Upcoming Short Story Publications

  • "Riders of the Red Shift" - Stupefying Stories 2013
  • "Custodes" - The Fifth Dimension, Sept. 2013
  • "Bindlestiff's Daughter" - The Lorelei Signal, Oct. 2013

Sunday, January 06, 2008

The book

The question of which short story to proceed with was decided on New Year's day by a visit to the local Hastings book store. Now, I've had a book outline for a while, but I hadn't been able to get started for a simple reason - I couldn't come up with a good title. While browsing the shelves, I guess a conflation of titles came together into something original - and appropriate, given the subject of my book. I began writing up the outline that night and I've been working on it ever since. So the answer to the question was: None. Write the book.

Today was my birthday (51st). I invited friends from work over for some home-made lasagna. Beforehand, I had to make a last-minute run to pick up some supplies. As I passed the supermarket paperback book rack, I saw a copy of "Variable Star". So I bought it.

Overall, not a bad week at all.

On New Year's day, I began writing my great s-f novel. On my birthday, I bought a copy of Robert Heinlein's last s-f novel.

Sounds like John Scalzi, don't it? (wink)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Latest reviews

A better path develops for a distraught man in “Double Exposure” by Lou Antonelli (debut 6/11 and reviewed by Frank D). Jake is about to end it all. He has been trying to keep his high maintenance wife happy for decades and has needed to embezzle to satisfy her spending habits. Now, on the verge of indictment and abandoned by his spouse, he buys a gun. Before he pulls the trigger, he spies a Kodak one-day photo hut. Curious, he pulls up to the window. They are holding pictures of him and his last girlfriend from 30 years before. The package is a lot thicker than it should be.

Double Exposure” is listed as an Alternative History story but I would classify it as a Magical Realism tale. It is set as a second chance tale, a look into a life that should have been. The author is inspired by his memories of the old photo huts (I remember them) and of their disappearance. A cool idea (photos of another life), one that I could imagine would make for a great anthology.

- Frank Dutkiewicz, Diabolical Plots

Great White Ship”: A traveler stuck waiting for a flight strikes up a conversation with an old airline employee. The Old Timer tells him a story of a Great White Airship that arrives from a most unusual destination. The story of a craft from an alternate reality and how it got there is only the precursor to the final act.

This is one of my favorite stories from this site. I have a great passion for lighter-than-air craft and their potential as a future means of transport, which opens the story. The author uses this speculation to launch into an engaging tale. As fascinating as the main story line is, the alternate history premise that accompanies it is just as worthwhile. This story was well written and very well thought out. It is well worth the read.

Recommended.

- James Hanzelka, Diabolical Plots

Blog Archive

Legalese

The content of this web site is subject to the following creative commons license: Click here for the fine print