Kait Gamble's Blog, page 18
September 18, 2012
Summer-billionaire-vamp-were-zom-pocalypse Burnout
Remember when the words ‘summer vacation’ were synonymous with ‘long lazy days’, ‘zero responsibilities’, ’being totally carefree’?
Well those days aren’t even a speck in the rear-view mirror anymore. At least not for me. Juggling work and family and the stuff you can’t plan for doesn’t leave much time to laze about.
Going into this past summer I had a plan, like I always do. Family, work, writing (writing and more writing), blogging, reading, travel, renovations… It was all going to get done. Did it happen? Not so much. It’s amazing how something as simple as the tilt of the planet as it orbits a star can throw everything off so completely.
It’s put me in a funk that not even my usual reading can shift. If I could read more than a chapter at a time before I’m disturbed, that is.
I realized that I’m utterly sick of reading about alpha male billionaires who command the world but can’t figure out his own feelings. Vampires, were-anythings, and basically any other paranormal being, their soul mates and their joined destiny are no longer attention grabbing. Stories where people find love in a ravaged post-apocalyptic world aren’t nearly as fascinating as they used to be. (Though in writing this I felt a little spark of inspiration to write a paranormal post-apocalyptic tale about a billionaire were-vampire-some little known mythological being and his plucky soul mate and their love/hate relationship. It needs some fleshing out but it would be totally awesome.) And don’t even get me started on zombies.
So if anyone can think of a great story that includes none of these or even with these elements that breaks from the regular tropes please let me know!
July 25, 2012
The Self Editing Trap
I know many authors fall into this trap, myself included. There’s a lot of pressure to present a manuscript that’s your best polished work so there is merit in going over it until you feel it’s right. What’s not good is rewriting the same scene over a thousand times and never moving from that point.
I have a story or two where I’ve written the opening scene over at least a dozen times and it never feels right. But I know that if i keep that up I’ll never get the story finished.
Write hard and fast is my newly adopted mantra. I know that as long as I’ve got words on the page I can always go back later and do what I want with them. So I get the bare bones of the story down first. On the second read I fix glaring errors and look for plot holes/inconsistencies while making note of where I want to add more detail. On the third read, all the detail goes in. Then I read it all again and probably a few more times after that, tweaking as I go.
And all this happens before it goes to my editor who will point out everything I’ve missed/messed up and more editing and tweaking happens.
So just write your best and get those words down because you can’t edit what’s not there.
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July 19, 2012
Sizzling Summer Reads
July 10, 2012
Sans Internet
I went out in the rain to take pics while my net was down. Time well spent!
So I’m writing this post offline because my internet has gone down and I have no idea what to do with myself. I mean, I could clean but the place doesn’t really need it. I could write a scene or two and then add them to Google Docs later but I like to reread what I’ve previously written to get into the right mind-set. I’ll probably do that eventually because I HAVE to write. I’d go crazy otherwise but right at this moment I’m feeling like I’m missing a limb. A really awesome, entertaining and useful one.
So while I keep checking my status, my lack of connectivity has gotten me thinking.
Before there was The Internet what the hell did I do all day? When had I gotten so hooked?
It wasn’t until I was in my last couple years of high school that people started getting connected to the internet so I’ve been online for nearly two decades (damn I’m getting old). Before that my friends and I were lucky enough to live in a small town that had a lot of outdoor type things to do. We hiked, biked, climbed, swam and just hung out on a regular basis.
Once I hit university I spent more time on the computer writing papers, researching papers. I would disappear for stretches of time talking to people I’d met online in the midst of my cyber travels. Sadly, by this point, my high school friends and I had gone our separate ways and were now scattered around the globe. Not that it was a problem. We kept in touch via email, and later, Facebook and Skype. The ease and speed of the net made the world smaller and keeping in contact a whole lot easier.
After that I’d started work which required even more time on the computer. How could I not with a job in IT? I’d also started writing fanfics, creating my own site to house my and others’ stories. That created a whole new reason to be online constantly. I had to keep an eye on the site, answer posts, write, talk to friends….
Which brings me to now where I do practically everything online and it’s only when I don’t have it that I realize how dependant on the computer/internet I’ve become.
It’s kind of scary.
I think I’ll step away from the computer for a little while.
July 3, 2012
Links and Stuff
I’ve been knocked on my butt by a migraine today which left me not much to do but think (very little) and swear (very much). So today’s post will be a collection of links that I thought were worth sharing.
LIAR’S GAME was released yesterday! WOO!
This is what the Carina Press Newsletter had to say about the book!
Go buy a copy now and judge for yourself! Amazon / B&N / Audible
—-
The Romance Review Sizzling Summer Reads Party is happening all of July. There are 400 authors and publishers participating with over 400 prizes including a grand prize $100 gift certificate! You have to be registered and logged into the site to participate but it’s totally worth it! Stop by on July 19th for your chance to win a copy of LIAR’S GAME 
—-
Table Top is a web show hosted by Wil Wheaton that my daughter and I watch almost religiously. It helps that we both love games and I’ve had a crush on Wil since TNG.
This week he and some friends play Gloom which I became instantly interested in thanks to the simple gameplay and the ghoulishly morbid stories that you make up to propel the game along. Making up stories is what I do! I can’t wait to get my hands on this game to see what kind of tales we can come up with!
June 26, 2012
The Post Where I Entice You With a Snippet
Five days to go! I think the title says it all so on with the show!
****
Chapter 1
Aurelia Popkiss glared at the half-dozen men who dared to board her ship and didn’t know what annoyed her more: the fact that eight meagerly armed men thought they would take them so easily, or the imbecile currently blocking her shot.
“Where’s the vault?” The small one in front without a single strand of hair on his head obviously fancied himself the leader. Not a man she would have followed into battle, personally. He waved a mass of metal nearly the length of his arm at them. “This ain’t a toy, you know.”
No, definitely not a toy. She felt the urge to comment on his need to carry such a big gun, but she figured it wouldn’t be well received. It was never good to taunt a man about the size of his weapon.
“You’d best shove off, mate.” Everhard, aka the man-mountain blocking her from view, made her so proud. “We haven’t got a vault.”
A sharp bark of laughter burst from the little man. “Look at your clothes, your fancy weapons. This ship ain’t exactly a relic. Of course you’ve got a vault. Now, tell us or we start shooting and find it anyway.”
Not only was he short in stature, but on brainpower too.
Weapons on her side lifted a little higher. They had at least eight men while Aurelia’s side had five, including her. But her men’s weaponry was much more advanced. Surely they had to see this too. The exotic munitions her men carried should have been a tip off that they weren’t the type that got hijacked.
The intruders seemed to realize they might be at a disadvantage when Bam stepped forward. They took an instinctive step back. He had that effect on people. Or at least his mechanical bits did. With one eye and an arm replaced by machinery—in addition to his size—he cut a frightening figure. “Best think again, mate. Y’ might have the numbers, but we’ve more firepower. What makes y’ think y’ can get past us?”
The other group looked more than a little daunted by the overt challenge. Their eyes darted from one another to their diminutive leader.
The little man’s face twisted with such hatred that Aurelia could almost feel it coming off him in waves. “Have it your way!”
Then hell decided to have its way with her ship.
Shots flew from the guns of the invaders, while Aurelia and her crew dove for the nearest cover.
Aurelia landed behind a crate just as a bullet grazed the corner. “Fire!”
Her men didn’t hesitate. She edged around her shield and fired. The scream that rewarded her almost made a smile curl her lips. She relished the cries of fright when they unleashed the awesome power of Meri’s weapons. Unlike what the would-be marauders were firing, their weapons didn’t merely propel bullets. Hiding behind things wasn’t going to save them from what was essentially target-seeking lightning.
Brilliant flashes of light burst in the cargo hold, accompanied by the dull thud of bodies falling to the floor.
Unable to see any more adversaries, Aurelia sidled out from her hiding place inch by inch in search of another target. She stifled a cry of pain behind gritted teeth when an arm snagged around her middle and dragged her to the forefront.
Furious, Auri glared at her men when their guns sagged a little. The expression on her face was enough to buoy them back up again.
“Get your hands off her and get the hell off this ship!” Everhard jerked his head toward the airlock. “We’ve got the upper hand.”
“Like hell. I think we’ve got a little leverage now.”
Her first mate, Keys, took a menacing step forward. Ever her guardian angel. Though at this moment, despite his golden good looks, he appeared quite the opposite. “I think your logic is a little addled.”
“And I think you’re bluffin’ ‘cuz we got her.” He gave Aurelia a little shake in emphasis.
She could see the deadly glint to Keys’ pale eyes now. Jaw clenched, his mouth tilted wryly. “What makes you think we give a damn?”
“You’ve gotta be stupid if you think we don’t get what she means to you. One woman on a ship full of men?” Her captor ran a meaty hand up her side to cup a breast, kneading it painfully. “She must be something.”
Her entire crew stepped forward as one.
“Do that again and you die.” Keys drew another gun and leveled both weapons at the head of the man who dared to touch her.
“Keys.” Aurelia’s gaze broke from his and swept over their group of men; they backed off. “Live today, fight tomorrow.”
“The ladybird’s got some sense in her. You boys oughta listen.” He buried his nose in her hair and dragged a deep breath. “Smells like flowers. I bet you all are gonna miss her something awful.” His laughter darkened her men’s faces even more. “I’m feeling charitable. We’ll take her and leave the safe. I’d wager she’s worth more than whatever you’ve got on this wreck anyhow.”
Big talk from a man who would be dead if he wasn’t using her as a shield.
Aurelia kept her eyes on Keys to make sure he didn’t try anything stupid, while she was divested of her weapons. Her glare was enough to keep him and the rest of the men rooted to the spot as she was hauled away. The look of fury on Keys’ face when she winked was quite a sight.
Despite his lack of height, the one holding her hefted her onto his shoulder as if she was a child and carried her through the airlock and into their launch. The shuttle they piled into was tiny enough without the stinking and sweaty men, crammed onboard in varying states of consciousness. She allowed them to push her into a corner without a fight, focusing her energy on breathing without retching. The craft was what she would call outdated, if she wanted to use the most polite term for rusted piece of space junk. It was a miracle it even functioned.
“A fine haul!” The laughter and the cheers made Aurelia grimace. “It’s a damn shame we don’t have any beer to celebrate.”
“We can celebrate properly once we’re back on the ship. I’ll call ahead and tell them we’ve got company.”
They paid little attention to her as they congratulated each other on their latest acquisition. Aurelia took advantage and reached into her coat, pulling out a bronze sphere that was easily concealed in her palm. She found the small hollow that was the trigger and depressed it before rolling it under the control console.
“We’ll head back to the ship and give her a test drive.”
The leering grins were enough to make her skin prickle.
“Nothing to say, whore? Your tongue seemed to be wagging plenty back when we were with your mates.”
She shrugged. “I didn’t think you wanted me here for conversation.”
“Too right!”
Their raucous laughter made her fists clench from the force it took not to punch one of them right then and there.
The jubilant mood was disturbed by a faint ticking.
“What’s that?”
Aurelia shrugged again. All too aware of their attention, she calmly reached into her coat again and pulled a mask out of its depths.
“What’re you doing? What’s that thing?”
She ignored the hysterical questions bombarding her as she secured the glossy chrome contraption snug against her skin. Aurelia’s fingers barely managed to fasten the clasp behind her head just as a brilliant flash burst.
“Dammit all to hell!” Aurelia reflexively scrubbed at the glass over her burning eyes with the heel of her hands. Even her skin was irritated from the intensity of the blast. Blinded like the rest of the men in the small room, Aurelia wrestled with her coat to produce another ball and threw it in the direction of the outraged shouts.
It was a few seconds before she could make out the blurred figures of men falling over.
Aurelia breathed a sigh of relief behind her mask and made her way over to the control console.
Or at least where it should be.
The stacks of garbage that overflowed the console and every other surface would require an archaeologist to excavate in order to find it. Auri kicked at the piles until she found what she was looking for. Even without the garbage she was hesitant to touch anything.
Stomach heaving, she wrapped a finger in the hem of her shirt and jabbed at the filth-encrusted communication controls until she managed a secure signal. “Euchronia. Are you there?”
The image on screen wobbled into the familiar interior of her ship’s cockpit.
The devastatingly handsome face of Everhard appeared. “Glad to see you’re alive, darlin’.”
“No thanks to Meri.”
The accused pushed his skinny frame to the front of the group with a pleasant expression on his gaunt face.
She tore off the mask and stabbed an accusing finger at the screen. “You! You said that the gas bomb was the bronze one and the flash thing was the silver one!”
“Ether Deployment Incapacitator and Vision Impairment Flare Unit, my dear.” He waved dismissively at the screen. “Did I mix them up? Never mind. It all worked out, didn’t it?”
“You are going to experience a whole new definition of pain when I get back, old man.”
“Manners, young lady!”
Aurelia gave them her sweetest smile. The one she always gave before someone got hurt. “My sincerest apologies, dear sir. Being blinded and helpless at the hands of my captors tends to make me a bit sore.”
“Enough.” The tall figure of her first mate, Keys, pushed into view. “Miss, are you okay?” From the wild disarray of his sandy hair, she would wager that he wasn’t.
“I’m fine.” She settled back at the controls and made herself as comfortable as she could without actually touching anything with her bare skin. “I’m going to head back to their ship now.”
“You should come and get us. There might be more of them.”
His concern was always equal parts touching and irritating. After all this time, she would have thought he had more confidence in her abilities.
“I’ll be fine. Just get that hunk of rust hidden and I’ll find you when it’s done, okay?”
“Yes, miss. But—”
“My locator beacon is functional, is it not?”
“It is.”
“If you don’t hear from me in three, maybe four hours, come looking for me.”
“We will.” It was a promise.
“Wonderful. See you in a little while.” She closed communications before anyone else could argue.
Finding the ship her kidnappers were from was easy enough. Guys like them made it easy. All Aurelia had to do was push the autopilot button and sit back to enjoy the ride.
She put the mask back on and took a glorious breath of filtered air.
Sometimes it was almost too easy being a pirate.
****
So? What do you think?
June 19, 2012
Liar’s Game Release Countdown – Aurelia
Aurelia Popkiss
Age: 22
Talent: Predicting behaviour in others, strategic planning
Weakness: Thinking she needs to do it alone
Unlike the others on the crew, Auri wasn’t a prisoner. She was brought along by her father on a routine inspection of the facility where she found her childhood friend incarcerated. But before she could get him out the prison exploded, and he was killed in the resulting riot. Auri was saved by one of the crew, but was in such a state that she can’t recall which one.
Over the next few years she proved herself an invaluable member of the crew for her logical and strategic thinking. The men quickly learned to let her do the plotting and to improvise whenever her mind did a 180.
Auri’s relationship with her crew is strictly platonic which works just fine for her except when it comes to Keys. She has no idea how to approach a man who sees her as nothing more than a little sister.
June 12, 2012
Liar’s Game Release Countdown – Keys
Caderyn Keelan Alloway
Age: 31
Talents: Circumventing Security
Weakness: Aurelia
Keys, as he’s known by the crew, is the quiet one. The observer. The one who hangs back to watch a situation unfold. He’s the one they go to when they need to get into something in a hurry.
A self made man, Keys once had the world in the palm of his hand. That was until he killed a man for violating his sister and had everything that he had worked so hard for ripped away while he was left to rot in prison.
His feelings for Aurelia are a secret…to Aurelia. The rest of the crew knows exactly how he feels and take every opportunity to take good natured jabs at him for it. Keys knows that with her upbringing the last thing Aurelia wants is an ex con with nothing to offer. Or does she?
June 5, 2012
Liar’s Game Release Countdown – Everhard
Everard Quinlirke
Age: 34
Talent: Charm, reads people
Weakness: Trust issues
For anyone who knows Everard his nickname is just a logical progression. Effortlessly charming and drop dead gorgeous, Everhard used his talents to his advantage when he was a con and still does when there’s call for it. The crew knows he can quickly access a person through observation and look to him for insights. Especially when that person is female.
No one meeting the charming rogue would suspect that inside the self assured, perfectly tanned flirt is a man mourning his lost love. It was that same sadness that led him to start conning and landed him in prison in the first place.
The first moment Auri saw him, she was blown away by by his looks but quickly learned that he wasn’t the one for her. Everhard continues to be a close friend and, even though Meri greatly disapproves, they can often be found sharing stories over drinks while the others are asleep or elsewhere.
May 29, 2012
Liar’s Game Release Countdown – Bam
Age: 18
Talent: Strength
Weakness: Youth
Early in his teens, Bam was caught in the Franco-Sino-Russian dispute over resources on the moon when the battle spilled over into the lunar colonies. He was saved by Meri who managed to replace his damaged arm and eye with mechanical parts, thus creating the first half tik tok which became the derogatory term ‘haftik’. Considered to be inhuman, haftiks are mostly treated with fear and disgust.
In spite of the hand that fate dealt him, Bam always manages to look on the funny side of things, often dragging everyone else’s minds into the gutter with his. The rest of the crew love him for his affable and steadfast nature. If Bam says he’s got your back you can be sure he’ll be there even if it’s at considerable cost to himself as he proved with his jail time over helping Meri.
Auri and Bam treat each other like siblings since they are the closest in age than any of the others. Although her initial impression of him wasn’t the most complimentary, Auri’s greatest wish for him is for him to find a girl who will look past the machinery and see the loyal man with the huge heart.
