MATT BETTS

Print Edition

2012-01-14T15:26:00.000-05:00

Hey! Turns out the story about zombie poetry with me in it is in today's (January 14) New York Times, rather than yesterday's. It has different graphics, but otherwise it is still the same article as far as I can tell!

Holy Crap!

2012-01-13T10:41:00.000-05:00

I got an alert today that one of my zombie poems is quoted in a NY TIMES article about zombie poetry!

I could not be more excited! Check it out!

http://nyti.ms/zlSIdg

Books, books, books.

2012-01-12T14:40:00.000-05:00

Ok. Maybe not "Books, books, books." Just two books.

I finished the edits on the Steampunk book and it is currently out attempting to entice agents to take a look at it. The rewrites and reworks took a long time, which is where I've been for a while. But, I'm thrilled with the outcome and I've recieved some really encouraging comments from Beta readers on it.

Soooo, as I wait for news from the representation front, I've gone back to work on my Urban Fantasy novel. I had a good draft finished on this before I went to work on the Steampunk, so I'm hoping it doesn't take long to finish this one. As I'm reviewing it, I find I'm really enjoying some of the things I did with it, while hating only a few. At least it will keep me busy while the steampunk is out!

Do it yourself just took a weird turn

2011-09-25T14:05:00.000-04:00

If only we all could build our own UFOs, the world would be a better, or pleasantly weirder, place.

Star Wars is Real! Star Wars is Real!

2011-09-17T17:24:00.000-04:00

They've found a planet with two suns, just like in Star Wars! It's even called Tatooine, just like in the movie. Isn't that eerie?

The Dude Abides

2011-08-23T21:48:00.000-04:00

Excellent list of movies that didn't exactly set the world on fire... at first.

In related news, the cast of The Big Lebowski reunited in New York for the Blue Ray release of the movie.

There's my problem - I'm using my name and titling my book

2011-07-28T21:37:00.000-04:00

It appears there is a new mystery in the publishing world. A book called "Untitled" by an anonymous author is rolling out this fall. Little, Brown & Company calls it “the inside story of life with one of the most controversial figures of our time.”

Deep, Deep, Deep into the Edits

2011-07-28T21:28:00.000-04:00

Wow. I've finished another draft - That's number 4 if you're counting. What's that? What's next? Why, draft #5, of course...

Draft four added several thousand words and took into account suggestions and notes from my writer's group on the first 75k words.

Hopefully this last draft is just spelling and grammar and little things, but who knows?

I'm not sure what my deal is, whether I'm more patient as a writer or more interested in getting the best out of my work, but I don't mind doing more revisions. It's terrible at times, changing or deleting things I'd gone over so many times, but if it makes a better story, so be it.

Distraction or Research?

2011-06-13T21:33:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago the History Channel had their Civil War week, which featured several great documentaries on the subject. I couldn't watch them all as they aired so I saved them on the DVR. I finally got around to watching some of it last week and finished the rest of them over the weekend.

The book I'm writing takes place not long after the Civil War, so each of these programs gave me inspiration and details I can use in the story. Civil War Journal had some wonderful material on what the day to day life was like for soldiers on both sides. Lee & Grant had important background on the lives of these leaders and insights into their command styles, but the program I enjoyed most was Gettysburg.

Gettysburg was produced by Tony and Ridley Scott and features a crazy amount of special effects.

I'm not entirely sold on their us of Placebo's cover of "Running up that Hill" in the promos. I like the song, the commercial is intriguing, but I go back and forth about whether the song is the best fit for a civil war documentary.

This program gave me some really good items to add as background material, including some great illustrations of how certain weapons worked. There was a part that showed the ins and outs of cannons and their ammunition that really helped me out.

I've read some reviews of Gettysburg that suggest it isn't an accurate portrayal of the events and people, but as source material and inspiration, I found it invaluable.

I wasn't aware of the Union soldier Rufus Dawes. A good portion of Gettysburg was about him and his contribution to various victories throughout the battle and his efforts before the battle of Gettysburg itself. This was one criticism I heard in several reviews of the program - his contributions were either exaggerated or overemphasized. I'm not a historian and can't debate the historical accuracy of it, but I found the actor that portrayed Dawes to be compelling to watch and found his story to be exciting.

So, at a time when I should have been writing, I was spending hours watching Civil War programs. I honestly felt bad that I wasn't writing, but the ideas and information I gained were truly worth it. In fact, I may have come up with way too much stuff to try to use in my book. Nice problem to have, I guess! I suppose I save it for the sequel!

Attacking the Draft

2011-06-12T17:01:00.000-04:00

Done! I'm done with the first draft of the steam punk novel and I've begun revisions for the next draft. So far, it has been easy going, at least for the revisions of the first 20 or so pages. I've eliminated about 5 pages, but written about 4 new pages, so I'm close to coming out even as far as page/word count.

Some basic ideas have changed since I've started the book, so some points I thought were going to be key to the plot are no longing needed. I expected a little of this, I suppose it is inevitable that an author fine-tunes their ideas as they go through revisions. I easily could have had to rewrite the whole thing, I guess, and I can't discount that I may end up doing just that.

I'm happy with my writing so far, but I wrote the first chapter so long ago as a short story, I'm having trouble remembering some of the characters. To the end, I started a chart of all the main characters/ship names/ancillary personalities and locations, just to keep them fresh and easy to access. There is a character or two that appear in the first chapter or two that doesn't show up until much later in the book, so I kept putting a placeholder in, so I didn't have to keep looking back. Lazy. Should've been keeping track of these people in the first place, would've saved some time and effort on my part. Write and learn, I suppose.

I've kept a list of scenes and elements that I know I have write into the final story, so I'm really not concerned about cutting too much. There's plenty to write yet and I'm very closet to the 80k mark right now

The only real problem with my first draft was with a main character. I'd intended for certain characters to live through the novel, so I could use them in other works. There came an opportunity at the end of the book for this character to die, even though they were supposed to live. It made sense to the plot and honestly, as I was writing it, I couldn't think of way out of it. Don't get me wrong, it is my story, I can make anything happen, but it just seemed to work well in the first draft. Maybe in revisions there will be a sudden intervention and someone else will intervene. Who knows what'll make sense then?

Reminds me of one of my favorite Mystery Science Theater 3000 quotes. When they're making fun of "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians", Joel asks Crow what he wants for Christmas and he replies "I want to decide who lives and who dies."

Hey! That's why we all got into writing, right?

Another cute story about my kid... read at your own risk

2011-06-10T09:40:00.000-04:00

We tend to keep the television news off around my 4 year old. Its pretty intense sometimes, and we're not quite ready to expose him to that. So, it kind of made what happened the other day even funnier to me.

He got an Imaginext Bat Cave for his birthday and it came with, among other things, a Mr. Freeze figure. He already had one, so he was wondering what to do with two of them.

So when the Justice League catches both of the villains, my son says "Let's see who the other Mr. Freeze is!"

In a shocked voice he then shouts - "The governor?!!"

It was hilarious, and considering he has no idea of what's happening in politics and has never heard of Arnold Schwarzenegger, it was doubly funny for me!

War!

2011-05-24T08:31:00.000-04:00

I thought it would be cool if I introduced my son to a toy from my childhood, Green Army Men! He saw them in the Toy Story movies, but he hadn't actually seen them in real life.

We found them at a nearby drug store, but my son got distracted and decided to buy a set of plastic police figures instead. I'm not sure why, but I feel like the army men would've been more fun.

They have guns just like the army... but it isn't the same, somehow.

I suppose firearms are firearms, but why does the police pack seem to have so many officers talking to someone?

In a pack of 52 figures, there must be at least a dozen people talking into their phones or walkie-talkies.

And what is going on here?

It looks like he's holding his cell phone to his chest and yelling to everyone to shut up because he's on the phone. "You witnesses quiet down, I'm voting on American Idol!"

On the bright side, I suppose the blue figures will be harder to loose in the woods than the green army men. There's that.

Sidewalk Chalk

2011-05-10T13:14:00.000-04:00

My son and I busted out the sidewalk chalk and attempted to steampunk our driveway.

Screenwriter Kevin Jarre Passes Away

2011-04-23T07:21:00.000-04:00

I was sad to see that Kevin Jarre died in early April. Jarre was the screenwriter behind two of my favorite movies - Tombstone and Glory.

Captain America preview

2011-03-26T09:02:00.000-04:00

The trailer for the new Captain America movie is out. Looks like it could be pretty good. I'm slightly optimistic...

Just for fun, compare that to the 1990 Captain America movie. Thank you internet!

Trust me

2011-02-15T21:55:00.000-05:00

My son Calvin is rapidly approaching the age of 4. And he already knows too much.

Over the weekend we were trying to get him to head to the shower and start getting ready for bed. He was not so excited about that plan and stalled.

I thought I had it all figured out. I had a trick up my sleeve. Earlier, I had bought him a special book for Valentine's day that had dinosaurs in it and everything. He loves dinos and I was willing to use it to help the situation.

So I stepped up to the doorway and prepared to make my pitch. "Calvin," I said. "If you're good and listen to your mommy, I have a special book I will read to you at bedtime."

His answer? Joy? Jubilation?

Nope.

Show Me. My son's response was Show Me. I had to actually go get the book and bring it to him before he'd believe it even existed.

It was the father and son equivalent of the "Throw me the whip" - "Throw me the idol" scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Just for the record, it worked. After the book was confirmed, the rest of the evening went well and we all enjoyed a lovely bedtime story. Glasnost prevailed.

Your car does not make you invisible. Seriously.

2011-01-21T20:18:00.000-05:00

I was trying to get home last night and it was a mess. We'd had a steady snowfall all day and it had piled up despite the city's best efforts. I've recently started working downtown and had no idea what to expect.
This is what I got...

Wall to wall cars, and I even left a little early. Everyone else left a lot early I guess.

I was sort of prepared. I had just downloaded a bunch of new podcasts the night before, so I had something to listen to. That was lucky, I guess.

But I was in no way prepared for the guy in the SUV that I was stuck next to for close to ten minutes. He was apparently concerned with something in his nose. Very concerned. So concerned that he spent the better part of that ten minutes with one finger or the other buried deep his nostril. It was kind of hilarious.

How do you not look at that guy? I tried, I really did. I moved as far forward as I could, or hung back when possible, but there was no getting away.

While highly gross, it did make a few minutes of my slow crawl home kinda funny.

Maybe that's not weird. Maybe its just a bodily function and I should just get over it. Nah.

I see people doing crazy things in traffic all the time. This isn't my first nose-picker. I saw a woman turn at a light and as she came toward me, I saw her with a digit in her nose pretty firmly. I looked in my rearview as she passed and saw the man in the truck behind me had noticed her too and was laughing.

I've seen women putting on makeup as they drive, not just at stoplights. I've seen people reading novels, texting with both hands and eating a variety of foods that normally would require more than one hand and a little more concentration.

What makes me nuts are the drivers who are texting while their passenger sits and stares out the window. Why not hand the phone to the person who isn't controlling a speeding vehicle screaming down the highway? Seems a little safer, no?

I know I'm not alone, you've seen these people too, right? What's the strangest thing you've seen someone doing in a moving vehicle?

Oh poopie

2011-01-04T20:11:00.000-05:00

NewSouth Books is releasing an edited version of Huck Finn. It reportedly is replacing the 'N' word with 'slave' and replacing 'injun' as well.

I know, this is a cliche.

2011-01-04T19:24:00.000-05:00

I recently had one of those drive thru conversations that makes my head hurt.

Me: Can I have a cheeseburger and a small fry?

Drive thru attendant: We don't have small fries. Just medium, large and xtra large.

Me: Can I have your smallest fry then?

Drive thru attendant: You mean medium?

Me: Sure. Whatever.

Something new has been added

2010-12-06T21:17:00.000-05:00

It has been a long trip, but my story Double Bogey appears in the latest issue of Arkham Tales. It involves zombies and golf. Yes, I know, THAT tired premise.

The magazine looks good - excellent cover - and the other stories are terrific. Well worth the download, if I do say so myself.

Farewell to Leslie Nielsen

2010-11-29T09:23:00.000-05:00

Just saw a report that Leslie Nielsen passed away.

He was famous for the Naked Gun and Airplane! movies, but had a huge career beyond that, at age 84 he'd spent more than 60 years in television and movies.

I enjoyed he guest-starring role on the television series Due South quite a bit. He made a terrific Canadian Mountie.

Don't call me Shirley.

Inside job

2010-11-23T21:29:00.000-05:00

What with all the hooha about screenings at airports, I was reminded of this old post from io9 (hey, that could be a PBS show - This Old Post!). It shows what it looks like when you x-ray toys.

I know, I know. The safety of air travel vs. cool shots of toy insides... one is more important than the other right?

New Publication

2010-11-13T12:51:00.000-05:00

One of my poems is up in the new Oct. 2010 issue of Midwest Literary Magazine - It's called The Golden Age of Railroad Advertising and it's one of my favorites. Go and enjoy!

I might even look good in this

2010-11-13T12:22:00.001-05:00

I know I should be writing or editing or something productive, but I found this and was quickly distracted...

Yep. Princess Leia Gold Bikini Apron. Handy for the next time you're cooking for the Hutts.

I got on a Star Wars Tangent and also came across this demotivational poster. It's old, but still pretty funny.

And finally, since I'm writing steampunk I thought I'd share this cool steampunk version of an AT-AT from The Empire Strikes Back. Enjoy!

Now I'll go back to being productive. I promise!

Christmas is Coming. I'm just reminding you. That's all.

2010-10-27T08:03:00.000-04:00

Christie's Auction House in London is preparing to auction off the original Darth Vader suit made for Empire strikes back.

You could all pool your money and surprise me. They're saying it may only go for $365,000. That's nothing. I've been good this year. I deserve a little something special. Right?

A good time was had by all!

2010-10-18T12:39:00.000-04:00

Hey, I'm a little late mentioning this, but I had a great time at the Write Brain Workshop in Toledo last weekend.

I taught a session on speculative poetry, which is always a blast. We talked about flash fiction, prose poetry, scifi, horror and fantasy. It was great. Lots of great writers and poets turned out and I got to attend a great morning session.

Urban Fantasy Agent Contest

2010-09-30T09:27:00.000-04:00

Working on an Urban Fantasy novel? You could win a chance for an agent to look at the beginning of it for you!

The Writer's Digest Guide to Literary Agents blog is holding their sixth "Dear Lucky Agent" contest. You have to submit a one-sentence description of your story along with the first 150-200 words. That ain't much, my friends, but if you can catch the agent's attention, you could be one of three entrants that gets their first 10 pages critiqued.

The judge is literary agent Marisa A. Corvisiero from the L. Perkins Agency.

Good luck!

My Plan for World Domination (and awesome buffets) is Nearly Complete!

2010-09-29T16:08:00.000-04:00

Uh, so, if you go to Las Vegas on vacation, you may not want to spend much time by the pool relaxing. Not if you're staying at the Vdara hotel, anyway. It seems the hotel has a death ray that can cook a tourist in under a minute.

Ok, that's not entirely true, but there is a death ray. Sunlight reflects off concave design of the hotel's glass windows and focuses on an area poolside. So far it has burned some guests and... wait for it... melted plastic bags. Oh no!

The hotel is placing larger umbrellas in the pool area while designers try to come up with a remedy

Work In Progress Wednesday

2010-09-15T13:34:00.000-04:00

Feels weird not to have the book to work on every day. To be honest I've missed that daily productivity. I've been catching up with my poetry and short story submissions over the last week or so. I'm gathering notes for when I attack the book for the next draft and I'm thinking of certain scenes that need to be added or punched up, but otherwise I've left it alone.

I plan on starting back in on it next weekend, I think. That's if I can stay away that long.

I'm also staying busy gathering up notes for a seminar I'm doing in October for The Northwest Ohio Writers Forum. I'll be presenting a talk on Speculative Poetry for their Write Brain Workshop on October 9th. It should be tons of fun - I always enjoy talking about speculative poetry and I'm including time to actually write some poetry or at least brainstorm ideas for poems.

Work in Progress Wednesday

2010-09-08T14:31:00.000-04:00

It's Alive!

I've put the last few hundred words down and I'm officially calling the first draft done! It needs a ton of work in the second draft, but the first is done. I hit 81,428 words yesterday and slowly backed away from the laptop. I'm happy with where I'm at, I just had to fight the urge to go back and start correcting things and doing rewrites immediately.

I plan on letting it cool on the windowsill for a few weeks before jumping back with a knife and fork. I always like to leave a piece alone for a while and get some distance before jumping back into it. That way I can look at the big picture before tackling things that are still fresh in my mind. Helps with the overall picture, rather than fixing a little bit here and there that might otherwise be taken out or have to be changed again due to a something that comes up earlier in the story.

Do you allow for a cooling off period or do you jump back in right away?

Great moments in college marketing

2010-09-03T14:53:00.000-04:00

Drake College in Iowa has a new marking campaign. They're touting the benefits of a D+ education.

I guess that's the Drake Advantage.

For all my writing friends

2010-09-03T08:37:00.000-04:00

Hey guys! I know it will be inconvenient, but you're going to need to take your car in for a little adjustment.

Ferrari is recalling that new 458 Italia model you just bought. A number of them have, well, burst into flames. That's bad.

Not to worry, you still have the Benz and the Porche!

You know you want them

2010-09-01T13:24:00.000-04:00

Perpetual Kid is introducing Ninjabread Men Cookie Cutters this month!

Jet Pack? No. Flying Car? No. Heat Beam to keep prisoners in line? Check!

2010-08-27T10:47:00.000-04:00

The L.A. Police have a plan to control unruly inmates. It involves a new-fangled machine called the Assault Intervention Device, which was a military weapon in a previous incarnation.

What's it do? It "...sends highly focused beams of energy at people and makes them feel as though they are burning." according to the article.

Uhhhm. That sounds bad.

According to Cmdr. Bob Osborne, the sheriff's department's tech guy, "The neat thing with this device is you experience pain but you are not injured by it," Osborne said. "It doesn't injure your skin, the beam doesn't have the power to do that." He goes on to call this a more humane way of dealing with disturbances.

The Los Angeles County sheriff's department plans to install the first device by Labor Day, where it will undergo a six-month trial.

The device is "tantamount to torture," according to the ACLU. They point to early military versions that left lasting burns on test subjects. They also suggest the technology is like putting a ray gun at a county jail.

Dear Chicago...

2010-08-25T10:27:00.000-04:00

Ah Chicago. The Windy City. The Cubs. The Bears. The alligators.

Alligators? In the past month or so, two of the creatures have been caught along the Chicago River. They're small - only 2-3 ft long - but they're still alligators. They're still scary-ass hold-overs from the Dawn of Time, right?

I like the quote in this story about it:

"Officials also say alligators cannot naturally survive in Chicago and are not a threat to people unless cornered."

Mmm Hmm. Whatever. I'm not sure who's going to corner one, but I think they can be dangerous whenever they want to be.

I am reminded of a Bert and Ernie skit from Sesame Street where Ernie walks around with a banana in his ear to keep alligators away. I'm sorry I ever made fun of him. He truly is a wise man.

So that's why my brains leaked out!

2010-08-24T16:00:00.000-04:00

I'm fascinated and terrified of stories like this one... A man gets shot in the head but doesn't realize it until years later. In this story, a guy was drunk and partying on New Years Eve FIVE YEARS ago, got shot by another partier and they didn't figure it out until he found a lump in the back of his head recently.

Here's what scares me : What if I got shot in college but for whatever reason didn't know it? I'm not so concerned about my health, I just would have a hard time tracking down the perp. There's a long line of people behind that smoking gun.

How about you? If you found out you had a bullet in your head tomorrow, who would be your prime suspect?

Maybe my commute isn't so bad after all

2010-08-23T13:14:00.000-04:00

According to AFP, a traffic jam in China has stretched into its 9th day - stranding cars for nearly 62 miles. I had to wait an extra 10 minutes leaving work on Friday due to construction and I was ready to completely lose my mind. Can't imagine a 62 mile traffic jam.

The story suggests the problem stems from construction projects that are meant to ease traffic congestion, and an increase in cargo trucks headed to Beijing.

Good to know

2010-08-21T15:23:00.000-04:00

Terrific post with some excellent advice for writers over at Janet Fitch's blog. The article? 10 Writing Tips That Can Help Almost Anyone

Pick a better verb? Nice.

Closer

2010-08-20T13:26:00.000-04:00

I'm at 78k of my first draft. Not far now!

Think, Thank, Thunk.

2010-08-12T13:27:00.000-04:00

Good day and welcome to Thursday.

I've been off the radar for a number of weeks and I assure you I've kept myself busy the whole time.

Last weekend was the glorious Naked Nowhere writing retreat. I just made the name up because of artistic license, but basically my writing group, the Naked Wordshop, took off and stayed the weekend in an old hunting cabin in the middle of southern Ohio.

How nowhere? Think Gillilgan's Island; No phone, no Internet, no cell coverage, not a single luxury. We won't discuss the bathroom situation, except to say it was, thankfully indoors.

Some members made it down on Thursday, others (myself included) got there Friday and we all stayed through about 1 on Sunday afternoon. In between, we wrote and critiqued and wrote and played cards and edited and discussed the publishing landscape.

And ate.

We brought food for about 3 more writers groups to last through the winter. It was all good food, mind you, but it was hard not to have to roll myself out of there on Sunday.

I managed to get some serious work done on my Work in Progress. My Urban Fantasy novel got some real attention, from both the editing and writing angles.

I wrote somewhere in the neighborhood of 7,000 words over the course of the weekend. I'm really thrilled about that. Since I have a 3 year-old son at home, I'm used to getting up really early. On the retreat, I got to sleep in until 7am both Saturday and Sunday and still get in about 2 hours of writing before taking a break. I think I was the first person up both days, so it was nice to find a good spot and get to work for a bit.

When I ran out of steam, I edited a little bit. My plan has been to get to the end before doing any real edits, so on the retreat, I just cleaned a few things up - like the one character's name that changed somewhere near the middle and finding and replacing the placeholders with the character name that I only recently decided on.

It was a wonderful retreat. I wasn't able to make it last year, but I'll be sure to find a way not to miss it next year.

So, where does that leave me with my WIP? Well, that's pretty exciting. Thanks to the retreat and a little bit of writing I've done since, I'm really close to the end of the first draft. Weee-Hooo!

I'm now at 76,000 words of what I'm planning on being an 80,000 word draft. That's uh... only around 4,000 words to go, right? (Stupid math skills) I should be able to declare draft #1 complete within the next week or two depending on how busy I get with other things.

Then? I'll let it sit for another couple of weeks and tackle the next version. How long could that take, right?

Have you had any luck with a writing retreat? Any retreats or locations you'd recommend?

Hope you've all been productive in my absence!

Who's stealing (or killing) Tokyo's elderly?

2010-08-03T09:21:00.000-04:00

Shall I turn this into a fictionalized horror story, or are you going to?

Tokyo's oldest woman (at 113 years old) is missing. And... wait for it... Tokyo's oldest man has been dead for years.

Dun, dun, dunnnn.

Last week, officials found what that they believed to be their oldest living man to be dead and mummified "for decades".

They were updating their records in anticipation of the a holiday honoring their elderly and wanted to make sure everything was still good with these record holders.

So, with the oldest man on record being dead, they checked on the oldest woman on record and aparently can't find her.

"Officials visited Furuya's apartment last Friday, but her 79-year-old daughter said she has never lived there.
The daughter... said she thought her mother was just outside Tokyo with her younger brother, with whom she has lost touch.

But when officials checked that address they found a vacant lot."

Whose turn was it to watch grandma?

Even more intiguing is that at least 4 more people over the age of one hundred are missing and unaccounted for. No offense, but are they really that hard to keep track of? I know some spry elderly people, but seriously. How far are they getting?

Put a bell around their necks, something.

So you've got that going for you!

2010-08-02T16:21:00.000-04:00

Scientific facts hidden deep inside the movie Caddyshack (that have nothing to do with Kenny Loggins' hair).

I didn't do it!

2010-07-27T10:04:00.003-04:00

Gotta love true tales from the slushpile!

Old Post, but True!

2010-07-27T09:45:00.000-04:00

Jaine Fenn posted the ten stages of novel writing last year, but I like to reread it and remind myself I'm not alone from time to time.

You know what time it is!

2010-07-26T08:41:00.000-04:00

I'm closing in on the end of my first draft of the book. I'm at about 65,000 words of what I'm planning to be an 80,000 to 85,000 word novel.

You know what that means?

That's right. It's time to prematurely start making my list of dream agents and publishers.

I could be spending my time finishing that last 15,000 words or so, but no. No. I think I need to start making the list. THAT would be the best use of my time.

Actually, the first couple of agents I plan on sending it to were ones that were highly complimentary of my first novel when it made the rounds. That's the logical place to start, I think. There's also a couple more that I've had some contact with over the past few years that said they'd like to read my work. Again, that would be a no-brainer, right? So, technically, the list is already started. That was easy!

Maybe if I find the right agent, they won't even make me finish the book, right? Right?

Worth a shot! I'm off to stare longingly at agent profiles!

I find your lack of cash... disturbing.

2010-07-23T10:17:00.000-04:00

A man robbed a Long Island bank Thursday wearing a Darth Vader costume.

His costume was fairly authentic, except that he used a pistol, rather than a lightsaber or blaster.

Seriously Amazon?

2010-07-23T08:21:00.000-04:00

Sometimes Amazon.com's recommendations are great and I get to find out about books and authors that I might not have come across normally.

Sometimes, not so much.

I have a three year old son, so we've bought and seached for many a Pixar DVD on Amazon. So how does that translate in the recommendation department?

Recommended because you rated Finding Nemo (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

Monsters, Inc. (Mandarin Chinese Edition)

You're absolutely right, Amazon. I loved Finding Nemo so much, I'd like to go out, learn a new language and watch Monsters, Inc. in Mandarin.

That's Helpful!

2010-07-21T13:05:00.000-04:00

Interesting article on Yahoo! that discusses the things that spellcheck won't catch for you.

Off to Readercon!

2010-07-09T05:43:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting in the Columbus airport, waiting on my flight to Boston. Thanks to free wifi I'm shooting zombies and checking email. Excited for all the Readercon goodness!

Vague Wisdom Instead of Actual Content

2010-07-06T10:22:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, the squeaky wheel just annoys the well-oiled wheels.

What Vague Wisdom do you have to impart?

That works out nicely for authors and musicians. Thanks a heap!

2010-06-29T10:55:00.000-04:00

There's an article on Yahoo! News that originated with US News and World Report called "21 Things You Should Never Buy New".

Number one on the list is DVDs and CDs.

Number two? Books. Their reasoning? "You can buy used books at significant discounts from online sellers and brick-and-mortar used book stores. The condition of the books may vary, but they usually range from good to like-new. And of course, check out your local library for free reading material."

Believe me, I love the libraries and I frequent used book stores. But to suggest you should NEVER buy new books is just painful.

First of all; Unless I'm mistaken, authors don't see a dime from used books. They only get paid when you buy a new copy of their work.

Second; where do they think all the used books in the used book stores come from?

I understand the troubled economy, I understand the need to save money, but this advice is just stupid. It's suggesting you not give any authors money for the work you're going to take home and enjoy.

I'm not saying to go out and buy every new release in hardback, but a paperback from time to time would help!

What's funny (or sad depending on your definition) is there's a link within this page promoting another story called "Ten Things to Splurge on this Summer".

First on their list? Coffee at Starbucks. Of course! Don't buy a new book, but rather, spend that same money on a single coffee! Excellent!

Other things on the list to splurge on? New shoes, a fancy meal, handbags or backpacks.

Thanks US News for helping us prioritize!

The New Phone Books are Here!

2010-06-27T16:08:00.000-04:00

Actually, the 2010 Rhysling Anthology came my way in the mail this week. It's a very nice looking publication. Very exciting!

You should really go buy a copy!

Look at me! I'm mysterious!

2010-06-19T06:47:00.000-04:00

I'm this week's featured writer over at Mercedes Yardley's blog. Every Friday she highlights a writer wearing a mask. I cheated. I'm not really wearing a mask exactly. See for yourself.

After a Decade-Long Manhunt, Still No Answers

2010-06-16T10:50:00.001-04:00

There still seem to be no clues as to who let the dogs out.

Were you aware that The Baha Men's single "Who Let the Dogs Out?" was #1 in Australia and that it was the 4th biggest-selling single of 2000 in the UK? Me neither.

Why am I telling you this?

Because I've found the best way to get an annoying song out of my head is to pass it on to someone else.
Enjoy!

Winner!

2010-06-15T14:48:00.000-04:00

It was a battle to finish, but Anton managed to come from behind and beat himself for the win! Sounds dirty, no?

Anyway, my big giveaway extravaganza attracted just one entrant... so the Grand Prize - The Stephen King book Secret Windows is his. And, for being incredibly enthusiastic about my first contest, I'm going to throw in a couple of other goodies as well!

Thanks Anton! Email me your address and I'll drop your loot in the mail!

Seriously?

2010-06-11T16:12:00.000-04:00

French psychologists have diagnosed Darth Vader with Borderline Personality Disorder.

I can say no more. I'm stunned.

Work in Progress Wednesday

2010-06-09T22:30:00.001-04:00

I really wanted to be done by now. I planned on being done by now. But it didn’t happen. I know I’m whining a lot about how bad work was recently, but it really was a rough couple of months. I got almost zero writing done in April and May, and very little in March. It threw everything off: the book, the short stories and any poetry I was working on.

I’m back on track though, now that the workload at my day job has gotten lighter. I’ve written about 12,000 words on the novels (altogether, not each!) and started reshaping some poetry.

My main problem is focus at this point. I was really slamming away at the steampunk novel I’ve been so excited about and making great progress. I was very content to let the urban fantasy idea sit idle, even though it was over halfway done. The steampunk novel is based on a short story I wrote recently, that got some favorable reviews from my group and others. A couple of weeks ago, the story got a rejection from a magazine that I really enjoy. Normally, I would read the rejection and make notes, but I wouldn’t revise the story. It usually goes out a few more times before I try changing it.

This time, though, everything came to a halt. Why? Because they were dead on about everything they didn’t like. There were things that simply don’t work in the short story that I completely overlooked. The thing is, those same items make perfect sense in the novel, because I have tons of room to expound and explain them. In the short story? Not so much. They hang out there waiting for a reader to ask why they’re there. In the novel I have answers.

So, what brought me to a halt was the desire, the need to make the short story work, so I can get it back out there. Of course, this would take away time from the book.

My solution is a devious one. I’m going to ignore the steampunk story altogether - the short story and the novel - and work on the urban fantasy. The goal is to finish it in the next month. That would make me happy. A good first draft by, say, mid-July. I would do a little dance. That means about 30,000 words in about 30 days. I'm currently writing about 1,000 words a day. Doable.

The thing is, if something happens, if I get blocked, I can always switch back the steampunk, no? Win-win.

STEAMPUNK NOVEL

33,801 / 80,000 words. 42.2% done!

URBAN FANTASY NOVEL

52,450 / 85,000 words. 63% done!

Cover me, I'm going in.

Awesome Steampunk Art

2010-06-09T21:34:00.001-04:00

There is a great collection of steampunk images and links over here.

Lots of terrific and inspiring stuff!

Countdown to Readercon: Random panel description

2010-06-08T09:55:00.000-04:00

Here's one of the excellent panels being presented at Readercon this year:

Down There in the Gutter: The Fiction of the Unpleasant. In a recent online essay, Peter Straub argues that the only difference between the best horror and "literary" fiction is that the former acknowledges that life is dominated by unpleasantness, by "crappy, low-rent feeling states." But in making this argument he mentions neither fear nor disgust (the staples of genre horror) but shame, loss, envy, panic, greed, insecurity, and loneliness. There's no question that we are oddly hardwired to enjoy fear when we intellectually recognize that there is no actual threat. There is, however, much less of a case to be made for the vicarious enjoyment of the other emotional states that Straub lists, so it is harder to see them functioning in a story the same way fear does in genre horror. Is Straub here in fact defining a new literary sub-genre entirely, one that just happens to include (but is hardly limited to) the best of horror? If so, can we trace the history of this secret genre and its influence on and interaction with more conventional literary fiction?

Countdown to ReaderCon! And a long-overdue giveaway!

2010-06-06T16:12:00.000-04:00

Ok. Couldn't be more excited about going to Readercon in Boston next month! I've heard such good things about it and the programming they've announced is just amazing.

I was so excited about poetry month and had planned on doing all kinds of fun stuff for it - but that fell through. I ended up working 50 and 60 hour weeks all the way through the months of April and May, which left me with no time or ambition to blog or even write for those months. I apologize for that, it really couldn't be helped. So, to make up for it I'm going to try again.

I've still got the books and other stuff that I was going to give away in April, plus a few more things I've managed to come up with since then.

So as to not get sidetracked this time, I'm going to start right away.

My first item up for grabs is

Secret Windows: Essays and Fiction on the Craft of Writing by Stephen King

It's a kinda-sorta companion to King's On Writing. The difference here is that Secret Windows is more of a collection of King's articles and essays on writing taken from various venues.

While On Writing was interesting and helpful as a collection of advice from a master of his craft looking back and giving advice on how it all happens, the works collected in Secret Windows come from various parts of his career and give the reader a look at what was important to him as he was developing his body of work.

I always enjoy reading articles from King. He tends to tell it like it is, which is a refreshing change from other books about writing, some of which tend to make it sound so easy.

One of my favorite articles here is "'Ever Et Raw Meat?' and Other Weird Questions" which outlines things that fans ask him. They range from the standard, "Where do you get your ideas?" to, well, the question in the article's title.

While not nearly as perfect as On Writing, it's certainly an educational text for authors of any genre.

THE GIVEAWAY

Easy enough. Leave a comment and I'll enter you to win. I'll use a random generator to pull a winner. Contest ends Monday, June 14th.

Good luck!

Oh SnorgTees, You Know What I Like

2010-06-02T08:20:00.000-04:00

It's like they have a live feed right to my brain!

The Earth has opened and you can see all the way to the other side!

2010-06-01T11:56:00.000-04:00

Alright, I made that up, you can't see through the Earth. It sounded good, but holy crap, have you seen the pictures of the sinkhole that opened up in Guatamala due to flooding from Tropical Storm Agatha?

They're guessing the hole is around 330 ft deep. The photos make it look like you can see down into some crazy Hollow Earth world, full of dinosaurs and Morlocks. Which would be really cool. Instead, its pretty scary that something like this can just suddenly happen with little or no warning.

Surpisingly comfortable and kinda awesome cave homes

2010-06-01T08:51:00.001-04:00

Yahoo!'s Green Blog has this cool post on cave homes. They all look like pretty excellent places to live - amazingly roomy in a couple of cases.

Who says your supervillain's lair has to be dank and dark? With a little work, their headquarters can be a spiffy and environmentally sound place from which to rule the world!

My latest publication... tainted by my mortal enemy!

2010-05-28T18:53:00.000-04:00

I got the new copy of Illumen today. It features two of my poems; The Great Ape by Moonlight and Ghost of a Beloved Children's Show Host. Woo hoo!

It also features the poem klastos by my sworn enemy, Mercedes M. Yardley. On the bright side, one of my poems comes first! Ha HA!

Ok. Gross.

2010-05-27T08:12:00.000-04:00

This is really nasty, but still.

State troopers in Alaska are baffled after finding a strange discovery near Fairbanks: 26 headless chickens arranged in a pattern in a chicken coop.

My favorite line in this article: "There was no sign of the missing heads."

The article ends by letting readers know that the chickens were unsuitable for eating and were tossed out.

Thanks, we were wondering about that.

Lesson for the day

2010-05-21T08:36:00.000-04:00

Today's lesson: Never mug a guy outside a ninja school.

Three muggers were beating a guy up in an alley in Sydney, Australia. It happens, right? Well, this alley happened to be just outside a martial arts "Warrior School" (as the article describes it). One of the instructors saw the crime in progress and sent several students, dressed in black ninja attire, out to help.

The article says the students scared the criminals off, but there's no mention whether or not blows were exchanged or any sort of secret death grip was employed.

First of all: Ninjas?

Second of all: Australian Ninjas?

What the?

2010-05-20T11:06:00.000-04:00

The new mascots for the Olympics.

Today's "Why haven't I finished my book" Kick in the Pants

2010-05-12T12:45:00.000-04:00

Damon Wayans has a book out. Not the usual joke book, funny stories and essays that comedians put out, but an actual novel, complete with plot and characters and junk like that.

I have no idea how good it is, so I won't make fun or judge. It may be very good.

The question is: Why the #$!% have I not finished my book?

Your choice of headlines... (none of them are really that great)

2010-05-12T08:13:00.000-04:00

To Star the Impossible Star!

Mikey, the Little Star that Could!

Star: Impossible

They all involve the recent discovery of a star eight times the size of our sun.

They're coming at us from the skies now!

2010-05-11T10:21:00.000-04:00

Everyone take shelter! A Zombie Satellite is on the loose! Zombies from above!

Day Job Blues

2010-05-04T11:52:00.000-04:00

Day job is slowly becoming less busy. I'm actually finding some time to catch up on where my submissions are. There are several that are still out and they've been out for a while. That's a good sign, right?

The 14-hour work days are winding down, but I haven't found time to start back into writing. The novel is still where I left it a month ago, the poetry hasn't advanced. I may actually make it to my writing group tonight for the first time in nearly a month. I really miss that weekly motivation.

2010-04-30T21:03:00.001-04:00

Sitting around after a wedding rehearsal talking to a woman who does makeup for zombie movies. What? It happens.

Uh oh. Happy learned to putt.

2010-04-28T15:44:00.001-04:00

Oh, yeah! The long road gets slightly shorter. Just had one of my poems accepted that will qualify for the Horror Writers Association Challenge.

If you recall, Mercedes Yardley and I started a contest to see who would qualify for the Horror Writers Association first.

We started this bloody battle sometime during the Reagan administration, if I remember right.
More details as they become available and I'm able to share.

Edit- I haven't won or anything. If my math is right, I still need one or two more professional poetry sales to qualify for HWA.

Wow. Poetry month was a bust.

2010-04-28T15:38:00.000-04:00

So I had grand plans for poetry month. I wanted to feature more poets and venues, give away a number of books and salute the poetry I love.

Unfortunately, April became our busy season at work and I averaged about 12 hours a day at work for a couple of weeks, there. I had absolutely no time or energy to even look at my blog or anyone else's.

I'm terribly sorry that I couldn't follow through on what I'd intended. I'll still find a way to give away the books I'd intended and hopefully I'll find time to point out a few of the poets I really enjoy.

Where can I find good speculative poetry online?

2010-04-16T10:31:00.000-04:00

Goblin Fruit is always a wonderful read. The poems/poets that have appeared in Goblin Fruit received more Rhysling Award nominations than from any other source/journal/magazine this year.

Read Jamie Lee Moyer's poem "Giant Steps" in the new Spring Issue.

Real Superheroes?

2010-04-13T20:15:00.000-04:00

Interesting NY Times article on people who dress like superheroes and occasionally fight crime.

Developing your characters

2010-04-11T21:14:00.000-04:00

Excellent post about developing/creating characters over at the Guide to Literary Agents. Footnotes: 5 Articles About Creating Characters has some great links to help make your hero a little more real.

"First, find out what your hero wants. Then just follow him." Awesome.

I realized this as I was working on the new WIP. Had I just figured out what the main character wanted first, I would've saved myself some headaches later.

Cordite Poetry Review's all-zombie issue

2010-04-11T17:23:00.000-04:00

The wonderful Australian poetry magazine, Cordite Poetry Review, recently put out an issue dedicated to everything zombie!

Thanks to spec poetry and Lawrence Schimel for the heads up!

Where can you find good speculative poetry online?

2010-04-11T16:34:00.000-04:00

Weird Tales has a set of one-minute Weird Tales. They're little video presentations of flash fiction/prose poetry. It looked like it was going to be a pretty cool ongoing series, but it looks to have run out of steam. Too bad. It was a pretty interesting idea.

Give Stuart Jaffe's "The Curse and the Revenge" a read, or a view or whatever you want to call it.

Is your book publishable? io9 tells it like it is

2010-04-09T18:54:00.000-04:00

Great flowchart/checklist of how to know when your book is done. io9 got it from someone, who got it from someone else. It's available for purchase, with proceeds going to 826 National, a non-profit that teaches kids creative writing skills. As io9 points out, the 826 NYC chapter had a Superhero Supply Store in Brooklyn and a pirate store in California.

The poster is called "Are You Absolutely, Positively, and Wholeheartedly Ready to Publish Your Novel?", and I think it's going up on my wall. And I may have a wallet sized version made, just in case I get cocky and try to send off my novel too early!

Poetry Month Column

2010-04-08T11:58:00.001-04:00

The following is a column I wrote for the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers last year for Poetry Month. Yes, I'm recycling.

Hey everyone! April is Poetry Month! I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that. I’m sure you’ve been to several Poetry parades already and no doubt hit some Poetry parties thrown by your local Poet’s Union. Poetry Month is just a non-stop party for thirty-one straight days, isn’t it?

Ok. Maybe not, but most local libraries and bookstores do something to celebrate. Most have readings or contests or something to draw in the curious. Mostly the events are attended by poets who already are trying their hand at writing.

Thing is, speculative fiction gets overlooked more often than not. As I said, libraries and bookstores may hold poetry events, but it’s rare to see an event during poetry month for horror or scifi poetry and that’s a shame.

As a spec poet myself, I’m a bit biased but I find speculative poetry to be more accessible and understandable to someone with my background in pop culture; tv, books, movies and the like. Don’t get me wrong, there plenty of ‘non-genre’ poets out there that I love. Billy Collins, Charles Simic, James Tate and especially Russell Edson are all amazing writers that I still follow as much as possible. They’re all incredibly visual, unusual and wonderful poets that deserve a look from anyone that decides to give poetry a shot. And the beauty of it is, all of the aforementioned poets drift into genre territory fairly often.

As for genre poets, I have a number of favorites:

I think I’ve mentioned Stoker Award winner Michael Arnzen before, but he needs mentioning again for his wonderfully crazy, fun, gross and thought-provoking poetry. His collections include Proverbs for Monsters, 100 Jolts, Rigormarole: Zombie Poems and Freakcidents. It’s sick, twisted stuff, but it’s your kind of sick twisted stuff. www.gorelets.com

Bruce Boston is considered one of the grand masters of the form. His work has been featured in pretty much every genre magazine and site you can name and his work still regularly pops up with a new example of genre work. He’s been nominated for and won every major award out there. Like Arnzen, Boston likes to write fun poetry from time to time, making him a very enjoyable read.

Mike Allen is a wonderful poet and past president of the Science Fiction Poetry Association (I’ll mention them later). He also started the journal called Mythic Delirium (which I’ll also mention later).

Some others you should check out: JoSelle Vanderhoof, Steve Rasnic Tem, Kendall Evans and John Edward Lawson. There are tons more, you just have to look around.

Whether you want to write or read it, there are a great number of magazines and Web sites out there that feature spec poetry, many of them are free.

For writers, reading issues of these publications can only help your own poetry. As with fiction writing, a good examination of what particular editors like can boost your ability to provide them with what they want.

Some terrific examples of pubs with material or entire issues online:

Ideomancer
OG’s Speculative Fiction Magazine
Sybil's Garage
Weird Tales
Niteblade Fantasy and Horror
Abyss & Apex
Strange Horizons
Mythic Delirium
Tales of the Unanticipated

There are many other great sites, journals and magazines, and they’re not hard to find.

The Science Fiction Poetry Association puts out a journal called Star*Line. They also honor the best speculative fiction in print with the annual Rhysling Awards.

If you’re ready to explore speculative poetry, several sites make it easy for you to check into what’s new out there.

Sam’s Dot Publishing puts out several regular monthly publications as well as collections and anthologies. You can find them at the Genre Mall. You may already cruise the Mall for your horror fiction, but there’s tons of poetry there as well. They have anthologies and single-author collections to suit just about any taste, even the poetry newbie.

If you want to know more about speculative poetry and some of the poets involved, you can look it up on Wikipedia. You know spec poetry has hit the big time if it has a wiki entry. Not everyone gets those, you know.

The Wikipedia entry has links to a few good articles on the genre, including one from the previously mentioned Bruce Boston, called ‘Commentary - The Failure Of Genre Poetry’. In it, Boston talks about keeping speculative and genre poetry alive.

“Without committed readers, without outlets for its more ambitious, complex, and original creations, namely speculative poems, the field of genre poetry will stagnate and remain juvenile. It may even disappear completely once again. At the very least, it will always walk with a limp…”

I’m not trying to force poetry down anyone’s throat, but I feel more people, especially genre readers, would enjoy it if they gave it a chance.

So now you have an excuse. Check out one of the magazines or poets I’ve mentioned without fear of the snide remarks about reading poetry from your friends. If they give you trouble tell them it’s Poetry Month; You have to read a poem, it’s the law!

Ah Monday

2010-04-05T15:29:00.000-04:00

No motivation. So close to the end of the chapter. Very short lunch. Not gonna happen.

OoooOoo! Easter candy is half price! Maybe chocolate will inspire me to write after work? Only one way to find out!

Where can you find good spec poetry online?

2010-04-05T08:31:00.000-04:00

Abyss & Apex is always a good bet. Read "Small" by Richard Schiffman in the latest issue.

Stephen King doesn't much care for the iPad

2010-04-04T21:18:00.000-04:00

Stephen King is sticking with the Kindle as his device of choice. Take that, Apple!

Photo: Entertainment Weekly

Fast zombies? I don't think so.

2010-04-04T08:57:00.000-04:00

Thank you, Simon Pegg, for standing up for traditional zombie values!

Where can you find good speculative poetry online?

2010-04-03T13:52:00.000-04:00

Corey Mesler's poem, The Death of Our Favorite Luminary is a good read over at The Journal of Truth and Consequence. It was nominated for the Pushcart Prize a few years back.

Where can you find good speculative poetry online?

2010-04-02T20:57:00.000-04:00

More great poetry. Here's an animated version of Billy Collin's "The Dead".

2010-04-02T14:06:00.001-04:00

Here's a great article on the end of the Space Shuttle program and what it means to the people of Space City, U.S.A.

The town has endured the ups and downs of America's space program (I honestly didn't mean the bad joke there) and now looks ahead to see what's next.

Happy Poetry Month!

2010-04-02T08:26:00.000-04:00

April is poetry month and there are always celebrations and readings at libraries and colleges, but I rarely see the speculative community make a big deal of it.

So, I decided I'm gonna make some noise about it.

Throughout the month of April I'll be posting links to places you can find good speculative poetry online. I'm trying to show that there are tons of places out there with easily-accessable, excellent poetry. Along the way, I hope you find some cool poets you can enjoy and publications you can support.

I'll also post some articles, essays and possibly a rant or two about speculative poetry.

Last, but certainly not least, I'm going to give some stuff away. Some collections, chapbooks and other stuff from excellent spec poets. I'll announce the books and how to win them as poetry month goes on!

You can see what's going on to celebrate in your state by using the map on poets.org.

Hopefully, you'll dig what you find this month!

Where can I find good speculative poetry online today?

2010-04-01T09:30:00.000-04:00

Have a look inside the archives at Ideomancer.

Give “Voyager 2, Upon Arrival”, by Chris Flowers a read.

Where can you find good speculative poetry online?

2010-03-31T20:12:00.000-04:00

How about over at Strange Horizons?

There's a poem I really dig from Helena Bell called A Face Like an Imperfectly Shaven Tennis Ball.

Have a look. It'll take less than 2 minutes.

There's Something about Monkeys

2010-03-31T07:55:00.001-04:00

Today's shirt of the day over at Woot.

The Big List

2010-03-29T15:06:00.000-04:00

Ok. So they told me I was nominated for a Rhysling Award for my poetry and asked for my permission to reprint the piece in a voters anthology. But they didn't release the whole list of nominees until now.

Yeah. It's a daunting list full of impressive talent. There are poets that I admire and that I've learned a lot from. There are magazine and anthology editors who have both accepted and rejected my work. They are all terrific and maybe in the coming weeks I'll give you a run down of everyone I know on the list.

Let me start with this one.

How about Neil Gaiman? Neil Freaking Gaiman is also nominated in my category!

Not through processing that yet. Not sure how I got on a list of anything with Neil Gaiman. Unless there was a list of people not named Bruce Willis. Neil and I would fit on that list easily.

The entire list is amazing and I'm thrilled to be there. I'm kinda tingling, but that might be a stroke or something. Possibly too many Pixie Stix with lunch. Don't know.

Look at me! I'm flying!

2010-03-29T10:52:00.000-04:00

My son likes a show called Special Agent Oso. It's on the Disney Channel and involves a secret agent teddy bear with spy gadgets helping kids learn to do various tasks.

I'm a scifi writer and poet with minimal interest in watching Special Agent Oso episodes over and over again.

What common ground could we come up with on rainy Sunday morning?

Building a jetpack, of course!

Cal always thinks it's cool when Oso has a jetpack, so I suggested we build one of our own.

He agreed.

We got together some plastic coffee containers, instant oatmeal cylinders and tape, and we got to work.

After almost an hour, we had a working model to zip through the house with.

It was a lot of fun to build and Cal really helped.

After his afternoon nap and my run to the coffee shop to write, we reconvened in the lab and put some added touches on it. These mostly consisted of various kinds of colored tape: gray duct, black electical and blue painter's tapes.

He zooms through the halls whooshing his jetpack sound as he goes. He really digs it and it wasn't too hard to make.

Best of all - with that much tape involved, I don't see it coming apart anytime soon!

The flames coming out of the bottom? I made those!

Jealous?

Night of a Billion (more) Stars

2010-03-26T11:23:00.000-04:00

Stick this in your idea factory and write about it - A new discovery suggests that scientists were off on their original count of stars... by about a Billion.

A Discovery News article says astronomers "may have underestimated the tally of galaxies in some parts of the universe by as much as 90 percent."

How did it happen? Astronomers use ultraviolet light signatures to count stars. But it seems that isn't the best or most accurate way to do it.

I ain't no scientist - read the article to get the real story.

Exactly what every writer needs

2010-03-24T07:59:00.000-04:00

Well, maybe every writer doesn't need six pounds of pens immediately... but over the course of their lives I'm sure they consume somewhere around that amount.

Possibly.

Rainy Days and Mondays...

2010-03-22T08:17:00.000-04:00

...always bring out worms.

Every time it rains, my son insists on pointing out each worm from the car to the front door of his daycare.

It's a fun game, unless it happens to be pouring on us as he does this.

Ah, the writing life

2010-03-21T22:37:00.000-04:00

See ya!

2010-03-21T21:22:00.000-04:00

So long Cincy! Later Millennicon! I hope you loved loving me as much as I loved loving you!

Hello From Millennicon!

2010-03-19T17:33:00.000-04:00

Just made it into Cincy for Millennicon.

Made it through the mad rush at the registration table and I'm settling into the room. Already ran into the Guest of Honor, S.L Farrell in the lobby.

Also managed to say hi to Mr. Jim Hines as he headed for the lobby. He makes you call him Mr. Jim Hines, even in casual conversation. Hopefully I'll have time to talk to him later. I always have interesting conversations, even if they tend to be brief. His book, the Stepsister Scheme was wonderful.

Tonight, the only thing I'm participating in is an autograph session. This should be interesting, it's a session with all of the guest of honor and other well-known writers. I participated in one of these at Context last year and I felt a little silly sitting at a table with my chapbook of poetry while authors with multi-book deals sat around me. I got over it though, when I actually sold a few. The difference is, that Millennicon doesn't have any poetry programming, whereas Context did.

Of course, that con was near Halloween and I had candy on my table to lure in the unsuspecting. Rats. Should've planned ahead.