Awards Eligibility Post – 2017

Somehow, 2017 is already coming to a close, and even for writers who are woefully bad at blogging (like me) this means it’s time for Eligibility Posts.

Mine is probably coming a bit late, because it took me a while to remind myself that yes, Allison, some people may actually be interested in a list of what you’ve worked on this year. It took me a while to remember that 2017 has been a really good year for me, at least in comparison to the last two.

My first pro sale came at the end of 2015, and my Campbell-eligibility expired last year, with no new short stories boasting a 2016 publication date.

But in 2017, I published five short stories (two flash, three full-length) along with an audio reprint of that first sale. It’s been a strange year, meeting some goals, falling short of others, and stumbling into a few accomplishments I never even thought to shoot for.

But I won’t ramble on in this post. For now–the main event–here are links to my awards-eligible short stories from this year:

“Collecting Jessup” (IGMS – links to excerpt) – a fairly light, sweet fantasy considering it starts with a kidnapping.

“THE ZOMBEE PROJECT 3.0” (Escape Pod) – audio & print, scifi, part of their Artemis Rising event showcasing women and nonbinary authors. As you may have guessed, it involves bees, and zombies, and a project.

“Where the Demon Lives” (T. Gene Davis’s Speculative Blog) – flash, horror, about a demon fingernail.

“Hell Sat and Bantered” (IGMS – links to excerpt) – fantasy, fun with anagrams and three generations of oracles…oh and also a pretty toxic relationship.

“If We Live to Be Giants” (Fireside Fiction) – flash, fantasy, about two half-Giant girls, and about how family can surprise you–in bad ways, and in good.

Also Forthcoming:

“The Creation of Penelope Pine” (IGMS) – fantasy, horror. I believe this is posting sometime in December, so, eligible. But alas, no word on an exact date yet. I realize this may be less than helpful.

[EDIT: It’s up! As of Christmas, 2017, With a lovely illustration.]

 

Thanks for reading, and here’s looking forward to the year to come!

Allison Mulder

 

New and Upcoming Short Stories Published

Hey everybody,

So I haven’t posted here in a while since the plan with the productivity calendar faced the most predictable demise possible, but lately I’ve had several short stories go up in consecutive months, so here’s a round-up of what’s new and forthcoming in the world of Allison’s Fiction.

“Collecting Jessup” illustration by Scott Altmann, IGMS, 2017.

First, “Collecting Jessup” went up in the Feb/March issue of InterGalactic Medicine Show. It’s currently subscribe-to-read, but there’s a preview here, with an illustration which I am endlessly excited about.

Then, on March 3, “THE ZOMBEE PROJECT 3.0” went up in podcast form (and text) at Escape Pod, as part of their Artemis Rising event showcasing women and nonbinary authors. I personally love the Escape Artists podcasts, and it was great to hear an audio version of one of my stories. If you’ve got a spare 40 minutes, give it a listen. I’m so glad to be a part of Artemis Rising, and if you get a chance, check back throughout the month for the other stories involved!

“THE ZOMBEE PROJECT 3.0” has also been included in Event Horizon 2017: An anthology of authors eligible for the John W.Campbell Award for Best New Writer, downloadable for free through July 15, 2017. My Campbell-eligibility is for years 2015/2016, and I really enjoyed being in last year’s Up and Coming Campbell Anthology. Great to be involved with this one too, alongside so many other great authors.

As of today, March 13, I have a 600-word story called “Where the Demon Lives” up at T. Gene Davis’s Speculative Fiction Blog. It’s one of the first flash pieces I’ve sold, and it involves a demon fingernail.

Sometime around April or May, my first pro sale, “Decay” (Originally published at Crossed Genres) will also be podcasted at Tales to Terrify. Creepy tooth fairies in audio form is going to be creeeepyyyyy and I can’t wait.

Other Updates

I tweaked my fiction page to add rough word counts for each story. I’ve considered adding a kind of spooky-scale too, since there is a large difference between the light and sweet “Collecting Jessup” and the creepy, horrifying “Decay,” only…I’m pretty sure my spooky-sale is pretty warped and Allison-specific, so I’m not sure how useful that would be.

I’m not sure if I ever mentioned on this blog that I’m now slush-reading for Strange Horizons, sifting through submissions to see what’s worth passing up to the editors. It’s already been such a great experience. The only downside is that lately I’ve been hopping into the slush pile during sections of time when I’d normally be writing. Still, loving it. Fascinating to see what comes through a magazine’s raw submissions.

Over on Twitter, I’ve been doing a thing I generally refer to as “Today’s Workout Story“: I made a casual goal for the year, to pick a short story podcast and work out for at least that long daily. It’s actually been great for consistency with reading goals and regular exercise. On skip days I have to read three non-audio short stories. I can listen to a non-story podcast, but I have to sub in an additional non-audio short story. The chain’s been continuous since the start of the year until the last few days, when I was visiting a friend and had no time / means to work out. I’ll be reading some make-up stories for those days. Anyway, aside from motivating me to work out in our basement or brave the wild outdoors to walk on a half-frozen bike path, this challenge has resulted in a Twitter thread full of awesome stories. I’m thinking about collecting them into a Storify for somewhat easier scrolling…

That’s about it for now.

If you check out one of my latest published works, thank you! I hope you enjoy it, and I’d love to hear what you think.

Thanks for reading,

Allison

Friday Check-in: Week 21 – Short Story Rabbit Hole, ctd. + Shame

 

What am I doing with my life. What did I do that was cool this week. I tweeted a [mediocre] parody of Hamilton’s 10 Duel Commandments on the #Pie4Ham hashtag.

The other night I finally watched [and had a lot of emotions over] Bakemono no Ko, the latest movie by one of my favorite directors / studios (who also did Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and Summer Wars). Someday, I should blog fangirling about my love for these movies, but such passion will not fit in the context of this particular blog post.

The short story rabbit hole doesn’t seem to have a bottom, guys. I’m really just doing that. I don’t even know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Green Star Reads for this week:

Oh my god I read nothing apart from some short stories. Eight short stories. God. Let me just vow, here and now, this is the week I start reading again. Meaning I’ll be finishing Raven King, by Maggie Stiefvater. And *CHOKES*.

• Soundtrack of the Week: The Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki soundtrack, plus the Zankyou no Terror soundtrack and a dash of Hamilton to top things off.
• Go-to method of procrastination: Um. Too much napping? A little more anime than last week, but still not a ton. Um…new Steven Universe episodes.

Sticker Check-in

CURRENT KEY

1. Silver – 1/2 hr revision(WEEK TOTAL:  15 & 1/2 hrs)
2. Red – draft 500 new words (WEEK TOTAL: 6,500 words)
3. Green – read 100 pages (WEEK TOTAL: 0 pages)
4. Gold – 1/2 hr studying Japanese (WEEK TOTAL:  0 hrs)
5. Blue – blog post (WEEK TOTAL: 2, but only on a technicality: last week’s post was late)
6. NOT PICTURED – I’m tracking exercise and adult-like responsibilities in a separate baby-sized calendar also courtesy of Easter Seals.(WEEK TOTAL FOR EXERCISE: 2 times).
7. TOTAL STICKERS: 46

Points of Note:

• Ignore where the blue line starts. I forgot that last week I posted on Saturday. All stickers on the 21st counted toward this week.

• Now I thought I sucked at productivity this week–yet my sticker total is higher than any of the weeks I caught up on with my last post. Proving that I know nothing, productivity is a lie, but so is self-doubt screaming “WHY DON’T YOU DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR LIFE?” Because I am doing things. It only feels like I’m failing. I guess.
• Next week: ALL THE READING. I will regain some balance, not only working on short stories.

On Wednesday I help my sister move to her new dwelling, so at the very least hopefully I can get some reading done in the car. Alternatively, I will get nothing done that day. We’ll see.

Oh, and my 22nd birthday’s on Thursday. O _ O

Thanks for reading,

Allison

Friday Check-in: Weeks 17-20 – I Missed These Blog Posts…Literally. + Graduation

I’m surprised I actually lasted through most of April before missing a weekly recap on this blog. And in my defense, it’s been a big couple of weeks. In brief:

• Last post, I mentioned a banquet for the English Department graduates at my college. No one cried over the nearness of graduation, but we did eat creme brulee shaped like bird nests from a table decorated with white bird cages, folded paper swans, and pretty much a literal tree as a centerpiece. I maintain that none of us–profs or students–were fancy enough for such a set-up, and most of the banquet was spent giggling, joking, and trying not to spill food on our fancy programs and cards from the English faculty. Each student got a speech of praise delivered by one of the profs, and it was all very touching. I also stayed on campus an extra night, got to see the play Rabbithole performed by the Theatre department, and caught up with lots of friends. It was a good trip, after several visits where I felt weirdly out of place (having been off campus so long).
• One missed blog post led into more, and before I knew it, I was graduating. I’m pretty sure it’s for real this time (unlike in Dec., when I found I was missing four credits). My name was on all the lists. I got my honor cords for graduating and a medallion for being an honors scholar. I walked across the stage, they handed me my diploma cover, and some guy whooped from the crowd. No idea who. I didn’t even hear anything past my name, not even the “summa cum laude.” I assume it was a classmate I know, but your guess (and my family’s speculation) is as good as mine. So. I’m graduated. Weird, weird feeling. Next, I just  have to find a job and a dwelling and some consistency in my life.

  

  Bonus Mulders: 2/3 of my siblings.

• Another weird, weird feeling. The Friday I left for graduation things, I learned a high school classmate had passed away in a car accident. Hours after I walked across the stage, I started getting Facebook messages from my other classmates (almost none of whom I have kept in contact with). We all chipped in for flowers and a card. On Monday, the majority of our class [from a small school] went to Kassidy’s visitation and met later to reconnect. Good to see people. Horrible circumstances. I’m still not sure it’s really sunken in.

And that’s most of what’s been going on in the life of Allison Mulder.

Green Star Reads for the past few weeks:

I finished reading SCHAUM’S QUICK GUIDE TO WRITING GREAT SHORT STORIES,  but I’m still not finished with THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE, by Heidi Heilig, which, oh my god self, you haven’t been blogging for the last 3-4 weeks so why the heck haven’t you been reading more? I’m also–still–only about 100 pages into THE RAVEN KING, by Maggie Stiefvater, one of my all-time favorite writers. It’s the conclusion to the series. I’m kind of dying, but I just can’t sprint through books by favorite authors. I am so scared for it ending, which is probably the whole reason I’ve slacked so much on reading novels lately.

I have been reading a lot of short stories lately. I thought about listing them here, but like, I’ve read 28 since I actually started keeping track of them on May 10. In truth, reading and writing stories is basically all of my productivity from the last few weeks. No blogging, no novel-reading, very little Japanese dabbling–I haven’t even been keeping up with anime or Netflix, you guys. It’s been weird, but a good feeling. I’m motivated, I’m working (even if it’s just to procrastinate other things), and most of this surge is probably because of joining Codex, a forum for neo-pro writers (several ways to qualify, including my way: having at least one pro-sale). Everyone is more knowledgeable and talented than me, and it’s glorious there.

I haven’t actually calculated my sticker totals in the last few weeks, so with just a little further ado…

• Soundtrack of the Week: Um, Brooke Waggoner? A random Steampunk playlist from Spotify? Other things I’ve stumbled onto? Plus currently, soundtrack of Interstellar.
• Go-to method of procrastination: Codex. Reading short stories. Writing short stories (at least five new since my last blog post, plus revision on a host of others). Podcasts (Alice Isn’t Dead and Welcome to Night Vale).

Sticker Check-in

CURRENT KEY FOR WEEKS 17 – 18- 19 – 20

1. Blue | Silver – 1/2 hr revision (WEEK TOTALS:  4 – 10.5 – 6 – 9 hrs)
2. Silver | Red – draft 500 new words (WEEK TOTALS: 3k – 7k – 12k – 7.5k words)
3. Green – read 100 pages (WEEK TOTALS: 300 – 100 – 300 – 0 pages)
4. Gold – 1/2 hr studying Japanese (WEEK TOTALS:  4 – 3 – .5 – 0 hrs)
5. Red | Blue – blog post (WEEK TOTALS: 1 – 0- 0 – 0)
6. NOT PICTURED – I’m tracking exercise and adult-like responsibilities in a separate baby-sized calendar also courtesy of Easter Seals. (WEEK TOTAL FOR EXERCISE: 2? – 3? – 0 – 2 times).
7. TOTAL STICKERS: 26 – 42 – 40 – 31

Points of Note:

• My weekly numbers have been higher before, but this is pretty good considering it is almost all short story work. Now I just need to…find balance.
• I completely forgot to mark down exercise, so those numbers are approximations based on the step-count records on my phone. Luckily, work-out days are huge spikes compared to my sluggishness on…all…the other…days. *cough*

Hopefully I’m back to blogging regularly now. I have missed these check-ins.

Like, literally, I missed them, as in yesterday I thought about how I’d have to catch up when Friday hit, and then a few hours after midnight I realized IT WAS FRIDAY AND I MISSED ANOTHER ONE. UGH.

Anyway.

Thanks for reading,

Allison

P.S. Due to parental influence I have always felt considerably weird about promoting fundraisers, so I don’t do this often at all, but my best friend and critique partner and all-around wonderful person K.T. Simpson is having a number of troubles at the moment. Some of them involve money. If you could help take the edge off the hard-to-solve problems by contributing to payment for these easier-to-solve problems, it would mean a lot. Thanks! ❤

Friday Check-in: Week 16 – Desks and Domesticity

So it’s been an interesting week.

Despite the lack of a job, permanent dwelling, or even household essentials like, say, plates, I spontaneously acquired a rolltop desk, a whirlwind which was recorded in this Twitter thread. Last week’s Ash Plain near my house has transitioned into a dirt patch sprouting many pleasant green shoots, promising bland, pleasant green grass. I also did another Productivity Maroonment, which went fairly quietly beyond a minor Word scare (thought I lost 5k of WIP).

Today, my parents were gone at a conference, and I did not lounge with abandon (as was my right) but instead 1) worked out, 2) did dishes while listening to first two episodes of the eerie and fascinating Alice Isn’t Dead podcast, 3) made an excessive amount of rice, curry, and chicken for me and siblings with minimal flailing. We feasted like kings, and only regretted it a little bit. We’re also set for lunch tomorrow, so A+, self.

Green Star Reads for this week:

Things found within my desk. Creepy doll hand still my favorite.

I finished SAVING FRANCESCA, by Melina Marchetta. As usual, Marchetta’s characters are far from perfect, but they are perfect in combination and I love them to tiny, fragmented pieces. The shipping was strong in all corners here.

I started reading SCHAUM’S QUICK GUIDE TO WRITING GREAT SHORT STORIES, a book that I won in a drawing at the awards ceremony for a middle-school(?) writing contest through my library system. I found a bookmark part-way through, so I’m wondering if I…never finished it? This would explain why the majority of my shorts turn out so weird, so this time around I am determined to finish the thing.

I read HEROES OF THE VALLEY, by Jonathan Stroud, another of my Top 4 favorite authors. Somehow the existence of this one totally brushed past my consciousness until I found it in the library, but I liked it a lot! Different than the other books I’ve read by Stroud, mostly because it’s more high fantasy, but in the best of ways it was just like his other books; clever, and fun, with enough world-building quirks and twists in the plot to keep me riveted.

I am now about a hundred pages into the highly-recommended THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE, by Heidi Heilig. So far it is about half-and-half between “UGH DAD” and outrageous flirting with Persian thief LI, and I am here for it.

• Soundtrack of the Week: Still listening to all favorited songs on Spotify. That’s been fitting my needs pretty well.
• Go-to method of procrastination: This week I realized I have tried out like 14 new anime from this season. And I think that number has gone up now. Send help.

Sticker Check-in

CURRENT KEY

1. Blue – 1/2 hr revision(WEEK TOTAL:  3 & 1/2 hrs)
2. Silver – draft 500 new words (WEEK TOTAL: 6,500 words)
3. Green – read 100 pages (WEEK TOTAL: 800 pages)
4. Gold – 1/2 hr studying Japanese (WEEK TOTAL:  2 hrs)
5. Red – blog post (WEEK TOTAL: 1)
6. NOT PICTURED – I’m tracking exercise and adult-like responsibilities in a separate baby-sized calendar also courtesy of Easter Seals.(WEEK TOTAL FOR EXERCISE: 2 times).
7. TOTAL STICKERS: 33

Points of Note:

• 

  Bonus selfie / new Twitter pic

  No one talk about Camp ReviseNoWriMo. It never happened. We never had this conversation.

• I thought I did a little better than last week, but my total stickers actually went down by one. So…oops? I did do some non-stickered bonus things, like job apps and cooking, so I’ll allow it.

Looking forward to the week ahead, I’ve got a Banquet thing with the English Department on my college campus, so I guess if people cry over the nearness of graduation, you’ll get to hear about that next blog post.

Thanks for reading,

Allison

 

Friday Check-in: Week 15 – I May be Mortal

The strangest part of this week is, I’ve been going to bed at normal, human times for the last week or so. Tiring at 9-ish. Getting in bed somewhere around midnight. Getting like five consecutive hours of sleep before workout group at 5 AM. It hasn’t been unpleasant, exactly, but it is quite disorienting considering my reputation as a ridiculous night owl who does her best work in the wee hours of the morning. I’m as bewildered as you are.

Related: I worked out a whopping five times this week, and during one of these workouts I found myself traveling through an ashy plain, an acrid-sweet, cindery smell on the wind. Unfortunately, this ashy plain was not terribly photogenic.

Green Star Reads for this week:

Finished ZEROES, by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti. Last week, I forgot Westerfeld’s coauthors, entirely because he’s one of my favorites so I saw his name and glazed over for a while there. Anyway, I really liked ZEROES. Channeled all my love for Static Shock, Teen Titans, and other super-hero-y media. Loved figuring out the implications of all the characters’ powers, all the rules in this particular story world.

I also finally finished the writing book I borrowed from my mom: REVISION AND SELF-EDITING, by James Scott Bell. The rest of the title is “Techniques for transforming your first draft into a finished novel,” but the majority of the book was honestly still aimed at writing first drafts… Still, good information, some great exercises. It was a good read.

Last, I started SAVING FRANCESCA, by Melina Marchetta. I really liked FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK and loved JELLICOE ROAD, so I’m looking forward to this one, especially since the love interest already has me alternating coy, knowing smiles with offended huffs. Who knows if I’ll love him or hate him by the end of the book, but either way, feels like I’m in for a ride.

• Soundtrack of the Week: Pretty much defaulted to all my favorited songs on Spotify this week, along with several hours of the “Mermaids” track from PotC 4 soundtrack as I revised a short story about Sirens.
• Go-to method of procrastination: TV, running outside in the last few days. Other than that, the usual.

Sticker Check-in

CURRENT KEY

1. Blue – 1/2 hr revision(WEEK TOTAL:  5 & 1/2 hrs)
2. Silver – draft 500 new words (WEEK TOTAL: 1,000 words)
3. Green – read 100 pages(WEEK TOTAL: 700 pages)
4. Gold – 1/2 hr studying Japanese (WEEK TOTAL:  6 & 1/2 hrs)
5. Red – blog post (WEEK TOTAL: 1)
6. NOT PICTURED – I’m tracking exercise and adult-like responsibilities in a separate baby-sized calendar also courtesy of Easter Seals.(WEEK TOTAL FOR EXERCISE: 5 times).
7. TOTAL STICKERS: 34

Points of Note:

• Let me just emphasize, I worked out every weekday this week. Twice, I walked/ran outside for more than an hour.
• Am I even still doing Camp ReviseNoWriMo? Who knows? Not me. It ain’t going well.
• I’m still burning through blue stickers at a disproportionate rate. Send help.
• All in all this was not a fab week for sticker-earning.

Judging by my current level of tiredness, this “normal” sleep schedule may stick around for at least another night or two, so, we’ll see. All I ask is that if I slip into a hibernative state, someone comes to wake me up before my college graduation ceremony starts.

Thanks for reading,

Allison

Friday Check-in: Week 14 – House Hunting

Last week, I mentioned a house-hunting expedition w/ Sis. It went well, she found a place that seems like it’s going to be great, and more importantly we snooped on the extensive manga selection at the public library, and ate lunch at a restaurant which used to be a church and had gorgeous windows as a result. Sorry for the hideous lighting. Just know there were library books propped in the windows, and it was glorious.

Green Star Reads for this week:

I enjoyed reading JUST VISITING, by Dahlia Adler, especially the middle parts. Is that weird to say? Maybe. But the middle parts were my favorite, even or especially when they had me feeling very single, bemoaning my own lack of high school and/or college romances. Anyway.

I also burned through BLEEDING EARTH, by Kaitlin Ward, in one sitting as far as the last 200 pages was concerned. I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about it one way or another, story-wise, but my predominant feeling is: I couldn’t put it down. And happily–in the words of the one glimpsed Twitter image that made me pick this book up at the library days later–“The lesbian couple lives.” Sooo.

And then I pathetically read like the first page of ZEROES, by Scott Westerfeld, but I’m counting it on this week’s record because the author is one of my favorites and I like when I have a lot of books to list here.

• Soundtrack of the Week: Lots of instrumental as I carved through a lot of short story revisions. For example, today I listened to 3.5 movies’ worth of the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack before I realized my film score playlist wasn’t shuffled. The Star Wars: TFA soundtrack was also glorious to revise too, especially with the advent of Rogue One trailer which is soooo exciting.
• Go-to method of procrastination: Anime was probably the biggest offender this week, but also short story revision in itself is how I’m procrastinating ReviseNoWriMo, so even though I was quite productive, my lazy-schmuck-ness endures.

Sticker Check-in

CURRENT KEY

1. Blue – 1/2 hr revision(WEEK TOTAL:  12 & 1/2 hrs)
2. Silver – draft 500 new words (WEEK TOTAL: 5,500 words)
3. Green – read 100 pages(WEEK TOTAL: 500 pages)
4. Gold – 1/2 hr studying Japanese (WEEK TOTAL:  6 hrs)
5. Red – blog post (WEEK TOTAL: 1)
6. NOT PICTURED – I’m tracking exercise and adult-like responsibilities in a separate baby-sized calendar also courtesy of Easter Seals.(WEEK TOTAL FOR EXERCISE: 2 times).
7. TOTAL STICKERS: 54

Points of Note:

• In an attempt to balance my sticker usage ratios, I switched the color key for Revision and Drafting. The attempt failed, however, because then I revised much more than I drafted, using even more of my well-used blue stickers. I’m nearing the end of my first sticker pack.
• Got a lot of short story revision done this week, which I’m proud of. But that also means I put off #FairyPrisonBook, which is inopportune because I’m trying to do Camp ReviseNoWriMo or something… Basically, I really need to work on novel revision, too.
• I still don’t have a proper way to document job applications, but that also got done a bit more this week, so it’s been a good seven-day period overall.

That’s about it for now. I’m sure I did other interesting things this week, but they have escaped my memory.

Thanks for reading,

Allison

Friday Check-in: Week 13 – An Ill-advised Run, Livetweets, and Doodling

General updates: After about 16,000 downloads, UP AND COMING: STORIES FROM THE 2016 CAMPBELL-ELIGIBLE WRITERS is no longer available at the link where it’s been available up to now. It does have its own Goodreads page, which interests me in its own right. And, one last time, you can still read my horror-fantasy tooth fairy short story, “Decay” at Crossed Genres, along with my New Author Spotlight Interview.

I livetweeted a few more eps of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, along with the movie Chocolat, which I for some reason expected to be much creepier than it was. You can check out these and more under my livetweet sessions tab.

I also ran outside once…when it was arguably much too cold to do so. Here’s a picture to commemorate my surviving frostbite.

Green Star Reads for this week:

I finished PAPER VALENTINE, by Brenna Yovanoff, and while I did not trust the love interest as far as I could throw him for most of the book, he is–somewhat embarrassingly–a type that I adore in fiction, with similar vibes to one of my own WIPs. So I did swoon a bit even in the midst of vast distrust. Anyway, I enjoyed the book, apparently so much so that it sparked a short story which I wrote in like seven hours and seemed to go well… See: March 29 on my sticker calendar. FIENDISH unfortunately had to go back to the library before I could get to it, but I shall acquire it some other time.

I’m currently reading JUST VISITING, by Dahlia Adler, who I love on Twitter, so it’s strange to only just now be reading one of her books. My bad. I’m liking it, especially once I got through some of the set-up. Interested in seeing where it goes. And where they go. To college. Anyway.

• Soundtrack of the Week: I took advantage of my last few days of free Premium Spotify by listening to my Musicals playlist nonstop (ha) so I could skip what I wasn’t in the mood for. Then I realized that Spotify renewed itself on the 30th, not the 31st, so like I guess I’m paying for more Spotify this month. At that point I reverted to Tricot radio and now I have the Interstellar soundtrack on.
• Go-to method of procrastination: Ran outside once. Broke out my neglected Wacom Bamboo tablet thing so I could doodle. I am not a good or skilled or dedicated artist, by any means. But I like doodling, so like, whatever. One of the highlights:

  

  I don’t know either.

Sticker Check-in

CURRENT KEY

1. Silver – 1/2 hr revision(WEEK TOTAL:  9 & 1/2 hr)
2. Blue – draft 500 new words (WEEK TOTAL: 10,500 words)
3. Green – read 100 pages(WEEK TOTAL: 400 pages)
4. Gold – 1/2 hr studying Japanese (WEEK TOTAL:  2 & 1/2 hrs)
5. Red – blog post (WEEK TOTAL: 1)
6. NOT PICTURED – I’m tracking exercise and adult-like responsibilities in a separate baby-sized calendar also courtesy of Easter Seals.(WEEK TOTAL FOR EXERCISE: 2 times–in a row!).
7. TOTAL STICKERS: 50

Points of Note:

• March 29 – In which a new short story unexpectedly ate seven hours of my day. It was glorious.
• As it says in-key, I worked out two days in a row, and one involved running outside. It also involved me getting really sore the next day. Go figure.
• I forgot about my goal for the week, but I worked more on #FairyPrisonBook AND short fic, so I’m content.
• Overall, March was a bit thin in the first few weeks, but the last week really picked up steam, and I’m going to try to keep that going.
• I do plan to go back through and get sticker-totals for each month. But not yet. Soon. Probably.

Tomorrow I’ve got about 8 hours in the car total, plus however many more hours wandering southwest Iowa to help Sis find a house, so here’s hoping I get something done besides sleeping on that trip.

Thanks for reading,

Allison

Friday Check-in: Week 12 – Easter!

In this episode of “marooning myself at a coffee shop to get work done,” I’m afraid my productivity was a bit lacking. In the midst of my work, I was alerted to a positive review of my story in UP AND COMING: STORIES FROM THE 2016 CAMPBELL-ELIGIBLE WRITERS. After that I kind of devolved into pleased giggling and the distraction of looking through short story drafts for anything near-ready to send out. Based on this reaction, I shudder to think of the results when I eventually discover a bad review. You still have about one more week to download my horror-fantasy tooth fairy short story, “Decay” (originally published at Crossed Genres) along with over 230 works by 120 other authors–over 1.1 million free words of fiction.

Other than that, not much of note. There are a few new livetweeted episodes of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries under my livetweet sessions tab. On to books!

Green Star Reads for this week:

I finished THE FALLOUT,  by S.A. Bodeen, (sequel to THE COMPOUND) and I’m sorry to say that I was very un-thrilled. If I had not possessed the first book for so long, I probably would not have read to the end. As usual, an off-the-wall crack ship briefly made things more entertaining, especially as evidence seemingly appeared in the text… Then that ship was thoroughly sunk by the downright weird developments that followed. I enjoy the odd story of horrific weirdness, but this one just didn’t do it for me.

I worked my way through SOULLESS, by Gail Carriger, mainly out of curiosity after really enjoying the manga adaptation at my library. It was an interesting way to read–I knew when all the romantic scenes were coming! It was like a behind the scenes look!–and to be honest I think I enjoyed it more than I might have if I started with the novel version? All in all, it was a fun story, really enjoyable, and I found the world-building interesting. If I stumble across the sequels, I might give those a read, too.

I also found a cryptic index card wedged into the pages. At least, I can tell myself it’s cryptic, and therefore make my life more interesting.

I got through a bit more of REVISION AND SELF-EDITING, by James Scott Bell, and am just starting PAPER VALENTINE, by Brenna Yovanoff. FIENDISH is also on the agenda, because I could always use a little more horror in my life.

• Soundtrack of the Week: Listened to a lot of Kishi Bashi. Soothed a headache with film scores from Miyazaki movies and Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki. Today, fell back into my villain playlist.
• Go-to method of procrastination: Bringing Friend to tears with the end of Madoka Magica (still deliberating whether to put up on my Livetweets page). A headache that cut short one day. 😦 Looking for jobs, which is more something I’ve been procrastinating than a method of procrastination, but… I still don’t have a way to track that on-calendar.

Sticker Check-in

CURRENT KEY

1. Silver – 1/2 hr revision(WEEK TOTAL:  2 & 1/2 hr)
2. Blue – draft 500 new words (WEEK TOTAL: 8,000 words)
3. Green – read 100 pages(WEEK TOTAL: 800 pages)
4. Gold – 1/2 hr studying Japanese (WEEK TOTAL:  3 hrs)
5. Red – blog post (WEEK TOTAL: 1)
6. NOT PICTURED – I’m tracking exercise and adult-like responsibilities in a separate baby-sized calendar also courtesy of Easter Seals.(WEEK TOTAL FOR EXERCISE: 1 time).
7. TOTAL STICKERS: 36

Points of Note:

• I keep forgetting my key and putting red stickers down for revision time. Covered them with silver, but ugh, what a waste of stickers.
• Speaking of stickers, this week I wound up with the exact same number as last time. Huh.
• Finished drafting a revision of a short story today… It is one of my weirdest and most horrific, I think. I swear, I don’t always write creepy things. It’s just…they seem to be turning out better than my less-creepy stories. Hm.
• Did not quite meet last week’s goal of working more on #FairyPrisonBook than on short fic. Which is to say, I forgot about that goal. Let’s just roll it over to this week, shall we?

Thanks for reading, and Happy Easter!

Allison

My Coffeeshop Friend. Very unproductive. Uses her lack of hands as an excuse.

Friday Check-in: Week 11 – New Season, New Haircut

Easing back into full productivity this mode, despite all the lures of Spring Break. Starting fresh with a new haircut of questionable quality (because I never know what I want, let alone how to ask for it in the language of hairdressers and fashionable people). One thing is certain: this haircut is shorter, and its ruffles change with a will of their own, free from any prompting by me.

Happy Spring, or something.

A few other miscellaneous things:

Last week I mentioned Lil Bro’s efforts to get me into (and better at) videogames. In keeping with that, he made me play through Undertale under his tutelage, which was both a delight and a struggle on my part. If you ever wanted to watch 17 Youtube videos’ worth of my face and voice, the full playlist is available under my livetweet sessions tab.

Also, you still have a few more weeks(?) to download UP AND COMING: STORIES FROM THE 2016 CAMPBELL-ELIGIBLE WRITERS, including my horror-fantasy tooth fairy short story, “Decay” (originally published and free to read at Crossed Genres) along with over 230 works by 120 other authors–over 1.1 million words of fiction, all for free.

Green Star Reads for this week:

This week I finished the ZOMBIES VS. UNICORNS anthology, spearheaded (omg unicorn pun) by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier, contributed to by two full teams of amazing authors. I came out the other side firmly Team Zombie, but not through any failing on Team Unicorn’s part. I just have a thing for stories of dead things, I guess, and even my childhood obsession with horses (and my own unicorn series rattling around in my baby-writer closet) could not overcome that.

I also read IF I EVER GET OUT OF HERE, by Eric Gansworth. I’d seen it recommended by many as an example of good Native American rep, and I really enjoyed it. I especially liked how the latter half built up this feeling of being 100% done with several different kinds of bull–a weary, wary kind of tension that gave me hints that something was coming. There was a certain point past which I was like, “No, yeah, I just have to finish the book now.”

I’m also about 15 pages into FALLOUT,  by S.A. Bodeen, AKA the sequel to THE COMPOUND, which I read years and years ago after getting it from a Scholastic book order, and then promptly forgot about until I saw this one in the library. I generally feel pretty good at remembering stories, character, plot, but pretty much all that stuck of Book 1 in this case was the threat of cannibalism and vague, narrow aspects of the ending. So getting back up to speed here will be an adventure.

• Soundtrack of the Week: The Tricot radio station on Spotify (maybe someday I will learn enough Japanese to actually understand the lyrics) and more recently the Feel Good Indie Rock playlist, because why not?
• Go-to method of procrastination: Dexter, League, running outdoors. And watching a friend experience the trauma of Madoka Magica for the first time (an ongoing process which may or may not wind up on my Livetweets page. Still deliberating).

Sticker Check-in

CURRENT KEY

1. Silver – 1/2 hr revision(WEEK TOTAL:  1/2 hr)
2. Blue – draft 500 new words (WEEK TOTAL: 7,000 words)
3. Green – read 100 pages(WEEK TOTAL: 800 pages)
4. Gold – 1/2 hr studying Japanese (WEEK TOTAL:  6 hrs)
5. Red – blog post (WEEK TOTAL: 1)
6. NOT PICTURED – I’m tracking exercise and adult-like responsibilities in a separate baby-sized calendar also courtesy of Easter Seals.(WEEK TOTAL FOR EXERCISE: 3 times).
7. TOTAL STICKERS: 36

Points of Note:

• Ran outside twice with Big Sis. Really loving the idea of Spring.
• Most of this week’s drafting stars were from a new short story, inspired partly by my new Team Zombie identity. Even if the Zombie trend is dead, well… I figure it’s bound to come back, right?
• I do feel bad that I’ve been letting myself get distracted with short fic to the point that I haven’t been working on #FairyPrisonBook as much. So the goal for this week is, revise / draft more of that.

That’s it for this week. My other goal is to get out more often and have more interesting things to blog about, but like. It’s Iowa. So we’ll just see.

Thanks for reading,

Allison