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MMO Vignette - Evagio

1/30/2015

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Well, I'm off to embark on a writer's retreat weekend Up North and hopefully the inspiration will flow! I'd love to get a few of my short stories tied up, a few more written, and maybe some editing done. We'll see. In the meantime, I'd thought I'd kick things off with another Moonlight Medicine vignette. Short and sweet. I hope you enjoy it.



Evagio

Sketchbook clutched in his delicate hands, Evagio traipsed though the corridors of the manor house humming to himself. The situation with the stray and the doctor was very dramatic and likely to turn tragic. Inspiring. There’d been little so inspiring in the Wolfkin world in at least fifty years. Bega was even working on an epic poem about the affair, and though the outcome was yet to transpire, had written a moving ending with the Vulke tearing the doctor apart as she wept and clung to the slaughtered stray. Evagio was of the opinion that it would be even more stirring if the doctor lived to avenge her fallen stray lover and set fire to the Vulke Alpha. In any case, for the sake of the Art, it was best that things appeared so grim for the stray.

Pushing open a gilded, white set of double doors, Evagio took in his surroundings. The chamber was vast with a wall of windows brilliant with southern light. It was a chambre de la lumiére or room of light. Many of the old country manors had them to allow occupants to enjoy the benefits of natural light in the wintertime without having to brave the elements. In fact, to combat the draft from the windows, two huge fireplaces mirrored each other on the east and west walls of the room. Grey velvet cushioned sofas over muted Persian rugs were positioned in front of the fireplaces while lounge chairs that looked like they belonged on the deck of a turn of the century cruise ship spanned the breadth of the windows. Though the fireplaces were dark, the room air of the room was still warm against Evagio’s skin due to the streaming sunlight.

Closing the doors behind him, Evagio strode towards the windows and flung himself down in a central lounge chair. He flipped open his sketchbook to a fresh page and pulled a nub of charcoal from the pocket of his sleek, black pants. Letting his eyes adjust to the light, he focused on the view of the forest beyond. The dark, foreboding woods made a perfect contrast with the bright sun, and Evagio felt the creativity flow through him as he passed the charcoal back and forth across the paper. Sweat soon speckled his brow as his arm worked tirelessly, though his eyes never left the view outside the window. Time, marked by the position of the sun’s rays on the glossy hardwood floor, passed, the only sound the whisper made by the charcoal blackening the pages as Evagio turned and drew on one after the other.

The last of the charcoal crumbling to dust in his trembling fingers, Evagio finally looked down at the image on his sketch pad. His eyes moistened at the sight of the beauty his muses had sent him. Their message was clear: the doctor had to die tragically for the story to be perfect.


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Awesome Author Interview - Michael Cieslak

1/22/2015

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I first met Michael Cieslak at my very first Con, Penguicon 2013 and was drawn immediately to his fantastic zombie socks...well that and his winning personality. Over time we've kept in touch and I know him now not only as a spine-tingling horror author, but as someone dedicated to the local writing community here in Michigan. So all heads, I mean hats off, to Mr. Cieslak.

Question 1: What do you wish people would ask you about your writing?

Over the years I’ve had all of the usual questions, plus a few that are specific for writers of what
my business cards call “dark speculative fiction.”  I have my pat answers which run through my head.

Where do you get your ideas?
A service similar to the Book of the Month Club. Every month they send me two ideas. I pay
for the ones I use and send back the others.  The honest answer is “everywhere.”  The idea for my
first published story came when I was playing with Matchbox cars.  My little brother mispronounced Zamboni as zomboni and boom!

I had an idea for a story once.  Would you write it for me?
Thanks, but no.  I’ve got that service I mentioned.

Have I read you/Have I heard of you?
Maybe, probably not.  If you would like to, I have books to sell.

Why horror?
This one is usually accompanied by a face or a tone which implies the question “Are you
deranged?  Do I have to be worried about you?”  The short answer to this one is: why not horror?  
The longer answer involves a discussion of good and evil, exploring all aspects of human nature, and the understanding that sometimes it is necessary to “gaze into the abyss” in order to truly understand ourselves.

What I would rather have someone ask is “Why do you write?” 
The genuine answer is that I don’t really know.  I just know that I have all of these people living inside my head and they are all clamoring for me to tell their stories.   To be honest, there is also a certain amount of vanity involved.  I like being the guy who tells the stories, especially the ones that creep people out.  It sets me apart from everyone else. Plus, at least according to my sister, I’m less of a jerk when I’m writing.  She told me this during a brief period when I stopped writing and focused on “serious, grown-up stuff.”  [I am paraphrasing a little here because I’m not sure about your policy on swear words.]  Finally, writing just seems to come naturally.  There are times when the words just flow out, as you can see by the verbose answer to your first question.

Question 2: Which of your characters would you most like to meet and why?

There are two answers to this question, the literal one and the sort of metaphorical answer.  The
latter is that I would like to meet all of the characters which I have not yet had a chance to write
about, implying that by telling the stories that I have yet to tell, I will be meeting them.The more literal answer is Kira.  She has already made one appearance in the short story “The Numbers Don’t Lie” which appeared in Erie Tales: 666.  I also have extensive notes for a novel length story which I haven’t quite got around to writing yet in a file entitled “Daughter of the Morning Star.”  She is Lucifer’s daughter who is desperately trying to make it on her own.  She has to work twice as hard as any other demon to show that she is capable and that her position in Soul Acquisitions is not just nepotism.  She’s tough, has a biting wit, and can be particularly heartless.  There is also a shadow of insecurity which she tries to keep hidden behind her bravado.  It isn’t easy growing up in the brimstone shadow of the Lord of Hell, plus she and her dad aren’t on the best of terms.  

A close second would be Wednesday Weld, who started out known only as Victim Who Dies Horribly #3—Barn.  She was supposed to come down from a hayloft and be devoured by zombies, but when the time came to write that scene, she refused.  I know on a deeper level that it was my subconscious telling me that given what I had written so far, the actions I had planned simply did not fit with her personality.  However, it really felt like my fictional creation was sitting there telling me No.  She ended up being one of the few survivors of that story and the main character in the sequel.  I would like to thank her for pointing out the huge writing fail I was about to commit.

Question 3: Where is your favorite place to shop for zombie attire?

I’ve gotten a lot of material from various places on-line.  I spend way too much time on Think Geek and browsing Etsy stores.  Despite this, I would have to say that my favorite place to shop for zombie material would be at conventions.  I’m fortunate enough to have been to a number of horror conventions, often as a vendor (either on my own for Dragon’s Roost Press or with the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers).  In fact, we have been doing many of the same shows for long enough now that we’ve formed friendships with many of the other vendors.  This has created some great opportunities for collaborations.  We also have a number of attendees who look for us every year.  It is very satisfying to have someone come up and ask what new material we have this time around.  Attending conventions is like having a little family reunion every few months.

The only down side is that my wife has instituted a policy where I have to discard two tee-shirts for every one that I purchase.


BIO:

Michael Cieslak is a lifetime reader and writer of horror, mystery, and speculative fiction. A native of Detroit, he still lives within 500 yards of the city with his wife and their two dogs Tesla and Titus. The house is covered in Halloween decorations in October and dragons the rest of the year. He is an officer in the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers. His works have appeared in a number of collections including DOA: Extreme Horror, Dead Science, Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhymes, the GLAHW anthologies, and Alter Egos Vol 1. He is the current Literature Track Head for Penguicon. Michael’s most recent endeavor is the Dragon’s Roost Press imprint which published it’s first anthology Desolation, 21 Tales for Tails in 2014.  A portion of the proceeds of each sale of Desolation will benefit the Last Day Dog Rescue organization.  Dragon’s Roost Press’ most recent publication is Mary Lynne Gibbs’ YA novel The Maiden’s Courage.

Michael’s mental excreta (including his personal blog: They Napalmed My Shrubbery This Morning) can be found on-line at thedragonsroost.net.

Links:  

Webpage: http://thedragonsroost.net

Dragon’s Roost Press: http://thedragonsroost.net/Publications/publications.html

The Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers: http://glahw.com

Penguicon: http://2015.penguicon.org
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Writers Helping Writers

1/17/2015

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Hello everyone out in writerland, and the few other friendlies who may also read my blog. I realize that this blog post is a day late and I apologize, but as always reasons...Anyways, recently I was asked by another author to write a recommendation for her because I am a published author (Wow, I'm a published author!). I was not only dumbfounded and totally flattered (Oh gawrsh!), but also inspired to write this little post. You see, it writerland one often gets an overwhelming feeling of competition with other writers, thinking thoughts like, "I'll never be as good a writer as she is," or "Shoot, their novel is just like mine!" And because of these thoughts, we as writers have a tendency to feel like the world of writing is a dog-eat-dog environment. I am here to dispel this myth by telling you about some of my own experiences working WITH other writers.

From my vary first Con (Penguicon 2013), I met some wonderful new and aspiring authors and began to connect with them. What have I gotten out of it? Well, for one, I now have a modest community of people that I can go to with writing or promotional questions or to ask to read ARC's (advanced reader copies) for me. Secondly, now that I know a few people, I am actually invited to participate in Cons, which is huge because you get yourself and your name in front of...dun, dun, duuuuuun...the public. Okay, so it's usually the geeky public, but it's still the public. Also, in case you weren't aware, if you are on a certain number of panels, etc. at Cons you may get your admission fee refunded or waved! At an average of $30-$60 bucks a pop, that's huge! Thirdly, if you've been keeping up with this blog at all, you will notice quite a number of posts which are what I like to call Awesome Author Interviews. If I didn't have a good rapport with other authors, I wouldn't have much to blog about now would I?

Now sure, I have had a handful of bad experiences with other authors taking advantage of my kind overtures, but that is such a ridiculous minority and so overshadowed by the benefits that I've received that it is almost not worth mentioning.

So take home message: stop trying to compete with your fellow authors and realize that you are all in this together and can each help the other succeed!

Keep Writing and Edit On,
Jen

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Writers Group Prompts of Old

1/9/2015

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Happy Friday! I think that I mentioned that I attend a writers group every Tuesday night. At group we are provided with a number of writing prompts and have a set amount of time to write whatever comes to mind. Here are a couple of older prompts and my timed responses to them. Enjoy.





















Water is a Wine Sandwich (2 min)


Life is peanut butter and jelly on rye on a plate of glass. Thimbles full of oak resin and cantaloupes filled with mice. Find the key, find the lock, find the way out. Hanging in baskets and in broom cupboards. Hangers are people and water is a wine sandwich. He is our savior, the sandwich maker.

A Thief Breaks into a House, but Then Encounters the Owner of the House with a Gun – 4 lines of dialogue that determine who lives and dies (1 min)

“Mister ClownFace, I would put that down and walk away.”

“You’re the one with the shotgun, Girlie.”

“Yes. I. am.”

“What if I do-“

Second attempt at above prompt:

“Hey Mister, watcha doin’?”

“Holy shit Junior, put down the gun!”

“We play cowboys ‘n injuns. You the injun.”

“Oh, God, no!”

Second attempt fleshed out later with more time:

“Hey Mister, watcha doin’?”

Jeremy sighed heavily and turned to the source of the voice with a huge, forced grin on his face.

“Oh hey Little Man! I’m just picking up a few things for your folks, what are you doing out of bed this late-“

Jeremy’s grin faltered as he saw the pistol in the little boy’s hand. It was matte black and stood out in stark relief against his baby blue, dinosaur pajamas. Solid and weighing down the toddler’s wrist at an awkward angle, Jeremy knew in an instant that it was real.

“Where did you get that?”

The boy looked momentarily confused, his sleep crusted eyes finally following Jeremy’s gaze down to the weapon in his own hand. He lifted the gun so that the muzzle was pointing in Jeremy’s direction though the gun was on its side.

“Daddy keeps it in the night drawer in his bed room in case he hears noises at night. I heard noises but Daddy was asleep, so I got it for the noises.” The little boy smiled ear to ear but then his face turned serious. “Mommy doesn’t like it,” he whispered loudly. “’Brett, for God sakes at least keep it unloaded!’” the toddler mimicked in a falsetto voice. “’What good is an unloaded gun Martha?’” he finished trying to make his voice sound deep and manly.

Jeremy swallowed hard, his epiglottis catching painfully as panic bubbled up from his chest. The silver, the laptop, and the cell phone in his pack all but forgotten, Jeremy’s eyes were drawn to the open window in the den to his left.

“Well, you can go put it back now. I’ll wait here and…and then maybe we can play a game or something when you come back?”

The boy’s grin returned but there was something cold about it that made Jeremy’s knees go weak.

“We can play now. I wanna play cowboys and injuns. You’re the injun.

“No, Kid, I-“

“Bang!”


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Resolutions

1/2/2015

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Well another week's gone by, strike that, a year, and those of us lucky enough to be on the far side of 2014 can now wave at it in the rear view mirror as we head into 2015. I don't have any resolutions this year per se, but I do have an idea of what I want this year to look like for me which includes finishing and publishing 2-3 more books, running in more 5k's, and participating in some awesome Cons. Oh, and I'd like to eat more amazing food, spend more time with friends and family, and...something about world peace? Well, I know that we all can't always get what want, but we can get what we put our minds to and work hard to accomplish. I also know that there's this wonderful adage about working smarter and not harder, but really work is work and smarts doesn't necessarily get the job done as much as elbow grease. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm ready to grease my elbows and dig into this new year with gusto. Hope you will too!
Cheers and Happy New Year!...and with a little hard work, it will be. ;)

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    My name is Jen Haeger and I have a degree in Veterinary Medicine as well as a Master's in Forensic Science, so I decided to forget all that and write  novels. I used to read quite a bit as a youth, but was not introduced to truly spectacular writing until my husband showed me the works of Jim Butcher, Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, and others. We are both enormous dorks and enjoy Science Fiction, Fantasy, Board Games, and RPGs, but also try to get out backpacking every once in a while (much easier to do when we lived in New Zealand). Cheers!
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