where an important character's gender was never specified. My friend Paul said 'but you knew which it was, right?'
No, actually I didn't. Still don't.
Which may (not) excuse or explain why it's only now I'm vaguely thinking of building the Chimps story-world into a novel that I've thought enough about Willow's background (she's from a circus - carny folk are their own nation) to ask what her ethnicity is.
Her name, like most of the other character names, is taken from one of the historical figures in the development of lighter-than-air flight. I named Mick and Veda and Ranjit as an acknowledgement of the people who built railways and roads in Canada (and elsewhere, yeah). Which argues that Willow is Chinese, though likely far more shaped by the circus.

And then I ask myself what I'm doing, since I don't even know if the setting is alt-Earth or another planet or the future or what, how can I possibly build 'the pony express but with BLIMPS--and pirates!!' into a cohesive world?
Quick, look over there works better with short stories.

Made the shortlist for the 3-Day Novel Contest, go me!  I re-read Culture Heroes last night, and was reasonably satisfied with it, for a first draft written at speed, with no real outline. Once I'm not in the midst of overlapping deadlines, I'd like to bring the 3 alt-Europe magic-realism stories together and print up some copies on Lulu for funsies.
Anyway, I've posted the first chapter below, if LJ lets it work. It is utterly lacking in explosions and begins with someone waking up ONOES!

( only if you're curious )

You'll maybe remember Matt's inspirational speech that I posted the link to a while back?

Well, here's some news about his most recent books, if you'd like to check out his narrative prose:

To promote the release of my new Henghis Hapthorn novel, Hespira, the
Fantasy Book Critic blog is hosting a contest giving away two complete
sets of the Hapthorn books.  There's also a special grand prize for
correctly answering a question -- the answer  can be found among the
samples on my web site -- which will include a $500 package of
collectible books including slipcased editions of Songs of the Dying
Earth, my novel Template, and a Postscripts quarterly anthology.

Details are on the FBC site at:
http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2010/01/giveaway-win-set-of-matthew-hughes.html

I would be grateful to any colleagues who put the word out.

Matt

My first pro sale, at Beneath Ceaseless Skies, right next to one by Aliette de Bodard.

Aha, next issue will have a story by Margaret Ronald that also features airships, while the airship cover art is up. Yay for airships!

And! I would never have made this sale had I not attended Viable Paradise, a one-week writing workshop in Martha's Vineyard that confirmed for me that I could be a writer my own self. Applications open tomorrow. Go for it. You won't regret it.

Today the card came from Operation Eyesight. I'm a bit disappointed that they didn't provide the name & info for a specific person, but still, here you are, same as last year, because I am just that predictable:

As you gather with family and friends,
celebrate a life-changing gift that offers
people hope for a brighter tomorrow.



Remembering the best workshop ever!

Letter from agent: good news is ending made her cry, bad news is REVIZE MOAR.

My nano is dragging, I've barely cracked 20k. Should I push through to at least hit 25k by Nov 30 which is after all almost here, or should I dump it with little cries of glee and leap back into the Dread Revision right away?

Also have no idea what to post Dec 2 when my turn comes up on the workshop. If my brain goes away as it did during the previous revision, I may be even less useful for critiquing. Would it be better all around to drop out now?

Read Maureen Johnson's chapter-by-chapter takedown instead!
The unexpected joys of doing Nanowrimo: each week an encouraging letter from a published writer. Hers was so funny I clicked on the link to her blog, and now I guess I'll be looking for her books.

So far, Scrivener is really, really cool. I wish I'd had it 3 months ago. The only thing that would make it better would be if it magically filled in the missing scenes for me.
I guess I'll have to swap to a Mac for my desktop. Sigh. 

Matt Hughes put this on the SF Canada list today, and I thought it might be encouraging. Or as he says, possibly terrifying. It's his keynote speech to the Surrey Writers Conference a few years back.
http://www.archonate.com/no-surrender

For those who'll be able to make it this weekend, drop me an email (via LJ or to barbara at bmlgordon.com) so I can sort out crash space and ferry/airport pickup, thanks!
For those who can't make it, what with economic or RL obstacles, I offer tearful hugs and the hope that the weekend is wonderful for you wherever you have to be.

Because I like the word 'exhortation'. Come to the western edge!

Right, the Semi-official West Coast (Northwest Coast?) VPXplus get-together is scheduled for the weekend of August 22-23. It's on!
Later and earlier is fine, if that makes it easier for people to fly or otherwise arrange travel. Lots of bed&breakfast places and lots of crashspace in the house if you don't mind foamies and slightly-saggy hideabeds. Lots of books in the house and bookshops in town. Mark is a good cook, plus there are heaps of restaurants in walking distance.
We can do pickup from the Victoria International Airport, the BC Ferry Terminal in Sidney (the airport is really in Sidney too), the Clipper terminal and the Coho terminal (both downtown).
Reasonable chance of homemade apple and/or blackberry pie.

Open to VPXers and family, other VP students, staff, faculty, family and writey-type people generally.


Also, for those who haven't heard already (apologies to those who have), Chimps on a Blimp has been retitled "On the Transmontane Run with the Aerial Mail Express" and sold to Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Woohoo!

Just off the phone with Caitlin Blasdell. Contract coming by email. Heavy revising to come on Willow Knot.

Why can I not insert firework graphics? LJ fails me yet again.

The writing group meeting was on Sunday. Attending were Brian of the 20,500 word opening chapter, his wife Shawna, Kat who had a book published in 2000, her friend Liz who worked as an editor for Wylie and for Kluwer-Nijhoff, and me. Not attending were the three grad students, because the one who was bringing the other two cancelled because her boyfriend was in town. She did, however, send Brian her critique by email. He came close to withdrawing his chapter, because he wanted to rewrite it based on her comments, but his wife pointed out that he always did that when he got comments, and he should at least consolidate Leina's comments with any Kat and I had.
I'm not sure what I might have done, faced with the prospect of tossing 3 weeks of evenings' work and having it all to do over again. But fortunately we went ahead, so I didn't have to kill anyone.

( Basic critique by McHugh guidelines )

I went into more detail in the attached sheets.
( which you probably shouldn't click on, either. )

So, yeah, schedule of events ran so:
introductory go-round, tea and snacks (yes, I brought baked goods)
discussion of possible formats. preference expressed for supportive rather than critique-focussed format.
A free-writing exercise, followed by reading out of free-writing to general approving noises.
Brian havers about withdrawing his chapter, agrees to hear crits. I read mine. Kat comments. Discussion.
decided that my sample piece can wait until next meeting, to be scheduled.
I guess I should go to that one, if it happens, because it would be rude not to show up if my work was being critted.

Copy provided by the Avocado:
"Batgirlcon is the irregularly recurring convention to celebrate the writing and interests of writer Barbara Mary Louise 
Gordon.  Held in scenic Victoria, British Columbia, it folds interesting guests into knots of conversation.  Notes on this year's events: the traditional blimp tour of nearby Vancouver will not be possible this year due to the theft of the blimp by rogue primates, and the traditional office power yoga workshop has been cancelled due to excessive laughter."

Dates: The core would be August 22-23, but attendees are welcome to arrive earlier and leave later for the sake of cheaper flights, more time to sightsee or relax, or simple inertia.
Location: Victoria BC, Canada. Just outside Oak Bay, walking distance from Willows Beach, on the bus route for downtown Victoria.
Facilities: fold-out beds, foamies, airmattresses and floorspace. Victoria also has more bed&breakfast places than human mind can comprehend.
Local attractions: Butchart Gardens, Munro's Books, Gyro Park, Bolen's Books, Beacon Hill Park, and ever so many tourist traps.
Travel: Victoria International Airport is a half-hour drive away, as are the ferry terminals for BC Ferries. The Coho ferry from Port Angeles and the Clipper passenger ferry from Seattle dock in downtown Victoria. Pickup can easily be arranged.

Open to VPXers and families, VP-associates & friends, writey-type friends who'd like to come and hang out... did I miss anyone?

While biking home, I had a small epiphany. "Gods-Meat" is about the breakdown & breakup with M--e.
I mean, it's about what do you do after your story ends?, but it's just as much about letting go of a long-term guilt-bound relationship. And not turning to stone just because all the cool kids are doing it. And stuff.
I'm a bit weirded out by this.

To refresh: I live on Vancouver Island, a scenic tourist trap. If you inflated Martha's Vineyard somewhat and flipped it to the other side of the continent, you'd have the idea. Oh, and our money is prettier.

We have a turn-of-the-previous-century house, with 2 fold-out beds, plus a single loft-bed and floor space. Victoria is also thick with bed&breakfast places. We are walking distance from several restaurants, some quite good.
There's a fluffy cat - allergy alert.

Skimming quickly through my pocket calendar, the possibles seem to be:
Early June : May 30-31; Jun 6-7; Jun 13-14
Late August: Aug 22-23; Aug 29-30; Sep 5-6

Which isn't to say that other dates are out, just to provide a starting point. Thoughts? I'll post this on Room 50 as well

This is why I love doing the 3-day Novel Contest: because I can write weird stuff. I re-read last year's entry, Trading in Ghosts, and since sufficient time has passed, I thought it was pretty decent. Not that there are any markets for 18,500 word stories, even one that includes a scene with a mad scientist playing a cobbled-together organ while a child's soul is sucked out in a nearby glass-wire cage.
But here's chapter two, ( where I started to really have fun.  )

If anyone has clever ideas for possible markets, I'm listening. Also if anyone would like to beta-read this and suggest how it could be either lengthened or shortened - or just read it for fun.

Because, you know, I don't have enough barely-started Works in Progress, what I really need to do is to get all excited about a new story idea that started mostly as a joke after reading one of limyaael's rants, this one about prophecy.
I remembered how many examples I'd seen on Evil Editor's blog, of 'perfectly ordinary girl from our world learns that she is really the destined ruler of generic fantasy world 315A' and I thought, huh, has anyone reversed that? And how would you reverse it and still get a story? 
And now, heaven help me, I have a blurb -

( for which I accept little or no responsibility. )


Does anyone know why it's so much easier to write a blurb for someone else's story or for a story not yet written, than it is  for a completed story of one's own? Trying to write a blurb for Willow Knot is making my brains leak out my ears.
As does deciding whether to go ahead with Tom's story, or jump into this one.

Because I'm too lazy to buy presents, I donate to Oxfam, Operation Eyesight, etc. So, today the OE card (Lantern in the Snow design) arrived, with the following message:





The insert card says:
We are happy to let you know
Mr. Gowranga Sahu
of Padmapur(v), Rayagaa H.O., Orissa
17 years old
was discharged with sight restored

Merry Christmas to the best workshop crew ever, students, teachers and staff!
Hey, I gotcha somebody's eyes for Christmas - kind of Addams Family, don't you think?
-Barbara

Take a picture of yourself right now. Don’t change your clothes. Don’t fix your hair. Just take a picture. Post that picture with no editing. (Except maybe to get the image size down to something reasonable. Don’t go posting an eight megapixel image.) Include these instructions.





If this works, I will be surprised. I was going to brush by this meme "Oh, like I'm going to wake up Mark or Chris and get them to find a camera and take a photo of me and upload it and all that foofarah" when I remembered that the EEE has a webcam. So I muddled about for half an hour--LJ was the slower part--and maybe there is a result above.

Nope. Okay, I'll just link to blogger, where it posted Just Fine. Sodding LJ.

bibsearch.blogspot.com/2008/09/because-lj-wont-let-me.html