Quote by DenimAngel
Wow the Georgia BULLDOGS crushed TCU into dust last night

And I think we have a mutual acquaintance who is absolutely over the moon, too, eh. They had that game on the big screen over the pool and I caught the end of the first half. TCU's coach was talking brave but they were already getting the crap kicked out of them.

Hi, gang. Just dropping a little note from somewhere between Freeport and Nassau in The Bahamas. Hope the sick are recuperating and the rest are keeping well. Back more regularly in a week.

Quote by TaliaRussell

Hey Handsome - buy me a coffee? ❤️

Wonders what would happen if verbs said "no".😁

Hi, Talia. Nice to see you again.

Hey, Sara I think JAS would like some Superman cookies.😉

Good morning! Probably my last day doing setup for a bit. Coffee is a Costa Rican dark roast. Teas are Assam and Lemon Black. Hot water is ready.

Later, alligators!

Hamburg

Quote by CuriousAnnie

What's this winter you are talking about?

Someday, we are going to get you spend a winter in Ontario. You'll appreciate your homeland all the more, I assure you.🤣

Woo hoo! Congratulations to the top 3! Good choices all!

I think we had a good selection of stories with interesting takes on the pictures.

Thanks for a terrific competition!

Still not quite a spinner, though.😉

Gooooooooooooooood Morning!

There's coffee in the coffee pot, hot and dark. Teas are Red Rose and Duke of Earl. Hot water is ready for other hot beverages like hot chocolate.

This might be my last setup for a couple weeks. Going to be traveling for a bit so probably scarce. Will be hanging around today, though.

Quote by rolandlytle

I wrote my first sci-fi story in high school, and it was set far in the future... 2023.

🤣Yeah, the 21st century seemed so far off at one time, eh. The original Bladerunner was set in 2019 (made in 1982). Last I checked, we didn't have androids and flying cars in 2019, though maybe I missed something. 😋The sequel came out in 2017 and is dated 2049. So maybe some of us will get to see how it compares to the real "future".

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess
I am allergic to all nuts, sadly

Better keep your distance from me then. 😜

More seriously, my maternal uncle had nut allergies and we used to think that's what killed him. Later learned his heart (their family's big weakness, it's what killed my mother) was the problem moreso than an anaphylactic reaction.

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess
Wonders if there are any cookies left...

There's always cookies around here somewhere, even if it's just day olds in the tins behind the counter. After all, we have a cookie fairy.😊

And then I got another one today with 5 literary markets (again, a bit heavy on the spec fic, 3 out of 5) that also has a few other markets with short windows happening tagged on at the end.

» 5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in January 2023 (authorspublish.com)

Quote by verbal

Hey Kat, hey Ape.

May I buy you a coffee and a cookie Ape? You have been doing some fine writing lately.

Me, I will keep slogging along. No Talia Thursday. Writing and CSPAN today. The cats are relieved.

I'll have a coffee and a cookie as well. Hearty congratulations Scott.

Thanks, Jeff. I guess I am getting my mojo back. Tempted to slug a laptop along on my vacation but probably will stick to reading. Though I have been known to bash out poems and micros on my phone when on vacation. 😋

Another non-spec fic one is Zoetic's call for Food-themed writing in all forms (poetry, fiction, essays, etc.).

I am kind of interested in the Renfield one but the deadline is during my vac and I leave soon so not happening. Would love to focus on him as a patient in the rudimentary, often punitive Victorian mental health institutions rather than as a gibbering, drooling vampire slave (even if Drac does still play a role).

New month, new year, new listed of themed calls for submissions. They are all over the map for the most part but seem to be heavy on speculative fiction (sf, fantasy, horror) this month. Queer horror, stories about Renfield (the character from Dracula), Christian spec fic, and others. But there's stuff for others, too, including a call for essays on women's reproductive health. And some themed comps at the end, for those who want more opportunities to win prizes for their writing.

Happy Writing!

» 39 Themed Submissions Calls for January 2023 (authorspublish.com)

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess
I’ve never tried Black Currant tea, but it sounds intriguing.

It's black tea with black currant flavour and it is delish. My wife and I got into via a Tetley's version many years ago. The Tetley's has become hard to get (the only place we can find it right now is on Amazon) but my local tea shop has a nice loose leaf black currant, which is what I use nowadays.

Good morning! Bit grey here but my mood is rather bright. Slept well and got some good news.

Coffee pot is filled with a Nicaraguan dark roast. Teas are Assam and Black Currant. Hot water is boiled and ready for other hot beverages.

Later...

Pulled this one down (just moved it to Drafts, did not delete yet). No longer sure I like having it here. It's a good story, just very dark and not in the way I usually lean. Might come back, might not. I'm giving it some time.

6 2 5 0 (sometimes we must all be heroes)

Quote by verbal
Talia is back on another site, and might pop her head in here. She might even start writing again!

Here's hoping it happens!

No New Year's resolutions here, either, but I would like to start writing more. I've been struggling a bit with mood and physical issues and was not very productive in 2022.

One day more

Another day, another destiny

Ape stops singing Les Mis before the lawsuit arrives

Good morning! I've put on a fresh pot of nice hot coffee. Teapots are full (to the tippy-top, of course) with Red Rose and Earl Grey. Hot water is ready for other hot beverages. Marshmallows and other add-ons like milk, cream, and sugar (both real and fake) are restocked.

Two days until we are supposed to get the comp announcement. Who will it be? Who will it be? (from another musical, anyone know which one?)

These days, probably car. Canadian airports (and I guess on US ones) have been brutal for months.

Live in hotels or bring a camper of some form?

As he read through her papers, the truth shocked him.

Do cookie fairies even age? Anyhow, this being Sara, I went with birthday cookies. Voila!

An interesting case that occurred because of Canada being 50 years rather than 70:

Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond and Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang, died in 1964. That means that in most of the world, his works go out of copyright in 2034. But in Canada, they are already Public Domain, since 50 years puts the date in 2014. So, shortly after that happened, Canadian book chain Indigo-Chapters put out their own cheap hardcover editions of the original James Bond series and a bunch of Canadian authors released an anthology (only available in Canada) of James Bond short stories. But these could not be sold outside Canada since Bond was still in copyright in the US, UK, etc.

It is tricky, though, because it only covers characters, settings, plot elements, etc. from Fleming's original novels. So, for instance, the popular villain Jaws is not included because he was created by screenwriter Michael Wood for the movies The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker in the seventies. Basically, if you're Canadian and going to write a Bond story, make sure you read Fleming first, so you know exactly what is available to use.

Guests are always welcome in Inspirations. There's hot coffee ready, a couple pots of tea (Russian Caravan and Irish Breakfast), and hot water for other teas and hot chocolate.

I have cleaned up from the New Year's buffet, packed things away until next year, and put another log on the virtual perpetual fireplace.

I posted a thread in Resources for Writers about changes to copyright in Canada. Copyright is something to be mindful of even if you are not selling your work. Unless you specifically sign it away in a legally binding contract (which usually happens in certain segments of publishing like the big comic publishers) or specify that the story is public domain, you own the copyright on anything you write and publish, even stories posted for free on the Internet. Never forget that.

A story on what is happening in Canada.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/canada-extends-copyright-protection-another-20-years-to-meet-new-trade-obligation-1.6215102

So Canada has finally joined the rest of the Western world in making artistic works remain in copyright for 70 years after the creator's death. It was 50 here. What this means in practical, immediate terms is that works by authors who died in 1973 which would have become public domain in Canada this year, now will not become PD until 2043 and that no works will enter PD in Canada due to the author's death until then. Authors can, of course, put their works in public domain or under Creative Commons licenses at any time voluntarily. This only affects works automatically becoming public domain.

There are arguments both ways.

Academics prefer a shorter term since copyright can make it expensive to do things like textual analysis and some forms of criticism.

Families, esp. of popular authors, like a longer term since it often means they or the estate make money off the works longer.

There's also those who argue copyright should die with the the author or be limited based on date of publication, not the author's death.

And there's the radical crowd (I know one) who argue that there should be no copyright. Artists should be making art for the good of all and not expect to make money off it.

What do the writers of SS think?

Yay, cartoon cookie jars! Will the middle one have Scooby Snacks in it? 😋

Quote by JamesPBear

Lady Jay and I watched the fireworks in Sydney Harbour online as our way to ring in the New Year…then texted our cousins who live there, and got a text back with a photo of the fireworks from their condo window!

Sometimes technology is maddening, but it can also be really cool!

We watched the Toronto fireworks yesterday (we watched bunch from all over the world between Christmas Eve and yesterday). Two large displays more or less concurrently on the waterfront. Some of the waterfront condos there must have had a good show. Or a late night if the noise kept them up.

But Sydney's show was out of this world. Looked like the entire shoreline was launching rockets at times.