For years, I’ve wanted to tell stories that have different exteriors yet share a common thread. They could take place in the past, future, or present. Set on Earth or in a world far different than ours. They could span the spectrum of speculative fiction.

Yet all these stories would be interconnected, taking place in the same universe, governed by the same rules. I call it the Bergain Mythos after the pretend world I invented as a child.

This month I’ve combined my newfound love of science fiction and fantasy (SFF) with my old love of horror and I’m ready to flesh out the Bergain Mythos as I’ve always dreamt it to be.

Short Stories

The stories I’ve written these past couple months have felt lacking. Writing SFF is much different than horror, and I’ve struggled to get it right. So, I was elated a couple weeks ago when I finished writing my fantasy story “The Bound God” and found that everything came together.

I haven’t decided whether I’ll submit it, but I feel confident that I’ll start sending out my SFF stories soon. I’m keeping an eye out for submission calls that interest me.

Going forward, I want to set all my short stories in the Bergain Mythos. My published stories “The Uytoroi” (Chlorophobia) and “The Installation” (It Calls from Below) fit into it. But my most recent piece “The Last Earth Day” (Happy Hellidays) does not.

In last month’s post, I mentioned beginning a new fantasy novel (also part of the Mythos). I spent a fair chunk of time researching and note-taking before I realized this wasn’t the right project for me at the moment. Not that I’ll abandon it, but I feel I should focus on my short fiction.

The picture above shows my tiny vanity shelf (made up of the anthologies I’ve contributed to). My dream is to have it fill two full shelves. Author Brian Keene has filled two full walls of his office with his books. While I may never achieve that, I do hope to expand my bibliography.

Lately, I’ve divided my writing days in half—something I’ve struggled to do for years. I devote the first half to actual writing. My brain is freshest then. At the moment, I’m working on a short story about ancient robots called “Metta-Net-Net.” I then devote the second half of my day to editing.

M: The Plastic Prometheus

My current editing project is M: The Plastic Prometheus (again another Mythos novel). I’ve gone through my first beta reader’s edits and now I’m polishing it. This process involves removing adverbs, rearranging passive sentences, and cutting out unnecessary “telling.”

I recently saw that the press that published “The Uytoroi” is holding open submissions. I think my gothic horror novel would be right up their alley. However, part of me wants to send the novel off to a couple more beta readers before I think about submitting it.

I’m torn over this. I don’t want to miss this opportunity, but at the same time, I want the novel to be the best it can possibly be before I send it out. Whatever the case, I’ll update you next month with what I decide.

Reading

These last five months have shown me how much I love big books now that I’m no longer bound by arbitrary reading goals. At the moment, I’m deep into Patrick Rothfuss’s The Wise Man’s Fear (1,107 pages) and loving (most of) it.

So far this year, I’ve read exclusively science fiction and fantasy, but now I’m bringing horror back into the mix. I’ve divided my reading time somewhat equally between the three genres. Last week, I finished The Institute by Stephen King, a spectacular book that reminded me why I adore his work so much.

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Focusing on my mythos has brought order back into my writing. Each story is one more piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Yet without the picture on the box, I have the exciting challenge of figuring out what it will look like in the end.

Tchau,

Zé