Joy's Live Journal

I reached and passed my 50,000 word goal tonight and received my official validation from National Novel Writing Month and printed out my certificate and can access a virtual badge. I'm glad I finished. I can actually write more if I want--until the end of the month, but I think I'll take a little break.

Announcement from Anthology Builder (blog):

We're offering 15% off all anthologies ordered on or before December 5. If there's someone you've been wanting to buy an anthology for, now's your chance ;)

Blog link: AnthologyBuilder

And, of course, be sure to check out my story collection: AnthologyBuilder: Aliens, Animals, and Adventure by Joy V. Smith

Or choose stories by your favorite author and create an anthology.

The goal of NaNoWriMo is 50,000 words by the end of November. I'm past the halfway point (32,000 words last night), but, oh, November 30 seems a long time from now. If I stick to my current goal of 2,000 words a day, I should be fine, but last night I did some editing and discovered that I'd messed up my chapter numbers so I had to fix that--chapter heading by chapter heading--after correcting my notes. I got to bed at five last night, but could sleep in. Tonight I've got to do some more research first. I've got a new list...

And here's the link to my NaNoWriMo report on the WOW (Women on Writing)blog, The Muffin: http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/blog.html

Matt Mullins of Kamen Rider Dragon Knight is shooting a cover for Black Belt Magazine; this is his first cover for the magazine. And here's a link to the transcript of a phone interview:
http://www.gaijinside.com/interview-matt-mullins-of-kamen-rider-dragon-knight/

I watched the Atlantis shuttle launch at 2:28 (ET) this afternoon; I saw only a long, narrow white trail that eventually went into a cloud and disappeared. The shuttle launch replays on the NASA channel were much more spectacular as it went through the clouds!

"Nina L. Diamond's new feature is a conversation with Bookmarks magazine's Jon Phillips, who explains how complicated the world of book reviewing has become. "The ability to have intelligent communal conversations about books is diminished," says Phillips, lamenting the demise of many of the nation's newspaper book sections. "Books are no longer seen as important cultural markers." Phillips is doing his part to change that, and Bookmarks is a book lover's oasis in our cultural desert."

From Independent Publisher Online Newsletter (November 2009)

From publisher's e-mail announcement:

There's a good review of Magistria: Realm of the Sorcerer (by David Lee Summers, editor) in the fall issue (Vol. 5, issue 2) of Tales of the Talisman. He mentioned "Storm Warning" by Lillian Csernica as a standout story and Robert J. Santa's "In This Sleep of Death" as another fine story. (He mentioned my story, "Seedlings," but not by title.

Check out this shared world anthology (invitation only) on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Magistria-Realm-Sorcerer-Robert-Santa/dp/0981932320/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232426222&sr=1-1

Along with a variety of contemporary writers, Anthology Builder has recently added stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathanial Hawthorne, Xenophon, Joseph Sheriden Le Fanu, Ada M. Marzials, Arthur Machen, and E. Nesbit.  Check out the selection at: AnthologyBuilder: Custom Anthologies for $14.95

And here's a collection of my short stories that I put together there: AnthologyBuilder: Aliens, Animals, and Adventure by Joy V. Smith  .  Stories include The Princess Quest, The Haunted Garden, To the Last Drop!, Hot Yellow Planet, and Lost in the Long Dark.

National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWrMo, starts November 1.  This is my first year for attempting this feat.  I have a story in my mind--where it's been for a a couple years, at least, though I don't have a title yet.  It's a post-apocalypse tale, and I have a folder full of notes, pages ripped from magazines, and, most recently, a printout of a Holocaust survival chat I joined in the Other Worlds Cafe chat room.  Here's a link to the NaNoWrMo website: National Novel Writing Month

Well, I'm still attempting to watch Stargate Universe, but it is slow, boring, and full of whiners.  (The talking to the video camera for posterity worked for some shows, but not this one.)  Btw, sex doesn't make a show interesting.  I would like some interesting characters!  And where is Lou Diamond Phillips?!  I read that he was only going to be in five of nine episodes, which must mean he'll be in the next ones?  (I can only hope that his character will be interesting.)  Apparently there will be more flashbacks upcoming...  And let's see  the crew's quarters and give them something to do!  (I was really looking forward to exploring the ship.)  Oh, and who came up with that trite name for the ship?!  Destiny!  I wince every time they say it.  And an obnoxious character (Rush) doesn't equate to an interesting one. 

I came across this book, Guardians of Being by Eckhart Tolle, in a review in the Christian Science Monitor (print issue).  (One of his books was an Oprah Book Club book.)  The book pairs drawings of animals with text about life lessons learned from pets.  The illustrations are by Patrick McDonnell, creator of the comic strip, Mutts.  "I have lived with many Zen masters," Tolle says, "all of them cats."

I couldn't find the Monitor link, but you can check it out at amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Guardians-Being-Eckhart-Tolle/dp/1577316711/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256002188&sr=1-1

A friend sent me a query from someone looking for a story (see below).  I queried Joseph Major, the editor of Alexiad, a literary zine, who sent me a couple possibilities (see below), and then my friend sent me the info he'd been sent (see below).  I love modern technology and e-mails!  I hope you'll enjoy the solving of this little mystery:

2)      The story was set sometime in the not too distant future on Earth.

3)      The premise was that there were semi-legal shops that sold alien life-forms as pets.

4)      The ‘hero’ of the story was fascinated with an ant-like alien life-form that he bought and raised in an ant-farm terrarium.

5)      The alien ants built complicated structures like little cities, etc.

6)      At some point he realizes that they are building monuments (or idols) in his likeness.

7)      Things fall apart after that (I am sure you can imagine).

 Do you know the name or author of this story? I remember it being really great; it would be fun to reread."

From Joe Major:

Seventies is a little too late for Brown (who had died in 1972).  Sheckley
maybe, but I don't remember it.

I vaguely remember there were a couple of stories around then about ants; George R. R. Martin's "Sandkings" and Edward Bryant's "giANTS".  Could it be one of them?

And finally:

Wendy S. Delmater, the editor of the online SF mag Abyss & Apex, suggested Sandkings.  A few people remembered it as a Twilight Zone story, but it wasn't--Outer Limits.

Sandkings appeared in an August 1979 issue of Omni and later was made into an Outer Limits episode or movie.

It's a $2 or less download from Fictionwise:

http://www.fictionwise.com/servlet/mw?t=book.htm&bookid=746&id=8474

But the the novelette may be found in a used book store:

February 1986 (first published 1981) by Baen

literary awards

Hugo Award for Best Novellette (1980) and Nebula Award (1980) 

And here's  "the link of the most comprehensive listing of online SF stories by author that I have found."  Link: http://www.steampunk.com/newsfch/Fiction/Short_Stories/

 (Thanks, Vin!)

,

Last week's episode of Stargate Universe was really, really slow and boring.  The most interesting characters are the aggressive soldier who gets things done and the computer-savvy kid--oh, and the sentient dust devil who guest starred.

I read Flashforward (Tor, 1999) by Robert J. Sawyer because I wanted to learn more about the background of the TV series.  (I'd already googled a couple synopses so I knew what caused the phenomenon.)  The book is way different from the series.  The characters flashforward 21 years instead of six months, and the character focus is different.  It's well done with lots of theories about life and time.  And the replicated flashforward at the end is different...

It's time to think about Christmas gifts. Here are a few I'm recommending--yes, including some of my own books:

Man-Kzin Wars XII: I've been reading the Man-Kzin Wars series for a long time. The series was created by Larry Niven, but different authors have joined in. Man-Kzin Wars XII (Baen, 2009) contains six stories. My favorites are Aquila Advenio and String; Kzinti and humans team up and are lots of fun! (The Kzin started attacking, enslaving, and eating humans a long time ago.)

Fledgling (Baen, 2009), by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, is the latest Liaden universe book. (I love these stories and characters!) Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/Fledgling-Liaden-Universe-Novel-Sharon/dp/1439132879/ref=pd_ys_qtk_fr_img...

The Solar Sea (LBF Books, 2008) by David Lee Summers, an astronomer, is available from amazon; I enjoyed the background on our solar system as the heroes explored it in this mystery/adventure. Check it out at: Amazon.com: The Solar Sea (9781897370834): David Lee Summers: Books

Why Won't Anyone Play with Me? is my children's picture book. You can find it at: Amazon.com: Why Won't Anyone Play with Me?: Books: Joy V. Smith

The new edition of my house book, Building a Cool House for Hot Times without Scorching the Pocketbook, has color photos, but finding that edition isn't easy. Here's a link with both editions on the publisher's website; the one on the left should be the new edition, but it's not in the description: Publish America - Publishing Writers' and Authors' Manuscripts

Aliens, Animals, and Adventure includes some of my stories (reprints). Browse the stories here: AnthologyBuilder: create your ideal anthology

And my audiobook of time travel tales, Sugar Time, is available from Hadrosaur Productions: Hadrosaur Audio Odysseys

"Recently one of the stars from this popular CW Television Network children’s show [Kamen Riders], Matt Mullins (who plays Wing Night), spoke to I Am Modern about his career and the importance of introducing children to martial arts.

There's a Harlan Ellison story scheduled for the February issue of Realms of Fantasy (on sale December 4).  From Warren Lapine's blog:  warrenlapine 

I watched Stargate Universe--two hours and a lot of bouncing back and forth in time for the first part, which I found annoying.  Pretty boring--especially the senator's daughter's fit of hysterics and monologue.  Isn't there anything interesting on this fantastic ship?!  I googled SGU and found that Lou Diamond Phillips is just a recurring character, appearing in only five of the nine shot episodes.  He's one of the reasons I looked forward to this series.  'Course I hoped it would be a fun show...  Here's the Wikipedia link with lots of background: Stargate Universe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I see on Warren Lapine's blog that the cover of the December issue of Realms of Fantasy is the first one to be cover story art.  The cover didn't load for me, but apparently it did for most people so here's the blog link so you can check it out: warrenlapine