Carey Burns

Time flies when you're a busy bee.  Just finished a submission for Evil Jester Press *fingers crossed* and have begun a short for Cafe Doom's 7th Annual Short Story Contest .  Last year's was so fun I have to give it a whirl this time but without talking vultures.  I'm still working on the outline for my vampire novel--NaNoWriMo, here I come!  The slimming is stalled at the moment, what with the food I've been cramming into my mouth every waking minute of the day...  Still, I only gained 1.5 pounds so there's that.  My head is back in the fight now so I just need to get back to work.  (sitting next to a magazine with caramel apples on the cover isn't quite helping) After reviewing my goals for this year I'm falling short, but I've made big strides.  I have yet to send my novel out to an agent, but I've submitted 7 stories so I'm 3 short from achieving that goal, and I should (in theory) finish a novel this year.  I'm pretty pleased....

This month flew by and due to reasons beyond my control the blog was left behind.  Sorry!  But, my home computer will actually let me post now so here we go!  Baconology is available for purchase here .  I got a very nice rejection for a short story that made a short list, so there's lemonade in them thar lemons!  Right now my insides are all a-twist while I wait and wait on the submission I sent to my Dream Magazine Gig.  Their response time is 6-8 weeks...it has been 7 and I'm a wreck.  I'd love to see "Hair Baby" be my breakthrough piece...ack, hope I didn't just jinx it... I'm maintaining an 18 pound weight loss and am still in the fight.  I should have taken 'before' pics.  Ah well. Last Saturday I had the opportunity to volunteer my time helping to relocate an abandoned/neglected cemetery.  It totally re-ignited my love of archaeology and cemented the fact that I WILL sign up for field school next summer.  Life is too sho...

While sanding a Halloween project it occurred to me that, like editing a story, you need finesse when sanding paper mache (or any medium, really).  If you don't sand enough, the imperfections show through and no amount of paint can hide them.  If you get too aggressive, you can gouge out a pretty vital chunk of your project and will be left with a gaping hole.  Pretty deep, huh? Anywho...my tale "Once Upon an Autopsy" didn't make the cut for an anthology I submitted to but it did make the shortlist so there must have been something good about it.  I'll put it in the revision pile and keep working on it until it sparkles.  Now that I don't have to work 10 hour days, I will be tackling a lot of projects after work and I'm really excited.  There's a certain vampire who has an epic tale to be told and he's getting anxious. 

Yes, I do realize it is July, I just can't WAIT for Halloween to get here!  There's so many cute decorating ideas bouncing around in my head and I've already completed two projects.  The first is Spooky Sheldon and he's the only paper mache treat I've ever done.  He turned out mighty fine if I do say so myself! The second is a mini Halloween House and by golly, I'm addicted to these little slices of  creepiness!

My brain is a little stalled out right now so I decided to put the current writing project on hold for a few days.  There's only so much outlining a girl can do.  That and a flash piece I wrote has really distracted me.  The lead character is a gorilla named CeeCee.  She's had it rough.  The slimming is going okay.  I've maintained the current weight loss of 15 pounds which is great because I haven't been so good lately.  (let's not discuss the chocolate sauce I made and drank the other night, okay?)  I plan on being super good this weekend and will hit the gym again hard.  Sounds awesome... Halloween is around the corner and of course I'm already plotting and creating.  I made my first paper mache jack o'lantern and love him.  Gotta get him painted and show him off to friends.  Gonna make a few more Halloween houses and some haunted bird houses then I can get serious about decorating my house because de...

Before the knock-off Benadryl kicks in, I wanted to post a quick update.  Fingers crossed that it makes sense... First, my zombie tale "Being Neighborly" has been accepted into Through the Eyes of the Undead 2.  That one was a nail biter because I was in the first book and really, really wanted to be in the second one too.  Me, the girl that rarely wins anything, won a steampunk pocket watch from the lovely Tonia Brown just by commenting on her amazing web serial "Railroad!"   You should check it out--it is really addicting! What else...hmm...  Oh, I just wrote a very brief tale called "Hair Baby" and I'm working up the courage to send it out to a big name magazine.  It'll be fun! I'll leave you on a final note about bringing tension and building up a climax in your writing:  write these scenes when you really, really have to pee.  Seriously!  Channel the anxiety, fear, and drama right onto the written page.  Your readers will fe...

Summer is so hectic.  Between working 10 hour days, cleaning the house, and working out I barely have time to write or even read let alone update the blog.  Sorry blog.  Anyway, the zombie anthology Chivalry is Dead  is available for purchase and not only are the stories great, there's an introduction written by yours truly.  I've finished reading the anthology Horrorology  and it is yet another fine book I'm proud to be published in.  I'm reading Alienology right now and am pretty impressed so far.  I've got another poem coming out in Putrid Poetry & Sickening Sketches and from what I've seen, the book will be pretty amazing.  Despite a HUGE moment of self-doubt, I've finished my vampire tale and submitted it to the editor.  Fingers crossed that he likes it and that it is good enough for the book.  I've also finished a tale called "Once Upon an Autopsy" and will be submitting that either tonight or tomorrow.  O...