Bizarro World

Personal News:

Today is the first day of a 5-day vacation. No work, at either job, for 5 full days. I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. It's my birthday, so I suppose I'll work at getting older. And, of course, I'll write. My husband and I are planning to go on a day trip with our dog, who I hope does well, and we might finally (finally!) meet our Little, from the Big Brothers Big Sisters program this weekend. The first Little they tried to match us with didn't work out because the mother never got back to the case worker. She kept saying she'd get back, had a hectic work schedule, then another week would pass before she'd say she'd get back again. It went on like that for four weeks, so now we're being paired with a new Little. He's 8, apparently talkative, lives nearby, and loves school (except for English). When they told me all that, I said I doubted a more perfect match could be made. I look forward to meeting our Little, and though I won't post anything specific to maintain his anonymity, I'll definitely share how it goes.

Now to the strange stuff. 

• We have new neighbors, named Jen and Chris, who are from Ohio and moved here because they couldn't find work there (like us).  Bizarre!

My cat, Cheese, doesn't do cute cat pics

• 2 people in 2 days have told me they've had dreams about me. In one, I was on an uncomfortable bed, and my friend said she was, too. We were roommates. I like that one because it reminds me of Bennington and VSC, so I'll interpret it to mean I have a writing residency in my future. The other dream, however, was about me getting hit by a car, and the car's impact throwing me up in the air. Not so much a fan of that dream.

• African dust hit San Antonio last week, and it seems to have made everyone sick this week. What happens, apparently, is that the wind patterns kick up dust from the Saharan Desert and carry it over to Texas where it wrecks the lungs of folks who already have allergies. I don't have terrible allergies myself, but a lot of folks I know got hit hard. One guy I work with could barely talk. People look at me strangely when I say, "It's probably the African dust," without giving some back-story on the news I've read and heard. At least that part is fun. 

Writing News:

I wrote two new stories.Yes! Short ones, so hopefully they'll see print one day.

I got two rejections this week for older work. One of the rejections surprised me and made me think I should reevaluate a particular piece I thought was completed. It's a longer story, so perspective is a little harder with those.

New publication in Skidrow Penthouse (print or PDF) entitled We Would Come Back as Rats.

I signed a contract to release a sort of magical realism story to A capella Zoo this week. I offered them a slightly longer ending, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they think.

I chatted with Bud Smith on The Unknown Show. Check it out. I think the conversation went well. It was fun to talk about writing and processes, and I read a story. Bud's cool, very conversational, and he's got a new book, Tollboth, that I look forward to reading. I only said two kind things I'd more carefully frame (as far as I remember), which is pretty good.

Finally, I have some great reading to do this weekend. I'm reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman, whom I've never read. And I'm reading The Merrill Diaries by Susan Tepper, an author I love. 



Have a great week! Next time I post, I'll be older and calmer (post-vacation).