Then there’s the World…  Looks mighty cool.  If I was a multibillionaire with money to burn, I’d buy one for the bragging rights.  But honestly, a man made island?  Has no one mentioned to these people that the ice shelves are melting at an outrageous pace these days?  That global warming may mean they’ll be buying LOTS of sand to raise the beaches?

They’ve discovered what they believe to be the secret cave that Romulus and Remus were raised before they founded Rome…  Hmmm…  There’s some story fodder.  What if Remus was a woman?  Alternate history line — Remus survived and Romulus died.  Or bring it up to more contemporary times — a child raised by wolves in the here and now.  (Can’t put too much of a SF twist on this without echoing Wen Spencer’s Ukiah Oregon series.  Speaking of which, go out and get it!  The hero’s parents are lesbians who adopted him, for one thing.)

Here’s a Damn Interesting article called The Association of the Dead by Gerry Matlack.   Seems in some countries the proper bribery of officials can get you pronounced dead, whereupon your relatives inherit your wordly goods.  It took one fellow eighteen years to get his death certificate revoked, and in that time he couldn’t get loans, own property, or even get arrested.

I gotta wonder, would he have been able to get away with murder?  Literally?  What kind of society produces such a weird bureaucracy that allows this to happen?  Why did it take eighteen years to overturn?  In my cyberpunk future, I can see enclaves of the living dead — people who can’t get assistance, can’t get legal work, can’t have a voice because they’re legally dead…  That’d be a hel of a story…

Believable and Lovable Evil

How do you write believable villians taking over your story?  Can you make them evil and still lovable?

Mary Rosenblum, David D. Levine, Todd McCaffrey, phyllis irene radford

- motivation is primary for a villain.  He is a hero in his own book.

- “Fanaticism isn’t about faith.  It’s about control.” radford

- evil ruler – usually in power long before the story begins – in power because the people allow him to remain in power – WHY?

- if motivation is primary, choice is secondary.  He chose to be the bad guy – WHY?

- not so much a villain as an anti-hero

- Story idea – Main Characters are enemies for valid and known reasons.  Storyline follows one who becomes more sympathetic with the other, seeing that the villified and demonized enemy just ain’t so…

- “The villain does the wrong thing for all the right reasons.” Levine

- build up the villain.  The hero will grow to overcome what the villain does.  The bigger the villain, the bigger the hero.  (Note: spend more time explaining Shonal in Azrael.  Create a REAL villain for Sanguire.

- using the Achille’s Heel isn’t a very satisfying conclusion or confrontation (which I used in Castle Walls.)

- setting up conflict – two people each want something VERY badly … and each oppose the other.  As far as romance goes, it helps to boost this in the beginning between the MCs, but it has to be lessened to allow a romance to develop.

- Warprize and Warsport by Elizabeth Vahn (sp?)

I attended one other panel about the economics of immortality.  It was… kinda boring.  The questions the panelists focused on were about extending human life into the 150′s rather than immortality.  With my work on the Sanguire and such, the whole conversation was pretty worthless to me.

Such ended Orycon 28.  Now I’ve got a year to go for 29!  UGH!

We Don’t Need Another Hero

From Kimball Kinnison to Dylan Hunt, strong-thewed heroes have strode the spaceways, protecting the galaxy from evildoers.  But the trend in contemporary literature is shifting from “heroes” to “protagonists” to “viewpoint characters”.  What are the ways that main characters can be used in science fiction?  How can ensembles and event-based plots build great story lines and lovable groups?

Sheila Simonson, Mary Robinette Kowal, phyllis irene radford, Jean Lamb, Michael A. Martin

- a tragic, dramatic departure from the norm is what creates a hero.

- Jo Clayton, author – look her up.
- in order to have a Hero (with a capital H,) there must be a villain – who’s the villain in Iditarod, Tiopa?  Circumstances, at the very least.  Thereby assuming that none of those characters are truly heroines.

- is a heroine simply a female hero?  Or is she something more?  Not so much a difference as a different dynamic created between a heroine and villain…

- writing an ensemble piece ain’t easy – Freya’s Tears, when completed will result in the loss of at least two crew members – will the next book (assuming there is one) focus on a different protagonist?

- it’s not enough for a heroine to decide to take control of a situation. She must choose to END it.  (Azrael, Dusky, Els, Kathleen.)

- a woman’s heroic journey follows a similar path as the hero except she gets to a point where she must decide between two paths, nurturer or warrior.  The journey continues until both paths merge again, and she finds herself doing both.

Orycon and the Future

The Death of OSFCI and what you can do to keep Orycon alive after Orycon 30.

Andrew Nisbet, Patty Wells, Linda Pilcher

Considering how much I enjoy Orycon, I had to attend this panel to see what was going on.  Apparently there’s a dearth of people willing to fill the long term, committed openings that are required to put together a convention.  Things have been in flux with Orycon for the last four years and don’t appear to be letting up.  This was a panel to drum up fannish support.

I dunno, man.  I’m interested, truly, but …  I do enjoy attending the panels.  If I worked a convention from planning stages to culmination, it’d have to be in a position that wouldn’t deter me from attending the panels.  I’ve worked Dealer’s Room as assistant, and that takes a lot of time out of the day.  Same goes for several other positions in a large con.

We’ll see.

Role-playing Game Design and Publication 101

How writing for the role-playing market differs from writing for the fiction market, what is involved in designing and publishing a role-playing game, and how much reward one is likely to get for all one’s work.  A beginning writer’s guide to the RPG market.

Greg Gorden, Gwendolyn Kestrel, Joseph D. Karriker, Jr., William B. McDermott, Riannon Louve, Anthony Pryor

Not that I’m particularly interested in writing a RPG.  I like gaming, and my primary reason for attending this panel was to consider another potential money-maker.  (Anything to get out of my current job, doncha know?  LOL!)

- contact the game developer, ask what he or she needs, and give them EXACTLY that.

- gaming articles are good for background and resumes.

- prove comprehension of the material when writing a module.

- website, website, website!  If a particular game inspires artwork, be sure to give credit (‘based on’…)

- Note to self – business card.

- write novels based on a gaming system as a sideline for money making (‘based on’…)

- keep up on the comings and goings within the company.  Not much different than the regular or small publishing world, really.  In fact, the gaming industry is just as political and incestuous as any other.  Be professional, and don’t quit your day job until you have a year’s salary in the bank.

- the more complete the module, the better.  Don’t just write up the specifics.  Create the characters needed, the maps, artwork, tech data, the whole shebang.

THEN I was going to go to another panel or two.  Instead, I got sidetracked by work (the dangers of attending a convention in your workplace.)  So I ended up leaving property for a quick lunch downtown and returning for a trip through the art show.

Bought two prints from my current favorite local artist, Alan M. Clarke.  He’s got some great stuff, morbid as hel, and a very smartass sense of humor. Also made note of Sarah Clemens.  She’s got some great pieces with Magnus and Loki — a cat and a small dragon who get into various troubles.

How to Make a Living as an Artist

How do artists make a living? Can you break the starving artist traditions and really make some money?

Margaret Organ-Kean, John R. Gray III, Jeff Fennel, Jeff Sturgeon, Alan M. Clarke, Vincent DiFate

- “Diversify!” Clarke

- Pinging off that comment, I can go digital (sell prints at conventions, sell online, pick up work via gaming companies.) In Second Life (virtual world), I can design and build virtual clothings, behaviors, items, buildings for sale.  I can possibly offer services as book cover illustrator with my current contacts with authors and publishers.

- I need a high quality Epson printer and a scanner.

- Create book covers for books I’ve read (‘inspired by’,) and put them on my website – use the web as a portfolio of digital artwork.

- “Art is about making pictures. The tools you use are irrelevant.” Vincent DiFate

A’ight… end of day two (Saturday.)  I went home to take a nap, with every intention of returning that evening for a concert by Heather Alexander.  Yep… you guessed it.  I stayed home.  I REALLY have to stay in the hotel next year!

Yesterday I spent the morning helping the guys finish the room sets.  Then I spent a good portion of the afternoon attending panels.  I’m going to note the panels and some odds and ends notes here to keep them on file for future reference…  Prepare to be bored… or not…

The Effects of Space Travel on Earth Religions

Will a Christian, Jew, Muslim or other Earth religious believer, have trouble tolerating the religions of Aliens?  Will Earthlings need to reevaluate how they believe about “being created in God’s image” if the other beings look differently than they do?  What hapens if Earth was seeded and we run into the society responsible?  What about those aliens that display powers that some fundamentalists consider to be evil?

Mick Shepherd Moscoe, Judy Lazar, Elton Elliott, Richard A. Lovett

About the only direct quote, per se, I recieved from this panel was from Judy Lazar.  She said there’s a direct correlation between lifestyle and religious development.  Those societies that have chaotic lifestyles, fraught with uncertainties, tend to develop deeper and stronger mythos and dieties to explain their world.  Those with milder lifestyles have no use for such trappings, and their mythos tend to reflect that.

Notes, Ideas, Questions:

- created in ‘God’s Image’ (future title?) – aliens = angels? – theology = alien method of control?

- aliens also have theology of being in ‘God’s image’ – which is right / true? – could result it war?

- tie the rapture into alien visitation – disappearances of true Christians are actually abductions…

- an UNbenevolent diety responsible for creation – no God, but a devil responsible

- God an King, a monarchy – what about using a different political system to base a religion upon?

Law and Social Order in World Building

How can a writer design the basic legal structure of an alien, futuristic, or fantasy civilization? How do laws, courts, and government organizations arise from the basic legal structures and concepts, the constitution (formal or informal), common law, and other sources of justice? What are some of the options a writer has in making their civilization unique?

Rory Miller, Richard A. Lovett, Sara A. Mueller, phyllis irene radford, Andrew Nisbet

Again, no quotes from the panelists were interesting enough for me.  I took what they said and let my mind wander here and there, scribbling down things that came to me.

- dichotomy between law and societal taboos – illegal to beat and harass, yet acceptable for children to thump and terrorize one another through school.

- some taboos aren’t truly taboo unless they’re witnessed in other cultures – some things are only illegal if witnessed.

- laws exist because of criminal definitions – DEFINE THE CRIME!

- defining the crime will determine the society’s view on it, and reveal deeper issues and taboos involved in it.

How to Reproduce Your Artwork

You have finished your masterpiece, now how do you make the prints? What reproduction options are out there and what works best?

Jeff Sturgeon, John R. Gray III

Unbeknownst to most of you, I used to be an airbrush artist.  My first year in ‘business,’ I was only a hundred bucks in the red.  I airbrushed SF & F type people and sold it at conventions like this one.  I began writing when I had to pack up my airbrush study from lack of space.

My arthritis has made returning to airbrush an impossibility, but I’ve decided to learn digital artwork, using a tablet and pen connected to the computer.  Hence the reason I attended this panel.

- Jeff Sturgeon highly recommended Epson printers and high quality Epson archival paper for prints.

- John Gray uses Canon printers.

- both use small labs to print larger than 11×14.  Both use Pro-lab in Seattle.  (Research for Portland area!)

- CYA not RGB

- Keep in mind there’s a difference between what’s on the screen and what prints up.  Do a print proof first to compare your idea and the reality.  Tweak artwork to match.

- Research print proof types.

- small booklet of artwork? Cafe Press?

When the Heroine Isn’t 18, Blonde, and a Size 3

Why do some authors and filmmakers think a lab coat and glasses on a young blonde heroine can convey the same level of expertise as a grey-haired male scientist? Is it credible for the young post-doctorate researcher to also be a martial arts black belt in her spare time? Writers will talk abouth the why and how of writing female protagonists who break the mold.

Madeleine E. Robins, Alma Alexander, phyllis irene radford, Judith R. Conly, Dianna Rodgers

- give the heroine only what she needs to do what she has to do.

- Azrael – too beautiful, too much like Xena in abilities? Create more scarring?

- flaw the character!

- look into Alma Alexander’s books

And that was that!

Started to sit in on another panel, but it wasn’t going where I was interested, so I bailed early.  Today’s panels include artwork and writing oriented stuff.  Tonight is a concert by Heather Alexander…  I’m debating whether or not to stay for it.  I hear she’s good, but it’ll be way past my bedtime…  LOL!

Oh, yeah!  I picked up a sword in the Dealer’s room, too!  WOOT!

Gamma ray bursts happen once a day in the universe, so far only recorded in galaxies other than ours. If we were to have one ‘in our backyard,’ it would basicly cook the earth like a microwave.

To try and combat a similar scenario, there was a recent report about plant seeds and animal DNA being gathered in a repository deep within a mountain. (Picked this up from a separate source last month, actually.)

So, what if it happened? Earth is destroyed, yet the ‘Species Bank’ is unharmed. It’s full of machines and robotic instruments that monitor the planet’s surface until something cues them to start reproduction of the species available.

No humans until the machines . . . clone them? Or fertilize eggs? Or something? What kind of society would that be? How many years would these new humans be underground, growing and training (via video to learn how to BE human) before they’re allowed back onto the surface to begin repopulating and reseeding Earth?

Orphan Maker: Got a handle on the next chapter. I’ll have to reread the last to make certain where I’m going with it. Not sure whether the next scene will be Loomis’ or Gwen’s POV. Gwen’s is due.

On Azrael’s Wings: Got a handle on the next scene there. Can almost see and hear and smell it. Should be worth another five hundred to a thousand words on the rewrites.

Born of Silence: Some character adjustments to go with the plot adjustments. Less nicey-nice with Jenna, more hardcore street bitch. She won’t be a blood thirsty killer, but she’ll be primed to become one should the proper circumstances arise. (Which they ultimately will.) Streetname change for Jenna. Her initials are J.D. and she’s known as that in the first draft. J.D. = Jack Daniels = Whiskey. There it is – she’s known on the streets as Whiskey.

Kou Itten: A story I haven’t mentioned here much. It’s a cyberpunk genre that was half written before I began this blog. It’s stalled out on me twice now, but I think I’ve finally found a way to complete the second half of the book and tie it all together. I’ll use the same format as before except reverse the character POV’s. (The first half is from my netrunner’s POV.)

So . . . no writing done, but lots of brainstorming. Not a bad day.

There’s a compound in a large forest, modern day age. It’s a school for magic (ala Hogwarts, though much smaller.) Magic keeps it from being seen. But there are chain link fences surrounding the school to ‘keep undesirables out.’

Our hero discovers some fishy things going on with the instructors. (Not too sure exactly what they’re doing, but it’s definitely NOT in the best interest of the kids.) He convinces a handful of his friends to attempt escape. The heat is on, the teachers are onto the revolutionary cell, but this small group does get over the fence.

They set up house in the forest, this group of friends. From their treehouse vantage, they keep an eye on the comings and goings at the school. Our hero begins missions, infiltrating the school and bringing the truth to the students there.

Unfortunately, his work is noticed. On one visit, the instructors trap him and raise the fence level so he cannot go over it again. (Not too odd a point, but the ‘workers’ doing the construction are ogres.)

He’s under house arrest. His friends are on the other side of the fence, wallowing about in their inability to ban together without him. Either he’ll be killed or experimented on to get him to turn to the dark side of the Force. What will happen to our intrepid hero now?

I have no idea. Dammit. I woke up.

In any case, this reads like a Harry Potter / The Faculty / political thriller. Don’t know that it’ll ever get written, but I figured I’d better get it down somewhere for later perusal.

A very interesting blog entry.

One result (among many) of this peculiar fact is a society in which them and us remain permanently divided. Islam, in Islamic minds, is irreconcilably divided from the rest of us, and similar them/us divisions afflict Muslim society itself.

Which is not to say coat check is boring. When I know in advance, I come to work prepared. I get a lot of reading and writing done. Like tonight. I just finished a book called House Rules by Heather Lewis, Doubleday High Risk Books, 1994. The cover has an S&M collar with crossed riding crops beneath it. The first blurb on the back cover, from Gary Indiana, Details, says “…This utterly unexpected book dives straight into the chaos of an American adolescence, echoing the infernal laughter of William S. Burroughs as it probes the messier forms of sexual awakenings.” The next one down mentions it’s lesbian fiction. That’s why I bought it.

I should have read further down. “…grueling, its view of humanity devastating. House Rules is brilliant and ugly, a nightmare for any reader.” (Kerry Fried, The Boston Review.

Wow. Talk about dysfunction! It’s the world of show horses, primarily jumpers, as seen through the eyes of a fifteen-year-old, an extremely messed up kid. The parallels between Lee, the protagonist, and Torrin from Warlord Metal are intriguing. Now that Lee has worked her way under my skin, I’ve got the desire to ramble along a comparison.

When I wrote Warlord Metal, I didn’t know where Torrin came from or what I was doing. Most of the novel is seat of the pants, no outlines, just a logical progression of scenes as I got to know the characters better. It’s not like I have surplus of knowledge regarding the depth of severe abuse that Torrin suffered. I’ve known women who do, but like the novel, it’s all seat of the pants for me. Regardless, Torrin is her own character, not a conglomeration of other women’s stories. I think the main reason I didn’t run screaming, leaving the book unfinished forever, was Susan Mullarky’s psychoanalysis of Torrin through each chapter I posted online. (Thank you again, Susan!)

Lee has been violated by her father for most of her childhood. Her mother is quite aware of it, and does her best to protect her marriage . . . by finding ways of sending Lee away. I get the impression that her mother doesn’t blame her for Daddy’s molestations, but that they have an unspoken agreement that she will run interference whenever possible. All cut and dried. The family’s well-to-do, of course; old money. The scandal of Daddy’s actions are too horrendous to consider leaving or having him arrested. As a child, Lee is sent to learn how to ride with the best of the tutors. Eventually, she becomes involved in the shows as a jockey. That and boarding school keep her away from her father enough that everyone can pretend their family is normal. All the time away from parental discipline (and you have to wonder how much of that she truly had even at home) results in a kid on the edge of trouble.

Lewis does such a great job with the voice of this character (it’s all first person.) Lee never feels. When someone is friendly, tender toward her, she comes close to feeling. Gets jittery inside, can tell she’ll start crying. Of course, she pushes people away. Even when she has a crush on a woman, when things get too gentle, too tender, Lee purposely complicates things to keep from feeling. She wants to feel and fears it so much. Additionally, she experiences a sense of safety with older men who are somewhat threatening.

Lee is also passive when people make sexual advances toward her. It’s a classic case of not knowing her boundries, not being able to say no. She’ll not want to do whatever it is, but will only turn away. If pressed, she succumbs, never understanding why, never trying to discover the reasons for her behavior.

It’s odd that I find reading someone else’s fictional character clarifies my understanding of my own. I mean, I already know why Torrin does the drugs and alcohol. That’s a given. I know why she pushes people away. It’s simply that Lewis’ character has laid it out in a way that puts Torrin into a different perspective for me.

There are two differences I see between Lee and Torrin. One, that Torrin has a hel of a lot more anger. She not only directs it at herself but at those around her, brandishing it like an antenna broken from a car – whip thin and ice sharp as it whistles through the air. Torrin is a lot angrier at fourteen than Lee is at fifteen, guaranteed. Is it because her mother disappeared when she was small? Lee’s mom is still important in her life, at the very least because of her interference between Lee and her father. Torrin didn’t have that option. For better or worse, Lucien ‘Lucifer’ Chizu was her only support. And the story is that her mother abandoned her with him to live her own life.

Another difference is the whole passivity of Lee. In most of her sexual encounters (and they are many,) she takes it with little emotion. There are a couple of times she gets into it on her own, helps things along, but this are really instances of her pushing tenderness away. (She likes it rough, but doesn’t actually register the desire . . . just that the tenderness isn’t enough.) This is really what got me comparing Torrin with Lee, because Torrin is far different.

Torrin wasn’t raised in an abusive home by a child molester. She was raised by a sadistic man who trained her in all manner of pain. Lucifer, as she calls him in her mind, had his own basement dungeon, invited select friends to join he and his daughter is messy fun. He taught her the greatest gift about pain – it in better to give than to receive.

Which brings me to Torrin’s interaction with her love interest, Sonny.

Sonny is sweetness and light, inexperienced, trying so hard to get Torrin’s attention. The more she pushes, the more Torrin backs away until the only way they get together is for Sonny to dupe Torrin. Sonny is a virgin prior to bedding Torrin. She lost her parents when she was ten and has been raised by her brother. She doesn’t know what’s truly acceptable in an adult relationship; besides, Torrin’s brashness, her ability to take supreme risks, her brusque attitude all turn Sonny on. So her boundaries are muddy.

While I’ve never written it, by extension Torrin should have caused some pain for Sonny during their sexual play. It’s the natural way of things for Torrin. It’s what’s done between sexual partners. It’s obvious Sonny won’t do the same to Torrin, which means my little sadist will have to take the lead.

Hot on the heels of this thought is the research I’ve done on alcoholism. Warlord Metal ends with Torrin going into rehab, trying to work through her addictions, learning to love herself as well as Sonny loves her. One of the points raised in recovery is the lack of a sex drive. (And that would be cataclysmic in Torrin’s case.) It’s not so much that the libido isn’t functioning, but that prior sexual encounters invariably occurred under the influence. The sober alcoholic has forgotten how to seduce, to follow through without the crutch of their substances. (And, yes, I know this isn’t always the case with every recovering alcoholic!)

So, in any proposed sequel, I’ll have to deal with this issue. What will Sonny do? Become more forceful? She knows of Torrin’s abuse. She might have to be pushed into that direction to overcome her squeamishness at causing Torrin some sort of emotional flashback. How exactly could Sonny take matters into her own hands?

What would be Torrin’s response? Anger? Relief? Self hatred? Since Torrin han a mind of her own, I don’t think I’ll know until I write the scene.

When I asked for smut suggestions, my friend came up with one where Sonny is the master to Torrin’s slave. Maybe that’s another reason for my rambling here . . . I honestly can’t see that happening either before Torrin admits to having a drug and alcohol problem or after her rehabilitation.

Still.

It would make an intriguing scene, wouldn’t it?

I guess the whole point of this isn’t just to run a character comparison, but for me to work out Torrin’s character a bit more. I still think House Rules is a fantastic book, though!

Coat check is over. We have to break it down and then reset the ballroom for tomorrow morning’s functions. And I was wrong. Final tip tally: $5. Split six ways. You do the math

Saw ‘The Order’ with Heath Ledger et al. Interesting that three of the main actors were also three of the main actors on ‘A Knight’s Tale.’ When I saw the female lead, I burst out laughing despite the seriousness of the scene.

Anyway, the premise was an interesting one, though the movie was really slow going. The information given out put me right on the edge of ‘puzzled-I-wanna-know-the-answer’ and ‘puzzled-who-gives-a-f**k?’ But other than that…

Afterward, I researched sin eaters to find they existed (and still do today in some Eastern Bloc countries.) So, the movie folks took the original sin eater definition, tossed in immortality, and mixed in a healthy dose of the church. Not bad. (Though I still think the thing could have been written a little better.) And the Carolingian Order did exist, but it wasn’t to fight off spookies; it was one of knowledge and truth (just as it was portrayed without the ghost buster attitude.)

Well, that lead me to think about an immortal sin eater spinoff. A woman, of course. And that lead me to hit Questia with questions about Lilith, the first woman. And after reading about her I began asking myself other questions. Why is Lilith still alive? Because she’s a demon? She abandoned Adam, not God. Other than a few words about God condemning her for leaving Adam, how did that make her a demon? And why would God do that if she was one of His first creations? He didn’t do that to any thing else . . . And what if Adam were meant to be immortal, too? And the reason he died was because a piece of him had to be used to create Eve, thereby interrupting the natural connection of his body and soul? So Lilith would still be living, and not a demon.

Lilith would be condemned by man, not God. She would be outside the church, like a sin eater. What if she originated sin eating? What would an immortal woman be like? It would be different from the Highlander type immortality – at least there the Immortals know they can die. There can be only one. With Lilith, she’s had to deal with everything, all the time, knowing there would never be relief. Insanity? Maybe she saw insanity all the way through until she was sane?

Points to ponder. Maybe there’ll be a story coming out of this someday.

Wrote a smutlet the other night. Couldn't get the damned thing out of my mind all day, so I had to toss it out there. Everybody on my mailing list got a welcome (and very warm) surprise.

Am cruising the Academy (actually the Uber list) for . . . stuff. Just finished reading Linda Crist's Bluest Eyes of Texas and Meg Ryan's 'The Deal.' Don't know where I'll end up next. I'm going alphabetically, of course.

Also completed a rousing discussion about politics from my poli sci wife. Getting a keener picture of the Sanguire's political structure. And the issues Jenna's going to have to deal with as she gains control. Whew! I think there's a lot more fodder for stories after I finish this trilogy. Criminy!

Another story idea came to mind. You know my MC? Jenna? Orphan, foster child, street kid, suddenly shoved into the limelight as vasilissa of the Sanguire? The only thing that's made the transition easier is the extra memories (past life recollections) of her predecessor, Elisibet the Tyrannos. Well, a thought occurred to me the other day . . .

What if Jenna got injured and lost her memory? Yet, the memories of Elisibet were just fine?

Jenna the Tyrannos, anyone?

*cackle*

Here's a question for everybody and anybody who reads this and is willing to brainstorm with me…

A is a consort. She belongs to B. B is sister to C. C is king of all the land.

B is ambitious. She wants to have C assassinated so she can take the throne. She also needs to have the assassin killed to keep anybody from pointing the finger at her.

A is unaware of all of this. However, she will be involved in the plot, and will ultimately take the fall for the dead assassin's job.

By A taking the fall for the murder of C AND the assassin, it will clear B's name so she can assume the throne.

Y'all still with me?

So . . . how the hel does that happen?? I've been fighting over this for the last hour. Scribbling it down on paper doesn't get me any closer to an answer, either. I need something extremely convoluted, something that'll play out to a minimum of 100k.

It sucks to know the beginning and ending of a novel and not know how the hel to get there!

Still gonna beef it up. It sits right at 2037 words. I'd like to gain another 300 words on the chapter before it's completed. I could use a lot more padding, since I had to chop the hel out of the flow. That's what I get for swapping POVs back and forth. I'm glad I've learned better now.

It doesn't help that Carnivale is on HBO. Caught the last two eps and the newest one. I'm really liking this show, man. It's weird beyond belief. Totally rocks!

Which brought up an idea. A story about carnies. And just to put a twist on it (and get it away from Carnivale and the movie 'Carnie' with Jodie Foster,) I figured an interstellar carnival. It'd have to be dark, grimy, maybe hopping from asteroid to asteroid in the belt, entertaining miners. Yeah, that'd work.

Now I just need a plot.

LOL!

Thanks to feath for that wonderful script! Now all I have to do is program in my quotes instead of the ones already there. It's made my life a hel of a lot easier!

And, I've finally figured out where to change the title page on the frames. I downloaded a handful of templates that I'm adapting for my new, professional image. The problem is that I've never worked with frames before. Spent a disgusted two hours last night trying to locate where to change the title but couldn't do it. I thought I'd have to reprogram each and every frame by hand. Started doing that this morning; opened each frame separately, code view only, and scoured the thing for information. Finally located the one in the index that I hadn't gotten to. Voila! Instant 'Redhawk's Realm' in the title bar! YAY!

Came across another story idea over the last couple of days. A friend of mine has made mention of a New Zealand kids' program called 'The Tribe' that seemed pretty interesting. I checked it out on satellite. It's alright. Nothing I'd watch. But the premise is damned cool! Similar in tone to the original Star Trek episode, 'Miri' – all the adults die of a plague, leaving the kids just below the threshold of puberty and younger to grow up on their own. The difference between that and the Trek ep, of course, is that it's a fresh occurence and as the child matures, he or she does NOT contract the disease that killed the adults. Of course, 'The Tribe' has taken these kids and given them mass weapons of destruction, enough brains to keep the electricity running, and computers. Not too realistic to me (at least not from MY childhood.)

So, I've been playing around with that idea. Already have a couple of main characters and three supporting. I'll probably have another handful of supporting characters by the time I'm finished dallying around with the concept.

Okay. Off to work.

I was working in one of the function rooms in the Lobby last night and passed by the shoe shine stand. *BAM* There it was! This scene took place in me 'ead and wouldn't let go!

A dapper young butch, top o' the world, in 1920's Chicago (or thereabouts, timewise.) She (He?) wanders up to a shoeshine stand where a sweet young thang is working with her father.

I've passed this stand hundreds of times over the years. It had to be Nico's muse! So I spent the rest of the night ruminating on whether or not to do it entirely from the shoeshine's POV as she watches the butch get into a huge mess with the Mob. And what exactly would be the crisis of the piece? What kind of trouble can they get into? Would they fall for each other or would it be unrequited on the shoeshine's part? Ah, questions, questions.

.

I've flipped through short stories with no success, wandered through the novels I've completed as I searched for a likely couple to begin questioning their relationship, even dug through the notes I have of upcoming stories to look for something.

Nada. Nichts. Nein.

As I bemoaned my situation to my best buddy, Shawn, she brought up an idea. What better way to have one of a couple seriously reconsider their relationship if they're old and decrepit and one is about to die? What do you do? Stay with your mate until the bitter end? Or run shrieking in the opposite direction?

Whoa!

Then I put my spin on it – what if one is able to take care of herself and the other has Alzheimers to such a degree that she can no longer recognize her partner? Now that would be a story!

Sat down to write and in less than two hours I have made my goal for the day – 1033 words. Yeah, baby!

Off to celebrate, cruise the web, maybe write a bit more for the night. Who knows?