Leah R. Cutter's Blog, page 43

Free Saturday Evening Fiction!

Finished edits and copy edits on the eighth story today. It's a much lighter piece, called, "Were-Teen."

Patrice is happy, successful, and cursed. Every month during the full moon she reverts to her awkward teen-aged self, complete with braces and acne. This year, it's Patrice's 25 year high school reunion. She finally has a chance to confront the witch who cursed her, and maybe get the spell reversed.

Of course, she also has to find the prefect dress. . .

This story will be available for free, here on my web site, for one week. When I post the next story I'll pull this one down. Of course, it'll be available through the usual suspects, Amazon, B&N, Smashwords.

I've already got some ideas for next week's story. Just five more to go. And while I've enjoyed this challenge, I'm just about ready to get back to the novels. Not quite yet, though. I have more playing and exploring to do first.

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Spam alert

I lost my BB here in SF. I've changed the passwords to my gmail, facebook and LJ accounts, things I believe I accessed from my BB. I never accessed the Twitter from there, so I think I'm okay with that. However, if you see something weird from me, please let me know. Either I missed an account or they got through anyway.

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

New Fiction Sunday!

Yeah, I know. A bit late. But hey, I finished! I figure that counts for something.

Hunting Ghosts In The Machine

Overcrowding, pollution and acid rain have reduced humanity's livable areas. For most, space is achieved through virtual reality. Only a few see behind the mask. They're the collectors, who hunt the ghosts in the machine. But who watches the watchers?

I actually wrote about 500 words or so on this story a long, long time ago. I always liked the idea, but it wasn't really a story, no real plot. I decided to revive it this week, threw away everything but the main character and the world, and came up with something new.

I wrote the entire story on Saturday. It isn't my best piece. But I think it still has merit.

For the next week the story is available for free here on my web site. After that it will be available for $.99 via the usual suspects: Smashwords, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I don't know if I'll be able to start the next story tomorrow or not. I hope so. I hope to avoid the same situation this week. It will be difficult, as I'm in SF for the day job. I'll still make a run at it, though.

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Scheduling Redux

I didn't get well according to plan. Or at least, not well enough to be able to write. Not until today, Saturday. The good news is that I'm 3000 words or so into the story, 2000 of that written today. I'll finish the story today — it's going to only be 4000 words or so. I won't post until tomorrow. I might start writing the next story tomorrow — It's going to depend on how the rest of my day goes on Sunday.

I can't express the amount of disappointment I've felt for not being able to write. I've tried. I just didn't have the brain for it. I pushed and worried and finally found the words. This hasn't been easy. The next two weeks are going to be similar, I'm afraid. But I'll make it through.

I want to post sometime about the changes I've gone through the last month or so. I feel as though I've had a concrete shift in attitude about my writing. This is a good thing.

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Rescheduling

Friday/Saturday I had what I think was a 24-hour flu, the kind where every muscle aches and you're exhausted, but can still think. Or at least I could, and I could still write. So I was able to finish last week's story on time.

This week I've come down with something different, a pretty nasty cold. I started coming down with it Monday, and was sick by Monday night. Was really sick yesterday, and today, though I'm better, I'm still sick. This is the kind of sickness where I can't think. I have my fingers crossed this post is vaguely coherent.

I wrote 1000 words Sunday on the new story ("Hunting Ghosts In The Machine.") I got maybe a page or so written Monday night, but it wasn't coherent. Yesterday I couldn't even think about writing. Maybe by tonight I'll be able to get some words down on the page, but it's a 50-50 bet right now.

At this point I'm not giving up on writing a new story this week. The plan right now is to do what I can this week then spend all day Saturday and as much time as I need on Sunday finishing this week's story.

The problem is that I'm traveling next week. This crazy schedule of non-writing followed by marathon writing I have this week will be repeated next week. Then it's Thanksgiving, followed by my birthday.

Generally, I love writing. Is it hard? Yes. Do I faff about before getting my butt in the chair and write sometimes? Yes. Would I still rather write than do anything yes? Yes. But I suspect the next few weeks are going to be more about discipline than about love. Or maybe it's just tough love.

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Sixth Story Finished!

I have finished and uploaded the sixth story for the Baker's Dozen Challenge.

This story is a sequel to,

December 21st, 2012 hadn't been the end of the world, only the Great Unraveling. The veils between the Seen and Unseen worlds shredded. The living suddenly found out they weren't alone.

Andy had seen it all, done it all as a detective when he'd be alive. Now, as a ghost, he still works as a PI. This time, he's fulfilling his promise to the beautiful Toni, going to look for her brother, all the way to Hell and gone in Yakima, WA.

The story will be posted here on my web site for free for a week, until I post the next new story.

This story ended up being 9000. I swear I am going to write something shorter one of these weeks.

It was really fun to visit this world again. I have one more story planned for this mini-series, "Hell for the Holidays." I'm currently planning on writing it for the last week of the challenge.

I realized that I miscounted in my story weeks, that 13 weeks will be over on December 24th, not the 31st. I think that's probably better for me — that last week I'll reformat all the stories into the anthology and publish that. It will be easier to do that kind of futzing while on vacation and traveling.

There are other things I want to post about, but for tonight, I'm getting back off the computer. Going to spend the evening quilting. Just because I can.

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

A solitary life

I've been really good this week about getting up early and writing. The short story ended up being about 8500 words, and I wrote it all out by hand over four days.

This morning I could not wake up. It wasn't that I was exhausted so much as I couldn't get my brain to start. "Can't brain, I haz the dumb" sort of feeling. I didn't write, but I did drag my sorry ass through the things I needed to do this morning — vacuuming the vacation rental, cleaning away the leaves out front so someone could walk on my sidewalk without fear of slipping and falling on piles of wet leaves.

It wasn't until I called into my first morning meeting that I realized I actually was sick, and didn't have much voice. My throat had hurt a little, but I had thought it was just tiredness.

Obviously I don't talk out loud to myself enough to realize these sorts of things.

I'm going to try to write this afternoon, but I suspect that I'm going to have to wait until tomorrow before I get much more done on this story. I'm still hopeful that I'll get it published on Saturday, however, the world isn't going to end if I push it out until Sunday. I would be more upset about missing this deadline but I'm too tired and am going back to bed.

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Paper Mage Available as an E-book!

Originally published by Roc in 2003, now available as an ebook for the first time!

Available on Amazon (Kindle)

Available on Barnes & Noble (Nook)

Available on Smashwords

Set during the T'ang Dynasty, Xiao Yen, with the help of her aunt, becomes a paper mage: she folds paper into an animal or a thing, then does magic, so the paper becomes what she's folded. However, she is still a woman trying to fill a man's roll. The only people who will hire her are foreigners. She must leave her beloved home and travel with them, protecting their cargo, from the end of the Silk Road to the northern reaches of the Middle Kingdom. She accepts her obligation to them and her aunt, though she's torn between her duty and a longing for a normal life, with children of her own.

Just before she leaves, Xiao Yen loses her lucky amulet. Things get worse after that, between misunderstandings with the foreigners, the dangers of the trail, and their traveling companions. Before long, Xiao Yen gets involved with a goddess' battle against a northern warlord. But attacking a rat dragon, and destroying a Taoist immortal, are the least of the battles Xiao Yen must face.

Praise for "Paper Mage":

—"An enchanting novel, skillfully rooted in Chinese history and myth. . .mythical, unusual, and thoroughly convincing." –Terri Windling, Editor of "The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror"

—"A magical world as solid and believable as our own." –Cecilia Dart-Thorton

—"An exceptional tale by an exception writer. . .It doesn't get any better than this." Dennis L. McKiernan

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.