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The Review Front: Mass Effect 2
I’m relatively new to console video games. When I finally got old enough to purchase such devices back in the early 1990s it seemed to me that the better bang for my buck was to buy games for my Dell 386 computer. So I invested in the Wing Commander Series and the very first edition of Civilization by Sid Meier.
For the most part, I am a PC gamer.
That changed this summer when the Woman I Love purchased an XBox 360 for my birthday.
Now I’m hooked.
So that is how I got here. Let’s talk about the game.
Mass Effect 2 is the second installment in what was originally planned as a trilogy. The protagonist, Commander Shepard, rises from the dead courtesy of a pro-Human organization known as Cerberus. The leader of the organization, known only as The Illusive Man, has a job for Shepard.
Find out why entire human colonies are disappearing.
The main character can be customized by the player. Not only can you customize general physical characteristics, you can also decide the gender of the character. The gender you select does provide opportunities for different types of interactions with various crew members.
The visual effects are stunning, going for that sense of wonder which drew so many to cinematic science fiction films. From time to time the cut scenes showing the storyline and the action are a bit jerky, but not to the point of distraction. It does remind me a little too much of arcade laserdisc games like Space Ace and Dragon’s Lair. However, if you look past the jerky moments, you are rewarded with a stunning vistas of interstellar space as your starship, the Normandy carries your team through the storyline.
One task is to assemble a team of specialists, soldiers and technicians to assist you on your mission. Your choices throughout the course of the game are made in the form of dialog selections which prompt other characters to respond. Sometimes, if you put some thought into it, the characters respond favorably. Other times it can lead to conflict among the various team members, not all of whom see eye to eye.
The dialog choices can be difficult to discern on a standard television set as the text is so small. When I played the game for the first time this lead to my character taking the wrong side in an argument between team members. It was an irritating quirk which had ramifications on the resolution of the plot.
An additional option is the opportunity to make good or bad decisions which are indicated by flashing paragon and renegade symbols on the screen. These choices might include whether or not to use an intoxicated alien as cannon fodder or save a specialist from babbling on too long about the scientific details of the mission. They have an effect on the overall plot of the story, dictating who will survive the final sequences of the story.
This paragon-renegade system is a variation of a similar system which was featured in Wing Commander 4 The Price of Freedom. If you made an “evil choice” then it would shape the ending of the narrative. The same is the case with a good choice. Perhaps my only objection about this is that good and evil are slippery, difficult concepts to define which keep philosophy students busy throughout the course of their careers. However, the value choice are pretty clear unless you happen to be a sociopath.
The combat system places the player behind the main character. It is possible to swivel around the character but I found this to be distracting. Perhaps this is designed as a way of compensating for the lack of true peripheral vision, a flaw of all shooter games. I usually found it easier to swivel the character as opposed to swiveling the camera view. This has the benefit of focusing the muzzle of your weapon on any targets you happen to find.
From time to time, especially under heavy fire, the character was less than responsive. I know to take cover when I am under fire but the commands often confused the character, prompting him to stand up in the middle of a firefight. In reality this sort of thing probably happens as well, the difference is that in the game it is merely irritating.
As for actually shooting a target, in this, I was most frustrated at first. I was spoiled by the combat system in Battlefield Bad Company and Bad Company 2. In those games, it is possible to bring the sights of the weapon up to the character’s eyeball, which is the most realistic application of the shooting process. While there is a similar option in Mass Effect 2, it still feels entirely too much like shooting from the hip. Even using the sniper weapons proved to be frustrating.
Thus Mass Effect 2 is very much a volume of fire game and I would advise players to take advantage of the adrenaline function of their character to slow down time and insure that your fire is used to maximum effect.
The adrenaline function, along with a number of other options, can be selected using the right upper button on your controller. This brings up a visual display that allows you to select ammunition options, medical options, and special abilities.
It can also be used to employ the options of your team members. On any given mission you will be allowed to chose two members for your own team.
The left button allows you to select weapons for yourself and your team members while in combat. Since I went with the soldier class (no surprise there) I had the greatest option for weapons. There are a number of different classes, each of which provides your character with special abilities and skills. I went with what I knew.
Overall, the game play grows on you. At first I wasn’t certain if I was going to like the game or not. However, the story and the graphics eventually won me over. There is a strong sense of character development which takes place among your team members, especially if you take the opportunity to help them with their various personal problems which form the core of their backstories.
In conclusion, as a science fiction writer and a veteran of the United States Army, I found myself wondering why I do not see more of what I saw in Mass Effect 2 in current books and short stories. Everything that drew me to science fiction is here. We have an impossible quest, a starship, robots, mechs, strange aliens, artificial intelligence, stunning visuals and the realization that space will probably kill you if it can.
I have my nits with the mechanics of the game, but I came for the story.
Thus Mass Effect 2 has my recommendation. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on Mass Effect 3.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
North Kansas City, Missouri
Tearing Down Tuesday is now available as an ebook at Amazon.com for three dollars American. The story should be accessible on any e-reader out there.
Right now I’m just experimenting to see how things work. I figure Tearing Down Tuesday was the perfect test subject given that it has been published twice and that I do not have any remaining obligations to the previous publishers. Bangar from Down Under was asking if there should be a dedicated day to generate a sales spike and I advised holding off.
In other words, here is what I’m thinking.
If you missed a chance to read Tearing Down Tuesday at Interzone or Apex and you want to read it badly enough, here is your shot.
On the other hand, if you have read Tearing Down Tuesday then I’d advise waiting a bit. I want to offer readers and supporters something more than just the same old story. I want to bundle TDT with my unpublished story Maternal Soldier along with some additional content. I’m still thinking on what that content might be but I don’t think I’ll be able to get to it until after the semester ends.
That bundle, by the way, will be called A Murphy Double Tap and I believe I’ll be selling that for five bucks American.
I have readers. I have fans. I have supporters. Perhaps not many, but enough that they have made their voices heard during the two initial publications.
I figure this is a way to see if we really don’t need editors and publishers anymore. Maybe we still need gatekeepers.
And maybe we don’t.
If we don’t, then I think I just might bypass them.
So it goes.
Other Fronts
Today was testing for the Third Quarter in all classes. Here in a bit I’ll run my 120s through the scantron to see what I get. Tomorrow, Veteran’s Day, will be nothing but grading, grading, grading.
Then it will be time to prep for evals, which are next week. The suit is at the cleaners for the event and I’ve got funds set aside for a fresh haircut.
We’ll see how it goes.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of Tearing Down Tuesday and The Limb Knitter
North Kansas City, Missouri
The Writing Front: The Tinkerin’ Woman
Word Count: 1200 First Draft
Well, we’ll see how this goes. I have to turn something in for Terri’s class so that may well prompt me to finish something this year. We’ll see. This story, for those that read Tearing Down Tuesday is a prequel. I have one other prequel, Fishin’ Fer Tuesday which is almost finished yet something seems wrong with it. In any case, I think a number of stories are floating around there in that universe.
The writing methodology is a bit different this time. I wrote this stuff out longhand on Monday and Wednesday mornings at a hiding place on campus (no, I won’t say where). This afternoon I got a bit of time to get some work done from Trinity. Since my copy of The Landmark Thucydides is back on campus that meant there’d be no lecture prep. I decided to break open the longhand stuff and do what I swore I’d never do.
Transcribe while the project is in progress. The last time I did this, it took me forever to finish Maternal Soldier. So I’ve always held off repeating that experience. These days time is short and I never seem to have enough of it which is why I figured I may as well transcribe what I have.
I never made a habit of writing with music going but that is what I did today. I opened up YouTube and ran through my instrumental playlist, which is usually reserved for editing functions. Believe it or not, I got a fair amount of work done.
A sign that my writing process is evolving? I don’t know. Ask me when I get the project finished.
As for where I’ll send this story, I suppose Apex and Interzone are the best markets. Interzone mainly because they printed TDT. They might be interested in a prequel. I suspect this story is going to run over the 5K word limit at Apex but they might be interested as well.
Who knows?
Back to work.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
North Kansas City, Missouri
Yeah, I move like a pregnant yak, still. And apparently my fencing stance is crosswired with the new karate stances. I have no sense of balance so my kicks are atrocious and worse, we practice in the aerobics room, which is outfitted with mirrors.
Problem? Well, yeah. I’m distracted by my horrible performance. I’m distracted by the foot and hand movements to my rear, which really tickle the lizard brain into trying to respond so I have to override that.
We did some limited sparing today wherein I learned exactly what the Sensei told us about certain blocks. If you are too slow, all you do is focus the attack straight into your face. On the other hand, we learned a couple of self defense tricks that are so simple that I wondered why no one had taught them to me before. Mainly tricks for dealing with someone trying to choke you.
It was good to know because one of my first tactics was to use chokes against my opponents. I’ve evolved away from that (for a lot of reasons) but it is still in the arsenal as a weapon of last resort. It is nice to see how the chokes can go pear shaped in a hurry. I’ll be a great deal more cautious about them in the future.
So, much to learn in karate. It was another good workout in terms of activity but I was not happy with my performance.
The Teaching Front
We’ve completed Week Three or Days Six and Seven in terms of class meetings. We are on track towards our objective in American History, proceeding on schedule toward 1775 and the first exam. I think we might get there a bit early. On the other hand I may have scheduled the Western Civ exam too early. We still have the Persian War, the Peloponnesian War, Pericles and the Philosophers to cover. I could save the Philosphers for the Second Quarter. Still, I think I may have to move their test back.
I’m always late on getting exams deployed during the first cycle of a new course anyway so I guess that won’t kill anyone. I may move it back a week. We’ll see.
Courses are going well enough. I’ve got sharp students in both mixed in with some who are deep in the throes of apathy. In my Western Civ I think what I have instead of apathy is a sense that I am teaching below their capability which is breeding a sense of contempt. The test may blast some of that out of the brainpans. We’ll see.
The Writing Front
I got in six pages of worth this week on a Tearing Down Tuesday prequel that is tentatively called The Tinkerin’ Woman. The protag will be Audrey Young from the original story, a character who, as time as passed, fascinated me more and more.
It seems that I’ve got a number of titles laying around looking for names. The Pondering Tree could be either a TDT or TLK story, though at this time, I see Kyle Hackshaw sitting under that tree. There aren’t many trees on the Southern Front.
No word yet on Entangled which is still out at an anthology market. My personal feeling is that the story isn’t quite ready, yet I sent it out anyway to keep something in the market. That said, I’ve been told writers are the worst judges of their own work so who knows?
Final decisions for that anthology are upcoming and since I have not received a reject yet, that is usually a sign that I made it pretty near to the top of the stack. We’ll have to see.
The Cancer Front
My Dad is in the hospital still as of today. He has two urinary tract infections, heart trouble, swollen feet, etc. The good news is that his prostate and multiple myeloma cancers are still in remission, which leaves just the lung cancer. The bad news is that if either of those two cancers get rolling, he’s probably had it.
Here is where I shrug and wonder what else to do.
Other Fronts
Not much else to report. I’m slated to participate in a local literary festival at the start of October. More on that as I learn about it.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
North Kansas City, Missouri
Lou Antonelli plugs Tearing Down Tuesday at SFSignal.com
I got a bit of snail mail this week from Texas science fiction writer Lou Antonelli with some good news. He gave me a plug for Tearing Down Tuesday in his SFSignal.com Mind Meld contribution to the topic, “Memorable Short Stories to Add to Your Reading List, Part Two.” For those wondering, we know each other from the Asimov’s Forums back when Asimov’s was run by Gardner Dozois and sanity reigns therein. Further, Lou’s was the last story purchased by Gardner before he stepped down.
In any case, here is a link and moreover, here is what Lou said.
http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2009/07/mind-meld-memorable-short-stories-to-add-to-your-reading-list-part-2-of-2/
From the Last Paragraph:
Stories from this century I find memorable include “Sergeant Chip” by Brad Denton (F&SF, Sept. 2004), a well-written futuristic story with a canine protagonist who was honestly depicted; both Sergeant Chip and the story had a lot of integrity; “Just Like the Ones We Used to Know” by Connie Willis (Asimov’s, Dec. 2003), clever, compelling, entertaining and extremely well written; and “Tearing Down Tuesday” by Steven Francis Murphy (Interzone, May 2007) which impressed me with how there are brand new writers out there who can still write the Good New Stuff.
Lou has a new story collection coming out from Wilder Publications called Fantastic Texas. Many of his stories are set in his balliwick of Texas and he is one of the few writers who do not resort of all of the negative rural stereotypes in his stories. If I were putting together an anthology of positive American Midwest Rural stories, Lou would be one of the authors I’d contact.
He is also, for the record, one of the three people who identified Rev. Caldwell J. Robinson for the cardboard character that he is. Though I’d argue that Robinson had to be that way for the story to sell and also as a bit of a red herring for the ending. Still, Lou raises a valid criticism that went largely unnoticed elsewhere in the community.
So, thanks for the kind words, Lou.
The Teaching Front
I spent part of yesterday cogitating on my American History One Lecture Notes, which are very much a work in progress. While my core AH Two notes have not changed a great deal in structure since my first semester, my AH One notes constantly change. To my eyes, it is important to get to the American Civil War in order to tie my class in with whatever AH Two class the students take.
That means summarizing and simply throwing some stuff out. I tend to spend less and less time in the period from 1500 to 1750. The period never interested me a great deal in the first place per American History (Elizabeth is much more interesting back in England) and it chews up a great deal of time.
So what I’ll do is summarize the initial colonization, reasons driving it, and get on to the French and Indian War. That interests me.
I know, I can hear it now. What about Native Americans and the Slave Trade?
I usually give a block lecture on both subjects. Slavery is covered from the the initial start in the 1600s up to the 1850s in the build up prior to the American Civil War. That lecture needs some work but I have a core foundation that serves well enough. The other topic, Native Americans, could probably be best served by giving a block lecture during the Andrew Jackson Administration. I’ve got the Trail of Tears to work with as a theme.
I do talk about Native American/English Colonial relations during the French and Indian War. I have to in order for the students to have some context per the differences between the French/Native American relations and the English. I also tie in the notion that the English, hardened by their experiences in Ireland, bring an attitude of superiority and harshness to their dealings with the Native Americans.
There is an argument that I should spend more time covering the marginalized groups and I agree in principle. However, the fact of the matter is that the United States of America will eventually be created by landowning aristocrats who are also slave owners (depending on their colony). I spend a lot of time on them mainly because, well, they created the society we live in.
How are we going to understand anything else if we don’t understand the folks who created the country?
So it goes. But to be honest, I’d rather teach Western Civilization One. Maybe this Winter I’ll get my shot.
Other Fronts
Nothing much doing. My story characters keep talking to me but I can’t seem to match my spare time up with any actual energy to write. I had that problem yesterday while reading over the chapters on Andrew Jackson in the new textbook. I could cogitate on history but not on writing.
I’ve got to address and mail out the invitations to Trinity’s birthday party, which will take place at the end of August at Sunset Acres. She is looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. We’ve been trying to find a dress for her to wear.
I’ve been brought along on these expeditions but I think we’ve finally reached a realization.
I should not be taken along for dress shopping. It isn’t healthy to the relationship.
Weatherwise I have to say we didn’t get much of a traditional July summer. We got Fall weather for the most part, which has been fairly depressing. The summer wasn’t as bad as last summer (where I had a relationship on meltdown) nor as bad as the Great Washout of 2005 (where June and July were exchanged for a South Korean Monsoon Season). Still, it hasn’t been a great summer either.
I’m eager to get back into the classroom and teach. The strange thing is that the only time I forget about all of my problems is while I am teaching.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
North Kansas City, Missouri
Tearing Down Tuesday Photography
I’ve got some more shots today. Perhaps I should start by saying that just about everything I used is a combination of two or more real world elements. With the exception of Ketchum Road, I almost never used something whole cloth from our own world in Tearing Down Tuesday. The town of Circeville, Missouri, to my knowledge, doesn’t exist. But the primary model for that town is Maysville, Missouri up in DeKalb County.
I suppose some folks will insist that this is a Mary Sue story. I don’t think it is but then you can’t control what others say. And frankly, so what if it is a Mary Sue story?
Ketchum Road
I had to edit this photograph to a degree due to under exposure. This is the road Kyle travels down at the start of the story. The sky would have been clear but roughly the same hue. Obviously the wind turbines, the razorbrush and the snagglethorn are missing, but otherwise, this shot pretty much shows the road I had in mind.
The Driveway
In the opening, Kyle makes his way down this driveway past the first two robots we encounter, Saturday and Sunday. They are working on a series of salvaged wind turbines. Obviously the turbines are absent, but the driveway is there.
Abandoned Tool Shed
This was another inspiration for The Tinkerin’ Woman’s Shop in Tearing Down Tuesday. Though it has fallen into disuse, it was the original tool shed when I was a kid. Much of the clutter you saw in a previous entry was present in this shed.
And it did have a beer fridge.
The Weatherby, Missouri Post Office
This is the post office in nearby Weatherby, Missouri. Circeville probably would have looked more like this image here, very worn down, tired and battered.
The Dry Hole Bar and Grill, Circeville, Missouri
The Dry Hole Bar and Grill
Andrew Leroy, Owner
Dry before Five and Wet until Last Call
Whenever that is.
This is half of the Dry Hole Bar and Grill, the Maysville Town Diner, which has changed names over the years. Since it was Sunday morning we weren’t able to go in and even if we did, it would not represent what the interior of the story’s Dry Hole Bar and Grill looked like.
The interior is actually inspired by The Quaff down off 10th and Broadway in Kansas City, Missouri.
Not everything came from the Country as it were.
Other Shots
Additional Photography can be viewed at my flickr link, http://www.flickr.com/photos/30730762@N04/ . Someday when I grow up, I’ll be able to hotlink it.
I’ve also got more photographs to add as time permits.
Perhaps it is a bit self indulgent to go through this exercise, or maybe a bit too self promotional. Well, I am a bit shameless in that respect and I have to admit that I wish I saw more material like what I am putting up. I’d like to see photographs and images of what inspired my favorite writers. What are they drawing upon when they create my favorite places and characters?
So it goes.
The Writing Front
I wonder if I am not building up for a return to the Tearing Down Tuesday universe? At the same time, The Limb Knitter universe continues to speak to me. I should take pictures of things which inspired TLK at some point.
I did work up some plot info on a possible project but it turns out as I work on it that I’ve probably got yet another novel length project on my hands.
Perhaps what I need to do is pick up at copy of The Year’s Best Science Fiction and read some of my favorites for inspiration. The 26th Edition is out and Al Reynolds has a story within so that would be worth the price of admission alone in my book.
The Teaching Front
I’ve got to work up my American History One notes over the next few days. I’ve got a gap where Andrew Jackson is at on the timeline and I still need to figure out exactly what I am going to cover.
Teaching assignments will probably arrive in the hopper shortly before classes start. I’m pretty sure I’ll get two classes at the minimum, hopefully three to four. I’m hoping for four classes.
So it goes. I’m chomping at the bit.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
North Kansas City, Missouri
Pondering Tearing Down Tuesday
I’ve got more pictures to post but I’ll do that sometime tomorrow. I thought I’d take a break from Fall Semester prep to do a little bit of pondering about the story.
Tearing Down Tuesday filled what I felt was a gap in the current science fiction inventory of recent short stories, namely a story set in the American Midwest that did not rely upon East and West Coast stereotypes of Midwesterners. From 2000 to the moment I sold TDT, I found my level of aggravation with the lack of such stories growing. When such a story did manifest itself, it usually took the cheap shots at the population which lives in the Midwest.
Who are those people? Well, in the case of DeKalb County, Missouri, they tend to be of European descent. In other words, they are white. If you look at the demographics, I believe the county population tends to run eighty percent plus on the white side. They are hardworking people who do their best to run their farms, keep their bills paid and support their families. They believe in taking care of their own problems for the most part without a lot of government help.
These days they grow corn, a lot of corn. In fact I remarked to Trinity that we didn’t see a single wheat field on our way to Maysville, Missouri and back. The main crops were corn for use in ethanol and soy. This is a contrast to the fields of golden wheat I remember from my childhood. They also maintain a certain amount of livestock, but not the massive herds that many might think.
In some instances, they’ve managed to adapt to changing conditions. One local example in nearby Clinton County, Missouri is the Shatto Milk Company, located on Highway 33 not far from Highway 36 in Northern Missouri. They produce local organic milk sans additives in an environment that looks to be healthy and easy on the animals. They also run a gift shop on the property which is where we met the owners. The story is that in the late 80s they realized that the major purchasers of milk were not paying anything close to prices that would sustain their business. They had to try something else.
So they took a leap and went local and organic. Others in the region went down the same path, raising heirloom livestock, growing organic produce and changing the way they do business.
However, for every success story, you can find a dozen deserted farms in Northern Missouri. The land has been sold or rented to the survivors.
The people in this region love to hunt deer, quail, turkey and ducks when the seasons permit. They fish with permits and subscribe to the Missouri Conservationist. More than a few of them, including one of my cousins, works for the Missouri Department of Conservation. They care about where they live and want to see it preserved. They are capable of adapting to changing conditions if pressed.
This goes against the usual depiction of the Midwestern Rural Resident. Inflexible, stubborn, unchanging, conservative and very religious.
I suppose the big dig against this environment is that it does not possess the same diversity which can be found in urban environments. Perhaps. However, given demographic trends in the country as a whole, I will make a prediction.
The Midwestern Rural Areas will, probably by the end of the century, be split between European and Latino populations. It is a bit of a failing on my part that I did not account for this in Tearing Down Tuesday. There simply should be more Latino characters in the region.
Another dig against the Midwest is that it is backward. No Starbucks. No bandwidth to speak of.
These are people who still take pleasure in their environment, enjoying a sky full of stars while the coyotes compete with the bullfrogs and the cycadas for one’s attention. They enjoy fishing on the lake under the moonlight, poker games and fish fries.
They have their flaws. The stereotypes would not exist without those flaws. They are the people I know, the land I know, the grist of my sunshine summers under brilliant blue skies. They are the people Robert Heinlein wrote about in his stories.
And yet, I suspect, there is not a lot of room for stories from this land in American Science Fiction today. I find it quite telling that Tearing Down Tuesday sold to a British Publication, Interzone, and not an American one. Now to be fair, TDT was never sent to an American market, but my gut tells me that outside of Apex Online Magazine, I’d have been hardpressed to sell that story anywhere else.
The other concern I have is, well, frankly, these people are the Enemy Personified to many in American Science Fiction. They are rednecks, white trash, probably inbred and most likely engaging in perverse acts with their livestock. There may not be any room for stories from Northern Missouri.
A writer is instructed from the start, write what you know. It is good advice.
However, the message I get from the American Science Fiction Community is also very clear to me.
Rednecks need not apply.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
North Kansas City, Missouri
I’m way past overdue for this project but the road trip up north finally gave me an opportunity to take some July photographs of some of the places which inspired scenes in my first short story publication, Tearing Down Tuesday.
The Tinkerin’ Woman’s Shop: Audrey Young, Owner
Kyle’s parent figure of sorts is Audrey Young. She owns a sort of salvage and fix it shop headquartered out of a white barn on her property. The Murphy Family Barn in this shot is one half of the inspiration. It is actually an old hay and livestock barn.
The Seven Days of the Week in Tearing Down Tuesday make their home in the Tinkerin’ Woman’s Shop.
The Murphy Farm Tool Shed
The Tool Shed in this shot represents the other half of the inspiration for The Tinkerin’ Woman’s Shop. Oddly enough, my Uncle Paul had this John Deere Gator in for work, so you could say this gives a pretty good impression of what I saw in my mind when I created the John Deere Farmerbot Model 805, aka Tuesday.
I love the clutter of this space and the mingling of dirt, grease and other scents. You could hear the methodic beat of the electric fence generator in the background.
Lake Murphy, DeKalb Co, Missouri
In the story our protag, Kyle Hackshaw, reaches a decision point while swimming in a rock quarry pool. This lake inspired that scene, even if it is not a quarry. I think Kyle would have seen the same sort of Simpson’s July Summer Sky.
We used to swim in that lake but the algae blooms and snakes have made that untennable.
Overall Impression
I have mostly positive memories of my summers on the Murphy Family Farm. My Uncle Paul and Uncle Mike still farm up there and while things are a bit worn, the place still feels comfortable and welcoming to me. Strange that I’d set such a dark story in a place of incredible beauty.
To my eyes, the photographs, especially the emerald landscape against the brilliant blue sky, represent what Missouri truly is, a farming state with a culture and history worth retelling in fiction. The sad thing is that these days, most science fiction writers would be quietly appalled at the lack of bandwidth, Starbucks and the like in this environment.
I’ll try to post more photos this week along with other photos of the road trip.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
North Kansas City, Missouri
New Readers
Seems I have new readers. Ah, such is the danger of hotlinking to my blog.
Anyway, I’m Steve Murphy. Here is a list of labels that apply.
1. Honorably Discharged Veteran, US Army
2. Unrepentant Veteran of the Persian Gulf War
3. Published Writer (two stories to date, both with honorable mentions)
4. Research Consultant
5. Historian
6. College History Instructor
7. Missourian (while I don’t like the state per se, I’m unrepentant about my Midwestern roots as well).
8. Decidedly NOT politically correct.
9. Definitely NOT a liberal.
Just a few things. If you are looking for examples of my writing, you can find both of them at Apex Online Magazine. Tearing Down Tuesday originally appeared in Interzone Magazine, Issue 210 back in June 2007. Apex picked her up for republication. The Limb Knitter appeared in Apex Online back in September 2008 and was recently converted into a podcast at Paul Cole’s Beam Me Up Podcast. You can buy a print edition of The Limb Knitter when she appears in Descended from Darkness: Apex Magazine Volume One. Just click the link over to the right.
Finally, I usually do not discuss it much, I am the research consultant to John Birmingham. I have two novels to my credit on that front, Final Impact and Without Warning.
Umm, I know a thing or two about science fiction. Some detractors do not care much for that.
So, welcome to the Pondering Tree. Assholes really aren’t tolerated and if you’re all about political correctness then you are probably in the wrong place. But otherwise, folks are pretty well tolerated around here.
Research Project Number – 04
While Trinity was sleeping last night I completed one chapter and got half way through another. This leaves me with two and a half chapters in the hopper to polish up.
For the benefit of the new readers, just what am I doing? My primary job is to work on the military, historical and tactical issues in this project. However, over the course of time, my role has evolved. I will make editorial changes, add details (especially if I have been to a particular place but the client has not) as well as modify dialogue to a degree. The relationship I have with my client is one akin to the apprentice working under a master. I’m very fortunate to have this relationship and as such I generally tend not to toot my horn about it. These RPN updates are more for the client’s benefit and my own than the general reader who might drop by.
But my basic job is to make sure everything is dress right dress. And when in doubt (which happens) and I can’t find answer(that happens to) I blur things just enough so that most readers won’t be able to tell the difference.
Details can be a double edged sword, I find.
Other Fronts
Pretty lazy day yesterday. Trinity and I went to see the latest Transformers movie with her ex-husband (who seems nice enough). The film was okay I suppose. An enjoyable way to spend a cloudy Fourth of July.
We had dinner at the Pod and a quiet night after.
So it goes.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
North Kansas City, Missouri
In December of this year, Apex Book Company will publish an anthology containing my short story, The Limb Knitter. The anthology is Descended from Darkness: Apex Magazine Volume One and it contains a number of notable stories from the print and online versions of Apex Digest and Apex Online Magazine.
You know the sales pitch is coming, right?
Why buy?
Reason One: Apex has been supportive of my fiction. Jason Sizemore and his crew purchased The Limb Knitter when other publications passed on it. The story did pretty well to judge by the comments thread and it also did well on the review front. If you ask me, that means Jason and his folks are pretty good judges of fiction.
Reason Two: Apex is a professional paying market. They pay five cents a word which means I was well compensated for a story that is available to you online for free.
Reason Three: The purchase of this anthology will support the continuation of Apex Online Magazine as a going concern.
Reason Four: The cover rocks. Have you seen the cover art?
Reason Five: Apex not only purchased The Limb Knitter, they also republished Tearing Down Tuesday.
Reason Six: You can have a print copy of a story that received an honorable mention in The Year’s Best Science Fiction: 26th Edition.
Reason Seven: You can get a great collection of Apex Stories besides my own.
But the best reason of all?
Well, if you click on the link below this sentence, you’ll give me a tip of sorts. I get a small cut of the profit from each purchase generated by this link.
http://www.apexbookstore.com/products/murphy-descended-from-darkness
Or let us look at it like this.
If you ever wanted to buy me a beer or a box of tea bags to support me in my endeavors, this would be a good way to help out.
So, go order your copy today. Chop chop. Support the starving writer.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
North Kansas City, Missouri
Those that done said stuff