Category Archives: Uncategorized

White House Briefed on Potential for Life on Mars

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I did a double-take when I read the news on Slashdot this morning (the original article is on Aviation Week). The White House has been briefed by NASA officials concerning new data that is “much more complex” than the results of the test that confirmed water on Mars.

They’ve confirmed “Earth-like” soil and water. This latest news that has sparked intrigue may be related to the wet-chemical tests, where water from Earth is stirred with Martial soil. My mind is roiling with the possibilities. We may have to wait two to four weeks before an official announcement is made, though.

Go Phoenix!

Weird Tales contest

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Via Cat Rambo, Weird Tales is having a flash fiction contest.

You’ve seen the latest wave of spam — you know, the faux outrageous news headlines: “Osama trains goats for tactical bombing.” “Laika the Russian space dog returns to Earth.” “Children admit to being little shits: Video.” Isn’t it a shame the headline is all we get? So here at Weird Tales we’re inviting YOU to turn this spam into… um… spam-ade!

Write a story under 500 words inspired by spam. If you need some inspiration, I’ve collected spam from a few friends and collated it here. I’ve filtered out some of the noise, like foreign character sets and some of the duplicates, but be warned that there is still a good deal of mature language.

It’s life, but not as we know it.

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Work continues to dominate the majority of my free time. We’re in the market to hire another solid PHP programmer. If you know of any, send them my way.

On the personal front, the legal process continues to unfold. Lots of communication back and forth with the divorce lawyer, working out details on a possible settlement. It would be nice if we reach a fair agreement and get off this roller coaster. We’ll go to trial if we must, even if it takes another six or nine months to get to a fair outcome, but I hope cooler heads and reason will prevail.

Things around the homestead of been mostly quiet of late. We celebrated my 33rd birthday last week. Some nagging allergy-related health issues have slowed me down a lot. On top of the usual sinus issues, I’m fighting inflammations in both ears. After dealing with a daily diet of Allegra D for more than a year, I think it’s time to see a specialist and get to the bottom of things.

Writing is slow but steady. I have several stories under revision and a few others in varied states of completion. I feel good about the writing I’m getting done. I just wish it were getting done faster. It’s been a year since the Jim Gunn workshop and I can see the progress I’ve made since then. Now I need to push through, editing to the best of my ability, and get these stories back out the door.
I’ve had good days and bad days, but time goes on and on and on. It’s easy to get disheartened by the weight of stress and frustration, the slow writing progress and the everyday pangs of life. One foot after the other, with an occasional glance over your shoulder to see where you’ve been. There ain’t no way out but through.

I am…

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…blogging. I’ve been lax on posting updates and commentary, so this is my make-up post.

…tired. Work has been absolutely crazy lately. Long days, longer nights. I’m really looking forward to the days where I can delegate much more of the work. I never thought I’d look forward to taking more of a management role but in this case it means sane hours.

…writing. My serious writing push started last spring and really gained momentum following the James Gunn Workshop last year. This year I’m on track with writing one new story a month, keeping the finished stories in circulation, and I’m gaining confidence in my abilities each and every day.

…editing. Boy, does it suck. No, really. I tend to write the first draft of a story and let it sit for a few weeks, working on another story while the previous one airs out. Inevitably, when I return to editing I find things I could have done better. It’s a clear sign that I’m improving but still frustrating.

…living. The divorce is still pending and money is tighter than Ritchie Riches money clip. It’s good to know I haven’t lost the taste for Ramen noodles.

…organized. We’ve done a smashing job of cleaning house and rearranging furniture. I keep meaning to take and post pictures.

…happy. We’re doing what’s important right now, and that’s enjoying each others company and enjoying life. No matter what frustrations life throws at us, we keep each other balanced and focused.

Meme: Things I’ve done

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  • Post 3 things you’ve done in your lifetime that you don’t think anybody else on your friends list has done.
  • See if anybody else responds with “I’ve done that.” If they have, you need to add another! (2.b., 2.c., etc…)
  • Have your friends cut & paste this into their journal to see what unique things they’ve done in their life.

I have:

1. Been on the set of Saturday Night Live during rehearsals

When I was a consultant, I worked at NBC headquarters in New York City. One afternoon, shortly before New Years Eve 2000, one of the NBC staff took me down to the set and gave me a brief tour while Blink 182 was practicing.

2. Worked in a meat processing plant

One of the odd jobs I worked while doing temp work. I showed up that evening for the “interview” and was promptly ushered to the killing floor to clean/scrub the equipment, walls, ceilings and floor. I only worked the one night but it took me six months to eat meat again.

3. Rode in an airplane with the Chicago White Sox

When I was seven or so, my brother was in the hospital at the University of Minnesota for a kidney transplant (his first, when he was two). They needed to get me up there quickly and someone managed to get me on a flight with the Chicago White Sox. I sat across the isle from Carlton Fisk, my favorite White Sox player of all time.

Superpowers

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Former writers group buddy (before he escaped to the land of 10,000 lakes) and all around nice guy, David Schwartz, released his first book earlier in the month.

“Superpowers: A Novel” (David J. Schwartz)

I remember when I first heard him describe the book in group one night. Five college friends wake up one morning to discover they each have a superpower. Superheroes in a world without a supervillain. The story follows them through the discovery of and adjustment to their newfound abilities and explores the consequences of their actions.

I didn’t have access to comic books growing up but in the last year I’ve really started getting caught up on graphic novels. I’m far from a comic book expert but I don’t see this isn’t just a rehashing of every other superhero story. There are some surprising twists and turns throughout the story, particularly at the end.

I haven’t been the most voracious of novel readers lately but I found myself looking forward to the end of the day so I could sit down and read more of it. I finished it up late last night and the ending left me both sad and satisfied. It was a fun, entertaining read, well-worth the price of admission.

Return to Luna

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The Return to Luna contest is officially closed.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to get my story finished in time. I wrote the first draft longhand a few weeks ago. I was in the middle of typing that up when work exploded. Between sixteen hour work days and sleeping in four hour shifts I somehow managed to bang out a semi-decent draft.

Friday night I sat down and started some serious revisions. Saturday night I had something close enough to get some feedback on. Thanks again to Adam, Will, and Carolyn for commenting on short notice. Special thanks to Andrea, who suffered through three or four drafts and patiently listened to me babble about the story for weeks.

The results won’t be in until late summer, but best of luck to everyone who submitted.

2008 PARSEC SF&F Short Story Contest Results

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The PARSEC Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Story Contest results are in for 2008, at least unofficially. I received my letter today.

There were 89 valid entries this year, of which twenty-one were read by the screeners and twelve passed along to the final judges. My story The Dwarves of Iron Hammer was one of the twenty-one that ultimately fell short of the final round.

The rejection included some wonderful feedback from the screeners. They had no problem with the writing but the story fell short on plot and story arc, and the ending was a bit weak.

…the shallowness of the plot sank an otherwise acceptable story

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit just how close to the deadline I started my story. Even so, I think I’m on the right track. I think the screener’s comments were right on the mark. The lack of world building and the rush to finish the story for the deadline hurt the story as a whole. I’m going to sit down and see if I can fix the plot issues and take the story from acceptable to something remarkable.

Congratulations to the winners and good luck elsewhere to the rest!

To the Moon

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I’m making fine progress on my Return to Luna story. It’s not exactly going the way I intended but I’m not unhappy with the results. I’m around 1,600 words in (guesstimate since my first drafts are hand-written) and I suspect I’ll come in close to the 4,000 word limit, if not a little over. This story is a departure from anything I’ve written before. It feels good to stretch beyond the familiar.

My original idea is still rattling around and bugging me enough that I’ll probably tackle that one next.

Scratching away

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Writing:

It’s been all but impossible to do any writing this past week. The day job has been out of control. I worked close to eighty hours. I did manage to sneak in the research I needed to do for my Return to Luna story.

No plans for the weekend, other than mowing the lawn, watching the hockey playoffs and writing. I should be able to finish most if not all of this first draft.

Submissions:

I have four stories out right now, in limbo ranging from ten to thirty-five days. Three to markets I’ve never submitted to before.

I’m a little concerned about my submission to Andromeda Spaceways (ASIM). I’ve heard nothing but positive things about their submission process. Tracking numbers are sent to authors within a week of receiving the submission and you can track your story through the three round reading process.

After thirty-five days I have not received a tracking number nor a response to my query (sent per their guidelines). I know of at least one other person having the same experience. Their submission tracking page hasn’t been updated in more than a month. The only sign of movement came yesterday, with a reported response on Duotrope after a one month lag. I’m still holding out hope that they are just very behind.