Category: "writing"
2025: The Year in Stories
Looking at the 2024 version of this post and reflecting on 2025, a theme is emerging: life is unpredictable and this has an effect on my ability to get stories out to you all. I'm in the middle of a...
2024: The Year in Stories
Things happened in 2024, including a death in the family, health issues that needed to be tended to, and a very busy day-job. Because of all this, 2024 wasn't the story year I had planned for, which...
2023: The Year in Stories
2023 was an interesting year for short stories. On one hand I wrote a lot of them, on the other hand, not many came out. There are various reasons for this, the biggest one being that Pulphouse...
2022: The Year in Stories
There are many ways to mark the passage of a year. As a storyteller, it seems appropriate to take a look at the stories of mine that came out in a year. Each one is a victory. It's not easy to land a...
2021: The Year in Stories
I don't think any of us had a clue what 2021 was going to be like. I expected to keep my publishing streak from 2020 going and get a couple of novels out. That's not what happened. Pandemic year #2...
2020: The Year in Stories
Besides continuing to write new stories, 2020 was about publishing, from start to finish. I did a challenge with Dean Wesley Smith he calls "The Great Publishing Challenge." The challenge was to...
2019: The Year in Stories
2019 was a hell of a year for me as a writer. Books released. Short stories sold. Lots of new stuff written, and lots of things learned. Seems like I should have something awesome and reflective to...
Followup #3: Short Story Marathon, Two Years Later
Two Years On Two years. Wow, I really can't believe it. A lot has happened to these stories since this crazy experiment was finished: 4 stories have sold (over 13%) and I have a few more sales pending...
The Disappearing Neighborhood
I've got it on my list to do a blog post about milestones--there have been a bunch so far this year--but this is a big one and I can't wait. My story, "The Disappearing Neighborhood," is out in...
Self-Rescuing Damsels
I'm really excited to have my story, "Ashna's Heart" as part of Swords, Sorcery, & Self-Rescuing Damsels. This is the story of a fire mage named Kyla who is willing do anything and everything to...
Vegas, Baby!
In early March, I spent a week in Las Vegas at a workshop all about writing for anthologies and getting to understand how editors choose stories. I was one of 50 writers who wrote a bunch of stories,...
Followup #2: Short Story Marathon, One Year Later
The Short Version (TL;DR) Time flies when you're writing like mad... I started this whole thing a year ago today, which is so hard to believe. The stories have done well in the market, "The Stars in...
Seeing Forever is Out!
Maybe you can tell from the above image, I'm very excited about the release of Seeing Forever. Today is launch day, where this baby goes out into the world for you all to read. If I could put on a...
Drawing the Dead on Sale (January Writing Update)
It's a brand new year, and I have a lot in the writing pipeline. The last few years have been pretty thin on releases and I am going to remedy that this year. So, to that end, I am planning to do a...
New Release! Of Things Not Seen, A Ghost's Memoir, Book 3
Wow, there is a lot to say about this one, but I'll keep it brief up here an expand down below.: The new ghost book is here! The ebook is on sale for $2.99 until 9/1/2017 for all you early buyers....
Followup #1: Short Story Marathon
The Short Version (TL;DR) I was a different person during the challenge. Focused. Driven (well, more driven). Exhausted, but happy. I prefer writing stories quickly, just letting the story take you...
Day 34: Short Story Marathon. FINISH LINE
Summary And... done! A quick pass on "Through Other Eyes," a bit of cleanup, and off to Dean! And if you are wondering, I was up early and writing. Started another story that is a follow up...
Day 33: Short Story Marathon
Summary Last story today! Really, can't believe it. Last night when I was pondering it, the pressure descended. Last story of the challenge, better make it good. Nope. By the morning I had shaken that...
Day 32: Short Story Marathon
Summary Late start writing today at 6:45 a.m. (hey it's a Sunday) and wrote a short time travel story called "Goodbye Mrs. Hopkins." I thought it was going to be another piece of flash...
Day 31: Short Story Marathon
Summary Another tough start this morning, but not as bad as two days ago. After a few false starts, I dug into a new story called "Last Days with Mary." It's #26 and 2,700 words long and is...
Day 30: Short Story Marathon
Summary Finished up "Death by Apathy" and sent it off. That makes 24 stories out the door in 30 days! Aleia really liked this one, but I didn't think much of it yesterday. A little time...
Day 29: Short Story Marathon
Summary So I think I worked too much yesterday. I got up a little late, and made it to writing at 6:30 a.m., but couldn't get anything going. I started several stories but I was either heading into...
Day 28: Short Story Marathon
Summary Another very busy day. #22, "Article Seventeen" out to Dean. Wrote a story about a magician called "One Last Trick." It's #23 and 4,300 words. This one did some big,...
Day 27: Short Story Marathon
Summary Busy day, but managed to get #21, "Woody and June vs. the Ex" out the door to Dean. Wrote a short sci-fi story called, "Article Seventeen." It's #22 and at 2,800 words is a...
Day 26: Short Story Marathon
Summary Finally hit the end of "Woody and June vs. the Ex." At 10,000 words it was a blast to write, but a streak buster for sure. Fun was more important here than the streak. With the four...
Day 25: Short Story Marathon
Summary Onward with "Woody and June vs. the Ex." Things slowed down a bit today. Our heroes are at the bottom of the Grand Canyon just having escaped a zombie hoard. These stories are very...
Day 24: Short Story Marathon
Summary Last night after I posted yesterday's entry, my wife was in kitchen late, cranking the Eagles and cooking. Not wanting to be at my desk anymore, I grabbed my laptop and sipped red wine while...
Day 23: Short Story Marathon
Summary Up in front of the computer just before 6 a.m. again, no idea what to write. My brain came up with an interesting sentence written from the perspective of an android that has just been powered...
Day 22: Short Story Marathon
Summary Did a short session early, but cut it off to go run before the heat hit and the work day started. That sure helped; got my body moving and my emotions perked up too. The pace of this challenge...
Day 21: Short Story Marathon
Summary Busy work day so harder to get the hours in today. Early, lunch, and late. Did another "Death by" story in the world of Shuffled Off. This one is "Death by Cookie" and is...
Day 20: Short Story Marathon
Summary Had a tough time getting going this morning with writing. While I like "Jump in Time" a lot, it took a lot of energy and I didn't get enough rest over the weekend. This is a pacing...
Day 19: Short Story Marathon
Summary Out for an early run today--the heat wave making it too hot to run later, even up here on the mountain--and the pieces of "Jump it Time" floated around my mind, tempting me. So, back...
Day 18: Short Story Marathon
Summary Back to "Jump in Time," but this thing has taken on a life of it's own and is over 5,000 words with a ways to go. Lots more research and a much more complicated story that the other...
Day 17: Short Story Marathon
Summary Back to staring at the blank page this morning. I've done it many, many times now but it's always intimidating--and I think that's okay. The trick is to just find something, anything and...
Day 16: Short Story Marathon
Summary Back to the scifi story I started last night, this one has a good, solid title: "With Light Years Between Us." Made some progress early, but something wasn't right. Realized I was...
Day 15: Short Story Marathon
Summary Started up on a new scifi story early, taking on the blank page again--that is, starting with nothing, not even an idea before getting to the computer. What popped out was an idea I had worked...
Day 14: Short Story Marathon
Summary I had trouble sleeping last night and had this whisper of an idea that felt like it would be interesting and short. By the time I got up, my mind was derailed by worries about cultural...
Day 13: Short Story Marathon
Summary Back to "A Long, Hard Fall" this morning. I think I was tired at the end of the day yesterday (5,000 words is a lot for me) and needed to clean up the plot a bit, and the climax got...
Day 12: Short Story Marathon
Summary Decided to go back to the world of Shuffled Off and have some fun with my ghost detectives Walter and Emily (their first case is in Life After) in a story called "A Long, Hard Fall."...
Day 11: Short Story Marathon
Summary Had a interesting image occur when I walked Madison (our ridiculously adorable spaniel) last night of an android walking along a sand dune all alone. So took that this morning and did 1,000...
Day 10: Short Story Marathon
Summary Day 10! Into the double digits here on this marathon of writing. Didn't know what to write this morning and browsed some exiting starts and saw one I had tried 3 different times that had a...
Day 9: Short Story Marathon
Summary Busy day and away from my computer for most of it. First meetings and then a summer picnic with the company I work for. Up early, the early sunrise waking me up earlier than normal which is...
Day 8: Short Story Marathon
Summary Got back to "Home in Time" and finished it. It's ready to read to Aleia, but no time today. It came in at 4,450 words, again longer than planed. Later, grabbed a 875 word fantasy...
Day 7: Short Story Marathon
Summary One week in, 4 stories away, 26 to go. Yeah, this is starting to feel like a marathon. Up very early and threw out yesterday's start on "Home in Time" and started fresh in first...
Day 6: Short Story Marathon
Summary Got up early and went back to "Woody and June vs. the Grand Canyon." Corrected my misstep and threw out and redrafted a lot of the end. I had moved the character's relationship a tad...
Day 5: Short Story Marathon
Summary Interesting day. Yesterday I left "Woody and June vs. the Grand Canyon" at over 5,000 words and not done yet, thinking I might have taken a wrong turn. So, I set it aside and started...
Day 4: Short Story Marathon
Summary Two stories out the door! Story #1, "Woody and June vs. the Fungus-Head Zombies," and story #2, the sci-fi android story now with a title,"Daisy’s Heart". I read...
Day 3: Short Story Marathon
Summary Found the end of the second story (scfi with an android), cleaned it up, and it's ready to read to Aleia. Cleaned up story 1 (Woody and June vs the Fungus-Head Zombies) and read it to...
Day 2: Short Story Marathon
Summary Busy day with work and life, so writing was slower as expected. Started with a line that came to me when I was going to sleep last night ("I was six the first time I wished I was an...
Day 1: Short Story Marathon
Summary Wow! I think I really wanted to do this thing. Up too early and lots of writing. I grabbed a story start for something I really wanted to write and in a morning session, evening session, and...
A Short Story Writing Marathon: The Plan
Run/Write: The Briefest of Intros I've been writing seriously and regularly since 2009. I started running in 2015 and it has given me great perspective on writing. You see, writing is a subjective...
A Short Story Writing Marathon: Introduction
Run/Write: The Briefest of Intros I've been writing seriously and regularly since 2009. I started running in 2015 and it has given me great perspective on writing. You see, writing is a subjective...
Why I Quit Writing (Almost, Kinda, Sorta)
While this blog is focused on my recent experience with writing, the principles apply to whatever your passion is. [caption id="attachment_1340" align="alignleft"...
A Year in Stories, 2015 Edition
Last year, I did a roundup of 2014 writing-wise and what stories had come out. I wanted to do another one around the first of they year, but January has just gotten away from me. So, better late than never, here's what stories came out in 2015: December This isn't about a released story, but it is worth noting: I was a finalist in the Writers of the Future contest. Very excited to almost win this contest, something I've been working towards for 5+ years. October Life After: Stories of Life, Death, and the Places in Between came out. This is a collection of short stories that go very well, thematically speaking, with my ghost novels (there is even a brand new ghost story in it). Start Reading Learn More “Laura’s Magic Clock" appeared in A Game of Horns: A Purple Unicorn Anthology. This is the second year in a row I landed in one of these unicorn anthologies, and I do love this story (and proceeds go to a good cause). Go get it! Learn More. July Two of my short stories (“Death by Starlight” and “The Last Flight of the Acurus”) were featured on StarShipSofa podcast, episode #394. These are both stories of survival in space, old fashioned sci-fi with a bit of a twist. Acurus was my first sale and appeared in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Issue #58. Starlight is a piece of flash fiction inspired by Acurus and appeared in Every Day Fiction. The narration is beautifully done by Katerine Inskip. Go take a listen now! January 
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Back to the Graveyard
I love my ghost friends: JJ, Jesus, Banquo, and all the rest--they are so real to me. With three novels down and a fourth in the works, I must. My "A Ghost's Memoir" world (Shuffled Off,...
Making Art With Your Friends
Writers are strange. Their imagined worlds are often so compelling that the "real" world has trouble keeping up. Writer brains are different, they will imagine a character they love and then...
A Year in Stories
2014 had come and gone in a flash of challenges, business, and unique experiences. Some good, some bad, many a humbling mixture of the two. As this blog is mostly about my writing, I thought I would list out my writing releases as a way to both catch you up on what I have been doing and as a way to reflect on my artistic life. So here goes! December Protocol X. Episode 3 of Neutrinoman and Lightningirl: A Love Story. Start Reading Learn More October 
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100 Rejections and Counting
Back in March I blogged about hitting 50 rejections for short fictions after close to two years of submitting. Well, now, about seven months later I have hit the big 100. The first 50 rejections took...
Indie Adventures – Part 5 – Bringing in the Pros
New to this series? Start with: Indie Adventures – Part 1 – The Starting Line This series is titled "Indie Adventures," and I am going the indie route with the publishing of my novel, but that does...
Indie Adventures – Part 4 – Beta Round 2 (or One More Time for Good Measure)
If you missed it, See Indie Adventures – Part 1 – The Starting Line, Indie Adventures – Part 2 – Beta Readers or “How the Hell Do I Know If This Book is Any Good!?”, and Indie Adventures – Part 3 –...
The Writers of the Future Contest - A Class Act
The Writers of the Future Contest (WOTF) is a class act. If you write speculative fiction (sci-fi or fantasy) and aren't a pro, then do yourself a favor and submit. I have been sitting on this for a...
New Sun Rising: Stories for Japan
This all started with 100 Stories for Haiti, and has moved on from Haiti to Pakistan to Queensland and now Japan. On March 11, 20011 a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck Japan. We all saw the...
100 Stories for Queensland is Here!
100 Stories for Queensland is here! So, you can read some great stories (include "Soggy Shoes" by yours truly) and help with the recovery from recent devistating flooding in Queensland,...
Indie Adventures – Part 3 – Evaluating the Beta Read
If you missed it, See Indie Adventures – Part 1 – The Starting Line and Indie Adventures – Part 2 – Beta Readers or “How the Hell Do I Know If This Book is Any Good!?” So you did your homework and...
The Psychology of Writing, Part 2: The Shock Box
If you missed it see: The Psychology of Writing, Part 1. Writer L.M May just did a fantastic blog post titled: Fiction Writers and Learned Helplessness. In it she talks about some of the psychology...
Coming soon: 100 Stories for Queensland
100 Stories for Queensland now has a release date: Tuesday, May 3rd. This charity anthology has my story "Soggy Shoes" in it, and this one is for flood relief in Australia. All proceeds go...
Indie Adventures – Part 2 – Beta Readers or "How the Hell Do I Know If This Book is Any Good!?"
If you missed it, See Indie Adventures - Part 1 - The Starting Line. It is a serious question. How the hell do you know if your book is any good? Or movie, or game, or song. If you are on your own...
Indie Adventures - Part 1 - The Starting Line
The publishing world is changing. Fast. A brief look at some writers blogs out there (Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Joe Konrath) will orient you to the changes. I can sum it up briefly in...
50 Rejections and Counting
On 3/18/2009 I submitted a story called "As I Shall at Death" to Flash Fiction Online. It was rejected, and that rejection was psychologically hard. Now, nearly two years later, I am around...
Doing What You Love + Lending A Hand = AWESOME
Doing What You Love + Lending A Hand = AWESOME. My story, "Soggy Shoes," was accepted for the 100 Stories for Queensland anthology, and I am personally thrilled to be able to contribute and...
100 Stories for Queensland
I am just putting the final touches on a submission for 100 Stories for Queensland. Like 100 Stories for Haiti and 50 Stories for Pakistan before it this is a charity anthology to help those in need....
The Psychology of Writing, Part 1
Writing is hard… No, no, that's not it. Writing is not hard; getting your writing read is hard. Hmm, that's not exactly it either. Dealing with the rejection that goes with writing is hard. Actually...
50 Stories for Pakistan is Here!
50 Stories for Pakistan Helping the victims of the floods Produced by www.bigbadmedia.com Book Preview Actually, "50 Stories for Pakistan" has been out since October 28th, and I am remiss in...
50 Stories for Pakistan
Greg McQueen, the force behind 100 Stories for Haiti is at it again. This time it's a book to support the victims of the flooding in Pakistan called 50 Stories for Pakistan. Once again he sent the...
Finding the Time
Writer John Scalzi has a great post on finding the time to write: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2010/09/16/writing-find-the-time-or-dont/ It is written with his usual sharp pointed wit, and right on the...
100 Stories for Haiti is Here!
Woop! Well the book is out! 100 Stories for Haiti, which contains my story "The Path of the Faerie King" is on sale now. Here's how you buy: Preview the eBook at Smashwords. Buy the eBook at...
A Big "First"
A contract, I just filled out a publishing contract! The 100 Stories for Haiti project is rolling along and legal issues needed to be dealt with. The first-ness of this continues, and I am doing my...
I'm a (Soon To Be) Published Author
I just got word from the 100 Stories for Haiti folks; “The Path of the Faerie King” has made the cut! I am, needless to say, very excited. This will be my first published story and is a wonderful balm...
100 Stories for Haiti
Author Greg McQueen is putting his time where is heart is and leading a project called 100 Stories for Haiti. It is a book project whose sales proceeds (as an eBook and a paperback) will go directly...
How Bad Do You Want It?
After 17 years, 138 rejections and 870,000 words Brad Torgersen finally made his first pro fiction sale. I guess he wanted it bad, I guess you gotta want it bad. Check out his post for more details....
The Arts Are a Job Too
I gotta admit it, the arts are like a siren to me. The romance of being an actor (did tons of that in high school), a artist (a video called LightTones), a photographer (here are some recent ones), or...