Tag Archives: writing biz

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This is the last weekend of the Atlanta Film Festival, so I should have my hubby back soon. Good thing. I’ve got a real craving for the taste of a gin and tonic, and I can’t bring myself to drink alone. I brewed up some iced peach rooibos tea, but it’s not the same.

Plan to spend the day doing some writing, getting caught up on my correspondences, and sipping tea.


Writing Stuff

Received my contrib. copies of Paradox #7 with “The Tiger Fortune Princess” in it, as well as my check! Happy happy.

Got an invite from Esotericon to be a guest. They didn’t mention a comp badge for fosteronfilm, and that’s a necessity, so I’m going to drop them an email query about that. But assuming that gets squared away nice, I fully intend to accept their invite. It sounds like much fun.

Nine crits so far on the story up at Critters. It’s being well received. Plan to do some critting this afternoon as well (yes, for your story, britzkrieg).

Wrote a review of Aeon #2 for Tangent. It’s the first full-issue review I’ve done in a while. I’ve sort of been doing ad hoc reviews as needed, a story here, a story there–more as a duty than for fun. I’d forgotten how enjoyable it can be to read and review a ‘zine at my leisure. Reviewing is different then just pleasure reading. It’s like flexing a different reading muscle to identify and dissect the parts I liked (and that I didn’t) and to think about what the author intended, rather than just what I get out of it. ‘Course it helped that I thought Aeon #2 was a very good publication. It’s much less fun to review something that’s a chore to read.

The Smiths on Marriage

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Went out to see Mr. & Mrs. Smith yesterday. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have some excellent on-screen chemistry going there. The dialogue was excellent, although the storyline, not so much; it dragged in the middle or lost direction or something. But for a big ole metaphor for marriage, it was well done. It got giggles from me.

Got an “initial evaluation” appointment with a behavioral therapist today–I assume psychiatrist. If it’s a psychiatrist, why don’t they call it the “Psychiatry Department” instead of “Behavioral Therapy”? The irony is that I’m feeling better today on the emotional equilibrium front than I have in a while. Well, my sleep cycle is still royally fubarred. Maybe the nice doctor can prescribe me something for that.

And how’s this for a smooth segue? Psychology Today says to drink more tea. It’s good for the memory centers of the brain. Coolness. My tea habit has even more benefits.


Writing Stuff

I heard back from the editorial secretary of 9. It seems that the banks in Greece are on strike! Well, that explains why my check came back unpaid. But glah, that’s unsettling. Why haven’t I heard about this in the news? Oh yeah, overshadowed by the Michael Jackson media circus, because, of course, that’s more important than a national bank strike. Sheesh.

New Words: 150

Club 100 For Writers
11

Getting out and about in the name of inde film

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I decided I needed to get out of the house yesterday. The Atlanta Film Festival folks asked Matthew to work yesterday evening at the Rialto, so I decided to tag along both to be helpful and I figure my muse is getting a bit starved, sitting in my living room, without anything fresh to feed her.

As far as muse food goes, it wasn’t really much of a buffet. I got some good imagery from the MARTA station and the walk to the Rialto–skateboarders videotaping their stunts, a guy sitting on a step of the loooong escalator while chatting on the phone–but the film festival people watching wasn’t all that inspiring. Alas.


Writing Stuff

Yay, a sale! A sale! I sold my dark little story, “In Suffering Lies Salvation,” to jinzi‘s awesome ezine, anaisdotmfk.com. I’m so glad this story is finally getting a good home. It’s been dangling in a terrible limbo for years after being accepted for an anthology that got delayed and delayed and is now on indefinite hiatus. Whew. Finally, my “I can’t sell a damn thing” streak has been broken. It’s slated for a special issue due out, Lentish.

I saw on the TTA discussion forum that Andy Cox has decided to rename his flagship magazine, The Third Alternative, to Black Static. He’s not planning on doing any crossover titles or anything like that. Issue #42 was the last TTA, and the next one will have the new name. I dunno. I liked the old name, and more to the point, it was an institution in and of itself. I’m going to miss it. I’m sure I’ll grow to love Black Static as much, but still, nostalgia and all . . .

New Words: 400
On a new short story set in the same world as the last one, upon fosteronfilm‘s suggestion.

Club 100 For Writers
10

Stormy Friday

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I really love the stormy weather we’ve been having of late. The overcast darkness is so soothing and magical. I’ve always preferred summers over cold weather, but I’ve never liked the sun–which is good because sunlight triggers my flare-ups. This is perfect.

Poll answers:

horrordiva Q: “When will Hobkin get an LJ?”
A: Eee! No! I already spend far too much time on LiveCrack. If Hobkin had his own little blog, I’d never have time to write. I already channel him IRL. I utterly humiliated myself in front of dude_the once when I didn’t realize he was awake on our balcony while I was downstairs making breakfast. I had a whole conversation with Hobkin, complete with his vocalized replies. I do not need the public to partake of that particular facet of my madness.
jmeadows Q: “$500 and an office supply store. what do you buy?”
A: Ooh, good question. The shiny, avaricious possibilities! Okay, first for the practical stuff. I’d stock up on printer ink cartridges, blank paper, and #10 SASE and 9×12″ submission envelopes. I’d also pick up a pile of those pocket folders. They’re what I store my paper correspondences in–rejections, sales, contracts, galley proofs, etc. I use one per story, and they can be ridiculously expensive for a couple pieces of colored cardboard with inside pocket flaps. Then I’d go to the stuff which are things I can use, but are less on the “urgent” needs, like a USB optical mouse for my laptop, an ergonomic USB keyboard, and a lap desk. Then, then I’d splurge on some fun, totally frivolous stuff, like sharpies in fun colors, gel pens, trinkety organizer doodads, and silly paper clips in fun colors and shapes. I’m an office supply geek. I think markers and art supplies are fun.

Got any more? Get your questions-for-Eugie answered now!


Writing Stuff

Apex Digest #2 with the interview of me in it is out! Quite looking forward to getting my copy. Check out the pulpariffic cover art:

Received a rejection for an anthology. They thought my story had merit, but had too much sex and adult language for their collection. Oops. It was a horror anthology! I didn’t realize it was supposed to be PG.

My bank also returned my Greek check from 9 unpaid, and to add insult to injury, they charged me $6.50 in handling fees! I’ve emailed the editorial secretary of 9 to try to get this sorted out. But this is quite upsetting.

New Words: 100
Hammered out the bare minimum. Sketched out a twisty idea for the very end, but didn’t feel motivated enough to finish it.

Club 100 For Writers
7

Leeches ain’t so bad

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I think it says something about the flaws in my physical construction that the people at the lab work department know me on sight. The main person there recognizes me, and we have a bit of a friendly chat every time I go in. She knows I’ve got a standing order to do blood work every six weeks, and when I come in for something that isn’t one of my regular maintenance tests, she knows to verify that it’s for something else.

Sheesh, I’m a mess.

But, on an up note, she’s really, really good at what she does. It barely hurts, and she never bruises me. I’ve had ham fists who’ve pierced the damn vein, moved the needle around in my arm in an attempt to get it properly situated, and then had to re-poke me, only to miss it completely. Ow. People like that really ought to reconsider their choice of profession. But this lady always hits the vein perfectly (and I have been informed before that I have small veins), and never has to do any adjusting once the needle’s in. Tourniquet, poke, some gauze and tape, and I’m outta there. Fast, virtually painless, and she’s a sweetheart. If I gotta be jabbed frequently, can’t ask for a better experience.

Now for the waiting to see how my white blood count is doing. And my neck’s still stiff.

Okay, poll answers:

arkhamrefugee Q: “What’s a badger gotta do to get some girlies?”
A: Never having gotten any girlies, or researched much of the obtaining thereof, I’m afraid this one is beyond my ken. Alas.
cloudscudding Q: “Best writing advice you’ve never heard?”
A: It was twofold and all about being tenacious: 1. Write often, write copiously, and keep writing. 2. Submit what you’ve written until it sells.
chrishaas Q: “Who is Chris Haas?”
A: Don’t you know?
amokk Q: “Are there any nude Ms. Fantasm photos? ;)”
A: Yes, many! Oodles of them to be found by searching the Interweb! But none of me .
raecarson Q: “Which story makes you the most proud and why?”
A: Urg. That’s a hard question. I’ve got several favorites. “Running on Two Legs” because it marked a decided “next level” jump in my writing skills. I’d been working on evoking an emotional response with my writing and not being able to manage it until “Running.” It also has a lot of personal meaning and significance to me. And it was the first story that Hobkin played a major role as fuzzy muse in. “The Storyteller’s Wife” for many of the same reasons, plus it was an outlet for a lot of stress I was experiencing at the time. Amusingly, again Hobkin gets a part, being the inspiration for one of the characters. And also “Shao Huan: The Soul of a Badger” because I think it’s simply one of the very best things I’ve written to date.
angeldove Q: “When are you gonna start a family?”
A: I have a family, fosteronfilm and Hobkin, why would I need to start another one?
keesa_renee Q: “Who is/are your favorite writer(s)?”
A: Off the top of my head: Tanith Lee, Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Orson Scott Card, Roger Zelazny, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, George Orwell, J.R.R. Tolkien, and, um, Shakespeare. That’s not a comprehensive list, but it’s what I could come up with on the fly.
marksiegal Q: “How do you get a pet skunk to not spray?”
A: That sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. The serious answer is to have him de-scented. A fully loaded skunk is not a viable pet . . . unless you don’t have a sense of smell. But a disarmed one is all cuddly, high maintenance, fuzzy joy.
horrordiva Q: “What is your favorite genre to write in?”
A: That’s a tricky one. It varies depending upon my mood and what I’m writing at the time. I’m inclined to say “Fantasy” because I’ve been doing so much of that of late. But that could change tomorrow.

That’s it for now. Keep ’em coming!


Writing Stuff

Hurray! Received my contrib. copy of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #18. Pulpy goodness.

Also saw on the editor’s blog (newly syndicated to LJ by moi as bradanpress) that issue #7 of Here & Now (with my firmly-tongue-in-cheek story “My Friend is a Lesbian Zombie” slated for it) appears to be on track. Glad to see the publication schedule of that magazine appears to be sorting itself into a semblance of regularity.

New Words: 250. 100 culled.
The numbers aren’t impressive, but the story’s much tighter, and has a better focus. I still haven’t managed to get myself to the climax, but I’m on the way there.

Club 100 For Writers
4

Oopsie. Forgot about the leeches.

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Oops. I forgot that I needed to go in for followup blood work after the first of June. Going to swing by the clinic today and hope that the request is still in the computer. Otherwise I’ll need to call my Rheumatologist’s office, apologize profusely, and have them re-enter it. So yeah, going to have them leech out some blood today. Never my favorite thing, but sadly, it’s become rather commonplace for me.


Writing Stuff

In a fit of procrastination, I did some fiddling with my Excel writing logs. I’ve been sending a lot of submissions out to reprint markets–primarily foreign language ones–and my old calculation formula only kept a tally of the new works I’ve got in circulation, not including the reprints. Haven’t been keeping track of the number of simultaneous submissions either. Admittedly that’s a pretty tiny number since so very few markets are willing to accept simsubs, but I thought I ought to include those in my “what’s out” count. I was astonished to see how many reprint/simsubs I have out there.

Total new works in circulation: 29
Total works out: 49

That’s 20 reprint or simsub submissions! Zounds.

So I really ought to be due for a sale. *twiddles thumb* Any time now.

Right. Enough angsting. Back to work on the WIP.

Whiling away time

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It has been a spectacularly uneventful and unproductive couple of days. The most exciting thing from yesterday: geekfantasies.com. (<--therein be babes in bikinis, but I'd consider it cool-granny safe.) I showed it to fosteronfilm and we giggled at the video shorts.


Writing Stuff

Saw that the Summer 2005 issue of Paradox with my story, “The Tiger Fortune Princess,” in it is now available. Yay! I’ve always liked the artwork I’ve seen for this magazine. The cover image they’ve got up is fairly small so I can’t make out details:


But it looks pretty lush. And the editor chose a classic painting by Wu Guxiang to illustrate my story:


Looking forward to seeing the full-size artwork when I get my contrib copies. Larger images to be posted when I get them.

Brewing up some green tea, pouring myself some Cocoa Puffs (my new indulgence), and getting ready for a day chock full of writing. That’s the plan, at least.

Skunk go poof

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Hobkin’s blowing his coat. I’d forgotten what a shedding skunk was like. I pet him and there’s a cloud of fuzz in the air. After a nap, there’s long, white strands of tail on the couch and blanket. Skunk fur. Everywhere I look there’s skunk fur!

I see that LiveJournal is having a 24-hour permanent account sale. Ooo! But I really can’t rationalize spending $150 on my blog. Damn.


Writing Stuff

I found out that “Running on Two Legs,” which appeared in #40 of The Third Alternative, was nominated for the 2005 British Fantasy Award for Best Short Story! It’s terribly unlikely it’ll win, or hell, even make the short list, considering the competition (I’m up against Neil Gaiman for starters), but I’m tickled neon fuchsia to be nominated. Squee!

Any BFS members who haven’t read “Running on Two Legs” are welcome to drop me an email. I’ll forward on a .PDF for your reading pleasure.

Also received the contracts from Cricket for “Li T’ien and the Demon Nian” and “Cuhiya’s Husband.” Signed and mailed them back. “Li T’ien” is slated for the Jan. 2006 issue. Yay! Eagerly looking forward to seeing it, as well as getting word of when the others stories Cricket‘s bought will be scheduled for publication.

And got a 242-day reject from the Damned Nation anthology. A near miss: “We are especially sorry to have to send this after sitting on [your story] for so long, but we had a number of excellent stories we remained undecided about until the last minute, and yours was one of them . . . Please know that this was a very close call.”

Fooie. I would like a sale now.

Decadent Sunday Morning

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Eating Cocoa Puffs for breakfast, got a warm skunk curled at my side, and am watching a trashy made-for-TV movie on TNT about a heroic librarian. Life is good.

Went out without fosteronfilm to run a couple errands yesterday–bank, post office, and grocery store–because the first two places close before noon, and my hubby doesn’t typically stir before mid-day. I didn’t think I was all that dolled up–hadn’t bothered to put in my contacts and just tossed on some comfy pants and a black shirt–but I got several compliments out of the blue from fellow grocery story/bank goers. One guy started flirting with me in the produce section, and a sweet little old lady came up to me and told me how pretty I was. It made me happy. Puzzled, but happy. Apparently I need to venture out of the house, without Matthew to scare off admirers, more often .

However, I confused the bank teller to no end when I presented him my check from ‘9‘ to deposit. It being in euros confounded him. And I am less than impressed by the exchange rate I got. When he finally figured it out (after calling in another bank person to consult), the whole situation so discombobulated him that he forgot to deposit the other two checks I’d given him (in US Dollars even). When I saw the HUGE discrepancy in the receipt he gave me, I made a beeline back to his window. He was properly apologetic, but still, it was a really big mistake, as in over $400 big. Going to keep a close eye on our balance until that transaction clears to make sure everything totals up properly. I’m rather worried that the concept of foreign currency is so perplexing to my bank.


Writing Stuff

My Cricket queue is once again empty and I find I’m still in a good mindset for folk tales. I keep wanting to dabble in something Egyptian, but every time I start doing research on Egyptian myths and legends, I get side tracked and end up doing something Chinese again as a default. Chinese is easier, dammit. It’s like remembering something I already know rather than learning something totally from scratch. Maybe I’ll compromise and do something Japanese again, or Indian. Or wackiest of wackies, Greek! I love Greek mythology, but it’s so done. It’s so much harder coming up with a fresh spin or a unique voice on it. *ponder ponder ponder* O beauteous (and pernicious) muse of writing, talk to me!

Our own personal gateway to Faerie

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Our neighbors are very Steppford Wives when it comes to the ornamental horticulture in the subdivision. They get upset if people don’t edge their lawns and water them during dry spells; everything’s very homogeneously landscaped and tamed within an inch of its photosynthesized life. I prefer a more wilderness approach to flora. I suspect if our neighbors ever looked into our backyard, they’d be scandalized. fosteronfilm keeps the front and sides scrupulously mowed, and the walking bits of the back likewise sheered, but we have a section of our backyard that we let grow as it will. It’s hidden by a six foot privacy fence, so it shouldn’t bother any of our neighbors unless they’re being nosy (which I suspect happens). We love the secluded view it gives from our kitchen windows. The sylvan glade-esque ambiance makes it feel like we’re nestled in the middle of a deep forest. It’s a soothing vista that has inspired a number of my stories.

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