The Plague Documents

Just haven't had much report lately. In February we took a 10-day cruise to the Mexican Riviera, which conveniently originated in San Francisco. It was lovely until we left Cabo for the 2-day sail home, during which time my oldest son came down with a nasty case of Camphylobacter jejuni. He was very ill for a couple of weeks. No sooner did he finally get pretty much back to normal, when our area was hit with an outbreak of Equine Herpes Virus-I, a highly contagious and potentially fatal horse disease. No vaccine, no 100% effective treatment. So all the local barns/ranches have been on voluntary quarantine, and precautions have been extraordinary. Fortunately, the efforts appear to have paid off, and while we're not completely out of the woods yet, it's been about 3 weeks since any new cases have appeared.

Excuses, excuses, but seriously, writing has been on a back burner. I have been pottering around a little with a new story, but am no where near even having something like a draft at this point.

In the meantime...

Yesterday I received a rejection from Weird Tales for a story I'd submitted in early March of 2006, and withdrawn back in August. Good thing they didn't decide to buy it, because afaik it's still under consideration at Neo-opsis (although I just queried them today, as it's time...).

Polite rejection from The Harrow

Polite rejection with helpful comments from Clarkesworld Magazine

Form reject from IGMS

Other than that...I'm thinking to participate in the oww's annual April critithon. I should get moving, I think it started today.

Also, Baycon is coming soon to a town near me. Unfortunately, I've nothing to submit to the writers' workshop this year, but I'll definitely be attending at least part of the time. Anyone else going?

Apex Digest issue #7 is out! Got my copies Saturday! It is gorgeous to look at, and a wonderful read (if I do say so myself!).

Meanwhile, Trabucco Road rejected me"The Resurrection Men" in the end. So, back to market seeking for that one and "The Proust Effect."

"The Resurrection Men" came home from Dark Recesses and went right back out to Trabuco Road.

"The Proust Effect" was rejected by Strange Horizons, and has been subbed to Ideomancer.

Still pottering away on revisions to "The Oracle of Building 42." I'm hoping to be finished with it by the end of this week, and post it the oww for another round of comments (in case I've made horrible errors in the process of trying to fix it...).

Apex Digest rejected "The Resurrection Men." Not sure where I'll try next; I need to do a little market research.

OTOH, issue #7 of Apex Digest has reportedly gone to the printers and the the official TOC appears on the Digest's LJ, here. Yippee!

This time of "The Stampeders" by Grendelsong. Back to the old market hunt...

Summer is always a difficult time, with the kids home and needing to be driven here and there, on top of the usual work crises. So, I'm still not getting much writing done. I've decided to do my annual trek though my copy of The Artist's Way. I find myself doing this every summer, and it actually is helpful. Especially the "morning pages" habit. Annoying, but it really dumps all the stray thoughts from my brain and helps organize them. And I've solved many the writing dilemma in the midst of compiling to-do lists.

On an good note: the headline in the paper today says that Devil's Slide will re-open as of August 4th (we had been told to expect some time in September). That will make life much more pleasant for many people--including me! I'll be able to see my horse every day, instead of 3 times/per week. The drive to see her will be 10 minutes each way, instead of the 1-2 hours (depending on traffic) I've been stuck with since April. So yay for that!

Polite rejection (expressed interest in seeing more) of "The Stampeders" from FBS-ezine. So, today I shipped it off through the ether to Grendelsong. It has some fairy-tale elements, so we'll see...

As of Sunday I'm off to Tuscon for a scientific conference. I probably won't notice the heat due to spending all my time in over-air conditioned meeting rooms, but since it's probably going to be my only "vacation" this year, I hope to find some time to enjoy myself as well. It's being held in a fancy resort, so there's spa-stuff and swimming. Too bad I don't play golf. I'm also taking along some projects to work on in quiet moments. And hey, maybe I'll get some story ideas from the presentations ;->

So if I'm even quieter than usual for awhile, that's why.

Best news first: got my contract from Apex Digest on Saturday, so I signed and dropped it back in the mail today *rubs hands together with glee*

In other story news this month, I had a rejection from Abyss & Apex. That story has now gone out to a new market, FBS E-zine.

Still waiting to hear from: Horrors Beyond II Anthology, The Late Late Show, Peridot Books, and Weird Tales.

Baycon was great. It was my first con (other than a handful of media cons), so I dipped my big toe in this year, and yes, now I have the bug. My lovely friend, Nora, who is on staff, took me under her wing and introduced me to a lot of people. I was commuting, and so didn't stay for parties, but next year...look out!

I survived the writers' workshop in one piece as well! This was my first experience of face-to-face critting, so I was apprehensive, but everyone was very nice--which isn't to say they weren't critical, they just knew how to do it with class. There was one other sacrificial victim, and a panel of four writers (Lori White, G. David Nordley, Kevin O-Donnell Jr, and Morgan Hua). I gather the format (a few minutes for each critter to say their piece, then questions and open discussion) was pretty standard, and everyone gave me written notes as well. Naturally some of the comments were contradictory, but, heh, I have a lot to think about, which was the purpose.

And last but not least! wistling tagged me for the "username explanation" meme. "Plaguedocs" was the name I came up with when I started my reading blog, You Are What You Read back in December of 2002. I always loved the image of the plague doctor: leather "beak" stuffed with sweet-smelling herbs, crystal "goggles", gauntlets and all. Plus I keep finding myself reading about infectious diseases, as well as incorporating those microscopic monsters into my stories. TB, polio, and rabies have all featured so far. Smallpox and Hansen's disease are currently incubating.

So that's it, really. And, btw, wistling is a very cool username, with an interesting story behind it.

As for June plans... With a big work project to finish, an 8th grader graduating next week, parents coming to stay for said graduation, and a trip to a professional conference at the end of the month, I don't expect to get much writing done. I'm planning to work on revisions to my Baycon story while I'm away. Other than that, it'll mostly be jotting notes for a couple of germinating ideas and bouncing any stories that come back to me right out the door again.

Started today, actually, but as I have to work, I won't be heading out until tomorrow. And since I'm in commute distance, I'm not planning to stay (although a friend has promised me crash space, so we'll see...) My writers' workshop session is tomorrow from 1-4pm. I've been through my assigned chapter and made some notes; today I need to go back over everything and organize some (hopefully) sensible comments for the author. Also better re-read my own story, so if specific questions are raised, I'll be able to do better than a blank look. I've never been to a lit con or participated in a face-to-face workshop before so...

In other news: "The Stampeders" came back from The Pedestal, so I've shipped it off to Abyss & Apex. Everything I have completed is out looking for a home. At least there haven't been any rejections lately *looks around nervously in fear of having tempted fate*.

I'd gone ahead and resubbed my lost submission to Aeon, only to receive a swift and polite rejection. So, just today I've shipped it off to Periodot Books. I hope they like it. It's a good story dammit ;->. It's one that's gotten a lot of positive feedback but no takers so far, and I'd really like for it to find a good home.

Rejection from Aberrant Dreams today. Turned it right around and sent it out to the Horrors Beyond II Anthology, as it seemed to fit their guidelines.

Blue form of death from Realms of Fantasy for "The Stampeders." Think I'm going to try The Pedistal with this one, when they reopen to subs on the 29th.

In other news, I've gotten pulled away from my daily crit rhythm on the oww, but I will attempt to get in a couple more before the crit marathon wraps up. One side benefit is running across other workshop members whose stuff I hadn't read before, but have discovered that I really like. And I've received about a thousand crits on my draft of "The Oracle of Building 42" (still have some more thank you notes to write!). I already made a few revisions based on early comments, and sent it off to the Baycon Writers' Workshop. So we'll see. It's one of those stories that I like, but I *know* it still needs a lot of work. So it's ripe for critiquing.

Best of all: it's stopped raining!!!! *quick finds wood to knock on* Now it's on with hay fever season!

Yet another "We liked it...but not *quite* enough to buy". *sigh* This one from Fantasy Magazine regarding "The Stampeders"...and not the first time I've heard that about this story. It's a 2,700 word fantasy (with literary pretension, hee!). So far, it's been to: Strange Horizons, F & SF, Lennox Ave, Son & Foe, Ideomancer, Aoife's Kiss, Lone Star Stories, Glimmertrain, and Fantasy. I'm thinking to bite the bullet and try RoF, but that means a trip to the post office in the rain.

Suggestions welcome!

Rejection from Talebones for a dark fantasy story, "The Knife in the Mirror." Form letter with "wasn't right for us" circled, and a note at the bottom: "fun voice throughout yet not really what we're after."

The story has an Elizabethan setting, alchemy, a book sprite, and an Aztec demon. It's been to RoF, Aeon, F & SF, Fantasy, and (now) Talebones. 5,800 words. Market suggestions welcome, while I continue to search for a suitable home...

This time from Baen's Universe on a 6,500-word SF story. "Story Pilot" has been down all day (that's become my favorite place to search for markets, when I'm too lazy to comb through Ralan's), so I haven't identified a new victimmarket to try next.

Barnes and Noble do free classes through their "BNU" website. They want you to buy books for the courses, of course, but you don't have to. Don't have to do anything, actually, you can just skim the postings for any useful information. I signed up for the classes on nonfiction publishing and fiction writing. There's also one on grammar, another on writing romance fiction, and all sorts of other stuff. Plus reading groups on specific books.

Email from WotF yesterday:

Your entry did not place in the final selections for the 4th quarter 2005

Okay, so it's rejected, I get that. But does not making the "final selections" mean it got through a round or two? It would be nice to know.

In any event I need to start looking for another market for this 6,500-word SF story...

Renewed my membership in the oww; need to get back in the critting habit!

Need to get back in the writing habit for that matter. I have a fairly good excuse: I just bought a horse! Which bodes well for my getting fresh air and exercise, but perhaps not so well for my writing "career"--though I do intend to keep plugging away!

Took a trip to the post office yesterday and mailed off a "The Knife In The Mirror" to Talebones.

Today, "The Stampeders" went to Glimmertrain. It might sell as literary, after all, large chunks of it are from the POV of a spawning salmon...

I also had a pleasant rejection (well, you know, as pleasant as rejection can be) from Aeon for "Promise Them Aught." "Your story is well-written and intriguing, but ultimately we decided it isn't quite what we're looking for." Wish I had a dollar... *sigh*

So that one's already printed out and in an envelope--I'll take it to the post office tomorrow for a trip to Shadows of Saturn.

Also finished and posted a crit for the oww. I'm feeling virtuous! Also, there are writers who post to that workshop whose work I like way better than much of what I read that is published. So, reading enjoyment *and* virtue, I can't complain about that!

Polite and swift rejection (1-day) from Lone Star Stories.

Nine days to a rejection from Fantasy magazine.

You see, this is what happens when I get caught up on sending things out! Now I have to look for more markets to try.

I signed up for the Zoetrope workshop, and am thinking about trying one of these rejectees there--as it has literary elements (I think). The other rejectee is probably bound for a try at Talebones.

Rejection by Aoife's Kiss of 2,700-word fantasy story. With specific comments, which is helpful, but still...

Merry Christmas, bah humbug.