Welcome to my World(s)
I enjoyed this post off of TheCreativePenn.com by an author I hadn’t heard of before, but now intend to follow! Edwin McRae introduced me to a new genre: LitRPG, and goes about explaining how to find (or choose!) your sub-niche.
Check the article out here, and Edwin’s site here; happy writing!
(next on my reading list: Warlock)
I’m off to Kingston’s third annual 2017 Limestone Genre Expo this weekend – two days of geeking out with like-minded folk, where there’ll be over sixty authors, panel discussions, workshops, readings, pitch sessions, vendors, and chances to rub shoulders with editors and publishers (all while shipping the husband and kids up to the in-laws… what could be better! 😉 ).
This year, the Expo featured a short story contest – 1500 words in the style of either: Sherlock Holmes, Victorian Era Romance, or Steampunk (I chose the latter). The stories were judged by authors attending the expo – Tanya Huff among them!
…and guess who won the contest?
(it was me.)
Receiving winning certificate from Limestone Genre Expo organizers Marlene (L) and Delina (R).
I was gifted with a nice certificate during a short ceremony at Kingston City Hall, during the kick-off talk of last week’s Sherlock Holmes festival, plus my story (entitled Cataraqui Crisis) will be featured on the Expo website.
And now I get to attend the expo this weekend with a unique way of introducing myself (Trevor suggested I call myself the “Queen of the Expo”, but I think I might not).
Well, the day has arrived – my first official published story was released on January 28th 2017!
… albeit in Kindle-reader format 😉 (but hey – published is published!!!)
The 17th issue of KZINE – a British sci-fi / horror / fantasy / crime magazine created specifically for the mobile reader – features seven short stories, including my tale Flesh.
Flesh follows the story of an octogenarian in his final few days of life, trying in vain to leave his past behind him. Of course, there’s a nasty villain, a space station, a gun fight & a high-speed chase, and — just for good measure — a StarWars-esque fall down a bottomless shaft.
Anyways – I’m very excited, and seeing my name in (electronic) print has been a great boost to my recently lagged productivity at the keyboard. Nothing like some tangible success to get the muse tapping at the window again!
Please check out KZINE, and consider purchasing a copy of the current issue here or here. You won’t be disappointed!
Get involved! Get writing!
I’ve been on a two-month hiatus from writing my fiction – life and work getting in the way as they always seem to do…
However, as November approaches, there’s a very good reason to get back into fiction writing – one that many writers find is just what they need to jump start their creative endeavours, as the cold weather settles in: NaNoWriMo!
Writing is a uniquely lonely type of thing. For an introvert (like myself!) it is a welcome escape from the invasive outside world. It’s therapeutic, too – a balm to soothe the raw stress from all those… people (said with the utmost disgust) intruding themselves upon me day in, day out.
However, I have found that the private nature of writing is a double-edged sword. There are times when even this introvert (I cringe to admit) craves contact with other like-minded humans. Specifically the writing kind of humans.
Now, writing being an activity whereby you are lost in your mind and you stare intently at a screen for hours on end, contact with other such beings can be hard to come by… unless you all share a similar goal. Say, the writing of a complete novel in the space of one month.
Well, look no further: National Novel Writing Month has you covered! In fact, they couldn’t make it easier for you to get involved – to whatever degree you feel comfortable with. You fill out some information on yourself and your prospective novel, you pick the local community you’ll be writing with, and once November rolls around, you start writing! There’s a nifty little graph that shows you how much you’ve written, and if you are on (or off) your word count goal. There are weekly activities, both locally and across the world that you (again) can participate in, or not.
This will be my third year participating, though I’ll immediately admit I’ll be cheating just a bit – I’m aiming to complete the same novel that I started last year (an urban sci-fi mystery… thingy) – however many words that ends up being.
Regardless of my insidious plans, NaNoWriMo is just what I need to get my fiction writing kick-started again.
21 days and counting…
…in the meantime? I’ll be getting another batch of agent queries out, and outlining the next bits of that novel that is going to write itself! 😉
I suppose it was going to happen sooner or later.
After all, it’s a numbers game: send enough of my short stories to enough magazines and/or anthologies, and someone out there is bound to bite, right?
Well, early last week, a UK online magazine accepted my short science fiction story “Flesh” for publication for their January 2017 issue! My first fiction writing success!
“Flesh” is the story of an elderly man who has given up everything for a chance at a new life. But everything is not as it seems (dun, dun, DUN!!!).
I’m truly excited – this is a very significant step for me. Now, I have a ‘publication history’; no longer do I need to leave that part of my submissions or queries blank! I also get to have my fiction read by a much larger circle of people (beyond my husband, and the members of critters.org, to which I belong).
I had ‘set’ myself a goal of having my fiction published by the end of 2015 (fully aware that it wasn’t entirely in my hands); I’m pleasantly surprised that I was only off by a few months! 😉
Anyways – enough reveling in my success. I have another set of agent queries to send out, not to mention crafting another couple short stories. I’m also working on getting my freelance b2b copywriting career off the ground, by the end of the month…
Always lots to do, as a writer!
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