Off to the cons!

We're off to a couple of sci-fi cons this month--Archon 38 and ConClave 38. What better way to celebrate this wonderful fact than by posting some flash fiction I wrote at the last con we attended, the NASFic DetCon1?

(Okay, there's probably a better way to celebrate, but this is a family friendly blog!) 

Now for the wonderful flash fiction, written under duress in five minutes on a Sunday morning at DetCon1...

Writing prompts: Two old friends, a mistake, an airlock

“No, you did not just do that!”

Bob scowled at his dear old friend Bill. Yeah, Bill was getting forgetful, but he hadn’t slipped into Alzheimer’s quite yet.

“I did. He deserved it, Bob. You heard what he said about the Sixth Doctor. That man deserved to die.”

“But Bill—come on! It was just a flippant remark about a centuries’ old sci-fi TV show... It wasn’t worth it.”

“Yes, it was!" Bill stood proudly. “The entire Doctor Who fandom was at stake. It had to be done.”

“Oh, all right.” Bob sighed. “What do we tell the captain then?”

“We just say Rick stepped out for a breath of fresh air.”

“Fresh air?” Bob smacked his forehead. “Through an airlock? On a space station in geosynchronous orbit around Earth?” He thought for a moment. “Well, all right.”

I'll be posting news about a couple of book contracts I recently lined-up very soon!

Not Quite an "Iron Author" from DetCon1

We're home from the NASFic, aka DetCon1, and still trying to mentally and physically recoup. My husband Adrian took some great photos and put them up on Facebook for all to see. (Click here to see his photos.) I wanted to make sure that anyone who sat in on the "Copyediting--don't fear the editor" panel on Sunday and came looking for my testimonial page knew they'd found the right place. Just head to the top of the page and hit the link that says "editorial services". (No, this blog has not been copyedited. I'm tired. So there!)

We had a lot of fun in Detroit, met some nice folk, and got a couple invites to area conventions to talk about writing, publishing, whatever. Adrian sold two of his world famous bookends in the art show, so all-in-all, not a bad showing.

I thought I'd share a bit of the flash fiction I wrote in the "Iron Author Detroit" contest I participated in Sunday morning. (Yes, it was early on the last day of the con--not the best timing for a contest.) The winner was the fabulous author Lucy A. Snyder, so I don't feel too bad for losing to her at all. However, I do wonder about the sanity of the audience members who came up with the "prompts" we used to write a short story in five minutes. My example below will show you why I have some reservations on their mental stability, as these three words actually made sense or at least more sense than the last three sets of prompts. Enjoy! ;)

Prompts: a Watermelon, a Triceratops, and a Lost Shoe (the secret ingredient)

"Wherever could it be?"

Lilah looked at the trail behind her. No shoe. It must have fallen off after she had forded the stream, after she had eaten some of the delicious wild watermelon, but she was pretty sure she was still wearing it when she scrambled over the sharp rocks near the waterfalls.

"I knew this was a mistake. I knew I should have never listen to Marc (the panel MC). This is beautiful country, but really... What's so special about it?"

She sighed and plopped down on a boulder. That hiking shoe had cost hundreds. She'd never be able to afford another pair anytime soon.

"Why did I believe, Marc?"

Then she heard the sound far-off... Oh, my God! A triceratops was grazing in the meadow below where she sat.

"The Lost World!" she cried. This is why Marc had told her to come here.

I was writing with pen on legal paper since I didn't bring a laptop. I'm not sure the story would have been much longer or better written using a keyboard, but I certainly could have read it with less problems. Deciphering my horrible handwriting a day later is a challenge and a half! 

Feel free to leave a comment below, especially if we met at DetCon1, and feel free to like me on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, etc., at the links on the right side of the page. It was great getting to know you, but now I need to catch up on my sleep. Zzzzz... :)

See you at DetCon1

We'll be seeing you at DetCon1 in Detroit this weekend. It should be a lot of fun and draw a lot of folks, as it's this years N. American Sci-Fi con (since World Con is in London). I'm on two hard science panels (really!) and one editing panel and taking the "Iron Author" challenge. I've never attempted to write flash fiction under pressure in  front of a live audience before, so this should be quite... different! ;)  Be sure to say hello if you see us!  Now at All Romance eBooks, the latest in my Kindred Vampires series for eXtasy Books:   The Vampire Next Door By: Celine Chatillon | Other books by Celine Chatillon Published By: eXtasy Books ISBN # 9781771118644 Word Count: 52832 Available in: Adobe Acrobat, Palm DOC/iSolo, Microsoft Reader, Hiebook, HTML, Mobipocket (.prc), Mobipocket (.mobi), Rocket, Epub Read More