Pippa Jay's Blog, page 87

Six Sentence Sunday #39

Hi all! Welcome to another #sixsunday. This week I'm posting another snippet from my #scifi novella Gethyon. Having spent a year hidden in his mother's base on Lyagnius at her insistence, he decides to make a break for freedom and transports himself back home to Terris via a temporal gateway (a path through time and space - one of his many special talents) ...

A heartbeat later and it was all over. Another world opened beneath his feet. He took a shaky step forward, expecting the ground to fade but it remained. Long grasses in shades of blue snaked around his ankles and whispered welcomes as it danced in the strong wind.
Tears rose in his eyes and he lifted his head to stare out across the sea of greenery. He'd made it home.

© 2009-2011 Copyright Philippa J. Green All Rights Reserved


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The Dark Side.

'Anger, fear, aggression... the dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.' Yoda, Return of the Jedi.

WARNING: RANT AHEAD!!!
Today I had one of those days. It seemed like the whole world was determined to make me mad. Twitter spammers, scamming and marketing phone calls when I'm waiting for my gas engineer to get back to me with the quote for repairs (urgh), all three kids conspiring to make the morning routine a slow trip through hell - they were all out to get me. And they did. By lunchtime I was a seething mass of fury and frustration, with a headache brewing, a snap in my voice, and venting it all on Twitter and Facebook. I had taken the dark path!

I have a temper, I know. I get worked over things which, at the end of the day, aren't really that important. But I hate stupidity. I hate selfishness. I hate people harassing me for money I don't have, or for not getting the tedious things out of the way so they can go and get on with the fun stuff. I hate my precious time being wasted for no good reason. I know I'm not perfect, but I try my hardest not to offend, obstruct or upset people even if they don't (or can't) return the favour. I like to be helpful and supportive, and generally a good sport. I take pleasure in other people's happiness, and commiserate with their pain. It infuriates me that some people seem incapable of even the most basic empathy with their fellows, or the slightest smidge of consideration or conscience. And so I got myself in a rage. To what end? Only my own suffering.

The sad truth is there are always going to be things that ... well ... p*ss me off. Sometimes the fault will be my own. For all the good things in this reality, there are equally bad. I'm not really a believer in karma or cosmic balance, or anything like that. I don't believe in Heaven or Hell. Bad people will get away with their crimes, and the good will go unrewarded. I certainly don't believe that the meek will inherit the earth! But I won't tolerate some of it. If some people see me as bad-tempered and rude, then I'm sorry. You're probably the 15th person this week trying to sell me solar panels or telling me that your energy company is the cheapest in the world despite the hundreds of others claiming the same thing. Maybe you're the one trying to tell me I'm an idiot for choosing to go the traditional route for publishing. Maybe you're the one who thinks it's okay to tell me that someone I care about is ugly in your eyes.

And maybe I'm just a grumpy old woman who should go back to bed or eat some chocolate. :-P

Weird Wednesday #1

A few days ago, my good friend posted this to my Facebook profile, with the note 'this made me think of you. It is the you-est you that ever youed. And you will undoubtedly think it's devastatingly beautiful.'

That told me two things. One, that my friend knows me extremely well. Two, that I am indeed a fan of the weird and wonderful - not a bad thing for a writer. The weird and the wonderful are great inspiration, although the mundane works just as well for me as often.
I have no idea what this is - a type of praying mantis at a guess. But it reminded me of a post on Google+ (yes, I'm there as well) also posted by an author as a piece of inspiration.






So, over the next couple of weeks I'm going to post some of the weird and wonderful things that I've come across, and maybe you'll find some inspiration in them too. Or maybe, you'll just realize what a total weirdo I am and never come back. :-P

Six Sentence Sunday #38

Hello! *waves* Yes, I know, it's been a long, long time. So no wasting time with idle chit-chat - this snippet is taken from a WIP going out on submission - a scifi novella entitled Gethyon. Here our hero has caught sight of his reflection, but finds nothing to admire.




As he passed the black reflective metallic panels lining a curved alcove in long strips from floor to ceiling, he glanced at his darkened image. A year spent training hard on Lyagnius had added muscle to his frame and broadened his shoulders to better match his height. After much nagging, he'd allowed the reddish hair to be cropped. Though the reflection carried no color, he knew the eyes glaring back were green, set in a face that matched his father's too closely for comfort. He was tired of that comparison, of being another man's shade. 

I'm nothing but a dead man's shadow...

© 2009-2011 Copyright Philippa J. Green All Rights ReservedPlease check out the other fab SSS snippets here.

Monsters in Mersea.

 Mersea Island, on the coast of East Anglia, might be more famous for its oysters (one of the reasons the Romans invaded Britain way back when) but for us it's the best place to go crabbing. I don't know if it's something done anywhere else in the world, but I grew up with it as a child. I can remember my husband's scepticism when I told him about it, but the stunned look on his face the first time we went together and I repeatedly pulled crab after crab out of the water is something I'll always remember. :)


I don't know if it's the time of year, but normally we'll just catch dozens of little ones - our record is 120 crabs in one session. Today was a day for monsters - and I don't just mean my kids. :-P We caught about five that were the size of my palm if you didn't count the legs. Usually a local seal hangs around in the hope of being thrown the scraps of crab bait at the end of the day, but he wasn't there today. Most likely because the number of crabbers has dwindled with the drop of temperature - we're just insane.

The local crab bait recycler
It's probably the last chance we'll get for such escapades with winter creeping in. Already the temperature has dropped a couple of degrees over the last few days. Tomorrow my dining room is being half demolished to gut the rotten wooden windows letting in a gale, to be replaced with some nice french doors - something to enjoy when, and IF, we ever get a summer in the UK.

So I finish with a last glimpse of sun for probably a long time to come.

Mersea beach The walkway over the Mersea mudbanks

Emerging from the cave.

Oh, wow! There's a whole world out there! And light! lol.

Sorry for the long silence, folks. I received my first round of edits from my fabulous editor and wow! they were intensive. :-o They also arrived on the first day of half-term holiday in the UK, so I had a week with all three children at home - not the most conducive working environment. Also hot on the heels of a rejection - tsk, Mondays!


Being a newbie to the whole business the edits came as a huge shock, and I have to admit to being a bit intimidated by the scale of them. However, I'm always up for a challenge, and after a little wobble and lots of emails to my beleagured editor, I got going with them. I have to say I learned a heck of a lot in the process and - fingers crossed - I'll make fewer mistakes the next time around. I saw more clearly what my strengths and weaknesses are. I had to change things I never thought would ever change, but I do think the story is much stronger overall.

Of course, I've still got to hear back from my editor to see if she agrees. I think it all has to be done and in by the end of November, and since I had to ask for extra time on this round (something I really didn't want to do but became inevitable), I'm hoping any other issues will be minor by comparison. Otherwise Keir will get bumped from May until August.

In the meantime - I had a gig at the Brixton O2 watching one of my fave bands live - Within Temptation. Woo hoo! The edits meant I didn't get time to make the fab coat I had planned, but there's always next time. In two weeks I get to see the fabulous Lacuna Coil in my own home town.

Hopefully I can back to blogging a bit more regularly after the hiatus. And once Keir is 'off', it's back to the SFR short for a fellow author's anthology, and then back to submitting my scifi novella Gethyon. That should take me up until the end of the year at least.

After that? Hmmm.... A series from Keir seems less likely at the moment, but I've been playing with the idea of 'myths meeting scifi' for another story, one entirely separate from the others I've done so far. One thing I love about writing is I never know for sure what will come next ... :)

There's no such word as "can't" ...

That's the key thing I've learned while writing. The past year has proved that to me. I've hit milestones I never imagined I would ever see. Not just in my writing, but in my personal development too. But enough about me ... :-P

Of course the word "can't" exists. The phrase "there's no such word as ..." refers more to a state of mind. Of how we can convince ourselves, or allow those around us, to believe that the desires and dreams we have are unattainable. Foolish. Unrealistic and doomed to failure should we try. I've seen far too many people dragged down and held back by that fear. I've let it hold me down too.

Perhaps we do need to be realistic about things, to hold the thought that failure IS a possibility, but we shouldn't allow it to stop us trying. To try is to fail, but trying is equally the only way to success.

"To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing."

I have to remind myself of that every time I attempt something that could fail. Rejection hurts, but if I don't make a submission then there's no chance of acceptance. So prepare yourself for the pain knowing that it could come, but that it could just as easily be joy. Every writer has been there. Every writer has been through it. If, like me, you have a wide community of writing friends then you know you have a shoulder to cry on if that rejection comes. Equally, you'll have a round of applause for the acceptance.

Don't let it hold you back. Don't let it stop you. If all else fails, sheer stubbornness can get you through. :)


"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." Mary Anne Radmacher

My Halloween Celebration.

Hi all! Apologies for the sudden silence that's fallen over my blog. No, I haven't been eaten by pumpkins or anything else appropriate to the season, but I'm deep in edits and with a deadline looming. So, as a very brief tribute to the day, here's my favourite Halloween film!

Author Interview and Giveaway - Elle Hill

It is with great pleasure that I welcome paranormal romance writer Elle Hill to my blog, author of two urban fantasy books - the novella Hunted and the full length novel Hunted Past, both part of the Hunted series.

Please tell us a bit about yourself.

First, huge thanks for inviting me. I admit I'm a fan. (oh, you're welcome and thanks! *blushes*)

Secondly, if you don't mind me quoting from another interview: "I'm an overeducated, underpaid thirty-seven-year-old who spends her days teaching college students and her night penning novels and poetry. In my spare time, I volunteer in my community, helping animals find homes and humans strive for social justice. I live with my sister and our cats in Southern California and find myself representing my profound ambivalence for the area in my L.A.-themed urban fantasies."


Tell us about Hunted.

It's my very first published work, and I'm so excited! It's a 15,000-word novella that, like my subsequent novels, grapples – albeit briefly -- with the question of whether/when violence is or can be ethical. Also, it includes a seriously kick-ass woman and a hot scientist; she keeps him alive and he, in turn, teaches her how to cuddle. What's not to love?


Hunted Past is part of the Hunted Series (btw I've read this book and it's fabulous!). Do you have an idea of how many books you plan to have in the series?

Thanks for the kind words! They mean a lot to me, particularly coming from an author I respect. Here's the chronology of the Hunted Series: 1. Hunted (my novella just released through Soul Mate Publishing), 2. Hunted Past (to be released October 28 through The Wild Rose Press), and 3. Hunted Dreams (just finished and sent to the publisher, so don't expect it for a year or so).

The possibilities for future books are endless! My best friend – who, not coincidentally, is my biggest fan – made me promise to write a love story for a recurring major-minor character in the series, so I foresee at least one more! That said, I've already mapped out my next book, and although it's still urban fantasy, it departs from the alternate Los Angeles reality of the Hunted Series.



What inspires/inspired you to write?

A never-ending supply of coffee never hurts. Just sayin'.

A little less logistically, I guess I have to say I'm motivated by the need to create universes in which the world moves to the rhythm of my logic. You may have noticed – or, at least, I believe – the real world tends to be obscenely and beautifully chaotic, crazy, amoral, bereft of inherent meaning. Boundaries, categories, meaning: these are all constructs we humans place on our environment in order to try to carve out an understanding and feel a little more in control of our lives and our environments. Real life is much bigger than us and our human need to create meaning from bundles of color, sound, and texture. Given all this, I like to create worlds that breathe with me, that have meaning in ways that make complete, holistic sense to me. Reality may not conform to my personal needs and understandings, but by god, my fictional worlds will!


Which comes first for you – a character's looks, personality or name?

What an awesome question! Definitely personality. All my book ideas start out as character sketches. I probably shouldn't say this, but to me, my books are character-driven scenes with plot thrown in to help flesh them out as people. Their names come very last and, at least at first, are pretty incidental.


Any tips for aspiring authors?

Don't wait for the muse. She's awfully busy. I do a couple of things to get my creative juices flowing: begin and end scenes in the middle in order to make me eager to come back to them, and warm up with stream-of-consciousness writing. I really think we all need to devise strategies to move us beyond the little voices that tell us our wording sucks, this character wouldn't use that phrasing, no one would ever do that, etc. It's a first draft; let's cut ourselves some slack.


If you had the power of time travel, is there anything you would go back and change? Why/why not?

I hate to be boring, but I wouldn't change a thing. I am where I am and others are where they are because of every single event that happened in history, whether good, evil, painful, or ecstatic.

Questions for fun:

What super-power would you choose?

Transportation! I hate driving with a passion. Also, airplane travel is a nightmare for me: my fat booty doesn't like those teensy airplane seats, and especially here in the U.S., airplane security is a ridiculous, farcical mess.


If you could have three wishes, what would they be?

1. An end to verbal, physical, financial, and ideological violence.
2. Engender in every human a respect for nature, animals, and our environment.
3. Being paid enough to continue teaching part-time and writing part-time.
I can't resist this last one...
4. A minion to do all my annoying work. (I promise not to be financially violent to her or him!)


Coffee or tea?

Bring 'em on! Cream, a little fake sugar, and we got ourselves a party!


What is your favourite book? (aside from one of your own!)

I have to be honest to myself and true to my childhood: Little Women. Versions of this book are still my favorite movies.


Favourite genre and why?

Urban fantasy, of course! All fantasy is amazing, since it brushes along the borders of real and unreal, self and other, genetic and cultural. Urban fantasy is especially awesome because it's where one finds the fiercest female protagonists and the most compelling visions of current and future possibilities. Plus, with contemporary urban fantasy, I don't have to know how to use phrases like, "Surely you jest, good sir! Good morrow to you!"


Favourite colour?

If it's fiery, I love it. Give me the reds, oranges, and yellows.


Upcoming news and plans for the future?

I'm crazy excited about the October 28 release of Hunted Past, my first published, full-length novel. Also, be on the lookout for Hunted Dreams, since it's by far my best work yet -- not that the other books don't rock, of course!


Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us!

My most loving and enormous thanks for chatting with me. Thanks for all you do.

Hunted is available here. You can find Elle Hill at her website here, her blog site here and her Facebook page here. You can also follow her on Twitter as @ElleHillAuthor

But now for the bonus! I have a free PDF copy of Hunted to give away to one lucky person. Just leave a comment and a way to contact you, be it email, twitter id or blog. Open internationally until midnight BST (British Summer Time) on the 1st November. :)

Scifi Sunday #9

Hi all, and welcome to another #scifi snippet this Sunday. No more Gethyon as the MS is out on submission, so I've pulled out another WIP with the working title of Samaritan. The main character in this story is Quin. This is one of her many adventures before her part in both Gethyon and Keir.

Quin stared out of the castle window and across the fields to the circle. Her legs trembled with the effort of standing and pains still gouged their way through her abdomen and back, pulses of agony that snagged her breath each time they seized her.You can't leave now. Talien's voice came soft and warm as a summer breeze into her mind, but it only intensified the pain. Quin squeezed her eyes shut against the tears, refusing to give in to them, to any of it. She would not be ruled by the past, by the Rion, by the pain. Her fate was her own choice."I can't stay here." Her reversion to physical speech, something only the damaged would use, would hurt Talien's feelings. She knew it, and yet couldn't bring herself to open her mind to her friend. She had to be strong now, she had to do this …No you don't. Talien's voice was full of tears and broke through the fragile walls Quin had raised against them. The pain thickened, crushing her chest, and she grasped the window sill for support. "Leave me be," Quin whispered."You haven't even named them, Quin. You didn't even look at them."Quin gasped. She had never heard Talien speak before. For a Rion to do so was close to blasphemy, and deserved a response. "Call the girl Callon." More pain touched her at the use of that name, but it was an old hurt, scarred over now. "The boy is Gethyon."More warmth and a hint of gratitude washed over her. Gethyon had been the name of Talien's father, an Eldar of the Rion held in high regard. It was a small gift to her friend when she had nothing else left to give.
© 2009-2011 Copyright Philippa J. Green All Rights Reserved