Good News: Through the aid of some unexpected donations, and financial help from my family (which I REALLY wasn't expecting), it looks like I'll be able to rent the U-haul and move out of here before the end of the year, which means I'll be able to avoid paying for January, which would've seriously put me in a hole.

Bad News: Not really a downside here, other than me feeling like shit for having to beg for money. Again.

Good News: As a result of all this, a giant burden of stress is being eased off my shoulders, allowing me to think in a more rational mode than panic and desperation.

Bad News: Said panic and desperation tends to not foster a creative mindset, so I didn't get the chance to do much work on Free Fiction Friday this week. Nothing at all, actually. If I don't get called in tomorrow, I'll be working on Chuck so that I can get the chapter finished and posted by the 9pm deadline. If I do get called in, I might have to post it Saturday.

Good News: We have a new author joining the Free Fictioneers! mythicfox will start posting his story, "Let Sleeping Foxes Lie" starting tomorrow. It's an urban fantasy story, set in The City (as I'd been pestering him for months to take a crack at the setting, and he's really helped me refine and develop it over the last few stories I've written).

Bad News: Well, not really seeing a downside to that, personally, but if you guys are getting sick of The City, or don't want to see another author explore it, it could be bad news. Personally, I've enjoyed what's been written, but I am kind of a biased source. :)

News: Still no word on House of Stone, but I'm guessing you can't expect a fast turnaround twice in a row. :) Here's hoping that no news is good news.

At least for a couple days, that is.

So Monday was awesome. Rent was paid, I got to cook an amazing meal for a friend who came up to visit, and I managed to get down the first 1000 words of The Vampire Fred: Wayward Son. Then I went to sleep, confident that I'd be called in the next day.

I didn't get called, not until later on, for a half-day, which I did go in for, but before that happened, everything went to Hell.

Long story short: I have to move. Again.

Explanation? My housemate got offered a job in Vermont, and he's taking it. This leaves me without a place to live, and also that I lose the job I busted my ass to get, because currently the only place available to me is back to the parents' house (Ye gods, the Walk of Shame that is going to be). Also, I have to be out by the 10th of January (Which is when my housemate will be completely moved out, and the heat will be turned off). Thankfully, I've got teaching experience, and the school district down there hires substitutes all year round, so hopefully it won't be long before I'm gainfully employed again.

However, the problem, as it always is, is money. I pretty much need to rent a U-Haul. Cheapest I can get, and get everything in one trip, will run about $140. This... I don't have. Remember how I mentioned I paid the rent on Monday?

So here's my quandary... Should I be badgering my housemate (and possibly his family, since they arranged the job for him, and they own the house we rent) for the cash to rent the U-Haul? Or should I smile, nod, and go out of my mind begging everyone I know? I have the feeling that this could really damage the friendship, but chances are, after he moves, I'll never see him again outside the occasional IM.

Any advice?

P.S. I'm not begging for money, but if you really do want to help out, it would be immensely appreciated. My PayPal's solomonphoenix@yahoo.com

I started actual work on The Vampire Fred: Wayward Son last night. I've got plot, subplots, conflicts both internal and external...

But so far? It's not really all that funny.

I moved the timeline forward by about 6 months from the last book, and I asked myself what would've happened to Fred and Daniel during that time period, and how it would've affected them.

Daniel? Well, he would've gone out, hustled billiards and poker and swindled people and socialized and generally had a decent time while Fred was working, since I couldn't imagine Daniel just watching TV every night again after the events of the first book.

Fred? Well, he's still got the dead-end job, working 8-10 hours a night, and generally with other vampires.

I guess what I'm going to try to explore in this book is the conflict that arises from Fred knowing and accepting that he has to act human now, rather than believing that he's still human and this is all one long nightmare. I do not expect it to be a laugh riot, but I'm hoping for a lot of character growth in this one. Hopefully I won't lose too many readers, because I know that the jokes were a big draw for the first one, but I just can't imagine Fred being the same guy after everything that happened. So, if you're turned off already, I offer my apologies.

I'm apparently available through a lot of different distributors now! :)

Fictionwise: http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b99050/The-Vampire-Fred/Vaughan-R-Demont/?si=0

Diesel E-Books: http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/cgi-bin/item/parent-9781603707602/The-Vampire-Fred-Wicked-Game-eBook.html

AllRomance E-books: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thevampirefredwickedgame-365607-139.html

CyberRead: http://www.cyberread.com/The-Vampire-Fred-Wicked-Game/Demont-Vaughan-R/id318090/

Lybrary: http://www.lybrary.com/vampire-fred-wicked-game-p-39715.html?manufacturers_id=33007&osCsid=9864653264997dbbc258b8d74dbb1ccc

eBookwise: http://www.ebookwise.com/ebooks/b99050/The-Vampire-Fred/Vaughan-R-Demont/?si=43


And of course, if you'd rather just buy it from the publisher...

Torquere Press: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=253&products_id=2085

Welcome back to Free Fiction Friday!

Sorry that this entry is a bit late, but I managed to make my deadline. Keeping the hosue warm has been the main priority here for the last couple days, but everything's starting to get a bit better, thankfully.

As always, please check out fellow Free Fictioneer id_locke! If you're new to Free Fiction Fridays, please click on the "free fiction fridays" tag to get all caught up on the current story, and read a couple other stories set in The City.

Without further ado, please enjoy this week's edition of Free Fiction Friday!

( Let The River Run - Part 5 - SFW )

I'm sure that there are those in Canada who are suffering much worse than I right now, but still, it's friggin' freezing in the house right now. Apparently the windows in my room aren't sealed in all that well, so there's a lot of drafts... facing a flat empty field... that's experiencing 45mph winds right now. With a -3 degree wind chill.

So tonight I'm concentrating on the meager little fire in the wood-stove, so I regret to say that Free Fiction Friday won't be a 12:01 post this week, but I will get it posted tomorrow before the 9pm deadline.

On a different note, thanks to all the people who sent positive thoughts regarding the House of Stone submission. Every little bit helps.

House of Stone has been submitted to Blind Eye. Please cross your fingers for me, send positive energy, pick 4-leaf clovers, whatever good luck thing you feel like doing if the mood strikes you.

I'm going to go curl up in a blanket and try not to hyperventilate.

The 2nd draft of House of Stone is finished. And here I thought I had a break from Pearl Jam for a little while. Mostly cosmetic changes, little spelling errors and typos here and there, minor plot glitches that had to be attended to, don't really know if anything in the plot needs to be cut or expanded upon.

I'm rethinking my rethinking of a decision as well, about something that happens to Richard very late in the book that originally was going to be something that would last through the whole series. When I was reading through the aftermath scene, I actually felt myself being brought down until the resolution that I'd added came up, and I was able to finish the story with a smile on my face. Originally I was going to cut that, because I wanted to have the feeling that you don't really get out of the situation that Richard was in unscathed...

Then I realized I was playing with Tara's Law, and that it would put a downer on an important scene. Also, the resolution allowed for a pretty nice reveal, and hinted at future stories. Why throw angst into that if you're only in the final pages, right? So I rethought my rethinking and left it alone. I hope it was the right decision, we'll have to see what Blind Eye thinks. If they don't like it, well, there's other places out there. Just would really be cool to get a book with Blind Eye. :)

Oh, and since some people are posting their Xmas lists... Well, for me it's a Yule list, which means the presents, if any, won't be as nice... :)

1. A picture of Fred, Lennox, Daniel, Chuck, James, Jasper, Karden, Darren, Dave, any of them, really. I would love to see an artist's interpretation of one of my characters. It would be the coolest thing ever. I know that I could commission, but uh... I'm still barely making it here (I am still making it though, thanks to the job).

2. An animated icon of Stephen Colbert throwing the horns while holding a lighter. I've got screenshots of it, but I have NO clue how to make animated gifs.

3. A story set in the City that's not written by me. Because I would love to see another writer play around in the City. I'd encourage it, actually. Hell, if you want to write slash fiction between nonsensical characters, go ahead (because I'm sure someone's imagined Fred and James, or Lennox and Chuck).

4. For my substitute teaching handler to call me at least 10 minutes before I need to come in, as opposed to 3. :)

Welcome back to Free Fiction Friday!

Sorry about missing last week, had to be downstate to spend Thanksgiving with the family, but to help make up for it, think week's chapter is 2700 words as opposed to the 1900 I'm averaging with Chuck's story.

House of Stone will start getting edits this weekend, and then it's whipping it into serious shape for submission, and of course the part I dread for all submissions: the query/cover letter. Let's face it, I suck at those things. I'd ask someone to write one for me, but those can end up costing $30 or more depending on who you ask. I do have a couple of beta slots open to read the manuscript as a whole (since most of my betas have been reading it as it was written), so if you're interested, please drop me an e-mail at vaughndemont at yahoo dot com. I'd prefer someone who's been around the LJ for a while. Sorry, I'd just hate for the story to get pirated before I even send it somewhere.

Once revision work on Richard is done, I'll be starting actual work on The Vampire Fred: Wayward Son, so Fred fans rejoice! (All six of ya! ;) )

Anyway, if you're new to Free Fiction Fridays, you can read past entries by clicking on the "free fiction fridays" tag and catch up on Chuck, or read other stories based in the City. Also, please check out fellow Free Fictioneer id_locke who is posting chapters from her novel Sinn's Rune.

Without further ado, please enjoy this week's edition of Free Fiction Friday!

( Let The River Run - Part 4 - SFW )

And that's it. I'm going to bed.

Is Buddhism a religion, or a philosophical approach to life?

Just something that popped into my head while I was meditating.

Or... Why Vaughn Needs To Be 100% Clear What His Job Is When Talking To His Gay Friends:

(The following is a conversation I had with some friends last night over XBox Live while I was playing Borderlands, and therefore not entirely aware of what everyone was saying)

(Joins Live Party)
Me: Hey guys.
Matt: Hey there!
Kev: What's going on?
Me: Just really need to decompress. I subbed today.
Matt: Not used to that yet?
Me: Nah, I'm getting into it. Got about a hundred hours logged so far this year. Money could be better though.
Kev: Wait, what? You got paid for it?
Matt: Damn, you're a working boy?
Me: *distracted by psycho-midgets with shotguns, and I swear that's what they're called in game* Yep. 75 bucks every time I get called in.
*A long pause*
Kev: That's kinda cheap, isn't it? I mean, you sound like you could, I don't know, command more.
Me: The rates aren't set by me, otherwise, yeah, considering what I have to put up with all day when I get called, I'd ask for more, yeah.
Matt: Holy shit, you have to go all day? For 75 bucks?
Kev: Yeah, that doesn't seem right, man. Is your boss okay, at least?
Me: I don't get to talk to the boss, I get called by a woman who has everyone's number, but she's not in charge. She just calls me, lets me know when, where, and what I'll be doing. It's shitty work, but I really need the experience.
Matt: Shit, man, are things that bad around there?
Me: I'll be okay, this'll lead to a better gig, I'm pretty sure. Of course, I'd be making double what I'm making now if I were certified.
*Another long pause*
Matt: Wait, what?
Kev: There's a certification process?
Me: Yeah, I mean, you can get a subbing job without any real training, but for the better paying jobs you need to be professionally certified, process can take a few years depending on where you live. Doesn't matter, I don't need to be certified to do what I'm doing now at a college. Better money anyway there, but there's a lot of competition for positions, especially if you want to be kept on long-term. That can lead to an actual salaried position. *sighs wistfully*
*Another long pause*
Matt: Fuck, dude, I gotta say this, that doesn't seem like a life, it could get pretty dangerous.
Kev: Seriously. I knew a guy who was in the life, and it only treats you well for so long, just make sure to get out once you've got what you need.
Me: What? C'mon guys, I still want to be doing this when I'm in my 60s.
*Another long pause*
Me: Guys?
Kev: That doesn't seem too realistic.
Matt: I don't know, maybe if he was going to do videos or something.
*A pause*
Me: Videos? What the hell are you guys talking about?

It all went downhill from there. Thank the gods I caught on before I started mentioning how much joy I took in sending a few rowdy 8th graders to be disciplined that day. (Hey, you talk back to Mr. Demont, your ass is going to in-school suspension. 'Nuff said. :) )

House of Stone has been completed at 81,091 words.

And that's it. I'm going to bed.

I should probably remark that I started on LJ on my non-author blog on Thanksgiving about 6 years ago. I was hiding from my family's drama, for the most part, and not a lot's changed. I've just learned how to keep my head down and ride out the storm.

I've seen a few people posting their "thankful" lists, though, so I figured I might as well jump on the bandwagon.

Things Vaughn Is Thankful For This Year

1. My job. Sure, it's crappy, the pay's not that great, and I don't know from one day to the next if I'll work at all for the next two weeks, but it's experience, real classroom experience, and with any luck it'll help me get an adjunct professorship somewhere and help me start climbing Professor Mountain. We've all got to start somewhere, and I'm thankful that I actually got the chance to start. As an added bonus, I've honed my "teacher voice" and can now silence a room full of teenagers at will. :)

2. My faith. It's kind of weird being Pagan on Thanksgiving, considering that while it's an American holiday, it's also a rather Christian one if you think about it. Still, though, I'd been having a crisis of faith for the last few years and I'm finally starting to emerge from that. Now all that's left to work through is my almost paralyzing thanatophobia.

3. My fans. Truly, you guys keep me going. It's because of you guys that James and Lennox and Fred and Chuck and Richard and Jasper and... well, there's a lot of boys in my head that want to take their bows and blow their kisses to the crowd. Thank you all for sticking with me, for buying my books, for reading my Free Fiction Friday stuff, asking me questions for Reader Mail Mondays, all of it. Here's hoping next year is just as good, if not better.

4. My beta readers. Thank you all for putting up with me, nudging me to get to work, for taking the time out of your lives to read my works-in-progress and remind me of continuity problems, when a character's straying from their nature, and just all of the encouragement. I will be forever grateful.

5. The guy. Maybe I've already met him, maybe I haven't, but I have faith we'll end up together someday and I won't screw it up somehow. I remember a line I used in one of my stories, that my friend Harmony immediately snatched to describe her own relationship. "I've never really been alone at all, because somewhere in the world, he'd always been there." Even though he's not part of my life yet, I'm thankful that I can believe that he's out there.

Made it safe and sound to central New York for Thanksgiving. Found out I'll be doing a 2-day subbing gig when I get back next week, so yay money. Got through the scene I was having trouble with for House of Stone, and the betas seem to like it so far, so that's a bit of stress off my back.

Going to try to get to the finish line this week, since I'm not doing FFF this week, but please check out id_locke this Friday as she'll be picking up the slack for me. Of course, if anyone else wants to kick off their own FFF this Friday I'll make sure to mention it as well.

Anyway, now the challenge is getting work done while Xmas music plays incessantly in the background. Wish me luck.

Since I'm heading home for Thanksgiving, and dealing with all the wonderful family drama that such an event tends to inspire, I won't be able to get something done for Chuck this week. Granted, I'll probably find any excuse I can to work on Richard, if only to avoid awkward conversations. Here's hoping I can bust through the mini-block that's keeping me from the final leg of it.

In other news, haven't been sleeping right lately. Lots of weird dreams, but none that stick around long enough to get tossed into a journal. I vaguely remember running down a hill to bring someone a sword, even though my opinion of them wasn't exactly the highest.

Also, concerning Richard, I'll just be out with it and say that what's holding me up is a sex scene. Normally, I'd just try to find any way I can around it, but this is an important scene, and it's not exactly gratuitous. The main character's been changing and growing (in the positive emotional sense) over the course of the story, and I get the feeling that this isn't a sex scene, but more a lovemaking scene. When it's the latter and not the former, I'm always intimidated, because I don't want to use the more colorful sexual euphemisms and instead more describe the scene in an emotional/spiritual context than a physical one. Most people will say, "So, uh, what's the problem with that?"

I guess it's just my own personal thing, my own messed up mindset (which, I will admit, has ruined a relationship or three), that as a relationship progresses, it's more about being in love and finally having someone you can trust in a world of people with serpent-smiles, knowing that someone will always have your back and being willing to have their back without a second thought. It's more about that than really hot and steamy sex.

Granted, the story itself has hot and steamy sex in the first chapter, so I should follow that precedent, right? But at the same time, the characters in the first chapter really aren't the same people in chapter 29 that they are in chapter 1. Their relationship has changed, their dynamic has changed, so writing a hot steamy "woo-hoo, hot gay boys kissing!" kind of scene for them seems kind of, well, wrong.

I guess this is really addressing the core dilemma that I have now. I've written and published 4 stories with sexually aggressive characters in them. In The Last Paladin, the protagonist is a paladin of Pan, and his mentors/lovers are satyrs, so it makes sense that sex and sexuality would be important to the story. In The Vampire Fred: Wicked Game, Fred is a virgin at the beginning, and Daniel, his mentor, is a bit of a rake, with a wealth of sexual experience. Hell, for a lot of readers, the story's pretty much over at the halfway point because Fred and Daniel consummate their relationship, after that the story's just urban fantasy with some mystery elements.

This is what makes me nervous about House of Stone. It opens with sex, the main character works in the adult film industry. This is going to make a reader possibly think that this story will have more easy sex that an Anita Blake novel. And it doesn't. I won't lie, and I know I'm losing a LOT of potential readers/buyers here. I really wanted to write an urban fantasy story, not write an urban fantasy with a healthy slathering of sex to disguise it as a "plot-driven fuck-fic" (Ye gods, I hate that term). Richard works in porn because at the beginning of the story, he's lazy, incredibly good-looking, a bit of a prick, and because when I really considered the economy of his county, and that he was supposed to act as a muse for artists and still be able to pay his property taxes, well... Porn was the only thing that made sense, realistically.

But I'm rambling, mostly because I'm dreading the drive downstate and I'm stalling by any means necessary. Here's hoping I don't find a backlash when I return.

Welcome back to Free Fiction Friday!

First, we'll get some news out of the way: Lightning Rod got a rejection (albeit a feedback-filled rejection) from Blind Eye. I've been working through it all day, and decided to throw myself at House of Stone and managed to power through my mini-block and push past 73k. Blind Eye will also be getting first look at Richard's story, more than likely. In the meantime, if you have any interest in reading Lightning rod yourself, just let me know, and I'll let you know how to get a pdf copy in the meantime.

Now that that's out of the way, if this is your first time to Free Fiction Friday, please click on the "free fiction fridays" tag below so you can catch up. The three stories thus far are "The Line of the Hunt", "Dead In the Water", and "Let the River Run". All of them take place in the same setting, but all are stand-alone. If you're looking for an NSFW story, go with first one if you want two guys getting it on in graphic detail. ;)

Anyway, without further ado, please enjoy this week's edition of Free Fiction Friday, and make sure to check out fellow Free Fictioneer id_locke!

( Let The River Run - Part 3 )

And that's it. I'm going to bed. :)

Saw this little guy hopping around across the road, so we snapped a photo of him while he was still about. Sorry if the quality's a bit fuzzy, didn't have time to get the tripod. :)

1. House of Stone passed 70k last night, and I'm getting ever closer to the end. I think I'm about 2-4 chapters from finishing, putting the finish line somewhere near 80k.

2. Lightning Rod has been submitted to Blind Eye Books, even though my synopsis-writing skill is kind of, well, bad. Here's hoping the novel itself will catch their eye, so to speak. Feel free to cross your fingers for me. :)

3. Pretty good possibility we're doing a Reader Mail Monday tonight, so get in your questions while you can.

4. Waffles.

That is all.

Welcome back to Free Fiction Friday!

Not much to say this week. Gotta post this fast as I've got a subbing gig today and I want to get off to bed. :)

If you're new to Free Fiction Friday, please click on the "free fiction fridays" tag, and please, check out fellow Free Fictioneer id_locke!

( Let The River Run - Part 2 )

And that's it. I'm going to bed.

This week's Free Fiction Friday is in fact done and will be a 12:01 posting.

It appears that I've found the key to not being called in to sub: Wake up at 5:30am, shower, shave, brush teeth, get hair into that mythical "good hair day" state, dressed in slacks, dress shirt, actually pull off a Windsor knot with my tie, have breakfast, and be fully awake at alert by 6:30am when the call to sub usually comes in. On the upside, it gives me plenty of time to get some writing done as the house is quiet.

I'll try to get some work done on Richard today, so you never know, today might be the day that House of Stone breaks through the 70k barrier.