Jason Córdova's Blog, page 68

Another Story Off

One more story contracted before the end of the year.

The Cold, which will be featured in the horror anthology What Scares the Boogeyman? has been accepted by editor John Manning. That makes four short stories contracted this year.

I'm very pleased. Who'd have thunk it that three years ago I was wondering if I'd ever sell another story again.

This whole "patience" thing… must remember it.

Clowns Will Plot Devices

They really, really will. Just ask Stephen King.

I'm supposed to be sleeping right now but… eh. Can't sleep.

Clowns will eat me.

I was thinking about writers, their projects and how similar something one of them publishes is similar to another book which had come out not too long before. Take, for example, Ian McDonald's Planesrunner. It's a brilliant YA SF story about a boy who can cross dimensional planes while hunting for his father, who was abducted by people from another dimension...

Your Dose of Holiday Cheer

Leaving you with a little holiday cheer.

Sense of Do-o-o-o-o-o-o-om

There's sense, there's impending, then there's just Viktor...

Gotta admit, there's a nice sense of accomplishment that comes after you've had a story accepted from a publisher.

Of course, then shortly after there's the sudden sense of impending doom because you realize that somewhere, somehow, someone might not like your story.

It's a rough feeling, knowing that you can't please everyone.

One of the things I've had the most trouble with is that I know many people aren't going to like my stories. ...

Jealousy Reigns

This horse knows who has been naughty and nice. The guy with the carrot? Nice. The guy with the halter? Evil jerk.

I wish I was as original as some authors.

They have really cool blog posts where they talk about fish, God and writing as a whole (okay, so maybe that's only Sarah… but still, cooler than me) or they ramble on about absolutely nothing and still garner mass acclaim (you know who you are) for their insightful meanderings. Still others are just too cool and don't need no stinkin'...

Accepted

The classic original cover... note the detail of the devil as he devours all.

I guess I can make it official now.

I have another short story, In the Shadow of Paradise, that is going to be in the next Heroes in Hell anthology, titled "Adventurers in Hell". It's a great story starring Ponce de Leon, he of the Fountain of Youth fame, and it took a lot of work to get this story to the place it needs to be. Over here you'll find a brief snippet, though I'm sure some of you already found it (if you ...

More Thought on Ball St Football

I must admit, last year I was a sad little guy after watching my beloved Cardinals get thrashed by just about everyone in the MAC. I talked about how upset I was with former coach Stan Parrish's recruiting efforts and was not really looking forward to 2011.

An hour later he was caned (stupid typos, though that one was amusing) canned and a new coach was hired. Am I that powerful? Probably not, but it doesn't hurt the ego to think otherwise once in a while.

This year Ball State went a...

At A Glacial Pace

Any slower and it'd freeze...

I found an interesting article written by the talented Amanda Green today about a new self-publishing/vanity-esque endeavor from Book Country in which they offer publishing services for a fee.

I agree with most of what Amanda says here. She, as usual, hits it right on the head.

However, my only minor quibble is her belief that nobody is going to pay for these services. I disagree. I think there will always be someone out there so desperate to get published that...

Anne McCaffrey Passed Away

Anne Inez McCaffrey: April 1, 1926 - November 21, 2011

Anne McCaffrey, 85, author of the Dragonriders of Pern series and other classic fantasy novels, has reportedly died today.

I wasn't a huge fan fantasy, primarily because I have issues with "high fantasy". But her writing style was unique and fresh, and her stories had something that many authors wish they had. She was a very entertaining writer, to say the least, and I did enjoy the few stories of hers I managed to sneak in while reading...

Fantasy Football Update

If this was my RB, I'd have won the league in week 1...

Many of you already know that I am a huge football fan. Pop Warner, high school, college, NFL… doesn't matter, I like it all. This may seem strange, coming from a SF/F author, but I really, really dig sports. I think because, unlike many of my fellow writers out there, I excelled at sports throughout high school and college.

For some reason, athletes don't tend to turn into writers. Who knew, right?

Well, I haven't had much writing news...