I had the pleasure of interviewing one of the presenters at UAACon15. Check it out HERE. Julie presented an amazing class on self-editing and revision today.
Sometimes saying ‘yes’ when I really am too busy comes with great returns!
Author Archives: terraluft
About terraluft
Beyond the Wail Blog Tour
I’m a little obsessed with anthologies of late. What’s not to love about a short story – the perfect nightcap before bed without the threat of getting sucked into chapter after chapter and before you know it you have to get up in an hour for work. I’ve discovered writers I never might have read and went on to pick up longer works thanks to the wonder of anthologies. Which is why I jumped at the chance to host a stop on this blog tour.
What is it about fear and the unknown that pulls so passionately at the human heart? Perhaps we are drawn not to the darkness itself, but to the resolution, the overcoming of what we most deeply dread. After all, the more terrible the struggle, the greater the victory when it comes at last. Presented in this anthology are twelve remarkable stories of the darkness that overshadows us, and the resolution that may be found beyond them. They are stories of fear and oppression, but ultimately stories of hope, stories that will take you BEYOND THE WAIL.
Today I have the pleasure of spotlighting one of my friends-in-arms, L.K. McIntosh, a fellow author who I’ve become personally acquainted with through mutual associations and writing conventions the past year. Her story is one of twelve in this new anthology from Xchyler Publishing.
L.K. McIntosh has been making up stories about the people around her since she learned how to talk. She eventually discovered cultural anthropology, a fantastic and often macabre world of research rabbit holes and bare bones tales just begging to be fleshed out. She is irrationally terrified of sharks, which makes perfect sense, considering she has always lived in a landlocked state, and she is a proud supporter of the Oxford comma. She is currently working on two speculative fiction novels and several short stories. She physically lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, but tends to live life vicariously thanks to the Internet, books, television, and a vast array of interesting people.
L.K.’s story is titled THE ‘GRIM’ REAPER. When a soul reaper loses the source of their power, they must either find the witch who stole it or a new purpose for living.
I had a chance to chat with L.K. a bit and found some interesting (tasty even!) tidbits…
Me: How did you come up with the title of your story?
LK: I have to give credit to my mother. After talking through my story with her, she said, “Well, then I guess ‘grim’ really applies, doesn’t it? Hey, you should title it, “The ‘Grim’ Reaper”!” It is clever, so I went with it. (thanks mom!)
Me: What was the hardest part of writing this story, and how did you overcome it?
LK: The hardest part was just sitting down and writing it. I have this ridiculous idea that I want my first draft to be perfect, so I get in my own way a lot. I love to brainstorm and outline, but putting the story onto an actual page was very difficult for me. A lot of tears, frustration, and laborious placement of words, but I finally got there, and I love the characters and the things that happen within the story.
Me: So you’re a typical writer, then. I see! What is your favorite snack while writing?
LK: I usually have a cup of tea or coffee sitting nearby when I write.
Me: Girl after my own heart! I know you’re a speculative fiction writer which everyone knows makes you a nerd or a geek on some level. So just for fun, Star Wars or Star Trek?
LK: Star Wars, though I do like the new Star Trek films.
Me: Personally, either answer is correct on that question!
You can check out L.K.’s story and eleven others in Beyond the Wail available HERE on Amazon.
If you love a good book trailer – and who doesn’t? – check it out HERE.
You can also enter to win some great prizes as part of the blog tour – and who doesn’t love the chance to win free stuff?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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For other author spotlights, check out the upcoming schedule:
Book Release Blog Tour
Writing Series: Major Revisions
This article was written for Operation Awesome and appears originally HERE.
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One of my favorite sayings when the horror of writing the first draft starts to settle in is this:
It’s enough to keep me blazing through until the end, even when my inner fears whisper this is the worst thing ever written in the history of the world. Every writer knows those dark moments, smiling and nodding as they read this, for it is those shared fears during our darkest times which bind us all as comrades and brothers in arms.
The truth is, getting to “The End” is only the first step. It is then that the hardest work – that of revision and editing – begins. What if you realize you’ve taken a wrong turn along the way, despite your best efforts?
This happened to me with both my first and second novel-length projects. I decided to put away the first novel, chalk it up to the one I spent years learning with, and write something else. But once I was done with the second novel, I realized it, too, was lacking something.
I spent a few weeks thinking I wasn’t good enough to be an author. Wrote and published a few short stories instead, trying to forget about the project I’d finished but hadn’t.
Eventually I pulled myself together, reminded myself that I had already written two novels so clearly I am good enough, and decided to fix it. Which meant an entire re-write.
The antagonist had changed halfway through the first draft, leaving the ending mismatched from the beginning – curse those characters who take on a mind of their own. At a minimum, that needed to be fixed. I also decided to add a supernatural element to make the story more compelling. I’d set out to write mainstream fiction believing it would be easier to write (and sell) than paranormal but if you’re a genre writer like me, that isn’t always true.
With the help of my editor and writing group, I spent several months taking stock of what worked and what didn’t and came up with a plan to incorporate a supernatural subplot – the key to most of what was lacking. Along the way, some of the characters morphed, changed their motivations or got cut out completely, and some of the existing plot points had to bend to work with all the new changes. From there, I built a rough outline. One that looked very different than the original one which I’d already written.
I wrote sixty thousand words in that first draft and hoped not everything had to go. However, enough had changed that even the scenes I could still use had a different feel and a different flow in the re-write. I found it nearly impossible to salvage original writing while doing such a major overhaul. Instead of cutting and pasting, I opened the original document so I could reference it and I started from scratch.
© Bethbee | Dreamstime Stock Photos
Every writer should know, and if you didn’t already let me be the first to break it to you so you’re prepared for it, that the editing process is often not only more difficult than writing the first draft, it is also the largest part of the overall project. Especially when you have an editor. When the editing process begins with a complete re-write, it is even harder.
For the record, I believe everyone should have an editor who can see their work from the viewpoint of the reader and identify things you, as the author, are too close to the work to see. So if you haven’t incorporated critique partners and editors into your revision process, you should reconsider. You may not always like what they have to say, but they are usually right.
Five months of writing later, I’m almost finished. Again.
No one said writing was easy. For those of us in the trenches, at times it can feel overwhelming. Just remember, each time you write a story – regardless of the length – you get better at it. The same is true of revision and editing.
Don’t lose hope. If you find yourself at “The End” and unsatisfied with the product, there are ways to rewrite and salvage it. Figure out the missing elements and have a plan before going in. Above all, never give up. Never stop writing.
Operation Awesome
Thank you to the folks at Operation Awesome who let me visit and share a previous article with their readers. If you’re looking for inspiration for all kinds of writing topics, drop in and visit them.
Here’s a link to my Guest Post.
Fear of Rejection
The arrow of the mouse pointer hovering over the ‘Send’ button. The email meticulously crafted, submission guidelines checked and double-checked. Once sent, it cannot be undone. Will they love it? Will they hate it? Is it good enough? Will anyone else love it like I do? Will anyone besides my husband and my writing group ever read it?
All of these thoughts swirled through my mind as I clicked ‘Send’ tonight on my most recent submission. Now I wait… hoping for quick news about the fate of my latest story. It is par for the course in the life of an author – but also that of any writer who puts themselves and their work out there for consumption. Whether it be the first time or the hundredth time, waiting for acceptance and fearing the rejection–rejection that is statistically more likely–is perhaps the hardest part of this publishing endeavor.
- © Rolffimages | Dreamstime Stock Photos
For the moment, I’m trying not to stress and starting another project. May the universe and the submission editors smile on the latest slice of my soul that I just sent out into the world.
Coming to a Comic Con Near You This September
I hinted in my last post about some crazy new thing I’ve gotten myself involved with and today is the unveiling to the world what we’ve got cooking…
ROCK! OPERA! COMEDY!
The Steampunk Rock Opera is a partially scripted improv play by Paul Genesse with singing, comedy and the awesome eight-member band, RUSTMONSTER led by Craig Nybo.
On September 25 (8-9PM) at Salt Lake Comic Con 2015 in room 355, meet Hana Lonely, the best airship pilot and smuggler in the Seven Skies. The half-steam engine and opera singing robot, ChooChoo. The handsome gentleman mechanic, Leo Longwrench. Psychopathic Scientist Dr. Von Mac. The under-appreciated and annoyed little sister, Angel Lonely. The villainous Airship Pirate Queen played by the legendary steampunk event creator and costumer, the Lady Nivi-Nichole!
Volunteer audience members will become part of the show!
Play a half-machine airship pirate, or join the crew of the Steam Falcon. Prepare to laugh at this PG rated show until you burst at the steams, errr, seams.
Yes, my first foray into Performance Art! Or, for those of you who knew me when, a revisit to my rocker days…
I am the official narrator and chief raconteur for this event and I’m honored and excited to be included with this amazing cast. It’s going to be epic on so many levels and worth all the insanity leading up to next month’s event. Plan now to join us.
Disclaimer: you must have a ticket for Friday’s Comic Con entry to attend but once you’re inside the doors, this event is included.
Learning to Say No
I believe I’ve found the next lesson the Universe is trying to force feed me.
I cannot do everything as I have always done. My days feel shorter, my nights more jam packed with activities and commitments, and I’m consistently bombarded with new offers and new projects. My first reaction is to say yes immediately, then figure out how to fit whatever it is into my project plan that somehow, amid all the chaos, resembles a satisfying life.
I’m impulsive that way. I always have been.
Here’s the reality: The project plan is full. Constraints cannot be overcome by throwing more money or resources at them. There are no more resources in reserve. Unless someone has invented a time machine that automatically doubles the hours available to me every day. In which case, I haven’t heard the news yet.
Which means I have to start prioritizing, balancing all the things I want to do and would love to do with realistic expectations of what I am capable of doing without losing my marbles.
Is my volunteer work within a professional writing organization paying the right dividends to justify the time spent away from my actual writing?
Is my time away from my family pursuing my writing career being spent in worthwhile ways?
Was I completely insane when I thought I could have a full time job, be a wife and mother and be a professional author on top of it all?
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: I wish I had a crystal ball!
I don’t know the answers, I do know that summer has been hectic. I’ve got a couple of short stories to show for all the insanity but the novel is still not finished. Time to ramp up the efforts and get rigid with my time. ‘I can sleep when I’m dead’ has become my mantra.
It’s time to learn how to say No.
The closer I whittle the things that make up my life down to the things that matter most, the harder it is to cut away without damaging the gems underneath. At the end of the day, I’m left with knowing that just because I’m capable of doing anything I set out to do, that doesn’t mean everything I attempt will make me happy. Sometimes it’s too hard to fit it into what I’m already doing and the right answer in that moment will be No. No matter how cool it sounds, or how fun I imagine it will be.
In related news… watch for upcoming announcements about the next big thing I’ve got cooking and currently taking most of my free time. Hint: it’s happening at Salt Lake Comic Con.
Living vs. Surviving
Survival is one of those instinctual things. Most people find a way to do it every day without thinking about it. Some are more resilient than others and some take more effort to grab at the bootstraps before pulling themselves up by them. My most recent epiphany is that there is a difference between living and merely surviving day to day. Sometimes, you don’t realize you’ve slipped into survival mode and assume you’re still in the land of the living.
For safety reasons, I’ve been intentionally quiet in the public domain about how for years Hubby has worked a night shift job. Eight years, in fact. The first four years it was only every other month, which made it seem far less invasive on our everyday living arrangements. Shift work being what it is, we’d get completely fed up with being ships crossing twice a day to hand off parenting responsibilities. Usually right about that time he’d rotate and get a month of reprieve on the day shift. Four years ago, when the economy took a downward plunge for the entire country, his company had layoffs. We felt lucky – even grateful – at the time. Even though he had the least seniority, they chose to keep him on. But part of that meant there wasn’t an extra day shift to switch off the schedule with and he had to be on dedicated night shift. Six PM to six AM, four days a week.
We had a baby, but we had an amazing nanny with a flexible schedule which made it easy to roll with the punches. We had an older kid with a full dance card, pun intended, but we could still manage. I took on the role of single parent during the week and was grateful that Daddy was home all afternoon for quality one-on-one time with the kids after he woke up. We all had to figure out how to be extremely quiet inside the house at all hours of the day because “Daddy is sleeping”. As the years wore on, slowly our nerves started fraying. We didn’t notice, it was just how life was. And one day we knew it would get better. It had to.
We combated the separation of schedules by setting aside one night a week devoted, without fail, to family night. Vacations became about reconnecting with each other rather than just relaxing and seeing new places. Night shift and the accompanied sleep deprivation ate away at all the normalcy of life as we knew it. Did you know there are studies about nurses who work the night shift that prove it takes years off of your life? As you might expect, the stress of attempting to maintain a normal life started to eat away at both of us. One day, I realized this wasn’t a life we were living but one we were merely surviving; and immediately started planning for a way out.
Planning, after all, is what I do.
Those plans have paid off with a switch to day shift and a new job. The results were immediate in the level of happiness and relief that washed over the entire family. Having Daddy home at night, instead of kissing him goodbye just as Mommy got home from work, is so much better for the girls. Getting to sleep at the same time all week long without one of us either having to stay up super late or go to bed super early is a novelty I didn’t realize I’d taken so for granted before. A full night of sleep, at night, when the rest of the world is asleep, and your body is programmed to do it, makes a huge difference for health and happiness that I wouldn’t have believed if I hadn’t seen it for myself.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of surviving instead of living. Even me, the girl who is so focused on making every day count, found myself there. Another cautionary tale about how important it is to stop once in a while and take stock of your life. In the words of Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it.”
Ghost Hunting 101
I’m a horror writer; one who is working on a ghost story of sorts and who lived in a haunted house for seven years. So when I heard there was a local ghost hunter who was organizing an investigation that others could attend, I jumped at the chance. It was one of those bucket list kinds of things. If I had a literal list, it would go something like this: 1) visit Italy 2) find proof of ghosts 3) learn a second language 4)publish a best-selling novel 5) win the lottery. Some of those items are more of the pipe-dream variety while others have a bit more of a chance. Until last week, I would have put the ghost item in the pipe-dream list. Now, I can say I’ve checked that one off.
When I talk about ghost hunting, both before and after the experience, people have varied reactions. Most assume it will be creepy or frightening. Having lived with at least one ghost for many years, I didn’t have many apprehensions. In the back of my mind I knew there was that possibility but assumed the professional leading the expedition wouldn’t take folks with zero experience into a place that would have malevolence lurking.
What I expected was a lot of walking around in the dark, hearing footsteps on floors above, maybe even feeling tingling sensations when I walked into rooms. All the things that I had come to expect from our own ghostly housemate years ago. I went into the experience wide open and ready for all possibilities. I got lots of the things I expected. What I didn’t expect was actual data that I can’t easily discount as anything other than proof.
The gadget geek part of me who loves data was in pure heaven. Did you know there are such things as electromagnetic field sensors? The pros call them “ghost meters”, pun intended I’m sure. They have these red lights at one end that indicate when there is an electromagnetic field present, which apparently has been linked to ghosts. Then there’s a dial with a needle that reminds me of a volt-meter from my days in the electronics lab in high school. Touch the sensor to electrical current and the needle jumps to the right. This one detects when a ghost somehow interacts with the meter. The result, the ghosts have the ability to answer yes/no questions by indicating one for no, two for yes (or vice versa). There were lots of other gadgets to record EVP’s – the ghostly voices that are only heard on the playback. It works like a dog whistle since the the frequencies are so low the ear cannot hear them until you play it back. The flashlight that is set so sensitive that the barest whisper of a touch will turn it on – we didn’t get to see that one work, unfortunately. Digital thermometers, apps to sense EVPs real-time and interpret to text what is said, and I’m sure lots of other things we didn’t get to see outside of the mysterious backpacks carried by the professionals.
Of all the gadgets, I was obsessed with the ghost meter. The immediate gratification could not be beat. I ended up in a stiflingly hot cabin for most of the five hours we were there, talking to multiple ghosts. At one point, early on, the experienced leader assigned to our small group was talking about how things worked and getting a feel for who we all were. He stopped mid-sentence to say that his ghost meter was going crazy and that he’d never seen it do that before. He was the resident skeptic so he spent a fair amount of time trying to discount it with a natural explanation. When there were no power lines and no electrical devices in the vicinity, he started to get excited. We started questioning and determined there were three different ghosts that were all vying for a turn to answer questions. About that time, the head professional joined our group with a second meter that was also going crazy. They put them side by side on the floor and he switched up the answer responses from “one for no” to “two for no” several times, asked the same question and pointed to which meter he wanted his answer on, back and forth. The answers were consistent, even with the switching of answer responses, and would switch back and forth between the meters as directed. It was fascinating.
On top of the gadgets with their ubber-cool lights and sounds, there were other, more subtle, experiences. Like when two of us were sitting on the bed, in the dark, with our eyes closed so the other senses were heightened, and felt a presence first climb up onto the bed using our arms and shoulders to boost it up, and then sit between us for a time. I even had an earring move as if someone was playing with it. I wanted to discount that it was just me somehow making it swing, but only one of them was moving so I kind of doubt it. One guy said something – or someone – poked him in the rear-end on multiple occasions. His wife had a laser pointer that, even with fresh batteries, kept getting turned off and then back on. Another guy kept smelling things the rest of us couldn’t even though we were standing right next to him.
At the end of the night, I was convinced that I need my own ghost meter. Although having it in the house might be tempting and would likely scare my kids. I went into the experience hoping to gain some inspiration for a story I’m working on. What I got instead was a healthy dose of “I want to do that again” and a heightened awareness that what we see with our eyes is not always the only things going on around us. You will likely find me hanging out in cemeteries in the future. Once my ghost meter arrives, that is.
Baby steps to achieving goals
My health has settled down a bit lately – still in remission from kidney disease, manageable medications with minimal side effects, still working on clearing my lungs of the last of the blood clots that are holding on for dear life. Most days, life is good and I almost forget that I have a chronic illness that will never be cured. But there is this one reminder that, by stark contrast, shows me daily how my fitness has suffered in light of these struggles. I can’t run a mile anymore, let alone thirteen of them. Hell, it’s hard to walk briskly for long periods of time right now. It is frustrating to look back on where I was – running Ragnars and half marathons and averaging twenty miles a week – and compare it with where I am now.
I know everything is relative. I do. I acknowledge every day that I get to live is a day I may not have had at one point and I’m happy. But that’s on a very basic level rooted in survival. I’m talking about the stuff of living.
How did I get here? On a viscous cycle of cause and effect. I survived the pulmonary embolism because I was a runner and had excellent lung and cardiac capacity. But once I couldn’t run, I lost that all very quickly. Now that I’m in remission, I’m carrying around extra weight – both from the water retention associated with kidneys that don’t work all that perfectly and the lack of running I’ve been capable of for the past year. Because I haven’t been able to run, my cardio and lung capacity has dwindled to where I can barely walk a quarter mile quickly before I’m sucking wind and my chest and lungs hurt from the blood clots.
Not going to lie, this cycle has had me frustrated and down the past few months. Which does not help motivate me to change anything about it.
This week I decided it was time to stop living in the past and lamenting all that I’ve lost in the fitness aspect of my life. Sure I have to start from the beginning as if none of the hard work I put in to get where I was at the peak of my game ever happened, but that’s not the end of the world. I know I can do it because I’ve done it before. There are different hurdles this time around. I have two kids who are active with extra curricular activities, my job is insane, I’m writing like never before and I’m older (and have a kidney disease) with dwindling energy and endurance. I could wallow at how hard all that makes it to work out on a consistent basis or I can get creative.
Today showed me the possibilities of the creative path with several baby steps toward new habits. I still practice yoga twice a week – most weeks – and I’ve committed to challenging myself more to get out of my comfort zone. I am still sore from my practice two days ago so that has proven a positive step. At work, where I used to work out religiously for an hour in the afternoons, I barely have time for a lunch break that doesn’t involve grabbing food and snarfing it down at my desk while I multitask sometimes multiple meetings. Today my counterpart and I ended up having a meeting on the treadmills. It wasn’t planned that way, but we decided to go for a quick break and ended up brainstorming issues while we walked. In the end, it was a meeting rather than a break and I still got to be active. She pushed me to staying on the treadmill for twenty minutes – her minimum. From now on, I’ll suggest a treadmill meeting any time possible. After work, Baby Sister had her tennis lesson where, instead of sitting on the grass with her BFF’s mom chatting for an hour, we both brought our rackets and played tennis in an adjoining court. Both of us used to play but hadn’t held a racket for years – almost twenty for me. We sucked but by the end of the hour we were successfully returning. She played competitively, me recreationally. She got her skills back quickly – including a serve. Mine will take some time but my body is remembering how it feels to play and how fun it was.
I felt energized and fulfilled at the end of the day. It hadn’t taken any effort to increase my activity level almost double (as measured by my fitness tracker in the form of daily steps). The momentum of taking small steps toward a goal, however lofty, should not be taken for granted.
Kids, unscripted
I took a couple of weeks off from everything for a family vacation in paradise. Trying to get back into the swing of things after a Hawaiian vacation that ended in a nasty cold has been challenging. Yesterday, I saw something fun going around in Facebook land and thought it would be an entertaining glimpse into my life. My children did not disappoint…
Instructions were this: WITHOUT any prompting, ask your child these questions and write down EXACTLY what they say. It is a great way to find out what they really think. I asked both of them alone so they couldn’t be influenced by the other person’s answers. It was funny what they got right, what they had no clue about and what they were completely wrong about. Enjoy!
Baby Sister, 5
- What is something Mom always says to you? Um… that I’m cute
- What makes mom happy? Um…when she is sick I always hug her and make her feel better
- What makes mom sad? Um.. I don’t know
- How does your mom make you laugh? Tickling me!
- What was your mom like as a child? I don’t know
- How old is your mom? 43?
- What is her favorite thing to do? Um… I don’t know
- How tall is your mom? I don’t know
- What does your mom do when you’re not around? Work
- If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? For your kid
- What is your mom really good at? Yoga
- What is your mom not very good at? Um… watering trees
- What does your mom do for a job? Writer
- What is your mom’s favorite food? Bananas
- What makes you proud of your mom? When she does stuff I want her to do
- If your mom were a character, who would she be? Um.. Snow White or Ariel
- What do you and your mom do together? Um… go to the park?
- How are you and your mom the same? We have the same skin
- How are you and your mom different? We have different hair!
- How do you know your mom loves you? Because she always tells me!
- What does your mom like most about your dad? They married (giggles)
- Where is your mom’s favorite place to go? I don’t know – where is your favorite place to go?
- How old was your mom when she had you? I don’t know!
Big Sister, 13
1. What is something Mom always says to you? Clean your room
2. What makes mom happy? Getting good grades
3. What makes mom sad? Not getting good grades (chuckle)
4. How does your mom make you laugh? Telling me I’m a stinker bear
5. What was your mom like as a child? Um… aggressive.
6. How old is your mom? 43
7. What is her favorite thing to do? Write
8. How tall is your mom? 5’ 3”
9. What does your mom do when you’re not around? Write
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Writing
11. What is your mom really good at? Writing
12. What is your mom not very good at? Um.. dancing
13. What does your mom do for a job? Works in IT
14. What is your mom’s favorite food? Pasta
15. What makes you proud of your mom? That she believes in me
16. If your mom were a character, who would she be? Ariel
17. What do you and your mom do together? Sing in the car
18. How are you and your mom the same? We both have thick hair
19. How are you and your mom different? Hmm… hmmm… how are we different. (taps chin) We are different because I got to dance when I was younger and she didn’t.
20. How do you know your mom loves you? She tells me every day.
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? His attitude
22. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go? Hawaii
23. How old was your mom when she had you? 30
So while Big Sister accurately knew my day job, Baby Sister only knows the job she sees me doing at home. I asked them why they both thought I would be Ariel because that surprised me. Big Sister said it was because I was determined, Baby Sister said it was because I had red hair. I guess they are both right. Surprising moments included when Big Sister knew that I was aggressive as a child and that I had always wanted to dance when I was younger. She must have been paying attention a lot more often than I think. I think it is a personal victory that I have embraced celebrating my age number ticking up every year when they both knew exactly how old I am. I have no idea why Baby Sister thinks I’m not any good at watering trees but I love that to her “I don’t know” is a valid answer to any question. I hope she never loses that. Very favorite answer from both of them? Knowing that they both know how much I love them because I tell them. Every. Day. On tap as we head into summer? More trips to the park and singing in the car together.
Terra Luft - View From the Crystal Ball 
