Kate Swenson

I get until midnight-right?   I am 11 pages from reaching the end of the third and final edit. I will need my head lamp and some snacks, because it's a little murky down there. Apparently in the excitement to write "THE END" and the eagerness to start on book two, someone got little harsh and cliffhangery.  Tsk tsk.  Everyone know that a satisfying ending needs must be. It's the literary equivalent of an after meal espresso and square of dark chocolate. Deceptively simple, but perfectly rich. You want to leave fondly reminiscing over the quality of the meal, not giving in to the pressing need to find your fat pants. After I master that simple little task (snort) I will dose my badguy with that evil juice I have been brewing for some time.  I believe I will be able to do these things before the clock strikes Oct 2. Ah the good old days! Then I will shout "technicalvictory!" and claim my mini-self-prize......a manipedi!...

T he place was dead as a windshield. She gave the bar top another pointless mirror polish and then she felt it. After all these years she could still sense when The Season began, not in her loins or her blood, but an echo deep in the lacuna of her exoskeleton. She lit a smoke, taking a satisfied gander at her retirement plan. She was long past fertile and now she had a different kind of vault to fill. This little hole-in-the-wall had been just the ticket. It was stocked and ready. Soon it would be crawling with every young bug in the city hopped up on hormones and grass clippings, filling the air with a miasma of pheromones thick enough to choke a lady cockroach and definitely turn one on. With oscitated jaws and frisky antennas, bugs would buy her booze and rub legs across the table until it was time to get to the propagating. Inevitably there would be one lone fellow left moping after the last pair skittered out. She’d eat him; head first this year. Some cal...

Today has been all about getting my house cleaned up before my next round of jobs kick in, but wanted to post a little sumpin. I have a major cybercrush on Chuck Wendig at terribleminds (shhh - don't tell) and I took his Friday Flash Fiction challenge.  One story in three sentences.  Here's mine. “A place for everything,” she croaked, lurching to her feet in a swirl of cat and hair. Brushing the crumbs from her chin and clutching the new treasure, she made her way down the narrow path, straightening the newest tower of phone books and tucking stray receipts back into bundles until she reached the bread boxes. “This is your place,” she whispered, nestling the tender crust in amongst its hard and moldy brothers. Clearly influenced by my fall cleaning, though (despite what my husband thinks) I am not a hoarder. So back to my Friday clean-a-thon.  On a final note, here are some things I found in my office today:  3 lost earrings, one wolf's ear, a foam pear, ...

It appears that I have already broken my own blog rules by not posting for an entire week. Nice, Swenson, real nice.  I was imprisoned by an evil sapling? No, no evil sapling to blame. It was writing that kept me from blogging. I have been committed to keeping my Oct 1 deadline to be Done Done with Children of Utrøst.  And boy-howdy is my work cut out for me. The ending is a big hairy mess which needs rewriting. My villain needs a good dose of evil juice, which is currently bubbling on the back burner, still needs a pinch of unicorn blood. And somehow I must trim my word count so it looks good in a bikini. I am all for a good Brazilian, but I think I've already done all the major clearing and will have to get out the tweezers. (Classy-no?) Can all this be done by 10/1/11?  Without resulting in this? Not That Uncommon. You'll be the first to know. A week late. TEN DAYS TO OCTOBER 1!

Just enjoyed a weekend at the Kite Festival in Pacific Beach, WA.  With the sound of the ocean in your ear, plenty of Bloody Mary in your veins, and the gentle sway of the kites all around you, it's basically like spending the weekend inside a tropical fish tank. So. Chill. Let your Frog Flag fly! Did you know there was such a thing as Stunt Kiters? (Try saying that 3x fast without being a dirty bird!) Stunt Kiters, who are real, might just connect on the beach with like-skilled folk they've never met before and spend hours shoulder to shoulder making their kites dance in an impossibly synchronized dance. How?  How? Even up close it doesn't look real. So cool. I just love discovering a new nerd pocket! You know, one of those weird hobby/obsessions/lifestyles that make you say, "That's a thing?" It could be LARPers, adventure racers, urban farmers, part-time zombies, scooter clubs, or rabid collectors of Weird Item X. I love knowing that t...

Here are the rules of the first challenge for the Write Campaign .  Write a short story/ flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “The door swung open.” If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), use the same beginning words and end with the words: "the door swung shut." For those who want an even greater challenge, make your story 200 words EXACTLY!   I f you watched the video in my last post you KNOW I took both of the extra challanges.  Nerd power!!! Between The Rock and A Hard Place The door swung open, completing its dramatic arch and return, then slamming closed in her face. So much for slinking in unnoticed. Gingerly she tested the end of her nose, relieved when it did not wheeze like an accordion. The wood grain was quite lovely up close. In the long second before kissing oak, she’d glimpsed him sitting on the white couch su...

Are you done yet? Um. No.  Well, yes.  But, no. It's a valid question. Truth is there are all kinds of "done" in the writing process: done with the first draft, done with second draft, done with crit group edits, done with rewriting, and capital D - Done. I get pretty excited every time I reached a done. I like celebrations -- there's dancing, hooting, and martini sipping.  So when can I officially say I am Done and sip my martini straight from the pitcher? In my mind Done is when this current WIP is beautified to the point that it can be sent out to agents. Then it becomes the book I am selling and something new will snag the title of WIP.  I am looking forward to that part of the adventure.  My goal is to be Done by October 1.  Will that happen?  Maybe-we will jump in that well when we get to it. It's all pretty clear to me, but it's hard to explain to my interested and supportive friends and family. ...

Leapin' Liebsters! Feeling kinda sparklie because the dashing T.B. McKenzie over at Magickless has gifted me with an award for bloggers with less than 200 followers.  (He is also under the impression that I am an Aussie - which is totally not true, but makes me feel ultra cool.)  Thanks T.B.! And now a big drum roll for Ms. Saba who I am nominating for her very own Liebster Blog Award in honor of our shared love of Amelia Bedelia. My preferred cover art. Speaking of ultra cool - I thought you all might enjoy this video.  It's a little something put together by one of the theatres I work for - a fun way for the kids to get to know the directors and shows before they audition for the upcoming season.  I am SO EXCITED because this winter I will be directing an adaptation of A Wrinkle In Time one of my favorite books EVER!!  I travel back in time to let my younger nerd have a say.  Good for a giggle. Check it out!