I’ve only been posting once or twice a month in this blog, but I think I’ll try to post a little more often. My reluctance to post has been for two reasons: one, I’m always afraid I’m going to get sucked into this thing when I should be spending that time writing fiction (I’m always trying to cut down my Internet time as it is), and two, I didn’t think I should post unless I really felt I had something worthwhile to say.
Well, I’ve reconsidered. The primary purpose of this blog is really to keep people who care about my work up-to-date. This doesn’t mean I won’t write essay-style posts now and then, but I’ll also include more regular, bullet-style updates. It won’t be daily, but it will probably be more than once a month. That said . . .
Writing News
I made two short story sales this week. My story, “Tommy Top Hat,” will appear in future issue of Weird Tales — who knows when, because though it’s a great magazine, they unfortunately have quite a backlog. The other sale was “Motivational Speaker,” to the DAW anthology Mystery Date, edited by Denise Little. It will probably be out late next year. I also got a rewrite request on a novelette from a Big Market that I’m quite excited about; no promises, since it’s a tough rewrite, but I’m working on it now. I liked the story before, but I think it’s coming together even better. We’ll see.
Recent Reads
- Cinnamon Skin and The Green Ripper by John D. MacDonald. Amazing writer. I’ve decided to read all of his books, not just because I’m enjoying them, but because just about every professional fiction writer I know has told me that MacDonald should be on your shortlist of writers to study.
- Backstory by Robert B. Parker. I’ve only read a couple of the Spenser books, but they’re worth reading just for the witty dialog between Spenser and Hawk.
- Empire Falls by Richard Russo. The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. A great read.
Recommended Websites
- If you’re interested in writing short fantasy, check out the blogs by the first readers for Realms of Fantasy (Slushmaster) and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (Slush God)
- Matt Cheney always has interesting things to say about fiction and other things, whether you agree with him or not.
- If you want see the inner workings of the mind of a writer whose career has been on the fast track, check out Jay Lake’s blog. Lots of good stuff there.