Oh yeah… I have news…

Grumpy Old Gods cover

Grumpy Old Gods–Storm Dance Publications (affiliate link)

I think I missed mentioning it… I’m in an anthology! It’s coming out this month, and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.

The title is Grumpy Old Gods, and the concept was to write about a god–either from an established mythology or a new one–who is old, decrepit, or otherwise waning in power. I chose to invent the God of Morning for my story.

The book is available now for pre-order on Amazon! Don’t miss out!

And, in related news, I have a featured post on the StormDance Publications blog. Go check it out and take a look at the other authors in the book while you’re there.

 

 

Thundercats are go!

It’s alive!

We have liftoff!

Soup’s on!

Time to rock-n-roll!

Whatever euphemism you care to use, they all mean the same thing. The HTTS Student Anthology, The Adventure of Creation, is now available for sale!

You can find it on Amazon.com either as a paperback or as a Kindle ebook. Buy early and buy often!

And, of course, I’d love to hear your feedback on my debut publication. My story is entitled, Finding Light. You’ll find me on page 186. It is published under the name Amy Padgett.

Cover reveal – The Adventure of Creation

The cover for The Adventure of Creation was actually officially announced on the HTTS blog on Monday. I’m absolutely thrilled to share the news here as well.

And for those who may not be aware, I wasn’t just one of the judges – I’m fortunate enough to have a story included as well. (We didn’t vote on our own stories, and I’m humbled and pleased that my fellow mods rated my story as highly as they did.)

At the beginning of the year the moderators for the How To Think Sideways forum (of which I am one) approached her with the idea of an anthology to celebrate the 5th anniversary of “How to Think Sideways.”  Holly agreed to the idea and even added a monetary prize for the top stories. After a very, very difficult selection process, we settled on thirty-five stories. It’s a pity that we couldn’t take them all.

With the stories selected and in Holly’s hands to pick a winner, we are proudly presenting to you:

The
Adventure
of
Creation

Think Sideways
Writers Anthology
presented by
Holly Lisle


35 marvelous short stories
by gifted new writers

Follow a girl to the Below-World to slay the Sharkshadow, or help a timid girl to overcome the destructive criticism of her art teacher. Witness a solitary drone on Mars or a naive homunculus struggle to become human. Sew with a mother who lost her daughter in a quilt, defeat super-villains in a bank robbery with an unlikely superhero, or join a great mage in the fire.

In thirty-five imaginative stories, emerging authors present the diversity of their creativity. Each author found a different angle for the unifying theme: The Adventure of Creation. Witness the talent nurtured by writing teacher, Holly Lisle. For the 5th anniversary of her first big writing course, How to Think Sideways, this anthology features the best of her talented students in a great variety of genres.

The eBook and print book will be released on the 24th of July. Help us spread the word. If the anthology is successful, there is a good chance that we’ll do another one next year.

Anthology stories have arrived – I’m excited!

HTTS Student Anthology

Photo By: Moyan BrennCC BY 2.0

HTTS student Anthology

About 4 months ago, one of the other moderators at How To Think Sideways had a fantastic idea. She suggested a student anthology to celebrate 5 years of Sideways thinking. What a fantastic idea! Since Holly’s classes are all about improving fiction writing, collecting well-written stories from her students is a great way of proving that her system works. It also has the added bonus of showcasing some talented up-and-coming writers.

As one of the moderators on the forum, I have the privilege of also being one of the judges for the anthology. With 60 stories having been submitted, this is no small undertaking. We have to pare down the selections by about half. Yikes!

We will be reading each story and compiling our scores based on 10 different criteria. I’ll admit it… I feel a tiny bit overwhelmed. I’ve always been a reader. I know what I like and I think I can tell good writing when I see it. But I’ve never done something quite like this before and I really don’t want to screw it up! I’m sure it will be fine though… it’s just the adrenaline talking.

Working on my own anthology

Not only am I a judge in the contest, I’m a contestant. (Don’t roll your eyes at me that way – I have recused myself from judging that particular entry.)

But I just wanted to mention that I had a fun time writing my story for this anthology, and I was pleasantly surprised with the results. I have no doubt that I could have improved it further, but word-count limitations (2500 max), time limitations (I was up against the deadline), and a need to let go of the need to be PERFECT meant that I had to be satisfied with what I had.

But this is just one story, and I fully intend to do more. So I’ve decided that I want to write at least 5 or 6 more short stories (possibly up to 10 or 12… we’ll see how it goes) and put out my own collection. I have no idea how long that will take me, but I’m setting a tentative goal for the end of October. That would make it a Birthday present to myself. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

 

Work In Progress!

El cinco invertido

JOSE VICENTE JIMENEZ RIBAS via Compfight

For the first time in quite a while, I have a work in progress! I am working on a piece of fiction that is actually keeping me interested. It’s only a short story, but even as I’m writing it, I am intrigued by it. I can’t wait to find out what’s next! Is that weird coming from the author?

This particular piece is meant for the HTTS student anthology that is coming out later this year. If you are a member of any of Holly’s classes , you are eligible to submit a short story of up to 2500 words for consideration. The theme of the anthology is, “The Adventure of Creating.”

All the story rules and submission guidelines are on the forum, and you must be a verifiable member of her classes to participate, which means if you’re buying the standalone lessons from Amazon, B&N, iBooks, or in her online store, you’ll need a minimum of a general (free) membership on the forum and you’ll have to indicate which class(es) you’re taking. But if you aren’t already working on something, please note that the deadline for submission is in less than 2 weeks. If you’re going to write something, you better write fast!

And since I’m talking about it, I may as well offer a brief taste of what I’m doing. This is the freewriting snippet that came out of some mind mapping and sucked me in to the story I’m working on…

It all started in a cave, in the dark. Really, really dark. You know how the sun can make your eyes hurt on a bright day? That’s what this darkness was like. It just closed in and my eyes hurt from the strain of trying to see… something… anything….

Anyway, that’s what I’m doing right now.

What are you doing? Any works in progress? Any huge eureka moments in your writing? Inquiring minds want to know!