The Sequel

Question: Is it insane that I'm already writing the sequel to Mary of the Aether. I haven't even sold the first book, and I might never sell it. Nevertheless, I started writing the sequel yesterday. I have 6300 words already. The thing is, the story for the next book is so clear in my mind, and the characters are now so familiar to me, that it was just about the fastest 6300 words I've ever written.

I guess it could theoretically help if some publisher asks about sequels, and I am able to tell them I am already working on one. I think the Aether Saga would be three books, possibly four. I know where the overall story will end. Some of the steps along the way aren't clear, but the second book is already worked out in my head.

Anyway, the working title for the sequel is Mary of the Darkness.

Well, there you go. Bed time.

Living the Dream?

Haven't posted on here in a while, so I figured I'd update things. I currently have three stories in print: "Stone Breaker" appeared in Wolfsinger Publications' magazine Mystic Signals, "Panorama of Failure" appeared in Black Matrix Publishing's Realms #2, and, most recently, "Oumings in the Dark" appeared in Black Matrix's Encounters #4. So there you go.

In other news, my manuscript for Mary of the Aether is under consideration by a publishing house called Belle Bridge Books. I queried them back in September, and they asked to read the full manuscript. Unfortunately, I didn't actually expect to generate interest, so I had to scramble to get it ready.

Chapter Titles

Let's list the chapter titles for Mary of the Aether. Why, you might ask? Why not, I must answer.

1 - Shadow in the Forest
2 - Aiden Speaks
3 - Papa Wants to Talk
4 - Dinky Dairy
5 - The Really Terrible Morning
6 - The Longest Night
7 - The Fading World
8 - Opening the Box
9 - Broken and Filled
10 - A New Table
11 - Encounter at Cholly's
12 - Aunt Carole
13 - Regret and Reassurance
14 - Mary's Last Day
15 - The Dream
16 - John Lanham
17 - Reconciliation
18 - What the Lookers Stole
19 - Barricade
20 - Confrontation
21 - Kristen's House
22 - Devil's Den
23 - The Cave
24 - Dead End
25 - Caught in the Trap
26 - Lightbearer
27 - Questions and Answers
28 - Epilogue

There you go. The whole story, told in chapter titles. I can't believe I am re-reading and rewriting this old novel yet again. Well, what can you do? It's not as exciting as clowns and infected people, but it might just become something somehow someday.

Interest Done Been Generated

Well, I've managed to generate a little bit of interest in my previous novel, Mary of the Aether. Belle Bridge Books responded to my query (three chapters and a synopsis) asking to read the whole manuscript. That's farther than I've gotten with other queries. It means that at the very least they liked what they read in those three chapters. So I am polishing the manuscript up and will send it soon.

http://www.bellbridgebooks.com/

Chapter Titles

57,200 words. These are the chapter titles thus far:

1 - Audition
2 - Gooty
3 - Introductions
4 - Debris on the Highway
5 - Scabs in All Directions
6 - Whiteface, Auguste, Contra-Auguste and Ringmaster
7 - Blood on the Stage
8 - Refund
9 - Everything Must Burn
10 - There’s Stories and Then There’s Stories
11 - A Friendly Sort of Place
12 - The Show Must Go On
13 - The Clown Who Falls Down
14 - The Fire Inside

I Want to Know

You probably want to know. Heck, I want to know. I keep checking this blog day after day waiting for another stupid update from stupid Reginald McNard, and he doesn't post. How is the Kroo doing? I want to ask. I know your name is not really Reginald, but you can at least give me a semi-regular update on your progress with those irascible klowns, can't you? Is that too much to ask, you dumb tool?

Well, no, it's not too much to ask, but your asking does not oblige an answer. Nevertheless, to assuage your anxieties, I will give you what I estimate to be the current word count. If that's not good enough for you, then you are probably not good enough for klowns. I'm sorry, but that is just the raw, naked truth of it. The current word count hovers at approximately 56,000 words. There, that's all I can offer you at this time. Make it be enough and go away satisfied, you esuriant dullard.

Thanks, that is enough. I will leave you alone for now. What does "esuriant" mean?

I refuse to tell you.

Fair enough.

Broke the Magic Number

I have broken the 50k mark. 50,200 words have now been written about klowns, albeit at a moderate to slow pace. But slow and steady win the klown race, according to that old children's tale. Remember the one? The mime and the klown decide to have a race. The mime, having abnormally sub-human long legs, takes off at a sprint from the starting line, but the klown decides to pedal a very tiny unicycle. The mime wins the race by hours, but the klown later tracks him down an eviscerates him and steals the medal. The moral of the story is, the klown will eviscerate you and steal your medal, so just let him win.

Fayetteville is Where Bad Things Happen

It's true. At least in terms of the story. Anywho, to keep things very brief, I am now at 48,600 words. I am closer to hitting the 1,000 words a day mark than ever before, except for that one time when I did hit it. And stuff.

Don't Take Off Your Hat

Well, I guess I ought to update this thing again. I've been disgustingly busy. In fact, last week might have been my busiest week in nigh on three decades. I was launching Christ on Campus at UAFS, as well as working furiously to get the Annual Meeting put together at Central. On top of all of that, I had to make a trip to Bartlesville because my mother had emergency heart surgery (angioplasty on a 90% blockage), and then my cousin passed away and his funeral was the same week (he was actually my second cousin-in-law, if that makes sense).

Despite all of this, I have managed to write at least a few hundred words of Klown Kroo almost every day. I am currently at 44,400 words. Now that the crazy and sad and hectic week is behind me, I expect to have more time. We should get back up to 1,000 words a day in no time.

Bring in the Klowns

A thousand words a day. That continues to be my goal. Write a thousand words a day, no matter how busy or hectic the day might be. I don't always succeed, but it gives me something to shoot for. Klown Kroo just passed the 40k mark. Specifically, it stands at 40,714 words. Cakey is talking about Kurpmignid and his gypsy grandmother.

Klowns are Spinning Out of Control

My writing paced has picked up. This is largely due to the fact that I am in the thick of the action in the story, which is always more interesting to write. Klown Kroo currently stands at 37,240 words. Of course, there's still quite a ways to go, but the action should remain fairly steady from here on out. Though we'll have a few tender moments between our clowns, there will mostly be one sucky things after another from this point on.

Klown Words

33,861, that is the exact number of Klown words that have been penned to date. That doesn't count other stories and web crap, of course. Just the pure, unfiltered novelization of Klowns. Rubes bled, necks were grabbed, hands were bitten, tents were set on fire, bowls shattered, shilellaghs snapped in two, eyes were blackened, clown hair was pulled, bottles and windows shattered. What more do you people want out of a Klown novel? Seriously.

Thirty Kay

Believe it or dasn't, I just reached 30,000 words of Klown Kroo. I reached the part of the story that was essentially the short story I wrote earlier this year, so it was a simple matter of incorporating that story into the novel. Took a bit of rewriting, since details and characters have changed, but that short story is basically chapter 8 of the novel.

Kroo Kroo, Klowny Klown

Finally got the chance to work on some Klown Kroo again, after a few wasted days of random efforts, up on in. Blood and sick people and stabbings and hittings. That's all I can say for what's going on right now in the story. Anyway, it am at 27,500 words.

Live the dream!

Be Gettin' Published

Just thought I'd mention this here on the official secret writing blog. I already mentioned it on facebook, but facebook won't survive the coming apocalypse, while this blog will. Anyway, all of that is to say, I got another a story published. "Leaping" is now online at Bewildering Stories. It is interesting to read the editor's take on the story (and the bio posted for me).

The online 'zine: http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue395/index.html

My story: http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue395/leaping.html

The editor's "take" on my story: http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue395/miller_welcome.html

and my bio: http://www.bewilderingstories.com/bios/miller_jeffrey_bio.html

It's interesting that the editor saw the story as a version of Pascal's Wager. It's appropriate, I suppose, as I do think in pastorly terms. That was not, however, the actual impetus for the story. It actually came out of Lisa and my anxiety concerning our future, at a time when it seemed we might be leaving Northwest Arkansas (as, in fact, we did). The future had a lot o' uncertainty, and the stress level was elevated, to put it mildly. In fact, I wrote the story during a plane ride coming back from a sabbatical trip to Florida that was meant to ease my stress.

Still, having said that, the story does work as a play on Pascal's Wager. Why not? I mean, really, why not?

Throw Down Time

Just hit 24,000 words. Chapter Seven. Title? "Blood on the Stage." It's all 'bout to go down with clowns and infected rubes.

Whiteface, Auguste, Contra-Auguste and Ringmaster

22,560 words. I wrote quite a bit today. Daniel just learned about all the various clown ranks within the world of clowning. The highest rank is the whiteface clown (that's Cakey). Onstage, the whiteface is the boss. The lowest rank is the auguste clown (that's Touches), who is typically dumb, crazy or weird and the butt of the whiteface clown's abuse. In between them is the contra-auguste (that's Bubbles), who typically wants the whiteface clown's approval and also abuses the auguste. Then there is the ringmaster (that's Telly), who plays the role of ur-manipulator, causing strife between the other clowns.

Ironic sidenote: in French "auguste" means "noble."

Also, Cakey is gradually becoming a really creepy weirdo in this story, as I ease him more and more into the forefront.

Twenty Thousand Little Clown-Truths

Well, gentle-persons of the night odors, I broke 20,000 words. 20,200 to be exact. That's 20,200 words about clowns, creeps, redneck zombies and emo-Disturby in the making. Slowly but surely, Klowns are spilling forth from the keyboard, and the glorious bursting forth draweth nigh.

In other news, I registered klownkroo.com mostly just to take ownership of the domain and park it. I might do a little disturbing klown-themed flash game. You just never know. Or mebbe an excerpt of the book will appear there. Or troubling artwork. Or the aroma of peanuts, grease paint and meat will waft out of the speakers when you go there. You just never can tell with these sorts of dumb ideas.

Klowny Klowns

Worked on Klown Kroo a bit tonight. Got 17.5k words, roughly, give or take. The Klown Kroo just arrived in West Fork to find disturbing things. Troubling things. Nauseating things. People, this books is going to have 1) clowns, 2) alien parasites, 3) zombie-like mobs, 4) a Mugabe-style villain. Seriously, what more does the literary world want from me?

Aether Again?

Just learned about a whole bunch of book publishers that I previously knew not of over at Duotrope's Digest. They are smaller publishers than, say, Tor or Baen or whatever, but there are a lot of them. So I decided to go ahead and query some of them about my novel that used to be called Mindy Lightbearer (it is now called Mary of the Aether). Hey, I have this whole, completed novel sitting on the hard drive. Might as well not abandon it. Live the dream, Mary Lanham, wielder of the Aether. Don't let the Devourers stop you from seeing print.

Gooty and His Questions

Finally got back to working on Klown Kroo. Daniel is riding in the cab with Gooty, being asked uncomfortable questions and learning unpleasant things about clowns and parasites. The book is at 16,260 words. As a paperback book, that would be about 60-65 pages. So we gots a ways to go.

Leaping

My short story, "Leaping," is finally on the schedule at Bewildering Stories. They actually accepted it a few months ago, but it took time to get scheduled for an appearance. Looks like it will be online August 9 at this place: http://www.bewilderingstories.com/

I wrote "Leaping" on my way back from Orlando last December. It was an Orlando to Dallas to Tulsa flight. I started writing it on the flight to Dallas, wrote most of it while waiting in Dallas, then finished it on the flight to Tulsa. That was December 12, 2009. It will finally appear and be read by people approximately 8 months after it was written.

Another Paying Gig

Just had another story accepted for publication. "Stone Breaker" will appear in November 2010, both online and in print. The online edition is called Sorcerous Signals, and the print edition is called Mystic Signal. I had to print out a contract, scan it and send it back. It's a paying gig ($15, which is $5 for appearing online and $10 for appearing in print). Not too shabby (i.e. better than nothing).

"Stone Breaker" is the story of the most hated man in the world meeting a creepy female assassin who has been sent to kill him. Of course, unexpected things take place, including a mob of crazed people trying to tear his house down, and it ends in a way that makes Lisa say, "That's too bleak." So there you go. Expect to love it, Children of the Sea.

Finally...Klowns

Finally got back into Klown Kroo. Despite one million hours of work, including driving up to Gentry multiple times this week for camp, I managed to find a few hours to work on the luscious Klown novel. The Klown Kroo is now at 13,500 words. Chapter Three is done, and the Klowns be movin' on to West Fork.

Busy, Distracted, Sidelined and Harried

We might have found a house in Fort Smith today, so that is good. More time to write will be discovered when we are finally settled and not commuting every day and spending hours looking for a place to live.

Meanwhile, I have been busy resubmitting stories. I had some stories that never got responses, so I went back, contacted the peeps who had them and am now reworking and submitting them elsewhere. Those stories include, "Robo and the Little Door," "Profaning the Leistra," "Stone Breaker," "Feeding the Grong," and "Dogs and Open Doors." That task has kept me away from Klown Kroo for a bit, but I shall return with a vengeance in due time.

Mazel Tov!

Exciting Word Counts

Posting word counts is not the most exciting thing. Neither is reading posts about words counts. But I shall do it for the sake of accountability, if nothing else. Worked a little more on Klown Kroo tonight. It's time to leave Winslow (yes, that is where the first three chapters take place). I am at 11,800 words.

Biskits for One and All

Broke 10k words. Actually, I'm at about 10,300. Third chapter. It's not nearly the pace I had when I wrote Mindy, but, hey, I am perhaps 1/9 of the way to completing the first draft!

Appearing in Print

A story of mine is finally appearing in print. "Panorama of Failure" is in Realms, issue 2, which is currently available as a pdf but will be available in print in a few days here .

Also, "Heart Case," one of my weirder stories, is currently online at the Absent Willow Review. And another of my weirdest stories, "Planet Feast," will be online at Big Pulp on the 19th.

Stories upon stories. My output has slowed, but at least I can look forward to stories coming out for the next few months. I am still working on Klown Kroo, when I can get the time. 8500 words. Gooty is about to confront a drunk and angry Vern.

Finalement, aqui en la ropa

I am still busy beyond busy getting ready to move to Fort Smith. Pressure washing sidewalks, porches and decks has been the latest task. But I found some time to get back to writing Klown Kroo tonight. I now have just over 7000 words. Daniel is about to meet Gooty. Oh, Gooty, how the people will love you. Gooty, for the record, is not a clown. He is a roustabout, aka rouster. Not unlike Jim Varney! Behold: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu4byzqz2rc

Kroo To You

Been a little too busy lately to write much. Got about 5500 words of Klown Kroo written. Looks like I shall be moving back to Fort Smith at the end of May. New job and all that. However, I shall try to find time between now and then to keep pecking away at Klown Kroo. Currently, Vern is trying to beat the tar out of Daniel for sneaking out of the house. Will he succeed? Possibly. Quite possibly.

Non-Klowns

4300 words of Klown Kroo. We have moved into the arena of "non-klowns." Winslow, Arkansas, please enjoy being converted into a post-apocalyptic, ramshackle dump full of drunks, brain-sick lunatics, and violent obese inbreds. Is it far from reality? Is it? That's the question.

So Many Klowns

I have written 3100 words about Klowns and Kroos. I actually had to do a little research to finish the first chapter. Had to learn some gymnastics terminology. At least there is the internet for such things. In the olden days, I would have had to wait until tomorrow and go down to the local library. Silly olden days. I have also done a bit of research on clowns and clown history. There are things that I must know. The Joey and the Auguste, for example. One must understand the nature of the Joey and the Auguste, if one wishes to understand clowns. Cakey is the Joey (and a Whiteface). Daniel, aka Disturby, becomes the Auguste. Telly, being the ringmaster and a character clown, is often the ur-manipulator. See the things you learn here, people?

Kroo?

2000 words of Klown Kroo have been written. Is it NaNoWriMo? I will probably write some more this evening. Already we've got knife juggling, shillelagh wielding, scabby-headed crazy people and near impalings.

Time for Clowns? Yes.

So I've got short stories coming out from now until September. In May, "Planet Feast" will appear in Big Pulp, "Heart Case" will appear in Absent Willow Review, and one or two more might appear, as well ("Panorama of Failure" and "Leaping") depending on their editors' schedules. Also, there are a number of short stories that are still out there, being considered for publication.

All of that is to say, it seems like a good time to start work on a novel. Yes, I already wrote a novel not so long ago, Mindy Lightbearer. I started a total rewrite of that book recently, changed the name to Mindy of the Aether, and I might keep working on it. But it's not where my inspiration currently lies. The novel that is really burning in my brain right now is a Klown Kroo novel. I've got a sense of it already worked out. It will be strange and fun. I need to write it. I will write it.

In fact, I wrote the first 600 words tonight. Some things about it: It will have the same characters and setting (post-apocalyptic) as the short story that I wrote for Sideshow Fables. The story will be seen through Daniel's eyes (but third person) and begins before he joins the Klown Kroo. I have decided to preserve the spelling of "Klown Kroo" which will be attributed to the horrible spelling ability of the sign painter.

Anywho, there you go. Going back and reading Mindy, it's amazing how much better my writing has gotten just in the last few months, and how much more comfortable I am now. Before, I tortured my way through every sentence. It was a slow grind. Now, it all just seems to flow. I guess that's what churning out 19 short stories in four months will do. I did totally rewrite the first chapter of Mindy, and I know I could make that novel so much better. But that's not what I want to write, ladies and gentlemen. I want to write about clowns. And not just any clowns but Klowns. Whole kroos of them. They will love you. They will come to your town and juggle. They will set fires and smash shillelaghs into your rube neck. And they will touch your soul forever.

And I shall.

Orson!

Orson Scott Card, you will learn to love me. I just submitted "Oumings in the Dark" to Orson Scott Card's magazine of short fiction, The Intergalactic Medicine Show. I have previously submitted a story to them, and they did not accept it (it was "Stick Boys," actually). But one of these days, they must accept me. We'll see if they like a touching story about dirty little creatures living in a barn, waiting to be sent to the rendering plant. Lisa didn't hate it, so bear that in mind, Orson. She didn't hate it!

Seeing Through Doors

"Seeing Through Doors" is online at the Absent Willow Review. This was the story that the editor particularly liked, so there you go. That is the third story to actually appear this year.

http://absentwillowreview.com/archives/seeing-through-doors

And Another

Just finished another story. It needs a revision before I send it off somewhere, and that will have to wait until the middle of the week as I am going out of town tomorrow. Anywho, the story is called "Oumings in the Dark" and is about a race of little enslaved beings living in cages in a barn. Nobody eats any parasites, and it ends well, so Lisa might not hate it. Also, it's one of my longer stories, at 5600 words.

Lisa's Review

Lisa's one sentence review of Eating the Sickness: "good job, i hated it." Ha. Well, I did warn her in advance. I guess she's just not a big fan of "people eating parasites" type stories. She told me "it reminded me of a Richard Bachman book, except without murder." So there you go. I don't entirely agree, of course. I think the story is just a depiction of Romans 7. With bonus parasite eating.

Anywho, the Lisa Miller Journal will not be accepting it for publication, but we'll see what Big Pulp has to say.

Updated Submission History

Story Title -- Submitted To (Response):


Tinni and the Chain -- Absent Willow Review (accepted, appeared January 16, 2010)
Stick Boys -- Intergalactic Medicine Show (rejected)
Feeding the Grong -- Silver Thought
Robo and the Little Door -- Weird Tales
Leaping -- Bewildering Stories (accepted)
Planet Feast -- Big Pulp (accepted, appears May 19, 2010)
Grandfather’s Room -- The Nautilus Engine (accepted, appeared February)
Profaning the Leistra -- Anotherealm
Heart Case -- Absent Willow Review (accepted, appear May 19, 2010)
Companion -- Dark Fire (accepted, appears in #47, September)
Panorama of Failure - Realms Magazine (accepted)
Seeing Through Doors - Absent Willow Review (accepted, appears March 16, 2010)
Stone Breaker -- Intergalactic Medicine Show (1/29/10)
Cakey and the Rubes -- Sideshow Fables (2/4/10) (accepted, appears in July)
Dogs and Open Doors - Weird Tales (2/12/20)
Mindy of the Light -- Ink-Filled Page (2/17/10) (received, not yet accepted or rejected)
Walking Home - Aberrant Dreams (2/23/10)
Eating the Sickness -- Big Pulp (3/2/10)

Eating the Sickness

The next short story is complete. It's called "Eating the Sickness," and it is as jacked-up as it sounds. Lisa will love (hate) it. I will probably submit it to Big Pulp. They accepted my other jacked-up story, "Planet Feast," so they might like this one, as well. Plus, they are a paying publication. So there you go. You can't beat that with a mesh bag full of tacks.

Story Number Nine

Ninth story accepted for publication. "Heart Case" will appear in The Absent Willow Review on May 19. It's one of my weirder stories, and also one of my personal favorite. I don't know if it will be anyone else's favorite. It's quite strange. The editor of Absent Willow said, "another great story," so there you go.

Publication History

Thus far this year:


Tinni and the Chain -- Absent Willow Review (appeared in January)
Grandfather’s Room -- The Nautilus Engine (appeared in February)
Seeing Through Doors - Absent Willow Review (appears in March)
Leaping -- Bewildering Stories (appears in April)
Planet Feast -- Big Pulp (appears May 19, 2010)
Companion -- Dark Fire (appears in #47)
Panorama of Failure - Realms Magazine (appears later this year)
Cakey and the Rubes -- Sideshow Fables (2/4/10) (appears in July)

Cakey Is Legit

Cakey the Clown just became a bona fide literary character. The story "Cakey and the Rubes" will appear in print in July or August in a magazine called Sideshow Fables. Here is what the editor had to say about the story:

"You did a great job of incorporating the theme of the magazine. I was drawn into the lives of these performers through Daniel, and the individual personalities were fun to experience. A very sympathetic story from the entertainment side of a circus. Very well done."

So there you go.

Eating the Sickness

"Walking Home" is completed and submitted. The next short story will be called "Eating the Sickness," and it will be weird enough to rival "Planet Feast." Also Lisa will find it delightfully bleak. My weirdest stories both have to do with eating. What does it all mean, Franklin? What does it all mean?

Walking Home

The first story I ever had published was a short story called "Fading Man." It appeared in a now-defunct magazine called "Starblade" in the Spring of 1995. I still have a few copies of that issue in a plastic tub in my bedroom. I remember being so excited to see it in print, then embarrassed at some of the crappy prose, then unwilling to show it to anyone at Christ on Campus (for fear that these church-type people would judge me).

So I took the basic ideas from that story, rescued them from the worst prose imaginable, and wrote a new story called "Walking Home." Lisa liked it but said it was "sad." Then again, she has said almost all of my stories lately are sad. What can you do?

Anyway, I've decided to start aiming a little higher in the publishing world. From now on, it's paying gigs only, if I can manage it. So I submitted this story to Clarkesworld Magazine. They pay ten cents per word. I just sent them 4900 words. You do the math. Now, my chances of getting in that magazine are slim, honestly, but if I don't aim higher, I'll never hit the juicier targets. So there you go. At least I now have a somewhat impressive list of credits to include in the cover letter. That can only help.

Signing off,

Mr. McNard (aka Jeffrey Miller)

The Latest

Just another Submission History Update. Only big news here is that Ink-Filled Pages, a young adult magazine, received my story, "Mindy of the Light," but won't make a decision on it until June. Oh well. Better than a rejection.

Story Title -- Submitted To (Response):


Tinni and the Chain -- Absent Willow Review (accepted, appears January 16, 2010)
Stick Boys -- Intergalactic Medicine Show (rejected)
Feeding the Grong -- Silver Thought
Robo and the Little Door -- Weird Tales
Leaping -- Intergalactic Medicine Show (rejected) THEN Bewildering Stories (accepted)
Planet Feast -- Big Pulp (accepted, appears May 19, 2010)
Grandfather’s Room -- M-Brane SF (rejected) THEN The Nautilus Engine (accepted, appears February)
Profaning the Leistra -- Anotherealm
Heart Case -- Twisted Tongue (rejected) THEN Absent Willow Review
Companion -- Absent Willow Review (rejected) THEN Black Ink Horror (rejected) THEN Dark Fire (accepted, appears in Issue 47)
Panorama of Failure - Realms Magazine (accepted)
Seeing Through Doors - Absent Willow Review (accepted, appears March 16, 2010)
Stone Breaker -- Intergalactic Medicine Show (1/29/10)
Cakey and the Rubes -- Sideshow Fables (2/4/10)
Dogs and Open Doors - Weird Tales (2/12/20)
Mindy of the Light -- Ink-Filled Page (2/17/10) (received, not yet accepted or rejected)

Updated Submission History

The "Get Published A Thousand Times" project of Winter 2010 continues. Here is my updated submission history. I don't know why I keep putting this one here.

Story Title -- Submitted To (Response):


Tinni and the Chain -- Absent Willow Review (accepted, appears January 16, 2010)
Stick Boys -- Intergalactic Medicine Show (rejected)
Feeding the Grong -- Silver Thought
Robo and the Little Door -- Weird Tales
Leaping -- Intergalactic Medicine Show (rejected) THEN Bewildering Stories (accepted)
Planet Feast -- Big Pulp (accepted, appears May 19, 2010)
Grandfather’s Room -- M-Brane SF (rejected) THEN The Nautilus Engine (accepted, appears February)
Profaning the Leistra -- Anotherealm
Heart Case -- Twisted Tongue
Attached -- Absent Willow Review (rejected) THEN Black Ink Horror (rejected) THEN Dark Fire (accepted, appears in Issue 47)
Panorama of Failure - Realms Magazine (accepted)
Seeing Through Doors - Absent Willow Review (accepted, appears March 16, 2010)
Stone Breaker -- Intergalactic Medicine Show (1/29/10)
Cakey and the Rubes -- Sideshow Fables (2/4/10)
Dogs and Open Doors - Weird Tales (2/12/20)
Mindy of the Light -- Ink-Filled Page (2/17/10)

Next Up

Next up will be a new version of the very first story I ever had published. It was called "Fading Man" and appeared in a now-defunct magazine called "Starblade" way back in, I believe, 1995. Not well written. Man, alive, is it not well written. But it has a germ of an idea that could be good. So I will work on that next and make "Fading Man" rise from the ashes of time like the Everhorse of Asgard.

'Nother Story

Okay, finished the Mindy short story. It's called "Mindy of the Light." I think it turned out not-half-bad. Managed to encapsulate a somewhat convoluted set-up into 3350 words. Just need a revision and then it's off to someone somewhere in magicland, hopefully for publication.

Score

For the record, since I began this little writing endeavor back in late November, I have submitted 16 stories, gotten 5 rejections and 7 acceptances.

Panorama of Failure

Just had another story accepted for publication. Yes, two in one day. "Panorama of Failure" will be appearing in a future edition of Realms magazine. I actually have to print, sign, scan and return a contract.

Mindy Idea

Taking a page from the "Book of Ideas" by Orson Scott Card, my next short story will be based on the novel I wrote last year. Card's "Ender's Game" originally appeared as a short story in a science fiction magazine. So I figure I could adapt an idea from "Mindy Lightbearer" into a short story and get that published. Then I could tell a publisher at some later date, "Here is a novel I wrote, based on a short story that appeared in Clarence McFranklin's Magazine of Tremendous Nostril Stories" or whatever.

So thank you, Mr. Card, for your ideas and your fabulous new cologne fragrance (available at finer Macy's and Piggly Wiggly stores near you).

Also, the term "Lightbearer" will be going the way of the dodo. I'm not sure what to replace it with, as of yet, but it will be something based on the Greek word for light, "phos." We shall see.

Another Story!

"Companion" a creepy story about a guy who buys a strange pet at a pet store just got accepted for publication by a British horror magazine called "Dark Fire." It will appear in issue 47. That's six stories accepted for publication this year. Crazy.

Story Title -- Submitted To (Response):


Tinni and the Chain -- Absent Willow Review (accepted, appears January 16, 2010)
Leaping -- Bewildering Stories (accepted)
Planet Feast -- Big Pulp (accepted, appears May 19, 2010)
Grandfather’s Room -- The Nautilus Engine (accepted, appears February)
Companion (formerly "Attached") -- Dark Fire (accepted, appears in Issue 47)
Seeing Through Doors - Absent Willow Review (accepted, appears March 16, 2010)

Links to Stories

Derek thought I should put links to stories as they get published, so I will do that on this blog, even though almost nobody knows about this blog.

Tinni and the Chain -- http://absentwillowreview.com/archives/tinni-and-the-chain

Grandfather's Room -- http://rnwrrn.googlepages.com/grandfather%27sroom

More to follow, as stories appear.

Planet Feast

One of the weirdest stories I have written, "Planet Feast," was just accepted for publication by the website bigpulp.com. The story will appear online on May 19, and then later (sometime in the winter) in a quarterly compilation that they put out. It pays $25. So there you go. Five stories now that have been accepted for publication in the last two and half month.

Mo' Special

Really struggled with the last story. It was originally titled, "Nuffy and the Egg," but "Nuffy Noe" became "Mark Moyer," and the title of the story changed to "Dogs and Open Doors." I'm still not entirely convinced the story works, but Lisa thinks it does. So there you go. Anywho, here is the updated submission report:

Story Title -- Submitted To (Response):


Tinni and the Chain -- Absent Willow Review (accepted, appeared January 16, 2010)
Stick Boys -- Intergalactic Medicine Show (rejected)
Feeding the Grong -- Silver Thought
Robo and the Little Door -- Weird Tales
Leaping -- Intergalactic Medicine Show (rejected) THEN Bewildering Stories (accepted)
Planet Feast -- Big Pulp (received, not yet accepted or rejected)
Grandfather’s Room -- M-Brane SF (rejected) THEN The Nautilus Engine (accepted, appeared February)
Profaning the Leistra -- Anotherealm
Heart Case -- Twisted Tongue
Attached -- Absent Willow Review (rejected) THEN Black Ink Horror (rejected) THEN Dark Fire
Panorama of Failure - Realms Magazine
Seeing Through Doors - Absent Willow Review (accepted, appears March 16, 2010)
Stone Breaker -- Intergalactic Medicine Show (1/29/10)
Cakey and the Rubes -- Sideshow Fables (2/4/10)
Dogs and Open Doors - Weird Tales (2/12/20)

If anyone is keeping score, that is four stories accepted for publication thus far. Not too shabby for two and half months' work.

Current Submission History

Story Title -- Submitted To (Response):


Tinni and the Chain -- Absent Willow Review (accepted, appears January 16, 2010)
Stick Boys -- Intergalactic Medicine Show (rejected)
Feeding the Grong -- Silver Thought
Robo and the Little Door -- Weird Tales
Leaping -- Intergalactic Medicine Show (rejected) THEN Bewildering Stories (accepted)
Planet Feast -- Big Pulp (received, not yet accepted or rejected)
Grandfather’s Room -- M-Brane SF (rejected) THEN The Nautilus Engine (accepted, appears February)
Profaning the Leistra -- Anotherealm
Heart Case -- Twisted Tongue
Attached -- Absent Willow Review (rejected) THEN Black Ink Horror (rejected) THEN Dark Fire
Panorama of Failure - Realms Magazine
Seeing Through Doors - Absent Willow Review (accepted, appears March 16, 2010)
Stone Breaker -- Intergalactic Medicine Show (1/29/10)
Cakey and the Rubes -- Sideshow Fables (2/4/10)
Nuffy and the Egg - unfinished

Another Story Published

My short story "Leaping" was just accepted for publication by a web magazine called Bewildering Stories. Not sure when it will appear, sometime from mid March on. We shall see. So that is four stories accept for publication in the last two and half months. Not too shabby.

Cakey and the Rubes

It's time for Cakey the Jacked-Up Clown and the All-American Klown Kroo Revue to somehow become literary characters, so I just finished a short story adaptation. Obviously, some changes were in order. Now the Clown Crew is a troop of clowns traveling from town to town in a post-apocalyptic America where people are disease-ridden freaks.

As it turns out, there just happens to be a magazine devoted to circus-themed stories. Weird. So we'll see if they want it. As Lisa said, "If they don't want it, nobody will!" And she might be right. Anywho, it's called Sideshow Fables. It is a print magazine, but they also have an online gallery of flash fiction (and, man alive, is it jacked-up stuff).

So hopefully "Cakey and the Rubes" will be coming to a nerd store near you someday.

Submission History as of January 29, 2010

Story Title -- Submitted To (Response):


Tinni and the Chain -- Absent Willow Review (accepted, appeared January 16, 2010)
Feeding the Grong -- Silver Thought
Robo and the Little Door -- Weird Tales
Leaping -- Intergalactic Medicine Show (rejected) THEN Bewildering Stories
Planet Feast -- Big Pulp (received, not yet accepted or rejected)
Grandfather’s Room -- M-Brane SF (rejected) THEN The Nautilus Engine (accepted, appears February)
Profaning the Leistra -- Anotherealm
Heart Case -- Twisted Tongue
Attached -- Absent Willow Review (rejected) THEN Black Ink Horror (rejected) THEN Dark Fire (received, not yet accepted or rejected)
Panorama of Failure - Realms Magazine
Seeing Through Doors - Absent Willow Review (accepted, appears March 16, 2010)
Stone Breaker -- Intergalactic Medicine Show

"Received, not yet accepted or rejected" means I received an e-mail from the editor acknowledging receipt of the story and promising a response at a later date.

As you can see, sometimes tenacity is the key to publication. For example, I am doggedly determined that someone somewhere will love "Attached" enough to publish it. The editor of Black Ink Horror liked it but didn't think it was right for their magazine. Well, people, that's just not going to stop me. Someone will love the Homunculus eventually.

Writings

I originally created this here blog just as a way to keep track of my writing and to provide some accountability for myself. Sort of a journal to help keep me writing. Lately, however, I have been posting to Zen Gaming IRL instead, for whatever reason. But to keep this blog from being totally dead, here is my current submission history. This represents all the of the stories I have written and submitted since late November of 2009. The only exception is "Tinni and the Chain" which I actually wrote a number of years ago. Also "Feeding the Grong" was partially completed earlier in the year, but I finished it in November.


Story Title -- Submitted To (Response):

Tinni and the Chain -- Absent Willow Review (accepted, appeared January 16, 2010)
Feeding the Grong -- Silver Thought
Robo and the Little Door -- Weird Tales
Leaping -- Bewildering Stories
Planet Feast -- Big Pulp (received, not yet accepted or rejected)
Grandfather’s Room -- The Nautilus Engine (accepted, appears February)
Profaning the Leistra -- Anotherealm
Heart Case -- Twisted Tongue
Attached -- Dark Fire (received, not yet accepted or rejected)
Panorama of Failure - Realms Magazine
Seeing Through Doors - Absent Willow Review

This evening, I began writing yet another story called "Stone Breaker." I have noticed that even though my stories are all fairly unique and different, I keep dealing with the same themes: yearning for freedom, dealing with one's own failures, and resignation. So there you go. I have a message for the nerds of the world, I guess, and that message is, "Be free, understand that you are a failure, and resign yourself to your fate." Hmmm, sounds like a contradiction somewhere up on in there. Oh well.