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Chez Rambo in the Time of the Pandemic, mid-July Check-in

Wow, it’s been a long time since I last checked in. By now, pandemic existence seems somewhat normal. We have masks, plastic gloves, and sanitizer by the doorway; we’ve been out for fast food maybe once a month and felt quite daring about it. The move to Portland is on hiatus for now as we wait to see how the world shakes out.

I have a StoryBundle up today, focused on glitter and hope! Please check it out and spread the word.

Writing-wise:

  • I’m wrapping up the final edit of Exiles of Tabat and am on track to hand that in to the publisher on July 31.
  • After that I’ll spend August working with Devil’s Gun and getting ready to hand that in at the end of the month.
  • I’m up to installment 12 of serial novella Baby Driver, have found a publisher for it, and am also working on a comics script, while thinking about eventually funding that via Kickstarter as a comic book series.
  • Forthcoming stories include “I Decline” in Daily Science Fiction and “Crazy Beautiful” in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, as well as a story I co-wrote with my spouse in issue three of Dark Matter Magazine, “Stand and Deliver.” Anthology publications include “Snowflakes” in The Last Cities of Earth.
  • I’m one of the three writers behind And the Last Trump Shall Sound, which appears in August, and I’m beyond the moon at the chance to work with James Morrow and Harry Turtledove. Thank you to David Boop for acting as our development editor.
  • Also in the pipeline: an awesome space western collaboration; the final Tabat book, Gods of Tabat; book three of the space opera series, tentatively titled Flower Power; a 3/4s-written novella I’ve been tinkering with; at least three other novellas I would like to be tinkering; and a literary horror novel.

Other Non-Writing Stuff:

  • I have an anthology project in the works and am establishing some of its structure. Stay posted for announcements and slush reader calls.
  • I’m also thinking about a game module set in Tabat after having listened to Monica Valentinelli talking about adapting novels into games in her class last weekend.
  • Continuing to build my Patreon, which is currently at 241 patrons (!), who are getting fiction, snippets, Zoom events, co-writing, chat server access, and free/discounted Rambo Academy classes.
  • Finishing up the on-demand version of Writing Your Way Into Your Novel. There’s some other cool on-demand classes in the works from Evan J. Peterson and Jamie Lackey, along with others!
  • I started some little bonsai trees and have named two of them, Groot and Augustus.
  • Continuing to sous-vide all the things. Recently have been making homemade sandwich bread as well as my own butter. One recent success: garlic chili oil

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Want access to a lively community of writers and readers, free writing classes, co-working sessions, special speakers, weekly writing games, random pictures and MORE for as little as $2? Check out Cat’s Patreon campaign.

Want to get some new fiction? Support my Patreon campaign.
Want to get some new fiction? Support my Patreon campaign.

 

"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."

~K. Richardson

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The New Place, and Other Recent News

Recently spotted in Value Village. I believe this is the god of pumpkin spice.
Recently spotted in Value Village. I believe this is the god of pumpkin spice.
We are mostly unpacked and settling into West Seattle. The construction across the way continues, and they’re working frantically to get the place done before the rainy season sets in. I give them a 50/50% chance of making it.

The high ceilings here make the place feel enormous, as does the extra 300 square feet we’ve picked up. We’ve also got substantially more closet and cupboard space. The view from the kitchen window remains a thing of wonder; every night it gives me a beautiful sunset with sound and mountains. Yesterday there was sunlight coming in through the leaves and flickering on the cabinet so beautifully that I had to call Wayne to come and look. The cats like the new place, particularly the carpet in the study.

Downsides are small so far — we’ll definitely need to get a portable AC for at least one room next summer in order to survive. We certainly can hear the restaurant — but the hours are such that it’s hasn’t been bothersome at all and it means we never need to worry that our TV or music is too loud in turn. There are raccoons who like to come up the back stairs and trip the motion detector driven light. Garbage is much more complicated than it was in Redmond: here we have to separate out food waste and there’s no handy dumpster.

picture of a tortoiseshell cat
Taco says the sunlight is good here but the pillows are too small.
The best feature, for me at least, remains the location. A few dozen coffee shops are within my walking range. The library is a six minute walk away. If I wanted to, I could take the water taxi into Seattle. Also within walking distance: multiple thrift stores, several parks, an antique mall, four large grocery stores, a 24 hour Bartells Drug Store, two bookstores, an art supply store, a post office, a pet food store that carries the cans of gold that are the only thing Raven can eat, and some of the most beautiful views around. The Unitarian Church is a hour walk, but a ten minute drive isn’t too bad.

Saturday we finished up cleaning the condo. A friend just moved to the area, so we’re happy to be able to have him staying there and making sure no one sets up a meth lab or tiger breeding facility or something like that while we’re gone.

Recent writing news:

  • “Marvelous Contrivances of the Heart” just appeared in Fiction River: Recycled Pulp, edited by John Helfers.
  • I turned in my story, “The Curious Peregrinations of a Goat Herder,” for the Champions of Aeltalis book, and Marc Tassin liked it.
  • “He Knows When You’ve Been Sleeping” will appear in Naughty or Nice, edited by Jennifer Brozek. This is a humorous story that edges into R realms and is also the first Christmas story I’ve written, which is a slightly odd combo.
  • “Rappacini’s Crow” was rereleased in the Best of Beneath Ceaseless Skies Year Six.
  • Two collaborations are forthcoming: “The Mermaid Club” with Mike Resnick and novella “Haunted” with Bud Sparhawk.
  • A notable recent reprint is “Tortoiseshell Cats are Not Refundable”, which originally appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine, and will be reprinted in The Best American Fantasy and Science Fiction, edited by Joe Hill with series editor John Joseph Adams.
  • Recent Patreon stories are Talking in the Night and Snakes on a Train.
  • Other upcoming stories include “Tongues of Moon Toad” in The Bestiary Anthology, edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer; “Preferences” in Chasing Shadows, edited by David Brin; “Red in Tooth and Cog” in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction; novelette “The Threadbare Magician” in Genius Loci, edited by Jaym Gates; “As the Crow Flies, So Does the Road” in Grendelsong, edited by Paul Jessup; and “Call and Answer, Plant and Harvest” in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

photo of Cat Rambo with flowers
The kitchen is airy and light; it makes a more compelling argument for buying fresh flowers than the old place.
Recent teaching news:

That’s all for now! Looking forward to an October spent exploring this new space and finally finishing up this goddamn book.

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Heading Into the 2nd Half of the Year

This edition of the newsletter contains:

  • Where I’m at with current projects and upcoming appearances
  • Some new classes for August and September
  • Join the street team for Devil’s Gun!
  • Wayward Wormhole Progress Report
  • Lots and lots of links
  • Moving away from Twitter? Here’s where to find me on other social media platforms.

Where I’m At. Figuratively and Literally

Hello! It’s almost August and time has certainly flown by this year! I’m working on the dev edits for RUMOR HAS IT, the third space opera book and finishing up writing WINGS OF TABAT, the last book in the Tabat Quartet. That’ll make two books delivered this year, along with at least a handful of story sales, several of which I’m really looking forward to announcing!

A non-writing project has been the reclamation of my backyard, including planting lots of insect-friendly flowers and herbs. I harvested my first (but surely not last) summer squash this morning, and spent a few minutes watching a variety of bees enjoying both the newly-blooming sunflowers as well as the (by design) unmowed clover patch that has been christened “Beelandia.”

I will be at GenCon next week and Chicago FanCon the following weekend. After that, my next appearance will be in early September at DragonCon, followed by a reading in NYC mid-September.

 New Classes for August and September

How to Give Great Interviews with Randee Dawn, August 26th, 9:30-11:30 AM Pacific time

Got a passion project you want people to notice or buy? Then you’ll want to know how to speak to professionals with big megaphones out there: reporters! Veteran entertainment journalist and author Randee Dawn has been on both sides of the microphone, and in this class you’ll learn how to pitch, to prepare for your interviews, and become the kind of expert reporters want to call back.

Join Randee Dawn for a workshop in which she teaches you how to get and make the most of interview opportunities.

Dial Up Your Dialogue with Cat Rambo, August 26th, 1-   3 PM Pacific time

Want to make your dialogue more interesting, intriguing, and indicative of character behavior? How do you know to leave in and leave out? How can you use dialogue to successfully deliver vital information? How do you make characters distinctive through their voices?

Join Cat Rambo for a workshop in which they teach you the ins and outs of dialogue.

How Not To Shoot Yourself In The Foot with Mur Lafferty, August 27th, 9:30-11:30 AM Pacific time

You’ve mastered submission guidelines and cover letters! But that’s just the outskirts of the wild land of the pro author. This class offers advice on how to avoid some common early career mistakes, from how to choose the right agent to dealing with procrastination, self doubt, and more. We will also run a successful author “LARP” to illustrate some points. It may get silly. Bring dice. F&SF author Mur Lafferty will help you navigate the various pitfalls you may stumble upon in your journey.

Join Mur Lafferty for a session filled with practical, irreverent advice designed to give you practical, applicable skills on planning your career and then executing that plan.

The First Draft Novel Blues with Cat Rambo, August 27th, 1-3 PM Pacific time

You’ve got a first draft of your novel now, in all its messy glory. How do you go about revising it and getting it to the point where you’re ready to give it to your beta readers? How do you track the changes and account for the fact that a change to a first chapter can bubble all the way through to the end. Find out how to create a road map to guide you through the process.

Join Cat Rambo for a workshop in which they teach you what to do next.

Keep Your Reader on The Edge of Their Seat: Creating Tension in Your Writing with Cat Rambo, September 17, 9:30-11:30 AM Pacific time

How do you keep your reader wondering what’s happening next, and eagerly racing through your pages to find out? How do you create suspense and tension in a scene, and how tense is TOO tense? What factors remove tension from a situation? Find out how to dial up the tension and keep your reader eager to find out what happens next.

Join Cat Rambo for a workshop in which they teach you how to be more tense. 😉

Prosthetic Dreaming: How to Use ChatGPT, Meditation, and Surrealism To Unlock Your Creativity with Henry Lien and Jerry Lee Davis, September 17, 1-4 PM Pacific time.

AI represents an existential crisis for humans, forcing us to face the question of whether there are more of us than needed. This question is particularly confronting for artists, many of whom already question the value of their own creations and themselves.

This workshop embraces AI as an art supply by recognizing that an artist’s contribution is not just to create something out of thin air, but to observe the startling connections between seemingly unconnected things that no one else has noticed. AI, specifically ChatGPT, can be a remarkable tool to bombard your brain, help you enter your creativity sideways, and give you the “x-ray specs” to see those unseen connections.

The workshop uses meditation and Surrealistic parlour games to bridge between ChatGPT’s sometimes spooky, sometimes hollow responses and your own subconscious. The workshop uses AI ethically, consulting it not to create anything but simply as a lens to see connections in the artist’s mind and the world. This workshop is structured to help all artists, but is particularly useful to those working in narrative mediums (fiction, non-fiction, drama, film/tv).

This workshop is taught by author Henry Lien, who has nearly 20 years’ experience as a Surrealist art dealer, and author/playwright Jerry Lee Davis, who has over 20 years’ experience teaching meditation.

“You will need access to ChatGPT for the workshop. You will need to create a free account to do so. Here is the link. Note that there is also an iOS app for iPhone and iPad. Here is the link. Please make sure you are downloading the official ChatGPT app by OpenAI, and not downloading one of the many copy-cats.

Here is a partial list of countries where ChatGPT is available and not available. https://www.mlyearning.org/what-countries-is-chat-gpt-available/ “

Cost of classes is $99, or $79 for former Rambo Academy students and Patreon supporters. To register for a class or classes, mail the name(s) of the class, and how you would like to pay (Paypal, Venmo, or other means.)

Looking for something else? Here’s the list of available class videos as well as the portal for the Rambo Academy’s on-demand classes.

The school will be on hiatus for the month of November, while the Wayward Wormhole Intensive Writing Workshop is taking place. The resident Wayward Wormhole students have been selected. We’re excited to congratulate M Levine, Beston Barnett, Cryus Fisher, Sarah Grey, Gio Clairval, Em Dupre, Madhu Guruprasad, Marissa James, Rosemary Smith, Stephanie Johnson, and Auden Patrick. Want in on the virtual version? You can find the details here.

Join the Disco Space Opera Street Team!

Check out the cool buttons I just got for RUMOR HAS IT! Want to join the street team for the book and get a pair of these buttons for yourself? Mail me at cat@kittywumpus.net with the subject line Street Team and I’ll stick them in the mail to you. (I have a limited amount for overseas fans, so mail fast if that’s your situation.) Optional street team activities include: posting pics wearing the buttons or of the book in a bookstore, requesting the book via your local library system, posting reviews or recommendations, and the most active promoters will be getting a follow-up thank you!

Lotsa Links

Cat-Related Links

Community Links

Market News and Related Links

Leaving Twitter and want to find me on other social media? Check the list here.

That’s it for now! Take care and keep writing!  -Cat

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