Category: writing
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Hidden Heritage
We’re well into classes at Avila, but in quiet moments I still reflect on my summer trip to Germany and all the things I learned and saw traveling the country with my family; visiting the stomping grounds of relatives and ancestors. I’ve long been fascinated by family histories, a habit instilled in me no doubt…
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Undine – and where our stories come from
Saturday I attended a meeting of the Heartland Authors Guild, which goes by the wonderful acronym HAG. We did a flash fiction workshop including an exercise based on sensory prompts. Prompts were given to us by chance – drawn from a deck of cards. Mine read as follows: the sound of a garden hose What…
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channeling our inner Picasso
I had the extraordinary opportunity last week to visit the Picasso Museum in Barcelona. The museum houses one of the largest collections of his early works, and gives the visitor an excellent chronicle of Picasso’s development as an artist, from his teenage years all the way up through his later masterpieces. I’ve had…
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Speaking to My Past Self
Have you ever been told to think about what your future self would say to you? I’ve never actually received this advice, but I’ve heard it given, usually to young people who are facing important challenges or decisions. I suppose people who give this advice do so because it’s worked for them. Me, I’ve always been…
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‘Tis the Season
Unbelievable. Fall semester has once again slipped through my fingers without as much as a by-your-leave. This will be my last post for 2015. I’m taking a much needed vacation that will involve lots of quality time with my wonderful nieces, both of them young magas in the making. Big projects are in store for…
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About those women characters…
This post is inspired by three seemingly unrelated events this week. One was an article by Renee Asher Pickup about the feminist implications of the story of Ted Bundy. The other, a reflection on a Tumblr blog about Joss Whedon and the ever-elusive female heroine. (This latter post has been on line for over a year now;…
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Eolyn: Round Two
Thomas Vandenberg, who did the cover art for High Maga, has started on a new work depicting a scene from my first novel, Eolyn. I wish I could share the preliminary sketch with you, but a premature unveiling would be unfair. So let me just say: It’s phenomenal. My plan is to use this artwork for a…
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50 Years of Dune
There were many reasons to celebrate this past Fourth of July weekend. One that caught me by surprise was the 50th anniversary of the publication of Frank Herbert’s DUNE. I first read DUNE in high school. While I often sing praises of Tolkien and Martin, if I’m to be honest with myself I’d have to…
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Life After Epic
Today the dolphins are dancing in the deep blue waters outside our beach house. Somehow the stay at Virginia Beach never seems complete until they appear. While I always expect to see them, that first (and second and third) sighting never ceases to inspire a sense of awe and privilege. This is my third stay…
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Every Writer’s Nightmare (or, How to Write a Synopsis)
Few things make a writer groan more than the word synopsis. I still remember my first encounter with the s-word, back when I finished my novel Eolyn and started the long arduous task of submissions. It seemed an insult, somehow, that anyone should demand I write a less-than-3000-word version of a story that clearly took 120,000 words…
K. R. Gastreich, Author 