While underwater collecting

Whew. Applications for Clarion SF and Clarion West have been submitted. After a ton of work, I keep all toes and fingers crossed. Next up is entering next quarter's Writers of the Future contest and applying for the Odyssey workshop. And then, the first few chapters of the novel go in for review at WISCON.

So, now it's back to novel writing, which I love. I picked up a few more children's books from the library. Some I have never read like Eoin Colfer's "Artemis Fowl." Others are old favorites like C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe." What better way to move from writing short stories back to young adult fantasy? I'm also rereading Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

And doing lots of drawing. Here's the latest (that may or may not be me):

Short Story Update

Garden party is nearly finished. The story has changed a lot but I think for the better and seems to be much easier to understand. The main character, Claude Leroy, also feels more sensitive but driven, and not quite so unstable.

When Thoughts Come Alive has been renamed to Fish Taco Tuesday, a title that really sticks to the story's hipster feel and doesn't give away the main character's, Sunset Carson (aka. Jim Beam), magical ability.

Both stories will be finished a few days before the Clarion application deadline which I am so excited about. I figured I'd be up until 11:58 March 1, but thanks to so many friends and colleagues who have taken the time to read these stories, things are ahead of schedule. Thank you to everyone.