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| Dark of the Night: An anthology of shadows
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,491,928 in Books
Publication Date: October 24, 2006
That's interesting... I was updating my bio details on my Amazon Connect page just now, when I spotted this. So it's suddenly begun selling again, hmm? Jason, who features in my contribution for Dark of the Night... also features in Rowan. With The Club you get to learn how Jason first came into David's strange, vicious life - which has desperate consequences for Rowan.
Monday's Riverside Writers meeting was well attended, though partly because we were joined by another writing group who are linked to John Moores University.
First, Antonia Prescott talked about her ten years experience as a children's book editor, and about the things which agents/publishers look for (originality, flair, marketable product) plus common mistakes which writers make when approaching these (format, addressing them as "Dear Sir" rather than research a correct name, approaching with a genre unwanted by that particular company etc.)
Next, Cath Bore talked about how writers can get involved with her show on 7 Waves Radio. A writer herself, she's keen to bring in other writers to share their work. The station's recording studio has now been built, and at some point in the near future, Riverside Writers will decend upon it en masse, clutching our MS in eager hands, to record material for broadcasting later.
Also, at 11am on Friday 29th, Marguerite Davis, Peter Hurd, Tim Hulme and I will be appearing live on Cath's radio show. We'll be reading some of our work and talking about our writing group.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, hubby has been glued to a DVD boxed set of old films starring Marlene Dietrich. He was watching Destry Rides Again when I arrived home. Hmm, not my thing... Would remarks about her singing sounding like a moose with a head-cold be too snarky?!! | |
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| Watched both the triathlons live, generally the mens race was more interesting than the womens as a couple of guys got out front on the bike and tried to make a race of it, plus ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) mojojoey's future boyfriend/superman, made a sprint at the end to win. However, for 4-hours of watching it was really dull as ditch water. Personally I think it would be better if they made it into an individual time trial. Each competitor does the whole triathlon alone, no drafting. Sure, it would take a bit longer, but they could start the swim in open water in 6-lanes, kinda like the rowing, then out on the bike they have to observe IM distance non-drafting rules, if they break them they get to put two feet down before a restart, and on the run it's a free for all, remembering that time is the important thing, not place, since you'll be racing people in other starts. Swimming that the US didn't see
The Womens 10km swim was very interesting, and great times. Yeah Phelps is "da man". But really, as a triathlete, the open water swim for the women was much more interesting. Not withstanding that two GB women lead for most of the race, only to get beaten in the last 750m by the Russian. The Mens race is Wednesday evening US time, early Thursday in China. The bike racing that you can't understand - before its gone, set aside 3-hours and watch the Womens and Mens solo and team Madison and pursuit racing. Bizzare at worst, lightening fast at best. During the pursuits, some of the men were averaging 44MPH on loops of the indoor track. Meanwhile in a quite a few of the races they come to a complete standstill, often for 10-30 seconds before shooting off around the banks. Then theres the Mens team Madison final. I have no idea, but the catapult thing looked fun. The Best and worst of losing
 Anyone who saw the Womens 100m Hurdles couldn't have done anything other than feel sorry for American Lolo Jones, she powered through the field with just 2-hurdles to go was clear for the gold. She clipped the next hurdle, recovered to clear the last one, crossed the line in 4th or 5th, fell to the ground and then sat on her knees pounding the ground. She'd blown it and she knew it. A few minutes later and she was up in front of the ubiquitous dumb question asker for NBC. He said something to the effect "tell us how you are feeling now?". In her response she was clear, articulate and graceful. She didn't make any excuses and just said she wasn't up to it on the day. 5-minutes later there was a long shot of her leaning on the wall in the tunnel, all alone, sobbing her heart out. What a great competitor, hopefully she'll come back and win the worlds or get some other award. Sanya Richards, UT Graduate . Bejelwed in a massive diamond ring, wearing some form of air cheating arm warmers and support stockings, she clearly went out too fast and couldn't hold her pace. In her interview afterwards she started by blaming cramps in the home straight. On the replays though they showed the whole home straight in slo-mo and she didn't flinch or otherwise indicate anything other than she'd just blown. She said "coming off the turn I knew the gold was mine". She finished 3rd. Shame. | |
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| By the way, Simon Whitfield is the classiest athlete ever. And I am so jealous of how he can run. What an amazing race! | |
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| Had a great race tonight, as usual I started to the left of the field for the swim, holding onto the dock; as usual you have to ask why people self seed themselves so high, this time some guy flipped on to his back and started backstroking just before the first bouy, WTF!
One thing I rediscovered during Sundays Open Water Swim was my long stroke I have three distinctly different swim strokes, theres the flat in the water, super tanker stroke. This is my 100m/200m in a pool stroke. It's my fastest, Martin Treasure swimming in my lane once described me as swimming with a super tanker. The problem with this stroke is I can't keep it up.
Then theres the roll. I roll easily from side to side, at 6ft and 200lbs, the more I can get out of the water the less resistance, the easier the swim. I imagine I'm moving up a greased telegraph poll and both roll around it and use a long pull up it. In principle this should be my best stroke, but I've never managed a fast time.
Finally, theres my long slow swim. I've really been able to get this back since I've been in Austin, but it came together after the turn on Sunday, and I had it for most of the race. Sadly though, my swim time was completely identical as last time or will be in the official results. 12:34.64 for the swim, 28.69 for T1, giving 13:03 as I went out of transition. What was interesting/fun today, was that I was clear out in front of the 2nd pack, it felt good, next to me was Michelle from Jack and Adams, previously I'd caught her in transition, but today I was out of the water first.
Out on the run Michelle passed me within the first quarter lap. I pushed on though and passed many more people than I was passed by, and finally finished gasping for air. 16:25:27 for the run. Total unofficial time of 29:28.60 which is 8-seconds faster than last time, all coming on the run!
After the race I went and got back in the water to cool down for a while, and ended up talking to my nemesis, David Sing. In every race we've been in together since I got to Austin, David has not just beaten me, but left me standing. We sat in the water and talked so long, we missed the results and prize giving completely. I'm delighted to confirm, as I ribbed David, that he's aging up next year and will be racing in the 55-59 Age group ;-) | |
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| Basically my idea is a new twist on a fairy tale. Rather than having a -meet prince charming, fall in love, get in trouble and then get saved and live happily ever after-, I'm wanting a fairy tale with a shot gun wedding. I've got the whole idea planned but it sounds rather stupid when I write it down bit by bit. I want to write my own book and everything but my writer's block has been since December. So this is the only thing that I've written this year. Is there any merit to continue and what advice can you give to improve it? Thanks! ( Read more )- Location:Bedroom, Chair
- Mood:frustrated
 - Music:What is this thing called love? - Frank Sinatra
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| Overall Rank; 1168 of 3710, Class Rank: 178 of 450
Swim: 00:17:05, Swim Rank: 404
Trans1: 00:06:37
Bike: 00:38:00, Bike Rank: 860, MPH: 18.9 Trans2: 00:03:06 Run: 00:34:38, Run Rank: 1898, Pace: 00:11:10 Final: 01:39:27
This was my third Danskin tri and incidentally, it was also my 37th birthday (a fact that I intended to keep quiet until a teammate informed everyone on the run leg). I've steadily improved over the past 4 years and this was the confidence boost I needed after Barb's Race. The transitions were slow because they racked the 35-39 AG in the nosebleed section of Genesee Park, but I don't begrudge them giving better rack spots to the veteran tri-gals.
I stayed to walk in the last finisher with Sally Edwards. I was one of 12 workout leaders for the Seattle Level 1 Team Danskin training group, and there were about 50 of us from various Seattle teams that stayed to cheer.
That said, it's likely that i won't do this race again. I've set my sights on training for an IM in 2009 (providing I find a saddle that I can tolerate for 112 miles), but the real reason is that I get such a kick out of encouraging women to get hooked on this sport. think i'll be a swim angel for Danskin 2009....
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| Hey, My first post kind of got messed up a little and the links wouldnt work, so im gonna post the first chapter again (Which really, i should have posted before the second one ...) and i have no idea whats going on with my last post, some of the other users stole it lol. Anyway, heres the first chapter, its bad, but R&R! | |
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| Net: 7:34:21
So I headed off to Timberman early Saturday short of sleep but fundamentally ok, ( logistics )
( race day )
( swim+t1 )
( bike+t2 )
( run )
Aftermath:
No sense in suger-coating. The moment I finished I decided I won't be doing another 1/2 IM next year. '10, maybe, a decision I'd already been pondering. In that moment I was beat down by extreme heat exhaustion and was just feeling lousy about having trained well but only beating last year's splits by a smidge. Yes, conditions, yes course. I continued to feel nauseous until well after midnight. I managed to get down a little food on the way home, and once there managed a light dinner. Now, feeling better in my body I've got a little more perspective, but I'm pretty sure what I want to do next year is continue training but do little or no racing, I think taking away the pressure of events will be the best way to build my running strength and honestly I'm tired of looking at 90 deg days as an opportunity to acclimate for worst-case race days. [SIGH]
I have to acknowledge that I've been lucky the prior 2 years to never actually have to race in heat and neither this nor NYC which was even hotter was a bad experience. This season I'm no longer dead last in my AG which is surely a nice change and I have a lot to be proud of in this season's work. Also it helps to know that if the winter's run plan had come together this race would in turn have been ... happier.
Next season I want to focus more on rock climbing and I will continue to work the base in all three sports, not quitting by any means, just a shift in focus. I'm not sure what '10 will bring but thinking along the lines of a stronger run in the 1/2 IM distance.
The bad:
Heat stress / nausea -- never fun, Losing 2 months of run focus last winter to illness/injuries, the pesky achilles.
The good:
Pacing, this is the best I've done with pacing in the 3 seasons I've been at this.
Plan, I had a solid plan and accomodated appropriately to the high temperatures
Nutrition, made some changes this year, they worked, more changes to come!
PR, even a small one, what's to complain, I've PR'd in Oly and half IM both in the heat
Equipment, my beloved bike performed like a champ
Chrissie, such an inspriation
Achilles, seems to be back to normal [knocking wood] | |
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| The title is The Search for The Orb of Life. This is actually the scene that I got stuck on. I have broken the writer's block on it finally. But I want someone else's eyes to read over it to see if it is as smooth as I think it is. ( The story. )I'm sure there will be changes needed for this part. But it was the scene with the wife of the farmer who I had decided to name them all in this story, was giving me the problems. - Mood:accomplished
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| Tell me a story about you and the life you live.
MY FATHER, MY MODEL OF GOD
My dad once worked in computers. In the IT department of a prominent lawfirm here in Seattle. But he left that job because he got sick of the stress and the politics of lawyers. He went into unemployment and squandered the money he had and fell into a depression. He owed and still does owe money, to what people, I don't know and I don't care. He took up drugs. Meth, he told me. This was two years ago he told me and my initial reaction was to pick up a rock that was near me at the time, hit him in the head and take him to jail. To this date, my mother does not know about the drug use. I can't tell you if he has kicked the habit or not. To be honest, I have my doubts about him with that. I don't like calling him when I do because I never know what will I get with him. He has been hostile at me one moment and the next, would call me and say he loves me and always will. His bull-headed ego prohibits him from pretty much anything worth creating a memory over. He treats himself like an embarassment because he can't be there to do things when I invite him over to drink or whatever. At times I want to buy him a patch of land in the country where he can build a house, give him a vehicle, the Internet, a pool table and leave him there. Leave me alone and I will only call him if it's important. Other times I want him to go on a drive down the coast, where we would stare at women and get drunk and be stupid. He once told me that if it wasn't for me existing and us moving to Seattle, he would be dead in the Philippines before he hit 30. If he wasn't dead now, maybe there were just some things left for him to see, like me getting married or becoming a father myself. This is what as they said in "Fight Club," is my father, my model of God.
MONEY IS JUST WORTHLESS PAPER UNLESS IT'S BACKED BY A MEANING
I fear I am losing focus from my goal of saving enough money to get an apartment or a condo. I know the goal is still there, but it feels like I am just staring at it. Looking at my finances also disgusts me considering the rather lofty number I've told myself would be a safe number to start off with. I don't want to get a second job because I hated working weekends and you can forget it with the NFL season coming up as well as "Rock Band 2." Maybe I'll sell some of my uneeded stuff around. Or maybe I'll rob a bank.
WHAT DREAMS MAY COME
I sit here right now with my left index finger resting on my lower lip as I get an e-mail from my co-worker Lauren. I once thought about her. Then again I have a lot of dreams, sometimes they just come in random spots of the day. Here's some of them in italics because I thought they'd look nice.
It seems so clear as day to be with her. I say this to myself as I'm sitting outside some generic mom & pop cafe in Seattle. There's many of these things. You could band them all together and Starbucks would probably still piss on them. Having already dated one co-worker, I don't know if I could pull it off again. Probably not. But at the same time, it seems so clear that she would be someone I ought to date. She loves sports as much as I do and is fairly knowledgeable about it. Matt once told me that I should find a girl that likes sports, can put up with your smartass attitude. Oh and not be a lesbian. Lauren laughed when I made a barb about how Richie Sexson was not only a shitty baseball player, but he even failed at rushing the pitcher. and I wondered if a guy failing at that, something tells me he'd suck too trying to backhand his wife when she wouldn't shut her damn mouth. I've also seen how she looks with a baseball jersey and a cap on.
There's something about people jaywalking when there's a car obviously in sight and honking at them that just gets me thinking.
All of a sudden, this world, this place has no law. No consequence. My first order of business was I rented a Dodge Ram and mowed down the people that jaywalked within the Downtown Seattle retail sector. I am doing humanity a favor.
The housewarming party I would like to throw in my own place has had so many variances.
I look at the picture booth that I bought cheap from a bankrupt amusement park. I don't remember how I got that heavy-ass thing back here, but it's there. I last counted a guy and a girl going in there, but I looked at the photos that came out of the side. There are seven girls. No guy. Around the corner on the projection screen, Luke's guitarist Rash is head to toe in hot pink and black. Think of a lovechild between Bret Hart and Steven Tyler. I will never know what motivated him to create a charcater like that if you got to know his personality. I make my way through the crowd playing Rock Band on the plasma TV that is the centerpiece of my living room. Mallory is singing, pulls me in to join her on the chorus of "Highway Star." Nick is beating away on the drums while Martha is sitting on a stool playing the bass like she was on MTV Unplugged. I make my way around to give audience to other guests. Some of them are my newly met neighbors who I feared would raise an issue with the noise, but they saw the food and the alcohol I had.
-evolutionofjake - Mood:blank
- Music:queens of the stone age "in my head"
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| My Bianchi Brava got stolen last night, between Aug 18th and Aug 19th. It was locked to a street sign at the crossing between 19th and Pine St. All that was left was one of the bar ends, lying on the street next to one half of my U-lock. Details • Dark blue • Misses left half of left front brake plastic • Misses one bar end (those little round things in the end holes of the handle bar) • 52/53 cm • Has one Gator tire (red stripes) • Had a black shoulder pad with gray diagonal lines on one end (Reload) I filed a police report this morning (number 0809044184). If you see this bike, please call 911. The police WILL come and they will hold it. This bike means the world to me. I will pay to get it back. Please contact me if you have any information. Phone 267 269 1130 E-mail joannabeltowska@gmail.com   | |
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| Howdy!
I am running into the problem of getting acne farms where my helmet straps sit on my rides. I have tried rinsing the straps between use (to get sweat and dirt out) and washing my face immediately after a ride...but it just isn't working.
i dont have problems with acne anywhere else, so this is the only thing I can attribute it to.
Does anyone else have this problem? If so - how have you taken care of it?
I don't think it makes a difference, but I tend to ride dirt instead of pavement. | |
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| I'm going on a self-guided cycling holiday in France in October, wondered what the deal is with bringing bikes on trains. I've googled and some of the info is contradictory. Some sites say you must dismantle your bike first, others say you can book a ticket for your bike. Any ideas? | |
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| Hey, im new to this community aswell, i posted the first chapter to my story here yesterday, and this is the 2nd. Id really like some comments on this, tell me what i need to change about it. This one has a little warning too. Its not much just some kissing between 2 men, but that it i promise :) | |
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| I'm assuming we can ask questions about people's writing habits, as opposed to just what and how to write?
Anywho, I have been working on jotting down some potential story material since like, the start of this year, but due to a busy schedule, I haven't had the time to write anything that I would consider decent, let alone anyone else. Furthermore, at times I doubt I have the life experience to write a believable story about the certain discourses and themes which I want to portray.
Taking this into account, should I perhaps just let my writing go for awhile, until I have time to pursue it more seriously, but still keep it in mind from time to time?
Thanks.
Yours. | |
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| My first graphic novel, collecting a variety of short stories I've written and drawn, is now available. Yay! It's titled Li'l Kids and is 88 pages in length and features three short stories plus all kinds of concept art. Plus, there's a lot on the writing side of things, too. Not only did I include the script from each story but I also did a breakdown detailing how each story was put together - right from the brainstorming stage to the final script. Hopefully you'll enjoy the peek behind the curtain!
 And I've made it available a few different ways, too. First, you can download a free PDF Ebook version at my website (http://www.vonallan.com/shop.html). The link to the PDF is there and there's also a link to a torrent version of the book, too. So if you're not sure about purchasing it sight unseen or if you just prefer an ebook version, this is the way to go. If you do download it, please share it, too. It's licenced under Creative Commons, so if you like it please pass it around to friends and family. One of the hardest things about being an artist is avoiding obscurity. This is an attempt to avoid some of that so please, I would dearly love it if you pass it around.
If you want to purchase a copy, there are a few ways of doing it. The print version is up on Amazon now as well as Barnes and Noble (I'll post the links in just a sec). It will be in a few stores here in Ottawa, Ontario in the near future (including my old bookshop Perfect Books). I'm not positive about comic shops yet. That should be finalized in the next week or two, but things are still up in the air on that front.
The Amazon links are as follows (and yes, in the interest of full disclosure, I do earn a few cents if you purchase a copy following these links):
Amazon.com Amazon.ca Amazon.co.uk
And the link to Barnes and Noble is right here, too!
I'm still a little dazzled that I have my first book out, too. I hope you like it!
Von
<x-posted to altcomix, girlamatic, art_ottawa, comic_creators, ottawa_art and webcomics - Mood:accomplished
- Music:The Pogues
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| I've written a short story of about 20 pages or so that is a series of letters our lovely protagonist writes to a fellow. I'm currently editing it, but wanted to share the first letter with you all for a specific reason, although I am open to (and interested in) all criticism. After reading this, who do you think the fellow is? What do you feel her relationship with him is? I ask because I am trying to weave a particular tale here that involves portraying certain things about this fellow that, being so close the project, I'm not sure I've done well. Any and all input, no matter how harsh, is greatly appreciated. | |
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| My new graphic novel about a small mining town in West Virginia, Looking Up, will be going to the printers in two weeks! As has been requested, I am opening the gates for pre-orders. You may read the whole story online for free. All pre-ordered copies will be signed and dedicated to the purchaser. Please email me (uhusted@gmail.com) if you wish to have your book dedicated to someone other than yourself! I have added the option for an individual ink rendering of the main characters on the frontispiece of pre-ordered books. I won't have the time do do many of these, but it was a requested option and I am flattered and pleased that folks have asked for drawings with their books. :) The pre-ordered books will be shipped in the first week of October. Thank you for your time and indulgence!  Click the following paypal button to pre-order a signed copy of Looking Up for $20 +shipping: Click the following paypal button to pre-order a signed copy of Looking Up with the detailed frontispiece drawing for $35.00 +shipping: Again, thanks! Ursula. (xposted- wva, altcomix, comic_creators, webcomics) - Mood:pleased
 - Music:The Paper Raincoat, Brooklyn Blurs, Safe In the Sound - EP
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| Hey everyone :] So, I’m sort of new to this community, but certainly not new to writing – I was a member on my old account ages ago, but was never really active enough to be remembered. I have the workings of a story here, and I really need critique on it. It began as a one-shot with a few characters I was trying to develop, but it really caught my interest and now I'm in pretty deep. A sort of Mystery/Drama, contemporary, fiction. I’ll be straight with you, it’s sort of long… So anyone willing to take me up on this, I would appreciate forever. In particular, I’m looking for suggestions on how to give it a darker, more suspenseful feel. I think right now it might be dragging, and I’d love any ideas how to fix it – pick it up, that sort of thing. I’ve also experimented with multiple viewpoints, since the way I want to tell the story involves so many different aspects and different characters. Any thoughts about what I’ve done with it, or how to improve it, would be great. Seriously. Aside from that, I’m open to anything. Especially your reactions, whether or not you’d be interested to read more, where you'd like to see it go, etc. It’s hard to find unbiased eyes, so thanks to everyone in advance! CHAPTERS 1-3
http://petitpinson.livejournal.com/2667.html
CHAPTERS 4-6
http://petitpinson.livejournal.com/3261.html
CHAPTERS 7-8
http://petitpinson.livejournal.com/4335.html
*And, if you'd only care to read and critique one chapter that's completely fine with me. Any help at all would be a tremendous favor!
- Mood:mellow
 - Music:mercy -- onerepublic
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| JStroupOnline[Dot]Com is now up and running. Jessica Stroup is about to play a major role on the new 90210...check out the site for more info... Also, if you're interested...there are some "job openings" for the site. You can look at the job openings here: http://www.jstrouponline.com/And email me if you're interested at webmaster@jstrouponline.com If you have a fan site and want to swap links with jstrouponline or my fanfiction site zoewatsonnovels.com please let me know! | |
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| Hi! Just joined and I'd really appreciate some constructive criticism on this piece I've started. Or just comments! I haven't written for ages; this is the first thing in a long time I've felt is satisfactory to post. I know it could be improved though, so, y'know, feel free! This is just the first part, I've posted some more on my journal and will eventually get round to posting it here, but might have to alter some parts depending on changes made here. Thank you! ( We were sat at the bar )- Mood:okay
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| My weakest point as a writer has always been using conventional grammar and forms to convey my thoughts. It's even worse now that I've started learning foreign languages. I understand that this is generally looked down upon in the world of writing, but I'm running out of ideas as to how I can fix this problem. I wrote a short piece of fiction last night while sipping coffee. Comments and criticism are welcome and appreciated. ( That old film. )- Mood:chipper
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| So, I never do much poetry, but I'm in a writing workshop and the assignment was to write a poem based on something someone's said to you. It could be something unique, traumatic, confusing, whatever. Just something that someone said that stuck out in your mind. Just about a year or so ago, my dad told me once that I had no passion, and.. for whatever reason, it stuck in my head, so I decided to write about it. Probably because at the time I felt it was really true, and that was upsetting. Anyway, I'm not sure I like it yet; I need to fix some of the rhyming that I feel is a bit forced, but for my writing, I don't think it's bad. | |
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