Life...and Other Creepy Things

Life has been busy and scramble-y lately.  The kiddos have been having lots of “end of school year” stuff going on, and I have been writing…a LOT.  In fact, I sold another short story!  The story is called “Call for Courage” and will be appearing late this summer/early autumn in Page & Spine.    I will shout about it more when it comes out, in case you want to head over and check it out. 

I finished the story I was working on for the “Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction.”  I read, reread it, revised it and tampered with it so much that I’m pretty sure the image of the words are burned on my retinas. 

I just finished a draft of the story I plan to submit to the NPR Three Minute Fiction Contest later this week.  (Incidentally, the story I just sold was originally written as an entry into a previous Three Minute Fiction Contest!) 

 

I have also just realized that a lot of my stories creep me out.  I am not sure what this says about me, but it is true.  I don't actually read a lot of horror--unless you count the news headlines.   

So, tell me…what kinds of stories do you like to read?

I QUIT!

If you have not already stumbled on it, there is a wonderful website called Cordelia Calls It Quits, which is the brainchild of the talented Kelly Gurnett.  Kelly decided to quit settling and to reclaim her life.  (More power to her!)  There is a feature on the site called the Quit List, where Kelly and her readers share what they are quitting.  I am proud to announce that my personal Quit will be posted there on February 27th (don't worry, I will remind you). 

In other news, I sold a short story.  Sorry, didn't mean to shout.  But I am inordinately proud and relieved and walking around feeling quite authorly (however, I will deny that last bit, so don't go blabbing about it).  I realize that it is one short story (out of...how many that I have written?!??!), but still...pretty pleased about it.  It won't be published for another 3-6 months, but as soon as I get a firm date I will let you know.

On the down side, all of this makes it even harder to sit down and write the articles that are helping to pay the bills.  While there are things I quite like writing about, there are other topics that suck those Authorly Feelings right out of me.

I am working on a couple of short stories now that I hope to send off.  The long waiting periods are murder, though.  I think they had it for about six months before I heard anything.  I had pretty much given up on the one I had just sold.  Ironically enough, my dear friend Angela B asked me about it just last week and I had just kind of shrugged it off.  (Perhaps that is a misuse of the word ironic*...maybe it is more creepy than ironic.  But if so, it is of the "creepy cool" variety, so I will take it!)



Actually, this is the
Antennae Galaxies undergoing a collision

So maybe this is the Universe telling me that I just needed to take a step back and let things happen.  Perhaps I just need to shrug things off more and take comfort in the fact that things always seem to work out.

Hmmmm, if that is all it takes--maybe I should just shrug off those lottery tickets I just bought.

So, 'fess up--how long have you had to wait to hear back on a story?  Had you given up?

*  No, it wasn't a misuse.  I checked:  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ironic