SFFSat - June 01

Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday (SFFSat) is a place where a bunch of us post snippets from our written works and also shoot the breeze a little. And before I get ahead of myself, thanks and appreciation as always to those who stop by and leave fantastic comments.

Well, I'm back. I took a much-needed break so I could sort through that old confounded WIP, Bengaria's War. I just completed the 4th draft (still not quite right) but it needs a little bit more with the beginning. Anyone up for a beta read?

Anyhoo...here's a snippet from it, in Chapter 25, where you have the Nezu Commander, Thrater, mulling over some pressing thoughts. (In case you're wondering, the Nezu are a race of people who separated from the rest of civilization because they're a disagreeable bunch to begin with, and in doing so, progressed and advanced in leaps and bounds. And now, Ryn as queen to one of the star systems, is trying to unite them with her lot since they have a common gripe with one person, Sibur, from another star system whose being the typical bully).

In this scene, Commander Thrater is with a rogue Nezu called Commander Risar, whom he refers to as the relic...

           

But this was the Nezu way, how it had always been. How they had always been.

The alliance would change all that, it would have to. They couldn’t be expected to hoard their knowledge; they would have to share. While it sounded good in theory, was it even practical in reality? With a sinking feeling, Thrater knew if he didn’t change his way of thinking, the alliance would never work.

And this relic from the past, who had had to live among the common people—Outsiders—had shown him this. How shameful. Risar and his rogues knew how to live among others; he had conformed to their ways, adapted. They had to in order to survive.

If you are interested in participating in next weeks SFFSat, just click HERE, and follow the rules. Sign up is open every Wednesday - and if you're on Twitter, use the #SFFSat hashtag.

Cheers!

5 Years, 4 Books, 3 Novellas, and some Shorts later...

Well, I couldn't let the year progress any further without some mention of where I am right now. Where? It's like the title to this post says and then some: 5 years writing, 2 publishers, 4 books, 3 novellas and some short stories later...and, wait for it...lots more to come since the ideas keep a-coming!

My journey began early 2008, with a promise to myself and a new year's resolution on the beach among friends. One insisted we write down a list of the 200 things we most wanted to do. Well, I couldn't think of 200 things - just the one thing, and that was to write. Write something, anything. That thought stayed with me like a kick in the ass for a few weeks. I waffled a bit, thinking how best to tackle this whole writing thing. So I wrote down notes on plots, ideas, tooled around with characters, and then I just pushed it aside and instead, ruminated with a few scenes that kept reoccurring in my head.

My mid-January, the very shaky beginnings of The Lancaster Rule formed, and by March, I was hacking out the beginning. By April, I was just about done. But I was far from done, and The Master Key, spewed out of me before I could even finish Lancaster. And shortly after, the seeds of The Eternal Knot germinated in my head. Within 2 years, The Lancaster Trilogy was complete and I was a published writer!

Then I discovered, I simply could not stop writing. Like breaking through a blockage and forging a new tributary to empty out into the vast river of creativeness, it seemed I'd found another outlet to 'vent' my thoughts out. It felt right.

Last year, out came my fourth novel, To Catch A Marlin, and I gained a new publisher game enough to take a chance on me. Shortly after, 3 novellas in the Marlin series. Rounding things off, I also completed a couple of short stories, still seeking their way to publication.

I've also got a collection of unfinished stories (well, one is done) that need to see their own 'the ends' in good time.

Then, after The Lancaster Rule was published, it received a Novel of the Year nomination from my publisher, Champagne Book Group. And then, The Eternal Knot was voted Best Book of the Month by Long and Short Reviews. (Check out the link and my interview with them). Soon after, it was up for nomination as Best Book of 2012. How cool was THAT?

So, not too shabby. These past five years have been busy and productive, filled with fantastic plot bubbles and adventures that have taken me 300 years into the futures as well as traipsing about the depths of space. Heh, and I didn't even have to leave the comfort of my home. Isn't writing fun!

Cheers!