AnthologyBuilder

Lately I’ve been working on a fun little side project, turning some of my photographs into book covers for AnthologyBuilder.

For those who haven’t heard of it, AnthologyBuilder is a print-on-demand service with a library of short stories from which people can create their own custom anthologies. Once people have chosen the stories they want, they can pick out the cover art for their book.

A few of my personal favorites:

Underwater – http://anthologybuilder.com/cover_demo.php?cover_id=195
Forest – http://anthologybuilder.com/cover_demo.php?cover_id=190
Cat – http://anthologybuilder.com/cover_demo.php?cover_id=192
Fire – http://anthologybuilder.com/cover_demo.php?cover_id=267
Tentacles – http://anthologybuilder.com/cover_demo.php?cover_id=265

My designs are in good company. Other …

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Psychology!

A friend of mine is looking for people to fill out a survey so that she can get data for her dissertation. Data is important. It helps all those academic types write non-fiction, which I can later twist around into fiction. So go help advance science — it only takes 20-25 minutes!

http://baerdissertation.jlauser.net

Description from the researcher: “This survey has to do with jury decision making. It includes a case summary and excerpts from the ensuing trial. It takes approximately 20 to 25 minutes to read through the information and answer a few questions.”

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In the Spotlight

I recently did my first interview! ktempest asked me a few questions for Fantasy Magazine’s Author Spotlight, including:

What author do you admire yet hope never to be compared to?
Do you find that your photography affects your writing?

I also talk about the inspiration for “Time to Say Goodnight.”

(Go read the interview!)

Also, don’t forget to vote for your favorite Fantasy story of 2007. Voting is open until the end of January, and you can pick up to three stories as your favorites. There are some excellent stories on the ballot, …

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End-o-Year Statistics

2007 isn’t quite over yet, but I’ll be visiting family over the holidays, so the stats shouldn’t change much between now and then. Statistical summary of 2007:

Stories Written: 12
Novelette/Novellas written: 1
Novels Written: 1.25

Submissions: 66
Rejections: 56
Sales: 1
Stories currently out at market: 10

Stories Published*: 1

I feel like I did a bit better this year than the statistics suggest, in that I’ve had a lot of near misses. One of my stories was a (non-placing) finalist at Writers of the Future, and several stories have gotten past slush readers …

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Oatmeal vs. Steel Cut Oatmeal

Steel Cut Oatmeal with Craisins

I can’t stand regular oatmeal. The flavor is fine, but the gloppy texture just doesn’t do it for me. Most oatmeal is made with rolled oats — oats that have been hulled, steamed, rolled, and flaked so that they cook quickly. Steel cut oats (aka Irish oats), on the other hand, are hulled oats cut into two or three pieces, rather than being squashed flat.

Steel cut oats take longer to cook, but they have a lovely chewy …

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