An Obscure Hobby

I try not to collect anything. I hate clutter. The only thing I collect are WWI books. The Great War is my main focus, and one day I'd like to teach a class on it, as well as write books about the conflict. My goal is to publish a history of the Battle of Gallipoli in 2015, the 100th anniversary of the campaign. As for the books, I have about 200. Mostly they're all in boxes until I get my two story private library with a winding staircase. My dream home library will also have plush chairs, and I'll sit and read in my smoking jacket, whilst sipping sherry from a crystal goblet and drawing on a meerschaum pipe.

And All For What???

Spent the last month tweaking this story, but finally I'm onto the third draft phase. Called The King's Golden Soldiers. I know, I know, I'm not a big fan of the title, either. 8100 words of pure fantasy goodness.

Favorite Markets

My sister was asking me what venues I'd like to see my stories published in, and it got me thinking. Of course, I'd like to make a pro-sale, but to me the quality of some magazines is so high, that having my story appear there would be quite inspiring to me as a writer. These are some of the magazines where I'd like my stories to appear, by no means a complete list.
-Futurismic, perhaps my favorite e-zine. The stories are top notch and have featured some of my favorite writers, such as Lavie Tidhar, Genevieve Valentine, Eric del Carlo, and Jason Stoddard. (if you don't know who Lavie Tidhar is--shame! shame on you!)
-Sybil's Garage. A small print mag. Run by Matthew Kressel, an esteemed author in his own right.
-Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Love the stories here.
-And many, many more...

Distillation

Finished another story, called The Distillation of Albert Penny. This one I would classify as Bizarro Sci-Fi. Sort of an experimental piece, but I enjoy pushing myself to write something outside my comfort zone. Took a real long time to write, and I probably went through a half-dozen drafts trying to get the right tone. At least I finished playing Mass Effect 2, so I have more time to focus on getting real world stuff done...

Nascence

I'm working on a number of stories at the moment. One of the problems I run into, is I often switch between stories, which requires an even bigger leap between genres, while at the same time maintaining the necessary literary tone of each story, whether it be humorous, dark, or mundane. Sometimes this precipitates a curious amalgam of writing styles, as well as me referring to characters by the wrong name (i.e. taking my fantasy story knight, and throwing him into a world dominated by translucent, incorrigible aliens called Forkies). It's probably not the best habit, but if I get bored with one story, I have to leave it be, or else the plot progression becomes so banal I think of trunking the whole thing. I'm currently writing two stories, and figuring out a third in my head. The latter being my favorite, as I think my stories always work better in theory than in reality. I'm getting real acquainted with procrastination at the moment. I have to finish this story...but I think I'm going to play Mass Effect 2 instead.

Illusions of Lorelant

Just received word that my short story Illusions of Lorelant will be published in the December, 2010 issue of Aofie's Kiss. Incredibly excited to hear that news. Many thanks to Tyree Campbell, the editor over at Sam's Dot Publishing. Illusions of Lorelant is a 7100 word fantasy story. One of those stories that wrote itself in only three days. Wish they were all that easy!