Yesterday was a good day

I have to say I liked yesterday. I might have to mark June 22, 2009 down in my list of good days, like my wedding anniversary, the birth of my children and my birthday. I got not one, but two acceptances yesterday. This made me feel pretty good, considering I hadn't heard from an editor, good or bad, since May 9. One was for my story Undertow, which is actually a sequel of sorts to the story I submitted to the Dead Bait anthology (and subsequently rejected) and the other was actually a reprint of a story that I enjoyed writing immensely. Solitaire and other Games Children Play was accepted into a witch anthology. It was odd because I had never really thought of reprints. It is nice when a story does double duty.

To top it all off I managed to get one thing done on my list from yesterday. The yard has been mowed (now I need to take the weedeater to it).

Because we are in a heat advisory today, with temperatures nearing 100 degrees and a feels like temp of 105-110, I am staying inside today. It will be a good day to work on my edits, and maybe read a book. Maybe I could read the Necrotic Tissue that I received in the mail yesterday. Whatever I do I am not going to get to the weedeater today.

Time to get some work done. Have a good day.

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.

And the tally is. . .

Well it is that time of the month. No, not that time of the month but the time to pull out the numbers and see where my work stands, at least in a numerical basis.

November was--interesting to say the least and not unsatisfying in the least. I managed to write a book for NaNoWriMo. Yippee!. I also managed to write one short story (1600 words) for Dark Jesters which is still pending.

The month of November actually came in the same way it went out. With bookend acceptances. The first one was for the flash piece Nine which was quickly gobbled up by 52 Stitches and the second piece to get accepted was Coffin Nails, which was taken by Night to Dawn. In between those two acceptances I had a total of eight rejections. Which still gives me an acceptable ration for the month of 20% acceptance. I can live with that.

This month I am looking forward to doing more work on two books and if I can get out of noveling mode I am going to write some short stories. I am also looking forward to hearing back from the following markets (they have to be getting close to getting back to me) : Boston Review (out 122 days), Apex (out 34 days), Dark Jesters, (only out 11 days but the deadline for submissions is up), Dogs Anthology (Deadline is up today), Clockwork Pheonix (Deadline is up), and I really hope from From the Asylum (out 289 days so far). I either expect a flurry of acceptances in the next month or I have to find a bunch of new markets. I am hoping for the first one (Oh what a merry Christmas that would be!)

Well I now havo to get my daughter's snowpants and snow boots in to her school because I am an idiot and forgot to pack them with her before she got on the bus.

Halfway there

Okay, so the month is over halfway done and I have only heard back from two editors this month, three if you count the update from Kate Sanger at From the Asylum. This weekend I heard from Susurrus that they didn't want my short, The Glass Jar. Not a big deal. I half expected it (I figured I had a 50/50 chance there). I rewrote it and sent it off to Clockwork Phoenix. We will see what Mr. Allen wants to do with it.

did manage to push the 10,000 word limit on my book re-write. That was exciting to me. Although it will be better when I get to the done part of the rewrite. That will be more exciting. It is looking like I will not be finished with it before NaNo but I am okay with that. I know it will get finished and, while I am going to work diligently on it, I am not going to rush it either. I don't feel like making extra work out of it if I don't have to. I know there are several more re-writes but I don't want them to be as extensive as this one.

Hope everyone had a good weekend and congrats to Cate and Aaron for their acceptances at Postscripts and Kalidotrope respectively. They are both wonderful publications and may they both go on to win major awards for their efforts. (really, I am rooting for you!)

Off to plug away on a book.