Steven Radecki's Blog, page 2
April 2, 2021
New Short Fiction: “Best Served Cold”
A dish of corporate greed served with a side of revenge.
I had the pleasure of working with Bob Schoonover on this story when he originally submitted it for the Corporate Catharsis anthology. When he passed away unexpectedly last December, we decided to publish it as a standalone edition in his honor.
If you enjoy a contemporary corporate tale with a thrilling taste for revenge, you’ll enjoy this story.
The post New Short Fiction: “Best Served Cold” appeared first on A Work in Progress.
February 21, 2021
New Book Release: “Costruendo il fratellino (Building Baby Brother)”
I am completely thrilled to be able to announce the release of the Italian edition of my book Building Baby Brother (Costruendo il fratellino), translated for me by author Flavia Idà.
Dapprima sembrava una buona idea …
I figli cresceranno sempre, che ne siamo pronti o no.Una verità che ho imparato dall’essere genitore è che prima o poi i figli ti faranno domande difficili e forse anche scomode, alle quali si aspettano che tu abbia una risposta.
È vero anche che spesso ci è difficile negare ai nostri figli le cose che più desiderano – come la libertà.
Why? Because I thought it might be fun to do. (It was!)
Costruendo il fratellino (Building Baby Brother) is available in hardcover, trade paperback, and digital editions in all of the usual places.
Godetevi il libro!
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December 21, 2020
A Book Review is a Gift that Keeps on Giving
Every time you purchase a product or use a service, you are almost always prompted to leave at least a star-based rating on your experience. These ratings and reviews serve those businesses in a variety of ways, but in few places are they as critical to the success of authors and books as they are in online marketplaces like Amazon.
There are a lot of business reasons that drive this that I won’t go into here, because the bottom line is this:
If you do not review the books that you enjoy, the online marketplaces do not promote them so that other readers can discover them as well.
Best-selling authors and large publishing corporations do not need your reviews. Small publishers and independent authors do.
If you are looking for an ideal holiday present for the author in your life, give them the gift of a review for their books.
From my personal Holiday Wish List, you can leave reviews for my books here:
Building Baby Brother
Amazon
Goodreads
Corporate Catharsis
Amazon
Goodreads
Important Tip: Did you know that you don’t have to purchase the book on Amazon in order to leave a review?
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December 15, 2020
“Silent Night”
I am re-publishing it again because we were originally going to end with this piece during my interview on Author Reads, but we ran out of time, but I promised that I would re-post it for those who might be interested.
Once again, happy, um, holidays.
Gerard barreled down the stairs.
I’m first! I’m FIRST!
He reached the landing and skidded to a halt. The tree was dark. Even the lights strung along the mantle were out, resembling a black, tangled vine in the dark.
Gerard’s heart thumped in his chest. He hated the dark. Things lived in the dark, in its shadows.
“Not on Christmas,” he whispered. “Not on Christmas.”
It really was Christmas morning; he was certain of it. Yet, underneath the tree, there was nothing.
“There have to be presents,” he mumbled angrily.
Looking toward the mantle, he saw six stockings hanging there. Gerard approached them. Unlike the others, which remained flat and empty, his clearly bulged with … something.
He grinned. “That’s how it should be.”
Gerard grabbed it down, his eager grin changing to a look of confusion when the contents rattled.
He dropped down to sit cross-legged on the floor in a patch of gray-white light and poured out the stocking’s contents. Five small, dark shapes clattered against one another as they tumbled onto the carpet. Each one was about the size of his finger and perhaps twice as wide.
He examined one, turning it slowly beneath his fingers. Its edges felt rough, almost sharp. He stared down at it, recognizing the shard for was it was.
Coal!
He nearly flung it away. In the reflected light, though, from within the black substance, his mother’s face stared back at him.
Gerard began to scream.
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December 11, 2020
New Audio Edition Release: “Building Baby Brother”
Yes, it’s finally here!
I am absolutely thrilled to be able to announce that the audio edition of Building Baby Brother is finally available!
Read by the extremely talented Jeff Reim, the audio edition of Building Baby Brother is available on Audible, Amazon, and Apple Books.
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December 4, 2020
Author Reads with Steven Radecki – Science Fiction Writer!
First episode of December we chat with today’s guest Author, Steven Radecki and listen to him read from his sci-fi book, have Q&A and finally book giveaway!
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December 1, 2020
NaNoWriMo 2020 Report: Rambling on Toward the End
Final word count: 50,266
Words this week: 6,039
Average words per day: 3,020
According to my records, this is the second largest word count completed during the last two days since the first year I did NaNoWriMo — and that year I did more words on the last day than I did during the last two days this year. (We don’t talk about that year …)
The story finally has a plot (of some kind), but it’s kind of dancing around what should be it’s big reveal because, honestly, I don’t know how I want that to play out. There are so many clichés I want to avoid there. But, I did (astonishingly) achieve more than 50,000 words on what was originally intended to be a 10,000-word short story. I guess that’s what happens if you keep playing “What if?” as you go along.
Fun fact: Over the weekend, my keyboard decided that every time I typed “v” that I needed two of them. I was not, of course, going to swap it out for a new keyboard during the final weekend, so I managed. It’s amazing, though, how often you use the “V” key — especially when you do a lot of copying and pasting using the keyboard (nearly everything got pasted in twice).
Until next year (at least for this!) &hellips; Write on!
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November 29, 2020
NaNoWriMo 2020 Report: Week Four
Current word count: 44,227
Words this week: 12,314
Average words per day: 1,759
The story continues to progress and the plot is … wandering somewhere. Still, I’ve been making steady progress … on whatever this is.
My average word count per day is close to where it needed to be at the start. To make 50,000 words, I’m going to need to average 3,000 words a day. Not impossible, but it will probably be a challenge with November 30th being a weekday and a work day.
Onto the final stretch! Until next week … Write on!
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November 25, 2020
An Enterprise of Hope
I was recently listening to some random music in order to test the sound quality of some headphones and “The Enterprise” from Star Trek: The Motion Picture started playing and I got to thinking about the music and the never-ending discussion about the length of that scene in the movie. Some viewers feel it is overly long and fan-indulgent, but I have to admit that I have never skipped over the scene during any of the countless times that I have re-watched that movie.
There is little doubt in my mind that the majestic score by Jerry Goldsmith drives the emotions of that scene. But there is more to it than just that — much more, I believe.
Many people have successfully argued — and I wholeheartedly agree — that the Enterprise was as much a central character of the Star Trek as were Kirk, Spock, or McCoy. Those who designed and directed that scene in Star Trek: The Motion Picture understood and appreciated that Back in 1979, when we went to the movie theater to view the movie for the first time, is was as much to see our beloved starship again as it to spend time once more with the members of its crew.
But thinking on it now, and perhaps this is also driven by the times in which we now found ourselves living, the Enterprise in that scene — special effects, music, and all — is more than just a reminder to Kirk of everything he has lost by being promoted to the rank of Admiral: it is also a symbol of hope.
Accompanied by the swelling music, it reminds us of what the future can hold for all of us, that we can find a way to accept our differences and work together in a positive way toward a future when such things as starships become possible, when we can watch in collective awe together with an appreciation of “We did that.” I think that’s one of the reasons that scene resonates with people — and not just fans. For about five minutes or so, we can experience a long and lingering look at a bright and promising future that might be possible — for all of us.
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November 22, 2020
NaNoWriMo 2020 Report: Week Three
Current word count: 31,913
Words this week: 10,098
Average words per day: 1,443
Surprisingly, I did not hit a Week Three slump! While my word is not where it should be, it’s not hopelessly behind. If I stick to a good writing schedule, and with the next Virtual Write-In happening next weekend, there’s a good chance that I might hit the 50,000-word mark. (Not bad for a tale that began as an idea for a 10,000(-ish) short story.)
Perhaps most important: I found a plot! I’m not sure where it’s eventually going to go, but at least the story is finally going somewhere. Finally, the protagonist has something more to do than wander through the space station like a tourist.
Until next week … Write on!
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