Posts Tagged ‘irreverent muse’

May

Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero Has Been Shortlisted for a Prix Aurora

Posted by: Michell in Books, Irreverent Muse, Promoting Your Book

There are things that we always hope for but don’t really expect to happen in our careers. One of mine was to be nominated (and hopefully win) the Prix Aurora.

In case you don’t know what a Prix Aurora is, it is a national speculative fiction award in Canada. This is the 30th year for the Auroras and, this year, they have included a new category specifically for YA fiction.

Mik Murdoch has been shortlisted in the YA fiction category for this award.

I’m not sure if words can truly express how I feel about this honour. This is one of those things that is a BIG DEAL that I never really expected to experience. I use the word “thrilled” a lot when I talk about the things that are happening with my first book, and while I think it might be getting tiring for people to hear from me, it really is the most appropriate one. This adventure has been a thrill-ride from the beginning to right now and it doesn’t show any reason to be letting up.

I am humbled and grateful.

The winning of the award is by no means a given. I’m up against some heavy-hitters. Names you would recognize (ahem, Cory Doctorow, Kelley Armstrong) should lend some weight to the importance and sheer level of awesomeness Mik being on the ballet means.

So what next?

Well, on May 6th, voting opens. Voting is available to all registered Canadian members of The Canadian Science Fiction & Fantasy Association. Yes, I’m sorry to say that eliminates all non-Canadians from the voting (I did mention it was a National Canadian award, right?) however, there is something you non-Canadians can do to help – more on that at the end.

Voting packages will be sent out to all registered members. That should include excerpts (or complete versions) of the nominated works. If you are Canadian, you are eligible to vote. You just have to register and pay your $10 membership fee. I believe you can do this here: http://www.prixaurorawards.ca/Membership//.

Obviously, I cannot encourage you strongly enough to vote for Mik Murdoch and all of the other worthy nominees (note: the other nominees in my category are also worthy, I just want you to vote for me). If you are a member and feel that Mik deserves to win, please take the time cast that ballot.

So, what would winning mean to me? Well, besides the obvious validation of all my work (which being shortlisted has already done, btw), I’m hoping it will translate into more sales and a much wider awareness of the book. Nothing is better for an author than to know that people are reading and enjoying their books (money is nice too, don’t get me wrong).

Now, how everyone can help out whether you can vote or not – please take a few moments next time you are at your public library and ask if they have a copy of Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero. Tell the librarians that you would like them to add it to their collection so you and all of the young people you know can read it. There are plenty of reviews out there to help convince them. If you want to purchase a copy (electronic, paper or audio), that’s good too.

Thank you and wish me luck.

Tags: award, ballet, Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association, irreverent muse, Michell Plested, mik murdoch boy superhero, mike plested, prix aurora, vote

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Apr

Coming Clean

Posted by: Michell in Irreverent Muse

For the past several months I have been struggling as a writer.

There, I’ve said it.

I always TRY to stay positive and play through the pain (so to speak), but I’ve finally had to admit to myself that I’ve been less effective lately than I would like. There is a very good reason for this.

In March, the company I worked for was purchased. We had been hearing rumours about the purchase for months and it was something that, on paper at least, looked like a good thing for all of us. The reality was slightly less than many of us hoped. I went from being a full-time permanent employee to a full-time term employee with an end date of June 30th.

Since being employed and earning a living are important, this change of state weighed heavily on my mind. In fact, it weighed so heavily that everything else kind of got pushed out, including my writing projects.

I have come to terms with my new reality, but it stills causes me a great deal of anxiety. That means some days I can write and other days I cannot. The good news in this is, I now have room in my head for the writer part of my psyche. Unfortunately, the writer-piece can also be taken up by guilt for not having done more writing. This guilt, while silly, sometimes keeps me from writing further (too busy feeling sorry for myself, I suppose).

It’s a pretty vicious circle if you ask me.

So, I’m feeling guilty that I haven’t finished writing the final chapter of Boyscouts of the Apocalypse. I can confirm that it is almost done however and I managed to come even closer on the weekend. The schedule is pretty shot, but I promise it will be done and available soon. I’m also disappointed that I have not finished Mik Murdoch and the Power Within yet either. Don’t worry, it is half finished and will be done by the end of the summer one way or the other.

Until those two projects are done, I won’t be picking anything new up, especially since I am busy trying to promote A Method to the Madness: A Guide to the Superevil which is now available for purchase (thanks to Amazon jumping the gun).

I guess my point to this little post is, sorry some of the updates to projects have been delayed. I am working on them all and they will be complete…eventually.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Tags: a method to the madness: a guide to the super evil, boyscouts of the apocalypse, delay, irreverent muse, Michell Plested, Mik Murdoch and the Power Within

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Mar

I Have a New Short Story Coming Out on Every Photo Tells

Posted by: Michell in About Writing, Irreverent Muse

By the title, you can probably guess that there will be some pimping going on in this post. You would be right, but that isn’t the sole purpose of the post.

The good folks at Every Photo Tells have a very interesting premise for their short story podcast. Every month they post a new photo on the site as inspiration for all us writers. Authors are encouraged to write a story (between 1,000 and 5,000 words) based on the picture and send it in. If the story is accepted, they do an edit and podcast it.

I’ve been meaning to do this for some time but always managed to miss the deadline. This past month I finally wrote a story and sent it in. It will be posted on their site this week.

I like the premise of this whole thing. Pictures can mean different things to different people so, when presented with the same image, you will almost always get stories that are completely different. In fact, the stories people write may not even be in the same genre.

A question I sometimes get (and I know other authors get too) is where do I get my ideas? The simple answer is, everywhere. In songs, in scents, in people I see, situations and…pictures. I never know what will trigger a story idea.

That’s the fun thing about ideas and being a writer. Ideas are all around us. What we do with them is what is challenging and exciting.

This is the first short story I’ve written in quite a while. I always seem to be working on a novel or anthology or podcast lately and don’t make the time to write shorter fiction. Don’t get me wrong, short fiction does not equate to less important to me. I just have contracted work that has to take precedence.

I had fun writing this story. It’s different from anything I’ve written before and I am excited to share it with you all.

Update

You can find my story at: http://everyphototells.com/2013/03/episode-113-you-can-never-go-home-again/

Tags: Every Photo Tells, ideas, irreverent muse, Michell Plested, short story

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