Posts filed under ‘Walt Trizna's Stories’
UPDATE: SECOND CHANCE
Separate Worlds is publishing my science fiction short story, Second Chance, in their November/December 2013 anthology. Publishing with this Canadian publisher will be my first international publication.
I should say that this will be my first legal international publication. Sections of my novella, Elmo’s Sojourn, were published in China without my knowledge. I discovered this by Googling my name. China is unencumbered by our copyright laws so I guess they go ahead and publish what they want. Oh well, even though I didn’t make a penny I don’t mind the prospect of billions of people being able to read my work.
I’ll provide a link when available.
UPDATE: ELMO’S SOJOURN
Next month my novella, Elmo’s Sojourn, is due to come out as an eBook published by Melange Books.
I’ve been working with Melange on the cover and after some back and forth I think we have the final version. If possible, I’ll post it when I am sure the version is a firm choice.
In the meantime, here’s the blurb to peak your interest.
Elmo, a retired Los Alamos scientist, travels through a wormhole in this science fiction story to the planet Roth where he meets Valmid and his wife Cal. All appears tranquil on the planet but there is disaster visiting the planet which Valmid hopes Elmo would have the answer of how to end. Roth’s females are being abducted and taken to the planet Gylex. Unknown to the inhabitants of Earth, the creatures have also abducted human females in the past, but suddenly stopped their raids. Valmid hopes Elmo can discover why the raids stopped on Earth and help Roth.
THE YEAR AHEAD, VOLUME II
Now I’ll discuss my novellas and short stories which I hope will find a home for this year.
I have a novella, Elmo’s Invention, requiring work. It is a prequel to the already published Elmo’s Sojourn. Elmo’s Sojourn is due to appear as an eBook this February. I have a fondness for Elmo and hope to follow him with more stories.
I also have short stories in need of editing, and in some cases completion. The Event is a work of science fiction needing a little work and off it goes. Valued Employees is a short story which is comical but with sinister overtones. It deals with the unemployed who cannot find work because of preexisting conditions or bad habits. This population is just what a unique company is looking to hire.
Billie’s Magic is a short story about and autistic youth with a dark connection to his older violent brother. I may try to self-publish this story on Kindle and see what happens.
Finally, I hope to republish short stories and poems that are already out there and find for them a greater exposure.
That’s what I have planned for the coming years, along with whatever story ideas that may creep into my brain.
THE YEAR AHEAD, VOLUME I
This is the time when we have an opportunity to mold our lives for the coming year, to repair all the wrongs of our lives. To make promises we usually don’t keep. For years I’ve promised to stop drinking and lose weight – both now accomplished and one the result of the other.
Therefore, I’m going to use this opportunity to outline what I want to accomplish in my writing career, have a record of my goals and see how I do. I’ve got a great deal of work I want to complete, hence the multiple volumes. I also want to keep each short so I don’t lose your attention or bore you.
This section will deal with two novels already written, The Beast Awaits and Sweet Depression, both in need extensive editing. Any agents or publishers that may stumble upon this missive, I’m all yours.
The Beast Awaits deals with hot-button issues, stem cell research, corporate greed and global warming. Creatures are developed accidentally using stem cell research in the course to gain increasing profits. They rapidly multiply and swarm the planet causing mass destruction leading to an increase in global warming. There is no firm resolution at the end of the story only a chance for a lesson to be learned, hence the title of the novel.
Sweet Depression also concerns corporate greed, to some extent, but the driving force is the troubled youth of the CEO and his need for power and control in his adulthood. The story is a cross between the work of James Patterson and Robin Cook. The CEO uses science to increase the company’s profits; however, the product has disastrous side effects. A detective, his own family a victim, sets out to discover what is behind a sudden increase in murder and mayhem.
Happy New Year to all my readers.
May this coming year find you healthy and happy.
A CHRISTMAS STORY OF SORTS
In keeping with the holidays I thought I would share with you the only Christmas story I have written thus far, published by Bewildering Stories in 2007.
Picture a really sick Grinch story without a happy ending.
Read on.
Do You Hear What I Hear?
by Walt Trizna
W** was known for his stories of murder and mayhem. Tales of ghosts and monsters were his claim to meager fame. A member of a writers’ group, he enjoyed sharing his twisted stories with the group and the support they provided. But how could they know, imagine, they were not all stories. W** carried demons of his own. Even his wife did not know the visions, the “truths” that journeyed through his muddled brain.
It was during the November writers’ meeting that the group leader, S**, announced, “In place of our December meeting, I suggest we meet for a holiday dinner. It will be a chance to relax and prepare for the year’s writing ahead.” The approval of the group was unanimous.
Reservations were made and the day of the dinner arrived. It was a rainy evening when W** set out for the restaurant. The back and forth motion of the windshield wipers gave him a slight headache. He was one of the last to arrive, greeted his fellow writers and took his seat next to S**.
The room was large with a single circular table at its center. A curious aspect was the room’s ceiling. It was domed with a most unsettling feature. From one side of the room conversations, even in the softest whisper, were conveyed to the opposite side of this domed affair.
As the meal was served, W** looked across the table to C** and G**, deep in conversation, discussing light matters. Suddenly, the conversation changed. To his disbelief, W** heard them plotting his murder. He clearly heard their voices discussing every detail. W** sat in disbelief while those about him laughed and shared stories. His friends asked if there was anything wrong, for he was visibly shaken. “I’m fine,” he replied and left the restaurant to make plans of his own.
January arrived and it was time for another meeting. S** was the last to arrive. “I have terrible news. C** and G** have met with horrible accidents. They are both dead.”
The group sat there in shock. Disbelief was soon followed by sounds of sorrow and grief.
The year swiftly went by. It was a good year with many of the members being published. Once again, at the November meeting, S** announced the plans for a Christmas dinner. The site would be the same as last year.
W** once again made his way to the restaurant, this time during a light and peaceful snow. He greeted his friends and took his place. Once again, he could hear the whispered conversations from across the room. And once again he heard his murder being plotted: this time it was T** and B** who made the fiendish plot. Once again two members of the group were visited with horrible and fatal accidents.
January found the group deep in sorrow once more. That was five years ago. And for each of those years, a Christmas dinner was held and shortly after, two more members met their demise.
Christmas neared once again, but there would be no Christmas dinner, for the only member remaining was W**. A creature of tradition, W** reserved the domed room for his private dinner. There he sat, alone with no whispering conversations to fill his head.
He gazed around at the empty seats, and his ears perked up. There were voices plotting his murder. Looking out at the overflowing restaurant, he saw a young family that he was sure was plotting his end. A fiendish smile crossed his lips. His work was not yet done.
Copyright © 2007 by Walt Trizna
NEW MOON RISING, FICTION OR PREDICTION
An underwater volcano off the Japanese coast has just risen up and formed an island. The second island the Ring of Fire has created through volcanic activity in just weeks. The Ring of Fire is active once again.
In my novel, New Moon Rising, unknown volcanoes on the ocean’s floor build on their eruptions and make their way to the surface forming islands, unleashing massive destruction.
Volcanic and seismic activity leads the world to an event unparalleled in geologic history.
New Moon Rising is also a love story between two brothers caught up in the maelstrom and the women in their lives. Finally, the story is the love of a Hawaiian and his land, a land he refuses to leave no matter what the consequences.
Read New Moon Rising and see the future?
http://www.melange-books.com/authors/walttrizna/index.html
Also available on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.
WIN A COPY OF NEW MOON RISING
My consistent readers,
Here’s an opportunity to win a free copy of my novel, New Moon Rising.
The giveaway is being conducted by Goodreads, an excellent website for both readers and writers.
My next piece will go into greater detail about Goodreads, but for now, I thought some of you might be interested in giving this a shot.
Here are links to my free book plus a host of others.
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/tag/science-fiction?page=4
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11458848-new-moon-rising
TWO WRITERS OF ‘PLACE’, JAMES LEE BURKE AND CORMAC McCARTHY
I would like to take this opportunity to discuss two of my favorite authors, James Lee Burke and Cormac McCarthy. I refer to these writers as ‘writers of place’ because of their similar styles, their ability to immerse you not only in excellent stories but also in the rich atmosphere, the fullness of the story’s location.
James Lee Burke’s novels are primarily crime novels with two recurring characters both of whom are sheriffs. One, Dave Robicheaux, is sheriff of New Iberia, Louisiana. Read this series and you become immersed in life in the Louisiana bayous. You can feel the humidity and smell the smells of the region when you read these stories. His most recently published novel, Light of the World, features Robicheaux but with a change of location to Missoula, Montana.
Hackberry Holland is the principle character in another of Burke’s series. He is a sheriff in southwest Texas. With Holland you experience the grit and desolation of the west. Reading Burke’s novels is like buying a ticket to the region where they take place.
My second ‘writer of place’ is Cormac McCarthy. His work is not for the faint of heart. Two of his novels, No Country for Old Men and The Road, have recently been made into movies. No Country for Old Men is an especially violent movie, closely following the book. It is the rare novel where the ‘bad guy’ comes out on top in the end.
McCarthy is also known for his trilogy taking place in the early 1900’s in Texas and Mexico. All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing and Cities of the Plains immerse you in the changing west and the end of the cowboy way of life. All are rich in the texture of their locals and excellent reads.
I highly recommend the works of Burke and McCarthy, novels rich in atmosphere and memorable characters.
LIFE AS A FULL-TIME WRITER
I’ve lived life as a fulltime writer for some years now and have made some interesting observations.
I now accomplish less writing than when I was writing and holding a fulltime job. Hopefully, I’m about to change that situation.
It is not for lack of ideas. If anything I have too many irons in the fire. A host of short stories have begun their lives on legal pads and await completion. Two completed novels await editing and ideas for novels fill notebooks. But what I have now that stands in my way is time.
Let me explain.
When I had a fulltime job, I would spend every stolen moment writing. I write my first drafts in longhand so I could write anywhere. My backpack was always full of my works in progress. Now that I have all the time in the world, there is always tomorrow to work on what awaits in my study. But health issues and advancing age has brought a new light to my eyes. How many tomorrows are left?
I hope this insight brings my writing career new benefits.
Stay tuned. I’ll keep you informed.
ELMO LIVES ON
Good news!
My novella, Elmo’s Sojourn, already published by Melange Books in their anthology, Curious Hearts, will be released as an eBook.
The projected date of release is February of 2014.
Elmo is a character I’ve grown to love. He began life in a short story which grew into a novella due to my curiosity. I wanted to know what would happen to him in his other-worldly adventure.
In Elmo’s Sojourn, Elmo is a retired Los Alamos scientist who tinkers in his cellar with used scientific gear gleaned from Los Alamos dumpsters. He invents a way to travel through wormholes and begins an adventurous life on a distant planet.
I’ve since written another novella, Elmo’s Invention, in which Elmo is a young scientist recently married and working in his cellar on a time machine with unexpected results. Hopefully, more of Elmo’s life and adventures will follow.
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