Running late with this report, owing to the holiday. Had much happening yesterday. Actually, a lot happened over the week, as you’re about to learn. Here goes:
It’s been a while since I’ve been between projects. It felt so strange not having a daily word goal to meet. I’ve come to realize that I like having that structure, pain in the ass though it may be at times. I’ll be back at it soon enough, I suppose.
In the interim, I spent much of last week navel-gazing, as you no doubt already know. It was good for me to get my thoughts organized a bit, and it helped me plan for the future. So thanks for indulging me.
On the Petra front, it appears that I will actually inflict my first draft on some readers, solely in the interest of getting the thing done faster. So that’s another first to add to the list. I’ll let you know how it goes.
The rest of the week was spent updating my database, then plowing through my stack of mss and getting some of them back in circulation. I also got a chance to follow up on some stories that have been languishing in slush piles. I probably should have followed up sooner, but hey, I was busy. And I’m a patient soul, folks. Don’t believe me? Keep reading.
I still have some novel queries to send, and some more correspondence to catch up on. After that, I will attack a rewrite or two.
Am also pleased and proud to report that my copies of Prime Codex have arrived, and they look even nicer in person than online. Woo hoo!
Oh yeah, and I turn 40 on Saturday. That’ll be weird. The wife and some friends are planning a big bash. There will be food, fun, and even karaoke. I’m looking forward to the party, actually, and trying not to spend too much time glancing over my shoulder at that hooded figure in black, carrying a scythe . . .
And this just in from Write Club–
After a long, long, long, long wait, I got word today that IGMS has accepted “The Frankenstein Diaries.”
I’m always pleased to make a sale, but this one is especially sweet. I simply must tell you the tale. I think you’ll get a kick out of it.
Yes, you read that correctly–over a year and a half.
To be fair, it was part of the original backlog that had accumulated prior to Edmund Schubert hiring on as editor at IGMS. Complicating the situation was the story’s length–16K. Perfectly understandable that an editor would have a hard time finding room for it, even if he did like it. Ed, bless his heart, would very kindly send me periodic updates, assuring me the story was still alive and under consideration. I also checked his blog regularly, which helped. But I gotta tell ya, I wanted this one. I really wanted this one. And the more time passed, the more I wanted it.
Now, those of you who read Ed’s blog may recall a minor dust-up that occurred a few months back, regarding a post from a friend of his, also an editor, who had participated in an IGMS slush party. I read the post with a great deal of interest, as I knew “The Frankenstein Diaries” was in that slush pile. Imagine my reaction, then, when I saw this: “‘Oh my God, this is my third clone story,’ exclaimed one reader (Mark Rainey, who edited the horror magazine DeathRealms for 10 years). ‘What’s with all the clones?'”
Yep, you guessed it: “The Frankenstein Diaries” is a clone story. My heart sank into my shoes.
Oddly, though, I hadn’t gotten a rejection yet. Then I learned, just a few days later, that one of the clone stories had made the cut. I didn’t know which one. Against my better judgment, my hopes started rising again. Then I got another email from Ed, informing me that “Frank” had indeed survived the slush party.
Pins and needles? Needles and pins? And then some.
Some of this pain, I admit, was self-inflicted. I’m not a superstitious person, but I have at least one–well, superstition: I don’t talk about pending mss. It seems like every time I do, every time I say something like, “Yeah, I’ve had a story at Thus-n-Such Magazine for six months; I’m sure I’ll be getting a rejection from them soon”–every time I say that, the rejection shows up the next day. I have resolved not to do that any more; I’m sick of being right all the time. And that meant that I couldn’t even whine about this to anyone. Yeesh.
So finally, today the email came. I hesitated to even open it, knowing I would be absolutely crushed if Ed had decided he couldn’t use the story.
Instead, it was good news. And that made the long wait, with its attendant roller coaster of emotions, worth it.
And I can finally exhale, and tell everyone about it.
Look for “The Frankenstein Diaries” in the Winter ’07 or Spring ’08 issue.
And that’s about enough out of me today. When next we chat, I will be older.
