.

What is your process for finding cover art? 

Lesley – I rely heavily on sites such as DeviantArt. When we need to line up a couple of covers I will pour myself a cup of coffee and start plugging random search terms into the site. Science fiction, robot, bees … whatever I think may lead to some interesting images. Then I just browse. Some days I find nothing we can use; other days I find too much! I send links to pieces I think would work as cover art to Jason Sizemore and he narrows that down to the ones he likes. After that I approach the artists and see if they’d be interested in selling us nonexclusive rights—this is why you may see artwork that has been featured on Apex Magazine or one of our books elsewhere, we buy nonexclusive rights so the artist is free to sell those rights again. Luckily we haven’t had much trouble finding beautiful artwork by artists all over the world. Being able to work with so many talented artists and hopefully helping them find new fans is amazing!

 

Reading as a social activity — reading sentences to someone nearby, etc. A lost art?

Lesley – Not in my house! I’m constantly reading passages from whatever book I’m reading to my husband. Honestly, I’m not sure he always appreciates it—I probably shouldn’t interrupt the shows he’s watching—but I can’t help myself, especially when I’m reading a book that I know he isn’t interested in reading himself. I want to share funny lines or characters that I think are amazing. He’s a good sport and puts up with it.

It’s a habit that I’ve seemed to have passed on. My 14 year old daughter will come out of her room and sit next to me on the couch so she can read a passage she thinks is particularly clever. And both of my daughters want me to read books that they’re reading. They want to discuss them and have conversations, so I end up reading a LOT of YA fiction.

I’m also a Girl Scout leader, working with the middle school age girls. There are times when our meetings end up devolving more into a book club because they all want to talk about what they’re reading. I am not going to discourage that!

From my perspective, social reading is alive and well. You just have to know where to find it and how to foster it. Or read everything you’re reading aloud to your spouse whether they like it or not …

 

Have you seen changes to the industry from crowdfunding and subscription-based funding models like Patreon? 

Lesley – Crowdfunding and subscription based funding models allow writers and publishers to take chances on projects they may have shied away from in the past. Those quirky book ideas—the ones authors are really passionate about but aren’t sure anyone else will be—are suddenly a possibility. You want to write a weird western about a fairy who wants to be a train conductor? Instead of trying to sell the idea to a publisher who isn’t sure there’s an audience for such a book, you can put together a Kickstarter. It allows you to feel out interest without fronting the money, and in the end this means a greater number of books about niche topics end up being published. This is definitely a good thing!

But there’s a downside as well. More and more often a lot of publications rely on crowdfunding, subscription drives, and Patreon to keep their doors open. These promotional pushes take up a huge amount of time and energy, and in many cases they can make or break a publication, or at least dictate what a publication is able to do between now and the next promotional push. I don’t think anyone will be surprised when I say it’s stressful. But there’s also something exciting about doing a drive like the Revive the Drive event we’re running for Apex Magazine right now and it gives us the chance to put together amazing double issues like the one we’re setting up for January 2018.

 

Do you get to conventions at all? Which is your favorite?

Lesley – I don’t get to as many conventions as I would like to. There are a lot of reasons for this, with kids, money, and serious social anxiety being at the top of my list, but I really want to go to more.

This year I made it to ConFusion in Michigan. A lot of Apex people who I haven’t seen in a while were there and it was wonderful to get to catch up. Plus, it was an awesome con. If you’ve never been, I’d definitely recommend going. Great mix of writers and fans. The programming covered a wide range of topics. The consuite was amazing! And the con is very family friendly. I would definitely like to go back in the future.

Other than that, the only other con I’m planning on attending this year is Scares that Care. I’m not going in any official Apex capacity, but instead just to enjoy the event. I haven’t done that in a while, so it should be fun.

 

A big thanks to Lesley for her time, insight, and unflagging love of Californian vampire slayers*.  Be sure to swing by Apex’s Revive the Drive site and bear witness to the fantastic goodies on offer.

 

*that being either “slayers of Californian vampires” or “people from California who slay vampires”.

 

Categories
cyberpunk publishing writing

News – Novella GLITCH RAIN Due out 2/16 with Apex!

Very happy to announce that I have signed a contract with Apex Publications for my cyberpunk nouveau novella GLITCH RAIN. Come February 2016, get ready for some drones, container homes, hackers, and heavy, heavy drinking*!

Apex Publications is pleased to announce that we have acquired Alex Livingston’s GLITCH RAIN.

GLITCH RAIN is a post-cyberpunk novella set in the same world as the short story “Proximity” that appeared in Apex Magazine. The novella will be the fourth book in our Apex Voices series!

Alex Livingston’s short fiction has appeared in Apex Magazine, Daily Science Fiction, Bastion Magazine, among others. He self-published the novel Rhymer, an Irish wonder myth told as an exciting sci-fi space opera.

GLITCH RAIN is set to be released in February, 2016.

http://www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/frontpage/79933057-novella-acquisition-glitch-rain-by-alex-livingston

*By the characters. And me, let’s be honest here.

 

Categories
bits cyberpunk writing

Black Mirror: Writing Stakes

If there’s anything cyberpunk nouveau Twilight Zone TV show Black Mirror is good for, it’s tension. I binged the first two seasons yesterday, having intended to just watch one episode. Edge of my seat, standing and shouting, creeped the hell out.

So how did they do it?

The first episode hits you with major life-and-death-and-the-crown stakes in the first minute and doesn’t let you go. Seriously tense. The conceit is so wild it’s almost gimmicky, so how to keep this going in future episodes? Raise them stakes.

[SPOILERS]

The Entire History of You: In a world where you can play back any memory, what happens when you suspect your wife of having feelings for an old friend? Higher – maybe they slept together when you stormed out for a week. Higher – And doesn’t the timing match the conception of your child?

Be Right Back: Your husband dies in a car accident. Higher – you just moved into his family’s old farmhouse, miles from anywhere. Higher – Oh, and you’re pregnant.

Brian Staveley lays out three kinds of literary tension as psychological, social, and environmental in this post (A LOVER, A PIGLET, AND A DEEP HOLE; OR, THREE TYPES OF TENSION), and they can certainly be applied to these episodes.

The Entire History of You:

Psychological: The main character has trust and jealousy issues. This has led his wife to be less than honest about her past relationships.

Environmental: And memories can be played back. Harder to lie now.

Social: Throw his wife’s rakish former lover in the mix.

Be Right Back:

Psychological: Martha is a social person. She prefers to be actually present in her life, rather than sinking into social media and her phone.

Environmental: She is utterly alone out in the countryside, and soon to be a single mum. A friendly voice in the dark sure helps….

Social: And now she can talk with an AI that talks just like her dead husband. She reminds herself he’s not real, and eventually hates “him” for it,.

These are episodes which mainly feature people sitting around and talking, and they shook the hell out of me. Every new layer of tension got a verbal “oh shit”. Good stuff.

Categories
writing

It’s March Flash Madness!

The bloodied plain of fiction combat. There is where you will find me.

I’m participating in J. M. McDermott’s annual March Flash Madness,

wherein two writers go head-to-head with dueling prompts, and readers vote on who continues to the next round. 16 writers enter the ring. Only 1 will stand upon the crushed paper and spilled ink of their enemies, victorious!

I’m matched up against last year’s victor in the first round. Comment to vote & help me overtake the champ! (If you like mine better, that is.)

http://grumptroll.com/2015/03/16/alex-livingston-water-versus-natania-barron-stoneu/

Categories
writing

Comments on a First Chapter

Jess Nevins has posted the first chapter of The Datong Incident, “an anti-imperialist steampunk-spy-romance novel”. Now, what’s not to love about that? My feedback on the chapter:

Excellent first sentence – establishes tone, recent history, level of tech. We’ve got world, inter-personal, and internal conflict all introduced in this first chapter, and we feel for Hall without knowing much about him yet. He’s in a position we can understand — duty to country vs. to home — and makes a decision which allows us to see a bit of who he is. Looking good!

Categories
writing

Life Imitates Art?

Untimely ripped from the pages of the Feycoder series. If you want to know what these books are about, I give you the following:

nuala

 

From this NPR article.

I’m sorry. Big governmental meeting about net neutrality, and someone who is so clearly a faery is presenting? I mean, she has the same name as the faery from The Sandman. My book is largely set in pre-internet simulated fairyland coded by actual fey creatures. This might as well be a scene from it.

You’re not fooling anyone, fey creatures of the world. I’ve got my eye on you

Categories
writing

The Magician’s Land trailer, ft. a lot of awesome people and also me.

Lev Grossman crowdsourced his latest book trailer. Look at all these amazing people!

ML trailer