So Friday I said I’d do a bunch of things to the site over the weekend.  Well, best laid plans and whatnot.  I did get around to uploading some new files and deleting old ones.  What does this mean?  It means that the links on the Stories page are currently broken.  That’s because I meant to revamp the Stories page with sections for Short Fiction, Flash Fiction, Novellas, Novels and (gasp!) poetry, but I didn’t.  Why?  I’m lazy.  Sorry.  Hate to break it to you folks like this but, well, I just can’t hide it anymore.  Or maybe I’m just too lazy to try?

In any case, I will get around to doing that this week.  The files are on the server.  It’s just a matter of making it look pretty and accessible (and writing the copy to go along with it – ugh).

Since I’m short on actual content today, I’ll update with some writer things for you:

• Booklamp – In their own words, it’s sort of like the Pandora project, except for books instead of music.  I signed up, though their selection is rather slim.  You can suggest books, though, and since A Life Transparent’s digital incarnation is free for distribution, I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t recommend it. Pretty please?
• Seven Deadly Words of Book Reviewing – This may come in handy if you like to write book reviews (and I know some of you are just itching to do so).  It’s also an interesting read if you’ve ever read professional book reviews.  I’ll probably refer to it whenever I finally get off my ass and write up a review for Jon McRae’s wonderful novel, Io: First Book of Lost and Found Souls.
• FreakAngels – I keep forgetting to mention this.  It’s not really a “writer thing” per se, but it is a “reader thing,” and a damn good one at that.  Written by Warren Ellis (of Transmetropolitan fame – which I highly recommend) and art by Paul Duffield, it’s a free online web comic that takes place in a post-apocalyptic steampunk future.  It’s up to issue six and is already intriguing.  Definitely check it out.
• Scott Sigler – I discovered this guy via an ad over at the horror podcast site, Pseudopod.  Looks like he’s been at the podcast thing for a while, and his latest book, Infected, was picked up by Crown. Very, very cool. This gives me hope.  The novel comes out April 1st.

I’ve been asked a couple of times if I’m ever going to do an audio version of ALT.  The short answer: I would love to.  The long answer: I’m hesitant to do so, and I’ll tell you why. Though Erica has experience with mastering audio, we lack a good, solid soundproof environment in which to record.  We also lack good, solid recording equipment.  I don’t even know where to begin with that sort of thing, and since my budget is extremely limited, I don’t see recording any time in the near future.

Granted, I’ve done some fair recordings with just my computer microphone, but if this is going to be done, it should be done right the first time.  This means no background noise, no static, and no “puh,” “buh,” “sssss,” and “fffff” sounds when I record. I’ve only recently discovered the vast world of podcasting and podiobooks.  Sigler’s efforts sound really good and the results he’s yielded are amazing, so I’ve a good model to follow whenever I’m finally able to do this.  So unless anyone out there in the vast internet has some spare audio equipment to load out for a period of time (I’ll take good care of it, I promise!), the monochromatic world of ALT will be stuck on the page and its voices forever locked in my own head.

I think that does it for tonight.  Oh wait, I forgot to mention a new story I’m working on.  It sort of came out of nowhere and is moving along swiftly.  I wrote almost 1,000 words today in about a half hour period, which is always a good sign.  It’s tentatively titled “The Idea Salesman,” and I hope to have a finished draft by the end of this week – just in time for me to start rewriting imagiNATION.  Yay.

Okay.  I’m off.

TK