New Story Started. New Story Done.

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In a fit of “I hate this novelette, dammit, but I’ve got this other idea—” I started writing a new story this morning: “The Priestess, the Baku, and the Emperor.” Four hours and 1,200 words later, it’s done.

Huh.

When I began it, the concept was significantly longer, with the opening intended to serve as something of a prologue. But when I finished the prologue, I thought, “Hey, this could be a complete story if I just add that bit I was saving for the next scene and wrap up the foreshadowing here…”

So I did, and it is. I think. At 1.2K words, it feels a little wispy and also falls outside most categories of flash, but I suspect it’s too somber to be well-received at children’s markets. On the other hand, wispy sorta works.

Guess I’ll just keep open the possibility of returning to my original concept and making this a longer work, at least until I get fosteronfilm to first-reader it.

Wingstubs and Insomnia Make Eugie an Unhappy Girl

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Having a bad wingstub flare-up, so bad that it’s making it difficult to sleep. It got bad enough that I took a Tramadol last night, which in the past has always been more than sufficient both to blunt the pain and KO me straight to sleepy-time land. In the past. This time, it barely made a dent in the pain, didn’t cure my insomnia, but did make me too foggy-headed to do anything useful or distracting, like read or write, so I was left lying in bed, going “ow ow ouchie, gee, I wish I could fall asleep, ow ouch ow” for several hours.

Not. A. Good. Night.

I haven’t taken Tramadol in quite a while as I usually consider it the Big Guns and haven’t felt the need for it. Now I’m wondering if my pills have expired. Didn’t think to examine the bottle last night, but I’ll be checking the date after I get home today.

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Writing Stuff

Completed the rewrite of “Rampion,” (tentatively) retitled “Rose Window, Black Door, White Tower.” Doing one more editing pass before foisting it upon fosteronfilm to first-reader.

It’s currently a whooping 15.2K words, which strikes me as being overlong, but I thought the same thing while doing the rewrite—with an eye towards doing some trimming and all—and instead managed to increase the word count. Hrmph.

Back in Atlanta, Spanish Sale of “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest”

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Back in Atlanta after visiting the in-laws in Illinois. There’s a dead zone smack dab in the middle of Kentucky where I can get cell reception but no GPS or data connectivity, either 3G or 1X, on my Droid. Weird. I thought data and GPS rode on the cell signal, so I was rather baffled to find that I had full cell service but nothing else. My Droid found it confusing too and rebooted itself a couple times until I told it to quit already.

Didn’t get nearly as much done over the holiday as I’d hoped, of course, but in what might be a first, I did manage to get some writing done. Being able to take out my phone—and not have to boot my laptop—to write a paragraph here or there, really ups the convenience factor. Droid win.

Managed 1Kish new words on the editing pass/massive rewrite of “Rampion.” I’d say I’m in the final stretch, but I sort of feel I’ve been there for so long that I’ve lost touch with the meaning of that term.

And sold Spanish language reprint of “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast” to Cuásar, slated for their special edition issue #50. Spanish is another new language that my work will appear in—making it the fourth for this story and my seventh overall. Coolio.

Honored Guest by Ellen Kushner Now

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My reading of “Honored Guest” by Ellen Kushner is now up at PodCastle. Go listen, yo!

Actually, I haven’t heard it yet. I’m a little scared to. I wanted to do one more clean-up pass on the audio, but the General Assembly was still in session at the time, and I was bumping against the deadline already, so I never ended up doing that final pass. Rushing always makes me anxious, and I really hope I did this lovely story justice. Eep.

Rampion: WiP Progress

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About 2/3 through my editing pass of “Rampion.” Probably more accurate to call it a massive rewrite than an edit. Gutting scenes and slashing out paragraph after paragraph of craptacular prose. Feh.

It’s currently at 14.5K words. At least it’s looking like it’ll stay solidly within novelette range.

The Portal: New Short Fiction Review ‘Zine and Call for Reviewers

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I am delighted to announce that two of my reviewers from The Fix, Val Grimm and Elizabeth Allen, are starting up a new short fiction review venue: The Portal.

As I’ve said time and again, I believe strongly that short fiction has intrinsic value as a storytelling form, that it isn’t merely a stepping-stone to novel-length works. And it’s regrettable that it gets such short shrift in the publishing world. So I was thrilled when I learned that Val and Elizabeth were undertaking this project.

They’re currently seeking reviewers, and I encourage folks to step up. Being a reviewer is a great way to stay up-to-date on what short fiction is being published, to contribute to the industry, and to grow as a writer—and also to get your hands on review copies and ARCs of magazines, anthologies, and collections.

Here’s contact information for and some information about The Portal and its mission statement from Editor-in-Chief Val Grimm: Continue reading →

2010 Hugo Voters Packet and AussieCon 4 Online Registration

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Still dazed from Nebula Weekend but wanted to mention the AussieCon 4 folks have announced that online registration for WorldCon 68 is now up, and with it, the 2010 Hugo Voter’s Packet (with “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest” in it…*squee!*).

The Hugo Voter’s Packet is intended to help every AussieCon 4 member make an informed vote on the Hugos and is available to attending members ($310 AUD) or supporting members ($70 AUD) of AussieCon 4, which will take place Sept. 2-6 in Melbourne, Australia.

You can register online to become an attending or supporting member, and once you’ve registered, they’ll send instructions on how to access the Hugo Voter’s Packet.  For those not able to make it to Australia, $70 AUD comes to around $60 USD—a fabulous deal for the incredible amount of fiction in this year’s Hugo Voter’s Packet, which is the most complete ever. And you get to vote for the Hugos! (The packet will be available until the end of voting deadline, July 31, 2010 23:59 PDT.)

Included are electronic versions of: Continue reading →