Predictably, my blogging has slowed down now that the semester has begun. The books and articles are already piling up and the research has begun in earnest. Oh, how I love grad school! Scary part is, the sarcasm in that comment is not as heavy as you might think.
Graduate school is not just about adding letters after your name. It’s also about intense, concentrated research. This semester my research is all about Edgar Allan Poe and Lilith. Everyone knows Poe, but no one knows Lilith. Why doesn’t anyone know Lilith? I think the focus of my research is going to be answering that question.
So, that’s my semester’s work: an author preoccupied with transcending death and a female demon who may very well have been the first true feminist.
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
Every year there are a couple of “best” erotica anthologies that are compilations of stories published in the previous year. I was privileged to be a part of one of those this past year, in fact. It’s been interesting putting together my submission packages for this year’s “best” anthologies. For one thing, I get the satisfaction of submitting my work without having to actually write something new. Always a bonus for us lazy writers. I’m also submitting stories that have already been published, so a rejection at this point is a mild sting instead of a crushing blow. Plus, it’s nice to go over my publishing credits from the past year and feel a sense of accomplishment. Not all of my stories get submitted to these “best” anthologies, of course. Some stories, while publishable and even well-written, aren’t unusual or unique enough to warrant reprinting. No, only my best gets submitted to the best.
The interesting thing is, it’s not difficult to decide which stories to submit to “best” anthologies. There are always two or three stories that stand out in my mind as the best of my work. Stories that, even while I was writing them, moved me, excited me, motivated me to finish them quickly so I could send them out into the world. These are the stories I’ll be mailing tomorrow, stories that are representative of my best work in 2005.
Here’s hoping a couple of my best stories find homes in the “best” anthologies. Here’s hoping my best for 2006 is even better.
I haven’t written much about my writing lately. In the good news category, I received a much belated payment today for a story that was reprinted several months ago (along with a copy of the book in which it appeared, which did help-- somewhat-- to placate my indignance at having waited so long for payment). As I mentioned in a previous post, it really isn’t a lot of money, but it’s still mine and now I have it. Happy me.
In the slightly disappointing news category, I learned via Rachel‘s blog that another anthology I have a story in won’t be coming out until September (it was due out last fall). The reason that’s only slightly disappointing is because I’ve already been paid for that story. It makes it a little easier to wait for the anthology to appear when I don’t have to worry about whether I’ll get paid.
In the bad news category, I have two more editors who owe me payment for stories which have already been published. For those of you who aren’t writers, contracts frequently say: “Payment due upon publication.” I much prefer: “Payment due upon acceptance,” but that doesn’t happen nearly as often. However, “upon publication” to me means within sixty days of me being able to walk into Barnes and Noble and purchase a copy. I have found it means something else entirely to some editors, which means I’ll be sending notes shortly.
I guess none of that was really about writing so much as getting paid for writing, hmm? On the other hand, I’ve long since passed the stage where I feel like I should (or will) write for free and making sure I get paid is as much a job as the actual process of writing and submitting sometimes. Except here, of course. In order to charge a fee for my blog I’d have to be a lot more entertaining, I think.
Jae and I chose The Historian as our next book (which we’ve vowed to read in less than six months). A 600-page epic thriller about Dracula is about as far as you can get from a 200-page story as told from the point of view of an autistic boy, so it should be an interesting transition.
Kevin asked me to share my thoughts about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. I have to say that while I enjoyed it, I found myself expecting more after all the build up this book received. Sometimes I felt as if Christopher’s autism was just a good marketing gimmick, but he is a sympathetic and usually likeable character (which is more than I can say for some of the other characters) and his story is deceptively simple. I was surprised at the humor-- there are a few very funny bits, which is ironic because Christopher lacks the ability to express emotions, including humor. I was shocked to discover who killed the dog and happy Christopher made it to London all by himself (mostly). It’s one of those books I’ll recommend to other people without really being able to explain why I’m recommending it.
The last paragraph made me smile, especially the last few words: “...I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything.” Jae thinks that should be my motto. I’m not so sure, but I suppose there are worse mottos.
I’m off in a little bit to disscuss The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time with my book club partner. We have been woefully neglectful of our little book club and it’s taken us at least six months to find time to read and discuss this book. Damn higher education for getting in the way of reading for pleasure.
What’s it all about?
Life. Love. Writing. Editing. Sex. Books. Romance. Movies. Friendship. Photography. Teaching. Coffee. (Lots of coffee.) Travel. Feminism. Academia. Insomnia. Memories. Experiences. Rants. Raves. Reviews. Babies. Pregnancy. Motherhood. Insanity. Musings of an insomniac writer. Want to know more?
