A year ago today, having made great time from Knoxville to Birmingham, I decided to call an audible, abandon a planned overnight in New Orleans, and drove straight through to Houston. I rolled to a stop in front of the little house on Walling Street, grabbed my laptop from the car, and met my girlfriend in the front yard with a "honey, I'm home!" And it's been a wonderful year under the same roof, building a home together, making new friends, exploring a Houston that's changed since my first rodeo, back in 1991 - 1993. Whereas that stretch was a debacle of colossal proportions, I wouldn't trade this past year for anything.
The Machine of Death 2 lineup announcement is slated for tomorrow. I think my story was solid and my take different enough to distinguish itself, but the law of large numbers - 1,958 stories for a maximum of 35 slots (that's a 1 in 56 chance, higher if the # of stories in the final book is lower) - says I should brace for disappointment and be happily surprised if I'm selected.
Meanwhile, the novel progresses, albeit at a couple thousand words a sitting (though I'm coming into some high-word-count burn territory); I have revisions for one story ready to put on paper; a second draft of a story-in-progress is in my head; a new take on a third story that's been sitting fallow has begun to germinate - so not getting an MOD nod would sting, but there are pots on the stove, and I'm stirring as fast as I can.
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The Machine of Death 2 lineup announcement is slated for tomorrow. I think my story was solid and my take different enough to distinguish itself, but the law of large numbers - 1,958 stories for a maximum of 35 slots (that's a 1 in 56 chance, higher if the # of stories in the final book is lower) - says I should brace for disappointment and be happily surprised if I'm selected.
Meanwhile, the novel progresses, albeit at a couple thousand words a sitting (though I'm coming into some high-word-count burn territory); I have revisions for one story ready to put on paper; a second draft of a story-in-progress is in my head; a new take on a third story that's been sitting fallow has begun to germinate - so not getting an MOD nod would sting, but there are pots on the stove, and I'm stirring as fast as I can.
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I may or may not be a candy resource tomorrow for Hallowe'en. Not having any candy to distribute is probably a a big hurdle at 9 PM the night before. Then again, I don't recall a single trick-or-treater last year, so I don;t even know if we'll be missed. I do wonder if we're going to get that jack o'lantern carved...
1 comment:
I came. I read, I left better for all that.
Rick Keeney
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