E.D. Martin's Blog, page 31

Weekend Writing Warrior 7/26/15 #8Sunday

This month I’m posting excerpts from my short story collection The Futility of Loving a Soldier. This week is a continuation of Lindy’s story in “Crash.” She’s just returned from combat and her dad isn’t sure how to react – and neither is she.

* * * * * * * * * *

Lindy strode down the sidewalk, trying to look as if she had a purpose, although she did… kind of: getting away from her dad. He was trying his best to help her, but barging into her room whenever he felt like it, wanting to talk, wasn’t doing either of them any good; she wasn’t a little girl anymore, for crying out loud.

Her mom had tried to explain her dad to her once. Mom lay in her hospital bed, one of the many times towards the end, and Lindy had burst into her room upset because Dad had tried to get her dinner from the ice cream truck.

“Your dad’s a doer,” Mom had told her, “and when he sees a problem, he wants to do something to fix it because for him, anything is better than nothing.” Mom smiled at her and said, “You’re a doer too.”

Her mom had died a couple weeks later, and Lindy often returned to her mom’s assessment of her, because maybe that was why she’d enlisted right after graduation; the army gave her plenty to do. But she’d turned into a thinker since then, and here she was again—struggling as every action brought up thoughts she didn’t want.

* * * * * * * * * *

Read more about Lindy in The Futility of Loving a Soldier, then post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

Media Monday: Searching for something in the Frigid Northlands

The book: “The End of the Trail” by Louis Rakovich

The music: “Lágnætti” by Sólstafir

A few years ago, I lived in North Dakota. It’s beautiful up there – endless prairies, miles of sunflowers in late summer, and snowpiles taller than me. I think the cold messed with my head because I actually kinda miss those winters. For the past year or so I’ve been on a Frigid Northlands kick, listening to Icelandic bands while writing about Vikings and planning my roadtrip to Hudson Bay to search for selkies.

This week’s book, “The End of the Trail,” is not about Vikings. But it could be. It’s about a saltminer living on the cliffs above his saltmine, a barren wasteland (like North Dakota in the winter) that’s claimed the lives of everyone he loves. He lives on because of inertia and the belief that maybe, someday, there’ll be more for him. He doesn’t fit in with the people around him in the dying kingdom, and he doesn’t fit in with the nobility in the nearby castle with a dying king. He wants to, though. He doesn’t want to accept his fate – to die amid rumors, only to be forgotten as time takes the vivacity from the stories – but he’s not adverse to holding onto happiness in any form he can, even if he’ll end up in obscurity more quickly in the end.

The prose in this story is beautiful, and it’s worth picking up for that alone. Throw in a story about when to fight and when to settle, when to press on and when to give up, and this could be one of the best shorts you read.

The music of Sólstafir, especially “Lágnætti,” pairs perfectly with “The End of the Trail.” Even if you don’t speak Icelandic (which I don’t) and have no idea what the lyrics are, you get the sense of a search for an inarticulate more that might not even matter in the end.

Weekend Writing Warrior 7/19/15 #8Sunday

This month I’m posting excerpts from my short story collection The Futility of Loving a Soldier. This week is a continuation of Lindy’s story in “Crash.” She’s just returned from combat and her dad isn’t sure how to react.

* * * * * * * * * *

“Honey—”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it!”

She stood up abruptly, and Bill took an involuntary step back. She’d always been small, but she’d lost weight since her return; her eyes stared out from dark sockets in a too-angular face, framed by limp hair. They caught something in his expression and narrowed, and she pushed past him and out of the room.

A moment later, the front door slammed.

Bill sighed. At least she’d left the house.

* * * * * * * * * *

Read more about Lindy in The Futility of Loving a Soldier, then post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

Weekeen Writing Warrior 7/19/15 #8Sunday

This month I’m posting excerpts from my short story collection The Futility of Loving a Soldier. This week is a continuation of Lindy’s story in “Crash.” She’s just returned from combat and her dad isn’t sure how to react.

* * * * * * * * * *

“Honey—”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it!”

She stood up abruptly, and Bill took an involuntary step back. She’d always been small, but she’d lost weight since her return; her eyes stared out from dark sockets in a too-angular face, framed by limp hair. They caught something in his expression and narrowed, and she pushed past him and out of the room.

A moment later, the front door slammed.

Bill sighed. At least she’d left the house.

* * * * * * * * * *

Read more about Lindy in The Futility of Loving a Soldier, then post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

Friday Five: Paul Schumacher

Today’s Friday focus is Paul Schumacher, author of high fantasy, fairy tales, and romance novellas and novels.

Born in the Chicago area, Paul Schumacher has always been a full-fledged geek. He can quote Star Wars, knows a fair amount of Tolkien Lore, and will go to the mat about which Star Trek Captain is the best.

Paul earned an English Degree, from Illinois State University, specifically to become a novelist so that he could take two decades of Dungeons & Dragons game stories and make books of them. “The Lavoria Chronicles” and a collection of short stories have been the result so far.

Little Red Wolf is a fairy tale re-imagining where Little Red Riding Hood is the hunter and the Big Bad Wolf is helping her to save her father. “On My Honor” is a romantic novelette where a knight needs to save an evil princess from a tower … and he gets the help of an attractive witch along the way.

* * * * * * * * * * *

1. What genre do you currently read most and why?

I am still a big magic and dragons type of reader but I love to read any story depicting the perseverance of the human spirit. It has to have a mostly happy ending, though. If I struggle through the marshes of Mordor with a character for thousands of pages then they better have a satisfying ending!

2. Is there a certain type of scene that’s harder for you to write than others? How do you deal with this?

Travel scenes are the hardest. When characters find themselves moving from one location to another location I will beat my head against the table trying to figure out something interesting to say.

3. What literary character are you most like and why?

King Arthur – I’m full of chivalry and I am a little too trusting of the people around me. Without my friends and allies to guide me through life, I would be lost.

4. What do you want your readers to take away from your works?

I want people to think outside of the box. I want people to internalize the little bits of philosophy that I sprinkle between the lines. I want people to read my stories, draw in their lessons, and become better people.

5. Why do you write in the genre(s) you listed above?

I write fantasy novels because I love fantasy stories. Also, I’m always terrified I’m going to mess up the science in a sci-fi book. Then there is romance, which helps pay the bills.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Little Red Wolf is available now at Amazon.

Become a Friday Five author.

Weekend Writing Warriors 7/12/15 #8Sunday

I’m currently working towards a master’s/PhD in social work, and as part of it I did an internship at a homeless shelter last summer. A lot of people there had mental illnesses, a lot of people were veterans, and a few of the people were both. For some of the stories in my collection The Futility of Loving a Soldier, I created characters that were composites of people I met last summer.

The main character in “Crash,” one of those stories, is a composite of female vets I met. Lindy has just returned from Iraq and is a bit jumpy (something very real for our vets, many of whom can’t handle fireworks because it reminds them of their experiences). Her dad knows he needs to help her but isn’t sure how.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“Lindy, honey,” he asked as he stepped cautiously into the room, not wanting to be hit by a flying shoe or bottle, “you okay?”

“What do you think?” Her voice was muffled too, just like the music.

He couldn’t quite place where she was, so he turned down the stereo volume and glanced around again.

She sat in the corner between her bed and the wall, curled into the fetal position, head resting on arms curled tightly around her knees.

He approached cautiously, not sure how to handle her. “Lindy?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

* * * * * * * * * * *

Read more about Lindy in The Futility of Loving a Soldier, then post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

Friday Five: D J Meyers

This week’s Friday focus is D J Meyers, author of historic fiction, sci fi, and mystery/adventure novellas, novels, and poetry.

D J Meyers was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. Writing began early on in the form of songs (music and lyrics) and in the past 10 years has developed into novels. The books, under the umbrella of The Gargoyle Chronicles, blend historic fiction, romance, humour and/or science fiction (often all four in one tale.)

The first release from The Gargoyle Chronicles is Tales of Yorr, inspired by the discovery of Richard III in a car park. D J, through his muse Yorrick, speculates on how history is written by the victor and how a disability does not necessarily hinder a life. Yorrick the hunchback discovers how rewarding a life can be by remaining true to himself, while always seeing the funny side of life. D J, much to the chagrin of those around, has a similar outlook on life.

* * * * * * * * * * *

1. Why do you write in the genre(s) you listed above?

I write in the genre that suits the tale in my head. If it is a history, then so be it; if it is a sci fi, then I lean that way. I don’t write for a genre, I write for the story and the characters in my head.

2. What was your attitude towards reading when you were a kid?

I ate books from the age of five, and continued on until I majored in English at university. These days I tend to write more than I read.

3. What are some of your favorite words and why?

Diaphanous is a current fave – because it suited the book I wrote about Botticelli and the Birth of Venus so well… I had to word count it as I got a little carried away using it.

4. How much of your published writing is based on personal experiences?

I link people and places from my own experiences into everything I write. I even create historic characters based on people I know (or combinations of them).

5. What is the most important thing that people DON’T know about your subject/genre, that you think they need to know?

I do write a lot of histories, and while I will use the occasional archaic language, completely doing so would be a slog for a modern reader, so I keep the language more modern. This could be seen as being untrue to the time, but being too true would create a boring book.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Tales of Yorr (A Mediaeval Monk in need of a Chiropractor) can be found on Amazon.

Become a Friday Five author.

Summer 2015 goal review

Apologies to whoever created this – I’d credit you but I don’t know who you are

Every year, I set goals for myself, and every quarter, I review my progress. It’s already halfway through 2015, and here’s where I am (compared to where I want to be).

1. Write and submit at least one new short story every month, with the goal being at least 10 publications this year.

I’m up to about 15 half-written stories I carry around with me everywhere. I finish one class this weekend, and another doesn’t take much time, so for the next month I’ll have no excuse not to write (although I’m sure I’ll find several).

2. Write the rough drafts for a seven-part novella series, and maybe even publish one or two of them.

The first one is inching closer to done, and the outlines for the rest are coming together.

3. Have at least one novel published, with another one polished enough to publish in 2016.

No.

4. Publish at least two long short stories (10k+) or short story collections.

I’m about done with one long one that’ll be bundled with a couple short stories. It’s on my list to complete before I start classes in late August.

5. Improve my marketing strategy in order to increase my fanbase (as measured by newsletter subscription, Facebook page likes, and social media interactions like comments, likes, and favorites), sales, and reviews.

I’ve been experimenting with different approaches, but so far none are working. I’ve used several Fiverr people to promote sales and giveaways, with varying degrees of relative success (downloads). Thunderclap was worthless. I’ve gotten more traffic to my website with my Media Monday and Friday Five features, but it hasn’t translated to sales. Most of the promotions seem to require money, which I don’t have. But I will soldier on.

6. Read 100 books.

I’m at 29, which is only 22 books behind schedule. Having the Kindle app on my phone is really nice, because I always have at least 200 books to choose from (yes, I’m that behind).

7. Get healthier: cut out my daily breakfast Pepsi (not sure how the lack of caffeine will work when I generally only get 4-5 hours of sleep) and eventually almost all soda; go out to eat once a week or less; eat more fruits and veggies and less processed, sodium-drenched foods; use the gym membership I’m paying for; ride my bike to work when it warms up; etc.

This goal is actually still working for me. I’m still drinking too much Pepsi, but my eating habits are way better; I need almost exclusively fruits, veggies, and homecooked, non-processed foods. Actually it kinda sucks – I’ll stop for a fast food burger between work and class and then won’t even want to eat more than a few bites because it doesn’t taste very good anymore. I haven’t really lost any more weight, but on the plus side I haven’t gained any either. Baby steps.

Actually, I lied about non-processed foods. I’ve been taking a lot of trips and I manage to find Popeye’s on almost every one of them – the Philadelphia airport, detour through Milwaukee just to get Popeye’s, twice in Chicago Heights this past weekend…. But the closest one to my house is about 150 miles away, so it’s not like I do this every day. And to be fair, I kayaked a ton last weekend so I earned fried chicken.

Overall, I’m not doing great but I’m staying afloat. My life’s going to change a lot in the next month as I quit my job and go back to school full-time, but I’m hoping I’ll also have more time to write.

Actually, that’s a lie too. I’ll take on some other project and be even busier than I am now.

If you’ve set goals for yourself, how’re they going so far this year?

Weekend Writing Warriors 7/5/15 #8Sunday

I spent the Fourth of July in Saginaw, MI (because why not). It’s one of the worst post-industrial cities in America in regard to both poverty and crime, and so every time fireworks have gone off this weekend, I’ve had to remind myself it’s not gunshots. Kinda unnerving.

This week’s excerpt comes from “Crash,” a short story in my anthology The Futility of Loving a Soldier, which is on sale right now for just $$.99 this morning and then $1.99 after that. In this one, Lindy has just returned from Iraq and is a bit jumpy (something very real for our vets, many of whom can’t handle fireworks because it reminds them of their experiences).

* * * * * * * * * * *

Bill stopped outside Lindy’s bedroom door and listened his daughter inside, or at least her music, a loud country song with indiscernible lyrics. He raised his hand to knock but paused, his fist poised; maybe the music was all he’d heard.

A crash came from inside the room, then muffled curses and another crash – no, he hadn’t imagined it.

“Lindy,” he asked as he knocked and took a step back, “everything okay?”

Since she’d been discharged, she’d spent most of her time in her room or skulking around the house. He’d known the Army would change his daughter—wasn’t that what all the commercials said?—but he’d expected her to come back proud, strong, and triumphant – not like this.

How would she respond this time – would she ignore him, maybe turn up the music; throw open the door and jettison something toward his head; come out crying, needing her daddy, finally ready to talk?

Nothing.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Read more about Lindy in The Futility of Loving a Soldier, on sale right now at Amazon, then post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

Weekend Writing Warriors 6/28/15 #8Sunday

This month I’ve been pulling from my short story collection, Us, Together. Here’s one last excerpt, from the first story, “Us, Together.”

In this scene, Andrea is concerned she might be pregnant, and Jake thinks he might be falling in love with her.

* * * * * * * * * * *

We’d been responsible, or as responsible as two teenagers having sex in the back of a car could be. This wasn’t supposed to be happening.

Andrea leaned against me, and I slipped my arm around her. In a voice muffled against my chest, she said, “If it comes to it, there’s always the clinic. They could…do something about it.”

She’d never been much for snuggling. This felt nice, comforting.

“Maybe we could just wait and see,” I said and pulled her more tightly against me, that swelling inside my chest getting warmer with each beat of her heart next to mine.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Read more in Us, Together, just $.99 at Amazon, then post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

And then help me out with my Thunderclap campaign! My short story anthology The Futility of Loving a Soldier is on sale next week and I’m trying to spread the word. Simply go to this website, sign up through your Twitter or Facebook account, and a message will post automatically for everyone next Friday.