Well, not exactly.
The main character in my fantasy story Bottled Up is an imp, not a genie. Taxonomy is important – I am a paleontologist, you see.
But the story sold anyway, to a Canadian anthology.
So this makes two short stories sold in one day.
And for this one I have already signed the contract.
I am incredibly happy. I might get used to this sort of thing, I think.
Category Archives: Writing
Weird, and Western
… or the other way around.
I always said I would have liked to write a weird western.
Well, I did it.
And I sold it to an anthology.
The story is called Hank’s Ghosts.
I will not say more until the contract is signed, but looks like the editor liked it.
And to celebrate, tonight I’ll write another short story: I just realized that the Japanese expression “henna gaijin” means “strange foreign guy” but also, by extension, might be translated sometimes as“weird western guy”.
I’m sure there’s a plot in here somewhere…
Uncharted
Uncharted is both the title of a series of digital games I would have loved to play but never did due to hardware shortcomings and the title of a song I like a lot. This post has nothing to do with either of them (but the song is actually playing in the background as I write this).
In three days it will be the 8th of May, and the third anniversary of my father’s death. The date also marks the moment I became a full-time writer, after a few years spent as a geologist that wrote stories in his spare time. The reason for the shift: no money in the bank, no work, writing to pay the bills turned out to be the only way to keep going.
These three years have been for me a journey through an uncharted territory. I did not have a plan, when I started checking publishers while putting out self-published stories using a variety of aliases, following the old pulp standard of being a lot of people, so I’ll be able to sell more.
Continue readingGoing wild
While with my brother we were on the hunt for the field mice that have taken residence in the darker corners of our house, and while we were trying to ascertain if it is a hedgehog or something larger that has been raiding our trash bin, the local news informed us that the number of sheep and fallow deer attacked by wolves in our area is increasing.
The countryside is going wild.
Continue readingThe pinball effect
On the 19th of October 1903, at the Princess Theater in Manchester (UK), Ellen Terry opened as Beatrice in Bill Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing, that happens to be one of my two favorite Shakespearean plays, but this is another story.
Admittedly, a Beatrice somewhat long in the tooth, considering that Terry was born in 1847 and was therefore 56 years old at the time.
This bit of information is particularly interesting because I am writing a story – called The Adventure of the Manchester Mummies – set (also) in Manchester in the late autumn of 1903 – and knowing that Ellen Terry was in town with a Shakespeare play has absolutely nothing to do with the story I am writing, and I doubt I will ever use the information, but is the sort of strange fact that surfaces while one is looking for something completely different – train timetables, in this case.
Continue readingBook Day
Today is the international book day, or so I am told – good internet practices require a blog post about the joy of books. The book that changed your life, the first book you read, the book you hate, the book you are reading right now…
And yet, it’s not like we never talk about books hereabouts.
Today, on the other hand, I was discussing with a friend and she asked me Why?
More specifically: Why do you write?
And it turns out that when you write, at least part of the reason has to do with why you read – and why other people read. So it fits perfectly the book day theme. And the answer to the question is not so simple.
Weird Western, First Draft
My weird western story is done, in first draft: two sessions, about four hours, 1600 words – which is fine, considering the call is for stories between 1000 and 5000. This call was different than usual, because it asked for a story to fit a pre-existing setting – it came with a set of characters, a place, a bit of background.
It’s hard, but I like working this way, once in a while – it’s a good exercise, it’s good for discipline.
Also, considering the proposed rate of payment, I needed to make it fast, or it would become anti-economic.
I guess I did it.
Now I’ll let it rest for the night, and have a go at it tomorrow morning – a little editing, and an extra 200/300 words because there is a point I know needs some expanding for both structural and narrative reasons. I’ll add a scene, and balance the story. Add some flavor too.
Maybe 150 words to cut, also.
And I’ll need to find it a title.
And then it’s off to the editor, and fingers crossed.
It’s not my usual kind of story, but it has potential.
All I can do is wait and see.
But it’s been a good day, despite the rough dinner and the day-long wind and rain.
Karavansara 