It's been a loooong time since I wrote a journal here, since 2012. I figure I'm due for an update on what I've been doing all this time.

I made more sheet music on my youtube channel. For example, Wild West from Lost Saga and Potential for Anything from VVVVVV

Then I got silly for a while and had a moderately successful youtube career making YTP. Mostly of ponies (if you're going to watch some of them, try the later ones, it was a rough start). It was fun and got a LOT more attention than I expected, but then everything got copyright claimed and monetized and I found slaving away for someone else's paycheck ultimately unsatisfying. Maybe again someday but for now am retired.

Then I did a glitch TAS of SNES Dragon View that I don't expect to be beaten anytime soon. In the process I dug up a lot of interesting stuff from the game's ROM, so I made a TCRF page about it, as well as a couple of documents on GameFAQs. I also made a world map (full size) for the game directly from the ROM, using Excel, showing a level of detail and accuracy never seen before! So that was fun.

It also taught me 65816 code and SNES hardware, so I decided, why not make my own SNES game? It's been in progress for a few years and probably will be for some time yet, but it's about a squirrel. Also, I made my SNES play fullscreen 15fps video with CD audio, just to prove that NintenDoes what Genesis did in a tiny letterbox size.

I also got a story published in Knotted by Red Ferret Press! I think it's a good one and the others I've read from the book have been enjoyable as well. I still write sometimes, but good ideas for stories have been few lately.

And more recently, I have a dog now! His name is Badger and he's great. And that's about all I can think of at the moment, so I think that'll do for a long overdue update.

To anyone who actually read all that and/or checked some of it out, thank you! That was really cool of you!

I've been busy lately. Since my last journal where I linked my first attempt at transcribing sheet music, I've gone and done it five more times:

-For the Love of... from M.U.S.H.A.
-The Man With The Machine Gun from Final Fantasy VIII
-Positive Force from VVVVVV (Not my arrangement, just my sheet music)
-Piercing the Sky from VVVVVV (It's a hidden track in the game)
-Tube of Medusa from Ecco II: Tides of Time

[SINCE LINKS DON'T WORK - if you want to listen, go to youtube /user/khazwolf . Sorry for the inconvenience.]

Next one coming up will probably be "Wild West" from Lost Saga, since it's been requested. This is where most of my spare time has gone over the last few months, and I'm not stopping anytime soon. If anybody out there could use some sheet music and wants me to make some, let me know. I might be able to help you out.

While I'm at it, if anyone knows of somewhere I could post up this sheet music where it would be appreciated, I'd be interested to hear about it.

It's been quite a long time since I posted a journal, and some notable things have happened in the meantime!

First off, another one of my stories has appeared in print this year. I'm a bit late on the announcement, but a story titled "True Color" came out in Heat #9 at Anthrocon, wonderfully illustrated by  tush . It's always an honour to be part of a Sofawolf production!

Second, I gave arranging music a shot. I've always loved the theme from Ecco the Dolphin 2: Tides of Time and I haven't seen a really accurate cover of it before, so I decided to make one. (The video is just the software playing the music, not me. It'll take a while before I can play it myself.)

Finally I will be at Feral! this year, in case anyone was wondering!

A meme created by  Rukis!

- What sort of artist would you most identify yourself as? -
Writer

- What would be your secondary identity? -
Musician

- What forms of art do you dabble in, but don't excel at? (Keep in mind, this could change!) -
Drawing, singing, martial arts,

- How would you describe your 'style'? -
I don't feel I've settled into enough of a style that I could really describe it.

- What medium do you favor most? -
OpenOffice/LibreOffice, whatever the open-source word processor du jour is.

- What are your favorite subject matters? -
Science, science-fiction, medieval fantasy, romance/erotica, and in general anything that screws with your mind

- What are your least favorite subject matters? -
Horror, I guess. I tend to avoid it, but I might do it someday.

- List your Artistic Strengths -
Plentiful ideas, consistency, attention to detail, generally correct use of language...

- List your Artistic Weaknesses -
Motivation (actually sitting down and working), character building, plot arcs...

- Which of the above weaknesses would you most like to see improve? -
Motivation. Definitely.

- Adult Content. . . yes/no? -
When the mood strikes, or when it fits the story.

- Adult Subject Matter you favor? -
Gay male to date. I'm planning to explore other subjects.

- Schooling/Training received in the arts? -
Formal writing education ended with high school. Took private music lessons for many years, did some serious exams for the piano and took some university courses.

- Schooling/Training you'd still like to have? -
I feel done with school. I'd like to learn more about writing, but I'm content to sit down and read some books about it someday. My opinion on this might change.

- Would you consider yourself prolific, or a 'quality over quantity' sort of artist? -
Quality. I would rather write one story worth reading than a hundred that waste your time. I'm working on making that show in my stories, lately.

- Would you considering yourself a Fine Artist, or a Commercial Artist? -
A fine artist, I guess. I'm not looking to make a career out of writing, I'd just like to be good at it. The piano is just, I dunno... In case there's a piano.

- Where would you like to be in five years? -
Actually finishing novels, preferably ones that people both read and enjoy.

What's the scouter say about my pageviews?

Hi everyone! I've got an announcement to make, with a Shyamalan-style twist this time.

Another story of mine is going to be appearing in print soon! You may have heard of Bad Dog Books' recurring all-audiences publication ROAR. I'm pleased to inform you that a previously unseen piece of my work will be appearing in the next edition, ROAR #3, alongside a substantial list of excellent authors. Furthermore, you don't have to wait very long! The release is tenatively scheduled to be at Furry Fiesta this year (February 25th). You'll also be able to get yourself a copy through FurPlanet or Amazon.

There is one catch here, though!

I won't be appearing in this publication under the name Khaz. I will in fact appear under the pseudonym Marcus Reeve. I've decided to do this to keep a modicum of separation between my family-friendly and adult-rated works, for a variety of personal reasons. This alter-ego of mine presently has a new FA account,  mreeve, which I plan to use to announce future non-adult publications, and most likely post up some free short stories and poetry. I'll probably make some announcement from my journal here as well, but no promises of that.

Anyways! I and myself would like to present you with a list of the authors and titles that will be appearing in ROAR #3:

Renee Carter Hall, Drawn from Memory
Kevin Frane, Shadows of Novoprypiatsk
John "The Gneech" Robey, Blackbird Singing in the Dead of Night: From the Casebooks of Squash and Stretch, Private Investigators
Kandrel, Unfit
Marcus Reeve, Al Coda
Teiran, Touchdown
NightEyes DaySpring, Still Life in Ice and Snow
Ben Goodridge, Johnny R.
James Steele, Pori
Jacob Staley, Escape from New Dansmouth

Having seen a glimpse of the rest of the book myself, I highy reccommend it. If anyone has any questions, please do ask, here or in notes, and I'll be more than happy to answer!


[This journal will self-destruct in, 5...]

In this journal post, insights on the meaning of life follow. So, y'know, bear with the fluff if you're interested.

I'm sure everybody with a computer has at some point played a game of Freecell. It's an annoying card game that looks incredibly difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it can be played start to finish in about two minutes. I think my personal record is somewhere around one.

You see, I've spent most of my life pretty much addicted to videogaming. In my youth that was never much of a problem; it replaced the friends I didn't have, kept me quiet when I was bored, and always had some new challenge to hold for me. Public school, after all, was easy as fuck, so I had nothing to lose in all my spare time.

Recently, I've come to realize that it is no longer so beneficial to my lifestyle. I think I came to that realization at the end of a 32-game winning streak of Freecell, performed out of sheer boredom.

So what does that leave me? My entire life up until now has consisted of doing what needs to be done (grudgingly), and and then wasting the time that remains. Why did I take this path? I think it probably has a lot to do with a complete lack of faith in anything. Allow me to explain. It's not a lack of optimism that was my plague, merely a crippling case of pessimism. I spent many days debating the purpose of life, and the answer always came back either "I don't know" or "there is none". Without purpose, and without hope of an answer, there was no reason to try at, well, anything.

Freecell has taught me a lesson. Those of you who know how to win the game consistently should know there is one basic guideline to give to any aspiring player: don't dig for aces. You can only win the game by uncovering all the cards in ascending order, so unearthing the aces first is the logical first step to victory. If this is what you pursue, however, you will most likely fail.

It is the eccentric nature of Freecell that by completely ignoring your main objective, and seeking simply to organize the cards indefinitely, you will find the path to success. This is the same philosophy with which one must approach life.

If you spend your life chasing the main goal, the singular "grand purpose", you will probably not find it, and you're certainly not going to enjoy the time you spend as it passes by. Life will frustrate you to no end if you take every situation as merely an obstacle standing between yourself and the next.

If however, you choose to spend your life tackling each situation as it comes, everything becomes clearer. The past is irrelevant beyond the lessons learned. The future is equally as irrelevant. Simply strive every day to take what you're given at the start, and leave it better at the end.

But wait, how does this work? What if there IS no purpose to life in the end, and all this time is wasted?

Let's think for one moment; no real faith is required here. If there is a grand purpose, what is the best way to achieve it, lacking one specific path? Simply take things one struggle at a time.

What if there is no purpose? Does it matter? No. Whether there is a higher scheme or not, the best course of action remains the same. And that course is to improve your life piece by piece and enjoy what you can.

It's that simple.

Right now, I'm losing weight, building muscle, improving my social life, and preparing for a new job... And it's partially thanks to Freecell.

Alrighty, so, I've seen tons and tons of memes for visual artists, and precious few for any other medium. I've only seen one meme for writers, and it was fun, but I feel like doing something a bit different. So, this is one created in the spirit of the art memes; the aim isn't to answer questions, but to practise your art in response to some instructions. I have never created a meme before, so feedback is definitely solicited: Too long? Too short? Too boring? Please tell me.

Anyhow, without further ado, I give ye:


=Khaz's Writing Meme=

Write yourself an introduction paragraph however you like.

Khaz strides into the room, ears cupped forward in expectation, his black hair and semi-formal attire looking obviously prepared. He fixes his eyes on you curiously and extends a paw in your direction, a bit of an awkward smile breaking across his muzzle. There's confidence in his handshake. It fits well with his tail's proud posture, leaving a hint of strength that belies his meek expression. After only a moment's pause, the formal introduction concluded, his posture relaxes somewhat. The first impressions are made; now it's time for business.


Write a descriptive paragraph about being somewhere you've always wanted to go.

The landscape that rolls out before me is something I've only seen in pictures until now; fields of flowers, arranged neatly in rows and separated by color, stretching on for miles. In the distance I can see the slow, steady turn of a windmill; outdated in structure by today's standards, but functional as ever. Even the air itself seems foreign; it has a different smell to it than it does back home. The breezes feel heavier, more powerful, and I can't decide right then if it's just my imagination. Since I was a kid, I've heard stories about these lands from my grandparents, but I never thought it would take so long to see it for myself. The Netherlands speaks to me, even if only through the novelty of the scenery. I feel, for now, at home.


For the hell of it, write a haiku about one of your favourite species.

Beware the ferret
For defense, make them playful
They will trip themselves


Write a brief rant about something that's irked you lately, be it a politician or a toaster!

So Stephen Harper, Canada's Prime Minister, has officially suspended parliament for three months. How do these people get away with this sort of thing? This means a three-month vacation for everyone in Canadian government, complete with pay. They just had Christmas, wasn't that enough? The thing that makes me the most sad, though, isn't that this happened in the first place. What really bothers me is that the official opposition isn't capitolizing on it! Instead of remaining vigorously at work making their own plans, and putting out a modest, honest media campaign telling people that they're paying their taxes for politicians to sit on their butts for three months, the other parties are just running off and taking their own vacations! We've gotta do something about all this wasted money. Being the Prime Minister or being in his cabinet isn't really that hard of a job. I'm sure it's stressful and complicated, but is it really six-figures and half-a-year-vacation hard? You tell me.


Write the most godawfully tacky, cliche, eye-bleedingly-badly written action scene you can muster.

Zack did a backflip onto the pavement, drawing his katanas as he fell three stories before landing in a crouch.

"Hey you!" he shouted, screaming and charging at the shadowy evil guy across from him. "I'll kill you!"

"I think not." the shadowy guy said and raised his hand and Zack fell down and screamed in pain. Fireballs shot out of the evil guy's hands and he laughed manically as he stepped towards Zak.

"Prepare to die!!!" said the shadow guy and prepared to blast Zack with a bunch of dark energy all at once. "NO!!" Zack screamed and jumped up and kicked the evil guy in the face and did a backflip, and then charged at him and swung his katanas and cut the guys head off.

"Finally, I've avenged my father" Zack said and fell over and died because of the fireballs and everything. The end.


Tag people by writing about them writing!

Rikoshi sits down, eyes halfway focused on the computer screen before him. His paw holds a glass of wine steady, the rich, dry liquid forgotten for a moment. Writer's block can be a cruel thing sometimes, and tonight is too relaxed a night to fight it. Instead, he's spending his time on a ridiculous meme his friend Khaz had the gall to tag him in.

With a smirk, he sets the wine gently down, and attacks the keyboard for a moment, fine practised taps of the keys channeling his mind into text. It takes only moments before he's got the section complete, and he leans back, taking a sip from his glass as a reward.

With a rustle, a sharp-eared head slips up from under the desk, between the fox's legs, and looks up at him with a grin. "Can we move to the bed yet?"

"Soon." Rikoshi ruffles the wolf's head fur.

With a forced pout the wolf slips back down under the desk, letting Rikoshi's mind drift back to his work, if anywhere at all.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/.....ne/8355287.stm

I have to say, the BBC was remarkably fair with the fandom, despite the incident that sparked the interest to begin with.

If you ever wanted a furry article you might almost consider just barely daring to show your parents, this is it!

Just some rambling. :P

Was writing just now, and was using the word 'hand' a fair bit, then thought, "No, I wanna use 'paw'." So I did a quick word search for 'hand'.

Then I started thinking. If my characters have paws, not hands, then they should 'pawdle' things instead of 'handle'. Farmers would hire 'farmpaws' to help out. Cubs would practise cursive 'pawwriting'. Acrobats would enjoy showing off 'pawsprings', unless of course they're 'pawdicapped'.

MAKING A CONSISTENT UNIVERSE IS HARD!

Oh well, that's what December is for...

Hi guys! Quick and to the point here. I'm sorry for spamming you all with journals lately. :P

I'm writing something for NaNoWriMo this month, and I've hit an impasse 400 words in. I want to make this a furry story (for various reasons), but I've just realized I have no clue what species anybody is so far.

So, I need a species. I don't want to make the progtagonist a fox (definitely not red fox at least), because they're just SO overdone... I'm steering away from wolf as well, because I do that too much.

So yeah. Throw things at me! Lists of things if you feel like!

I just got back from my first Feral! ever. I can only say this to all of you out there.

GO TO FERAL IF YOU EVER GET THE CHANCE. It is now officially my favourite con.

I shall recount my experience in detail now!

Saturday morning, I was picked up by my pals  lostcat461 and Tru. Drive up was about six hours long, and we arrived at the site in time to watch all the furries flood in and take over the camp. Let me say right now just how beautiful it is up there. The air is clean and clear, the lake is beautiful, just pure Canadian wilderness. I felt alive just being outside.

It rained for the first two days, and it was pretty cold. We got stuck in a cabin with no heater and a bunch of random cabin mates, but it turned out great. Excellent company in our cabin, we worked around the cold. Nice warm showers. Three solid all-you-can-eat meals per day, so long as you're up by 8 am. The food was EXCELLENT compared to what I expected, given the location and price! The camp staff were very good people, and somewhat surprisingly seemed to enjoy the furries!

Now as for the actual con (if it can be called that), there was never a dull moment. Saturday night I hung out at the campfire despite the bit of rain, had a good time getting into a nice primal groove drumming around a campfire. Afterwards, had tons of fun telling and listening to stories there until we just downright got rained out.

Sunday morning, I kicked the day off with some archery, learning the proper way to use a bow, and talking ranged-weapon hit-rating stats with fellow WoW nerds. Did some rock climbing, which was a fun exercise in denying inbred fears, but I got showed up proper by a few others there. About then I found out that poor Ryan had fallen ill, and we wound up taking the poor guy to stay in a nice warm hotel for a night so he could recover, though he wound up missing a lot of whole experience.

In the afternoon, I hung out at one of  Kyell's two writing workshops, which was a very informal, yet fun and informative deal. Except that it was cold, oh so cold, in our little hut. Trading post was fun to browse and pick from. I enjoyed (somewhat sadistically) watching poor Kyell's wrist get a good workout from all the books he signed.

Monday morning I went out Kayak'ing for the first time, and it was awesome. The lake was pretty still, and mostly empty save for a few friends, so we made our way to a small island and just stood there taking in the scenery for a while. On my way back I picked up a tennis game, another first-time for me believe it or not, and had lots of fun there. In the afternoon, I decided to go out on a limb and try to make myself some ears at  Noblewolf's workshop. They actually came out alright, though they're not attached to anything just yet.

Then there was Predator vs. Prey. One of the definite highlights. I exhausted myself chasing down prey and fleeing fire and disease as an omnivore. In the end, I survived by evolution; made myself appealing to corporate America as a hound dog in order to stay alive. :P I done got tamed.

Monday night, there was furry improv. It kicked ass. Three-headed singers, entire scenes containing only five words, and a couple of people trying to get someone to give them a wedgie without saying anything. It was beyond awesome (and totally PG-13, of course, for sure...).

Tuesday was the last full day. Attended Kyell's other (had-to-sign-up-early) short story workshop. I learned a lot, hope I gave out a lot of helpful (if kinda cruel) criticisms and comments. Capture the flag happened that afternoon, which was like... LARP military CTF. People with swords dismembering others on their way to the flag and so on. Totally cool.

Over dinner, I WON SOMETHING AWESOME. And somebody else probably deserved it juuuuust a bit more than I did, but thems is the breaks! I will confess here inside this impenetrable wall of text that I (totally platonically) love Kyell, he's just an awesome guy. Kyell, if you're reading this, I'm sorry for being a fanboy, but you're just that cool. :P

CABIN SKITS! I hear people don't usually wanna do 'em, but they were probably the most fun I had, and I was even looking forward to it! I was Charlie in Charlie the Unicorn goes to Feral!. So, yeah, you can imagine the kind of show it was. In the end, a bat that flew onto the stage won the whole competition, and I got a free beer. No complaints!

Packing up to leave was sad, but I occupied myself filling my conbook with peoples signatures and contact info (and other positively silly things). It's like the last day of high school, only people actually CARE. And then we got in the car to go home, and then I got home, and then I went on FA, and then it was now, and then I don't know what happened!

---

TL;DR VERSION!

FERAL RULES. ATTEND IF YOU WANT TO FEEL WHAT LIVING IS LIKE.

SHUN THE NONBELIEVERS

SSHUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN-NUH.

Stolen from  Rikoshi because I've never really done memes before!

1. When did you start writing?
I've tried my hand at writing many times, as far back as I can remember. Even back in public school, I had an attraction to both reading and writing stories that involved animals, or time travel, or other such things. First attempt I made at seriously being an author was back in early 2006, when I started working on a story I called "Nobody's Hero", which I posted up on Furry-furry.com's message board. After a while, though, I realized it was going to pan out to be novel length, and I started putting real effort into writing it, and other side projects.

2. First drafts: Handwritten, typed, or some combination?
Typed. My handwriting is ugly and slow, and I make a lot of on-the-spot revisions as I write.

3. Do you keep any kind of notebook or writer's journal, and if so, what kinds of things go into it?
Not really, I usually just make sure to keep something to write with and on with me, so that when ideas strike me, I won't forget them. I've still got a small stack of paper scraps with ideas on them I have to get down someday.

4. Do you set any quotas for your work (number of words per day, number of hours per day, etc.)? Why or why not?
No, and that's why I'm probably the least productive writer to take part in this meme... At times I go months without writing anything, sometimes I get a ton done in a space of a couple days.

5. Are you most comfortable writing short stories, novels, or something else?
I suppose short stories are what I'm most "comfortable" with. They're not what I aspire to, though. I want to write and publish novels, but the amount of work it takes to finish a piece of writing increases exponentially with it's length. Plus, the plot becomes much harder to keep interesting.

6. What's your favorite kind of story to write?
I love stories that really get inside your head. Psychological things, ones that at the least make you think. I also admit I'm attracted more to writing darker stories... Death, anger, madness, etc... I don't really know why.

7. Talk about a story of yours that was easy to write and one that was difficult to write, and why.
One that was easy? Probably one of the short stories I'm most proud of, "A Change Will Do You Good", yes, the title sucks. I got the idea at work one day, and pretty much wrote it in two days. It just came completely effortlessly.

One that was hard? I gotta say the novel, "Nobody's Hero". Took me a few years to get it finished, and it's being even more challenging in revision. I've had to learn how to write action scenes well, how to keep track of characters, and how to reconcile my rewriting of the plot on the fly. It's a colossal task, but it feels worth it.

8. Which of your characters is closest to your sense of self? In other words, who do you most identify with in your own work to date?
That's tough, because honestly? I can think of three off the top of my head that are directly based on my own experiences. "The Dream" comes straight out of a personal fantasy of mine. "A Change Will Do You Good" draws heavily on my local furry community, and the story I had published in Heat #6, well... Justin is pretty much me, three or four years ago, and I always kinda wished something exciting would happen to me during my walks through the woods behind our house. Justin found a naked flute-playing fox, I think the best I found was a squirrel.

But in any case, basing characters right off myself is a bad habit I'm trying to break away from. Have to learn to write from another perspective, and there's something I'm working on right now that's really going to do that.

9. What work are you most proud of right now?
I'm gonna have to say "Learning to Live", that got published in Heat #6. While I was writing it, I felt kinda sketchy about it, a friend of mine did too when I showed it to him, but I worked with it, and well... The end result was good enough to be published, and I gotta say, it's been polished to a shine. It makes me smile just to look at it.

10. What do you feel your strengths and weaknesses are as a writer?
Strengths? I have a natural way with words. Things just seem to flow when I write them, and while usually I'll have a lot of work to do with commas when I'm finished, I can often churn out three pages of writing in a daze, in about an hour. It only works when I really know every detail of what I'm trying to write, though.

Weakness is the same weakness I have with just about every aspect of my life: Laziness. I should exercise, but I could just stay in and read a book. I should write, but I could just look at furry porn instead! I should do my class work, but my 80 mage needs his Argent Tournament dailies...

11. Name a few writers who have influenced you or your work in some way.
There's just too many to name, and the ways they've impacted me and my work are so vague and varied it would be too tough to list. A bunch of names that come to mind, though... Michael Crichton, Robert Jordan, Orson Scott Card (but the end of Xenocide sucked), Kyell Gold, and David Clement-Davies.

12. Talk about something you've written that you later found embarrassing for some reason.
Well... I will admit I find "The Dream" a bit embarrassing. I don't know how good or bad the writing in it is, because I haven't read it for a long while. Most of what's embarrassing is the fact that the story is about 85% sex and written in a MSN-chat-yiffing style, because that's exactly what it was based on. If you notice, pretty much every paragraph in the sex scene switches back and forth between characters and perspectives, as though it was being written back and forth between two people.

13. Talk about the earliest stories you remember writing. What were they about?
I distinctly recall writing one in grade one, about finding snowballs in a snowball fight that were really made of gold on the inside, and collecting a bunch of them. :P I also remember a story about being turned into a cat for a day, and another about two kids finding a spaceship and traveling through time. So many stories I've written are lost now...

14. If you knew you would be successful, what would you most like to write?
A large epic novel. The kind that takes you a week to read, and leaves the reader bemused, inspired, and an ending that sweetens over time. I've always revelled in really good novels.

15. What inspires you?
Inspiration comes from anything. A slow day at work, a story a friend tells me, just random thinking, dreams... What really determines what makes it on paper is boredom. The time I spend bored is the time that all these little floating ideas form into powerful chains of events, and take on shape.

16. How many projects do you tend to work on at once?
Never more than two... I can't multi-task well. I like to finish one thing at a time.

17. Who reads your work before it's released to the public? Do you have beta readers, a critique group, etc.?
My pal Ryan from Kentucky usually gets a preview, as well as a close friend from up here at home, if he wants one. My older brother also gets a peek at the less adult writings I do. Mostly, though, my stuff is kept to myself...

18. When you're not writing, what do you do for fun?
Playing piano, though I'm quite rusty now. That, and video games I guess, lately... Life's been a bit dull recently.

19. Advice to other writers?
Take criticism. My greatest improvements have come from people telling me that I have to stop doing something. It hurts me a lot to learn I've failed at doing something, but it gets easier every time, and it's worth it for the results.

That, and learn to be bored. Disconnect now and then. Take a walk without listening to music. Meditate. Take that morning bus ride and just think. Our brains are used to being constantly stimulated, so much so that it hurts to be taken away from it. But you compensate for it, your mind creates it's own entertainment, and that's where ideas come from.

20. What are you currently working on?
I'm working on two short stories, one I plan to submit to Heat #7, the other is just a fun one I plan to discuss at the writing workshop at Feral! this year!

21. Share the first three sentences of a work in progress.
"Fiona was the kind of girl that any guy would be lucky to have. She was beautiful; her fur was soft and elegantly decorated, her tail was long and full, her hair fell down about her shoulders like a smooth, flowing waterfall frozen in place. She was everything a fox could want to be."

I am very bad at openings. Those lines may well change. :P

Haha! I made a pun with my journal title! I'm so witty.

Anyways! Back from Anthrocon, and it was a blast as expected! For any who don't know, I actually got published at this convention, and I'm thoroughly ecstatic with the results. I encourage everyone here to pick up a copy of Heat #6 when they can; not only is my story in it with the wonderful  Corgi's art, but I've read every other submission and they are consistently entertaining, bemusing and thoroughly enjoyable!

Sofawolf Press was very kind to me, and I actually was invited to sit at their table for an hour at the end of the dealer's room period, and sign copies of Heat for customers! I got to sign quite a few, met a lot of fun people, and felt like absolute royalty.

While at the con, I spent way more money than I should have, drank more than I should have, ate better than I should have, and hung out with people who make me feel insignificant by comparison, but are totally cool. :P

For those interested, a bit of a perspective on Anthrocon from a Midwest Furfest point of view:

-AC is big. HUGE. It's a hotel AND a convention centre slapped together, and that makes for tons of walking, especially if you don't plan your day very well. But, even though my feet hurt, it was a good kind of hurt. The kind of hurt you get from carrying around porn.

-Everyone is there. Like, seriously, alllmost everyone I know was in attendance, and I did manage to meet all of them, I think. If I missed you, I'm sorry, please kick my ass and make me meet up next time! :P Also, this means not just all your friends, but every artist you fanboy over, so it's worth it for that if nothing else!

-The programming is.... sparse! They didn't make full use of the entire convention centre, and honestly the program seemed about equally as full as MFF's, despite having roughly a thousand more in attendance. I know it's a big job to schedule it all, but I just feel like there coulda been more. Don't get me wrong, I kept plenty busy.

-The area is decent. The people in the region have come to know and expect the convention. Two restaurants at least made it plenty obvious they were totally on board with the convention, the hotel staff were friendly, and nonfurry passerby were the minority on the streets immediately nearby. But still... It's downtown Pittsburgh, and I'm a country boy, so I don't take well to the city. :P

Anyways, since you're all no doubt flooded with post-AC journals, I'll cut mine off here. :P

Something I totally forgot to mention in my last journal (I don't know HOW), is that the illustrations that have been done for my story to be published in Heat #6 have been posted up by their artist, the wonderful  Corgi. You can see them here:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2140661/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2140670/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2140688/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2140707/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2140723/

I am totally honored to have such nice artwork done for something I wrote. Be sure to have a look, here if not in the finished product when it comes out!

Hello everyone!

I figure now is a good time to finally make an official announcement that I am going to be published in the near future. I am proud to say that a short story I wrote entitled "Learning to Live" has been accepted by the good folks at Sofawolf Press for their annual publication Heat! Needless to say, I am quite excited.

The issue will debut at Anthrocon this year, so all those who are going, be sure to pick up a copy! If not for me, then for the totally awesome lineup of everyone else that's included in it. :P

You can read all about it and get a glimpse of what's inside here:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2307617/

If we burn our wings
Flying too close to the sun,
If the moment of glory
Is over before it's begun.
If the dream is won
Though everything is lost,
We will pay the price
But we will not count the cost.

When the dust has cleared,
Victory denied,
A summit too lofty,
River a little too wide.
If we keep our pride,
Though paradise is lost,
We will pay the price
But we will not count the cost.

And then the music stops,
There's only the sound of the rain,
All the hope and glory
All the sacrifice in vain.
But if love remains,
Though everything is lost,
We will pay the price
But we will not count the cost.

-Neil Peart

Where would I be without Rush.

It has begun. I am now the proud owner of a furry forum. :P

http://theden.myfastforum.org

It's fairly new, so I don't yet have all that many members or anything, but it's getting there. I made it because I was getting sick of the constantly agressive, low-brow and sex-obsessed atmosphere of some other forums I frequent, so I decided to give making my own a shot. It was made with the aim of being a haven for intellectual furries (though there is my no means an 'intelligence requirement' or anything stupid like that), those who don't enjoy being attacked for their beliefs, and a place to just meet some other cool people. Not to mention roleplaying, debating, sharing art (of all kinds) and all that jazz. It is what you want it to be!

I should add now that it's an 18+ forum, strictly for legal reasons... I don't want to restrict things, but discussion of adult subjects is allowed, so I figured I'd stay on the safe side.

I don't really know why I'm going on the whole sales pitch thing here, since I don't even expect all that many people to ever see this journal, but what the heck.

Hope to see some of you there!