Category: story

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Come-From-Aways

  By books, ebooks, projects, publishing, science fiction, story

My January release is live! It’s a standalone short story about small towns, strangers, and friends, and you can find it at your favourite retailer by following this link.

Mac Laidlaw returned to his small hometown after a decade away, with big plans to build a theme park and put the place “on the map.”

​​​​​​​For Louise Coldbrook, the town’s mayor (and Mac’s one-that-got-away), Mac’s plans are nothing but bad news. The town has a good thing going–a very, very secret good thing–and the last thing they want is attention from the rest of the world. But Mac’s not a man to take no for an answer…not this time, anyway. And certainly not without a really good explanation, which is the last thing Louise can offer him.

​​​​​​​Not if she wants to keep the town’s secret safe.

It’s just .99 across all platforms, so what are you waiting for? :)

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The Swamp Cat and the Reckless Scout

  By ebooks, new releases, story

New short story out today in ebook format (across all platforms!).

Captain Stel Aurora of the Reckless Scout is on a routine ScoutGuard mission when the emergency call comes in – the men of a remote research station are disappearing, possibly kidnapped. The “swamp planet” Inderani B boasts a humid climate, voracious insects…but no other inhabitants, and not many clues to the vanished researchers. It’s a race against time for Aurora and her crew as they delve into the secrets of the jungle, and the mysterious swamp cats who might hold the answers to it all.

This story first appeared in Engen Books’ Pulp Science Fiction from the Rock earlier this year.

Get the ebook for just .99 from your favourite retailer here!

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Flights From The Rock takes Flight!

  By books, current projects, ebooks, new releases, story, submissions

The upcoming anthology from Engen Books, Flights From The Rock, goes on pre-order today and you want to get yours!  This short fiction celebration of all types of flight (but particularly those with a speculative flavour) releases July 14th, 2019, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first non-stop Trans-Atlantic flight from Newfoundland (AKA the Rock) to Ireland. (And just look at that sweet cover art by Kit Sora!)

When the call for submissions for this anthology went out, it caught my imagination and I really wanted to write a story for it. I’d done some peer review work last year with ArtsNL, the Newfoundland and Labrador arts organization, and had spent a good bit of time looking at maps of NL. There’s still much of the province that seems gloriously empty, and it would have been even more so a hundred years ago. Enough empty land, I wondered, to shelter something big…like really, really big…like…dragons? (cue dramatic music). I mean, once man began taking to the skies, they would have become rather crowded for creatures trying to fly under the radar (pun thoroughly intended). Newfoundland might have seemed a great place to escape to…until the Trans-Atlantic air race brought the annoying flying machines even there.

Thus was born my story, “Unquiet Skies,” a tale of a boy, a dragon, and the Trans-Atlantic air race, which you’ll find along with twenty-six others in this anthology of alternate histories, adventures of lost planes, steampunk tales, modern epics, and more. The book opens for pre-orders today at just $2.99, and could reach the Amazon bestsellers list, as others in the From The Rock series have done. So if you’re interested in stories that showcase “the invention, imagination, and prestige that brought us to the skies,” this book is for you! Order today and help us reach bestseller status!

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International Day of the Girl

  By books, ebooks, story

Today, October 11, has been designated “International Day of the Girl” by the United Nations. The theme of the day is “With Her: A Skilled Girl Force,” and it’s meant to draw awareness to girls as they “inspire, innovate, and take charge of their own future.” Although many girls face adversity and roadblocks to education, entry into the workforce, and access to information and resources, they continue to persist, resist, and make their voices heard.

I wanted to do a little something to mark International Day of the Girl, so I chose one of my stories about a smart and capable girl and made it free for the day. “Trench 42” introduces us to Amari, living with her scientist parents on a deep-sea research station and loving the creatures that live in Earth’s largely unexplored depths. Amari makes a discovery, however, that could change the world…

“Trench 42” first appeared in the 2017 Young Explorer’s Adventure Guide from Dreaming Robot Press, part of an anthology series that is working hard to provide young readers with diverse, fun, and empowering science fiction.

Click here to find your free download of “Trench 42”!

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Workshop News ~ Exploring Speculative Fiction

  By character development, maps, plotting, publishing, revision, self-publishing, story, submissions, WFNS, workshops, writer development

I’m happy to announce that I’ll be presenting a workshop at the end of May in Truro, NS. This is my “Exploring Speculative Fiction” workshop that I did in Antigonish last spring, to *ahem* glowing reviews. Here’s the description:

In this workshop, we’ll explore the map of the many different paths through the landscape of speculative fiction. We’ll talk about what makes a story speculative, tropes and expectations, and what it takes to make a good speculative story work. We’ll discuss the importance in SpecFic of three strong and interconnected story pillars (idea, character, and plot) and the best ways to approach building the world of your story. Finally, we’ll explore paths to finding speculative fiction ideas in the mundane world, and some helpful tools in the pursuit of professional publication in these genres.

This workshop is for anyone interested in writing speculative fiction, whether you’ve already begun your journey, or would simply like to learn more about the genre’s terrain.

The workshop is scheduled for May 26th, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Colchester-East Hants Public Library, 754 Prince St, Truro, NS. The cost of the workshop is $150, but if you’re a WFNS member, you can sign up for just $90. We had a ton of fun at the last session, so think about joining us!

P.S. If you leave this workshop without at least one new story idea, you’re just not trying. ;)

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A Reincarnation

  By books, character development, covers, current projects, ebooks, editing, plotting, reviews, revision, rewrite, self-publishing, story, writer development

For a number of years, I ran a couple of successful email courses through The Scriptorium; one was called “The Two-Week Short Story” and the second was “Short Story Workshop for One.” People seemed to enjoy them and I received a lot of very positive feedback from students. The first was (rather obviously) a guide to coming up with a story idea and writing a quick, complete first draft, all in a two-week period. The Workshop was a method for writers who found it difficult to get feedback or critiques to work on developing the kind of critical eye needed to help them improve their stories on their own. The Short Story Workshop itself grew out of an article I had published in Speculations back in 2001, so it had already lived through one reincarnation. It occurred to me that they’d both probably translate well into short ebooks now, and that I might reach a new group of aspiring writers in that format.

Never one to let a good idea fail to distract me from what I’m really *supposed* to be doing, I set to work and did some revising, tweaking, and re-formatting. Also, cover design, since every good ebook deserves a good e-cover. I’m not quite ready to release the ebooks yet, since they need one more good going-over, but I’m thinking within a week or so they’ll be ready to go. But I can share those covers with you now (they might get a little more tweaking, but I think they’re pretty much done):

I expect to price the ebooks around $1.99, which will be a bargain considering the courses used to sell for $8.00 each! However, I did have the hassle of setting up the email schedule, so compared to that, selling ebooks is easy. I believe I’ll test these in Kindle Select at first, and then move to a broader platform after that, as my marketing experimentation continues.

If you or someone you know is looking for some story inspiration and motivation, or have a story that needs some intensive self-workshopping, I’ll be posting here when they’re released. Maybe you’ll find them useful!

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Submission Planning Sheet

  By projects, publishing, revision, story, submissions, writing life

It takes a while to get a story ready for submission–there’s a lot of rewriting, revising, editing, polishing, and agonizing to arrive at that point where you give yourself the green light — your project is ready to send out into the world. The act of submitting is not an easy one for every writer, often fraught with self-doubt, trepidation, and  anxiety. Trying to decide where to send your story can seem like a huge, time-intensive chore, which has to be revisited after every rejection (usually when we least feel like doing it!).

What you, the writer, need — is a plan. A submission plan for your story that will help you easily decide on the best markets to target and which ones to try first, and also let you turn rejections around quickly into new submissions. No more going back to pore over the market lists every time a story comes back; no more agonizing over where to send you work; no more letting a story lie fallow on your hard drive for weeks or months while you regather the will, nerve, or gumption to figure out where to send it next.

Enter the Submission Planning Sheet. I’ve kept one of these for years (inspired by an old article by my friend writer Terry Hickman) using this method, but I’ve recently updated it to an Excel spreadsheet from my old pen-and-paper method. I thought I’d share it here for any writers struggling with keeping their stories in submission. You can use it for as many stories as you’d like by simply adding a new page/sheet for each story. It comes with instructions and some sample data, and I hope you’ll find it useful.

You can download the spreadsheet file directly from my site right here:

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Submission Planner Spreadsheet v. 2

1 file(s) 22.98 KB
Download

The spreadsheet is free, but if you find it useful and feel so inclined, you can show your appreciation with a small donation – buy me a cup of coffee? You’ll keep me fuelled for creating more useful things like this. :) [wpedon id=3498]

 

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Illustration Friday – Fable

  By art, story, writer development

A number of years ago, (*looks back, sees it was 2007, faints*) we did the Illustration Friday challenge for a while. The challenge is a topic (usually just a word) which you then illustrate in whatever medium you’d like. At that time I was doing a lot of colored pencil, so most of my projects were small, AECO size (2.5″ x 3.5″) attempts. Most of them are still online over here. It was a lot of fun, although the results…varied. *Side note: the IF challenges also make good writing prompts!

I’ve been thinking I’d like to get back into the art groove, so I looked up this week’s IF prompt and it was “Fable.” Which, of course, appealed to my writerly side, and I started thinking about how stories come in so many shapes and sizes and often have deep roots from which they grow.  This time I went digital and also indulged in my love of typographical art to come up with the image. I got some help and inspiration from the tutorial here, and then went my own way with it. I really like the result! It took a couple of hours (with various interruptions) but I think it’s good to engage the art brain and let the writing brain rest sometimes. I hope I’ll get back into the habit of Illustration Friday for a while again. I’m also enjoying the art videos posted by Mary Doodles on her YouTube channel, but my watercolor skills are currently non-existent. Maybe someday…

In the meantime, here’s my take on “Fable.”

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November 11th Musings

  By current projects, musings, NaNoWriMo, story, writer development, writing life

Poppies by Benoit Aubry of Ottawa

This morning I walked “into town” to observe the Remembrance Day ceremony. I do actually live in the town, by the way, but on the outer edge, and going “into town” has always been the family nomenclature. I had planned to walk with some others of my family, but due to this and that I ended up going alone with a new plan to meet them there. It was a sunny morning, and the wind held a jagged edge–but, hey, it’s November in Cape Breton–and altogether lovely for walking.

Since I was alone and hadn’t taken my headphones to listen to music, I set my mind, as I walked, to the problem facing me in my current novel project. Which, coincidentally, had to do with war. The question I have been trying to answer is basically, how can a small group of people stop an interstellar war?

The obvious answer, I suppose, is: they can’t. But this is fiction, and that wasn’t the answer I wanted. I wanted an answer that involved cooperation, and determination, and compassion, and alien races working together. I just couldn’t seem to find the right way to make all those pieces fit together into what also has to be a good story.

So I mulled it over as I walked, and I thought a bit about war, and a bit about my Great Uncle John, who fought in the Second World War and did come home, if a changed man. I thought about the characters in my book, and what’s just happened and is happening in the United States, and about other wars and other places and other stories. And I came back to my characters and all the bits of the novel that have already been set in motion.

And. I think it worked. By the time I met up with my family members, some very important story pieces had fallen into place, and others had revealed how they could work together, and new pieces had appeared, too. I didn’t quite dance in the street since it would have seemed quite disrespectful under the circumstances. But I felt much better than I had about the story in a while.

There isn’t really a moral to this story, but I suppose if there is one for writers, it’s that sometimes you have to give your brain a quiet place to churn, and let it go. Maybe it means a change of scenery or activity, maybe it means a nap or just a break from staring disconsolately at the screen. Maybe it’s not forcing ideas, but nudging your thoughts in a certain direction and letting them run, instead of staring at an outline that isn’t working any more. Maybe it’s a walk on a sunny, windy day, alone with your thoughts and a question to be answered. If you’re stuck, try all of these things, and more, if that’s what it takes. The pieces will fall into place.

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A Mystery Unearthed

  By books, personal & miscellaneous, reading, story, Uncategorized, writer development

  
This little gem came to light yesterday and generated a thrill of memory for me. This book was one of my favorites when I was young, and I would consider it a foundational influence on my reading and writing tastes.

It was probably one of my first introductions to “mystery” as a genre, and features a lot of story in its slim 80 pages. Kidnapping in the name of love! Trial by jury! Prison and escape! Vengeance and redemption! I read it countless times and I’m not sure what ever happened to the copy that lived at our house, but I’m sure glad to have one again now. 

I think I’ll curl up and read it today. :)