Short Story: Virgin Sacrifice's

Hi All,

The story I told you about -- Virgin Sacrfice's -- is now live on Infective Ink.  Check it out, and behold the wonder of Sarnath The World Masher!

New Short Story - Published by Infective Ink!

I don't mind telling you that the good folks at Infective Ink have accepted a short story of mine and are publishing it on August 20th.  As soon as the link is live, I'll put it up on my website and here as well.  I'm seriously stoked about this one, guys.

Infective Ink has a novel way of accepting submissions that I really like.  They have a series of prompts posted and if a writer would like to submit a piece to them, they have to build their story around that prompt.  For example, my submission had to written from the prompt, "Virgin Sacrifices."  I thought it was a lot of fun, and in a way, I feel like it's a system that pushes creativity, which I really dig. 

What did I write about?  You'll have to wait and see.  I'll just say that I had a lot of fun with this one.

This also marks the first time I've been paid for a short story.  Publications that compensate writers with more than a publishing credit for a short story are in short supply these days.  Unless you're already well known, or your story gets accepted by one of the few print publications still left that publishes them, the chances of getting a single cent for a short story are slim.  Like, quantum mechanics, slim.  Infective Ink does their best to take care of their writers, and I believe that shows in the quality of submissions they get and publish.

When they publish, they have an interactive Twitter forum where readers can comment on the story.  I may finally break down and get a Twitter account just so I can participate.

More to come!

A Memory of Light

I just saw on Tor.com that A Memory of Light will be coming out on January 8, 2013.  I remember hearing about Robert Jordan's death in 2007 and thinking about what a loss that was to the literary world.  On the "About" page on my website I mention his books as being among the first of the epic fantasy series I had ever been truly sucked into.  No doubt - the man had a gift.

Originally, I heard from people that the series was supposed to be a trilogy.  Then, a five book series, and on we went.  This was at a time when not everyone had internet access (or even computers at home) so most information about books came from bookshops or friends.   When I first got into the Wheel of Time, the latest book released was The Fires of Heaven.  The wait between that and Lord of Chaos was excruciating, especially after being able to read all the other novels one right after the other.

Being much younger then, I had more free time to read.  The last novel in this series that I read was Winter's Heart.  I'm sad to admit that I lost touch with the series after that.  It's a beautiful and complex story that interweaves the lives of many characters and their unique roles in the world.  It's that same depth and richness that ultimately took me away from the books.  If it had been over a year since I read the latest novel in the series, it became very easy to forget plot points, nuances, and supporting characters. 

Now that the series will be complete, I want to start again from book one and make the journey again; this time at a leisurely pace.  By the time I catch back up, I think it'll be well into next year, and I'll be able to finally read how the story ends.