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August 12th, 2008
Again, it’s been a while since anything happened here, and the reason is our 1.5 kids. Who knew raising a tiny one took so much energy – and left so little sleep?
I was considering to profess at this point that I have given up writing (for now) and is focusing on editing (for ePress Online)…but, lo and behold…I volunteer for a script yesterday to find out that they consider my editing to be offensive and harsh.
And here I thought I was to tell the truth – even if it means telling a writer that what sounds great on paper doesn’t work in the real work (or in this case the fantasy world he had created).
But what really bites is the fact that it has taken them 13 months to tell me!
Due to this little gem, I’m now taking a leave from writing (and the publishing industry) and will only write for home use.
I should perhaps write something here about the callousness and offensiveness of wasting peoples lives – after all, not all of us thinks there is an afterlife to do all the things we should have done, but was too busy squandering on insignificant or just plain dumb issues.
I should, perhaps, also wish ePress Online the best of luck in the future, and maybe I will, in 13 months time.
Signing off, maybe for good…
November 12th
It’s been a while since there was any news here, but time has been short and writing will come before updating the website.
Right now I have two novels in submission: The Nexus, an urban, dark fantasy and Abducted, a YA hard-SF. Fun, fun, fun.
I also have a 4.33 month old daughter that has discovered that sounds feel funny inside her head. I’ve never seen anyone as happy as her when crying as loud as her lungs can handle. I hope it’s a phase, but you never know.
As for writing, well…I’m about 40% into the draft of the sequel to Abducted and I’m writing good-night stories for the 6 tear-old in the house. At about 6-10 pages, they’re just enough to get him interested and then to have him fall asleep. So far we’ve covered mutated pumpkins, wild animals in a mall, erupting volcanoes in our little suburb, dragon-hunts and witch-hunting (with a slingshot and chestnuts). My eventual goal is to do a series of 28 stories (4 weeks of speculative fiction bedtime stories). And who knows…I may just polish them and submit them as an anthology, one day in the far future. :o)
See you all in a while.
October 22, 2007
I think I’m going slightly deaf. Last weekend we held the 6.y.o. birthday in a local play land. It was just us, my wife’s X, the kid’s 8 best friends and 300 other under-10s. That night it was hard to relax, since most of my hearing was still clamouring with screaming kids.
The birthday went well, and he got a severe pile of loot – most of it Lego (hey, I have to have something to play with too).
A friend asked if I’m writing less since my daughter was born. The fact is that since mid August, I’ve had 4 days off from writing (in one form or another). I think that is kind of cool, my wife doesn’t exactly share that view :-D
One new project is Oliver-stories. As a lark, I’ve started writing short to short-short stories with Oliver as main character, and any number of zany adventures. So far I have 3 down, and ideas for about 5 more. The goal is a series of 30!! They’re in Danish, which is a challenge fro me to write, since I write in English and I am Swedish…luckily my wife thinks it’s a great project and can help with the fine tuning.
I guess that’s it for now. Keep writing…it’s FUN!!
September 23, 2007
Just came back from the last day of the EuroCon in Copenhagen and it's with mixed feelings I leave the Con behind me. A Con is always fun, at the least for meeting likeminded people. But this year I was entered in both the Aeon Awards and the EuroCon 2007 Short story contest...I made neither short list. Sigh. On the other hand, I just sent out my YA hard-SF story, and I'm getting close to finishing both a Dark Fantasy and an Alternate History story. Since this is a small Con I managed to, unlike three WorldCons, to get into a private (sort of) meeting with Harry Harrison, the eternal favorite of mine was funny and bright and we had a nice time chatting for an hour.
One good thing about a Con is the dealers room...and this being in Denmark we have the smallest dealers room imaginable. However, with two auctions added I managed to scrounge up quite a list nonetheless...to the missus horror :-D
This is what I managed to find of interest:
IN english:
* Margaret Weis – Star of the Guardians vol. 1-4 (The Lost King, King’s Test, King’s Sacrifice and Ghost Legion)
* Jonathan Cowie and Tony Chester – Essential SF, A concise guide
* Frank Ludlow and Roelof Gourdrian – Emerald Eye, the best Irish imaginative fiction.
* John Lee and Denise O’Moore – Spell Maffia
* E.E. “Doc” Smith – Skylark Three
* Harry Harrison – Stonehenge
* Stephen Donaldson – Lord Foul’s Bane
* Harry Harrison – Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers (a better copy than I already have)
* John Wyndham – The Kraken Wakes
* John Wyndham – The Midwich Cuckoos
* Poul Anderson – The Virgin Planet
IN Danish:
* Klaus Æ Mogensen - Dimensionspiraterne
* Svend Pedersen – Gul mand vinder land
* Steen Langstrup – Blodets nætter
* Steen Langstrup – 9 før døden
* Bo Green Jensen – Det store eventyr
* Greg Egan – Madonna fra Tjernobyl
* Niels E. Nielsen – Foran Fremtidens Tærskel
* Niels E. Nielsen – Gudernes by
* Niels E. Nielsen – Vogteren
* Niels E. Nielsen – Herskerne
* Misc. – Circler – en Science Fiction antologi
* Med ”Flyvefisken” gennem de fem verdensdele (vol. 1-3 + 5)
* James Morris - Tim Ryan del 1-3
* Niels E. Nielsen – Der meldes fra Sahara
VHS:
Neil Gaiman’s ”Neverwhere” from the BBC
August 26, 2007
I have now finished the penultimate revision of my YA hard-SF story, and will clean it up and make it ready for shipment by mid-September. Big celebration! I have also gained a daughter since the last time, and she’s spending a lot of time down in the basement, watching as Daddy stays glued to his computer…that is with the exception of when she’s unhappy about it and I do all the baby-talk, changing dirty diapers and just plain sitting and looking at her…she’s beautiful. Even bigger celebration!
My next project will be a somewhat dark, urban-fantasy, also with an eye on the YA market, though perhaps a little older than my last project. I’ll work on this while I have a group of online writers look over my Romantic fantasy (for the more grown up market). I expect to have the dark fantasy finished by November 2007, and the Romantic fantasy by February 2008.
All this and I get to make sure my girl grows up in a happy environment. By the way, her “every other week” big brother adores her, and is just a great help to have around. And he’s getting better at soccer too…and lost his first tooth yesterday :-D
June 6, 2007
Finished the first round of revision on Teel James Glenn's Daemonhold Curse, with my Editor Donna Sundblad. Interesting job, with a lot of learning potential. We're now getting close to the birth of my daughter, in fact T - 20 days and counting. I'm working on my "romantic fantasy" as much as I can (since I have an idea that time will be in short demand after the birth), and trying to get our bathroom contractor to finish the bathroom...currently they're 3 weeks overdue and counting. Never EVER use a Danish contractor called BygiDan! End of rant. For those of a Short Story mindset there has now been announced a competition at this year's EuroCon (see www.eurocon2007.dk for details). I will be attending (and competing).
May 9, 2007
This is it, after months of wondering if I should do this…well, I did it. I got myself a webpage to try and show the world that: “Hey! There’s another writer out here!”
At this moment in time I have three short stories out for consideration (all to this years Aeon Award, the winner will be announced at the EuroCon i Copenhagen).
My deadline for the Romantic Fantasy novel is now set (carved into bedrock, not - absolutely not - to be changed...unless I have to) to August; I’m about halfway through with the penultimate revision. The final revision will take place as commentary comes in from my good friends at WVU/ME.
For once, there is nothing new posted at ePress, so I get to have a rest from reading all the interesting stories that get submitted there.
On a personal note…it is now 6 weeks until I get to be a dad for the first time. The suspense is almost killing me (cliché, but still). At least the little girl is one heck of a kicker!!
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