Category Archives: LJ

Ringa-a-dinga-ding!

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Happy New Year!

Feel a bit queasy this morning. We rang in the New Year with fizzy alcoholic beverages and bourbon balls on tummies filled with French fries and faux grilled chicken. Maybe not the cleverest of combinations. Or maybe it was the long soak in the hot tub afterwards to exacerbate the dehydration. Gurgle.

The important thing is we clinked in the beginning of 2004 with proper fanfare and celebration! *wobble*

The evening before Matthew put together his version of vegetarian shepherd’s pie and red velvet cake to celebrate my birthday. And oh, the prezzies! Many sexy and shiny new clothes, and two out-of-print Ann Maxwell books, as well as the new Tanith Lee book Piratica to be delivered in February. Yay for December’s unbridled avarice!

Hope everyone has a fantastic 2004!

Happy Birthday to Me!

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It’s my birthday today. Went to work as usual, though. There’s an irony in that. When I was a little girl, my birthday always fell during the Christmas holidays, so I never got a classroom party at school like all the other kids did.

I always felt cheated that classes were out on my birthday. Now, I feel cheated that I have to go to work on my birthday. Humph.

Got a lovely card and truly excellent CD compilation from britzkrieg. Thank you, britzkrieg!! My brother-in-law and his wife gave me a 2-year subscription to Realms of Fantasy, and my folks-in-law gave me a lovely necklace.

Going to open prezzies from Matthew later this evening.

My year in review (brought to you by the letter “F” and the number “1”):
– Fitness: Husband, skunk, and self are all reasonably decent. A few quirks and worries here and there, but generally A-OK. We could all stand to lose some weight, but then that’s what New Year’s resolutions are for.
– Finances: Acceptable. ‘Nuff said.
– Friends: Made some new ones, hooked up with an old one (waves to gannet), and spent quality time with loved ones.
– Family: Acquired a new stepfather whom I quite like, and spent a cordial, even pleasant weekend with him and my mother.
– Fiction: Made 14 sales, including several to pro markets, and my first reprint sale. I was hoping for one more sale in December, but that seems terribly unlikely at this point. Got my first professional review in Locus and it was favorable. Sat on a writing panel at Dragon*Con with luminaries in the SF world, and interrupted and contradicted one of them (gleep). Ended the year with 35 works in circulation. Also 80K+ words in completed chapters/works written with uncounted thousands of words written on unfinished projects. Not bad progress for only three years of focused writing effort.
– Firsts:
– Weathered my first year as Daily Dragon co-director/editor without any fatalities or catastrophic mishaps.
– Coordinated the Ms. Fantasm pageant at Fantasm for the first time, which took some of the sadness out of passing on my crown. It went smoothly, and there’s a lovely new Ms. Fantasm to bear the mantle.
– Took Hobkin to his first skunk show and made an excellent showing despite his not being on his best behavior.
– Frustrations: I didn’t finish the novel. In fact my progress on it was downright disappointing. And I really need to lose some weight.

All in all, I’m pretty pleased with the year. So, Happy Birthday to Me. I’m older, not necessarily wiser, but I’m okay with me.

Christmas aftermath

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Got back from Christmas in the Midwest with the in-laws. The house is still standing, and Hobkin was happy to see us. His Godmother gave him a slew of goodies during his stay at Skunkie Christmas Camp, including veggie cookies, a treat ball that we can record our voices on, and a little plush elephant that jingles. Hobkin has the sweetest fairy godmother! I’m so glad he can stay with someone as wonderful as her when we go out of town. It gives us such peace of mind knowing our little fuzzwit is being well cared for in our absence.

He was happy to see us, though. Spent all of yesterday curled up with or on me.

The week went by far too quickly. I’m trying hard not to dwell on the looming specter of returning to work tomorrow. Wah! But I loved spending so much time with Matthew’s folks. They’re such wonderful people. I really adore them; an occasionally quirksome feeling I must admit, since my relations with the biological side of my family dropped into “merely cordial” status a long while ago. It’s strange having such fondness for parental types. But strange in a warm and fuzzy way.

Also, my dad-in-law looked and sounded much better this year than last. I’m so relieved. And I again see where my Matthew gets his stubborn streak. Heh.

Can’t believe all the goodies received this year!

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Heart still ticking, writing too

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Got the standard “you are fine” checklist from my echocardiogram. My heart’s still beating a-ok, they say. Well, I’m glad to hear that, but that does leave the “why am I getting short of breath?” question unanswered. Of course, right now, the wracking cough is a bigger concern, but y’know, priorities. The winter months are always the worst on my system. Damn chill. Damn dry air. Damn lungs. *hack hack cough*

Writing stats:

A story I’m quite fond of passed the 2nd round of reading at Andromeda Spaceway’s Inflight Magazine. Hurray! Now . . . more waiting. They’re on a slush break, plus it’s the holiday season and all, so they say it might take them a little longer to get a final decision to me than usual. I need to learn to channel Michael Valentine Smith: “Waiting is.”

Also got paid for “An Interesting Week for Emmy.” There was some complexity after all, even using PayPal to transfer funds from UK to US, but we got it worked out. I have an overwhelming urge to kick the PayPal folks in the shins as I feel gouged by them, but I’ve been paid. And if I’d sent it through my bank, I would undoubtedly be wanting to kick my bank people someplace more tender than the shins, as they would have gouged me more. Fortunately, the editor/publisher was very cool and understanding about the whole thing.

Managed 1000 words on the novel. Uncertain about the quality of them, but they’re on the page.

One thousand words just does not feel like a lot of progress on something as complex and huge as a novel. Maybe I should do Nanowrimo next year if I can’t finish this thing so that I don’t find the length so intimidating. I mean, I’ve written 1000-word full, complete stories before, dammit. This was barely scene-setting. Argh.

Writing writing writing

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Did some pruning and another 1000-words on the Urban Fantasy piece, and it’s complete! Woohoo! Zero draft! Going to have Matthew first reader it, and then up to Critters it goes. Got a story due up this week, and I suspect Andrew is having another double or triple weeker for the holidays. Also, the Creative Loafing contest should be notifying entrants of the outcome soon. As the odds are that will be a resounding rejection, I’ll need to try to coordinate that story into the queue as well. Think I’ll be using an MPC somewhere in there.

But it’s done! Very pleased to have cranked out another story before the year’s end. It clocked in at 7300 words, word processor count. Which, unfortunately puts it at 8400ish, manuscript count. Going to try to do some judicious cutting in my editing and rewrites, but it’s still going to be a hard sell due to length. Sigh.

In a flurry of glow-of-accomplishment, I’m tempted to crack open the novel again, see if I can’t make some headway on it. We’ll see.

Wrapping, writing, waning

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Did a lot of present wrapping last night. Hobkin “helped.” He punctured a wrapped parcel with his fangs, flopped on me with great determination so I had to have Matthew fetch paper and tape for me and contort to wrap and ribbon, and he attacked a hapless box of Styrofoam peanuts. He actually ate one of them, which if he were a ferret, would have me panic-stricken and in tears at the vets, having them do ultrasounds/x-rays/etc. to see if he had an obstruction and was in need of emergency surgery. But we’re wise to the ways of skunk-kind. Now.

Early on, when Hobkin was still a youngster, he got hold of a Styrofoam packing peanut before we could get it away from him. Matthew and I grabbed him and forced open his mouth and fished most of it out. Hobkin, while being young, had a full-grown set of teeth. It is very hazardous removing something from the jaws of a skunk that is determined to keep it. Both Matthew and I emerged bloody and swearing from that venture. After bandages and antiseptic were applied, we anxiously contacted the Skunk Chat community, gave Hobkin some feline hairball remedy, and fretted. As the Skunk people reassured us, skunks are not ferrets. What’s life-threatening for a ferret is a light snack for skunk-kind. Still, we’re trying to avoid feeding Styrofoam to our little fuzzbutt. I can’t figure out why he loves the stuff.

Writing stats:

Polyphony 4 said “no.” Rats.

69-words on a flash piece for NFG‘s 69-er contest. My fascination with the platypus from the nature show I saw last week didn’t seem like enough to merit a full short story. But a 69-word flash piece? That’s an appropriate length. Fun, light, and short. Cool if it gets published, and I’m only out 69-words if it doesn’t.

750-words on the Urban Fantasy. Argh. My momentum is waning! Must. Maintain. Impetus. *gasp* I’m almost at the climax with the dénouement to follow. But I’m already at 7500-words, manuscript count. My awareness of hitting the “unsellable” length is weighing down my progress. Will. Finish. Story. Dammit. I-think-I-can . . .

I’m such a Junkie

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Sunday we did a slew of Christmas shopping. Almost finished with it. Still got a few more things to pick up, but we’re in the homestretch.

I also got new shoes! I’m a total shoe-a-holic, and I’ve been very good for a long time now, not picking up any new pairs for ages and ages, no matter how strappy or shiny or sexy. But I was lured to the shoe displays at the mall and showed Matthew the shoes I had on–cracked soles, worn sides, heels uneven from wear, and no longer impervious to water (don’t they just sound pathetic?)–and he agreed that I should buy some shoes. So I went skipping down the Payless aisles and now have three new pairs. I adore Payless. Since I don’t buy or wear leather, my options are extremely limited. But hurray to Payless and their “all man-made materials.” Cheap footwear that doesn’t compromise my pro-animal ethics. Gotta love it.

Writing stats:

700-words on the Urban Fantasy piece and I’m beginning to get anxious at its length. Dammit. I’m looking at another novelette here. Maybe I should just stamp “unsellable” on it and have done with it.

Abyss & Apex said “no” to a flash piece, although Leah was very complimentary about it. That’s, um, seven for this month. This counting rejections by the month thing is getting depressing.

I expect to hear from several markets this week, or perhaps next. Polyphony is due to start sending out rejections this week, the Creative Loafing contest should have their winners lined up “on or around” the 17th, Phobos said they’d have final judging done by mid-December in time for Christmas (although I expect them to be tardy if they follow their usual modus operandi), and Carina said she was picking up a new batch of slush for RoF. Plus I’ve got manuscripts at the usual fast-response suspects.

Also, I queried Dreams of Decadance again about the story the editor’s been holding for nearly two years. I’d have thought it was a lost cause long ago, but I got a note from her saying that she was holding it for consideration and “quite likely to buy it” way back in May of ’02. Makes me inclined to keep my hopes up and my patience screwed to its sticking place. But I’ve queried several times since then, both email and snail mail, and haven’t got any sort of response since. Gurgle.

I’m beginning to jones for another sale, which is ludicrous since I made four sales in November and three in October. I should be cruising on my fix high. But I’m all twitchy about scoring my next one. It’s like I’m mainlining on sales and I still keep needing more and more and more. Agh! I’m a junkie!

Café Sunflower and meme

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I rarely do these sorts of things, but this one seems so nice. So, the meme-of-the-hour:

I know very little about some of the people on my friends’ list. Some people I know relatively well. I read your fic, or we have something else in common and we chat occasionally. Some of you I hardly know at all. Perhaps you lurk, for whatever reason. But you friended me and I thank you.

But here’s a thought: why not take this opportunity to tell me a little something about yourself. Any old thing at all. Just so the next time I see your name I can say: “Ah, there’s so and so…she likes spinach.”

I’d love it if every single person who friended me would do this. Yes, even you people who I know really well. Then post this in your own journal.

Had a wonderful evening with britzkrieg and her fiancé last night. They treated us to dinner at Café Sunflower. Yummy. And again, I am stuffed. There seems to be a reoccurring theme there. Every time I see them, I gorge. Positive reinforcement at its best. Heh. But again, we had excellent conversation in addition to excellent food. Much fun was had by all. And sometime in the hopefully-near future, we all have to get together again so britzkrieg and I can watch Thelma and Louise, a film I’ve never seen but always wanted to, and the boys can watch Zulu, a film I’ve seen most of and have no interest in ever seeing again.

Writing stats:

Rejection from Strange Horizons and Your-entry-was-not-a-finalist-this-quarter from WotF. Sigh. That’s six.

Writing progress

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Finished the rewrite on the Science Fiction piece. Finally. Normally I like to do a rewrite as soon as I get all of the critiques in so the ideas and comments are fresh and percolating in my head. But this one I had to sit on for a while. I got so tired of looking at it I couldn’t bear the idea of cracking it open one more time.

But enough is enough. I finished my statistical analysis of peoples’ comments, jogging old thoughts on plans for my rewrite in the process, and then dove in.

The fork is more than stuck in; it’s jammed up to the hilt, quivering. I find myself wondering if I should have put in another flashback or more heavy-handed foreshadowing, even though I did flash and shadow in my rewrite, but I’m not going to second guess myself. I’m done with it. Done done done! And out it goes. Fwoosh.

Just in time too. My magic realismish piece comes up in the queue next week on Critters and I’m still wrangling with the Urban Fantasy. I’m glad I cleaned something off my plate.

On the Urban Fantasy front: 1000 more words. And some polishing. It’s falling into shape. I think. Rah.