Choose Your Own Romance

Posted on May 11, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

I was not the first to have this idea. In fact, Jen Kirchner is doing a version of “Choose Your Own Adventure” right now! And several other writer friends have mentioned the idea for the blogosphere.

The “Choose Your Own Adventure” books that were so popular in the early 80’s would work perfectly in electronic format. Although I have fond memories of waiting in a very long line for “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” at Walt Disney World while my cousin read the books aloud, it would be far easier to click a link than to flip back and forth through a paperback.

It would also be an interesting way to get more blog traffic. Think about it… I start a page here, with something like “You have spent three seasons in the whirlwind of London’s haut ton without a single proposal of marriage, and your father, the Duke, has decided to marry you off to the son of an old friend. Though wealthy, he is a mysterious recluse…” I would then list several choices, each with a link attached. “Do you agree to the match, and hope for the best?” or “Do you beg your father for one last season to find someone, anyone else to marry you?” or “Do you steal the family silver and run off in the middle of the night to hop a steamship for America to make your own fortune?”

There should probably be some rules that help things move more smoothly. For example, we should have an Avatar that appears at the beginning of every single story part, so that a reader who is jumping through blogs knows that they are still reading part of the “Choose Your Own Romance” and not some random irrelevant page. It would be nice if clicking on this avatar/icon would always bring the reader back to the home page. It would also make sense to have something at the end that says “This section of the story follows…” and add a link to wherever the previous part of the story is, so if someone wants to follow the story backwards, they can.

A word limit would probably be appropriate, say 1,000 words, although if an author decided they loved a scene so much they wanted to make it longer, they could split it themselves, and write two or more possible continuations. With the nature of the internet, even after it is written and published and has been around for a while, another writer could jump in at any time and say “Hey, I like options 1 & 2, but I have an idea for #3! How about I write it and you can link me in too?”

Such a beast would probably benefit from being unbridled. This is the hard part for me. I am a self-proclaimed control freak and I want to read and approve and edit every post that ends up being attached! But that kind of control would more likely strangle the project. This has the possibility of going truly viral, growing exponentially into a huge monster! But I believe we’ll end up with better stories, and have more fun doing it, if people take it into their own hands and feel they have ownership in it. Each person in the chain would be responsible for checking the posts to which it links, ensuring it is neither a troll nor a spammer, and then let go. I’d love to see writers jump back in later on down the line!

Thank You to By Jaci Berkopec for the starter image!

From a selfish POV, if someone is looking at one particular part of the story, and they say “Hey, this writer has a way with words, I wonder if they have anything else I can read?” a reader might take a time out from the Choose Your Own Romance Line and check out the rest of the writer’s blog. From a reader’s POV, it’s fun!

Hmm… I have a relatively full plate at the moment, but I think I’m going to do this! Check back next week. I’ll let you know. I’ll be looking for participants!

Shortlink for this post: http://wp.me/p1qnT4-85

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Gaming

Posted on May 10, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

I admit it, the facebook games suck me in. A few years ago, when I started playing “Dragon Wars”, I broke down and started sending and accepting friend requests from total strangers just so I could have more allies in the game.

The game developers want us to get all of our friends to play the games, but many players do it the other way around, finding people who already play the games, and then becoming their friends. In many games, the more friends you have, the more advantages you get. It’s a fast way to grow a friend list.

Since I am challenged with OCD, and can easily find myself obsessing on silly things like games, I was careful about only playing a few. I’m glad I did that. As it was, I ended up with well over 1,000 friends, and only a couple hundred of those are people I actually know. There have only been a few people I’ve had to defriend and/or block because of spamming or other inappropriate behavior. But I’ve also made solid, real friendship connections with many of these people I’ve never met.

Dragon Wars began to lose its appeal, with no reward other than seeing bigger numbers on my various statistics. Although they eventually made some changes and added content, by then many of my friends and I had stopped playing.

Castle Age is fun for those of us who belong to the D&D crowd. I not only play, but I belong to several groups whose purpose is to help and advise each other in the game. I interact with these people. We tell jokes. We complain. We click when asked.

The point here is not what games are fun, but how something like playing games has helped me to build an online community of supporters. I started playing these games long before I became serious about my writing. My gaming friends like what I like; dragons, knights, castles, spaceships, robots, and the list goes on. Since I followed the advice of “write what you know, write what you’d want to read,” a lot of these gaming friends are exactly the kind of people who might someday read my books.

This became clear to me the first time I flippantly posted a “SyFy question of the day.” Besides pissing off people who hate the abbreviation “SyFy”, I had quite a lot of people jump in on the discussion. It wasn’t a big question, it was just something that came up while I was writing, and I thought I would probe the collective consciousness. Things like “What kind of interstellar travel is most plausible?” sparked my friends to join in the conversation. I get far more comments on a single facebook status than I have ever received on any blog post.

In the past couple of months, I’ve done much more writing and much less game playing. But then I noticed a trend… I was interacting with fewer people, and I was getting less response when I shared a link to my blog. I imagine my friends felt like I had abandoned them in favor of shameless self promotion, akin to the housewife who starts hawking tupperware and alienates all her friends because she’s always trying to sell something.

My dayjob is housewife. I’m a mom. I have two kids who need and deserve my time. I also want to spend time on my WIP as well as keeping up with the blog. But with all these demands on my time, I’ve started playing a new facebook game. Because my friends are playing it. Because it is the kind of game I like, and also the kind of thing my would-be fans like.

And that makes it worth the time.

Shortlink for this post: http://wp.me/s1qnT4-gaming

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Han Shot First

Posted on May 8, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

When I first started my blog, I planned to carefully type every post into MS Word, proofread it carefully, and then copy and paste it into a well formatted blog entry.

That lasted a day.

I do sometimes start with a word processed document, especially if I have an interview or a piece of fiction. But most posts, like this one, I just type directly in. The idea of a blog, after all, is that it is a “web log”; it is off the cuff and doesn’t necessarily get the proofreading and editing that a more polished piece should.

It’s also reassuring that, even after I hit the “publish” button, I can always go back and change anything I want. There have been several times I’ve published something on the blog knowing that I would be going back in later to fix it!

My beloved Star Wars was remastered and rereleased decades after they were originally made available to the public. The creators added in a few goodies, like seeing Han Solo speak directly to a new CGI version of Jabba the Hut. They also decided to remake the Cantina scene where Han shoots Greedo, making it look like Greedo shot first.

The idea is that, since Han Solo is a good guy, he would not have shot first. So they used the wonderful new technology we have to redo the scene so that Greedo shoots first, and misses, and then Han shoots him. In the original, Han shot Greedo under the table before the bounty hunter  ever had a chance.

The fan outrage was huge! Adding in a few scenes and improving some special effects was one thing, but saying that Greedo missed, just to make Han look like a good guy? Hell no! Han is a badass! One of the most import aspects of the whole epic was the character arc that took Han from a scruffy, nerfherding smuggler to a hero of the alliance!

I wonder if the great authors of yesteryear ever wished they could go back and fix something? I love the Oz books by L. Frank Baum, but the inconsistencies are too many to count, even for fantasy. I wonder if that ever bothered him?

I hope to be published someday. I’d love to be able to walk into a bookstore and see my story in actual print, bound in paper and ink. Before then, I plan and expect many rounds of proofreading and editing and revising so that it is the best story it can possibly be.

In the meantime, I’ll have fun with the blog. It’s much more fun when I know I can go back at any time and fiddle with it!

Things could have been very different for Star Wars.  “What if Greedo Really Shot First?“

Shortlink for this post: http://wp.me/p1qnT4-7F

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Interview With Kat Brauer

Posted on May 6, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

Kat Brauer is a writer of speculative YA and romance, and recently signed with Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency. She writes, reads, bakes, takes photos, and the list of talents grows too long for a short bio! Currently, she lives on a beautiful island in Nagasaki prefecture, Japan, where she battles the forces of Engrish by teaching English to elementary- and middle school students. Until July of 2011, her life is being consumed by Crits for Water, a campaign to raise $5,000 for charity: water.

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1.       She writes, she reads, she bakes, and she takes photos!  Let’s start with “She writes!”  What genres do you write?

Young adult and romance.

Sub-genres: Of both, speculative–more specifically futuristic and fantasy. I like dragons and robots.

HOLY CRAP THOSE THINGS SHOULD GO TOGETHER.

2.       Have you always considered yourself to be a writer, or was there a time in your life when you decided that is what you were?

Honestly, I consider myself a strange writer-creature. Up until my sophomore/junior year in college, writing was a hobby. Being a lifelong reader, I knew that stories have power. But typing The End on that first book, I understood that I have that power, too. Though that power requires leveling up/XP points to be effective.

That being said, writing is not my sole professional dream. I’m a bit crazy in that I want to keep a day job–something that will pay me to travel and study languages and be patriotic ::cough::foreignservice::cough::.

3.       I love the fact that you described the “First Books That Are Shoved in a Drawer Never to See the Light of Day!”  When writing these books, did you have a goal in mind?

My first-first book I wrote for my sister. She gave me the idea and the motivation. I pantsed it and didn’t  think about publication until after the fact. Then I sent out wildly premature queries, got rejected, and started learning about the industry.

My second-first book I wrote for the craft. I thought I was writing it to get it published, but really, it taught me how the eff to write. That book was also the start of my Super Plotter transformation.

On the story level, I wrote these books to get two people together. They’re romance, so about two folks who can’t be together, but end up with a happily ever after anyway.

Also aliens.


4.       What is your favorite electronic or digital writing tool?

Kindle/YouTube/Google+Wikipedia for research.

Actual writing: pahaha, I use Word. And only Word. It is NOT a favorite. In fact, I curse at it regularly. Someday I might invest in Scrivener or a like tool, but probably only when Word explodes on me. (Don’t do it Word, PLEASE. Must back up files now.)

5.       What is your favorite non-electronic writing tool?

My critique partners.

Oh wait, you meant an OBJECT. hahahah…right. Nearest pen and scrap piece of paper.

6.       So, now that you have an agent, can you describe this “stage” of your writing life?

On the surface it’s mostly the same. I get critiqued by Agent Sara (of Awesome), I consider the notes, and then I figure out ways to implement them without affecting the main thrust of the story. Once I go on submissions, doubtless the feelings will
change more into ZOMG THIS IS MADNESS WAIT WAIT WAIT ZOMG MUST REFRESH EMAIL.

But underneath that surface it’s more of a, “Wow. This is a job. Like, a legitimate job. That is some CRAZY SHIZNITS.” My mind = blown.

7.       What is the next step?

More edits. Submitting to editors. Write new book (I iz plotting, and it makes me so happy!). Lather, rinse, repeat.

8.       “She reads!”   What do you enjoy reading?  Who are some of your favorite authors?

YA: Fantasy, sci-fi/futuristic, dystopians, steampunk, and a little contemporary. I love Tamora Pierce. Everything she’s ever written. JK Rowling, OF COURSE. Neil Gaiman. On my more recent favs: Kristin Cashore, Elizabeth Bunce, Megan Whalen Turner, Suzanne Collins, and Scott Westerfeld.

Romance: Historical, fantasy/scifi. I grew up reading Johanna Lindsey, Stephanie Laurens, and Lisa Kleypas. Susan Grant is the lady who made me fall in love with futuristic. Robin D. Owens. Nowadays also Ashley March (though I’m biased about her =P), Courtney Milan, Sherry Thomas.

Literary: Japanese authors like Natsume Soseki and Murakami.

Non-fiction: History, politics, economics, and geeky tech stuff. Loved Kaku’s Physics of the Impossible, and somehow David McCollough actually made me like President Truman.

9.       “She bakes!”  Cheesecake, no less… has anything ever topped Tyler Florence’s Caramel Apple Cheesecake?

Yes. http://danazia.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/pumpkin-pie-socks/

I have about a ka-zillion recipes, and I’ve started coming up with my own. It’s a great de-stressor, and so rewarding to give them to folks and make their day.

10.   “She takes photos!”  You have some gorgeous photos on your flikr stream. Where did this talent come from? Is it more than a hobby?

Photography is a hobby, definitely. I know my skill isn’t good enough to make it a job. But it’s FUN.

It started because of a summer work at Ritz Cameras before I studied abroad in China for a year. You can’t work at a camera shop and not get into it. And then I went to China and all the photo opportunities there and, well…now I’ve got five lenses, a flash, hefty filters, and the yearning to buy a full-frame body in the next year. 😀

11.   Speaking of hobbies, every time I ask you, there seems to be more! Do you have a comprehensive list?

Photography.
Flamenco.
Japanese fan dancing.
Japanese taiko.
Judo.
Baking.
Video games.
D&D (though it’s hard to play on my island).
Studying languages.
Watching Glee. (Yes, that counts as a hobby, kthxbai.)

I think that’s comprehensive, but one never knows. There are lots of other things I like but don’t do consistently.

12.   Your blog is titled “The Flighty Temptress”.  How did you decide on that name?

The blog was originally a travel blog for my adventures in Japan. I’m addicted to Harry Potter, so the quote from Albus Dumbledore in book 6,

“And now Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure”

felt perfect. The kanji on my header photo is Japanese for adventure. Now the blog has become more of a chronicling of my life adventures, so I feel it remains more than appropriate.

13.   Have you ever shared your Sailormoon or Harry Potter fan fiction?

Well, you can still view some of it on fanfiction.net. It’s terrible, just to warn you. But also terribly heartfelt. I’m searchable via the name “Koneko,” I think, if you have a particular urge to burn your eyeballs :D.

14.   What is the JET Programme?

The Japanese Exchange and Teaching Programme. It’s run by the government of Japan, hiring then assigning foreigners to teach English. To apply you need to be a native English speaker and have a Bachelor’s degree.

Only downside–for some–is that once you’re hired, you don’t have a choice about where you’re placed in Japan. I’m in love with my epically rural island, but a lot of people go crazy without a city a hop-skip-jump away.

15.   Where do you live now, and what is your “day job?”

I live on an island between Kyushuu and Korea. It’s about 14km by 20km. Population of 30,000, and the majority of that is over 50. Most folks here are either fisherman, farmers, or in the service industry. The island is well known for its sushi, beef, and tobacco.

Also beaches. We have AMAZING beaches.

During the day, I teach elementary and middle school students how to pronounce “violin” or “very” and silly things like that. Also grammar, American history and culture, and Katy Perry songs.

16.   How did the earthquake and tsunami affect you and your community?

I live far from the epicenter and Tohoku, so the island wasn’t at all directly affected by the earthquake, tsunami, or nuclear reactors. However, many people on my island have relatives living in the area, so there has been a lot of concern and overall sympathy for their compatriots to the north. We’ve banded together and done a lot of fundraising and donations. It’s been quite uplifting, oddly enough.

17.   What is the water crisis?

Essentially, about 1 billion people on Earth don’t have access to clean water. That is, water that won’t give them infections diseases like cholera, dysentery, or hepatitis. Water affects everything we do–from growing food to going to school to getting jobs. So having safe water and good hygiene is one of the best ways to improve the quality of life in developing nations, send more children (especially girls) to school, and even improve the overall world economy.

18.   What is charity: water and how did you come to be involved with them?

charity: water is a New York based charity that is dedicated to providing access to clean water and also supporting hygiene education. They fundraise and find partners in the field to drill wells or build water projects. The best part is that 100% of public donations go directly to the field. I think that’s awesome because I know exactly where my money is going.

I found out about them via a blog ages ago (http://spreadchange.blogspot.com/2009/02/charity-water.html). I liked it because a mere $20–four lattes, two movie tickets, one DVD–can make such a huge difference. Twenty dollars saves a life. I donated, learned more, and then got a little addicted.

19.   Tell us about Crits for Water. What is the goal?

I want to raise $5000, which is the average amount to build a water project that can provide a community with access to clean water. And, because the writing community is full of awesome and has done so much for me (like being my friends!), I thought: wouldn’t it be nice to help other writers, too?

So I said, okay, if someone donates $1, I’ll crit 250 words. And because I have such a lofty goal, I figured I’d need some help. I found Special Guest Critters–agents, other authors, and editors. And so far we’re well on our way. I could not be more amazed and awed at everyone’s generosity.

20.   Who has been and will be participating in Crits for Water with you? How did they get involved?

You can view all the participants here (http://theflightytemptress.wordpress.com/crits-for-water-schedule/). So far, the mysterious Editorial Anonymous; agents Ann Behar and Marisia Corvisiero; authors Jodi Meadows and the Rejectionist have offered up crits, to name a few.

Highlights to come: agent Jo Volpe and my Super Agent Sara Megibow; some of my favorite authors–Courtney Milan, Ashley March, and Susan Dennard. The ladies of Let the Words Flow. And editors like Meghan Conrad (Ellora’s Cave), Liz Pelletier, and Ranty
Editor.

And nothing ever would have happened without my crit partners, Jess Lei, Susan Dennard, and Ashley March. They encouraged me to do this, helped me approach some of the contributors, and spread the word. Those three aren’t just writer-friends, but the best friends I couldn’t have even asked for. I am epically blessed.

And now that I’m so teary-eyed, I think I’ll be done.

website: http://katbrauer.com
blog: http://theflightytemptress.wordpress.com
twitter: http://www.twitter.com/katbrauer

Shortlink for this interview: http://wp.me/p1qnT4-7f

Posted in Interviews, Writing | 4 Comments

The Good Things People Do

Posted on May 6, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

I am constantly impressed by the good things that people do. Although there are plenty of people out there using social media for shameless self-promotion (heck, I do that daily!) there are also many who use it to spread the word about worthy causes.

Of course, there are the celebrities who have their favorite charities, as well as the cause of the moment.

Wil Wheaton is urging awareness for Safecast, which is concerned with monitoring radiation levels around Fukushima, Japan after the earthquake. He later tweets a different cause, “I’m one Wheaton who supports #OneWheaton.” In support of the community of LGBTQ & Allies of Wheaton College, IL.

Bonniegrrl let us know about an auction of a featured extra role on The Guild Season 5. It raised $3,300 for Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation.

Kirstie Alley has found a link to share that leads people to donate to help the recent victims of tornados in the southern US. She also shares other ways to help “SALVATION ARMY text GIVE to 80888 to donate $10 by phone bill. Call 1-800-SAL-ARMY (725-2769) or visit salvationarmy.usa.org”

Colin Hanks was also moved to use his celebrity for the same cause. “If you can, please text REDCROSS to 90999 and donate $10 for Tornado relief in the South.”

Carrie Ann Inaba has a charity she is supporting. “Who is registered for the May 7th EIF Revlon Run Walk for Women in LA? I will be there and I hope you will too! Get registered today!”

George Takei, the Trek King of the twitterverse, has recorded a ringtone of his trademark “OhMyyy!” with the proceeds benefit The Old Globe Theater in San Diego, and its production of Allegiance, a new musical that is an epic story of love, family and heroism during the Japanese American internment. “Shameless plugs! No, not The Donald’s hair, my OhMyyy ringtone!

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FROM ur iPhone: http://ow.ly/4KpWX Others: http://ow.ly/4KpX9#4Charity “

Astronaut Ron Garan is even thinking about clean water for the people of earth while he is in space. “RT #FromSpace @ONECampaign Dan @JarsofClay helps visualize what it means 2 bring clean H2O 2 1K communities in Africa http://bit.ly/lfyb7C “

More about clean water later… there is a very good reason for the timing of this post!

Besides the celebrities, there are also a host of writers and agents who are doing good deeds.

Brenda Novak’s Annual Online Auction for Diabetes Research is in full swing this month, and several people on my twitter feed have donated goods and services. Author Tiffany Reisz has donated a personalized love scene, and it’s up to $275 so far.  Agent Kristin Nelson has donated a 30 page read with a 5 day turnaround and follow up call. It is now up to $750.  Agent Sara Megibow donated an evaluation of first 30 pages, with a one month response time and a follow-up phone call. It’s up to $165 at the moment. Author Kristina Riggle has donated two of her books, autographed.

Other events are more activity-oriented. Tiffany Reisz, Ben Weibe, and Non Prophet are discussing doing a 5k run, perhaps Run for the Nun. Non Prophet also tweeted a link for another charity “Donate to charity through this site and the evil Richard Dawkins will pay the PayPal fees.”  Elysia Whisler tweets “Hubby thinks I run the Marine Corps Marathon because hot guys in BDUs hand me Gatorade. #heisright.”

And then there are those like Tymothy Longoria who are always retweeting for other writers, helping to spread the word about goals and accomplishments both large and small.

This week’s interview is with Kat Brauer. I started following her because one of the agents I follow signed her, and introduced her to the twitter crowd that follows the agency. Kat lives in Japan where she teaches English through the JET programe. She also has a fundraiser called Crits for Water, which raises money for charity:water. So stay tuned, and hear all about this fantastic writer and the good thing she does! 

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Posted in Writing | 2 Comments

Wealth

Posted on May 4, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

Wikimedia's image of the day... Bismuth!

Years ago, we had a foster child who would become overly agitated whenever he had to make a choice. For example, offering him cake or ice cream for dessert, he knew he would be missing out on one if he chose the other. It caused him an excessive amount of grief.

Recently on twitter, I’ve felt a lot like he must have felt. There is a wealth of great links and information there, especially for writers. Add in facebook, and I could easily spend the whole day doing nothing but reading reading reading! But I choose not to. And in the process, miss out on a lot of great stuff.

Jane Kindred just tweeted about a new blog post “Pride and prejudice: wherein I delve deep into the crazy and scare the nice people. http://bit.ly/lMqBO5“.  Must read!

Jenny Schwartz is on fire with links at the moment:

I see “Victorian”, but my mind reads it as “Steampunk potential”.

ow.ly

British Museum shop online
and more from Jenny…

By the Victoria and Albert Museum

Explore the enchanting world of Walter Crane in our new workshop series, Crafting the Collection. Join artist Rosalind Wyatt to create your own colourful design with calligraphy and childhood illustrations!Drop-in to the Sackler Centre for this free event on Saturday 14 May, 11-4pm.
Of course, I have no idea what city, state, or even COUNTRY the Sackler Centre is in, but the “re” instead of “er” clues me in that it’s not the USA. This is a problem with internet information. People often assume that “Everyone knows what the Sackler Centre is!” not realizing that people my stumble upon the information from all over the world, with no context. I could waste another 5 minutes or more figuring it out, but, why?

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And then Tiffany Reisz tweets “I have fallen in love with yet another Jewish guy.http://tinyurl.com/3ml3noq”  Yes, I click, thinking it’s just a moment of man-candy, but in fact it turns out to be a great article on a nice little moment for gay rights.

Daisy Harris tweets “Ha! Well, I got one thing right about the god Mercury. 🙂http://bit.ly/mpVXYV” but the link is just a Wikimedia image of the god, so I must follow-up-tweet. “Got what right? The shoes?” so she tweets back “Uh… higher up…” So I go back and look at the image again.  Oh… oh!

Amidst all this, I missed Sara Megibow‘s facebook offer “Have a publishing question? Open floodgates here on Facebook – comment your question here JUST FOR TODAY and I’ll do my best to answer them all….GO! :)” But that’s OK. There are plenty of people who’ve asked really great questions, and I enjoy reading through them all.

One last thing… last time I did a post about my twitter feed, the effervescent Scarlett Parrish asked that I pick something classy from her next time. So I prompted her. At first, I got a snarky “I CAN’T. I DO NOT KNOW THIS CLASSY YOU SPEAK OF.” in all caps. But the next tweet from Scarlett was quite inadvertently classy. “YOU GUYS. I just TOTLI finished editing STAY THE NIGHT.”

Congratulations Scarlett!  I dedicate this humble blog post to you.

Posted in Wikimedia, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

TRDC Pride

Posted on May 3, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

Normally I would put stories from The Red Dress Club prompts on Under Loch and Key, but that part of the blog is fiction, and this week’s prompt is definitely not.

Okay, here’s your chance.

For this week’s RemembeRED prompt, we’re borrowing a prompt from Writing the Memoir by Judith Barrington.

In her chapter “The Truth: What, Why, and How,” she asks her readers to:
“Tell the story (without any trivialization or modesty) of something in your life that you are proud of.”
Look easy? I’m guessing it will be a bit tougher than you think.
We are so used to downplaying ourselves, of apologizing for pointing out our own accomplishments. And? We’ll have none of that here!
Your word limit is 700 words.
Come back and link up on Tuesday, May 3rd.
Happy Remembering!
I have been writing fiction since Elementary school. About 5 years ago, I finished a novel-length children’s story for Scottish Highland Dancers. I did sent out one or two queries, but nothing came of it. It is a very niche market; they are good stories (I also wrote a couple more) but I just wasn’t ready to put the work into them that was required. I do intend to return to them someday, but that’s not where my energy is directed now.
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Last November (I know, I’ve blogged about this many times!) I took up the NaNoWriMo challenge. National Novel Writing Month is “Thirty Days and Nights of Literary Abandon”; a cooperative effort amongst the writing community to churn out a 50,000 word novel in one month. But with two kids, one of whom was not yet three and the other with special needs, time was not on my side.
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Hubby to the rescue! His only requirement was that, this time, I send it to an agent or publisher.
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I had recently been toying with a science fiction world, writing romance stories set in this future society. I had never actually finished any stories, although I had started several. I decided to use this world for NaNoWriMo, and started a brand new story line with all new characters.
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I reached 50,000 words well before the end of the month. I’m proud of that, and proud that I finished that first novel and it became Dogs, Cats, and Allergies. I’m proud that I researched agents, and found a path towards publication that is realistic, though a bit scary. I’m proud that I went on to finish two more novels (Although Under the Radar’s ending is mostly still in outline form, not fleshed out.)
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What I’m perhaps most proud of is the fact that I’m willing to look at these three novels, and realize that the stories might not be strong enough for publication. At least, not as an initial introduction to Kingdom Come. If (knock on wood) I am accepted by an agent and then a publisher and the first novel is successful enough to merit sequels, then these stories are perfect. And if they don’t ever see the light of day, I will know that the writing of them was not a waste, but a necessary step in the long and convoluted road.
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Posted in Kingdom Come, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Osama Bin Laden is Dead

Posted on May 1, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

Never in my life have I experienced such a tangible wave of collective consciousness.

I took a very brief break from my WIP to check twitter, and the news that President Obama was about to address the nation was on everyone’s proverbial lips. Thankful that I also follow NBC News, I only had to wait moments before they tweeted.

Yes, it’s not a rumor.  The President will address the nation at any minute… but what will he say? Rumors ran rampant. I quipped that perhaps President Obama was simply using his “major announcement” to interrupt Celebrity Apprentice and show Donald Trump who the real boss is!

I entered the stream of consciousness with hundreds of others, mostly Americans, but many from around the world. It was very odd to see the occasional tweet from someone who hadn’t heard the news yet. The news correspondents on the TV and live stream shared the same frustration “He’s not speaking 4 minutes from now, it will be 9 minutes from now…” and the time continues to be pushed back.

It’s after 11pm now on the east coast.  

More rumors surfaced, and were then confirmed by reliable news sources. “Osama Bin Laden is Dead” echoed virtually along with “The US has his body.” Twitter immediately lit up with ponderings and opinions, from those saying “But does this really change anything?” to those cheering and praising our armed forces.

Other rumors said that he was killed a week ago, but they were seeking DNA confirmation that it really was him. I applaud that, if it turns out to be true. This is something we really need to be sure of before it is announced to the world. This is a moment I will remember my whole life, just as I remember where I was when the Challenger and then later the Discovery exploded, and, as we all, where I was on 9-11.

During none of those events did I have anything resembling the lightning speed and collective consciousness of social media. But the collective consciousness is not in accord… there are those who are cheering the death of the “Unrepentant Mass Murderer”, and others who insist that cheering at a death, any death, is wrong. People are joking. People are praising God. People are cynical.

It is thirteen minutes after 11pm on the east coast, and still we wait. Talking heads on the news are filling the time. At any second, one of them is going to be interrupted by the announcement “Here is the President!” It’s like musical chairs; who is going to be the one who doesn’t get to finish their sentence?

I’ve copied and pasted cute or inspiring facebook statuses many times. But never have I seen every friend’s status on my recent newsfeed all saying the same thing. But it vacillates… friends in Australia are awake, but apparently haven’t heard, or at least they aren’t commenting yet.

Twitter is still abuzz.  

Emma tweets:

I buried my solider, my heart with him and I still see no reason to celebrate anyone’s death in this war or any other. Goodnight Twitter.

Anderson Cooper tweets:

My thoughts right now are with all those lost on 9-11, and all those killed by his followers in the years since.
Several people are referencing former President George W. Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” announcement 8 years ago.
Dee Tweets:
Maybe the Prez is making us wait ANOTHER 10 years for announcement?
Patrick, who is barely old enough to remember 9-11 has as his facebook status:
Goodbye Osama. We aren’t gonna miss you one damn bit.
We’re getting all kinds of background information now, and I appreciate that NBC, my own choice tonight for instant news, isn’t indulging in speculation. Bryan Williams is saying the announcement is “within minutes” now.
Who will win musical chairs?
Another tweet has been retweeted so many times it’s hard to tell where it started:
Here’s to hoping he didn’t make any horcruxes… #BinLaden
If you didn’t get the Harry Potter reference, I’m afraid I don’t have time to explain it right now. It’s 11:35 and President Obama just said “Good Evening.”

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Endeavor

Posted on May 1, 2011 by AmyBeth Inverness

Behind closed eyes, fate is left at the shaking hands of our imaginations. Places new and amazing remain unseen. The feel of hearts racing in the anticipation of a dream.

I write what would be classified as “Soft Science Fiction.”  You will not find anyone yelling “Captain! The reactor’s about to blow! We must do something or the galaxy is doomed!”

Yet, still, it is Sci-Fi, andtherefore based on an extrapolation of real science.

Today, we’re standing at the edge of “the next thing”, but we’re so close to it, we can’t see it. The space shuttle Endeavor is sitting on the launchpad, ready to fly mission STS-134. It will be the last flight of the fleet, ever. NASA astronauts Mark Kelly, commander; Gregory H. Johnson, pilot; Michael Fincke, Andrew Feustel, Greg Chamitoff and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori, all mission specialists, are waiting to fly one last time before the shuttles go to their final resting places in New York, Virginia, Florida, and the California Science Center in Los Angeles where Endeavor herself will retire. The shuttle was supposed to launch Friday, the same day Prince William married Kate Middleton, but it has been delayed several times and we are currently waiting to hear just when this epic launch will actually take place.

So, what happens next? Can we get a sneak peek at the next page? Because, career-wise, this is really important to me! How can I write about humanity hanging a left when it turns out that, in my own lifetime, we really took a right? I need to know!

One answer is NASA’s Constellation Program. There are also all kinds of private endeavors reaching through the atmosphere, supposedly making space more accessible to the common man. I have mixed feelings about this… I want my own government to keep moving out into space, not give up! But although the shuttles are done (They did live much longer than intended, though their successors never made an appearance,) I don’t think the U.S. is “giving up”. Whatever one’s personal feelings towards the current administration in all three branches of government, we’re not grounded. But with the uncertainty of placing the reins in the hands of so many private companies, each with their own goals and agendas, it’s difficult for us as a people to get behind any particular one. Some of us want to cheer. We need to cheer. We need to feel that, even though we are writers and bankers and massage therapists, that we are some small part of this shared reach out into space.  

Could someone please extrapolate our science just a bit more for me? Please? Because I see great things beyond the next horizon, but I just can’t figure out how we get there.

I want to know.

I want to go.

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