I have just released a new science fiction and fantasy collection. It contains ten short stories. Some of these have appeared in anthologies, but the majority of the collection are brand new, never before seen stories.
I’ve been pretty busy lately finishing up some projects and doing some stuff for projects I can’t talk about yet, but I figured I’d update and let people see a preview of what is coming in the next three months from myself and Doomed Muse Press.
First up, I’m just finishing the first full-length Gryphonpike Chronicles novel. It’s got rogues, dragons, ship battles, and general adventuring awesomeness. Here’s the cover:
After that I’m turning my focus to short fiction and novellas for a couple months since I have three short story collections almost ready to go.
The first is a general science fiction and fantasy collection in the same vein as my previous collection “Till Human Voices Wake Us”. It will have about 10 short stories and novelettes as well as one or two novellas. Here’s the cover for it:
The second collection will be of my urban fantasy short fiction, including a brand new Remy Pigeon story as well as a brand new novella. Here is the cover for that:
And finally the third collection will be an adventure fantasy collection featuring six short stories, two novelettes, and a brand new novella (or maybe two if I get carried away, I have two I really want to write and include so it will depend on time). Here is the cover for the adventure fantasy collection:
So expect those out before Christmas! I’ll post when they are available with full descriptions and links where you can find them. Now, back to the word mines.
I have a new fantasy short story collection out. Here are the shiny details:
A pregnant witch must decide between protecting her heritage and protecting her unborn child… A man looking for a better life learns there is a permanent price attached to change… Grieving for his lost brother, a man faces the mother of all tornadoes with a little magical assistance… When a social worker threatens to break apart her family, a single mother of two must use all her imagination and courage to escape to a better world.
This is a collection of four fantasy short stories from Annie Bellet. Included are: River Daughter, La Última Esperanza, Roping the Mother, The Scent of Sunlight.
*Bonus Material*
The first five chapters of “A Heart in Sun and Shadow”, a fantasy novel set in a re-imagined ancient Wales.
Now, on to what I want to talk about in this post.
Music. Specifically, the music I use when writing. I’m always curious about what other people listen to while writing (or don’t listen to) but I am not sure I’ve shared some of my favorites.
It often depends on what I’m writing, but generally, I can’t write without music. I gotta have it. I prefer music without English or Spanish words (or at least pretty incomprehensible lyrics if they are in a language I understand). But instead of just waxing on forever about this band or that song or whatever, I figured I’d just post some links so you can listen to things yourself.
For writing SF, lately I’ve been totally hooked on the Halo 3: ODST soundtrack. Listen to this and tell me it doesn’t make you want to go write something full of spaceships and brave people and guns and stuff:
I’ve also been listening to the Bastion game soundtrack a ton. You can get the soundtrack (or listen to it) here: http://supergiantgames.bandcamp.com/
For writing fantasy, especially epic-feeling fantasy, Two Steps from Hell is pretty much the winner. Listen to this and then go write a giant sword fight or sweeping reunion among long-lost companions:
In general, I’ve been enamored of the Red Sparowes lately:
And for writing romances or fantasy or pretty much anything highly emotional scenes, you can’t go wrong with anime soundtracks. I really love the work of Yoko Kanno:
So that’s the story with me and writing music. The right song while writing a scene can help me tap into the emotional core I’m looking for or help me visualize the story I’m telling. I don’t know how people write without music. It works for some. Just not for me.
By the way, I’m always on the lookout for more writing music. So if anyone has suggestions of things I might not have heard of, don’t be afraid to post some links in the comments.
I released another short story collection as an ebook. This one is all science fiction and all the stories deal with space travel or distant planets in some way. It includes my other Clarion application story, “Pele’s Bee-keeper”, which also was a semi-finalist in the Writers of the Future contest. “No Spaceships Go” appeared in December on Daily Science Fiction and will be reprinted in the third issue of Scapezine: the magazine of Young Adult SF.
Here’s the cover:
Here’s the blurb:
A shuttle crash and a rescue by a mysterious woman alone on a deserted planet leads to political and physical dangers… A captain facing court-martial discovers an alien in hyperspace… In the not so far future, a teenage boy has to choose between love and traveling to the stars… On a far away planet, one old miner finds something beneath the ice that forces him to face his grief… Two brothers offered a second chance at their dreams of manned space exploration face technological and personal dangers that could cost them far more than just their program…
This collection of both new and previously published science fiction contains four short stories and a novella. Included are “Pele’s Bee-keeper”, “The Memory of Bone”, “No Spaceships Go”, “Beneath the Ice and Still”, and “The Light of the Earth as Seen from Tartarus”.
I got a Silver HM for Writers of the Future 2nd Quarter 2011. My second Silver HM in a row. Guess I need to step up my game somehow. If only I could go to an intensive, 6 week workshop on writing SF/F fiction. (Oh, wait….)
My SF novella is still free on Kindle for a limited time and over 3,000 people have downloaded it. Want to be cool, too? You can Get it Here!
And my SF collection “The Spacer’s Blade& Other Stories” was featured on Daily Cheap Reads. Go here, check it out.
There. That’s all I got. Sorry. Clarion has 2.5 weeks left, and then I’ll try to formulate some thoughts on it, etc.
My science fiction short story collection “The Spacer’s Blade and Other Stories” is up for sale now. It has three short stories (two of which earned Honorable Mentions in the Writer’s of the Future contest) and a novelette (which also got an HM). It’s available for Kindle, Nook, and pretty much every other ebook format.
