Category: Reading

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the cold

Xmas CatA quiet week with a bit of a cold snap–and a cold for me.

Even so, I got some writing work in. I’m working on a short story, did some design reading, and spent a wonderful few hours writing at the coffee shop yesterday while my daughter was at a holiday party.

One rejection, a fast one (I don’t mind those, plus it was a very nice personal one). I’ll have to search out another market this week.

And that’s about it. It’s kind of nice to have a quiet week after the flurry of activity of two releases within two weeks of each other. (Yeah. That was kind of crazy.)

Writing Work:

  • Writing work: ~2,000 words
  • Short story revision
  • Design reading

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • Gretel and Hansel

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • None

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the Ghosts of Christmas Past

So, this week, along with formatting, reviewing, and publishing Ghosts of Christmas Past, I did what I’m calling a content edit on the second episode. I wanted to make sure things were more or less in place before I published the first episode and embark on writing the third. I also did some work on a short story, and I think I know where I want to take it.

Also, The Girl with the Piccolo found a new home this week over at Evil Girlfriend Media, and I turned around another submission.

And it’s still snowing on WordPress.

Writing Work:

  • Content edit on episode two of Coffee & Ghosts
  • Ghosts of Christmas Past formatting and publishing
  • Short story review/revision

Submissions:

  • Gretel and Hansel

Rejections:

  • Gretel and Hansel

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

The Girl with the Piccolo found a new home over at Evil Girlfriend Media.

Ghosts of Christmas PastAnd of course, Ghosts of Christmas Past is out in the world as well.

You can read more about that in my post from yesterday.

Now Available: Frozen Fairy Tales!

In the bleak midwinter, heed the irresistible call of fairy tales.

Frozen Fairy Tales from World Weaver Press is now available, and it includes my story Simon the Cold.

I wrote this story during the very long, very cold winter of 2013/14. After that, I tucked it away. I wasn’t sure what it was, exactly, wasn’t sure where to send it.

When I saw the call for submissions for the Frozen Fairy Tale anthology, it clicked. I had a fairy tale about winter, albeit a modern/urban one.


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Winter is not coming.

Winter is here.

As unique and beautifully formed as a snowflake, each of these fifteen stories spins a brand new tale or offers a fresh take on an old favorite like Jack Frost, The Snow Queen, or The Frog King.

From a drafty castle to a blustery Japanese village, from a snow-packed road to the cozy hearth of a farmhouse, from an empty coffee house in Buffalo, New York, to a cold night outside a university library, these stories fully explore the perils and possibilities of the snow, wind, ice, and bone-chilling cold that traditional fairy tale characters seldom encounter.

In the bleak midwinter, heed the irresistible call of fairy tales.

Just open these pages, snuggle down, and wait for an icy blast of fantasy to carry you away. With all new stories of love, adventure, sorrow, and triumph by Tina Anton, Amanda Bergloff, Gavin Bradley, L.A. Christensen, Steven Grimm, Christina Ruth Johnson, Rowan Lindstrom, Alison McBain, Aimee Ogden, J. Patrick Pazdziora, Lissa Redmond, Anna Salonen, Lissa Sloan, Charity Tahmaseb, and David Turnbull to help you dream through the cold days and nights of this most dreaded season.

Available: Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Print

Goodreads giveaway: Selfies from the End of the World: Historical Accounts of the Apocalypse

It’s Goodreads Giveaway time again! Head on over to the giveaway for a chance to win one of five copies of Selfies from the End of the World. The print layout is seriously gorgeous.
SelfiesAntho

No one understands an apocalypse like the people who have experienced it. Mad Scientist Journal has brought together twenty-three tales of people who have seen the world end. These accounts range from irreverent to surreal to heartbreaking. Zombies share space with global wars, super-viruses, canned peaches, and the death of the sun.

Want to know more about the anthology? Garrett Croker has completed a comprehensive review of all the stories–in four parts! Included in part three is the review of my story:

In a Manner of Speaking by Charity Tahmaseb is another real favorite of mine. As far as Soshi Patel knows, she is the last person on Earth, surviving by candlelight in a shelter she can never leave. Then, one day, she begins to receive a transmission on a makeshift radio. Jatar, the voice on the other end, knows things he should not be able to know. The connection the two grow to have builds slowly and is truly lovely in its execution, and the ultimate explanation for how Jatar knows the things he does is guaranteed to break your heart. This is a story I could go back to again and again, and again and again.

Now Available! Selfies from the End of the World: Historical Accounts of the Apocalypse

It’s here! The end of the world! Or at least twenty three stories about the end of the world, including one by me, In a Manner of Speaking.

What is it about? Well, there is a clue in the anthology description below (mine’s the story with the canned peaches).
SelfiesAntho

“It would be our duty, as citizens on this earth to document its end the best way we know and if that means a second by second update of the world going up in flames, or down in rain, or crushed under the feet of invading monsters so be it.”— Shivangi Narain

No one understands an apocalypse like the people who have experienced it. Mad Scientist Journal has brought together twenty-three tales of people who have seen the world end. These accounts range from irreverent to surreal to heartbreaking. Zombies share space with global wars, super-viruses, canned peaches, and the death of the sun.

Included in this collection are Rhoads Brazos, Samantha Bryant, Garrett Croker, Nathan Crowder, Matthew R. Davis, Kate Elizabeth, Mathew Allan Garcia, Sylvia Heike, B. T. Joy, Herb N. Legend, Samuel Marzioli, Mary Mascari, Nick Nafpliotis, Shivangi Narain, Brandon Nolta, Alexis J. Reed, Natalie Satakovski, J. C. Stearns, Charity Tahmaseb, Nicole Tanquary, Kristopher Triana, Dusty Wallace, MJ Wesolowski, and Caroline M. Yoachim. Includes art by Errow Collins, Amanda Jones, Shannon Legler, and Luke Spooner.

Available in print and e-book: Kindle, Nook, Print, Kobo, iTunes

 

Weekly writing check-in: the one with Gone Ghost

sunriselakeI was up early enough today to snap this photo at the lake. But now? Now, I’m a little tired.

So, this week. Well, there’s that reprint sale to Evil Girlfriend Media–my second. Fabulous market with fabulous stories, and it’s nice that The Girl with the Piccolo has a new online home now that Kazka Press is offline.

I sent out a story this week, kept up with classes, and of course, launched another ghost story into the world. I also squeezed in some tutorials (I worked on InDesign last year–time to tackle another program).

Writing Work:

  • Story Focus class (second chapter of Wired for Story)
  • Lit class: The Great Gatsby essay done ~ 1,000 words
  • Tutorials: Photoshop

Submissions:

  • Knight in the Royal Arms

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

Publications:

 

Gone GhostEpisode 4 of the Coffee & Ghosts serial is now available! You can buy or borrow Gone Ghost over at Amazon.

Ghost in the Coffee Machine is still free to read and includes an excerpt from the second episode, Giving up the Ghosts.

You can read more about what’s up in episode 4 in my post from yesterday.

Weekly writing check-in: the one with Gatsby

GatsbyA fairly quiet week. There’s that one rejection, and the only reason I haven’t sent the story back out is there’s a market I’m looking at that opens next week. So, I’ll send it along then.

I’m in the last week of the Gatsby class, so I gathered up all the information I need for my essay.

My topic? Gatsby and the Great War. I even looked up the order of battle for 3rd Division (because clearly, the whole novel hinges on that). I was hoping it would write itself overnight, but that hasn’t happened.

So, that’s on the list for this coming week. Along with … other things.

Writing Work:

  • Revising Must Love Ghosts
  • Lit class: The Great Gatsby

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • Knight in the Royal Arms

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • None

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the view

view

The view this morning. It came with pelicans, but they were too far away for a good picture. Still. They’re huge! Pairs of them were streaming across the lake this morning, quite focused on getting somewhere.

As far as writing? A pretty quiet week, all in all. Some revision. Some work on the Gatsby class.

But! Two publications (see links below). A Measure of Sorrow has a new online home at Evil Girlfriend Media and The Life Expectancy of Fireflies was published in the summer issue of Fine Linen Magazine.

For writers, I recommend EGM. Check out the submission page. For flash fiction, they’re looking for reprints as well as original stories.

Writing Work:

  • Revising Must Love Ghosts
  • Lit class: The Great Gatsby

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

Fine LinenA Measure of Sorrow

The Life Expectancy of Fireflies (check out my author copy to the left)

 

 

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the ghost whisperer

So, The Ghost Whisperer ventured into the world this week. After a flurry of rejections last week, things settled down considerably. Well, they settled down to nothing. After last week? I’ll take it.

This week, I’ve kept myself occupied with taking a class on The Great Gatsby.  I recommend the Jake Gyllenhaal narration via Audible. Even better, if you own the iconic blue cover in Kindle format, that version and the audio one are Whispersynced and you can get a reduced price on the audio.

I also revised Gone Ghost and will head straight into revising Must Love Ghosts, just to keep the story continuity in my head. Then? I don’t know. I’m starting to feel the need to go on a writing tear.

Writing Work:

  • Revising Gone Ghost
  • Lit class: The Great Gatsby

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

Ghost Whisperer

Episode 3 of the Coffee & Ghosts serial is now available! You can buy or borrow The Ghost Whisperer over at Amazon.

Ghost in the Coffee Machine is still free to read and includes an excerpt from the second episode, Giving up the Ghosts.

You can read more about what’s up in episode 3 in my post of a few days ago.

Weekly writing check-in: the one with giving up the ghosts

Finished off the last bit of work for my classes (for now). Yay!

I started the last of the Ghost episodes (also for now–there might be a season two). This episode is challenging. It not only has its own story arc, but also the entire season story arc comes to a close in this story. Again, hats off to television writers. This. Is. Challenging. I’m calling this last episode Must Love Ghosts–tentatively (for now).

But it’s a lot of fun. As I mentioned earlier this week, Giving up the Ghosts is live. Plus, Ghost in the Coffee Machine is free and it includes a sample of Giving up the Ghosts. So, if you’re uncertain about Coffee & Ghosts, you can give it a no-risk sort of try.

Writing Work:

  • Calvino class: All done!
  • Writing ~ 3,600 words
  • Started Must Love Ghosts
  • Revising The Ghost Whisperer

Submissions:

  • The Perfect Canvas

Rejections:

  • The Perfect Canvas

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

Giving up the GhostsGiving up the Ghosts is now live! And Ghost in the Coffee Machine is free to read.

If you want to learn more, see my post from a few days ago.