Timothy Buller's Blog

Occasionally I have vivid dreams.Sometimes I enjoy them, sometimes not so much. Most of these dreams tend to follow this pattern: I start out someplace specific with a clear objective (like get from point A to point B). As I begin my journey, I often find I have forgotten something, am without an important piece of the puzzle, or need to accomplish another task before I can reach my destination. Sometimes, it's someone else dragging me to something they have deemed more important, or more necessary, than what I am currently attending to.

Click the link to read the full post.

http://faithvsphysics.blogspot.com/20...

Paramourtal Vol 2 was released earlier this year, and Sci-Fi Pulse did a review of each story in the collection at their website. Here is what they said about my story (including story synopsis):

“Dancing with the Rain” by Timothy Buller: “In 1953, a Japanese girl with seemingly miraculous abilities arrives in a small Texas town. Her appearance ignites a wide range of emotions, especially in a young man named Ben.” The story that precedes this hammers home need; this story is poetic desire. The language and imagery that Buller uses is what this story must have to be successful. Without revealing anything specific about Amy, the Japanese girl, she is living poetry: her presence, speech and abilities are wonderful. The same must be said of Ben, who is captivated by this girl.
Overall grade: A+

Loved it.

I wrote and submitted a new story. Is a Steampunk themed romance story, set in an alternate history of the American Civil War.
I really like it, and feel good about it, but that doesn't mean too much. I know I have good ideas, but I'm still developing in my craft. Sometimes I fear I will poorly write all of my good ideas only to run out by the time I'm any good at writing them.

Also, just got back from vacation, where I wrote two more stories. These are still considered drafts, but the one is flash fiction, so it won't take too long to clean up.

I've also been reading a number of short stories by Gene Wolfe, and wrote a new blog post on how one of his stories may have influenced an episode of Dr. Who. You can check that out on the link.

http://faithvsphysics.blogspot.com/20...

Got my copy of Shadows of the New Sun yesterday. Very excited. Read the first story, written by Gene Wolfe (whom the book is a tribute too), and it was brilliant.
Also, a friend gave me a copy of The Difference Engine. I haven't read any Steampunk past Felix Gilman's Half-Mad World, so this should be a good experience.

And of cours, he gave me the book when I mentioned a new project I had started. I am writing a Steampunk romance for a possible submission I found through Duotrope. I have a decent idea of what I want to do, and think I can get it in on time. Only problem is I have 40 days to do it, and will be in Disney World for the final 14 days before submission. So I need to be done in less than 30.

No worries. The outline is already complete, and the characters are forming nicely. I really only have two characters to develop, so I know I can do this. I wrote my last published piece in only 30 days, though the publisher worked really hard with me on polishing it before it was printed. I may not have that type of assistance this time around.

Wish me luck.

Truth be told, I've spent a lot of time playing the new college football game on playstation, not so much on writing.

I have, however, finished three short pieces in the past few months. One is an addition to the short I posted on my personal blog, both being supplemental pieces to a larger story I want to tell. The second is short I began for a possible submission to web based publisher. It still requires some editing though, and I hope to have that done soon. It is also meant to be the first in a series, maybe three or four stories long. The third is a fable/myth story. It's very short, and is a tragic piece. It will require a bit of editing, but it's not long. I hope to submit it somewhere eventually as we'll.

That's my goodreads update for now.

So, I wrote a short myth/story, and posted it to my blogspot to be read.

It's a back drop myth to set up the universe of a new story (novel) I am working on. I wrote it to sound very Old Testament, and the novel is going to revolve heavily around religious themes in the universe.

It is still pretty raw, as I've done no editing to it. I don't know how much of it will make it into the novel. Most of it will probably be revealed through dialogue, so it won't be verbatim.

The story is at:

http://faithvsphysics.blogspot.com/20...

Check it out, let me know what you think.

Went to one day of ConQuest 44 in Kansas City this past Saturday. Took the wife, left at four in the morning, and got back to St Louis around ten in the PM. It was a good experience.

The best part of the trip was spending time with Diane, as we don't get to do stuff like this together. Ever. We got one of her GoT books signed by George RR Martin, and also got the Name of the Wind signed by Patrick Rothfuss.

There was a definite difference in the two men's lines, where George was signing his name and moving on, while Patrick seemed to engage with every individual who came to his table. He shared with my wife that the love interest in Name of the Wind, Denna, was almost named Diane. We found that to be cool trivia.

We also went to his reading/Q & A session, where he read an article he wrote as a college student about Taco Bell's Ultimate Chalupa. It was a good time.

I went to two panels while we were there, and enjoyed them, one a little more than the other. There were good tips at both, so it was all worth my time. If you want to write, I recommend getting to conventions like this, and gleaning as much info as you can during these panels. All the other stuff can be fun, but panels are where you find tools for success.

I am currently working through A Wise Man's Fear, the follow up to Name of the Wind. After having seen Patrick Rothfuss this weekend, those memories have brought a new life to the pages for me. It's as if I can hear him reading it.

I enjoyed the first book, and so far, this book is good as well. If you have not read them, I highly recommend them, especially if you are in to fantasy.

First, if you would like to follow my regular blog, go to the website listed under my profile, faithvsphysics.blogspot.com.

Otherwise, I will try to put a few posts here, every now and again.

Dancing with the Rain was a short story I did for Paramourtal Vol 2, an anthology of paranormal romance works. This started as an exercise to develop my chops as a writer, and turned into a quality submission, which got the honor of being my first published piece.

There are a lot of good stories in the anthology, and very talented writers, so I was very honored to be included.

If you liked the story, thank you. You may be interested in knowing that I am working on several other projects currently. The big project is a novel, I would consider to be urban fantasy. I completed a large chunk of it in November, and am currently working on the editing, and redirecting some of the plot lines.

I am also working on some short story ideas. One is a zombie tale, which I think will be a good spin on the overdone genre. The other is a paranormal mystery, akin to something you might see on the X-Files, or Fringe. I'm also active on Duotrope's website, looking for potential submission opportunities.

Nothing I am currently working on is commissioned, it's all of my own choosing. That said, it may be a while before any get published, if at all. Fingers crossed on that.

Thanks for your interest. Enjoy the rest of your day on the internet.