Analog Picks Up “Ellipses…”
Jul 23, 2010 Short Stories
Still need to deal with all the contractual stuff, so nothing is certain. But news from New York is that Analog wants to publish my novelette “Ellipses…”
This is, as always, pretty good news.
Four Stories Available on Smashwords
Jul 14, 2010 Business, Short Stories
Lots of things happening lately…you can find four of my stories available on Smashwords.
Making New From Old
Jul 11, 2010 Daily Writing, Short Stories
I was listening to a Scientific American podcast the other day while at the health club, and they ran a story about Alaskan dogs that were part of the Iditarod. Among the facts that the story gave was that these dogs burn an incredible number of calories while participating in this race, some ridiculous number like 12,000 calories a day. I mean, yikes. Totally awesome when you think about it, especially given the relative size of these animals.
Humans should get along on a couple thousand a day, for example.
These dogs, it seems, can also modify their systems to begin to dram energy from those calories directly from the bloodstream rather than letting it go through the liver first. Pretty danged fascinating, eh?
Anyway, the story got me to thinking about what would happen if humans used genetic material from a dog, which then got me to remembering a story I had written some time back. It was sitting firmly in my trunk, but I dug it out and looked it over. It is a story that uses the idea of building humans with genetic code from a specific animal in order to make use of its genetic processes.
I’m not in the habit of doing this because most, if not all, stories I put in my trunk are put in there for some very good reasons. This one, though, I decided I liked. And quite honestly, I’m a better writer now than I was when I first wrote it. I could see lots of big issues. But I’ve spent the last two days cutting it up and doing it over again.
And, of course I’m pretty happy with it. It’s always good to have a new story to put in the post.
Still, I don’t think I’ll be trunk diving anytime in the near future. Too scary as a rule. [grin]
Best Western
Jul 10, 2010 Other Writers, Short Stories
I’ve got another recommendation–this time it’s not SF at all. I stumbled upon PRI’s Selected Shorts podcast, which is a show that features various people reading short stories of some note to a live audience. Often I like the stories, sometimes I don’t.
In this case, I quite enjoyed “Best Western“, a short story by Anne de Marcken (read by Laura Esterman). It’s the second story in this podcast. The first is good story–Rebecca Curtis’s “Twenty Grand” as read by Jane Curtain. But “Best Western,” in my opinion truly shines.
Picasso’s Cat Available for Pre-Order
Jun 11, 2010 Business, Short Stories
Hey, it’s finally Friday evening!
Weekends are the bestest.
And this weekend has been made just that much better now because I see that Picasso’s Cat & Other Stories is now available for pre-order at The Merry Blacksmith Press. You can order via Paypal, or contact the publisher at orders@merryblacksmith.com.
Being new to this marketing thing, I think this is where I’m supposed to say it makes a great gift, right? Or am I supposed to say it gets great gas mileage? How about “order now and get a free set of Ginsu knives!” (Actually, that last is a lie…I don’t think you get any knives, no matter when you order–bummer, I know).
Perhaps it’s better if I stick to writing the stories, eh?
