So I am back on the noveling road once more. 

This follows the first Wolf book, and now involves the goblin mafia. Fun times!



Date: 4/19/12-4/20/12*

Words: 1,556**

Mean Things: Fashion leads to notice, notice leads to hate, hate leads to bloodshed, and before you know it, there are four dead bodies on the ground. Awkward. 
  
Pretty Things:  The necromancy fans out, whetted at the death echoes. Wolf pulls it back sharp and hard.

Coming Soon... Realizing that you just pissed off one of the two most powerful mafia families in their backyard and have nowhere to run. 

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It is very satisfying to be writing on a novel project (or writing at all) once more. I finished a short story a few weeks ago and that was nice too. 

There should even be more metrics posts eventually!


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*I started a few days earlier, but I realized that opening was too prologue-ish and didn't fit, so I tucked it away in a scrap file and started over.
**On the bright side, I found a proto-opening I'd done back in January that I could scavenge from--especially the bulk of the fight scene. So that was nice.

I highly, highly recommend that it be "Scry" by Anne Ivy, in the 90th issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 

It's a gorgeous science fantasy, full of fabulous world building and powerful characters (Karnon Dae steals the show) and impeccable writing. *flails about in glee* It's just AMAZING. 

Probably hands down my favorite short story I've read this year--it is pure, undiluted awesomeness. 

(Also, in the interview? There are hints of a novel being written? I am already first in line for that!)

RIDE THE MOON has launched! (02/29/2012)

I'm terribly excited about this, you guys. It is bookday!

From the backcopy of the anthology:

For thousands of years, the Moon has inspired stories and legends about heroic animals, violent deities, and criminal humans. In modern times, those tales have been overshadowed by vampires and werewolves. It’s time for the Moon and her denizens to take back the night.

My story, "With the Sun and the Moon in His Eyes" is about the Stars, betrayed and cast down into the world alone, and the lengths he will go to in order to reclaim what he lost.
( Have a sample! )

RIDE THE MOON is available from Tyche Books directly, and you can also find it on Amazon and B&N or request it at local bookstores.

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ALSO, The King of Elfland's Second Cousin did a nice review here! *bounces*

I was tempted to title this: Everything I learned about voice, I learned from Scott McNeil. It’s not entirely the case, but it’s close.


So anyway.

As a young!Merc I was aware of voice acting. I listened to a lot of audiobooks, and my favorites were the full-cast dramatizations*. I knew people could do different character-voices. (We listened to a lot of Recorded Books from the library. Those narrators are amazing.) But it never really clicked that the auditory vocal skills I admired so much had a written counterpart (or that, you know, the dramatizations were read from text). Until I watched Beast Wars: Transformers.

Me: I want to do that thing that I’m seeing—creating distinct voices and characters, but with words!
Brain: PROCESSING.

It grew from there.
( in which there is not nearly as much babble as expected )



How about you? What are your thoughts on voice?

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*Oh, when I found Martin the Warrior by Brian Jacques on audio, I was convinced for a week that I was dreaming. FULL CAST AND THE AUTHOR NARRATING? HOW COULD THIS BE? I had only imagined such awesomeness, such fangirl-fulfilling joy. But it was real, and I was the happiest Merc EVER. I did not let those cassette tapes out of my sight for a month.

I was chatting with spartezda the other day about common elements in our stories. One of my... authorial tics is blinding characters. A lot. (Among other things. But let's be honest, the eye obsession is pretty prevalent.) She came up with what I have now adopted as my personal writing Demotivator:

Your Vision Will Be As Dark As the Ending

So true.

But this had me thinking about other thematic elements in my work. One common theme I've consciously noticed, and like to explore, is that of loneliness. (How does it affect you? What do you do about? What do you do to avoid being alone?)

Like my forthcoming story that'll be in the excellent RIDE THE MOON anthology at the end of February 2012. "With the Sun and the Moon in HIs Eyes" is about the devastating lengths the narrator goes to in order to reclaim a lost life and avoid being alone.

It's a theme and idea that resonates strongly with me (a narrative squid, for sure) and the different ways people do, or don't, handle loneliness/being alone/not being alone. The need for people to find connection and companionship, and how these relationships (or lack thereof) shape and develop someone, are endlessly fascinating to me.

(So are velociraptors. Now if you give me lonely velociraptors in a story, I WILL BE A VERY HAPPY MERC. Although I'll pretty much read/watch anything with velociraptors, period. I am very easy to please in some things.)

What are some of your pet themes in your work?

I'm keeping the New Year's goals simple and doable this year.



- I will keep track of stories I like when I read them. Added to that: I will, when possible, tell the author I liked their story--whether it's in the site comments, a tweet, email, etc. (You never know, you might just make an author's day with a small comment saying: "Hey, I liked your story!")

- There should be Movie Night at least once a week.

- I will totally buy more crayons and coloring books and color the hell out of them. (Because coloring books are the best! And I have forgotten how awesome they are.)

And that is all.

Happy New Year! :D

It was a slinky year. Started on a relatively high point, then cascaded down in a series of metal spirally springs, collapsing in on itself at the utter low-point. But then, because this is a magic slinky, it reversed and started going back up again! 

(Maybe the slinky analogy is not working so hot...)

Anyway. 2012 will be better. I have decreed it so.

A short recap of the year:

I read things! A few favorite books include Deceived by Paul S. Kemp, Mechanique by Genevieve Valentine, and Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones.

I read a lot of short fiction but was terrible of keeping track of any of it--still, there was a lot I liked in '11. [Note to self: keep a list from now on.] 

(I also read a lot of comics in a very short span of two months--you know, like Marvel's entire Ultimate X-Men series and spin-offs (X-Force, House of M, etc) and a handful of other things. Also webcomics.)

I watched things! Lots of movies, not quite as much TV (although I fell in love with Community... just in time to watch it fall into the renewal limbo), and I went to theater! (Namely: Les Miserables when it was here at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis. *swoon* The show was SO GOOD, you guys. It was an angreh!Les Miz, and it was awesome.)

I wrote things! Of a sort. (And I find I mostly don't want to talk about it yet, so. We shall leave it at: Merc wrote things.)

I did things! Such as the vacation to CA to visit spartezdaand Krispy and Jasmine! A splendid time. 

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It was an interesting year. Good days, bad days, mundane days, cracktastic days, squid days, lazy days, sick days, hopeful days. I'm weirded out that 2011 is over, but that's okay. Tomorrow, next year, will be better.

The ferrets wish you the best as well--they have made resolutions to steal fewer socks and remotes, just so you know! (We'll see how long that lasts. My bet: .02 minutes once the clock hits midnight.) 
[They were trying to deconstruct and take away the mini Christmas tree rather than sit still to get a picture in front of it. Figures.]

        Happy New Year, everyone. :)        

*dusts off her poor neglected lj and admires the size of the spiders lurking in the corners*

A few quick updates. 

- I have discovered Mike: Bookseller comic thanks to jill_dragon, and it is hands down one of the funniest things I have read in ages. (And SO TRUE. Anyone who has ever worked retail will understand.) Go read. It is awesome.  

(Speaking of comics, I realized I'm following quite a few still. I really like Doomsday, My Dear and also Bearmageddon so far. I may have to compile a Complete List, because I love lists. And I have a lot to add to it.)

- Before anyone asks, no, I am not doing NaNoWriMo.

- Oh yes, and soon THIS will be in my hot little paws, and I will be a very happy Merc. Oh yes I will.

- AND my sister and I now have tickets to see Les Miserables in December. Whee!

- In sadder news, my car, Megatron, is toast. Car shopping resumes tomorrow. 

- Eventually I want to see ALL the cracktastic movies coming out. (Three Musketeers, I am looking at you.)

- More blogging will commence in, er, slightly more frequency. *waves at SEIC*

What've you been up to?

Have a good weekend, everyone.  

...only to disappear again. I am a bad blogger, I is sorry. *sad!Merc face*

But anyway, I'm on internet hiatus for a week (Monday to Monday).

That TBR pile is going DOWN. (At least a little bit.)

I'll try and respond to all the things (necessary things, anyway) when I return! Try not to let the zombies eat the internet while I'm gone, huh? ;)

(Not-so-massive massive catch-up post.)

I'm not dead, honest. Work was... shall we say, a little exhausting and sucked up all the time for the full week after getting back. And then there were family events and general Real Life Stuff going on, etc, etc, etc.

Really, I'm not even sure how it is the middle of July already. o.O

Various notes:

- so, Netflix has all of Star Trek: The Next Generation on instant streaming. Needless to say, I have been a very distracted Merc. (Necessary to regrowing brain.)

- I'm playing with Google+ which so far I like quite a bit. (Merc with access to more procrastination! Actually, I like the way Circles work, and the mix of blog/social interaction/Twitter-like updating.)

- and even with it being three weeks into Clarion Write-A-Thon, I am still participating! I will... be doing it ALL in the last three weeks. o.O Because hell, I signed up, so I will finish. (There will be a forthcoming post on solidified goals and exercises.)