Tag Archives: Fiction

Conflict: reviewing a year of writing

Time for another review of writing techniques, based on the last year’s work. Let’s talk about conflict. Lesson #1: Personal conflict works. Some of the better parts of Martha’s Children, notably Nora’s tense interview with her parish priest, are driven … Continue reading

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Abigail Lane begins her investigation of the Office, 1934

An extract from the unpublished memoir of Abigail Lane, in response to a reader’s request. This memoir was found in a box in Miss Lane’s house in Connecticut when it was being demolished in 2008. Although I had offered him … Continue reading

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Closing out the year on the Sillyverse blog

2013 was a good year for the Sillyverse blog. I wrote, you all replied. So this end of year will sum up what I did, what you did, and what’s to come. What did I do? In 2013, I finished … Continue reading

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The final chapter of Nightfeather: Ghosts

Nightfeather: Ghosts, my Christmastime ghost story about Persephone Désirée Arabia Nightfeather Sanderson and the ghosts she encountered in Farnham, is now at its end with a final chapter. There’s not much more to say, except that if you haven’t been reading it … Continue reading

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Chapter 19 of Nightfeather: Ghosts is up!

There’s a line in the film An American Werewolf in London, in which the ghost of the protagonist’s friend says to him something like, “You know what’s it’s like being dead? It’s boring!” Well, I suppose when you’re part of a race … Continue reading

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Chapter 11 of Nightfeather: Ghosts

Armed with a sack of flour, Sanderson is willing to do battle with the ghosts that are slaying people in Farnham. But being willing does not necessarily mean being successful, and sometimes even successes don’t turn out the way one … Continue reading

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Chapter 2 of Nightfeather:Ghosts, and Tarot

Telling fortunes is easy, no? There are so many rich fortune tellers. Yeah, right, in your dreams. Sanderson plays Madame Fortuna to earn a few bucks. But it’s not always easy money. Find out how it can go wrong in chapter … Continue reading

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A Christmas ghost story

Nightfeather: Ghosts is the title of this year’s Christmas ghost story, which I begin telling today and will finish on or before December 24. What’s it about? Well, ghosts, of course. And a strange young woman named Sanderson, who has … Continue reading

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The next story is a ghost story

There once was a tradition that people would tell ghost stories around Christmas time, especially on Christmas Eve. Victorian authors adapted the tradition, writing ghost stories for the December issue or Christmas annual of whatever periodicals they wrote for. The … Continue reading

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A Halloween short story: Dead Cellphone

According to WordPress, I just hit 200 people following this blog on the 25th. So, between that and Halloween, it’s time to celebrate with an original horror story. And here’s the link to it: it is called “Dead Cellphone.” “Dead … Continue reading

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