Sarah Ettritch's Blog, page 27

Rymellan Fiction: Shattered Delusions

I've just posted the latest story to Rymellan Fiction, called Shattered Delusions. If you haven't been following along, I'd recommend that you start with The Dance.

Shattered Delusions completes Rymellan 2.

Enjoy!

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Virtual Living Room Hotseat

Next weekend (December 11/12), I'll be on the Virtual Living Room hotseat. Virtual Living Room is a Yahoo group for readers and writers of lesbian fiction. Most weekends a writer will sit on the "hotseat" and take questions from group members. I'll answer questions about The Salbine Sisters and the Rymellan series.

You'll have to join the group to participate. I've been a member for several months and can recommend the group as a place to hang out. It's a great mix of people with a relaxed atmosphere. I hope to see you there!

Speaking of the Rymellan series, I'm on track to post the December story next week.

Finally, another mention of the auction for Nene Adams. I'm offering a signed copy of The Salbine Sisters. I pay the shipping, no matter where you are in the world. So check out item #56 and the other items up for grabs.

Enjoy your weekend!

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Auction: Signed Copy of The Salbine Sisters

I'm offering a signed copy of The Salbine Sisters in an auction for Nene Adams, a fellow author. Nene contracted a necrotizing infection that resulted in the amputation of her foot. The auction proceeds will go toward a wheelchair, a ramp entry for her house, and other practical items along those lines.

I only found out about the auction today, so The Salbine Sisters is item #56, currently the last item on the auction list.

I don't offer signed copies of my books very often, so if you've been thinking about buying The Salbine Sisters or you're looking for a holiday gift for a reader, now would be a great time to buy the book and contribute to a good cause. I will pay the shipping cost, no matter where you live. The auction closes December 14th.

Auction for Nene Adams

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Random Video Day #2

A friend posted this gem on Facebook. The clips in the video define the term "close call," but unfortunately the final clip was staged. My cynical side suspected as much when I viewed it on Facebook, and the comments on YouTube proved it right.

Have a great weekend!

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Sara Interviews Sarah

Last week I pointed to an interview with me at The Outer Alliance. In response, Sara asked me a few questions:

1. when/how did you start writing? what did you do beforehand, and what triggered the recent success?

I've always had an active imagination and have told myself many, many stories in my head. I don't remember what prompted me to write some stories down. I started to write in my thirties, but I didn't get serious about it until my early forties. Most writers have day jobs, so there isn't a notion of "what I did beforehand." I'm a software developer, but I'm on a break from that at the moment.

2. whence the rymellan universe?

For me, world-building and character creation take place at a subconscious level. I only become aware of a world and its characters when I start to visualize a few key scenes that eventually become part of a story. When I first see a scene, I'll ask questions like, "Who are these people? Where are they? Why are they saying and doing that? Why don't they do this?" The Rymellan universe grew out of a scene I kept seeing between Lesley and Jayne. I can't elaborate further without spoiling a plot twist for those who haven't read the series, so I'll leave it at that.

3. what is it about lesbian reality that you hope to capture, or don't find elsewhere that encourages you to write your own stories?

I write stories and characters to get them out of my head, not to capture a particular reality or because I can't find something elsewhere. I tend to write the type of stories I like to read. I prefer to read lesbian fiction that doesn't focus on LGBT issues (for example, issues around coming out), so that's what I write.

4. where do you see yourself in five years, relative to the lesbian fiction world? do you imagine writing fantasy, sci-fi, other genres? what interests you for the future?

I'll still be writing lesbian fiction, but I'll also write stories that aren't classified as such. I expect most of my stories (but not all) to be speculative in nature. I didn't set out to focus on SF&F, but my muse tends to go there more often than not. In the future, I'll continue to do what I'm (hopefully) doing now: write decent stories with three-dimensional characters, and grow and improve as a writer. It's difficult to say anything beyond that because five years is a long time in the writing/publishing world—especially now, when the publishing industry is undergoing significant change. I've also learned not to plan too far in advance. You never know what's around the corner.

Thanks for the interview, Sara!

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Interview at The Outer Alliance

An interview with me has been posted at The Outer Alliance, an advocacy group for queer speculative fiction. Check it out:

The Outer Alliance Spotlight: Sarah Ettritch

An update to last week's post about Cooks Source and plagiarism:

Cooks Source statement

Response to Statement at Plagiarism Today

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A Common Misconception about Copyright

This story about copyright infringement is all over the net, but I thought I'd link to it for those who haven't caught wind of it.

Short version of a long story: a writer discovered that she was a victim of copyright infringement. When she wrote to the offending magazine, the editor's reply was snarky and misinformed.

No, the web is not considered public domain. The stories I post to the web are under copyright, as is this blog post. When surfing the web, the default assumption should be that material is under copyright unless there's a written notice explicitly stating that it's in the public domain.

In her reply, the editor should have stopped before the "But honestly, Monica…" part. I bet she's sorely regretting that she didn't.

Later.

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Creative Muse: Gone Fishing

Many writers will soon pound the keyboard for NaNoWriMo, but I'll have my writing feet up. I like to take a break every once in a while, to let my creative batteries recharge. Because I post a story to Rymellan Fiction every three months and wrote The Salbine Sisters this year, my muse hasn't had a significant rest in a while. I realized a couple of days ago that I don't have to start the March Rymellan story until December. I haven't started anything else yet, so I decided now would be a good time for a break. My muse has the rest of this month and November off.

Editing the December Rymellan story will run into November, but I use a different part of my brain for editing than I do for writing. When I write a first draft, my subconscious mind is the star of the show. When I edit, the analytical side is at the forefront. Sure, I might have to call on my muse to help fix an area that needs significant rework, but for the most part, it focuses on the next story while I edit the last.

I hope my muse goes somewhere nice, takes lots of pictures, and comes back refreshed and ready to work in December. It might be a while before it gets another vacation.

Enjoy your weekend!

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Bits and Bobs #2

Well, the big news this week is, of course, the rescue of the Chilean miners. It's fantastic that they're out, and how wonderful to see so many people from different countries working together to accomplish a goal. Imagine what we could do if we did that all the time, rather than fighting each other.

I've finished the first draft of the December Rymellan story. This was a tough one to write, not because I had writer's block or anything like that, but because preparing The Salbine Sisters for publication and dealing with the numerous details around that squeezed my writing time. Then, when I did have a chance to sit down and write, it was hard to turn off the "publisher." So I'm glad the first draft is done and I can move on to the editing stage. The story ran a little longer than I expected, but it contains a key turning point for one character. It's also the last story that will go into Rymellan 2.

Since it's Friday, I've included a silly animal video that had me laughing yesterday. It starts out with video clips of cats, many of which I've seen before. Then there's a funny Monday/Friday comparison (you might be able to relate to the Friday clip today!). But what really made me laugh was the skateboarding dog. It's the dog, it's the people wondering "WTF?" It's the dramatic background music that made me dig up one of my old ELO CDs and rip Fire on High to my computer so I could listen to it again (I hadn't heard that song in years). Just one of those clips that makes you giggle no matter how many times you see it. Truly a dog that lives life to the fullest.

Have a great weekend!

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Proof Approved!

A short update to Friday's post: I did receive the proof on Friday, and it passed muster. I approved it today, so the print book has gone into distribution.

I've posted a photo of the proof over at The Salbine Sisters site. I'll be posting further updates about the book there. I'm hoping to make an announcement about the eBook as early as tomorrow.

Now to watch TV and hope that the rescue of the miners in Chile goes flawlessly…

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