My novella "The Battle for Newhome" was published by Sam's Dot Publishing on Oct. 1! You can buy it here.
I've assembled 15 of my previously-published short science fiction & fantasy stories into one volume titled "The Outliers," and it's available at Lulu.com. It's also now available at:
Amazon.com,
Barnes and Noble online, and
Books A Million.
Pages I've found useful when marketing my writing:
The Scriptorium
Michael Engen's Science Fiction and Fantasy Market Engine
Ralan.com
Bluejack's Quintamid Market Database
Paula Fleming's Market List
The Black Hole
Chris Holliday's Market List
Spicy Green Iguana
Duotrope
The Postage Chart
Sally Quilford's Online Writing Competitions Deadlines Calendar!
Guidevines - the world's first wiki for writers!
Here's where my web site, 3 outside the skinny, resides.
And, my email address (run it all together & change the at-sign-substitute to a real one): thr eeouts ideAAATTgm ai l.com.
| *giggle* Who was THAT? Oh, Clyde!
What's he on about, then? |
| *rock lift up*
Hey, Terry. *Clyde scurries away* |
| Thank you, ET! Likewise a good 2007 to you. |
| Wishing you a good 2007, Terry. |
| I don't know but I do know that the only emperor is the emperor of ice cream...but I don't think people are anxious to taste his wares. |
| unless you're talking Craig Alan Gardner... in which the Good Humor man was not so humorous - nor so good. Dragon Sleeping, my friend. |
| Those darn Monty Pythons spam a lot.
Speaking of which... doesn't humor help to blunt the cutting edge of art and life? I've heard of it being put to good use in hospitals and hamlets. Is there anyone so cool as the good humor man? |
| That would be the Monty Python rabbit. Keep an I on it. |
| Funny thing -- came back to work after vacation and there smack in the middle of my friend's desk was an innocent-looking white plush rabbit, replete with not-so-innocent fangs.
He got it from his nephews as a Christmas gift -- how cool would that be? |
| I've seen it but that was back when it came out. 1975? I don't have a steel-trap mind. More like a sieve. I should rent it and see it again. It was absolutely hysterical then. I think it's probably stood the test of time.
I do remember, "runaway, runaway.":) |
| And watch out for the rabbit, that thing's dynamite! |
| Oh, Ruth. Ruth, Ruth, Ruth... Get thee to a video store and grab thyself a copy of Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail.
-Jim |
| What's ni? |
| Ruth: No, it has nothing to do with my writing.
David: I don't say "Ni" around here. ;^> |
| Ni!
She's my fiance. Ni! Ni! And I shall say NI! to you again if you do not do as I ask! =David |
| I'm sorry to hear about your girlfriend's cancer, David; she's in my prayers.
Terry, I hope your troubles in 2006 weren't due to the curse of the published. I heard here on the RM of the myth that once a writer finally reaches that pinnacle of publication something bad happens in their personal life(actually the myth is that their whole personal life goes to shambles. Bad, bad myth.) I'm not particularly supersticious so I hope it's not true. Anyway, wishing you a happy, prosperous 2007 with many new opportunities and joy! |
| I'm so sorry, David. I hope everyone has a better 2007. |
| After learning that my dear Jenn's bone cyst has gone cancerous and she now has to have chemo and radiation, I am among those who want a better year for 2007.
My prayers for all of you here! Tell Clarke i say hi SueO2! =David |
| Terry--
Same boat. I hope 2007 is a better year for all of us. Chris |
| Terry, sorry to hear that this has been a bad year for you. Wishing you the best in all future years. Clark sends his love and a purple mouse with rattle.
SueO2 On a similar, though much lighter note, many years ago my nephew's 8th birthday was approaching. He was looking sad, so I suggested he cheer up as a party was coming soon. He got sadder and informed me that he didn't want to turn 8. Huh? Why not? (Seemed a strange thing for a kid to say.) He then told me that his 7th year was the most wonderful year of his (short) life: he'd been to DisneyWorld, he'd been camping, he had a good year at school and so on. How could any other year be as good, therefore he was sad. It was a curious moment for me, profound, too, because I knew something he didn't know: his father was being transferred for a year and would be living away from home -- leaving shortly after Tim's eighth birthday. (Tim had a close relationship with his dad and lots of those good times were "with dad".) Now, I fought with my cousin over this, telling her she should have TOLD the kids well ahead of the move so they would be prepared. They thought otherwise. (The other kid thought is was great: good for dad, now mom wouldn't be around to tell him what to do.) I wonder if maybe Tim didn't already know what was coming but was unable to express it because he knew he shouldn't know. |
| Thanks, Chris. |
| Terry,
Hope this helps a bit... This was a tough year for me as well. Events beyond my control marred much of what I've spent eight years building. And it's much worse than just that, but I won't get into details here. In my darkest moments this year I tried to forget the bad and took inventory of everything good in my life. When I compared that against people who live in conditions of war and starvation, it changed my perspective fast. That's when, just like you, I made a list of everything I needed to do and got to work! I immersed myself in the tasks, and when I came up for air, things had actually started turning around. So don't get too depressed by those end of the year blues. You had a novella published in 2006, so even from the little I know, you had at least one bright point. You have goals, which means you have direction. And of course, you have this great gang here at the Rumor Mill to give you support! :) And don't knock David's "T word," science fiction writers know that anything is possible! :) Here's to a wonderful 2007 for all of us! Chris |
| lol Matt, you know that I know that you know there are very few ways 2007 could be worse than 2006.
David: don't even *think* the T word when the subject is my life! *blanch* THREE new lives? I'll be lucky to cobble together ONE. ;^> Thanks Jim & Sonya, Matt & David. The RM once again proves itself the BEST online family! |
| Unless Sonya... it's the end of the book.
Then there are trilogies! :D =David |
| No question in my mind, Terry: 2007's gonna be a better year for you.
See ya on the beach. |
| Terry -- the truth of the matter is - most resolutions don't last as long as a few months... where as real 'life' changes can last the test of time. Taking a step back to evaluate and choose to do the things that help you feel happy and whole is definitely the first step on a path of success. No matter what crumminess 2006 is closing with - remember one thing...
As in books, when one chapter ends, another begins. And so it goes in life as well. Good luck with art and writing! and remember that you have a small cheering section here even if we don't jump in and post all the time. *hugs* Sonya |
| Looking for those things which will help you to be happier and make your life better sounds like a wonderful goal for 2007. Sending hugs and positive thoughts your way for the holidays... |
| So, here we are at the end of another year. For me, 2006 can't get its sorry ass out of here fast enough. I won't go into details, but I have a huge task ahead of me, namely, rebuilding myself a life. Jan. 1 is always a tempting Brand New Year kinda thing but I've NEVER lived up to my resolutions. So this time, I'm going to try to remind myself every day the things I need to do in order to make my life, and myself, better. Writing and doing art are definitely on the list (which is a total of 7 items). I think making it more self-centered, in a way ("what'll make my life better") might work where resolutions always fail. We'll see. If there's one thing I learned in 2006, it's that life is completely unpredictable and uncontrollable no matter how in control we think we are.
So - here's to a Happy 2007 for everybody! |
| Thanks, LD.. That does make me feel better. :) |
| You participated, you get a t-shirt, you helped libraries in Vietnam, it's all good. You have done more than most, and that's something to be proud of. |
| *sigh* It doesn't look like I'll be "winning" NaNo this year. Again. Oh well, unavoidable interference. However, I shall keep working right through Nov. 30th, and finish it after, if I have to. I rather like this story and I think it can be fixed up into a real, worthwhile novel, so 'll do that. At least NaNo got me going on it. I feel a mite guilty having bought the tee shirt though... |
| Thanks, Robert. "One of my biggest problems as a writer is finishing what I started." - LOL, join the club! But I intend to finish this one, and I *just* might do it by Nov. 30th. We'll see.
Thanks, Sonya! I worked on it some more on the plane out here to California where I'm spending the holiday week with my son, his bride, and a whole bunch of RMers! RHole, Frank Wu, Lori, Jules, The Red Dragon, Rebekah, and maybe some others who I can't remember right now (I'm jetlagged, yeah yeah I know, a two-hour time difference, what a weinie.) And I'll have pretty much all day tomorrow to work on it some more. Whee! |
| Congrats, Terry on busting 20K! (22K at the moment!) |
| Thanks for the nudge on my author's topic, Terry. But I started my first novel back in 2003, wrote the first draft in a month. I've been rewriting it off and on ever since, with a self-imposed deadline of Dec 31st. I'll send queries out to lit agents in January. Then pick up where I left off with another novel, and finish _it_ before going on to the next one, and the one after that... I've got several lined up and ready to go, with notes on many more. One of my biggest problems as a writer is finishing what I started. So I'm going to try _not_ to start another novel for a while. And of course I'm looking forward to seeing you finish yours, too. Nudge, nudge.
|
| I'm not going to get the last 1500 session in tonight. Just don't feel up to it. Back at it tomorrow. |
| Woo hoo! I busted through 20K! Whee! Time to go home & eat chocolate, bwahahaha!
But first I have runaround errands to do. |
| OK, I think I got my morning 1500 in now. I'm at a coffee shop and a writing buddy, Trent, is joining me. We've made a standing Sat. a.m. date to come here & write. It's good- gets my sorry ass out of bed and moving on the weekends, lol.
I've set up another NaNoWriMo writing date with some folks I've not met, here in Omaha, for another coffee shop this afternoon. Then I'll work on it tonight before going to bed, and I hope I'll be up over 20,000 by then. Oops - I just calculated how many I've got so far and I'm 400 under. OK, back to the keyboard... |
| LOL - oh, Lisa, if you knew them...um, no, it never entered my head and if it had I'd have had to explain why I was rolling around on the floor laughing 'til I cried.
*wipes eyes* hoo-hah! That's a good one. Thanks for your encouragement, though! I really need it! I'm going for three 1500-word sessions tomorrow and Sunday, amidst getting ready for my trip to California, then I'm taking my NaNo notebook and *pencils* on the plane & Ill try to use that time to the fullest. I'm flying United; the only info about fountain pens I've found on their web site or anywhere else is that you can take a pen with one cartridge in it on with you, but you can't have extra cartridges with you. I'm going to take a couple pens and try to buy cartridtges out in CA. But really, you know, I feel so much safer knowing no one can have those cartridges lying around loose in their purse of carryon bag, don't you? I don't suppose anyone on the RM knows for sure about this? stupid f#(%*$g Patriot Act... |
| Terry, did you talk with your aunt and cousin about NaNo? I wonder if they'd have been willing to write for ten or fifteen minutes with you. Not that I would be able to write anything worthwhile with my family alongside me, but it's a thought. I have some friends, not writers but artists, who I bet would have gone along with it for laughs.
Keep your hand in, as you say. Then when that Thanksgiving break comes, you won't need a lot of time to warm up! Go, Terry, go! |
| Alas, I am weary to the bone. No NaNo tonight - just an extra-early bedtime. I did write 1001 words on it last night, however. |
| *sigh* Little progress on NaNo tonight; my aunt and cousing came over with chicken and mmMMMmmmpumpkin pie. I couldn't really tell them to get lost, I have writing to do, lol.
I did scribble about 550 words, just enough to say I kept my hand in. |
| I hear that, Robert. |
| Terry,
I've always admired the people who can work things out in their heads and produce a good first draft, but I do my thinking on the page. If I write fast enough I can outpace that editorial voice, and my word counts go way up. My first drafts are very messy. To me, creativity is a willingness to make mistakes. But I have to rewrite everything many times to get it right. Robert |
| Well, I got it over 16K words over the weekend. Nowhere NEAR caught up, but what the hey. Ive got a 5-hour plane trip coming up and a six-day vacation over Thanksgiving. We'll see what happens THEN. |
| Thanks Sonya, but my 15,000 word plan got waylaid. A friend called and we yakked for an hour, and by then it was just too late - I can't do those wee hours like I used to be able to. But, I got more done this morning, as Trent said. (He & I have been meeting for Sat. morning coffee & writing at a local bistro)
I don't know why your post didn't appear, Trent. My total word count should be on the NaNo counter at the top of this page. 15,000 and something, anyway. I did eventually get there, only this morning instead of last night. |
| That last post was Trent. |
| You did 2500 this morning [*mind boggles*], so where does that put you?
How come my last post didn't appear? |
| Go Terry ! Go Terry ! GO Terry Go !
*pom poms* yay Terry! Sonya (admiring your prodigious effort!) |
| OK, I've got my honey bunches of oats-like cereal, my peanut butter cups, my diet ginger ale, hot chocolate...tonight is going to be a prodigious effort. I'm aiming to hit the 15,000 word mark tonight or explode trying. Whee! |
| Hey! Must be knocking something out of your system. Rest if you need to. The holidays are approaching and you don't want to be sick for paid days off! :-)
As for me, I must refuse the urge to write antiwords. |
| Did much the same thing last night, so now I'm really behind. However, I calculated that if I can write 2500 words between now and Tuesday midnight, I'll be caught up. This morning I've done 1356, so I'll tackle it again tonight and write that much again, and I'll be happy for today's progress. |
| Didn't write anything on NaNo yesterday. Instead I went to bed at 7:30 and got a full night's sleep - now THERE's a novel idea (snicker snicker)! Man, did I need it.
So, I'll do two day's worth of NaNo writing tomorrow. |
| Woo hoo! I got caught up to my daily quota tonight! Not quite 2500 words but I don't care, I'm pleased.
And...looking at the weird numbers on that NaNo widget (up above here), I don't think it's a simple calculation using number of days and quota of words. I don't what the hell it is, but it's still annoying. WHY does it annoy me so? go to bed, Terry, you're tired. OK. |
| Thanks, Sonya. This time I went whole-hog; I bought both the "No Plot? No Problem" book AND kit, which latter is a barrel 'o' fun - has wall chart with gold-star stickers, NaNo pledge affidavit (which is a hoot in itself), "Ask me about my Novel" stickers, daily peptalk cards, a booklet with all kinds of encouragement and advice and committment coupons (aka "Onerosity Coupons") on which you pledge to do some arduous, disgusting, or both, task for a friend if you don't reach x number of words by y date, a "Before You Quit" sealed envelope that you ONLY open if you've already decided to quit - the goal is never to open that one - and last but not least: the Radiant Badge of the Triumphant wordsmith. lol - it's crazy and fun. What the heck. And it seems to be working! |
| Good Luck, Terry. I have contemplated the NaNo event in the past and have just never been able to work myself up to enter! I think it's fantastic that you are (one-fifth) of the way done already *grin* (according to the '50,000' word count anyway :-) )
Sonya |
| Ultimately only added 860 words yesterday. 'sOkay, I can grind out 2500 today. |
| Got a few hudnred words in...maybe 450. At least it's a start. Won't be starting cold at home tonight. |
| ...and this morning I walked out of the house and left my NaNo notebook, my daily journal, and a couple other things I *realllly* wanted with me. Ah well, I'll *try* a plain old steno pad... |
| Thanks, Sue! A whopping 129 words ahead, lol. Oh well, I'll take it! |
| Looks like a stupid algorithm to me, especially since you seem to be a bit ahead of the game. You go girl. |
| Well, the Tech forum at the NaNo web site explained those odd numbers. Egad, what eggheads. It's some kind of arcane algorithm that predicts how many words you're going to write each day based on how many you have already written per day and taking into account how many you have left to go before you hit 50,000. Good LORD, get a LIFE, people!!! I'm just going to ignore those stupid unnecesary numbers. *pouts* |
| Oh, oops, sorry Sue, I should have een more specific. Jim's got it right, the link to my web page in the header to this topic.
I also managed to get the mini-word count bar into the header here, but I see it's got "Goal: 6144 (+560)" on it. Huh??? Can anybody tell me how that happened? And more to the point, how to fix it? I mean, the bar itself is long enough for the 50,000 ultimate goal, it's just the screwy numbers under it I can't figure out. *I* didn't put them there, honest. Oh, hey, Clyde, you have an absolutely fabulous career as a cheerleader ahead of you. Egad. ;^> |
| I'm betting the home page link: http://www.mirror.org/terry.hickman/
I can see the NaNoWriMo on the right side. Go Terry! -Jim |
| click on what link in which header? |
| Going great guns with your Nano challenge I hear. I have a friend doing it this year too. And just like the nano kit you get, I have been sending him my daily thoughts of encouragement. Mine of course are cheeky :)
Here's a couple to make you smile as you sit at your keyboard and stare at the screen ... Day 1:Day one encouragement, November the 1st: Start writing, damn you! Even if you get your wife to dictate something as you babble in your sleep. Place ink on the paper! Day 2: Day two, November the 2nd: You should have had your 1666 words written from yesterday. If not, its 3332 today. Don't fall behind now! Those words will soon pile up! Day 3: Day three inspiration 3rd Novemeber: If you haven't put anything down on paper as of yet, and you feel like slashing your wrists and spraying the blood all over your family, don't worry. Blood comes out ... eventually. And wash any fabric in cold water (my wife just gave me that tip!) Day 4: Day four inspiration, 4th November: When staring at your blank screen for the fifth consecutive hour, try screaming incoherent, staccato-like profanity. "Why you--" "Mother F--" "Fu--- You" and the like. That way, family members passing by your office/work space will realise you're working hard and leave you alone, even if you're not. Working on day five now ... Go Terry!!!! Clyde. |
| Hi, Trent! Thanks! |
| Just stopping by on your rec. Good luck on your novel!
Trent |
| Yippee! Kent (our beloved leader, may his sclera never turn yellow) told me inthe NaNo topic how to get the NaNo wrod count thingy on my web page. Click on the link in my header above and you can see it if you like.
And I got up to 3566 words today! Whee! |
| Thanks, everyone. But - do I have to save the graphic (I want the Active Participant (or whatever it's called - the one with the guy running) and put it in my server? Or does that line of code provide the graphic on my personal web page wherever I insert the code?
And I'm at 2996 words this morning. Whee! |
| It's the librarian in me- I can't answer this question to the best of my ability. Anyone else? |
| I'm sorry- I'm wrong. What you do is in your web editor, click on html. Paste the whole line into html, changing the number at the end to match yours. I'm having a hard time testing it out- maybe someone who is more tech-savy can help us.
|
| Ok. First find out what your user id number is by clicking on your view profile page and looking at the number in the address bar.
Second, pick one of the widgets- there is a graph, a minigraph, a particpant bar and so on. The URL, or address, is listed under the widget. So go to your web page editor and open up your web page, then make a link like you would to a web page with the URL of the widget you want, plus your own special number. I'm trying to test it out myself, the website is clogged (front page of Yahoo!!!) |
| Day One: 1824 words! Woo hoo!
But I'm getting very frustrated with their stupid "widgets." I can't for the life of me figure out how to get one on my web page! If anybody here is doing NaNo and knows how to do that, could you help me out in *really* simple English? It says "you can embed it in or link it from your web site" but it DOESN'T SAY ***HOW****!!!!!! [insert infuriated face here] I HATE it when techies do that! But - wow - 1824 words! How can I not be happy? |
| As you like it, dearie! |
| Have fun, Terry, and good luck. I'm going to do a big chunk this month, myself, but I'm too chicken to log into the crazy. I'll just keep my wordcount myself, thanks.
-Linz |
| Sounds like you're well stocked. Go, Terry! |
| Thanks! With my usual foresight, I left the gathering of the icon and inserting the word-count code into my web page until tonight, when the other 60,000 NaNoWriMo's are *also* trying to log onto the site...so I'll wait a couple days.
But I've got chocolate, tea, chips, veggies, junk cereal, dry-roasted peanuts - all ready for the Great Madness! |
| Good luck! |
| You go, girl! May all your words be legible. :) |
| Just hours before the 2006 National Novel Writing Month begins and I'm READY! Whee! |
| Oh dear. I'm so sorry to hear that, Terry. Try not to fret too much about upsetting your hosts; you can only do what you can do. And there will be many other opportunities to get the word out about The Battle for Newhome!
|
| It's not as though you could help it. |
| Oh, Terry. I'm sorry. But your hosts should understand, given the nature of the problem. Take care of yourself.
-Linz |
| Thanks, you guys! You are the GREATEST!
Er--unfortunately I had to back out of the dinner/reading/signing last night, for family reasons I won't discuss in a public forum. I'm afraid my hosts were upset with me but it really wasn't an option, and I didn't know that yesterday morning, therefore I gave them very short notice, but only about ten minutes shorter than the notice I had myself. |
| Cool, Terry! I'm going to order a copy tomorrow! |
| Congratulations, Terry. I would have posted sooner but I was in Albany over the weekend. |
| Terry, send that press release! It's like submitting fiction: don't edit the editor's magazine for her; likewise, don't determine for the station manager what is or is not newsworthy. |
| I spent part of this afternoon driving all over eastern Omaha asking coffee shops & bookstores if I could post a flyer for my reading/signing party at the Antiquarium next Sunday. Everyone said yes! I've written a press release but I'm having a hard time mustering the courage to send it to local news media. I can't imagine any of them would be in the slightest bit interested...
In the meantime, I have a reading/signing dinner with the Omaha SF Education Association tomorrow night. And I've dragged down my suitcase to start packing for MileHiCon...it's only 18 days away! Whee! |
| Awesome!
You do hope she said "human assisted evolution" the mind boggles otherwise! LOL! Clyde. |
| lol - thanks, Linz & Lisa! Think I should practice my "auteur" autograph?
I also found out today that I'm going to have an author reading and an autograph session at MileHiCon! Whee! *And* I'm on the panel about human-assisted evolution. I think that's what she said. ? Sounds good, though! |
| Yay, Terry, a book signing! That's a landmark event. Congratulations! May you be monsooned with adoring fans! |
| Terry, that's so great! Congrats, and have a wonderful time.
-Linz |
| Thanks, Christopher & ET! |
| Congrats, Terry! |
| That's awesome Terry! I'm a long way from Omaha, so let me wish you in advance a whole lot of fun at your signing! |
| Here's the official announcement:
The Battle for Newhome, my SF adventure novella, will be available for purchase October 1 at Sam's Dot Publishing! And my collection of short stories, The Outliers is now available at Lulu.com! And for those of you within driving distance of Omaha, I'm having a reading/signing party at the Antiquarium Book Store in downtown Omaha on October 15th between 2 and 4 pm in the store's third floor Farmer Gallery. (The store's right around the corner from Omaha's famed Old Market so make it a books & shopping & dining trip!) |
| That's grouse mate!
Clyde |
| Woohoo! Congratulations! |
| Thanks Jim! |
| And congratulations!!! |