Wow. I haven't logged on here for awhile because I often feel I'm talking to myself...but apparently more people are viewing this blog! Yay!

So, stick around for an update about my trip to Savannah and some writerly updates. :)

Links!

Some updates:

My guest post (promoting "Death to the Brothers Grimm") is up at Stellar Four. Read and comment for a chance to win a paperback copy of the book.

"No Tears to Spare" is out now in "We Are Dust", a new anthology from Magpie Games.

This is my new-ish Facebook Page. Check it out!

Like Horror? Check out this Kickstarter.

And...that's all for now.

Hope you had a great holiday!

The Hardest Part...

I thought the hardest part of writing was going to be getting published but that turned out to be the easiest so far. It's pretty simple you know? You write. (Easy, if a bit stressful at times.) You submit. (Easy, provided you've done your research.) You wait. (I thought that this was the hardest part for awhile until I learned to distract myself.) You're rejected. (This was easier for me than I've read about it being for others, no one can criticize me harder than I criticize myself.) Then one day, you're accepted for publication. (Yay!) The hard part now is after a story comes out and you look around and expect to see the tons of people you thought would be there to congratulate you and see only a few.

The arrogance, right? To expect that this is as big of a deal to everyone else as it is to you. "It's not as though it's your own book." A silent statement I hear, is it them or me? Short stories (awesome as they are) in someone else's book isn't enough. What will it take? I'm working my ass off trying to hone this talent I have because raw talent isn't enough.

SELL!

I write because I have always written.

SELL!

I write because I must.

SELL!

I want your money. I want you to go buy a book with one of my stories, I want you to read it, I want you to react. Love it? Hate it? I don't care! I want you to think, feel, respond!

Writing isn't a "real" job! Well if people give me money for my work, fuck you, it is. So buy the damn books. I'm always going to be a writer, it's the readers who will decide if I'm a successful one. I hate you fickle reader. I hate that I need you, and I do. I write for you. Can I make you appreciate that? Not easily perhaps,I'm just going to keep improving until you can't ignore me anymore.

Thoughts on "Snow White and The (sexy, sexy) Huntsman" (And may contain spoilers)

I just finally got around to watching the movie and...

-It wasn't as good as I expected it to be, but it was all right.

-I wasn't as annoyed as I expected to be by Kristen Stewart, but she isn't that pretty. (Except when she was dead, then she looked pretty, but I think that was more about the way the scene was shot.) Also, she wasn't believable in the "inspiring speech" part. I think the movie would have been so much better if there had been someone more convincing in that role. Kind of feel that they were trying to ride the "Twilight" wave by casting her.

-I expected the Evil Queen to have more of a hand in things, so I was pretty disappointed there. I really actually liked her, I was rooting for her. Maybe if she didn't have to worry about her beauty fading, and people not loving her, maybe then she'd be good to the kingdom. So, yeah. Lets give her the princess's heart. But I'm a sucker for the "bad" guy.

-I'm still so disappointed by the implication that the princess gets with the huntsman. He's too good for her! Bah! Give her...what was his name? William? The Duke's son, he's good enough, she can have him.

Good Things:

-Huntsman
- Evil Queen
-Dwarves
-Music
-Scenery
-Effects

Overall, I guess I don't mind having spent $10.00 on it, and I probably won't return it, but my version of the "Snow White" story is better. Don't believe me? Go to Amazon, spend $5, or $14, and buy a copy of "Death to the Brothers Grimm"; an anthology with various retellings of fairy tales. My short story, "On the Wall" is a different version of  "Snow White".

Go now, before I lapse into an uninspiring, unconvincing, inspirational scene complete with grandiose gestures and a faltering voice...

Eavesdropping?

While I wrote the second draft of "No Tears to Spare" for Magpie Games ("We Are Dust" anthology), one of the things I had to elaborate on was the ending and the main character's response to some horrifying news. I needed to show how she took it, show her reaction. She laughed.

My guy said "It seems a bit, callous." So I added some more to soften it a bit, but I've been thinking since then about people and their reactions to things and what is considered "normal". When I write, I take a lot of things from my own experiences so I was confused by the way my readers reacted to the laughter. To me, laughing in the face of bad news is what you do. Well, it's what I do. And it's not just "bad" news, but anything that I don't know how to respond to, really. 

When faced with something unexpected (and usually bad) and I don't have time to process an appropriate reaction, I laugh. When I'm furious I cry (And hate myself for it.) If I'm just angry I can keep my temper unless people keep pushing me, in which case, without thinking, I punch (or slap) them in the face. When I'm happy, people usually say I look "dour" and ask "What's wrong?" 

I'd ask what kinds of reactions are "normal" for you, but I try to assume that I'm the only one who actually reads my blog. Oh well, at least I think it's interesting.

So, yeah. That's all folks.

"You mean, Self, right?"

Yep. Yes. That's right. That's all...Self.

"Well thanks, Me, that was quite interesting, I'm sure I'll give it more thought as I continue to write."

Well, I'm glad to hear that it was useful, inspiring, motivating, of course it was interesting, and-

"So, I'm going to go now..."

Oh, okay. Well, hey, thanks for stopping by!

"Yeah, anytime Me, you know I love you!"

Aww, you're so sweet Self. I love you too!

News: Some new, some old, more to come.

So yeah, it's been awhile. Hi! *waves*

News:

Doing Nano again, just to sort of spur myself into writing long pieces again. So far I'm behind, but I'm not concerned. I'll get it.

"On the Wall" (The Snow White story.) is out, in "Death to the Brothers Grimm" (It's on amazon.)

I've sent my final draft of "No Tears to Spare" for the "We Are Dust" anthology from Magpie Games (which is going to be available soon. Yay!)

I withdrew "My Mother's Revenge" from the "Rapid Decomposition" anthology from Twisted Library Press, the publisher has been inactive for sometime and though there was talk about trying the anthology through a different publisher, I've decided to rewrite and submit it elsewhere.

There are other short stories that I've been working on, which is part of why it's taken me some time to get into the novel.

That's all for now, more updates soon when I'm feeling more chatty. (You know, jacked up on coffee and lack of sleep, don't worry, it will be soon so stay tuned!)

Don't get too excited.

So, though "Graves" was held for further consideration, the anthology decided that it didn't quite fit. Which, in retrospect, I sort of expected. It's called "Mistresses of the Macabre" but I don't think "Graves" is that "macabre".

I have finished and sent the first draft of "No Tears to Spare" to Magpie Games for the "We Are Dust" anthology, which will be out sometime. (I'll post dates when I have them.)

Also, it's official. I am now an affiliate member of the HWA, which I'm pretty excited about. 

So, there ya go. Updates.