Good news from writer land!

I finally plowed through the final scenes of my book! I might write one more epilogue style scene, but right now I'm reserving that for after I do some serious reconstruction work on the last several chapters. It feels really good, but there's still a lot of work to do in the writing--and then after that, after that I get to start the difficult process of looking at agents--understanding what that business all means--and sitting on my hands while I wait for someone to tell me if it's good. Publishable.

But this time I really am going through with it. This time I am going to close and finish one of my many projects, and maybe for once in my life I'll be able to walk away from something without leaving it unfinished.

Also, in Soccer News: North Korea lost to Portugal by SEVEN. SEVEN TO ZERO. How on earth do you lose that badly??? How did they even get into the World Cup in the first place?

On why I haven't posted in forever

I've been doing a lot of stuff. Last weekend I traveled to Busan for a little while, sat on the beach, enjoyed Mexican food, and listened to friends of a friend rap their little hearts out at an expat beach bar. Lot's of fun, I'll tell you. (I was even purchased a non-alcoholic shot by the wonderful bar tender, who refused to leave me alone about drinks, even though I insisted that I refused to drink.)

However, my writing inclinations have been leaning in a different direction. I've been completely absorbed by a novel that I'm working on, yet again. With a good six months between me and National Novel Writing Month, I feel as though I'm finally ready to finish this sucker. And it's coming out beautifully. Characters have taken weird turns, and they've done things that I didn't really want them to do, but despite that, I believe that's the beauty of good writing. Characters do what must be done, whether or not you enjoy it. More or less, I feel like a real writer again, and the writer's block has dissipated. And when that happens, folk, that's the thing I have to focus on, come hell or high water.

Anyway... I'm working on the final scenes and I've been rather antisocial as of late because of it. I'm interested in getting some readers, just people who can let me know what they think, get to know the characters, and let me know if the book is a good read.

The synopsis is as follows:
Victoria, the youngest of the late King and Queen of Coqueron, was cursed from birth with an allergy to the sun. In a world where the god of the sun and the goddess of the night are constantly in battle, Victoria is ostracized and kept away, because her eldest brother, the now-king, professes a love to Solaron, god of the sun. Left in a cold, dark house, without any children her own age, Victoria's first friends become the ghosts that live there. However, when she turns fourteen, her brother suddenly calls her to the palace of Coqueron to be initiated into court life.

I wrote a short story!!

Feeling thoroughly inspired by my collection of short stories by Neil Gaiman, Smoke and Mirrors, I felt inspired to spin a short story. I like the concept but I'm not sure I really spun the tale the way it should have been spun, so I'm posting it here for you to examine and criticize. Please rip it to shreds, so that a better story comes out.

The Most Famous Destination on Earth (Working Title)