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Playing Doctor >> Recommendation

Ron Collins — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 22:04:12 +0000

Here’s a fun listen if you’re into podcasts and mad scientists. It’s a story titled “Playing Doctor” by Robert T. Jeschonek. You can read it on the Escape Pod site, but this is one that actually translates really well to the audio format. Perhaps it just caught me at the right moment.

Only you can say for sure.

“Operation Hercules” to On Spec, and Other Little Bits

Ron Collins — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:20:28 +0000

So, yeah, it’s been awhile. What can I say?

I won’t even begin to attempt to catch up on a month and a half of life. Instead, I’ll just say that time flies and leave it at that. On the other hand, during that time I’ve been to Chicago to send my daughter to Japan, and I’ve been to Lafayette to leave a car off, and I’ve been to Australia for a over a week on a business trip.

There’s always something to do, eh?

In the meantime, I’ve gotten a little writing done, and I get to report that On Spec has now expressed interest in publishing my short story “Operation Hercules.” Still working on the arrangements, so nothing’s final, I suppose. But I’m very excited about that one. It’s a favorite story of mine, and I’m very happy to see it find such a fine home.

While I’ve been a bit silent around here, you can get a more routine dose of Collins activity by following Brigid’s adventures in Japan. She’s been far better about keeping, you know, up to date. [grin]

A Recommendation, and A Two-A-Day

Ron Collins — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 03:07:43 +0000

Here’s a story to make you think.

Lisa joined a health challenge at work, and had a 4:00 meeting at the health club. This meant that I went with her and did a second workout. I’m … ah … feeling it. In a good way. Yeah. Right. A good way. Uh-huh.

I’m sure it will feel better tomorrow.

Uh-huh.

Sequencing Humans?

Ron Collins — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 01:11:04 +0000

Ozzy Ozbourne: This says it all.

A Fish Tank Full of Escher

Ron Collins — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:39:10 +0000

Craig Reade at cxPulp gives Deca-Dad three and a half stars, and rates it one of the better stories in the December Analog. I’ll take it.

While you’re just kinda sitting there vegging, you might find it fun to check out these two great pieces of animation at TOR.com. They are like watching a fish tank full of Escher.

Picasso’s Cat available at Smashwords

Ron Collins — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 02:48:45 +0000

I already mentioned the Picasso’s Cat & Other stories is available for the Kindle at Amazon.com. Now I get to report you can find it in other e-formats at Smashwords, complete with a free pre-read portion. Hope you enjoy it.

Star Trek Bonus

Ron Collins — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:56:04 +0000

My buddy and occasional collaborator John Bodin sent me this link and its associated two minutes of fun!

eBooks on the Cloud

Ron Collins — Wed, 05 May 2010 00:30:29 +0000

Google latest jump into the world of eBooks.

Piecing Things Together

Ron Collins — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 10:54:21 +0000

I pulled all the threads of my “pilot story” together to look at them as a stand-alone short story. Strangely, they came up to–you got it–right at 9,500 words. I seriously wonder if I’m ever again going to write a story that doesn’t weigh in at something other than 9-12K.

This was an interesting process, though. It’s helped me see the ebbs and flows of it, and see even more places I need to file away a few rough edges. I’m going to work on this for a day or two, and I expect then that I may be able to move on.

Finally.

Thinking Bigger…er…or at least more

Ron Collins — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:47:16 +0000

Once again, I spent much of this morning thinking about the high-level plot of this latest story. It’s coming together, and I like it quite a bit. I admit I’m a bit worried about length, though. It looks to me like a 30-40,000 word piece, which is not particularly marketable. And the fundamental idea strikes the SFnal part of my brain only a glancing blow.

I live such a tough life.

When I say I’m “thinking” about the plot, I don’t mean I’m sitting down in my basement twirling around in my swivel chair and staring at the ceiling. That would just leave me dizzy. When I say I’m thinking about the plot I mean I’m fleshing out much of it in little pieces of pseudo-code as I go. I’ve got snippets of character dialog plastered in among journalistic and narrative bits. In a sense, I’m using a free-form version of the snowflake method of plotting.

So, anyway. I’m still not sure what the future holds for this piece, but I’ve vowed to keep thinking about it.