I don't post my political speculations here often because they're most likely too wild for you guys, but recent developments have been beyond sickening. And the more I think about the implications, the more disgusted I get.
As many of you know upwards of 1500 children detained by ICE have gone missing, many of them sold to sex traffickers.
I recently had a horrifying thought: What if the rest were sold for their meat?
Normally I would think such a concern was batshit, but as bad as things are, I fear there is no such thing as too low. After all, if you'd sell a child to a pimp, you'd sell them to a butcher, right? Maybe it's time we start examining the supply chains of the food we're eating for evidence of cannibalism. Just in case.
But this is an extreme statement, isn't it? A hot take? A provocative statement that doesn't stand to reason? Even the Nazis didn't sell people for meat! They did awful things but they didn't do that! But you know what? I'm pretty sure the Nazis didn't sell children to sex traffickers either. Maybe they did but it's not something I'm aware of. So we can establish that this government is possessed of a depravity beyond that of the Third Reich. There is no bottom any more; they'll do anything for a buck.
And guess what? SESTA has made it easier for those human traffickers to hide! The bill that was supposed to prevent human trafficking has, in fact, forced the industry into the underworld where it already had a sizable presence. You can still buy slaves on the Dark Web.
So not only did they sell children to traffickers, they also passed bills to make it easier for the crooks to get away with it. And lest we forget, SESTA had resounding bipartisan support. Perhaps one or two out-of-touch idiots voted for it thinking it was an altruistic measure but how many of them voted for it knowing FULL WELL it would benefit the child sex trade? To quote Cicero, Cui Bono? Who benefits?
Again, I say, why wouldn't they stoop lower? Why wouldn't they try to trick us into cannibalism? Can you look at the stark facts of this situation and tell me with a straight face we're not well on our way toward eating children?
Monday, May 28, 2018
Friday, May 25, 2018
2018 Coyotl Awards
I'm excited to announce that the anthology Arcana has won a Coyotl award!
My short story "St. John's Bridge" was featured in this anthology.
Congratulations to Madison Scott-Clary and to everyone else who pulled this anthology together!
Interested? Buy a copy here:
http://thurstonhowlpub.storenvy.com/products/22227398-arcana-a-tarot-anthology
My short story "St. John's Bridge" was featured in this anthology.
Congratulations to Madison Scott-Clary and to everyone else who pulled this anthology together!
Interested? Buy a copy here:
http://thurstonhowlpub.storenvy.com/products/22227398-arcana-a-tarot-anthology
Monday, May 21, 2018
An Announcement About The Linen Butterfly
So I found out today about an SF series that actually has a lot in common with "The Linen Butterfly." I was over with my friend, Madison Scott-Clary (a talented writer and the editor of the anthology "Arcana," which features one of my short stories) and she mentioned it. It's called "Otherland" by Tad Williams. It was similar enough when I read the synopsis I got kinda nervous.
In particular I was struck by the WWI imagery. I had included that in "The Linen Butterfly" for my own reasons and had no idea someone had already done a very similar story that had WWI scenes. Though in the case of "The Linen Butterfly" it serves a different role in the plot. The biggest difference I can see is that "The Linen Butterfly" doesn't involve moving between worlds quite as much. The characters aren't seeking something from outside their virtual world either (at least not initially). They're very much caught up in it.
I also doubt that Williams incorporated imagery from Sethian gnosticism. But I could be wrong as at this time I've only read a synopsis.
So I will concede that "The Linen Butterfly" is very similar. So similar that if I had known about the existence of "Otherland" I would have written it quite a bit differently. But I have honed the story so much that if I were to change it now, I'd have to rewrite from scratch. I've already done this once and I don't fancy having to do it again.
I will release "The Linen Butterfly." But I will also include some ackowledgment of Williams' work as someone who had me beat by quite a few years.
In particular I was struck by the WWI imagery. I had included that in "The Linen Butterfly" for my own reasons and had no idea someone had already done a very similar story that had WWI scenes. Though in the case of "The Linen Butterfly" it serves a different role in the plot. The biggest difference I can see is that "The Linen Butterfly" doesn't involve moving between worlds quite as much. The characters aren't seeking something from outside their virtual world either (at least not initially). They're very much caught up in it.
I also doubt that Williams incorporated imagery from Sethian gnosticism. But I could be wrong as at this time I've only read a synopsis.
So I will concede that "The Linen Butterfly" is very similar. So similar that if I had known about the existence of "Otherland" I would have written it quite a bit differently. But I have honed the story so much that if I were to change it now, I'd have to rewrite from scratch. I've already done this once and I don't fancy having to do it again.
I will release "The Linen Butterfly." But I will also include some ackowledgment of Williams' work as someone who had me beat by quite a few years.
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Doubt And The Writer
My lingering doubts about my writing:
1. That my stylistic refinements aren't as refined as I think they are.
2. That my stories are boring to everyone except me.
3. That my ideas lack imagination and originality.
4. That my delivery is too pedestrian.
Sticking your neck out as an author while you still have these kinds of doubts is stressful, and finding out you were right about any of them can be crushing. But the only way to get anywhere is to take the chance.
The sad truth of the matter is there's someone, somewhere, sitting on a better story than mine and they're not getting it out there (or not even writing it in the first place) because they have no confidence. So I have to suck it in and take the niche they didn't fill. At least, that's the writer's gambit: that the audacity to be heard is an undervalued asset that will pay off one day. I imagine everyone who wants to work in this field as a real profession thinks along these lines at some point in their development.
But self-doubt and impostor syndrome are brutal and they don't let you go easily. Putting your work out there when you're a sensitive person is tough going. You have to be resilient and learn to only listen to the criticism that helps you improve. Any criticism that doesn't help you improve is just going to stress you out. It's not worth it. Move along and remind yourself you can't please everyone no matter how good you are.
But- and this is a big caution- there is a lot to learn from criticism and even harsh criticism can be worth its weight in gold. The best writers are sadder but wiser. Don't dismiss criticism right away as useless. Sit on it. Think about it. Ask yourself if it can be applied. Sometimes it'll take years for it to click and when it does it's like a light bulb clicking on.
You'll always be your own harshest critic though. I know I'm my own. I still look at my own work and wonder why I can't write something like some of the other writers I know. You know, the good ones.
1. That my stylistic refinements aren't as refined as I think they are.
2. That my stories are boring to everyone except me.
3. That my ideas lack imagination and originality.
4. That my delivery is too pedestrian.
Sticking your neck out as an author while you still have these kinds of doubts is stressful, and finding out you were right about any of them can be crushing. But the only way to get anywhere is to take the chance.
The sad truth of the matter is there's someone, somewhere, sitting on a better story than mine and they're not getting it out there (or not even writing it in the first place) because they have no confidence. So I have to suck it in and take the niche they didn't fill. At least, that's the writer's gambit: that the audacity to be heard is an undervalued asset that will pay off one day. I imagine everyone who wants to work in this field as a real profession thinks along these lines at some point in their development.
But self-doubt and impostor syndrome are brutal and they don't let you go easily. Putting your work out there when you're a sensitive person is tough going. You have to be resilient and learn to only listen to the criticism that helps you improve. Any criticism that doesn't help you improve is just going to stress you out. It's not worth it. Move along and remind yourself you can't please everyone no matter how good you are.
But- and this is a big caution- there is a lot to learn from criticism and even harsh criticism can be worth its weight in gold. The best writers are sadder but wiser. Don't dismiss criticism right away as useless. Sit on it. Think about it. Ask yourself if it can be applied. Sometimes it'll take years for it to click and when it does it's like a light bulb clicking on.
You'll always be your own harshest critic though. I know I'm my own. I still look at my own work and wonder why I can't write something like some of the other writers I know. You know, the good ones.
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Current Project Status
The Linen Butterfly-Novel - Completed Penultimate stylistic revision (submitting today)
The Saboteur- Short Story- Submitted March 26- Pending
Closing Time- Short Story- Submitted April 30- Pending
The Saboteur- Short Story- Submitted March 26- Pending
Closing Time- Short Story- Submitted April 30- Pending
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Merry Christmas
My dreams are full of frightening omens and I'm very nervous about my upcoming surgery.
But for today and tomorrow, I don't have to worry yet. Tonight I'm going back to the church I left months ago for a midnight mass, then tomorrow I'll be cooking my usual Christmas feast to share with my husband Kobi and a new friend we've made in the trials of this year.
Be joyful. Life is short and we seldom live it fully. Merry Christmas.
But for today and tomorrow, I don't have to worry yet. Tonight I'm going back to the church I left months ago for a midnight mass, then tomorrow I'll be cooking my usual Christmas feast to share with my husband Kobi and a new friend we've made in the trials of this year.
Be joyful. Life is short and we seldom live it fully. Merry Christmas.
The Linen Butterfly- PREVIEW!
The bad news is, DAW didn't want my work.
The good news is, because my usual publisher is much more accommodating, I can share this with you!
Here is my Christmas gift to everyone who has put up with my nonsense over the last year!
This preview contains the first three chapters of the novel, which should give you some idea of what to expect without spoiling anything.
I have yet to nail down a release date for this book and the final draft may differ *somewhat* from the text presented here, but this is about as revised and refined as I could get it on my own.
From the cover copy:
Meet Arthur Carrick, Duke of Upcaster. He and his retainer, Sir Balthasar, are fighting to save his dukedom from a scheming courtier, except...
...they're not. The real Arthur and Balthasar are in suspended animation in a cutting-edge immersive virtual reality lab in Seattle, Washington in the year 2036.
Now it's sink or swim as they navigate the treacherous waters of courtly intrigue amid traitors, schemers, and the Beziards, a heretical sect winning converts among the nobility. They believe their world was created by an evil or insane god.
One thing's for sure: The lab's owner, Ted Ducasse, is no saint. He's created a World War I simulator that has bled into the other sims. Now the lab's lead tech, Isa Chetal, fights to keep control of the project she started before someone gets killed for real.
It's happened before.
Lies, greed, quantum computing, and medieval heresy collide under the ominous shadow of World War One in The Linen Butterfly.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jcag2cnctq30-qO_GP5aOo_7NjDDrtxj/view?usp=sharing
The good news is, because my usual publisher is much more accommodating, I can share this with you!
Here is my Christmas gift to everyone who has put up with my nonsense over the last year!
This preview contains the first three chapters of the novel, which should give you some idea of what to expect without spoiling anything.
I have yet to nail down a release date for this book and the final draft may differ *somewhat* from the text presented here, but this is about as revised and refined as I could get it on my own.
From the cover copy:
Meet Arthur Carrick, Duke of Upcaster. He and his retainer, Sir Balthasar, are fighting to save his dukedom from a scheming courtier, except...
...they're not. The real Arthur and Balthasar are in suspended animation in a cutting-edge immersive virtual reality lab in Seattle, Washington in the year 2036.
Now it's sink or swim as they navigate the treacherous waters of courtly intrigue amid traitors, schemers, and the Beziards, a heretical sect winning converts among the nobility. They believe their world was created by an evil or insane god.
One thing's for sure: The lab's owner, Ted Ducasse, is no saint. He's created a World War I simulator that has bled into the other sims. Now the lab's lead tech, Isa Chetal, fights to keep control of the project she started before someone gets killed for real.
It's happened before.
Lies, greed, quantum computing, and medieval heresy collide under the ominous shadow of World War One in The Linen Butterfly.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jcag2cnctq30-qO_GP5aOo_7NjDDrtxj/view?usp=sharing
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