S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 53

Winner

If I ever go on a trip to the future I'm taking all of you with me. As to what I'd sneak back in my luggage? The time travel machine that took me to the future, of course, so I could make more trips to bring back other things -- although that's probably like wishing for unlimited wishes. :)

I dusted off the magic hat tonight, and the winner of the Pack Your Bags Giveaway is:

Dianna, who wrote: Definitely the Lotto numbers and stocks to invest in. I also want to know what art that is being created now will be popular in the future.

Dianna, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to address to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get your package out to you. My thanks to everyone for joining in.

Off Again

I'm taking off again today to get some work finished. Yes, I know, but such is the life of a writer-for-hire; these people keep hiring me.

Also, a reminder: I'll be posting name of the winner of the Pack Your Bags Giveaway tomorrow morning, so if you want a chance for it to be yours be sure to enter before midnight EST tonight.

Off to Write

I'm bailing on you all today so I can get some work done. In the meantime, be sure to enter the Pack Your Bags Giveaway for a chance to win a handmade tote filled with some great SF reads and other fun stuff.

Pack Your Bags Giveaway

From time to time we all need to escape, but when you can't get out of town in person you can always let a great story take you away. I think that's what I've always loved about great SF adventure stories -- they're guaranteed to whisk you off to new worlds.

To celebrate the release of LJ Cohen's new novel Ithaka Rising , and because I love traveling through her Halcyone Space universe, I'm having a giveaway:



I packed one of you a getaway bag, which consists of this nifty SF-ish tote (one of my rare quilting experiments), an unsigned trade paperback copy of LJ's Derelict, a traveler edition of Gimble for hands-free reading, a blank journal called The Anti-Social Network (couldn't resist that one) and a quilted bookmark made by yours truly. There will also be an unsigned trade paperback copy of Ithaka Rising by LJ Cohen (which is not pictured because it's still en route to me with my own copy from the bookseller.)

If you'd like to win it all, in comments to this post name one thing you'd like to bring back after a trip to the future (or if you're afraid of customs, just toss your name in the hat) by midnight EST on Tuesday, June 30th, 2015. I will pick one name at random from everyone who participates and send the winner the getaway bag. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Q&A with LJ Cohen

Today PBW is proud to host an interview with indy writer, publisher, poet and longtime blogpal LJ Cohen, the author of Derelict and Ithaka Rising :

Who or what first prompted you to write science fiction?

When you start writing as a young person, all these well meaning adults tell you to 'write what you know.' But what I knew at the time was a whole lot more limited than what I know now: I knew how to be at school, how to be the 'baby' in the family, how to play with the neighbor kids. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to read that, much less write it. What I did read was a whole lot of SF and fantasy books. It was what I knew. All those worlds and all those realities - Heinlein, L'Engle, Norton, Asimov - were my worlds and realities. So it was utterly natural to gravitate to those genres as a writer.

Name one book that you never tire of re-reading, and why.

Besides Stardoc? :) Seriously. And why? Because I love the character of Cherijo. She is intelligent, driven, talented, and resourceful. And I love the mixture of SF and medical technology you have woven together. As a medical professional myself (I have a masters degree in Physical Therapy and spent nearly 25 years in clinical practice), I appreciate how realistic the medical details and the injuries are. And it was nice to have a lead character who was not a military commander for a change. I also have a huge love for another SF series - Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan saga books. While I wish there were more female viewpoint characters in the stories, I appreciate how many fully realized women populate her world. And I love Miles Vorkosigan - the lead character in most of the books. He's a bundle of neruoses in 'Mission Impossible' situations. In space.

Along with being an author you're also a poet -- how does poetry influence your fiction writing?

I can think of at least two distinct ways poetry influences my fiction writing. The first is in the sound and feel of language. A writer makes word choices on any number of levels: connotation, denotation, cultural appropriateness, dialect, to name a few. I add the sound and feel of the language to that mix. Poetry is an auditory and kinesthetic experience. When I read poetry (and I love to read it aloud) there is a music to the flow of phrases, lines, and stanzas that can be used to good effect in prose. Do I want to ramp up the tension in a scene? Then I go to short, sharp words that have a staccato rhythm. Looking to slow the pace and create a more relaxed experience? Then I choose longer, more flowing kinds of words.

The second way poetry comes into my fiction is in the use of metaphor and simile - both types of comparison that are the heart and soul of poetry. (See what I did there?) One of the things I work toward, is creating apt comparisons that emerge organically from my characters' backgrounds and experiences. That will deepen reader immersion and world building, as well as add layers of meaning to the work.

If you could step into a time machine and visit any SF universe (including your own), what would you choose as your destination, and why?

That's easy. Doctor Who. Okay, I know there is debate as to whether or not this show is actually SF, but I'm sticking to my choice. I've been a fan since 1973. I was 10, and I couldn't find any saturday morning cartoons. Every station was playing some boring grown-up thing called the Watergate Hearings. So I channel flipped until I found a PBS station that showed this crazy dude in an Opera cloak who had this blue box that was supposed to move through time and space. Soon after, he got killed off (!) and this other guy with crazy hair and a long striped scarf became the Doctor. I was hooked. I made a scarf when I was in Jr High School that I still have (and wear) today. My office has a wall dedicated to all things Doctor Who. And when I was growing up, I wanted to be Sara Jane Smith, one of the Doctor's most famous companions.

When you return from your SF universe trip you can smuggle one thing back with you. So what's hiding in your luggage?

Why, the key to the TARDIS, of course!

What are you writing now, and when can we expect to get our hands on it?

Well, ITHAKA RISING is due out any minute now! So I guess that's the next thing readers will see. I'm brainstorming book 3 in the series. And I actually already have a title - which is exceedingly rare for me. I usually struggle with titles. (Seriously. I have a manuscript from 2011/12 that I call YAGSIP - Young Adult Ghost Story in Progress.) Book 3 of Halcyone Space will be DREADNAUGHT AND SHUTTLE, which is a reference from book 1, and is the local vernacular for 'cat and mouse'. And we'll come back to Micah Rotherwood (he had a very small role in ITHAKA RISING) and his quest to bring down the drug cartels that ruined his life. Based on my typical writing pace, my goal is to have it out one year from now.

I've also gotten myself tangled up in a co-writing project that emerged from a silly comment thread on Google Plus a few weeks ago. (Which is what happens when you let two writers brainstorm.) It's not quite SF, but close. A mafia hit man is contaminated by a virus during a hit that makes him utterly unmemorable. Which would be a huge boon to his line of work, except that it effects everyone, even his famly. Right now, it's in the 'way cool new shiny idea' phase. No deadline. No plans for the writing in any way, other than to be playful with it.

I take part in the #saturdayscenes project on Google Plus, so I'll likely be posting snippets from both works in progress starting later in the summer.

We're going to look in a crystal ball to see what you'll be doing in ten years. What do you think we'll see?

With any luck, we'll really be empty nesters by that point. . . living in a smaller house on a larger piece of land. The problem is where. Hubby is a country mouse. I am a city mouse. There aren't a lot of places that are funky and urban enough for me, yet quiet and rural enough for him. But the Amherst region in Western Massachusetts might fit the bill. I will definitely have a computer set up with kinesthetic controls like Ro. And room enough to build a life-sized TARDIS.

Revisited Read: Derelict by LJ Cohen

A little over a year ago I first read Derelict by LJ Cohen, and it impressed me so much I not only gave it a quote I even wrote a ten things list about it. It came into my hands exactly at the precise moment I needed a wonderful read, too. At the time I was beginning all the lab work and prep stuff for the first of my two eye surgeries, and Derelict provided a terrific and very necessary escape from all that. Now that the sequel, Ithaka Rising , has just been released I decided to take a trip back to my first experience to revisit this amazing universe by having another go at Derelict.

I remember my strong first impression of the novel came from being immediately hooked by how smart, engrossing and interesting the story begins, and that happened again. As a writer I appreciate that elusive, page-turner magic because I know how difficult it is to capture, and as a reader it's absolutely what I want when I hit the first page. Don't give me a weather report, make me burn dinner. Fortunately I wasn't cooking when I began Derelict or something would have scorched. Same again this time -- I deliberately waited until I was not operating any electrical appliances when I began to read and lost myself in the story.

I think on this read I appreciated the diverse cast a bit more. When you're first introduced to each of the characters you become absorbed in the immediate aspects of their particular personalities and conflicts. I loved on the first read how real they felt on the page, but this time around I knew them and so noticed the less obvious elements. Ro, the protagonist, is very intelligent, driven, and rather cold, but it's a facade, and this time I spotted more glimpses of her vulnerabilities. The same with Barre, the musician son of physicians who always comes up short when compared with his brilliant baby brother -- until his innate ability to compose music enables him to do things the other characters can't. I felt much more sympathetic to Barre this time around.

Halcyone, the derelict ship in the story, also took on more depth for me. On my first read I was caught up in the adventure, but the second time around I knew what would be happening and paid more attention to the details around the action. Those little things that I zeroed in on this time allowed me to better visualize the ship, which made every scene more colorful and alive for me, and in turn enhanced the action. As a result I'd say I probably enjoyed the book this time more than the first read-through.

The feel of the novel once more transported me back to my young teens, when I read every A.M. Lightner book I could borrow from the school library, so it definitely works as a YA. At the same time it doesn't read like most YAs that shove that too-young, over-the-top teen angst in your face. The young cast in Derelict are not standing around wondering what he said or she said. They're dealing with very serious situations in their lives, and while they act their ages they also resonate with me as an adult. I know how Ro feels about being awkward with people because I'm the same, and the age difference doesn't matter. Jem's tireless and sometimes overwhelming enthusiasm for advanced programming rings true with me because I feel the same about my art.

I'm glad I took the time to read Derelict again, because I've just ordered the paperback of Ithaka Rising and I want to see what happens next with Ro and the crew. Tomorrow I will also have a Q&A interview with Derelict's author, so if you'd like to find out more about LJ Cohen, stop in. And if you haven't yet taken the first wild ride on Halcyone, Derelict for Kindle is less than a dollar right now, so click here to get it for a song.

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 78.

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

Image credit: windujedi

Secret Covers

Sometimes when I want to write a story but I don't have time, have to finish other projects and/or want to wait and let it simmer a bit more, I make secret cover art for it anyway. Sometimes it's to try out art for stories I plan to make into freebies, but more often it's just for my own amusement. I'll print out a secret cover for my personal journal, the idea file or any notebook I've started on it, but otherwise no one ever sees it but me. I feel like I've made a million of these secret covers, too.

In the spirit of spontaneity, and (hopefully) me being a bit more transparent, here are the three latest secret covers I've made:



My sequel to In the Leaves, for the day when I can get back and write more of Sally's story. Definitely writing this one.



This cover is for some notes I found on a novella series I planned to write to continue the story from Frostfire (and alas, never got the chance.) It's unlikely that I'll ever write all five stories I outlined, but you never know -- and the ideas were really solid and fun.



I have a story sorta/kinda based on/partially set in/orbiting distantly the StarDoc universe that has been bouncing around in my head for a couple years. Lately I've been revisiting the idea while I drive around running errands, so I jotted down some notes and decided to make a cover for it. I have seriously mixed feelings about this one. I also have ten million excellent reasons to never revisit StarDoc in any way shape or form. This might end up being the novel that they only find after I'm deceased, along with the twenty-eight others no one has ever seen that I have hidden away. Kidding. There are only like seventeen.

Do you ever do weird stuff like this? Confess your secrets in comments.

Image Credits:

Far Seer -- massonforstock
Frenchman's Pass -- zacariasdamata
21 -- Molodec

The Idea

I was searching through my old idea file today looking for the original synopsis I wrote for Ghost Writer when I found this partial scene I wrote back in 2012:

“Lunch.” I handed Lucy a wrapped sandwich. At her hurt look, I added, “It’s an all-veggie pita with no-fat dressing.”

“I love you. If you weren’t a girl, I’d have your babies.” She stopped to rip paper and take a huge bite before taste-bliss made her lashes droop. “Oh, God. Maybe we could adopt.”

Lucy had been dieting since high school; I knew because we’d been best friends since the first day of freshman year. I never kept any secrets from her, either, which was making it tough to decide what to tell her about my luncheon appointment.

“So?” She took a bottle of protein water from her bag. “What happened at the bank?”

“Nothing much.” I sat down in the client chair next to her desk and eyed the scuff mark on one side of my right shoe. “Anyone call?”

In mid-chug, Lucy nodded and passed me a small stack of message slips. Because she was the world’s finest receptionist, they were all neatly and beautifully written, and because I was the head of Accounts Receivable, I’d have to call them back.

“You look like someone just kicked your dog,” she told me after she swallowed. “What’s nothing much?”

“It’s just a family thing.” I sorted through the slips, shuffling them according to accounts and making some predictions about what they wanted to tell me. “No money, no money, probably filing Chapter Eleven, no money . . .” I came to one from the bank officer I’d just seen. “Oh.”

“He needs you to mail him a copy of your birth certificate.” Lucy balled up the empty sandwich wrapper, expertly tossing it into the garbage can in the corner of her cubicle before she gave me the eye. “You gonna tell me, or do I have to spread a rumor about you having the hots for Dale Bilmer in Collections?”

“Dale Bilmer is sixty-two.”

She nodded. “And still single. And looks upon you with lust simmering in his pacemaker while he adjusts his toupee.”

I wanted to laugh, but I was too depressed. “I’ve inherited something.”

Lucy leaned close. “Something like what?”

“A French chateau.”

“A what?” Lucy whooped, jumped up and dragged me to my feet before she danced me around. “You’re rich, you’re rich, you’re rich!”

I let her spin me a few more times before I stopped her. “I’m not rich.”

“Oh, sure.” She laughed. “You’re so poor you own a chateau in France. The true definition of poverty.”

“It’s not in France.” I eased out of her arms. “It’s in California.”

“Huh?” Now she looked perplexed. “What’s it doing there?”

“Someone moved it there.” I sat back down and gestured for her to do the same. “It’s in the mountains in the north part of the state.” I hesitated before I added, “I inherited a couple of mountains, too.”

My best friend grinned. “In California? Girl, trust me, you’re rich now. You’re so rich that you could—”

“I have to live there,” I told her, shutting her up instantly. “I mean, if I want the land and the money and stuff, I have to move to California and live in the house.”

“For how long?”

“A month.”


I believe this was the first incarnation of the idea I had that resulted in Breath of Ice , and what's odd is that after I wrote it I never looked at it again until today. So my Accounts Receivable protag (never got around to naming her) heiress morphed into a property manager named Stephanie and the French chateau she inherited because a not-actually-haunted uber McMansion prison for a yeti. I don't recall what I had planned to have haunt the chateau, but I'm sure it would have been something just as strange.

I like haunted house stories, but I don't like how most of them end, and I think that was why I wanted to take a crack at writing one of my own. I liked my two girlfriend characters (actually pretty rare for me; I don't especially like BFF characters) and the dialogue seemed snappy enough. Once I got to the month residency requirement I remember my interest in it quickly evaporated, and I stopped and filed it away.

It's not a horrible idea, and some of it obviously stuck with me long enough to simmer itself into Breath of Ice, but I'm glad I didn't write more. Sometimes an idea is just supposed to be an idea. Do you save your partials and unfinished stories? Ever go back and read them? Do they have any value for you as a writer? Let us know in comments.

Days of Spontaneity

From the Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition:

spontaneity /ˌspɒntəˈniːɪtɪ; -ˈneɪ-/ noun (pl) -ties

1. the state or quality of being spontaneous

2. (often pl) the exhibiting of actions, impulses, or behaviour that are stimulated by internal processes

I am not spontaneous by nature; my usual creative method is to think/research/plan/test/check/recheck and only then do. I don't think it's a bad thing; I tend to get lots accomplished and nearly always finish what I start. For example, I generally plan, write and schedule for publication all the posts for PBW two weeks in advance. That gives me a forever floating fourteen days to add/change/delete things, and it keeps the blog automatically updating every day if/when I'm offline working.

It's not always a positive, however, The past few months I've been so busy with building my client list that I've been neglecting to adhere to my two week advanced posting method, which is why there were no posts when I went off to write last week. I suddenly ran out of pre-written posts, didn't have time to restock my post inventory and couldn't think of anything in the short time I had to work on the blog. My lack of spontaneity suddenly became more of a hindrance than a help.

Since I want to change that (and I still don't have time to restock) this week I'm going to write my non-feature posts the day before I post them, with no advance planning, and see if I can be a bit more spontaneous with my content.

Here's what a planner I am: as I was writing this post I opened another window so I could search for articles to read on how to be more spontaneous. About two-thirds of what I found before I realized what I was doing related to sex, and while I love you all that's simply not helpful in a blogging situation. Being addicted to research is an occupational hazard as well, but I think I've programmed myself to research anything I'm not sure of because I'm self-educated. I've read enough about artistic writers to know that to be more spontaneous you have to set aside your fears, forget about planning and organizing, and try new things. So for the next few days PBW will be my hub of spontaneity, and we'll see how I do.

To kick things off, let's talk about books. I just finished Consumed by Fire by Anne Stuart, which was an interesting American spin-off of her popular Ice series. I'll have to go back and try to read the last Ice book that was released as a Kindle-only e-book, as I never finished that one due to the pre-surgery eye problems. My next book is a re-read of Derelict by L.J. Cohen, as the sequel, Ithaka Rising, is coming out next week, and I am planning to write a revisited reads post about it because I can't not plan everything.

I've been very restless with my reading this summer, and currently bouncing all over the place with what I'm buying. The owner of the indy bookstore I frequent recommended one of her book club titles, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Swedish author Jonas Jonasson, so I grabbed a copy of that. I have one more Jack Reacher to read and then as it's never going anywhere but in cookie cutter circles I think I'm done with that series. Because I'm missing Europe I invested in Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes and new copies of all the Peter Mayle books someone borrowed from me and never returned, may a million silverfish infest their library. And finally, I bought a remaindered novel titled Happily Ever After about a housewife/single parent who secretly writes erotica and meets a hunky stranger in Target because of how it absolutely shrieks realism. Kidding. I bought it because I'm apparently a masochist.

So what are you reading, and why? Let us know in comments.