Ever feel like you're writing into the void? Hours of toil that you post to a blog with no engagement?
Keen to link in with bloggers who write fiction. Looking to build some connections with fellow flash fiction/short story/fiction bloggers to share and review work or works in progress.
Today in Labor History May 26, 1755: The French authorities caught and executed Louis Mandrin, the French Robin Hood. He had led an army of 300 smugglers in a rebellion against the Fermiers, or tax collectors. This made him incredibly popular with the masses because the Fermiers would tax them far more than the king required and pocket the extra. Furthermore, he would buy products in Switzerland and sell them in France without paying any taxes, making them much less expensive. However, when he was caught, the authorities publicly tortured him and left his body on display to teach the masses a lesson. The people left sympathetic notes beside his body and a legend was born.
Mandrin was referenced in Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables.” Books and films were made about his life, including the 1924 silent film, “Mandrin” and the book, “Captain Mandrin.”
Today in LGBTQ History May 25, 1895: The authorities imprisoned socialist author Oscar Wilde for two years for “indecency” for having sex with men. Many potential witnesses refused to testify against him. However, he was still convicted. The judge said “It is the worst case I have ever tried. I shall pass the severest sentence that the law allows. In my judgment it is totally inadequate for such a case as this. The sentence of the Court is that you be imprisoned and kept to hard labor for two years.” The terrible prison conditions caused Wilde serious health problems and contributed to his early death.
@gruber Oh noes! IMy #iPad Pro never seemed to be slow for anything... This is unexpected. (I probably thought this about my original Fat Mac in 1985.)
Speaking of which, the image is a B&W of the interior of my original Fat Mac (MacIntosh 512K: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_512K). Taken with a iPhone 14 Pro Max 1 second exposure.
Enlarge the image and look at the signatures of the original staff that made the MacIntosh a product.
I bought in 1985. While I do most of my writing on the iPad Pro, I wrote my early novels on this machine and thought it would last forever. I wrote my first novel on an Apple ].
If anything, I love a good social commentary piece. This one put a smile on my face this morning. Most probably because I feel exactly the same about human race.
Important full fictional names:
Barbie - Barbara Millicent Roberts
Callie Torres - Calliope Iphegenia Torres
Chuck E. Cheese - Charles Entertainment Cheese
Oz, the Wizard - Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs
Today in Writing History May 22, 1927: Author Peter Matthiessen was born. Matthiessen was an environmental activist and a CIA officer who wrote short stories, novels and nonfiction. He’s the only writer to have won the National Book award in both nonfiction, for The Snow Leopard (1979), and in fiction, for Shadow Country (2008). His story Travelin’ Man was made into the film The Young One (1960) by Luis Bunuel. Perhaps his most famous book was, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse (1983), which tells the story of Leonard Peltier and the FBI’s war on the American Indian Movement. Peltier is still in prison (over 43 years so far) for a crime he most likely did not commit. The former governor of South Dakota, Bill Janklow, and David Price, an FBI agent who was at the Wounded Knee assault, both sued Viking Press for libel because of statements in the book. Both lawsuits threatened to undermine free speech and further stifle indigenous rights activism. Fortunately, both lawsuits were dismissed.
Today in Writing History May 21, 1703: The authorities imprisoned writer Daniel Defoe for seditious libel. Defoe was most famous for his novels Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719, and Moll Flanders (1722). However, he also wrote political pamphlets, including The Shortest Way with the Dissenters, which satirized how Tories handled religious dissenters by proposing that they all be exterminated. As a result, the authorities arrested and imprisoned him for seditious libel.
Sneak peek at my next short story, “Blank Sheet”. It’s story no.2 in my composite novel, “Distant Stars”.
I'm planning to publish it soon.
You can subscribe to my #Substack to get it in your inbox: https://elizabethtai.substack.com/
My new#audiobook includes music in the background at times and beautiful singing from the narrator which is a new experience for me and it’s taking me a while to get used to! Very atmospheric. I guess I tend to read backlist titles so I’m out of touch with current production techniques or something?! Anyone else read a book on audio that has this style? #fiction#bookstodon#Reading@bookstodon@audiobooks
Looking for a writing friend. Someone I can chat with about writing, projects, and stuff like that. I write horror and weird fiction, but I'll talk to anyone from any genre. Let me know if you're interested. #fiction#writing#horror#weird#WritingCommunity#Writers#books
I need to do an updated #introduction post, since my pinned posts are now out of date. I'm #RaimaLarter an Assistant Fiction Editor at Utopia Science Fiction Magazine @UtopiaScienceFiction and we are interested in reading your work!
Today in Writing History May 13, 1944: Tales of the City author Armistead Maupin was born. Maupin wrote the novels over the course of nearly forty years, (1978-2014). He was one of the first writers to incorporate the AIDS epidemic into his novels.
Our May/June 2023 issue is reaching mailboxes and select newsstands now. With important coverage of #ReproductiveRights and #Healthcare, as well as the continuation of @delger's river series.
Digital subscribers: look out for a new, easier format for this month's issue, available soon.