Writing Circle
A Midsummerfest Carol
On some planets, in some cultures, it’s traditional to celebrate on or near the shortest day of the year. Typical. Celebrating when light is in the shortest supply. Here, however, we’ve got it right. Celebrate when the day is longest, when there’s maximum light to be able to do so. Much more sens...
The Tattoo (Romance) (Steamy)
It had been a centuries since the Great Disaster. What was left of humanity struggled to survive, but we did. The old ways of living collapsed, and the new lawless way of life took over. Those that lived in the outskirts from the City lived a hard life of farming and struggle without electricity....
What I’m working on right now…
It seems like there just isn't enough time to do anything. While I want to use that excuse a lot, the real truth is that I've been struggling with writing, and sometimes when that happens, this diary can be harmed by the lack of mojo. Even when I'm writing, I've got a full plate that…
Beloved (part 3 of 7)
Dawn ignites the bus station: grimy, red-eyed with smoke and exhaust, groaning with the weight of its vehicles, its weariness, its thousand moving parts. A description not far removed from herself. She runs her hand over the scars on her wrist to remember the first bus station in this long line o...
Beloved (part 2 of 7)
Moti Sweets: the sign decays above the stone building beneath the telephone wires, above the exposed plumbing jutting out from the wall like broken skeleton ribs. A leprosy of rust. Don't drink the water. Impossible, he thinks. I must have read it wrong. But this is the address. He reads it again...
Beloved (part 1 of 7)
She scrubs a paper towel against the skin of her throat over the rough sketch of her collarbone until the paper begins to unravel-- the soap smells of old bandages-- and she dresses that way, with the skin still wet. The only way to survive until darkness. The old woman said that heat is like&hel...
An Interlude
I always dream when I’m unconscious, and this time I watch a young woman set fire to herself: a young, slender woman dressed in layers upon layers of the gauzy kind of robe that takes well to kerosene and matches. I never saw her face. There was a veil of thin lace just transparent enough…
Another plea
(Incidentally, I did have the bowls from the Commonwealth Games on as background noise and noticed that they were playing music. Which is likely the only way they could keep the audience awake to watch the bowls.) About a week ago, I asked if people would be willing to read a story what I wrote&...
Scrivening
Something completely unexpected but delightful happened today. I was watching a recording of a stage version of Hamlet starring Andrew Scott (Moriarty in Sherlock) when I was struck with the urge to write. This urge got stronger until I just had to get going. I kinda wish it hadn't happened at...
Books in the mail!
I always love getting new books in the mail, especially when they're my own. I ordered six copies of my new book titled The Portal, which is something I like to do when I release a new book. I like to order a few copies to inspect the finished product for myself, and make sure…