Publishers Weekly review

Here's another nice review for Warrior Wisewoman 3. This one is by Publishers Weekly.

Submissions

I sent two more submissions out the door, one yesterday and one this evening. One was for a ten-year-old story, but it fit the guidelines for a certain anthology. The other was to a contest. So we'll see what happens with them.

I have a lot more to do, but at least some of the items on my writing to-do list can be crossed off this month.

Computers, fridges and tires, oh my!

My desktop PC, which, while not technically the oldest computer in the house, is currently the one which has gone the longest without maintenance. I believe it's been with me for longer than the six years we've lived in this house, and by now it's begun to exhibit a few little quirks. The main USB port on the front of the machine doesn't work, so I've had to use a pigtail off the external USB hub for the last couple of years. It's slow, and in the last week it's taken to doing a weird thing; whenever it goes into hibernation mode, it refuses to wake up again when I return and move the mouse or touch the keyboard. The only way to wake it up again is with a hard reboot--not a good sign. So it needs the computer guru Huz to take it apart and see what's going on, plus give it a wipe and reinstall of the OS. So that means I had to save all my important data, and not just the writing backups I normally do.

Thanks to the 8-GIG thumb drive, I've transferred all my important data onto both of the laptops, but since found out that the little red one can't really take the place of my desktop PC, even temporarily. It may have several hours of battery life, but when it runs longer than two hours straight, it gets quite hot underneath. The larger laptop doesn't seem to have this problem, so it has been drafted to be my temporary desktop PC, while the little red one gets to be the grab-and-go mobile computer that it's meant to be.

The tires, however, are not as easily gotten around. Three of them are nearly bald, and the car needs a brake job.

In the midst of this happy chaos, the fridge decided to commit mortality and give up the ghost on Saturday morning. We got it reanimated that same day, but it wasn't cheap.

I say it's time for some major writing success.

Writing to Change the World

I just finished reading a book called Writing to Change the World, by Mary Pipher. She writes about the fact that, no matter whether it's nonfiction or fiction, prose or poetry, music, blogs, or essays, the main motivation for many writers is to make some kind of change in the world. And given the circumstances facing all of us today, from gigantic oil spills to war and global warming, the world badly needs for its humans to make a change. Despite the sobering truths Ms. Pipher points out in her book, the message that shines forth from her pages is a message of hope. She reminds us that with our words, we can all make a difference.

It may start with an audience of only one person, then slowly grow to hundreds. Regardless of the size of its readership, every piece of writing that expresses the need for change while inspiring, educating, and reaching out to connect, is a piece of writing that has the potential to help all of us. In the process of writing about writing for change, Ms. Pipher has provided something that perfectly illustrates her subject. Her book inspires, teaches, and connects, as well as providing an experienced voice of encouragement for any writer who wants to help create something larger than himself. Centuries later, any given writer may have fallen into obscurity, but his words may have grown into a beacon left behind to help light the way for others. I can't remember which writer said the words, "We must be the change we wish to see in the world," but I will remember the words even after my last breath. Surely there isn't any better legacy than that.

The First Review

The first advance review of Warrior Wisewoman 3 can be found here, at Billion Light-Year Bookshelf. She was thorough and thoughtful, and it was great to read her take on all the stories in the volume.

I Dream of Stories

Okay, I did it. I finished that new short story I mentioned before--the one that was sort of "Devil Wears Prada" meets Godzilla. Or maybe it was "Working Girl" meets Godzilla. (On Wall Street.) It's been through the gauntlet of my crit group, the Moxie, and come out looking great, so now it's time to pick a venue and start sending it out.

It felt good to create something new just for the enjoyment of it, just because I had a crazy-but-cool dream, just because I wanted to give it a whirl...just because. Yes, I have to try to sell it, but that wasn't what I was thinking as I wrote it. Like "The Truth One Sees," it's a bit different from my usual stuff. Different is good. The last time I tried something different, it sold. In any case, it was fun, and it felt amazing to have that kind of fun again. The last thing I finished was the faery tale novella at the end of January, so it was high time for a new story.