Another Spring Picture

As I continue to explore new revenue streams for the upcoming year, I’m trying to add a bit more in the way of editing, since it’s one of the things I really enjoy doing, and which feels in some ways like an extension of the fiction.

So here’s my “Completed Nano? What Now?” package.

I will read your lump of words. And then I will give you feedback that includes:

• What sort of novel I think it is, along with possible markets
• A rough roadmap of what you need to think about in order to turn it into something you could submit to a publisher (or self-publish, which more and more people seem to be turning to)
• What you’re doing right – your writing strengths and how you might capitalize on them
• What you’re not quite doing right – your writing weaknesses and how you might address them
• People writing in the same vein that you might look to when thinking about agents and publishers
• Identifying pieces that might make short stories

Pricing:
Sign up by midnight PST, Friday, December 9 and get the special price: $79, which you can also claim if you’re a past or current student. Otherwise it’s $99. Contact me at spezzatura AT gmail.com

Finishing up the final polish of a story today, titled “Reality Storage”. It fits in both the Villa Encantada series as well as the category of “stories inspired by the remodeling and moving process.” Here you go:

So there I was staring at the bank of monitors. It was still early in the morning; my coffee was half-full but I’d finished my muffin. I was thinking about the way Bonnie smelled in the morning, before she showered, still a little sweaty but with a lingering edge like lilac and mint from her bodywash, and a little musty too, when you burrowed your face down into the hollow of her neck.

On monitor three, the guy entered, got a cart, and then pretended to load stuff onto it from his car. That’s what made me look a second time, catching him lifting empty air up. He did it five or six times, then trundled the cart onto the elevator and took it up to locker 234.

I watched him all the way, sipping my coffee, wondering what he was up to. He opened up the locker, mimed lifting six things into it, closed and locked it. He even wore work gloves to protect his hands. I wondered if he was practicing some kind of act. It looked so realistic, to the point where he staggered on the last lift, as though thrown off balance by the burden’s heaviness.

He stripped off the gloves, closed up the unit, and locked it again. He didn’t bother to take the empty cart back down with him, just left it there, which made me think the worse of him. It’s shitty not to do little things like that, to make someone else clean up after you.

While he was in the elevator, he looks straight at the camera. He rubbed at his ear, frowning. Then he shrugged and gave the camera a wave, as though he saw me watching.

Then he got back into his sporty little pickup truck and drove away.

Enjoy this sample of Cat’s writing and want more of it on a weekly basis, along with insights into process, recipes, photos of Taco Cat, chances to ask Cat (or Taco) questions, discounts on and news of new classes, and more? Support her on Patreon..