Monday Morning Reset [07/03].

I still can’t believe it’s already July. We’re more than half way done with the year, and I can’t believe how much crap I haven’t be doing. Top of the list: getting Fearless ready for print. The draft is finished, I just haven’t had the time to focus on getting it typed up and doing the major edits it will need, but I promise that it will be coming, and that it’ll be worth the wait. It’s even more epic than the first two books of the series, and it will not disappoint. It’s also about time to start promoting World Unknown Review to prompt people to send me their submissions for Volume IV! I have had a lot of poetry submissions so far (and I mean a lot), so I’m really hungering for some short stories to balance it out. If you’ve got a story you’d like considered for publication, come check out the guidelines and send it in. Stories are accepted until October 31st, so there’s still plenty of time, but, if this year has shown me anything, it’s that deadlines will be here a lot sooner than you expect them!

Meanwhile, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster of a week. I haven’t been feeling well, but I try not to let that hold me back. Here’s a look of what I’ve managed to get done and what I hope to get done throughout the week:

Reading: I didn’t get through Missing People this week like I was hoping to, but after trying to charge for the ending, I think this week will finally (hopefully) be it. It drags a little bit in the end, which isn’t helping much. The new book for the week is Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint, which has a real”>ly interesting style and flair to it that I’m really intrigued by so far. I’d like to get into reading more fantasy again, anyway, to help encourage me to get back into the Aryneth books and maybe finally preparing Serpent in a Cage for the world to see.

Writing: Life has a weird way of balancing things out. After last week’s heavy rush of demoralizing rejections, I landed one more (current count: 62), but I also landed not just one, but two acceptances. One of them is forthcoming with Trembling with Fear, and the other can be read now over on 50 Words Stories. It’s my second time having a piece published by them (the first one being “2:00 AM“), and my second one to make it to their “story of the week” classification. That makes me eligible for “Story of the Month,” which gets a small prize. I didn’t get it last time, but it’s exciting to be up for it again with “Ten.” I’ve also gotten some edits on a story that I sold back in December, which means I might get a chance to share “Pipsqueak” with the world soon, and I’m thrilled about that. Going through the edits is reminding me how wonderful of a story that one is.

I’ve got a story I’ve been working on for Quantum Corset’s Mummy Knows Best anthology that I’m really digging that I hope to finish soon. It’s really refreshing to take one of my favorite historical periods (Communist China in the second half of the 20th century) and blend it with one of my best genres (horror). I’ve also started a potential story for 3Elements Review.

‘Rithmantic: As I mentioned, I haven’t been feeling very well this week, just sort of bleak and blah, but these things tend to pass so I’ve just got to ride it out. The boyfriend and I are almost finished stampeding through GLOW on Netflix, which has just been absolutely incredible and helping us to not miss cable since we cut the cord. The boyfriend also won a bike (!) at a work raffle, so we’re pretty stoked about that. We were talking about potentially getting one, and then bam! Bike! It’s a nice one, too, a little big for me, but I’ll manage. I need to get myself a helmet first, but I can’t wait to hit the Salt Creek Trail nearby. My thing with walking it is seeing how far along its 27 miles I can get with my limited time, and, obviously, I can get a lot farther on a bike. (6 miles is the most I’ve managed on foot).

That’s all for today, I think. I’ve got to find the time to get July’s Feature Story from World Unknown Review Volume III ready to go this week, plus a butt load of other things, so wish me luck.

And happy reading!