http://www.petermball.com The homepage of Peter M. Ball Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:03:55 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Petermballcomhttp://feedburner.google.com Had an e-mail conversation with the publisher which basically amounted to "I'm going to be busy this week, so you might as well take a few extra days if you want them." To which I replied "well, yeah, okay," and promptly fell asleep for much of Sunday instead of rushing ... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Petermballcom/~3/z9BZ-OETC98/ http://www.petermball.com/2009/11/16/watch-out-for-the-deadlines-they-move-when-youre-not-looking/ I sold a story to Weird Tales. If you need me for the rest of the day, I'll be over in the corner geeking out*. *For bonus points, I discovered that I like the first half of the novella enough that I'm not actually embaressed to let people read it. It's still ... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Petermballcom/~3/f6ky9MyjF7M/ http://www.petermball.com/2009/11/11/to-put-this-in-context-i-love-both-conan-and-call-of-cthulhu/ Alongside the release of Interfictions II comes the Interstatial Arts Foundation Auction featuring art peices, jewelry and other works based upon the stories in the two Interfiction's anthologies. A full list of the peices is being rolled out on the IAF Auctions blog over the coming month, but allow me ... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Petermballcom/~3/g4XKnV5LdGs/ http://www.petermball.com/2009/11/09/iaf-auctionsinterfictions-2/ Before I begin, let me direct you to this: Marshal Payne's Super-Sekrit Clubhouse has a new interview with my Write Club peep Angela Slatter, which should give you a pretty good insight into why I usually use words like "awesome" and "inimitable" when discussing both her and her writing. Angela remains ... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Petermballcom/~3/oYe0HvaT8mI/ http://www.petermball.com/2009/11/06/words-words-words-with-bonus-angela-slatter-interview/ 'Tis true, the Interfictions Two anthology has been released like a releasy thing (sorry, hard morning at the keyboard and I'm all out of simile). You can pick it up in hardcopy or DRM free PDF depending on your preferences. You can read the story by me, should you really want to, ... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Petermballcom/~3/AKdC_w_DNUI/ http://www.petermball.com/2009/11/04/interfictions-two-is-out-now/ On Friday night, during the Write Club recently documented over on Angela Slatter's website, I finished the first draft of Cold Cases. Afterwards, I looked at the messy first draft state that's so familiar after years of first draft, and immediately started fretting. There were sixteen days until the deadline. My ... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Petermballcom/~3/GKNliayCOOA/ http://www.petermball.com/2009/11/02/16-days/ First, a little pimping: The Queensland Writer's Centre has announced the November Writing Frenzy, a month-long initiative to get people writing whether they're engaging in the month-long madness that is NaNoWriMo or just looking to get a project done. Part of the program consists of several Writing Races held on ... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Petermballcom/~3/vHVtwXC0yug/ http://www.petermball.com/2009/10/30/this-weekend-the-writefest/ As the duly appointed taskmaster and primary source of daily conversation you're regular blogger has on any given day, I thought I'd drop past and deliver an important warning: expect nothing of substance from Peter in the near future. He's boring me with his "novella novella novella" and "Ooh, a ... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Petermballcom/~3/nRwxNlALGwM/ http://www.petermball.com/2009/10/28/a-message-from-the-spokesbear/ There's usually a point in a project where I stumble over it's identity. Not a theme or a plot or a character conflict, but a moment where I can suddenly look at the piece and realise why I'm writing. Sometimes it's easy - Horn got defined as as the book about ... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Petermballcom/~3/AoLTmFeO2As/ http://www.petermball.com/2009/10/26/project-update-cold-cases/ "So this is what the volume knob is for" Within it's original context this line floors me with its emotional impact, time after time. Divorced from it, it's just a collection of words. Except for the fact that the Mountain Goats have claimed that sequence forever now, and it'll always be ... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Petermballcom/~3/amYx-TWyZh4/ http://www.petermball.com/2009/10/23/a-line-divorced-from-context/