Not a great batting record for blogging, eh?  Ah well, I'm hoping November will be more productive in several senses of the word.

Another week, another four blog posts I didn’t do.  Or has it been two weeks? Oy.

No new word on the short stories I’ve sent out.  Well, I’ll keep thinking no news is good news.  Novel work is not going so well and I’m pondering doing Nanwrimo just as a way of setting a goal for finishing Smooth Vengeance, though I usually do my NaNoWri in June, not November.  (this year it was short stories instead of novels but I still got over 60k words done)

I’m also not on Twitter as much as I’d like to be. I miss having contact with some of my online friends but work and the toxic, snarky political overflow of this election season is not making me want to hurry back. Oy, some of the things that show up in my Twitter feed…

I did not get my Fantasy story written but I did try outlining it.  I think that may have been useful as my original ending, now that I’m looking at it, might be a bit harsh. On the other hand, butter is not harsh but no one goes out of their way to publish butter. To mix metaphors.

That’s the real question and one I haven’t figured out yet.  Do you be true to your original vision, ugly* as it may be or do you try to write to a wide audience. You don’t want to be bland or water down your work, or at least I don’t.  And writing what you want sure didn’t hurt Mickey Spillane or even Jackie Collins’s sales numbers, for that matter.  The fact is, there’s a market for almost everything.  No matter what you write, someone is likely to enjoy reading it. I guess I’m getting hung up on what the ‘right’ ending is.  Do you kill the girl or let her go?  Is she an innocent or is she guilty of more than loving the wrong person?  I don’t know and the only way to find out is to write the story.

I also have another story or story cycle in my head. I blame Daishell Hammett.  I’d like to write about a private eye, like his Contiental Op, not like Sam Spade. The problem is, that ship has sailed. The days of the PI existed in the 20’s to the 60’s at the latest. The world changed too much, even the Pinkertons are owned by some multinational goon squad nowadays.  Today being a PI means taking pictures of cheating spouses, doing background checks and the occasional blackmail job, so far as I can tell. But I loved those old stories and I want to create a world where those stories can still be told. It might be some pseudo sci-fi setting, some place not earth and kept at a pre-1990’s technology level artificially.  Again, dunno what to do about that but I’d love to write those stories. I’ll have to see if I can.

But first, damn it, finish the novels, Mark.

*Substitute ‘ugly’ with ‘violent’, ‘smutty’ or whatever else you think might offend or alienate people

Well hello.  Been a while, hasn’t it.  A very long while.

The last two weeks, I haven’t been able to sit in the Throne of Writing(tm) and string three paragraphs together.  I had hoped work would calm down after the Kindle Fire HD release. More fool I.

I have another ambitious short story idea and this time I am trying to sketch out the plot before I begin. It’s going to be dense, weighty stuff for a Fantasy novel.  Mostly female cast, which will also provide challenges.  I hope to get it done by Sunday night and I also hope it doesn’t balloon to novella length.

In other writing news, I sent off a couple more short stories into the void.  “Between the Necropolis and the Ghetto” is now in the ungentle hands of Tor.com.  Eight month turnaround, oy. We’ll see what they do with it, if anything.  Still no word back from my Ray Bradbury story but no news could be good news, there.

Novel writing is not going anywhere. I need some time to dedicate to it but not getting home before 7 makes it very hard to find time. I know, I said I’d sacrifice sleep to get writing done but that’s not happening, apparently.  Some health problems and personal stuff going on there, but I’m not going to whine about it.  Anyway, that’s one reason Smooth Running did not make it out by Summer, as I’d hoped.

On a brighter note, my friend Jonathan Burgess DID self-publish his first novel, “Chasing the Lantern” (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15835204-chasing-the-lantern).  He’ll be in Seattle (well, Edmonds) this Saturday at the otherworlds bookstore (otherworldsstore.com).  Steampunk cosplay is encouraged, apparently.  I won’t be dressing up but I will be stopping by.  The cover art for his book is astoundingly good, pro quality.

I also should have a Cloud City Wordslinger's website up soonish.  More details as they become available.

That’s all for now, I hope to get more writing done, maybe even finish up a novel.  Or two. :)