A dead soldier: on the nature of haunting

I have decided to declare Gossamer Yellow a dead soldier and publish it here at A Moving Line.

It hasn’t been everywhere but it has been read enough — and returned — to suggest to me that I either need to pull it or do a major rewrite. I’m pleased with it just the way it is and so I’m going to let it be.

The six or so editors who read it all said pretty much the same thing — it’s well-written but it starts too slow. One even went so far as to say, “absolutely nothing happens until the piece is half over.”

It’s difficult to be objective about your babies, but when that many people say the same thing, it’s probably true. And I have to consider that the same thing may be the case with Orbital Decay.

They are both reflective pieces that examine the nature of a shared life occurence.

In Orbital Decay, Frank is forced to face an insurmountable shortcoming, something that anyone with dreams and ambitions may face at some point in their life.

In Gossamer Yellow, Chelsea sees a ghost, a claim that many people have made, and she cannot convince others that her experience is real.   The story suggests that ghosts may not always be dead, at least not in the physical sense.

So I’m offering it to you to read. If you do, let me know what you think.

The kid in murky depths

The 8th issue of the British speculative fiction magazine, Murky Depths, is on sale now.  Shipping will begin this week and my flash fiction, Nosing with the Four-Stroke Kid, is in there.

As my Brit friends, Jon and Sarah, would say, I am chuffed about this one. I haven’t seen it yet, my author copies are in the mail, but I’ve seen previous issues of the magazine and presentation is first rate.

I have also seen work done by artist Neil Struthers, who is illustrator for my story, and he has a great Mad Max-Biker Chic style that fits perfectly with the Four-Stroke Kid.

The story is about chrome spikes and black leather and dirt bikes and over-weaning curiosity. I am hoping, after reading my tale, that you will never see another dirt bike or hear another diesel engine without thinking about the Four-Stroke Kid.

I’ll tell you more when I get my hands on the book. I can hardly wait.

Kindling the flame

My friend Gay tipped me off to an article in The Wall Street Journal today.  How the E-Book Will Change the Way We Read and Write takes a look at the Kindle, Amazon’s new electronic “book”.

It’s an interesting read.

I’ve been considering buying a Kindle since last summer but haven’t done so — so far.  The only real reason I haven’t is purely financial, and has nothing to do with the cost of the device.

If I lose one book, I don’t have to rebuild my entire library. If I lose my Kindle, I would.  That’s not because I have any special feeling for those books, though.

I have talked to people who tell me that they collect books because they love the way those pages feel and smell and look.  I buy books because of the stories they contain.  I rarely read non-fiction and when I do, it is almost always about story-telling.

That’s what I love — stories.

I am an addict.  And I see Kindle as a way to get my regular fix without having to tote eight million pounds of paper and ink around behind me, like some sort of Jacob Marley.

Now if Amazon just comes up with some way to protect my library on-line; I’m willing to pay some reasonable fee for that.  I hate packing books and lugging them around, every time I move.

Maybe they already have; I should Google it, huh?

At fear and trembling

I’ve got a piece of flash,  Hostel Intent, over at Fear and Trembling today.  It’s tongue-in-cheek horror, set in a dormitory at an large and anonymous university somewhere in western Washington State.  Seattle, I think.

Yeah, definitely.  Seattle.  And it features the twenty-fifth Teerthankar of the Jain, a freshman from Idaho, with a most unfortunate name, and an assistant dorm proctor named Babbu.

Check it out — if you get a chance.  And may Shiva’s blessing go with you.

At everyday poets

My poem, Jab A Hook In, will be featured at Every Day Poets Friday.

It is, ostensively, about fishermen, but it has more to do with having a bit of fun with Deacon Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known to all as Lewis Carroll, and with his wonderful nonsense poem, Jabberwocky.

It was included in from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, which was published in 1872. You can read the original here.

Whatever else he may have been, the man was a genius with words.

Yes, Sir! It’s my first time

Friday, I got a painful rejection from Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.  I had such hopes for Deadman’s Drop, a swell tale of what one man will endure for love and revenge; it would have been my first sale to a professional-rates publication.

Today I got e-mail from Editor Jake Freivald, at Flash Fiction Online, accepting my flash, At Both Ends.  And guess who pays professional rates?

Yep!

At Both Ends presents a conversation at the multiplex — one of those casual chats struck up while waiting for your spouse, significant other or friend (pick one or more) to return from the restrooms, and it considers the balance between power and responsibility.

So, it would seem that I have at last nosed my way into the ranks of professional writers.  I’ll let you know when I get word on the publication date.  And unless you’re halfway around the world, you’ll hear my shout of joy the day it goes online.

Thank you very much, Jake!

Trying my hand at the publishing game

I haven’t told you yet about 10Flash.

10Flash is a new on-line flash fiction site that will specialize in genre stories — fantasy, horror, science fiction and suspense. Once each quarter, we will present ten pieces of flash fiction that share a common theme.

I am the editor and the first issue will go on-line July 1st, 2009. It’s a paying market, too; not much, because it’s coming out of my pocket, but still 0ne-two cents a word isn’t anything to sneeze at.

Submissions for the first issue is by invitation. Those have gone out and I’ve heard back from everyone. I’m encouraged by the response — eight said yes and two asked for a week or two to think about ideas. Two of the affirmatives have already submitted a story.

Of course, everyone and their second cousins are starting on-line magazines. I think what will make 10Flash special is that each issue is tied up by a theme thread. All the stories for the July issue, for example, will involve a librarian traveling in a foreign land.

Check out the site at 10Flash, if you like. I’d love to hear what you think.

Dealing with rejection

It is intriguing how a string of acceptances, even from smaller markets, can soften the impact of a single rejection, even from a major publication.

I received snail mail yesterday from Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, an envelope I have been waiting to get for 14 weeks.  Of course, I had been hoping that they would say they were buying Deadman’s Drop.  Instead, they said no thank you.

Eighteen months ago, that rejection would have been devastating, would have had me wondering if I should just pack up the word processor and give up trying to become a professional writer.  Today, it’s just frustrating.

Since last June, I have had 25 stories published, or accepted for publication, all at small press markets.  The only rejections I have received in six months have been from publications that pay professional rates.

It’s a tough egg to crack; I realize that.  Deadman’s Drop is a good story, I am certain it will be accepted when I send it off to a smaller publication.   But I wanted to see it in Ellery Queen.

Oh, well.  Time to get it ready to back out in the mail.

Blogging the flash

Have you had a chance to check out Every Day Fiction’s Flash Fiction Chronicles?

If not, you should.  It’s a blog devoted to the writing of flash fiction, edited by Gay Degani and written by flash fiction authors — including me.

Gay is one of my people; a diligent editor, a crafty writer and a fantastic first reader.

My second post, Tough Love: The Critique Group, showed up today.  Give it a read, if you will, and put the Chronicles on your list of regular stops.

A change of plans

There’s a great 1988 movie, starring Don Ameche and Joe Mantegna, called Things Change. It was written by the director, David Marmet, in collaboration with one of my favorite writers — Shel Silverstein.

The film has so many great lines, so well delivered, but one of my favorites is just five words long — six, if you count the contraction as two words.

“What’d you have in mind?”

On January 1, I posted Some Thoughts on Janus Day, a list of writing goals for the coming year. The major project I had in mind, just over three months ago, was to complete a science fiction novel, Northlands Chronicle, before the end of the year.

But, as Mamet’s film title says, things change.

I’ve been kicking around an idea for a time, a private eye noir set in Las Vegas; the working title is Concrete Lions. Not really much more than a situation, not really a story with a fully developed plot.

On Friday morning, I got one of those mental tickles and started to set down words; by yesterday afternoon I had the entire plot outlined. So, Lions is now a go, my major project for 2009.

I’ve updated the site to reflect that, including editing the original post and have 3,800 words complete — the first four chapters. And there is more on the way.

Northland Chronicle is just going to have to wait.