Corrie Garrett's Blog, page 6
January 17, 2013
Short story publication!
I got my first ‘real’ short story publication!
I got paid three dollars for it (and opted to give that back to the ezine), but by golly I’m excited! However, and I feel real dumb about this – I missed it! Apparently it got published a few days after Christmas and I didn’t realize until nearly three weeks later. Then, I went over and looked at it, and more than a few of the comments were negative – apparently the ending of my short story didn’t make a lot of sense to my readers. 
But you know, that’s okay. Getting real criticism is the only way to get better. (Cliche, but true.)
So: Hurray! Sort of. (I’m only human, after all!)
http://www.everydayfiction.com/ethics-alone-by-corrie-garrett/
December 1, 2012
End of NaNo 2012, or The Mildew of Death I Just Noticed
It's that time - the end of NaNoWriMo! (National Novel Writing Month) where we take a look around and see what growths have taken hold in our house since we last looked away from a computer screen.
So here's my top 5 realizations (or things I was vaguely aware of in November that suddenly seem important):
5. My heater is broken. I live in southern california, so this isn't the end of the world, but it is december and I do have a baby. I should figure that out.
4. None of my son's pants fit. His school uniform shows an inch of tummy if he lifts his arms.
3. A reddish/orange mildew has taken hold in my bathtub. All over. I'm not sure if I haven't showered this month, or I was too sunk in thought to notice, but it's a little disturbing. I feel like I should ask its permission before I use the tub.
2. There was, like, an election?
(J/K. I voted by mail, I lost.)
1. My baby (9 months) can wave, sit up on his own, and crawl. I *think* that all happened in the last two days, but it may have been a couple weeks.
On the upside, he's my third one, so it's not like I'm journaling his progress or anything. :-)
Oh, and I guess there's a 0 item - I'm married! To a wonderful guy! I forgot about that. :-)
So here's my top 5 realizations (or things I was vaguely aware of in November that suddenly seem important):
5. My heater is broken. I live in southern california, so this isn't the end of the world, but it is december and I do have a baby. I should figure that out.
4. None of my son's pants fit. His school uniform shows an inch of tummy if he lifts his arms.
3. A reddish/orange mildew has taken hold in my bathtub. All over. I'm not sure if I haven't showered this month, or I was too sunk in thought to notice, but it's a little disturbing. I feel like I should ask its permission before I use the tub.
2. There was, like, an election?
(J/K. I voted by mail, I lost.)
1. My baby (9 months) can wave, sit up on his own, and crawl. I *think* that all happened in the last two days, but it may have been a couple weeks.
On the upside, he's my third one, so it's not like I'm journaling his progress or anything. :-)
Oh, and I guess there's a 0 item - I'm married! To a wonderful guy! I forgot about that. :-)
November 18, 2012
Top Five Science Fiction Ensembles
When I saw The Avengers this summer (along with the rest of the world) I fell in love with ensemble sci-fi all over again. Ensembles of any genre are fun – I can have five (or six or seven!) wonderful main characters instead of just one? Yes, please!
From Lord of the Rings to Ocean’s Eleven to Crash, I love them all. But my particular favorites are sci-fi ensembles like Independence Day or Inception. So, in their honor, I’ve put together a Top Five reading list for other sci-fi (and ensemble) lovers.
(For my purposes I’ve left out classic authors like Arthur C. Clarke or Isaac Asimov and focused on newer authors and books you may not have read yet.)
1. Robopocalypse
This book is an explosive collision of I, Robot and The Day After Tomorrow – big, crazy violence and big, crazy heroes. You’ve got conflicted, noble robots and super-scary evil ones, heroes you love and heroes you kind of hate (in a good way). The story starts when the main human character finds a “hero archive” compiled by the arch enemy computer – who, despite the fact that he’s been decimating humanity, is fascinated by the heroes who fight him. I'm bugging my husband to read it so I can talk to him about it!
2. The Ghost Brigades
This is the second book in the Old Man’s War series (which is generally fantastic) but this novel was the standout in my opinion, and could be read alone (though I bet you read the others, too!). In a cutthroat universe, the human military has developed a way to take the DNA of dead people (who’d volunteered for military duty but died before they could begin) and turned them into perfect clone soldiers. Following a group of these cold ghost soldiers as they come to life is a surprisingly emotional and satisfying read.
3. Bruiser
You might have read this in school in the last few years, but if you haven’t, put it in your to-read list! Yes, right now, I’ll wait…. Okay.
Told from four perspectives, this is the story of Brew, a young man who absorbs the pains and injuries of those he cares about, and almost destroys them in the process…Because without pain, you can’t learn and you can’t really live. And you can’t put down this book, either.
4. Agent of Change
This is one novel of the Liaden Universe, and although the authors began it in the 1980’s, it’s been kept alive by a small but fanatical fan base and now contains upwards of sixteen books. And they’re still going! The books are a mix of regency romance and space opera – lots of dancing, piloting, and matchmaking.
5. Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
It’s hard enough to write a good novelization of a sci-fi movie, but throw in a really lackluster script and angry fans, and you’ve got your work cut out for you. Incredibly, (some might say miraculously) this is an EXCELLENT book. I’ve never been a huge Star Wars gal, but this book converted me. Mace Windu and Yoda and all these people I’m vaguely familiar with suddenly came to life…and took my breath away.
I know this is woefully short, so tell me – what sci-fi ensembles do you love?
Happy reading,
Corrie Garrett
From Lord of the Rings to Ocean’s Eleven to Crash, I love them all. But my particular favorites are sci-fi ensembles like Independence Day or Inception. So, in their honor, I’ve put together a Top Five reading list for other sci-fi (and ensemble) lovers.
(For my purposes I’ve left out classic authors like Arthur C. Clarke or Isaac Asimov and focused on newer authors and books you may not have read yet.)
1. Robopocalypse
This book is an explosive collision of I, Robot and The Day After Tomorrow – big, crazy violence and big, crazy heroes. You’ve got conflicted, noble robots and super-scary evil ones, heroes you love and heroes you kind of hate (in a good way). The story starts when the main human character finds a “hero archive” compiled by the arch enemy computer – who, despite the fact that he’s been decimating humanity, is fascinated by the heroes who fight him. I'm bugging my husband to read it so I can talk to him about it!
2. The Ghost Brigades
This is the second book in the Old Man’s War series (which is generally fantastic) but this novel was the standout in my opinion, and could be read alone (though I bet you read the others, too!). In a cutthroat universe, the human military has developed a way to take the DNA of dead people (who’d volunteered for military duty but died before they could begin) and turned them into perfect clone soldiers. Following a group of these cold ghost soldiers as they come to life is a surprisingly emotional and satisfying read.
3. Bruiser
You might have read this in school in the last few years, but if you haven’t, put it in your to-read list! Yes, right now, I’ll wait…. Okay.
Told from four perspectives, this is the story of Brew, a young man who absorbs the pains and injuries of those he cares about, and almost destroys them in the process…Because without pain, you can’t learn and you can’t really live. And you can’t put down this book, either.
4. Agent of Change
This is one novel of the Liaden Universe, and although the authors began it in the 1980’s, it’s been kept alive by a small but fanatical fan base and now contains upwards of sixteen books. And they’re still going! The books are a mix of regency romance and space opera – lots of dancing, piloting, and matchmaking.
5. Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
It’s hard enough to write a good novelization of a sci-fi movie, but throw in a really lackluster script and angry fans, and you’ve got your work cut out for you. Incredibly, (some might say miraculously) this is an EXCELLENT book. I’ve never been a huge Star Wars gal, but this book converted me. Mace Windu and Yoda and all these people I’m vaguely familiar with suddenly came to life…and took my breath away.
I know this is woefully short, so tell me – what sci-fi ensembles do you love?
Happy reading,
Corrie Garrett
