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Ashes to Ashes, Stardust to Stardust

A beta reader for my Novel-in-Stories, tentatively titled HEADED FOR THE STARS, sent me the following article, which is the perfect intersection of what that’s about, and what I do.

https://www.chron.com/news/strange-weird/article/Disposing-of-dead-bodies-in-space-is-serious-7383393.php

Even on Earth, death is an uncomfortable subject. And in space, where even the smallest incident can cause astronomical stress, death seems unimaginable. I’m not going to reveal if someone in my work in progress dies or not, but in either case, I find this article, and the very practical solution, fascinating, and I hope you do, too!

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Helium on my mind

I’ve been working on this novel for so long, I can’t even tell you how long helium has been on my mind.

In fact, when I first started my latest project, it was intended to just be a simple short story. I liked the whole idea — the whole universe — I had created, that I set out to write more stories that took place on the ship I named the Jules Janssen, a fractional distillery ship 10.6 light years from Earth, on a mission to mine helium from exoplanets around the star Epsilon Eridani.

Now, however many years later, I have a nearly completed draft of a Novel-in-Stories based on a very basic idea:

The world is running out of helium.

And it is. Sort of.

Even though I’m in the editing stages, I always find that returning to my research can offer motivation and sometimes a new perspective on what I’m writing.

In 2021, I hope to explore the scientific ideas behind this Novel-in-Stories, tentatively titled HEADED FOR THE STARS, and I’ll be presenting them here.

https://www.zmescience.com/other/feature-post/helium-shortage-geology-feature-08082020/

Enjoy!

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CONvergence Wrap-Up

Fourth of July weekend I attended CONvergence in Downtown Minneapolis. If you’re not familiar with it, CONvergence is the area’s largest Science Fiction and Fantasy convention. It was my first CONvergence, and I was there mostly alone, so it was a bit overwhelming! But I did find the majority of my interactions pleasant and the programming that I attended fun and informative. 

The main reason I attended was so I could perform a reading of my short story The Harder They Fall as part of the new Wordslinger’s Way. I signed up for it as a way to take myself out of my comfort zone and also was hoping to connect with other writers and people in the industry. 

The reading went well, and I passed out about 20 business cards total. Over the next week, my website had 8 new, distinct hits, so I’m calling the whole thing a success! 

I hope to have some publishing news coming up soon, so look for that.

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2019 Spoiler Alert!

Just a quick note to catch up and let you know some writing-type news!

First, I’m hoping to announce details on not one but two upcoming publications in the summer and in the fall.

Second, I will be reading a short story LIVE at CONvergence in Minneapolis the first weekend of July. If any of you are planning on going this year, look for details regarding that on my Facebook or Twitter page. I’m really getting out of my comfort zone with this one.

In conjunction with that, I will be promoting my work in progress, a novel-in-stories science fiction piece called I’m Sitting on a Sunbeam and Other Stories. One week before CONvergence I will be posting to this website the first 4000 words of that novel, so if you’re curious what I’ve been working on, check back then to see. And let me know what you think!

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The Anatomy of a Spacecraft

Happy 2019!

My 2019 is off to a creative start. Like other writers, I have goals for this year and some of them are lofty. I had lofty goals last year, too, and didn’t complete a few, but when I look back on 2018 I can see that I made some good strides with my writing so have no regrets moving into the new year.

My current project is a sci-fi novel told in 6 separate but connected stories that I’m calling “I’m Sitting on a Sunbeam.” As I make my way through these stories in the coming months I’ll be sharing pictures and science articles that relate to this work on my Twitter and Facebook accounts as well as here on this blog, so if you’re interested in a glimpse into my mind, look there!

I hope each person reading this finds the peace to move on from 2018 and the strength to move forward into 2019 with the dedication that comes from loving what you’re doing!

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A writer enters a studio . . .

Last week, I recorded myself reading one of my short stories for The Other Stories Podcast.

I guess I’ve always thought of writing in this solitary way. It’s me and my computer and my post-its and my thoughts. And sure, I bounce those thoughts off of trusted friends, but, generally speaking, my writing exists in my head. Reading it out loud to an audience–even just my audience of two–made me remember when I was in New York two years ago, listening to my short story More Class Than Custard being read by actor Michael Petrocelli for Liars’ League NYC. I sat there petrified as he read, my mind ping-ponging between amazement at the way he read my characters and mortification at the audience’s response. I remembered thinking, “That’s not how I hear that character . . .” etc, and here was my chance to get it right!

But I’m not really sure I did get it right, even as the writer.

I felt, perhaps more critically than necessary, that the writing came out stilted. I noticed painful repetitions of sentence structures. I noticed parts of the story that just, honestly, didn’t work.

I’ve always made a point of reading out loud certain drafts of short stories, especially when I feel like they are almost ready to send out into the world, but reading in a whispered monotone to myself is a very different experience than reading in a studio with a mic up to my face and two men sitting by listening for me to flub a line so they can stop recording.

It was still a fun experience, and I want to thank my friend Garth and his Del-Fi bandmate Steve for letting me steal their practice time in the advancement of my own art! More details on when that podcast will go live to follow in the next few weeks.

 

 

 

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2018 March in Review, April in Preview

I felt like March was not the most productive of months. I stopped noting my progress of words. I gave up on a project. Started a new one. Edited an old one. But I couldn’t escape the feeling that I was running in place all month–and I really haven’t been able to shake that feeling all year.

Last year, when I was up at the Madeline Island School of the Arts, I met a lovely woman, D., who was working on a marathon memoir. We instantly connected on the week long retreat and we have kept in monthly, if not weekly, touch every since then.

It’s been fun having someone to share my ups and downs with, and to cheer on as they complete their own book journey.

For my March in review, and really for my 2018 in review, I am going to share the sweetest thing I’ve received from a woman I barely know. I was complaining to her that I hadn’t felt motivated, and this was what she responded:

“No doubt about it lack of sunshine is why our energy levels are low. I admire you for your choice to change aspects of your lifestyle that you are not happy with. So many people just talk about it but you actually put in a lot of work to make it happen. The application processes for those MFA programs in my opinion were intense. And not only did you follow through, but you also did the NaNo Write while job searching and made progress on your mystery novel by changing the POV. And you also edited pieces for others. And you have pieces that were selected for publication. You are an author.
Alongside your writing, you started a new job. Working in a service industry dealing with people going through a variety of emotions after the death of their family member, has got to be using up writing energy. Perhaps a bunch of continuous sunny days will help some. Here’s hoping Spring comes soon.”

 

Seeing my year in that way made me feel like maybe I haven’t been spinning my wheels? Maybe D is right and some sun will do us all good! See you in May! Happy writing!