On Magic Potions and Super Spies

Welcome to summer at my house.

Yesterday, Owen and Max made "potions" in our front yard, a variation on mud pies, I suppose. They filled a few old plastic bottles with their nefarious concoctions, and when I asked what was in the bottles, Owen replied, "magic potions."

"Oh," I said. "Potions. Sweet. What do they do?"

"Turn you into a gorilla," he said.

Me: whistle. "I guess I shouldn't drink it, then."

This morning, they constructed binoculars out of mini-planters (the biodegradable kind for starting tomato plants). And what, pray tell, did they do with said binoculars? Spy on the tree trimming crew across the street.

Ah, the power of imagination.

(I think they were waiting for one of the tree trimming guys to turn into a gorilla.)

One for You, One for Me

Sick Things is now available at Amazon.com and other fine retailers. My longish story, "Ranching the Sleore," has one of the most bizarre climaxes I've written to date. This one isn't for the kiddos...but what do I write that is?

The cover art is er...eye catching. (sorry for the ocular reference)

Speaking of cover art, I had a peek at the cover for Blood Lite II: Overbite the other day...mums the word for now, but it is shiny.

Have a good weekend.

WIP Wednesday: It is Wednesday, Right?

I've been decidedly absent from the web the last week or so. I've been absent from writing, too.

I started June like a madman, and now I've hit the wall. The summer vacation wall. The "why-the-hell-am-I-more-busy-when-I'm-not-working" wall.

The only thing I've touched (writing-wise) in the last five days is a revision/rewrite of a piece I'm hoping makes it. Maybe I've just jinxed myself. Maybe not.

The boys did help me sort my old Lego sets, and we've been piecing together some classic space kits from the 1980s thanks to the instruction scans found at Peeron.com. (http://www.peeron.com/inv/theme/LEGO/SYSTEM/Space/Classic)

Everybody's napping. Maybe I can manage ten minutes of writing. Maybe.

What the Hell is an "Internet"?

I'm going to admit it: I "Google" my name once a week. Yes, I do this because I'm a writer, and all writers (at least those who publish) are a bit narcissistic at some level (even if we're closet narcissists). It's how I find most reviews of my short stories.

You find all sorts of interesting things when you "Google" your own name. Like this excerpt from one of my favorite stories at Every Day Fiction:

Billy was always eager to go on nights his mom worked late. We first entered the dark spaces while the world shed her summer greens for the browns and tans of fall, the dingy grey of winter lurking behind the turn of the calendar.

Yes, this was listed under the heading Billy Boy - Every Day Fiction - by Aaron Polson on an Indonesian MP3 download site. WTF is a clip from "Billy Boy" doing on an Indonesian MP3 site?

So, I ask again, what the hell is this thing called "the internet"?

Oh--and any World Cup fans out there--that was one hell of a game the Kiwis played against Italy. Just sayin'. Those Italian whiners can put their lousy acting back on the shelf, too. Boo-freaking-hoo.

Five Question Friday: Andrea Pearson

Andrea Pearson, a Utah native, is a graduate of Brigham Young University (April 2010, bachelor of science degree in Communications Disorders), and awriter for a magazine called Mormon Artist. Her debut novel, The Key of Kilenya, will be released this July. She enjoys biking, music, watchingmovies and basketball, spending time with family and close friends, and reading. She can be reached through her blog, Twitter, or email, all listed on her website: http://andreapearsonbooks.com

1. If you could write in any color ink, what would it be?

Bright red, bright pink, or blue.

2. What do you think makes a good story?

Intense scenes, strong, well written characters, and good pacing--not too boring or slow. There's no such thing as a book which is too intense. :-)

3. What is the hardest part of being a writer?

There are a couple of things:

1) Scheduling--staying away from the internet, from texting, family, and friends long enough to meet my word count goal, and

2) Dealing with the ups and downs: good reviews, harsh reviews. Good writing which flows from my fingertips, bad writing or writer's block. And figuring out how to understand these things, make the good better, and recognize that sometimes reviews are harsh because there really is something wrong with my writing.

4. What would be the ideal meal for one of your favorite characters?

Steak and potatoes. He's a country boy. :-)

5. What is the last book you read?

The Thorn by Daron Fraley--a story about Christians living on a different planet. It was fascinating.

Thanks, Andrea.

Would you like to answer from my bag o' questions for a future edition? Drope me a message at aaron_polson(at)hotmail.com or via Twitter, @aaronpolson.

You Know What's Really Scary?

Water in your basement. That's what.

We had a torrential downpour yesterday leading to water in the basement. We haven't dealt with this scenario in about five years, thank goodness.

So I'm quiet on the 'net. Be back when we're dry.

Oh, How Delightfully Sensational!

If you don't know about KV Talyor's The Red Penny Papers yet, it's time you gave it a gander. Not only is the artwork to die for, The Red Penny Papers is where you will find my serialized novella, Black Medicine Thunder and the Sons of Chaos, this fall.

Sensational, you ask?

Well, yes. Therein you will find:

• undead buffalo
• deals with the devil
• all manner of facial scars
• necklaces made of human teeth
• and a mean ol' bastard named Reaver

...not to mention a cameo (or two) by characters from Loathsome, Dark, and Deep.

Excited? I am.

Old Hobbies Die Hard

Although my wife may argue based on my earnings/time spent ratio, writing is not a "hobby" of mine; I consider it a vocation and treat it as such.

But one of my old, bona fide hobbies reared its costly head this weekend: wheeling and dealing Legos on eBay. It all started with the six-year-old and his desire for a retired Power Miners set...did they have to put all those pictures of the other sets in the back of the instruction manual?

Lego really knows how to market.

So I did a few searches for sets & minifigs I used to own...holy jumping catfish Batman! I shouldn't have let that Greedo minifig go for five bucks.

Doing my best to maintain a reasonable control over my wallet. But when they're this cute/menacing, who can say no?

Five Question Friday: Barry Napier

Barry Napier's fiction and poetry has appeared in more than 20 online and print publications. His dark fiction collection Debris is available through Library of Horror Press and limited edition chapbook The Final Study of Cooper M. Reid was released by Strange Publications in May. In 2011, Barry's novel, The Bleeding Room, will be published by Graveside Tales.

Barry enjoys coffee, minimalist ambient music and irony.

1. If your books could only have single color covers, what color would it be?

A medium tone of gray.

2. Pick a character from anything you've written. Who is it, and what are his/her top five movies?

Cooper M. Reid’s top 5 movies are

Contact
Donnie Darko
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Mothman Prophecies
Weekend at Bernie’s

3. If aliens landed in front of you and, in exchange for anything you desire, offered you any job on their planet, what would you choose?

Still a writer, I think.

4. What three things are always in your refrigerator?

Dressing

Milk
Beer

5. Is the book always better than the movie?

I would love to say yes, but Cooper’s previously mentioned list proves that this is not the case (see Contact and The Mothman Prophecies, for instance)

Speaking of Cooper, go and grab one of the few remaining copies of Barry's limited edition chapbook, eh?

WIP Wednesday: Oh, Revisions, Where Art Thou?

As I often do after writing a longer piece (this time, Borrowed Saints), I've attacked short story mode with a kind of rabid fervor. I now have five (well, almost five) competed first (or second) drafts in need of revisions...some major, some minor. I also need to put the finishing polish on that 15K novella.

I usually like revising, but the ideas just keep coming of late, and I don't want to slow down. I'm also trying to let my stories sit longer. I want them to be masterpieces. I want their wings to be firm and sure when I push them out of the nest.

I promise I'll revise once I finish my current story. Promise.*

From "The First Girl I Ever Loved":

The town is dying, but I’m compelled to drive every street, revisit every corner on which I shared history with Megan. Share history with Megan. The same old men sit in overstuffed chairs in the first floor reading room of the local library. The building is the same, I’m sure, but smaller. Perhaps, like the old men, the building has withered with age. They turn their bulbous, shiny eyes toward me, and their mouths open, stretching the slick, rubbery skin of their lips. Each holds up a braid of Megan’s hair as I pass through. They all have one, and use the strands as placeholders in their books. She kissed me for the first time—the only time—while we studied for a physics exam on the second floor, and I can still smell her under the spoil of old skin and moldy books. I enter through the back of the library and leave through the front, hesitating only to raise a hand in greeting to the old men.

Notice the odd tense shift in the passage? I'm playing with reality here, and this is only a tiny taste. I hope it works because I have big dreams for this one. Honesty is coming easier these days...just not revising.

*note the author crosses his fingers as he types this, which makes it damn hard to type

The Perils of Living with Me

My wife found a note yesterday. She made the mistake of thinking it might be a love note left behind by her darling husband.

The first line read:

I'm a murderer, but I won't ever be able to convince anyone of that simple fact.

Looks like someone needs to keep his writing notes in a notebook, eh?

"Precious Metal" Reviewed at SFCrowsnest

"Precious Metal" (from Albedo One #38) has a brief but favorable mention at Stepehn Hunt's SF Crowsnest.

Reviewer Gareth D. Jones uses the words touching, poignant, and valuable, but not necessarily in that order.

Read the review of the whole issue here.

Me in a Mask and an Interview

Yes, the picture at Mercedes M. Yardley's A Broken Laptop is me at age six. Yes, everything I wrote is true. Check out my entry in "Be Mysterious: Writers in Masks".



Sue London (remember last week's Five Question Friday?) was kind enough to interview me for her Blooming Authors series.



Have a fabulous weekend, okay?

WIP Wednesday: Here There Be Children

My children. Today's WIP?

T-shirts with freezer paper stencils. Owen has chosen an ankylosaurus for his design. Max picked a raptor (the dinosaur variety).

So...busy with the boys.

I do have three short stories in the works:

"Lucky Numbers" (involving some very unlucky events, including a grave robbing)

"Pieces of Lisa" (in which several friends lose various body parts)

and

"One More Masterpiece, Old Man" (featuring a bleeding statue)

And I finished At the End of Church Street by Gregory L. Hall (of The Funky Werepig). Fun book. Badass vampires (which is a welcome change from the blah sparkly spin-offs). I'll have a "recommendation" up at Skull Salad by the end of the week.

The boys are now fighting...my cue for an exit...