writing

Shadow of the Black City Blurb v.2

Nomad Khyrg al Wahid witnesses an airship crash in his arid highland home known as the Jashem. Two survivors emerge from the wreckage: an ethnographer and his assistant from Bogozechi, a dark industrial city rife with intrigue. Khyrg’s clan rival, Anwar ibn Masaud, having also followed the crash, arrives at the crash site moments later …

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Writing Milestones

This week I reached two writing milestones: I submitted my first fantasy short story, The River Lords, for publication and I began revising the first draft of my first novel, Shadow of the Black City. Each of these milestones represents something different. The River Lords represents completing a project and putting it out there and, …

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The Learning Continues

Earlier today, I posted another snippet from The River Lords, a short story I’ve been working on for several weeks. The metamorphosis of this story has been fascinating–and educational. About a week ago I thought I had a draft I was ready to submit for publication, but something nagged at me. I wasn’t all that …

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WIP – The River Lords

I’ve been trimming The River Lords yet again, beginning the story still closer to the end. I’m liking what I’m seeing. Back on the boat, I coaxed dried grass and twigs to fire in a bronze pan that had survived the Yan Gorge. I spitted the rabbits and placed them over the flames, turning them …

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Entry in Nathan Bransford’s “The 3rd Sort-of-Annual Stupendously Ultimate First Paragraph Challenge”

Mr. Bransford’s contest and all the entries can be seen here. Here’s my entry: I rode from the ruins of Wat Rahm on a collection of flotsam amid the swift waters of the flooded Yan River. The corpses of my brothers and sisters, the Jao Naam, bobbed and swirled past with a languor not of …

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Short Story WIP progress

I finished a second revision (rewrite is more accurate) of The River Lords last night. I’m pleased with the effort. I went from 10k+ to under half that at 4848 words. I’ll give it the once over to cut a little more fat and tighten up story elements. After that, I’ll begin to submit it. …

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The River Lords – WIP

The sampan dipped into a glassy trough and then climbed the shining face of the next wave. As it teetered on the peak, I lunged to the right side of the bow. My weight felt insignificant against the waterlogged boat, but it had the desired effect. The sampan pivoted and began to fall down the …

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In a Nutshell

Words and Coffee as seen by wordle.net. I borrowed the idea from Cory Doctorow’s post. He hacked the post and entered his name and Little Brother a whole heap to make them stand out. I like it. I wish there was a way for it to consider all posts from the blog, but what do …

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