Whiteboard Wednesday – A tribute to Spock

Posted on 2015/03/04 by ecgarrison
Spock

“He’s not really gone as long as we find a way to remember him.” – McCoy, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

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Live long, and prosper, Leonard.

Posted on 2015/02/27 by ecgarrison
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Whiteboard Wednesday: Troll or Park – Roller Deb meets the Water Queen

Posted on 2015/02/18 by ecgarrison

Troll or Park - Roller Deb meets the Water QueenFor today’s Whiteboard Wednesday, I bring you a scene from Red Tash’s Troll or Park (the anxiously awaited sequel to her brilliant Troll or Derby). Roller Deb is out in Las Vegas for RollerCan – a roller derby tournament like no other, full of fae and trolls and “English” (non magical human folk) all indulging in their favorite sport, as well as the rough and tumble of fairy politics. In this scene, she finds herself in the presence of the awesome Water Queen, an unlikely dignitary in the severe Nevada desert.

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“In Defense of Boldness” by RJ Sullivan – Whiteboard Wednesday

Posted on 2015/02/11 by ecgarrison

In Defense of BoldnessMeet Sparkle… a low rent witch with even lower standards. She’s tacky, she’s whimsical, and she’s powerful. She’s also the sometimes adversary of my friend R.J. Sullivan’s paranormal investigator, Rebecca Burton (pictured as a mermaid on Sparkle’s coffee mug here). This all started from a dare, which R.J. explains in an article on the Seventh Star Press blog, along with the story itself for your enjoyment. I have to say, I’m pleased with the result.

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Confessions of a binge-writer!

Posted on 2015/02/10 by ecgarrison

Hello, I’m Chris Garrison, and I’m a binge writer.Alphasmart Neo

(Hi, Chris!)

I have written 6 novels, but all of them were written during National Novel Writing Months. In November, I have to keep a pace of about 2000 words per day (to give myself a few days off during the month) to make 50,000 words in 30 days. It’s a rush, and I’m proud of the books that have come out of that experience, but it’s not sustainable throughout the year. I’ve also written a bunch of short stories, and a LOT of flash fiction in the past couple of years, thanks to The Iron Writer Challenge (#TIWC). But these all come in bursts, either as inspiration strikes, or as a challenge arises, like an anthology theme.

I’ve started to work to change from writing in binges to a more constant routine.

What I’ve begun doing, since I write best with deadlines (I can be such a procrastinator), is to set myself a goal of 10,000 words per month, every month. I only managed 6,000 in December, but I wrote more than 10,000 in January, and have already written almost 5,000 this month. It’s not much compared to the frenzy of NaNoWriMo, but that’s 21,000 words I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

So instead of throwing all my spare time at a difficult goal, I take maybe an hour every other day, maybe more if I have the time and am on a roll. If I don’t get to it during the week, I write for 2 hours or so per day on the weekend. The relaxed pace means I feel more accomplished, since it’s easier to exceed my goals and not as difficult to catch up if I fall behind. At the same time, I feel enough pressure to get back to my WIP to keep to the 10K goal that it keeps me writing regularly.

If I can keep this up all year, I’ll likely skip NaNoWriMo this November, and just keep to my 10K schedule.  After all, by then I should have doubled the 50K I would have written. Or who knows? Maybe I’ll get caught up in NaNo excitement and double or triple that number.

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“Fell Down” a retro Iron Writer Whiteboard Wednesday!

Posted on 2015/02/04 by ecgarrison
Fell Down

An illustration of my story “Fell Down” from the Iron Writer’s very first Grudge Match!

This Whiteboard Wednesday is a throwback, possibly because of a recent Big Game that I heard so much about last weekend. It goes back to September of 2013, when I was challenged by Tony Jaeger (my Iron Writer nemesis) to a flash fiction duel, with M. D. Pitman as my second, and the infamous K.A. DaVur as Tony’s second. Alas, we lost by one vote, but to worthy opponents. Check out “Fell Down” in my archives or see all four stories in the Iron Writer Catacombs.

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Stephen Zimmer’s HEART OF A LION Trailer & ebook release!

Posted on 2015/02/03 by ecgarrison

I am pleased to announce the release of my friend and fellow Seventh Star Press cohort Stephen Zimmer’s epic fantasy book, Heart of a Lion!

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/heart-of-a-lion-6

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heart-of-a-lion-stephen-zimmer/1121113044

The first novel of a three book story arc in a dark fantasy setting, Heart of a Lion features a hero for all times and ages: Rayden Valkyrie.

Rayden Valkyrie.  She walks alone, serving no king, emperor, or master.  Forged in the fires of tragedy, she has no place she truly calls home.

A deadly warrior wielding both blade and axe, Rayden is the bane of the wicked and corrupt.  To many others, she is the most loyal and dedicated of friends, an ally who is unyielding in the most dangerous of circumstances.

The people of the far southern lands she has just aided claim that she has the heart of a lion.  For Rayden, a long journey to the lands of the far northern tribes who adopted her as a child beckons, with an ocean lying in between.

Her path will lead her once more into the center of a maelstrom, one involving a rising empire that is said to be making use of the darkest kinds of sorcery to grow its power.  Making new friends and discoveries amid tremendous peril, Rayden makes her way to the north.

Monstrous beasts, supernatural powers, and the bloody specter of war have been a part of her world for a long time and this journey will be no different. Rayden chooses the battles that she will fight, whether she takes up the cause of one individual or an entire people.

Both friends and enemies alike will swiftly learn that the people of the far southern lands spoke truly. Rayden Valkyrie has the heart of a lion.

Heart of a Lion will be available in all eBook formats the first week of January, 2015, and will be released in softcover form in mid-January. The editor for Heart of a Lion was Scott M. Sandridge.

For more on Stephen Zimmer and Seventh Star Press, please visit  http://www.seventhstarpress.com

About Stephen Zimmer:  Stephen Zimmer is an award-winning author and filmmaker.  His works include the cross-genre series The Rising Dawn Saga, the epic fantasy Fires in Eden series, the Hellscapes horror short story collection, the Chronicles of Ave fantasy short story collection, and the Harvey and Solomon steampunk tales.  He is based out of Lexington, Kentucky and you can find his site at http://www.stephenzimmer.com

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Whiteboard… Friday?!?

Posted on 2015/01/30 by ecgarrison
Friday

The title character of Robert A. Heinlein’s novel Friday.

Just for the hell of it. RJ Sullivan has a tradition of posting the cover of Robert A. Heinlein’s novel Friday on the appropriate day of the week as a humorous TGIF. Friday always been a favorite of mine, and in my opinion, the best of Heinlein’s later years.

So, TGIF!

As a bonus, for similar reasons, I did a true Whiteboard Wednesday the other day:

A true "Whiteboard Wednesday" (Addams)

A true “Whiteboard Wednesday” (Addams)

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“Moonlight Blossom” – Whiteboard Wednesday & voting! #TIWC #flash #amwriting #steampunk #trans

Posted on 2015/01/28 by ecgarrison

Moonlight Blossom

See my last post for details, watch the video I recorded, or just click on the image to go to the Iron Writer Challenge #98 where my story is struggling for first place. Voting closes early Thursday, so please help out if you like this story!

Fun fact: the elements ended up inspiring me to make this an origin story for Ida, the main character in my work in progress, tentatively titled Trans-Continental.

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VIDEO reading of “Moonlight Blossom” my latest Iron Writer flash story #steampunk #transgender

Posted on 2015/01/23 by ecgarrison

Happy Friday! I decided to do a reading of my new Iron Writer flash story. Got 5 minutes? Let me read you 500 words.

As I mention in the video, I managed to tie the elements of this week’s Iron Writer Challenge into my current work in progress, Trans-Continental, which is the story of a transgender woman in a steampunkish alternate reality. “Moonlight Blossom” is Ida’s origin story.

Read the other stories and vote here: http://theironwriter.com

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