Progress notes for April 30, 2007

Strange. I wrote the same exact amount of words today as I did yesterday. Oh well. If it works, it works.

"The Songs He'd Sing"

New Words: 618
Total Words: 1,967
Pages: 5
Deadline: None
Reason for stopping: End of scene where we stick a kitty in a fridge
Stimulants: Arizona green tea with ginseng
Songs played loudly: "Come Close" by Saosin
Exercise: 6,471 steps at the park
Mail: A magazine I'd submitted to folded today before even seeing its first issue. Not a rejection, not a sale. Meh. More annoying than anything else.
Darling du Jour: "Now, Em," Martin said, getting right in her face, his breath low and hot, "I know I used to climb in there a lot, but that was just me being stupid. I always figured you kept the best food way in the back."
Other writing-related work: Couple notes taken on another story
The Internet is full of Things: Sumo wrestlers in a competition to make babies cry. Seriously, not making it up.

Progress notes for April 29, 2007

I've been reading Michelle Sagara's Cast in Shadow, and you know what, it's fun and the sort of reading experience I really enjoy. Fast-paced, amusing dialogue, and compelling characters. Aspects that I'm coming to rather demand in a book than expect more times than not. There's a lot of interesting details about the different classes of folk: Leontines, Hawks, Wolves, Dragons, and so forth. At first, I thought it was going to be very cut-and-dry, but it turned out to be much different.

Sagara moves the plot along very fast--sometimes too fast as I want to know more history and why things are happening--and I can't help but plow through the book. Funny, I had trouble just getting through Brasyl by Ian McDonald and yet here I can read easily. I do have a problem with her holding back information about Severn from the reader for almost half the novel, but meh, it's all right. I'm enjoying the worldbuilding and caste system so much that it's forgiveable. Aren't I just the nicest?

Some progress today, in which main character Emily gets the tingles to tangle with teleportation.

"The Songs He'd Sing"

New Words: 618
Total Words: 1,349
Pages: 3
Deadline: None
Reason for stopping: End of scene
Stimulants: Coffee is my friend
Songs played loudly: "Grand Theft Autumn" by Fall Out Boy
Mail: Found out that a short story of mine, "Ash Fish," had been accepted to a benefit anthology called SALT. Also, received contracts for "Birds, Gods, and the Naming of Things" for the Strange Stories of Sand and Sea anthology. Other than that, nomail. Tis Sunday!
Darling du Jour: "I have an idea." Emily stood, scratched her cat thanks under his chin, and hurried over to her computer. "Thanksgiving might come early this year."
Other writing-related work: Nopers
The Internet is full of Things: I like this blog a lot. Old photos galore!

Progress notes for April 28, 2007

Not much done today. Had a busy day with my sister.

"The Songs He'd Sing"

New Words: 103
Total Words: 731
Pages: One and a half
Deadline: None
Reason for stopping: Pillows are calling my name and they are being quite nice about it. Must obey pillows.
Stimulants: Coffee and yummy dessert!
Songs played loudly: "8 A.M." by The Summer Obsession
Mail: Bill, and something relating to a story sale, but I'm not clear about it yet. Stay tuned.
Darling du Jour: Night in West County was made up of five parts: strolling, supper, sitting, singing, and sleeping.
Other writing-related work: Nada
The Internet is full of Things: Just nothing too interesting today. Well, if you have anything, please, do share.

Progress notes for April 27, 2007

Well, I finished a short story last night, which, of course, means I'm moving right on to the next one. Figured this would be a good time for some progress notes. So far, it's a cat story but I'm looking to change that. Maybe into a futuristic kidnapping story with a cat on the side. Yeah, I like that. That sounds better.

"The Songs He'd Sing"

New Words: 651
Total Words: 651
Pages: One and a half
Deadline: None
Reason for stopping: To watch a mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmovie
Stimulants: Two cups of coffee with hazelnut creamer
Songs played loudly: "Your Mistake" by Sister Hazel
Mail: Nomail
Darling du Jour: A little old lady by the little old name of Miss Agatha White had managed to reprogram her refrigerator’s mainframe with a pair of safety scissors and some double-sided tape, changing it from being an anti-junk machine to anti-health (with extreme prejudice toward lettuce).
Other writing-related work: Read some more of a friend's novel
The Internet is full of Things: I used to watch this show ALL the time when I was younger. Specifically, before heading out to catch the school bus in the morning. Watching it now, well...it kind of sucks. Ah, nostalgia. Such a weird thing.

Mouse dæmon

Aw, mouse! She completes me. Anyways, The Golden Compass comes out in December and, well, I'm not that excited. Seems like ever since LOTR left theaters, the movie industry has been trying to fill some fantasy void come December every year. 2006 was home to crap-filled Eragon, and I think before that was The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Meh. At least this one will have dæmons. Not daemons. Dæmons.

A major discovery!

Scientists have discovered an Earth-like planet just outside our solar system that could sustain human life.



It's name? Gliese 581 C.

Gliese 581 C, for science's sake. As a writer, I could come up with a much better name than that crap in just a few minutes. Let's see, let's see...

Tregarran
Voltim'iri
Edgsia
Xenott
Olemdors

Seriously, I could do this all day. Feel free to share your planet names though because even if they are something like Planet Cool or Zebe, it'll be a thousand times better than Gliese 581 C. Ugh. Gliese 581 C!!!

OOTP international trailer

Here's the new international trailer for Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix:



Looks yummy to me. I have to say that Umbridge looks pretty much like how I'd imagined her. Except JK often described her as very froglike, and because of that I pictured her skin mottled and very pale, almost sickishly green. Oh wells. Can't win 'em all. I think I spied one of my favorite scenes from the book in the trailer already. Awesome. Hint: think Fred and George and their shining moment.

King responds to violence

Stephen King responds to the idea of violent media equaling violent acts. Interesting, and I found myself agreeing with a lot of the things he said. I'm not going to go into any more than that, as I'm really not prepared to discuss the VT Massacre, but just thought to share.

Three things!

Well, here's some good news. "The Weatherbugs of Mr. Grady," a truly strange short story I wrote last July, just sold to Grimoire. I believe it's slated for the debut issue in August 2007. Cool, cool.

I received Gradisil by Adam Roberts in the mail the other day. Looks interesting. Cover shows spaceships, some sort of futuristic satellite, and explosions. Well, I'm sold.

And lastly this video, featuring Will Ferrel and a less-than-respectful landlord, is pretty funny. Well, funny enough that I've watched it more than once. That means it's good enough to share.



EDIT: Scratch that. Seems the video is being removed from YouTube due to copyright issues.

(Not a) dreadful review!

Check out my review for Cherie Priest's Dreadful Skin here!



From the FBS Quick Take:
Lycanthropes, burning ships, and a less-than-holy traveling revivalist camp—Dreadful Skin is a throwback to the stories of old, pulpy and brisk; Cherie Priest has created another strong entry for the field of Southern horror.

In other items of interest, I should have some good news to post about soon. And no, I'm not pregnant.

Secret project revealed!

Awhile back, Sandra McDonald e-mailed me to ask if I might be interested in doing some comics to go along with The Outback Stars, her debut novel from Tor that just officially came out today. I quickly got to work, and we've been going back and forth with different ideas and sketches and whathaveyou. Well, now y'all can see some of the stuff I've come up with, aptly titled the Outback Guide. It's been a lot of fun, and Sandra's writing made it quite easy to pluck out strip ideas. Plus, you know, any excuse to draw spaceships is fine by me.



There'll be a total of twelve comics, three for each of the first four chapters of the book. To see the rest of the comics for Chapter One, go here. You can also see some other fun stuff on the Outback Stars web site, such as fanfic and personal diary entries from the characters. So stay tuned to the site for more content. And, duh, order her book at Amazon.

"Sonorous" reviewed

Michele Lee reviews Apex #9, and writes this of my story:

The Parting Shot for Apex Digest #9 is Sonorous by Paul Abbmondi. I have to say it’s the first time I’ve been satisfied with a published piece that I’ve read in second person. I instantly thought of Gabriel’s horn, only scifi, reproduced like a clone of an artifact. The story didn’t entirely lean that way, but I enjoyed the lovely imagery that surfaces in the tale.

Despite my last name being spelled incorrectly, I'll take it. Don't worry world, I'm Italian. I'm used to this sort of thing.

Death: Kurt Vonnegut

I was pretty bummed out to learn last night that Kurt Vonnegut died. Both Breakfast of Champions and "Harrison Bergeron" are pieces of his work that I have fond memories of and have reread over the years. The man could twist satire and dark comedic staples into these magnificiently formed worlds where nothing was as simple as it seemed. The bleakness was everywhere, especially in his own voice, that style he personified to a point in each and every thing he wrote. Looking back now, I can see his influence on me. He shall be missed.

So it goes.

Vacation

Blogging is on hold while I take a vacation. In the meantime, check out this video of the bestest animals ever. See? BFFs aren't just a thing for us stinky humans.

Not fooled

You know, I was planning on doing a fun prank for April Fool's Day. This weekend has just been kicking my ass with busy, busy, busy, and busy. Oh well. Maybe next year?