Pure Writing

What is writing? I'm glad you asked.

In life there are, what I like to call, pure activities. Activities that practically define themselves. For example, running--it's just you and a stretch of land. Or swimming--you and some water. Or meditation--you and the universe. Or my favorite, napping.

Writing is not one of these.

But there are activities that are so maddeningly close to pure that it's tempting to classify them as pure. The one that everyone can relate to is soccer. At its core, it's you, a field, and a ball. And by "ball" I mean any object you can kick. If you have a used food can, good enough. Or maybe you only have an old pair of pants and a roll of tape, no problem. It's not even particular about the size or shape of the field. A quiet street is just as good as an empty room.

In today's age of public education, writing is like this. It's you, something to write with, and some time. That's it. Society has come a long way in the past few hundred years. It wasn't always so easy to write. I love living today!

This is November and National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo) is in full swing. I'm participating, and if you have any desire to write, I encourage you to participate, too. Nanowrimo isn't about being a sports star who can score the winning goal in the World Cup. Nanowrimo is about finding a pine cone or a crumpled up magazine and kicking it around.

Write. Just write.

You can work on grammar and characterization and pacing and all the other skills later. Or not. It can be fun just to write just for the purity of it.

* There is a great story in this photo. If you like this one, you should check out Danimurthi Mahendra's whole collection of Indonesian photos. It's great.

Writing a NaNoWriMo Novel on My Phone

Did I mention that I won Nanowrimo this year? No? We'll then let me tell you. I won Nanowrimo this year! And, as usual, it means that I've written about half of the story, but I'll finish it off in the next few months.

This year I found motivation from the awesome Storywonk Nano podcast. And I also gave up my Ingress play time which is about half my morning exercise time. There were a few days when I wanted to go back to my normal routine, but the sacrifice paid off.

As I am want to do, I tried something new this year. I wrote my novel with my phone. (I'm sure that didn't come as much of a surprise, given the title of this post.) Before you imagine me hunched over with my phone inches from my face tapping out a novel with my thumbs-- You were imagining that weren't you? What you need to imagine is me sitting comfortably on a couch at a church or a bench in a restaurant typing on a keyboard that doesn't seem to be connected to anything.

The Keyboard

I while back, I bought a RockSoul bluetooth keyboard for my phone. It cost me less than $40. It's small and light, runs off of a couple AAA batteries, and I can take it anywhere.

I'm a touch typer, so I made sure it was large enough that I could rest it on my lap and type without looking at the keys. But even if you use the biblical method of typing (seek and ye shall find) you could make this work.

I do get some strange looks from people who wonder where my computer is. Then they see...

The Phone

I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 from Sprint. This phone happens to be at least 100 times more powerful that my first computer, and I could write a novel on that. Why not this?

The advantage of using the phone is that I always have it with me. Even without a keyboard I can jot down notes, leave myself recorded messages, read what I wrote the day before, and research bits and bobs needed for my story.

And unlike my computer, it has handy settings for turning off sound and notifications and for disconnecting from the world so I can focus on writing.

The downside is that you do have to deal with a small screen that is often setting next to you on the arm of a couch or a table, or balanced precariously on your knee while you wait for your daughter's play to begin. If you, hypothetically, had a daughter...who is in the school play...in November. It's much more fun to slip the phone into my shirt pocket, then people really wonder what I'm doing.

The Software
In order to make this happen, I downloaded some applications. There are lots of them out there, so I'd recommend you try several until you find one that works for you. Here's what I used:

Dropbox is the star of the show. This is what synchronized my draft files back to my computer at home. I didn't want to lose my novel if my phone was lost or stolen or broken during the month. Plus, there were some rare times when I was at home and typed on my computer, then the files were sync'd back to my phone. Beautiful.

I wrote in JotterPad X. It is a nice-looking editor with decent power under the hood. One of my first requirements was that it sync with Dropbox--which it does well. I also like to write my drafts in text format. I find that having the manuscript in such a simple format gives me a lot of options for editing later. I can use Word or Scrivener or, basically, any other editor on the planet. And text files are very small, size-wise, and that makes syncing easier.

I also bought Outliner Pro. It doesn't have the prettiest icon, which is a shame because it is very easy to use. I kept my story notes in here and it worked well. I had a section for characters, one for places, the magic system, notes on future plans, stuff like that. I didn't have a full outline for my story this year, but this program helped me keep my details straight when I needed to. I bought the Pro license to get Dropbox sync, but it was worth it.

The Outcome
I liked this setup so well for drafting that, even if I had a computer available, I would often slip off to a quiet place in my house (which sometimes wasn't located in my physical house, because kids) and write on my phone. I'm planning to continue drafting this way in the future. It was very handy to be able to write anywhere just by carrying around an 11oz keyboard.

I'm not sure if this setup will work for editing, The screen isn't quite big enough--then again if phones keep getting larger that might change. The biggest hurdle to editing, is that you have to see the screen and interact with it quite a bit. That's not easy to do with a phone, but there are possibilities. I like possibilities.

*Note: The device pictures are copyright of their respective manufacturers. I've linked to their pages in the article. And the NaNoWriMo Winner banner was used with enthusiastic encouragement as well as permission.

Winning Nanowrimo

I won Nanowrimo. Hurray! (And there was much rejoicing . . . and ice cream.)

This is the second year I've participated, and it was both easier and harder than last year.

For those of your not familiar with Nano, it's a challenge to write 50K words in the month of November. If you do, you win. And there are tens of thousands of winners each year.

Like I was saying, this year was easier in some ways. For one, I already knew I could do it.

The second time you do something, your confidence is higher and you doubt yourself less. Of course, it's not all happiness and roses. Doing a difficult thing a second time, is still difficult--you just know more about what you're getting yourself into.

This year was also harder. On the 3rd day of the month, my writing ground to a halt. A problem at work required a lot of my attention. My team didn't cause the problem, but we had to help solve it. I ended up working over 90 hours that week, much of it in the middle of the night.

Playing catch up was hard. I constantly felt the pressure to crank out words, and I think it made me a little grumpy. Thank goodness I have a supportive family.

It took until the 24th to finally get caught up and pull ahead.

The story isn't finished yet. I think there is at least another 30-40K more words to go, but I have a solid start thanks to Nanowrimo.

Story Tug of War

As I'm preparing for Nanowrimo, I'm in the story planning and creation phase. It feels a lot like a big game of tug-of-war except with more than one team. Don't try to imagine how that would actually work, just go with me on this.

All stories have the big elements: Characters, Setting, Ideas and Progression. And they each pull against the others.

For example, When I come up with a great way to strengthen a character, that new strength tugs on the Setting, Ideas and Progression. Sometimes everything holds, but sometimes it pulls the Setting too hard and I have to give it some attention. Adding strength to the Setting dominoes into changing an Idea. You get the picture.

When I'm done, what I want is to see is 4 strong teams all pulling as hard as they can--putting as much tension as possible on the ropes.

Here's a real example. This is the story I'm working on right now. (Thank to everyone who voted.)

The Cepio is an advanced armor and weapons system designed to augment the most powerful soldiers in the galaxy. When a Cepio shipment is attacked by bandits, one accidentally crashes onto Earth and binds to seventeen-year old, Isaac Thomas. Isaac must learn to control the Cepio before it takes over his mind, all while keeping it out of the hands of the bandits and the galactic corporation that wants it back. Because once the Cepio binds to someone, the only way to repossess it is to kill the host.

And the breakdown:

• Characters: bandits, Isaac, galactic corporation
• Setting: Earth
• Ideas: Cepio weapons system, most powerful soldiers, Cepio tries to take over Isaac's mind, bandits and corporation want it, unbinding causes death
• Progression: Not a lot of progression details here. Isaac gets the Cepio and a lot of trouble too. We don't know what he does with it, how he uses it, how it changes him, or even the outcome of the story.

As with many of my story embryos, this one is heavy on Ideas. If I'm not careful the Ideas will overshadow everything else and my Characters will seem flat, the Setting will appear blank, and the Progression will feel haphazard and forced.

So, I spend a lot of time fleshing out Characters, planning how things could Progress, and filling out the Setting. What this often means is that my Ideas have to change.

In one of my previous stories, the embryonic Idea that started the whole thing ended up being dropped from the final story altogether. It just didn't work with everything else. But that's okay. I've already got another story that's building around that Idea, and I'll write it someday.

*This picture says to me, "Tug of war is hard, hard work." My muscles tighten just looking at it. And I can almost hear the fibers of the rope grinding and popping from the tension. You can check out other works by Scott Anderson on Flickr.

Decisions, Decisions

Nanowrimo is just around the corner! Time to start planning.

Last year I tried something new. I wrote in a new genre. I even had you guys pick which one.

It was so fun that I'm doing the same thing this year.

This time I have three, count 'em three, story ideas all in genres I've never written in. Let me know in the comments which one you prefer.

---

First up, murder mystery. This one intimidates me the most.

The working title is Re: Murder (Solved). Here's the pitch:

@ChicStauff: My boss's wife was killed today! #omg I think she was murdered.

The wife of Jerry McCormick, CEO of Grayson Security, is accidentally killed in a robbery attempt. At least that's what the police say. Anya Stauffer knows different, and is going to prove it. She turns to her friends for help: a lawyer in California, a pre-med student in Utah, and a reporter in South Carolina. Using texts, picture mail, video chat, GPS and a little hacking the group puts the pieces together. When someone else dies, Anya must work fast before the killer strikes again. This time, it might be Anya who's the target.

---

Next up, SciFi. I've written a lot of fantasy, so I'm excited to try some SciFi. They share a lot, but there are differences as well.

The working title is Cepio. Here's the pitch:

The Cepio is an advanced armor and weapons system designed to augment the most powerful soldiers in the galaxy. When a Cepio shipment is attacked by bandits, one accidentally crashes onto Earth and binds to seventeen-year old, Isaac Thomas. Isaac must learn to control the Cepio before it takes over his mind, all while keeping it out of the hands of the bandits and the galactic corporation that wants it back. Because once the Cepio binds to someone, the only way to repossess it is to kill the host.

---

And last but not least, Romance. You might think this would intimidate me the most, but it doesn't. See, I don't have any delusions that I'll be good at it, but being able to write a romantic subplot is a very important skill to have. I did cheat a little and decided to write Romantic Suspense.

The working title is Deputized Heart. Here's the pitch:

Sheriff Rosalynn Banks has everything under control in the small town of Larson until ex-Marine, Garrett Browning, moves in, and his surprisingly sweet advances make her doubt how much control she really has. When a routine domestic dispute call goes terribly wrong, Ros finds herself out-manned, out-gunned, and the target of a well-funded drug cartel. She deputizes Garrett and together they must figure out who's behind the attacks and bring them to justice before anyone else dies and before Ros loses the thing most dear to her--her heart.

Those are your choices.

Let me know which story sounds the most interesting to you in the comments. You are welcome to vote for more than one if you want. I'm not picky.

But you can't vote for all three. As it turns out, I am picky.

Some Housekeeping

I Like that Old Time Blog Template

I'm going back to the old look for awhile. My experiment with Dynamic Views was fun and I learned a lot. I'll be posting about that soon.

We are the Champions of NaNoWriMo


I crossed the 50K word goal, so I WON! Hooray! I'll be posting about that soon too. Now that I have time to get back onto a normal blogging schedule.

Who Wrote the Book of Paranormal?


I have at least one book I'm going to review. Maybe two.

Y'all Ready for This?

Wow, there's a lot to catch up on, and the holidays are sneaking up on me like an elephant on a Harley. I'm sure you all feel the same way.

If you're still working on NaNo—KEEP WRITING!

If you're not working on Nano—KEEP WRITING or READING or RUNNING or WOOD WORKING or whatever you do for personal fulfillment.

See you soon.

I'm Sad

Don't worry about me. I'm sad for a good reason.

I've reached the point in my story where the MC is at the lowest. He and his friends are in the hospital. Despite his best efforts, he's lost Thor's hammer, gloves, and belt. Some people who were on his side turned out to be traitors. He's failed in his quest and has no hope of succeeding. I feel so bad for him.

I've been at this point in stories before. It's always hard emotionally, but this story seems to be even more acute. Since I haven't planned anything ahead of time, I don't have any idea how he's going to succeed either.

I'm interested to see what the next 15K words have in store, both for my MC and for me.

Keeping Track of NaNoWriMo IRL (In Real Life)

I bet you're wondering why I have a picture of pretty fingernails on my blog today.

My friend and fellow writer, Marta Smith has an awesome way she keeps her NaNoWriMo status. She paints her fingernails blue, and I mean Blue. That's to remind her to write. Then she adds silver crackle to one nail for every 5,000 words she finishes. So her fingernails become a visible progress bar. Isn't that awesome!

I just have one problem: I'm a guy, and as much as I would totally paint my fingernails as a joke or for Halloween, I'm not going to go to work all month with painted fingernails.

So, here are a few ideas for my fellow dudes to track our NaNo status IRL. (Dudettes, you can use them too if you want.)

Public Shaming Option
Go ahead and paint your fingernails just like Marta. Choose a bright, bold color. Then for every 5K words you can remove the paint from one nail.

I predict that the guys who use this option will be finished with their 50K before the first work day of the month (or they'll take a couple sick days).

Discomfort Option #1
While this one is not as effective as the first, it hits a little closer to the wallet.

Go get 10 credit-card-sized cards. These can be from your stash of store rewards cards you barely use, or credit cards, old calling cards, empty gift cards, whatever. You just need 10. Cram them into your wallet. You've got to sit on that uncomfortable beast until you hit your word count goals. For every 5K words take one out.

Discomfort Option #2
This one is similar to the other discomfort option. This time get 10 extra keys and put them on your primary key ring. Not the one you keep in your bag or on your nightstand. I'm talking about the keys you carry with you in your pocket everywhere you go. Painful, I know. But for every 5K words you get to take a key off.

Reverse Progress Bar
Go buy 10 of your favorite candy. Go ahead and get the good stuff, king-sized if you want. When you get home, hot glue all of it to some poster board. For every 5K words, take one off and enjoy. Bonus: If hot glue and poster board isn't manly enough for you feel free to epoxy those suckers to a 2x4.

Discomfort Option #3
This one takes a bit more setup. Get an old T-shirt you don't wear anymore. I know you've got dozens of them. Then buy some Velcro (the kind that already has glue on the back) and 10 bean bags (you can usually pick these up for cheap at your local Goodwill). Attach the bean bags to the shirt with the Velcro. Make sure you use the soft side of the Velcro on the T-shirt.

Throw that lumpy mass of cloth and beans into your favorite recliner or your spot on the couch. You have to sit on it while watching TV, but for every 5K words you finish you can take one bean bag off the shirt.

I hope these ideas inspire some of my fellow writers to keep typing...Keep Typing...KEEP TYPING. We're halfway through. Huzzah!

If you have other creative ways to motivate you through Nano let me know in the comments.

* The photo is a real picture of Marta's nails near the beginning of the month. I think it was taken by Ali Cross. If you want to use it you'll have to get a hold of them. Thanks Ali and Marta for sharing this cool idea.

My NaNoWriMo Groove

The other day Heather Justesen blogged about how she was able to win NaNoWriMo in 5 days. 5 days! She talked about her strategies and process for churning out 10K words a day.

I've been writing for NaNoWriMo, too. My current word count is 28,126. Which means I'm on track to winning. Hooray!

My goal for this NaNoWriMo challenge was to practice some new things. One of those things was to write without an outline.

Scary.

I admit, I'm a hard-nosed planner. Just ask my writers group. All through October I wanted to make an outline or at least some notes, but I resisted. I don't know if that was the best decision, but I wanted to try writing completely by the seat of my pants at least once.

Seriously, how can you know if your way is best if you don't try other ways?

I started strong. Even though I resisted planning, I'd had the beginning scenes bouncing around in my head. But by day 4 I felt like I was on the edge of washing out. I didn't know where my story was going. I didn't know who the bad guy was, or even all the good guys. Did I mention this was scary for me?

It's been 12 days now, and it's not bad. I have quite the groove going. Here's how it breaks down.

Each day, I grab a voice recorder and record the next couple scenes as they come to me. I usually do this while I'm driving somewhere or when I'm out for a walk. I just let the story flow. Sometimes I'm talking in first person, sometimes third, sometimes I end up recording stuff that sounds more like stage directions than a novel. I jump back and forth in time. In short, it's a cobbled together skeleton of a scene.

I tried doing this without the recorder (just talking to myself), but it didn't feel right. Having the recorder makes the process work. I don't know why.

Later in the day, I sit down and type what I recorded. I end up making a lot of tweaks and changes, but it follows the same basic flow.

I've been surprised to find that as soon as a scene is recorded, I can move on to the next one. If I don't record a scene it stays in my head like a road block keeping me from thinking of the next ones.

So far it's been a fun journey. I've learned that my imagination won't fail me. I don't know if pantsing is for me. I'm not done with the month yet, so it might grow on me.

What works best for you during the drafting process?

* I've always been fascinated by these slot canyons. Sadly, I never visited them while I lived in Utah, but I don't let my guilt keep me from enjoying awesome photographs like this one by Damian Michalski on Flickr.

NaNoWriMo Update

As you know, I'm writing a story for NaNoWriMo that is tentatively titled "I Can Finish This Story in a Month".

It's a small thing, but since I double click on that file hundreds of times it's nice to get the little cheerleader in the back of my mind saying, "I Can Finish This Story in a Month".

So far things are going well. I've written over 9,000 words. Hooray!

Here are few decent quotes.

"We're going to have to run for it." It was a long way around the school. We didn't have much time left, but we could still make it.

I ran to the right, but when I looked back Terry ran to the left. "This way. It's shorter."

"Yes, but this way is faster because you can go faster on the playground."

"Shorter is shorter."

"Faster is faster."

"Fine. You go your way and I'll go mine."

The bell was about the ring, I could feel it. We were going to be late. I didn't wait for him to say anything, I just ran. I didn't even look to see if Terry had come to his senses and followed me. I pounded my feet into the ground and swung my arms hard. I took the first corner and cut across the lawn. My heart started to beat faster and I breathed harder. Sucking air in and out. I weaved between a tree and the flower garden out front where they have the sign that shows all the important dates. Pizza day was coming up soon. I rounded the front of the school. My legs started to get tired, but I kept going. 

There were no cars parked on the curb and all the busses were gone. This was a bad sign. I couldn't see Terry yet, but he'd be coming around his corner soon. We could still make it.

Brrrrrrrrringggggggg!

Or not.

Poor Arthur, he was late for school. Then later that night:

I dreamed I was leading an army of ninjas disguised as guitar playing rock stars against Scott's army of paper sailboats, when someone turned on the lights in my room. It was a good thing too because, surprisingly, Scott was winning. I squinted my eyes shut even harder and brought the blankets over my head. "Not yet, Mom. I'm still tired."

The blankets didn't help. The light shone right through. Ugh. School always came too early. I slipped my head under my pillow then I remembered, today was Saturday. Were we going on a trip? I lifted up one side of the sheets to look at my clock. "It's two in the morning. I want to sleep."

Mom still didn't say anything. That wasn't like her. I felt a strange flicker in my head and along my back. It was like a little bit of electricity going up and down my body. I shivered and slowly pulled back my sheets. The whole room was so bright I couldn't see anything. I covered my eyes with both hands and tried to look through a little crack in one side.

Mom wasn't standing in her normal spot by the lightswitch. Maybe she was getting out clothes.

I spun my head and had to wait even longer for my eyes to adjust. I had one eye mostly uncovered when I saw the body builder. He was huge. His head almost touched the ceiling, his hair and beard was bright red, and he had muscles everywhere. I know because he was only wearing a pair of swim trunks with bright blue flowers printed on them. I pulled the covers over my head again.

To be honest, I don't know how well these quotes will read. I usually like to let things settle in my mind for a few days, but during Nano that's not an option. So, you get what you get.

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? If so, WHY AREN'T YOU WRITING? (Just giving a little helpful encouragement, that's all.)

Pomodoro Technique - Surviving NaNoWriMo

This is my first year participating in NaNoWriMo, but as a computer programmer I'm no stranger to huge deadlines that require long-term focus to get done.

When work is mounting and time is dwindling I turn to the Pomodoro Technique to get me through the "hell weeks" with my sanity intact. It's simple. It's easy. It's powerful. And it strikes a good balance between pedal-to-the-medal activity and all-work-and-no-play-makes-John-a-dull-boy.

All you need to make this work is a simple timer. You've probably got one in your kitchen or on your phone. Either of those will work great. If you don't have one, I'll put some recommendations at the end of this post.

Step 1) Set your timer for 25 minutes. Put it somewhere you can see it. Start typing.
Step 2) When the timer dings, stop typing and save your work.
Step 3) Set your timer for 5 minutes and take a break. When the timer dings, go back to Step 1.

That's it. Like I said it's simple, but it works.

If anyone tries to interrupt you, point to the timer and tell them you'll be free in 11 minutes, or whatever your timer says. Then go back to work. There are very few things that can't wait a few minutes.

One of the keys, is to stop when the timer dings. Stop right then. Immediately. If you're in the middle of a sentence that's even better. It will help you get back into writing when you return from your break. Don't be tempted to keep going. You'll wear yourself out.

When I stop immediately, I've found that I get a burst of productivity when there's about five minutes left. When I don't follow the "Stop Immediately" rule I don't get this burst of productivity.

During your breaks, don't work on your manuscript. Sure, you'll end up having thoughts about your story, but try to make your break count. Stand up, walk away from the computer, stretch a little. Chat with a friend. Handle any of the interruptions that popped up. Anything except writing your story.

Then make sure to sit back down when the timer dings.

This technique does wonders for me. I hope you find it useful as well.

More Information

This post just scratches the surface. Go out to www.pomodorotechnique.com to learn even more about this amazing idea.

Timers

If you need a timer there are a lot out there.

On Windows or Mac I've used FocusBooster. They have an online version and a desktop version. I've also heard good things about Tomighty.

On both Android and iPhone there are built-in timer applications. They will work just fine.

If you want to download an app. On Android, I use Pomodroido. It's easy to use. It keeps track of how many sessions you've done and you can "level up" as you do more.

Since I don't have an iPhone, I don't have any recommendations here. All I can do is point you to this review by The Next Web that looks useful.

* Ooooo! Now I'm hungry for a tomato sandwich. The tomato picture was taken by photon_de and can be found on Flickr.

NaNoWriMo Preparation

NaNoWriMo is less than . . . Seven. Days. Away. AAAAAAAAAAGH!

You should have seen the looks on my kids faces when I ran screaming from the room. It was a curious mix of "My Dad's a goofball" and "Not again." I think I also detected some eye-rolling. I guess they know me too well.

If you're like me, there are still some things you need to get ready for NaNoWriMo. My wife wrote several great blog posts on the topic. I recommend you read them.

• Preparing your family
• Setting goals that work for you
• Discovering plot and conflict in your story

I know she has other posts planned, so you'll have to check back to learn more.

I'm usually a plotter when it comes to writing, but this year I'm trying something different. I'm attempting to "pants" a novel. You know, like, write it by the seat of my pants. It's a little scary for me, but I'm also curious to see how well it works. I've never done it, so who knows? Maybe the story will turn out better.

If you're a pantser as well, you'll enjoy Elana Johnson's post on how she gears up for NaNoWriMo. I did.

• How to gear up for NaNoWriMo.

The votes are in. I'm going to write the Middle Grade Fantasy story about Arthur and Thor. Not only did it get the most votes (thanks guys), but I think it will work better with my pantsing experiment. Middle Grade is supposed to be quirky and evoke a strong sense of wonder.

I'll be posting a few more thoughts on NaNoWriMo this week, so stay tuned.

* The NaNoWriMo logo belongs to the Office of Letters and Light. To learn more about NaNoWriMo or to participate visit NaNoWriMo.org.

Help for NaNoWriMo

It's almost November, and you know what that means. National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. It's when tens of thousands of writers throw caution to the wind and attempt to write a 50,000-word story in a single month.

It's not as crazy as it sounds, but it isn't easy.

My plans are to try something new. I normally write contemporary YA fantasy. I'll stick with fantasy, but change the audience and time period. It'll be good practice and a good break from editing.

The problem is that I have two stories I want to write and I can only do one of them, so here's were you come in. I've written a blurb for each story below. In the comments tell me which one you think sounds the best and why. I'll write whichever wins. I'll also try to post story updates on my blog as I go through the month.

Blurb #1:

The Norse God, Thor, decides to take a long-overdue vacation, and he leaves his mighty hammer in the care of his great, great, great, are-you-still-reading-all-of-these, great, great grandson, Arthur Quirkelsteen, the smallest boy in his fourth-grade class. Arthur first tries to fly to school, but misses it by three states. Then he ruins his class service project--who knew the hammer would refuse to drive nails? But when his secret is discovered by the cafeteria lady he must keep the hammer safe until his great, great, great, he-is-pretty-great, great grandfather returns.

Blurb #2:

Elizabeth stands in the balance between an immoral peace and a war with the gods. She believes in the old gods--creatures who feed on human souls and grant fantastic powers to their followers, but she is also the daughter of a famous industrialist--a man who uses human labor, machines and money to build empires. Will she support the continued sacrifices to appease the gods? Or the slavery enforced by the industrialists? Or will her actions start a war that could spell the end of her society?

Leave a comment below and tell me which one you like better.

* You gotta wonder how long that place has been looking for help. I hope you guys step up and send help a little faster. It made a great picture for Brenda Gottsabend. You can find it on Flickr.