DUST by K. E. Blaski available for free

Last year my adult scifi short story DUST was published in the December/January Issue 9 of Plasma Frequency Magazine. If you didn’t get a chance to read it, it’s now available free on the Plasma Frequency Magazine Website.

Just click on the link http://www.plasmafrequencymagazine.com/Issue9/I9S5_Blaski.html and enjoy!

Plasma Frequency Magazine, Issue 9, December 2013/January 2014

Plasma Frequency Magazine, Issue 9, December 2013/January 2014

Music as Muse

violin against the doorRecently a fellow writer asked for me to share my writing playlist, which for those “in the know” is the music soundtrack or score that we writers listen to while writing. It’s the music that sets the tone, or evokes a mood, that we can use to help write a scene. Not to be confused with a playlist we might assign to a novel or story once it’s complete. Or a playlist we might assign to a particular character to showcase that character’s tastes.

I’m pretty particular about the music I listen to while I’m actually putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, mostly because I get distracted by heavy beats and lyrics. I need music that can run in the background of my subconscious, otherwise I’ll spend too much time listening to the music, and not writing.

So with that in mind, my writing playlist includes but is not limited to:

George Winston, Enya, Sade, Yoko Kanno, Loreena McKennit, Secret Garden, Aaberg-Friesen-Silverman, John Barry’s Out of Africa soundtrack, Elisa, R. Carlos Nakai, Ludovico Elnaudi, and Brian Crain.

This is a completely different set of artists than who I listen to while I’m grading; a post left for another day.

Happy writing.

Photograph © Alptraum

Delinquent Blog Writer Turns In Self

dreamstime_xs_40481396blogEver notice when you pick up a bad habit it’s easier to keep it than shed it? Yeah, my bad habit is ignoring my blog. This time, for a couple months. I know. I give no warning. Disappear. Then try to pick up the pieces of a blog that’s feeling the pangs of rejection from it’s very own mama.

Here I offer up my top 5 excuses; or as I like to say to that sweet police office writing me a speeding ticket, my “Mitigating Circumstances.”

1. That cough-up-a-lung illness that was going around. I am a germ-magnet. Not only did I catch it, but it decided we needed to have a “relationship” that lasted 5 weeks.

2. Normally, I teach 2-4 independent studies in the Spring Semester on top of my regular credit hour load. This Spring I did 9. *Thumps Head*

3. Three kids. The oldest is a senior in highschool, the middle one runs on Energizer rabbit batteries, and the youngest is currently channeling Cersei Lannister (the attitude, not the extracurricular activities). I know, it could be worse. Could be Joffrey. Or that Ramsay guy.

4. I started a children’s publishing company with my parents, because you know, I don’t have enough stuff crammed into my life. Then I wrote 2-1/3 books for the publishing company to publish. Yeah, that 1/3 is a WIP I’m still working on.

5. When faced with the choice of writing for the blog or taking a nap, I’ve napped. Because, well, see excuses 1-4.

So why are things different now? Well, my semester is over. My oldest is poised to get his drivers license and his HS diploma. *Fist Pump* My other two kids can play outside all day because the temperature in Rockford is finally above freezing. With a renewed respect for germs, I’m starting to rub elbows instead of shaking hands. And that little publishing company is in its third trimester, ready to birth some books into the world.

LET’S BLOG!

Picture © Iqoncept