In which I attempt to reconcile certain implications from "The Doctor's Wife" (and my previous story, Grand Theft Gallifrey) with events as portrayed in "The Name of The Doctor."

"After all, that's how it all started."

Title: "The Right Place at the Right Time"
Author: HawkMoth
Characters: The Doctor, Susan, Clara
Word Count: 653
Rated: G
Spoilers: "The Name of The Doctor"
Summary: She has to make a start, so it might as well be at the very beginning.

No archiving, please. (c) HawkMoth, 5/22/2013. Comments appreciated! Bonus points if you can ID that quote! And thank you, Mr. Moffat, for the borrowed dialogue.

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Bashir rescues a cop chasing a criminal. The criminal himself dies -- OR DOES HE???? Plus Odo gets bitchy about the new Starfleet security guy as the DS9 Rewatch boards "The Passenger."

An excerpt:

Kira and Bashir are returning from a medical mission in a runabout. Kira makes the mistake of complimenting Bashir on his work, which leads to Bashir saying he can’t hear Kira over the sound of how awesome he is. Kira’s snotty reply is cut off by a distress call. They respond to it and find a woman unconscious. Bashir revives her; she says that the pilot’s dead. She’s transporting a prisoner, who sabotaged the ship. Bashir tries to treat him, but he dies—after grabbing Bashir’s throat and saying, “Make me live.”

Originally published at Rhonda Eudaly. You can comment here or there.

So, welcome to Wednesday. The last Wednesday of my insane 7-day-a-week, multiple jobs schedule. I approach it with both joy and sadness (you’ll understand more why on Friday because that’s more a spotlight post). And then it’s back to the normal levels of chaos in my life.

But this week let’s talk about the Paying Forward concept. This is a concept I learned when I began writing – and though for the most part, it’s part of the Golden Writing Rule. Sometimes there’s still a “It’s my club and you can’t play” attitude, but most of the writers I’ve met are secure enough to help out new writers. This is the paying forward idea. That we creatives can’t pay BACK those who’ve paved the way – because they are beyond us already on the food chain (there’s a caveat, but I’ll get to that) so we pay Forward by helping others as we’ve been helped.

That’s what a lot of panels are about in conventions. But it also applies to other places. It’s part of why I write this particular part of my blog. And it’s why I talk to almost anyone anywhere. New writers often feel completely alone and like they’re inventing the wheel – when baby, by now, where we’re going we don’t need wheels.

I love the fact Selina Rosen put out I Didn’t Quite Make It to OZ as a companion to I Should’ve Stayed in OZ. I almost promote the companion more than the actual anthology. Why? Because it’s a tool I wish I had starting out. She explains before each story WHY it didn’t make it into the “official” anthology. The generic rejection is “Not Quite Right” but that can mean so many things – the rarest reason being “you suck”. If you write or aspire to write… GET THIS BOOK. Right now. You want an insight into an editor’s mind… here it is.

Why else do I talk to aspiring writers? Selfish beast I am… I hope someday if one of those people DOES become the next JK Rowling or Stephanie Meyer (regardless of what you think of their quality) I want them to TAKE ME WITH THEM. Because let’s face it, we don’t know who the next superstar is going to be. Why take the chance?

Besides, we can all use good will/karma/what-have-you in the world. And it’s all part of the universal law of “Don’t Be A Jerk”. These new writers aren’t my competition. They’re my inspiration. I was them not too long ago. So hats off to you – get writing. Get submitting. And I look forward to sharing Table of Contents with you down the road.

Lindy DeKoven wasn't my typical student.

She walked into my UCLA Extension class and made it clear that she was not only going to write the three chapters I assign in class--but she was going to finish the book.

Almost no one finishes the book.  In all the classes I've taught, I can count on one hand the number of students who've actually finished writing their books.  Because, as we all find out when we decide to actually sit down and try to do it, writing books is hard work.  But even back in the beginning, before she wrote a word, I could tell: Lindy wasn't kidding.  I don't think there's a single thing she couldn't do if she decided she was going to do it.

She didn't just finish the book.  She finished it in about four months.  Then, just as she'd told me she would, she sold it.  And it comes out today.  HOW COOL IS THAT?

Because Lindy, much like the character she writes about in her debut, Primetime Princess, is pretty much a force of nature.

High heels, hijinks, and head honchos in Hollywood

Alexa Ross has risen to the top of the Hollywood boys’ club. As the vice president of comedy development at Hawkeye Broadcasting System, Alexa has put her early years working as an assistant to Jerry Kellner, her sex-crazed former boss, behind her.

However, nepotism lands Jerry a plum spot at HBS…reporting to Alexa! Soon Jerry’s malicious behavior is destroying everything good in Alexa’s life, from the young student she tutors to the romance she thought she’d never find. Can Alexa win the battle for ratings and break through the glass ceiling, even if it destroys her—and everything she loves?

Sharp, witty, and heartwarming, Primetime Princess is an unforgettable sneak peek into the exclusive behind-the-scenes drama that occurs over the course of one TV development season.

Here's what I wrote about the book after I read it (in a great big rush one Sunday afternoon, because I couldn't bear to put it down, so desperate was I to know how it ended):

"Lindy DeKoven's brilliant debut manages to be a rollicking insider's tour behind the scenes of the Hollywood game, a searing indictment of the entrenched Boys' Club that dominates the industry, and a really great story about heroine Alexa Ross and her journey into the heart of that darkness--not just up the corporate ladder at the possible cost of all she holds dear, but toward a better understanding of who she is and what she wants out the life she's worked so hard to build. This is one of my favorite books this year!" —Megan Crane, author of I Love the 80s and Once More With Feeling

I love this book, and I love Lindy.  So to celebrate, I'm giving away two signed copies of the book.

Here's me and Lindy (holding one of the books I'm giving away, in fact) at her launch party this past weekend:



Want a copy?  You know you do.  Just tell me what your favorite TV show is in the comments, and I'll pick two winners on Friday.

(Want the book desperately but afraid you won't win? You can buy your copy here.)

As I mentioned a while ago, my short story "Centuries of Kings" is going to be in the charity anthology Neverland's Library, whose sales will benefit the literacy charity First Book.

Before it can do that, though, the anthology has to be funded. You can find them over at Indiegogo -- note that this is a "flexible funding" campaign, which means all pledges will be honored, even if the project doesn't make its goal. You can also see updates over there, with shiny things like the cover art (which is really, really lovely). If you scroll down the project page, you can also find a list of the contributing authors -- the ones accepted so far, that is, as submissions are still open.

So click around, and if you like what you see, lend them (us) your support. You get good stories and a good cause out of it. :-)

This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/588952.html. Comment here or there.

Because it's been a few minutes since I last posted any....











This one's my favorite:

Originally published at Rhonda Eudaly. You can comment here or there.

I spent this weekend at Dallas Comic Con. The Stainless Steel Sharpie pen is my signing pen. It’s the only one I use when I sign anymore because it really does work on all kinds of paper/material. I’ve even introduced it to a couple of artists.

I am completely brain mush and there’s weather… so enjoy the repeat…because it bears repeating.

——
After I wrote last week’s review of the new Sharpie Pen RT design, a Twitter follower asked if I’d tried the Stainless Steel Sharpie pen. I told him that the pen was in the queue to review, and decided to go ahead and just get it done. And now, back-to-back Sharpie reviews.

I picked up two before Christmas for our Christmas Stockings – my husband and I both wanted one – at WalMart. We wanted to try these since we have the Stainless Steel Fine Point Markers. A quick note about the Stainless Steel Sharpies – they may cost more initially than regular Sharpies, but they’re worth it. 1. They’re refillable, so you’re only investing in refills. 2. They’re a lot less likely to “wander” because they are quite noticeable. I tell stories about how many Sharpie markers I had go on tour with musicians because they were “permanently borrowed”. That doesn’t happen (yet) with the Stainless Steel ones.

So, the Sharpie Stainless Steel Pen…They’re porous point – which I mentioned in my last review are my least favorite points. I bend them, fray them, and eventually destroy them. But this one seems pretty durable, for what it is. The refill is one solid piece of work with a rubber “comfort” grip and a seemingly large ink reserve. The ink flows smoothly, doesn’t feather, skip, or bleed (as promised on packaging). The barrel is well constructed and balanced. The ridge where the refill meets the barrel is far enough back on grip to only be occasionally in the way or annoying.

The Stainless Steel pens are NOT retractable. They are capped and are just over 5.75″ capped. They’re about 6.5″ long with the cap posted. And here’s the thing, though the cap posts securely – I was bored and shook it to make sure, it doesn’t fly off – the cap doesn’t “lock” so it can LOOK wobbly and off center when posted. It doesn’t affect balance or feel, but it looks weird. But I LOVE the length and heft. This pen feels good in my hand.

Grading:
1. How does it write? – 1 – for a porous point. It performs well. Smooth flow, lives up to promise.

2. Grip and feel – 1 – the ‘comfort’ grip is actually comfortable, soft but firm. It’s also a good diameter to be comfortable in my hand. Well-balanced. Took a long time to fatigue.
3. Material – 1 – solid design and craftsmanship. We’ve had the first fine points for a while and the stainless has held up well to purse and bag battering without scratching or tarnish. The refills are a solid piece and don’t leak.
4. Overall Design – .5 – the ridge where the refill meets the barrel does SOMETIMES get in the way and dig into the thumb webbing.
5. Price Point – .5 – the initial outlay can be a bit pricey. The initial cost is ~$5-$7 depending where you find them. The refills tend to run about $2.00. It’s not outrageous, but something to consider.

Overall – 4 Bronze Pencils out of 5.

I (and the art-reward backers) have gotten two images of Lindsay Archer's progress on the novel cover, and I'm getting very excited about where she's headed. It's going to be a fantastic conclusion to the trilogy!

But speaking of the trilogy, I now have in hand the re-edits from Shawn Merwin for book 1. Within the next month, I will be able to take those edits and turn the newly revised manuscript into an e-book. I told Shawn that the red showing on the first two pages was a little intimidating, but he promised me it cleans up after that.

In the meantime, I've been keeping busy on the autobio project, writing obituaries, and working on my next Choice of Games project, a Western with a little bit of mystery to it. The autobios this batch are tremendously exciting. I've gotten to work with Jim Hines on an original essay that had the same balance of laugh-out-loud and heart-wrenching I've come to expect from his novels. Joseph Bruchac did a fantastic update about his years in Africa, Pat Cummings provided amazing graphics from her illustration process for her update, and Eloise Greenfield wrote about, among other things in her update, filming her "Grandma Rap." I always enjoy working on the autobio project, but this batch has been especially fun, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the final results once they hit the online databases.



Between review books, I'm also reading the finalists for the Mythopoeic Society's Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards. I've really enjoyed being on the jury for both the children's and adult lists over the past few years, and there are a bunch of really good ones up this year.

Reading anything good lately?

By that title, I don't just mean "I'll be going to X place during June" -- I mean I'll be in X place for essentially the entirety of June.

Some of you may be familiar with Duke TIP. (Others of you may know the very similar CTY instead.) This is a program I participated in as a kid; when I was twelve, I went to Davidson for three weeks to read and talk about science fiction short stories. The next year it was marine biology in Galveston; then it was tropical ecology in Costa Rica; then geology and a bit of archaeology in New Mexico. TIP is probably the single coolest thing I got to do during my adolescence.

And now I'm going back, this time on the other side of things. I'm heading off to North Carolina in early June to teach a creative writing course, focused on SF/F/H. It will be ridiculously intense: class runs for two three-hour blocks every day, M-F, and another block on Saturday morning. That's thirty-three hours of instruction per week, for three weeks straight. It's "Clarion for twelve-year-olds."

I'm not only allowed, I'm expected to make this the most awesome and challenging three weeks those kids have ever seen. We're talking about seventh- and eighth-graders who have scored a 570 or better on the verbal portions of the SAT. Want to know what I'm giving them for a "how to write" textbook? Delany. I'll be lecturing a bit, but there will be much more in the way of discussion, and they'll be doing writing exercises until their brains fall out. My challenge will be to figure out how to pace things such that they get enough variety to keep the brain-falling-out stage from happening too soon.

I won't be blogging the process as I go, because I don't think that would be appropriate. But I'll probably have thoughts about it after the fact, and I'll certainly share my syllabus/readings/etc. In the meantime, if I'm less chatty online than usual during June, you'll know why.

It's because my brain will be on the floor, along with those of my students. :-)

This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/588755.html. Comment here or there.

As has become traditional, Dark Quest Books is doing a big-ass book launch at Baltcon 47. One of the books being catapulted into existence is Tales from Dragon Precinct, a collection of short stories that have been brought together into the fourth book in the acclaimed series of fantasy police procedurals.

The party will be held at Frankie & Vinnie's in the Hunt Valley Inn in Hunt Valley, Maryland on Sunday 26 May 2013 from 7-9pm. There'll be food and drink and merriment and readings and an auction of Cool Stuff.

Books being launched include:

The Redcaps' Queen: A Bad-Ass Faerie Tale by Danielle Ackley-McPhail
Ending: The Fourth Book in the Laurian Pentology by Danny Birt
Three Chords of Chaos: A Bad-Ass Faerie Tale by James Chambers
Tales from Dragon Precinct by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Fantastic Futures 13, edited by Robert E. Waters & James R. Stratton

Plus other DQB releases:
A Legacy of Stars by Danielle Ackley-McPhail
Flesh and Iron, edited by Michael Amorel & Neal Levin
Ending an Ending, Beginning, and Beginning an Ending by Danny Birt
Tales from the Pulp Side by Michael A. Black & Ray Lovato, John L. French, and Patrick Thomas
Dragon Precinct, Unicorn Precinct, and Goblin Precinct by Keith R.A. DeCandido
The Devil of Harbor City by John L. French
To Hell in a Fast Car, edited by John L. French
Defending the Future: Best-Laid Plans, edited by Mike McPhail

Most of the above-listed authors are scheduled to be there, as well as several contributors to the various anthologies, among them Jack Campbell, Myke Cole, Judi Fleming, Charles E. Gannon, Elektra Hammond, Eric V. Hardenbrook, C.J. Henderson, Bernie Mojzies, Christine Norris, KT Pinto, James Daniel Ross, Alex Shvartsman, Maria V. Snyder, John C. Wright, and Jeff Young.