October in Retrospect

I have managed to blow my record by not getting acceptances in October. This is the first time since November I believe. As they say, all good things must come to an end. I did receive seven rejections and managed to write two new stories and start on another (I still need to finish up that Zombie Western). I had two stories published. Beneath the Willows was published in Bards and Sages and The Glass Jar was published in Fissure. In an uninteresting side note both of these publication managed to get my name wrong. Bards and Sages fixed it but as Fissure is a chapbook form and has already gone to print I will be known in there as James Eyberg.

Today is the first day of NaNo and I should be working on that, but I am using this as a writing exercise and trying to loosen my stiff fingers (because getting old stinks). Good luck to everyone doing it and to all of you out there cheerleading us on, thank you.

End of a long journey

The Glass Jar has been picked up for publication in the October issue of Fissure magazine. I wouldn't have written about this, but this story started 12 years ago. I was still in college for God's sake. It has undergone more revisions than anything else I have ever written and even underwent more revisions while it was under consideration from this editor (bless her soul). I believe this story is the first rejection I ever received, a personalized rejection from Gordon Van Gelder (which still sits in a file in my cabinet) at F&SF. Still I knew it would find a home and it has. I look forward to seeing how it is presented and even more thankful that this story's journey is at an end.

Now to the business at hand. I think I have a good start on a 16-20,000 word MG story as I plug away on another MG adventure which is looking to be about 28,000 words long. nothing like spreading yourself thin. My short story front is thin right now. I have a couple of ghost stories sloshing around my skull, aging like a fine whiskey. I hope they don't turn rancid on me before I tap my brain and release them into my electronic shotglass.

Hope everyone has a good day, it is Friday after all. Pour yourself a cold one and belly up to the keyboard and have some fun today.

Oh, and before I forget, I will be posting this next week as well, Ruthless Peoples Magazine comes out with issue number 3 next week (the 14th to be exact) and my story "Wine for Two" is featured. I hope everyone downloads it and lets me know what they think. It is a little different than my usual. Don't worry, I will remind everyone when it comes out.

Just another manic monday

Now that I have cheesy 80's pop songs in my head and probably yours as well if you were born before 1981 let us move on to what this week will entail.

this week will probably be a bummer of a week. My daugher, who is now apparently out of school more than she is in school gets out early two days and is completely off of school one day this week. I don't know why they are bothering to have it at all. This will undoubtedly throw off my writing schedule and put me weeks behind on my current work. (feel free to scratch your head as you figure out how 3 days equates into weeks)

Other than that I am working out the kinks in some of my shorter works. Playing with verbs and tense as I get ready to send them back out into the world.

Speaking of that, I had sent out one of my shorts to Fissure magazine. Good people over there, quick turn-around but they only pay in copy. I thought I would try one story on them that has gotten good responses but no takers as of yet. She sent back the best response I have seen yet, although still a rejection. It was the most concrete criticism I have received on this story to date and I think she is right. It was an early piece, not horror, but has some speculative qualities to it. She said something that I knew was wrong but couldn't put my finger on (just a matter of verb). She said much of the tone was too passive and offered me some suggestions to make it more active. This was something I had struggled with in much of my earlier writing. I was glad to finally hear it from someone. I have since changed many of my 'that's and 'had's with much more active language and I hope a much stronger piece. Now to see what other editors think of my newest version.

Damn, that was a long paragraph. Sorry for that.

On to put the boy down and write.