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Creativity
and Collaboration
One of the greatest
opportunities of living a creative life is the chance to collaborate
with colleagues.
A few months ago, the gracious and talented Jade
Zivanovic (the artist who created THE BETWEEN's amazing
cover) approached me, wondering if I might be interested in writing the
text of a children's story she wanted to work on. She had come up with
the idea and an iteration of the story in end-rhyming text, but wasn't
happy with how it had turned out. She realized that what she really
wanted to do was to focus on the art and would I pretty-please deal
with the pesky words?
An opportunity to collaborate with an artist I respect? Whose work
blows me away, regardless of the medium she uses?
This was a no-brainer.
I think I said something like "Hell, yes!"
The weeks that followed brought a flurry of ideas and snippets of
story, which I sent to Jade via email at all hours of the day and
night. Each time, I worried that I had somehow warped or ruined her
idea, or that she would say thanks, but no thanks.
Jade responded with amazing excitement and enthusiasm, with concept
sketches to go with my words until we had a first draft that we are
both pretty much gobsmacked by.
Now that the words are down, Jade has the much, much harder job of
completing her illustrations. I can't wait to see how this wonderful
project comes together.
Stay tuned for sneak peaks and more information about The Princess and
the Scarecrow project.
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What's
New
The
as-yet-unnamed-ghost-story is out to a few alpha readers (hubby and the
boys) before I inflict
it on sent it to interested beta readers.
I just finished a fresh revision of FUTURE TENSE, a novel I drafted 2+
years ago. It's a young adult story about a boy about
to age out of foster care who experiences glimpses into a violent
future he's desperate to prevent.
Thanks to solid critique and suggestions from my agent, Nephele
Tempest, and the lovely women in my new writing group (:waves to the
#SFWG:), I have a much, much stronger story.
I'm looking for a few pair of fresh eyes--readers of YA work who might
be interested in taking a look and giving me their honest thoughts on
the story. Pop me an email at lisa@ljcohen.net.
***
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of page)
This
Issue's Story
"Diversity" is a story
that emerged from a dream. I woke up one morning from a sensory-rich
dream that became the core of the scene where Varna exchanges 'gifts'
with the Tuv delegate. It was one of those moments that shook me with
its strength and its vivid imagery and would not let me go until I
captured it somehow.
I always keep something to write with and on by my bed; you never know
when your subconscious is going to whisper something to your conscious
self.
I hope you enjoy "Diversity."
(Special thanks to reader Susan Risdall for her comments on an earlier
version of this story.)
***
Diversity
LJ
Cohen
Varna bit back the urge to click her tongue in distress as she studied
her tall, barrel chested boss. His voice, so well suited to
vid broadcasts and important speeches to even more important people,
felt far too large for her small cubicle. She struggled to keep her
throat relaxed and her overvoice silent.
"Your participation is essentially a formality," he said, leaning over
her desk and smiling. He had a charm that came across as both
well-practiced and genuine, almost childlike. "You're not technically
part of the diplomatic team and the actual negotiations will take place
after the welcoming ceremony." Face to face the Ambassador's charisma
felt like a blast of heat from a plasma furnace. "So, what do you
think?" he asked.
She clasped her hands under the desk to keep from fidgeting. What did
she think? Varna had worked at the Embassy long enough to know it
didn't really matter what she thought. His direct presence here made
her assignment to the mission merely seem like a request instead of
genetic expediency.
What did she think? Varna clamped her teeth down. She thought this was
a massive mistake. But you didn't just say that to Earth's most high
ranking inter-planetary Ambassador. Hell, Ambassador Berwick probably
spoke more of her grandparents' native Tuvlun than she did, and he
didn't even have the right shaped palate. She didn't even realize she
was tapping the tip of her tongue against the high arch of her mouth
until the drum beat of her anxiety filled the room.
***
Continue
reading "Diversity" in the attached pdf, or download the pdf,
epub, or mobi formats from my website.
This
downloads page has all three
formats and information about how to open the file on your preferred
reading device.
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This work
is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
(This
means you can share the newsletter and/or the story with a link back
to http://www.ljcohen.net, Lisa Janice (LJ) Cohen, but please
do not place it for sale or change it.)
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