A very discombobulated week for me, but I managed to at least accomplish some writing-related program activities. These included getting another ms in the mail, wrangling beta readers for Petra, and sending out another round of agent queries.
I had intended to take another look at “The Multiplicity Has Arrived” before sending it out again, primarily to see if there was any way to cut it. But then the weekend came, and my schedule got shot to hell . . . in a good way.
The wife, in cahoots with friends and family, threw a boffo bash for my 40th birthday, which they dubbed “MattCon 40.” It was quite overwhelming. Lots of people came, including
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and TH. Much food was consumed (and much still remains). I got roped into single-handedly trying to karaoke my way through “The Time Warp,” which is not only a bit above my range, but also a duet. At least I had a few dancers to help me out, but still . . . and me without any fishnets. Horrors.
The highlight of the evening had to be my buddy
singing and dancing the “Ewok Celebration” from Jedi. Dressed accordingly, no less. I must admit I screamed laughter. But it was also kinda touching, given how much he absolutely hates ewoks. He’s not even a big fan of Jedi.
Oh, and you should have seen the cake. And the MattCon 40 “program.” And . . . and . . . and . . .
Like I said, overwhelming. Maybe I’ll post some pics, once I have them. Anyway, perhaps you can understand why I didn’t get much writing done.
I also scored some cool presents, although such was not my intention. Seriously. I had hoped people would come and have a good time, but it didn’t occur to me until very late in the game that some of them would probably bring gifts. Seriously, gang, you didn’t have to do that. But thanks.
Funniest present: this t-shirt, from my sister in Minneapolis.
So now I enter my fourth decade, and if I’m not quite where I thought I’d be at this point . . . hell, who is? I still feel like my best days are ahead of me. That’s something, right?
Write Club updates:
My sale to IGMS, which I mentioned last week, came in the nick of time, to wit:
Tier one reject from GUD for “Friends in Low Places.” Response time, four days.
Tier one reject from Darker Matter for “The Problem of Power.” Too long, as it happens. Although their guidelines don’t say it, their absolute limit is 6K. Response time, three days.
Tier two bounce from Weird Tales for “What Really Happened That Night.” At least, I think it’s a form reject. It’s worded a little differently than my previous rejection slip from Ann VanderMeer.
OK, time to try to get back to (ahem) normal . . .
