I reread Beliwa: Toa of Demons' Crossroads epic today, up to chapter 7, which is as far as it had gotten when I printed it out some months ago. It's a curious mix of Terry Pratchett, gothic vampire lit, and BZ-Koro madness. It's apparently been a smash hit, so with mass appeal and my personal plug, it is an official must-read.

As for what I've been writing lately, I've divided my time between rewriting my S&T contest entry from scratch and realizing a story idea I first had way back in 2004.

My Voya Nui story (click the banner above) achieved 3rd place in its category, a surprising success. Still, I became dissatisfied with it after reading Lady Kopaka's winning entry, Hope. I decided I could make a "better" story out of my radical entry by toning down the jaded, aloof narrative voice that I had tried out and fallen for as I wrote it, and going for a more sensitive, human approach. I'm stuck, though: it's become nearly impossible to leave the plot of the original untouched without becoming guilty of literary fraud, i.e. forcing events. I'll have to see how it all plays out. Good luck, me.

The other story in progress is a dramatic, first-person-view exploration of Vhisola's and Nokama's fascinating, dysfunctional relationship. My original attempt at it crashed and burned ages ago, but I feel ready to resurrect the idea and maybe even make it work. It's my first time writing a female-centric story. Could be risky. Scratch could be, it is. But as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I just hope I can make it believable and powerful while staying true to my values. On the other hand, I think the majority of my works have been pretty poor reflections of my values. What can I say? I value honesty, but sometimes the truth just hurts.

On the RL front, I'm preparing to move to student residence at the polytechnic where I'm starting my four-year program of studies in Forestry. The northern summer has been the driest in a century; even the local swimming hole, a defunct rock quarry, has been shut down. Feeling the heat...

-BC