What I Am Reading

Elizabeth Bear’s All the Windwracked Stars is proving to be a complex and rather fascinating read.

A Stroke of Dumb Luck By Shiloh Walker, on Tor.com, is a fun urban fantasy story that does an excellent job of establishing the world all the while maintaining tension:
http://www.tor.com/stories/2010/07/a-stroke-of-dumb-luck.

Another road trip means more audio short stories. These are my favorite of those I listened to (all from Beneath Ceaseless Skies (www.beneathceaselessskies.com) because that’s what I had on my MP3):

The Woman and the Mountain by Sarah L. Edwards
As the Prairie Grasses Sing by Sarah L. Edwards
Waiting for Number Five by Tom Crosshill
and Pale by Kathryn Allen

Life

A look at how being success driven affects a person and where to find meaning in life:
http://chipmacgregor.typepad.com/main/2010/07/what-is-success.html

Submitting

What to think about before you pitch your book:
http://blog.writersdigest.com/norules/2010/07/29/WhatWritersWishTheydKnownBeforePitching.aspx

A solid approach to synopsis writing that may appeal to some of you.
http://bonniers.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/guest-post-david-bridger

Science

A fascinating adaptation in moles that surprised researchers:
http://www.livescience.com/animals/eastern-moles-adaptation-subterranean-life-100726.html

Dismissal of early medical practices by “modern medicine” may be changing at least where fevers are concerned as new hard evidence supports their beneficial aspects:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727711.400-fever-friend-or-foe.html?full=true

Writing

A glimpse into the past of many authors and what affected their road to publication:
http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2010/07/mind-meld-the-best-writing-advice-i-ever-received/

Some notes on composing your opening sentence:
http://writingright-martin.blogspot.com/2010/08/part-v-suspense-opening-sentences.html

Promoting

Some basic social media tips that, while not new to most, serve as a good reminder:
http://cluculzwriter.blogspot.com/2010/08/ask-pzm-august-2010.html

Starting with this post, here’s a week worth of blogging tips written by funny, blunt author Tawna Fenske:
http://tawnafenske.blogspot.com/2010/08/if-you-blog-it-they-will-come.html