Gettin'er done

Been going down the checklist this weekend.

Go to Apollocon: Check
Make presentable showing at writers workshop:Check
Attend panels and learn something: Check
Go see Dr Wilkerson: Check
Get foot drop braces fixed: Check
Get large braces fixed: Check
Get prescription for new braces: Check
Get some Namesta food in Bryan for Rowan: Check

So, overall a productive weekend on my end of things.

Sadly, a pall also hangs over the weekend due to Daddo's accidental running over of Toyful. We all wish our best for a speedy and complete recovery.

Back From the Convention: Day 3

After sleeping a solid seventeen hours (I needed it), Karla decided to wake me up and get me on the road back to the convention.

Attended a few panels today as the convention winded down. The one on copyright made for an interesting discussion, especially on the digital front. A lot of the kiddos I spend time on bulletin boards with feel that "information should be free", a sentiment viewed with mixed feelings by todays panelists. My sympathies lie with the panelists. Any information I create should be pricey as hell. There were some other copyright issues discussed, and an idea put forth that I will need to bounce off of people on some of the authors list I subscribe too.

The panel on activism and the convention community was okay, but I had gone in under the impression it was about sneaking political messages into your writing. Since the topic was nowhere near that type of sneaky skullduggery, I admit I lost interest. The last panel on architecture of the future, and the materials that would be used was interesting...but I wanted to hear more from the panelists and less from the audience on that one. Sometimes audience participation gets in the way of the dissemination of good information.

Altogether a successful convention since I found it informative and met some cool people. My congrats on the organizers of this convention for keeping it well organized and having the panels appear when and where they were supposed to be.

Back From the Convention: Day 2

It was a short, but productive and exhausting day. I only got two hours of sleep the night before, just due to sheer insomnia, so I had that whole wide grainy eyed thing going at the convention. Needless to say, I was sucking down caffiene like a junkie. It was a pretty pitiful sight.

But the writers workshop went very well. I managed to give good, and what I thought were helpful, critiques to the other writers. They all seemed to be satisfied with my offering, and nobody had their feelings hurt. That is always a win in my book. "Rite of Passage" got very strong reviews and some helpful suggestions to make it even better. When the one lady said it actually gave her nightmares, I took that as the highest form of praise. I intend to incorporate most of the suggestions given at the critique, and then hold on to the story until LL Dreamspell opens up it's next ghost story anthology.

I also had the pleasure of talking with an extraordinary author by the name of Alexis Glynn Latner. She was a fountain of information and helpful advice. I look forward to meeting her again at the next Final Twist meeting.

Ah well, off to bed.

Back from the Convention: Day One

I went to Apollocon this afternoon for the first time. I'm so used to attending conventions at Texas A&M that it came as a bit of a surprise how some conventions work in much smaller spaces. But I have to give them credit... unlike Aggiecon, these guys had their acts together. They had a program guide, map, and panel schedules ready to hand to you when you signed in. And they had people at the registration table who actually knew what was going on, so you didn't just get a blank look when you asked a question.

I didn't do much this afternoon. I just attended a NASA panel on proposed manned flights to near earth objects, and then went to the opening ceremonies. The NASA panel was informative and interesting, and again I found myself reminiscing the days that Aggiecon had NASA panels. I know it sounds like I'm dumping on Aggiecon but they really disappointed this year. Regardless, back to Apollocon. They seemed to have everything under control, and well planned.

I plan on leaving early tomorrow morning so I can make the writers workshop. After that, I intend to meet people and attend panels. I am definately getting old since I probably won't be hanging around for the dance or the costume party. Maybe next year if I get to know some people.

Off to the Con

Apollocon starts today and Nonnie and Daddo will soon be here to watch the kids. I slept in and therefore I'm way behind on the housework. I'll see what I can get done before they get here.

Not much else to report. Still groggy. Must get fed. Then I'll put up dishes.

Bye.

Done

The critiques are done. Anything I add to them now is pure gravy.

That means I can relax, and know I'm going to the convention without the threat of looking like an unprepared idiot hanging over my head. At least as long as I don't do something stupid, like forget my bag.

Anyways, I'm better prepared for this convention than I was for Aggiecon. I now have a folding cane that I can carry in my bookbag when I don't need it. I'm also a few pounds lighter, which should also help me get around better. I have a nicer hat, thats always a bonus too.

I've think that one of the main attractions to being a writer is the dress code.

Maybe Audiences are Different

So what has changed? Why don't you see offerings like Tarantula anymore? The Beast from 50,000 Fathoms? Creature from the Black Lagoon?

Is it the audience?

I know at the last two "horror" movies I was at, the whole emphasis seemed to be different. I honestly don't think the audience was there to be scared. I think they were there to cheer on the killer, and get a gratuitious thrill out of whatever creative way he bumps off the latest teenager. It's a game that the director plays with a sly wink to the audience, who is completely in on it.

And don't even get me started on CGI. CGI has ruined more movies with potential than I can count. Directors suddenly given the ability to show anything, never stop to ask if they should show anything. There is no art to it anymore.

Oh well, thats my rant for the day.

Ah the Classics

Saturday afternoons just aren't the same anymore.

Hmmm.....

Here's an interesting website. It would really only work for me when both kids are in school. Might be worth remembering though.

http://lab.drwicked.com/writeordie.html

Objectives

I've already fed the kids, dressed the kids, changed a diaper, and got Sheridan off to camp. Now to move on to the rest of todays objectives...

Today I need to accomplish the following things.

1. Get my contracts with LL Dreamspell printed out, signed, and in the mail.

2. Drain the swimming pool in the backyard.

3. Water the lawn.

4. Work on that last critique.

5. Karla cooked yesterday...which means that today the kitchen is unrecognizable. But since I know it's under all that mess somewhere, I'll have to roll up my sleeves and dig down to it.

6. I have to take Rowan to her speech therapist.

7. Get Sheridan some water wings for his pool trip tomorrow.

Things Approach

Well, I have two out of my three critiques written so only one left to go. Naturally I saved the toughest for last. Hopefully I can hammer this one out over the next 24 hours and I will have that behind me. After that I will bind the critiques with copies of the other authors manuscripts that I have already printed out. That way I can still edit the printed out manuscripts over the rest of the week. Then I will at last be ready as I can be for the approaching writers workshop on Saturday. I'm working hard so as not to embarrass myself there.

I think the convention is going to be a load of fun, but I'm really beginning to look forward to getting it behind me. I haven't done any real writing lately, mainly due to it. Anyways, I look forward to getting back to writing. I haven't decided over whether it will be to continue working on Argiope, or to write some more short stories.

I considered attempting a short story for LL Dreamspells Romance anthology. You should have heard the laughter coming from my wife when I brought that one up. She is apparently of the opinion that I wouldn't recognize romance if it punched me in the nose. I feel as if a gauntlet has been thrown down, and I'm evaluating the merits of picking it up.

Ah well, I have the luxury of a few more days to ponder that question.

Thankfully, Nonnie and Daddo will come down Friday to watch the kids. This means I can registar for the convention on Friday, catch some of their early panels, and then be back bright and early on Saturday morning for the writers workshop. Excellent.

Blazing Trails

I had Karla drive the route with me to the DoubleTree Hotel, where Apollocon will be held. It turns out to be a fairly simple drive that should not overtax my feeble driving skills. Thats one less worry.

Got envelopes and stamps so I can mail my contract back to LL Dreamspell tomorrow. So thats well in hand too.

Karla let me sleep in late again, and then I spent pretty much the rest of the day driving around with her and Rowan. We also sat and read our books in the waiting room while Rowan was in seeing her occupational therapist. It was a pretty good way to spend an afternoon.

Karla is now getting creative in the kitchen. She is being mysterious about it, only saying I should be able to figure out what it is for myself. Further investigation and interrogation reveal that meatballs are for dinner tonight. Yum!

Fathers Day

Tis that day of the year where rosy cheeked urchins are supposed to fetch Dad's slippers and pipe, while Mom prepares his favorite meal.

Yeah, that's gonna happen...

Oh well, I'm on a diet anyways...and I quit smoking a long time ago...and slippers would look pretty stupid on my braces when you think about it...

Sigh.

At least Karla is letting me sleep in.

Oh, and LL Dreamspell just mailed me my contract for "Between Friends". That will be the first of my four accepted short stories to come out in an anthology. It's my mystery short story. I'll sign it and mail that back to them on Monday.

And come to think of it, my kids are happy and healthy and Karla is doing alright herself. So overall...life is good.

Yawn! Saturday!

Karla got me out of bed, so I fed the kids and took out the trash. The kids are in their pajamas, in front of Sheridans computer, and playing Feeding Frenzy. I was out late last night, working on critiques, so I'm still a little bleary eyed this morning.

Apollocon put out it's schedule. There are a couple of things worth checking out Friday evening, but I don't have anybody to watch the kids. I probably need to find somebody because it would be better if I got my convention pass on Friday, so I wouldn't be struggling to get in while the writers workshop begins on Saturday morning. I just need somebody to watch them from 2 PM until Karla gets home at seven that night. Ah well, I'll figure something out. Time to go water the lawn.

Omelette Night

Due to circumstances sadly under my control, Cheesy Fries Night at Denny's has been replaced with Omelette Night at Denny's. Low carb diets work well for me, so I'm currently on one.

That means I shall have to turn to the mighty egg for inspiration. I don't know if it can match the pure inspirational power of cheesy fries, but I have no choice. Perhaps if I fortify the omelette with cheese and bacon...yeah, thats the ticket. One of these days I shall write a horror story about being on a diet. Meh, too close to home for too many people.

Sigh.

Humming Along

Right now I'm doing laundry, taking care of the kids, and reading a book recommended to me by my publisher. It's called "A Little Murder" by Cindy Davis. So far, I'm enjoying it very much...and I'm paying attention to her use of metaphor, which I've been told she is very good at. It's always good to learn while enjoying a good book.

Later I will need to vacuum up all the bath salts that Rowan scattered all over the living room carpet. Too late to save them now, so I figure I'll let the fragrance soak in before vacuuming them up. The living room smells better than it has in a while. Sigh, at least it wasn't eggs...like last time.

Later, when Karla gets home I'll try to get back to critiquing those stories. Apollocon is only a week away now, so I better get cracking. After that, I need to come up with some new stories. I have a couple in development, but I'm not too happy with them.

I Test a New Blogging Feature and Sheridan Sings

Nada

Not much to report today. I've got the three manuscripts printed out and bound, and I'll be going over those. I've got Sheridan off to school for his field trip. Rowan is sitting and watching Baby Einstien. Nothing is going on.

Oh, I'm watering the yard...and I can't find my glasses.

Critiquing

I'm going to work on critiques today.

I have three manuscripts to work on. Two short stories and a novel excerpt.

One short story is about an alien interacting with human children as they adapt to it's planet. The writing style is slightly lyrical and easy to read, but the author seems to be intentionally vague on certain matters. While vague can be good, especially when you don't want to just blurt out the situation, you can overdo it at times.

The second one is about a sentient AI, and the decisions it is trying to make in regards to it's existence. Very intelligently written story. The only problem I can find with it is the heavy use of passive voice.

The third is a novel about people trying to bring a new energy source into existence, while being opposed by a powerful energy tycoon. It involves time travel and apparently world destruction. Interesting concept. Since it is a novel excerpt, I'll have to judge it by different criteria.

Ah well, down to work.

Setting

I have five stories "accepted", so to speak. Four for publication in anthologies and one for critiquing at Apollocon. Three are horror stories, one is a mystery, and one is a strange cat story/horror hybrid. Taking stock of them, it's interesting to see the choices of setting I ended up going with.

The four accepted for publication stories....

"Designated Driver" takes place on a nighttime farm and market road and a truckstop.
"Picking Dewberries" takes place on a back country dirt road.
"Dog Matters" takes place in a suburban neighborhood.
"Between Friends" beside a shack along the Brazos River at night.

The one at Apollocon...

"Rite of Passage" takes place in an abandoned retirement home in a small town.

4 out of 5 of the settings are rural...and the one that is in town is from the POV of a cat which in a wierd way can be argued to make it rural as well. So far, rural has worked better for me. Also, two of the five take place in the past, and since the cat story doesn't count for this, it probably should be two of four. Horror is a little easier to write in the past because there aren't all those pesky cell phones connecting everybody, although I'm really pleased with myself in how I managed to use cell phones to enhance the situation in both stories set in the present. But modern technology has to be accounted for because they are part of todays setting. It's a challenge, because you have to take into account the reasonable actions a charactor may take. I hate it when charactors do unreasonable things just to make a story work.

Burp!

Took a break from my diet at midnight, and ate a can of tamales. But I ate them with artificially sweetened tea so that makes it sort of okay...in a never do it again sort of way. Gotta lose more weight over the next two weeks so I can wedge my fat butt through the front doors of Apollocon. I just felt the need to celebrate the successes of the weekend. Yeah, thats what I was doing...celebrating. Yeah.

Success Again!

Tonight I recieved word that my short story, "Picking Dewberries" was accepted for the L&L Dreamspell Nightmares anthology.

Woohoo!

That means four out of the five short stories I submitted have been accepted. I think I can finally feel a bit justified in calling myself a writer.

And the best part is that "Picking Dewberries" is the prologue to the novella "Argiope"... if it ever gets written. But for now, I have to get ready for Apollocon, where the last of the stories I have written..."Rite of Passage"...is going to be critiqued. Now that I have read the other authors stories again, I will spend the week critiquing them while Sheridan is at school.

Then I need to buckle down and start putting out new material.

Success!

Today I batted .500...

I got word back on two of my short stories I submitted at LL Dreamspell. One got accepted and one got rejected. I am certainly not going to complain if half the stuff I send them gets accepted. The funny thing is that it was my cat story, "Dog Matters" which got accepted, and my horror story, "The Revenant", which got rejected.

If I had of been forced to bet with real money, I would have bet that it would have happened the other way around. Oh well, thats my third shortstory to be accepted...and in a third anthology at that. I'll update my "resume" soon.

Tonight I shall go out and celebrate with Cherri Galbiati at Denny's. I'll have to substitute scrambled eggs for the cheesy fries since I'm now trying to diet.

Sigh.

Thank god for elastic.

Taking The Day Off

No writing today.

Today I will focus around the house. Maybe find my kitchen. Play with the daughter. Do a little shopping. Etc. Now that I'm one last sentence away from sending off "Jupiter Rising", I can ponder my next project.

I just about have a fix for Argiope in mind. It will require the introduction of a couple of new charactors, and a little research, but it should work. So thats one possibility. Another possibility is a short story idea that I had come up the other evening. A lot of my short stories are ghost stories, but this one at least has different elements so it's okay. I guess the fact that I actually have a couple of ideas is the whole reason I'm sanguine about being between projects.

Another idea I had for down the road is a non fiction book involving Galveston. I would need to do some serious research for that one though, first of all to see if the focus on my idea has already been done. I know that a long time ago, Galveston had boardwalks with amusement parks, rollercoasters, and giant bathhouses. I was curious about researching that era. I hope to get a chance to look at a couple of museums next time I'm down there.

Now to resist the urge to run out to Walmart and buy lots of solar powered LED lights and stick them up all around the house.

Night of the Living Dad

Stayed up all last night, trying to work on writing and get my nights and days straightened out.

Have managed to get kids to their respective schools and therapists, and back home again.

The world is very far away now. All is background noise, and everything looks comfortable.

The sandman is standing in the corner, smacking a club into his palm.

Just a few more hours to go.

Polishing

I didn't write anything new today, but contented myself with continuing to polish "Jupiter Rising". It's amazing how much you can do to tweak even a micro short story.

The whole family was home today, so my access to the computer was limited. I made the best of it though, and chose to instead polish and defend my title as Worlds Most Awesome Dad. My tactic tonight was to experiment with my new deep fryer and make homemade potato chips.

They were indeed awesome and Sheridan extolled their virtues far and wide. Having reinforced the fact that I rock to the household, I bid them all a good night. The kids now slumber peacefully and the wife is contentedly reading a book in the day room. Alone at last with the computer, I now muse over my prospective courses of action. Having written something for Quick Fiction, perhaps I should now consider attempting something for Bartleby Snopes...a literary magazine that accepts unsolicited short stories. I'm more of a genre writer, but it might be fun to try. Heck, if I can master potato chips...I can do anything. Just ask Sheridan.

Monday, monday.

The first draft of "Jupiter Rising" is finished. One wouldn't think that a mere 500 word or less short story would need to come in drafts, but I've already made a couple of corrections and applied a little polish so I know better. I'll stew over it a couple of days before submitting it to Quick Fiction.

After that I will have to decide whether to start another short story or go back to work on Argiope. I'm pretty close to mentally working out the problems I had the first time around...but I'm not quite there yet. Yeah, I know...Mr. Decisive here can't make the call.

Perhaps I'll actually break down and critique those three short stories for Apollocon. They're all rather good, so this isn't going to be easy.

Speaking of Apollocon, I start my diet when I wake up today. Three weeks of brutal deprivation, designed to help me walk without panting at the convention itself. Sigh, you would think being an author would mean you're allowed to be fat. Ah well, I still like the dress code.

Inspiration is Nice

Well, the meeting with the authors of The Final Twist certainly went well. I could not have asked for a nicer, more welcoming group of people. I made a special effort to remember names and attach them to faces, which will probably mean by December I'll start getting it right. Regardless, I found that being in the presence of other writers is a rather inspirational thing in itself, and good for your confidence. It makes writing something that the people around you do, and whole lot less intimidating.

Also, I enjoyed a stroke of inspiration and may dust off Argiope and get back to writing on it. I hated shelving it in the first place, because that's just not the way I write. I like to finish something and move on to the next thing. This time that just wasn't working though. Apparently, my subconscious must have still been chewing over the problem because I literally awoke this morning with the possible solution to making the story have an internal logic that it can adhere to, and even be a better story in other ways too. I will have to do some outlining later to test it out. I don't want to write too far into it and discover that I am still screwed up.

On another front, I've started branching out into checking out other places to submit too. I found an little magazine called Quick Fiction that publishes five hundred words or less short stories. It has a little .org by the same name. It accepts online submissions so I decided to read some of the stories it has and try to rise to it's challenge. I'm now partially through a short story called "Jupiter Rising" that I'm hoping to squeeze into submissable form. Here is the first paragraph to that little story...

"The electric blue sky of twilight did little to illuminate the rolling countryside, the only clearly visible feature below the horizon being the stock tank down the hill, which reflected the neon sky. The August heat now bearable, the evening throbbed with crickets and frogs. Gramma and Grandpa were dark silhouettes in their lawn chairs beside the farmhouse, listening to the Rangers game on the radio between them and offering occasional muttered commentary. Rowley prowled the driveway near his telescope. Jupiter should show itself soon."

I noticed that you have to write densely in this format, although I "unpack" it with some dialogue to break it up after this part. Ah well, that's all for now... back to writing.

Meeting Other Writers

Tomorrow I will be attending a meeting of The Final Twist, a writers group here in Spring. Since I am about as social of a creature as a mole, it's pretty obvious I'm looking forward to this get together with just a hint of trepidation. I will be meeting "real writers", as opposed to me who is just some guy who got a couple of short stories published.

But it will be interesting to meet them. Since I'm terrible with names and faces, I will likely forget 3/4 of the people I meet by tomorrow evening, but I guess that still leaves 1/4 that I didn't know before. I'll be curious to see what they talk about when they meet.

Seriously, how do you talk about writing? I think I could only talk with one or two people about the charactors I write, for fear of sounding like that nerdy guy who wants to talk about his D&D charactor. Thats why I actually seldom discuss my stories with the people around me, I don't want to see polite nodding while people wish I would discuss something in the real world they can offer an opinion on.

Ah well, Nonni and Daddo are coming in the morning to watch the kiddos while I'm socializing. I'll get up early and throw a roast in the crockpot for them. Thats the best part, I'm always up for anything that results in family visiting.

Working on Critiques

I spent last night at Denny's, reading one of the stories for Apollocon that I will be critiquing in the upcoming writers workshop. Critiquing other writer's work makes me sort of uncomfortable. The word ventures close to "criticize", and I hate criticizing the product of somebody else's imagination and labor.

Some things are automatic and easy. Spelling, grammer, and other structural problems can be pointed out without guilt, because they are simply there. On the other hand, when you have to judge things like plot, characterization, atmosphere, etc...then you wander deeper into the realm of relative opinion, and I end up worried about sounding judgmental or giving offense. I want to be very careful when writing up these critiques that I am nothing but encouraging.

Another thing that is going to make this interesting is that there are going to be two critique circles. I am in one with three other writers. The four of us were sent copies of each of our stories. Now for the "interesting" part...the other three writers are obviously writers of sci-fi, while I am more of a horror/mystery writer. So we have one sci-fi that takes place on another planet, one sci-fi from the POV of a newly self aware AI, one sci-fi about interdimensional energy sources and their consequences...and one ghost story. Yeah.

Been reading a little Ray Bradbury here and there. The man was absolutely lyrical with his words. I will never be Ray Bradbury. And I realize that as a kid I wanted to be his protagonist from Dandelion Wine, Doug Spaulding, without exactly realizing it at the time...which in a weird way got in the way of me being me. Oh well, that's part of being an imaginative kid too.

On the Road Again

Went to Denny's last night to have a writer's meeting with Cherri Galbiati. Consumed large quantities of cheesy fries, and discussed our projects. Inspiration is getting fattening. If I'm going to trim down for August vacation, I'm going to have to start getting inspired on a whole lot less carbs.

Wrote a thousand words yesterday. The new short story is a scifi that dwells on a morbid aspect of cybernetics and what it means to be human. Although if half what they are saying about this upcoming "singularity" is true, it is well within the limits of possibility. The basic notion being that if you put enough cybernetic hardware into a person, not only does life change dramatically...but so does dying. I'll try shopping this one around on one of the online magazines when it's done.

Starting to read submissions from other authors. So far, not bad. But at least my confidence in my own stuff is rising. At first I was afraid that I would be in amongst a bunch of professionals who would make my work look silly. It appears that I am amongst contemporaries, which is in no way a slight to the other authors since I like my stuff.

Now I just have to find out if you can feed inspiration on a diet of coffee with artificial sweetener. But not until next week.

Conventions, Critiques, and Deep Fryers

Well, I have got my response from Apollocon, and the manuscripts from three other writers that I have to do written critiques of. Fortunately they sent a written set of guidelines for the critique, which will help immensely. I haven't read any of the manuscripts yet, but will dive into them either tomorrow or the next day. I want to be sure and give the other authors a good effort on my part, and a proper amount of time.

Just meeting other authors is going to be exciting. I'm really beginning to look forward to this convention. I know that at least a couple of other authors from L&L Dreamspell will be there. That makes it doubly interesting.

On the home front, I opened up and tried out my new deep fryer today. I made twice cooked french fries and they were a big success. This new deep fryer will reduce the amount of oil that has been accumulating on my counter lately, and will probably also help make Dad a more popular guy. Double bonus.

Took the kids to the grocery store, and let Sheridan push a cart of his own. After that adventure I've decided he doesn't get a car until he is forty. Fortunately, nobody was badly bruised and damage was contained to just a couple of aisles. Seriously, how hard is it too look forward while pushing a cart? I love that boy dearly, but I despair sometimes.

I've also got a strong idea for a short story, so I feel better on that front. Unfortunately, it's a science fiction, which LL Dreamspell doesn't currently have an anthology of. If I write it, I'll shop it around elsewhere I guess...although I suppose it would work in their nightmare anthology. My short stories tend towards horror apparently.

Ah well, bedtime. Good night.

The Clock Starts Ticking

Now I enter that most dreaded of times. The time where all semblance of objectivity is lost and desperation becomes the filter through which my mind views the world. The time where all confidence in my newfound identity as "writer" is challenged to it's utmost. It's that time where...

...I'm between stories.

I don't know what I'm going to write next, so I'm casting desperately around for ideas. A few brief ideas have flickered, just random images really, but nothing with a story attached to it has leaped out and stuck. I like to have a rough idea what my story is about and where it's going before putting pen to paper...or fingers to keyboard in my case.

On to other news...

I took Sheridan to see his first movie in a theatre on Monday. We went and saw Pixar's "Up". It was a very good movie, although some issues were definitely above a six year olds head. I highly recommend it. Sheridan enjoyed it, but I had a full time job trying to keep him seated and his questions to a dull roar. Overall, he did as well as could be expected...although he saw an old Star Trek poster they had on the wall going in and wanted to go see the space movie next. At the end of the movie, I discovered my wallet had worked it's way out of my pocket while watching the show. Me and a few helpful movie goers clambered around, looking under the seats, while Sheridan continued to lobby to see the space movie next...totally oblivious to the drama around him. Fortunately the wallet was found and I successfully resisted the urge to trade the boy in for an order of nachos. Alls well that ends well.

Apollocon has got in touch with me to let me know that my story is one of nine that will be critiqued at their writers workshop. They will be sending my some shortstories from the other authors to make a written critique of before the convention. I intend to give each my best effort, and look forward to meeting the authors in person at the con.

Oh yes, and "Picking Dewberries" has now been submitted to LL Dreamspell for their Nightmares anthology. Another bouncing baby short story sent out into the world.