Michael Coorlim's Blog, page 51

Review of City of Pillars by Dominic Peloso

I obtained City of Pillars through a giveaway. This review contains mild spoilers.

City of Pillars is a dark conspiratorial thriller by esoteric author Dominic Peloso that reads like Robert Anton Wilson channeling the spirit of HP Lovecraft while Greg Stolze watches over his shoulder offering helpful advice.

You can read the rest of the review over at Book Nouveau.

Sign up for Michael Coorlim's mailing list for advanced notification of new releases, or go check out some of his free fiction while it's there for the taking.

The post Review of City of Pillars by Dominic Peloso appeared first on Michael Coorlim.

Pre-Writing Checklist

Pretend you’re not awake yet.
Try to remember that bitchin’ dream you just had.
Consider grabbing the notebook next to the bed, but that would involve acknowledgement that you are, in fact, awake.
Give up in the face of the alarm clock’s insistence.
Void one’s bladder. After getting up and heading into the bathroom, that is essential.
Feed the cat. That usually shuts it up.
Stare at the laptop balefully.
Check email and facebook and twitter. Sigh with disappointment.
Watch the wife/girlfriend/significant other get ready for work. Not like I can get anything done with all the commotion in here.
Once he or she is gone, close your browser windows. Open scrivener. Open your production spreadsheet.
Put on a kettle for coffee, grind the beans and set up the french press.
Have a banana or a smoothie or some such fodder.
Check email and facebook and twitter. Maybe post something.
Check the clock. 9:38. More auspicious to start at 10. Easier on the records. Set schedules and routine are important.
Kettle is boiling. Set the press. 4 minutes to kill while it steeps. Let’s check our email and facebook.
Coffee’s ready. Pour a cup.
Make a snack so you can sit and write without interruption. Cheese and crackers.
Open pomodoro tracking program. Close browser. Eat crackers.
Coffee is still too hot. Pour some water. Sit down again, open browser, check email and facebook. Like a few posts. Gotta stay social.
Close browser. Time to work.
Computer powered down unexpectedly. Boot up again. Sip coffee. Still too hot.
Wait for computer to load and think about the day’s writing. Try to remember that dream. Ah well.
Open Scrivener and Pomodoro and your spreadsheet. Check facebook and twitter and email.
Plan out the day’s writing in a notebook. Know what you’re going to be writing.
Think of an idea for a blog post about procrastination. Open browser. Write blog post.
Sip coffee.

The post Pre-Writing Checklist appeared first on Michael Coorlim.

Lesser Known 19th Century Personages

This blog post is part of the global Steampunk Hands Around the World event. Follow that link to discover more facets of the global steampunk community during this month-long event.

As steampunk’s cultural impact continues to grow, we see more and more historical and alternate-world fiction set during the 19th and early 20th centuries. While an increasing segment of this library is drifting further from Anglo-centric and subject matter, many authors are only familiar with a short set of historical figures.

Thomas Edison, Nicola Tesla, Marie Curie, Jule Verne, and Michael Faraday are all well-known and well-featured in contemporary steampunk fiction, but fascinating figures span the century from across the globe. Here are a few potentially lesser known historical figures who would make excellent characters in any steampunk or historical fiction.

Antonio Maceo Grajales, the Bronze Titan

Lt. General José Antonio de la Caridad Maceo y Grajales was a hero of the Cuban War of Independence and one of Latin America’s most brilliant guerrilla leaders. He spent his early life as a farmer and, later, a Freemason, and was known to possess a strict moral code.

His military career began at the age of 23, in 1868, when he, his father, and his brothers joined in the Cuban revolt against Spain. It only took five months for him to earn promotion from private to Lieutenant Colonel. Over the next five years his bravery and tactical acumen carried him through hundreds of battles and promotion up to the rank of Brigadier General.

It was during this time that his men nicknamed him “the Bronze Titan” for his exceptional physical strength and resistance to the over 25 injuries he sustained over his career.

Ten Years War era Maceo makes an excellent protagonist or a terrifying antagonist for stories taking place in Cuba between 1868 and 1878. He’s physically powerful, charismatic, a tactical genius in the arts of guerrilla warfare, and in a steampunk world you can take the nickname “Bronze Titan” more literally. A Grajales who has been systemically been replacing injured body parts with superior prosthesis of brass and steam is a compelling visual.

Cuban War of Independence

Less than a decade later, Maceo served as Lieutenant General in the Cuban Liberation Army, defeating the numerically superior force of Spaniards in a matter of months through a campaign of open and guerrilla warfare.

His end came in an almost mythic last stand in 1896, when Maceo and two dozen men took intense fire from a strong column of Spanish troops. Lieutenant Francisco Gomez, the son of the General in Chief, stayed with his fallen comrade-in-arms to protect the body until he had been shot several times and cut down with machetes.

The Cuban struggle against Spain is exemplary of the class struggle that was sweeping the world in the 19th century, and as a backdrop it serves as an excellent way to put the ‘punk’ in steampunk. Maceo was a powerful man and brilliant tactician, held back only by racist sentiments by his overwhelmingly white fellow officers and prejudice against his humble origins. To his men, he was the Bronze Titan. To the Spaniards, he was the Great Lion. To history, he is one of the most noteworthy guerrilla leaders and a warrior for the freedom of his people.

Heinrich Schliemann

Heinrich Schliemann was an archaeologist. He was not a good archaeologist. Oh, sure, he discovered Troy, but he was excavating with dynamite, destroying never-to-be-known historical artifacts, including what was probably the level that was the Troy of the Iliad.

Early Life

The son of a Protestant minister, in 1836 at age 14 Heinrich had to leave his private school for a vocational one after his father was accused of embezzling church funds and drummed out of his church. He worked as an apprentice grocer, where his passion for classical Greek literature was inspired when he heard a drunk reciting Homer. At 19 he burst a blood vessel lifting a heavy barrel incorrectly, and left to become a cabin boy on a steamer bound for Venezuela.

There is no proof that Schliemann had anything to do with the ship’s sinking, but he washed up in the Netherlands with the other survivors, and took work with an import/export firm.

Adult Life

In 1851 he moved to California, starting a bank to speculate on the California gold fields, buying and selling over a million dollars of gold dust in just six months. This career ended when the local Rothschild agent complained about short-weight consignments, leading him to sell his business and flee to Russia.

He married in Russia and got into the indigo dye business, further increasing his fortune as an arms dealer during the Crimean war, selling saltpeter, sulfer, and lead to the Russian government, and by 1858 had amassed fortune sufficient to retire upon.

Archaeologist

He began to travel, purportedly for the purpose of finding Troy. When his wife refused to join him in Paris in 1869, he falsified an Indiana residency to obtain a divorce by the state’s relatively lenient laws.

Also in 1869 he submitted a dissertation in Ancient Greek that Hissarlik was the site of ancient Troy, a topographical analysis that consisted of translations of another author’s work, and was awarded a PhD for his efforts. He teamed up with local expert Frank Calvert to excavate Hissarlik, and hired a young local girl as an assistant. Within months the 47 year old Schliemann had married the seventeen-year-old Sophia Engastromenos. They had two children, whom he allowed to be baptized on the condition that he be allowed to place a copy of the Iliad on their heads while reciting hexameters from it.

In 1873 the excavation uncovered a cache of gold and jewelery, which the dedicated professional archaeologist promptly gave to his wife. The Turkish government revoked his dig rights and sued him for a share of the gold. Schliemann and Calvert smuggled the treasure out of Turkey to “protect it from corrupt local officials”, and the items remain a subject of international dispute to this day.

A Noble Death

In November of 1890 Schliemann underwent an operation for an ear infection, which became painfully inflamed. In defiance of his doctors’ advice, he traveled to Berlin, Paris, and Pompeii, where he lapsed into a coma and died.

Like any historical figure, a steampunk Schliemann-inspired character can be interpreted in many ways. Maybe he’s a light-hearted trickster with big dreams. Or maybe he’s an opportunistic manipulator willing to sacrifice others for his ambitions. One thing we can say for sure: You probably shouldn’t perform archaeological excavations with explosives.

Kaúxuma Núpika, the Manlike Woman

Everything we know of Núpika comes from the journals of early pioneers David Thompson and Sir John Franklin. We have no other accounts, so take the brevity of this entry as due to a paucity of information.

According to Thompsons 1809 and 1811 entries, the Ktunaxa tribeswoman Núpika served as a second wife to one of his men. He portrayed her as a loose woman, one who had to be sent from the camp for causing discontent among his expedition.

He next mentions her several years later as having set herself up as a shaman who had gained influence among the natives for her interpretation of dreams.

According to Thompson, she had told her people that the whites had changed her sex, and adopted the masculine name of Water Sitting Grizzly.

He mentions her again in an 1811 entry, describing her as “a young man, well dressed in leather, carrying a bow and quiver of arrows, with his wife, a woman in good clothing.” She had fallen into disfavor with her adopted Chinook tribe for predicting disease.

Sir John Franklin, on an expedition to seek the Northwest passage, mentions encountering someone who may be the same figure in 1827. According to his second-hand account, the “Manlike Woman” was believed to be supernaturally gifted for exhibiting traits of both genders.

The Two-Spirited and their roles in Native American spirituality and shamanism is a fascinating subject. If your steampunk setting does include magic, there may be some truth to the belief that they have a stronger connection to the spirit world. Either way, enigmatic figures — named or not — can add to whatever plot you’re writing, especially to characters from cultures lacking strong archetypes relating to mixed gender roles.

The post Lesser Known 19th Century Personages appeared first on Michael Coorlim.

Upcoming

Just some interesting minutia. Interesting to me, anyway. Your mileage may vary.

Steampunk Hands Across the World

First of all, I’ll be participating in the Steampunk Hands Across the World event in a blog post on February 5th. I’ll be discussing some lesser-known 19th-century personages as an example of multi-cultural representation of the world during the west’s Industrial Revolution. Check out that site I linked if you’re into steampunk literature, fashion, or media of any sort; we’ve got participants from around the globe, and that’s sort of the point.

New Pre-made Covers

Secondly, I just uploaded four new covers to the selection of pre-made covers I’m offering. I’ll be hosting them here until I either see that there’s enough interest to justify buying a domain to host them, or until I see that there’s insufficient interest and I drop the idea entirely. Until then, expect four new pre-made covers a week.

Something or Nothing

I may or may not be making an appearance on a well-known writing podcast in the near future. It’s an exciting prospect, but I’m loathe to promote it until I know that it’s a Sure Thing and a Done Deal. Details will follow. Or not.

Other New Covers!

New covers! I’ve designed new covers for Grief and the free short story Last Words. I’m happy with them. Hopefully they’ll appeal to potential readers.

2014 Publishing Schedule Posted

My publishing schedule for the next year has been more-or-less worked out. Work progresses apace on my current project. More details to come to those who’ve subscribed to my mailing list.

The post Upcoming appeared first on Michael Coorlim.

March of the Cogsmen stepsheet

When it comes to writing, I’m a planner. When I’m starting a new project, typically I’ll spend a few weeks plotting it out before I start writing the first draft. For the most part this takes the form of long walks, letting my mind wander, taking notes into my phone.

Note: If you haven’t yet read March of the Cogsmen and plan to eventually do so, this entry contains major spoilers.

At some point I take the various digital audio files, note cards, and loose notebook pages, and compile them together into a Scrivener project file. As an example, here’s the stepsheet I did for the Galvanic Century mystery story March of the Cogsmen.

Each bullet point represents an event rather than a scene; scenes may cover multiple entries, or a single entry may involve multiple scenes. If it seems terse, keep in mind that I have separate note files for each character and setting element. Perhaps, if there’s interest, I’ll showcase those in a future blog post.

Bartleby and James arrive at the station, Bartleby drunk. He gets talked to by the Constable, who backs off when he discovers who it is.
The Valet drives Bartleby and James to the house. Talking about the town, the Fiskes, etc. James is enthused.
Arrival. Introduced to Fiske. He doesn’t mention the drunkenness. Aldora does, disparaging. Gives him the task of greeting guests.
Aldora has word with her father, then visits her mother. We get a glimpse of her home life.
Aldora oversees Penny + Lian. Thoughts drift to Turky. Discussing Penny’s father, which exposes a moment of vulnerability to Alton.
Aldora watches Bartleby greet. Reflections on their relationship.
Bartleby greets constable. Mentions disappearances. Bartleby investigates, given go-ahead by mother.
Bartleby questioning people. Gets a feeling for the nature of the company town. No one wants to talk about the Fiskes.
Bartleby gets sidetracked by shipping manifest discrepancies. Constable questions. Bartleby explains his process.
Sobering up, goes drinking. Constable calls him out. Expounds on nature of wedding and relationship with Aldora.
Grayson arrives at the wedding. This is shocking to Aldora, as her brother is dead. She challenges him.
He is physically accosted, and his state is revealed. Mass Panic ensues.
Grayson attacks. The Valet holds him off while Aldora and her parents escape.
Aldora and her parents flee while Grayson pursues them throughout their home. Cat and mouse game. Scares galore. Grayson seems impervious to injury.
They find temporary safety somewhere. Aldora cops to killing Grayson as “how she knew” he wasn’t himself. Her parents reject her.
Grayson takes James’ daughter. He goes berserk. Utterly destroys the former man.
Bartleby returns. Is brought up to speed. Aldora tears him down for not being there.
James is examining the corpse. Discussing its workings. Bartleby reveals his own discoveries.
Cogsmen break into the lab. B&J beat them off. They barricade themselves in the estate with Aldora, Fiskes, and the guests while the cogsmen amass outside.
There’s a near mutiny as guests freak out despite Aldora’s attempts to keep control.
Bartleby rises to the occasion. Organizes a defense. The cogsmen are held off.
Jago makes himself known through the cogsmen. Issues demands.
Bartleby comes up with plan. Aldora is resistant. They come to terms. She is to seek out Jago while James + Fiske search for frequency and Bartleby and Guests fend of cogsmen.
Aldora sneaks out. Evades cogsmen. Reflects on who they used to be.
Bartleby gets word that she’s left estate. Pep talks. Rebuffs Regina, and shows loyalty to Aldora. B & J at transmitter; give coordinates of Jago. Relays.
Aldora confronts Jago. They spar. He’s winning. Then Bartleby shows up, reveals the weakness, which Jago uses. Aldora defeats him; lets him live.
Epilogue: Fiske has Jago executed. Cold, dark speech.

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Now Accepting BTC, LTC, and DOGE

If you’re a proponent of cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, Litecoin, or Dogecoin, you may be interested to know that I now accept these alternative currencies. Just fill out this form and I’ll get back to you with the current market price in your chosen crypto, and give you an address to send payment to. When it clears, I’ll send you the ebooks in .epub or .mobi format.

Send you the money first? Won’t you just rip me off?

My business model isn’t built around making a single $3 sale, it’s about creating new fans who will come back again and again to buy everything I release. I want you to have a positive experience, so you come back for more, and that includes the transaction itself.

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The Polar Vortex Kills My Productivity

Here in the midwest we’ve been wrapped up in what they’re calling a Polar Vortex. It sounds pretty awesome, but with wind-chills taking Chicago to 50 below it’s not really as fun as it sounds. Given the way that I work, it’s murder on my productivity.



When it comes to writing, I’m a die-hard planner. Before I even write the first line of anything, I’ve got scene spreadsheets, complete character write-ups, timeline plans, and all kinds of other little files. This is when the bulk of my creativity comes into play; I might not know exactly how it’ll come out on the page, but I know who my characters are and what they’re going to do.

But the bulk of my creative effort doesn’t come from charts and character profiles. No, my raw creative work is brainstorming. In the shower, in the bath, before I go to bed, I’m thinking about my current project and rolling it around in my head. When I’m not consciously thinking about it, my subconscious mind is hard at work refining it.

With the temperatures as cold as they’ve been, I’ve lost a major part of my process: walking. Normally when I’m planning a book I’ll walk for a few hours a day, letting my mind drift as my feet go where they need to. It’s been too cold, and I haven’t been able to put this precious brainstorming technique into play, so I’ve been stuck in the same planning phase since New Year’s Day. Today I was able to get out and about, and BAM. Plot has shaken loose from the cobwebs between my ears.

Onwards.

The post The Polar Vortex Kills My Productivity appeared first on Michael Coorlim.

Free Fiction: Last Words

I’ve just released Last Words, a free short story that serves as a lead-in to my apocalyptic collection Grief. Last Words is more intimate, perhaps more prosaic than Grief, and tells the simple story of a young boy whose father is trying to break the worse news in the world to him.



Last Words is free to download through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and Kobo. It takes a week or so for Amazon to price-match the others, but at this point it should be free wherever you go.

If you enjoy it and want to see how other people react to such devastating loss, feel free to pick up the short story collection Grief.

The post Free Fiction: Last Words appeared first on Michael Coorlim.

Webfiction Serial: Kali’s Tithe

Author Kat O’Connor and I have been co-writing a sci-fi horror web serial called “Kali’s Tithe” for the past few months. We update every Monday, telling the story of amnesiacs who wake up aboard a mysterious ship without any clue as to why they’re there or who they are. It deals in questions of identity, reality, and absolute subjectivity.

Check it out if you’re into the genre or the format.

The post Webfiction Serial: Kali’s Tithe appeared first on Michael Coorlim.

Gratitude

As 2013 begins the last song in its set and 2014 waits impatiently in the wings, let’s take a moment to practice a sort of mindful gratitude and remind ourselves of what we have to be thankful for.

I am grateful for my physical and mental health.
I am grateful for the readers who purchase my books and enable me to write more.
I am grateful for the imagination, skill, and talent that imbues my words with value for said readers.
I am grateful to have loved ones that support me.
I am grateful for the wisdom left behind by those who have trodden this path before me.
I am grateful for the suffering of those who make the world a better place.
I am grateful for a flawed world that provides me with the opportunity to conquer my weaknesses.
I am grateful for the prosperity the year to come will bestow upon me.
I am grateful for the mistakes I have learned from, and the lessons yet to arise.
I am grateful for the words I have written, and the words still lurking inside me.

Thanksgiving is an American holiday, but attitudes of gratitude and scarcity are universal. You can be prosperous and feel poor, or destitute and feel rich; reality is in the eye of the beholder.

What are you grateful for?

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