One last time: if you’ve any thoughts – besides “he said there would be a war” – I’m working on that in chapter three, please let me know.
This short is the final piece of chapter one. And for those of you who have read, or shall soon be reading, “Obligations of Rank,” you’ll recognize who shows up in the last scene. As this book will be from Sergei Konev’s POV, I’ll not let this particular cat out of the bag.
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Continue reading “[New Russia] Ch1, pt3 (end)”This still feels to me as if it will be at least a novella. I’ve already two pages of notes about the Russian army (organization, tactics) and I’d hate that to go to waste. And, as I said in the last post, I’d really like to blow things up again. At least for a little while.
I’ve no intention of serializing the entire work but thought, maybe, at least the first chapter. That way, if there is any comments, suggestions, or criticism, it will come early so I can make course corrections as needed.
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Continue reading “[New Russia] Ch1, pt1”After slightly more than a week – and trust me, it was awful – of no writing, I may have settled on a new idea I can turn into another novel. Being me, contrarian, what with anyone stupid enough to pay attention to the MSM, they would think the Russians are the modern Hitler; every last man, woman, and child. Of course, the idiots who listen to the MSM also thought covid-19 was a pandemic.
So, being said contrarian, my next book, if it takes hold in my mind, will be about Russians. Specifically, the Russian Empire moving into what is left of former US and Canada after the Change in my future history of Machine Civilization.
I’ve mentioned often enough that while there are some legacy Romanovs on the throne in St. Petersburg, all real power is held by the Prime Minister, Reina. Reina is also an AI made by the Mendrovovitch Company, hence their tribe name. Like kudzu, this person runs through all of my recent stories and there seems no way to get rid of her. Admittedly, she is very interesting: unlike tribe Tohsaka with their Four Laws, Reina kills easily.
In my second-to-last novel, Obligations of Rank, Part Two has a Canadian Officer Cadet, Eloise Patel, telling “undercover” Crown Prince Robert about the Canadian’s two military engagements with the Imperial Russian Army. I wondered: the Russians have Alaska, British Columbia, and are about to take the Kingdom of Columbia… why push over the Rocky Mountains against someone who can still shoot back?
Once I asked the question, they started to give me answers. Let’s see how this unfolds, friends.
Continue reading “A new book, maybe”I admit is a kind of retread. That is, a story I’ve explored before. So, yes, is a Lenten cheat.
Once upon a time, I had a writing experiment. About five years ago. It was based upon two songs I’ll address in the next post. For those of a certain age, it’s obvious. I first thought it was about Machines. I was wrong.
The original form was muddled. I’m trying to tighten this up as something very, very, odd for me:
Allegory. Allegory of the Cold War in Europe.
Continue reading “Pirate Twins, 1, again.”I take a deeper dive into into where ideas for stories come from. Hint: it might really be the stork if you are writing about avians. Beginning with my “movie theater” metaphor, I explore looking inward, looking outward, and just looking about and paying attention for inspiration for your Next Big Thing.
I conclude with something which crushes many new writers: research to get it all right. Many creatives are, to be blunt, not rigorous thinkers and are often overwhelmed at the prospect of logic and consistency. I propose a possible solution for those in that situation.
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With my next MS still in the hands of my copyeditor and cover designer, I was at something of loose ends as to what to write. Initially anxious that nothing was showing up behind my eyes, I calmed myself, and waited. NOTE: spoilers ahead.
Some of the short story (and regular readers will know how often those get out of hand) ideas which showed up over the past few days are:
Looking ahead, I’m still giving thought to reducing my DayJob hours to the bare minimum for health insurance (essentially working three days per week) which I hope will allow me to work on some of the other projects I’ve mentioned. This is a family matter and must be negotiated. We shall see.
If anyone has any ideas/request for the next podcast, please let me know!
Yes, I dropped off the radar again. At DayJob, the IV Room assignment has become a punishment detail, what with all the drips for the vent patients we’re killing (avoid hospitals, everyone). At home, much better but just as busy: That short story I wrote in October, which was growing into a novella in November, has metastasized into its own novel, meaning over the last three weeks I’ve put down about 15,000 words.
Which all ground to a halt yesterday evening. I’d a few pages for the opening of part 2, but the main character, Allen, is presented with a nigh-well insolvable problem. Until I think of how he can solve it, nothing to type.
In the meantime, here’s an ad and a link to my copyeditor. The man is efficient and reasonably priced. I have relied on Mr. Zimmer for, what, five of my novels, now? And hope to continue to in the future.
The good folks at The Star Chamber were having an open lines night. I was just following along with a few lines to their Chat Room when they foolishly wandered onto a topic I found relatable. After all these months, I would have thought that the host would know to recognize at least my Area Code and block all numbers from there, but no… once again they wagered their reputations on letting go live. The triumph of hope over experience.
I wander in almost exactly at the 1:15:00 mark and babble for about eight minutes. Once off, the hosts try to recover from my verbal Molotov Cocktails. It was fun.
Another more technically oriented podcast where I tell the story of how I try to do something different every time I make a book. I do not want to get stuck in ruts of characters or stories or even types of stories so over the years I’ve made romances, horrors, politics, espionage, war, and even children’s books.
I shall not allow myself to become a formulaic writer. This is the most fun I’ve had in years and I intend to keep having it.
Perhaps because I enjoy talking about my stories so much, this one runs a little longer. Cheers!
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This was clearly a case of my reach exceeding my grasp… or the other way round. I’d the same short outline I did for the first podcast and thought “well, it should be about twenty or twenty-five minutes.” No. Once I got into the weeds, the details, of tribe Tohsaka, the first machine family, I knew this would spill over into two if not three ‘casts.
As you will hear me explain, with a future history called Machine Civilization, it is rather incumbent on me to present them, first. There are three classes of AI’s: pure code, androids, and synths. Within just the pure code group are three families, named for their corporations. I’ve managed to talk a bit about one today and will see what I can cover next Friday.
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machciv 