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Showing posts from 2006

EVENT: REI Has MOON Pennsylvania Camping

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Jason and I made a stop at the REI in the Southside Works in Pittsburgh, PA, today to finish up some shopping and there were four copies of MOON Pennsylvania Camping on the shelf. The manager had been trying to get these copies since May when Avalon first put the guide out, but had some difficulties with their (REI's) corporate office. We signed all their copies, met Ron Rodriguez, the store manager, and Peter Greninger, the outreach specialist, and discussed doing two clinics at the store during 2007. The first will be this spring and be devoted to family camping. The one in the fall will be about travel writing. Then J left so I could get his present and on the way out I had the gift wrapped by the wonderful volunteers from the Regional Environmental Education Center in Boyce Mayview Park . As a related aside, we stopped by the Barnes and Noble in Monroeville and found to our delight that they had sold eleven signed copies of our book since May. For a niche market guid

EVENT: Exquisite Corpse Screening

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EVENTS Jason Jack Miller and I attended Mike Arnzen's screening of Exquisite Corpse on November 9. Ten directors from around the world made eleven short films based on his work in 100 Jolts. We first had dinner at Primanti's with Timons Esaias , Al Wendland , Moira Richardson, and Mike Brendan . Then it was off to Seton Hill where we met up with Pat Picciarelli, Becca Baker, Bruce Siskawicz, and Karen Herc. Here's Arnzen casually drinking his coffee before it all got underway. And, here's Bruce's reaction to Mike's latest book LICKER. Unfortunately we missed the second Greensburg screening on November 25, but he's hoping to show it at residency in January.
As promised, here is Seton Hill writer Kim Howe's responses to my Questions about Characters. To participate in an ongoing discussion about women in the military, you can visit one of my previous LJ entries. Interview with Kim Howe HEIDI: Out of all the works you've written, who is your favorite character and why? KIM: In RED DIAMOND, Kinshasa Omari, an eleven-year-old African boy, plays a pivotal role. When his parents are murdered by a Warlord, he is drugged and manipulated into becoming a boy soldier. Yet, he maintains a moral stance and never gives up hope for a better life. Having just traveled to Kenya, I was inspired by the resilience and warmth of the people there. I hope I capture that essence in Kinshasa. HEIDI: Out of all the works you've read, which character do you wish you could have created? KIM: Hannibal Lectur. Brilliantly drawn villains are the most interesting characters. Thomas Harris used just a few details to make his cannibal serial killer stan

SUBMISSIONS: Post or E-mail Submissions

SUBMISSIONS Looking at my submission record today, I realized that out of 82 total submissions this year, I only had 20 post submissions . I think I know why I seem to prefer e-mail: #1: It's easier. (no printing and stuffing) #2: It's cheaper. (no postage) #3: It's less cluttering. (pop the sent e-mail into a yahoo folder instead of keeping a real folder of papers) #4: It's immediate. (find a market from Ralan or Duotrope, open a new window, send off an e-mail to the market right then and there) I wonder if I'm unconsciously limiting myself by heading first for the markets which accept e-mail submissions. Truth is, I save the ones who only deal through the post for last. Anyone else run into this phenomena?

REVIEW: Alison Kent's New CIG to Writing Erotic Romance

REVIEWS I'm one of twenty-five writers blogging a chapter from Alison Kent's new Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Erotic Romance . Because I write speculative fiction, as do most people who read my blog, I asked for Chapter 5 Writing 101: World-Building. Here Kent touches upon the basics in world building for any type of novel with tips on research and description, as well as fitting your characters into the world you've built. In regards to research, Kent is spot on by reminding writers "if your story doesn't require you use all you've learned, don't create a need for those extraneous facts." She also explains the difference between an infodump and exposition, encouraging writers to show descriptive details through your character's POV. Of particular interest to SF and Fantasy writers are the sections titled Blinded by Science and Logic and Consistency . Here Kent warns of following the rules of science or magic within your world

PUBLICATION: Mara's Jellyfish

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PUBLICATIONS My horror flash fiction story Mara's Jellyfish is up at Alien Skin Magazine . You can read it for free.