Wendy Darling's Blog: Wendy's Author Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"

I haven't been reading for the past couple of months, mostly because I have two modes: Reading voraciously and not reading.

I stopped reading -- at least new books -- when I got heavily involved in putting together Para Imminence, which involved writing and editing. I also started working on my next Wraeththu book, which is a novel I have finally gotten into the right voice to move forward. Back in August I completed the first five chapters. Anyway, I feel like learning about a whole new reality can mess up my focus on creating consistency in the world I'm working on. I can read books set in the same world, so yes, I reread bits of various Wraeththu books, plus books I've read a hundred times like the Nightrunner series (Lynn Flewelling), but nothing brand new.

I've got several books queued to start reading again. All of them are books I started to read but then stopped for various reasons. With L'Amber (Tanith Lee) I simply was not ready to read anything but Wraeththu, which I was in the middle of working with. With Iron Council (China Miéville), I found the first section so difficult and dreadful I wasn't sure I wanted to go on. That was before I was even working on our new book. With Erwin Staub's book on genocide, Overcoming Evil: Genocide, Violent Conflict, and Terrorism , that is so academic and heavy I think small doses are the only thing that will work.

I also have piles of other books I could start reading. It's funny, I have the pile and I just rely on a feeling that tells me when I'm ready to read each of them. I don't go in the order I acquired the books or take into consideration whether somebody is waiting on my opinion of the book or anything. Some books I get in the mail and read before the package has even hit the trash, while others can language for a couple of years. The World Without Us and The End of Nature were like that; I put off reading them because I knew it would be devastating to read, which it was. I wound up writing about both those books in the essay I wrote for Para Imminence, so waiting meant they were fresh in my head when it came time to write an essay. Meant to be!

Anyway, I've got L'Amber in my bag and am going to attempt to get going on it again and hopefully from there leap into other books. Then I'll be in "On" mode.

It's that time of year! Yes, Storm Constantine and I are looking for submissions to the new, THIRD Wraeththu short story anthology, which we're calling Para Kindred. Here's the official announcement from Storm:

Storm Constantine's Wraeththu Mythos
Para Kindred: Enigmas of Wraeththu

Call for Submissions

Following on from the Paragenesis and Para Imminence anthologies of Wraeththu Mythos stories, this new collection will focus upon the enigmas that might be found within the disparate tribes of this androgynous race – how Wraeththu might have – or will – develop in strange and unimagined ways.

We are calling for submissions to this anthology, of stories between 3,000 and 10,000 words. As with the former anthologies, we are mainly looking for pieces that do not involve characters from the original Wraeththu books, although such characters may have 'cameo appearances' if it suits the story. Writers who were included in the previous collections may also expand upon characters (or their descendants or ancestors) who they created for their earlier stories, if they so wish.

This collection gives writers a broad canvas for their ideas. Contributors can explore how the mutation from human to har might have unforeseen consequences; how new strains of hara might have come into being with unusual attributes; how tribes might have developed in hidden corners of the world that are vastly different to the mainstream population. Or even within 'regular' Wraeththu communities, harlings might be born who are different in some way, who might have additional mutations to their parents, thus taking them further away from their human progenitors.

Are hara as they exist within their world the 'finished product' or are they perhaps a stage on the way to further evolution? Or would some harlings born to hara be throwbacks to their earlier human roots? They are many avenues to explore, no matter how strange.

Please let us know if you are interested in contributing and provide a short synopsis of your idea, by mailing Storm at the above email address (editorial@immanion-press.com). The deadline for completed submissions is 31st August 2013. As before, there will be a one off payment of $25 per story. Contributors are welcome to
submit more than one.

If you know of anyone who might like to contribute, please feel free to pass this document to them.

Storm Constantine

P.S. from Wendy Darling: You can also contact me either via GoodReads or by email, wdarlingweb@gmail.com.

Just a quick note to say that Storm Constantine and I are once again at work on a Wraeththu short story anthology. This will be our third effort and again we are editors as well as contributors. Storm has written her stories already and I'm working on one and hopefully will write a second, as I have for both prior. And BTW, these are the prior titles: Paragenesis: Stories from the Dawn of Wraeththu and Para Imminence: Stories of the Future of Wraeththu.

Storm Constantine just sent me the cover for our latest anthology, Para Kindred. It's marvelous.

Last night I finished the first run of my second story for the latest Wraeththu anthology, Para Kindred. This was after starting two drafts a few weeks ago, then feeling neither was right and getting distracted/occupied with editing other people's stories. But after finishing work on the last story I had to edit, one of Storm Constantine's, and facing the fact that we want the book in the bag, I said "OK, lady, get it done!" So over the past week and a half I've pushed out a couple sections every few nights and last night I put a pretend gun to my head and said "You write it or you can't go to bed." So it got written. And sent off to Storm. 6,000 words. Received back kind words and her edits already, so looks like we are nearing the end of work. I'll post here when the book is available for order.

We've reached the point where Storm Constantine is laying out the book and soon will be sending me a PDF of the whole thing to review. I hope it comes soon so that I can read stories I didn't edit (4-5 I think) this weekend, on the way up and back from Philly. Once I and individual authors send back our corrections, the final file will go in and book will be available for order.

Over on the "This Is My World" blog, by Nerine Dorman, there's a new guest post by Storm Constantine about our just-coming-out book Para Kindred: Enigmas of Wraeththu. In she talks about what it's like to expand the Wraeththu universe and gives background to the two stories she contributed. You may want to hold off on reading the background before you read the stories, as it might spoil them some, but believe me, they are great stories!

Aha! Looks like Para Kindred: Enigmas of Wraeththu is now available for order from Immanion Press. You should also be able to order it from Amazon, B&N, your favorite bookshop or however else you order books. Just have them look it up and voila! it will be on its way to you. The link to the order page on IP is here: Para Kindred.

Following Storm, here's another serial contributor to the Wraeththu anthologies, Maria Leel, who posts about her history in the Wraehthtu world and the inspiration for her story "Threads," appearing in Para Kindred: Enigmas of Wraeththu:

"This Is My World: Maria Leel"

I may be starting to sound like a broken record, but today "This Is My World," Nerine Dorman's blog, put out another author spotlight, this time on E.S. Wynn, author of "Wolf," which appears in Para Kindred: Enigmas of Wraeththu. I was editor on that story, though only nominally, as in truth it didn't need any real work at all, with a very cool theme and poetic language.

Let E.S. Wynn introduce himself.