Learning from Love - part one

So the word on my Rocket Scientist blog is, though I truly thought I had found my soulmate and loved him, heart and soul, only to be left with a shrug on his part for someone else (two days before my birthday, I might add, with no warning), I'm still qualified to write about love in my novels.

Which is good because it's a big part of all the books I've written and all the books I'd planned to write. But I can learn from this rather humiliating episode in my life to make my books better, more realistic, more powerful, even more romantic (without, I hope, being corny)?

Not sure yet. Hard to write at the moment which is why my blogs have been largely languishing.But can't let that go indefinitely, so here's today's questions, inspired by my having to deal with an "other" woman, for anyone who'd care to comment.

Jealousy is a big thing in many romantic stories, considered proof of caring. On the other hand, loving someone (by my own definition), puts their needs beyond your own. I have not done romantic triangles (or any other geometric shape) to date, but that might come not too far in the future. So, at what point does jealousy stop being about love and start being about ownership? Should you give away the one you love without protest if they truly love someone else? Are the two perspectives mutually incompatible?

And that brings up a side question. If we presume (and I do) that loving someone does not imply obligation on the someone's part, what does it say about an individual if they let the lack of return love (or falling out of love) corrupt the original love. Should anyone base one's love on what they wanted in return? Should it warp if the love is unrequited?

I will tell you how I see the answers to these questions in a later post, but, for now, I'd like to see your own responses. The floor is yours.


 

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Update on the Good News

Remember when I said my story was going to be published in the winter version of SQ Magazine? Well, apparently, now it's going to be different. Not long after what I thought was going to be the issue they were discussing went on sale, I received and email that said (in part):

I am writing to you because your story won a prize, or was short listed, in the Story Quest Short Story Contest, and part of the arrangement was that your story would be published in SQ Magazine.

 

This is still the case.

However, IFWG Publishing is pleased to announce that we have decided to 'up the ante' with regard to our magazine publishing, and therefore your short stories will be part of this experience – and definitely benefit.

 

Currently, SQ Magazine is a print (and ebook) speculative fiction publication, published twice a year and containing roughly 100 print pages in each edition - and something like 12 to 14 short stories. We are proud of what we have achieved in our first three editions, but we have decided to move to a completely different format, not unlike many other top grade publications over recent years. We will now publish as follows:

 

1. We will be a free online zine, published six times a year.

2. We will publish three to nine stories in each edition (more toward the latter, meaning, we will publish something like double the number of short stories than our current arrangement, per year).

3. At the end of each calendar year, we will choose the best stories, and publish them as a print and ebook anthology - usually around March of the following year.

4. At this stage, our efforts will still be 'for exposure' by authors - the economics can have it no other way, but as our advertising, donations, and side-enterprises increase revenue, we will follow it through to future writers.

 

This arrangement will take place from what would have been SQ Magazine #4 - in March 2012 (that is, editions from then on are online zines and will be published every two months). This changes our print schedule of Dec 2011/Jan 2012 to online on 1 March 2012. Our magazine will then be called 'SQ Mag'.

 

How does this affect you? Well, firstly, your work will get much more exposure probably from day one, and secondly, you will have a chance at having your work published in an anthology. The first part is entirely consistent with what the contest rules stipulated - it's just that the medium has changed. The second part is a bonus for you.

Thought I'd inform those interested. When I see it in e-print or real print, I will bring it to your attention with links.

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