Shanna Wynne

So.

I’ve got a new Taskmaster.

He’s finally started really kicking me in the butt about my writing. Mostly because I started the first real novel and now he’s excited.

Of course, I’m referring to my husband. The wonderful Marquis Wynne. Who punishes me harshly when I don’t get my pages done. When he sees that I wasted time blogging he’ll probably beat me with razor chains and fluffy bunnies.

(I stole the razor chains line from a friend on Zoetrope, Lucas Pederson. Thanks Lucas!)

He’s also pushing me to blog more often, and unload some of my back log (the stuff I’m concerned doesn’t really belong anywhere in the publishing world) onto the website. Since I haven’t posted any new stories for reading, he’s making me. It’s a good thing. I don’t post them in the hopes an editor will brush across the website and fall madly in love with my writing style. (Though if that happened, I’m not going to argue.) I post it for you, my lovely readers, of which at least 4 stop by every day. Which I think is amazing. I’m nobody and four different people stop by my website a day? Wow.

There’s going to be a new feature, as you’ve probably already noticed. It’s called “Free Fiction of the Month.” I’ll post a new story up on the main page and you can stop by and read, as well as comment. (Which you can’t do in the Free Library.) It’ll stay up until the end of the month, where I’ll retire it to the Free Library and post a new story. I will also do my darnedest to keep it fairly close to the top for the entire month.

**

As for the Novel front, it’s coming along pretty good. I’ve got a goal, the hubby is brow-beating me to keep it. I want to finish around page 400. I’m going to sit down for some time today or tomorrow to start an outline, something to keep me focused on the story.

My only real problem writing the novel is that I tend to ramble in my writing. I know that not everything in the first draft will be good. That doesn’t concern me. It’s when I write something I just KNOW I will end up editing out, and then I wonder, “Why bother writing this?” And I feel the urge to just go back and erase it all that I get into trouble. Where do I draw the line?

So I keep pushing forward. Through the tough scenes and the boring mud until I reach a fresh, back on track point. Mentally I make a note that this area will require serious editing.. .when I’m done.

**

Well, it’s Saturday night. That means it’s Saturday Night Horror Fest. We’ve got Feast and the straight-to-DVD Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds. As well as “The Midnight Meat Train.” There will be reviews tomorrow.

So keep on trucking, readers and writers. There will always be room for a little more horror in your life. Maybe in the next year I’ll be the author on the shelves providing it.

Vampire Skeleton Found! (click to read the actual article)

Looky here! A second blog in March. Maybe I’ll get back into the habit of writing 3 or more a week.

As is, a friend in the Horror Library office on Zoetrope turned me to this article about archaeologists digging up a mass grave in Italy. The grave was a dumping place for people who died of the plague. Along with some other interesting pictures, there was this.

Since people back in the day didn’t understand the decomposition process, they believe a body that had black, viscous fluids dripping from its mouth was a vampire, resting after a night of feeding. Especially when the shroud covering the body was torn around the teeth. It was sign the vampire had been “chewing” on its shroud. They also believed this was how the plague spread. To prevent this, they shoved a rock into the mouth of bodies believed to be that of the Undead.

Interesting, huh? Go ahead and click the picture to read more.

***

Right now, on the writing front, I’m working on a new project to help me finish my novel. A story that was supposed to be 5 or 6 thousand words is turning into a novel. The story in my head has grown too big for its britches and needs the space to grow. So, first novel it will be.

Also I’ve got some stories I’m looking for places to sub–as we speak, in another tab.

And I still need to buy my hard copy of Darkened Horizons. There can’t be anything better for a writer’s confidence than holding a hard copy of their work. I can’t wait to put it on my bookshelf so I can point it out to friends and family and say, “See? I have been put in a book!”

I’m still figuring how to set up my “writing zone.” I’m debating on whether or not to really take that spot in the garage or just settle for turning the computer desk in my station, and use the hallway closet for my office stuff. But really, is there enough room on this desk for all my office supplies? No. My habit needs space. So soon enough, when the pictures are on the wall and everything really is put away I’ll have time to set up my office in the garage. Either way, I’m happy.

***

Spring Break is coming up. I don’t know what I’m going to do with the boy at home for a week. I’m kind of terrified of summer now.

Just this Sunday, we had a friend and her daughter over for dinner. After we’d eaten and were just chit-chatting, my son stands up–finds the missing new pair of underwear I couldn’t find earlier, still taped into a tube shape, and says, “I’m going to put my underwear on!”

We all laughed a little and I couldn’t help but ask, “Are you wearing underwear now?”

He nodded in the affirmative, turned around and pull down his pants to show us his Scooby Doo undies.

Can you see why I fear the coming week? That boy is crazy!

I wonder who he gets that from….

***

I haven’t a clue what else to put here. I’ve got laundry to put away. So technically, it’s not Laundry Day, but a continuation of Laundry Day. Either way, it’s still a dangerous day.

Not to say I’m not writing. Really I’m just not putting anything down on paper. There’s a couple of cool stories brewing in my brain, some already half-written down stuff that’s brewing to a nice finish. I just haven’t had the energy or the motivation to sit down and get it all out. Partly because with the MOVE just last week, I still have a ton of unpacking to do. (I’ll post pictures of the garage filled with boxes later today.)

I’ll be honest. One of the percolating stories is about a gas stove. I am terrified of my new (as in new to me) gas stove. Cooking on it is a heart attack. I’ve made 3 meals on it. Sausage and cheesy shells (1 pot), tacos (1 pan and 1 baking pan), and breakfast for dinner (2 pans and 1 baking pan). We invited a friend and her daughter over for dinner this weekend. I’m making chicken fried steak. (Also known as country fried steak to the Yanks, but down here it’s chicken fried.) To make said meal requires 1 pan, 2 pots and a baking pan for biscuits.

I have until Sunday to conquer my fear or die a slow, embarrassing death.

Thankfully, our new landlords are cool people and when I expressed fear and concern over the gas stove when we looked at the house, they told us they’d be more than happy to try and find an electric stove if I can’t handle the gas.

So there is that. If I completely freak out, I can be saved. But I’m not willing to give up yet. If I can learn to drive a stick, I can learn to cook on a gas stove. At least I don’t have to light the thing every time I use it. That really freaked me out.

See, this all stems from a bad experience when I was about 6 or 7, at the oldest. I was visiting my aunt for a couple weeks in the summer and she had an old timey gas stove–the kind you need to light each time.

Well, my Aunt was always big about encouraging us to try new things–especially when it came to house wife type stuff, so she asked me one night to light the burner. I had the match lit, came close to the burner and it went right up in flames like it’s supposed to. But it still scared the shit out of me.

I guess that doesn’t really qualify as a bad experience then, huh? It’s more like a lingering childhood superstition. Fire + gas stove = BAD.

***

Aside from the inspiration in the kitchen, I’ve had to make some sacrifices in the new house. The bedrooms aren’t as big as the trailer’s bedrooms, so there’s no room in our new bedroom for either desk. The computer desk is now in the living room–which is fine–except that it doesn’t really afford me the privacy to write in peace like my old desk did. Much less find tranquility and peace by playing with my office supplies. (Office supplies are like catnip to me.)

Besides all that, I’ve grown used to having a space of my own. It’s something I need. Just a little corner of my own to go to when I need to reclaim a bit of the old me.

But, as there always is, the garage is pretty big. It might be one car, but we’ve never had a garage before. The hubby already set up his drums. (The very first thing he unpacked–and about the only thing so far he’s unpacked.) There is a little rectangular nook in the back of the garage, just a hide away for the washer and dryer. But since we have neither (and don’t plan to get either any time soon), it would just go to waste. So I’m going to do a minor bit of remodeling (as in hang some nice fabric on the wall to make it pretty, throw in a rug or some left over carpet on the floor, and find a cheap set of decent curtains that I can put up to cover up the fact that I use the space set aside for the washer/dryer as a desk area) and take that spot for my own. I’ll have to share the garage with the drums, but that’s okay.

My sister in law had to buy a new laptop since hers went kaput, but it’s a kaput the hubby thinks he can fix, so the sister in law offered to give it to him/us so that I can use it for my own nefarious writing purposes. (Insert big smile here.) So I will soon enough have a mobile computer of my own again.

***

None of this will come about until I finish unpacking. *sigh* I’m down a bookshelf–one broke on the moving truck, but I figured it would. It had reached the end of it’s life. The nicer of the bookshelves is in my bedroom operating as a vcr/dvd player, satellite receiver, night stand right now. But it will fill most of the way up with books again later today. The other is in the living room. I’m torn now with how to arrange the books, where to put my Top Shelf picks, etc.

Either way, I have to either store away a bunch of books, give them away, or trade them for credit at the used book store. I mean, I have room for storage now… but I hate keeping books in a box. They deserve better, they really do.

It doesn’t help that I’ve made 2 trips to the used book store recently and now have about 10 more books to find places for, does it?

***

Keep an eye out for pictures later today. I am not even going to try to find a funny cat picture right now. Besides, y’all don’t much seem to care about funny lolcat pictures anyway.

Wish I had something funny to say though. I prefer to end on some kind of humorous note… I’ve got nothing. Alas, that’s how it is at 7 am.

Just letting any visitors know that if you stop by within the next few hours and the site looks something akin to a zombie’s face after three days brainless, it’s cause I’m playing around with some changes.

But don’t worry. It’ll be good as new (or back to old) tomorrow.

Thanks!

~Shanna

Edit:

Let me know what you think of the new header image. I have so much fun making them, I’d like to know what everyone thinks. (I showed it to the hubby when I finished and as he read it aloud, he laughed. I always know I’ve done something good when he laughs.