GW Cover, LT ER

I've finished fiddling around the cover art for Ghost Writer, so here's a look at what will be on the final edition:



I've also received another free book from Library Thing's Early Reviewer program:



Just at a glance-through I think this book is going to be seriously cool, too. Looks like it's packed with info on free internet stuff. I'll have more to report once I've read it.

Genius

This gorgeous dream of a film offers a view of the Renaissance world through the genius who was Da Vinci (with background music, and some nudity, for those of you at work or who have minors in the vicinity):

DA VINCI PROJECT from Escalle Alain on Vimeo.

Just Write

Today I'm off to write something new and post it online before midnight. Everyone inclined to do the same is invited to join me.

My link: More on Ghost Writer (click on the title to go to the .pdf), with new material beginning on page 94.

For more details on Just Write Thursdays, click here to go to the original post.

Image credit: windujedi

Sub Op

Scheduled to launch in November 2015, NineStar Press would like to see submissions of "LGBTQA romance fiction, literary novels, and erotica shorts.

For romance
Length: 12-120k words.
Heat: Sweet (no sex or “fade-to-black”) through to fully erotic.
Content: The story must have an LGBTQA romance running through it. Both HEA and HFN accepted.
Genre: Currently seeking works in the following genres—contemporary, paranormal, romantic suspense, sci-fi & fantasy, horror/thriller, crime, BDSM, historical, cowboy/western, New Adult/college.

For erotica
Length: 5-12k words.
Heat: Super hot. Scorching.
Content: Must be focused on LGBTQA characters. Romance isn’t necessary. Lust/sexual tension definitely is. Strong payoff.
Genre: All genres and kinks considered other than those listed in the “what we don’t accept” section below.

For literary novels
Length: 45-120k words.
Heat: If applicable, sex scenes of any heat level are fine, provided they serve the story.
Content: Must have an LGBTQA main character. Romance plots aren’t necessary. We’re particularly interested in well-crafted stories about trans, ace, aro, nonbinary, and genderfluid characters.
Genre: All considered.

Standalones, series & serials all considered across the board. Serials must have a defined ending in each instalment. Previously published or self-published books are considered. Authors with orphaned books after the folding of a publishing company are encouraged to submit. You must own all rights to the story.

What we don’t accept
Pedophilia
Necrophilia (doesn’t apply to vamps, zombies and any other kind of “undead”—they’re a-okay with us!)
Incest (step relations are considered)
Bestiality (doesn’t apply to shifters or most sci-fi & fantasy creatures with human forms)

Special Call for Seasonal Stories!
In addition to our regular submissions request, we’re also currently on the lookout for seasonal stories for the holidays/winter release period. These stories must have a winter or Christmas/holiday theme. Any genre, any category, and within the word count length parameters stipulated in our general guidelines. Please put “Seasonal Submission: [Title], [Author Name]” in the subject line and follow all other guidelines as stated above.

Why submit a manuscript to NineStar Press?

40% net royalty on ebooks, paid monthly
A contract term of 2 years
An author-friendly contract—no rights grab!
Absolutely NO fees/payments required of you—ever
No ROFR clause in your contract
Thorough editing to ensure your book is the absolute best it can be
Stunning cover & promo art
Excellent publisher-led promo. We don’t expect you to do all the work! We will organise a blog tour for your book, submit to reviewers, include it in paid advertising, blast it across social media, and so much more! We believe that maintaining a promo & marketing budget in the company finances is one of the most important things a publisher can do for authors."

For more information, visit their website or the original listing over at AbsoluteWrite.com.

Fabric for Life Contest

I don't often put non-writing contests on the blog, but PBW has a lot of quilters and fabric fans who visit, so this one might tempt some of you:

Keepsake Quilting, from whom I buy fabric now and then, is sponsoring a very cool contest that includes a 20-year supply of fabric for the grand prize winner and a brand new sewing machine for first place. The contest is open to adult U.S. residents only (sorry Fran K and our other outside-the-U.S. pals), but you can enter daily until December 31st, 2015. To enter, click here.

Disclaimers: I have already entered the contest, and when you click on my link and enter, you will also be giving me an extra entry. Since today is my birthday I'm thinking you won't mind. Also, because it's my birthday I'm taking the day off to be with my crew here, so I'm going to shut down comments for this post and go enjoy myself. See you tomorrow.

Summertimes

Just as I'm settling in with the new computer, our modem decided to start acting up. We've replaced the problem component but if for any reason I'm not around to approve comments it's likely because I am temporarily out of internet access.

Despite these technical woes, a very rainy June, a pretty hot July and what I expect will be a stormy August, summer is still my favorite season. I think it dates back to summer vacation from school. For me it was like being released from a too-small cage lined with sharpened spikes, and I'm sure my teachers felt the same way when they saw the back of me running out on the last day of school.

Summer was the only time I could spend my days alone, too; something that didn't often happen in a house overcrowded by too many kids and relatives. During the summer months I could ride my bike, take the bus to the beach or go to the library all day. Literally, all day -- as long as I was home before dark I could do whatever I wanted. It wasn't that my mother didn't care; it was the way things were back then. Also, we were too afraid of our parents to get into any real trouble.

I was a good kid, and spent most of my time at the library because I could stay there and read or write whatever I wanted as long as I liked and no one cared. Also, the librarians loved me because I was a quiet kid. Even when the library was crowded I'd borrow a stack of books, tuck them in my bike basket and head to the park, where there was always a good shade tree to sit under and read the latest Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames or SF by A.M. Lightner, or pen my latest story in longhand.

I'll never be that kid again, but as an adult I still try to preserve some of the fun from my summer memories. I make an effort to visit book stores and the library a few times a week. I read out on the porch every day. I write for fun and for myself in a journal. And I spend time by myself in places that make me happy.

What do you do to recapture your childhood summers? Let us know in comments.

Sub Op

Haunt Jaunt has an open call for their upcoming Shadow People & Cursed Objects anthology: "What we're looking for: 13 fiction stories about ghosts or haunted objects. (As long as your story contains one or the other, we want to read it!) We’re open to any genre of fiction. Your story doesn’t have to be horror. It can be a paranormal romance, literary, humor. (Although, we’re not going to lie. We love horror. But we’re looking for the very best stories about ghosts and/or haunted objects that we can find.) It must, however, involve either a ghost or a haunted object. (We can’t reiterate this enough.) The twist: Our anthology is going to be a little different. We want readers to participate by trying to figure out if your tale of a ghost/shadow person or haunted object is based on a true story or not. The print version will have a section at the back detailing whether the author based their tale on a true story…or if they culled it purely from their imagination." Length: up to 5K; Payment: $50.00 + 10 print copies. Reprints okay, electronic submissions through online form only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: July 31st, 2015.

MS 408

Books with mysterious reps, bizarre origins or that contain puzzles of any kind fascinate me. What's not to like about the world's longest secret novel, created by the incredible self-taught writer/illustrator Henry Darger, or curses like the one that supposedly haunts Sangorski's bejewelled edition of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, or exactly what sort of secrets Ripley really put in his alchemist's scroll? Yet no book quite matches the alluring (and enduring) mystery of The Voynich manuscript.

We've known about the Voynich manuscript since 1639, and thanks to carbon dating we are reasonably sure it was written around 600 years ago. That's all anyone can say for sure about the book because it has never been read. We don't know who wrote it, or why. The book is also handwritten in an unknown language that has never been translated, and illustrated with drawings of things that have yet to be identified or fathomed -- and there are a small number pages missing from it.

Many people believe the Voynich manuscript is an ancient hoax filled with gibberish. Others think it might have been written in a deliberately complicated code to hide important secrets from that era. It is beautiful to look at, and when you do inspect the lovely writing and interesting illustrations they do seem like something we should recognize, as if the book might be copied from a more sophisticated work by someone who didn't understand the language in which the original was written. There's a lovely feeling of naivete about it, too, and it's not a stretch for me to imagine a self-taught but otherwise illiterate artist creating this book.

The Voynich manuscript likely predates the Gutenberg printing press, and I agree with experts who don't believe it is a hoax or gibberish because back then it was very time-consuming and expensive to create books. All the work had to be done by hand, often by monks in monasteries. This book doesn't have that Eau de Scriptorium about it, however. It's no Da Vinci notebook, either, but it reminds me of him.

Here's my admittedly unscientific theory about what this book really is: a practice workbook. At this particular time in history most books were created by copying other books, and if you wanted to do that for a living, you obviously had to practice. If you look at Arabic botanical journals written in the same time period, like this one, you see a startling resemblance between them and the Voynich manuscript.

Now imagine an amateur or apprentice scribe (possibly a young one), who didn't speak or understand Arabic, copying Islamic calligraphy from a botanic journal. The words weren't important because he couldn't understand them, so his writing might be an archaic form of lorem ipsum text. If this budding book maker was practicing his drawing by copying the plants, charts and other contents from the original work he probably didn't understand them and/or had never seen them. Since it was just practice he might have even embellished them.

Since I'm not a scholar of ancient manuscripts I can't prove my theory, and I'll be the first to admit it's probably wrong. The thing is, it's fun to guess. So what do you think the Voynich manuscript is? Let us know in comments.

Steady

This short film demonstrates the lost art of painting a miniature portrait:

Painting a Portrait Miniature from Victoria and Albert Museum on Vimeo.

Just Write

Today I'm off to write something new and post it online before midnight. Everyone inclined to do the same is invited to join me.

My link: More on Ghost Writer (click on the title to go to the .pdf), with new material beginning on page 87.

For more details on Just Write Thursdays, click here to go to the original post.

Image credit: windujedi

PBW's Book(s) of the Month

Due to the holiday and the computer crash I didn't have a chance to post my pick as book of the month for June. I also spent a couple days dithering before I decided my pick would have to be a tie between two titles I read last month, and they are:

   

Pick#1 is Derelict by LJ Cohen, my latest revisited read, which I thought was spectacular the first time I read it last year.

Since Derelict wasn't a new read for me I thought I should also choose something from the new books I read last month, which is why pick#2 for June is In a French Kitchen ~ Tales and Traditions of Everyday Home Cooking in France by Susan Herrmann Loomis, which I received as an ARC and reviewed as part of LT's Early Reviewers program.

So what have you all been reading? Any recommendations you want to make? Let us know in comments.

Up & Running

I've finally got the new computer up and running, and the usable parts of the old one here will be donated to our pubic high school. I'm also checking with a local group that recycles old/scrap computer stuff to see if they can do something with the old tower.

It's always a bit of a wrench for me to say good-bye to a computer, especially one that worked so well for so many years. Any computer I've had has served as my work partner, secretary, creative collaborator, idea safe and window to the world outside my little corner of the country, so I usually get pretty attached. On this one I wrote a lot of stories that made me happy; probably more so than any other computer I've ever had. I was pretty hard on it, too; I moved it all over the house, and the dogs even knocked it over once. Add to that all the power failures, virus attacks and software glitches it survived, and still it never gave me a bit of grief.

Time to move on and figure out all the stuff that came with the new one. Farewell, old pal. You will be missed.

Rebuild

An update on the technical difficulties: after five years of faithful service my old computer is not fixable, so that's the bad news. The good news is I managed to find a new tower -- on sale, no less -- and swapped it out last night. Today I'm transferring files and software to the new system.

A couple of early observations:

Overall I think Windows 8 is beyond stupid. I already hate the jumpy picture thing that replaced the start and program main menu. It took me like an hour to get rid of all the vendor crap that came factory-installed, including the idiot XBox games. Don't even get me started on how much fun it is to try to get out of a window you don't want to be in, or the fact that every living thing I close still saves itself as a miniature window on my task bar, so I have to close it twice.

I have nine zillion apps. I don't want any of them. Why are there apps on my damn computer anyway?

I'm now having to jump from using Word 2007 right into using Word 2013. Prayers requested.

I love Adobe Acrobat. I pop in the disc, install, done. No problems. No having to go online and register my life away. Adobe should be designing Windows.

My ancient photoshop program installed and is operating with no problems, which was kind of a miracle when you consider it's almost ten years old. I expect this will be the last computer I'll be able to install it on, so I'm going to have to make an effort to learn the Adobe photoshop program now.

I'm on a connected cloud thing now -- I don't know how, why, or even what that is -- but they connected me. To something cloudish. Look, don't tell me what it is, okay? I'll probably freak out.

Semi-Scorched

I hope you're all having a good weekend. I am except for one problem -- last night my main computer crashed repeatedly, and while I've mostly gotten it back it's definitely getting ready to take a more permanent dive. Luckily I keep everything backed up, and I should be able to keep limping along until I get a new tower. That will hopefully be today, but just in case I'm putting PBW on technical hiatus for now.

Let me use this opportunity to nag you all about backing up your files. If you haven't in a while, stop reading this post and go do it, please, and try to make it a regular part of your weekly routine.

See you once I get this sorted out.

Wishing You

Green Dreams

This short film shows you the very precise, painstaking process involved in transforming emeralds from big clunky rocks to sparkling gemstones (with background music, for those of you at work):

THE LANGUAGE OF EMERALDS from maya stark on Vimeo.

Just Write

Today I'm off to write something new and post it online before midnight. Everyone inclined to do the same is invited to join me.

My link: More on Ghost Writer (click on the title to go to the .pdf), with new material beginning on page 82.

For more details on Just Write Thursdays, click here to go to the original post.

Image credit: windujedi

Winner

If I ever go on a trip to the future I'm taking all of you with me. As to what I'd sneak back in my luggage? The time travel machine that took me to the future, of course, so I could make more trips to bring back other things -- although that's probably like wishing for unlimited wishes. :)

I dusted off the magic hat tonight, and the winner of the Pack Your Bags Giveaway is:

Dianna, who wrote: Definitely the Lotto numbers and stocks to invest in. I also want to know what art that is being created now will be popular in the future.

Dianna, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to address to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get your package out to you. My thanks to everyone for joining in.

Off Again

I'm taking off again today to get some work finished. Yes, I know, but such is the life of a writer-for-hire; these people keep hiring me.

Also, a reminder: I'll be posting name of the winner of the Pack Your Bags Giveaway tomorrow morning, so if you want a chance for it to be yours be sure to enter before midnight EST tonight.

Off to Write

I'm bailing on you all today so I can get some work done. In the meantime, be sure to enter the Pack Your Bags Giveaway for a chance to win a handmade tote filled with some great SF reads and other fun stuff.