Mar 3, 2023
This time on the Rocky Mountain Writer podcast, a chat with the co-editors of the next Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers short story anthology, to be published in 2024. Those co-editors are Linda Ditchkus and Paul Martz.
Linda (L.V.) Ditchkus has written her whole life. But until eight years ago, her writing was either technical, scholarly, or in travel magazines. In 2015, she jumped into novel writing with both feet. After drafting her first chapter, which only amounted to a few hundred words, she realized she had plenty to learn. So she found a network of writing friends—many through RMFW—who gave her writing tips and pointed her toward writing resources like how-to books and classes. She’s grateful for her fantastic writing pals. Being a judge for the 2022 Self Published Science Fiction Competition and a 2023 youth writing competition has deepened her understanding of what makes books and stories stand out.
Since her Sasquatch Series won First Place in the Colorado Authors League 2021 Book Awards for Sci-Fi and her short story was included in last year’s RMFW’s anthology (Bizarre Bazaar), Linda plans to stop calling herself a debut author. In addition to marketing the Sasquatch Series, she’s working on a new series about two time-traveling women from the distant future working desperately to repopulate the world with men. Both are determined to succeed. But various groups, including terrorist factions and their government, build barriers against their success.
When Linda’s not writing, she leads adventure travel trips for the Colorado Mountain Club and travels with her husband. She’s been to more than 100 countries and hiked or climbed in many of those. Linda and her husband live selfish lives (without plants or pets) above 7,000 feet in the Colorado Rockies.
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Paul Martz has been writing science fiction short stories for five years, though his love for sci fi began decades earlier. When he was six, he saw 2001: A Space Odyssey on the big screen, which lead him to a collection of Arthur C. Clarke’s short stories--and a lifelong insatiable appetite for mind-bending sci fi.
But his hobbies and interests extend far beyond the science fiction galaxy. He has authored books on programming and holds a data encryption patent. Like all true nerds, he runs his own web server. He recently learned to read braille and can solve a tactile Rubik’s Cube. He has traveled the world to view multiple total solar eclipses. He has a life-long interest in music. He has ripped his entire vinyl collection to MP3, recorded his own original digital compositions, and played drums since childhood. Currently, he’s teaching himself to play piano. Paul lives in Erie Colorado with his wife and loyal cat.
More about Paul Martz:
More about Linda Ditchkus:
Previous podcast with Linda Ditchkus:
https://rmfworg.libsyn.com/linda-ditchkus-tips-on-writing-series-fiction
For video versions of this podcast, subscribe:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBP81nfbKnDRjs-Nar9LNe20138AiPyP8
Mark Stevens' website:
https://www.writermarkstevens.com/
Intro Music by Moby Gratis:
Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: