In the Mail...

Well, the moment has come and A Day in the Sun is safely in the mail on its way to LA. I wanted to post that for them as that wanted a follow up on where ADIS is at in the world. I also wanted to take a moment to show some appreciation. I have no illusions of grandeur: Writers of the Future is a national contest that undoubtedly receives thousands of entries every quarter with no restrictions on age or education. That’s a lot of PhD wielding sci-fi slingers to face off against for the R. I do have hope though, because of the reaction of people, also with a variety of age, education, and interest levels, who have read the story. Their encouragement is invaluable. A lot of work went into ADIS, by myself and others who really took off their jackets, rolled up their sleeves, and tore into this story. I want to say thank you to those that have added their efforts to mine to make ADIS the best story it could be. I will not name you and throw your names out into cyberspace, but you know who you are. If I have been the husband, friend, and brother that I try to be then you know. But I would like to stand before you (even though I am actually hidden behind this shield of 0’s and 1’s) and give my appreciation for helping me to have this chance, slim though it may be. Thank you.

R.

A Day in the Sun

Last night I finished what could possibly be a W0tF submittable draft of ADIS. I am feeling pretty excited about that. While there are surely technical problems with it I am waiting for my trusted advisors' feedback on whether there are gross errors and the like. It feels good to be this close to having a final draft of that story. There are them as that think it's my best so far, and while I hope that isn't true it is encouraging the way that story seems to appeal to so many people.

R.

WotF Submission

I have decided to submit A Day in the Sun to Writers of the Future this quarter. I don't necessarily think it is my best story, but it is the story that I have recieved the most feedback on and so I feel like I will be able to produce the best draft from that in the time I have available to me.

R.

Do I have A Blog or Not

Hello? Blog? Can you hear me? Is there anybody listening, like in that song by Queensryche? Come back, little bloggy.

R.

Favorite Part

As I thought about all I have written this summer, I decided the part I like best was the part with the horse.

R.

Stories and Contests

I am still struggling to get Pluck This Jewel... written for the story collection. I feel it is an important piece after the un-resolution at the end of The Traveler's Gift and important for the whole. It will be interesting to see how long it takes me to finish it with school going.

Much to my surprise the weeks have flown by and it is time for me to start thinking about my entry for this quarter's Writers of the Future contest entry. As I have stated in earlier posts I have forced myself to finish a first draft and start the next story through the summer. That means that I need to get a story revised and mailed by the last day of September. So...if you have an opinion as to which of my stories I should get ready for this go around I would welcome and appreciate the input. Without any feedback I lean towards Toll Man or Culture of Conflict (formerly known as Losing Some Fluids). Would one of those a good entry make? Who knows...I only write here.

R.

Nickel Creek and the Beginning of School

So a few weekends ago we went to GJ and watched Nickel Creek play the Avalon. They were incredible; I thought they were hilirarious while Elyena thought they were dorks, but I liked that they played well and didn't take themselves to seriously. They played a lot of material from Why Should the Fire Die? which gave us a better appreciation of it. They did some covers, like Short People (which they inserted into the middle of the Smoothie Song), the Britney Spears song Toxic (which caused a few old folks to walk out in amazement and disgust (damn kids these days)). For their solo spots Chris played some Bach on his mandolin, Sean played an acoustic guitar version of Jealous Guy by John Lennon (a new favorite for me, the acoustic version that is), and Sarah did a song of Linda Ronstadt's Greatest Hits, but I am not sure of the name. They also covered Take a Load Off Sally, and played a song off Chris' solo record as well as one from the upright bass player's album, Mark Stedt I think his name is. It made me want to bust out my acoustic and play away.

Of course then comes the school part and the reason that I didn't bust out the acoustic. Ah, well. At least I have mostly good classes. American Military History to 1917, Ancient American History, some American Lit classes (Realism/Naturalism and Modern era), (do you sense a theme? It wasn't intentional) and a Botany class called Environment Appreciation. So far they are pretty good.

R.