Friday, January 29, 2010

Freed from the Chains

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Newsflash: I’ve risen from the proverbial grave, dusted off proverbial ashes and proceeded burning in proverbial flames of anew.

Real Life: The exam session has passed and I have made my momma proud in passing all the exams with a steady B, which is miraculous [Math and I are not on speaking terms] and one powerful relief. I can imagine how Atlas felt, when he tricked Hercules into carrying the world for a few. Best sensation ever. This means that I will not devote a substantial amount of my waking time to dry theory, but to succulent fiction reading/writing/reviewing, while I wait for some development on the employment frontier.

Fiction: Yes, January was a miserable writing month, but I did it to myself, because I figured that ‘1)Exams + 2)Themed Month on my Review Blog + 3)Writing Fiction = Possible’ is in the realm of reality. Because 1) is mandatory and for 2) I have made a public promise and had people in contributing, I had to do my daily quota on both, which usually reduced me to the state of a zombie [or an accountant, hiding money from the IRS] or left me with no time at all to sit down and write reasonably readable fiction.

However, now that I am with all this free time on my hands my goal is to produce 2000 words a day and catch up with the lost month in January. I have a novel to revise and a short story to finish, so I will be okay.

News from the Front: “Lunar Hues” was rejected for the anthology I submitted. The rejection letter consisted of ‘I read your story and unfortunately I am going to pass’, which didn’t bother me one tiny bit. Is it that waiting has dulled the emotional charge connected with the work submitted or is it that I might have finally gotten that publishing is an impersonal business? Who can say? Right now I am gearing for a new submission.

There is no development with “From Behind Empty Eyes” and I think that I may hear from ‘Weird Tales’ in April or possibly May, because Ann Vandermeer’s promotion to editor in chief is going to cause a certain fluctuation to the speed and process of submission approval. I am not in a hurry, just happy that Ann got promoted. I have yet to read her and Jeff’s anthologies, but I know from reputed sources that they are worth the read.

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Because I am still on the Comic Book wave, I have this breathtaking cover for the new Batgirl series by Artgerm. I am not sure what in this illustration pulls me and makes me stare, but it is undeniable and overwhelming.

6 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

Good luck on getting your fiction rolling. I like that Batgirl cover a lot. Has a sword & Sorcery feel.

Adele said...

gorgeous cover babe.

Harry Markov said...

@ Charles: Thanks, I would like to see my fiction published sometime soon. It would be a good positive thing to have, when hard times strike.

And, yes to you both, the cover is magnificent.

Dave said...

There's always so much to do, eh? I've been stalled on starting novel #2 by planning for a round-the-world trip. But it's nice to be busy.

Marcia Colette said...

*hugs* Don't worry about Lunar Hues. I've had rejections from my latest manuscript that range from "I'm going to pass" to "I'd LOVE to see the full." I say hold onto it because you never know what's going to open up where it'll be a perfect fit.

And before I forget, CONGRATS on the steady B! Way to go. :-)

Harry Markov said...

@ Dave: Yes, I made unwise decisions as far as my extra activities go. I hope to remedy that starting this Monday.

@ Marcia: I have it under control. I have a list of magazines I will send to and see what will happen. I will keep it in the loop for two years and then throw it out the window.