tales by sheya

Welcome to the XIXth fortnightly edition of the Storyblogging Carnival. We have eleven entries this time, from some new faces, as well as from some of our seasoned veterans. So please enjoy the following:

We begin with Jason Pomerantz of Fiddle and Burn. He submits the first part of his ongoing daily blogfic, 'The Can.' This is the first 220 words; when finished, 'The Can' will be approximately 3,900 words long. Rating is PG.

Author's blurb: What came before the Big Bang? How do you describe a sunset to a blind man? Could God create an object so heavy He couldn’t lift it? We can’t help you with any of those great paradoxes. But we can address another mystery, just as important: How do you throw out a rusty, old garbage can?

Jason also notes: I describe Fiddle and Burn itself as “A Daily Comic Strip in Prose”. I am trying to adapt the rhythm and pacing of the best daily newspaper comic strips, but in a purely textual form. The stories follow the staff of Fiddle and Burn Magazine, and particularly, the Circulation Director, Rantz. I’m committed to posting every weekday. Some episodes are standalone, some are parts of longer story arcs.

[This is an interesting concept, a daily comic in prose. A very good beginning. Looking forward to reading more.]

~~~~~

Next, Elyas of Ablogistan has entered the story 'The Adventures of Acinom.' This is a brief story, about 600 words, with a rating of PG.

Author's blurb: Ablogistan.com's unpaid intern, Acinom, recently took a trip to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby, and he found out there's a lot more to the Derby than horses. Mainly, lots of alcohol.

[Funny story. I used to live in Louisville, and I can sure see this happening at Derbytime...]

~~~~~~

From Danny Carlton of JackLewis.net, the story The Rose Leaf. 1694 words, rated G.

Author's blurb: An allegory for those feeling stomped in the mud.

[This is an absolutely beautiful story. I really enjoyed reading it.]

~~~~~

Ben Schumacher from Zeroth Order Approximation offers The Date of Armageddon. This story is about 1750 words long, rated PG.

Author's blurb: A melancholy story written late in 1999, but only posted recently. Three humans meet with a robot emissary at a time not long before the end of the world.

[Very interesting story. One of those that when I finished, I went back to the start to read it over again.]

~~~~

Andrew Ian Dodge of Dodgeblogium has entered Vanish Village. A 1923-word short story about the Sage, rated PG.

Author's blurb: A small town postman has an interesting tale to tell...is there any truth to it?

[You can tell Andrew enjoys writing the Sage of Wales stories.]

~~~~~

Donald S. Crankshaw of Back of the Envelope gives us More Mysteries, Chapter 14 of Eyes in the Shadow. This is a 2,134 chapter of his 43,142 word continuing novella. Rating is PG-13.

Author's blurb: Just when Ryan thought things couldn't get weirder, new information changes everything he thought he knew about the psychotic mutant demon named Red-eyes.

[More twists and turns. What could be next?]

~~~~

D.M. Molloy (a.k.a. “Bakerman") of Passing Trains gives us 'The King of Greenwich Village.' This is a slightly fictionalized, real-life, first-person account. 2,860 words; rated G.

Author's blurb: Greenwich Village during the 1960's, and a brutally cold February night at a strange, rundown, last-stop hotel. And it was here that I encountered Greenwich Village's most fearsome street-character of this or any known era.

[Bakerman uses language like you would not believe. I'm very glad to have met him.]

~~~~~

Eric R. Ashley from Tales of Tadeusz has the beginning of 'Death of a Blogger.' The prologue and half the first chapter of a modern-day mystery novel focusing on the blogosphere. The first 3070 words of a 67,110 word novel. Rated PG-13.

Author's blurb: In the world's first mystery novel about blogging, a troll decides to deal with his political opponents by deleting them. Will he escape undetected? Will he evade the hounds, or can the Blogosphere defend itself against a madman?

[And a very good mystery novel is it, right from the start. I have a bad feeling about what will happen next...]

~~~~~

Here at 'tales by sheya' I've been posting a bit more than usual. The following new chapters are all up online now: 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, and 63. This adds 3232 words to my 49,726-word novel-in-progress.

Author's blurb: The aftermath of a terrible accident - and the foreshadowing of another terrible event about to occur.

~~~~~

Darleen Click from Darleen's Place offers Pacific Sunset & A Date with Death. A 3,361-word short story, rated PG-13 (mostly for language).

Author's blurb: Joy is poised, literally and figuratively, on the edge of her life, confronting her past and reaching for some inner strength. But it is it the strength to continue or just let go?

[Riveting.]

~~~~~

And finally, Dave Gudeman of Doc Rampage has entered the next two chapters, 3 and 4 of his science fiction novel Scale 7 Artifact. The beginning chapter is found here. These two chapters add 3404 words in his as-yet 5900-word work-in-progress. Rating is G.

Author's blurb: Humankind's first intersteller explorers have made an incredible discovery. But something odd is going on aboard ship.

[I like the character developments he is introducing. Also the description of looking over the planets.]

~~~~~

So there you have them. I hope you have enjoyed this edition of the Storyblogging Carnival. If you would like to enter a story for an upcoming carnival or are interested in hosting, you can contact me (email address listed in side-bar), or get in touch with Donald S. Crankshaw at Back of the Envelope.

Thanks for reading!