Stepping Wearily into 2009

I'm going to start off the new year with a Cateism: You know you need to diet when you realise you would make a hearty meal for a shuffle of zombies.

Happy New Year everyone!

I'm a girl who believes in Karma and signs and portents and OMG! my new year got off to a bad start so I may make a hearty meal for a whole continent of zombies by the time the day ends as I delve into the world of comfort eating. Note to self: Do not open your emails on Jan 1st until something blindingly-brilliant has happened.

First email (okay, after several spam) was a rejection - BOO! So my stats for this year so far are:
Submissions: 0
Sales: 0
Rejections: 1
Publications: 0 (sob! - more on that)
Approx Word Count: 0
Stories out in submission land: 23
WIP: Theatre of Curious Acts 2nd draft - 10,921
Subscriptions: 2 (Postscripts, Doorways)
New Subscriptions: 0

Then with my following email, I followed the link to the latest issue of Necrotic Tissue which should have included my 100 worder Bug Eyed. It wasn't there. Ate some more chocolate, checked acceptance email (it says January 09), breathed sigh of relief that I hadn't imagined an acceptance, settled down to wait for the next issue in April.

Not a good start guys, right??? Gulp.

Anyhow, I guess we need to do the whole resolution/goal thing.

1. Write one short story a month - totalling 12 for the year (I can count).
2. Finish 'Theatre of Curious Acts' and sub etc
3. Rework 'The Poisoned Apple' and sub etc
4. Write new novel either 'The Moth Maker' or 'The new idea I had at work on Tuesday when I was supposed to be coming up with an idea for a short story - and then convinced myself I was a genius and this would be the one (again)'.
5. Take out a new subscription / buy a new anthology / novel from a small press publisher every month. And for those of you not in the know 'Necrotic Tissue' is going to be a print magazine as of July and they now pay pro rate to one writer per issue ($25 dollars for other short stories, and 5 cents per word for the 100 worders - which is pretty cool too). I will be abusing their inbox again.

And to compound my 'this new year is evil' mantra - I'm now off to do my writerly tax returns for 2008.

If at first you don't succeed

Necrotic Tissue finally bit.

They bought my 100-word story 'Bug Eyed' for their 100 word bites. It will be published in the January 2009 issue, which will be available as a free PDF download.

And while you are waiting for my wondrous story, check out Issue 3, which contains Natalie L. Sin's, Losing Face in Kwai Chung. The story inspired the cover art to the left.

Heir and a Spare

Five days into July... Well four really as I haven't started writing today (cough!) unless you count this post.

So where was I... Five days into July and I've already completed two short stories. Okay they are not technically or officially or by most peoples standards 'short stories' but they are 100% undeniably titchy.

That is, they are both 100 words, including the title, short.

I've sent the first Halloween Watch (the title stinks but ho-hum it was all I could think of) to Necrotic Tissue for their 100 Word Halloween 'Bite' Contest. The second, Bug Eyed, is waiting to be dispatched - hence the heir & a spare title - to Necrotic Tissue if the first submission is rejected. They normally have quick return times so I should be able to get two in within the submission period. And if, good heavens, the first is accepted I will send Bug Eyed to them in October when they reopen for submissions.

Bought myself a basket full of DVDs this morning. Can't wait to watch them all - Fido, 30 Days of Night, Stardust, The Brave One, Untraceable and Rendition. It feels as if I haven't seen a good movie in forever. Ooh, and it's the last Doctor Who tonight... That Tennant bloke and his Tardis better survive...