Ramblefest Sunday

I don't have any fully completed or organized thoughts in my head at the moment, so this post is going to be a bit of a ramble-fest.

I was gardening the other day (planting some stuff) and it suddenly occurred to me, I don't like doing this. I enjoy having a decent-looking garden, so I like the end result of gardening. But I don't actually like the act of gardening. I find no particular joy in spreading mulch or picking slugs off my squash leaves. I just like having a yard that doesn't look like a post-apocalyptic wasteland. But I don't really like the process, it's kind of a pain.

Same with cooking. I like food. I definitely like food. But cooking is also kind of a pain. I'm not one of those people who scours the city for ethnic groceries to get unusual ingredients. I don't mix it up or substitute stuff or experiment and I rarely hit up farmers' markets. I just like to eat, but cooking is not exciting.

What is exciting? What do I do for the pleasure of the work itself, for it's own sake?

Writing. I love every step of the writing process: thinking, developing, writing, even revision. If no one ever read another story of mine again, I would still write. Because I truly do love every single minute of it.

The other thing I love for its own sake is vacuuming. It's instant gratification. For Christmas a few years back I asked for a Dyson. Seriously. My in-laws and parents pooled their cash money together and bought me one, too.

Moving on, I have some upcoming appearances (ha!). There's Fandomfest 2013 on July 27th (we'll only be there for one day). Last year we went and I had a blast at the writing panels, and this year's list looks pretty neat too.  My problem with a lot of convention writing panels is that every single one is aimed at beginning writers, and they rarely vary from year to year. The Fandomfest panels seem to assume that you already kind of know your shit, which is nice.

There is also Gencon 2013 in August.  Due to some scheduling issues (both grandmas work in schools, and school starts that week...so no babysitting for us until the weekend), we won't be getting there until Friday evening, but plan to close the place down on Sunday.

Currently working on both a prequel and a sequel to my novella Hour of the Lotus. The prequel focuses on a character who is mentioned in the novella, but doesn't have a large part (well, she does, but indirectly) and the sequel will continue the story of the two main characters. I am also working on a weird Western involving a Chinese railroad worker/former Shaolin monk and vampires. It's getting pretty gonzo. I plan to begin revising my second novel in the couple weeks but I want at least one of these other pieces completed first (in roughdraft form, anyway) before then. Probably the weird Western.

And finally, this is funny is you watch A Game of Thrones or read A Song of Ice and Fire. My favorite character is 'Thug" (not an inaccurate description) and I do think Khal Drogo's official title should be 'King of the Guys'.

Writing Advice from Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates is one of my favorite writers. Everything she writes is at least decent (and she writes a lot- 2 books a year at least), and besides, she is one twisted lady, which makes me happy.

So you can probably guess how delighted I was to see an article full of invaluable writing advice from her.


Disclaimer: it's The Onion. The advice is probably still good, but, um, I think I'll try a different path.

"Hour of the Lotus" E-Book Now Available!

My new novella, "Hour of the Lotus", is out from Dreamspinner Press as of today!

You can purchase it on Amazon for $3.99 or directly from the publisher's website at a slight discount.

Here's the blurb:

"General Sho Iwata is devastated when the man he secretly loves, Prince Narita, is struck with a mysterious illness. To make matters worse, the servants assigned to sit up with the prince at night have been falling asleep, leaving him unattended.

Iwata's current lover, Hiroshi, is well aware of the general's unrequited passion. But that isn’t his biggest problem. His sister is Narita’s favorite consort, but Hiroshi believes she has been replaced by an imposter. When he convinces Iwata to investigate, they discover the true cause of the prince’s illness. Iwata will fight to save the man he loves, and Hiroshi will fight for his sister, but if they want to save the prince and find justice, they first have to battle an ancient spirit and survive."

I've had an excellent experience working with Dreamspinner Press  (in case you want to know!). They're organized, quick to respond and willing to help an author out with any questions they might have.

Now, if you do read "Hour of the Lotus", please please please leave a review on Amazon or the Dreamspinner Press website.  Don't pat me on the head and tell me it's good; I have a mother to do that for me. Leave an HONEST review. It's all I ask.

Huh? It's too small? Well, any box in a storm, I say.

Novella News!

My novella, Hour of the Lotus, will be coming out on May 29th from Dreamspinner Press. The price will be $3.99. Here's a blurb to help you decide if you want it!

"General Sho Iwata is devastated when the man he secretly loves, Prince Narita, is struck with a mysterious illness. To make matters worse, the servants assigned to sit up with the prince at night have been falling asleep, leaving him unattended.

Iwata's current lover, Hiroshi, is well aware of the general's unrequited passion. But that isn’t his biggest problem. His sister is Narita’s favorite consort, but Hiroshi believes she has been replaced by an imposter. When he convinces Iwata to investigate, they discover the true cause of the prince’s illness. Iwata will fight to save the man he loves, and Hiroshi will fight for his sister, but if they want to save the prince and find justice, they first have to battle an ancient spirit and survive."

And if that doesn't get you, here's the cover by the very talented Anne Cain:

(I love this picture, it's a little Blade of the Immortal, a little Yoshitaka Amano, and all awesome). The story is very loosely based on an old folktale that is sometimes collected under the title "The Vampire Cat" (in the world of this novella, however, cats- as one character points out- are able to interact with the spirit world but rarely bother; the same way they rarely bother to interact with this world, ha).

So a mere nine days from now you can pick it up at this website.

Love it, hate it, whatever you think about it let me know. 

Short Fiction Rocks!

A Short Film That Reminds Us Short Fiction is SF's Lifeblood

The link title pretty much says it all. In fact, short stories are the lifeblood of many genres, not just SF- where would horror and erotica be without short fiction?

Short fiction is an entirely different animal from novels. Some authors can write great short stories, but can't write a decent novel; other are reversed, and still others can do both with equal skill.

I used to think I was a better short story writer than a novelist, but lately I've had a hell of a time writing anything under 10,000 words (the dreaded bastard-length 'novelette', which has few markets). I'm not sure why I'm having such difficulty recently. Maybe my brain is shifting into 'long form' phase. Hopefully it will shift back soon, because I enjoy the unique challenge short fiction offers- with less space to explain, you really need to use your words as efficiently as possible.

In closing, here is some advice from a better writer than me, one who I think was a far superior short story author than a novelist (hmm, this might get me flamed):

Kurt Vonnegut Tells You How to Write a Short Story

Boxes for Big Cats

I have a cat. She is a 15-pound monster with a cranky attitude and fur that she sheds relentlessly, all year long.

She also likes boxes. You can't leave any box on the floor and come back to not find Mei Mei sitting in it. Even little kid shoeboxes; somehow she manages to stuff her fat ass in there.

As this video shows, all cats like boxes. Even really big ones.

Boxes for Big Cats