Do I dare disturb the universe?

The home stretch

pen37 — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 14:57:29 GMT

I'm in the home stretch of writing this novel, with less than three chapters to go. I've taken a break from my forward momentum to go back and write scenes that plug holes. Some writers like to write their novel all out of order in chunks, but I prefer to write mine start to finish in one long line.

Spotting potential mistakes in storytelling is something that I've learned with experience as a writer. There are just certain things things that everyone has to learn on their own. (Like never start a story with a character waking up in bed, because it's too much of a cliche).

For this project, I've invented another character to add detail to the story that the protagonists wouldn't be aware of. In the process, I added a couple thousand words worth of scenes that build the character, advance the plot and create tension.

Writing in scrivener makes it easy to add extra scenes like this. I'm able to plug in virtual note cards to my timeline, then attach them to the new sections of text. If I think those scenes should go elsewhere, I can just drag the note cards, and scrivener will move the scenes in the text for me.

The path to a novel.

pen37 — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 16:49:36 GMT

I crossed 30k words this morning. The original plan for Daughters of Bridget Cleary was 30k, but as I plot it, I'm finding so much more to say. The end result will probably be between 40-50k.

Building a story from scratch is very different from writing one based in established worlds. For one thing, I have to plot out and write scenes to establish who my characters are, and what the rules are for the world they inhabit. With Special projects, the assumption was there that everyone already knew some version of the characters that I played with.

At any rate, I plan to have my rough draft done by the end of the month. Then I'll try to find a developmental editor (someone who can point out holes and dangling plot threads). While that's happening, I'll work on edits from a different novel. Then rewrites, and a line edit for grammar (my biggest weak spot).

Given my background in photography and design, I may do my own cover (something that most self-published authors don't recommend, but I have a degree that says I can do it.) Which would leave more money for the edit. I'm doing this on a shoestring, so I need to save where I can.

More on my progress as I have updates.

If you liked Special Projects, you might want to read this.

pen37 — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 22:08:49 GMT

I didn't want to say anything until this was a thing, but. . .

I'm going to turn Special Projects into an original ebook series. Since it's loosely based on fanfiction, I'm pretty sure the only way to go with it is self published (despite the success of 50 Shades of Grey). And even if I remove anything that remotely looks like it came from either of the two TV shows it's based on (we call that filing the serial numbers off of a story). I'm just not sure that there is a publisher who would want to take a risk on it if they ever found out it was "loosely inspired by" fanfiction.

I'm about halfway through writing the first book, which will vaguely bear a passing resemblance to The Wild Hunt, with a subplot taken from plot points of Devil's Dance. The first book and the series as a whole will eventually be called The Daughters of Bridget Cleary.

Yes, I'm really going to write it and hire an editor and a cover artist. This will be a thing that happens!

I'll post a bit of the first chapter below (Fair warning that it may not look like this by the time I'm done.) I'm also going to put a sign-up form for my newsletter at the end of the post. If you are interested in knowing when the first book is done (or when I publish any more original short fiction or novels) then you can sign up. My newsletter is handled through mail chimp, so there is no selling of addresses, spam or other hinky shenanigans. Just an email once or twice a year. And you can unsub anytime.

So here's a quick rough draft preview of what I hope ends up being a really great series.

*****

“What are you doing?” a woman’s scream, half-angry, half-shocked split the quiet of the hallway.

Sarah Clancy halted mid-stride as she realized that the yell came from behind the doors of her own detective agency. She stared at her door, pulling at her sleeve as she wondered whether she should call for Mark.

As if summoned by her thoughts, Mark kicked the door open. His mask hung slightly askew as he tilted and dragged one of their rolling office chairs behind him. When he turned, Sarah saw what – or rather who – was making all the noise.

A petite woman with a disproportionately large voice sat in the chair, screaming her protests and gripping the handles to avoid falling out. “Let me go, you tool!” She screamed at Mark.

“That’s what I’m doing!” Mark snapped back. He slammed the chair forward, tipping her out and onto the ground. The woman sprang to her feet and got up in his personal space immediately. “Do you treat all potential clients this way?”

Mark pushed her back with one hand as he shoved the chair back through the doorway with the other. “We reserve the right to refuse our services to anyone,” he shot over his shoulder at her.

The deteriorating situation – and potential loss of a paying client – goaded Sarah into movement again. Refusing work didn’t pay the rent. And it wasn’t as if a couple of specialists like her and Mark had clients coming out of the woodwork to hire them.

“Hey!” She waved her arms to get the bickering duo’s attention. Both Mark and the strange woman looked over at her. His stance one of annoyance while she looked relieved.

Sarah crossed her arms and glared at the both of them. “What’s going on here?”

“That depends,” The woman said. “Are you with building security?”

“Not quite,” Sarah snorted. She pointed to the nameplate on the door that said Clancy and Clancy Investigations in gold foil lettering. “I’m Sarah Clancy.”

The woman’s face lit up with hope. “I’m Christina Kelly. I wanted to hire you. But this casting reject from V for Vendetta seems violently against the idea.”

Sarah lifted an eyebrow at that. Considering that they used her money to start the business, her name was the first Clancy on the door. So what right did Mark have to refuse a client?

“We require a retainer fee up front.” Sarah said.

“Do you take Visa?” Christina asked.

Especially a paying one. Sarah tilted her head as if to non-verbally ask Mark that very question. He ducked sheepishly.

“She’s a reporter,” he muttered.

Christina Kelly scoffed at that. “Yeah, genius. That’s why I want to hire you: To help me investigate a story.” She turned to Sarah. “Has your brother always been a complete and utter tool?”

“Hey!” Mark protested. “Watch who you’re calling a tool, lady”

“Buddy, you’re not just a tool, you’re an entire tool truck with a factory that supplies extra wrenches.”

Before he could counter, the door of the plumber’s office next to theirs swung open. And speaking of tools, Sarah thought. The plumber who worked there stuck his head out and glared at them.

“Why don’t we take this inside?” Sarah suggested.

Mark rolled his eyes, but backed up enough to let Mrs. Kelly and Sarah into their office. Out of the corner of her eye, Sarah watched him make a rude gesture at the plumber. She heard the door of the other office slam, and her brother laughed.

“Oh Mark,” she sighed in exasperation.

“What?” He threw his hands up. When Sarah waved in dismissal, he grabbed her hand. “She’s trouble.” He forced the words out through clenched teeth so Mrs. Kelly wouldn’t hear. Sarah made it a point not to look at the reporter as she settled into the chair that Mark had just dumped her out of. Their office consisted of two rooms: The waiting room where they now stood had three chairs and a small coffee table to make clients comfortable. Off to the right stood a closet-sized back room where Sarah did the paperwork and balanced the books on an ancient computer that ran on spit and duct tape.

“How so?” Sarah whispered back to her brother.

“Did you read The Daughters of Bridget Cleary?”

Sarah’s head whipped around so that she could stare at the reporter. Chris Kelly. Not apparently a man. And author of a book that had won a Pulitzer for investigative reporting.

“She wrote that book? I thought that she’d be taller,” Sarah said.

“The fairy reporter? That’s her.”

“Actually, my book was about people descended from changelings,” Christina suddenly turned to them with a knowing grin.

Sarah felt a flush creep up her neck. “Do you prefer Chris or Christina?”

“Chris is fine,” she said.

“Did you really travel with the army changeling unit during the last changeling war?”

“That’s where I got the nickname Chris.” Her gaze shifted to Mark. “I should be the starstruck one. You two have a reputation of your own: locating children taken by the Fair Folk, reversing curses, overturning pranks. If I’m the fairy reporter, you two are the fairy detectives.”

“That was all before the Changeling war. There hasn’t been a fairy sighting since the UN nuked Ireland. We’re not interested in a book about us,” Mark said.

“What do you have to hide, besides your face?” Chris gave him an impish look. “Is that the result of a Medusa curse?”

“Want to find out?” Mark straightened his mask.

“My brother and I like our privacy,” Sarah cut in.

“I can respect that,” Chris nodded. “I’m not interested in doing a book on you, anyway. Your brother didn’t give me the chance to tell him that. If you work for me, I’ll leave you two out of my writing.”

“What sort of work?” Mark sat in his usual chair and steepled his hands under his chin.

“Research mostly. With a little bit of legwork on the side.” Chris spread her hands. “I can’t be everywhere and you two are already familiar with the Fair Folk. It’s steady work and guaranteed pay.”

Sarah directed a questioning look at Mark. He met her gaze and nodded to the next room, a sign that he wanted to talk privately.

Chris seemed to interpret their hesitance. “Why don’t I let you talk it over?” She stood and handed Sarah a business card. “I’m flying out tomorrow for Holbrook Arizona. Give me a call if you’re interested.” She gave Mark a tight smile as if she’d won some kind of victory as she walked out the door.

Mark turned to Sarah as soon as Chris was gone. “No. Absolutely not.”

“It would pay the bills,” Sarah said. “We’ve had a couple of lean months.”

He passed his hand through his hair in agitation. “Sis, the entire unit she was embedded with is dead. Have you looked at her biography?”

“Obviously not if I thought she was a he.” Sarah muttered.

“She attracts the wrong kind of enemy.”

“There’s a right kind?”

Mark’s shoulders slumped. “Do we have to do this again?”

Sarah rested a comforting hand on his arm. “You heard her. We’re the fairy detectives. With a reputation like that, it’s just a matter of time until we attract the wrong kind of attention. We may as well make money while doing it.”

He crossed his arms in a ridiculous pout. “What’s in Holbrook, anyway?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” Sarah slid her phone out of her pocket and dialed the number on the card.

***
Note: Just enter your email in the first block (I have no idea why the second block is there. It's not on the template.)

Yes! I want to know when you turn this into an original novel!

Every Parent's Nightmare

pen37 — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 20:53:35 GMT

About 45 minutes north of where I live, this little girl was kidnapped yesterday. There was an amber alert, so I think the news spread nationwide. The guy who did it grabbed her right in front of two people, and pulled her into his car (I don't think he saw them). They chased after him as soon as they saw what was happening, but they couldn't stop him. They were on the phone with 911 with a full description of the guy, his car and his licence plate as he was speeding off.

Within three hours, the police arrested him, but it was too late for the little girl. I don't know the details, (and I don't want to know). But if those two people hadn't been there, they probably wouldn't have caught this guy. He was in the middle of trying to hide the body and clean himself up when they caught him. He was a coach at an elementary school. He worked with kids every day.

When I was a little girl, I used to think my mother was paranoid. She wouldn't let me leave my yard without my sister. (There's safety in numbers, she always said).

Now that I have a child of my own, I understand.

Cut-Rate Chocolate Day's Eve

pen37 — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 21:55:44 GMT

Otherwise known as Valentine's day.

We celebrated last night, which was nice. Hubby knocked it out of the park with his gift -- cooking lessons. From a chef who studied at the Sorbonne. We (along with 15 other people) made a 7 course French dinner. Including shrimp bisque, steak au povire and chocolate mousse. Then we got to eat it.

Since both of us like to cook, it was a very very good gift.

On being in fandom and writing for the Interwebs

pen37 — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 06:30:35 GMT

My publisher finally joined the digital age by getting most of the press's back catalog of books up on Amazon.

This is pretty good news for all involved, since going to conventions to promote dead tree copies is proving to be increasingly less profitable. And writers who aren't big names with east coast publishing contracts seem increasingly unwelcome. Even at smaller regional conventions.

On one hand, going is still useful if you happen to be comfortable with networking. On the other, the demographic of fans going to conventions is changing.

Even at Literary conventions, there are more cosplayers, gamers and anime fans. They may go to see a big name writer, but then they earmark their discretionary funds for things other than books in the dealer's room.

So eBooks allow me to get my work into the hands of fans without worrying about if I'll break even on hotel, food, gas and other expenses.

What I have to figure out now is how to promote my work online, without being just another voice shouting in a crowd of shouters. There seems to be a lot of advice everywhere, some of it contradictory, and not all of it good.

On another subject, I'm kind of glad I'm not in Harry Potter fandom at the moment, since JK Rowling seems to be launching barrels of Greek fire into the shipping wars.

Given some of the epic fan wank and fan dumb I've seen in various fandoms I've been in, I think I enjoy a thing more if I stay away from the fandom. I'm sure I liked Buffy, Harry Potter and even MST3K more than I would have otherwise.

I've met some awesome people in fandom, and enjoyed my shows by doing my own thing. But I've also at one point been compared to a member of the Klan (for being a fan of Chloe Sullivan. Figure out the connection there when you're done WTF ing) and had a supposedly professional review of my work (on IO9, no less) torn apart based on the fact that I was the wrong sort of fan (not a true fan) of Supernatural.

I just think that when fans degenerate something meant for joy into something personal, political and nasty it takes the joy of it for me.

I suppose I feel the same about stupidity in religion and politics. But let's not go there.

My week

pen37 — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 20:27:00 GMT

Took hubby to the doctor's office yesterday. They're not sure what the problem is, so an MRI is the next step. I've actually gotten more done around the house with him here. I think it's the whole idea that I have to be more organized when tree is more to do.

I outlined and did character sketches in yet another novel idea. Can't write it though. I've got to write the Briget Cleary novel that evoked from special projects, and fix the rewrite on the epic novel of 2010. I'm liking scrivener for the ability to brainstorm, though.

Posted via m.livejournal.com.

Two kids for the price of one.

pen37 — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 18:36:45 GMT

I usually like to watch my nieces and nephews, because they'll play with the toddler and I get a break.

Today hubby is home from work with his knee swollen double. This is different, because not only does the toddler not get distracted by him or want to play, but I also get to help him out around the house. So more stress and less time to get a break for myself.

Thinking when I put the child down for her nap, I may sequester myself in the bathroom for a bit, just for a sanity break.

Pregnancy, comics, writing

pen37 — Sun, 19 Jan 2014 19:21:15 GMT

I always mean to blog more consistently. I suppose everyone knows about good intentions and the roads they pave.

I always feel disappointed in myself when I look at my body of writing. I feel like I should have more work out there. My output slowed quite a bit when Little Miss came along.

I had enough pro credits to qualify for SFWA. Then my co-writer had a stroke. I hope he can recover, not just so we can carry fourth our writing plans, mostly just for him.

Occasionally I branch out into science fiction to compete in the Jim Baen Memorial contest. I haven't won yet, but it gives me a wider range of stories to market.

I'm still working on the epic novel from 2010. I still want to get it out and find an agent. I committed to that plan before the eBook market took off, and I'm committed to stay the course on that.

I've thought about adapting Special Projects into an original series for eBooks. If I do, it won't look like Special Projects any more. In order to make it completely my own, I'll have to completely gut it and jettison anything that is recognizable from SPN or SV. The basic plot structure might remain.

I'm trying out scrivener, and so far I like it. More on that as I figure it out.

I started a new podcast with my best friend last year. I think we have about two listeners, but I'm enjoying it anyway. We've mostly just fangirled over YA books, complained about comics and squeed over movies.

And I blogged about Wonder Woman last week at writertracy while doing that, I found a picture of me with Wonder Woman face paint from when I was a kid. That was a trip.

So I saw Man Of Steel

pen37 — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:04:53 GMT

Despite the fact I hardly ever get to see movies anymore thanks to the baby, hubby and I got a babysitter and went to see Man of Steel.

Without being too spoilery, I'll say I like it – better than the most recent Superman movie.

It's obvious to me that Christopher Nolan's hand was in it, because the fight scenes were a little too drawn out. And I think they made a mistake in having the fight scenes take place directly in populated areas. In my opinion, Clark would try to move a fight out of a populated area and into the rural areas, or space in order to avoid collateral casualties.

Smallville fans will notice some definite callbacks to the show, Including a roundabout reference to Chloe Sullivan (blink and you'll miss it) a direct reference to Whitney Fordham, and in her one scene, Lana Lang is sitting next to an Asian girl Which is, I think, a direct reference to Kristen.

Overall I liked the movie.

I'm in a book trailer contest

pen37 — Wed, 08 May 2013 19:32:08 GMT

It's been a long time since I've posted here, but I need to get the word out.

My book trailer for the Tranquility series is in a monthly trailer contest with you gotta read reviews.

Please check out the contest (which is near the bottom of the page, and not visible on the mobile version of the site). My trailer is number four in the series. Voting will be on the 20th through 26th of the month.

http://yougottaread.com/

Turning comments back on.

pen37 — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:38:44 GMT

Dear readers,

I'm making attempt to get back into blogging a bit more. Honestly, I missed a lot of you. So I'm turning comments back on to a limited degree. If you are on my friends list, your comments will post unmoderated. Strangers' comments will be moderated.

Thanks for reading!

pen37 — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:34:22 GMT

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I know I haven't posted here in a long while. It's nice that so many of you remember me.

Is this wrong of me?

pen37 — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 22:14:13 GMT

This week, the DC universe is rebooting all of it's titles. One of the casualties is Superman's wedding. As of this week, he and Lois Lane are cannonically no longer married. Which is as stupid as the deal with the devil that Marvel used a few years ago to reset Spiderman so that he and Mary Jane were no longer married. (why U no LIke Strong Female Characters, Fanboys?)

On the other hand, If they were going to do this, I wish they had done it when Smallville was still going, and the Lois Lane fans and Choloe Sullivan fans were at each other's throats and all the writers kept going on and on and on (and on and on) about how ICONIC! everything was. Because? That right there, in retrospect of everything that is going on right now, is so very, very Lulzy.

Appropros of this, I interviewed Keith DeCandido on my other blog. (You may remember that he wrote the Supernatural tie-in novels). He's just released a police procedural told from the point of view of the cops in a town filled with Superheroes. (Think Homicide: Life on the Streets meets Marvel Comics' New York City). It's a very good read, and an interesting take on Superhero deconstruction. If you get a chance, do read the novel. The book is called SCPD:The Case of The Claw. I picked up my copy on Smashwords for a few bucks.

I have no plans to die today.

pen37 — Mon, 16 May 2011 21:19:59 GMT

Gosh, it's been awhile, hasn't it. I've been sunk into editing the epic novel of 2010, and I'm nearly finished with that round and ready to send it off to my first readers.

But I went to see Thor last weekend, and now Thor Fanfiction is distracting me. :) Thor was the first comic that I ever read. It got me into comic books lo' those many years ago. I always had a soft spot for Jane Foster. I know that Sif in the comics is Thor's one true love, but I always felt like Jane got a raw deal. Just like in the AU comic Thor: The Mighty Avenger, the Jane/Thor dynamic in the movie was just too cute and sweet. And brought down to mortal! Thor was hilarious. Chris Hemsworth had great comic timing.

I've been lurking at thor_het and avengersblend . They're new communities, but fun places to find fanfiction that I hope grow over time.

Anyway, just passing things along. Going back into lurker/editor mode now.

Merry Christmas: I give you Fic!

pen37 — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 14:29:30 GMT

Over at my other blog, I've posted the last post prior to Christmas. Write What You Know: True Grit Edition where I discuss the history of Fort Smith (The town where I live and the setting for True Grit.) and how the author of the original book mined the local history for his characters and setting. (Yes, Virgina, there was a Rooster Cogburn. His name was Cal Whitson. And also possibly Bass Reeves, Heck Thomas and Frank Canton.)

Also, my publisher Yard Dog Press is having a holiday sale. During the month of December if you buy either Tranquility or Bride of Tranquility directly from the publisher, I will send you a free preview of the first two chapters of the next book in progress, It Came from Tranquility. (The publisher will take orders by phone. And she will take credit cards). You can find her other sales and deals here. My books are here. And if you like E-Books, Baen has a special on the Yard Dog Bundle. My books, plus the Four Redheads of the Apocalypse series for $20.

Finally, just in time for Christmas, I give you a Chance! Winchester fic. Albeit a drabble.

***

*thunk*

Chloe looked up from wrapping gifts in her office, eyebrows beetling. The sound came from the secret door. At about ankle-height.

*thunk*thunk*thunk*thunk*thunk*thunk*thunk*

She dropped the tape on the package and shifted her grip on the scissors to create an improvised weapon. Then she peeked through the trap door.

Chance's ~~hellhound~~ *irish wolfhound* stumbled backwards and plopped down in it's tail. A red bag with a green Christmas tree printed on the side covered his head. Red and green tissue paper stuck out of the open end like a demented clown's collar.

With a sigh, she dropped the scissors and carefully pulled the package off of the dog's head. Dog's tongue lolled to one side as he looked up at her with a sheepish expression.

"Chance!" She wrinkled her nose at the faint brimstone smell.

"Yeah mom?" Chance stuck his head through the door, his best innocent expression fixed firmly onto his face. For a five-year-old, it wasn't bad. But she recognized it from Dean.

"Did you erase the salt line around the tree?"

Chance froze.

Caught you! Chloe shoed dog back over to Chance. "Fix it. And don't do it again. Otherwise I'm putting you both in time out." Time out for chance was a chair in the corner. Time out for dog was the trap under the rug.

"Aw, Man!" Chance turned and flounced away. Dog followed with his tail between his legs.

"And no using a talky board to consult the spirits!" She yelled after him. "You do not get to find out about your gifts until Christmas!" Then she looked down to find out what present Dog had just attacked. It looked like the gift she had just finished wrapping for Lois.

"No sweater for cousin Lois this year," Chloe sighed. "I bet there is still time to order Monster Ballads online."

Amazing "Spawn" picspam

pen37 — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:33:29 GMT

Some of you may know that I 'spawned' a subgenere of crossover fic that we affectionately dub 'spawnfic.' Spawnfic is fiction about kids from the characters of the winchullivan crossovers. Specifically kids of Chloe Sullivan from Smallville and either Dean or Sam Winchester from Supernatural.

I unintentionally started a genre when I started writing fiction in which Dean and Chloe had a little boy named Chance, who had amazing powers of luck and the ability to summon a ~~hellhound~~ Irish Wolfhound. Yeah, I like to write quirky things. What about it.

Anyway, fonapola posted an amazing picspam about the spawn over in here journal here. It's dedicated to strangevisitor7 , but all of us can enjoy it.

Knock Me Over With A Feather: My Supernatural/Smart Pop Essay is Up in Full Text Form!

pen37 — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 21:02:54 GMT

The Benbella Smart Pop line of books occasionally posts the full text of one of their essays online for a short period of time. I just found out that on October 28th, they posted my essay from In The Hunt, their Supernatural Meta Anthology.

My essay is entitled John Winchester and the Magic Bullet Theory. You can read the full text for a very short period of time here.

Remember the anti-Claus?

pen37 — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:28:59 GMT

Remember how in the Supernatural episode 3.08 A Very Supernatural Christmas, Sam thought that the episode's big bad was Krampus the Christmas demon?

Right now Tee Fury has a Krampus T-Shirt up. It's really kind of cool, in a very creepy way. This image is sized too small to do the actual artwork justice, but I wouldn't want to steal the artwork. Just head over there, or to Miss Monster, the artist's website and check it out.

I like Tee Fury a lot. They have a ton of topical fannish shirts. and their prices are good. While I won't be buying this one, I do have their Amity Island Boat Rental t-shirt.

Would you like to read an unposted Winchullivan Story?

pen37 — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:13:43 GMT

A couple of Various and Sundry things:

1. I need a beta reader to "New York-pick" a work of original fiction. Since my pro blog does not have quite as diverse a pool of people to choose from as this one, I thought I would ask here first. I'm not interested in grammar at the moment. I'm more interested in making sure that my setting is accurate. The story is a bit of his girl friday, a bit Indiana Jones. The setting is Manhattan, although one scene is set just across the river in Brooklyn. The word count is roughly 80k, but you can skip large chunks of the story if you need to and just focus on the scenes that set the location.

2. The Tranquility series is now Live at Baen Books. You can purchase them for download here. As I was cleaning up my flash drive the other day, I found a couple of unposted winchullivan stories (Including the slayer Chloe story that I was working on when I sort of trailed off from the fan writing).

What does one have to do with the other? I am willing to release the winchullivan stories into the wild to anyone who has purchased and read the Tranquility series either in Trade Paperback form from Yard Dog Press, or in e-form from Baen (If you have purchased them in the past, you can participate in this as well). Simply e-mail me at author (at) tracysmorris dot com, and I will polish up the winchullivan stories and send them your way as a little "DVD extra."

I'm not requiring any kind of proof of purchase. I'll do this on an honor system. Hopefully if you like my fanfiction, you'll like the original fiction as well.

3. Over on my writing blog, I've posted a linkspam with links to apps and websites that can help you survive NaNoWriMo without getting snowballed by life. The links range from a website that provides slow cooker recipes to the Write or Die website, that helps you focus your time. The post is here.

I Can Haz E-Book!

pen37 — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 03:25:45 GMT

I know I haven't been around in a while, but I've got some major news to share. My novel series has just been picked up in E-Book Format by Baen Books!

You can get both Tranquility and bride of Tranquility in E-Format through the Baen website. Right now the website has a link to the cover art and the first chapter of each book as a free preview. The links to the shopping cart should be up by October 15.

For right now though, you can read the first chapters by going here.

Thank you!

pen37 — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 18:03:50 GMT

Checking in with thanks for everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I will have some very big news soon. Can't just say what yet, because there are contracts involved. ;)

Sad News

pen37 — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:52:23 GMT

Hey guys,

I just needed to pass along some bad news. I know a few of you who follow my blog used to be active in Forever Knight Fandom. I just heard the news that Susan Garret has passed away. Susan was an active writer of fanfiction in Forever Knight fandom During it's heyday, she started the Forever Knight Fan fiction awards and she wrote the novelization tie-in Intimations of Mortality.

Word from the Forever Knight fandom lists is that Susan had cancer and died of a secondary infection that occurred during treatments.

Although I never met Susan IRL, I have been in one or two anthologies with her. I enjoyed her work quite a bit. My heart goes out to her family.

The state of the Pen: Going on Hiatus

pen37 — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 02:08:26 GMT

Back several years ago when I started this writing blog, I wanted a fannish outlet that I could keep separate from my non-fannish fiction writing. Lately, I've had a lot of things happen to make me re-think continuing this.

1. Declining interest in the shows that sparked my fannish interest. I've got zero interest in Smallville anymore, and I had to make myself watch the first few episodes of this season's Supernatural. I think I'll get interested in SPN again, but Smallville is a lost cause.

2. Busy real life. When I was churning out regular daily fanfiction, I was at a point in my Real Life that there wasn't money for promoting my real life fiction. I didn't think I could get to conventions to network, and I was depressed about the economic situation. I turned all that creative writing into fanfiction. I kept up with the fanficiton because I got interested in the plot I was writing/playing, and it made a great test drive for the original ficiton short stories.

Add to that my job as a receptionist gave me the time to write when things were slow.

Today? Not so much. I have a job writing all day long, so my brain is actively engaged and there is no slow period. Once I'm done with writing that pays money, I shift into fiction writing mode. First I work on stories that I have promised to people and have fixed deadlines. then I work on one of a couple of fiction novels.

3. Shift of focus. The past few times that I've started to write a fanfiction story, I have stopped because I could see potential for an original story in the plot if I would just re-write the opening with original characters before it became too much like the universe I was borrowing from.

What this means for you guys:

Firstly, I don't see myself writing fanfiction in the foreseeable future. It's just not in the cards guys. I'm sorry. I won't purge this journal, because I know that there are folks who like to read the old stories. But I am granting a general defrending amnesty to anyone who wants to leave.

I may continue to post things of a personal nature and fannish squee here, but I'm not sure.

Part of the function of this blog (in addition to the fiction) was to have a place to vent on my real life without people I know finding it. But because I have a bad habit of accidentally posting under this Identity in other places, people from my real life have found this blog from my other one. I'm comfortable sharing my thoughts with the few people that I know for certain have found the blog. But I don't know who reads anonymously. And I don't want to complain about my husband/dad/sister/best friend/current editor if they are out there lurking and reading.

I will still remain active on my writertracy blog, where I post my wordcount and number of stories submitted on Monday, thoughts on writing on Wednesady, and exerpts of what I wrote that week on Friday. I may start an original story that I post weekly there the way I posted fanfiction here, if time allows. I will continue to send my twitter posts there, and my post fannish and RL squee there more often.

If you want to keep up with me as a person and a fiction writer, I would suggest you go over there.

As I said earlier, I won't hold it against anyone who defriends this blog. It isn't going to be active the way it was, and there won't be new fiction here.

I wish everyone who has been my friend on this blog the best in life.

With regards
Pen37

Shameless campaigning: BoT up for an award

pen37 — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:26:22 GMT

Critters, an online critique group is having their annual best of poll for writing. Bride of Tranquility is one of the novels that is nominated in the Science Fiction and Fantasy category.

I know that some of you have read the book and (hopefully) liked it. Now I would appreciate your vote. (And if you feel like passing this around, I wouldn't object :)

The category is Science Fiction and Fantasy novel. The book is Bride of Tranquility. As far as I know, you don't have to be a registered member of Critters to vote. Just give them your name and respond to the e-mail that they send you to prove that you're a real person.

The poll is only open through January 14.

The address is http://www.critters.org/predpoll/

also! There is one more day to order Bride of Tranquility from Yard Dog Press and qualify for the chance to win Swag through the book promotion. http://www.yarddogpress.com/brideof.htm