Aaron Polson's Blog, page 73

I Broke My Kid

That's how it feels, anyway. Owen has a "buckle fracture" of his ulna in his right forearm resulting from a rather daredevil episode on his bike. Yes, the bike he just learned to ride without training wheels earlier this summer. Yes, I was supervising when said breakage occurred.

I should be fired as a parent.

I had all sorts of fancy blogging planned for today about the "chilling effect" and "free speech" and "self-censorship", but I'm playing Candyland and Chutes and Ladders instead, trying to p

WIP Wenesday: The Back to School Edition

Yes...school. For those of you that grumble about teachers having 2 1/2 months off every year (at least here in the U.S.), I'll just tell you what the PE teachers say to me when I complain about them wearing sweats every day: you picked your major (or career, in this case).
I'd still like to wear sweats every day and teach English. That would be comfy.
Anyway, I'm at 32.5K with Loathsome. I think there's at least another 20-25K of story, plus at least 5K worth of additions to the first half. I'm

Cover Art is Your Friend

I just posted the "draft" cover art for the Fifty-Two Stitches antho on the Strange Wire, so I thought I could let it fly here, too.

We'll make a few changes closer to publication (maybe some blurbage on the cover, etc.), but yes, he is looking at you.

Hey There Cthullu

I watch that and tell myself:

"Everything is going to be OK."

Returning to the Scene of the Crime

My first short fiction sale (like, ever) was to Big Pulp ("A Fresh Coat of Paint" a tongue-in-cheek YA fantasy). It seems I've returned to my "roots" with "Tunnel Vision", now availbe to read for free online.

It's brief...so the pain won't last long.

Attrition

He stared at the screen. The screen returned the gesture with a vibrant glow.

Tick-tick-tick, his fingers punched the keys. A quick head shake, and the word vanished with a backspace tick-tick-tick.

"Damn."

The screen glared. The man narrowed his eyes.

It was time, now or never, a whole array of overused idioms and limp metaphors. The man grasped his jaw in one hand and shifted it back and forth. The bone came loose with a muted pop. Unhinged, his mandible dropped open like the entrance to

Two From DarkHart

I picked up two books from DarkHart Press recently...The Gentling Box, a novel by Lisa Mannetti and Martyrs & Monsters, a collection of short fiction by Robert Dunbar.

I picked up The Gentling Box after learning Mannetti had won the Stoker for best first novel. The premise intrigued me, and the first couple of pages grabbed me by the throat. Mannetti has a fantastic way with imagery, pummeling the reader's senses as she paints a vivid world of gypsies, betrayal, and dark magic.

You'd be hard p

WIP Wednesday: Subpar Home Makeover Edition

Color me unimpressive; I only added a little over 4K on Loathsome...I blame it on a lengthy visit from the in-laws, the continuous saga to paint the trim of our house, and a short story that begged to be written. The visit was fun and the short story (around 2K itself) was fun, too. The house painting however...slow and agonizing.

So my word count is around 27.5K. I don't have one of those fancy progress bars because that would just freak me out. I'm approaching halfway. That's it.

For a mo

The Post Without Words

meme instructions

The Patient Growth of a Mammoth Sunflower

The blooms have just emerged on two of our mammoth sunflowers. Less than four months ago, they were seeds smaller than the nail on my pinkie. I'm about 6'3", so you have a point of reference for just how utterly gargantuan these things are. These plants belong to the variety that produce edible seeds, and while we only have four that survived, they are quite stunning.

I'm sure there's a lesson about writing or patience or life in general in there somewhere...I'm too busy to think about it right n