Jason Derr's Blog

Originally posted on OPreach:

Today’s Lenten poem from Education for Justice is by Rubem Alves.

Tomorrow’s Children

What is hope?
It is a presentiment that imagination is more real
and reality less real than it looks.
It is a hunch
that the overwhelming brutality of facts
that oppress and repress is not the last word.
It is a suspicion
that reality is more complex
than realism wants us to believe
and that the frontiers of the possible
are not determined by the limits of the actual
and that in a miraculous and unexpected way
life is preparing the creative events
which will open the way to freedom and resurrection….
The two, suffering and hope, live from each other.
Suffering without hope
produces resentment and despair,
hope without suffering
creates illusions, naivete, and drunkenness….
Let us plant dates
even though those who plant them will never eat them.
We must live by the love of…

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Dead Space, my first entry in The Worlds Of Kurt Vonnegut on Kindle Worlds is doing well. Actually its been doing much better than I anticipated: This morning I was #32 and #33 in two categories. As of a few minutes ago I was sitting at:

#46 in Kindle Store > Kindle Worlds > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#51 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 30 minutes (12-21 pages) > Science Fiction & Fantasy

I had hesitated to do a Kindle Worlds. Fan Fiction has no appeal to me, even as a young writer. Vonneguts writing, skewing to the more literary, is something I can approach with ease – its not a set world. It has ‘wiggle room’. I may in the future keep going with other worlds – if I view it as tie-in media and not fan-fic its more doable for me. I am watching The Writers Room on Netflix for inspiration.

You might think I am behind on blogging. But that is so not true. I’ve had several big news items to share and wanted to wait until the awesome overlapped. 

1). Martha Toole is being promoted by The Speakeasy. Review copies went out via them a few weeks ago and I am just waiting for things to start coming in. 

2) New story out, via Kindle Worlds. I am not a fan of fan-fiction but I am a fan of Kurt Vonnegut. Dead Space will be unpacking one of his short stories into a serialized collection of shorts. 

Woot!

Hey Gang -

Well, i’ve applied to – and been accepted to – the UBC BoomingGround program. It is a writer mentorship program. An MFA is not possible at this time in my life – but this will give me the close focus on craft that I so crave.

Also; ‘Spirit Animals’ is turned into my editor and ‘Fearful Things’ is coming along nicely, as is my Super Secret Project.

Climax! is still in development. Its about getting the idea right 

Climax!

As many readers will know I am developing an idea for a humanitarian/human rights inspired espionage novel. Fret no, faithful reader, the project is still underway. I am writing a novella to explore some of the ideas and find out what works and what does not. And let me tell you – I am finding out what works and what does not!

I’ve turned in my new novella to my editor and looking forward to editing that. I am holding off on ordering a cover until I have everything edited and ready to go. I’m working on an other novella, Fearful Things, that I hope to release at the same time.

In other news: I have been accepted to the BoomingGround writer mentor program at UBC. This will be my own, personal Alternative To The MFA. It is an opportunity to grow as a writer. 

theopoetics:

Of writerly interest

Originally posted on Literary Liaisons:

If you’re in Oregon don’t forget that the Storyfixer LARRY BROOKS is teaching an OregonWriters Colony workshop on November 10th in Portland; STORY 404 — Advanced Story Development and Execution for Serious WritersThis intensive workshop will examine and empower the art of storytelling by breaking it down into its three component parts:- The Search for Story – Story Design – Story Execution. So if you’re in or near Portland this is a master class, from a master teacher thatyou don’t want to miss.

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Recently i’ve had the honour of hanging out, online, with what started as a writers support group – and turned into a small publisher of charity anthologies. 

Publishing is changing. Now I can write a book like Martha Toole or The Boston 395 and market directly to the readers without a middle man. 

The truth is, though, that a group of writers with enough passion can come together, share resources, help each other market and challenge the NYC monopoly on publishing. 

I will have an announcement to make along those lines shortly. 

The future is NOW.

The latest ratings are in and Martha Toole has cracked the Top 100 in Magical Realism. We are #93. While I hope to see that number go way up it feels really nice to be in the top 100.
Also – a great new review came in, putting us at Five 5 -Star reviews. I will put it below.

“

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautifully Written Story, April 30, 2014
By S.A. Molteni – Author (United States) – See all my reviews
Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
This review is from: The Life and Remembrances of Martha Toole (Kindle Edition)
“The Life Remembrances Martha Toole” by Jason Derr is a beautifully written novella that brings the past and present together.

The story centers around the elderly Martha Toole’s visit, who by all accounts makes life a bit distressing for the Hammer family. However, John David, the eldest son seems to understand Martha in a way that no other member of the family does.

On a trip to the old family homestead with the elderly Martha, John David and her are accompanied home by the younger Martha Toole ghost. While a wonderful plot and great twist in the story line, at times the conversations between the older and younger Martha were a bit confusing. But, not too much to distract from the story.

Overall, the story story flowed well and was written with a nostalgic touch reminiscent of bygone days. I would definitely recommend it to readers of literary fiction and paranormal/realism.”

Last night at work I was cleaning up Spirit Animals and poking at Climax!: Warchild when I heard a line of the ‘The Waltons’ wrong. My clients LOVE The Waltons and pretty much watch it nightly. Thinking my misheard line was funny I jotted it down. 

Well…i’m pages deep into a new story. 

The Waltons have become an unexpected muse and while I am happy for the inspiration I hope the muse will find other avenues to inspire. If you remember my recent novella The Life and Times of Martha Toole was inspired by saying ‘what if’ to a scene. 

The muse strikes when it does. But we cannot be lazy victims to the muse. Art requires work, and sometimes we have to show up to the work even if the muse does not. I may begin a story with incredible inspiration but in the middle of it, in the heat of the work its about heavy lifting. I can’t just rely on my emotions to carry me through. I have to show up and I have to do the work. 

Good night, John Boy!