Have been watching the long (three hours and 12 minutes) 1963 film version of Cleopatra, staring the scintillating and dynamic Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. According to the Wikipedia entry, the film was the only film to be the highest-grossing film of the year, yet still ran at a loss and nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox. It won four Academy Awards, and was nominated for five more. Despite production and cast problems, it still holds…
Yes works in progress. That’s plural. Which is perhaps more a reflection of a scattered mind than an organized one, but there you have it. I sent Caliban to a colleague for editing. She came back with a ream of suggestions. So I am now in the process of yet another revision, with better focus on the problems in the novel and how to address those. Part of that process is letting go, of opening another door…
Seems to be I can only manage one post a month. My apologies, dear reader. Writing of The Rose Guardian continues slowly but positively. I’m so close to finishing the first draft, perhaps by close of year. I’m very happy with how the characters have developed, particularly Vi, my protagonist. It has been a challenge writing three separate stories, meshing them so the stories flow as a cohesive whole. Fine tuning of that will happen…
My dark speculative fiction short, At Union, appears in volume 5 of Postscripts to Darkness this month. cover art byCherry Valance The story is about a train a father meets at Toronto’s Union Station, hoping to find his daughter who died of leukemia. The gang at PstDarkness are hosting a launch on July 31, which happens to be the day after my birthday, in Ottawa, at the Raw Sugar Cafe. Some of the authors appearing…
Recently a colleague from SFCanada posted a link to a review site which published an article, entitled Is genre fiction creating a market for lemons, about the rise of self-publishing and the proliferation of reader reviews. Despite being intelligently written, I’m afraid it hit the Taz button for me. You know, the Taz — Tasmanian Devil, the misunderstood growly beastie. Why? Well, here’s why: I am heartily weary of this discussion, that somehow self-publishers, or small…
Over the years I’ve read my fair share of how-to books on the subject of writer’s craft, scoured magazine articles discussing the particulars of writing scintillating dialogue, taken workshops with established authors in the hopes of finding the formula for creating that perfect novel. There are quite literally thousands of books on the subject, from the dos and don’ts, to world-building, character-creating, genre writing, motivation, and every facet and nuance you can imagine, some written…
Received an email this afternoon from Ranylt Richildis, Fiction Editor at Postscripts to Darkness, with the edited copy of the short story I’ve sold to them, At Union. Just a few very small tweaks required. I’m a bit embarrassed I didn’t see those flaws myself, but I suppose it’s a simple case of that forest and tree thing. Anyway, seems the crew at Postscripts are hard at work putting together Volume 5, and my story…
Despite all my bluster chivvying authors into brave faces, preaching that the un-achievable is attainable, when it comes to my own career as an author I tend to shrink back into the shadows. I have no idea why I do that. But I do. Always have. Call it a character flaw. However, every now and again I emerge from my cave, or shell, or whatever, and decide, HEY! I can DO THIS! And I summon…
Recently a dear friend and colleague (Robert Runte) and I were discussing the craft of writing, which happened concurrently with a similar discussion I was having with my husband, Gary. In particular we discussed story genesis, and how to create meaningful environment detail and description in literature. For example, I mentioned to Robert a story on which I’m presently working, that all I had so far was mood (eeriness) and one element (an owl). He…
It was a pleasant way to start the day, I must say. Opened my email to find correspondence from Sean Moreland at Postscripts to Darkness 5, in which he stated “We unanimously love At Union.” So, the story is sold to the anthology. Not sure as yet about the publication date. Very gratified about the sale because it seems the editorial team there are all about discovering the literary in genre fiction. Sounds like a…