michaeljasper.net
"Another Wrecked Web Site"
August 3, 2001
Almost outta here!
What I'm Listening To:
"Elemental" - Tears for Fears
What I'm Reading:
The two most recent Year's Best, Harry Potter (soon)
It's about that time, at last... Time to get out of here and head to the beach. But first I have to brag about my cool writer friends. mjj
First off, my bud Jeff Rutherford earned an honorable mention in the most recent Year's Best Fantasy and Horror for his excellent story about revenge, "Espalier." Wahoo! I also saw that Toby Buckell's story, "Spurn Babylon," also garnered an Honorable Mention. Way to go, guys!
And in more cool news, Tim Pratt not only looks like he's gotten a rocking job at a fine magazine, but he also had an agent contact him about his novel (yep, the one I'm currently reading, as fast as he sends it to me in serialized format!). Tim! You da man!
The good news of my friends makes up for the quietness on the home front I've been having since April's acceptance (I know, you're thinking, "Wah!"). Elizabeth asked me if I felt jealous about all this good stuff happening to people I know, and I'm like "Hell no!" If these guys were bad writers I would feel a bit miffed, but I know how hard Jeff, Toby, and Tim all work, and how good their writing is, and that just encourages me more -- it shows that there are editors out there who know what they're doing! My time will come.
Speaking of that, I did get an interesting package yesterday from a publisher. Instead of using the envelope I sent them for their response, this publisher sent me a big-ass, full-size cardboard envelope that wouldn't fit in our mailbox. So when Elizabeth got home, she had to call me and ask if she could open it -- she thought it had to be something good. Turns out it was one of the queries I'd sent out for the horror novel, the whole works sent back along with the SASE, and a cover letter. "After serious consideration," they decided not to take the novel! Doh!
So I'm gonna send them my fantasy novel! Actually, I think that was a good sign, that they went through the expense and hassle of sending the whole works back to me, and the fact that I at least got a personal letter in response. It sure takes the sting out of rejection. There's nothing more painful than a rejection in the form of a photocopied form letter. Except maybe getting your fingernails pulled out, one by one...
Okay, all the excitement aside, I'm more than ready for the beach! I'm dropping off two more submissions at the PO today, then it's a whole week without mail (e-mail or snailmail), without a keyboard and monitor in front of me, without work! Just Elizabeth and me and some fishing, some reading (I have the first three Harry Potter books and Hartwell's Year's Best Fantasy), some kayaking, lots of seafood and beer and just plain old hanging out with Lizzie and relaxing.
Just for the heck of it, here's a quick rundown on what stories I have out there, and where they're at as of this morning:
Not bad -- I got my 10 stories out that I was hoping to get out (even if this wasn't exactly the 10 I was hoping to have done by this time), along with a bunch of query packages for my 2 novels. I'll get to the rest. Next up is the fantasy novel! Wish me luck, and talk to you later. See ya'll on the 12th or so!
August 1, 2001
Justification and juice...
Today's Quote:
With a light bump, they landed. Jared stood immediately, feeling the solidness of a planet under his feet for the first time in months. He had to wipe the trace of a giddy smile from his face.
What I'm Listening To:
"Ring" - Connells
"Whatever" - Aimee Mann
What I'm Reading:
Stories by friends and fellow NAWers
Well, I was hoping to get more writing done today, but I slept in and messed with my webpage instead (I realized that some of my pages look goofy in Netscape, so I fixed them, even though I feel that Netscape is now inferior to Internet Explorer -- go figure, Mr. Gates!). I think I may just have to put the stories on hold before vacation. I'm not too crazy with what I came up with last night, though I do think it has potential... mjj
I just know it'll take time to get either "Space Mercs" (excerpted on the left) or the Carnival story up to speed, and I don't have much before we leave Saturday morning. When we get back, I think I'll just have to do a couple novel chapters here, a couple pages on a story there, and just keep on keeping on.
While I like to have my writing broken up into neat little packets like that, the creative process usually doesn't want to cooperate in that way. And sometimes I just don't have the juice to bang out a draft. I've been going pretty hard the past few months, in an almost Clarion-like approach (but without the reprieve from a full-time job, and no dorm-room, monk-like existence).
I think I've drafted, revised, or somehow made progress on about 5 stories since June 1st. Not bad. And right now, I do have 10 stories out in circulation, though one is out as a reprint. Which was my goal, so I should kill myself trying to reach that goal, y'know?
Great -- now that I've justified that to myself, I can relax!
I'm looking forward to reading the Harry Potter books while we're away, at least the first 2, maybe 3. I figure that'd be good leadup for my own fantasy novel, aimed at all ages.
Speaking of the beach, I also found some cool, cool places for us to go while we're in Ocracoke, including a nifty-looking coffee shop. I think we'll have plenty of stuff to do, and my parents may come down for a day or two, and we'll try some fishing and a new restaurant or 2. It'll be great, and I'm ready for it. Now!
In other news, check out my pal Tim's weird western/horror tale at the Outside website, "Bleeding West." It's a cool story, and I'm looking forward to reading stories from some other folks from the Not-a-Webring clan, including Jon Hansen's "Outlive the Consequences" and Linda J. Dunn's elegantly titled "Driving Blind in God's Own Country," both at the Neverworlds website. That's what I'll be reading tonight. Cool deal. And maybe, if I really feel up to it, I'll do a little writing of my own... Maybe!
Oh yeah, I also updated my Bio page, so be sure to check it out! Later.
July 31, 2001
Tuesday ain't too bad...
Today's Quote:
The tiny city of Trenton, North Carolina, hadn't had a carnival in town for nearly a century. The last one, in 1909, had resulted in a lynching, and people had kept their distance since then. But the summer of 2002 marked a new start for the Flying Sun and Traveling Moon Portable Carnival, and Trenton, North Carolina, was thirteenth on their list of small towns to visit that summer.
What I'm Listening To:
"Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" - Lucinda Williams
What I'm Reading:
Asimov's, August 2001
Here we go again, trying to write some stuff at night. I'm surprised at how well it works. I've totally revamped my story about the carnival, and it no longer will deal solely with the Disillusionist (I think that'll be another story altogether). The Disillusionist will make a cameo in this one, I think, but for the most part this one takes place firmly in a traveling carnival in rural North Carolina. mjj
I've gotten almost 1,000 words down for it already, and it's really rough, but I've set myself up for tomorrow morning already. I can just sit down and get to jamming on the weird stuff. For the most part I like how it's going, though it's hard not being all gory and gross. I want it to be scary, not go for the cheap gross-out, you know? We'll see how it works...
Right now the title is "Carnival Fortunes," which is a totally lame title, but I never can come up with kick-butt titles until the story has been written. So stay tuned, okay?
Oh yeah, I also started fiddling with my space opera/hard SF/action tale, "Space Mercs," about a group of conscripted aliens and humans brought back to a dying Earth to save the last remaining inhabitants of the desolate planet. This group, under the leadership of one unhappy SOB, Jared Lazarus, has to clear a one-square-mile section of the Appalachian Mountains by tagging any and all remaining "Earthlings" before the planet burns up (or freezes up -- I haven't done my research yet!). This is a fun action tale that I'll enjoy messing with in the next few months, and will be a nice leadup to my Wannoshay novel.
In other news, no good mail today! I can't believe how addicted I've gotten to my "letters to myself," as fellow NAWer Jon Hansen calls it (read his excellent story, "With the Dawn," like NOW). I got one yesterday, from ROC books, about my horror novel -- just a plain old form letter, bleah -- though I did get a signed, personalized reject from St. Martin's Press on Saturday, so I went ahead and sent them my query package for The Last of the Hand while I was supposed to be hard at work at the Day Job. That'll teach them to give me a quick response!!! Heh heh heh...
Speaking of work, I had a nice e-mail discussion with a woman who works at the same company I do, but at a satellite office. She is thinking about writing fiction -- she's also a tech writer, like me -- and heard from my manager that I also wrote fiction. So we "talked shop" back and forth, and I told her I'd been writing seriously for the past 6 years, and how I had about 35 stories, 2 novels and part of a third written, along with outlines for 2 more.
It sort of hit me, after she wrote back, that this was a lot of damn stuff! I have a ouevre, almost! It was cool to see that over half of those 35 stories had been published as well, though most of them were at non-paying Internet sites, some of which are no longer around, but some of the stories were pro sales.
I guess I must've sounded a bit cocky to her. So I went back to my website and started counting, and damned if I didn't have links to EXACTLY 35 stories on my pages! Crazy. I've worked hard in the past few years. And it's starting to pay off. Slowly.
I have to say that it's not so much talent as persistence and stubbornness. I understand and appreciate the title to Ron Collins' website more and more every day... (and no, it's not "Typosphere" that I'm talking 'bout!) See ya!
July 30, 2001
Monday. Ugh.
What I'm Listening To:
"Charlotte, NC" - Pearl Jam
What I'm Reading:
Year's Best Fantasy, ed. by Hartwell
Hello. I'm stuck here at the Day Job, unmotivated as all get out. I have some stuff to do, just don't feel like doing it. I guess I'm still in vacation mode, after our not-so-sunny couple days at the beach. Hopefully the sun will come out by Saturday and we can enjoy the nice weather while we're basking in it at Ocracoke. I still need to do some research on cool places there. Maybe I'll do that to while away my day... mjj
I'm down to two stories I'd like to have done by Saturday -- "Coal Ash and Sparrows" and "The Disillusionist" (yep, I have a new link for that one, but it's pretty slim right now!). I'm having some troubles fixing up the sparrow story, so that may just get put on hold 'til we come back on August 12th. It's out to a magazine right now anyway, so part of me wants to wait to hear back from that editor before revamping it.
I have a bunch more ideas for the disillusionist story, some of them actually pretty good. I just need to figure out who my main character is going to be, and what her issues are. Once I start writing I'll probably figure it all out.
My goal with this one is to make it truly scary. I want to throw a ton of weird stuff into it, show that this traveling carnival should never have left home. Or you should've never left home to come see it. But I don't want to resort to gore and cheap shock value tactics.
But first I have to get through this LONG Monday here at the Day Job. Whew. I think it would help if the sun would come out. It's been rainy for too, too long. Later.
July 29, 2001
Reached the beach... and it rained the whole time...
Today's Quote:
The man was like a queen on her throne, Sully thought. Him/her. Queenie.
What I'm Listening To:
"18 Tracks" - Bruce Springsteen
What I'm Reading:
Year's Best Fantasy, ed. by Hartwell
Just a quick entry tonight, to say hello after a couple days away. Elizabeth and I took off Thursday afternoon for two days at the beach. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperating, and it was rainy and overcast most of the time. Fortunately, there was plenty of snack food and beer, so I was able to get by, but barely...
We had a good time, getting away for a while, but it's always good to get back. We broke the dog out of the kennel, and he's been sleeping it off all weekend. And we've been napping the weekend away ourselves, only rousing ourselves to watch a video or two.
We watched a couple so-so movies, "Nurse Betty" and "The Legend of Bagger Vance." I liked both of them more than I had planned on, but that's not saying a whole heck of a lot. I have low expectations of movies like that these days -- anything from a major studio is suspect (don't get me started on how movies have been ruined by Marketing, which on the whole has ruined our entire country...).
I must admit that I liked "Bagger Vance" more than I would have thought. I would have liked it more if A) Matt Damon's character would've gotten blown away during the war scenes, B) they did something meaningful with the racial tensions that (according to the film) somehow didn't exist in the 1920s in the south... But Charlize Theron's character was quite strong, even if she did fade away in the end, and I did like the whole redemption arc of the Damon character, along with the hints of magic in the Bagger Vance character. It made me want to watch "The Natural" again, a truly great baseball movie (along with "Eight Men Out" and "Bull Durham").
"Nurse Betty" would've been better with some stronger editing -- there were a couple scenes that were just too hard to believe. But overall it had some nice touches, and felt a bit like a novel in a way, especially the ending. And Aaron Eckhart's character -- the car salesman with the nasty mullet hairdo -- was great, as usual.
Oh, and I did do a little reading and writing, too... Read some good stories in the Year's Best antho, particularly the gonzo Michael Swanwick story. And I have "Video Nasties" almost ready to send out. And that's about it. It's late and I need to walk the pooch. Later.