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I did get rejections back from the dozen or so agents on Heart of Odin. I can't worry about it right now -- I'm too busy trying to figure out how to figure out the present value of a sub-par bond issue. How exciting is that?
I started my MBA classes this week. I'm taking two -- Accounting and Information Systems. I'm surprised by the difference in the two instructors. My accounting class is like information overload with multiple activities posted on only 1 chapter, whereas my IS class is more like "here, read these three chapters and we'll talk about them later." I guess I'll see how they balance out as I go.
Because of my classes, I'm spending most of my weeknight free time on school work which means that writing time has moved to the weekends. That's not too bad though, because I do my best writing on Saturday mornings anyway. Today, I sent out several more queries on Heart of Odin. I am also working on a rewrite of a story for WOTF for this quarter.
Just came back from a week in Charlotte, NC. I went to Coal-Gen, a power convention for the coal industry. It was pretty interesting. I was there meeting vendors and looking for the latest technology for CO2 scrubbing. Basically, there is no new technology, just old technology being revamped. Hopefully we'll come up with something better before the EPA regulates this pollutant. No matter their stance on global warming, no one wants to have to pay more for electricity. Coal is the backbone of the US power market and will not go away tomorrow. Also, it is the most plentiful fuel in the US. I hope we can find a way to keep it in our generation fleet at least until a reliable alternative is found for base load demand.
I didn't get much writing done, but I did do some reading. Brian Ruckley's Winterbirth and Bloodheir are the first two books in The Godless World Trilogy. I liked the world building in this series -- lots of politics, fast action, good characters -- I can't wait for the third book.
I did send out a story to the fantasy edition of FlashMe magazine.
I don't hate running, just the pain that goes along with it. Okay, I'm forty-something and slowly losing the battle of the bulge. I'm talking to my 16 year old son the other day and in a fit of male bonding decided to start running with him. Does this sound like a bad idea to anyone else? He plays soccer and runs track, so I know there is no possible way that I'm keeping up with him, but I go out to the track and run half a lap and walk half a lap, and repeat a few times. It's not so bad until the next day when I try to get out of bed.
Now I'm not a total idiot. I wouldn't try this if I didn't already get regular exercise, but there is a big difference between walking on the treadmill and lifting a few weight a couple of days a week and actually running. My hat off to all you regular runners out there. I don't think I'll be joining your happy ranks any time soon, but I have resolved to give it a shot for the sake of father/son time.
On the writing front: I finished the synopsis for Heart of Odin and sent out query #2. I've also starting revising a short story that I'm considering for WoTF next quarter. Lastly, went to Ralan's to look for potential markets for some other stories. Ralan's and Duotrope are the two places I normally look for market info. Anyone have other suggestions?
I finally got that first query out the door for Heart of Odin. I have several more to go, but the first one is always a milestone. I'm working on getting the synopsis right so that I can send submissions out to the people that want that first. It's a little rough right now, but I should have it ready by the end of the week. It seems as though I've focused on this novel for too long and now I'm looking around and seeing all the short stories just sitting there waiting their turn to go out. Sorry kids---I was distracted. So I'll be doing a little market research to figure out where these stories should go next. Wish me luck.
Definitely a good character helps, and, I think, the character has to change throughout the series or at least something different should happen to the character in each book. Is that it? Is the recipe for success that simple yet so many authors seem to miss the mark? Maybe simple is better. I know that some of the writers that lost my interest kept adding new threads upon new threads. It got to the point that the main character got lost in the details.
Any thoughts?
I have a love/hate relationships with writing groups. I tried the do the "lone writer against the world" thing when I first started writing and found that my writing suffered. I didn't realize my writing suffered until I joined a writing group and found out just how much I didn't know.
I started out with a local writing group in my small town. I got in when the group was just forming and in short order ended up as the group leader. Trust me, this was not a reflection of my writing skills at the time, but because I've always been a good facilitator. I learned quite a bit from that group, at least about reading my work aloud and giving and receiving feedback. I learned even more from the next local group I joined when I moved to Virginia. This one had better organized meetings (yeah, I'll admit it) and had many community reading events. Still you're only going to get so much critiquing in on a once a month schedule.
It wasn't until I hit the online groups that my writing improved enough for me to think of myself as a real writer. I learned much more about writing in a shorter period of time. The trouble with online groups is that there are so many people out there that you get bogged down and burned out with giving the same feedback to so many different people.
Right now I'm pretty happy with a couple of online sites/groups that I work with--they are small and the people are dedicated to their writing--but it's the local group that I miss. I like the face-to-face time and the chance to practice reading in front of an audience. I moved a couple of times and then ended up back in the same "middle-of-nowhere" town again. This time I started a group up but most of the people that showed up for the meetings were more interested in talking about writing than actually writing. I held out for a couple of years and then dropped out when it didn't get any better. Now, the only other person from that group that really wanted to write and I are looking to try to get something started again. I guess I'm just worried it will degenerate into another "talk about writing" group instead of a true writing group.
Okay, I'm finished complaining now. Our first get together is next Friday -- wish me luck.
BTW: Anyone want to move to North Carolina -- I'll help you find a house and I know of this killer writing group just starting up.
Anyone out there with Scottish ancestry? My mother's great-grandmother was Scottish. I found this out a few weeks ago when I attended the Highland games with my parents at Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina. I also found out that I am a member of Clan Donnachaidh -- entended member I'm sure. Still, it was fun to check out the clan tents and watch the different competitions. It would have been more fun if it hadn't rained on Saturday. But the bright side was that two of my favorite celtic bands were in attendance -- Albannach and Coyote Run. I think I've posted about them before but for a quick description. Albannach is from Scotland and their music consists of heart-pumping drums and, of course, a bagpipe. Coyote Run's music is a bit softer -- more like celtic folk music. I recommend both groups whole-heartedly.
Back to ancestry: My mom offered to buy me a kilt, but I turned her down. I think if I were actually Scottish I would probably wear one, but otherwise... Actually, my mom is more Irish than anything -- do the Irish wear kilts? I'm a typical American -- a mutt with so many forks in my family tree that you could get lost trying to climb it. So no kilts for me, but I am keeping tabs on the Clan Donnachaidh website just to see what they're (we're) up to.
I can sum up the last six months in one word -- Blahhhh. Work during the day and vegging at night. Spent lots of time with the family, did some home upgrades (still finishing the garage remodel). Most writing went on the backburner except for the rewrite of Heart of Odin. This is complete and now I have to start sending it out.
I told my wife I would take a year off from school and take a break from the computer for awhile before starting up again. So now it's time to get back in gear on the internet front. I'll be starting my online MBA next month and jumping back into everything else internety, including much neglected writing sites and this journal. I'm also doing research for the Heart of Odin sequel.
See you all on the web.
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Mostly because families and friends get together to celebrate, well, being together. I know many people complain about having to spend the day with crazy Uncle Fred (that's me) or Aunt Hilda who always pinches your cheek, but I love it. Families don't spend enough time together anymore in this fast-paced society of ours. Even the most disfunctional family can profit from a little family time around the dinner table.
So the bird's in the oven, my daughter is home from college, and I gotta run to put the bread dough in the roll pans. You're all part of my extended family today, so enjoy a virtual piece of pie from me--it's homemade pumpkin--my own recipe. I did say I only had two drumsticks.
First let's talk about green energy. What makes energy green or even renewable for that matter? What are our options:
Solar -- The plant I worked at was in the California desert. It was a plant that concentrated solar energy onto a pipe that heated up a Heat Transer Fluid (HTF) which in turn was used to produce steam for a turbine generator. We called the stuff HTF, but really it was a synthetic oil designed to hold the high heat without breaking down. Trust me, this fluid was not environmentally friendly. Imagine a solar mirror field acres in size with pipes of this stuff running through it--the potential for an environmental incident is there. Also, we used gas-fired burners to start the place up every morning--yes, there are still air quality issues to deal with.
So you say, "what about photovotaic cells -- Sure once they are made there is no new environmental impact, but what about the environmental cost of producing the cells to begin with--they don't just appear out of thin air. What about the hazardous materials that are byproducts of the production? Or with their ultimate disposal?
Also, to really have an impact on our energy demands, solar is only a viable option for large scale energy production in the southwestern desert areas where there is adequate sunshine with minimal cloud cover. There is still room to expand in this area, but it will take land.
Geothermal -- Geothermal power takes heat out of the ground as steam to a turbine generator. This energy is pretty clean, but there are all types of non-condensible gases that come with the steam. The nastiest we had to deal with was Hydrogen Sulfide. This is a deadly gas that can kill you instantly at higher concentrations. These gases can be scrubbed out instead of sent to the atmosphere, so I do think this is a clean source of power. Again this is a limited resource. Geothermal hot spots have to be present and some parts of the western United States are the only viable areas for large scale power production. I don't think there are too many areas left that haven't been developed.
Hydro -- hydro power is pretty clean. Basically you build a dam and put water turbines in the water flow path. There are some issues with ensuring that fish still have a path to spawn, but I don't think this is a huge issue. Unfortunately again this is a limited resource. Much of the potential hydro power for our country has already been developed.
Ethanol Production -- I have a hard time with this concept, because we are taking land that could be producing food for the world population and creating fuel instead. Also, I feel that we could pressure producers into overfarming the land to make fuel. I would hate to see another dust bowl senario because we need ethanol to drive our cars. And then again we are still burning fuel and creating air pollution with this option too.
Ocean Energy -- There are a couple of different option for harnassing the ocean to produce power. Wave energy, Tidal energy, and thermal energy. Bascially either you put a system of buoys out with little turbines that use the energy of the waves to produce electricity or you use the thermal differences of the water at different depths of the ocean to drive the turbine. This technology seems pretty clean, but it is not fully developed and there are some concerns with fish habitats that need to be researched.
Bioenergy -- Basically this is using a boiler to burn wood waste and/or crop waste. I think that this is a great renewable resource. We should put a biomass plant close to every area that is heavily agricultural. There are some air quality issues with this, but not as bad as say for coal. There are enough scrubbing options available to keep this a clean technology.
Wind -- Windmills are killer sources of renewable electricity. Still, there is quite a bit of oil needed to lubricate and provide for hydraulic systems for all these machines. It is necessary to realize that this technology is still dependent on oil. There are also some issues raised about danger to birds (which I don't really buy) and of course they can be considered an eyesore. And again this is a limited resource. Wind mills are truly only viable options in areas of consistently strong winds, but we are not using this resource to its full potential at this time.
In conclusion: I'm all for renewable sources of energy, but we need to realize that many of these sources are limited and some of them are not fully developed to the extent that they would have a big impact on our immediate energy needs. We cannot rely on renewable or "green" power resources to supply our current energy needs. Of course continued development in areas that can still be expanded -- such as wave power and better photovoltaic efficiency is a good idea.
Okay, this is long enough. Next time I'll talk about the non-renewable energy resources that are truly the heart of our energy policy.
I decided to try out a new writng site--Critique Circle. I was looking for a new place to post my short stories for critique. Someone mentioned this place and I figured I'd try it. So far I'm just checking the place out, but I have completed one critique. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.
I've gotten a bit more motivated on the short story front. I spent a good part of the weekend checking out anthologies, contests, and potential publishers. I sent four more stories out and matched a few more up. Also identified a coupled of themed anthologies to which I would like to submit a story. The short story market takes a bit more research because I have several SF&F stories and several literary stories. I've been ignoring the literary stuff for awhile, but it is time to start looking into that side of the market as well.
Within the last couple of days I've been working on rewriting the ending to Heart of Odin. I've rewritten two chapter and have a couple more to go to finish the new ending. I'm a bit anxious to finish it so that I can start revising the novel. It's been sitting for a couple of months waiting the cool off time before my revision. I don't want to let it get cold again.
Happy writing.
Sometimes I feel like I live in a cultural no man's land. I live in a small town in rural North Carolina. Too many people I know here are proud of the fact that they haven't read a book since high school when the teacher "made them do it." Culture here consists of deer hunting, fishing, pig pickings, and watching sports or Nascar. Don't get me wrong -- to each their own, and I enjoy a good pig pickin -- but I would like to see a few more people move in that share some of my interests. For example:
The local high school French club sponsored a show on Thursday night. They brought in a musician that gave a concert that consisted of traditional French music. The musician's name is David DiGiuseppe and he played a mean accordion. No, I'm not an accordion enthusiast, but hey this was on a Thursday night -- there were no ball games, it was too late to go hunting, well you get the picture. I think about 10 to 15 people showed up, most of them high school students that I'm guessing got extra credit for being there. It is too bad because this guy was awesome. With his talent he deserved to be playing before a sold out crowd. Instead he visited a cultural wasteland. No wonder most the kids around here leave for college and never look back.
The obvous question is -- why don't you move? The answer is -- My son has two more years to go until he gradutates from high school, and when he plans his own exodus he may have a couple of stowaways hiding out in his suitcase.
David Gemmell's Waylander kept me reading, but it was just a bit too over-the-top dramatic for me. Come on, three cold-blooded assassins all independently deciding to turn holy to save the day was just too much.
On the writing front: I'm working on rewriting the ending of Heart of Odin. Chapter 30 was the original last chapter, but it pretty much just fizzled. I've rewritten chapter 30 and am continuing on to a better ending spot. I'm looking at about 3 more chapters to wrap it up properly.
NOVELS
Order of the Wolf -- This is my third novel and probably the first that I consider publishable. Unfortunately it is rather short for a novel, approximately 60,000 words. In the last year I finished my final revision on this novel and sent it out to my top 10 agent list. I've received 9 rejects and am still waiting to hear from the 10th. On a happy note -- my top agent pick said that she liked my writing.
For 2009 I need to research other potential agents and possibly small presses that publish shorter novels.
Heart of Odin -- This is my fourth novel. I completed the first draft this year, set it aside for a couple of months, and am now working on the revision.
For 2009 I need to finish the revision and start submitting it.
The Divine Mother -- This is the sequel to Heart of Odin. I have the first chapter written and have some research completed.
For 2009 I need to finish the first draft.
The King's Man -- I actually started writing this one before Heart of Odin, but it got placed on the back burner. I have about 15 chapters written.
For 2009 I need to complete the first draft.
SHORT STORIES
This was a pretty weak year for short stories. I wrote 3 new short stories in the past year. I sent out a total of 20 submissions to short story markets in 2008. I received one rewrite request, got an Honorable Mention/Quarter Finalist from WOTF, and have one story being held by an anthology as a potential sale. I've also had a couple of publishers request for me to send them more stuff. I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to submitting short stories, but I have to make it a higher priority.
For 2009 I need to kick up my short story output and submissions. Also, I need to make sure I submit to every WOTF quarter.
My last 2009 goal is to develop a web site.
Here's to another year on the planet.
Happy writing!
Started rewriting the ending on Heart of Odin. I have a couple of readers that both told me the same thing--the ending sucked. I kinda knew it, but I guess there's no doubt now. Here's wishing the next one is less sucky.
If you voted for Obama because he is black -- you are a dumbass.
If you voted for Palin because she is a woman -- you are a dumbass.
If you voted for McCain because he is an old white guy -- you are a dumbass.
If you voted for Obama because he is better looking -- you are a dumbass.
If you voted for Palin because she's hot or you like her shoes -- you are a dumbass.
If you voted for any cadidate because everyone else did -- you are a dumbass.
If you voted for a particular candidate because your teacher/preacher/parent told you to -- you are a dumbass.
If you voted for a candidate because you agreed with his/her message or policies then I tip my hat to you.
I'm amazed at the reasons why people vote--every dumbass reason above was taken from people that actually voted. If you failed the dumbass quiz please refrain from voting in future elections -- you make us all look bad.
If you like Irish mythology, I would recommend Kenneth C. Flint. I read his trilogy about Finn MacCumhal recently -- Challenge of the Clans, Storm Shield, and The Dark Druid. I found them in the used book store. They've been around for a little while (1986) but I enjoyed them.
I also read David Farland's latest Runlords book -- Worldbinder. It was okay. I think I liked the first few books better. I liked the storyline that centered around the Earthking, but I'm not so enamored with his son's adventures. I'll probably still read the next one just to see where he's going with it.
By far the best book I have read lately is The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Wow, great characters, good action--moves along nicely, and well-written. It's always exciting to find a new author that is so entertaining. I can't say enough good things, except that I can't wait for the sequel.
Spending more time with my family--which is important; Playing computer games--not important; Moaning over why I'm not a best-selling author--pathetic; Staring out the window--not quite pathetic, but at least a little disturbing; Lying on the couch and staring blankly at the television--even more disturbing once I wake from my malaise; and my all time favorite, wasting time on the internet, which I have decided is the latest cause for the decline of western civilization.
Since this bout of nonproductivity was so long I decided to actually sit down and try to figure out the cause. Well, about two months ago my oldest child, my daughter, went off to college. Quite frankly she left a void that I didn't recognize until just recently. I've spent more time with the rest of the family and have been wasting time on mind-numbing activities (like the ones I mentioned above) to avoid thinking about it.
Isn't acceptance one of the stages of recovery? I think I'm there. Expect to hear more from a recovering parent soon.
It seems like it has been forever and day since I posted here. It has been a busy time. Here's a quick wrap up:
I went to see Boston and Styx in a concert at a local ampitheater--it was an awesome show; I played four games for my company softball team, and believe me, I'm not as young and in shape as I would like; attended three soccer games (my son made the high school team); Took my daughter off to college and am still trying to get used to how quite the house has become. To top all that off, I have rediscovered my all-time favorite computer game, Master of Magic, and have spent way too much time playing it.
I did finally receive a rejection from IGMS on my short story, Santos. It was encouraging though--I made it through the first reading but didn't quite get the nod. This story has had a couple of close calls with publishers. It is bound to hit with one of them. Time to figure out where to send it next.
