Marketing for Romance Writers’ Blog Features “To Survive the Maelstrom” as part of #Thursday13
Folks, I’d asked to be part of the meme known as #Thursday13 at Marketing for Romance Writers’ busy blog a while ago. I thought letting some folks know about “To Survive the Maelstrom” would be interesting. And all they wanted was for me to post up to thirteen lines of the manuscript…so what could be simpler?
So if you’ve not read any of “To Survive the Maelstrom” yet, please go over there and read a bit about Command Sergeant-Major Peter Welmsley of the Atlantean Union. Peter was once my late husband Michael’s character, and I found his story so compelling, I wanted to know more.
That’s why I decided to write the story of how Peter meets his empathic companion, a sentient, sapient being known as a weremouse. I knew that someone who’d been so damaged as to need a complete epidermal regeneration must have a story to tell. And fortunately, I was able to figure out what, exactly, that story was.
Peter’s dilemma, you see, is one of many soldiers who come home, realizing the world around them has changed. Or at least the way they perceive the world around them has changed. They are ill in spirit, even if they might’ve been healed in body, and most of them aren’t fortunate enough to find something as accepting, loving and nurturing as a weremouse.
In fact, Peter’s struggles with his own family are alluded to, because they truly don’t seem to understand just how bad he feels. He’s lost nearly everyone he worked with; he lost his fiancée; he lost his best friend. And underneath it all, he feels guilty for surviving — and yet, if he didn’t survive, who would remember his friends? Who would remember Hunin? Who would remember to tell their stories as well as his own?
As a widow, I felt powerfully driven to write this story — not just to complete my late husband Michael’s work (which admittedly is a compelling motivation all on its own), but because I empathized with Peter.
No, I don’t have post-traumatic stress disorder, as Peter almost certainly does. No, I’ve never served in the military (though I was a military wife at one time, and they make enormous sacrifices that mostly go unnoticed). No, if Michael had lived, I probably wouldn’t have done more than edit for my husband, and talk with him about the possibilities here.
But as my life has changed profoundly due to being widowed too young, I understood where Peter was coming from. He’s a full adult. He had his life all planned out. He knew what he wanted, and he knew how to get it.
Then, in one day, everything changed. And he had to pick up the pieces.
Fortunately for Peter, a weremouse is about to change his life for the better. But that does not at all mean Peter doesn’t still have scars — many in places that do not show.
Anyway, I hope you will enjoy my story. (If you’re really sharp, you might even figure out what parts Michael wrote, and what parts I did. Though they’re not obvious…at least, I hope not.)
It’s available now at Amazon, and I hope in a few months’ time to have it up also at Smashwords and BN.com. Do let me know what you think of it.
Tuesday Morning Roundup…and “Changing Faces” Update
Folks, I have been astonished by the number of visitors to my blog over the past few days.
Who knew that writing a blog about editors winning no awards whatsoever at the Hugo Awards would be so popular?
That said, I figured I’d give you an update as to where I’m at with CHANGING FACES, and maybe talk about a few other things.
My final edit/rewrite of CHANGING FACES is in train. I hope to have it back to my publisher in a month’s time. (It may go longer. It’s hard to say right now.) I hope to hit my publishing window of late October…we already have great cover art, the blurbs have been written, and now it’s up to me to make all changes.
As for why I didn’t do this before? Simple. Two books came up needing changes at the same time. One had a release date before the other. So, naturally, I took care of the book with the earlier release date first.
I’ve been told that A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE will soon have cover art. (Yes, that’s the book I took care of first. I’d hoped that it would come out this past spring, or maybe early in the summer, but the timing just hasn’t aligned thus far.) So I should hit my mid-to-late September window there.
It’s been interesting to do the last-minute touch-ups on A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE, which is of course a young adult urban fantasy novel, and also the intensive work on CHANGING FACES — a transgender romance with alien entities that may just be angels. (So, technically, a fantasy romance. But a transgender fantasy romance. Clear as mud, yes?)
Plus, I finished up a short story for an anthology, I looked over another few stories (as I am pondering what, if anything, I can try at the Writers of the Future contest, as I remain eligible and hope springs eternal), finished up the summer season with the Racine Concert Band, finished an intensive edit for a client…
In other words, the usual.
“So, Barb, when are you going to get back to reviewing over at Shiny Book Review, hmm?”
I hope to have something later this week. I’ve had three or four books ready to go for a while now–but while I was working on both novels, I just didn’t have any time whatsoever for it.
Now that I’m back down to working on one novel, I hope I’ll be able to carve out a bit of time.
Anyway, that’s my update…stay tuned.
Nightmare at the Hugo Awards: No Award “Wins” Five Times…including for Best Editor Categories
Folks, right now, I’m not happy. As a writer and editor, I look forward to the Hugo Awards ceremony every year to see what other people active in science fiction and fantasy think of other writers and editors.
This year, apparently the other active writers and editors in my field think that no awards at all should be given out to editors. Because that’s what “won” at the Hugos this year — No Award — in both “best editor, short form” and “best editor, long form.” (These were two of the results of the 2015 Hugo Awards; go take a look at the rest if you are so inclined. I’ll wait.)
Look. I understand that the SF&F community has been rent asunder over the past few years. But one thing I thought everyone could all agree on was that books do not produce themselves.
To have a book that reads well, you need not only a good writer with an interesting plot and some excellent characterization, but a highly competent editor to pull the story into its best-possible form.
Why? Well, the best writers in the world can and often do make mistakes, and it’s up to your handy-dandy, trustworthy, hard-working editor to fix them.
The people who were nominated for Hugo Awards all have a great deal of experience as editors behind them. None of them were people who just came in off the street and started editing yesterday; most have edited for at least ten years, and some a great deal more…even the casual fan is aware of Toni Weisskopf of Baen Books and Sheila Gilbert of DAW Books, to name two fine editors who were passed over for “no award” in the long form category, because these two ladies have had long and successful careers as editors to date.
How “No Award” can be voted for by anyone in good conscience over either of them bothers me.
Quite frankly, even though I’ve not been a fan of Vox Day as an editor or a writer, I don’t see how “No Award” can come before him, either. His authors have all sworn blind that he is as hard-working as any of the other editors who were nominated, and he’s been in the SF&F field for quite some time.
Editing awards are about simply that: editing…and who’s good at it.
And speaking of Vox Day solely as an editor — solely for the work he has done — if he’s been nominated for an award, dammit, he deserves to come in ahead of “no award” just like all the other hard-working editors in these two categories.
As a hard-working, lesser-known editor, let me be the first to say, “Boo, hiss!” to the Hugo Award voters who decided to turn the editing awards into a mockery — all because some respondents apparently did not like the Sad Puppies and/or Rabid Puppies, and decided to throw their votes away rather than vote for any of the people who’d actually done the work to help put high-quality books and magazines up for sale.
Hugo Awards committee people, I don’t blame you for this nonsense. You did your best with a bad hand, and I appreciate the hard work and effort you put in.
I do blame the campaign in the media, that has done its best to devalue the hard work of people of various races, creeds, ethnicities, and sexuality/gender preferences. Because I am tired of the narrative framing already, that somehow voting for “No Award” has brought back the “integrity” of the Hugo Awards…as that is simply hogwash.
Historic Moment for MLB: Brewers’ 1B Prospect David Denson Comes Out as Gay
Folks, this year has been a historic year for organized baseball.
Earlier this year, Sean Conroy, a pitcher for the Sonoma Stompers of the independent Pacific Association, came out as gay.
And now, Milwaukee Brewers’ prospect David Denson, a first baseman currently playing for Helena in the Rookie League, has also come out as gay. Denson is the first person in organized baseball — major or minor leagues — to ever come out while still an active player.
Here’s a link to the story. Denson, quoted by Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel baseball beat writer Tom Haudricourt, said this:
Before he knew it, Denson was making the emotional announcement he yearned to share, and the group around him expanded to the point that he soon was speaking to most of the team. Much to Denson’s relief, when the conversation ended he was greeted with outward support and understanding instead of condemnation.
“Talking with my teammates, they gave me the confidence I needed, coming out to them,” recalled Denson. “They said, ‘You’re still our teammate. You’re still our brother. We kind of had an idea, but your sexuality has nothing to do with your ability. You’re still a ballplayer at the end of the day. We don’t treat you any different. We’ve got your back.’
“That was a giant relief for me,” Denson said. “I never wanted to feel like I was forcing it on them. It just happened. The outcome was amazing. It was nice to know my teammates see me for who I am, not my sexuality.”
The more Denson thought about it, though, the more he came to realize that a clubhouse confession wasn’t going to be enough. Until he came out publicly as gay and released that burden, Denson didn’t think he could truly blossom and realize his potential on the field.
The Milwaukee Brewers have had a disappointing season in many respects. But they made up for it, at least in my eyes, when two players were quoted (again by Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) as saying that Denson would be welcome in their clubhouse any time.
Both Ryan Braun and Scooter Gennett have publicly gone on the record as saying they would warmly welcome Denson. Here’s a few quotes for you from Haudricourt’s additional article:
“I think everybody is supportive,” said rightfielder Ryan Braun. “Overall, we realize it’s a courageous decision by him, to come out and embrace his true self.
“I’ve never met him but I hope baseball as a whole is at a point where we judge people by their ability and not their race, religion, ethnicity or sexuality. I can’t speak for everybody on our team but he would be accepted and supported by me. And I would hope all of my teammates feel the same way.”
Brewers second baseman Scooter Gennett does know Denson and spent time in a team clubhouse with him. When Gennett was sent to Class A Wisconsin on minor-league rehab earlier this season while recovering from a hand injury, Denson was playing for the Timber Rattlers.
Denson, 20, a power-hitting first baseman, later was sent to the Brewers’ rookie club in Helena, Mont., and came out as gay to teammates there a month or so ago.
“He’s a great guy, an awesome guy,” said Gennett. “He has great tools. Now, he’ll be able to focus on playing and not focus on all the other stuff. This will be less clutter for him.
“I think it’s a great thing when people can clear their mind and just be honest with people around them. It’s an awesome thing. I think that will allow him to focus more on baseball and go out and have fun now.
“Would he be accepted here? Absolutely. Why wouldn’t he be? He’s a baseball player and a great guy. Anybody that goes out and plays hard every day is going to be accepted. Everybody has something to deal with. Baseball is such a mental sport. When you can just focus on the game, it’s amazing how much more fun it is.”
The Brewers as an organization are supportive of Denson, from GM Doug Melvin to manager Craig Counsell to the major league players on down. And that’s wonderful to see.
That said, I hope someday that it will not matter whatsoever what a person’s sexuality is — gay, lesbian, transgender, Martian, whatever.
Because a baseball player is simply that: a baseball player. Regardless of sexuality.
I’m glad the Milwaukee Brewers as an organization have figured this out.
Some Good News, Some Bad News…
Folks, I have the proverbial “good news, bad news” update to foist upon you today.
First, the good news. A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE will definitely be out in mid-September of 2015 — meaning a month from now — and a small blurb has been put up at the Twilight Times Books site reflecting what A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE is all about:
http://www.twilighttimesbooks.com/News.html#publishing_notes
As the blurb says:
Young Bruno the Elfy and Sarah, his mostly-human teenage girlfriend, are in deep trouble. Bruno’s Elfy mentor Roberto the Wise is about to be sacrificed by Dennis the Dark Elf, with Sarah’s parents’ help. Things look bleak, but Bruno and Sarah have a few allies no one could possibly expect – human, Elfy, and ghosts. Can young love and desperation win out despite it all?
And before you ask — no, I still don’t have cover art.
The bad news? Well, my second quarter story at the Writers of the Future contest, despite being out longer than any other story I’ve ever had, didn’t do anything. It came up with a flat rejection after 137 days.
This particular story is close to my heart in many ways; it is post-apocalyptic military SF with romance.
Now, there is a bit of interesting byplay here, in that I’m reasonably convinced I will be able to sell this elsewhere. (If not as a novella, as a novel.) So my efforts with this story haven’t been wasted…but of course I’m not happy that I’ve come up with yet another rejection at the WotF Contest.
Look. I’ve been trying submissions there for fourteen years now. (Does this mean I don’t know when to quit? I don’t know. It’s just how I am.) I’ve tried just about everything. I’ve tried magical realism. I’ve tried straight SF. I’ve tried fantasy. I’ve tried fantasy/romance. I’ve tried military SF — which is where my two honorable mentions come from — and now I’ve tried this one.
Which got me nowhere.
I do have a submission in already for Quarter 3. I can’t tell you what it is. I can tell you I’d be utterly astonished if this story does anything…not that it’s not a good story, because I think it is, but I don’t think it’s right for the market.
“So, Barb, why did you send it there, then?” you might be asking.
Because I like to submit something to the WotF Contest, just on the off-chance that lightning strikes. I need the boost to my career that the WotF Contest often provides. It seems to provide instant name recognition, which as a small press/indie author I need very badly…and it also gets your name in front of agents and bigger publishers. (Though even so, you still have to be very careful about whatever contracts you might sign. The reputable publishers will tell you that, but in case you’re not sure of the difference between a reputable pub and a disreputable pub, try either Writer Beware or Preditors and Editors. They’ll set you straight.)
Other than that, I wanted to mention that the Racine Concert Band’s free summer concert series at the Racine Zoo is coming to an end later tonight. Show starts at 7 p.m., and soloists this week are Greg and Kathy Berg (vocalists) and Nancy Quist, trumpet.
Hope to see you there!
A Writer/Editor’s Work Is Never Done…
Folks, you’ve probably noticed two things in the past few weeks.
One, I haven’t been posting much.
Two, I haven’t reviewed a book at all over at Shiny Book Review.
Why? Well, I’m in the midst of revising CHANGING FACES; it’s due out in late October, I already have cover art (I posted about that before, if you missed it), and the preliminary edit is done. Now it’s up to me to fix everything…and that takes time if you want to do it right.
I’m also in the midst of checking over the ARC (advance reader copy) of A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE, which is due out in mid-September. I do not yet have cover art there. But I do have a complete file, the edit has been done, I’ve applied all the changes required…it’s up to me to look at things and make sure I’ve done my job correctly.
Which again means I need to take some time to do it right, of course.
And, finally, I’m wrestling a short story into submission. It’s due tomorrow morning. I’ve really had to fight with this story; I “heard” it in a way that was not conducive to what the story actually is — this may not make much sense to people who don’t write fiction, but the problem I’ve run into is that an older version of the title character has been reminiscing with me about what happened when she turned thirteen. And her older self does not remember all the actual emotions her thirteen-year-old self had. So it hasn’t felt authentic to me.
I have a hard time writing fiction when it doesn’t feel right. I tend to get a lot of scene-setting, descriptions, and no dialogue…then I have to go back and figure the dialogue out, figure out if the descriptions will stand now that I actually have something going on, and then graft the actual action of the piece on last.
It’s time-consuming, but worth it, providing the story sells to the proper market. (Let us sincerely hope it will.)
In the meantime, I also have been dealing with a few edits for clients, as per usual. I had a job interview for an editing job (no, I can’t say where) a few weeks ago, so I prepared for that — as I never go in unprepared if I can help it. And I’ve been playing concerts with the Racine Concert Band every Sunday night at the Racine Zoo since the start of July; we play these concerts on one intensive rehearsal, which means I have to do some practicing in order to do a good job.
All of these things require time and effort, or I may as well not even bother.
But because of this, I can’t do some things I truly want to do, like review a few books at Shiny Book Review.
There’s just no time whatsoever for it. Which makes me feel a little guilty…but I can only do so much.
So there’s the update, folks. I’m working hard, and I hope that I’ll be done soon with my last lookover for A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE…I know I have some folks who’ve been clamoring for it (bless you all!), and I sincerely hope the extra time and effort will be worth it in the end.
Time for A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE’s First #ParanormalLoveWednesday #BlogHop!
Folks, I’m getting a late start today. And as I’m still dealing with the remains of some computer issues, I didn’t get my excerpt up by 6 a.m. EST as the Paranormal Love Wednesday Blog Hop folks strongly prefer.
Despite that, I hope you will enjoy my excerpt from A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE, which is the sequel to AN ELFY ON THE LOOSE. I don’t have cover art yet, but here’s a blurb for you:
Young Bruno the Elfy and Sarah, his mostly-human teenage girlfriend, are in deep trouble. Bruno’s mentor Roberto the Wise is about to be sacrificed by a Dark Elf, and Sarah’s parents have decided to help the Elf rather than the Elfy. Things look bleak and are getting worse by the minute, but Bruno and Sarah have a number of allies — human, Elfy, and ghosts — that the Dark Elf can’t possibly expect. Can young love, desperation, and great unexpected power win out despite it all?
And here’s the excerpt, which is from the beginning of Chapter 8. Bruno is very ill, and a ghost has decided to mix in…
Bruno heard, as if from a long distance away, Sarah say something. He strained to hear her, yet for all his trying, couldn’t get closer. He’d have cried if he could; for now, all he could do was rest. And wait.
::Do you hear me, boy?:: a tired old female voice asked in his head.
Bruno nodded, or tried to nod. How did one nod inside one’s own mind?
::Good,:: the old woman said. ::Listen, boy. Tomorrow will be rough, but I’m going to help you all I can. For now, take my hand.::
He reached out somehow, and took her mental “hand,” all the while feeling new stores of energy floating in. He heard Sarah, still distant but closer now, saying in disbelief, “I felt an extra set of hands helping us. Did the rest of you feel anything?”
“Something…odd,” Rebecca said in a speculative tone, before Bruno lost the thread.
Bruno wondered why this time, Sarah had felt the spirit’s mental “hand,” when she’d missed it before.
::I wanted her to feel it now, boy,:: the female voice said. ::Otherwise, she wouldn’t, even though she’s more powerful now than I ever was at the height of my powers in life.::
::This…is too much for me, old mother,:: he stammered mentally. ::I’m very tired. Why can’t you let me rest?::
::I can’t, boy,:: she said. ::Wish I could. We’re almost out of time as it is. For now, listen to your beloved.::
I hope you enjoyed this excerpt from A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE. The tentative date of the e-book release is September 15, 2015…now, go take a look at the others taking part in #ParanormalLoveWednesday’s #BlogHop!
| 1. | Andrea R. Cooper | 4. | Trevann Rogers | 7. | Angelica Primm | |
| 2. | Bokerah | 5. | P.T. Macias, Author | |||
| 3. | Elizabeth Andrews | 6. | Barb Caffrey |
Milwaukee Brewers 2015 Trade Aftermath: Situation…Bleak
Folks, most of you know I’m a huge fan of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball club.
And most of you are aware that when good players like Carlos Gomez, Gerardo Parra, and Mike Fiers get traded for minor-league prospects, that usually indicates that the team in question (in this case, the Brewers) is undergoing a rebuilding phase.
As a fan, I don’t like seeing rebuilding phases. I know they’re necessary. But it’s frustrating all the same, because I like to see a team that competes hard and does its best every day.
Right now, the MIlwaukee Brewers cannot do that.
When you take a hitter like Carlos Gomez out of the lineup, you lose a great deal. Couple that with taking Gerardo Parra out of the lineup — Parra hitting better than he ever has, and playing solid defense at all three OF positions, and you have the recipe for a lineup with little pop and even less situational hitting.
Couple that with the earlier trade of Aramis Ramirez to the Pirates, and the hitting situation grows even more desperate.
Right now, the Brewers have only two hitters with any chance of doing well: Ryan Braun and Adam Lind. Both have had trouble with back spasms this season, and Braun has a lingering issue with his thumb that will almost certainly plague him from time to time for the remainder of his career. So these things have to be taken into account, health-wise; both players cannot play every day in the high heat and humidity, not if manager Craig Counsell expects to get a maximum return out of them.
The other hitters are not doing that well this season. Jonathan Lucroy hasn’t looked like himself all year. Khris Davis — he still strikes out too much, and he waves at pitches in the opposing batter’s box, too. So no one with any sense is going to throw Davis a fastball. And Hernan Perez?
Really?
Granted, Jean Segura has shown flashes of his old hitting style, and is playing reasonably decent defense in the field. But he’s not a guy the Brewers should be depending on for RBIs; he’s a table-setter, not a meat-and-potatoes type of guy.
Then we get to the starting pitching. And we see the void that the trade of Mike Fiers has left in the Brewers pitching staff.
Look. Taylor Jungmann has had a great ride thus far, and looks like a solid pitcher for 2016. But Kyle Lohse — much as i like the man, and much though I root for him, he looks like he’s at the end of the road. And Matt Garza’s been up and down, Jimmy Nelson is still overrated (he’s done well most of the time, but I still don’t trust that), and Wily Peralta is showing just why his 17-win season last year was such a fluke.
If the Brewers didn’t have excellent relief pitching, they’d probably be even worse off than they are. Neal Cotts has actually been good (I have to say this, as early on I said I wanted him gone). Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez has been stellar, as always. Will Smith has been iffy lately — at about the same point he became iffy last year — but was very good at the start of the season. And Tyler Thornburg is back up and pitching well…Jeremy Jeffress looks solid…really, I have few complaints with the bullpen.
The Brewers are currently 44-62. They look like they probably won’t even win sixty games this year, the way they’re playing. So I understand, mentally, why GM Doug Melvin made the trades that he did.
Still. Right now, what the Brewers front office is doing is an exercise in narrative framing. They’re saying, “Hey, in a year or two, we’ll be really good. Look at all these prospects!” And trying to divert the long-time fan, who’s seen the Brewers be awful before (in my case, many times), into dreaming of the future…all while the present looks downright depressing.
The thing about prospects is this: It’s all speculative.
We knew that Carlos Gomez loved Milwaukee, would hit reasonably well, would play excellent defense most of the time, and make some baserunning mistakes while striking out a goodly percentage of the time. Because that’s who Gomez is.
But Gomez is a known commodity. Brewers fans knew exactly what we were getting in him.
Similarly, Fiers and Parra were also known commodities. I knew, as a fan, that Parra would be tenacious at the plate and have good situational-hitting skills, and I knew that Fiers would always try his hardest and be unsparing of himself in postgame commentary if he just didn’t have it.
But fortunately, Fiers mostly does have it.
Anyway, Doug Melvin took three very good players — one perhaps a superstar in Gomez — and traded them, when the Brewers are already having trouble with their offense. He got back some very solid prospects, some of which may develop into decent-to-better players (Phillips, which the Brewers received in the Houston trade, might even turn out to be a superstar himself down the line; but that day is not today).
But for now, the situation is bleak and getting worse.
What I want to see, as a fan, is for Doug Melvin to go out and get some hitters. Daniel Nava was designated for assignment by the Boston Red Sox last week — and Nava can hit. (Granted, he hasn’t hit well this year at all for Boston, but a change of scenery might really help him.) Plus, Nava has some speed and would play a better left field than Khris Davis, who really shouldn’t be in the field at all (why, oh why, hasn’t Davis been traded to the AL by now? He is a DH in the making; he’ll never make an outfielder.)
And the Brewers need to find other diamonds in the rough like Nava. Guys who can hit, who’ve proven they can hit, and who can do a little better than the Shane Petersons or (gasp! shudders! horrors!) the Hernan Perezes of the world.
So that’s where I’m at, as a fan. I think the aftermath of the Brewers trades of Parra, Gomez and Fiers is showing itself right now.
And if I had to bet, I’d probably say it’s very unlikely the Brewers will even win 60 games this year. Which is very, very sad.
So don’t believe the narrative hype, my friends. Know full well that the Brewers will be awful for the remainder of this year, with some flashes of solid playing by folks like K-Rod, Braun and probably Lind.
And hope that somehow, some way, we’ll get some people in the lineup who can hit, run, and field…because right now, they’re just not there.
Barb Caffrey's Blog 