S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 49

Sub Op

Solarpunk Press has an open call for short fiction submissions: "Word count: 2,000 to 5,000 words; will consider shorter or longer, but they'll be a harder sell. Pay rate: 0.03 USD per word. (Word count will be determined using Google docs and rounded up to the nearest hundred.) Genre: Near-future SF (Solarpunk) What we're looking for: "Solarpunk" means different things for a lot of different people in the community, but on here, for the most part, we mean near-future science fiction that deals seriously with environmental crises, systematic oppression, global imperialism and other issues in dire need of solutions. These issues are complex, and we're interested in stories that treat them with appropriate complexity. Check out the Wikipedia page on wicked problems for an idea of what we mean. Vitally, we want stories that are optimistic about these problems. They don't have to be all solved as of the story's present-day; they probably shouldn't be; but we don't want to publish stories that portray hope and effort as absurd or pointless endeavors. We don't want "Resistance is futile" or "It's all downhill from here." We're fans of Kafkaesque fiction but it's going to be an extremely hard sell here. That said, if you've got a story that feels to you like it's solarpunk in its values and attitude, but that's urban fantasy or historical fiction or far-future hard SF or space opera or anything else, go ahead and send it. We are open to the possibility of being blown away, and we don't want to limit ourselves to an overly preconceived narrative structure." Query on reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: I'm not seeing one, but Ralan.com has them listed as "Open to Submissions: August 27th, 2015."

Creative Space

I'm spending the last weeks of summer working on my second quilt of the year, this tropical twin-size quilt:



Because I'm hand quilting the entire thing it's going to take another month to finish, but I'm not in a hurry. Like the heart strip quilt I made back in March it's simply a practice piece. As I go along my hand stitching is slowly improving, and once I complete the quilt I think I'll be ready to tackle something more ambitious, like a quilt I've been planning to make with some fabric sent to me by a lovely pal of mine.



Working with color and beautiful threads always energize me, and I've never made a tropical-themed quilt, so creating this one gives me a lot of joy, too. That's important for some of the other things I do when I sit down to work on it -- like writing. While I'm quilting I often sort through story ideas in my head, create characters, plot books, etc. Because sewing calms and clears my mind I get quite a lot of mental writing done, too.



That said, sometimes I don't think about anything when I sew. A few days ago I was having a tough time working out the last half of a proposal -- I couldn't come up with a really dazzling idea for the story wrap-up -- and finally I set it aside and went to work on the quilt. I knew that stepping out of my creative writing space and not thinking about the proposal for an hour would clear my head, and the quilting made me happy, which refills the creative well for me every time. When I did go back to the proposal I felt clear-headed and more focused, which helped me think of a different approach to the problem. An hour later the proposal was finished with a bright and shiny new wrap-up (which did work because this morning the client hired me to write it.)

How do you reset the creative space in your head? Let us know in comments.

Whatcha e-Reading?

I'm still debating on whether or not to get a new e-reader (or maybe get my old Nook fixed.) I still don't like e-readers, but so many authors I like are indy publishing now and releasing books in electronic format only that I may not have a choice. With the stricter limits on my book-buying budget an e-reader would help me read more for less $.

I think if I do go for a new e-reader I need to get one that doesn't shine in my face like the old Nook did, or that can be adjusted to a lower wattage or something. I'm still sensitive to electronic light, and my eyes get tired more easily since the surgery. I also hate touch screens of any type. Really hate them with a passion that burns ever brighter each time I'm forced to use a touch-only device -- not fun for the arthritic. And yes, I've tried the stylus approach and it doesn't despel my loathing at all. Touch technology is absolutely unforgiving of clumsy users like me. It's also why I don't use that idiot GPS my guy wants me to take everywhere; I know I'll try to program it for the market and end up in the Adirondacks.

While I dither on about devices, here's what I've got on my Kindle Cloud Reader in the computer to read during work breaks this week -- Hero by Elsa Jade, aka our blog pal Jessa Slade, which is part of a big shifter series collection by a bunch of authors. So whatcha e-reading now? Let us know in comments.

Yep

This brilliant short film by Eric Giessmann is like the story of my creative life (with background music, for those of you at work):

TYPEWRITERHEAD from Eric Giessmann on Vimeo.

A man with a typewriter-head tries to get rid of his out-of-control thoughts.

Blog making of:
http://animatedshortf.blogspot.de/

Website:
www.ericgiessmann.com

Just Write

Today I'm off to write something new and post it online before midnight. Everyone inclined to do the same is invited to join me.

My link: More on Ghost Writer (click on the title to go to the .pdf), with new material beginning on page 105.

For more details on Just Write Thursdays, click here to go to the original post.

Image credit: windujedi

Payhip

I spotted a new indy publishing platform, Payhip, which allows authors to sell direct to their fans and followers using a link. Readers can buy using Paypal or credit cards. Evidently they charge a flat 5% fee for each sale once its made and then pay the author immediately (disclaimer: I did not read every single page on the site, so if you want to use them do check them out thoroughly.)

I don't indie publish for profit, so naturally I'm not the best judge of the service, but it looks pretty straight forward to me. According to their FAQs they ". . . support ALL file formats. Including EPUB, PDF, MOBI, AZW and many more."

Since Amazon.com and other host sites are charging a lot more than 5%, this could be a more attractive alternative to writers who simply want to sell direct from their web site or blog versus getting lost in the glut of the booksellers. I really like the idea myself -- this would be the sort of site I'd prefer to use if I ever decide to go indy. Are any of you all using Payhip, and care to comment? Let us know if you want to share.

NaNoing November

I'm on the fence as to whether or not I'll be joining in National Novel Writing Month this year. As per usual my annual NaNoWriMo calendar reminder popped up on July 31st, and I thought it would be cool to turn Just Write Thursdays into a NaNoWriMo edition for November. On the other hand, with my shift to ghost writing full time now I am on call for a couple of clients, so I might not have the time to do 50K in 30 days. If I'm not able to jump in you can count on me to shake my pom poms, give pep talks and offer what support I can here on the blog for those of you who will be diving in this November.

Have you decided to take part in NaNoWriMo 2015? Let us know your plans in comments.

Sub Op

Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly magazine has an open call for their 8th issue: "Theme for Issue 8 of Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly: After the Apocalypse. Length: 2,000 to 7,500 words. Payment: 2.5 cents/word (US) paid upon publication, promotional biography with two links, and a complimentary quarter-page advertisement. Deadline for Issue 8: 01 September, 2015. Stories that tie-in to a previously established world will be considered, but story must stand alone. All sub-genres of science fiction will be considered. Any heat level, from sweet to erotic, will be considered. Original, previously unpublished fiction only. No fan fiction, please. Story should meld the Science Fiction and Romance genres, and must have an upbeat ending for the romantic relationship. Not quite sure what we’re looking for? Read our original fiction in previous issues. No multiple submissions. No stories that have previously been rejected by us. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please inform us if the story is placed elsewhere."

Summer at the Shelter

The college kid and I spent the morning at the local no-kill cat shelter, where I finally got a decent shot of the one kitty who has been dodging my camera for two years:



He reminds me of Venus the two-faced cat, but he doesn't like having his picture taken, so this was quite a photo coup.

We saw so many other lovely, adoptable felines while we were there, and I want to share some more pics. Sans explanation Blogger is no longer allowing me to embed a regular slideshow from Photobucket, so I'm going to try the flash version, which for equally mysterious reasons it doesn't block:


If the flash thing doesn't work for you, you can see the slideshow over on my Photobucket account by clicking here.

PBW's Book of the Month

My pick for July's book of the month is Ithaka Rising by LJ Cohen, which blew away the competition so completely my bookcase should have blast marks all over it. This is the second novel in LJ's Halcyone Space series, and it was, in a word, brilliant.

Just as Derelict , the first book in the series, made my whole summer last year, Ithaka Rising was worth the wait. Usually I can point out one or two reasons why a novel wows me, too, but this one was just cover to cover awesome. Expect great characters, who actually grow and change and have to deal with new problems; a nail-biter of a plot, that manages to be both twisting and absorbing at the same time, settings that expand to take us to new and scary-thrilling places in this universe, and the kind of SF adventure you probably haven't read in a very, very long time (if at all.) I still miss the SF I used to read when I was younger, those stories that grabbed you and held onto you for the full ride, and this is that kind of story.

It's not for everyone, of course. If you're a homophobe or a racist this is definitely not the book for you (because there are gay characters in it. And characters who are not white. Several characters who are not white, in fact. I know, shocking.) Likewise those of you who don't think women writers can write great SF; this is absolutely not a novel that's going to make you feel real comfortable in your little pinhead zone. I also think it's not a read for the cynics, the nihilists and the self-appointed SF police out there. But: if you love to be swept off by a story, and you want to become emotionally invested in its characters, and you enjoy exploring a fully-developed future universe filled with intrigue, danger and surprises, this should be your next new book purchase.

Here's where you can get a copy:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble