Category Archives: real life

Leaving on My Mind

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ATGOH-Proof CopyThere’s a chance we’ll be moving either late this year or early next. Nothing’s decided or settled yet, but at the moment all signs are pointing to a change. These days I find myself taking long hard looks around my library, trying to decide what things I merely like and what things I actually need. There’s usually a disconnect there, when you really do look. Sure, you may like having a complete set of the old Encyclopedia Brittanica, but do you really want to lug it to another state in the back of a car that’s already too small? If taking it means leaving something else, what then?

It’s a little hard to think of it in terms of revision when it’s your life you’re talking about, but the process is pretty much the same–decide what matters. Get rid of what doesn’t. Sure, you may have thought that was a cute scene and it was fun to write, but does it really serve the book/story? If you took it out, would the reader notice? More importantly, would the reader (if they ever found out) appreciate the fact that you didn’t bring the pace to a halt while your characters become pointlessly witty with one another? Do you really need to lug all those words to the next draft where you know you’ll be asking yourself this question again?

As with the clutter of accumulation, personally I find revision empowering, as in “Sure, the story is good. I can make it better.” We can make our workspaces and our lives less cluttered, too. All it takes is to consider what you like, and what actually matters, and knowing the difference.

The book sale continues, probably through April but no guarantees. I am nothing if not capricious. I have, however, added my ebook releases for the Kobo and Nook as well as the Kindle. This doesn’t, of course, include anything released by TOR or Prime. Those are under their publishers’ purview. You do what you can.

Letting Go

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WRITING 02I’ve written stand-alone books and stories and series books and stories. One advantage I’m finding with the stand-alone books/stories is that it’s easier to move on. Rather like the emotional difference between a brief fling and a long-term relationship. Note that this has nothing to do with either the quality or the emotional impact of a stand-alone book versus a series on the reader. I’m talking more about the length of time one spends in the headspace of a particular character or set of characters, and then one day, poof, you know you’re not going to be going there anymore. That’s the effect on the writer.

Some of you may have read a couple of my Eli Mothersbaugh ghost hunter stories. I wrote the first one, “Wrecks,” back in 1996. I wrote the last one (or rather I finished the last one, since it went through several iterations), “Diva,” in 2006. I’d spent ten years in Eli’s head, and when I finally realized that the story I was revising for the umpteenth time was going to be the last one, it was more than a little depressing. See, I liked Eli, and I liked reading about what he’d been up to, which was why I was writing those stories in the first place. Or to paraphrase The Most Interesting Man in the World (srysly?), “I don’t always write series, but when I do, they are not open-ended.” There’s always an overall story arc, even if I don’t realize what it is from the beginning. I finally realized that “Diva,” had left Eli in a good place, and he wasn’t inclined to budge from it. I haven’t written a new one in five years, so I must have been right.

Knowing where I’ve been, series wise, tells me where I’m going. The Laws of Power series, currently including The Long Look and Black Kath’s Daughter should eventually reach to four books, but that’s it. When I write the last one, Marta’s story will be told. I know I’ll grieve a little when that happens, since I’ve been writing about the character since 1994. The same thing will happen eventually with Lord Yamada. I’ll reach a point when I’ll know I’m done–or that he’s done–and that will be that. And it’s going to hurt a little when that happens. Yes, I know that none of those characters are real, but they were as real as I could make them.

The end has to sting at least a little bit, or I didn’t do my job.

Nice Surprises and Not Surprises

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Taylor312e-caseIn general I’m not a big fan of surprises, as they’re more likely to be nasty than nice in my experience. But every now and then…. On Saturday I was doing some of the finishing work on our hall bath (long story, and even longer process). Carol had gotten out of the house rather than strangle a contractor, and when she returned that afternoon she had a surprise for me.

That’s it in the picture. A Taylor 312e Grand Concert. I did have a decent acoustic but I’d realized the size wasn’t a good fit for me and I was looking with lustful eyes at a used Martin Custom and a Taylor Mini GS, but the Martin had sold and it was out of my price range anyway. The Taylors I’d tried had a bright, chiming tone that appealed to me as much or more than the warmer Martins. I had some writing money coming so I was thinking of the Mini GS, but then my darling wife beat me to the punch with this beauty, which is a few steps further up the line and cost over twice what the Mini GS would have. I had to ask her why, and she just said, paraphrase, “You settle too often. You deserve a good guitar.” Not really, not yet. I don’t deserve her, either. Life isn’t fair, and as often as not that’s a good thing.

In the category of Not a Surprise, To Break the Demon Gate has been pushed back to May. Of course, I only know this because of the Forthcoming  Books section of Locus Magazine. What? You don’t think they tell the writers these things, do you? Silly people.

Also in the NAS (not a surprise, or at least not to me) category, I’ve sold another—and at the moment, only—Yamada story to Beneath Ceaseless Skies. The only odd thing about that was this story had already sold to Weird Tales for their fairy-tale issue a couple of years ago, then became unsold. This doesn’t happen very often, and usually because the venue in question has died (lost one, for example, when Realms of Fantasy ended). Not this time, and in a circumstance I hope never repeats. Regardless, I’m glad I found a new home for it. It’ll probably be published this year, but maybe not until fall.

I need to write a movie review of a very odd Japanese fantasy flick. Maybe next time. If my fingers ever recover from practicing barre chords.

Attached to the World, Attached to Things

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PeaveyBodyI managed another 1000 words on the third in the Laws of Power sequence, working title Power’s Shadow, knowing all the while I may be interrupted to work on something more pressing. I’m at the point in the book where I know what has to happen, but no clue how it’s going to happen. I’ll just follow my characters until they sort it out. They always do, but one problem with completely optional projects is that you can’t give them priority, but I have no doubt I’ll get it finished…eventually. I hope to do so while anyone still cares about it other than me, but I don’t pretend to know if that will happen.

Case in point, over the weekend I was working on another story, revising after an editor’s notes and checking line edits. Contracts aren’t signed yet—one of the joys of working on spec—but I’m reasonably sure I’ll have something to announce before too long on that one. The story, even though it falls earlier in its particular timeline, feels a bit like completing a cycle. I’m not sure what comes next with that series and it’s got me a little down.

Also suffering from a bad case of GAS (that’s Gear Acquisition Syndrome. What’d you think I meant?) I have a Crafter AE mini-jumbo acoustic guitar (yeah, I know that’s an oxymoron. Right up there with “jumbo shrimp.”) It’s a great guitar, but now that I’m getting a little more experience I realize that the body depth is just a bit too much, and is never going to be comfortable for me to play. I’m gazing with lustful eyes on a used Martin custom. Gaze is all I can do at the moment. I’m also looking at the Taylor mini GS(very good and more affordable), and the Larrivee OM3R(very good and less affordable). Not that I have to decide right away, since at the moment I don’t have the scratch for any of them, especially the Martin. But a guy can dream.

From Kudzu to Shizu, Part 2

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chaOf Horses and Heaven

We left the Marquis Yi display and entered an area that was decorated in the style of a room in a royal tomb complex. It was square, symbolizing Earth, while the adjoining room was round, symbolizing Heaven. In the square room were a mixture of artifacts from several different periods. There was the Dragon and Phoenix crown of an Empress (Ming dynasty 1368-1644 A.D.) done with gold figures attached to a headdress made of kingfisher feathers lacquered and appliqued. The effect was a lot like turquoise or lapis, which is what I thought it was made of at first. This way the effect is the same and it’s much lighter, which I assume the Empress would appreciate during those long courts. Continue reading →