Carey Burns

I'm hopped up on sugar and the deliciousness of rum balls and my writer brain can't get itself together so today I've been surfing and goofing. Goody goody. The editor of Through the Eyes of the Undead sent me back my edits and I caught something we both missed so hooray for that. I'm very very very excited by this! Each step in this biz that is publishing is so amazing to me. From the moment when I take a deep breath and hit the send button to the hours-days-weeks-months it takes to hear back if they like what I sent to the edits and contracts and waiting until a real book appears...it is all magic. And I'm learning lots of things NOT to do as an author. As much as a negative review will probably gut me, I will not respond. I will not have a public meltdown. I will either A) ignore all reviews on Amazon and elsewhere or B) try to learn from any constructive criticism that floats my way or C) cry myself to sleep each night. Maybe D) all of the above, but wi

The table of contents, or TOC as the fancy people call it, for the anthology The Zombist has been posted and my story is second, right behind Eric S. Brown! This is such a "wow!" moment! In other news.... After reflecting last night about how last year I was such a scared mess, I decided to write about it. Right about the moment I typed the phrase "consistent with ovarian carcinoma" the tears started to fall. I kind of hope that once I finish this tale, I might send it around to different women's magazines to see if they would run it. My tumors were not cancer, but the signs and symptoms I had are the warning signs for it. If more women are aware of what symptoms are indicative of ovarian cancer, they might ask their doctors to run lots of tests to see if that is what they have. Maybe some people can detect it early. Maybe...some people's lives might be saved.

Every time I send back a contract for my stories, I feel like it is all still just a dream. Last year at this time, I was terrified that I was going to die. I made a deal with myself to live life to the fullest, no matter what happened to me, and to stop being afraid. Thankfully, I'm fine and I've kept my promise to myself. Fifteen story acceptances, 1 second-place win, and countless rejections later, I'm a happy girl. Don't be afraid, live your life, smile as much as you can, don't just follow your dreams--outrun them!

What is the Taxonomy of Terror? It is my latest flash of genius that I have started working on. I will be writing a collection of horror stories where the "big bad" is something from the animal kingdom and I will split each section out by taxonomic classes or orders. I think it'll be neat. For example, my story-in-progress "Never Turn Your Back on a Chicago Rat" would be under the Rattus section and my story "Tarantula!" would be under the Arachnida section. Once I have amassed around 100K words, I will be editing the heck out of this beast and then I'll seek publication. Cross your fingers!

I got the fabulous news that my story "Goldfield Has Gone To Hell" has been accepted for the Library of the Living Dead Press Anthology The Zombist . On a sad note, "Frank Bodine's Hand" was passed on by yet another publisher. Someday I will get that story printed. My cold or whatever it is seems to be getting better, thank goodness. And, in ten short days I'll have a lovely break from work. Oh happy day!

I got my mini yesterday and the FedEx guy probably thought I looked like death warmed over when I signed for it. Ah well. I'm sick, what do people expect? I love the mini thus far. I charged the battery and shall be a writing fiend this weekend as long as my own energy holds up. It snowed a little bit last night, the light and fluffy dusting of flakes that I don't mind. Not the huge, sloppy flakes that drench you and soak the cuffs of your pants. Seems like the old Christmas list has expanded this year so I'm thinking of cutting back on the scale of gifts and getting people a nice little something or other. If it is thoughtful enough, that is what matters, right?

Well, I only got about 22K words written for my NaNo story, but I'm happy that I surpassed last year's word count. Kudos to me. I decided last night to seek out yet another potential home for my story "Frank Bodine's Hand" and now I wait to see if they like it or not. I sure do love torturing myself like this.... I've developed some sort of cold or flu or virus and I'm waving the white flag in defeat. I'm taking a sick day and I'm going to be a big whiny baby all day. Such plans!

What a busy, hectic, madcap month it has been. I'm NaNo - ing but my word count is dismally low. At least I surpassed last year's embarrassment of a word count. I wrote a few thousand words today and just needed a breather. I'll get back to it tonight. I sent in a story submission called "Goldfield Has Gone To Hell" for a cowboy-Indian-zombie themed anthology and am awaiting a response. It's gonna be a looong weekend and I'll be hard-pressed to not check my email every five seconds. I hate surprises, so the waiting-for-an-acceptance/rejection part of writing kills me every time. Its a wonder I don't have raging ulcers by now. Anywho, don't get me wrong, the publisher is one of the speediest that I've ever encountered. Its just me thinking that it is utter garbage and second-guessing myself and my *ahem* writing skills. Let's talk about sparkly things. No, not vampires. Jewelry. I'm doing a craft fair this weekend with my si

I've been such a slacker with NaNoWriMo! Pretty much all of my buddies are passing me by so I have to kick it into super high gear and write like I've never written before....back to it!!!

"Tarantula!" won 2nd place in the Times' Fright Write contest. Yay for my fear of spiders!!! That means (drum roll, please) that I have reached my goal of having 15 stories accepted for publication this year. From here, anything is possible! We just got back from vacation so I'm trying to catch up on all my side projects and get my NaNoWriMo energy flowing. Speaking of vacation, I'm now obsessed with Creepy Clyde. He was at Screams in Hell, MI and he was just fabulous. I Googled him. Wonder if he could tell... I will be purchasing his CD for sure.

Ack, the Chicago Trib didn't like my story "The Weeping Woman of the Purple Line." I shouldn't let it bother me, but I'd be a liar if I said it didn't. Ah well, at least I can say I had the guts to send something in, right? Now to wait and see what the local paper thought of the story I sent them. (I hope I don't become The Weeping Woman...)

I should be finding out sometime soon whether or not there's any love for the stories I submitted to the Chicago Trib and the local paper. I've seen some of the stories on the Trib's web page and my heart sinks, they're so good. Ah well, time will tell I guess. I'll be filling my brain (mmmm...braaaaaains) with another zombie tale before I kick into NaNoWriMo mode. Exciting stuff!

This is a non-writing post today. What ever happened to being nice to your coworkers? I don't care if you're stressed out or angry with someone else or overworked, it doesn't give you the right to say rude things to people. That said, a lot of people don't think before they speak. Take a moment, take a breath. Say it in your mind and think "Will this crush someone's spirit if I say it to them? Would I be crushed if someone said this to me?" And then edit yourself accordingly. And, if you're one of the people that continually says rude, uncalled for things to your co-workers, please don't EVER complain to me about receiving poor customer service. You probably deserve it--and worse!

These are the costumes I can remember. Many years the weather was too bad to go trick-or-treating but we'd get out the old costumes and dress up until we'd get in trouble and have to put them away. From my earliest Halloween to the most recent, I present: Who I Have Been Raggedy Ann (my brother was Andy) Princess Hershey Kiss Smurfette Santa Claus Vampire Ghost Dot Warner Dead Little Girl Death Takes a Holiday Cat Pixie Gothic Beauty in Red Jon Benet Ramsey (postmortem) Carl (our cat) Sorceress

I finished my story "Tarantula!" and sent that in yesterday so now I wait to see how it does. Writing is an exercise in patience. The ideas have to come to you and they build and develop on their own, they're hard to rush. And then you have to wait to hear whether or not your work gets accepted. I have one story that has a four month waiting period. Four months of self-doubt and worry. Four months of getting your hopes up but telling yourself that you shouldn't--just in case.

Well, I submitted my story "The Weeping Woman of the Purple Line" to the Trib last night and wait oh-so-patiently for the 25th to find out if it is a finalist. *drums fingers on desk for effect* I started a couple drafts of my story for the local contest and stopped them all until I remembered a run in I had with a tarantula in Arizona. So, the words just magically appeared through whatever mojo in my brain that makes such things happen and I'm nearly done. I should be able to submit it this afternoon or tomorrow at the latest. Goob jorb to me! *misspelling intentional...see "The Dish" on Style network*

I found out rather accidentally that the Chicago Trib is having a scary story contest. I have an idea and am about 1/4 of the way done with it--here's hoping it chills them nicely. Also found out today that our local paper is having a contest of scary stories based on actual events. I'm so there. There are about 5 ideas jostling around in my head right now fighting for attention right now and I think I may have decided on the one I'll write about. My weird life...gotta love it!

I've been collecting my thoughts for my NaNoWriMo project and seriously cannot wait until November gets here! I've been spreading the word to everyone I know and hope people give it a try. In a few days I should learn whether or not "The Inheritance" finds a home in an anthology. *fingers crossed* Oh, and I LOVED Zombieland! That'll do, pig.

I found out this morning that "Knock Once For Yes" will appear in Through the Eyes of the Undead" from Library of the Living Dead Press. I had to actually blink back tears, I was so happy and proud of myself. To think, last year I had a few rejections under my belt and was terrified to submit my work anywhere and this year, I've almost reached my goal of having 15 stories published in one year. I'm one away from that goal and even if I don't make it, I don't care. I've learned a lot in this last year and faced some really really scary things and became a stronger person for it all. Life is good.

I love overcast days and rain. Makes me want to snuggle up on the couch with a blanket, a good book, and a mug of hot chocolate. Too bad I had to come to work instead. For the first time in weeks, I don't have any writing deadlines and I'm feeling a little lost. Guess I'll just have to fix that.

We may just be 2 days into October, but November is right around the corner which means it is NaNoWriMo time again! I will finish this year, darn it! Last year I got hit by a nasty cold and then some intense personal stuff so I didn't finish. This year the cold hit early so I shouldn't have that to worry about. I actually have an idea for a novel in my head and as November 1 draws near, I will create an outline. I shouldn't have any urgent projects to work on so it would just be all novel, all month. Fun, right???

I just found out that "Everyone Plays a Part: A Child's Guide to Surviving the Undead Wars" will appear in the upcoming The Moron's Guide to Surviving the Inevitable Zombocalypse ! Two in one day...that makes my heart sing!

One of our foster cats likes to massage my face and neck while I sleep. More accurately, I think she is trying to strangle or smother me in my sleep. I don't say as I can blame her, I must be snoring from all the icky phlegm and what not that this cold has produced. On a bright note, I just got the email this morning that "Space Freaks" will be published in the upcoming anthology Tales From the Void. I'm so jazzed, I could scream, but that would hurt my throat so I'll just whisper a hearty "woohoo" instead.

That's me. I've got the start of a nasty cold and that makes me a little cranky today. Ah well. I'm waiting to hear back on "Knock Once For Yes" and "Space Freaks" and "The Inheritance" and also "The Garlicky Goat of Marinara Mountain." The last one is a children's story and has a wait time of about 4 months. We'll see how that turns out...

I finished "Knock Once For Yes" and submitted it last night. That makes 3 stories I'm waiting on responses for. Yikes! I received the editor comments for "Amun's Curse" and sent the revisions off (you have no idea how excited this made me!) and today I'll start work on a humorous zombie article. I think I need to get a better organizational system to keep everything straight.

Oh I love that title! This zombie story is coming along so well, I'm kinda afraid it really sucks and I'm just in a la-dee-dah daze thinking it is fabulous. I'm 1200 words into it with 1800 left to go to meet the minimum word count. Zoinks! Things are getting pretty busy for me so I hope I can finish this up and get everything else buttoned up too. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee............

I finished the revisions for "The Inheritance" and submitted it last night. I'm very nervous about that one for some reason. I got a lovely surprise in my email this morning from the editor of The Scroll of Anubis --a sneak peak at the cover art! It is so amazing...I cannot wait until this book is out! (can't wait until any of them are out) I re-read the old zombie story that I'm revamping and one line made me laugh "Zombies don't eat cake." If I were a zombie, I'm sure I'd eat cake. Especially cupcakes.

I need to remember that just because one story is submitted doesn't mean I can slack off. There's revisions for another story and a new zombie story to tackle. I'm going to revamp an old one and have a different POV. Good times!

My alien story seems to have a mind of its own and I'm just the person typing it. Hopefully I can keep the momentum going and finish it today or tomorrow so I can submit it quick.

I've almost finished decorating my house (inside) for Halloween! It looks so neat, I impress myself. I also completed my werewolf tale and shall be revising it today. It isn't due until October but I might send it in early. We'll see... Now to start thinking about aliens and their exploitation and eventual rebellion. Should be fun!

Well, I didn't make it in to the apocalyptic anthology and that kinda sucked the wind out of my sails. I think it was just getting two rejections in the span of 5 days that was the stinging part, but I'll just have to work harder. This weekend I'll pour my soul into my werewolf tale and work on the alien story I came up with a while back. And of course there's my secret project to work on too. Not much time for play.

I'm so much happier with this version of my werewolf tale. It is cooking along nicely and once I'm done with it I can start an alien story I've been stewing over. Fun times. Zombology II is available through CreateSpace and soon from Amazon (I've purchased my copy...have you???) and that means that hopefully some of my stories will be published soon. *hopes really, really hard* Be on the lookout for Zombology III, Zombology VI, Baconology, The Scroll of Anubis, Night of the Giving Dead, The Ladies of Horror, Horrorology, Tales from the Cauldron, Vampology, and Zombie Feary Tales. (end of shameless plug)

I got a lot written last night and I think it works now. Very happy. I had so much creativity flowing through my veins, I even made a bunch of Halloween ornaments/jewelry. I shall finish the story today *hopes* and get some more decorations put up at home.

Spent the weekend picking apart why the story was awful and I think it was just flowing too slowly. I can only imagine the reader getting bored and turning to the next story. So, I'm going to try to get everything I have typed up (4K words) down to 500 to 1K words. That'll ratchet up the tension and it should flow better. *hopes* Okay, now I just need to get to lunch so I can write it.

Well, "The Inheritance" tanked and I'm hoping to see a phoenix scuttle out from the ruins, but I don't think it is happening today. I'd like to say that things at Work don't bother me, but today anger, frustration, and anger (did I mention the anger?) really are keeping me from wanting to create something wonderful. I think I just need to give my brain a rest for at least a night. Maybe something wonderful will come of all this.

I'm pretty far along in my latest story (werewolves!) and it seems that a pretty central character might need to die. Ah well. Waiting on a response about my stories "Little Brown Bat" and "Desert Oasis." I'm the queen of patience right now but still keep checking my email way too much. I'm starting to decorate the rest of the house for Halloween and I hope the foster cats don't trash my things. They're very good at investigating high shelves.

The title to my apocalyptic story is now "Desert Oasis" and I just submitted it last night. It always amazes me how little shards of myself end up in my writing and sometimes they sting when I read them. That happened with this story. On to werewolves.

I've been working on "Project Eden" for days now and my protagonist refuses to die just yet. I hope to finish him and the story by Monday. *shuffles back to work*

The apocalyptic story ("Project Eden") is chugging along rather well. I hope to have it finished by Monday so that I can do revisions and send it in. "Little Brown Bat" is now out of my hands and flitting happily to the publisher to see if they want him. I hope so, he's cute. Once I finish "Project Eden" I shall return to my werewolf tale so that it is ready for the opening day of submissions. Then I might revisit the children's book that I wrote years ago... The fun never ends!

Had a very productive lunch hour and have a full page of my apocalyptic story written. Yay! Also got the goods to send out the kid's story "Little Brown Bat" via snail mail to the publisher. We'll see what happens...

I'm super happy to announce that " Amun's Curse" will appear in the Library of Horror's The Scroll of Anubis. This makes lucky number eleven for those that are keeping score... Now I'm working on an apocalyptic story and sending out a children's fiction story. Good times.

Still working on that mummy story. I had a lovely idea and started writing but then it diverged from my original idea in a crazy way so I'm struggling with it right now. Still no word about "Frank Bodine's Hand" and I'm getting anxious. It has been almost 8 weeks so I should (hopefully) hear something soon. Back to the mummy tale...

By far, one of the scariest lines in any Doctor Who episode (right up there with "Don't blink."). I'm churning around ideas for a mummy anthology. I have a couple that might be good but I'll let them churn a bit more before I go crazy and actually write them down.

I'm pleased as punch to announce "BLT Summer" has been accepted to Baconology. Stories like these make me glad that I write.

I finished a different bacon-themed story called "BLT Summer" and submitted for an upcoming bacon horror anthology. Cross your fingers!!! Back to work on my werewolf war story. That one is finally coming together.

Oh, I am so excited because the cover for Ladies of Horror looks so cool! I can't wait for this to be published! (On the flip side, it scares me to death.)

There's been lots of talk on the Library of the Living Dead forum about bacon lately and I have an idea for a horror story that includes bacon...Kevin's bacon to be precise.

I'm pleased to announce that "The Dark Ride" will appear in the upcoming horror anthology Horrorology . Glad I found that one a home. So that makes 9 short stories slated for publication this year--it kind of seems surreal. Okay, now to get to work writing more.

I submitted "The Dark Ride" to another anthology today. We'll see what happens. I think I may have to publish an anthology of my own works one of these days.

Friday was an all-day house cleaning bonanza that spilled over into Saturday morning and a little of Sunday morning too. Had the family over for Father's day so I got zero words written for my werewolf story. That's good though, because now I can refocus on it as a novelella instead of a short since I can't make it fit the theme of the anthology. Need to read some chapters of my friend's book that I promised I'd critique though. I think I'll do that tonight. What's summer vacation again?

I'm working 10 hour days for the next 8 weeks so I think I'll have to switch up my writing habits to Fridays, Saturdays, and Sunday mornings. That is when we don't have a zillion things going on... What is summer again?

This is just an update to today's earlier post. I got an email back from the editor and she liked it! My story "The Witches in the Walls" will appear in the upcoming "Tales from the Cauldron" anthology (Library of Horror Press). As corny as it sounds, I teared up as I read it and got a little choked-up. That was the hardest thing (emotionally) I've written in a while and it was such a relief to have it be met with approval. I need to do this full time.

After a long weekend of editing and worrying and re-reading, I just re-submitted "The Witches in the Walls" and I hope it fits the bill for the anthology. If not, it was still a blast to write. The only bad side was "reliving" what happened to the family over and over and over. Physically, emotionally, and mentally I'm spent. I'm taking a day off from writing and just resting my mind.

How I settled on my witch tale: I started thinking about things that scare me and the Foot Monster of my childhood came to mind but I quickly dismissed this because a witch with a foot fetish just didn't seem scary enough. Then I started thinking about houses where witches might live and voila! I remembered my story "The Faces in the Walls" that got a nice rejection and "we're sure you'll place it elsewhere." Well, I think with a little spit and polish it might just make one heck of a scary witch story. Back to it....

I decided to submit "Frank Bodine's Hand" to Weird Tales. I love this story and really want it to find a home! I'll find out in 6-8 weeks whether they want it or not. (gee, the time will just fly by) Now on to stories with witches in them. I need some better ideas that haven't been done to death. *think think think*

Wow, two rejection emails in the same weekend. They weren't as soul-crushing as the last one I received so I'm rather...I guess happy isn't the right word, but maybe hopeful. Sure, hopeful sounds good. Once again I was out in the sun for a brief period and now I have hives on my hands and scalp. Allergy meds to the rescue....

I fear that I had such a flurry of writing that I have lost momentum. This troubles me. I have projects to work on but no motivation. Must get rid of this slump...

The latest of my shorts that will be published in upcoming anthologies: "The Snipe Hunt" will appear in The Ladies of Horror (Library of Horror Press) "Minimized Exposure" will appear in Night of the Giving Dead (Library of the Living Dead Press) This makes a total of seven stories being published as of right now.

I'm back in the land of the living. It wasn't swine flu but it was a nasty whatever it was. Missed 3 days of the day job and got no writing done at all so I'm behind. *sigh* Now I have to catch up on some projects and I'm just a sleepy gal. Ah well. Almost done with my submission for the "The Ladies of Horror" anthology. This one I want to be awesome. *nervous smile*

Library of the Living Dead announced a charity project called "Night of the Giving Dead." All proceeds of the sales will go to First Book . If you write and can come up with a good zombie tale that is 6K words or less, send it in! If you read and like good zombie tales then snatch this anthology up once it is out!

I'm almost done with my "redesign." I dig the way it looks so far but it needs "something" so I will consult a webby friend for his input. Taking a CSS course and HTML tutorials does not a web designer make. :) Now back to writing stories, which is what I really like to do.

Not that I wasn't before. I'm doing a drastic overhaul to the little web page I created for myself so that it looks a smidge more professional. Good times... Anything to take my mind off whether or not the agent will contact me and whether my other two submissions were well received.

"Carey, you've had five stories accepted into publication, why the grumpiness?" Well, because I want to do more. Loads more. But this full-time job of mine just seems to suck my energy to the point that I'm exhausted at the end of the day. I dream of days when all I have to do is wake up, pull my hair into some sort of decency, and sit down and write. And write. And write.

I just got the awesomely fantastic news that "Winds of the Enemy Ancestors" will be published in the upcoming anthology "Vampology!" (Library of Horror Press) I can't express how it feels to have something you created from just a terrifying nightmare emerge into something that someone else feels is worthy of publishing. Were I not so exhausted this morning, I'd be dancing in my chair.

Well, I did it. I screwed up my courage and sent a query letter to an agent. (yikes!)

You get another short story published, that's what. My version of "Sleeping Beauty" (now with zombies!) will be featured in the upcoming anthology "Feary Tales." (coming soon from Library of the Living Dead Press) I submitted "Winds of the Enemy Ancestors" yesterday as well and am just waiting to see what the publisher thinks. Cross your fingers!!!

After trying to wrangle my main vampire character for the last few days, he's finally behaving because he's he last of his kind. (that he knows of anyway) I'm feeling a little sorry for him, but that's what he gets for wanting power beyond imagination and eternal life, right? I hear Zombology II is closer to being done, so that means volume III is on the distant horizon. I shall do a proper review of volume I as soon as I finish reading the last couple stories. (if I could only add three or four more hours to each day I could accomplish everything!)

The story I'm currently working on, "Winds of the Enemy Ancestors," keeps taking a lot of strange twists. Now it looks like it wants to take another. I'll just go with it and do yet another rewrite...

I feel like Stretch Armstrong must have felt. My arms and legs can only go so far before they get ripped from their sockets and I scream in agony and blood might spurt out and...well, you get the idea. I'm close to finishing the vamp story and will send that off with a hearty "Good Luck" and a smack on its backside.

I just have to name this story "Dark Ride" because...well, just because my gut told me so. I finished it last night and today I shall be editing and writing a short bio. Not a fan of the bio, but they are a necessary evil.

Three stories published now--"Outbreak" will also appear in Zombology IV from Library of the Living Dead. I'm so excited I want to run squealing through the lower levels of this building...

Well, after getting to the pinnacle spot of my side show story, I think a better name than "The Forgettable" would be "Dark Ride." But we'll let my gut fight that out once it is finished. I wasn't able to read any stories from Zombology I last night because I was too busy making zombie-ish cupcakes. Tasty!

I got my copy of Zombology I and the stories are VERY good! I highly recommend reading "Rule Hard, Or Die Free" by Tel Williams. I shared my story with the family at Easter but didn't ask anyone what they thought--it is just weird doing that. (for me anyway) My niece, the amazing artist, drew a very awesome zombie picture for me. I suggested she look into getting her work used for these anthologies and mags and I hope she has some awesome luck. I signed my first autograph (in slime-green marker, no less) and the men-folk played Left 4 Dead. Zombies on Easter? There's a joke in there, albeit not a very PC one...

Those that know me, know I can be a loudmouthed little so-and-so, but why is it that when in comes to marketing, I'm a shy little pipsqueak? I should be screaming BUY ZOMBOLOGY, but I feel so...inexperienced in the whole publishing world that I might use the wrong terms. Ah well. Here's an attempt anyway. Not only is Zombology available at CreateSpace and Amazon.com , you can purchase a copy from Target.com ! If you love/like/loathe zombies, you should really get a copy. Stimulate the economy!

My character is just about to get her fortune read. I remember going to a "Turn of the Century" fair and pestering my mom to let me get my palm read, but she nixed it. I'm jealous of my gal Jane. Zombology I is available on Amazon now too--tell your friends!!!

Library of the Living Dead Press has released the first volume of Zombology which means volumes III and IV can't be far off... I ordered my copy today---you should too!

That is the title of my almost done short story for the Vampology. I only have 1000 words left to play with so I need to wrap it up quick and get the revisions done. Although, are they ever really done?

That's what I'm suffering from right now. Hectic work day + loads of sugar + loads of caffeine = Bouncing Brains. Anywho, I'm nearly done with the short story for Library of Horror Press and then need to get cracking on the one for Side Show 2 , but see the above paragraph... *sigh*

"What kind of meat did you say you wanted?" (me, in the background) "Invisible?" (as we pull up to the drive- thru ) "Can you imagine if there really was invisible meat?" It is amazing what a pre -caffeine brain will think up. I put aside the carnival story because I can't pin down a good beginning. Instead, I went back to my vampire story and that blossomed very nicely. I hope to finish that up either today or tomorrow and then edit it next week with "fresh" eyes. (I have a new pair ordered that should be here by Friday...)

Yesterday I woke up and looked out to a world covered in white and said "Those bastards!" The weather people were right. I'm getting super stoked about the release of Zombology III and IV. (featuring stories by yours truly...) Over at Library of the Living Dead , Dr. Pus has posted the cover to Zombology I and it looks very spiffy indeed. :D I got a email from Cutting Block Press which nearly caused me to have a series of heart palpitations until I read that they were just verifying that they received my story for Horror Library Volume 4. The waiting game begins...

I'm pretty good at deciphering what editors are looking for, format-wise, but right now I'm stumped. I'm going to go with what I *think* it means and if they discard, they discard. Today is a great day to be distracted by oodles of other neat things...things that aren't writing-related.

Yes, this is the title to my work-in-progress. It might have been "Forgettable Jane" but this one won the fight.

I did a silly thing by emailing my idol Neil Gaiman to tell him how he inspired me so much and gush, gush, gush and he responded back. Of all the pretty words I could use to describe how that made me feel, all I can muster is "Like...Wow..." So, yeah, I'm like, Wow right now. Working on a new story that is bringing back a lot of weird childhood memories. Not bad weird, just odd weird.

Since I haven't written anything in quite some time, I decided to make a fresh start here. For one thing, I'm no longer a not-yet-published authoress.... I'm pleased to report that a short story and a flash piece are both accepted into publication!!! I don't have a publication date yet, but I'm excited as all get-out. :D (edit to add) The names of the two pieces in question are "Night of a Thousand Screams" (Zombology III) and "Zombie 101" (Zombology IV).