Coming Up for Air
I haven’t posted in a while, so I thought I’d stop writing fiction for a minute and say, “Boo.” In addition to writing, I’ve also been watching the news with my mouth hanging open. We were on the verge of cutting our cable. We’d bought an indoor antenna, hooked it up, and could get several local channels decently (in HD). But no 24-hour news stations. They’re all pay-to-watch.
We couldn’t bring ourselves to cut the cable, not now. There’s just too much going on. But we downgraded to the cheapest package, and we’re paying a few extra bucks a month for the news stations (unfortunately we can’t just select the channels we want).
Which leads to…kittens!
Because no matter how crazy the world is, kittens make us feel better!
Anyway, I’ve almost finished the first draft of Daros Volume 2. I have four scenes to go, so I’ll comfortably make my end of February deadline. It’s longer than I expected, but I’ll have some major revising to do, so it could end up shorter (or longer still).
I’ll also finish the audio edit of the standalone science fiction novel today. It will go to the editor in three weeks.
Also, I’d mentioned that I’d submitted The Voice in My Head, a lesbian sci-fi romance, to a mainstream anthology. It wasn’t accepted, which didn’t surprise me because I knew it was a long shot. But in the absence of any other prospects, I figured there was nothing to lose.
The editor said they’ll be doing genre-specific anthologies in the future, including an LGBT one. But they’ve already announced the next one—horror—and it could be months, even years, before they get to LGBT, and there would be no guarantee that my story would be accepted.
Since it’s a novelette (almost 14,000 words), it’s too long for most anthologies. I’ve kept my eye out for lesbian fiction submission calls and have seen a few new ones, but either the story isn’t a match for the theme, or it’s too long. For example, here’s one from Sapphire Books asking for stories about long distance relationships (see the Anthology Call section). My story doesn’t fit the theme, but even if it did, it would be too long. Most anthology calls want stories between 1,500 – 8,000 words.
So what to do? Wait and keep checking submission calls, or go ahead and publish it? I’ve decided to do the latter. I want to get the story off my mental queue (and it’s a good story!). I’m currently formatting it for publication, and I expect to release it by the end of the month.
That’s it. Just wanted to poke my head up for air.
Have a good weekend! 
