Carey Burns

Okay, I've been bitten fiercely by the haiku bug and it will definitely leave a scar. Not a cool "Check out this one, it went clean to the bone" type of scar that I can brag about at the bar with friends, but one that itches at my brain. What does that mean? Well, it means that I would like to write up a boatload of little haiku ghost stories and put them all in one book. It would be a small book, but a book nonetheless. Here's one I wrote and posted on the Library of the Living Dead forum that got the idea rolling in my head: When the cold wind blows And the moon is overhead I believe in ghosts Yeah. So that makes project 1,567 that I want to do. Right. I'm off to create a time machine.

Defying all logic and reason, the dead returned fro m death . All over the w orld, dead human bodies rose and walked the Earth in search of living human f lesh to consume. Des pite the valiant efforts of the living’s vast armies and superior weapons, the dead won the Zombie War. Defeated, the surviving governments of the world fled to the safety of their und erground bases, leaving the last living survivors to their fate. All alone, trapped, for them there was no last second rescue, no escape. The Dead surrounded them, pounding on their barricaded doors, smashing in their board ed windows. It was their last chance to say goodbye, their last chance to shout out in defiance. It was time to write their final words. For decades, the dead ruled the Earth unchallenge d, but their reign was finite. In time, they returned to the dust from which t hey came. When the living sur vivors emerged from their underground shelters, they would discover hundreds of thousands of tattered decaying mes...

So I awoke at 1:00 this morning choking on stomach acid from my GERD. Not a pleasant thing to wake up to and then I was afraid it would happen again so I didn't really get back to sleep. (even with a couple pillows propping me up) I just love days like this. I'm sitting at 2900 words for my super villain story and I'm hoping I won't have to cut anything. We'll see how it ends, I guess. I think I made the best 'Champ' I've ever made last night. How can you go wrong with heavy cream and butter though, really? I even have some for lunch even though the diet doesn't allow white potatoes or heavy cream or that much butter, I'm working out for 45 minutes today and all my other food is healthy to the extreme. I'll be extra good this weekend. :) As scared as I was to do it, I sent a query email to a publisher because they've had a submission from me for a while and I haven't heard from them if it is held, accepted, or rejected. I hat...

I've always been fiercely proud of my Irish heritage and don't just need one day a year to celebrate it. While I love the notion that "everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day" all the green beer swilling and corned beef snarfing is almost insulting on some levels. Ah well. Happy St. Patrick's Day anyway.

I started my No More Heroes story last night and so far a title eludes me, but I'm sure one will crop up out of the blue. I like my character so far-even though she's a villain-and I can't wait to finish her tale. Because she's evil, she can do what I'm afraid to do or can't (if that makes sense) so it is really fun to bring her to life and hopefully end up with a story that makes people say "Wow" in a good way.

After a thorough re-write, I sent my story "Tipping the Odds" to a friend so they can rip it to shreds. I'm still iffy about this one. Ronald (the main character) is a mishmash of people I know so he is real to me and I don't know if I put enough description in to make him real to the reader. Such quandaries. Ideas are bubbling in my head for the No More Heroes anthology and I think it might be kind of cathartic to put all the fears of my own experience on a fictional character. We'll see how it turns out and whether or not the editors like the story. *fingers crossed* In other news...it looks like our little house might be getting new flooring soon in at least 2 rooms!! I'm so excited I could spit. ;)

Since last Monday (March 1) I have lost 4.5 pounds and tonight I get to reintroduce cheese into my diet. I'm so excited, I can hardly contain myself! A lovely sprinkle of cheese on my homemade chili will be the perfect end to a mediocre day. I have finished the first draft of my serial killer story and will start the first of many rewrites tonight. Then I'm going to work on about 3 other short stories and of course the novel that hovers over my head and my fantasy novel/ella. All of this while wondering the status of four other stories that I've already submitted to various markets.

Rarely do I ever wring my hands in glee, but I did today! LoSF&F announced " No More Heroes " and I am giddy like a fricking schoolgirl. I have ideas for this anthology. Big ones. Now I just need to finish a half dozen other projects so I can focus my full attention on it. Them. Whatever. I'm on day 8 of my diet/life change and so far I don't think I've lost as much as I have in the past, but I feel so much better. No soda in 8 days, oodles of fresh fruits, brown rice, yogurt, and more water than I can stand to drink. After tomorrow I can reintroduce cheese into my life. Oh, how I've missed me my cheese!

There may or may not be something interesting happening over at Library of Science Fiction & Fantasy Press and those that know me, know mysteries or secrets or surprises drive me bonkers. I should be a raving loon by Monday when they release the details. I have a vague idea (which is, no clue but I'm going to write something anyway to get a jump on everyone else) of what it is. Anywho, I still need to finish my nightmare-inducing serial killer story this weekend. In my head he is very much real but on paper...I hope he is for the sake of a good story. We'll see what the editor thinks in the end.

So I'm working on a serial killer story for an upcoming anthology and last night the killer was so real in my head that I got more than a little scared. When they say authors sometimes put a little of themselves and people they know into their work, it is true. I almost want to take some of that out but then I'm left with no story. What to do...what to do...

Ah, March. Now that you're here you can melt all the snow and warm up the Earth a little bit, kay? I'm feeling Springy so I went out and got Sweet Pea Eau de Toilette and Fragrance Mist from Bath and Body and I went sockless yesterday. I may go sockless tomorrow too. I know, I live on the edge. Kinda in a writing slump right now. My ideas are BIG but my attention span is small so I get notes and outlines finished and that's where it all ends. Gotta do something to change that...