One day I plan on either a) getting a real bookshelf to hold all my novels or b) buying a castle in England so that I can actually have an entire room to call a library.
Bonus points if you can name some of my books?
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Bookshelf...
This is just one side of my bookshelf.
One day I plan on either a) getting a real bookshelf to hold all my novels or b) buying a castle in England so that I can actually have an entire room to call a library.
Bonus points if you can name some of my books?
One day I plan on either a) getting a real bookshelf to hold all my novels or b) buying a castle in England so that I can actually have an entire room to call a library.
Bonus points if you can name some of my books?
Monday, February 27, 2006
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Yay for libraries!
So I finally made my way over to my town's library, got a card, and perused the "books for sale" racks. 25 cents for a paperback; $1 for hardbacks. I have a weird fascination with old books, ones with yellow pages and the strong, musty smell of time. I'd rather buy old, beat up books than spend $10 on a fresh paperback. Yeah, I'm weird.
My fondest memory is going to the library when I was around 12 or 13, and buying Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park for a quarter. The book's cover was ripped in half, dangling for its life. Some pages had been marked, some passages underlined. Not only was this the book that probably forwarded my yearn for reading/writing, it's the one that gave me my old book fetish.
Anyways, I spent $2 today. Here is what I got:
1. The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons (Yay for Hugo Award-winning authors.)
2. A Touch of Frost by R.D. Wingfield (I was intrigued by the plot summary.)
3. Death at Daisy's Folly by Robin Paige (I've only ever read a few murder mystery books and thought to give some more a try.)
4. Circus of the Damned by Laurell K. Hamilton (Um, it's about vampires. 'Nuff said.)
5. The Eyes of Darkness by Dean Koontz (I might need a horror read in the future so here we go.)
6. Surface Action by David Drake (Military sci-fi is always fun.)
7. The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul by Douglas Adams (The humor god. Must...buy...it...now.)
8. The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan (Yeah, he's crap. I've read the first in the series, and thought that for a quarter I'd get book 3. If it sucks like I've heard his later books do, then I only lost a quarter and a few hours of my life.)
Knowing me, I'll go back next weekend and buy more.
I told you I'm addicted.
My fondest memory is going to the library when I was around 12 or 13, and buying Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park for a quarter. The book's cover was ripped in half, dangling for its life. Some pages had been marked, some passages underlined. Not only was this the book that probably forwarded my yearn for reading/writing, it's the one that gave me my old book fetish.
Anyways, I spent $2 today. Here is what I got:
1. The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons (Yay for Hugo Award-winning authors.)
2. A Touch of Frost by R.D. Wingfield (I was intrigued by the plot summary.)
3. Death at Daisy's Folly by Robin Paige (I've only ever read a few murder mystery books and thought to give some more a try.)
4. Circus of the Damned by Laurell K. Hamilton (Um, it's about vampires. 'Nuff said.)
5. The Eyes of Darkness by Dean Koontz (I might need a horror read in the future so here we go.)
6. Surface Action by David Drake (Military sci-fi is always fun.)
7. The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul by Douglas Adams (The humor god. Must...buy...it...now.)
8. The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan (Yeah, he's crap. I've read the first in the series, and thought that for a quarter I'd get book 3. If it sucks like I've heard his later books do, then I only lost a quarter and a few hours of my life.)
Knowing me, I'll go back next weekend and buy more.
I told you I'm addicted.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Shadowy review!
Check out my review of Shadowed Realms, #9 here!
Rant begin...
And, in other news, I got a 157-day rejection from a magazine that I thought had forgotten about me. I queried about the story two months ago with no response, and then yesterday, I get a form rejection in my email. That's fine, whatever. I probably won't submit to said magazine too often now that I know how they handle their submissions.
But here's the thing that bugs me. Not only is it a form rejection, but it's the kind that advertises its new subscription rate. That really bothers me. I understand they want to sell magazines, but the blatantly obvious marketing scheme of putting that crap into rejection letters is just annoying.
Here, we don't like your story and can't take the time to say anything about it, but why don't you purchase two year's worth of our magazine. Thanks!
...rant over.
Rant begin...
And, in other news, I got a 157-day rejection from a magazine that I thought had forgotten about me. I queried about the story two months ago with no response, and then yesterday, I get a form rejection in my email. That's fine, whatever. I probably won't submit to said magazine too often now that I know how they handle their submissions.
But here's the thing that bugs me. Not only is it a form rejection, but it's the kind that advertises its new subscription rate. That really bothers me. I understand they want to sell magazines, but the blatantly obvious marketing scheme of putting that crap into rejection letters is just annoying.
Here, we don't like your story and can't take the time to say anything about it, but why don't you purchase two year's worth of our magazine. Thanks!
...rant over.
Friday, February 17, 2006
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
I guess an update...
Not much to really update on.
Writing news
~ 150-day rejection from Aberrant Dreams with nice comments and encouragement to submit another story.
~ 23-day rejection from The Sword Review with some love it/hate it remarks.
~ 1-day rejection from The Town Drunk.
Sent out a couple stories last night. Other than that, I've been trying to catch up on my reading. I've got some books to review for FantasyBookSpot, and then on the side for pleasure, both the new issues of Shimmer and F&SF have arrived, tempting my eyes to devour them.
Also, The Girlfriend got me this for our anniversary/Valentine's Day celebration:
It's awesome.
Writing news
~ 150-day rejection from Aberrant Dreams with nice comments and encouragement to submit another story.
~ 23-day rejection from The Sword Review with some love it/hate it remarks.
~ 1-day rejection from The Town Drunk.
Sent out a couple stories last night. Other than that, I've been trying to catch up on my reading. I've got some books to review for FantasyBookSpot, and then on the side for pleasure, both the new issues of Shimmer and F&SF have arrived, tempting my eyes to devour them.
Also, The Girlfriend got me this for our anniversary/Valentine's Day celebration:
It's awesome.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Angelic review!
Check out my review of Lisa Silverthorne's The Sound of Angels here!
Next up for Tangent is The Sword Review's current issue...
Next up for Tangent is The Sword Review's current issue...
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Making progress...
~ Received check and contract back from Shimmer for "The Dealer's Hands".
~ Received signed and personalized copy of Rebel Ice. Pretty darn cool, ya know. I'm excited to read it.
~ Received signed and personalized copy of Rebel Ice. Pretty darn cool, ya know. I'm excited to read it.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Well...
Not much of an update, but thought to share regardless.
~ 14-day rejection on "Helen Goes Shopping" from Abyss & Apex after resubmitting it. Oh well. After a few more tries with this one, I'm probably going to trunk it and work on other ideas.
~ 14-day rejection on "Helen Goes Shopping" from Abyss & Apex after resubmitting it. Oh well. After a few more tries with this one, I'm probably going to trunk it and work on other ideas.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Parlais vous?
Total of 18 critiques for "When It Burns, It Burns Like a Star" from Critters.
By far, my favorite one says this:
I'm assuming that English is not your first language, and that is the main problem here.
Huh? I'm pretty sure I've been speaking English all my life. Does this mean I suck at writing words in English? Probably, yes. Should I translate all my stories into French? Who knows. Others thought the story was excellent and my writing well-done.
I'm really surprised by the split of the critiques. They really are either for the story or against it. For my writing or against it. For my long title or against it.
I'm turning "When It Burns, It Burns Like a Star" into a novella. Hopefully, that should solve some problems. And no, I'm not taking English lessons.
I have a BA in Journalism for heaven's sake.
Sheesh.
By far, my favorite one says this:
I'm assuming that English is not your first language, and that is the main problem here.
Huh? I'm pretty sure I've been speaking English all my life. Does this mean I suck at writing words in English? Probably, yes. Should I translate all my stories into French? Who knows. Others thought the story was excellent and my writing well-done.
I'm really surprised by the split of the critiques. They really are either for the story or against it. For my writing or against it. For my long title or against it.
I'm turning "When It Burns, It Burns Like a Star" into a novella. Hopefully, that should solve some problems. And no, I'm not taking English lessons.
I have a BA in Journalism for heaven's sake.
Sheesh.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Thinning review!
Check out my review for Stephen King's Thinner!
NOTE: The cover of the version I have is the old, 1984 original one. I got it for 25 cents from the public library. It's simple and not much to it. I thought this cover had a better design and represented more of what the book was about.
NOTE: The cover of the version I have is the old, 1984 original one. I got it for 25 cents from the public library. It's simple and not much to it. I thought this cover had a better design and represented more of what the book was about.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Phooey...
Writing news
~ 78-day form rejection for "The Dead Forest" from Orson Scott
Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show.
In other news, half of the critiques for "When It Burns, It Burns Like a Star" say my story has no point and they hated it, while the other half liked it and said it really made them think.
Humph. Well, I'm just going to completely rewrite it as a novella. And that's my decision.
~ 78-day form rejection for "The Dead Forest" from Orson Scott
Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show.
In other news, half of the critiques for "When It Burns, It Burns Like a Star" say my story has no point and they hated it, while the other half liked it and said it really made them think.
Humph. Well, I'm just going to completely rewrite it as a novella. And that's my decision.
Friday, January 20, 2006
We're all winners!
Thanks to PaperbackWriter for declaring that all that entered her free book giveaway are winners. Yay, I'm going to get a signed copy of Rebel Ice.
Writing news
~ 1-day rejection from The Town Drunk.
~ 22-day rejection from The Sword Review.
I did manage to send out two stories yesterday though which is good because I made my goal for the week. My story "When It Burns, It Burns Like a Star" is up at Critters, but I've only gotten two crits in so far. Must be a slow week as of yet. From what I've gathered on the story, there is too much exposition in it and not enough conflict. I'm toying with the idea of turning it into a novella, but then it really wouldn't be sellable. We'll see...
Writing news
~ 1-day rejection from The Town Drunk.
~ 22-day rejection from The Sword Review.
I did manage to send out two stories yesterday though which is good because I made my goal for the week. My story "When It Burns, It Burns Like a Star" is up at Critters, but I've only gotten two crits in so far. Must be a slow week as of yet. From what I've gathered on the story, there is too much exposition in it and not enough conflict. I'm toying with the idea of turning it into a novella, but then it really wouldn't be sellable. We'll see...
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Work with me!
Why won't my ficticious character work with me?
I've given him everything he needs. A heatstick that can burn the face off anyone it touches, the path that can lead him to safety, a hot woman to rescue from alien insects. He's got the weapon, the motive, the reasoning. So what is he doing?
Sitting in his tiny room, shaking and crying like a little girl, as everyone around him is being attacked by alien insects.
GET TO IT, GEORGE! I'M TIRED OF WAITING AROUND!
---
In other news, Eugie from Tangent has sent me my next assignment. It's an anthology of stories by Lisa Silverthorne entitled The Sound of Angels. You can find more out about it here. Seems interesting enough and I can't wait to read it. Hopefully some free time will pop up this weekend!
I've given him everything he needs. A heatstick that can burn the face off anyone it touches, the path that can lead him to safety, a hot woman to rescue from alien insects. He's got the weapon, the motive, the reasoning. So what is he doing?
Sitting in his tiny room, shaking and crying like a little girl, as everyone around him is being attacked by alien insects.
GET TO IT, GEORGE! I'M TIRED OF WAITING AROUND!
---
In other news, Eugie from Tangent has sent me my next assignment. It's an anthology of stories by Lisa Silverthorne entitled The Sound of Angels. You can find more out about it here. Seems interesting enough and I can't wait to read it. Hopefully some free time will pop up this weekend!
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Woot woot still...
Still on a first sale high. Mailed out my contracts yesterday for Shimmer. I have to work on writing a short bio for them. I wonder what I'll come up with.
1-day personal rejection from The Town Drunk. I don't think I have anything else to submit to them yet. Maybe I can whip up a story before their reading period ends. How in the heck does Terry Pratchett write humor so well?
280+ day personal rejection from Black Gate. The editor, Mr. O'Neill, had some nice things to say about my piece, but confessed that it wasn't as original as the others he was currently looking at. Considering this was the very first story I ever wrote, I'm quite pleased with this rejection.
Anyone have any advice for keeping things organized? I have a folder where I keep all my rough drafts and earlier versions. I figure I'll make a folder for all my contracts and maybe another for the final printed copy. Any ideas?
1-day personal rejection from The Town Drunk. I don't think I have anything else to submit to them yet. Maybe I can whip up a story before their reading period ends. How in the heck does Terry Pratchett write humor so well?
280+ day personal rejection from Black Gate. The editor, Mr. O'Neill, had some nice things to say about my piece, but confessed that it wasn't as original as the others he was currently looking at. Considering this was the very first story I ever wrote, I'm quite pleased with this rejection.
Anyone have any advice for keeping things organized? I have a folder where I keep all my rough drafts and earlier versions. I figure I'll make a folder for all my contracts and maybe another for the final printed copy. Any ideas?
Monday, January 16, 2006
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