Zombies, Vampires, Genetically Altered Rats and Robots.

I'm a fan of a blog called Paperback Writer. Lynn Viehl is a very prolific writer and I am in awe of the amount of work she puts out every year. I'm not necessarily a fan of her genre, but since I found her blog and found her to be so entertaining, I do plan on picking up her science fiction work. I enjoy reading her advice on the writing process and though I have decided to be an Independent Self-Published Author, her insight on the publishing world is fascinating. Reading about how she does not have control over the titles to her books or the covers made me grateful that I have creative control over what I will be presenting to my readers.

One of the things my husband and I had discussed at the beginning of this endeavor was that we wanted to have free material online for fans to read. We're big believers in the new media and have a lot of respect for Trent Reznor and his recent stand against the big corporations' stranglehold on the creative process. Though I would like to make enough money from my writing to one day be able to stay home and only write, I'm aware of the fact this will take some time and my readership needs to grow. Presenting free works online is a good solid way to bring awareness to my writing and to also give back to the fans who have supported me the last two years with their encouraging words.

While visiting the Lynn's blog, I noticed she had free short stories, writing guides, and short novels for free online at Scribd. I've been slowly reading through these and enjoying them very much. And they are doing their job in that I am now aware that 1) she exists as a writer 2) I enjoy her writing style 3) I want to pick up her books. As I was prowling around Scribd, I realized this was the perfect way to post the works I had wanted to give out free to the public and possibly garner awareness that 1) I am out here 2) I'm a good writer 3) maybe someone will pick up my books.

Therefore, I have now uploaded three vampire tales, one robot tale, and my latest zombie novella. Anyone interested in my writing can visit my Scribd page here. Some of the stories have had a long shelf life on my hard drive and I'm very glad to finally get them out to the general public.

One of the stories, Vengeance, was actually well received by an editor who actually turned it down for her magazine. It was too violent, but she took the time to tell me she did like the story, especially its ending. Maybe it was too controversial with the idea of a battered wife getting her revenge against her abuser from beyond the grave, but I still love the story and it felt great to get it up onto Scribd.

Another one, Flesh and Circuits, was originally written for a robot anthology. I mucked up the original premise trying to get it to fit the guidelines and the editor rejected it. Though I agreed the horror element did not belong, he made quite a few suggestions for the story that did not feel right to me. In fact, my husband was livid over the proposed edits. "That's not your story," he said to me. I considered changing my story completely to try and satisfy the editor, but realized I liked my story as it was. I had no desire to eliminate one character altogether, change the basic plot or throw out the "happy" ending. This was during a time where I was dying to get my foot in the door in the publishing world and it was a rough choice to make. But in the end, I loved my story as it was and was determined to keep it that way. Now you can read the original version on Scribd.

Another short, The Aspect of her Eyes, came to me one night and I could not stop writing until it was done. It is a darkly romantic piece and I really loved the way it flowed. The narrator of the piece is a servant of a master vampire and he/she (it is never clarified which sex the narrator is) observes the great eternal love the vampire has for his bride. It's a story that was very well received by my friends who love the vampire genre and they encouraged me to try and get it published. When I submitted it to a magazine that specializes in the genre, the editors never answered. I was more than glad to dig it out and put it up on Scribd.

The Memoirs of Moniki the Great was a short that I loved writing, but when I got done I had no idea what to do with it. I couldn't even figure out what market it belonged to. But its a fun yet touching story and I wanted to share it. After posting it today, I feel inclined to do a follow up called Moniki and Monsieur Rat versus the Nazis.

The last story I posted today is actually a novella. It is one of the As the World Dies: Untold Tales. It's recent appearance on the forums was very well received, so I thought I would tidy it up a little and post it for the Scribd readers. Also, anyone who enjoyed the story when it was on the other forums can download a complete copy of it on Scribd.

I have some uncompleted short stores tucked away on my computer that I now feel the inclination to finish. At one point I had tried to write short stories to try and pry the door open to the publishing world. The problem was that my short stories were not what magazines or anthologies were looking for. It's rough to break in when the gatekeepers have predetermined concepts of what they want.

I hope to post a fantasy short called Dragons in her Eyes and a vampire short called The Two Mothers in the next few days. I have a few other short stories and novella ideas bouncing around in my head, so those may be posted in the future as well.

I hope you enjoy my works. Please drop me a line and let me know. I always love hearing from the readers.