Jennifer Melzer's Blog, page 7
July 24, 2019
Surprise! You’re An Android Is Now Available
Today is the day! Today is the day! My brand new short story, “Surprise! You’re An Android” is now available pretty much everywhere eBooks are sold. And it’s just 99 cents, which makes it the perfectly affordable short read to take with you to the beach, the doctor’s office, the coffee shop… just about anywhere, really!
Rebecca hates that her sister-in-law expects the whole family to lie to Uncle Henry about what he is. He isn’t really a person anymore, and he hasn’t been for a while now. They shouldn’t be expected to treat him like he’s still family, but the kids all love him as much as they did when he was alive and no one but Rebecca seems to think that’s weird. The whole family tiptoes around him for fear of hurting his feelings with the truth, but machines don’t have feelings. Not even those that have been uploaded with the memories of loved ones who’ve passed on.
When tempers flare at a family picnic, an unexpected truth makes its way to the surface, and no one’s more surprised than Rebecca to discover Uncle Henry isn’t the only one they’ve been keeping secrets from.
You can pick up a copy at any of these fine online retailers for a multitude of eReading devices, so I hope you’ll snag one now and tell your friends, too!
July 19, 2019
Flashy Friday: The Wall
The masons worked quickly, layering thick slabs of stone across the barbed fence while the guardsman patrolled the eastern quadrant. They monitored their progress for three days straight, one of them always watching until they knew every step of their routine. It would only take another four days, five at the most, before the wall was too high and they’d never see their family again. She’d be safer there, with Aunt Irma and Uncle Billy. They’d make sure she was loved, fed, educated, and who knew… maybe one day she’d rise up and tear down the wall to find her mother and father again.
“Hurry, Peter. They’re coming.”
The baby squirmed and wiggled, gurgling in agitation before choking out half a cry and kicking her leg toward the spiked wire. Peter’s arms hurt from holding her up, and he could barely see Uncle Billy’s hands reaching to grab onto her.
“What if we never see her again, Maggie?”
Maggie didn’t take her eyes off the incoming patrol, but Peter heard the tears in her voice when she said, “We can’t think like that right now. All that matters is her freedom.”
Peter bit into his lower lip, the sharp pain momentarily distracting him from the breaking of his own heart. “Take her, Uncle Billy. Take her before I change my mind.”
From the other side of the wall, Aunt Irma sobbed softly as strong hands grabbed onto their daughter and maneuvered her through the barbed wire without injury even as her agitation escalated. Peter let go once he was sure Uncle Billy had her, but little Georgia grabbed onto his sleeve, gripping tight until Uncle Billy tugged her free.
There was barely time to blink away his tears before Maggie yanked hard on his shirt, dragging him away from the wall just as the afternoon patrol rounded the corner and started marching toward them.
July 15, 2019
Surprise! You’re An Android Now Available for Pre-Order
As promised last week, I have some pre-order details about my upcoming short story, “Surprise! You’re An Android”. It’s now available for pre-order on all platforms, and it’s just $0.99! That’s right, for less than the cost of a cheap coffee at your local coffee shop, you can sit down in the coffee shop and read my short story WHILE you drink your coffee.
If that sounds like a good way to spend your morning, or a lazy afternoon on the beach, you can pre-order your copy at any one of these online retailers:
Amazon
Amazon Canada
Amazon UK
iBooks
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Rebecca hates that her sister-in-law expects the whole family to lie to Uncle Henry about what he is. He isn’t really a person anymore, and he hasn’t been for a while now. They shouldn’t be expected to treat him like he’s still family, but the kids all love him as much as they did when he was alive and no one but Rebecca seems to think that’s weird. The whole family tiptoes around him for fear of hurting his feelings with the truth, but machines don’t have feelings. Not even those that have been uploaded with the memories of loved ones who’ve passed on.
When tempers flare at a family picnic, an unexpected truth makes its way to the surface, and no one’s more surprised than Rebecca to discover Uncle Henry isn’t the only one they’ve been keeping secrets from.
Copies will be delivered to your eReading device on July 24, 2019, so you’ve got plenty of time to get in on the action.
Thanks for your support, I hope you enjoy the story!
July 14, 2019
The Galactic Grid
The Moons of Vanikor “SOLD”As those of you who follow me regularly on social media may already know, I’ve been painting a lot this year, and when I say a lot, I more or less mean every single day.
Being a lifelong fan of infinity and beyond, my inspiration has led me through many interesting experiments, but none more exciting than SPACE. Endless so far as we know, more vast than anything we can begin to fathom, all but entirely unexplored, I find myself daydreaming of places the stardust in my soul has already visited and then transferring my memories of it to canvas.
Then I hang these paintings around the house because who doesn’t want to be surrounded by the infinity of space at all times? The thing is, there is only so much wall space in my house. I’ve had a few people commission me to do spacey pieces for them since I started sharing my art, and while practicing any form of artistry always comes laden with some form of impostor syndrome or another, I decided to go ahead and put myself out there anyway. Despite my crippling anxiety and fear, I began offering my paintings for sale because in the end I will always only have so much wall space, but I will never not want to paint space.
The PinwheelRe-purposing my old Etsy store, I gave it a face lift, a new name, and just last week I started adding spacey paintings to my virtual shelves. I even sold one the first day to a complete and total stranger, so that felt pretty amazing. In time, there will be other universally-themed items I create available for sale in the Galactic Grid, but for now I hope you’ll head on over and check out the paintings currently for sale. If you’ve got a second, please Favorite my shop so you’ll always know when new galactic goodness is available, and don’t forget to tell your space-loving friends all about me.
You can always access The Grid from my website by clicking the The Galactic Grid link in the top toolbar beneath the header.
July 12, 2019
Flashy Friday: A Sister’s Lament
Mother Patrice warned them all not to venture into the crypts on the day they took their vows, refusing to answer questions as to why.
For years, the darkness taunted them all, but none were brave enough to test the very steadfast protection of God by going against the reverend mother.
Sister Janice had always followed the rules in the past, believing Mother Patrice spoke the truth and wishes of God Himself, but when her sisters began disappearing, and later young women from the nearby town turned up missing, she heard God’s quiet plea in her soul and knew she must investigate.
Cowering in the empty pine box as the vampire sought the source of her scent, Janice regretted her insatiable curiosity, and cursed her vows and God for sending her on this doomed mission.
July 8, 2019
Camp NaNoWriMo – Day 8
I was incredibly determined this morning to make some headway on this project, so I sat down, read back through everything I’d already written, and decided to scrap all but maybe 400 words of it. Which was really sad because I’d actually written about 4000 words today, but it was also happy because they were not really great words. And I know that the words don’t need to be great in a first draft, but if they aren’t coming out the way you want, and you can’t move forward because of that, there’s only one thing to do: KILL THOSE DARLINGS.
Down by 90% of my word count, and feeling beyond frustrated, I cracked my knuckles (eww, not really,) stretched my neck, and knew exactly what I wanted to do.
And then I did it. I kept my butt in the chair all day, save for a few breaks to bake bread and wash dishes, and now that I’ve managed just about 2000 words for the day I feel much more confident about the book I want to write. I realized while I was reading back through I was doing something I have always done: padding. Which isn’t so bad during a first draft or during planning, and when it comes down to it all of that information is sort of necessary to get to know my characters, but it isn’t actually moving the novel itself forward.
I kept all I’d written in a side folder in Scrivener so I can refer back to it later if I need to remember why my main character has such issues with her overbearing mother, or how my spaceman from the stars got separated from his people before crash landing on Earth, but for the main story none of those details need to be described so intricately to advance the story at this point. I can always go back later and add more details if necessary to flesh things out, but as it stands right now I did not need a good 75% of what I’d written.
And, the day’s still relatively young, so I’m going to dive back in and see if I can whip up another 500-1000 words before it’s time to throw in the towel for the day.
I hope whatever you’re trying to accomplish today is going according to plan, and if it isn’t don’t be afraid to chop out the parts that aren’t working. Unless whatever you’re trying to accomplish today is murder or a bank heist, in which case don’t tell me. I’d rather not be an accessory.
New Fiction Coming July 24!
It’s been a few months since I released a new short story, and with all those beach vacations on the horizon for a lot of people I figured it was my civic duty to provide folks with something to read between shark sightings, late summer fireworks, and waiting for your favorite android to finish grilling burgers and dogs for the barbecue that’s about to go down in your back yard.
Regardless of your reason for passing the time this summer, I hope you’ll pass it with my new short story, “Surprise! You’re An Android”, which is all set to release on Wednesday, July 24, 2019 at midnight!
SURPRISE! YOU’RE AN ANDROID
Rebecca hates that her sister-in-law expects the whole family to lie to Uncle Henry about what he is. He isn’t really a person anymore, and he hasn’t been for a while now. They shouldn’t be expected to treat him like he’s still family, but the kids all love him as much as they did when he was alive and no one but Rebecca seems to think that’s weird. The whole family tiptoes around him for fear of hurting his feelings with the truth, but machines don’t have feelings. Not even those that have been uploaded with the memories of loved ones who’ve passed on.
When tempers flare at a family picnic, an unexpected truth makes its way to the surface, and no one’s more surprised than Rebecca to discover Uncle Henry isn’t the only one they’ve been keeping secrets from.
Surprise! You’re An Android will be available everywhere ebooks are sold for just $.99 on July 24, so keep an eye out for more information as it becomes available.
July 6, 2019
Camp NaNoWriMo – Day 6
To say I have any idea what I’m doing with this Camp NaNoWriMo experience would be an absolute lie. I have a significant portion of my novel project planned, but every time I sit down to write, I end up working on a short story. And not the same short story, mind you, but new ones that just come barging into my brain and establish their dominance until I have no choice but to listen and transcribe.
I totally made this deliciousnessI wrote very little yesterday because we got together with family in the afternoon to party like we’d won our independence from the Crown. I made a bunch of food, including the yummiest blueberry lasagna I ever had and some pretty banging mac and cheese.
This morning, as soon as I sat down I found an anthology I’d like to submit to near the end of summer and my brain just started yammering, so I started writing. I wrote more in one sitting today than I have in a while, so I’ll take it.
I’m blaming the holiday weekend and the fact that I am still adjusting to an entirely new schedule, but let it be known this doesn’t mean I’m giving up. It just means I’m moving more slowly than I’d like to on my novel, but hey… I’m writing, so let’s not split hairs because I don’t write nearly as often as I once did, and every moment with a pen in my hand or my fingers poised over the keys feels like a triumph of sorts.
And… the day’s still young. I’ve got several hours left to tap into this creative well and make sparks fly, so we’ll see what happens.
Hope you’re creative endeavors are bearing lots of fruit!
July 5, 2019
Flashy Friday: Sacrifice
His greatest fear was that he wouldn’t be able to let go his tight grip upon the final component, that while standing at the edge of the battlefield he would lose his nerve and fail entirely. He grew tired of whispering the incantation he knew by heart and began recanting the wisdom of his grandfather to soothe his fraying nerve. Time and again, he returned to one important piece of wisdom: The sacrifice of one to save many was one of the most noble sacrifices of all.Could he do it? Even knowing he’d barely begun to live himself? He could have decades in which to find love, settle down, start a family, open a small apothecary in a a slow-growing town on the verge of becoming a city. There were so many things he’d never done, would never get to do, but if he didn’t follow through there might not be a world left for anyone else to find love or settle down in.
He didn’t sleep on the eve of the reckoning. He wouldn’t have been able to even if he tried. And before the sun began to climb the smoke-laden horizon he set out to begin the incantation. If everything went as planned, he’d speak the final words, make the required sacrifice before the sun’s light breached the edge of the world. He’d be gone, and no one would ever know what he’d done, but they wouldn’t remember they’d been warring either, and perhaps they’d find love, settle down, start families, grow small towns into thriving cities…
July 3, 2019
Camp NaNoWriMo – Day 3
Day three of Camp NaNoWriMo was a huge bust for me today. I know it’s an excuse, but I received some disturbing and disheartening news this morning from one of the people I love most in the world. I sat with it all day, while sending out good vibes on repeat and trying to distract myself from how terrifying life is on a regular basis.
I could have tried harder to distract myself with my writing project, but my mind has never worked that way and I’ve never learned how to change it. I’m not going to beat myself up over it, though. Tomorrow is another day, and I did manage to get about 300 words total written between both projects, which is far better than zero words, so I’ll take it. I’m still feeling inspired and excited about both of the projects, so I’m confident I’ll be able to get back into the swing of things once my mind is a little clearer. Hopefully that is tomorrow.
I also got glorious cover art from the remarkable Starla Huchton for a short story I’ll be releasing later this month, so stay tuned for details about that as they become available. Maybe next week. You don’t know…
So there. I guess today wasn’t a total bust. Cover art, 300 words, and really, it is only 6:30… more words could happen before I retire for the day, and if not, like I said above: tomorrow is definitely another day, so here’s hoping it is much more productive and less stressful than today.
