12/30/96
Yes, it's the year in review time. Let's see, for 1996:
I submitted my work 60 times. 55 of these subs were rejections, 5 were acceptances (1 sale was
lost due to a market folding...I lost two other sales made last year too).
My lifetime rejection total stands at 355. My lifetime acceptances stand at 31 [excludes all sales
that were lost].
In 1996, I wrote 14 stories. Of these stories, I sold 1 and retired 3 (the others are still out and I'm
hopeful).
My lifetime number of written stories is 105 stories.
At the moment, I have 16 short stories out with 2 more ready to go out very soon.
All in all, it wasn't such a hot year for my fiction. On a brighter note, I have 5 short stories
appearing next year. I am hopeful that 1997 will be an exciting year.
12/29/96
Belated Seasons Greetings to all! I just got back home from
a trip to the Pacific Northwest. I spent 6 days in Friday Harbor, WA. Had a wonderful time! It was a hairy drive from Anacortes to Sea-Tac, but we arrived safely. Had an interesting time with snow chains too. :> After
several delays, our flight made it out of Sea-Tac safely too.
Came home to no rejections which I found amazing. Merry Christmas! :>
Did some work on my SF novel while I was away.
The new subplot is working out very well. I hope to get this book rewritten and sent off to my agent real soon now (tm).
12/24/96
On Christmas Day, we drove through the snow-burdened streets of
San Juan Island until we reached Lime Kiln Whale Watch Park. At the Point, I stood, freezing to death from the icy gales, binoculars in hand, and waited for an unlikely glimpse of the orcas. Something kept me rooted to the
rocks and moving toward the lighthouse. I just felt that if I stayed there, despite the freezing temperatures, I would catch a glimpse of my orcas. I no longer felt the cold, only the subtle vibrations of the water and soft
call of the lighthouse.
Frequently, I panned the horizon with my binoculars. Nothing. I climbed out on the rocks and shot photos of the lighthouse. No orcas. But I felt them! I knew they were there. I
walked back toward the Whale Watch signs, studied the horizon again. A flash of black! I thrust the binoculars to my face, scanning the water. Two black fins emerged from the teal-green waters!! A momentary hint of white
against black. For the briefest of moments, two small orcas surged past Lime Kiln. Sated, I settled back in my frozen boots and welcomed Christmas Day.
12/19/96
I wrote a character profile
tonight and lots of history for a new character that I've added to my SF novel, Hard Limit. Introducing this character will give my protagonist a lot of grief, but this character's presence will also tighten the plot
considerably.
I did some more work on Midnight Wings too. It needs to sit for a few days and percolate so I can see some of the problems. This one still needs quite a bit of work.
I received the Jingle Cats CD from friend, Patricia Duffy Novak this week (Thanks, Patricia!) and it's a scream. Seville, my cat, was convinced that there were strange cats invading the house. She looked and
looked, but couldn't find them. :)
I also received Christmas cards from Fishers 5'ers: Charles Eckert and Ron Collins (Thanks, guys!) and MZB's Fantasy Magazine.
12/16/96
Yet another rejection today. A 7-day rejection from Talebones. This brings my yearly total to 55 rejections. My lifetime rejection total is now at 355 rejections.
I did a bit of rewriting on
my latest story today, bringing the word count up to 1100 words. I also revised the title to The Whisper of Midnight Wings. I am pleased with this one.
12/15/96
Wrote a 1000-word story tonight called, The Beating of Wings at Midnight. It's a dark fantasy.
I've still got three other stories on the drawing board about half-finished.
12/13/96
What TnT page would be complete without a rejection on Friday the 13th! Got a 58-day rejection from Keen SF.
12/12/96
Received a 97-day rejection from Century.
Received proofs for my short-short story, The Blue Jar. The story will be published in the anthology,
365 Scary Stories. The anthology will appear in Fall of 1997.
Received a beautiful Christmas card from friend, Mary Soon Lee today. Thanks, Mary! :)
12/11/96
Received a 254-day rejection from Century today. :(
12/8/96
I finished my 104th short story today. The story, The Memory of Fire is approximately 3750 words long. Boy, it
feels good to finish a new story!
12/6/96
Started yet another short story. This is an odd story, a contemporary fantasy that is a tongue-in-cheek . . . oddity. Not sure if this one will turn
out. I put down about 500 words on it today.
Did some plotting on The Memory of Fire and the ending is shaping up.
12/5/96
The bad news: 16-day rejection from SF Age
The good news: I wrote 1800 words last night on a new short story. I hope to finish The Memory of Fire this weekend in time to send it to the Fishers 5 for shredding.
11/30/96
A 33-day rejection from MZBFM. It would be nice to report a little good news on this page for a change. :) Alas, the rejections continue.
11/28/96
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Today is my nephew, Skyyler's birthday. Happy Birthday, Skyyler!
11/27/96
I just came up with a new story idea today! I know, it doesn't seem like much, but I am still
excited. As I was driving to work this morning, the sun rose across the hill and the snowy landscape. It gleamed through the ice-covered tree branches with pale gold light so bright that I had to pull down the visor. The image
inspired a scene and a character that I am anxious to explore. He doesn't have a name yet, but he soon will. :> Then later, on the way home, a title came to me. I intend to work on The Memory of Fire over the weekend.
I've written the first scene of Reunion, but it's slow going.
11/23/96
The new story has a title now, Reunion. I'm only about 700-800 words into it, but I've written down
how I'd like the rest of the story to progress. It's an SF story and I hope to finish it in time for my next Fishers 5 critique session. I think this story will be longer than most of my work. I'm not sure that I have the skill
level to achieve what I see in my head for this story. If not, then I'll still learn something from the experience. And at least the idea will be down on paper.
11/21/96
I started a new story tonight. No title yet, but I'm hoping that this story will break through my writer's block.
11/18/96
A 40-day rejection from Asimov's today.
I'm currently struggling with a bit of writer's block.
The end of the year looms and it's been a record low for short story sales. I'm hoping that I can sell one last story before the
year ends...
11/16/96
A 37-day rejection from Analog
11/5/96
Received proofs for my short story, The Sound of Angels. It will be published in the fantasy
volume of an anthology entitled Bending the Landscape. Nicola Griffith and Stephe Pagel are the editors of this White Wolf antho series to appear in March of 1997. This is one of my favorite stories, so I'm excited about its
publication. :>
11/4/96
Received a royalty check today for my short story, Midnight Oil, which appeared in 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories last October.
11/3/96
I spent the whole weekend trying to salvage my novel...and it feels more confused than ever. I pulled apart the first 2 chapters and reworked them line-by-line, but they still feel messed up. At this point, I'm wondering
if I'm beating a dead horse.
11/2/96
An 18-day rejection from MZBFM. :(
11/1/96
I have heard that the new editor for F&SF is Gordon Van Gelder.
The novel is once again stalled and I'm singin' the "My Novel is Stupid" Blues.
10/28/96
Bad day at the mailbox. A 183-day rejection from Adventures of Sword &
Sorcery and a 36-day response time from Analog.
On the up side, I received page proofs for my short story The Longest Night soon to appear in Sword & Sorceress XIV.
10/24/96
Fishers Five comrade, Ron Collins has just sold his short story, The Test of Time to Dinosaur Fantastic II edited by Mike Resnick. Way to go, Ron! The anthology will appear sometime in 1997.
10/16/96
Received a 24-day rejection from Bones today. This makes my 36th rejection for the year and the 336th since I began.
I have 15 short stories out with a 16th to go out any day now. I'm
slowly climbing back up to that number 20 that I try to maintain.
Finished another new short story this week. A 1500-word oddity called A Villain's Virtues.
10/12/96
Attended the wedding of Fishers 5'er, John Bodin yesterday and had a wonderful time. John's fiancee, Tammy looked beautiful in her dress and the ceremony was a quiet, spiritual ceremony. Congratulations and Best Wishes, Tammy
and John!
I finished my short story, Gently Upon Green last night. It's a tribute to my grandmother. Just wish she'd been here to read it.
10/10/96
Began a new short
story this week, but it's currently stalled. I hope to complete it this weekend. It's about halfway finished. A magical realism story entitled Gently Upon Green.
I'm having a rough time with the revison
of my novel and am suffering from the "my novel is stupid" blues. The first two chapters are now in the hands of Fishers 5 and just thinking about that, makes me incredibly nervous. And our workshop date looms.
eeepp!
10/5/96
A 54-day rejection from F&SF, a 21-day rejection from F&SF, and a 14-day rejection from Pirate Writings Kris Rusch announced this week that she is resigning from
F&SF to pursue her writing full-time. She expects to complete her editorship by January or February 1997. Kris' successor has not yet been announced. I will miss Kris at the helm. Many of the stories she published reached
me on an emotional level that I haven't found in other magazines. I wish her well.
9/28/96
My grandmother passed away this week. She was a wonderful, wonderful woman who saw the good in
everything. She only weighed 98 pounds, but she was one of the strongest women I knew. Standing by her convictions and giving of herself in every way. The world lost some magic this week in Me-Me's passing. She will be greatly
missed.
9/21/96
Mayhem at the mailbox today! A 99-day rejection from Thirteenth Moon, a 71-day rejection from Realms of Fantasy and 12-day rejection from Absolute Magnitude.
A mass, envelope-stuffing campaign occurred last night. I reprinted six stories and got them ready to mail. That brings my # of stories out to 15 again.
My novel revision is going very well. Big
Thanks to my good friend, Patricia Duffy Novak for her excellent comments! I have 7 more chapters to rewrite and my draft will be complete (awaiting Patricia's comments).
9/19/96
Bad day at the mailbox. A sale that I made to AntideXterous has fallen through because Night Grins
publications is folding. Not uncommon in the small press, but definitely not much
fun either. Short fiction sales have never come easy for me, so I always hate to lose a sale.
9/14/96
Tonight, I finished a chapter of my novel that has been plaguing me for about a month!! I
am now 4 chapters beyond this trouble spot and hope to complete a rewrite very soon.
9/13/96
A 96-day rejection from Fantastic Worlds
9/9/96
A 15-day
rejection from Science Fiction Age By the way, there is a new editorial address for Science Fiction Age: 441 Carlisle Drive, Herndon VA 20170.
I just picked up and read David Feintuch's Voices of Hope. A
good read and a nice ending to the series. I highly recommend the Hope Series (5 books in all). This is one of my all-time favorite series.
9/4/96
I have just completed my 100th short story. It
is a traditional fantasy entitled, "Playthings." It is about 3000 words long and is currently in the able hands of my writers group, Fishers 5.
8/29/96
An 18-day rejection from Pirate Writings.
8/23/96
A very painful rejection from F&SF today. 103 days. A 2nd read. This makes my 39th rejection from F&SF. sigh.
In other news, a 20-day rejection from Fortress
I'm currently working on my 100th short story. No title yet, but it's a traditional fantasy set in Greece. The fantasy novel is
stalled again, but I have a few new ideas on how to bridge the problem.
8/15/96
Received a 190-day rejection from Dragon Magazine.
8/9/96
Received a 10-day rejection from The Urbanite
I was a guest at RiverCon XXI this weekend and had a wonderful time!
AUTHOR PLUGS:Please check out The Chronicles
of Scar (AvoNova) by Ron Sarti and Ganwold's Child (Tor) by Diann Thornley.
8/5/96
Just found out that fellow Fishers 5 member, Kevin Shadle received an honorable mention in The Year's Best
Fantasy and Horror for his story "Wolftail" (which appeared in Into the Darkness). Congratulations, Kevin!
8/3/96
Received a 33-day rejection from Sense of Wonder
I'm working on a collaboration with fellow Fishers 5'er, Ron Collins. The story is entitled Landing Calypso. We're hoping to send it off very soon now.
8/1/96
Received a 199-day rejection from 365 Scary Stories.
I'm working on a rewrite of a new short story entitled Homecoming. The plot on this one is giving me fits. I'm hoping I can pull it
together.
Last month, I read Midshipman's Hope and Challenger's Hope. I am now two-thirds of the way through Prisoner's Hope. This is a great series! I intend to go purchase Fisherman's Hope this weekend.
7/27/96
Received a 43-day rejection from Urbanus and a 26-day rejection from Asimov's
Today is my friend, Marybeth's birthday. Happy Birthday, Marybeth!
7/23/96
Received a 76-day acceptance from Shadow Sword today for my short story, Nolan's Bequest
7/22/96
Fishers 5 member, Charles Eckert sold a story to Bones.
Received an 81-day rejection from Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine
Finished a 3000-word draft of my short story, Homecoming
I'm reading Midshipman's Hope by David Feintuch. It's really a good read, too.
7/18/96
Found some old rejection slips that didn't make it into my database. This adjusts my rejection total to 319. Eeepp!
Sold my story Snow Angels to AntideXterous today! Response time was 25 days.
7/8/96
Ann Marston's new book The Kingmaker's Sword just came out this month from HarperCollins.
The cover is beautiful!
Sword & Sorceress XIII is out!
Linda Dunn, member of Fishers 5 writers workshop, sold another story to 365 Scary Stories. This sale makes 7 total to this
anthology.
Jeff Roberts, another member of Fishers 5, has just made his first professional sale! To Atomic Westerns. Congratulations, Scriv!
Patricia Duffy Novak sold her story, Valley of Stones, to Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine.
Melissa Shaw sold a story to the fairy tale anthologies edited by Ellen Datlow!
Syne Mitchell sold a story to Sword & Sorceress XIV.
And...my friend Mary Soon Lee just sold her fourth story to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
Last week, I received my 283rd rejection.
I was a guest at InConJunction this weekend. I will also be a guest at RiverCon in Louisville, KY in mid-August.
5/31/96
My friend, Patricia Duffy Novak sold her story, The Moongate Troll to Sword and Sorceress XIV today! Way to go, Patricia! This is Patricia's 14th sale to Ms. Bradley.
5/30/96
I sold my short story, The Longest Night to Sword & Sorceress XIV! I'm really excited about this sale! It has been 2 years since I've sold a story to Ms. Bradley.
My friend, Mary Soon Lee just made her first sale to the S&S anthologies. Yay, Mary!
5/28/96
I just spent 10 beautiful days in the Pacific Northwest! One of these days
was spent whale-watching near Lime Kiln point (San Juan Island). A female orca whale spyhopped about 4 feet from our boat. Even a week later, it's still amazing to me.
I found out that my friend,
Patricia Duffy Novak sold her short story, Sofia's Well to Adventures of Sword and Sorcery! All right, Patricia!
A drought on story ideas lately. I finished one new story in the past two months. I'm
hoping that my trip will revitalize my creativity.
I am rewriting my fantasy novel, On Shattered Ground, and have put down about 18,000 words on the rewrite.
I started a new story yesterday, but the writing is coming slowly. Still no recent sales.
I have 17 short stories out and I'm biting my fingernails over a couple of submissions.
Rejections count is at 272 and edging up slowly.
Last week, I started an SF novel collaboration with a friend. We're both excited about the story and hope to finish plotting it soon.
3/24/96
Nothing but rejections this month (I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever sell another story)
Finished 3 new stories this month: Daphne, The Longest Night and Experiencing Deep Purple
Working on a new chapter for Hard Limit. I'm almost at the halfway mark.
3/5/96
Received a check for my story, The Sound of Angels today.
Received more line-edits on The Sound of Angels today.
Working on a new short story called Experiencing Deep Purple
Number of stories out has fallen to 13.
Received my 258th rejection last week.
1/24/96
I have finished my outline for a new novel with the working title Twilight Falls at Dawn
My short story The Blue Jar sold to 365 Scary Stories today! Yesss!
I am working on yet another outline for a novel. This one is a contemporary fantasy.
I'm working on Chapter 6 of Hard Limit now.
My latest short story needs to
be expanded and some other things fixed, according to the sage advice of Fishers 5 (these guys are great!)
1/14/96
I am gathering resource books for the new novel. Picked up two today.
I wrote a new story today, entitled "Written in Ink." It is a horror short-short story and it's 750 words.
I'm currently reading Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen and Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg.
1/6/96
I am currently working on a rewrite of a science fiction novel
called Hard Limit. It's slow going. The first 3 chapters are really giving me fits.
I have finished a new story called "Little Miracles." It's a contemporary fantasy and at last count, it's 2150 words.
I am outlining a new novel, a traditional fantasy as yet untitled.
Awaiting a contract on my most recent sale. "The Sound of Angels" a contemporary fantasy was bought by
editor Nicola Griffith for White Wolf Publishing's Bending the Landscape anthology. This is a big sale for me and I'm very excited about it! (Update: contract arrived on 1/9/96, so it's official!!)
Received a check and contributor's copy for my story, "Mist-Opals" now appearing in Intermix.
My story "Nightweaver" is currently appearing in Blood Muse,
an anthology edited by Esther Friesner and Martin H. Greenberg (published by Donald I. Fine).
I have 14 short stories out making the rounds.