The Quasiverse of C.A. Broz

The Quasiverse Blog

2009-02-10T08:58:00.002-06:00

This blog has moved to http://quasiverse.today.com/

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On the Move

2009-01-25T17:26:00.001-06:00

This blog will be moving to http://quasiverse.today.com/ on February first, give or take.

2009-01-21T08:11:00.002-06:00

Cally over at JISE has sold me on offering Quasiverse stories here in serial. So, get ready for some tweaks and the first installment of "A Jinx in the Ecosystem."

"An Essential Jinx" - first print collection!

2008-10-18T14:31:00.003-05:00

The short-story collection introducing the Quasiverse, following Jinx:
A Jinx in the Ecosystem
Champaign Sunset
Dinner and a Show

Buy yours today!
(No, really, go buy a copy.)

Linkage added!

2008-09-28T14:13:00.001-05:00

The sidebar now has a list of the stories thus far published at Rending the Veil [as indicated by "(at RTV)"].

Don't we all feel special now?

Dry Spell

2008-09-13T17:32:00.006-05:00

It's not exactly like writer's block, but similar. I have been writing, but I've been working more on longer stuff, and I'm too misanthropic to blog that much.

I did, however, find a fantastic artist that has agreed to let me use some of her photography for a book cover. Cally mocked one up for me, but she says the picture is deceptive for the content. I say the picture is awesome and will help sell the book.

Photo by MarthaLights via Deviant Art
(Cally did some alterations for this cover)

As soon as I get a beta-read of it I start sending it out. I might get too impatient though and try self-publishing. We'll see.

A Rare Event

2008-04-17T20:57:00.003-05:00

It has been a while since I read something I enjoyed as much as the collection of fiction I found today.

I am quite impressed with the author's imagination and story-telling. A bit rough still, but that sort of thing works itself out into distinctive voice.

It's cool to have something like this to look forward to.

Ostara Issue of Rending the Veil!

2008-03-16T12:48:00.001-05:00

Rending the Veil magazine's Ostara issue is now available!

You don't want to miss the second Quasiverse story, "Champaign Sunset" - visit now!!

Writing Update x2

2008-02-23T14:59:00.002-06:00

Two more stories done: "Dinner and a Show" and another, yet-untitled piece that follows it.

Good times, good times.

Writing Update

2008-02-16T07:12:00.002-06:00

Although I had three completed short (shortish, anyway) stories to introduce the Quasiverse, I found "Jinx" to be a superior entryway.

"A Jinx in the Ecosystem" is followed by two more short stories: "Champaign Sunset" and "Homeward Bound," which more or less pick up directly after the end of "Ecosystem."

These comprise "Quasiverse Introductory Shorts Volume One;" Volume Two encompasses the previously written shorts "A Gift for the Game," "The Fox in the Night," and "Melissa."

"Menace to Society" is finished, and "Dinner and a Show" nearly so. My OCP requests there be a third to make another set, and then I'll be taking a break from short stories (they ain't easy for me to do) and getting back to longer works.

Just so you know.

Thoughts on Timing

2008-02-16T06:41:00.003-06:00

Timing is everything, so it is said. "Before one's time" is another phrase often applied to those whose style or opinion predates wider social tolerance or embrace.

While to be before one's time makes one something of a hero later, to me it doesn't seem worth the cost paid until acceptance, especially since that acceptance is most often posthumously.

I always liked the bad guys. My first short-story collection was a series of interviews with the Wolf from "Little Red Riding Hood," "Three Little Pigs," "Peter and the Wolf," and "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." I was only seven but made effective argument for the bias of those stories, showing the Wolf to be neither good nor evil, simply a Wolf doing what a wolf does. They enjoyed limited publication in my neighborhood, school, and family, to good reviews.

But as I continued to explore the point of view of the villain, I found that the line of social acceptance was quickly reached. Most people did not or could not sympathize enough with a bad guy to accept him as a protagonist. For a while I took a milquetoast path, as many do, presenting characters that were not evil so much as "misunderstood" or "troubled."

I grew bored of it quickly. It's lame, and the shelves are already full of mediocre writers and their pathetic "misunderstood bad guy with a heart of gold" stories.

I continued to hone my writing skill, but reduced my audience. Writing is the closest thing I have to practicing a religion, and I won't compromise it on the basis of the masses.

Which brings us to today. Now the fields of social acceptance are ripe for the seedlings I have so conscientiously tended, and I can happily share with the eager masses what they would have rejected just a few years ago.

The Quasiverse has been waiting, and the world is finally ready for it.

Site Update

2008-02-09T14:49:00.000-06:00

Added "A Jinx in the Ecosystem" to TheQuasiverse.com, in the Introductory Shorts.

Clicky!

Also added a link there to here. And so the circle is complete.

Featured Author!

2008-02-09T14:39:00.000-06:00

"A Jinx in the Ecosystem"
Introducing the Quasiverse

Featured short fiction at RendingTheVeil.com Imbolc 2008 issue!

Click here to see!

Great News for Violence Fetishists!

2008-02-08T09:25:00.000-06:00

There are those among us with a secret, guilty pleasure: we like violence. It's not that we seek to harm others, so much as we get a rush from seeing it, even participating in it. Violence for its own sake is generally considered sick, but according to new research, it might just be normal after all.

I have copied the article for my archive here.

What this means, for me as a writer, is this is the best possible time for my unique perspective of the new horizon of horror. And I can't wait to share it with you.

Archive - Violence Article

2008-02-08T09:14:00.000-06:00

From LiveScience.com (the tabloid of the scientific community):

Humans Crave Violence Just Like Sex

By Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Staff Writer, posted: 17 January 2008 07:53 am ET

New research on mice shows the brain processes aggressive behavior as it does other rewards. Mice sought violence, in fact, picking fights for no apparent reason other than the rewarding feeling.

The mouse brain is thought to be analogous to the human brain in this study, which could shed light on our fascination with brutal sports as well as our own penchant for the classic bar brawl.

In fact, the researcher say, humans seem to crave violence just like they do sex, food or drugs.

Love to fight

Scientists have known that mice and other animals are drawn to fights. Until now, they didn't know how the brain was involved.

The new study, detailed online this week in the journal Psychopharmacology, reveals the same clusters of brain cells involved in other rewards are also behind the craving for violence.

"Aggression occurs among virtually all vertebrates and is necessary to get and keep important resources such as mates, territory and food," said study team member Craig Kennedy, professor of special education and pediatrics at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. "We have found that the reward pathway in the brain becomes engaged in response to an aggressive event and that dopamine is involved."

Mouse brawl

For the experiments, the researchers placed a pair of mice, one male and one female, in a cage. Then, the female was removed and a so-called male intruder mouse entered the cage. That triggered aggressive behavior in the resident male. The tell-tale signs of aggression included tail rattle, an aggressive sideways stance, boxing and biting.

After the initial scuffle ended, the resident male mouse was trained to nose-poke a target to get the intruder to return. Results showed the home mouse consistently poked the target and fought with the introduced mouse, indicating, the researchers say, that the aggressive encounter was seen as a reward.

"We learned from these experiments that an individual will intentionally seek out an aggressive encounter solely because they experience a rewarding sensation from it," Kennedy said.

To figure out whether the brain's reward pathway was involved, the scientists treated the home mice with a drug to block dopamine in certain parts of the brain known to be involved in rewards like food and drugs.

The treated mice were less likely to instigate the intruder's entry. “This shows for the first time that aggression, on its own, is motivating, and that the well-known positive reinforcer dopamine plays a critical role," Kennedy said.

Human violence

Kennedy explained that the experiments have implications for humans. The reward pathway in the brains of humans and mice are very similar, he said.

"Aggression is highly conserved in vertebrates in general and particularly in mammals," Kennedy told LiveScience. "Almost all mammals are aggressive in some way or another."

He added, "It serves a really useful evolutionary role probably, which is you defend territory; you defend your mate; if you're a female, you defend your offspring."

Even though it served a purpose for other animals, in modern human societies, Kennedy said, a propensity toward aggression is not beneficial and can be a problem.

Good Fiction for People Who Like Bad Guys

2008-02-08T09:08:00.000-06:00

Old and busted: vampires, witches, and good triumphing over evil.

The new hotness: Quasiverse fiction!