Month: September 2017

Free, Naked, Editing

Ryan Lanz is running a contest for some free editing; enough for short story.  Just wanted to pass it along to my fellow creators.

Aside:  about 5k words into Defiant Part 2.5.  Was stuck all this week, after Nichole’s & Mackenzie’s reconciliation, then saw Nichole and Teresa having a long conversation about coding (at school), and later, her father and the effects of the Breakup in Portland (at Zom’s).  They’re joined by Gil and Joe, and this segues into the one-off I did a few months ago where these four playing in the pool – largely naked – and Nichole accidently diagnoses Joe’s lymphoma.  Rock and roll.

Pirate Twins, coda

This not the short I originally saw.  After last night’s tragic news, I wanted to a little more about the West’s current attempt at suicide.  But, there’s still hope.  Hope, much like Evil, can often be found in the most unlikely places.

Thanks, everyone, for reading this story.  I think I’ll try to make ‘Defiant’ into a proper novel, but I’m taking the rest of this weekend off.

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Jerry Pournelle, RIP

Just months after Steven Den Beste, to who’s memory I dedicated “Cursed Hearts,” comes news this evening of the death of Dr. Jerry Pournelle, the other most responsible for my becoming a writer  (“start your story in the middle!”).

I am devastated. I shall wrap up PT when I can see through my tears.  The world is… so dark.

There are many with eulogies.  I went to a friend’s site, once I’d heard the news.

Pirate Twins 14, The Bridge at Andau, Reprised

Left DayJob an hour early.  When my boss asked why, I told her:  I’m ending the Cold War.  She really should know better than to speak to me.

There’s still a short coda I want to write, as this has been the oddest writing exercise in my life.  It began as just another escapade into Machine Civilization.  That mold broke very quickly, becoming an allegory of the Cold War, something only oldsters like me recall.

Old?  Very:  Tuesday was the 25th Anniversary of my better half and I.  Either her standards are very low, or I’m much better in bed than I realize.  Likely the former.

Once I write the coda – tomorrow – this will end up being about 18-19k words.  Who publishes ‘historical allegories’, these days?

Thanks, everyone, for reading!

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Pirate Twins 13: The Spy Who Loves Me

This was, originally, two posts:  I really wanted to get up and ahead one in case an outbreak of RealLife (TM) prevented me from finishing this no later than Friday.

But, it just didn’t work.  It was awful.  So I moved a couple of things and smoothed the transition (but I bet y’all can still see where it is) and am posting it.  Your win, my loss.  Sorta.

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Pirate Twins 11

I’m beginning to think I should turn this into a sub-folder before it takes over this blog.  I’ve never done a flash-fiction series in this weblog before, and am not entire clear on the visual dynamics of how to effectively present it.  Suggestions welcome.

As I mentioned on Gab.ai, I’d paused this right before Europa came out mad.  I’d not seen that.  My family and I went to the Saturday 1700 Mass. The OT reading, from Jerimiah, was about J telling God, “You duped me!”  Sitting there in the pew, I started grinning like more of an idiot as the rest of #11 opened in my mind.

There are no such things as coincidences.

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Pirate Twins 10

Was originally going to stop this whole thing at #10.  Momentum and the gathering thereof.  So, maybe #15.  This is a little shorter, as there’s not that much talking in it:  Logres and Europa get some together-time and use their mouths for something else.  If you’re below the age of twelve, this segment has icky-mushy stuff in it.  You’ve been warned.

It’s the weekend, so I think I’ll get another drink and go ahead and write #11.

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