The Wordsmith's Forge

I've finished the rough draft of "Cutting Time" (@ 8,650 words).  This is a Torn World story that started out as a handful of scene sketches last year when I was developing the character of Eshra.  People wanted to know her backstory, which is a pretty cool (if tragic) piece of sociologic mayhem.  I finally found time to flesh that out, since the character just got posted.  I'll let it sit for a bit and then polish it up for submission.

This meets my goal of finishing a story that was started and abandoned earlier.  Yay, yay!  I'm pleased with this because I have the Aries habit of starting far more things than I finish. 

Wow, that was fast!  "The Tale of the Ravens" is fully funded on Kickstarter, after just two days.  I have to wonder if it's the coolness of the individual project (ravens, storytelling, great art) or the concept (an unusual combination of looseleaf art prints plus literature) that prompted the speed and enthusiasm of the response.  Anyhow, the project would still benefit from further donations, so if you wanted to contribute you still can.

Here is an interesting blog post about what and how much horses eat, from a writer who owns a horse and ran into a hay shortage this winter.  If you want to inconvenience your characters, there are some fine ideas.

Honor those who gave their lives while reaching for the stars.

My poem "Laika's Trail" is one such tribute.

Here's a wonderful essay by one of my writer-friends on how science fiction prepares us to face the future.