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That's what time Lisa and I woke up this morning to feel the house rumbling. Lisa says, "What the hell's that?"
I respond, "It's either a train," because the GSX railroad line runs relatively close to our neighborhood, "or an earthquake."
Well, turns out it wasn't a train. I know, you West Coast, Pacific Rim, Ring of Fire people are all going, "A 4.9? Oh, please," but still. My first earthquake, and I didn't even have to go to California.
Let's see: a 50 day form rejection from SciFi.com, an 8 day 'alas' from F&SF, and a sale to Star*Line. My poem "Joint Custody" has been accepted! Whoo! (Mind you, I did send two. They passed on the other. C'est la vie.)
Spent the day painting half the bedroom, then rearranging the furniture. Gonna have to rent some scaffolding to do the other half. We've got some serious ceilings in there. Next weekend.
Currently Reading: Ruled Britannia, by Harry Turtledove. Alternate SF where the Spanish Armada conquered England. Features Shakespeare as the main character. Fun, especially if you're a former English major and a fan of the Bard. Hey, wait, that's me...
I'm off work today, because I'm working Sunday (ack). So this morning I did something vaguely altruistic and donated platelets at the Red Cross. If you don't know how that works, it basically means they take some blood out of one arm, filter out the platelets, then stick what's left over back in the other arm. In practical terms, this means I now have bandages on both arms rather than just one. But they paid me off with cookies and juice, so that's good enough for me.
In writing news, the Eggplant Literary Productions' Library is online, with a couple contributions from me. I'm very pleased. I especially like the fake book cover for "The Magikal Art." Maybe Tim could fix that for Rio Hondo (well, maybe not).
Recently Read: Backstory, by Robert Parker, another Spenser novel. Pearl the wonder dog has died, but everyone else remains the same.
Two emails this morning: the first, telling me that a story I'd submitted to an anthology has made the first cut & could I send them an RTF copy of it? The second, an answer to a query on a considerably overdue poetry sub, told me that they were sorry but they had no record of ever receiving them. So.
I also ate a fair amount of Easter ham today. And there's now more in the fridge, thanks to my mom and some plastic wrap. So, it's all good.
An eight day form rejection from Alchemy. This is about what I've come to expect from this market, but I can't stop myself from submitting. His response times are too good.
Had dinner with my in-laws today. Lisa & I also got to see Lisa's sister Lisa J., who's going to grad school at Western Illinois starting in the fall. Iif you're wondering where that is, it's in Macomb, Illinois, about an hour and a half away from any form of civilization. In this case, Peoria). Going to my folks for Easter tomorrow. Also waiting to hear if Tim snagged the Nebula. Even if he doesn't, I'm positive he'll get more chances.
Recently Read: Land of Laughs, by Jonathan Carroll, and now working on the Neal Barrett Jr. collection A Different Vintage.
Later: No joy. The Nebula results. Ah well. I'm disappointed for him, but confident Tim will return.
Rejections just seem to naturally trickle in on their own. This morning a 38 day pass from Hartman & Co. at Strange Horizons (liked parts of it, but not so keen on the ending concept).
Yep. Summer Fun Cthulhu (seen here with my original Cthulhu for size comparison). It's pretty logical, when you think about it. I mean, Cthulhu does live on an island (albeit sunken). Once the stars are right, he'd probably spend some time on the beach. Straw hat, R'lyehian shirt, bathing shorts, sandals. All he needs is a margarita.
Thanks, Abbie!
Later: Ah, a writing response: a 104 day form rejection from Polyphony 3. Time to start watching the boxes, kids.
Not allergies. It's a cold, a mondogross one straight outta The Stand kinda cold. Doing better today, after having spent the weekend unable to breathe. I missed breathing. It was nice.
There have been other events. Got a two day rejection from Abyss & Apex. Received a gift from a friend, which I'll be happy to share with you tomorrow for no other reason than to make a feeble attempt at building suspense. A hint: he's big, green, unspeakably evil, and ready for the beach.
Kids, I urge you: don't take your lungs for granted. Nng. Going for juice now.
Recently read: Persistence of Vision, a John Varley short story collection.
I have a cold. It's also possible it's allergies. Our pollen count is roughly 1,100, or therebouts. Now, a count of 120 is considered Extremely High. I'm not sure what catchy name they give to a count of over 1,000. Pray For Mercy While Your Lungs Fill With Yellow Dust?
Kinda wordy.
Current Reading: The Exploits of Engelbrecht: From the Chronicles of the Surrealist Sportsman's Club, by Maurice Richardson. Freaky, to say the least. Here, check out the first chapter: The Night of the Big Witch Shoot, offered as a PDF from the publisher.
Recently read (on the plane): Ithanalin's Restoration, by Lawrence Watt-Evans; The Paths of the Dead, by Steven Brust (who is now living in Vegas, by the way, and is listed in the phone book); and Golden Cities, Far, an anthology of classic myth & legend.
We're back. More details later. Very sleepy.
Capt. Chris Carter, making the news in a good way.
