tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88225658074275032102024-03-13T20:22:12.999-07:00A Whale of a Tale!The fictional world of Mark Lee PearsonMarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14225325502052608564noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-56369167831723855702022-07-02T11:54:00.002-07:002022-07-02T11:59:23.428-07:00"Emma Cadbury's Voracious Husband" 15 years ago this month!<h3 class="entry-header" style="border: 0px; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal; margin: 1px 0px 10px;">Emma Cadbury's Voracious Husband by Mark Lee Pearson</h3><div class="entry-content" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande", Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 10px 0px; position: static;"><div class="entry-body" style="clear: both;"><div><p class="asset asset-audio at-xid-6a00e551c6d2b28834017c3331ac39970b" style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="inline-player sm2_link sm2_paused" href="https://liarsleague.typepad.com/files/july07_emma_cadbury_p.mp3" style="background-color: #6089b2; background-image: url("https://static.typepad.com/.shared/sm2/images/icon_play.png"); background-position: 0px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border: 3px solid rgb(96, 137, 178); color: white; display: inline-block; font-weight: bold; min-height: 16px; min-width: 19em; padding: 0px 3px 0px 20px; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: rgb(0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px;">July07_Emma_Cadbury_P</a></p></div><div> </div><div><strong>Read by Hannah Mercer</strong></div><div><strong><br /></strong></div><div><strong><a href="https://liarsleague.typepad.com/liars_league/2010/11/emma-cadburys-voracious-husband-by-mark-l-pearson.html ">Here</a><br /></strong></div><div><strong><br /></strong></div><div><strong><br /></strong></div><div><strong> </strong></div><div>Emma Cadbury woke up to discover that her entire body had turned into a medium class blend of milk chocolate. If that wasn't troubling enough - she had always preferred her chocolate to be expensively Fair Trade rather than cheaply mass produced - it was a hot midsummer night and the stuff had already begun to melt and stick to the sheets.</div></div><a id="more" style="font-weight: bold;"></a><div class="entry-more" style="clear: both;"><br />She turned over and disregarded the absurdity, trusting the dream would dissolve with the rising sun. It was still dark, there was still time, and so she set herself adrift in the safe waters of slumber.<br /><br />Just when she had abandoned all thought of the predicament - sailing free on a powerful ocean, a dolphin at her side sleeking, cutting, severing the water with her dorsal fin - through the foggy clouds of sleep something odd was looming on the horizon.<br /><br />She had a sense of turtles, their shells tickling, touching her keel, scraping and threatening her balance, caressing and nibbling at her toes.<br /><br />She attempted to pull away from him, but the velvety sweet feel of his tongue as he followed the contour of her leg upwards soon had her licking her own lips in anticipation. It had been a long time since her husband had nudged her awake in the early hours of the morning. And sex with Max, her current lover, had never been anything more than a pleasant way to wrap up Thursday night's square dancing class.<br /><br />"Oh, Reg."<br /><br />"Mmmph … mmmph … Bunny … oh …"<br /><br />The sound of his lips smick, smack, smacking, schlick schlock, schlacking voraciously between her legs gave a healthy and long overdue tremor to the depths of her femininity.<br /><br />"OUCH!"<br /><br />Emma opened her eyes wide with surprise. Something had snapped inside her. The bastard had bitten her. Taking hold of his head between her hands, she looked into his rapacious eyes.<br /><br />"Stop it! I say -<em> oh</em> …"<br /><br />But her husband pacified her, teasing her legs apart by running his tongue up the inside of her thigh and nibbling greedily on her secret chocolate button. Her eyelids folded down again as a tremor, measurable on the Richter scale, shuddered through her.<br /><br />And then she opened them again with startled realization.<br /><br />Emma yanked at her husband's hair. To her horror, his face was smeared with chocolate sauce.<br /><br />"Get off me, you beast!"<br /><br />She rolled aside, overcome with the sudden shock that her loving Reg had already consumed the entire bottom half of her left leg up to the calf and had made a good start on her inner thigh.<br /><br />Her husband took the opportunity to draw her back into his grasp, fell on top of her, drooling and began to chew off her nipples . She was overcome with the strange confusion that it felt rather sexy. As he nibbled at her breast he whispered,<br /><br />"Oh, my darling, let me consume you in your entirety."<br /><br />Alarmed, her first instinct was to fight. Fight for her life. But his appetite was the all-consuming aspect of his spirit, and by the time the rumpus died down, the entire bed was splattered with a dark chocolaty goo.<br /><br />He came at her again. Panicked, she thrashed and bucked until she found the strength to push him off. She threw what was left of her right leg over the side of the bed and it snapped clean from her hip, chocolate sauce seeping onto the floor.<br /><br />Her husband clambered across the bed and slid onto the floor beside her. She made a grab for her leg, but she wasn't quick enough. He snatched it up, and she watched as he sat, a wretched chimp in a dilapidated zoo, gobbling, gobbling, gobbling up the chocolate.<br /><br />She lay on the floor, breathing heavily. An oppressive cloud of defeat threatened to rain upon her. The room was suffocating, stifling hot; she imagined herself melting to death before her husband managed to consume her entire body. A pale brown bead of sweat dribbled down her face and onto her chin. She wiped it up with the back of her hand and swallowed it.<br /><br />God! It did taste good. Before long she found herself biting the ends off her fingers and sucking on the chocolate sauce while her husband was engaged in eating her leg.<br /><br />Then it hit her.<br /><br />It was so simple. Why hadn't she thought of it before?<br /><br />A vision of their honeymoon in the Swiss Alps; skiing, followed by a deluxe chocolate fondue, leading to a night of unsurpassed passion. She remembered how they had carried the bubbling chocolate to their honeymoon suite and made love with uninhibited sensuality, licking and lapping the sauce from each other's bodies.<br /><br />Such an erotic feeling as she had filled her mouth with the finest chocolate in the world, hot and molten – and how he had enjoyed the taste of it mingled with her juices. And how she had given him what he had termed the perfect passion.<br /><br />It had been a long time.<br /><br />"Darling…"<br /><br />Mrs. Cadbury's voracious husband looked up from his feast, his eyes ravenous.<br /><br />"Yes?"<br /><br />"Let's do the perfect passion, one last time."<br /><br />A moment of calm crossed his face. He threw her leg aside and grinned with wild expectation. He drew her towards him and kissed her deeply, resisting the urge to bite off her tongue. He could do that later.<br /><br />He lifted her melting torso onto the muddy bed and laid her in a comfortable position before lying down on his back himself. Her long elegant fingers reached down between her legs and dug out a dollop of creamy milk chocolate, which she began to spread thickly and evenly over his penis until it was totally smothered. She then sucked and lapped and licked, relishing the sweet, creamy taste in her mouth. And when it was gone, she slapped on another helping of chocolate.<br /><br />Shlopp, shlopp, shlopp.<br /><br />For sure it wasn't Fair Trade, but it was the last chocolate she would ever eat and she was sharing it with the first man she had ever given herself to.<br /><br />He came, too soon as always, but it was all right. He would fall asleep and wouldn't wake up for hours. She could now begin the slow, painful, yet extremely orgasmic, and orgasmically final, experience of eating herself to death.<div> </div><div>--</div><div> </div><div>Emma Cadbury's Voracious Husband<em> by Mark L. Pearson was read by Hannah Mercer at the Liars' League Sex & Death event on Tuesday 10 July 2007.</em></div><div> </div><div><em>In previous lives, <strong>Mark Pearson</strong> was a punk, a DJ, a record producer, a toolmaker, a bookshop assistant, a philosopher, a translator and thief. In this life he is a teacher of English in Japan. He is married with one daughter and another on the way. He loves to tell tall tales.</em></div><div> </div><div><em><strong>Hannah Mercer</strong> trained at the Oxford School of Drama. Theatre credits include Julia in </em>Two Gentlemen of Verona<em>(Oxford Shakespeare Company), Joan in </em>Sexual Perversity in Chicago <em>(Battersea Arts Centre) and Biddy in </em>Great Expectations<em> (Brockley Jack Theatre). She has also worked on many films and voiceovers and as a roleplayer.</em></div></div></div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682926251220284217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-80355780420498472102013-05-09T07:31:00.002-07:002013-05-09T07:32:39.738-07:00A Test of Fate<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Nice review, thank you.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">"A Test of Fate" by Mark Lee Pearson. This timely fantasy has the feel of near-future science fiction: a blood test has been developed that predicts with absolute accuracy the specific manner, but not the time, of an individual's death. Political and economic considerations have made this test mandatory in all but a few parts of the world, and the consequences are not only personal fatalism (why stop smoking if you know you're going to die of lung cancer? Why not take audacious risks as a young person if you're destined to succumb to the complications of Alzheimer's?) but also legal concerns for industry. When a woman loses her job because her employers know her death will result from work-related injuries, she decides to fight the decision in the courts. A thought-provoking story enhanced by a well-realized setting and well-developed characters.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Big Book of Strange, Weird, and Wonderful: The Best Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction from the pages of 'An Unforgettable E-Fiction Quarterly' (Volume 2) available now at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Book-Strange-Weird-Wonderful-Unforgettable/dp/1479188220/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368109390&sr=1-1&keywords=strange+weird+and+wonderful+volume+2" target="_blank">Amazon</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 27px;"><br /></span></span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682926251220284217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-73877094706000884682013-05-09T07:21:00.001-07:002013-05-09T07:21:40.064-07:00The Hermits of Hahajima<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Four years after writing it and two and a half years after its acceptance into this anthology, my short story about the ghosts of dead Japanese soldiers returning from the war in South East Asia, The Hermits of Hahajima, is finally published. A very nostalgic moment. Here is the link to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Our-Haunted-World-Stories-Around/dp/0977095681" target="_blank">Amazon</a> if you are so inclined.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Eclipse-12--Monthly-ebook/dp/B0087Q0RVG/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1338688952&sr=8-10" target="_blank">Dark Eclipse Issue 12</a></div>
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This month's issue includes my short story, "Helen Bound". You can purchase it at Amazon for $1.99 and have it on your e-reader today.</div>
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<br /></div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682926251220284217noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-77141656368183911072012-05-12T19:09:00.002-07:002012-05-12T19:09:43.666-07:00Honorable Mention for Whaling the MultiverseSince changing jobs in April I have had very little time for writing. But I thought it necessary to record a certain event, which I still find difficult to believe.<br />
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It is always exciting to get some feedback on a story you have written, whether that feedback is good or bad. But feedback like this is enough to send me to the stars.<br />
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This year my story "Whaling the Multiverse" made it to within inches of the top:<br />
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<a href="http://ellen-datlow.livejournal.com/392479.html" target="_blank">Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year Volume 4 Honorable Mention List</a><br />
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This is a big deal for a struggling writer like me.<br />
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Thank you Ellen Datlow for taking the time not only to read my story but to consider it worthwhile enough to place on your list.<br />
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Next time, perhaps I'll make it into the book itself!Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682926251220284217noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-43010696930965088612012-01-22T23:59:00.000-08:002012-01-22T23:59:59.175-08:00Writing Goals 2012<em><strong>I write because I am a storyteller and it is what I do best. I love writing, but sometimes even the ones we love the most are the ones we are first to neglect for no other reason than that we are human.</strong></em><br />
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So... <br />
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TIME TO SET A GOAL<br />
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Having read the blogposts of other writers such as JA Konrath, Nathan Bransford, and the Dead Robots, I realise that my own goals in the past have been very vague. Finish this, write that, publish some. So this year I am taking my writing goals a little more seriously. I want to be able to check at the end of the year to see whether I have a achieved what I set out to do. In order to do that I realise that the first thing I need to do is to treat my writing life as a part time job. This means no slacking off. It means getting my word count in every day. Not every other day. Not tomorrow. Like now. It means using my limited time and not wasting it.<br />
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TIME TO READ<br />
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To be able to write you must study your art. An builder does not build a house without having learned the craft by studying others. My aim is to read wide and varied this year. I plan to read at least two books a month. Ideally three. Four if possible. This will not be a problem since I usually get through more than that. Especially since I started reading on my ipod touch. But last year I did have a run where I came across a couple of books that I just could not connect with and I just ended up stopping dead. This year if that happens I will abandon the book and take up another. Easy.<br />
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TIME TO WRITE TO THE END<br />
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Since I plan to treat my writing like a part time job. I must not only carve out the time to write, but I also have to finish what I start. Who employs a builder who leaves the tiles half done because he is not inspired to mix the cement? Not me that's for sure. So I will write until it's finished. I will take responsibility for my characters and guide them to the end of the story. No more characters hanging off the edgeof the pier waiting for me to be inspired to either save them or drown them. <br />
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EDIT TO THE END<br />
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I said it last year and then got sidetracked with other projects. I said it the year before and the year before that. But this time I mean it. 2012 will be the year I finish editing "Whaling the Multiverse" and prepare it for submission. What good is a car stuck in the garage with its wheels off? Damn, editing is the hardest part of writing, but it is enjoyable if I can just stop thinking about that shiny new idea. Now I have to face up to my responsibility this year and get the work done.<br />
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SUBMIT<br />
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Complete and submit at least one short story a month and when the rejections come in find a suitable market and send it back out as soon as possible. Terry Mixon at the Dead Robot's Society suggested a points system to encourage you to reach your goal. My goal is 100 points.<br />
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1 short story written and submitted: 5 points<br />
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1 novella written and submitted: 10 points<br />
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1 first draft novel written: 15 points<br />
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1 novel edited and submitted: 25 points<br />
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So, for example, if I write 12 short stories, a novella, and submit my novel this year I have made my goal. Of course I plan to do more. I will participate in NaNoWriMo. And I would also like to finish another novel I have in progress too. 100 points is the bare minimum. I plan to exceed that goal by a long shot. I will keep track on my progress here throughout the year. Kick my butt if you feel the need. I will be.<br />
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<strong>2012 PROGRESS: 2 short stories written and submitted 10 points.</strong><br />
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<br />Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14225325502052608564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-60460857495646922252012-01-19T05:48:00.000-08:002012-01-19T15:44:40.400-08:002011 My Writing Year in ReviewSubmissions: 17<br />
Rejections: 12<br />
Pending Response: 4 (1 carried over from 2010)<br />
Acceptances: 2<br />
Published: 3<br />
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It's a little late in coming, but here is a quick review of the ups and downs of my writing life in 2011.<br />
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In <b>January</b> there was a lot of backwards and forwards with the editing on short stories that had already been accepted, but I wasn't writing anything new.<br />
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In <b>February</b> I still wasn't writing. I hadn't written anything since finishing NaNoWriMo in November 2010.<br />
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<b>March</b> was a terrible month in Japan. The earthquake, tsunami, and the start of nuclear meltdown. The country was in total chaos and I almost didn't notice my short story <i>Whaling the Multiverse</i> published in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine.<br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Inspired by some positive feedback and reviews from Whaling the Multiverse, and a need to get back on my feet after the earthquake <b>April</b> was the month I started writing again. I wrote<b> </b></span>Montagfire's Sword<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> for the Machine of Death anthology. Writing for MoD gave me the kickstart I badly needed. I was also asked to write an open letter about the March 11th earthquake on the Space and Time Magazine website.</span></i><br />
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<b>May</b> saw the publication of<i> Tales of Blackleg Osai by Snarke P. Amor</i> in Tales of Piratical Skullduggery at Wicked East Press.<br />
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In <strong>June</strong> I wrote <em>The Ainu Woman of Kushiro</em> for the Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations anthology. I workshopped it on Zoetrope, rewrote it taking into account some great suggestions, and changed the title to <em>To Run a Stick Through a Fish</em>.<br />
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I didn't write anything in <b>July</b>. I determined to work on rewriting my novel <i>Whaling the Multiverse</i>. I finished one editing pass.<br />
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I spent <b>August </b>writing and editing my novella <i>The Tide Jewels</i> for Wicked East Press. Also in <b>August</b> <i>The Little Contractor Tool Kit</i> appeared in Nightmares and Dreamscapes at Nightfall Publications.<br />
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In <b>September</b> I completed a short story called <i>Suikawari</i>. I workshopped it at Zoetrope and got some great feedback. I also did another editing pass on the novel.<br />
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</div><div>In <b>October</b> I completed a short story called <i>Transmission. </i> I workshopped it on Zoetrope and I had a lot of positive reviews. Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations accepted<i> To Run a Stick Through a Fish. </i>I also wrote a series of blogposts to get me in the frame of mind for NaNoWriMo.</div><br />
In <b>November</b> I managed to complete NaNoWriMo with two days to spare. I wrote an autobiographical novel on my first six months in Japan working for an Eikaiwa. It is provisionally entitled <i>Novacation for the Soul.</i><br />
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I spent <b>December</b> writing another 15,000 words to finish the first draft of that novel.<br />
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All in all I completed 4 new short stories and 1 novella. I did two editing passes on a novel in progress and wrote the first draft of a new novel. Not a particularly productive year, all things considered. But at least I can see some progress.<br />
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Next time I will write a post detailing my goals for 2012.Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682926251220284217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-9360717805048984442012-01-04T05:29:00.000-08:002012-01-04T05:29:15.456-08:00年越し本<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">I make no secret of the fact that I live in Japan. And while it is also no secret that the culture of Japan is a mishmash of other cultures fused onto its own in its own unique way--think of the influence of Western literature on Japanese literature in the Meiji era and see what magnificent works of art emerged from the cauldron-- it is without doubt an equally interesting pursuit of <i>gaijin</i> living in Japan to create our own fusions. Here is mine, for the record.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">You've heard of 年越しそば (toshikoshi soba) noodles that are eaten on new years eve whilst waiting for the new year to be rung in. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Now let me introduce to you the 年越し本 (toshikoshi hon), A book you begin reading on the 31st December and finish on the 1st January. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">What's yours?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">This was mine:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">And a very enjoyable read it was too.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">5 STARS</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">☆</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">☆</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">☆</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">☆</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">☆</span><br />
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</div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682926251220284217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-27466373255182942982011-10-23T01:03:00.000-07:002011-10-23T05:01:07.686-07:00How Zoetrope Virtual Studio Worked for Me<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L8i-rUCaqgU/TqPOxsuY0mI/AAAAAAAAAFM/NCciNibIf20/s1600/547px-Zoetrope.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 292px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L8i-rUCaqgU/TqPOxsuY0mI/AAAAAAAAAFM/NCciNibIf20/s320/547px-Zoetrope.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666600109376852578" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">How Zoetrope Virtual Studio Worked for Me</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Do you know <a href="http://www.zoetrope.com/index.cgi">Zoetrope Virtual Studio</a>? It’s an online writers’ workshop launched in June 2000 by Francis Ford Coppola where writers and artists can review and discuss one another’s work.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> <b>Out on a limb?</b></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">I live in Japan, so it is very difficult for me to meet other writers. There is only one writers’ conference a year, and it is more often than not held far away from where I live. So when a colleague introduced Zoetrope to me I realized that a writing community like this was just what I was looking for. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> <b>Become a member of a group</b></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">I joined the site in February 2007. Once I had reviewed five short stories I was able to submit my own short story for review. I uploaded into the system in the evening, Japan time, and by the time I got up the next morning it had been reviewed by a number of writers in the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> <b>Exchange Reviews</b></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">The story remained on the review board for one month, during which time six other members read and reviewed my story. I got some good feedback, and I was able to improve my writing thanks to other members’ suggestions and advice.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> <b>Encouragement</b></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">At the time I had never submitted a story for publication. I had entered a few writing competitions, but apart from winning a book on a radio poetry competition I had not had any luck. So, when one member suggested that I send my story off to a publisher I was a little hesitant. However, she insisted my work was as good as, if not better than a lot of stories she had come across. She directed me to<a href="http://www.duotrope.com/index.aspx"> Duotrope</a> and pestered me until I sent that story out.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><b>The First Story</b> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">The story was called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">One Little Bird</i>. It was about a family with a budgie that lived a very long life. It didn’t get picked up by any of the magazines I sent it out to, but the act of sending it out did give me the confidence to try again. So, I began writing and workshopping regularly.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> <b>Keep Writing</b></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">I continued to submit stories for review at the Virtual Studio, and to review other writers’ work, and in the process I found that I was writing more. I was also improving my craft. It was not only the encouragement from other writers that spurred me on, but also the fact that I was looking at other writer’s stories in a critical way. I saw the mistakes others made and began to pinpoint those mistakes in my own writing. I saw how others overcame certain problems and how they dealt with certain writing issues in different ways. It was thanks to this work-shopping experience that I was able to learn so much from that.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><b>Community</b> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Within the larger community I found a small community of reviewers who understood what I was trying to achieve with my writing. (And of course, some who were rude and impossible, but I generally took the rough with the smooth.) I joined a few offices, The Horror Library, Lolly’s Café, and The Flash Factory, on the site and began making friends. It was difficult though, since the conversations on the discussion boards were usually finishing by the time I was getting up in the morning, and starting just as I was going to bed. But it didn’t matter. A community with a time delay was better than no community at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Be Open to Suggestions</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">It was not until I had submitted my fifth story for review that I really began to see the benefit of workshopping. I submitted a 6,000 word short story <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><a href="http://markleepearson.blogspot.com/p/science-fiction.html">The Infinite Piggy Bank</a></i> for review. The story is about a little girl who finds a black hole in her piggy bank. Reviewers said it was a great idea spoiled by being too long and confusing in its tone. It had elements of dark fantasy and light children’s science fiction, and ultimately confused. With the help and advice of other Zoetrope workshop members I was able to see that. I pared down the word-count, chopped out the dark fantasy elements, and got my first sale. The Infinite Piggy Bank appeared in Issue 20 of <a href="http://sdpbookstore.com/beyondcentauri.htm">Beyond Centauri</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><b>Finding a Voice</b><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">It was this experience that helped me to discover my voice. The Infinite Piggy bank has its flaws. I am not saying it is a perfect story. What I am saying is that before workshopping that story, my writing lacked a consistency of tone, focus, and narrative voice. Zoetrope writers helped me to discover this. And for that I am extremely grateful. Since finding the black hole in that piggy bank I have been lucky to sell most of the stories I have finished.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> <b>The Future?</b></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">I continue to submit my stories for review at Zoetrope and I continue to review others stories, though not as regularly as I used to. Many people come and go from the site, and in recent years the numbers of users have dwindled. Some say that Zoetrope is coming to an end. Some lobby the SYSOPS for change. Some continue on with a positive spirit in spite of all the hot air. There have been trolls discovered on the boards, incidents involving writers abusing the system, and even the odd flame war. But there have been some high points too. The most notable was when the Zoetrope founder <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000338/">Francis Ford Coppola</a> himself turned up in a discussion in the screenplays section the year before last.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And best of all, there is still a hardcore group of writers who hang out there and take the craft of writing seriously.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Join us! </span></b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">There are writers from all corners of the earth writing in various genres using the Virtual Studio today. They are waiting to share their community with you. <a href="http://www.zoetrope.com/index.cgi">Sign up</a> today and participate in the revival of the Zoetrope Virtual Studio.</span><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682926251220284217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-72840307566287478182011-10-20T06:30:00.000-07:002011-10-20T07:09:56.621-07:00Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations Anthology<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gzWHfIZbZvA/TqAi1XrXPnI/AAAAAAAAAE8/XTB0iZ05kuA/s1600/5999.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 125px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gzWHfIZbZvA/TqAi1XrXPnI/AAAAAAAAAE8/XTB0iZ05kuA/s320/5999.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665566631516388978" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">ACCEPTANCE</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">I am thrilled to announce that my story "To Run a Stick Through a Fish" has been accepted into the DARK TALES OF LOST CIVILIZATIONS anthology.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">The anthology is scheduled to be published next year by <a href="http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/">Dark Moon Books</a>, in time for the <a href="http://www.whc2012.org/World_Horror_2012.html">World Horror Convention 2012</a>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">My story, which is about the last days of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ainu_people">Ainu people of Japan</a>, will appear alongside a bunch of established authors including the prolific genre fiction writer<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_R._Lansdale">Joe R. Lansdale</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><div style="text-align: left; "><br /></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">When I saw the call for submissions for this anthology I knew exactly the story I wanted to write. I had read numerous accounts of the plight of the Ainu people and how they were literally erased from existence by the Japanese government during my graduate studies in Japanese.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;">Inspired by <a href="http://ericjguignard.blogspot.com/">Eric J. Guignard's</a> vision for a collection of "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;">dark tales of Horror, Speculative Fiction, and ... Science Fiction, relating to civilizations that are lost, or have been forgotten, or have been rediscovered, or perhaps merely spoken about in great and fearful</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"> whispers," I hit the library and spent a few days reading the ancient texts.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><div style="text-align: left; "><br /></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">I was enthralled by the stories of the people of this lost civilization and the story that transpired featured a character that <i>hopefully</i> not only reflected the beauty and truth of the past, but adopted the misrepresentations of the present, and an uncompromising vision of the future.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682926251220284217noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-33758916630437934942011-10-18T20:13:00.001-07:002011-10-19T05:57:53.684-07:00Machine of Death<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jpGXRPl1S9g/Tp7GCRYFvWI/AAAAAAAAAEw/OWUskrFgHF8/s1600/mod2-titles1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9UC2YHReqRw/Tp7Fq0-19MI/AAAAAAAAAEk/CgZDS78Gr4k/s1600/machine-of-death-cover.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9UC2YHReqRw/Tp7Fq0-19MI/AAAAAAAAAEk/CgZDS78Gr4k/s320/machine-of-death-cover.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665182720846066882" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><b>Machine of Death</b></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; ">I have been into the idea of this anthology project since I came across it in </span><a href="http://machineofdeath.net/about"><span style="Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; ">2007.</span></a><span style="Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; "> The website sells it as a collection of stories about people who know how they are going to die, and that is just what it is; character driven stories in a world where a machine that can predict your death exists. There are some great stories and some fantastic artwork between the covers of the book, and I have to say it is one of the best collections I have ever read. Personal favorites are Camille Alexa's Flaming Marshmallow, John Chernega's Almond, and M. Bennardo's Starvation, but there is not a single story that I didn't enjoy. If you haven't already purchased it, get on over there and buy it <a href="http://machineofdeath.net/about/book">now</a>!</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><b>The Idea</b></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; ">The idea of death prediction has been around for a long time. In the story of <a href="http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/oedipus.html">Oedipus</a> the oracle predicted he would kill his father and marry his mother. In Heinlein's short story "<a href="http://www.webscription.net/chapters/0743471598/0743471598___2.htm">Life-lines</a>" Dr Hugo Pinero invents a machine that can predict <i>when</i> you are going to die. But what North, Bennardo and Malki! have done is to take that idea one step further, build on the myth, and make it their own by putting their own twist on the idea. And in the process it has become so much more than just an anthology. If you take a look at the website and click on the project status list on the navigation bar you will see how the idea has taken on a life of its own. There is a game, a talent show, prediction-by-mail programs, and even a photo contest. The Machine of Death <i>idea</i> has become a movement. </span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><b>Karoshi</b></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; ">In 2007 I wrote a story called Karoshi. It was a story about how institutions deal with inappropriate death predictions. Karoshi is a Japanese word, which means </span><a href="http://karoshi.jp/english/index.html"><span style="Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; ">Death from Overwork</span></a><span style="Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; ">. My protagonist was a young, healthy Japanese woman called Yumi who enjoyed her job working in a government <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_hatch">Baby Hatch</a>, which was a place parents put their newborn babies if they had an 'inappropriate death prediction". The problem was that her employer found out her means of death and fired her. Their reason was that they did not want to be held responsible for her death. Tenacious to the end, Yumi took the local government to court and...well, you'll have to read the story yourself to find out the end. Even though it was rejected by genius editors Malki!, Bennardo, and North, it went on to find a home and win story of the year award at </span><a href="http://www.strangeweirdandwonderful.com/"><span style="Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; ">Strange Weird and Wonderful</span></a><span style="Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; "> magazine. You'll find it under the new title A TEST OF FATE in the Fall 2008 edition.</span><br /></span><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><b>Montagfire's Sword</b></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /><span style=" ">In April this year I found out they were opening submissions for a second anthology. I was still reading the first anthology, and very impressed with it. Inspired, I decided that I wanted to be a part of the movement again. Even if my story was not accepted I wanted to participate in this event and broke myself out of a five month creative slump to write a story called "Montagfire's Sword" and I have to say that it was so much fun that it kickstarted my writing habit again. It's a story about a man who...no, I am not ready to share that with you. I still might have a chance in 1,958... </span><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jpGXRPl1S9g/Tp7GCRYFvWI/AAAAAAAAAEw/OWUskrFgHF8/s320/mod2-titles1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665183123605142882" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 203px; " /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:85%;">Here is a selection of the 1,958 titles that were submitted to the anthology. Look on the left hand side about halfway up for "The End". My story title, "Montagfire's Sword", is four lines up from that.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:85%;"><br /></span><div align="center"><a href="http://machineofdeath.net/v2cloud"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:85%;">http://machineofdeath.net/v2cloud</span></a></div><div align="center"><br /></div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14225325502052608564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-55394845361525157922011-10-18T01:00:00.000-07:002011-10-18T01:04:59.082-07:00Wicked Bag of Fantasy Tales<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1vCjos97eVU/TltprPdZhxI/AAAAAAAAAIo/7XRyymP_Nlw/s1600/Wicked+Bag+of+Fantasy+Tales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1vCjos97eVU/TltprPdZhxI/AAAAAAAAAIo/7XRyymP_Nlw/s320/Wicked+Bag+of+Fantasy+Tales.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">I Just had my contract sent for the story I wrote for </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><em>The Wicked Bag of Fantasy Tales edited by Jessica A. Weiss and M.S.Gardner</em> from Wicked East Press. Here is a teaser of the stories that my novella will appear alongside:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">A Last Hope.....Darren Gallagher</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Beast Within.....Suzanne Robb</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Tide Jewels.....Mark Lee Pearson</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Other Things To Do.....Dev Jarrett</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Wizard Host.....Rachel Chipp</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">For The Love Of Pete.....Jen Steffen</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Times of Marlon.....Richard Jay Goldstein</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">In Dreams.....Hazel O'Shea</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Pain's Long and Traveled Path.....Patricia Puckett</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Music For The Enchanted End.....Keith Gorney</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's a bumper sized book of ten novellas weighing in with a word count of: 126,631!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">My story is a modern day reimagining of the ancient Japanese creation myth found in the Kojiki and Nihongi. It features a colorful cast of characters including dragons, turtles, and a talking cat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Don't forget to place your order...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14225325502052608564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-44261731065991317782011-10-16T06:04:00.000-07:002011-10-17T04:26:51.109-07:00NaNoWriMo: How Foolish Are You?<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kdJWXa8rhFc/TprYLMe80_I/AAAAAAAAAEI/CcVzd5FxSsQ/s1600/400px-FujiSunriseKawaguchiko2025WP.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kdJWXa8rhFc/TprYLMe80_I/AAAAAAAAAEI/CcVzd5FxSsQ/s320/400px-FujiSunriseKawaguchiko2025WP.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664077168213021682" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Old Japanese Proverb</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;color:#070604;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px; font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span><span>He who attempts NaNoWriMo once is a wise man.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">He who attempts it twice is a fool.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><div><br /></div><div>How foolish are you?</div><div><br /></div><div>This is a problem that can easily be solved with a little pseudo-mathmatical formula.</div><div><br /></div></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">DISTANCE x TIME</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> = NUMERICAL FOOLISHNESS VALUE</span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><div><br /></div>Let's start with DISTANCE:</span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Mount Fuji is 3,776 (meters high)</span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">To climb it twice would take it to 3,776 x 2 = 7,552</span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">A NaNoWriMo novel is 50,000 (words long)</span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">To attempt it twice would take it to 100,000</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">100,000 ÷ 7,552 = 13.24</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">This means it is 13.24 times more foolish to attempt NaNoWriMo than it is to climb Mount Fuji. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">But how about you? It is important to include the number of additional attempts YOU have made into the equation. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">For example is you have 2 additional attempts (including the present one) multiply </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">13.24 by the power of two. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">13.24</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 16px; font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><b style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 12px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><i style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 12px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">² </i></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">= 175.337995</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">It does not end there. We have to bring TIME into the equation. It takes about 8 hours to climb Mount Fuji as opposed to 24 (hours a day--yes, ask any writer, it does occupy that amount of time!) multiplied by 30 (days in November)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Let's put a numerical value on the TIME you have to put into your writing.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">24 (hours in a day) x (30 days x 4 attempts) (actual writing time) = 2,880</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">2,880 - 16 (actual climbing time) = 2,864</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">DISTANCE x</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> TIME </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">= NUMERICAL FOOLISHNESS VALUE</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">175.337995 x 2,864</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> = 502,168.003</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:180%;color:#cc0000;"><b>SO THERE IT IS. THE PROOF THAT I AM 502,168.003 TIMES THE FOOL FOR ATTEMPTING NANOWRIMO FOR THE FOURTH TIME!</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:180%;color:#cc0000;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">What is your Numerical Foolishness Value???</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:78%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:78%;">Note: I make no claims to being a mathematician. This is just a bit of fun. If you can come up with a better one, I challenge you!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(7, 6, 4); line-height: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, sans_serif;color:#070604;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 16px;font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span></div></div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682926251220284217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-62444663836459238522011-10-15T01:47:00.000-07:002011-10-15T23:26:24.058-07:00Why Doing NaNoWriMo is Like a Trip to the Moon<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lTuJF6issI4/TppiHCU-i4I/AAAAAAAAADk/3hY_DYlw1mM/s1600/594px-Full_Moon_Luc_Viatour.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 318px; height: 320px;" 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class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">NaNoWriMo 2011 #2<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Preparation Tips<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Why Doing NaNoWriMo is Like a Trip to the Moon.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">By<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Mark Lee Pearson<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Look at the moon. 2000 miles across, 4.5 billion years old, and it’s mere existence affecting the tides of the earth. Isn’t it amazing?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Your first task is to tell everyone that is where you are going to be during the month of November. That way you will not be invited to any social activities that will eat up your writing time. Also you’ll acquire a bunch of friends willing to cheer a crazy astronaut on. Your significant other will also need to know why you’ll appear to be defying gravity for the entire month of November.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Your second task is to go to bed. Get off the Internet and crawl under your duvet. Yes, now! Or as soon as you’ve finished reading this. You don’t go on a <s>2</s>50,000-<s>mile</s> word journey without preparation. You will need to conserve energy for that moonwalk.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Good night’s sleep? Okay, your next step is to plot the moon’s orbit. One sidereal month is 27.3 days. Create a 27.3-day plan. This will consist of an outline of 27.3 chapters of 1800 words each. Each chapter plan will be a sentence or two stating where you lift-off and where you plan to land—in other words a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">pay off</i>. That is just like a 27.3 sentence summary of your story. The plan is to complete a 27.3-chapter <s>orbit</s> novel; one chapter a day for 27.3 days, with 2.7 days left open for a couple of blue moon events.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Done that? Right, now it’s time to decide who’s going to be the one to set foot on the moon? Is it Neil or is it Buzz that’ll be your protagonist? Focus on one character’s point-of-view. The more points-of-view you have the more complicated your story gets, so keep it simple so you can take the easiest possible route from start to finish. So, it’s Buzz? Right then, Niel can be your antagonist. You’ll need another character too. Someone who will help your protagonist. How about Sting?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Right, we have a crew. It is almost time to prepare for blast off. The date is set. On 1st November you’ll get up one hour earlier than usual and take 15 minutes to write an outline of the chapter you plan to write. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Yes, that’s right, an outline. If you’ve got a map of the stars you’ll easily be able to find the constellation you are looking for.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">The outline will be based on your 1-sentence summary for that day. You will need a starting point and an ending point. You will need to know the characters that will feature in that chapter and all of their motivations. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Yes, ALL!</i> Characters without motivations should be jettisoned. You also need to know what you want each one of them to achieve by the end of that chapter. In effect you need to ask yourself, “What is today’s pay off?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">You are ready to blast off! With that pay-off in mind start writing at full acceleration. Fully prepared you should get about 600 words done in 45 minutes. At the 600 word mark leave your characters half way through a sentence and…<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">…go to work/school/drop the kids off at kindergarten. While doing that, think about your day’s plan and formulate a dialogue incorporating lots of conflict. Ideally the dialogue will encapsulate what you are trying to achieve with today’s chapter. Like a kind of microcosm of the whole. Jot it down if you have a chance. Here’s one I prepared earlier, <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">“One small step for a man—” said Neil, opening the hatch. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">“No,” said Sting, “Wait! Giant steps are what you take walking on the moon.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Just then, Buzz appeared with an ice pick. “You are both wrong,” he said. “That giant leap will be mine, all mine!”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Arrive at work 30 minutes early and, referring to your dialogue and your day’s plan write 300 words with before anyone else arrives. Then write 300 words on your lunch break. Stay behind and write 300 more words before you go home. You have completed 1500 words.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">At home switch off the Internet, TV, PlayStation II…and figure out what you are going to do with all this time in space. Don’t forget to look around you at the stars and enjoy the view of earth. You will most certainly find something to inspire another 300 words...or more.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">It takes about two days to get from the Earth to the moon. But once you get there the gravity is one sixth of what it is here on earth, you’ll take giant steps, you’ll feel lighter, and more powerful, almost superhuman. And the view from up there is stunning. NaNoWriMo: enjoy the trip, but keep the momentum.</span><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682926251220284217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-20713258437080436412011-10-11T05:42:00.000-07:002011-10-18T00:58:40.214-07:00NaNoWriMo: My Experience<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IGgGRFy9s20/TpRAXEAvyLI/AAAAAAAAABc/lv2pOK1FI38/s1600/Shield-Nano-Blue-Brown-RGB-102px.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662221396469598386" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IGgGRFy9s20/TpRAXEAvyLI/AAAAAAAAABc/lv2pOK1FI38/s320/Shield-Nano-Blue-Brown-RGB-102px.png" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 149px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 102px;" /></a></div><div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Novel Writing and Nanowrimo</b></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>by</b></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Mark Lee Pearson</b></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">November is <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/">Nanowrimo</a>. National Novel Writing Month. Write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days along with a quarter of a million other people on the planet (Yes, I know it should be International Novel Writing Month). I thought I would share with you my Nanowrimo novel writing experience to date.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Once Upon a Time</b></span><br />
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</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">I’d had a little novel-writing experience before my first attempt at Nanowrimo. I finished one 50,000 word short novel about a Monster Lighthouse Keeper back in 1993 and I also wrote a 60,000 word middle-grade fantasy tale in 2005 about a boy who shrunk to the size of an anchovy and got washed down the plug hole of his bath into a magical sewer.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">I doubt either of these will ever see the light of day. I put both stories down to be a part of the learning process, 110,000 words of the necessary 1 million words that you have to write before you are good enough to sell anything.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>50,000 words in a month</b></span><br />
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</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anyway in 2008 and I was ready to try again. I’d joined <a href="http://www.zoetrope.com/index.cgi">Zoetrope Virtual Studio</a> and started workshopping my short stories. That had given me the confidence to move forward and submit to publishers and as a result I’d had a couple of shorts published in semi-pro magazines. I’d read a couple of How-To-Write-A-Novel books and I was really inspired to make a start on something. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was October. I remember Googling the key words <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How to write a novel</i> and discovering nanowrimo was about to start. Talk about serendipity, I thought. Even though I had two little kids that demanded a lot of my time, I had a very supportive wife; and so on November 1<sup>st</sup> 2008 I began the novel that would change it all.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>No Plot No (Big) Problem</b></span><br />
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</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">I’d just sold a story to <a href="http://spaceandtimemagazine.com/wp/">Space and Time Magazine</a> called Hideki Desu. It was about a boy who traveled the Universe by hitching rides on people’s dreams. I wanted to see what I could do with this strange character in a parallel Tokyo over the space of a whole novel. I had a character, a setting and a concept. That was it. No plot no problem, said Chris Baty, the founder of Nanowrimo. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, I started writing my novel on the 1<sup>st</sup> November 2008. Inspired by the pep talks I received by e-mail, I wrote 30,000 words. And then I hit a wall. I was left standing by all those online novelists. And I left Hideki standing on the Tokyo Bay getting ready to jump in. He is still standing there today. I have no idea why. The whole idea of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/No-Plot-Problem-Low-Stress-High-Velocity/dp/0811845052">No Plot No Problem</a> was not working for me. I may return to Hideki when I figure out what his motivation is.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Redux: Forward Planning</b> </span><br />
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</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">I stopped writing novels and went back to short stories. From short stories I found I could get a more instant gratification from my writing. I could write a story, polish it and have it sent out to a publisher for consideration in one or two weeks. What’s more I was beginning to have a few more sales and some interest from respectable magazines in the field. However, I was still intent on writing that novel. You know, the one that’s going to make you a Bestselling Novelist? </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">I’d had a short story out in the slush piles for about a year about a boy who attracts whales with his voice. It was getting a lot of interest, but no bites. I thought it was the best thing I had written to date and I wanted to explore the characters more thoroughly, so I wrote out a short plan of how I wanted the story to develop. So, when November came around again I threw myself straight back in. This time I had a setting, a bunch of characters, an idea, and an idea for a plot. I couldn’t fail.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Nanowrimo Winner?</b> </span><br />
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</b></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662222143662778610" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JbCP5rgAzmI/TpRBCjhe6PI/AAAAAAAAAB0/M4DZmyszaN4/s320/nano_09_winner_120x90.png" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 90px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 120px;" /></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">The story started well, I had a hook, the characters’ motivations were acting against one another. I had a plot roadmap, which amounted to fifty chapters with one sentence hook for each chapter. I started writing on the first day of November, but soon found that it was really difficult to keep writing 1600 words a day. I was teaching at elementary school and finding I was coming home burned out from lessons and dodgeball. I would catch up at the weekends, but by the third week I was far behind. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">On the last day I remembered what Mur Lafferty had said in her <a href="http://isbw.murlafferty.com/">I Should Be Writing</a> podcast; that it was okay to suck. So I wrote 8,000 words of 100% pure unintelligible suck to get me to the finish line. I put the novel aside. I had mixed feelings. Yes, I had completed a 50,000 word novel in the allotted time. Yes, I was now officially recognized as a Nanowrimo winner. But at what cost?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>2010: Third Time Lucky</b></span><br />
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</b></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">I shut down my computer and wrote nothing for the first nine months of 2010. I wasn’t a writer anymore. I was a failure. Then in September of that year I had an email from a guy called Roque Ruiz at <a href="http://www.cloudberryrecords.com/">Cloudberry Records</a> who wanted to interview me about my experience of establishing an independent record label in the 1980s. <a href="http://www.cloudberryrecords.com/blog/?p=780">I answered his questions the best I could</a> and found that there was a story there. Roque told me that there was still interest in Ambition Records. I thought it might be an idea to write the story of Ambition. So in November 2010, thanks to Roque’s encouragement, I embarked on my third attempt at Nanowrimo.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">This time I was determined to make a go of it. I knew the story and the characters. It was my story. <i>My autobiography</i>. I couldn’t fail. One thing I had learned from my failures was that doing it alone, even though there are many nanowrimers doing it too, was hard. I decided to go public. I opened my office on Zoetrope and posted inspirational articles and pictures for myself as well as the other members of the office. I updated my word-count on my blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter. I challenged other writers to reach the goal before I did. I built a little community around myself. I told everyone, so I had to finish.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">The social experience was amazing. I got encouragement from all different areas of my life. And I flew past the goal of 50,000 words on day 26 of nanowrimo. I went on to complete the story at 60,000 words.</span><br />
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</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662222404919317490" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pynQA4P7h2g/TpRBRwx5U_I/AAAAAAAAACA/kxmjPY_Z_QA/s320/nano_10_winner_240x120-7.png" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 120px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" /></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was happy with the outcome, 60,000 words closer to the required million! But I was burned out. I left the story on my hard drive, stopped writing again, and went to play with my kids.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>2011</b> </span><br />
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</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">In April 2011 I discovered the <a href="http://machineofdeath.net/mod2">Machine of Death Anthology</a> was putting out another call fro submissions for another anthology. I started writing again. I wanted to get in that anthology. I tried and failed the first time. I saw the amount of interest it kicked up on the Twitter and I wanted to be a part of a fantastic book. The characters in the story were the same characters I had worked on with my nanowrimo 2009 novel. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">MOD2 rebooted my interest in writing. I wrote another novella, <em>The Tide Jewels</em>, which will be published later this year at Wicked East Press, and two more short stories, which are now patiently waiting for the attention of a couple of discerning professional magazine editors. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">But those characters were still drawing my attention. I knew I had to go back to them. So In August I went back to the novel. I reshaped and replotted it. I cut out 10,000 words of crap, leaving me with a meager 40,000 words. Then in 2 months I rewrote the entire story from scratch ending up with 65,000 words.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">It is October and I have now just finished my second editing pass on my Nanowrimo 2009 novel: Whaling the Multiverse. I am burning to send it out, but I still need to give it another few editing passes to iron out some of the flaws I can still see. I am about to put it away for another month while I try Nanowrimo for the fourth time. When that is finished I will not give up writing. I will be ready with my red pen!</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>November 2011</b></span> </span><br />
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</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span">November is approaching. This time I want to write a story that my kids will read and say, "Hey Dad, I love science fiction!" So I am going to write a middle grade time travel tale. I’ll be ready at the start line with my plan to strike another 50,000 words more off that required one million. See you on the first of November.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 130%;"><br />
</span></div></div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682926251220284217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-30842228883116845252011-10-09T05:29:00.001-07:002011-10-15T23:48:22.950-07:00What Can Evel Knievel Teach Us About Writing?<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k7IWjRdDUXI/Tpp-E0RT3oI/AAAAAAAAAD8/AwrVLKVG8EY/s1600/Redraleighchopper.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><div><br /></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aEvx288_ydc/Tpp9dNbbFCI/AAAAAAAAADw/LXMViAnPg0Q/s1600/450px-At_Home_With_Evel_Knievel.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aEvx288_ydc/Tpp9dNbbFCI/AAAAAAAAADw/LXMViAnPg0Q/s320/450px-At_Home_With_Evel_Knievel.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663977422146180130" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">On Being a Daredevil</span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">by</span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">Mark Lee Pearson</span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span></div></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:large;"></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;font-size:large;color:#181818;"><i>“Where there is little risk, there is little reward.”</i> </span></span></span></span></div><div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/evelknieve326245.html" style="color: #0000cc; line-height: normal; text-decoration: none;">Evel Knievel</a></span></span></span></div><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="body" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="body" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">When I was a kid in the 1970s, I wanted to be like the greatest bike rider of all time, Evel Knievel.</span></span><br /><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"></span><br /><div style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="body" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">From the time I was eight years old until I was about twelve I spent all my free time practicing jumps over my little brother as he lay in the road, standing on the saddle as I freewheeled down busy high streets, bunny hopping up and down kerbs, and trying out every trick in the book.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="body" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">Now, luckily for me my parents could only afford to buy me a Raleigh Chopper. The injuries I sustained were minimal. If eight-year old me had been in charge of a Harley Davidson like the great daredevil himself, it wouldn't have been just broken bones and mashed up organs, I would definitely have ended up on a slab. (Along with my fearless little brother...)</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The point I am trying to make here is that I threw every little piece of my energy into <i>becoming</i> Evel Knievel. The great daredevil himself said,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><i>"Where there is little risk, there is little reward."</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> When I was on my bike, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I believed <i>with all my heart</i> that I <i>was</i> him. And little by little I saw my skill as a cyclist improve with each trick I mastered. By the time I was twelve I was invincible on a Raleigh Chopper!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-family: Georgia, serif; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k7IWjRdDUXI/Tpp-E0RT3oI/AAAAAAAAAD8/AwrVLKVG8EY/s320/Redraleighchopper.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663978102587645570" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 251px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-family: Georgia, serif; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"></span><br /><div style=" text-align: center;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;font-family:'trebuchet ms';color:#181818;">“You</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="body"> come to a point in your life when you really don't care what people think about you, you just care what you think about yourself.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;font-family:'trebuchet ms';color:#181818;">”</span></i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"></span><br /><div style=" text-align: center;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366ff;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"></span><br /><div style=" text-align: center;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366ff;"><b>Evel Knievel</b></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">Of course, I gave up on my pre-pubescent daredevil dream of being Evel Knievel years ago. Though emulating the great was an important stage in my growth, I know now that it is important to explore my own individual strengths in order to achieve a measure of greatness.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">I am a writer now and I am grateful for the lesson that Evel Knievel taught me when I was eight. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">I never gave up on that daredevil spirit. I kept taking risks with everything I put my hand to. I became a disc jockey, I formed a record company, I gave up a job in engineering to study philosophy, I studied abroad, I moved to Japan...</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">I became a writer. </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">Just as I got back on my Raleigh Chopper every time I fell off--whatever injury I sustained--I now keep submitting my fiction to publishers and magazines, because I believe with all my heart that I have what it takes to be a great writer.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Of course, the rejections pile up. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">But, you kn</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">ow what? It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because I can sleep at night knowing that I am doing my best to achieve a measure of greatness.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">What am I doing?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">1) Writing every day.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">2) Finishing what I write.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">3) Submitting what I write.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">I listen to the advice of others and try to improve my craft. I listen to feedback and try to incorporate it into my stories without compromising my ideas. I take a rejection as a sign of success. At least I can say I was daring enough to try.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;">I hope you are daring enough to try too.</span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Times;font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div></div></div></div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682926251220284217noreply@blogger.com4Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan35.5714621 139.373176535.3648186 139.0573195 35.778105599999996 139.6890335tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-58634082830756903612011-10-04T01:01:00.000-07:002011-10-04T05:59:12.438-07:00On Discovery vs Outlining<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IdGPHV4UFGY/TorxeEytwAI/AAAAAAAAAAw/5Zpv1GDXhJw/s1600/ricky%2Brobot.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659601380729274370" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IdGPHV4UFGY/TorxeEytwAI/AAAAAAAAAAw/5Zpv1GDXhJw/s320/ricky%2Brobot.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 214px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">A Tribute to The Dead Robots' Society</span><br />
<a href="http://deadrobotssociety.com/">http://deadrobotssociety.com/</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Road Map to <strike>Memphis</strike> Hell</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">by</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Mark Lee Pearson</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There was once a scientist called Kaiser, who built two robots. She fitted them both with the exact same model of positronic brain. She called one J-Max and the other T-Mix. The two robots were exactly like humans in every respect. They could eat and drink, they could think and feel, and they even had the capability to die.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As an experiment Doctor Kaiser cultured two positronic viruses to infect the positronic brains. She called the viruses The O virus and the P virus--after the two philosophers Bertrand Outliner and Ludwig Pantser--respectively. She then infected one brain with the O Virus and one with the P Virus.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The scientist then set both robots the same task. To plan a vacation for himself. Robot J-Max planned to drive to Memphis. Robot T-Mix decided on a dice-throw to take a plane to the North. He wasn't sure where, he would just figure out the route as he went along.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Robot J-Max purchased a map and a navi for his automobile. He typed his route into routefinder.com and chose the easiest way to get there. Then he searched the internet for a decent steak house and a comfortable motel. He even sought out the cheapest gas stations en route. While surfing the Internet he found by chance there was an all night showing of <i>Lord of the Rings</i> in the local theatre. J-Max rubbed his metallic hands together in glee and booked tickets.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">When T-Mix saw J-Max writing out his plan in the greatest detail he scoffed at him, saying, "I'm just gonna get on the plane and see where it takes me. It's more exciting that way."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Doctor Kaiser waved goodbye to them on Saturday morning and they both set off.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">J-Max drove carefully and at a steady speed all the way to Memphis. He arrived after lunch and spent the entire afternoon sightseeing and enjoying the ambience of The King's house. Then he treated himself to a steak house meal and rounded off the evening at the drive-in movie theatre watching the Lord of the Rings Trilogy back to back. It was a perfect holiday, thought Robot J-Max.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Robot T-Mix was kidnapped by a character in a green hat on the way to the airport. She said her name was Eliyanna and that she was on the trail of a Ripper Robot, but she was really a bounty hunting drummer called Ryan in disguise. This was gonna be some holiday, thought T-Mix as they drove south with him tied up and gagged in the trunk of her BMW.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Robot J-Max returned on time. He now makes a living writing interminable travelogues and selling them online to pre-paying customers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Doctor Kaiser has recently traced Robot T-Mix to a brothel on a minor planet in the 70 Virginis System in the year 1969. The bounty hunter sold him as sex slave to a Time Traveling minx from Erotica V, and he still lives out there taking each day as it comes. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Doctor Kaiser and Robot J-Max are planning a way to free him from the clutches of the evil tentacle queen.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">UPDATE:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The last we heard Doctor Kaiser was working on a way to combine the two viruses.</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14225325502052608564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-48438319003862752042011-10-03T05:47:00.000-07:002011-10-03T05:58:38.999-07:00On Inspiration<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UgaHTOtBFO8/TomvsJFrbOI/AAAAAAAAAAo/RGz1ruQxAns/s1600/mount-fuji-hokusai-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UgaHTOtBFO8/TomvsJFrbOI/AAAAAAAAAAo/RGz1ruQxAns/s320/mount-fuji-hokusai-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">On Inspiration</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">By</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mark Lee Pearson</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">On New Years' Day, Hideki dreamed he was</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"> standing at the summit of Mount Fuji looking out across the Japanese landscape. He woke up and called his friend, Kimiko.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">"I've just been inspired," he said. "Let's climb Mount Fuji this summer."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Sure," said Kimiko.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kimiko set about preparing for the climb. She bought a new pair of boots and wore them in. She trained every day. She even joined a hiking club and climbed the low mountains in her district to get herself ready for the big climb.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">While Kimiko perspired, Hideki spent the time trying to recapture the moment he had dreamed. He surfed the internet looking for images of Mount Fuji. He drew sketches in his pad. He bought a book about the 100 most famous views. He rode past it on the shinkansen to take in its beauty. He even wrote a haiku.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">View from Mount Fuji</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sprawling colors vivid shades</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Summer vibrancy</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">When the day finally arrived Kimiko turned up prepared for the climb. In her pack she had warm clothes, food, and plenty to drink.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hideki brought his camera, a sketch pad, and a little Japanese flag he intended to have his picture taken with at the summit.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Race you to the top," he said.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Of course she beat him. Hideki didn't get past the sixth station before he collapsed, out of breath and physically exhausted.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">At the summit of Mount Fuji, Kimiko observed the view. She thought it was quite nice. There she met a backpacker from Australia called Alan. He was very nice. He invited her to Nepal with him the following summer. Of course, she went.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">She sent Hideki a postcard from the base camp at Mount Everest. On it she wrote a haiku. It said, </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mountains we may climb,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">But dreamy wings fly us not,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">To the snowy peaks.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14225325502052608564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-63834999201942574832011-10-01T22:03:00.000-07:002011-10-02T00:12:10.331-07:00On Rejection<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-es57iwIyy34/TofyqDC9r2I/AAAAAAAAAAk/zurdgxJJwUk/s1600/Baked_stargazy_pie.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-es57iwIyy34/TofyqDC9r2I/AAAAAAAAAAk/zurdgxJJwUk/s320/Baked_stargazy_pie.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658758261000482658" /></a><br /> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> 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mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0mm 5.4pt 0mm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0mm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Century; mso-ascii-font-family:Century; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Century; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-font-kerning:1.0pt;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin;mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latinfont-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">On Rejection<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">(Or What’s the Best Recipe for Fish Pie?)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">By</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Mark Lee Pearson</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Imagine that you once ate a fish pie that tasted really bad. It was so bad that you told your friends, “I can make better fish pie than that.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">One friend says that he wants to make a fish pie someday, but really doesn’t have the time now.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">Another friend says that she once tried to make a fish pie, but she didn’t quite manage to finish it. She decided to leave it in the cupboard because it wasn’t quite right. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">You want to ask if her fish pie is still there, but you know by the crazed look in her eyes that it is, so you don’t.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">You go home and look in the fridge. There’s a bit of cod and a jar of white sauce. You experiment with these ingredients, but when it comes out of the oven it doesn’t look as appetizing as you thought it would, so you trash it. The next day you make another and trash that one too. You repeat this process over and over again, until you get sick of trying. The refuse collector appears to be gaining weight.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">You decide to go ahead and try to sell your fish pies. You do your research and discover that<span style="mso-font-kerning:0pt;"> salmon in parsley sauce </span>is popular. So you make a batch and set up a stall at the local market, but it appears that salmon is out and haddock is in. The girl on the stall opposite is making a fortune with her haddock in <span style="mso-font-kerning:0pt;">béchamel sauce</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">You steal her recipe and go home to experiment. You emulate her fish pie and try it out on your grandmother. She says it’s the best fish pie she has ever tasted. You decide to set up another stall at the market, but the girl you stole the recipe off is there and hers look so much better than yours. She is making a fortune and the customers just turn their noses up at yours.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">You go home and cry and tear up the stupid recipe and throw all your cooking utensils away. That night you have a dream. In the dream a time traveler comes to tell you that he has eaten your fish pie in the future and it was the best he ever tasted. He tells you that you must not give up making fish pie. The time traveler is hot and you wake up realizing that if you give up baking fish pies you will never meet your time traveling dreamboat again. You experiment and experiment and finally manage to create your own style of fish pie. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">The next time you arrive at market it is clear that fish is out and meat is in. Against all the odds you set up your stall. A gourmand passes you by and you catch his eye. He says he loves your fish pies and he knows the world will love them and he will help you to sell your fish pies to the world. You sign a contract and celebrate together with a bottle of champagne. Unfortunately he dies in a car accident on the way home that very same night and your fish pie falls into obscurity.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">You decide to give up making fish pies and write a novel about your experience. You send it off to a publisher and it gets...rejected.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">After one-hundred rejections you decide to give it all up and return to university to get a degree in physics. There you meet a dreamboat who is writing his doctorate on The Practical Application of Time Travel. You are convinced you have seen him somewhere before, and you invite him to dinner at your apartment where you bake him a fish pie and tell him the story of your life.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:130%;">This time you might just live happily ever after.</span><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682926251220284217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-74019208521425166962011-09-29T07:01:00.000-07:002011-10-03T04:54:27.539-07:00On Writers' Block<div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xS1-pj2-wcM/ToR_M9acw4I/AAAAAAAAAIw/wr41RWdaRSM/s1600/sisyphus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xS1-pj2-wcM/ToR_M9acw4I/AAAAAAAAAIw/wr41RWdaRSM/s1600/sisyphus.jpg" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Blocks</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">(Or a Modern Day Sisyphus)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">by</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Mark Lee Pearson</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Once there was a writer, who carried a block upon his shoulders wherever he went. It was a very heavy block, filled with atoms to the highest density, and finished off with sharp corners and rough edges. If he had ever dropped the block on his foot, which by sheer luck he never did, he would probably have crushed his toes. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One day the man was carrying his block through the park when a young woman approached him. She said, "My dear fellow, you look as if you carry the weight of the universe upon your shoulders."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The man replied, "What I have upon my shoulders is a magnificent block of which I am extraordinarily proud."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">On seeing there was in fact nothing resting upon the man's shoulders, the woman decided to humor him. "Why not put it down and take the weight off your shoulders for a while?"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"I am afraid cannot do that," said the man. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Why ever not?" the woman responded.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"It is very precious to me. If I put it down the Muse might steal it from me."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The woman offered to carry the block for the man. Thinking she was pretty and therefore certainly trustworthy, he thanked her and handed her the block. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">She easily took upon her shoulders, thinking it wasn't as heavy as the man made it seem.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Relieved of his weight the man was overcome with another affliction. His hands twitched, his eyes whirled, and he started to chatter to himself incoherently.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"I've got this great idea for a character, you know. There was this boy wizard, who... Or should I start with the world building? No, no, no plot comes first. I'd better get the outline down now..."</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The woman looked on in horror for a few moments until she could stand no more. "Here," she said, passing him back the invisible block. "I think you were better off carrying this."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The man loaded the invisible block back onto his shoulders and walked off into the sunset. Of course, he lived happily ever after in the knowledge that it was the weight of the block and not his own laziness that prevented him from ever finishing a single tale.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The End</span></div>
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Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14225325502052608564noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-89657644715235010832011-08-23T05:46:00.000-07:002011-09-28T05:51:13.308-07:00The Tide JewelsI have just completed a 15,000 word novella called <i>The Tide Jewels</i>. I wrote it as part of a challenge set by Wicked East Press. Ten authors get together to write ten prompts. The prompts are then sent in, divvied up, and sent out to a different writer. When I first got my prompt my muse groaned under the weight of having to write something which appeared to be high fantasy sword and sorcery--a genre I have so far avoided. But, after a good deal of thought I came up with a way I could put my own spin on it. I am very happy with the outcome.<br />
<br />
<i>The Tide Jewels</i> will be published later in the year in the second book in the Wicked Bag series; Wicked Bag of Fantasy Tales edited by Jessica A. Weiss. In addition to the two main characters the story features a dragon, a cat, and a turtle. It is a re-imagining of the Japanese creation myths that can be found in the Nihongi and the Kojiki. I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you have fun reading it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6oRoSz6--1k/Tltp45BgVZI/AAAAAAAAAIs/l-OM465JsDs/s1600/Wicked+Bag+of+Fantasy+Tales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6oRoSz6--1k/Tltp45BgVZI/AAAAAAAAAIs/l-OM465JsDs/s320/Wicked+Bag+of+Fantasy+Tales.jpg" width="191" /></a></div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14225325502052608564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-77405325190292312392011-08-04T21:32:00.000-07:002011-10-01T23:04:34.168-07:00From Shadows and Nightmares Nightfall Publications<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PixgX2-It0w/TjtkZQurZPI/AAAAAAAAAIc/y48AKiEOh_g/s1600/shad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PixgX2-It0w/TjtkZQurZPI/AAAAAAAAAIc/y48AKiEOh_g/s320/shad.jpg" t$="true" width="206px" /></a></div>
<br />
...is here.<br />
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Included is my short story "The Little Contractor Tool Kit."<br />
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I am excited about having a story appear alongside so many other fabulous writers in this anthology.<br />
<br />
From the website:<br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Kalimati, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14px;">From Shadows and Nightmares</span></strong></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Kalimati, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Kalimati, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">- Our third anthology explores the dark imaginations of our authors. From the traditional stories of zombies and werewolves, to haunted items that will surprise you, our new and established authors challenge you to read this book with only one light on.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Kalimati, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Kalimati, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Kalimati, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Zombies, werewolves, mentally disturbed individuals and ghosts fill the pages of the newest anthology.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Kalimati, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Kalimati, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Kalimati, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">New stories by James Dorr, Jeffrey Wooten, Michele Wyan, Mae Empson, Diane Arrelle, Quintin Peterson, Vince Darcangelo, Karyne Corum, Barry Rosenberg, Anne Lessing, Joyce Frohn, Janet Lorimer, Jennifer Moore, T.S. Charles, Devyani Borade, Mark Lee Pearson, Steve Coate, Stacey Longo, Michael O'Neal, Hall Jameson, Claire Rowland, Tamara Eaton</span></i><br />
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<br />Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14225325502052608564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-23921197091502207182011-05-13T18:17:00.000-07:002011-10-01T23:09:00.026-07:00Whale Screamers: read an excerpt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X_ijmL7PurY/ThHBwi28UrI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/j3Gh5Ze9jFU/s1600/ASIM50_Subscribers_Version+%2528dragged%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X_ijmL7PurY/ThHBwi28UrI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/j3Gh5Ze9jFU/s640/ASIM50_Subscribers_Version+%2528dragged%2529.jpg" width="452" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <br />
This is the first part of the short story Whaling the Multiverse that was published last month in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine. Thank you to Inna Basman for her artwork: an interesting interpretation of the whale screamer in action. If you haven't got your copy fly on over there now. <a href="http://www.andromedaspaceways.com/">http://www.andromedaspaceways.com/</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Whaling the Multiverse</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> by</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Mark Lee Pearson</span></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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We were in a harbour tavern on the floating city of Osaka when the skinny urchin flicked the noren aside and stepped in. He stood in front of the blue cloth with the white koi design and scanned the bar until his eyes fixed upon our ship’s captain.<br />
<br />
“Captain Montagfire?”<br />
<br />
Montagfire, a thickset half-breed in a sea green jimbei, was slouched over the bar, chewing the froth from a schooner of Asahi. He raised his shaven head and looked over his shoulder.<br />
<br />
“What?”<br />
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The kid approached the bar. “Are you Captain Montagfire?”<br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“What is it to you?”<br />
<br />
“I want to be a screamer.”<br />
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Montagfire furrowed his dark eyebrows and spoke out of the corner of his mouth.<br />
<br />
“A short, skinny wretch like you? You couldn’t tickle a trout let alone scream at a minke across the multiverse. Why, you are all skin and bone! Those lungs,” he said, prodding the kid’s chest with his titanium finger—“Those lungs are barely keeping you alive.” He turned back to the bar to order a fresh Asahi. The kid didn’t take this as his cue to leave.<br />
<br />
“With respect, sir—”<br />
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Montagfire spun his stool around and glared at the boy.<br />
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“I don’t need your respect, fish hole,” he said, tapping his titanium finger on the katana in his belt. “Give me one good reason not to slice you up and feed you to the sharks.”<br />
<br />
Now, I’m not one to watch people disrespecting others like that. Montagfire may have been ship’s captain, but that didn’t give him authority to treat anyone like the barnacled end of a beluga’s backside. Besides, I wasn’t in the mood for the kind of bloodbath Montagfire was alluding to.<br />
<br />
“Give him a crack,” I said.<br />
<br />
“What?”<br />
<br />
“Give the impudent rascal a chance. We just lost Saline Kid. Maybe—”<br />
<br />
“He ain’t no match for Saline Kid.”<br />
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“And you ain’t no Ahab,” cried the kid. “Who are you to judge how well I scream just from the size of my body?”<br />
<br />
Montagfire prodded the kid’s sternum with his titanium finger. “It is customary for a screamer—”<br />
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“Pollocks to your custom! I can compete with the best in the multiverse! Come outside. I’ll show you.” The kid thrust his chin out, clenched his fists, and stormed out of the tavern. Montagfire, never one to pass up a challenge, drained his schooner, spun off the barstool, and drew his katana.<br />
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“Wait, Captain,” I said. “That urchin knows no better. His life will be short enough without you cutting it shorter.”<br />
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But Montagfire was already halfway to the door when he yelled back at me, “You think I’m some kind of fool? There ain’t no way in this damn multiverse that kid can—”<br />
<br />
Before the captain could finish the sentence a typhonic scream rattled the wooden walls. The windows shattered and splintered onto the floor. The side of the tavern came crashing in. Chairs and tables were thrown into disarray. Everything— fixtures, fittings and even customers that got in the way—was crushed as a mighty sperm whale forged headlong through the room, bowling Captain Montagfire off his feet and pinning him to the bar.<br />
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A ship’s wheel, the last fixture left hanging, dropped off the wall and cracked open on the sawdust floor. The bar fell silent.<br />
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The kid stepped back inside and called up the flank of the whale, “Now, Captain Montagfire, will you give me a chance?”<br />
<br />
“Get this whale out of my face and perhaps we can talk business.”<br />
<br />
The kid grinned at Montagfire then winked at me. I winked back. I was right; he was impudent but he was a character, too.<br />
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“Get this damn whale out of my tavern,” cried the landlord. “I’m trying to run a business.”<br />
</span></span></span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14225325502052608564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-58734600224027054192011-05-06T19:26:00.000-07:002011-10-01T23:06:05.431-07:00Cutlass and Musket; Tales of Piratical Skullduggery<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PIGcGky0kC0/TcSuAIhjVgI/AAAAAAAAAHw/9Gl3w3XUxe8/s1600/pirate+yellow+and+red.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PIGcGky0kC0/TcSuAIhjVgI/AAAAAAAAAHw/9Gl3w3XUxe8/s320/pirate+yellow+and+red.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">An anthology of PIRATE STORIES, which includes my story </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">The Tales of Blackleg Osai by Snarke P. Amor</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"> as well as a host of other fabulous stories by scabbard wielding authors is available now.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
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<i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">The Tales of Blackleg Osai</span></span></span></b></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"> features an unfinished book by an elusive writer, a famous bear with a personality twist, a sexy captain of a lethal ship called the </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Cuddly Quotient</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">, a British Rail train, and various planks that lead the characters into a ragged maze of plots woven together with a wormhole or two.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
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<a href="http://www.pillhillpress.com/shoppe-wicked-east-press.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">BUY IT HERE</span></span></span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Table of Contents</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Get Kraken…Michael A. Ventrella</span></span></span><br />
<a href="http://michaelaventrella.wordpress.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">http://michaelaventrella.wordpress.com/</span></span></span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Silver Hand Sam…Cherie Reich</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Last Voyage Of The London Fog…Marc Sorondo</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Old Billy, Old Friend…Darren Gallagher</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Mist And Shadow…Sarah Zama</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">The Legacy Of Captain Jareena…Scott M. Sandridge</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">The Sapphire Ring…Reese Mills</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Uncle Zapf…Harris Tobias</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Lost Hope…Rebecca Hart</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">The Blood Of An Immortal…M.S. Gardner</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Elixir Of Tears….Jason Andrew</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Guardian At The Gate…Ken Staley</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Voyage Of The Golden Goose…Gary Moeser</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Tales Of Blackleg Osai by Snarke P. Amor…Mark Lee Pearson</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">The Devil’s Fog…Coy Hall</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Captured…Kate Larkindale</span></span></span><br />
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</span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Isle Of Sorrow…Lee Clarke Zumpe</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Beneath The Death’s Head…Dev Jarrett</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Treasure In The Charnel Pit…Henrick Ramsager</span></span></span><br />
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Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14225325502052608564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822565807427503210.post-39902056431912854932011-05-05T19:27:00.000-07:002011-07-04T07:09:08.064-07:00Review at Horrorscope<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Thanks to reviewer Mark Smith-Briggs for his favorable comments on my story Whaling the Multiverse at Horrorscope.</span></span><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">The enjoyment of the work (In ASIM Issue 50) will depend on your particular tastes, but as always there is enough variety to ensure you’ll find something you like. Personal standouts included Mark Lee Pearson’s Whaling the Multiverse – an original sci-fi high seas adventure about a boy who attracts whales with his voice.</span></span></i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">You can read the full review here:</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.horrorscope.com.au/2011/04/review-asim-50.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Horrorscope</span></span></a>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14225325502052608564noreply@blogger.com0