Month: September 2018

Song Styles

It's that time of year.  You're seeing it in stores, even though Halloween hasn't even hit yet and the temperatures (at least around here) are still in the 70s.I'm talking about ... the Christmas season.Deep, mournful sigh.I have a wedding I'm pla......

Wednesday Wanderings

Yesterday, I opened a new document and jotted down this:


                I may not howl at the moon or be stopped in my tracks by a line of salt, but the liminal is an inescapable part of my life.  I’m a Sniffer, which means I can detect the earthy loam...

Song Styles

Driving in my car a few days ago, listening to my most recent word association CD - see a few posts down - it occurred to me that one of the songs was an excellent fit for one of my male characters, directed towards my female lead.  His perspectiv......

Wednesday Wanderings

People recognize that red and blue make purple (unless they're colorblind or just plain stubborn), but not everyone realizes that scents can combine to make other scents.  Here's an easy example:  yesterday, I was making cinnamon french toast......

Song Styles

I'm on my final editing pass for Unnatural Causes.  This is a targeted pass, to smooth out the additions from the previous pass and to cut unnecessary fat.  Since the novel is at 98,000 words and a bit of change, I'm in a different position t......

Stratagem 27 2018-09-13 23:59:00

Dear Mother Nature,Please find enclosed 6000 tons of snow that was mistakenly dropped on Edmonton this morning. Look, there are rules. There's supposed to be a natural order--i.e., things happen in an orderly fashion. First you have summer, which is wh......

Wednesday Wanderings

Between the chaos of my daily life, I've been working on the worldbuilding for my next novel project.  It's coming together somewhat differently from my usual process, and I hope the changes will pay off.I typically do a few short sections on glob......

Anatomy of an Idea: Soul Medley

As I mentioned in my previous post, Soul Medley is now out in Andromeda Spaceways #72.  I discuss briefly the origins of the story, but here's a more detailed account ... spoiler free, if you haven't read it yet, though I do encourage you to do so......

A Day in the Life

A day in the life of a writer, a.k.a., me! Let me present my completely fool-proof plan to accomplish all of your writing goals. It has worked wonders for me. Yes, a big steaming pile of oddly shaped wonders. 1. Situate Work can’t get done if you aren’t in...

September – time to get serious

It’s been a busy month, the highlight of which was a trip to the Netherlands, where against my better instincts the little people persuaded me onto some gut wrenching rollercoasters. (I literally tensed to stop my kidneys swapping sides…) The canals in Amsterdam go on forever, the Dutch people...