Excentrivial Musings

1:01pm: Second Steampunk Ray Gun...
...So, during the construction of the ray gun I built for Stephanie Osborn, my wife decided she wanted one. Within a few days of finishing the first one, I began a second one. I'm almost finished with it now. Here is a photo of the two ray guns together with two real handguns, to give you an idea of their relative sizes:




As you can see, they are both the same general design. My wife's is the smaller, Compact version however. Mostly because when she was holding Stephanie's I noticed that she was treating it like a small shotgun rather than a pistol. My wife isn't a stranger to firearms, but she has had less experience with them than have I. The hand grips are also slightly different to take into account the sizes of the owner's hands. My wife is at least a foot shorter than Stephanie, with all the differences in scale that entails.

One drawback of the second ray gun is that I've used up my entire supply of the pierced brass plate that I used for the barrel shrouds and radiator shield on the barrels and steam chambers of the two pistols. I'm going to have to find something similar to use for any future constructions.

And there will be future constructions. I've gotten such a positive reaction to my little toys that I've decided to keep on making them. I've come up with several different designs and shapes, most of which are based on the shapes of real-world firearms. I also came up with what might seem a radical design that straps to one's forearm, like a bracer.

I'd best bring this post to an end, before I need to use a cut tag. I'll sign off for today with a second photograph of my wife's ray gun, so that you can see how far along the work is at the moment. This is one of the photos from last week, just before I had to put everything on hold so that I could go back to work for another week. As I'm on my days off right now, I'm hoping to finish up before I go back to work this upcoming weekend. Enjoy!

2:55pm: Steampunk Ray Gun
I finished the project last night. The Facebook photo album shows all the major steps. This was highly educational, in some ways. I'm beginning to wonder what I could turn out if I went to Mom & Dad's and used their shop machinery.

I started on November 14th and finished up on December 26th, 2011. Around Nov. 13th, Stephanie Osborn and I were chatting. She asked if I could make a steampunk ray gun for her, since she couldn't afford the nice ones she'd seen at conventions. I replied that I could do it, but I wanted to make something from scratch rather than paint & mod a Nerf gun. I started off with a 2x4, used a band saw to make the general shape, then sanded the edges to gentle curves. I put in over 100 hours of work, from start to finish. I'm quite proud of it.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2660593870978.2146563.1139854823&type=1

Quite a lot of fun, but not something I could do to make extra cash.

Dan

4:11pm: The Immersion Book of Steampunk – First Look
Well, it is finally available for pre-order. The official release is later this month. I have mixed feelings about it, since after being accepted for the original line-up my story got bumped out of the anthology to make room for other stories by some favorite pro writers. But that was a business decision, and a sound one, on the part of the publisher. I'm disappointed, but not bitter. I hope the anthology sells really well! I have several friends who have stories in it and I want them to enjoy great success! It's going to be a really good book, so go check it out!



The Immersion Book of Steampunk – First Look

6:46pm: Vila's Music Store!
I recently got back into making music and joined a website called SoundCloud to have a place to post it online. It was well received by others on the website, so I thought I should go ahead and take the next step. There is an option to allow listeners buy downloads of entire sets, or of individual tracks. After I had uploaded 28 songs, over 2 hours of instrumental music, I thought about it for several weeks, then decided to give it a go. I figured out the "Buy A Download" applet and created a new set on SoundCloud that people can purchase. I now have a simple, self-produced album out!

I titled it "Fantasy For Sale - Cheap!" There are 14 songs in the set. The runtime is 66 minutes. People can buy the whole album for $9.99 US (£ 6.04 UK), or individual tracks for $.99 US (£ .60 UK). The music is a mix of my garage band recordings, computer-performed sheet music that I've written, and the newest compositions using Music Maker 4.

Once someone has the download, they can easily burn it to a music CD. Blank CDs can usually hold 70 to 80 minutes of music. Or they can just listen to it on their computer. I've kept the option of allowing people to listen to any or all of the songs for free on the websites.

At the moment, there are three ways to buy it; on SoundCloud there is a "Buy this set" button on the Sets page, and on the Tracks page each song on the album has a "Buy this track" button. Or the whole album can be downloaded from my VibeDeck page. Payment is through PayPal, so it is quick, easy, and secure.

http://vibedeck.com/danl-hollifield-studio-d
http://soundcloud.com/vila01

Give it a listen sometime. If you like what you hear and want to keep a copy, toss a ten-spot my way. My mortgage company will thank you for it!

Dan

11:27am: LibertyCon 24
My steampunk outfit won Best of Con, Male - from a certain roaming judge. :)

I also sold a couple of copies of "Flash of Aphelion," brainstormed a new steampunk sidearm with my favorite LibertyCon tag-team pair of sculptors/artists, moderated one panel & was a guest on another, turned down a refund of the Con membership I bought after arriving and finding out I was a Guest Author, flashed my Airship Captain Vila Resthal ID card at the Con Suite and was handed a beer before the bartender realized the birth date on the card read "11/03/1837," discussed with ARTC's president the possibility of ARTC performing an audio play of one of my short stories, got advice from a Big Name Pro Writer on how to politely request from a publisher the return of rights on a story that got bumped from a book after being accepted, received a compliment that I shall treasure from a another Pro Writer whom I admire, helped mod a friend's leather jacket into part of a costume he'd dreamed up, caught up with a very dear friend from college that I hadn't seen for 30 years (as well as meeting her dashingly handsome & totally cool husband), played a recording of one of my songs for a pro DJ (who complimented my skills at running a computer program mixing board), received a demand from a fellow artist that I exhibit a few pieces of my artwork at next year's Con, made a very pretty teen-age girl smile & be more confident with a compliment on her costume, told jokes people actually laughed at, drank more than I should have done yet didn't fall down (until I was safely back in our room), met lots of Facebook friends, was invited to be more active at next year's Con...

Oh, and I came home with a Plot Bunny & its friends, as well as new books to read & ideas to ponder & about 200 fewer Aphelion business cards than I arrived with. :)

Dan

11:42am: "Days of Future Past"
Yesterday I got a surprise e-mail asking if I'd be on a steampunk panel with Kimberly Richardson, and Alan Gilbreath at LibertyCon. Of course I said that I'd love to do it. Being on panels at conventions is fun! Wearing steampunk outfits at LibertyCon is a bit of a challenge because Chattanooga in mid-July is rather hot and humid. But this panel is at 11 PM, so I'm sure I can dress up for a short while without risking heat stroke. :) But what to wear? I've already worn most of my steampunk outfits to previous LibertyCons.

I hope that I'm getting a reputation as an entertaining speaker. At least my stage-fright is bothering me less and less each time I'm asked to participate. The topic of this panel seems to be Alternate History, which is something I can easily carry on a conversation about. Even if I'm guessing wrong, I'm sure that others on the panel can drop me enough clues so that I can wing it when asked questions.

This is turning out to be a busy year for me. A couple of conventions, a vacation trip, lots of writing on several different projects, more work on the house, and a small garden to work on. All of it fun, yet all of it has to be scheduled around my work-days. Oh well, the future will bring whatever develops. So far I'm enjoying the ride!

Dan

3:14pm: AnachroCon 3, 2011 Convention Report

Once again I need to dash this off as quickly as I can before the memories begin to fade. The third edition of Atlanta's AnachroCon steampunk convention has come and gone this past weekend – February 25th through the 27th. I can honestly say that this was the best one yet!

Well over 600 people attended, but it looked more like 1000 to me -- from the sea of happy faces I observed each time I walked through the hotel lobby. The vendor rooms were packed each time I looked into them. The panel discussions were likewise well attended. Even the ones which suffered from being scheduled against one another had respectable numbers of attendees. There were three tracks of programming going on at all times, plus numerous one-off special events, so there were plenty of happenings to catch the attention of the myriads attending.

One thing I want to say right off: even though I am currently a very low-tier pro writer, there was not one whit of snobbery evidenced towards myself or any other newly-fledged writers. In the hallways, in the panels, in the lobby, even in the elevators – Everyone was kind, supportive, and interested in what each of the other writers were working on. Offers of helpful advice and locations of possible research materials flowed freely. I never detected any hint of disdain or elite-ism from the more senior and successful writers. Everyone was just so friendly and open that I was constantly amazed. That attitude also extended far beyond the writers. The craftsmen and ladies, the costumers, the musicians, the performers were each and every one open to being approached as well as eager to share conversations.

In fact, that sort of open goodwill seemed to be the theme of the entire convention. No matter where one turned, everyone there acted as if they were attending a vast family reunion. It was impossible to meet anyone, throughout the whole weekend, who acted as if they were a stranger. This is one of the things I love most about AnachroCon. I'm so very glad that this tradition of “family” has continued unabated from the first con through to this latest one. That is a testament to just how good William and Cindy MacLeod are at tossing this kind of shindig. The entire staff worked tirelessly to insure that everything went swimmingly. I know that there had to have been problems and slight hiccups, but those were invisible to me and to the rest of the attendees. Charles Strobel is an amazing fellow, as in Austin Sirkin, Megan Maude, Melissa Jordan, Dan and Robin Carroll, Enrique Velazquez, Thomas De Sadlier, Bill Harrison, Paige Smith, Randi Bruner, Richard Jakiel, Hendry and Karen Betts, Shannon Drake, as well as all the other staff members I didn't get a chance to meet in person. I think each and every staff member, their assistants, and all concerned deserve a thundering round of applause.

Speaking of applause, the musicians, performers, and craftspeople deserve a round of their own. I couldn't turn around during the entire weekend without seeing wondrous displays of incredible talent. Once again, everyone was friendly, open, and approachable. I counted dozens of different conversations between convention guests and attendees concerning areas of mutual interest. Once again, AnachroCon has earned its reputation as a “teach-in” for all concerned. I overheard costuming secrets exchanged, makers of all experience levels trading hints and tips and tricks, professionals praising the works of their talented fans, as well as all sorts of conversations that were endlessly fascinating. Whether it be historians and fans, craftspeople and shoppers, musicians and listeners, performers and audience members – everyone concerned was ready and willing to teach as well as learn.

My time to finish this overview of one of the most compelling steampunk events of the convention circuit is rapidly drawing to a close. I realize that I have yet to cover a tenth of all the wonderful guests and events AnachroCon has had to offer. But time does not permit me to be as painstaking as I would like in this report. Allow me to close therefore with the both the URL of the convention website ( AnachroCon, The Official Website ) where the reader can find all the lists of guests, historians, musicians, performers, and staff. I offer my deepest thanks that next year's con already looks to be shaping up into an even more amazing event than has the previous three occasions. In short, if you missed it, you missed a lot. Start making plans to attend the 2012 AnachroCon! You only have eleven months left to prepare!

Your humble servant,

Dan L. Hollifield – Senior Editor/Publisher: Aphelion Webzine
Captain Vila Resthal, CNAR Combined Airship Service, Retired

6:50pm: Immersion Press
The list of contributing writers is out for the Immersion Book of Steampunk at: Immersion Press

9:43pm: A new Mare Inebrium story
I just finished a 5k word Mare Inebrium story of Kazsh-ak Teir relating one of his famous tall tales. Still at the 1st draft stage. I'll need to proofread it and do rewrites before any of the Aphelion readers can see it. But perhaps I can have it ready for the Holiday Issue if I work really hard at it!

3:45pm: Paul Di Filippo Signs Up For Steampunk Book
Paul Di Filippo Signs Up For Steampunk Book

I was just checking the publisher's website for more info on that anthology my short story will be in and found I am among some good company. :)

Dan

11:13am: UK Steampunk Anthology...
For the past several months I have been working on an 8000 word short story for an upcoming Steampunk anthology that is to be published in the UK. Last week I sent off the 4th revision, what I'd term the 7th or 8th draft, to the fellow who had invited me to submit. At the outset, he warned me that getting the invitation was not an automatic acceptance. I went through 3 drafts before sending the first version of the story off to him. He recommended some edits and gave me critiques of what I had done. After the 4th editing & rewrite pass, he sent me an acceptance e-mail this morning.

He is now forwarding the story to the publisher, who will contact me about contracts and payment details, etc. The publisher will run the story through a final proof-reading stage in December. I am told that shouldn't involve any significant changes or edits.

I am interested to see what "semi-professional rates" mean in this context. Something between 2 and 4 cents per word, I expect. I presume payment will be on the lower end of that spectrum, but for me paid is paid! I do wonder if the anthology will gain any wide attention in the US markets. Rest assured, I will be flogging this bugger in all the steampunk communities just as soon as it hits the stands, LOL!

For now, I'm too elated to be nervous about the possibility that the publisher will override the editor's choice and reject my story after all. I'm sure that particular attack of nerves will arrive, in time. In the meantime, I sold a story! YAY!

Dan

9:13pm: Writing update, June 1st, 2010...
It's been a while since I posted an excerpt from the steampunk novel work-in-progress. Tonight the story reached 62,500 words and is nowhere near finished!

Here is a short two chapter excerpt that I think is pretty good. It is from the section where my hero is being trained to be a Secret Service agent, after a long and distinguished history in the military. I'll have to take a few minutes to format it for LJ... OK, here we go!


******
4
******

"That," said Don Diego. "Is the new sword you were issued?"

"Yes, sir." Vila replied. "It's very light, but it seems quite strong. I can't bend it at all."

"It is short. You will have to get in close to use it effectively," the Duke said. "That removes the advantage you would have had with a longer blade, like my own. Still, I must assume that the outfitters know what they're about."

"It's sharp as a shaving razor too, sir. On my way here I chopped a piece of firewood in half with a single stroke," Vila said. The Duke flashed an annoyed expression across his face. "Just testing it out to see if it was defective, somehow." Vila added quickly.

"We will assume that the blade is free of structural defects, then." Don Diego said. "Now we shall put your skills to the test, rather than mere metal. En guarde!" The Duke eased into a fencing stance made comfortable by years of practice. Vila drew his new sword and mirrored the Duke's position. Vila's eyes grew slightly wider as he realized that Diego was also holding his customary live steel blade. There were no wooden practice swords to be found in the training area. That was something Vila had quickly discovered while he learned to navigate the school. The Duke advanced a step, ringing his blade against the one in Vila's hand. Vila barely felt the shock of that impact through his arm.

He's toying with me, Vila thought. I know how fast he really is. He could have killed me twice in the first engagement. Vila blinked, then quickly moved to parry the Duke's next two attacks. I'm facing the greatest swordsman who ever lived! He'll kill me, in seconds.

"Third best," said the Duke as he engaged Vila's sword in a series of blurred movements that ended with Vila taking a step backwards.

"What?" Vila asked as he attempted an attack of his own.

"I could see it in your face," replied the Duke as he easily deflected Vila's attack. "Your thoughts. They are as easy to read as a newspaper. You began to fear me, you thought 'he is the best there has ever been.' But I am not." The Duke lunged, the point of his blade on a line to pierce Vila's heart. Somehow, Vila deflected the attack and counter attacked, himself. Somehow, beyond expectation, Vila's years in combat rose to the occasion. Without thinking or planning, Vila pressed the attack, causing the Duke to back away a step and disengage. The Duke raised one eyebrow. "You are not without skill," he said. ""But I learned from the second-best swordsman of all time- My adoptive Father. He was taught by the greatest, his own father. Now you know..." The Duke lunged, his sword aimed at Vila's heart again. Vila leapt backwards, reaching out with his free hand to grasp one of the ropes anchored to the floor and ceiling of the training room. Using his body's momentum, Vila lifted his feet from the floor and swung about on the rope to land three steps to the left of his previous position. He parried the Duke's blade once again, then pushed off with both feet in a leap that carried him several yards past Don Diego. The Duke turned, smiled, and lunged. Vila barely managed to parry the lunge in time, but he himself lunged in return as Diego recovered. The ringing of steel against steel clanged out into the air. Both men moved faster and faster. The clash of their blades sounding like half-crazed blacksmiths hammering away in a race to the death. Using the ropes, steps, tables, and even the chairs scattered about the training room as pivot points and springboards, the two men continued the fight. Until finally, the inevitable happened. Vila placed his left foot wrong, slipped, and fell to the floor. His breath came in sharp, painful gasps. His vision blurred, he tried to rise, but a boot caught his ribs and he found himself spun about, then looking at the ceiling. Vila blinked, then blinked again. The pain in his head reached a peak, then as the frozen moment passed, the pain abated.

"If only I had found you as a child," Vila heard the Duke's voice, as if from a great distance off. "I could have made a champion duelist out of you! Tomorrow, we start again. Right after your chemistry lessons..." Vila thought he heard pride in the Duke's voice, but the blackness rushed in and could not be denied.

******
5
******

"Your other tutors find you to be an excellent pupil," said the Prince-Protector of the Commonwealth of the West Indies.

"Thank you, sir." Vila replied. "But if I may inquire, what subject are you teaching?"

"Quite possibly," replied the Prince, a frown creasing his handsome features, "the single greatest challenge you will ever face in the performance of your duties. Up until now, you have had it easy. Tonight, the stakes are raised to their utmost level of danger. Without the knowledge I am about to impart to you, the failure of your duties is almost assured."

"I am yours to command, your Grace." Vila said, tugging at the tight collar of his formal dress shirt. "What is it to be? Poisons? Secret codes?"

"This!" Edward replied, holding up a metallic implement as if it were the very deadliest of weapons.

"With all due respect, your Grace," said Vila carefully. "That- is a fork."

"Exactly!" exclaimed the Prince. "But what sort of fork? Quickly now, in the real world you will have no time for indecision. Your life may hang in the balance!"

"A short one. Clean, I hope." Vila said, exasperated. "A fork is a fork."

"Not so," Edward replied. "This, is a seafood fork. This, is a salad fork. This, by way of contrast, is a dessert fork... Can you see the difference?"

"They're all different sizes," said Vila cautiously.

"Correct!" Edward said, and smiled in approval. "But do you notice anything else?"

"You picked them up from different places in the arrangement of tableware before you," said Vila.

"Excellent! You are a quick study. Indeed, each implement is utilized from the outside inwards, each different course at a formal dinner requiring the exact and proper order of tableware."

"What is this little bowl of water?" Vila asked.

"A finger bowl," replied the Prince. "In case one or another dish requires the use of your hands instead of knife, fork, spoon, or skewer, you dip your fingertips in the bowl afterward, then dry them with a towelette. Not your napkin, mind. The towelette is smaller and placed on the opposite side of your plate from your napkin. Napkins are also distinguished by being meant to cover your lap, not to be tucked into your shirt collar, although often they are. At least you got that right without having to be told. Now, here is a test. We will pretend that the covered dish before you is the fourth item that you are served during a formal dinner. Show me which is the proper implement with which to eat it?"

"From the outside inwards, you said?" Vila asked. "Then it is this fork. The seafood fork, I think you called it. Not the salad fork." Vila uncovered the dish before him and used the seafood fork to transfer a small portion from the serving dish to his plate. With a proud smile, he lifted a single forkful of the seafood towards his mouth.

Edward leaned over, and dashed the fork from Vila's hand with a riding crop. "That is a Japanese delicacy called Fugu, in English, we would call it Blowfish. Unless it is very carefully prepared by an expert chef, it could become tainted by the natural secretions of a gland within its body that the fish uses for self-defense. One bite could kill you."

"I- I understand," Vila said, shaking his hand as if to lessen the sting of the riding crop. "Thank you, Sir."

"Not at all," said Edward. "I also teach Poisons, as well as Deportment. Just a bit of training all the Royal Families of Europe and Asia receive as children. Assassination is an approved form of political reform, you know. Now, for the next lesson..."

10:59am: I have a story in a book!

While my wife and I were at AnachroCon this past weekend, an anthology of flash fiction short stories came out that contains one of my short stories. It is called "Flash of Aphelion" and is a Print-On-Demand at Lulu.com and Lulu has a good reputation among the writers I know who have used it for their small, specialized projects. That's right, a book people can buy, for which I get paid (a small sum, 10¢) for every copy sold. That's the share for each writer in the collection; one dime per story. I have one story, others have three or four, others have more. There are 70 stories in the book, 236 pages, by 17 writers. It is a collection of stories from the monthly flash fiction writing competition in Aphelion Webzine's Forums section. My story is in the chapter for the Steampunk-themed competition.

OK, it isn't much but according to the pro writers I asked it does count as my first professional sale. I've been squeeing since I heard the book was coming out, but couldn't tell anyone for fear that the deal might fall through. Well, it didn't fall through, the editor has checked the quality of the printing, and it is now available in 6x9 paperback for $18.72 as well as e-book format for $10.99. There will be a hardback edition added later.

Here is the link to the book's page at Lulu: Flash of Aphelion edited by Nathan Kailhofer.

10:24am: AnachroCon 2010 - Convention Report


I've got to get this written up while everything is still fresh in my
mind. This past weekend, my wife and I attended AnachroCon 2010- the
second edition of that rapidly growing Steampunk/historical fiction
convention. In short, it was a blast! We attended as many of the panel
discussions as we could fit in to our schedule, but there were far many
more that we were sad to have missed. As is the norm with any
convention, some interesting panels and events have to be scheduled at
the same time as others which are equally interesting. That's just the
nature of Cons; it's impossible to have just one event at a time, not
everyone shares the same interests, and a con-goer will always find an
informal discussion in a hallway or lobby among other attendees that
they just can't tear themselves away from.

( Behind the Cut Tag to protect your Friends List pages... )


AnachroCon is well on its way from being a "start-up" Con to becoming a
major player in the Southeastern convention scene. I cannot recommend
this Con highly enough. Go to http://www.anachrocon.com/
-the AnachroCon website, bookmark it, keep checking it out as new
information is added, get yourself a membership, and come join the fun!
You'll be glad you did.



Dan L. Hollifield

Senior Editor/Publisher: Aphelion Webzine

www.aphelion-webzine.com

1:18pm: Living Room Renovations...
Last week I finished up in the guest bedroom. This week I've been working on the living room. I'm at the halfway point in the living room, but cannot do much more this weekend since I have to go back to work tonight. I'll start my next days off on Tuesday morning. That means I'll waste most of Tuesday sleeping, then be able to dive back into the renovations once I wake up. Here are some photos that I posted to my Facebook account this morning:

( Behind a cut tag to protect your Friends pages: )

In other news, some friends of ours from Atlanta will be playing a gig at the Go Bar on Prince Ave. in Athens, GA on Thursday, the 22nd of April. The Extraordinary Contraptions will be the opening act. Come on down and show them a good, old fashioned Athens welcome!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107823189249288&ref=ts for info.

That's all for now,

Dan

11:58am: Guest Bedroom, some photos...
I still have to go out and get some stuff to retouch any scratches I made in the flooring while I was working before I can paint the floor with polyurethane. I can't make a start on the living room floor until the bedroom can be used to store living room furniture & such. I have to go back to work Thursday night, so I doubt that I'll be able to get to the living room this week. I might start on another project that can be easily interrupted by my work schedule, however. What I have in mind would be perfectly safe to leave partly-unfinished, and easy to use to fill in time while the various coats of polyurethane in the guest bedroom are drying.

But enough of that, let's get to the photos of the work in the guest bedroom:



With sawdust flying in the air, goggles are a requirement, not a fashion statement. Once again, my DIY upbringing partners up with my college classes in Interior Design. Lookout, room- you haven't got a chance. Here comes a redneck with power tools!

( Cut away to save your Friends Page )

As you can see, the room is not quite done yet, but almost there!

Dan

8:05pm: Guest Bedroom progress report, Part Deux...
Just finished the waterproofing coat of polyurethane on the sub-flooring. Now to wait 4 to 6 hours for that to dry. If I'm still awake at that time, I'll make a start on cutting and fitting the flooring. I doubt that I'll be awake, though. Midnight to 2 AM doesn't sound like a good time to start back up with a power saw, even in this neighborhood!

The job is going faster and using less raw material than I had estimated. I might even get a start on the living room before I go back to work Thursday night.

5:02pm: Guest Bedroom progress report...
I just finished laying down the sub-floor in the guest bedroom. I bought too much plywood! Oh well, it will find a use later. Taking a break before cleaning up and painting on a coat of polyurethane to waterproof the sub-floor.

One happy discovery, the original sub-floor was level and in pretty good shape- Except for one 2x3 foot section I had to patch. The patch job was easier than I thought. I just made a shallow cut with my circular saw and pulled the rotten part out. The patch dropped right into place, was easy to fasten down with inch & a quarter screws, and extended across several floor joists. It'll be strong enough to hold up to whatever weight we need to put there. Since there aren't any weak spots in the living room, perhaps I will be able to use its existing sub-flooring and not have to buy more plywood for that room. That will cut in half the cost of doing the living room floor.

Once I clean up the sawdust I've made cutting the pieces of sub-floor, it'll be time to waterproof. After that dries I can start cutting and fitting the flooring.

11:08am: Spring seems to have sprung...
It seems that Spring may have finally arrived in Northeast Georgia. There have been several beautiful days here in the last few weeks. Unfortunately, those have mostly occurred during my days & nights at work. But that can't last forever, so Lyn & I are making ready for Spring cleaning here at Casa Vila. Our Income Tax refunds have finally been deposited in the bank, massive payments have been made to our credit card accounts, and there is enough left over to make a start on the remodeling jobs that we have planned for the house.

We're going to rip the carpets up in the guest bedroom, living room, and quite possibly the hallway. The carpets will be replaced with wood floors. We also plan to replace the vinyl on the kitchen with new tiles. So far, the biggest fraction of the budget for that flooring looks to be the polyurethane we'll need to render the wood floors & sub-flooring impervious to future damage. That stuff is $30 a gallon!

The plan is to start with the guest bedroom. That will be my practice run so as to learn and refine the necessary skills before tackling the living room. It is possible that we might be able to afford the wainscoting I've always wanted on the living room walls as well, but that will have to remain a mere possibility until we have a better understanding of the actual cost of doing the floors. You see, it's not just the floors we'll be redoing in the guest bedroom. No, that is a bigger project than I first stated. I will also be building a frame for a Murphy Bed so that the room can double as a guest bedroom and as the Sewing Room that Lyn so greatly desires. In addition, I want one wall of the room to be allocated as increased clothing storage- Not quite a closet, but more than a coat rack, so to speak. Lyn may veto that part of the plan, however.

What's a Murphy Bed? That's one of those thingies that folds up into a bookcase-like storage area on a wall when it is not in use as a bed. We have a twin-sized air mattress that we bought when the waterbed mattress burst. We used it while we waited for delivery of the Memory Foam mattress we bought to replace the waterbed. The air mattress is light enough to make folding the Murphy Bed up quite easily. The design itself is quite simple: a box frame to hold the mattress, folding legs to support the frame when in use, and a headboard/bookcase-like storage unit that the box frame fits into. There are hinges to fasten the box frame to the storage unit. To save space, we plan to have the bed fold up along the side of the mattress, rather than the traditional design of folding from the head of the mattress. The biggest engineering challenge will be the legs to support the box frame when the bed is in use. The storage unit will have to be deep enough to hold the box frame & legs, and will probably have doors to hide the folded bed. The cross section of the design will resemble a lower-case "h" while the bed is unfolded. The crossbar of the "h" represents the box frame & mattress, and the legs of the "h" represent the legs on the bed.

So, we're going to be busy at Casa Vila for the next month or two. Lots of work ahead, and no place to hide! LOL!

5:31pm: Quick post...
Been a while since my last post here, but that's pretty typical for me.

News:

This will be the last week I have to pay on one of the loans on my 401k that was taken out years ago. I'll have that much more added to my take-home pay every week, as a result. That amount is going into our weekly budget and being earmarked for extra payments on the remaining credit cards and extra payments on the principle of the house mortgage.

In theory, the two remaining live credit cards will have their outstanding balances cut in half before the end of March. The one canceled credit card will also have its outstanding balance cut in half before the end of March- With the additional benefit of being able to pay that one off entirely before next Thanksgiving. At which time a pair of scissors will be taken to that card. Once that is finally done, quarterly extra payments to the mortgage will kick in with larger amounts. The idea is to trim several years off the payoff date for the mortgage and insure that I am able to retire at age 65, rather than at age 75. Always a good thing, I believe.

Other news:

AnachroCon 2 will occur the last weekend of April. Lyn & I already have our memberships and room reservations. We're looking forward to it. I've been asked to bring one particular costume for a panel on steampunk comic book superheroes. That should net me some good photos of that outfit, at the very least.

LibertyCon 23 is happening in July. We already have our memberships & hotel reservations for that. We always love going to this one. The plan is to dress casual & comfortable during the days, then dress steampunk for the evenings.

Our Family Reunion is scheduled for the weekend after LibertyCon. I still need to make hotel reservations for that. Unless we decide to detour through Cherokee & other touristy-type places, we'll avoid the drive through the mountains and route through Atlanta & Chattanooga to Knoxville rather than go over the Smoky Mountains. The long way is only 30 minutes driving time more than the normal route. It also puts less wear & tear on the van.

That ought to do for a quick post. More in the near future, as things change.

Dan

2:30pm: Recent stuff...
Last week we had all the kids come for a visit. Also got to meet our new grandson. Wonderful time, for the most part. But very tiring. I'm exhausted, but have to go back to work tomorrow.

Because of poor planning on my part, I'll have to cash in a vacation week in order to stay caught up on our bills. But this will also give me cash for the incidental fees for refinancing the house once again. This latest refi will cut 2% off the interest rate for the mortgage, as well as cut at least 5 years off the life of the loan, and cut the monthly payments by roughly $100.

In other financial news, there is only 9 more weeks to go on a loan I took out years ago that allowed us to pay off several of the credit cards. That will mean that in 9 more weeks, I'll have an extra $56 a week in my paycheck. We already have plans to use this windfall to pay down the remaining credit cards and begin making quarterly payments to the mortgage principle- Thus shaving off even more of the time that loan will run. With any good luck at all, the end result will be that I will be able to pay off the mortgage by the *original* ending date as well as finally dig out from under all the debts we ran up because of the house fire and car wreck. I should be able to retire from the factory at a reasonable age instead of having to keep working there until I'm in my late-70s! No matter how you parse that, it is good news.

More later, I'm sure...

Dan

2:15am: Steampunk novel progress report
Forgive me folks, but it's been 23 days since the last time I was able to add text to my novel, and I think that's a sin.

OK, life keeps getting in the freaking way. So that's a valid excuse? Not to me it ain't.

Today, because of the rain, I was able to add 2600+ words to the story, for a grand total of 55,828 words so far. The section I added to was about the Martian Invasion of 1812-1815. A little less than halfway through that section, with two other empty sections to add to before I can call this puppy done.

Still to go: Half of the War of 1812, the 1861-1865 Martian Invasion, and my hero's 1865-1885 stint as a steampunk spy/Secret Service Agent/super hero.

Sample text:

"No one would have believed it," he began. "But it happened just the same. The first invasion, when the aliens fell from the sky and dug in for a long stay. It was 1812 when the first invader ship landed. The Confederation didn't even exist, yet. North America was mostly European colonies, still. The Great Experiment was still young- Called themselves the United States. But don't be fooled by the name. They were a house divided. Each state was more like a Republic, jealous, reluctantly working together, and already chafing under the Federal government that they'd made back in 1776. The United States had already weathered one crisis- when representatives met to revise the Articles of Confederation in 1789. They came up with what they called a Constitution, then had to tack on a Bill of Rights to forestall another revolution. This one would have been against the federal government of the United States, itself. But the new nation held together. The people thought there'd be eternal peace, prosperity, and freedom for all. That daydream lasted until the first ship from Mars landed. Then, it was a war for survival. The United States was split asunder. Other colonies in North America declared themselves Republics. Eventually these Republics united as equals. But they were still individual nations- But you wanted the story of the beginnings of the Confederation. Well, this is the way my grandfather told it to me when I was a boy."

"No one would have believed," he repeated. "In those last years of the eighteenth century that this world of ours was being watched by intelligences greater than human, and yet as mortal as ourselves. No one gave a thought to the older worlds of space as sources of danger. Indeed, it was the rare human being who even thought of other worlds at all. After all, we had yet to explore the entirety of our own world. Vast areas of our globe were uncharted, wild, and populated with fierce animals and even fiercer "uncivilized" native tribes. For in that day and time humanity had, as yet, not been forced to unite against a common enemy. Civilized Man arrogantly believed themselves restricted to the European continent and to tiny portions of their far-flung colonies across the globe. The written history of the known world only included Europe, the Middle Eastern region, and some small fraction of far Eastern Asia. Even the European conquests of the American continents, India, and Southeast Asia had failed to bring the lesson home that wherever Mankind could be found, civilizations arose."

"As I said, the European colonies upon the East coast of North American had only recently concluded an armed revolt against their far-off mother countries." Vila paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "New nations had been formed there, secure in the belief that they would no longer need bow to any external authority. Freedom, and liberty, and just laws for all seemed to fill the American air like the perfume of exotic flowers. Grand treaties had been signed and solemnly sworn to between the former colonists and the native tribes of American Indian nations. Even those multitudes of African natives that had been transported against their will, to serve as slaves in the colonies, were gradually being given their freedom and the liberty to make of their lives what they willed- Rather than serve the will of others. It was a time of peace, new prosperity, new ideas, and fresh hopes for mankind."

"Yet across the gulfs of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to the beasts of the field, gazed at our world with instruments and technologies unknown. These intellects-" he shook his head sadly. "Vast, cool, and unsympathetic to any thinking mind upon our Earth- They regarded this Earth with envious eyes, and slowly but surely they drew their plans against us. So it was that early in the nineteenth century came a hammer-blow from the skys above. For the first time in recorded history, mankind was forced to defend ourselves from explorers and invaders from some other world."

Next up:

The rest of the War of 1812 done up as if the enemy were HG Wells's Martians. I want to finish this puppy! Wish me luck.

Dan

8:02pm: Steampunk novel progress report...
Did what was supposed to be a normal editing pass this morning starting at 8 AM.

I little understood just how big a can of worms I was opening. I thought it was a normal pint-sized can, but it turned out to be a 55 gallon drum!

Progress? Deleted 4k words of no-longer-current backstory. Added over 14k words of new text since then. Total wordcount is roughly 53k right now, and will be a little higher by the time I go to bed tonight. Averaging a hair over 1500 words per hour. That's roughly 600 words per beer.

I'm either going to have a huge wordcount for this day's work, or be knee-walking drunk by 4 AM.

Start night shift Tuesday evening at 7 PM, so I need to stay awake until at least 4 AM tonight.

OK, enough jabber. No one wants to read my biography. :) But for my First Readers, I'll upload the total current work-in-progress at the URL you already know. Yes, I realize that you might not have had time to read last week's version of the novel. But that's all right. I've changed stuff in all four sections of the story.

Actually, I wish Jeff Williams had time to point out all the places that I've slipped into passive voice so I can go ahead and rewrite them. Passive voice is a really difficult problem for me, as you know. I have trouble telling Passive Voice from Past Tense. No joke, I really can't tell the difference! Critiques from Nate and Wishbone would also serve to let me know where I screwed up the plot and continuity / Jumped the shark / made an ass of myself / Etc.

Yours, in haste and ready to dive back into the manuscript,

Dan

12:07pm: Rainy day writing update

Today is a really "blah" sort of day. Can't go outside and do any work, can't concentrate on my manuscript, can't summon up any interest in watching a movie... I wish the rain would just go away for two weeks. I'm not depressed or sad, just unable to get myself motivated to do anything. Writing this post is an attempt to get motivated. :)

Things accomplished with the story: Sat down with the steampunk novel again Thursday evening with the intention of adding in set dressing and character descriptions. Added a Prologue instead- and then ran through the rest of the text on an editing pass. 5k words added, 2k words deleted.

Upcoming: Get myself motivated to add the set dressing and character descriptions that the manuscript sorely lacks in most spots.

Sample teaser text:

"Harris," said the Captain. "Signal Lexington and Detroit to position themselves to our North and South at a distance of three quarters of a mile, and ask them to keep a sharp lookout for other unidentified airships. Cyril, spin us around again to face East."

"Spinning now, Captain," Cyril said.

"Done, sir. Signals sent and confirmations received," Harris said. "Signal from Lady Cita, sir."

"Oh? What does she say, Harris?"

"Her lookouts report that the approaching airships bear no markings at all. She says-" Harris paused, his face frowning in concentration.

"Harris?"

"Sorry, Captain," Harris replied. "She stopped speaking English for a moment and I had to translate. Her Spanish is very rapid. But she says that they're either pirates, or idiots, or both. She's- Well, sir..."

"Never heard such language from a lady before now, eh Harris?" Captain Resthal grinned.

"She's switching languages faster than I can keep up, sir," Harris replied. "Spanish, French, German, Greek, what sounds like Apache - but I don't speak that one. Now she's cursing in Russian, sir. From what I can make out, she thinks that something stinks. These two airships are outnumbered and out-gunned, but they keep on coming closer. Signal coming through in English now, sir. She says that she thinks that it's a trap."

"The Specials and our sister airships are in position, sir," Mister Wilson reported. "Should I assign one Special to guard our rear?"

"Mister Wilson," replied the Captain. "You just read my mind. Do exactly that. There's something wrong. I can feel it. Cita is right, this feels like a trap.Where are we not looking? That's where the enemy will be..."

"The only place we're not watching," said Cyril. "Is the ground. And the sea, I suppose."

"Ah!" said the Captain. He looked at Wilson, but before he could say a word, Wilson turned to the communications station and began shouting.

"Ventral lookouts, all ships! Watch the ground and the sea," Wilson ordered."Dorsal lookouts, all ships! Watch out for anything in the skys!"

"Incoming! Lookouts report rockets fired," Harris said. "They're- they're targeting the city! Sky Queen is firing all guns at the rockets, sir. She's dropping down below us to try and stop those rockets."

"Cyril, pick a target," Captain Resthal said. The anger in his voice was frightening. "Ready all weapons. Heat Ray, make ready to fire."

"Target chosen, sir," said Cyril. "All engines online and running. Ready to apply the emergency engines."

"Engine Room," the Captain said. "Emergency thrust! Full steam ahead!"



Things accomplished IRL: Slept almost all day after I got home from working night shift over the weekend. Worked outside yesterday. I managed to get three post holes dug for the fence, posts put in them but not tamped in tightly, and I tacked horizontal connectors between the fence posts to anchor the top of the fence & the cover. Can't do anything outside yet today because the rain returned. There were three or four days *while* I was working that were nice and clear. Sadly, As I said earlier, I slept away my first day off and only got to do any work yesterday.

Things I need to do: Finish the fencing, run a couple of errands, get motivated! I'm betting that at best I'll only get those last two accomplished today.

Dan

1:12pm: Feeling far better than yesterday
OK, I am feeling much less frightened & depressed today. Thanks to comments on Facebook and Live Journal, I decided to back off from the novel and give it a good re-think.

The result? The book has now been split into *four* parts. Each one is now a separate file in my word processor. For now each part will be treated as a separate entry in a series. Edits and rewrites of the Draft Zero of what is *now* Part Four will begin next week on my days off. Any urge I get to add new material today will be directed towards the first three parts. Sunday through Wed. I'll be working night shift.

What are the different parts about? I'm glad you asked.

Part 1 - Invasion: 1812
A retelling of the War of 1812-1814 as if it were an alien invasion. HG Wells was gently pick-pocketed for the prologue I wrote this morning. Don't have a protagonist in mind for this bit yet.

Part 2 - Live Free Or Die!
A retelling of the 1860-1865 Civil War as if it were an alien invasion rather than the North against the South. Following my hero through all the battles he takes part in.

Part 3 - Special Forces
1865-1870something - My hero's adventures as a Secret Service agent.

Part 4 - Against the Airship Pirates
Set sometime around 1875, I haven't nailed it down any closer. This is the bit that is the finished Draft Zero rough draft. Have to think of a new title, too. 'Cause there didn't turn out to be as many airship pirates in the plot as I originally thought there would be.

We follow my hero in a globe-trotting adventure as he defies his orders to arrest or execute the woman he loves, a South American airship pirate Queen. Watch as they team up to uncover a plot to trick the two lovers into killing each other- As in the background, the real villain schemes to bring about a world war so that he can rule the survivors from his hidden lair. Thrills! Chills! Airship battles! Death, danger, and really good food! Romance between star-crossed lovers long divided by their duties to their different countries! Plus! A special guest appearance by someone who pretty much *has* to be Zorro for that damn chapter to work!

OK, you get the idea. :) Part 4 is a fun romp. Adventure and romance in an airship that can, in an emergency, scream through the sky at the heady speed of 4 to 6 miles per minute!

If anyone wonders why they can't type exclamation points today, it's because I used up the entire world's supply for the day. Told you I felt better. :)

Dan