My Heartfelt Wish For All Spammers...

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This post has absolutely nothing to do with writing, sad to say.

Spammers are evil. Up there with lice and the bubonic plague. I haven't posted much this month because the invasion over at LegendFire has really sapped my enthusiasm for almost everything internet-related. They even became a problem at LiveJournal, so I'm probably going to shut that blog down. 

LF's ban filter is growing longer by the day, tons of ip addresses and suspect email addresses that are used to spread useless ads all over the world's unsuspecting forums. The best solution? Dig into my savings envelope and upgrade LF's license so we can have a spam filter. That sounds like a painful process. I am not looking forward to it, though I'm sure the results will be worth the trouble. Better than nailing one spammer after another on a tedious individual basis.

I really loathe spammers. Even more than the taste of cough medicine and hitting my funny bone. If I knew who these people were and could find their computers, I would pour a million hungry, genetically-engineered rats into their cubicles (or secret warehouse basements) and cheer the little beasties on while they chewed every cord in sight and treed the quivering spam people atop their desks for all eternity.

Ahem ... tea, anyone?

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"Fire Eater" Receives Review!

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There's nothing better than knowing that folks are reading what you write and find themselves enjoying it. Angela, from the blog "The How-To Life," posted favorable words about Mother Mirrah's attempts at prison reform.You may read her review of "Fire Eater" here: Review Of Ebook Fire Eater
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"FIRE EATER" at Smashwords and Amazon!

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Decided it was time to add to my self-pubbing ventures by publishing "Fire Eater" at Smashwords and at Amazon's Kindle Store. The story is a fantasy novelette at 8,300 words, so not too long a read, but still meaty, nonetheless. I have a particular fondness for this story, because it marked my first publishing success. Nothing like that first acceptance letter that reduces a grown girl to tears. It appeared in the now-defunct Midnight Times in 2007 (I think it was 2007), then good ol' Martin Davey told me he couldn't believe I sold that story for free. So when the rights reverted to me, I tried selling it again. This time Kaleidotrope bought it, of which I am exceptionally proud. However, since the story was a reprint, I still received not one dime for it, even if my payment was three copies of the magazine, the equivalent of $15, which I would've spent on copies anyway.

Good thing about Kaleidotrope is that it receives reviews. I was able to track down three. The links to them are:
Kimberly Todd Wade (quotes from Ms. Wade's wonderful review earned a place on the cover!)
SFRevu
Rich Horton (excited about this Locus writer mentioning "Fire Eater" from among a year's worth of Kaleidotrope stories)

So a year and a half later, it's time to shove the story out there again. This time it's available at Smashwords and in a day or so at the Kindle Store (will provide link when it's available). For the readers of my blogs, here is the coupon code for a free purchase of "Fire Eater" from Smashwords: SV94M

The code is valid through January 31.

Enjoy! 

EDIT: Amazon has given its approval already. So here's the link to the story in the Kindle Store: FIRE EATER FOR YOUR KINDLE
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Contests and Progress Report, 12-14-2011

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PROGRESS REPORT
Project: Blood of the Falcon
Pages Cut: 18+
Pages Revised: 16
New Scenes: 3 (pretty sure I made up those 18 pages cut with new stuff. Oh, well.)
Good Things that Happened: Fairies deliver messages really fast. Better than texting!
Bad Things that Happened: Poison ends all hope for peace

In addition, LegendFire's biannual Legends Contest (can you call it biannual if you only had it once this year?) launched yesterday. Lots of participants have already signed up, so I'm happy. Our prompt is "Redemption" which ought to work well for Fiction and Poetry but will likely be tough for our Non-Fic writers. I haven't got a clue about what to write. Well, maybe a clue. As far as Non-Fic goes, all I can think of is writing my testimony. Not sure a contest at LF is the best place to submit that. Or maybe it is the best place. But I seriously doubt one's testimony is a proper contest entry. Ah, well.

Preparing for a road trip this weekend to visit friends who moved away in October. They just got into an apartment of their own this week, so things may be nice and chaotic when we get there. Hmm...hope the weather holds.

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Xmas Tree Success!

Here are the results of my Christmas tree decorating weekend. The pic is a little blurry and grainy b/c I was too lazy to get the tripod out for the snapshot. 

Our Gingerbread Xmas Tree, 2011

I started collecting gingerbread men soon after I was married, so slowly the tree decor has shifted toward cookies and other holiday food for a theme. This tree does make one wish for real holiday cookies and candy, so it's rather dangerous to look at for long. Teehee.

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Christmas Lights...

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The paint on the living room wall is dry at last, and so we (I) finally got the Christmas tree set up, no matter that it's nearly mid-December already. Not much better than a mug of egg nog and Christmas music blaring and a tree to be decorated. Bad thing is, I'm at a standstill. I don't have enough strands of lights. Four strands, you'd think, would be plenty for a seven-foot tree. I can't figure it out. I know I had plenty of lights last year. I don't even think I used all four strands. Weird. Now I have all the Christmas decor strung out across the living room, but a tree that refuses to accept any of it until there are lights all the way to the tippy top. I'd run to the store for more, but it's 9 p.m. (and my mug of egg nog is empty. Don't want a D.U.I, do I!). And there's no way I'm unwinding all those lights to retry. That's the part that takes the patience of a saint, and a saint I ain't. Hmm...

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Progress Report, 11-28-11, and Ebook Pricing

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My methods of revising Falcons are changing enough that it's becoming more tricky to accurately count up my progress in terms of pages or word count. Cutting, keeping, tossing, rewording. Very little is as it once was. Book One is also undergoing a title change. Rising this, Rising that. I'm seeing it everywhere. Don't want the thing to be lost in a Rising sea. So here goes:

PROGRESS REPORT
Project: Blood of the Falcon
Pages Cut: 4 3/4
Pages Revised: 2 1/2
New Pages: 5 3/4
Good Things that Happened: The Black Falcon accepts a new shield
Bad Things that Happened: Kelyn fears a bit of vengeance

That aside, the subject of ebook pricing has come up in recent discussions. I was wondering about the range of opinions concerning the $0.99 craze. A good thing? A bad thing? Does it help budding writers and the ebook market in the long run? What might be the cons of pricing books so low? Any analysts in the house? Helpful links?
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