Freaky Deaky

Rockin' Reindeer

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:59:01 GMT

This shot amuses me. "Humorous Reindeer" by Andrey Stenkin is Christmas Photo #7 in the countdown. I actually missed one or two, so I'll make them up tomorrow, but until then, enjoy.

Christmas in the American West

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:15:06 GMT

Here's a nod to Christmas in the American West with a photo by Ken Babione. Entitled "American Saddlebread Pintos," you can see the tower of gifts here on the stagecoach...and you gotta love the Standard Poodle sitting in the seat with the driver. It must belong to the passengers because I've never heard of a poodle in the American West, and I've done a lot of reading on it. It's a great shot anyway, and it's Number 8 on my Countdown to Christmas photo series. Enjoy!

Christmas Flower Power...

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:31:37 GMT

This is a gorgeous Christmas flowerscape. I love the colors and perspective on this shot. It's taken somewhere in the depths of California which is a great climate for poinsettias. IIRC (and I may not), they're native to Mexico. Or so the legend goes. "Poinsettias Growing in Nursery" is taken by David T. Gomez. This is Photo 8 in the countdown to Christmas photo series I am offering. Happy Holidays!

Fruit Cake, Fruitcake, or Cold Shrimp?

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:28:32 GMT

In our countdown to Christmas photos, here's Number 9, Christmas Fruit Cake by Juanmonino. I try to post photos specifically sff in nature, but I am tossing that guideline to the wind for the season. I just liked this photo. I don't like fruit cake, and this doesn't look particularly like fruit cake (or is it fruitcake?...actually, I think so, but I'm too freaking tired to go look it up), so it might be okay. I take that back though as I look at the little gelato pieces. I hate gelato. That's my main problem with the traditional brick-type fruitcake...the gelato. It has a consistency of cold shrimp, which I hate, too. Bleck. So, while this is a beautiful cake for presentation, how would it taste? I do love pecans. Maybe I could pick them off. Anyway, here's hoping you get plenty of food that you like during the holidays.

My Christmas Gift To You...

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:02:40 GMT

I haven't posted photos in a month or two due to finances being what they are, but in celebration of the season, I have arranged to be able to post holiday photos until Christmas. So, until then, enjoy!

In case you haven't had your daily dose of cute, here's The Elf Rabbit by Robert Halvorson. Sorry. I couldn't resist. Not to mention that I'm a bunny freak. I was weak. ::grin::

Rejections of the "Hell, No" Sort...

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:33:19 GMT

I received one of these today. Not a swell Monday sort of rejection, but I like to think that I'm a big enough girl to take it. I'm well on into my years (middle aged) and have been rejected before on a number of things with the Hell, No attitude. Had I been a young writer (meaning teenaged), I think it would probably just hurt my feelings.

Do I think it was unnecessary? Yes. It could have been handled differently. I've had to reject folks before on a number of things, and I try to either "sandwich" the rejection between two bits of encouragement or at least reword it so that it's not the F-You type of rejection.

What's interesting about this particular story is that its previous rejections were all encouraging rejections. It speaks volumes to the tastes of various editors, so writers out there struggling to make a name for themselves should never take just one editor's opinion as the worth of any story.

This story was judged as "clumsy, preachy, and cliched" which I read as "Why you would waste my time and effort on this shit is beyond me." They also missed the point of the story by calling it a high school revenge fantasy when the general gist was meant to be a high school girl receiving a kick-start in her self confidence by mysterious and supernatural beings.

Previous rejecting editors have praised it as being well written (a few of them), having marvelous plots and characters, and just flat out good. One said it was missing the telling details that made it right for them. Another said the theme/content wasn't quite right for them. There were other more general comments that I consider rather neutral which is fine, too. And I should note that most of these more encouraging editors work for higher levels of publication as defined by Ralan's categories of publishers. This one rates under the "Pay" level while some of the more encouraging editors work for "Semi-Pro," and the "Pro" level was a form.

As I looked back in my other rejections from this publication, I see that they have the most blunt (dare I say rude?) comments of any of the publications out there. I only continue to submit to them because they do put out what I consider to be a good magazine. I have also come very close to being published there, so it's not even like all of my writing sucks to them.

I just personally feel that editors of any sort of professionalism should be humane about their rejections. I could have been fifteen and this be the first story I ever submitted everywhere. While that wouldn't have fallen under the umbrella of this publication's responsibility, would it hurt to put a bit of gloss on a rejection? Or at least keep it neutral?

Before I digress and get "preachy," I will close in saying again that you should never judge a story by one editor's harsh comments (thank you to one of my mentors for reminding me about such just lately). The next editor may very well love it. My own teenage daughter is currently writing to submit, and that while editors should be honest with her, I hope that they put a little thought into her as a person before they stomp on her work. She's a competitive athlete, so she has been judged many times before and has a fairly "stomp-proof" ego, but many young writers out there don't. It wouldn't hurt to nurture them and bring them along into being the best writers they can be. I think it is totally possible, as evidenced by many of my nicer rejections, that an editor can do their job for their publication and be decent about it, too. It just takes a little humanity.

Proud Mom-of-Author Moment...

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:46:40 GMT

Warning: Gag-worthy gushing follows -

If you were to go to the winners page of the AnthologyBuilder Match-That-Artwork Contest, you would see that my daughter, Erica, won First Runner Up. It's very exciting stuff for my household since it was her first completed short story. She and her boyfriend, David, decided to each write a story for the contest, so they picked out their artwork and got to work. Neither of them had ever written a completed fiction piece, and I watched during the coming weeks with interest as they wrote. David did his story by pen and notebook first while Erica is more computer literate and found it easier to type it up.

I have to tell you that both did a much better job than I expected out of either of them (Erica says, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mom). Not that I didn't think either of them could, but so many first time stories lack important components that make stories stories. We found out when finalists were announced that David hadn't placed, but it didn't matter to anyone here. I was so proud that he had at least completed a story. A teacher in past years had told him that he'd never be a writer because his English grades were so bad. Up hers. He wrote a story, and it wasn't half bad.

Erica had made the finalist cut, and that was exciting in itself. To find that she placed First Runner Up is awesome. It's nice to know that the talk in the house about stories (from my writing) sank in. Her story also had a beginning, a middle and an end. And it was interesting. I had resisted the urge to offer any editorial advice because it was a contest, and I wanted it to be completely hers. Besides, who says I'm such a better writer? It's not like I'm tearing up the publishing world. Except for some punctuation and spelling corrections, I hadn't touched her's or David's story. Now she gets a detailed critique from Nancy Fulda which will be awesome. I'm so excited for her that she gets a professional experience on what happens in the publishing world. She can take the critique, decide what to change or not change in her story, and submit it elsewhere. I also hope that her success here encourages her to do more of it in the future.

Thanks so much to Nancy Fulda at AnthologyBuilder for administering the contest. It was a totally righteous experience for Erica. And kudos to Michael Mead who was the photographer of Erica's cover of choice. I would guess that's his cat. Meow.

Congrats to all of the authors, placers and not. You rock.

Playing Chicken With the Train...

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:48:17 GMT

Got a chance to hit the Pensacola State Fair last night where the highlight was getting to see the awesome Cowboy Troy do his hit, "I Play Chicken With the Train." Steve and I had gotten in for a special $5 entry price at the front gate, and it was totally worth our $10 to me to see Cowboy Troy do his thing. I felt a bit bad for him since there were only a couple of hundred people there at the most, but he and his band were professionals and did a great job of putting on a stadium-worthy show (for those of you who don't know, they perform a lot with Big & Rich in stadiums and civic centers). It was shorter than a full-out show, but still entertaining as hell. I suppose he got paid what he got paid anyway no matter how many people were there, but he seemed to appreciate that the people who were there had chosen to be there. And truly, he seemed like a really nice guy, the kind of guy you'd like to hang out with on a Saturday afternoon somewhere.

Watched a demonstration by the Cosmo Kid (www.cosmokid.com or on You Tube) who does outstanding spray paint art. In roughly five minutes he can create a space-scape or other art with just spray paint, cardboard, and paper. It was truly amazing. His works sell for $25, but watch a video at one of the above sites, and I think you'll find it worth the money. If I'd had $25, I'd have bought one.

Also got to see my daughter's three art pieces up in the county school art exhibit. Two of her pieces (one in the digital art division and the other in the collage division) won Honorable Mention and one was on regular display. I hadn't seen two of the pieces at all, so it was a proud Mom and Dad moment.

Had some fair food: pancit and lumpia (both Filipino dishes), pizza and fudge. It was a calorie busting night, but hey, it's once a year.

Saw two of my cousins at the FHA exhibit and bought a couple of raffle tickets off of them for a HUGE basket of gourmet goodies which we totally won't win because we are simply not lucky people. Just ask anyone who knows us.

So that was my night at the fair. I generally don't go to fairs if I don't have to because they creep me out most of the time. I had a good time last night though because we just did the exhibits, the show and each other's company.

I need to write a story about a fair. There's lots of horror material there, but I think I'd rather go in another direction. I'll have to think on it.

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:21:27 GMT

Come on, folks, where's you sense of fun? I would looooovvvvvveeeee to have a story in this book! It might not say much about my personal taste or sense of style, but I think this cover rocks. What else could you do with an anthology named Zombie Raccoons and Killer Bunnies?

There's been a lot of discussion in the blog community about what a bad cover this is and about what idiots the people who designed and approved the cover must be. One could take the opinion that any publicity is good publicity. I don't know if the less than flattering opinions of the cover will actually affect sales, but I doubt they'll hurt it. People might even buy the book just to see what the stories in a book such as this are like. If the low opinions of the cover generate a few extra sales, I seriously doubt it will hurt the feelings of the folks responsible.

I, for one, give DAW Books some kudos on actually publishing this project. It is different than what they normally publish. Mix it up a little, I say. Each anthology has its own feel, its own ambience. So they were going for stupidly fun here. Where's the harm?

I am an avid supporter of DAW Books anthologies. I've had two stories published in them, and one day I hope to edit one (at least). I'll definitely be buying this one. I guess some of the readers out there can resist, but not me. It reeks of fun, and I like to have fun. Besides, I like to support my friends. I haven't seen the TOC in it yet, but I'm sure I have at least one friend in here. And I like to support DAW Books for publishing so many anthologies. They are a great market for writers, and I'd like to help keep them going.

I haven't been to a bookstore since this one was released, but I'll be looking for it when I do. I doubt I'll be able to miss it on the shelves.

Blood Bargain...

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:18:43 GMT

Another story for my never ending list of imaginary anthologies and themes is "Blood Bargain." It is also a flash story coming in at just under 1K words. I originally wrote it when I needed to settle on a story idea (that's my main problem, not ideas, but settling on one). I had envisioned an anthology entitled Winged Things, and I had planned that this story would be my submission.

It was intended to be dark fantasy, but it ended up right on that division line between dark fantasy and horror. That actually gives me more markets to which submit it, and it pleases me since I have never considered myself a decent horror writer. It turns out that my brand of horror is just a lighter one.

"Black Moth" by Hector Joseph Lumang is a great illustration for this story. I couldn't begin to tell you the difference between a moth and a butterfly, but it looks like a raggedy butterfly to me, and since the butterflies in this story are scary ones, it is perfect.

Again, I'd love to post some of the story here for you, but I'm afraid I'll have to let your imagination wander. I'm still marketing "Blood Bargain," so until it sells or I decide it's not going to sell, I must keep it to myself. Happy Monday!

Grooving Through the Galaxy...

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:10:52 GMT

Is the title of an anthology if I were an editor who was putting one together. It would contain science fiction and fantasy stories set in or based on the 60s and 70s. Those were the times of chaos and unrest, cultural awareness, drugs, sex, and rock and roll. I was born in 1962 (geez...that long ago?) and remember those decades, the 70s a bit more clearly than the 60s. I was shielded from a lot of it because my parents were too busy supporting us to have time to care about changing the world. I do remember 8-track tapes, black lights, hippies, smiley faces, Charlie's Angels, the Vietnam War, Elvis, party-line telephones...I could go on, but I won't.

I have a whole list of themes and titles for kick-ass anthologies. Whenever I need a story, I go to this list and write one to go into a pretend anthology. One of the stories to bloom from this process was "Mellow Yellow." It's flash, not quite hitting 500 words, but I love it. Really, what's not to love about smiley faces, even evil ones? Hmmmm...

Below is "Smile" by Christian Pound. It personifies the story perfectly, and I wish I could post the story with the photo as illustration, but since I hope to sell "Mellow Yellow," you'll have to be satisfied with the photo only. When it sells, I'll post the info so that you can check it out.

Photo can be purchased at iStockphoto.com

Cover Art!

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:57:40 GMT

This is a proud Mom moment for me to introduce my daughter's photo artwork. As my readers know, I post photo art up roughly once a week for those who enjoy such. Below is the first work of Erica's that I've posted. It's in the form of a book cover as it is available at AnthologyBuilder as one of the covers available.

In case you're not familiar with AnthologyBuilder, it's a wonderful service for those readers who want to build their own anthology. It carries all genres of work, but it is heavy on sf/f. You can go in (www.anthologybuilder.com), pick a cover, pick your stories and then have it specially printed for you. I've used it several times for gifts (quite affordable, no more than a trade paperback in a bookstore) and they've always been a big hit.

Erica enjoys digital photography and revision/repair, and may even go into it as a career. She has 6 or 7 covers available on AnthologyBuilder, so should you have the hankering to check the site out, you'll find them several ways. You can hit the "Newest Images" button, do a search on Erica L. Davis or hit the "Browse Artists" button. Some of hers are mixed in with mine (I have 2 covers also available, both in Mardi Gras theme) but if you hit a cover, it will show her as the artist.

I picked the one below to post first since it's a self portrait and one of her very coolest covers from which to choose. The title, of course, would fit into the bottom bar.

What the heck? Here are a couple more.

Happy Tuesday, guys!

A Touch of Winter...

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:54:36 GMT

It's starting to cool down here in northwestern Florida, and I know I'm grateful. We had a beautiful weekend with highs technically not above low 90's, though it was terribly hot on Saturday at a Back-to-School Summer Bash in which Erica and her baton team twirled. She did two solos each for 2-fire-baton and another 2-fire-baton routine with two of her teammates. Those fire batons made it a little warmer for them :). It was a nice festival, pulling in about 3K people. It was sponsored by two churches and they gave away free school supplies to the hundreds of children there. A lot of folks around here are hurting from the economy suckola going on and took advantage of the generosity.

Keeping in mind that we'd all like to see a touch of winter at this time, below is "Winter Fairy" by Mark Hayes. I'm ready for some of that falltime cool that should be arriving in a few weeks. It won't get truly cool and breezy here until probably mid-October which is my absolute favorite weather month.

Happy Science Fiction Monday Photo...

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:09:51 GMT

I love this photo. I think the stubble on the chin adds worlds to making the cyborg look human. I can just see a story revolving around this photo. Story images are whirling now! The photo is called "Alien Cyborg" by Christine Kublanski.

Masks...

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:05:49 GMT

I've never been a mask wearer. Sure, when I was little, I'd dress up for Halloween, and while I don't remember, I'm sure I wore the assorted mask for the trick-or-treating. Other than that, I don't like them, either on other people or me. For the most part, I find them creepy and disturbing. I exclude the Venetian masks from this list though. I find them beautiful and exotic. Yes, I admit to some of the creepy factor happening in the back of my brain, but because they are so beautiful, I try to mentally override my natural instinct with them. Many times, the human brain, especially mine, just doesn't make sense.

The photo for today is Mask by Yuk Ching Lee. Great photo, but bleck on the masks.

*Photo can be purchased at iStockphoto.com

Imagine...

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:22:02 GMT

I'm going to commit heresy as defined by some people, and admit that I've never been a huge Beatles fan, much less a huge John Lennon fan. His legacy however cannot be denied, and I applaud his life for that. Imagination is the crux of what we spec fiction writers do, and without it, life would be dull indeed.

I rather liked the photo below which is of the John Lennon Memorial in Central Park. Klaas Lingbeek - van Kranen brings it to us in a lovely tribute photo called, what else, "Imagine."

*Photo can be purchased at iStockphoto.com

Feeling Froggy!

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:07:15 GMT

It's the weekend and we should all be feeling froggy :). I've been a little behind on posting photos, so I'm hoping this will make up for it. After all, how often do you get to see a robot frog? If there's anyone out there who can say more than just this one time, I want to hear about it. Please comment if you have a story. So, enjoy "Yellow Robot Frog" brought to us by Milan Zeremski.

*Photo can be purchased at iStockphoto.com

How to Kill a Young Writer's Potential...

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:05:46 GMT

I don't write a whole lot about my personal life here because I try to keep it writing related. My readers aren't personal friends from my life yet, haven't met my family, and right now, the only connection we have to each other is our interest in reading and writing sf/f. The upcoming issue to too important to ignore though. I've decided to share it so that others can know and possibly impart to others they know. I doubt my readers would ever commit this transgression, but they may know someone who will. No, it's not a criminal transgression, but it should be.

The set up: My daughter is dating a young man whom Steve and I love. No, he's not a perfect person, but if we were to choose for her, he'd be right on up there with the best of them. He's hard working, responsible, honest, affectionate, and reminds me of a big, floppy, happy dog that any family would love to have around the house. The fact that he's also adorable just adds to the lovely mix. He hasn't had a lot of chances in life, including a grounded education. He's actually very smart, but his early education was spotty at best. He's a labored reader. He can read and he does read for pleasure. He's currently through book 9 or 10 of one of those epic fantasy series (not my taste, and I don't remember which one). He's just rather slow at it, and his own grammar and spelling skills are horrible. He's still young, and I figure a lot of these deficiencies can be improved still.

Point in case: AnthologyBuilder is holding a writing contest which has a category for young authors, 18 and younger. He's now 18, just at the edge of eligibility. My daughter and he have written separate stories to enter into the contest. I had encouraged both of them to enter and was thrilled when he said he'd love to write a story just to see if he could. To this point, he said he'd never written anything longer than two pages. They wrote them without help from me or each other. I've read the first draft of both of them. I was shocked when I read his story. While, yes, it was hard sifting through his story due to the lack of paragraphs, punctuation and spelling, it was actually quite good. It had a beginning, a middle, an end, generally good structure, detail and was 6 or 8K words long. There was some characterization and flow. It's not my usual choice of reading material - quest driven and violent - but for someone who reads that sort of story, they would probably enjoy it in its final form.

My problem, and it should be everyone's problem: During this process, he mentioned that an English teacher that he and Erica had the year before last had told him that he'd never be a writer. He made a 5 out of 6 on a county test that every student takes. His teacher told him that she "knew" he had copied off of one of the girls in class and that she "knew" he'd never have been able to write what he turned in for the test. She "knew" he'd never be a writer of any sort.

The grading is usually done by a teacher, just not the student's teacher. His grader obviously recognized the hidden structural skill he had to have displayed in order to get a 5. This test is strictly an essay, and at this grade level (10th at the time), copying isn't a quick and easy fix for a cheater. The goal in this test is to state a belief, support it, and then summarize your position...kind of a beginning, a middle, and an end thing.

I was horrified. Not only did his teacher accuse of cheating without any proof, she told him what he'd never be able to do. How dare she limit him to himself! How dare she, as a self-proclaimed teacher, not encourage him and lift him up. How dare she take a young person, attempt to kill his self image, and then stomp on any potential that he might have for writing. And to top this travesty off, she won the high school's "Teacher of the Year" this past year. Hmmmph. At this point, there's really nothing to be done about it with her or the school, but how she's made it this far as a teacher is beyond me.

Erica typed the story up for him, and he's currently in the revision process. I've given them some general pointers about story organization and what to look for in the revision process. He is so proud of himself that he's actually written a completed short story. Winning doesn't even matter to him. Just the fact that he's done something someone in a position of authority told him he'd never be able to do is a point of pride for him, and it should be. I will continue to encourage him to send it out if it doesn't place and to possibly start a new one. His English skills will improve as he goes. Storytelling isn't really about English skills. Sure, they're important, but they aren't the story.

This story is done, so far. I'll let you know how it all goes in the coming months from a judging perspective.

Happy 4th of July Holiday to All Americans!

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:23:45 GMT

Most Americans I know recognize and appreciate the freedoms our previous and current military folks grant them. And for the few that don't, for the few who feel it's no big deal that they don't wake up in occupied or warring territory, then I say hit the bricks on the other side of any border. Our military forces rock! They are comprised of everyday Americans who do extraordinary things. They do them so that those they love can live in freedom. I hope the photo below, "American Military" by Jami Garrison, reminds all Americans whom to thank...other Americans who have answered the call.

*Photo can be purchased at iStockphoto.com

Earth Nebula...

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:16:40 GMT

The photo below is "Earth Nebula" by Andrey Prokohorov. It just hit me right and here it sits on my blog after purchase to share with you :). I think I missed a week posting art, so shame on me. I hope this will make up for it.

*Photo can be purchased at iStockphoto.com

Are You a Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkin Eater Reader?

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:13:51 GMT

I am a Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkin Eater Reader. I should stand up, introduce myself, and admit it. I frequently pop to the back two or three pages of a book and read it as I am somewhere in the middle of the book. The climax is usually over by then, and the author is just tying things up in a lovely bow.

Normally, I don't understand the last pages seeing as how I've missed at least half the book. I'll read characters' names who haven't been introduced yet. Usually, reading a book this way is more fun than not. I get to guess as I go through the book what the ending was all about. It's kind of like a little puzzle as I piece the ending clues together as the story unfolds. Usually, this doesn't bite me in my considerably large butt.

Until now. I've never paid as high a price for Cheater, Cheater Reading as I did on Bad Girls Burn Slow by Pam Ward. It's not spec fic, so if you're not interested, here's your chance to bug out. It's a mainstream suspense thriller with a lot of mystery thrown in. It's one of the books that I'm jealous not to have written.

I have no idea as to how to go about a review, but I will say this: Don't read the last two pages or the main twist of the whole book is ruined for you. I may or may not have guessed the mystery/twist portion of the book. Sometimes I'm paying attention to the details, and sometimes I'm not. Knowing the twist of the book required me to pay attention to the details because, as they say, the devil's in the details. If you're paying attention and thinking outside of the box, it'll be obvious, as it was to me at that point.

Now, I did enjoy knowing the twist as I could better appreciate the details that Ms. Ward threw in all over the place. It gave me a much better sense of appreciation for the actual writing of the book. If I was simply a reader and not an aspiring author, I would've been really pissed off at myself for ruining the end. At least I have that.

I highly recommend Bad Girls Burn Slow, but don't read ahead. The reward for your reading time is pretty much all tied up in the last few pages.

Fantasy Art in Italy...

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:58:22 GMT

Not to get into the discussion about religion being fantasy, it is categorized as fantasy within the sf/f genre. "Madonna della Salute" is the name of the photo by Gianluca Fabrizio. The piece was originally gifted to the church in the late 1800s by an anonymous artist. It's dedicated to Madonna of the Health who is the protector of the unhealthy. I don't know how long it took the artist to create, but it had to take a while, a long while. It is an amazing piece of art.

*Photo can be purchased at iStockphoto.com

Graffiti Alien...

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:35:36 GMT

Graffiti art is just some of the coolest art around...period. I love to watch it roll by on a train. It keeps me entertained since I'm a captive audience and don't have anything else to look at while I'm waiting.

In fact, I think advertisers are missing out on a major market for advertising their products. Can you imagine watching train cars roll by with print ads? I don't know why no one has taken advantage of it yet. You bet that if I owned railway cars that I'd approach all the big companies to sell space on them. Your audience is captive. They don't have anything else to look at. Voila!

The image below wasn't painted on a railway car, but it's cool nonetheless. The actual artist is unknown, but the photo is by Michael Knight and entitled "Graffiti Alien." It's physically located in a junkyard in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Enjoy.

*Photo can be purchased at iStockphoto.com

2 Possible Yahoos...

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:06:11 GMT

One of my stories made it to Round 3 which is the story pool at Andromeda Spaceways. This is my first shot at the pool here, so we'll see if it gets chosen or not. This short is a contemporary fantasy highlighting a young woman who has a little help finding the right man for her.

And one of my flashes is being held for "further consideration" at Abyss & Apex. I've been rejected with good comments here, but never held for further consideration, so this is hopeful for me. This story is a flash which I don't want to spoil for you since the concept is the highlight of the story, but it centers on the color yellow.

I don't want to get my hopes up too high, but that's just superstitious nonesense. I think most people just don't want to be too disappointed if it doesn't work out. I'm going to go ahead and be hopeful because that's a lot more fun. I'll deal with the disappointment later. I'm a big girl and can handle it. There are other things in my life on which to spend my disappointment dollars.

In the meantime, yahoo!

Butterfly Baby...

Wed, 27 May 2009 16:25:27 GMT

Happy Wednesday to everyone! This is a short work week, so yaaay!

Below is "Baby - At One With Nature" by Renee Lee. I love this shot. I hope you will, too. And this one I can actually see as being the inspiration for a story. I'm working on it :). Visually, the only thing I would change would be to fade out the bottom part of the butterfly's body so that it's not so defined and distracting to the baby's face, but that's really the artist's call and preference. I think she did a wonderful job with the baby's eyes and fade out of the butterfly wings. And notice just the hint of pink on the baby's lips? It's not something you might see right off, but it adds to the effect.

Currently, I have ten stories out for review. That's a personal best for me, and I hope to increase that number. I'm hoping to sell a few at once (relatively) and then run low on inventory. Then I'll have to write more. What a lovely boot in the butt that will be.

Actually my current work in progress involves aliens and casinos. How much more fun could you get?

Whoo Hoo!

*Photo can be purchased at iStockphoto.com