J.A. Marlow » Writing http://jamarlow.com The Writer: Socially-Sanctioned insanity. Gotta love it! Mon, 14 May 2012 15:00:14 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Day 11 – Short Story Update #storyaday http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-11-short-story-update-storyaday/ http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-11-short-story-update-storyaday/#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 05:23:21 +0000 JA Marlow http://jamarlow.com/?p=874 Mary Celeste Adrift 5471 Words

When low-ranking crewmember Riya Cobley is forced to join an away-team they find the adrift spacefreightor “Mary Celeste” in good working order but no trace of a crew, when alarms sound in both ships…

Well, I did the Flying Dutchman. I might as well do the Mary Celeste, too!

[...]]]> Mary Celeste Adrift
5471 Words

When low-ranking crewmember Riya Cobley is forced to join an away-team they find the adrift spacefreightor “Mary Celeste” in good working order but no trace of a crew, when alarms sound in both ships…

Well, I did the Flying Dutchman. I might as well do the Mary Celeste, too! :D

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J.A. Marlow

Flying Dutchman of the Spacelanes

Trapped, Sora races to escape the deserted Flying Dutchman of the Spacelanes, only to find the true nature of the cursed ghost-ship could give her the dream of a lifetime.

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]]> http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-11-short-story-update-storyaday/feed/ 6 Day 8 – Short Story Update #storyaday http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-8-short-story-update-storyaday/ http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-8-short-story-update-storyaday/#comments Wed, 09 May 2012 08:09:32 +0000 JA Marlow http://jamarlow.com/?p=869 Song of the Flying Dutchman 9177 words

No, there was not an update on the 7th. That’s because I was mired in a story that kept going… and going… and going…

When it was finally done, it informed me there was a bunch more to go. Yeah, yeah, I know. Wow, do I know. Not [...]]]> Song of the Flying Dutchman
9177 words

No, there was not an update on the 7th. That’s because I was mired in a story that kept going… and going… and going…

When it was finally done, it informed me there was a bunch more to go. Yeah, yeah, I know. Wow, do I know. Not nearly enough got tied up in this story as I hoped.

I’ll have to think a bit on what form the next story after will take. In the meantime,, on to the next short story!

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J.A. Marlow

The Art of Negotiation

After overseeing the downsizing of the construction facility at Arcturus, Zada Harper finds herself the next target of the ISC Corporation, but she isn’t about to go quietly.

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]]> http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-8-short-story-update-storyaday/feed/ 1 Day 6 – Short Story Update #storyaday http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-6-short-story-update-storyaday/ http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-6-short-story-update-storyaday/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 18:12:57 +0000 JA Marlow http://jamarlow.com/?p=865 Trim the Flying Dutchman 5012 Words

Colors of the Flying Dutchman 7501 Words

I took day 5 off from the Forward Motion Story-A-Day May challenge. The brain just would not cooperate. Instead, I took a nice long nap and took the time off for the luxury of watching a movie. It must have worked, because [...]]]> Trim the Flying Dutchman
5012 Words

Colors of the Flying Dutchman
7501 Words

I took day 5 off from the Forward Motion Story-A-Day May challenge. The brain just would not cooperate. Instead, I took a nice long nap and took the time off for the luxury of watching a movie. It must have worked, because not only was I able to write 2 stories on day 6, they were also longer. The result was in a 12513 word day!

The Flying Dutchman short stories continue! I have one more to do in this set, which will hopefully be completed on day 7. Whee!

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J.A. Marlow

Mop Jockeys and Figher Pilots

The war killed any emotion in Captain Carme Batista but Felix the janitor refuses to believe it, but will a brutal battle reveal she’s more alive inside than she thought?

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]]> http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-6-short-story-update-storyaday/feed/ 0 Day 5 – Short Story Update #storyaday http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-5-short-story-update-storyaday/ http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-5-short-story-update-storyaday/#comments Sun, 06 May 2012 05:27:35 +0000 JA Marlow http://jamarlow.com/?p=863 Flying Dutchaman Dreaming 7568 Words

Vist, the Dutchman AI, breaks down, leaving it to Sora and her mental connection with him to solve the riddle before all humans on board pay the ultimate price.

Day 4 was not a good day for higher brain function. Some days are like that. I made notes on this [...]]]> Flying Dutchaman Dreaming
7568 Words

Vist, the Dutchman AI, breaks down, leaving it to Sora and her mental connection with him to solve the riddle before all humans on board pay the ultimate price.

Day 4 was not a good day for higher brain function. Some days are like that. I made notes on this story, but that was about it. Considering I averaged 2 stories a day for the first three days of the Forward Motion Story-A-Day May challenge, I figured I could afford to rest.

For those of you who are curious, perhaps recognizing part of the title… yes, this is a sequel to the “Flying Dutchman of the Spacelanes” novelette. The Flying Dutchman, um, flies again :D

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J.A. Marlow

Flying Dutchman of the Spacelanes

Trapped, Sora races to escape the deserted Flying Dutchman of the Spacelanes, only to find the true nature of the cursed ghost-ship could give her the dream of a lifetime.

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]]> http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-5-short-story-update-storyaday/feed/ 0 Day 3 – Short Stories Update http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-3-short-stories-update/ http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-3-short-stories-update/#comments Fri, 04 May 2012 06:02:12 +0000 JA Marlow http://jamarlow.com/?p=858 Another good day of writing with two new short stories finished, topping out at over 6600 total new words for the day. I would have had time for a third, but exhaustion hit me. Hopefully I will feel better in the morning and able to hit it again. For those keeping track, this makes 6 [...]]]> Another good day of writing with two new short stories finished, topping out at over 6600 total new words for the day. I would have had time for a third, but exhaustion hit me. Hopefully I will feel better in the morning and able to hit it again. For those keeping track, this makes 6 short stories for the month.

I’m happy with how the stories turned out. They were a calmer kind of story, which is a nice change of pace. Just the right thing to write on a rainy day.

Teacup Mountain
3123 Words

Tilly Simpson and her class graduate with grand plans for a future in the Galactic Commonwealth, only is it really what she wants, or does Teacup Mountain have something else in mind?

A Purple Life
3548 Words

Teenager Isa Grayson lives on the most boring planet ever, when a chance meeting with an aspect of a past she barely remembers threatens to upend her boring life.

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J.A. Marlow

Children of Jad Omnibus

The day started with Elvy Akuma enjoying a day out in the forests of the planet Jad with her parents. It ended with her life changed forever… This 48,400 word Omnibus is a collection of the four Children of Jad novelettes at a bargain price, completing the entire story arc in one volume.

The collection includes:
Glint of a Suncatcher
Glint of a Ring
Glint of an Artifact
Glint of a Tower

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]]> http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-3-short-stories-update/feed/ 0 Day Two Short Stories Update http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-two-short-stories-update/ http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-two-short-stories-update/#comments Thu, 03 May 2012 06:16:50 +0000 JA Marlow http://jamarlow.com/?p=854 Only one short story for today for the Forward Motion Story-A-Day challenge, but it was a longer one. I also didn’t have as much time to write as I did on the first. Those few extra hours really made the difference.

Sounds like I’m apologizing for only 6500 words in a day, doesn’t it? Not [...]]]> Only one short story for today for the Forward Motion Story-A-Day challenge, but it was a longer one. I also didn’t have as much time to write as I did on the first. Those few extra hours really made the difference.

Sounds like I’m apologizing for only 6500 words in a day, doesn’t it? :P Not really. Considering how this day went, I’m very pleased.

The Wish Orphan
6534 Words

Opal’s parents latest obsession of frontier-world mining ends in disaster, leaving her alone and penniless, when she finds the key to her future may rest in her past wishes.

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J.A. Marlow

The Art of Negotiation

After overseeing the downsizing of the construction facility at Arcturus, Zada Harper finds herself the next target of the ISC Corporation, but she isn’t about to go quietly.

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]]> http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-two-short-stories-update/feed/ 2 Day One Short Stories (May FMWriters Story-A-Day Challenge) http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-one-short-stories-may-fmwriters-story-a-day-challenge/ http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-one-short-stories-may-fmwriters-story-a-day-challenge/#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 08:13:56 +0000 JA Marlow http://jamarlow.com/?p=852 Notice how the title of this post is plural? Yep, that’s right. May 1st was good for not just one new short story, not two of them, but THREE! Beware the plot bunnies around my writing office. The things are vicious. 9627 words in one day kind of vicious!

Why do I suddenly feel like [...]]]> Notice how the title of this post is plural? Yep, that’s right. May 1st was good for not just one new short story, not two of them, but THREE! Beware the plot bunnies around my writing office. The things are vicious. 9627 words in one day kind of vicious!

Why do I suddenly feel like it’s Nano-time? :P

So, here are the short stories completed today, complete with descriptions:

Are We There Yet?
3854 Words

“Are we there yet?” The Larson family leave on their annual Venus vacation in a short space-RV jaunt, discovering no matter how much things change, the more they stay the same.

Gaslight Tea Party
2722 Words

Claire loves to play with what everyone assumes is her imaginary friend, when newly installed streetlights reveal her playmate for all to see.

In An Invisible Downpour
3051 Words

For Moon colinist Mika, taking shelter from a solar flare is common practice, when an accident maroons her in the path of a deadly invisible downpour.

Before anyone asks, NO, I do not expect to keep up this pace for the rest of the month. Hah!

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Spires Short Story CoverJ.A. Marlow

Spires

A failure-of-a-telepath crosses paths with a smart-mouthed kid on the run with a stolen alien artifact, only to find the destructive vines infiltrating the city have plans for them both. A science fiction short story. This edition includes the complete bonus story, “In the Cauldron”

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]]> http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/day-one-short-stories-may-fmwriters-story-a-day-challenge/feed/ 0 May Story-A-Day Challenge is ON! http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/may-story-a-day-challenge-is-on/ http://jamarlow.com/2012/05/may-story-a-day-challenge-is-on/#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 00:48:10 +0000 JA Marlow http://jamarlow.com/?p=848 The annual Forward Motion May “Story-A-Day” challenge starts today! The challenge was started over 10 years ago by Holly Lisle, sort of a Nanowrimo for short stories. This is the second year I’ve participated, and I’ve been looking forward to it for months. The only real rules are that the stories must be at leat [...]]]> The annual Forward Motion May “Story-A-Day” challenge starts today! The challenge was started over 10 years ago by Holly Lisle, sort of a Nanowrimo for short stories. This is the second year I’ve participated, and I’ve been looking forward to it for months. The only real rules are that the stories must be at leat 500 words long, and they must be new stories never written on before.

There are five levels of participation:

  • Beginners Level: 5 stories (‘My life is killing me already!’ level)
  • Apprentice Level: 10 stories (‘I have a life’ level)
  • Journeyman Level: 15 stories (‘I don’t have much of a life’ level)
  • Master Level: 20 stories (‘I have no life’ level)
  • Insane Level: 31 stories — The real story a day! (‘I have a time machine and know how to use it’ level)

Guess what level this crazy writer is trying before, even though I’m taking a writer’s workshop in the middle of the month? Go on, guess. I dare you! :P

Like last year, I’m using this blog to help motivate me. There is a tracker in the right column now, and I’ll also post about the newest story completed.

So, off we go into May! I’m hoping it’ll be a great month!

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J.A. Marlow

Welcome to Salmon Run, Alaska! A place of wild animals, wild land, and wild inhabitants…oh, and native legends come alive and an inter-planetary alien conflict at their backdoor.

When Zach Callahan and his father, Hawk, arrive unprepared for a new life in the wilds of Alaska they find the first challenge is just getting to the small town of Salmon Run. They think they have it made once they get to the Solar Express, the unique train that will take them through a dark roadless wilderness to their new home.

The same night a massive display of the Aurora Borealis lights up the sky.

With the Solar Express shutting itself down, stranding its passengers in the middle of nowhere, Zach and a new friend find themselves on a collision course with an alien spaceship hidden under the snow and ice.

Right under the path of the rescuers. A spacehip also feeling the effects of the light show…

A 37800 word, 152 page (approximate), Alaskan science fiction stand-alone novella in the Salmon Run series by J.A. Marlow.

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