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4 Days – My Green is Showing

Mark Friday on your calendars. Use a cheerful color.

I like to think of myself as a man of the world, a well-traveled and experienced individual. My girls say “Nah, you’re just old.” Either way, I never imagined myself in a situation where I would feel out of place. Not uncomfortable, mind you, just clueless. Enter the world of publishing, from an author’s perspective.

Yeah, I buried the lead. “The Winds,” my short story, will be included in the anthology Dirty Magick: Los Angeles, to be released Friday (hence the cheerful color). The anthology is a genre mashup “telling stories where crime and magic intersect in the city that birthed noir, Los Angeles.”
Continue reading 4 Days – My Green is Showing »

Reblog Sunday: The Waiting

by Paul K. Ellis on October 13, 2013 7 comments

The Waiting

My love affair with writing started in my 11th grade English class, with an F-. Yeah, you read that right, “eff minus”. And, as it usually is with things of this nature, the grade was entirely my fault, not that I could convince my father of such a thing. He and my mother arranged a parent-teacher conference with Mrs. Jaffe, purveyor of said grade.

“I’ve seen his notebook, and I agree he earned a F,” my father began. “But, a F minus? That’s an insult!”

“Well,” she replied. “His test was insulting.”

It was, no doubt. Every day for six weeks, she waited on me to live up to my potential, and each day I waited for her to give up. I earned every bit of that F minus.

Continue reading Reblog Sunday: The Waiting »

Project Blackford

by Paul K. Ellis on October 9, 2013 One comment

Top Secret The past seven days have been crazy. My oldest broke her collarbone, necessitating a one thousand mile trip for her surgery. Eight titanium screws and one titanium plate later, she is in full recovery mode and no longer needing either my wife or myself. That was a lot of time in airports and hospitals. To distract myself I came up with an idea; Project Blackford.

I’ve pitched a short story and, at the moment, I can’t tell you a lot about it. I have invited myself into someone else’s sandbox and they may kick me out. I have what I think is a cool idea for their shared anthology, but I haven’t heard back from them yet. So, it’s a secret for now. Continue reading Project Blackford »

Reblog Sunday: Commitments, Responsibilities, and Scheduling

by Paul K. Ellis on September 15, 2013 No comments

Getting this post out has been a disaster. I started with it back in August. The irony that it has taken so long is not lost on me. At one point I began to despair that I might never get to the end of it. You know the feeling; once you get behind the eight ball it gets harder and harder to get out in front of it. Of course, it is so easy to fall behind.

After all, I have the day job, kids in school (and their activities), my lovely bride, our home, family, pets, my writing group, podcast projects, etc. Then, there are the attendant emergencies. You know the drill: Life. Life intervenes. My case isn’t all that special. I started this post as a reminder concerning my tendency to over-commit my time. I do that. I want to be involved in everything. It’s all so neat!

So, how can you avoid that pitfall? There’s lots of bright and shiny stuff to attract your attention. What I have discovered is a set of tools that I use to keep me focused and on track. And, like any set of tools, how you use them determines how effective they are. Your mileage my vary. Continue reading Reblog Sunday: Commitments, Responsibilities, and Scheduling »

Hi and Welcome to the New Spot!

by Paul K. Ellis on April 4, 2013 3 comments

For those who followed me on my previous blog,”It was a Dark & Stormy Night,” look forward to the same general brand of silliness with a bit more emphasis on writing. If you didn’t follow me, no worries. I have imported the bulk of the posts from my previous site so there will be some continuity. Or discontinuity, if you prefer.

I waxed a bit maudlin in my final DSNite post, but, so you don’t miss anything, allow me to render it all down to the basic parts: