I've been patiently waiting for a friend to come through for me on the cover for Mirror Image so I could self-publish it. Since Christmas though, I decided to give my wonderful sci-fi series another shot and am looking for a publisher. A friend of mine referred to me to a publisher that deals with sci-fi series so I am putting my submission in for query.
Keep your fingers crossed for me!
My romance story, Change the Stars, is finally ready for submissions. Looking for a great publisher who would appreciate the little 1930s crime mob/love story. If anyone has any recommendations, I would love to hear about it.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a wonderful New Years. Let's toast to a wonderful and bright new year! See you in 20134.
~K.G. Stutts
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Like and follow
As I get closer to publishing Mirror Image, I'm beginning to ramp up my promotions of my brand. If you haven't already, you can follow me on Twitter @KGStutts and now you can like me on Facebook! This little endeavor means so much to me because not only do I have a page, I have a reason to have one! Facebook.com/KGStutts
I really need to start the edit and revision process for my two non-fiction stories. Tamma has once again graciously offered to help me with one, my drama/romance story called Change the Stars. Once that's completed and I'm 100% satisfied with it, I will start shopping around for a publisher.
Bothers me a little that I have no concept of cover art for it. With Mirror Image, I knew exactly what I wanted, down to the tiniest detail. I had an idea for The Color of Dreams (which you can see the cover on Facebook) but none for Change the Stars. If anyone is interested in giving me a hand with it, please let me know. Once the edits are complete, I'll be happy to send you the story for you to read and come up with a concept.
I've been caught up this week with work and on a new fan fiction. A guilty pleasure of mine is the wrestling reality TV show, Total Divas. So I started to work on it. Anyone interested in reading that or any of my others, here is the link: https://www.fanfiction.net/~kgstutts
Eventually, I will start transcribing the other half of Mirror Shattered. I know I said that before, but with Mia presenting me with the first draft of the cover for Mirror Image this week, it's time to get started on completing the second in the trilogy.
And to top it all off, I have another sci-fi story rattling around in my brain. I've begun the slow process of mapping it out but haven't started any of the initial writing yet. Yes, this will be a separate story from my trilogy.
I guess I rambled/promoted long enough. Till next time.
~K.G. Stutts
I really need to start the edit and revision process for my two non-fiction stories. Tamma has once again graciously offered to help me with one, my drama/romance story called Change the Stars. Once that's completed and I'm 100% satisfied with it, I will start shopping around for a publisher.
Bothers me a little that I have no concept of cover art for it. With Mirror Image, I knew exactly what I wanted, down to the tiniest detail. I had an idea for The Color of Dreams (which you can see the cover on Facebook) but none for Change the Stars. If anyone is interested in giving me a hand with it, please let me know. Once the edits are complete, I'll be happy to send you the story for you to read and come up with a concept.
I've been caught up this week with work and on a new fan fiction. A guilty pleasure of mine is the wrestling reality TV show, Total Divas. So I started to work on it. Anyone interested in reading that or any of my others, here is the link: https://www.fanfiction.net/~kgstutts
Eventually, I will start transcribing the other half of Mirror Shattered. I know I said that before, but with Mia presenting me with the first draft of the cover for Mirror Image this week, it's time to get started on completing the second in the trilogy.
And to top it all off, I have another sci-fi story rattling around in my brain. I've begun the slow process of mapping it out but haven't started any of the initial writing yet. Yes, this will be a separate story from my trilogy.
I guess I rambled/promoted long enough. Till next time.
~K.G. Stutts
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Pressing forward
Now that November is over and I've won #NaNoWriMo, it's time to refocus back on my sci-fi writings. Mirror Image is complete and will be published as soon as I agree on a cover. I've been working with the ever sweet, talented, and lovely Mia Svensson (follow her on Twitter at TrueMiaSvensson) who has agreed to help me with it.
So soon I will turn my attention to the second in my series, that I have titled Mirror Shattered. The first/rough draft is sort-of complete. Meaning I have about half of it in my Scrivener program and the other half is still handwritten in my notebook resting in my purse. I am not looking forward to transcribing that, but I am anxious to get back into it and begin my edits. I give little hints to things to come in Mirror Image, but hopefully not to the point where y'all will see things coming. You'll know what I mean when the first of the series goes up on Amazon and CreateSpace soon.
I have written two fiction books, one a crime/romance drama and the other a different kind of romance, but sci-fi is where my heart lies. I love creating new worlds and different alien races. Mirror Shattered is going down a deeper sci-fi road than the first, with the team needing to go back in time (no spoilers) and other things. The third I feel will wrap everything up nicely. I've gotten pretty close with my characters and will be sad when their story is done.
That being said, I won't stretch it out either. Their story is confined into the three books, which is more than enough. As much as I will be sad to say goodbye to Maddie and the others, I won't stretch into a fourth book or a spin-off.
I have several other projects roaming around in my head that I may flush out sometime soon. I had a drama story about a female pirate captain but I thinking about taking it down a sci-fi path and making her a space pirate. The Earth would be a different planet than we currently know.
One of the things that strikes me about some of the sci-fi stories I have read is if Earth is a factor in it, it's always the good guys. Why? If I have Earth involved in this story, I have a different take on the matter.
Just bouncing ideas currently. I'm still in the process of revising/editing my two non-sci fi stories to get ready for submissions. I'll start work on Mirror Shattered hopefully this week.
Thanks for reading!
~K.G. Stutts
So soon I will turn my attention to the second in my series, that I have titled Mirror Shattered. The first/rough draft is sort-of complete. Meaning I have about half of it in my Scrivener program and the other half is still handwritten in my notebook resting in my purse. I am not looking forward to transcribing that, but I am anxious to get back into it and begin my edits. I give little hints to things to come in Mirror Image, but hopefully not to the point where y'all will see things coming. You'll know what I mean when the first of the series goes up on Amazon and CreateSpace soon.
I have written two fiction books, one a crime/romance drama and the other a different kind of romance, but sci-fi is where my heart lies. I love creating new worlds and different alien races. Mirror Shattered is going down a deeper sci-fi road than the first, with the team needing to go back in time (no spoilers) and other things. The third I feel will wrap everything up nicely. I've gotten pretty close with my characters and will be sad when their story is done.
That being said, I won't stretch it out either. Their story is confined into the three books, which is more than enough. As much as I will be sad to say goodbye to Maddie and the others, I won't stretch into a fourth book or a spin-off.
I have several other projects roaming around in my head that I may flush out sometime soon. I had a drama story about a female pirate captain but I thinking about taking it down a sci-fi path and making her a space pirate. The Earth would be a different planet than we currently know.
One of the things that strikes me about some of the sci-fi stories I have read is if Earth is a factor in it, it's always the good guys. Why? If I have Earth involved in this story, I have a different take on the matter.
Just bouncing ideas currently. I'm still in the process of revising/editing my two non-sci fi stories to get ready for submissions. I'll start work on Mirror Shattered hopefully this week.
Thanks for reading!
~K.G. Stutts
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Women in Sci-Fi
Hello, my name is Kristina Stutts. Welcome to my writing blog. Here I will expound upon my thoughts and ideas regarding my writings or just in general. I am currently working on a science fiction trilogy series, the first of which will be published as soon as I get a cover for it. I am also working on two different fiction stories: a crime drama entitled Color of Dreams and a drama/romance story entitled Change the Stars. Color of Dreams is currently my NaNoWriMo story this month. I've almost reached my goal of 50K, sitting slightly above 44K.
I was on the NaNo sci-fi board the other day and saw a post that bothered me regarding women in science fiction.
My science fiction trilogy is about a woman named Madison Mackenzie Rhodes (goes by Maddie) who finds out that she is a clone. Her counterpart, Mack, is a part of a secret government organization called Intergalactic Security Commission. The ISC works with thousands of other worlds to protect one another as well as share technologies. Clones are created to protect the secret of the ISC, fearing that the inhabitants of Earth couldn't handle the news that not only are we not alone in this universe, but there are hostile species that threaten Earth's safety. Maddie must now work with Mack and her team when she becomes a target of a race hellbent on creating an army of clones at their disposal. An enemy from within the ISC threatens not only Earth, but thousands of other worlds as well.
Maddie is a smart, resourceful 30-year-old woman. She has a Masters degree in Engineering and Applied Physics. I once joked that she thinks like Leonard but looks like Penny.
When the idea for my story came to me, I didn't think about female archetypes in science fiction. I didn't set out to write this story geared more towards women, just because Maddie is a woman. I wasn't trying to represent women of science. Maddie also isn't a woman because her author is. I wasn't concerned with making her female in order to make the story marketable. The voice telling me the story was female.
I want my reader to fall in love with Maddie and Mack, just like I have. I want people to look up to them as the heroes that they are. Strong, successful, smart. Gender has no bias here.
I think there are a lot more women sci-fi fans than some give credit for. I've been a fan since I could remember. I grew up on Star Trek and Star Wars. Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis is still two of my favorite shows, even though it's been off the air for years. Granted I've actually never watched Dr. Who (please don't take my nerd card, I'm going to remedy this as soon as I can), my love for the genre is well established.
I have a problem with authors seemingly pandering to a particular subset. I think I've written a well-rounded story that anyone regardless of age will enjoy. And I can't wait for everyone to read it.
I don't think Mack or Maddie fit into a particular kind of mold. I'm not a fan of cookie-cutter characters that seem flat and serve no purpose. That's how I feel about some women I've read in novels. They feel forced, like the author felt like he/she had to include her. I think the overall feeling that a woman has to behave a certain way in this type of genre bothers me.
Maybe Maddie will progress and change some opinions regarding what a woman in a sci-fi story is supposed to be like. Maybe Mirror Image will be set apart based on the rich story and characters that jump off the page. Maybe in the future, women will cosplay as my two main characters. That's not the reason why I wrote it. But it would be awesome. I hope by the time my books are in people's hands, they aren't dissecting the characters, but rather enjoying the story unfold and will follow along in the adventure.
That's my thoughts. Feel free to share below or follow me on Twitter at @KGStutts
If you are into wrestling and fan fiction, you can find me on the fanfiction.net as KGStutts
I was on the NaNo sci-fi board the other day and saw a post that bothered me regarding women in science fiction.
My science fiction trilogy is about a woman named Madison Mackenzie Rhodes (goes by Maddie) who finds out that she is a clone. Her counterpart, Mack, is a part of a secret government organization called Intergalactic Security Commission. The ISC works with thousands of other worlds to protect one another as well as share technologies. Clones are created to protect the secret of the ISC, fearing that the inhabitants of Earth couldn't handle the news that not only are we not alone in this universe, but there are hostile species that threaten Earth's safety. Maddie must now work with Mack and her team when she becomes a target of a race hellbent on creating an army of clones at their disposal. An enemy from within the ISC threatens not only Earth, but thousands of other worlds as well.
Maddie is a smart, resourceful 30-year-old woman. She has a Masters degree in Engineering and Applied Physics. I once joked that she thinks like Leonard but looks like Penny.
When the idea for my story came to me, I didn't think about female archetypes in science fiction. I didn't set out to write this story geared more towards women, just because Maddie is a woman. I wasn't trying to represent women of science. Maddie also isn't a woman because her author is. I wasn't concerned with making her female in order to make the story marketable. The voice telling me the story was female.
I want my reader to fall in love with Maddie and Mack, just like I have. I want people to look up to them as the heroes that they are. Strong, successful, smart. Gender has no bias here.
I think there are a lot more women sci-fi fans than some give credit for. I've been a fan since I could remember. I grew up on Star Trek and Star Wars. Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis is still two of my favorite shows, even though it's been off the air for years. Granted I've actually never watched Dr. Who (please don't take my nerd card, I'm going to remedy this as soon as I can), my love for the genre is well established.
I have a problem with authors seemingly pandering to a particular subset. I think I've written a well-rounded story that anyone regardless of age will enjoy. And I can't wait for everyone to read it.
I don't think Mack or Maddie fit into a particular kind of mold. I'm not a fan of cookie-cutter characters that seem flat and serve no purpose. That's how I feel about some women I've read in novels. They feel forced, like the author felt like he/she had to include her. I think the overall feeling that a woman has to behave a certain way in this type of genre bothers me.
Maybe Maddie will progress and change some opinions regarding what a woman in a sci-fi story is supposed to be like. Maybe Mirror Image will be set apart based on the rich story and characters that jump off the page. Maybe in the future, women will cosplay as my two main characters. That's not the reason why I wrote it. But it would be awesome. I hope by the time my books are in people's hands, they aren't dissecting the characters, but rather enjoying the story unfold and will follow along in the adventure.
That's my thoughts. Feel free to share below or follow me on Twitter at @KGStutts
If you are into wrestling and fan fiction, you can find me on the fanfiction.net as KGStutts