Aaron Polson's Blog, page 74
July 25, 2009
Cover Art Goodness
Triangulation: Dark Glass is now on sale. The collection includes some wonderful tales. (Hidden behind which my own "Dancing Lessons" can be found.) The cover of Triangulation: Dark Glass smacks of dark fantasy goodness, doesn't it?
July 24, 2009
Vintage Sunshine
(with acknowledgements to Catherine J. Gardner for the title)
Two boys wiggle through the last few feet of earthen tunnel and drop, one after the other, onto the concrete slab below. Small puffs of dust dance into their flashlight beams.
"Bomb shelter," the smaller boy says. "Really old bomb shelter." His draws his beam across a shelf of cans. The labels, once displaying bright fruits and vegetables with bold words, now wear a layer of filth that mutes the colors. "S'pose there's still anything i
Two boys wiggle through the last few feet of earthen tunnel and drop, one after the other, onto the concrete slab below. Small puffs of dust dance into their flashlight beams.
"Bomb shelter," the smaller boy says. "Really old bomb shelter." His draws his beam across a shelf of cans. The labels, once displaying bright fruits and vegetables with bold words, now wear a layer of filth that mutes the colors. "S'pose there's still anything i
July 22, 2009
July 21, 2009
WIP Wednesday; On Not Naming Names
Well...yes. Wednesday again?
Here goes. Loathsome stands at 23K--not a huge jump from last week, but I'm managing around 1,000 words a day. Funny how I write less in the summer when I have more "free time". (I also have a wife and two kids sharing the summer with me...and projects. Ugh...projects. I know Mr. Eyberg likes projects, but me? Meh.)
An excerpt (I'd mention a spoiler alert, but then, you don't know any of these characters, do you?):
It was early in the morning when we woke to Gre
Here goes. Loathsome stands at 23K--not a huge jump from last week, but I'm managing around 1,000 words a day. Funny how I write less in the summer when I have more "free time". (I also have a wife and two kids sharing the summer with me...and projects. Ugh...projects. I know Mr. Eyberg likes projects, but me? Meh.)
An excerpt (I'd mention a spoiler alert, but then, you don't know any of these characters, do you?):
It was early in the morning when we woke to Gre
An Open Letter to Mr. Professional Writer
*has been removed because a crackpot managed to use it as a weapon*
If you would like a copy, including all comments, I'm happy to oblige. Drop me an email: aaron_polson(at)hotmail.com. They are my words, and I will dispense them at my discretion.
If you would like a copy, including all comments, I'm happy to oblige. Drop me an email: aaron_polson(at)hotmail.com. They are my words, and I will dispense them at my discretion.
July 20, 2009
An Open Letter to Mr. Professional Writer
Dear Mr. Professional Writer,
I understand how you believe all those amateur hacks are ruining the genre. Really, I do. They can't write their way out of the proverbial wet sack. (funny how most sacks are plastic now, isn't it? kind of ruins the image)
But I'm an amateur hack myself, and find your bullying of those who aren't of "genius" stature (in your own, august estimation) quite, well, disgusting. I wish could find a better word than disgusting, but I am, after all, a hack. A rank amateur hac
I understand how you believe all those amateur hacks are ruining the genre. Really, I do. They can't write their way out of the proverbial wet sack. (funny how most sacks are plastic now, isn't it? kind of ruins the image)
But I'm an amateur hack myself, and find your bullying of those who aren't of "genius" stature (in your own, august estimation) quite, well, disgusting. I wish could find a better word than disgusting, but I am, after all, a hack. A rank amateur hac
July 19, 2009
I was Angry, and Then...
This movie meme thing happened. I still have a rant brewing. Maybe tomorrow it will spill over. Maybe not.
1.Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times:
Rear Window (1954), the original Hitchcock. Talk about suspense, I seen that darn flick a gazillion times, and I still clench up when Raymond Burr (aka Lars Thorwald) enters Jimmy Stewart's place. Yikes.
2.Name a movie that you've seen multiple times in the theater:
I'm a cheapskate, so this doesn't happen often. The last time was Harry Pott
1.Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times:
Rear Window (1954), the original Hitchcock. Talk about suspense, I seen that darn flick a gazillion times, and I still clench up when Raymond Burr (aka Lars Thorwald) enters Jimmy Stewart's place. Yikes.
2.Name a movie that you've seen multiple times in the theater:
I'm a cheapskate, so this doesn't happen often. The last time was Harry Pott
July 17, 2009
The Truth About Rabbits
The car is black, devouring gravel on a side road to the lake. Two men ride inside, both wearing wrinkled suits and loose neckties. The driver tightens his grip on the wheel. Lined up in the headlights, a jackrabbit freezes, then bolts for the shoulder.
The two-day beard in the passenger seat smacks the driver on the back of his head.
"What the hell was that for?"
Two-day Beard crosses his arms. "The rabbit, you jackass."
"I missed him."
"He ran."
The driver frowns. "When'd you go soft?"
"Shut up."
"'fr
The two-day beard in the passenger seat smacks the driver on the back of his head.
"What the hell was that for?"
Two-day Beard crosses his arms. "The rabbit, you jackass."
"I missed him."
"He ran."
The driver frowns. "When'd you go soft?"
"Shut up."
"'fr
July 15, 2009
WIP Wednesday...It's still Wednesday, Right?
Okay, I'm up to my eyeballs in paint (trimming the house...thank God for bricks), so this will be a quick update.
I'm just shy of 17K in Loathsome Dark and Deep and just penned the end of the first act. I have some details to add, and I suspect act one will land around 20K, act two closer to 30, and the final, "run-like-hell" act (that would be number three) to clock in at 10-15K. Yes, this only makes a 60-65K novel.
Sue me.
In today's snippet, as they motor up the Lewis River, our heroes find what
I'm just shy of 17K in Loathsome Dark and Deep and just penned the end of the first act. I have some details to add, and I suspect act one will land around 20K, act two closer to 30, and the final, "run-like-hell" act (that would be number three) to clock in at 10-15K. Yes, this only makes a 60-65K novel.
Sue me.
In today's snippet, as they motor up the Lewis River, our heroes find what
July 14, 2009
Atmosphere for the Win!
I'm a sucker for good atmosphere in fiction and film. My love for Disney's clunky sci-fi snoozer, The Black Hole is predicated primarily on the power of the movie's atmosphere.
God knows the "science" is stoopid, not to mention the dime-store dialogue.
But wow. There is a moment when our heroes (a small band of American explorers on board the Palamino, a chubby hypodermic needle of a spacecraft) escape the pull of the black hole (right) only to cruise by the supposedly derelict hull of the Cygnus
