The Journal of Michael Merriam

Wow. I haven’t updated since the first of the month. Things have been busy around here, and I’ve been (unsuccessfully) fighting off the ick. Like I said, though, things have been busy, so here is a little catch up post.

MarsCon was a great success. I had a good time, the panels were smart and well attended, and the convention big enough to be interesting and have energy, but still small enough not to overwhelm me. My reading went well, even if it was sparsely attended. All the panels I sat on were good, solid panels, with “Ask a Writer” probably being my favorite, though it turned into “Ask an Editor” for a long stretch, since all the panelist had editing experience. I was able to manage the dealer’s room at MarsCon, and able to move around on my own pretty well. I call it a success.

We left the con on Saturday night for ladysea’s birthday, which was also a success. It was good to be around great friends, and there was good food and conversation. Also, we got to pitch MarsCon to most of them. They are almost all of them in fandom in one way or another, so I’m hoping to have a few more of my friends at MarsCon next year.

We went to Catherine Lundoff’s (catherineldf) reading at DreamHaven Books. She is an excellent reader and her material was quite enjoyable. Afterwards we went out to Merlins Rest for food and drinks. The food and drinks were good, and it was great hanging out with everyone after the reading, but Merlins was too crowded and noisy for my taste. I would be willing to try it again on weeknight, maybe.

The Stoll Baby Shower was also a great success. More good friends, good food and good times. The expectant parents seemed pleased with the gifts and the out pouring of friendship and love from their friends.

The City of Hopkins hosts “The World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade” and they are not kidding. I think it took the whole parade about 5 minutes to pass. After, we went down to the VFW Post for free hotdogs and soda, but not before walking to the Elk’s Lodge by mistake. Luckily Hopkins is small and the two locations were only about four blocks from each other.

We bought new bedding. It is lovely.

Made a trip to Uncle Sven’s Comics Shoppe in St. Paul to spend a gift certificate I’ve had for years. Picked up two collections and one card game. The shop itself is small, cute, and well-stocked with friendly and knowledgeable staff.

This weekend I have Paganicon (http://tcpaganpride.org/paganicon/). I will be doing a reading/storytelling event on Sunday, where I plan to present “Four Minnesota Fantasy Tales.” Hopefully I am over my sick and my voice holds out.

Line edits on Last Car to Annwn Station are finished and returned to Editor Melissa at Carina Press. It should be a couple of weeks before the CEM arrives. I have a week to finish that, then the manuscript will be complete and delivered. There will be a final proof galley, then at last a book. I can’t wait.

My reading at DreamHaven Books was a success. I started off reading too fast, but got my footing and by the time I read from Last Car to Annwn Station I had settled in. Everyone seemed to enjoy the reading, and several folks said they are looking forward to the novel coming out this summer. We had a great crowd, 41 people by our count.

Super Bowl party was fun, with about 20 people at my house, some of whom cared about the game, many of whom did not, and everyone having fun. There was lots a good food and great company.

Had a nice night out with some other local writer folks. Good conversation, goods people, and a smashing beer and scotch selection at The Muddy Pig in St. Paul.

Speaking of food, we have a new Japanese restaurant in Hopkins, Aji. There is nice review here: http://www.weeklynews.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=8267&SectionID=49&SubSectionID=110&S=1

We went with some friends and found everything cooked to perfection and the sushi bar well presented, with a good selection of excellent and flavorful sushi.

We went to see Bill W. and Dr. Bob (http://www.illusiontheater.org/events/bill-w-dr-bob) at the Illusion Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. This show is well worth seeing, and the discussion after the show with the director and actors was great fun.

The MinnSpec meeting today was a presentation about giving presentations and being on panels. There was some really good stuff, though I feel like we focused a little too much on PowerPoint stuff. I know some people really dig the PowerPoint, but I don’t use it. There was also good discussion about what to do in difficult situations (a cellphone goes off, crying children, that one person in the audience who tries to hijack the panel, that one expert in the audience who asks you the one question you don’t know the answer to, that sort of thing). We talked about different things you can do the make your public speaking better, including joining Toastmaster and taking some basic acting and voice classes. Over all a very positive meeting, plus we figured out the topics for the next couple of meetings.

Getting gear up for Con of the North this weekend. I will be spending my birthday at the Con.

I sent in my panel picks for CONvergence. We shall see what happens.

Speaking of panels, I have my schedule for MarsCon:

Friday, March 4:
6:00-6:45 PM--Krushenko's/Concierge (Room 1332)
Fiction Reading: Michael Merriam

Saturday, March 5:
6:00-6:45 PM--Re(a)d Mars/Taylor (2nd Floor)
Panel: The Woods Are Lovely
How do we create modern fairytales and myths? How do we tap into the primal emotions of fairytales in a modern era?
Michael Merriam, mod.; PMF Johnson, Naomi Kritzer

Sunday, March 6:
11:00-11:45 AM--Re(a)d Mars
Panel: Ask a Writer
Always wanted to know how a novel is born? How does a writer structure their day? Is it all glittering parties and intelligent company? Come ask a panel of working writers anything!
Michael Merriam, mod.; Roy C. Booth, Catherine Lundoff, Anna Waltz

1:00-1:45 PM--Krushenko's
Panel: The Western as Fantasy
Myths about the Old West began before the West was old, making it one of the first shared worlds in American culture. We'll discuss the rise and fall of the Old West mythology, and how it has influenced and lent its energy to current genres including fantasy and science fiction.
David Christenson, mod.; Eric M. Heideman, Michael Merriam

2:00-2:45 PM--Krushenko's
Panel: Writing in a Series: Harmonies and Discords
Writers who have done multiple novels or stories about continuing characters and/or a linked world share their experiences, positive or negative, and their advice to aspiring series writers.
Michael Merriam, mod.; Lois McMaster Bujold, Naomi Kritzer

I’ve acquired shooting scripts from several televisions shows and one from a motion picture. I plan to read and study these, watch several episodes of Being Human, Eureka and Warehouse 13, and then create spec scripts. I am also outlining a feature movie script.

My counselor at State Services for the Blind has, in support of my quest for a part-time job, hooked me up with Lifetracks in St. Paul. My worker there has already sent out my resume to a potential employer that looks to be a good fit for me, except it might be too much travel by bus. Still, if they can find me a possible position before I’ve ever had a meeting with them, I’m impressed.

Tomorrow night I will cook Valentine dinner for my Bunnee. We stay in and avoid the crowds on Valentine's Day. There will be good food and small gifts.

Also, still sick. This is the start of week three. I suppose I should go see a doctor.

I've been head down and pushing forward with revisions and rewrites of Last Car to Annwn Station, so I haven't been the best of bloggers lately. I very nearly finished with this pass, and hope to return the manuscript to the editor in the middle of next week. Right now I plan to take the rest of the week off and recharge. I'm sick of looking at the this book right now, and the next thing I need to do is read it through for continuity and some tweaks before I send it back. I plan to have JAWS for Windows read it to me.

I took most of today off as well, getting in a much needed introvert day, including reading, practicing my bass, and generally staying off the computer. I ran errands in downtown Hopkins in the early afternoon, though I missed my bus and ended up walking home. I had the wind at my back and was walking downhill, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I also started poking at my next couple of projects. I'm ready to start writing new words.

Once I turn in the manuscript, I need to focus on preparing for a meeting with our accountant and the filing of taxes. I also need to start working on passport applications. careswen has a professional conference in Canada this spring.

I've started reading Dracula in anticipation of seeing Walking Shadow Theatre Company's production of Drakul, written by mistoffo.

Ten years ago today, careswen and I arrived in Minnesota, all of our worldly possession in a 36-foot Ryder truck, our car on the trailer behind it.

I had been working at Storm Lures as their shipping manager, and we were bought out by Rapala Lures. They offered to transfer me to Minnesota, but didn't offer enough pay to make the move worthwhile. Instead, I took the severance package, which turned out to be six-months pay. careswen had finished her degree at the University of Oklahoma, and we were looking for a major change. We considered several possible placed to move to, and chose Minneapolis because it had everything we wanted in amenities (parks, theatres, arts, music, museums, etc), low unemployment, a modest cost-of-living, and real winters.

When we arrived, we knew three people: my aunt and uncle, and a former co-worker (who later moved back to Oklahoma). We had six months worth of savings and no jobs. Most everyone back in Oklahoma thought we were making a mistake; that we’d be slinking back to Oklahoma and our families within six months. They tried to discourage us from moving so far away.

They obviously had no idea who they were dealing with. There were some difficult moments in the beginning, and there have been some challenges since, but neither of us has ever regretted moving here. It is, we think, one of smartest decisions we ever made, second only to getting married (another decision many back in OK thought was a bad idea).

Ten years later, we own a home, have careers and a future, have made many wonderful friends, and cannot imagine living anywhere but Minnesota.

As I look out my patio door on this chilly autumn day, I have to say I've come to love living here. May we have many more happy years in Minnesota, in this charming little city of Hopkins.

careswen and I are taking part in a Hopkins Citizens Academy, a six week, one night a week, series of classes designed to educate the citizens of Hopkins on what exactly the various city departments do, how they are run, their budgets, and other pertinent information.

Few weeks ago was class at the Police Department, where they talked about the number of sworn officers the city employs, typical types of calls, community crime stats, rules of engagement and rules for use of force, a tazer demo, police outreach programs, history of the department, and a mock traffic stop, with citizens dressed in full protective gear making a traffic stop. One of the benefits was that participants in the Citizens Academy were invited to sign up for ride-alongs. careswen and I both jumped at the chance.

I'll let careswen talk about her ride-along in her own post, but I will say her ride along (from 6 pm to 10 pm on a Friday night) was more—eventful—than mine (from 2 pm to 6 pm on a Thursday afternoon). We started off with a trespassing call and drove all over the area. It seems this person is wanted for multiple trespassing incidents, and the apartment complex has a restraining order, but he keeps eluding the Hopkins PD. My guy wanted him bad. We'll get back to that later.

We did a disabled vehicle call (out of gas) before passing that one to the community relations officer. We had a group of teenagers pull a fire alarm in an apartment. We looked for the trespasser again. We helped a woman whose car broke an axle in an intersection. We caught our trespasser (we were driving by the apartments and there he was, out in front of the office). We ran some plates and followed a suspicious vehicle. He showed me where he worked a drug sting operation while part of a state-wide task force. We followed-up on a gas drive-off. It was cold and quiet that day, and my officer said I should ask to do it again, since nothing much happened.

It was neat seeing how high-tech the cars are. They are online, with a wireless Panasonic Tough Book that connects them instantly to databases, allows them to chat with other officers, updates information from dispatch, and let's them run plates and DLs instantly. The cars also have cameras that record everything, once the lights are turned on, and then feeds real time back to the PD so a dispatcher or supervisor can watch the stop as it happens. Everything is recorded.

The officer himself was personable, funny, and frank about his job, which I enjoyed. I asked him who I would talk to if I had any questions, especially as a writer. He told me to call and ask for the community liaison officer and she would point me to the right person. I may sign up to do it again.

That night we had Citizens Academy at the fire department. The Hopkins FD is a primarily volunteer department , with one full-time employee, two part-times, and the rest paid when they come in on a call. We got to see some of the equipment in action, including going up on the new ladder truck (great view of the city). We put out a small fire with fire extinguishers. Got a good look at the HazMat unit (we have one of the best in the area) and we dressed in full kit and worked a hose. I cannot imagine working in an emergency in such heavy gear.

careswen is considering signing up for the Community Emergency Response Team after she finishes grad school. My civil defense days are long over, what with my vision and all, but I am considering volunteering for one of the city commissions, especially the civil rights commission.

Over all, though I could have wished for a little more action on my ride-along, it was good to see how these to crucial departments work. I walked away with a whole new appreciation for both the PD and the FD.

Yesterday, Oldest Son turned 25 years old. I don't feel like I should be old enough to have a 25-year old son, but I do.

Last night I successfully defended my Rock, Paper, Scissors Championship at Walking Shadows' Game Night, defeating Sir Francis Bacon 3-1 to retain the title. No, seriously, Sir Frances Bacon. We also played a game called "Night of the Ill-Tempered Squirrel" which was about creating the worst monster movie possible. Cool title, meh game.

It appears my last post was too much for some of my more conservative flisties. I've been unfriended by a couple of them. Well, okay. I think it's a shame they decided not to stay and talk, but that's their choice. Normally I don't wax political on my blog, but I think this year's election is too important to be silent.

I finally figured out how "Steadfast" is going to end. Now I have to finish it. I'm guessing it will be about 6000 words once it's complete.

careswen and I are going to the Hopkins High School football homecoming game tonight, as has become our yearly tradition.

One Sunday, we will have lived in Minnesota for 9 years. Moving here is one of the best decisions we ever made.

Untitled Weird West Steampunk Novella


Getting out of the house and working was a smart idea. I finished the scene, leaving me one more scene and the dénouement to go. I'm looking at another 3000 words (and have upgraded the word meter accordingly). I'm just going to have to deal with the fact that I'm not going to finish it tonight. I might be able to finish the first draft tomorrow, if I push hard.

And as for Munkabeans Coffee and Sunshine Café in Hopkins: Reasonably adequate tasting coffee and reasonably adequate tasting food, for a reasonable price, but nothing special.

The weekend was packed with stuff.

Saturday was all about the gaming, with some writing and housework thrown in. The gaming session went well, I thought, though another character bit the dust, again through nothing I did as a GM, but instead caught in "Friendly Fire" during a particularly nasty battle. That's the second character causality, and we're just now getting to the hard stuff.

On the negative side, I broke a glass at the host's home, and kept walking into people, things, walls, and otherwise stumbling over stuff like some gigantic club-footed blind cow. I know the why of it, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.

The Twin Cities Speculative Fiction Network meeting was good as well. We talked about world building, and as you might guess with a room of over a dozen Spec Fic writers, things got a little weird. I won't talk too much about what we came up with, because I think some members of the group might want to try writing stories in the world we created as a group. More power to them.

My main contribution was, I think, the Giant Space Kraken lurking hidden somewhere in the dark matter of space, coming out in answer to the prayers of the aquatic life on the planet we created and destroying the human spaceships in orbit. Because really, I think most spacefaring science fiction and space opera stories could be improved with a god-like Giant Space Kraken lurking in the dark matter, waiting to pounce on hapless and unsuspecting starships.

Next month we are hosting Lois McMaster Bujold. I'm looking forward to the Q&A.

Sunday night I helped careswen a little bit with her paper for class by going through her textbooks and flagging pages she might need for citations.

I wrote a little bit this weekend, mostly while waiting for buses, though if I am to be completely honest, I wrote a little during the TCSFWN meeting as well.

I talked to my mother, who is much improved from her surgery.

I'm not going to Wiscon this year, not because I didn't enjoy it last year (I did!) but for purely financial reasons. I've picked up 4th Street Fantasy Convention instead, which is local and promises to be filled with coolness.

I applied for a full-time position with a major shipping company, because the pay and benefits were simply too good to ignore. It is unlikely I will even make the cut for an interview, but I have to try. And yes, I realize that I had trouble writing when I was working part-time and given that, working full-time might well stop me cold as a writer, but the siren song of the pay and benefits could not be ignored.

I also applied for a couple of part-time positions, and started writing a short (200-250 word) article on spec for a local news and media outlet that is considering posting short pieces of local Twin City interest on their website.

I feel pensive, sad, and worn. I wonder if I am not the most terribly tedious correspondent in the entire blogosphere. I suspect that I might be whining at this point. I suspect I need a decent nights sleep.

Dark Water Blues


ETA:I bought a French Press. It makes little individual cups of coffee heaven!

I finished the rewrite pass on "Cold Hand in Mine," cutting it down from 11,000 words to 8000. I am pleased by this, and the story is tighter and stronger. It's still going to be a tough sell at that length, but I'll deal with that when I need. I'm going to let it sit for a week, then pull it back out, give it another quick pass, and then off to readers for feedback.

It is lovely outside, so I walked down to the bank and post office. I cashed the check Jonathan from Fictitious Force sent me. I thought about stopping at Wendy's and getting a Baconator Burger, but was virtuous and kept walking. At the little pond I was amused by the duck enjoying the weather and frolicking in the water like silly ducks. This distracted me enough that I walked under a speeding freight train without initially noticing. Fortunately the train was on a bridge and I was on the sidewalk below!

Once I was near home I realized I was hungry and needed to get lunch, so I stopped at the local deli for a cheese-steak sandwich. It was, as is usual for my local deli, made of win (well, actually it was made of shredded steak, cheese, onions, peppers, and hoagie bread). Now I need to get back to work, either on Rija's Tale or "Steadfast."

I have an interview next week for a part-time position teaching 3-5 year old how to use computers.

Life is pretty good.

I couldn't seem to get any traction as a writer today. I've been a bit moody, or maybe broody, I'm not sure. The Reverend is sick, which makes her moody and cranky as well, and I have the scars to prove it. I opened up the house to let in some fresh air, but now it seems like we have rain moving in. Maybe I just didn't sleep well last night.

I did manage to go into downtown Hopkins today and run some errands, including stopping at the library. I mailed off some manuscripts. I got in a good walk, despite stupid drivers trying to run me down in the crosswalk (X3 no less). I spent a good part of the day working on job applications and lining up which agents to query on Last Car. I should feel accomplished, but all I feel is...blah.

I'm going to try and get a few words in before careswen gets home.

ETA: Nope, didn't get to write, had other things that needed my attention. I guess today is just a wash as far as writing goes. Tomorrow with be better, I'm sure.