« May 2006 | Main | July 2006 »
June 27, 2006
A “YES” from Ray Gun Revival!
This morning I got a “yes” from "Ray Gun Revival.” They have accepted the revised version of my story “Young Ones.” (For those of you who read and liked “Verid,” this is a sequel of sorts.)
I am thrilled. But I was so sleepy when I read it this morning that I didn’t recognize what it was at first. I just kept staring at it. And even after I knew what it was, I didn’t do anything about it for a while because I thought maybe I was still dreaming.
Well, at this point it seems safe to say it’s true. They really have accepted the story.
So many people helped with this story. When I submitted it to RGR the first time, it was (in retrospect) embarrassingly bad. But the kind folks at RGR offered me the chance to revise, as well as gave me plenty of valuable feedback. (Thanks, Ray Gun Staff!)
Then a couple fellow editors agreed to take a look at the revision before I sent it back in. They too were a big help in improving the story. (Thanks, guys! I would give your names but I’m afraid you will be besieged by crit requests. ;) Besides, you know who you are.)
I don’t know when it will be published. But I’ll let you know.
That’s two acceptances in two weeks! I’m over the moon!
Posted by Selena at 07:36 PM | Comments (0)
DKA: “The Fortunate Purgatory of Arthur MacArthur”
Finally, to close out June’s issue, we have the winner of DKA’s 2006 Fiction Contest, “The Fortunate Purgatory of Arthur MacArthur” by Chris Mikesell.
“The Fortunate Purgatory of Arthur MacArthur”
by Chris Mikesell
Winner, 2006 Fiction Contest
Tease:
"Professor MacArthur finds himself trapped in Purgatory with an imprisoned dragon. Will he make it out before the dragon breaks free?"
Look for the especially innovative use of a dragon, a knight, and an angel.
Posted by Selena at 07:53 AM | Comments (0)
June 26, 2006
Noted on Today’s Walk
I walk around the neighborhood once, often twice, a day and there is always something interesting to see.
Today it was a trash truck with the name “Something and Something Refuge” painted on the side.
I had to laugh because I’m pretty sure the owner meant refuse, not refuge.
I could be wrong, I guess. Maybe Something and Something have taken refuge in the trash collection business. What do I know?!
Anyway, it cracked me up for several blocks.
Posted by Selena at 04:30 PM | Comments (0)
June 24, 2006
DKA: “Even A Stone” by Jane Lebak
And now the runner up in DKA’s fiction contest…
“Even A Stone”
by Jane Lebak
Runner Up
Tease:An angel and a knight who share a penchant for failing to think things through encounter one another in the wilderness. God has assigned the angel to sit on a stone for three years, the result of one smart remark too many. The knight operates a business selling tamed dragons to knights for practice.
Why won't the angel believe he's only earning a living? And is it true that even a stone will warm up if you sit on it for three years?
I hope you enjoy this humorous, inventive tale. We did!
Posted by Selena at 07:50 AM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2006
DKA: “The Waters Stir” by Rachel A. Marks (w/ illustration)
Now available at DKA, the second of our contest winners:
“The Waters Stir”
by Rachel A. Marks
Honorable Mention
Tease:
“In one swift rise of water and wind, a wave hovered high above them. It grew wings and a snout. Red eyes appeared, large and vibrant; a water sculpture in the sky. A dragon, so large the sky disappeared behind it.”
With an original illustration also by Rachel A. Marks.
Look for another winning story on Saturday.
Posted by Selena at 07:48 AM | Comments (0)
June 18, 2006
New Column Up: "Negative Talk"
My latest column, “Negative Talk,” is up at The Sword Review.
Posted by Selena at 07:03 PM | Comments (0)
June 17, 2006
DKA: “Heartwyrm” by Micheal C. Planck
And now, the first of DKA's winning contest entries:
“Heartwyrm”
by Micheal C. Planck
Honorable Mention
Tease:
"A fable of adventure, involving a knight and some dangerous, well-armed metaphors. Also possibly including a dragon and an angel, love and death, and war and peace. But no taxes."
Enjoy!
Look for the next one on Tuesday.
Posted by Selena at 07:37 AM | Comments (0)
June 16, 2006
Really Good Day
It was a particularly great day!
I heard from a friend I hadn’t heard from in a while. That’s always nice. We even made a lunch date for next week so we can do some more catching up.
I also got a yes from Long Story Short. They accepted a flash story of mine called “Autofill” for their August issue. The story should be up on their site on August 7th. But it looks like you can also sign up for their newsletter to get each month’s issue in your email box.
Of course, I will also let you know when it is published.
Plus, I went out to dinner and watched some Farscape. That's two of my favorite things.
All in all, a very good day.
Posted by Selena at 06:55 PM | Comments (0)
June 14, 2006
Dry Spell
I’ve been having a little bit of a dry spell, writing-wise. Fortunately I seem to be coming out of it.
Yesterday I drafted a couple new items. Today I was able to finalize a little something and send it off. I’ve also managed to do a little writing practice both yesterday and today. One of them even morphed into something for the book, which is always nice.
I think part of the problem is that I have over ten submissions out and haven’t heard anything about any of them for what seems like ages. I always did hate the wait, but now that I have several submissions out to major markets, it is so much worse. Also, I feel a little hopeful about some of the subs, so that probably makes the wait even harder to bear. Of course, there’s always that voice in the back of my head reminding me that the rejections may have already been sent, that they were just lost in the mail, so I am waiting and hoping for nothing.
I also realized recently that without some life in my life I don’t have much of anything to write about. If all I do is sit at my computer and try to work, then I will quickly run out of material. Writers have to be fed by more than time to write.
So, I’m trying to make room in my day for reading, exploring, and experiencing. You never know where the next great story idea will come from.
Posted by Selena at 04:03 PM | Comments (0)
June 13, 2006
The Tea House
I just got back from a few days in Delaware with my mom. We stayed with a friend of hers and had a great time.
My favorite part of the weekend was having lunch at the Victorian Lady Tea House. It was very cool.
It’s this lovely, little Victorian house. The dining room has a rack of hats and boas that the guests are encouraged to wear as they take their tea. We each tried on hats, but I was the only one (at our table, anyway) who wore a hat during lunch. I had the sense to choose a more practical hat, a cream-colored one with a short brim and a flower. The other ladies had chosen huge, pink, floppy hats with netting. So that didn’t last long.
We got the Queen’s Tea, which is the top of the line. It started with a pot of tea for each of us. I chose the Eye of the Tibetan Tiger. It was so yummy, I ended up sharing it so everyone could have a taste. It’s a black tea with chocolate and other flavors.
The first course was the soup of the day, a chilled strawberry soup. I don’t particularly like strawberries but this was delicious. Who would have thought it?
Next we had cherry scones with lemon curd and Devon cream. The scones were also yummy.
Then, the lady brought us one those double-tiered serving trays with tea sandwiches on the bottom level and desserts on the top. There was a selection of four types of sandwiches and four types of desserts, enough for each person to have one of every selection. My favorite sandwich was chicken salad in a phyllo dough cup with raspberry jam on top. A close second was cucumber and cream cheese on some kind of toasted bread. We also had an egg salad sandwich and a three-layered BLT.
It’s hard to choose a favorite dessert but we had mini cheesecakes (probably my favorite), a sweet blueberry scone with icing, chocolate-covered strawberries with cream, and the most beautiful petit fours you’ve ever seen.
Everything was delicious and we were surprisingly full after all those tiny treats.
They also have a gift shop and I nearly bought some tea in addition to one of the lovely teapot necklaces they had. They were so dainty. Tiny tea pots at the end of delicate chains.
I had such a great time. I hope to go back again. I know I’ll be on the lookout for other tea houses in the future. However, I doubt all tea houses would have the charming character of this one.
Posted by Selena at 07:21 AM | Comments (0)
June 12, 2006
New at DKA: “Guardian” by Sharon Partington
Next up for DKA’s June issue is an angel story by Sharon Partington. (We love angel stories, in case you couldn’t tell from our name.)
Tease:
"Light and Dark, Hope and Despair -- The Angel Ambriel must battle the Destroyer's agent to save the soul of a runaway boy."
Posted by Selena at 04:05 PM | Comments (0)
June 05, 2006
Winners Announced!
Winners have been announced in DKA’s fiction contest.
Congratulations to the winners. And thank you to everyone who participated.
Look for the winning stories at DKA later in the month.
Posted by Selena at 09:35 AM | Comments (0)
June 03, 2006
DKA: “The Oathkeeper Destiny” by Scott M. Sandridge
DKA's June issue begins with a sequel to "The Price of Freedom," another action-packed adventure with the Thain twins.
“The Oathkeeper Destiny”
by Scott M. Sandridge
Tease:
"Years after the events in "The Price of Freedom", the time has finally arrived for Yavar to fulfill her oath to kill Warlord Vrang. But they are now husband and wife, and the recent capture of a caravan raider forces Yavar to face both her past and her future."
---------------
Also, we are announcing the winners of the fiction contest on Sunday night. Join us in DKA’s CHAT Sunday at 10 pm (Eastern) for this exciting announcement. Details here.
Posted by Selena at 07:50 AM | Comments (0)
June 01, 2006
Downtime
I haven’t been very productive the last few days. Just can’t seem to summon the energy to get very much done. At least, I’ve been able to work a little bit every day. I can’t afford to fall completely out of the habit.
I don’t feel too bad about taking a few half-days off since when I totaled up May’s work hours they came out to an average of 45 hours a week. I was kind of surprised by that. A little more than half of that was on writing and related activities (like market research). The rest was on editorial duties at DKA and SR.
I think what I need is a new writing project. I’ve been working on the book off and on. But mostly I’m in “waiting for subs to come back” mode.
I’ve got ten subs out right now. One is to a major market. That’s the one dominating my thoughts these days. It’s been out four weeks already. Their stated response time is five weeks. So, I think it’s a hopeful sign that they haven’t rejected it yet. Maybe that means the story survived the slush pile.
Or maybe it means that they rejected it weeks ago but my mailman delivered it to the next street over. Sadly that’s a distinct possibility. Mail gets misdelivered so much around here that I think it’s a secret plot to get the neighbors to know each other.
Maybe I’ll try a walk to boost my energy level. If nothing else it will burn off some of those extra calories I had today. Ah, that Dulce de Leche shake from Haagen Dazs was heaven. A caramel shake! Who thinks of such things? It was fantastic. But I don’t even want to think about how many calories were in that thing. Probably a whole week’s worth. Plus they only serve it in one size – large. Oh dear, I’m not allowed to go by that place ever again.
Posted by Selena at 06:15 PM | Comments (0)