To Ask or Not To Ask?

I'm experiencing contest fatigue. Maybe it's just fatigue. I ate a cornbread muffin for lunch, and wheat makes me sleepy. Tasty muffin, though. Copper Oven.

I was on The Anomaly for a while, but it's just not as interesting tonight. Perhaps it's the impending losing that's taken the shine off. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I've already accepted this as fact.

My concern now is whether to post a thread asking for critiques. I'm pretty sure I know the reasons Star of Justice wasn't picked:
1) the title is boring
2) the hook is boring
3) the blurb is boring
4) pretty much the whole thing so far is just plain boring

Yeah, that sums it up.

On a more realistic note, I'm concerned only 5 people will comment, and it will be the same 5 people who are commenting and it will be basically the same comments they've given to everybody else; namely, if you weren't quite so boring, we would have picked you.

I suppose there are worse fates than being boring. I've often aspired to boring in my life. It may surprise some people to learn most of the time I prefer not to be noticed. It was difficult for me to make that first comment on the boards, or to contact MLS in the first place, or to start this blog.

You know my real fear? No one will comment. My book is so boring, no one even noticed it sitting there patiently at the top of poll two.

Or worse, someone will comment who's been annoying me the whole contest. Not in a gloating fashion, mind you, just a polite "Oh, yes, this was just too boring for me. Been there -yawn- done that, you know? I mean, dragons in fantasy. How cliche."

I'm not thinking of anyone in particular, although I kind of just quoted somebody who's actually been pretty informative.

Of course, if I don't ask for critiques, who will think I'm just a coward? Which I am, by the way.
Would it make a difference with Jeff the Publisher? Do I care? I've pretty much decided Star of Justice isn't Marcher Lord Press material. Not because of quality, mind you, but because MLP audiences would find it boring and not buy it. As confirmed by this contest.

That's OK. I'll find an audience somewhere.

I have high hopes Past Ties will be better suited to MLP. It's sci-fi, deals with psychic nuns, cyborgs and time travel.

Of course, I'm sure someone somewhere has read something -yawn- like that. :)

See you at Sonic.

What to Say?

I'm ready for November to be done. I have some posts I want to write but not this month.

Voting continues on MLS. This is day two. Apparently, front runners have become apparent to Jeff (not us, because we can't see the polls). Star of Justice's thread has dropped to page two. Only Kristen and I have commented on it. I will not say "welcome to the story of my life" lest I provoke another comment from elder brother.

Reminder: you must vote for at least 3 entries in either contest or your vote will not count.

Purely out of curiosity, I counted words on Past Ties (the words I wrote 15 years ago, that is). Turns out it's only 33,000 words. No wonder mom couldn't remember any of it. I may have to combine it with Present Tense just to make one reasonable book. That would certainly speed up the process. If I try real hard, I can jam Future Perfect in there, too, and turn my trilogy into a book in three acts.

I've looked over some of it, and a lot will probably get cut. Working on Elementals taught me it is far better to let go of past writing than cling to it hoping to make it work now. If I'd written the book then, it would be done. Since I didn't, I pretty much need to start over.

I did decide to get rid of Mars and the lunar colony. This allows me to move the timeline much closer to now (I kept ending up in the 25th century otherwise and how cliche is that?) and removes a lot of that pesky research that keeps getting in the way of my muse.

Now, I need to pull out Peter Gabriel, Celene Dion and soundtracks for Blown Away and The Bodyguard cds so I can get writing.

Yes, I am afraid those are the main artists in the Past Ties soundtrack. I have some Roger Whittaker in there, too, but he tends to show up somewhere in all my books.

Phase 2 Voting Starts

I voted early this morning. Thought I'd get it done and move on with my life.

The boards were quiet. An eerie sense of anticipation lurks...

Not really. I suspect most people don't have cats to wake them up freakishly early on any day ending in "y."

Voting in the main contest is now very simple. All 18 entries fit in one poll.

The Premise Contest remains split in two polls. Star of Justice is listed in the second poll and once again, the first poll has more hits.

Of course, the first time I voted, I missed some on the first page and had to go back. Maybe that's what's happening to other folks, causing an artificial inflation of the counts. Whatever.

I'm tired today. I have no reason to be other than winter makes me tired. Like the turtle, I am a sun-worshipper. When the sun is up, so am I. When the sun is down, down I go. I would normally be sleeping later, except for the cats. This is my first winter with six cats. When I only had four, they knew to leave me alone. The two newest can't seem to grasp the concept.

I hope to take a nap tomorrow. I may go to bed early tonight.

Well, I have a book to write. See you in the morning.

Thanks for...New Friends?

OK, so my bubbling ecstatic mood just got squashed by the fact that I somehow managed to delete an entire post I had just finished writing. I don't know how. I blame Satan. Mica may have helped.

Since my bubbling ecstatic mood is in serious jeopardy, I may have trouble recapturing the spirit of that post. I will try.

Last night, while on the phone with My Dear Friend who does not have Internet, I made a wonderful discovery! I was reading her some of my blog posts (yes, I am that self-centered) and realized I had new people commenting! Woo-hoo!

And not just any people. Marcher Lord Select people! WOO-HOO!

My diabolical plan to make weird, Christian fantasy writer friends is working (insert evil laugh here)!

Everyone, meet Kristen. Kristen is one of those amazing people whose manuscript Jeff thought worthy of publication. Alas, the votes did not favor her (I voted for her, which may have been the kiss of death), and she is now seeking God's will for her manuscript. Please pray for Kristen.

Our other mystery commenter is Ginny Jacques, who has a blogspot of her own and lists MLS and Zinovy's Journey, which is one of the stories I'm following in the main contest. I will review Ginny's blog more thoroughly this weekend. A link may appear later ;)

Welcome to Ranunculus Turtle, ladies!

You may wonder how they found me. Well, in keeping with the spirit of no campaigning on the MLS forum, I did not list my contact info on my public "forum face" but put it on my private face. These ladies must have seen something they liked (or didn't maybe) in one of my comments and clicked on my name to find my blog. Again, diabolical plan working! HA HA HA!

At least, I assume that's how they found me. I suppose they could have hired a private detective. Or be affiliated with the FBI. Hmm.

Seriously, ladies, thank you for stopping by. I am honored.

Reminder: voting for the next phase of MLS starts tomorrow. Some of you will be getting an email about that.

Oh, and Jeff is running some Marcher Lord Press special sales today in honor of Black Friday, so if you want to pick up a speculative Christian fiction book for Christmas, this is a good time for it.

PS: I just went to Ginny's site and, yeah, she's my kind of weird. You'll find her on my "Blogs I Follow" list now.

Happy Thanksgiving

Like most of you, I have plans for the day. I thought I would get the blogging done early. I hope very much to write on Past Ties this evening, provided I'm not passed out from too much turkey.

If you have a chance, tune in to Bott Radio, Topeka FM 92.5 or American Family Radio (my favorite station), Topeka FM 90.4 at 7 PM to hear David Barton of Wall Builders on Focus on the Family speaking about our Thanksgiving heritage. I love and admire David Barton very much. He is worth a listen. I heard him at 7 AM, but I can't help being up early, even on holidays, thanks to the critters. A special thank you to Mica, who woke me up at 5 crying in my ear.

Hi, Cornelia, love you, sweetie!

Now that the aberration of mom in bed after 7 is over, my entire family is curled up in little balls on various pieces of furniture throughout the house. I keep it cool here because they all have built-in fur coats. I'm the only one who actually suffers.

I am fighting the desire to check out MLS forum. I suspect I will lose.

I think I've figured out the difference between New Member, Junior Member, Senior Member, and Full Member. It may have something to do with number of posts on the forum. There is a "members" button where you can sort members by frequency of posts. The titles are listed with the posts.
I'm still New but once I hit 50 posts, I should become Junior. Now it's like a contest, which is bad. I get a little competitive.

Anyhoo...day's a'wastin' so I'll move on.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I am thankful for each and every one of you.

More Thanks

I intended to devote the entire week to Thanksgiving. Then Aunt Flo showed up and rained on that parade. Good one, eh, my lamb?

I am thankful no homicide was committed yesterday. Mocha java chillers seem to have healing powers beyond the normal caffeinated beverage.

I am thankful for my family. I spent the evening celebrating The Flash's birthday (that's your new nickname, Molasses). I love that the nieces like each other now. I remember when being in the same room meant someone got grounded. I hope it lasts.

We talked of movies, driving (another learner's permit -eeek!), boyfriends and breaking up with boyfriends (ruined me. I never could get it right after that first one), and a host of other things while eating way too much food for way too much money (thanks for dinner, Elder Brother).

I am thankful for food, and movies, and boyfriends and the lack thereof. I am thankful for being debt free except for the house, and having a job, and having outside interests.

I am not thankful for coffee, but I am thankful other people enjoy it (that's all you're getting, Bessie. I can't capture the true spirit of the moment: "Oh, yeah, coffee! I should slow down."

I am thankful I have a house to come home to, and little people who are, for the moment, giving me enough space to finish this post. That won't last, but I'm thankful for that, too.

One of my favorite STNG episodes has Data creating a child. I fear I cannot remember the name of the episode. Loll enrolls in school, serves drinks in Ten Forward and generally captures our hearts. When a scientist from Starfleet command comes to take her away and study her, she develops emotions - fear, for starters - and consequently self-destructs.

My favorite scene from that episode is her last moment with Data, her father. It is very calm, as a farewell between androids would be. She tells him she loves him and says "thank you for my life." I cry every time.

How often I have said those words to my Father. Even when the sky is dark, the cold rain falls, and moon days overwhelm my reason, I am grateful for my life. I am even grateful for those hard times, because they remind me of how good the good is.

"Thank you for my life." So simple. So appropriate.

Gratitude is the greatest gift we can offer. Offer it whenever you can.

Why Jesus Was a Man

Forget for a moment the Bible refers to Him as masculine (unless you have a femi-Nazi-approved Bible). I try not to argue gender about a spirit.

The reason Jesus was a man is obvious. You can't have PMS and remain without sin.

Yes, PMS, that reproduction-involved miracle of biochemistry that turns the kindest, gentlest creature into a sneering, snapping harpy willing to eviscerate anything that dares to enter her breathing space on those most unfortunate days.

"Moon days," the Indians call them. I can only assume it relates to the wackiness so associated with that celestial body that our word lunatic is derived from its name.

In season three of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, when Oz confesses to Willow he's a werewolf, she replies with "Well, three days out of the month, I'm not so fun to be around, either." Understatement of the century, Joss Whedon.

Leviticus says a woman is unclean during her monthly discharge and must go to the priests to offer sacrifices afterwards. You can bet money Moses was writing that little bit of wisdom in the back of the tent while Zipporah was on a rampage. Even God knows women are going to need extra grace afterwards.

The woman with an ounce of decency in her otherwise regular life will warn her fellows once she is aware of the chemical wash about to shut down her cerebellum and leave her reptile brain in control. Because the one thing you must never, ever do is ask "Are you PMS?"

How many tragedies could have been avoided by not asking that question? The world, alas, will never know.

God, in His infinite wisdom, side-stepped the entire issue by making Jesus a man and keeping Him single.

Because a man with a wife cannot be without sin, either.

A Week of Thanks

For those who scroll down, I finally got the Neno Award on my blog. It's not where I want it, yet, but I'll get there. Thank you, again, Susie! (I'm supposed to pass it on to other bloggers who love blogging, but I only know two and one of them gave me the award. I need to make more friends)

(HA HA! I learned how to add picture! Thank you, Susie!)

Thank you to my nieces for growing up. School plays and musicals only become more enjoyable as that happens. I'm thanking God for that, too. Two hours is a long time to sit in a bad play. Topeka High School's production of Grease was not a bad play. The play isn't that great from a Christian worldview standard, but the kids did great. Some of them have some very impressive pipes.

Thank you to all my readers. Without you, I would be a sad schlub endlessly reading my own writing wondering "Why doesn't anybody like me?" I wouldn't care, but I would wonder.

Thank you to those dedicated souls taking part in the writing contest. A 35 year old woman from Texas mentioned Star of Justice in a mostly good way on one of the threads yesterday. Since I don't think I know any 35 year old women in Texas, I took it as a positive. Not positive enough to get me to the next phase (most likely), but a positive.

Anyway, those are a few things I'm thankful for this season. I'll probably give you more tomorrow.

Take a few minutes and thank God for your life, even if it sucks at the moment.

What I Should Be Doing

I should be researching Antarctica.

I should be working on my new website.

I should be writing about the Fair Tax on my other blog.

I should be reading Starfire by Stuart Vaughn Stockton.

What am I doing?

Reading and rereading the MLS forum boards.

I believe I have now made my selections for both premise and main contest. I will not go over them again until vote results are posted in December. Probably late-morning, mid-afternoon December 1.
I have picked my final six in the main contest. They are, in order of current interest:

The Last Apostle
The Sword of the Patron
Primary Source
Neil Before God
The Mysterious Calling of Mike Malone, and
Zinovy's Journey.

Having the first 500 words has made all the difference for me. I can now judge where I am comfortable, in the art of story-telling.

The most telling story is the comments of the participants. What a varied audience this contest has collected. Jeff the Publisher does not have an easy job. Some choice will undoubtedly offend someone. It must happen. But, I am sure we will all still respect him in the morning.

Now I must go resort my choices into an Excel file for later. Yes, that's just the kind of nerd I am.

Neno Award?

Let's see if this works.

OK, it didn't. I'm supposed to put a picture of this award on my blog, but I don't know how. Susie's done it, so she'll have to walk me through it.

Susie of Susan's Sampler, one of the blogs I follow, gave me a Neno Award.

First, this is an honor, and I recognize it as such.

Second, it apparently requires a skill set I do not yet have. :) Kinda of makes me wonder whether I deserve such an award!

There are Rules I'm supposed to post. One of them is to explain why I love blogging.

I'm not sure that I do. Yeah, I probably do.

I like putting my thoughts on the proverbial paper. I never would have thought this could be true when I was in high school being forced to write essays about my thoughts. (Thank you again, Mr. Freidline). Now that I'm doing it, and have some (very few) people reading them, I like it.

I'm also supposed to nominate someone else, but since I can't figure out what to do with it yet, I'll wait for further instructions.

But first, I'll say, "Thank you, Susie! I am honored!"

PS: HA HA! It worked this time!

Missing the Target

You may have noticed, yesterday's post stirred some reaction in at least one reader. I was aiming for amused epiphany. Apparently I hit whiny butt.

I've said before, I wrote Star of Justice without a specific audience in mind. It honestly never occurred to me it might not be interesting to actual Christian fantasy nerds. This is where that research I mentioned in my rejection post comes into play.

I submitted to Marcher Lord because of what I saw after one month of reading about Jeff the Publisher. I believe Jeff would have no problem with my writing skill level or story content. Often, the editor is the first hurdle to pass. I submitted with a clear understanding that I was worthy of publication by his company (we're not worthy! we're not worthy!)

I did not get onto the boards and learn about the readers until the contest. One month into it, I am realizing these people are looking for something startlingly new and ground-breaking (the ones who are talking on the boards, anyway). Apparently, that's what speculative Christian fiction is about.

That's not Star of Justice. Those who've heard me talk about it for any length of time, and you know who you are, know that I have no fantastic new ideas there. Certainly not Harry Potter new. I have old ideas rearranged with interesting characters and unexpected twists.

So, even though Jeff the Publisher might have no problem with my book, he has to consider what will sell to his audience. If none of his fans will buy it, it makes no sense to publish it, no matter how well I write.

I am not automatically rejected if I lose. I will not throw Star of Justice back into the proverbial drawer. I will see the book published, one way or another. If not by Marcher Lord Press, then somewhere else. Maybe my own company, Ranunculus Turtle Publishing.

But the first tale of Caissa Ocren is not my only book. Elementals is finished. Past Ties is begun, as is The First Man, Dangling Participles, Justice for All, and The Royal Pain. Provided the world doesn't end tomorrow, I have plenty to keep me busy. For now, I will continue with the contest and with seeking a venue for Elementals, and researching Past Ties. That is more than enough to keep one turtle busy.

Which reminds me, the premise contest vote this time is minimum 3 - maximum 12. I have 13 on my list, and I don't know what to cut.

I know which one I won't! :)

I Don't Read Fantasy

My mom said this to me yesterday as we discussed the MLS contest.

It had never occurred to me before, but she's right. Mom's bookshelf nowadays is stacked with political thrillers by authors whose names I can't even think of to write. When we were younger, she liked historical romances and westerns like Louis L'Amour and that guy that writes about Indian reservations. Hillcamp? Huxtable? Something like that. Perfectly good books I would never read.

Another friend who only read biographies and non-fiction historical commentaries also read my book and liked it. We were talking about cover art once. I told her I knew what picture I wanted for the cover (Caissa sitting at the feet of a dragon as they talk) and what picture a publisher would want (Caissa with sword drawn rushing a dragon breathing fire). I was told in no uncertain terms that my friend would never pick up a book with a picture on the front of it. She suggested a star of justice symbol instead. Maybe I suggested that and she concurred.

My sister-in-law read my book. While her taste runs to gangsters and vampire/horror, and she cannot stand English romances (or authors, for that matter, who are my main inspiration), she liked it. She even suggested I add a few more fight scenes. The dismembered monks in Manarot are for you, Triny.

Even my postman read it, and gave me the greatest compliment I have yet heard: "It's like a real book."

Either all these people are flat-out lying to me, or my book has appeal. Which floors me, considering I can't get a mention in the MLS contest. Yes, it's early, but once again, Star of Justice is noticeable by its absence. (I am not telling you to mention it, mom.)

So now I'm wondering, is my book too normal for real nerds? Is my lack of fantastical and uniquely startling creatures a drawback with the hard-core fantasy crowd? Is the very thing that makes the book accessible to people with other interests making it boring to those I would normally market to?

Egads! What a disaster! People who like the book would never pick it up to read, and those who would pick it up won't because it's too normal.

Welcome to the story of my life.

Premise Contest Phase 2

That's the title you're looking for when you log on to MLS's site. You can go back and look at the Premise 1 stuff, if you like. Some discussion threads are continuing. I will now look forward. Except for when I go back to post on the discussion threads, that is :)

The premises have been rearranged and the 100 word back cover blurb has been added to them. This has caused Jeff to break the entries into two threads. I'm listed at the top of the second thread. Yea! It means nothing, but it feels good.

The addition of blurbs did not make much difference to me at first read-through, but appears to have changed some minds. One poster pointed out that if a writer can't take a few hours to write a good blurb, why should you trust they took the time to write a good book? Given my own two-week struggle to write a good blurb, I'm not sure I agree with him, but I will go back tomorrow and look with a slightly more critical eye.

I am heartened by my blurb. I had forgotten what I wrote, and while reading it at MLS, I still think I did a pretty good job of giving the highlights of the story, a glimpse of the interesting characters, and the problem my heroine faces. The only question now is "will anyone care more knowing these things?"

I will know the answer in ten days. The next vote will take place Nov 28-30. End of the month, possibly end of the line for Star of Justice and the Marcher Lord Select Premise Contest.

We will see.

My, that sounds grim!

I am not depressed. I have not purchased that mocha java chiller yet, nor have I felt the overwhelming need to do so. As long as the weather cooperates with some sunshine in the next 10 days, I will do well.

I will no doubt do well long after that, too. My hopes for this contest are more than just publication. Those hopes show every indication of being fulfilled.

Game on!

Results Are In

I lost.

I can't actually lose this round because Jeff made it a freebie, but I would have lost if it counted.

I'm not surprised. A little disappointed, but not surprised. My premise doesn't catch the eye. Nobody cares about dragons destroying the world or Caissa Ocren.

I wonder how I might have written it differently. I was going for accuracy, but maybe snappy would have been a better approach.

These dragons don't need magic: they have lasers! They don't, actually (not in this book, anyway), but you have to admit, it's snappier.

I do wonder what the vote count was. I'm guessing nine. That would be me, the three people who mentioned it on the forum threads, the two people who emailed me with "break a finger's" and the three people who answered yes when I asked if they'd voted. Some others might have gotten around to it, but I don't count my dragons before they're hatched.

The next round of voting seems to happen in two weeks. That's the one that will knock me off for good. That's a slightly more depressing thought.

I'm waffling between eating my mozzarella sticks and java chiller then or having one now and one then, too. I am a little, tiny bit depressed. Not surprised, mind you, but a little depressed.

On the plus side, my Swedish squeegee mop really cleaned the slush off my back steps, so, Yea!

"It's the simple things in life you treasure." -Fred Kwan, Galaxy Quest.

Last Day to Vote

I haven't checked the boards today, so I have no idea how things are going. Tomorrow is soon enough to find out how my choices did.

I suspect some people (authors, namely) may stay up and wait for the turnover at 12 midnight Eastern. I think Jeff is on Colorado time so would that be 10 PM for him? I don't know when he finds time to sleep.

I have started working on my new website. This will take a while, I think. At the moment, I have no idea what to put on there or how to put it on if I knew what I wanted. I'll learn. Slow and steady.

Today, I decided to work on Past Ties again, the book that started it all. Technically, it is mostly written, but based on my experience with Elementals, I'm probably going to throw most of it out. Maybe. I don't know.

I stopped working on it because of the research needed to answer all the sticky questions that came up while I was writing it in the first place.

The story involves future governments (how far in the future? what kind of governments would have survived? would the US exist? if so, who are her enemies?), nanotechnology (what are we doing today in that field and what do we project for the future?), lunar and Mars colonization (which would come first, if we did either? what would drive such a push? would this be a government-run colonization or a private-industry venture, or both? what would it entail?) and artificial intelligence and robotics (I don't even want to think about how long that research could go on).

Getting an idea of why I stopped working on the book? This turtle don't care for research, and these are all things I would have to answer before I could comfortably publish Past Ties.

The problem with writing science fiction is you have to emphasize the science. In TV and movies, you can emphasize the fiction and use great CGI and explosions to keep the audience's mind off the obvious "that would never happen" plot weaknesses. Don't have that option in books.

However, now that I have the Internet and the will to use it, I'll begin my slow and steady course of answering these questions. Since Past Ties sets up events that impact at least eight other books I want to write, I guess it's time to get it done.

On the bright side, once I've answered these questions, I don't have to answer them again.
And speaking of bright sides, morning comes sooner and sooner for me, so I'll sign off and pick up in the AM.

Voting Continues

I've heard from some of you. Thank you for taking part in the Grand Experiment.

I cast my votes today. It seems I can change them through tomorrow 11 PM Central, if I wish.

I had 12 on one page, so I voted for ten and sent Jeff a personal message listing the other two.

I did this by clicking on his name (he's the first person who's written something after putting up the poll, so his name is there on the left hand side above his "picture.")

The click took me to his personal information, which includes the option to "send a personal message" at the top of the info box. That leads to an email, where I typed in my choices and my name and clicked "send personal message" one more time.

Once it was sent, it took me to a screen I didn't know how to get out of, so I clicked on "home" just above his info and that returned me to the MLS main board. You could probably also log out from that page, if you don't want to go read some of the discussion boards.

Tomorrow is the last day to vote in this round. Pray for the folks who are on pins and needles awaiting the outcome. They've worked hard for this, but, as The Highlander would tell us, "there can be only one."

PS: I just went to MLS to see how things are going, and totally unbeknownst (yes, it's a word) to me, Jeff has a post called There Can Be Only One.

I am so perfect to be one of these people! If only they could figure it out.

Oh, and I saw Star of Justice listed three times now. Yea!

Some of my more discreet friends...feel free to talk it up, if you'd like. Not you, mom. You're not discreet. Love you anyway.

Voting Starts Today

When I got onto the MLS site this morning, there were a few minor system glitches, which seem to be worked out now.

One problem: since the polls are split into two per contest, Jeff had to limit the number of choices per poll. I discovered for the main contest, I have more than 10 choices in the first poll and fewer than 10 in the second.

This problem will be solved by emailing Jeff any entries I couldn't enter due to the restriction. (Does that sentence make sense? I can't tell).

I will let you know how to do that once I do it. I think I can click on his name and it will take me to his bio where I have an option to "send a personal message." Like on Facebook. We'll see.

Anyway, while the voting is going on, I will continue to peruse the comments. I'm wondering if non-author campaigning will begin in earnest now.

We can't see the tallies, so no one will know 'til Monday whether they advance or go home.

"The suspense is terrible. I hope it will last." - Willy Wonka

Voting Starts Tomorrow

The title says it all.

Now, the premise contest people (i.e., me) won't be eliminated this round. This is more of a test vote for us. For the main contest people though... Come Monday morning, 16 will be done and 20 will remain.

Due to a technology hiccup, the voting threads will be split into two threads per contest. It seems Jeff the Publisher can't list all the entries into a single poll.

So, when you vote, you will need to vote in two polls per contest. You may split your 3-minimum/20 maximum votes between two polls. These polls should be fairly obvious and most likely titled something like "Premise Contest Poll One" and "Premise Contest Poll Two." I'm guessing here. I'll let you all know in the morning.

Meaning: if you don't find Star of Justice in the first poll, go to the second and look for it. If you want to vote for Star of Justice, that is :)

Reminder: you must vote for at least three entries in each contest or your vote will be discarded. OK.

So, since I don't actually get eliminated this round, I'm not nervous. The votes will not be visible, so I won't know how I did, either. I can email him and ask, but I don't think it would be helpful this time around. According to the discussion threads, most of us have realized you can't tell much from 20 words and we'd rather see more than less.

The part I find most interesting is as I read comments from people who not only seem very serious about writing, but many of whom are actively pursuing publication, I keep thinking of Seth Godin's Tribes book, where he says a real leader has the vision and everyone else follows it. Jeff the Publisher is the leader, and we're all clamoring to be part of his tribe.

Question is, what makes Jeff the leader? His experience in the field? His ability to create a website? His willingness to wade through mountains of excrement looking for that one great monument of fiction?

Yeah, pretty much.

Since I'm not willing to do all that yet, I'll clamour with the rest of them. For now.

Print On Demand has changed a lot of things. If I think Jesus is coming back that soon, I will self-publish, just to say I did.

A Bit of A Ramble About...Time

I was thinking last night about my childhood. Eighth grade, specifically, the year of Trapper Keepers, sneakers with velcro instead of shoestrings, and the erasable Bic pen. Good times.

I wrote back then, too, little snippets of scenes and stories that took my fancy and petered off as I lost interest. Nothing finished. Nothing terribly noteworthy.

My teacher Mr. Freidline gave us a writing assignment: what will you be doing when you're 30?
I told him I couldn't complete such an assignment because I didn't expect to be alive at 30. I think I annoyed him with that response (otherwise, except for one incident with a bug collection, we got along famously). I don't remember what I wrote for the assignment. A complete fabrication, no doubt.
I honestly didn't expect the world to be around by the time I was 30. Yet, here it is, eight years after the fact, and shows every indication of continuing for a while.

I wonder what my life would be like if I'd actually finished stories back then. If I'd sought publication when I was 15 and attending conferences, or 19 and writing continually in college, or even 21, when I "officially" finished my first book (that was Past Ties, but it wouldn't qualify as finished to me today because I left too many loose ends that I planned to address in the sequel Present Tense).

In The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle (one of my favorite books ever), the author tells us unicorns don't feel regret. A useful lack for an immortal creature. Eternity wishing you had chosen differently would be hell.

I've tried to live my life that way. Not by trying to experience everything, but by deciding not to regret the choices I make along the way. No point in regretting what cannot be changed.

I don't consider the intervening 20+ years between me then and me now wasted. I am a different person than that fourteen year old. I hope my writing has improved and my stories have gained depth and wisdom.

God is teaching me the journey is as important as the destination. Each step builds on the one before and prepares the way for the next. Taking the steps, even in my plodding, turtle way, is what matters. Persistence provides payoff.

It is not a regret, necessarily, but I do hope I have time to write more books. Now that I have a taste of the joy of completion as well as the agony of creation, I find I like it. I'd like to do more of it.
In the hopes that the world continues, I will continue, as well, without regret and with my eyes focused on the goal of completion, one story at a time.

Oops

Yesterday, I spent my morning blog time in daily devotions, my afternoon blog time checking emails about the writing contest, and my evening blog time getting my picture taken for my church directory.

Result: no post. My apologies to my faithful follower. ;)

I've been reluctant over the past few weeks to get on my computer. As I wrote elsewhere, it seems the amount of conflict produced in my life is in direct proportion to the risks I am taking as a part of my new Gene Getz-inspired life. I don't like conflict. Conflict makes stories interesting to read, but it makes life a real pain to live. It's making me want very much to pull back into my shell and stop talking to people altogether.

I won't, but I want to. This is why I never took chances before. My calm is being seriously disturbed by life. I don't have an ulcer yet, so I'm counting that a plus.

Contest voting starts this Friday. If you have registered, you received an email from Jeff the Publisher restating the rules. If you know me personally, you probably received an email from me doing the same.

All premise contest entries will advance in the first round, no matter who gets what votes. I think MLS is realizing a blurb alone does not a good premise make :) If they do this again, I wonder if the premise contest will be allowed the hook and the cover blurb to start.

Anyway, have a happy Tuesday, everyone. Love God and serve others today, no matter what conflict it generates. Choose the hard right instead of the easy wrong.