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2013-04-28 08:03:07 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

A late night, vodka-inspired blog post. Some answers for those who asked.

2013-02-14 23:24:52 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Merry V-Day +Chelle Lagestee!

2012-12-29 17:58:32 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

This an attempt by me to declare a return to serious writing as well as the online world of fancy social communication and whatnot.

2012-10-26 15:36:23 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Some worthwhile writing advice from +Jen Leigh 

Research is our friend, no matter how dull and tedious it may seem at times.    

2012-10-24 15:02:15 (12 comments, 3 reshares, 8 +1s)

This is a very important post by Emma .M. Woolley, I am encouraging you to read it.
(Link to the original Tumblr post on the bottom)
:

The violations started small. I was 12, fairly tall with brand new boobs. My mother wouldn’t let me buy “real bras” for a long time. It didn’t occur to me that was weird until boys in my class started advising me to “stop wearing sports bras” because I was looking a little “saggy.” 

It was a boy who told me I had to start shaving my legs if I wanted anyone to ever like me. I said that wasn’t true. He laughed in my face and called me a dyke.

That night after shaving, my mother asked me why I was so vain. 

They started finding reasons to touch me, pinching my butt, snapping my new “real bras,” (“They look a lot better. Did you stuff?”) or straight-up grabbing my breasts. Droppedpencils with awkward leanov... more »

2012-10-24 01:30:04 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

+Sarah Scott and I are back on paleo again, but there's a chance of it turning South if we go camping. Now we just have to figure out how to make paleo graham crackers!

#paleorecipes  

2012-10-24 01:27:08 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Lamont

Chapter Three

Ella, unwilling to return home, makes her way along highway two thirty-one out of town. She doesn't make it far before being picked up by a familiar face. Ella jumps at the chance to be driven away far from town, far from the demons, secure within the enclosed space of a pickup truck. But what if the ride isn't as safe as it appears...?

2012-10-12 23:44:42 (3 comments, 3 reshares, 6 +1s)

It's been a long time coming, but here is the second chapter of my serial horror web novel, Lamont.

Ella, more than happy to leave her home and the creatures inhabiting it behind, finds that her school may no longer be the safe-haven she believed it to be. Ella's friend Valerie suspects something may be seriously wrong with the girl but Ella is unsure there is anyone she can trust with her demonic dilemma.

2012-10-12 03:43:53 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Sorry for being so anti-social. These last few weeks have been especially trying and life-altering.

My writing ethic has suffered as well, but I promise work on getting back into a regular writing schedule once life stabilizes a bit...

2012-09-22 00:18:06 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Here's the first chapter of my novel-by-blog, Lamont.

The story starts with Ella, a young girl tormented by nightly visitors. When she finally corners one of the terrors, she finds that bloody revenge isn't as sweet as it should be.

2012-09-20 21:42:26 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Over 1000 words today on my #wip  - more than I've done in a long, long time.

Also, schnauzers!

2012-09-15 22:12:19 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Lamont

A new project of mine, a novel published by blog as it is written and edited. 

Set in and around the fictional county of Lamont, Indiana, the novel tells the tale of a small farming community set upon by demonic forces. Tiny wall-dwelling imps, a blood-thirsty creature roaming the rural wilds, the vengeful spirit of a murderous madman, and a ravenous, sleeping earth titan deep below the soil all threaten the lives and sanity of Lamont's denizens.

The prologue opens with Joe and Evan, young boys looking for excitement deep in the marsh, who discover a large burrow, too large for any rabbit or fox. Joe, eager to discover what secrets the burrow holds, dives down into its depths despite Evan's pleas for caution. When Joe finds out what treasures the burrow contains, his desire for adventure turns to growing dread.

2012-08-23 14:49:57 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Moving

Why does it feel like I'm burglarizing my own house?

2012-08-22 16:31:07 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

[+Moan Lisa] 

As an artist and an Internet viewer, and furthermore as a Google+ user, I find the blanket sanitation of Internet content to be a poor, politically correct situation that needs to be addressed. While I can understand Google not wanting its service to be turned into yet another global pornography hub, there are legitimate and beautiful ways to employ the naked human body in art and artistic statements. The stifling of this content lessens discourse and exchange of cultural ideas, and diminishes the potential role that Google+ can take in being a network for the interchange of artistic stimulation. 

I've said before, the Internet is the new New York when it comes to the cross-pollination of ideas in the art world. Imagine if the NYPD had made regular raids into 1930s-1960s SOHO and confiscated any images that they felt didn't meet then-current standards ofm... more »

2012-08-21 23:44:33 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Very powerful!

2012-08-21 21:53:36 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

The Mitt Romney Experience

Typical Republican crap. If you're not white, you don't belong in their world.

2012-08-18 23:02:17 (11 comments, 0 reshares, 11 +1s)

So Long, and Thanks for All the Headaches

Today was my last day working at the key shop. Hopefully my last day working retail ever. There were some good days and some interesting days had behind that register, but most of them were dull, if not downright frustrating. 

Starting tomorrow, I am a full-time writer, for better or for worse. It is what I was meant to do and what I love to do.

2012-08-17 17:46:52 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Apparently aspiring authors also need be social media hype machines - breaking down and joining Twitter is the next logical step, I suppose.

2012-08-14 14:59:37 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

The picture that we found last night of the AT-AT trooper using a signal flare while standing on his downed AT-AT got us looking for more artwork by the artist.

His name is Benjamin Carré and his site can be found here at:

http://www.blancfonce.com/

....and his deviantart site at:

http://ornicar.deviantart.com/

His Star Wars illustrations are honestly some of the most imaginative and interesting we've seen in a LONG time, so we decided to compile a gallery here on Google+ to give you all some inspiration.

We feel like these images fuel our brain like Ralph Mcquarrie's concept art often did.

Check out more of his work above!

#starwars   #artwork  

2012-08-14 05:21:14 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Story eight of thirteen is complete! It's like I'm determined to finish this project or something.

Up next, a story of love and tearful goodbyes...and of human consumption.

2012-08-03 13:45:34 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Today I'm going to attempt to write an entire short story (3,000+ words) before I go to bed tonight.

Coffee and a loss of sanity will almost certainly be involved.

2012-08-03 05:30:52 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

#chikfila  

2012-08-03 02:12:08 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Finished story 6 of 13 of my ongoing project. Still feeling heavily caffeinated. Unsure whether or not to press forward with the next story or to take it easy for the rest of the night.

2012-07-19 16:15:56 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

I am now the Chicago Budget Travel Examiner (impressive title, no?) and this here is my first article. 

Yes, that's my real name and face. Deal with it.

2012-07-14 01:12:45 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Slow and steady, but #amwriting  

18,610 into my WIP - and it hasn't yet been trashed. For me, that's kind of a big deal.

2012-07-09 16:08:43 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

+Shen Hart's #LiteraryPlus  

For our latest +Literary+ assignment, we had to write a story based on the first line of our partner's WIP. This week I was matched up with +Rocky Cole and here is the result:


I was nineteen years old when I planned my first murder. It was a sloppy thing. Old man from the corner store, can’t even remember his name. He shouldn’t have made me look the fool, punking me in front of everyone. It was sloppy but it was easy, just had to follow him home, wait for the lights to go out. Dumbass kept a key hidden underneath one of his flower pots, lived all alone – it’s really just a matter of doing your homework.

No time to be indecisive, know what you’re going to do and do it. The second time went much smoother. I had no choice. Suzy wanted to leave, and word was she’d already been messing around with Jacky Mason. NowI couldn’t let... more »

2012-07-09 15:50:18 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

We have lots going on today!

Our wonderful second in command - +Paul Carroll has organised our first ever blog tour. +JD Savage is talking about profanity in YA on +Scott Roche 's blog: http://www.scottroche.com/thoughts/2012/07/guest-post-profanity-in-ya-novels-by-jd-savage/

Then our serial Smoke and Shadows is starting today. +T. Pascal has taken the hot-seat and is writing the first short story for us. 
That will be up here at about 8pm BST: smoke shadows | plusliteraryplus

We also have a calendar on the site now, so you keep a track on everything which is going on. calender | plusliteraryplus

There are now 3 articles up on the site! 
+Rocky Cole wrote about taking just 5 minutes to write and the difference it can make.
+Shen Hart did an article on the importance of writing in your own voice.
Then +Katje van Loon toldus all abo... more »

2012-07-05 23:39:40 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

An experiment.

2012-07-03 02:11:56 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Just out: our latest monthly compilation of stories in one volume, convenient for you to download onto your e-reader of choice. Previous monthly editions still available!

2012-06-28 14:05:32 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

My entry for Prompt 38 of the +Flash Fiction Project

#FFProject

2012-06-25 16:43:35 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Note to self: 

#art  

2012-06-23 17:32:01 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Droid For Sale

Times have gotten tight for all of us. For my family, it's reached a point where we are looking at the very real possibility of not being able to pay our mortgage this month. To try to raise the necessary funds I am selling this piece of art.

I put around fifty hours into creating this piece. It is 16 inches by 20 inches (for non-US residents that is 406.4 mm X 508 mm, or just a little smaller than size A2), printed on archival quality paper stock, and professionally mounted in a 20 inch by 24 inch frame which is ready to be hung. It is signed by me, and individually numbered as number 1 of 1, as it is the only one in existence. 

I'm auctioning it at a starting price of $350.00 US dollars. I will ship it anywhere in the US, or anywhere in the world serviced by the United States Postal Service or FedEx, with shipping costs to be paid by the... more »

2012-06-21 16:27:29 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Lead breakfast.
Lead Breakfast ('Pulp Fiction' Remix)!

2012-06-20 03:14:03 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Coffee (the stronger the better) + Good Music + Night = Productive Writing Time.

A simple, dependable equation that I don't perform as often as I should.

2012-06-19 22:57:54 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

#LiteraryPlus  - The big project I'm incredibly excited about and you should be too!

2012-06-04 16:52:31 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

We're very pleased today to introduce a new author to our collective. Diego Green is a talented writer with a particular gift for horror. Please welcome him by reading his new SF story in The Narratorium or by visiting his own web site Demolishing the Block.

By the way, we're notifying you directly about this post as an experiment. If you would rather not get direct notifications, please just let us know and we'll adjust matters.

2012-05-30 23:40:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

On World-Building

It's good to know all the little details about the story. In fact, you should know everything there is to know about the world you create, you should be the #1 expert and historian. But don't be a show-off. Don't use every other line to display your intricate knowledge of the setting, or to talk about what happened fifty years ago when it has little to do with the present action. Instead, treat this raw data like a precious commodity, deftly sprinkling gems of information where they can have the most impact, where they can set-up a dramatic occurrence or add punch to a reveal or simply give definition to an already vivid scene...

2012-05-25 14:02:26 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

So, the other day I entered the 2nd Annual Flash Fiction Blogfest hosted by +Cherie Reich - a contest of sorts with prizes and all that good stuff.

Well, my story was chosen as a finalist, which you can read here: http://bit.ly/KmyB2Q

But, I am not asking for blind votes here. What I'd like for you to do, if you can find the time, to read each of the six finalist stories (no longer than 300 words each) and then choose your favorite.

2012-05-22 14:23:24 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

so·cial
adjective /ˈsōSHəl/ 
1. Of or relating to society or its organization
2. Of or relating to rank and status in society
3. Needing companionship and therefore best suited to living in communities
4. Relating to or designed for activities in which people meet each other for pleasure
5. (of a bird) Gregarious; breeding or nesting in colonies
6. (of an insect) Living together in organized communities, typically with different castes, as ants, bees, wasps, and termites do
7. (of a mammal) Living together in groups, typically in a hierarchical system with complex communication

Look at definition number 4: in which people meet each other for pleasure.

Keep that in mind.

friend·ship
noun /ˈfrendˌSHip/ 
friendships, plural
1. The emotions or conduct of friends; the state of being friends2. A relatio... more »

2012-04-28 00:23:39 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Outlines

I am not a fan. Starting at a nearly blank word document, with the title of the first chapter at the top next to numeral I, in an ill-fated attempt to plan the novel I wish to write.

Not sure why I thought I could do this. Summarizing what I will write rather than actually writing it is comparable to drilling screws into my own eyeballs.

Give me seat-of-the-pants plotting, give random out-from-nowhere tangents, give me walls of incomprehensible free write text, but just don't make me put it all into numbered lists so that I can better organize it all.

So, here's to the first step of the journey. I may not have a map or any general idea even of what direction I should be taking, but I do fully intend to enjoy myself and make the most of the trip. And that's what counts, right?

2012-04-15 20:41:42 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

The Creature

It took Doris some seconds to realize that she was actually lying vertically, face pressed into wet mud where the glass of a window had once been, torso held upwards against the slanted roof of the squad car, held fast in place by the steep valley of a ditch. In vain she tried to contort her body, pushing against the ground to turn herself around but there was not strength enough in her arms and she fell, panting, pressure building inside her head. Turning her neck carefully, she saw the form of Officer Robins fallen slack in his seat, held in place by a seat belt.

She let out a sound of exasperation, able to move but unable, the threat of sleep beginning to overtake her, and Doris closed her eyes lightly, hoping to wake in a hospital bed. But something outside brought her back, scraping against the car’s exterior, and then with a violent plunge and crunch, twinf... more »

2012-04-12 03:58:40 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Wild speculation? Sure. But that doesn't lower the awesome-factor one bit.

Bring 'em on, I say.

2012-04-09 23:59:13 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Carcass

“Dammit.” Said the deputy as she came up to the fallen beast, seeing that the buck was much bigger than she had thought, far too heavy for her alone to pull let alone nudge. Still, she would have to try or at the very least wake someone up about it, as it would no doubt cause another crash were someone to take that bend faster than they should.

Had to have been something big to run over such a large animal without leaving anything behind, there was no glass or even a sign of a tire screech on the road. The thought didn’t trouble Doris too much until she bent to take the buck’s hooves in hand and, with surprising ease, pulled the carcass a few feet across the pavement. Only then did she see the dark and wet splatter of liquid on the road – not deer blood, not the right color or smell, streaking across the road, around the body. And she looked down at the buckto see th... more »

2012-04-04 04:32:21 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Nothing quite as nice as checking your email at 11pm to find out that your professor has cancelled your only class the next day.

Instant Day Off

2012-04-03 01:53:22 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

The Crash

“Hello?” she called out, shining her light through the cab’s window, her voice more timid and scared than she’d like. Quickly she looked back down the road and up it toward the aura hanging above the truck stop, seeing no headlights coming one way or the other. Only the tiniest sliver road and shoulder sat open and available yet for traffic, enough for something no bigger than a pickup to squeeze past but the no way for another semi to pass.

“Sir!” she yelled this time, more forceful and authoritative, as she had yet to see anyone in or around the cab. “…or Ma’am…” she added, as that was now sometimes the case more often than it had been in the past. Still no response though.

All lights inside the truck were on and its headlights shone strong ahead, attracting a good-sized swarm of flittering, winged insects. There was something sittingin the lights, just b... more »

2012-03-29 23:14:48 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

For The First Time In Too Long:

#amwriting

2012-03-28 18:05:08 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

The Mirror Gaze

Mirrors offer up such temptation, for many of us see them everyday in our lives, when we prepare ourselves for work and school and going out, whenever we go to the bathroom, whenever we are feeling unsure of our appearance. It's easy enough to simply have our characters nonchalantly stroll by a conveniently-placed mirror, take a quick momentary glance, and commentate on how she or he looks (as many of us do) at that moment. Because, after all, what reader would care about our characters if they couldn't know exactly what they looked like?

2012-03-28 03:09:19 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Mayfair

I watched the kid create this, this mural of shape and color, tribute to the neighborhood, late at night with the hiss of the spray can from beyond the train track fence, hopped down the grass slope to get shoes muddy and up close to the brick.

It looks better in the daylight, reds and blues and swirls flying across the empty flank of the otherwise bland building, but I like it like it is here, in the dark, where it was born, where it was studied and crafted, where under a hoodie shadow eyes and hands shaped and formed.

One year later and the paint still stands, untouched - unwhitened like so many other ugly signals coarsely strewn about in quick unartful strokes on bus windows and bathroom stall walls - proud to declare the land as Mayfair, a few blocks out of thousands but home to those who call it so.

2012-03-27 21:58:53 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Available as well at Barnes and Noble, at a competitive price.

2012-03-26 00:32:55 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Here is the third and final part of my short story "Waking Time". I'd love for you to read and to hear your comments and critiques. (Links to Parts One and Two below)


Silently, I step into the wide chamber, heat radiating from every surface. At first I see no movement, only that awful stench hanging still and hot. Then they come, fast and with only the lightest tapping of scaled feet running on rock. There are at least five I can see, the first is easily dispatched with Tonogu’s so sharp spearhead. But the great lizards are fast and with the weapon lodged into the first body, I am left unarmed against them.

The second one strikes and I grab it by the snout, holding close the terrible jaws as best I could though its strength is so terrific. With great effort and all of my own weight, I shove the beast into the other attackers, causing confusion and a large amounto... more »