Category Archives: Blog

Taxes, sinuses

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Gah. fosteronfilm and I made the first foray into doing our taxes yesterday. For the last clump ‘o years, we’ve had them professionally done, but we figured we’d save the couple hundred bucks and do them ourselves this year. I did my Schedule C all by myself (C-EZ baby!), and we’re making inroads into our Schedule A and Schedule B, but Schedule D: Capital Gains is kicking our asses. My head was threatening to spin itself off toward the end of the afternoon. Will try to dive back into it later today. The IRS could really use a good writer/editor to punch up their instruction forms. There’s got to be a friendlier way of conveying the necessary information; there’s just gotta.

This pressure front that’s been going through the area is playing havoc on everyone’s sinuses in the house, including Hobkin’s. I’ve been suffering from massive sinus headaches that refuse to dissipate, no matter how much Sudafed and Excedrin I pop–but I do have a profound case of the jitters. Matthew’s been sinus clogged and congested. And Hobkin keeps licking his paws and them rubbing his nose with them. I think that’s his way of trying to clear his sinuses, the poor little guy. He also makes snuffy sounds in his sleep.


Writing Stuff

19-day “There is some beautiful writing here but . . .” from Ideomancer on a flash piece. I’m always somewhat ambiguous about my flash. It’s an awkward medium to write in, smack dab between poetry and prose. I’d give up on it, except so far all of my (few and irregular) flash pieces have sold. I guess occasionally I just get feeling particularly lyrical but without enough substance for a story. I know I’m no poet, so that just leaves flash.

Revenant: A Horror Anthology published by Carnifex press, with my short story “Caesar’s Ghost” in it, is out: $4.95. Herein a very small cover image. Will get a bigger, higher res one scanned in when I get my contrib. copy:

Outlined my novel WIP, rah! After some brainstorming and seeing where my muse seems to want to go with it, it’s obvious that it’s going to be a YA novel (assuming I can finish the thing). Teenish protag, morality and philosophical issues, plus I’m aiming for 40-50K, not nearly long enough for an adult novel, but a comfy length for YA.

Words: 700 (all in outline, but hey, that counts, right?)

Club 100 For Writers
5

500/day
25

Dude_the okay, Apex interview

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Got a phone call from dude_the late last night. He was in an accident on his way home from work. His air bag deployed, his car was totaled, but he’s okay. He said he’s got a couple burns from the air bag, and he’s surprised his glasses didn’t break. Apparently they came off when the air bag went, but they withstood the impact. Both him and the other guy were checked into the hospital and were released. The hospital people want dude_the to come back in for a follow-up, but the important thing is that he’s okay–alive, nothing broken, and no head trauma.


Writing Stuff

Got an email from Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest. They want to interview me for their Summer issue. Of course I said “yes.” My first interview!

Skunk stew

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Hobkin is getting precariously close to being popped into a stew pot. He woke me up at 7AM this morning (after I’d stayed up until 2AM, writing) by walking over my chest and hitting me in the face with his tail. Then, when I was inclined to roll over, he dug at me with his claws (which are pointy since I just trimmed them) until I opened my eyes, bleary and sleep-fuddled.

Me: “What is it, boy? Is Timmy down the well again?”

Hobkin: “Hi Mom! I’m going to go nap under my hutch now, okay?” *traipses off*

And now I’m wide-awake. Yep, skunk-nose stew, mmmm.


Writing Stuff

Still haven’t formally outlined the novel WIP, and I think I need to do so. I’m writing all over the place in non-chronological sequence, with only slight assurance that I’ll be able to hook up the pieces. ‘Course, that’s the way I wrote my middle-grade fantasy manuscript, so I’m not knocking that strategy, but I had a better idea of where I was going with it. And I still wrote a couple scenes that I didn’t end up using.

Words: 850

Club 100 For Writers
5

500/day
25

Credibility bottoms out with three words: “I’m Self Publishing”

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So I went into the unemployment office this morning for the orientation workshop–the first of four mandatory classes. I actually had to wake up to my alarm clock, something I haven’t done in a month. I don’t miss that at all. Ugk.

The class itself was only marginally informative, but I didn’t expect it to be a “next coming” sort of experience anyway. The most insightful thing I took out of it is that applying for jobs is much like sending unsolicited submissions to editors. The same things which will get you discarded immediately by an editor will get your resume/cover letter likewise circular-filed by a prospective employer. Basically, it behooves a writer/applicant to know the market/company they’re approaching, do their research, don’t unload personal grief in cover letters, etc. etc. It makes me feel a little better about the whole job application thing, thinking of it as a sort of unsolicited submission, which I’ve got tons of experience with, rather than something I haven’t done in nearly eleven years.

I also did a lot of people watching, the writer in me taking notes and trying to eavesdrop on conversations during breaks. Couple non-employment-oriented observations I made:

1. The people in business suits seemed to radiate more of a lost and helpless aura than the people in casuals. There’s a deer-in-headlights ambiance coming from them, especially the older ones.

2. The presenter, when he first introduced himself, exuded an air of professional efficiency. He was articulate, relaxed, and impeccably groomed–custom tailed French cut shirt with silver cuff-links. He did have a tendency of dropping the “l” in “help” so that it came out “hep,” which I found distracting (especially since one of the bits of paperwork he kept referring to was the “How May We Help You?” form). But overall he gave an excellent first impression, all “I am a font of sound advice, respect my authoritah”-ish.

In a “we’re all in the same boat” spiel, he commented that something everyone had in common in the room, aside from being unemployed, was we all had a story, which of course blipped my radar. And then he went on to give a brief overview of his. Apparently he was writing a novel and was so wrapped up in it he missed all the sinking ship signs at his previous place of employment. That is, until the pink slips started going out. During the break, I had to ask him how his novel was coming along.

Him: “Fantastic, it’s being published in June!”

Me, writers ears perking up (networking, ooo!): “That’s great! With whom?”

Him: “Myself.”

Me (ears drooping): “You’re self-publishing?”

Him: “Yep, I’m self-publishing. It’s the only way to maintain all my artistic rights. I firmly believe it’s the only sane way to publish these days–”

And suddenly, all the credibility he had with me is completely down the drain. I could almost see the red stamp on his forehead which read “SUCKER” and the big neon “I’VE BEEN SCAMMED” placard around his neck.

Whereas there are legit reasons to self-publish, “maintaining artistic rights” and viewing it as the only “sane” approach to publishing ain’t them. Ah well. No doubt he can still give me good pointers on writing a punchier resume . . .

Syndication and Train Networking

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Finally talked Matthew into getting an LJ: fosteronfilm. He’s still dubious about blogging in general, but he plans to use it to post and syndicate updates to his Foster on Film website, his movie review/criticism and Dragon*Con Film Festival/Track site.

As part of my “see what LJ can do for you” spiel, I did a lot of research on how syndication works. Learned how to code RSS just as I discovered that LJ does it automatically. Sigh. Oh well, new skills are never a bad thing, right?

So I wouldn’t feel like I’d totally wasted my time (don’t ask me to explain the sense behind my logic), I found this website which makes customized RSS chicklets instead of those ugly orange buttons and registered with Feedburner:


Writing Stuff

So I get a phone call from Ann Crispin, my writing mentor, and as it turns out, a funny thing happened to her on the train. No, wait, that sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. Um, so anyway, she’s on this train and she’s chatting with one of her fellow passengers, passing the time, and the topic of conversation turns to their respective occupations. As it turns out, the person she met works for Simon & Schuster in their children’s subsidiary rights division, and they both chuckle when Ann reveals she’s an author. They talk some more, Ann learns that S&S are in the market for middle-grade fantasy, and brings me and my manuscript up. Ann’s new friend expresses interest and says that she’ll give the editorial division a head’s up to expect a submission from my agent and provides Ann with a trio of names.

Of course I immediately fire off an email to my agent, who is going to prep a couple copies of my manuscript to send out ASAP.

Wow wow wow.

Awake and resenting it

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It is far too early to be awake. But my sleep cycle appears to be fubared. Not sure why. ‘Course it doesn’t help that Hobkin woke me up at 6:30 by walking over my head . . .

After a whirlwind weekend full of people and events, everything’s back to quiet. Hobkin was remarkably unaffected by the influx of new people into “his” territory. He stomped at Patrick a few times, but didn’t seem to mind either him or Glenn. And he didn’t seem too miffed with us for being out for a few hours on Saturday. Maybe he’s mellowing out as he ages?


Writing Stuff:

34-day rejection from Futurismic. The editor continues to really like my work and invites me to submit again, and yet no sale. Alas.

Wrote and published my review of Strange Horizons stories “Magic in a Certain Slant of Light” by Deborah Coates and “Dog” by Jenn Reese for Tangent.

I’m quite delighted with the artwork for “The Storyteller’s Wife” that Realms of Fantasy commissioned (by Heather Hudson). Can everyone find the character inspired by Hobkin? :

On the WIP front, writing is much like exercising. I’m finding that I need to increase my word count slowly. Having a hard time maintaining a sense of flow, although I have managed to achieve it a couple times now with this most recent work.

Words: 750

Club 100 For Writers
3

500/day
23

Patrick and “The Storyteller’s Wife”

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Our good friend Patrick drove up from New Orleans for a visit. He brought a slew of really awful movies with him to revel in and mock. He’s a film student at UNO and he and Matthew have been engaging in a lot of shop talk and film gabbing. My head is filling up with cinema trivia and theory.


Writing Stuff

Thanks to ogre_san, I went out to the Realms of Fantasy website, and saw that my story “The Storyteller’s Wife” is going to be in the June issue. Yay yay yay! My second appearance in RoF. Can’t wait to receive my contrib. copies!

Also heard from the editor of the Revenant anthology that it will debut April 9th (even though it has a June 15th release date) at a Florida book fair. Much coolness.

Cafe Sunflower and H.P. Lovecraft’s

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Happy Bunny Day, everyone! May your baskets be filled with chocolate!

Had a wonderful evening yesterday with britzkrieg and rigel_kent. They invited us to dinner to celebrate my new agented status. I love hanging with them. We went to Café Sunflower, an excellent vegetarian restaurant in the city. Good food, fantastic company, what more could anyone want?


Writing Stuff

Got word back from the editor of H.P. Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror. I figured there was a chance my email queries weren’t getting through, so I emailed the managing editor who forwarded my note on to the editor. His reply came a day later from a new email account, and sure enough he’d had a hard drive crash a couple months back. So very, very relieved to hear from him!

Everything’s back on track for “Within Your Soul I Sightless See.” He sent me the contract, which is even now winging its way back to HPL headquarters. And they pay on acceptance, whee! What’s even better, the editor said he’d try to schedule my story for issue #4. It might end up bumped to issue #5, but ohgodohgod I hope it’s in #4. Tanith Lee will have a story in #4. It’s been one of my writing dreams to share a ToC with her! Squee! Fangirl rapture!

Here’s the cover of #4. Gorgeous isn’t it? Got my fingers crossed that I’ll be in it.

Pie and classic SF

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glenn5 swung by yesterday for a classic SF double-feature and pie. I made a vegetable pot pie, which turned out excellently, if I do say so myself, and he brought scrumptious key lime for dessert. We watched When World Collide which was amusing in so many ways, and Planet of the Apes (the 1968 one, not the 2001 re-make atrocity) which is just an excellent production, even if I did have The Simpsons musical number going through my head nearly the whole time we were watching it:

“Dr. Zaius, Dr. Zaius
Dr. Zaius, Dr. Zaius
I hate every ape I see
From chimpan-a to chimpan-zee
No, you’ll never make a monkey out of me”

A fabu evening all in all, marred only by a niggling headache which would not go away, no matter how much Sudafed and Excedrin I popped, and a pronounced return of my breathing difficulties. I think the abundance of dust in our house triggered it, since we did some dusting earlier yesterday and that seems to have stirred things into the air which were intended by nature and God to remain in a thick layer on our furniture and appliances. Dusting, ptoo.


Writing Stuff

Due to all the stimulants I’d taken in the OTC meds, the stims in my Albuterol inhaler, and the coffee I had with the key lime, sleep was not easy or forthcoming. But, in all my tossing and slipping in and out of consciousness, my muse decided to bitch slap me. The setting and tone which I’d been mulling over, trying to get straight in my mind, coalesced in a “eureka” moment, which fortunately I didn’t forget when I woke up.

Writing commenced.

Words: 700. Pausing to do some timely research. But the story scaffolding is taking shape nicely in my mind, and my writing muscle is limbering up. Just need to get my stamina back so I can start cranking out some real word countage.

Club 100 For Writers
2

500/day
22