Backstory

The only easy Internet access I had in upstate NY was at the hospital, which blocked me from logging into Blogger. (I could read posts, but couldn't upload my own or comment on anyone else's.) I write my journal in Word and upload the posts (except for certain private ones), so the following are all of the posts I wrote and couldn't upload over the past month.

Friday, 25 December 2009

Merry LAXmas! United Airline’s gift to me was seats in Economy Plus. Legroom, baybee, and no seatmates (the planes weren’t very full)!

I hate to shop, but when it goes right and I get everything I want without a lot of time or hassle, I can indeed be left with a smug feeling. On Wednesday I procured

• inexpensive socks at TJ Maxx (pack of 3 regular and pack of 3 knee socks, since I am after all going somewhere cold): $15
• reindeer antlers at Borders for Christmas travel, half off: $5
• purpley/burgundy wool coat at thrift shop: $10

The only downside is that I’m just taking a small carry-on suitcase (plus my computer bag), which means I have to lug the bulky coat separately. Meh. Thankfully I have only one layover.

I was so tired last night, I made my sandwiches wrong. I put the roast beef on the bread with the cheddar and stoneground mustard, and the turkey on the bread with the Swiss, mayo, and horseradish…

Saturday, 2 January 2009

Since I have a rotten stinking cold, I’m not going to the hospital to visit my dad (he has a minor infection somewhere that they’re trying to track down and vanquish). Since I have a rotten stinking cold, I’m also not feeling quite up to creating new fiction. So this afternoon I spent a few hours updating spreadsheets and making lists of things to do:

• stories to submit or resubmit. Before I left, I did a follow-up on most of the stories that have been languishing. I’ve already received one “eek, please re-send and we’ll look at it ASAP” and one rejection.
• nonfiction proposals to write up. I feel like I have enough brainpower to sketch out nonfiction proposals, so I’m working on these.
• the ubiquitous “Other” category. This includes everything from following up on missing contracts, to printing any online stories for the notebook I have for them, to making a list of sold stories I can submit to online and audio markets.

Friday, 8 January 2010

Wooh! TOC for Retro Spec: Tales of Fantasy and Nostalgia! (Click on the link for more info about the stories.) It’s scheduled for an October 2010 release!

Jude-Marie Green, “Hula Hoop”
Robert Borski, “Invasion, 1955”
Neil Coghlan, “Storm on Fifth Avenue”
K.M. Praschak, “Rain Goddess: The Dust Bowl, 1930s”
Lyn C. A. Gardner, “The Mustache”
Bruce Boston, “beat people”
Leonard Richardson, “The Day Alan Turing Came Out”
Brian Rosenberger, “These United States of Frankenstein: Meltdown”
Jennifer Rachel Baumer, “New and Improved”
Amanda C. Davis, “Sparks between Our Teeth”
Cliff Winnig, “R101 Is Burning”
Todd Wheeler, “Dreams like Snowflakes”
Karen A. Romanko, “Zeb”
Cat Rambo, “Ticktock Girl”
Lon Prater, “All That Remains Is the Middle”
Don D’Ammassa, “Slipstream Fiction”
G. O. Clark, “Putting off the Past”
Marge Simon, “The Fix”
Nancy Ellis Taylor, “The Last Time I Was in Vienna”
C.D. Covington, “U8: Alexanderplatz (1989)”
Dayle A. Dermatis, “The Devil Went down to the Sunset Strip”
Paul Abbamondi, “Art Deco and the Infestation of New America”
Ann K. Schwader, “The Darkness Whispers”
Brenta Blevins, “Mercury 13--And Beyond”
David D. Levine, “Nucleon”

~ ~ ~

This is truly annoying. I can view my journal on Blogspot, but I can’t log into it. Also, I can’t access my website at all. I have work to do. I’m pretty sure it’s the hospital’s system, so I’m going to have to go to the library (where (a) my computer’s wireless is creakingly slow and (b) they may block the same sites) or find somewhere else. Grr, argh!

Sunday, 10 January 2010

Things I Miss Right Now: my cats, PG Tipps (I ran out) my chiropractor, my massage therapist, my bed (only twins here).

Things I Missed About Winter: the sound of snow crunching beneath my feet, the way the really cold air takes my breath away the first time I step outside, catching snowflakes on my tongue (which I did in the pizza/sub shop parking lot one night), sledding.