All---
I apologize for being such a lame blogger lately. The newish job is settling in pretty well, but it's also keeping me on my toes right now. I feel like I'm close to back to normal.
I also apologize for being one of those bloggers who apologizes for being a lame blogger.
Seems like a good time to update you all on my writing, at least.
If you haven't already, please be sure to pick up a copy of the
Notes from Underground anthology in print or for Kindle. You can read a bunch of good stories, including my "Terminal Instar," and the proceeds all benefit charity. If you're even further behind the curve, then be sure to pick up
Genre Wars, which includes two of my stories and which also benefits charity.
Speaking of charity, I'm thinking about submitting a story for possible inclusion in the upcoming
Stories for Sendai anthology, which will raise funds to help support efforts in Japan. The editors are
JC Martin and
Michelle Davidson Argyle. We have several friends in Japan and my wife and I are long-time consumers of Japanese culture in many different ways. It's amazing how, even apart from our friends, simply followings bands closely and things like that really inspires us to feel like we have ties to place that neither of us has ever been. The way connections form in our new world is amazing. While I am still undecided because of time, if you have any interest in submitting a story about the triumph of the human spirit, please do follow up. It's a tremendous cause.
(And I already sort of have a story in mind that I would be writing specially for submission, if the deadline permits.)
Then there's my short story about a forensic anthropologist in the old west. The nearly complete draft is written out long-hand, and the pages had been missing for ages, so I want to type that up and see how close it is to submission. Then I have the big debate about whether to submit as CN Nevets or under another pen name. While it's a crime piece and has a pretty strong Nevets feel, I hope someday to do more with the Western genre (America's
wu xia), and I know the genre remains something of a scarlet letter among much of the publishing world.
Of course, the big project remains
Sublimation. I feel terrible that it's not finished yet, because it's been so close for so long. I really need to find a way to bullet proof my writing time. My other commitments are too variable for me to be able to just say, "Okay, this time on this day is always writing time and nothing else may intrude." Theoretically, there is vacation time and requesting to be unavailable to the ambulance on certain days, but as a manager my vacation days are never totally my own, and when the ambulance needs you, even if you said you were unavailable, it's hard to justify saying no. One way or another, though, I need to claim some time and then shelter it so I can get that book wrapped up. Once I've finished fleshing out the pieces that need it, there will be one last read-through revision and then it will go to three readers and an editor, and then finally be on submission.
Alrighty, speaking of the day job, I need to get back to it.
.Nevets.
