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August 30, 2006
Twist Ending Contest
I like twist endings. I like reading/viewing them (most of the time). I also enjoy writing them.
If you do too, check out this entry on John Kuhn’s blog.
John is hosting a contest for stories with twist endings. There’s even a cash prize for the winner.
The entry also has a fun link to a Wikipedia article on twist endings. But watch out for the spoilers.
Posted by Selena at 08:21 AM | Comments (1)
August 27, 2006
Good Reading-On Writing Edition
Check out this great column by Johne (Phy) Cook:
The Hidden Benefits of The Valley
Being in The Valley is certainly something I can relate to. I’m there now actually and it feels like I’ve been in the lowlands forever.
Phy’s column is a good reminder that The Valley is temporary and that it has gifts for us amid the turmoil. I have a feeling I'll be referring back to this column often in the future.
Posted by Selena at 08:51 AM | Comments (0)
August 26, 2006
Spam Still Out of Control
The spam is still out of control on my SR and DKA blogs, despite my best efforts to stop it. So I finally had to make those blogs available only to registered users of those sites. Hopefully that will help. If not, I’ll have to limit access to friends only. That would be sad.
Posted by Selena at 09:58 PM | Comments (0)
DKA: “The Path of Least Resistance” by R. L. Copple
To close out August, we have a speculative poem for your enjoyment.
“The Path of Least Resistance”
by R. L. Copple
Tease:
"God’s creation is so vast and distant, yet unknowingly courses in our veins."
Posted by Selena at 07:45 AM | Comments (0)
August 24, 2006
Pluto Demoted
Apparently Pluto is no longer a planet.
Yep that’s right. Check out this article in The Washington Post.
Our solar system now has only eight planets. Think of all the textbooks that will have to be rewritten.
Poor Pluto.
Posted by Selena at 06:28 PM | Comments (2)
August 23, 2006
DKA: “Sally and Her Grandfathers” by John Kuhn
Today we have a special treat. This whimsical story is enjoyable at any age.
“Sally and Her Grandfathers -
A Tale for Children (and Adults Who Aren't Too Old Inside)”
by John Kuhn
Tease:
"Sally's grandfathers are kings, both of them, but they couldn't be more different. When Sally turns her back on one grandfather and runs into the waiting arms of the other, she learns what genuine love looks like, and what is only a cruel facsimile."
Posted by Selena at 08:02 AM | Comments (0)
August 19, 2006
Today’s Tally
Much like yesterday’s.
Worked on another couple stories today and sent them off. Also, finished and submitted a column.
That’s a good day.
Posted by Selena at 06:30 PM | Comments (0)
DKA: “Tyler McHenry, Middle-Aged Lover of Books” by Wade Ogletree
August’s latest addition is a bit of flash fiction with an intriguing premise.
“Tyler McHenry, Middle-Aged Lover of Books”
by Wade Ogletree
Tease:
"Tyler McHenry has found a better way to read: a technology that allows him to become the perfect reader at the perfect time for whatever book he is reading."
Posted by Selena at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)
August 18, 2006
A Good Writing Day
It’s been a good writing day. I worked on a couple stories, finished them off, and submitted them. Same with a new column.
That’s progress. It feels good.
Posted by Selena at 08:06 PM | Comments (0)
August 17, 2006
New Column Published: "Come As You Are"
My latest column is up. It’s called “Come As You Are.”
I hope you like it.
Posted by Selena at 05:20 PM | Comments (0)
August 16, 2006
“Play Through the Pain”
I just watched the movie “Wimbledon” for the second time. I don’t even like tennis. But I love this movie. I’m a sucker for stories where people accomplish the impossible.
This time around what struck me most was the line: “Play through the pain.” Our hero has injured his back but has to continue the match. It’s standard athlete stuff. But in my head, it was about writing.
Being a writer is full of pain. There is frequent rejection. (I got another decline just today. That’s four so far this month.) There is also doubt, criticism, fear, and discouragement.
I have to learn to play through the pain or, in my case, write through the pain. Otherwise, I’ll never get back to the good stuff writing has to offer—the rush of a new idea, the exhilaration of hitting upon just the right string of words, the thrill of a yes, and of course the joy of seeing my work in print.
So, play through the pain. That’s the plan.
Posted by Selena at 10:11 PM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2006
Cooking Mood
I have cooked dinner two nights in a row.
If this carries on much longer, my family will wonder if I have been abducted by aliens and replaced by an ill-informed clone.
Posted by Selena at 08:15 PM | Comments (0)
DKA: “Briskburner” by Jordan Lapp (w/ illustration)
Today’s update is a dragon-hunting adventure by Jordan Lapp. Accompanying the story is an illustration by E.J. Mickels, II that was created specifically for "Briskburner."
“Briskburner”
by Jordan Lapp
Tease:
“Briskburner” is the story of Jack Kemp, the battle hardened leader of a small band of bounty hunters. When King Ethan IV offered gold for the ears of any dragon taken within his realm, the “Knights of Scale and Coin” leapt to the challenge and now hunt the most glorious prize of all—Briskburner, a dragon without peer or measure.
Posted by Selena at 07:53 AM | Comments (0)
August 13, 2006
The Devil’s Plan: The Five D’s
My mom got me a new Bible for my birthday. It’s a “Life Application Study Bible,” a “New Living Translation.” It looks cool, but it has so many notes and graphs and sidebars that you can hardly tell where the actual Bible verses are.
I was flipping through and found this sidebar that particularly spoke to me:
---------------------------------------------------------------
Satan’s Plan Against Us
Doubt – Makes you question God’s Word and his goodness
Discouragement – Makes you look at your problems rather than at God
Diversion – Makes the wrong things seems attractive so that you will want them more than the right things
Defeat – Makes you feel like a failure so that you don’t even try
Delay – Makes you put off doing something so that it never gets done
---------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, I am well acquainted with all of those, but especially with 2, 4 and 5.
Posted by Selena at 05:17 PM | Comments (0)
August 12, 2006
DKA: “The Prophet” by Adam Ferguson
DKA’s latest update brings us…
“The Prophet”
by Adam Ferguson
Tease:
"A New York lawyer on the verge of making partner, Jake is at the top of his game. But just as he's tying up the biggest case of his career, something goes wrong."
Posted by Selena at 07:53 AM | Comments (0)
August 11, 2006
DKA gets great review at Tangent
DKA's July issue just got a great review from Tangent.
Please join me in congratulating all the writers whose stories are praised there:
"Hope and Erosion" by Michael J. DeLuca
"The Smoking Man" by S.T. Forstner
"The Tiniest Dragonslayer" by Robert J. Santa
"Marian's Test" by Scott M. Sandridge
"The Man who Kept a Dragon in the Basement" by Linda Gilmore
"The Teeth of the Matter" by TW Williams
"Twisted" by Lynda K. Arndt
Good work, everyone!
Posted by Selena at 03:44 PM | Comments (0)
August 09, 2006
Missing Kathryn
Yesterday I had three cats. Now I have only two. That makes for a very bad day.
This morning started like any other. I got up at 7 am. The two cats who sleep in the bedroom followed me downstairs for breakfast. The one cat who had long since become too feeble to make it up the stairs was on the couch as usual. I picked her up and brought her into the kitchen like I do every morning.
Only this time, once I set her on the floor she went into convulsions and began foaming at the mouth. Then she was suddenly very still. We rushed her to the vet’s but she was already gone.
Poor Kathryn had been in such ill health for so long, you would think I’d be better prepared to lose her. But I’m not. It all happened so fast. She seemed normal, then five minutes later she was gone.
People have always said I was too attached to my cats. It’s probably true. But I can’t help it. And even today I wouldn’t change it.
I know that she’s in a better place and that she isn’t suffering, that she’s probably running around in heaven like she did when she was a kitten. But I still miss her. Several times today I thought I heard her meowing from another part of the house. It’s weird.
If any of you read my “Meeting of the Mages,” this was the fat, white cat who inspired that story.
Posted by Selena at 05:26 PM | Comments (2)
August 08, 2006
New Story Published: “Autofill”
My latest story to be published is now available at Long Story Short. It’s a flash fiction story called “Autofill”. If you’re looking for it from the main page it’s under the Humor section.
I hope you enjoy it.
Posted by Selena at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)
DKA: “The Hero of Hawk's Field” by Robert Rhodes
Next up for August is…
“The Hero of Hawk's Field”
by Robert Rhodes
Tease:
"The forest is dark, a refuge for bandits, and he has only a donkey and a woodcutter's axe ... and perhaps the power of justice."
Posted by Selena at 07:59 AM | Comments (0)
August 07, 2006
Noted on Today’s Walk
Today I saw a T-shirt that said:
Got Books?
Reading is the key to All Learning
I agree with the sentiment. I just have one question: why is “All Learning” capitalized?
Posted by Selena at 10:36 AM | Comments (0)
August 05, 2006
Feeling So Rejected
I just got the third decline in as many days. One story was declined in a matter of hours. How crazy is that? I submitted it late one night and it was rejected by the next morning. Another was from a major market who held onto the sub for nearly three months, causing me to have wild hopes, then rejected it right at the point where I could have assumed it was lost in the mail and resubmit it.
My thoughts right now are very much along the lines of “Who am I kidding? I should just get a job.” But maybe all writers go through that. It’s probably at least the hundredth time I have felt like giving up on writing.
I’m sitting here trying to come up with a way to drown my sorrows that doesn’t involve spending a lot of money or consuming tons of excess calories. While it seems in the moment that a very large hot fudge sundae would make me feel oh so much better, I think I am going to try a swim instead. I just hope the pool isn’t too crowded.
Posted by Selena at 02:25 PM | Comments (0)
DKA: “The Watchman” by Stoney M. Setzer
DKA is beginning August with “The Watchman,” a story by Stoney M. Setzer.
Tease:
Glenn Sanders is a small-town newspaper editor who longs for the "big story." He gets his wish when his town is besieged by swarms of biting gnats, but it turns out to be more than he bargained for when he learns the reason for the plague.
Posted by Selena at 07:59 AM | Comments (0)
August 02, 2006
DKA Poetry Contest Announcement
DKA has just announced its first poetry contest.
We are looking for short, speculative poems on the theme “Revelation.”
Deadline for entry is September 30th.
NO ENTRY FEE.
Top prize is $75.
Check out all the details here.
Posted by Selena at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)
“Young Ones” now in print
My latest story, “Young Ones,” is now in print at Ray Gun Revival.
To check it out, go to Ray Gun Revival, click on the cover image, and scroll down to page 4. You can also download the pdf file of the issue for future reading.
Posted by Selena at 07:55 AM | Comments (0)
August 01, 2006
Home Again
I got back today from a several day trip to Memphis for a family reunion. I had a great time. It’s always nice to visit with family, especially those you don’t see very often.
It was a restful vacation. I hardly did any work, except catching up on some reading. I read Writing to Change the World from cover to cover. It was really good.
I enjoyed my trip but I am very glad to be home now. When I was younger I loved to travel, but now I don’t like to be away from home for more than a few days. When I’m away I miss my husband, my cats, my own bed, my usual routine. That’s boring perhaps, but there it is.
Part of being home is getting back to work, and I’m doing that slowly. I hope to be able to get back into the thick of things tomorrow and start being productive again—writing a lot, getting things done, sending out submissions. I’ve really been slacking off and that must stop.
I’m nearly forty. It’s not like I have all that much time left in which to accomplish my dreams. I better get to it.
Posted by Selena at 09:40 PM | Comments (0)