Chantal Boudreau's Blog, page 30

Museless

Reblogged from Guild Of Dreams:

I'm stuck…I admit it. I don't suffer from writer's block – I've never experienced it - but I have suffered from a lack of drive before. I haven't been in that place for years, aside from the odd month here and there where I just needed a break, but I'm there now. I know the industry take on things is that you have to write for you and you can't rely on feedback from others because you can't depend on it being there when you need it, but like it or not, that's just the way I work.

Read more… 450 more words

The Blurb on Other People’s Words – Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun

That Ghoul Ava by T W Brown

T W Brown may be known for his horror but this book (along with his Dakota series) proves that he’s no one trick pony. Yes, it does have horror elements to it, but I wouldn’t describe it as a horror story at all. To me this was dark comedy mixed with action adventure, and the horror was just part of the decor, much the way it is with zomedies – only in this case the supernatural presents itself in the form of ghouls, psychics, revenants and vampires.

I did enjoy this story, although at times it read more YA than adult with the thirty-something protagonist behaving more like a teenager rather than acting her age. The youthful silliness did add to the humour, and I don’t think it was overdone. I would have like to have seen a little more interaction between Ava and her human sidekick and a little less bickering with her professional rival, but I suspect there might be a broadening of that relationship in later stories, once both Ava and her companion have adjusted more to their circumstance.

Overall, I have to give the story high marks for content. The narrative flowed smoothly, with clean editing and realistic dialogue. Best of all, the story was entertaining and demonstrated more originality then a lot of the typical zombie/vampire/werewolf books out there. “Fun” comes to mind as the best word to describe this book, so much so that I was disappointed when the story came to an end. I’m looking forward to reading its sequel.

Edit Fest – External Effects

We got a glimpse of sun today, but it’s not forecast to last. The rain we’ve been having lately is a real downer. It’s hard to get excited about anything when your mood is as soggy as your surroundings. I’m starting to understand what I put my poor characters through in Providence. But they had a rainy season to contend with, whereas we have winter. How is it fair to have to endure both?

The fact is, one thing that definitely affects me and my enthusiasm for writing is my environment. If life is good, the weather is fair and I’m feeling happy, I’m going to be more productive – writing included. This year has been crappy in almost every aspect of my life and this has clearly been reflected in my level of productivity. I’ve written a handful of chapters for a novel I’m not inclined to finish and a handful of short stories – not my usual prolific output. Maybe when the sun comes out and my life brightens a little, I’ll get back to my usual self. Then again maybe not.

No news on any other stories from the submission blitz, but I may be resubmitting one of the rejects to a charity anthology. I’m just waiting on a listing of the anthology specs to find out if I have anything that would be a good match.

Edit Fest – Oh Canada

I got a chance to see the wonderfully creepy cover art today for the upcoming “Dead North” anthology – a collection of zombie tales set in Canada (my “Dead Drift” included) from Exile Editions. It thrills me to bits to have my stories in Canadian anthologies. This will be my second, along with the Masked Mosaic anthology from Tyche Books, and I have an acceptance I received this month for a third Canadian anthology. I am a little sad, in a strange sort of way, that it took me so long after first publication to finally work my way into things Canadian. I had multiple stories published in US and UK anthologies with a variety of small press publishers before finally reaching this particular personal goal. There are still a couple of Canadian pro-rate venues I’d really like to conquer and I may crack them yet, but so far, all I’ve had from them is a couple of maybes that didn’t turn into a “yes.” I need to keep reminding myself … baby steps.

I have to wonder why I managed to make my mark (albeit a faint one) outside my own country well before managing it here. Is it because of our smaller population base? Are the standards higher here? Do my stories have more of a US/UK cultural appeal for some reason despite my Canadian upbringing? Is speculative fiction a market that is difficult to penetrate in Canada in general – or was it just me? I honestly have no way of finding answers, so I guess I just have to shrug my shoulders and be grateful for the progress I’ve made.

No new word as a result of the submission blitz, but I’ll keep you posted. On to the last of my Providence illustrations.

Edit Fest – Down Time

My best down times are my bus commutes and my lunch hours – no kids jumping up and down on me, no housework or accounting work demanding my attention and freedom to mostly do as I please. But that’s when another type of juggling act comes into play. Do I write, do I read, do I edit, do I draw…work on my blog or website…or do I socialize? It’s a tough choice. Whatever I choose is at the expense of the others.

I admit, drawing on the bus is less of an option, so if I want to draw I have to do it at home, surrounded by distractions, or sneak away at lunch. I’ve been trying to get a series of illustrations done and I have managed some at home, but I’ve also been escaping at lunch to the food court with my MP3 player and my sketch pad. I feel a little guilty when I do though. I know I should probably be spending some of that time socializing with my co-workers, but I’m being selfish with my time right now, and I do have quite a few illustrations I want to finish in the next little while.

Not much on the submission blitz update for today, other than the fact that I heard the one pro-rate venue I submitted to with only two open slots has already received over 650 submissions with more than a week before submissions close. Someone suggested I’d have a better chance of a win by buying a Powerball ticket – ah well.

Edit Fest – Working to a Goal

I find I make the best progress when I set a distinct goal to reach. With the work I’m doing for Providence, I decided to get things done by next weekend. I’ve finished the review of the final edits, written the preface, acknowledgements, and back cover blurb, updated the character list for the book and completed seven illustrations so far. I just need to finish a few more illustrations, and then I can ship the whole lot off to MDP to wrap up the package.

We don’t have a cover for it yet. I’m not sure how involved I’m going to be in its creation. I did the cover artwork for Fervor and The Blood Runs Deep, but I’m more of a black and white kind of illustrator. I’m willing to work on something, but I don’t have near the talent of the other cover artists they have used. I have the heart and the motivation – I just don’t have the skill.

I will give you a peek at one of my favourites from what I’ve drawn so far, from the ones that are actually scanned in.

And I’m happy to say for my submission blitz update that I received an acceptance for Rev-Ursal. That makes four so far for thirty. Fingers crossed there will be more.

The Blurb on Other People’s Words – Zombie: Lockdown

I’ll do my best to do this anthology justice, but I’m still coming down from my Star Trek high (I just returned from watching In Darkness). Then again, this book gave me a bit of a zombie high. I really enjoyed all of the stories which, despite their common prison theme, had a surprising amount of variety and differing flavour from tale to tale. This was due in part to the spectrum of main characters, ranging from typical prison tough guy to much more placid intellectual criminal. There was gore, some of the stories quite visceral in places, but a lot of the horror came from that sense of isolation and entrapment, from hopelessness in the face of a grim and likely brief future.

Choosing favourites from this group was difficult, but there were three that slightly edged out the others (only slightly, mind you):

No God Waiting by T. Fox Dunham – I really liked the superman/experimental aspect to this story. It gave the tale a historical feel. The main character was somewhere between a creep-show comic book character and a dark champion . This was one of the more gory tales, but it seemed appropriate based on the nature of the story

Isolation by Rebecca Brown – This one offered up a real element of claustrophobia, along with deprivation and desperation. I found this one particularly chilling.

Death Row by Joseph Rubas – The story at the top of my list. The main character is both despicable and oddly moving at the same time, and I found myself quite invested in him by the end of the story. An impressive achievement, considering circumstances.

If you enjoy zombie fiction this is a great read. A firm thumbs up for this one.

Edit Fest – Niggly Bits

In addition to illustrations for Providence (I have 4 done so far), I’m working on what I consider the “niggly bits” right now. That includes the preface for the novel, the acknowledgements and the back cover blurb. I actually like working on the back cover blurb, it feels like a game catching just the right words to tease the reader, dropping a hint about where the story will go without giving it all away. I want to make it sound exciting and intriguing – I want to make it alluring.

The acknowledgements are fairly simple too, but I have to make sure to touch on everyone who needs to be in there without the darn thing dragging on for pages. Barb’s going to have a special mention as she always will. None of any of this would have ever happened without her and I’m going to make sure that much is never forgotten.

The preface is the toughest of the three for me. I want to talk about the story, but not really give anything away. I also want to give my impressions on the novel and its influences or inspirations, but not ramble on. It’s hard to come up with something that works, but I’ve managed to before and with some work, I’m sure I’ll manage to again. This is part of the “hard work” end of things along with the edits.

No submission blitz update today – fingers still crossed for those stories still outstanding.

Edit Fest – Providence

I don’t like editing. No matter how great your first drafts may seem at first, after putting them aside for a few months and coming back to them, there is always a lot of work to do. But reviewing final edits is a different story. There is usually something very blissful to that kind of read through. The kinks have been worked out, the rough edges smoothed. I might catch the odd typo that everyone missed or a word that needs to be changed, but for the most part, it’s smooth sailing.

When I’m reviewing a novel in a series, like Providence, where I haven’t written the next installment yet, it gets me excited to start on that next part of the story, the ideas fresh in my mind. I was planning on finishing Sifting the Ashes after I was done with these edits and not start Endeavor, the next in the Fervor series, until August, but now I’m not so sure. I can feel the story in my blood right now, and I want to see where it goes. Maybe I’ll give in and start it earlier than planned. Normally I’d ask Barb what she thought was best, but I don’t have anyone to ask anymore. I guess I’m just going to have to figure it out on my own (she would have said start Endeavor now, I think, because she always preferred a new installment in a series to a new stand-alone and she really liked the Fervor books.)

No new updates on the submission blitz, but it could be many weeks before I hear anything else, several months in the case of the novel submissions. For now, it’s off to do more illustrations.

Edit Fest – Learning Curve

Going back to older manuscripts is difficult. There’s a huge difference between really old first drafts and my latest edits of the same book. The quality of earlier work is embarrassing and if I dig out my old trunk manuscript (a terrible novel I wrote when I was fifteen) the temptation to burn it is hard to resist – I keep it to remind myself how far I’ve managed to come when I get frustrated with my current progress. I don’t see as drastic a difference from first draft to final edit now, but that’s because the learning curve is a steep one in the beginning, but I’m now on the shallower end. I’ve done the lion’s share of my learning at this point and my newer learning, while it still continues, comes in trickles and dribbles. It still has me wondering how much further I have to go to make it into a pro-rate venue, and if at this rate, I’ll have any hope of actually getting there.

I still get sales though, and today’s submission blitz update actually offers up an acceptance. My “The Godmother’s Curse” has been accepted by a small Canadian venue (yay!) Apparently, the third time was a charm.